Manhattan selected for the next Scorpius Biomanufacturing location
PAGE 4: ARTS & CULTURE
Tips to ensure a safe and fun Fake Patty’s Day
PAGE 7: ARTS & CULTURE
Call Hall Dairy Bar on campus for students and staff looking for a quick, hearty meal
PAGE 12: SPORTS
Know Your Opponent: Ending in the mountains of West Virginia
MEREDITH MCCALMON staff writer
Kansas State University hosted the Big XII Conference on Black Student Government from Feb. 16-19. Negil McPherson III, head treasurer for the Black Student Union, said this year’s theme was Health, Wealth and Knowledge of Self.
“We really took the theme and ran with it,” McPherson said. “We brought in a ton of speakers to speak on what it looks like to be healthy, what it looks like to really get to know yourself in occupying a Black space.”
Brandon Clark, BSU advisor, said several K-State students won awards at the conference.
“We had a student apply for almost every single award,” Clark said. “Most Outstanding Freshman in the Big XII Award went to Noah McPherson. Christopher Burrell won the Martin Luther King Jr. Award. Negil McPherson won the Alvin Ailey award, and the students nominated me for Most Outstanding Advisor. K-State walked away with the most awards, and that was a really proud moment.”
Burrel, president of the BSU, said the K-State BSU also received the Clarence Wine Award for Outstanding Big XII Council of the Year.
“Not only did we win this award, but we’ve won this award the past 14 out of 17 years,” Burrell, senior in mechanical engineering,
said. “This is an award that’s not easy to come by. It’s an award that’s extremely worked for.”
Burrell said the conference aims to help young Black students develop themselves into strong leaders.
“It’s a four-day and three-night leadership retreat that attracts students all across the nation for four days of leadership and development and awesome experiences they can take back to their universities or colleges to hopefully help develop their student bodies to push them in the direction of success,” Burrell said.
McPherson, junior in business marketing and music, said hosting the event at K-State took plenty of preparation.
“It was a lot of getting the background stuff done, a lot of the things you don’t think about when it comes to a conference,” McPherson said. “Driving to go get speakers, making sure the speakers got to their hotel and the airport, it was a lot of things like that. It was a lot of behind the scenes work.”
Serenity Holmes, secretary and head delegate for the BSU and recipient of the Barbara Jordan Award, said this conference allows Black students to find a place of belonging.
“It gives Black students
a space to come together and talk to each other and know that they’re not alone,” Holmes, junior in professional strategic selling and Spanish, said. “Coming to K-State my freshman year during COVID, I had a very hard time making friends that looked like me and had the same experiences as me. Knowing that there are people here who are going through the same things as you helps you know you’re not alone.”
Burrell said to apply for the Martin Luther King Jr. Award, he wrote an essay on how his work at K-State continued the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
“It’s one thing to think you can receive the award, and it’s one thing to make a case,” Burrell said. “I felt the best way to make my case was to explain the different things I do here at Kansas State University. I was the Big XII conference chair, and I’ve served in multiple honors societies. Quite literally any way I can advocate for and push for students at KSU to ensure that the next generation of Wildcats can enjoy K-State that much more, I’m always sure to do that.”
Burrell said the awards validate students who’ve worked hard to improve inclusivity at K-State.
“Being recognized for work you never planned to be recognized for is a really humbling and good experience,” Burrell said. “When you’re doing something out of the goodness of your heart and people are recognizing you for the work you’ve done, it helps you know that your heart is in the right place.”
Burrell said the success of the BSU, as well as his personal success, is made possible by Clark.
“I tried to leave K-State my freshman year because I felt overwhelmed,” Burrell said. “Our advisor stepped in, sat me down and told me that K-State was the place
for me, and I could be successful here. Without Mr. Brandon Clark and the BSU itself, I not only wouldn’t be the person I am today, I wouldn’t be at KSU.”
Clark said he hopes the student body of K-State is proud of its BSU.
