The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
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April 22, 2022
pinion
We give our thoughts on the events at Emporia State University.
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Haven fires hit close to home
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Connor Keating reviews the new “Halo” TV show on Paramount+.
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Editor In Chief Brooke Greene discusses her KCM triumphs, staff awards.
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Vol. 63 Issue 20
ports
Meet the metal goat mascot of the Blue Dragons’ baseball team.
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Career Connections Fair hopes to connect people of Hutchinson to future employers
Courtesy photo by Avery Brawner A look at the Haven fire from a street in a residential area in Haven. By Aubreigh Heck & Colton Fast Staff Writers
Haven, a small town 20 minutes southwest from Hutchinson, is home to a little more than 1,000 citizens. On April 14 however, it was home to a pipeline fire and explosions at a local gas plant. Adam Weishaar of Reno County Emergency Management gave a summary of what happened. “Emergency services were dispatched to 13114 S. Kent Road, the Tenawa Plant. When emergency services arrived on scene they were met with flames and smoke,” Weishaar said. “They reported hearing several explosions.” The fire claimed no lives, but two burn victims. “We had mutual aid from all our surrounding counties, as well as all of the Reno County fire district. The employees of the facility were able to get out the valves to control the flow of the liquid gas, which brought the flames down,” Weishaar said. A Reno County press release from the day of the explosion said, “At the time of the fire and explosions, there were six employees from Tenawa/Haven Midstream and two contractors.” Shock became a familiar emotion for Haven residents when news of the explosions got out. “I was surprised when I heard of the explosion, you just don’t think something like that is going to happen,” said Benaiah Yoder, a Haven freshman. “I texted my friends and made sure they were all okay afterwards.” Jevon Miller, another freshman from Haven, had a similar reaction. See Haven, Page 5
Photos by Shelby Spreier/Collegian Staff The Career Connections Fair took place at the Sports Arena on April 7. More than 150 employers from across the area set up booths to look for part-time or full-time employees. Anyone in Hutchinson was welcome to attend the event. Left: Jay VanCoevern stops at a booth. Top right: Courtney Cauble discusses opportunities at the fair. Bottom right: Freebies from the Adams Brown Stratetgic Allies and CPAs booth.
Blue Dragons golf team has end of season to a tee
By Jayshaun Jones Social Media Coordinator
The Hutchinson Community College golf team has been handling the Jayhawk Conference Tournaments after coming up short in the first tournament. The Blue Dragons trying to achieve the goal that is a difficult task for any team in sports, repeating championships. Last year HutchCC took home the NJCAA national championship for 2021, and all signs are pointing to them having a good chance of going back-to-back. After having a No. 1 ranking heading into the first conference tournament, the Blue Dragons would end up not winning that tournament. Hutch would then head to the second tournament and face
Upcoming events April 23 — Faculty workday. April 29-30 — “Brigadoon” at Stringer Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. May 1 — “Brigadoon” at Stringer Fine Arts Center at 2 p.m. May 2-5 — Finals week.
some early adversity being behind after the first day of the tournament, but the Blue Dragons would end up persevering and winning the tournament. Hutchinson would continue its hot streak Photo by HutchCC Sports Information/Courtesy Photo by winThe Hutchninson Community College golf team after winning the Jayhawk Conference Chamning the pionship. From top left, clockwise: Blake Saffel, Harry Crockett, Chris Young, Dominic Clemons, Addison Alonzo and Ben Partridge. Jayhawk Chamconference standings to the KJCCC individual shared the title with pionship on Tuesday give them the edge over champion, winning at Charlie Crockett. in Newton, winning Dodge City and Garden 30.5 points in the conWith regionals, the 10th league title City. ference standings. Pardistricts and the nain team history. The At the forefront of the tridge had one KJCCC tional tournament right Blue Dragons won two Blue Dragon comeback tournament title with a around the corner, the out of the three league tour is All-American runner-up and a fourth Blue Dragons have to tournaments, scoring 27 Ben Partridge. Parplace finish this season. be riding high on their total team points in the tridge would repeat as Last year, Partridge current hot streak.
The happenings around campus
College Student Weather Report Friday High: 84; Low 64 Didn’t it snow last week? Saturday High: 78; Low 44 inching towards flip-flop weather. Sunday High: 66; Low 38 Dust off your lawn mowers.
