collegian kansas
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state
monday, march 29, 2010
www.kstatecollegian.com
Vol. 115 | No. 125
Breaking It Down
Spring Dance incorporates various styles
Police arrested three men Thursday as suspects in the Dara’s Fast Lane robbery case, according to a news release from the Riley County Police Department. RCPD officers arrested Brandon Santana, Randy McBride and Anthony Layton after serving a search warrant at 3640 Saddlehorn Drive in Ogden, according to the release. The robbery, which happened on March 19, occured at the Dara’s in Candlewood Shopping Center. Police arrested Santana at 3:40 p.m. and charged him with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping. Police arrested McBride at 3 p.m. and charged him with aggravated robbery. Police arrested Layton at 6:10 p.m. and charged him with aggravated robbery. Santana’s bond was set at $150,000, and McBride’s and Layton’s were both set at $50,000. Investigation into the case is still continuing, according to the RCPD.
Drug investigation continues
Erin Poppe | Collegian
Ching Her, sophomore in open option, performs a solo in a piece choreographed by Joyce Yagerline, associate professor in communication studies, theatre and dance. The piece was part of Friday’s Spring Dance performance, which featured students in different dance styles, including jazz, modern, ballet and tap. others in the department of dance, helped choreograph the performance. Additionally, the department brought in Clifton Keefer Brown, a professional dancer, to choreograph a piece for “Bach,” a ballet set to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Sarah Rothfuss, a 2009 graduate who minored in dance, said it was nice to return and see how younger students have grown. “I went to class with a lot of these girls, and I love seeing them perform,” she said. “This is my first year not being on the stage myself and so I thought I’d just come back and see what everybody’s up to.” Rothfuss now manages a dance studio in Council Grove, Kan. Two of the performers in the weekend show instruct at her studio, one of whom, Amanda Meinhardt, sophomore in business, had a solo in the country-themed piece “Suite Kane.” Pentz said students involved in this per-
formance come from diverse backgrounds, including majors, nonmajors and minors. Megan Robl, sophomore in secondary education, decided last semester to become a dance minor. Prior to this weekend, she had never performed at K-State. “This was my first show here,” Robl said. “But it’s been one of the most fun performing venues I’ve ever participated in.” Robl was part of the piece “Slassy,” which is a combination of the words “classy” and “sassy.” A very provocative number choreographed by Pentz, Robl said it was liberating to perform. “We just got to go out there, and we got to be extra sexy-sultry to the point that you couldn’t just go out there every day and do that, so it was kind of an opportunity to pretend to be somebody that you’re not,” Robl said. “It was a lot of fun to fake it and try to catch the audience.”
K-State emphasizing research for 2025 Tiffany Roney | Collegian K-State is known to set high goals, but its newest goal, if reached, will solidify the “royal” in our famed royal purple. Kirk Schulz, university president, aims for KState to become a top-50 public research university by 2025. “Any time we come together as a university family and unify around a specific goal, it has a great impact on our ability to directly affect students, in and outside the classroom,” said Pat Bosco, vice president of student life. “For us to identify moving toward being a top-50 university in America will have an extremely positive impact on our rank among students and faculty.” Outside of the academic realm, top-50 status would also affect Manhattan’s economy and infrastructure, said Ron Trewyn, vice president for research. Trewyn cited the upcoming founding of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, as well as talk of a United States Department of Agriculture animal disease lab coming to Manhattan, as signs that this higher level of prestige is already on its way to the city. “What all of this ties to is K-State and Manhattan becoming known for the expertise in these scientific realms,” Trewyn said. “There are likely to be, then, additional companies coming here, and all sorts of things could happen.” April Mason, provost and senior vice president, said she is excited about K-State coming
3 arrested for Dara’s robbery Sarah Rajewski | Collegian
Tim Schrag | Collegian As the lights dimmed in McCain Auditorium this weekend, the audience watched as dark figures started moving, slowly, almost robotically. Arms and legs moved to techno music in precise formation as red and blue lights filtered in to illuminate the almost naked figures dancing onstage. As the lights grew brighter, their movements grew bolder until the music suddenly stopped and the dancers dashed offstage, only to be replaced by three break dancers. Spring Dance 2010 was underway. Julie Pentz, director of K-State dance program, said this year’s performances featured a great deal of diversity within the different styles of dance, including tap, ballet, modern, jazz and other styles. Pentz said the two-act, nine-piece performance was the result of almost four months of work from the cast of more than 45 students. Something new to this year’s performance, however, was the addition of live music, Pentz said. “I always like seeing our students involved, whether it’s with music or dance,” she said. “It’s the collaboration I like to see.” The K-State Orchestra collaboratively performed a piece written by Laurel Littrell, an associate professor at Hale Library, to go with the student-choreographed piece entitled “Ancient Sorrows.” Additionally, K-State students Autumn Scoggan, senior in dance and theater, and John Churchill, senior in music, paired to perform a piece called “Touch,” in which Churchill played an electric guitar while Scoggan danced to the music he composed for the piece. “It was such an organic and collaborative process,” she said. But the dance is more than just a performance. Pentz said students receive credit for participating after being cast in December and beginning rehearsals as soon as classes start in the spring semester. She said they typically rehearse one to three times a week leading up to the performance, depending on who choreographed their piece. Neil Dunn, the production coordinator for Spring Dance, said a benefit to giving credit to students in the performance is that it makes students accountable for how they perform. Dunn said participating in at least three dances is required for both majors and minors in the program, but the department encourages all students to participate in performances throughout their college careers. Dunn, along with Pentz and several