“While this is the Black Student Union, I don’t think our recognition should be looked at as any different than if the debate team were to win an award, or winning the Big 12 football championship,” Clark said. “All of those awards go to individual clubs and organizations, but it’s all a reflection of K-State and the wonderful students and faculty we have.”
Clark said he encourages any student who feels excluded at K-State to come to a BSU meeting.
“We meet every single Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Student Union,” Clark said. “Come check us out. Our goal is that we want you to come to BSU and find a sense of community there. If you don’t find that sense of community, then maybe BSU can assist you in finding your sense of community somewhere else. … Let BSU help you in whatever way you need to be helped.”
K-State BSU provides opportunities for Black students at K-State to develop themselves into leaders.Photos courtesy of Cristopher Burrell Noah McPherson (left) and Negil McPherson III (middle) pose with their awards at the conference. Students received awards for their work in expanding inclusion at their colleges.
Scorpius Biomanufacturing, a biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization, chose Manhattan as the location for its $650 million commercial-scale facility, David Rosowsky, vice president for research at Kansas State University, said.
The biomanufacturing campus will consist of three buildings and be located east of town, right across the line into Pottawatomie County, Rososkwy said. The first building is planned to open by 2024 with buildings constructed every 18 months until all three are complete.
Scorpius selected Manhattan out of 23 possible locations, Rosowksy said.
“We were becoming sort of the center,” Rosowsky said. “Not just the geographic center of the country, but the center of this world in vaccine development and infectious disease.”
The state government, the governor’s office, the Kansas Department of Commerce and K-State put a package together to sell Manhattan to Scorpius, Rosowsky said.
“What we’re finding is that people are starting to discover that our research capabilities are actually quite sophisticated and in quite important areas, not just the prosperity of Kansas, but for
the security and health of our nation,” Rosowsky said.
Rosowsky said the people of Manhattan were another factor Scorpius resonated with.
“They just found Kansans to be really welcoming people that were hardworking,” Rosowsky said. “You know what, Kansans, they work hard. They commit themselves. They seek out education and they want to contribute to the betterment of their communities and their state.”
Rosowsky said Scorpious will create more than 400 new jobs, and these jobs pay close to $80,000 on average.
“I think for Manhattan it provides an opportunity to grow our economy, to create new private-sector jobs and for us to be able to attract people back to the region who might have left or went to school here,” Rebecca Robinson, chief corporate engagement and economic development officer at K-State, said.
Scorpius has an agreement with K-State to allow their researchers to collaborate in drug discovery and vaccine evaluation, Rosowsky said.
“Obviously that has real implications for students engaging in research, whether they’re undergraduate students or they’re graduate students working in the laboratories,” Rosowsky said.
The agreement in place is to create biomanufacturing
training, education curriculum, certificates and degree programs with Scorpius to prepare graduates in sciences and engineering, Rosowsky said.
Rita Woster, sophomore in biological systems engineering, said she is excited to see Scorpius’ involvement with students.
“I think it increases my interest, specifically if it has to do with master’s programs,” Woster said. “I think that it’s a lot easier for students to want to stay in Manhattan if there’s gonna be a really good career opportunity for them.”
Rosowsky said Scorpius will also bring new educational opportunities for students in business, supply chain and logistics.
“Scorpius is great for engineering, but frankly, it’s also great for our students in the life sciences over in Arts and Sciences,” Rosowsky said. “There’s going to be new opportunities for our students.”
Robinson said she wants other big companies to see the unique competitive advantages Manhattan can provide.
“I hope that Scorpius is really successful here,” Robinson said. “One thing that Scorpius does is shine a light on Manhattan and K-State as a partner in economic development and in a place where companies like this can be successful.”
On Saturday, city streets will be packed full of greenclad students celebrating a yearly Manhattan tradition. Fake Patty’s Day is Kansas State students’ way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, which usually falls during spring break when students are out of town.
The Riley County Police Department has noticed that some see Fake Patty’s as an opportunity to act irresponsibly, which could threaten the safety of others. Here are a few tips to help you make the most out of this year’s Fake Patty’s Day and stay safe and trouble-free.