Weather source: accuweather.com
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Opinion
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Our View
Hor-nots gonna take it
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, April 22, 2022
Good news or bad news?
Since the Constitution was ratified in 1788, the concept of the First Amendment, more specifically freedom of speech and press, has confused some people. There are a lot of common misconceptions surrounding it, and oftentimes people get mistaken on what the First Amendment actually means. On April 15 however, an actual violation to the First Amendment occurred at Emporia State University. The Bulletin, ESU’s school newspaper, had its news baskets tampered with inside the Memorial Union at ESU. An unknown person covered the papers up with manilla folders, shielding the front page story from others in the building. The story, written by former Hutchinson Collegian Editor In Chief Samarah Bailey, featured a young woman who was being sued by ESU for unearned aid after having to drop out due to a mental-health crisis. The story is a bad look on ESU’s behalf, which is a possibility as to why the basket was tampered with. Realistically, the feature on the former student would have been somewhat forgotten by the time the next edition of the Bulletin was published. Now, the school has to deal with the fact their student body’s newspaper was violated. Unless a student themselves covered the papers, whoever committed the violation also tampered with someone else’s property. The student paper is paid by student fees, making it the property of the student body. The Hutchinson Collegian stands with the Bulletin and supports them as they have to face backlash for writing stories that need to be written. -For the Collegian editorial board.
Eating as an athlete can be tricky
Being a college athlete has many advantages. For example, you can use it to help pay for your college education, make friends with your teammates from all over the country, and you get to play a game you’ve dreamed of playing collegiately since you were a kid. However, one side that is overlooked is how athletes fuel themselves throughout the year. While what you need to eat varies from person to person, depending on their height, weight and position, most football players coming out of high school often find that they are underweight for their position and need to add a few pounds in order to be able to take hit after hit, during practice and in games. For these players, it means eating in the school cafeteria and usually getting twice the amount of food you normally would. They
are likely also mixing in a few don’t starve yourself of valuable snacks throughout the day in order nutrients, such as protein and amino to replenish what calories they acids. have lost from liftThis can see a dramatic ing weights or during change in eating habits, practice. as you’ll have to cut out Being someone who sweets and going back has done this before, it for more after a delicious sounds a lot more fun meal. than it is as you are conFor me, I found that I stantly feeding yourself was at the right weight even when you do not but could gain weight feel like eating anything easily from the fried at all. foods the cafeteria On the other side, often served. I started there are those who are to eat a chicken salad Colin Shields maybe changing posifor at least one meal tions, or looking to slim every day, something I down in order to move better and had never done before, while also need to lose weight to fill into that being mindful of the pasta dishposition nicely. es I was taking in to further limit This can be a little bit harder to the amount of excess carbs I was do, as you have to put out more taking in. calories than you take in while also For breakfast, eggs and a scoop of making sure you give your body potatoes with a cup of gatorade and enough fuel to properly recover and a cup of water was the way to go
Columnist
in order to fill myself up but not go over the top. Finally, I found that using the dragon bucks on my school card for a protein smoothie twice a week, subbing for lunch, was enough to get me through the day until dinner came around. In the beginning, it was easy to go for the cheeseburgers, pizza, chicken tenders, and pastas. I found once I decided to commit to a plan of eating a salad a day, it got significantly easier as time went on, even becoming something I looked forward to getting. My target weight going into the winter was to get down from 210 to 205, and I was able to do so by taking each meal one at a time and staying true to the habits I instilled into my life. Colin Shields is a Wichita sophomore studying journalism. He is also a quarterback on the Blue Dragons football team.
Mental health misinformation
Social media controls our lives in countless ways. That’s obvious. I mean they’re called ‘influencers’ for a reason. Now, sit back and think about this. Someone that you don’t even know can have a death-grip control over so many aspects of your daily life. That’s honestly terrifying. Lately, I’ve seen an abundance of posts about mental health. I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness, so why am I not thrilled about this? The posts I have been seeing are geared towards self-diagnosis. Battling mental health can be so scary. Trust me, I know this first hand. Having a stranger on social media tell you that you have this mental illness because you do things a certain way? That can just add to the fear factor. These posts are creating an increase in conversation about mental health, which is wonderful , but it’s also full of unregulated information.