police reports
to be thought of as a premier land-grant university, but the initiative will take more work than anything K-State has ever aimed for. Right now, K-State is ranked somewhere in the 80s (depending on what categories are compared), so to move past all the universities currently sitting in the lower 80s, 70s and 60s will require upping the game in several areas. “Entering into a strategic plan that says you’re going to increase to the top-50 in a time of an unprecedented economic situation not only in our state of Kansas, but in our nation and throughout the world — that makes me squirm in my seat,” Mason said with a laugh. Trewyn said funding will be K-State’s biggest roadblock. Trewyn said the economic recession has limited resources to start the new programs this goal will require. Though the biggest challenge is funding and many students joke of being poor, Schulz said he wants students to get as involved as possible in this initiative. Mason said student involvement will begin within focus groups and then spread from there into smaller challenges and suggestions for the student body as a whole. “It does makes me nervous, but I think if you set a high goal, then you will be challenged and excited to reach it,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any blame or discouragement if we don’t reach it, but I think it’s exciting to set a high goal and work diligently to try to achieve it.” For more information, visit k-state.edu/president/initiatives/kstate_2025/.
Three local people were arrested Thursday in an ongoing drug investigation, said Lt. Herbert Crosby Jr. of the RCPD. RCPD officers served a search warrant at 917 Osage St., where the three people live, according to the report. Police arrested Kevin Jewell, 22, at 5:45 p.m. and charged him with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, a felony charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the report. Crosby said his bond was $8,000. RCPD officers arrested Jared Jewell, 24, at 8 p.m. and charged him with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. His bond was $1,500. Police arrested Stormy Tarr, 22, at 8:20 p.m. on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Tarr’s bond was $3,000. The RCPD is still investigating the case, Crosby said.
RCPD: $3.5K truck stolen
A local man reported the theft of his Ford F-150 pickup truck sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning, according to another RCPD report. Terry Kuchcinski, 57, of 1022 Fremont St., owned the 1991 black pickup truck, which had a Kansas license plate of 428BKQ, Crosby said. Crosby said someone stole the truck sometime between 6 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 a.m. Friday in the 1000 block of Fremont Street. The value of the truck was $3,500, according to the report.
Wine festival supports charity Vestoria Simmons | Collegian Homecare & Hospice held the Foundation’s 11th annual Flint Hills Festival of Wines on Friday and Saturday night. The event began Friday night with a wine dinner at the Manhattan Country Club and ended on Saturday night with the main event, the Grand Tasting of more than 250 wines and spirits and a live silent auction at the Clarion Hotel. Tickets to the Friday evening dinner cost $105, and tickets to the Grand Tasting were $50. The proceeds from the event help support Homecare & Hospice, which provides health care to members of the community, regardless of their ability to pay. Chris Nolte, director of development for Homecare & Hospice, said the Festival of Wines is the agency’s largest fundraiser of the year, usually drawing a crowd of 300 to 400 participants, leading to proceeds of more than $100,000. Local restaurants, including the 4 Olives Wine Bar, Houlihan’s, Little Apple Brewing Company, The Little Grill and McAlister’s Deli, as well as wine vendors from all around Kansas, gave samples of their products at the Grand Tasting. Joseph L. White, president of White
Beverage Company, said his company has participated in the wine festival “since the very first one.” White said the most important reason for his company’s participation is community support for the local charity, but it is also the legal way for the company to allow consumers to taste their products. Attendees sampled a variety of wines and foods, met winery representatives and mingled with friends in a relaxing atmosphere with a live saxophone player from 6:30 p.m. until the live auction began at 9 p.m. The auction included an assortment of items like designer handbags, food packages, gift packages, tickets to Country Stamepede, wine and K-State fanwear, all donated from local sponsors of the event. Bailey Miller, server at the Manhattan Country Club and a junior in hotel and restaurant management, said she enjoyed “trying new foods, the auction, trying new wines and the atmosphere.” This was Miller’s first time attending the festival. Kristy and Chuck Bever, a couple from Wamego, said they attended the event to support a good cause, as Homecare & Hospice has helped their family. They also said they attended the event for “good wine, good food, and lots of fun people.”
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