RCPD suggests all attendees pay attention to their levels of alcohol consumption. Eating and hydrating throughout the day will help reduce the effects of alcohol. Carrying snacks on celebration day can help with this. According to its website, RCPD advises not to consume more than the responsible drinking limit. This will help avoid injury and reduce the likelihood of being the target of criminal activity.
RCPD also suggests staying in pairs or small groups while navigating Aggieville and the rest of town. To make this easier, create a plan with a list of locations for reference. Ensure you’ve shared locations with one another; this can help you stay connected on the go.
Safe rides are important this weekend, especially considering the large number of students drinking. Ensure you have designated drivers and rides in place for Saturday.
K-State offers a riding service for students called SafeRide which operates through Lyft. SafeRide provides students with discounted or free rides. This option and others can be found on the RCPD Fake Patty’s Day guide.
RCPD advises keeping valuables at home. According to its website, carrying a small amount of cash could prevent theft. Plan to carry a fanny pack or keep ID cards and cash in your phone case
to ensure these items remain on you day and night. Know where your group will stop for bathroom breaks and rest. If possible, have a safe house location everyone can access. It is also important to know the hours of local businesses near you and what amenities they offer to the public. See RCPD’s resource page for additional Fake Patty’s Day safety tips.
The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was released on Feb. 17, and unfortunately is the perfect example of many criticisms of current-day superhero movies. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is plagued with a forgettable story, paper-thin characters and a nauseating reliance on CGI.
As the third Ant-Man movie, audiences should be familiar with the character by now. The Ant-Man films have never been particularly memorable; moviegoers are likely to remember only certain entertaining jokes rather than the plot.
In the first two movies, however, there was at least an attempt to present a reasonably coherent narrative. That is not the case here. If you care about consistent storytelling, this movie will frustrate you. This feels like a movie that was hastily written in one afternoon.
As established in past Marvel films, if a character shrinks down small enough — to the point that they are smaller than an atom — they reach the Quantum Realm.
In this movie, after less than 15 minutes in the real world, the main characters
are sucked into the Quantum Realm where nearly the entire story is spent. Throughout the movie they come into conflict with Kang the Conqueror, a multiverse-destroying time traveler intent on escaping back to the real world.
The few strengths of the movie are some of the actors. Paul Rudd’s charisma works overtime to carry many painfully bland lines. Jonothan Majors’ performance as Kang is impressively intimidating at several points in the film, showing this antagonist could have been far better if given an adequate script.
This is a lazy story that regularly forces characters to make frustratingly illogical choices to build suspense.
Janet, the first Wasp, was trapped in the Quantum Realm in a past movie, and it is revealed that she spent some of that time with Kang, working together to escape.
During this time she discovers his intentions to destroy universes for some greater good and is then rescued by the other characters. Throughout most of the movie, she refuses to inform the other characters about any of this, because if she did much of the movie wouldn’t happen.
For some reason, Cassie, Ant-Man’s daughter, has been given a shrinking suit, against her fathers wishes. The first movie’s plot was exclusively about keeping shrinking technology out of anyone else’s hands, but now a teenager is allowed to run around Los Angeles shrinking cop cars when she feels like it.
Many that choose to watch this movie will find they wasted 2 hours and 5 minutes of their lives. Based on the movie’s record-breaking drop at the box-office, the vast majority of audiences have not enjoyed this movie. Go watch a better movie that you know you’ll like. It will preserve some of your hope about movie-making that “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” will surely take from you.
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As students rush through the hallways of Call Hall and down the corridor after class, the smell of ice cream lingers. Through the double doors of the Call Hall Dairy Bar, students, staff and Manhattan residents wait eagerly for their turn to order a freshly-made hamburger served on a golden bun.
Known for its homemade ice cream, Call Hall also makes breakfast and hot lunch. Located at 1530 N. Mid-Campus Dr., students can enjoy a hearty meal before heading to their next class.
Anthony Fink, manager of Call Hall Dairy Bar, said the eatery promotes goods sold by Kansas State.
“I think the dairy bar itself was imagined to help us serve ice cream in a better light — to showcase the products that the university
puts forth,” Fink said.