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I have yet to see a post of this nature come from a medical professional. This means we could be self-diagnosing based on an abundance of misinformation, and it could also be helping you mask the root cause of the problem. Many individuals see they relate to this person in one or two ways and automatically assume they have the same problem. In this aspect, mental health is no different than physical health. Say you have a stomach ache and a fever. Your classmate also has a stomach ache and a fever. They get diagnosed with a minor stomach bug, so you assume yours is the same thing. The reality is that a stomach ache and fever are symptoms for an abundance of problems. The same goes for mental health. You may have one or two of the similar symptoms but have a completely different issue going on. If you see these posts and think there may be something wrong, I urge you to seek a professional and not the self-help tips posted by the
Collegian Staff Editor In Chief Social Media Coordinator Brooke Greene Jayshaun Jones Editorial cartoonist Opinion Page Editor E. G. Weinhoffer Laci Sutton Staff members Sports Editors Colton Fast, Leslie Grajeda, Connor Aubreigh Heck, Cole Deutschendorf Keating, Braedon Martin, Danae Moser, Audio Editor Mason Poepperling, Colin Shields, Zariah Perilla-Best Shelby Spreier, Brendan Ulmer, Maegan Online Editor Vincent, Lee Wellman Ben Short Collegian Adviser Brad Hallier
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random “quirky” influencer. (I’m fully aware that access to healthcare, especially for mental health, is not as easily accessible as it should be. That being said, there are many online resources available to get help.) Social media can be an excellent resource to raise awareness, and I encourage you to use your platform to find a support system that benefits you. Mental health is no easy battle. However, it’s important to remember that an actual diagnosis is not the only path forward. You don’t have to put a label on it to find help and work on improving yourself.
Columnist
Laci Sutton is a Nickerson senior studying nursing. She is the Collegian opinion page editor.
Laci Sutton
Letters to the editor The Hutchinson Collegian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s signature, address and phone number. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for style, legality and length. Letters may not exceed 300 words. Send letters to hallierb@hutchcc.edu.
Non-discrimination statement Hutchinson Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, military status, sexual orientation, or any other protected category under federal, state, or local law, or by college policy. For inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies contact: Christopher Lau, Coordinator of Equity & Compliance 1300 N. Plum Hutchinson, KS 67501 (620) 665-3500 equity@hutchcc.edu (www.hutchcc.edu/equity)
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, April 22, 2022
Ukraine conflict affects everyone About two months ago, the Russian military marched past the Ukrainian borders and launched a full-scale attack on the nation. As President Biden and the European Union have condemned Russia’s actions and continue to cut off Russia from the rest of the nations in an attempt to weaken the country, many people can’t help but wonder how those actions are going to affect our society. Russia is a major contributor of oil and natural gas. As a tactic to weaken Russia’s economy, many countries around the world - including the United States - have cut off Russia from their supply. As a result, gas prices worldwide have skyrocketed in the last few weeks. In a New York Times interview, Christian Bogmans, an economist from the International Monetary Fund, states that a conflict in Ukraine could continue to inflate global food prices, which were already starting to stabilize after the inflation the coronavirus pandemic caused. Both Russia and Ukraine combined are responsible for nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports, while Bogmans says Ukraine alone accounts for over 15 percent of global corn exports. When you take into account the 15%-30% of exports we are not able to have easy access to, and then natural occurrences like the droughts North Dakota and South Dakota are having, it only escalates the ever-growing inflation of food prices. Things could get much worse before they start to get better. If Russia continues to attack Ukraine, President Biden has stated that America will interfere. If that happens we will be in this state of the economy for the long run.
Campus
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April snow brings May woe
Columnist
Maegan Vincent
Photos by Shelby Spreier/Collegian About 15 hours after Hutchinson experienced 90-degree weather, the campus found itself covered in a light blanket of snow on the morning of April 13.