For agricultural students and staff, Call Hall Dairy Bar is a place they can go to enjoy warm biscuits and gravy, burritos or a freshly-made hamburger.
“We try to add extra spices. We do make our own fry sauce [and] put a little extra effort in,” Fink said. “We have been using our own cheese recently, rather than purchasing.”
Many students and staff don’t realize the wide range of food that Call Hall offers. Ellie Brenneman, sophomore in psychology, said she looks forward to trying other menu items.
“I noticed that they had food last time I went and I was so excited, the person I was with tried the meatloaf but I just stuck to ice cream. I’ll definitely try the food next time,” Brenneman said.
In just over 18 months, Fink said, Call Hall Dairy Bar has doubled in sales com-
pared to previous years and is likely due to the convenient location of the restaurant.
“This gives options so that students close by [don’t] have to trek all the way to Kramer or Derby. They can stop by here, but still have time to get back to class,” Fink said.
Breakfast is served from 9-10:30 a.m. and burgers are served for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday through Friday.
“Individuals from all over come here. A lot of folks come in now because they remember how easily they can grab all their meat, cheese or eggs,” Fink said.
Re-establishing the breakfast and lunch options gives hope for expansion and new ideas to come.
“Come to Call Hall,” Fink said. “It’s cheap for food that you can get on campus with a little bit of care.”
B E E R B E E R B E E R
G O G G L E S G O G G L E S G O G G L E S
The third season of “Outer Banks” was the talk of the town for weeks as everyone eagerly awaited its release. The show, which debuted in spring 2020, has the majority of Gen Z hooked on the slightly cringey teen drama. After Netflix finally released the 10-episode season on Feb. 23, it seems viewers have lukewarm things to say.
The show opens with a sloppy flashback sequence recapping the past two seasons. The odd filter coupled with the cheesy voice-over by Chase Stokes, who plays John B, didn’t give me high hopes for what was to come.
The Pogues, now castaways, are discovered on the remote island on which they’ve lived for the past month. They
are picked up by Jimmy, a quirky character who lands his plane and offers to take all the Pogues back to the mainland, despite this putting his plane at risk due to its weight limit. The group discovers Jimmy has malicious intentions, and after a scuffle, the plane crashes into the ocean. The Pogues leave the unconscious pilot to drown, but Kiara saves him and is promptly captured and hauled away from her friends. After a series of dramatic rescue attempts and Kiara’s brave yacht robbery, the crew leaves John B, who has discovered his father is alive, to help his dad further the treasure hunt.
The plot splits at the end of the second episode. Sarah, JJ, Kiara, Pope, Cleo and the surprising addition of Topper pursue the Cross of Santo Domingo, which was discovered last season, while John B follows his dad and questions if his father has good
intentions as Big John grasps at straws.
The two plotlines feel disjointed. John B is hardly seen with the rest of the Pogues as they go after the cross, even though he’s been the ringleader of the group for the past two seasons. However, this does allow for characters like Pope and JJ to shine. Pope’s noble actions and motivations take center stage, and JJ’s troubled past comes to light.
The introduction of a new villain is potentially one of the worst decisions made this season. The long list of antagonists now includes Ward Cameron, Rafe, the entire population of Kooks, and Carlos Singh and his posse of greedy treasure hunters. The conflict between Rafe, Ward Cameron and the Pogues should have been completely resolved before Carlos Singh was brought on the scene.
However, he is a good character and will be interesting to follow if he shows up in the recently-announced season four.
What saves the show – besides Pope and JJ — is the stunning setting and camera work. The majestic shots of beaches, sunsets and marshes make the
viewer feel immersed in the beauty of the Lowcountry.
The entire premise of Outer Banks is outlandish and unrealistic, but in the first two seasons this added to its charm. Outer Banks felt like an escape and an adventure, but this third season felt like filler so produc-
ers could renew the season yet again and string us along as we await a conclusion to this drawnout treasure hunt. There are so many other possibilities for new seasons, and yet the production has decided to stick to one storyline throughout the entirety of the show’s life — to its detriment.
As the Big 12 Conference adds four teams for the 2023 season and the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas plan to join the SEC for the 2024 season, there are concerns about how the new Big 12 will look.
Nearly 30 years ago, the combination of the old Big 8 Conference and the Southwestern Conference caused comparable worries. Nevertheless, the resulting conference evolved into one of the country’s most competitive in the Power 5.
In 1994, Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Missouri, Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 8 Conference to join Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas A&M from the
Southwestern Conference to form the new conference. The driving reason behind this formation was the collapse of the College Football Association.
Ten years earlier in 1984, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision when they ruled that the NCAA’s television policy violated the federal 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act. This ruling allowed programs to sell their media content and negotiate media contracts on their own behalf.
In response, the Big Ten and the Pac-10 conferences negotiated a successful deal with ABC. In the early 1990s, Notre Dame followed suit, negotiating a successful deal with NBC.
The Southwestern Conference was on the verge of collapse, another major issue needing addressed. Revenue
and popularity of the conference collapsed as the University of Arkansas joined the SEC in 1991 along with the two year absence of SMU because of the “death penalty.” This created the perfect storm for the creation of a new conference.
On Feb. 25, 1994, an agreement was reached with the eight Big 8 conference teams and the four remaining Texas teams from the SWC to form the Big 12 Conference.
Two years later, the first Big 12 sporting event was held on Aug. 31, 1996 in Manhattan, as K-State defeated Texas Tech in football, 21-14, in front of 43,143 fans at KSU Stadium.
From that day forward, the new conference would go on to become one of the most popular and most competitive in college athletics.
Kansas State men’s basketball has never won the Big 12 tournament. The Wildcats have only participated in two championship games and are tied for the most losses in the tournament’s history.
Next week there is a possibility for this trend to shift with the guidance of head coach Jerome Tang. There are many factors to look at, but it starts with fans creating a home-court advantage at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
“The success of this program will depend on you and the players that we bring in,” Tang said in his introductory press conference. “The way you get players … is that you have great fans … that’s what attracted me to this place. I was always blown away by the fans and the community and the energy.”
After a 9-1 start — the best record by a first-year coach in school history — the Wildcats took its talents to the T-Mobile Center against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“I was blown away by our fans’ support,” Tang said after the game. “I’ve played in T-Mobile [Center] before, but we’ve
never had a home court advantage, and this is pretty awesome to play in there and have a home court advantage.”
Tang even said his assistant coach Jareem Dowling told him, “‘The energy out there is different. It’s like an NCAA Tournament game. It’s buzzing.’”
The impact of a large fan base cannot be overlooked in this conference. Both Kansas and Iowa State have historically large followings in Kansas City and have won all but two Big 12 tournaments since 2010.
The trio of Kansas, Iowa State and K-State combine for a 42-5 record in home games this season. Furthermore, these three teams split their season series with each other as the home teams went 6-0.
Despite each team bringing a home-court atmosphere, K-State could have the edge over Kansas and Iowa State with their conference positioning and motivation.
The Wildcats are currently third in the Big 12 and could move up to second over the Texas Longhorns who will finish conference play against two ranked teams including No. 3 Kansas.
As a two-seed, K-State’s
path to the conference championship game would be much easier than Iowa State who is likely to finish fifth or sixth in the conference. Regardless, Kansas could be a roadblock for the Wildcats in Kansas City.
The Jayhawks control its destiny for a regular-season conference title, but come next week, K-State should have more motivation. Kansas’ focus in March will be on repeating as national champions. They are likely locked into a one-seed regardless of the result in Kansas City, according to ESPN’s Bracketology.
K-State, currently projected as a two-seed by the same metric, will be motivated to remain there and avoid a bad loss that could push them down toward a four-seed. In their last two appearances as a four-seed in the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats have been upset in the round of 64.
The Wildcats have not enjoyed much success in the Big 12 tournament, but the effect of a passionate fan base and a new standard brought by Tang will look to write a new chapter for the program. The time for K-State to win their first ever Big 12 men’s basketball tournament is now.