Vincent is a McPherson freshman studying Journalism
Halo? More like Hell No! Trek’”. They tried to do something new with the series, or whatever By Connor Keating excuse they’ll come up with, but in Staff Writer actuality they’re ripping off everything except the very thing they’re And so, Paramount+’s rampage adapting. across the sci-fi genre continues. “Halo” is supposed to be a sci-fi They already brutally murdered military action series. It should feel “Star Trek” with STD (“Star Trek more like “Starship Troopers”, or Discovery”) and STP (“Star Trek “Saving Private Ryan” in space, Picard”), and now, they’ve moved rather than generic new space show onto “Halo”, one of the most influNo. 67. ential and beloved sci-fi shooters, It really feels as though they and are slowly beating it to death already had a script for some new with a large blunt object. The plot is that the UNSC (the hu- show, probably a new “Star Trek” mans) are fighting the Insurrection- show, but then the executives were ists (the other humans), and then the like, “Yeah this is neat, but make it ‘Halo’ instead.” So they skimmed Covenant (the aliens) shows up on one of the planets and kill everyone, the wiki, changed names, and then gave everything a coat of “Halo” but luckily Master Chief is there paint while filming. to save them … he only saves one Now let’s talk about the characrandom girl, and the UNSC wants ters. Starting with Master Chief, this her dead. So Master Chief runs off to his friend’s meteor colony, leaves is not Master Chief. It’s very obvious that they didn’t her there, then goes back to the UNSC where they give him Cortana want Master Chief, they wanted the and he explores his emotions. That’s Mandalorian. They even casted a guy who kind of sounds like him… the plot of the first three episodes, but by the time this comes out we’ll instead of someone who sounds like Master Chief! be on episode five, but I guarantee Then they have him take off his it’ll still suck. helmet in the very first episode. When it comes to positives I can Master Chief is notorious for give the show, the action scene at always hiding his face, and if you the beginning of the first episode is want to face reveal your masked cool. protagonist, you do it at the very And that’s where they end. end! “Metroid” knew this, even When adapting a video game or the show they’re ripping off, “The book to the big screen, it’s importMandalorian” knew this. ant to keep what made the original But don’t worry, because he so special. This show did not do just spends the next two episodes that. without it even on. I don’t think Right before the show came he wears it once during the third out, we learned that no one on the creative team played a “Halo” game episode. Oh yeah, and his personality is and it shows. Rather than saying, not Chief at all. Normally he’s very “This feels like ‘Halo’”, I kept smart, confident, calculated, but in finding myself saying, “This is like the show he’s very unsure, explorthat one thing from ‘Total Recall’, ing his emotions. It’s the same crap that scene reminds me of ‘Star
Review
we’ve all seen a thousand times from “Terminator 2”, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Godzilla Final Wars”, but worse. It just feels like a waste of time, just to have a scene where Chief listens to music. When it comes to other returning characters they’re unrecognizable, aside from like, Dr. Halsey. Cortana is as tall as a Spartan now, at least she’s still voiced by the same person. Miranda and Captain Keyes are both black now, when they’ve always been white. It’s also infuriating because they didn’t even need to be the Keyes, they could have just made new characters, but they had to go out of their way to race swap them. New characters are all pretty lame and forgettable. The B plot with the Insurrectionist girl on the meteor colony with Chief’s friend adds absolutely nothing and doesn’t need to be there. And then you have the human chick within the Covenant… So basically the Covenant are a bunch of races of aliens who are all part of this religion that worship the Halo rings. However, humanity are the ones that are supposed to inherit the Halos, so the Covenant wants all of humanity wiped out. So why is there a human, especially one amongst the top leaders? Seems kinda heretical. It really feels like Paramount actively tries to keep aliens out of their sci-fi space shows. “Star Trek” has always been about enlightened humans from the future spreading their knowledge around the galaxy to other races, helping them out, but now in the new shows, the bad guys are the Federation themselves, their evil universe counterparts, androids that look like people, people in
modern times that are destroying earth, never aliens, and “Halo” is following suit. The Covenant in the games have alway been this huge threat, like humanity on the brink of total annihilation, but here they just feel like another faction, and one on the same level or lower than the UNSC, and then the show puts more effort into making this random Insurrectionist leader seem like a greater threat than the Covenant. Then we get to the mystery of the Halo rings, and how that’s all quickly explained within the second episode by a crazy guy. So in the first game, no one knows what the ring is. They know the Covenant see it as a religious artifact, and that it might be a weapon but that’s about it, and the UNSC only learns about this because they accidentally stumble across it while fleeing from the Covenant. Instead, the show has some crazy guy, who apparently lived with the Covenant, tell them the Covenant are looking for a big ring and that it’s a super weapon. Thanks for spoiling your own show. If you’re a “Halo” fan, do not watch the show. Just replay the video games, watch the “Halo 3” ad campaign, you’ll get more out of that than wasting your time with this garbage. If you’re not into “Halo” but just want a good sci-fi show, this is not the show. It’s very boring and dry. Go watch, almost anything else mentioned here that isn’t a Paramount+ original. Please, stop giving this garbage streaming service more money. I give the “Halo” TV show three “The Library”s out of 10. Frankly I’d rather do “The Library” three times than rewatch this show.
Campus
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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, April 22, 2022
Collegian’s EIC wins top honor By Mason Poepperling Staff Writer
About two weeks ago, The Hutchinson Collegian attended the Kansas Collegiate Media convention at the Drury Broadview Hotel in Wichita. Activities at the convention included contests, speakers, and - the highlight of the convention - an awards ceremony that acknowledged the achievements of many different newspapers and magazines from across the state. Of these awards, the most prestigious is the Journalist of the Year award. This award recognizes the talents of the best college journalists in the state, and this year’s Two-Year College winner went to The Collegian’s Editor In Chief Brooke Greene. Greene is a Hutchinson native who has a journalism degree from Hutchinson Community College already, and is now studying police science. “That was a huge shock for me,” she said. “I remember sitting in the audience listening to the second runner-up being called and when it wasn’t me, I thought ‘that’s OK, maybe I’ll be the first runner up’, but when that wasn’t me either, I figured I didn’t place. I had kind of prepared for disappointment so that I wouldn’t be dis-
appointed, but then they described the winner and I realized they were talking about the Evans family story that I wrote about. Half of the staff looked at me as we realized I won. I was so shaky; I couldn’t believe I won Journalist of the Year. It was a huge accomplishment for me and for my journalistic career.” Winning Journalist of the Year follows another landmark achievement for Brooke Greene, the birth of her daughter Sawyer in February. Winning an award like this can be huge, but it’s also important to note that awards aren’t everything. People who enter the journalism field and are passionate about it shouldn’t chase after awards. Having a focus on authentic, informative stories should always be a top priority, and if done right, the awards will follow after that. “The more yourself you are, the better your chances at grasping your true potential as a writer, thus winning awards. I remember writing in my cover letter for the award that if I was to be remembered for anything, to let it be the words that I leave behind,” Greene said. Budding collegiate journalists also got to learn from professional journalists’ experiences, as well as having the opportunity to have their work in the field to be recognized.
Courtesy photo Collegian Editor In Chief Brooke Greene poses with her journalist of the year award. Greene is the third winner in five years from the Collegian.
On-Site photo scavenger hunt from the 2022 KCM Journalism Convention Photos by Danae Moser/Collegian Part of the annual KCM convention is an on-site photography contest. Collegian staffer Danae Moser finished in second place. Here are some highlights from Moser’s assignment.
Contrasting light shining on the Rivercrest Free Methodist Community Church.
Moser was tasked to take a photo of a stranger during the KCM on-site photography scavenger hunt. She found a couple laying on a hamock enjoying the nice weather in Wichita.
As the sun was setting behind the Drury Hotel, Moser nociced how the sign was backlight and was in awe.
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, April 22, 2022
Campus
Henderson hones in on strong freshman year By Cole Deutschendorf Co-Sports Editor
In community college sports, there is typically a relatively equal mix between local athletes and athletes from around the country. For example, take the Hutchinson Community College baseball team. Out of the 40 players on HutchCC’s roster, 27 are from out of state and 13 have hometowns in Kansas. Ryan Henderson is one of those 13 homegrown players. Henderson, a freshman, grew up in the Hutchinson area for the entirety of his life, starting at Nickerson in el- Henderson ementary school before transitioning to Buhler for his high school years. His proximity to HutchCC allowed coach Ryan Schmidt to pursue him for the program throughout Henderson’s career. “I think our previous relationship helped out in the recruiting process. I’ve known Ryan for a long time, I’ve known his family for a long time,” Schmidt said. “He has had a distinct interest in our program from the beginning, and he wanted to play for us from day one.” For many athletes at community colleges, it can take time to get used to the new setting, as Hutchinson is vastly different from much of the United States. That can mean getting used to the spasmodic weather or the seemingly endless spaces of wheat fields. This was not the case for Henderson, who has been around HutchCC baseball throughout his life. “Being so close to Hutch, I kind of knew what they were all about.
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Puzzles
I was able to watch a lot of games, so I knew what I was coming into,” Henderson said. Schmidt said he loves to see home grown talent succeeding, whether that is at HutchCC or elsewhere. “There are some players from our community that have gone elsewhere and had tremendous success. Adam Schrag (Buhler) went to Barton and did a tremendous job. I was just as proud of (Schrag) going over there and having success, and I love those relationships that are built around the community,” Schmidt said. Henderson has had a great year at the plate for the Blue Dragons, hitting .327 with six home runs and 29 runs batted in in only 28 games. He attributes some of that success to his experiences at Buhler. “We always had time to go do stuff ourselves, like going to hit by myself in our new facility,” Henderson said. “You take pride in being able to work (in high school), and that has definitely helped me in college too.” Schmidt pointed out the impact and importance of having local talent on the team, telling a story from one of his kids’ baseball practices. “It was other kids on the team, and they said ‘I saw Ryan Henderson hit a walk-off home run, he is probably going to go to the MLB.’ And that’s really cool, because in nine years, when that kid is 18, he’s going to have grown up watching Ryan Henderson and other local kids playing in my program chasing down their dreams,” Schmidt said. “I try to coach our kids all the time, to let them know that they have eyes on them all the time, and that they’re going to have more of an impact on the community than they truly see.”
Annual agricultre plant sale starts next week By Brendan Ulmer Staff writer
The Hutchinson Community College Agriculture Department’s Annual Plant Sale is coming to campus next week and all students, faculty and staff are invited to come by and expand or start their garden. The sale will be hosted by the HutchCC Agriculture Department from April 28-30.
Haven
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“My initial reaction was pretty much like, ‘There’s no way.’ These kinds of situations don’t happen very often and so for it to be this close to home is a little bit scary,” Miller said. Tricia Paramore, Department 4 Chairperson at Hutchinson Community College, had to evacuate her home due to the fires. “The sheriff was going door-todoor to notify residents that they were expecting another explosion, so there was a mandatory evacuation of our side of Haven,” Paramore
People interested in attending can go to the greenhouse just west of the South Campus’ Pioneer Building, and people will be led by the many signs in the area leading to the location. Those who want the best chance to pick out the ideal plant should show up on Thursday, when the sale will be open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. On Friday, it’ll be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. said. “Luckily, there was not a second explosion and we were able to get back into the house the next day.” Paramore too said she felt somewhat shocked that her town was going through what had happened. “It was a little surreal to see the Haven High School parking lot full of police cars and emergency response vehicles when I was driving by,” Paramore said. “My husband, Lonnie, teaches at Haven and was teaching when the explosion occurred.” According to Jill Bronaugh, the public information manager for the state fire marshal, the cause of the initial fire is still unknown.
Photo by Danae Moser/Collegian A duck wades in the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita. This was taken during the Collegian’s trip to the KCM Convention and during the photo contest.
Some tips to stay organized By Brooke Greene Editor In Chief
Commentary
More often than not, a part of being a college student is having limited space to work with. Whether you’re a dorm resident, in a small apartment of your own, perhaps living with a roommate, or milking your last couple of years out of mom’s cooking and cleaning at home, all scenarios give somewhat limited room to sprawl out. I am a single mom in a small uptown apartment of my own and I am here to offer a few tips on saving space or giving the illusion of extra space. Believe it or not, most of these can be accomplished merely by aesthetics rather than breaking your bank. First of all, houseplants, and don’t sit there and complain about your lack of a green thumb because fake ones will work too as long as you’re not one of those heathens who allows them to collect an ungodly amount of dust to the point that they look they came in from a snow storm. Plants clean the air and give an outdoorsy vibe to any room, instantly opening up the space. Another great space opening option is a small terrarium or aquarium, however, I do not advocate this unless you are willing and financially able to care for a critter. If this is something you can manage then I recommend getting geckos, hermit crabs, fish tanks, small snakes, hamsters/gerbils, tarantulas (if you are a spawn of satan), or even a parakeet. Terrariums add a wonderful amount of light and greenery to a room
and they can be lots of fun too. Leaning more into kitchen and bathroom areas, a great space saver is keeping all of your small appliances in one place. Small tables with shelving can be bought from places such as Wal-Mart, TJMAXX, or Hobby Lobby, this gives you a space to put a microwave or a coffee maker, maybe even your vast collection of mini waffle/ cookie/donut/sandwich/cake ball makers. The additional shelving on the bottom supplies more room for things such as air fryers, crock pots, or blenders. Having all of your appliances together helps keep your counter open and adds a sense of organization to your kitchen. For the bathroom, I recommend trying small organizers, even cute small bowls can be a great place for extra hair clips, lip balms, or razor guards. Keeping the clutter that obviously accumulates in all of our bathrooms down to a minimum can help make a space seem larger. Makeup organizers can be bought and used for more than just makeup (yes boys, you can buy these too and use them for your trimmers or combs). Essentially, practice mise en place, everything in its place. If it doesn’t have a place, give it one, or get rid of it. Other things that provide space-opening illusions are things such as candles, strings of lights, tapestries, and bookshelves. Adding a sense of ambiance can make a cluttered or small space seem cozy and welcoming rather than crowded.
Sports
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, April 22, 2022
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You’ve goat to be kid-ding
Photo by Aubreigh Heck/Collegian Hunter Gotreaux (left) and Kael Babin (right) pose with the Hutchinson Community College baseball team’s makeshift mascot, known as “Goat” .
How a metal goat provided an unlikely spark to the Blue Dragon baseball team By Aubreigh Heck Co-Sports Editor
The goat, which is referred to as, “Goat,” by the Blue Dragons, was brought to Hutchinson by sophomore infielder Hunter Gotreaux from Moss Bluff, La. “My mom brought (Goat) home one day. She said, ‘Look what I got you,’ and I kept it in my room. After Hurricane Laura came in last year, it tore down my whole house. Everything in my room was destroyed, except for that goat,” Gotreaux said. “Two weeks later we had (Hurricane) Delta come in, and we put that goat on a fence post, and the goat was still there by the time the storm was over.” Gotreaux’s family realized the specialness of Goat, and sent it to Hutchinson so it could stay with him.
When the Blue Dragons complete a comeback, or win a tough game, their team mascot is sure to be seen parading the field afterwards. Sophomore relief pitcher Zane Covey knows Goat is a symbol for the team when it seems that they’re down for the count. “It resembles that even through tough times, we can still stand through things, and a sense of resilience almost,” Covey said. “It’s kind of a sign of hope.” Blue Dragons coach Ryan Schmidt knows little of Goat’s existence, but decided to leave it to the players. “It has been kept secret from me,” Schmidt said. “I think when you look at baseball superstitions, what we as coaches do is try to find different
ways to keep the players engaged and to have those fun things going on in the dugout. Whether or not they lead to our success or not is to be determined, but it’s kind of a fun baseball-ism.” Schmidt said he sees a positive with the team’s mini metal mascot, crediting it for keeping the energy within the team up. “It’s something that’s important to them, which is kinda cool, and I want it to be,” Schmidt said. “I want them to have fun with it, because these guys find a lot of different ways to put pressure on themselves, so I want the dugout to be as light and fun as it can be. “If we have to have a goat in there, we’ll put the goat in there. I don’t care if we have to have a farm in the dugout, as long as we can win some baseball
Photo by Aubreigh Heck/Collegian Goat is seen as if posing for senior pictures in HutchCC’s dugout.
Goat
Hunter Gotreaux
games.” His players agree. “Baseball’s hard,
sometimes you gotta have a little bit of fun,” Covey said.
Athlete of the week (April 10-16) Emily Munson, Softball
The week: Munson was brilliant during an April 13 conference game against Dodge City at Fun Valley. Munson In that game, Munson pitched a one-hit shutout. That one hit came on a second-inning single. Munson pitched to contact, striking out two and walking two. Dodge City didn’t get through the lineup three times, as Munson led the Blue Dragons to a 7-0 win, part of the doubleheader sweep. The season: Munson, a freshman lefty from Omaha, Neb., has appeared in 17 games and started 15 for the nationally-ranked Blue Dragons. Munson sports a 6-0 record and a 2.95 ERA. Munson has completed three games, and Munson has struck out 39 to just 19 walks. She has allowed just six runs in her last five outings.
Photo by Shelby Spreier/Collegian HutchCC’s baseball team celebrates a walk off victory with Goat.
Blue Dragon schedules. All home games, events in caps. Baseball
All dates doubleheaders unless noted Feb. 10. at Southeast Nebraska, L 9-3, W 2-1 Feb. 15, at Northern Oklahoma-Enid, W 6-4 Feb. 18, at Rose State, Okla., L 7-2 Feb. 19, at Rose State, Okla., W 17-0; W 14-2 Feb. 27, at McLennan, Texas,L 8-0; L 5-2 Feb. 28 at McLennan, Texas, L 9-7 March 3, COFFEYVILLE, L 7-3, L 16-1 March 4, at Coffeyville, W 9-6, W 9-4 March 9, at Butler, L 6-5, L 8-6 March 13, at Butler, L 7-6, L 16-6. March 15, STATE FAIR, 2 p.m. L 13-12 March 18, at Garden City, W 4-3, W 9-7 March 19, GARDEN CITY, L 14-13, W 5-4 March 24, TABOR JV, W 10-0, W 11-1 March 28, at Sterling JV, W 14-0, W 15-2 April 1, SEWARD COUNTY, W 2-1; W 10-8 April 2, at Seward County, W 8-3; W 16-6 April 7, at Barton, L 4-2; L11-6
April 9, BARTON, L 11-9, W 12-11 April 12, COWLEY, 2 p.m., L 29-16 April 14, CLOUD COUNTY, W 4-3; W 5-4 April 16, at Cloud County, L 4-2; L 12-5 April 21, at Colby, 1 p.m. April 23, COLBY, 1 p.m. April 26, at Seminole St., Okla., 11:30 a.m. (one game) April 28, PRATT, 1 p.m. April 30, at Pratt, 1 p.m. May 5, at Dodge City, 1 p.m. May 7, DODGE CITY, 1 p.m.
Golf
March 7-8, at Oklahoma City, third March 15-16 at Midland, Texas March 28, at Jayhawk Conference 1, at Manhattan, second April 11-12, at Jayhawk Conference 2, at Wichita, first April 18-19, at Jayhawk Conference Champion-
ship, Newton, first April 25-26, at Region 6/District 3, Hastings, Neb. May 10-13, at NJCAA Championship, Odessa, Texas
Softball
All dates doubleheaders Jan. 29, OTTAWA JV, W 10-0; W 14-4 Feb. 8, INDEPENDENCE, W 9-2, W 8-7 Feb. 11, vs.Northern Oklahoma-Enid, L 7-1; vs. Gray County, Texas, L 11-3 Feb. 19, at Murray St., Okla., W 4-2; L 5-4 Feb. 20, at North Central Texas, W 6-5; W 14-1 Feb. 25, CLOUD COUNTY, ccd. March 1, FRIENDS JV, W 5-3, W 15-1 March 2, COLBY, W 4-2, W 15-1 March 5, at Butler, W 6-5, L 8-0 March 13, at Dodge City, W 10-9, W 10-7 March 16, NW KANSAS TECH, W 10-0, W 10-0 March 19, at Garden City, W 6-1, W 6-4
March 25, at Barton, W 7-5, W 8-3 March 26, PRATT, W 8-0, W 9-0 April 1, SEWARD COUNTY, W 8-2; W 12-3 April 2, at Colby, W 2-1; L 6-3 April 6, BUTLER, W 3-2; L 12-11 April 9, at Barton, W 4-3; W W 5-1 April 13, DODGE CITY, W 7-0; W 8-2 April 20, at NW Kansas Tech, 2 p.m. April 23, GARDEN CITY, 1 p.m. April 27, at Seward County, 2 p.m. April 30, at Pratt, 1 p.m.
Track and field
April 1-2, at Friends University, Wichita April 7-9, at KT Woodman Classic, Wichita April 15, at Bethel Invitational, North Newton April 23, at Tabor Invitational, Hillsboro April 29, at Butler May 5-7, at Region 6, Garden City May 19-21, at NJCAA Championship, Gowans Stadium