Remembering JFK
He got game! Page 6
Page 5
HutchCC sophomore Singleton off to a great start
The 56th anniversary of his assassination The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
www.hutchcollegian.com
November 22, 2019
Vol. 61 Issue 9
Missing out on the feast By Samarah Bailey Staff Writer
Imagine being a college student, waking up in your own bed, refreshed from a good night’s rest, to the smell of a warm Thanksgiving meal being prepared in your home. You’ve spent months living in the dorms, and you can already feel your stomach begging for a good, home-cooked meal with family. Thousands of students, all across the country, are anxiously waiting for that day to come. However, for some students at Hutchinson Community College, this simply isn’t the reality this Thanksgiving season. Many students who aren’t from Kansas are
choosing to stay in the area for Thanksgiving break for a variety of reasons. Malasian freshman Zhi Chen says she’s never celebrated Thanksgiving before, as “It’s not a special event in Asia so we didn’t celebrate. Instead, we celebrated a religious festival in Malaysia.” Also from Malaysia, sophomore Rex Teh, said it’s only his second time celebrating the holiday and he’s not sure what his plans are yet. “My friend is trying to invite me to (their) house, but because I think it’s kinda awkward,” Teh said, and I feel bad for interrupting their family. I may just stay in the dorms or I may go with them.” For students staying in the dorms, the cafeteria will be closed over break, and they will be charged nine dollars per day. All dorms will be closed starting Nov 26 at 2 pm and will reopen Dec 1 at 1 pm. So what do students do if they
Photo Illustration by Emily Branson/Collegian
don’t want to travel all the way back home but they also don’t want to stay in the dorms? “Me and a bunch of football players are going to a lady’s house we know in the community, and we will be staying the week with her,” said freshman football player Gereme Spraggins, who still has the Salt City Bowl on Dec. 7.
“I’m staying here because there’s no point in me going, I’m from Baltimore. That’s 19 hours away, so there’s no point in me going home for … three to four days, then come back up for a week, just to book another flight to go home for Christmas break.” With Christmas seemingly right around the corner, some students
have appeared to have skipped over Thanksgiving all together and are looking forward to the Christmas season. When asked what he thinks of the holiday, Teh said, “I think it’s a good way to express your thankfulness, and I think it’s a good thing too, because we have more time for studying for finals, and if you go home to
celebrate with your family, you have good food.” Spraggins also commented on his enjoyment of the holiday by saying, “It’s a free day of soul food. Of just food made from the soul, with seasoning and love. You’re (also) around family and cousins that you like.” Students who do stay at the dorms over break will not completely miss out on the traditional food. There will be a Thanksgiving meal provided by the cafeteria Nov 26 for lunch. This is free for any dorm students. There are also multiple local churches that will be providing Thanksgiving dinners for anyone who wants to take part in the festivities. Even though some students at HutchCC aren’t able to go home over Thanksgiving break, many of them have found ways to still be around people they care about and give thanks for everything they are given.
Jason Probst visits HutchCC for Town Hall
By Aaron Strain Web Master
Representative Jason Probst hosted the second of two town hall meetings sponsored by Hutchinson Community College’s Student Publications on Tuesday in Shears Technology Center. Probst represents Kansas’ 102nd House District, which includes southern Hutchinson. He spoke about his work in the legislature, and what he hopes to accomplish in the upcoming legislative year.
Earthquakes
Like many Hutchinson residents on a certain August morning, Probst thought a truck hit his home when his computer monitor suddenly started shaking, followed by the rest of his house. The Kansas and US Geological Surveys suspect that those 4.0-plus-magnitude earthquakes resulted from oil and gas wastewa-
ter injection. As fluid pressure from injection wells in southern Kansas crept northward, faults surrounding Hutchinson became more prone to quakes. Currently, the KGS studies all of Kansas’ seismic activity with two permanent and several temporary monitoring wells. Earlier this year, Probst proposed drilling 10 additional monitoring wells across the state for use by the KGS. A onetime fee on disposal well drilling permits would fund these monitors. At the previous town hall, Rep. Paul Waggoner, R-Hutchinson, said this plan “could be overkill.” Probst said, “I don’t think it’s overkill. Ten wells is a start and financially doable.” Probst also said the state needs more detailed geological maps. “We sometimes don’t know there is a fault until there is an earthquake,”
Upcoming events
he said. After further research and mapping, Probst said an injection limit should be put in place in the area. In 2015, after reporting high fluid pressure and earthquake rates in Harper and Sumner Counties, the state imposed a limit on injection in those counties and quakes became less frequent.
Student loan debt
Probst said reductions in state support of public institutions and the privatization of student loans cause several economic problems students face. Historically, students could easily work their way through college, but that has changed. “The state hasn’t supported public institutions the way they used to … If you go back 30 years, you see a steady decline in the amount of tuition that is supported by state dollars,” Probst
The happenings around campus Friday — High: 36 Low: 24
Nov. 27 — Basketball vs. Coffeyville 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday — High: 50 Low: 29
Nov. 28 — Free Thanksgiving lunch @ Emanuel Lutheran Church 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
also believes that students should not be punished for wanting a continued education. “Traditional college is not a fit for everybody … but (trade school) is not a fit for everybody either,” Probst said.
Sunday — High: 60 Low: 35
Government and media relations
Before taking office, Probst was a reporter and editorial writer for The Hutchinson News. See Probst, Page 5
Courtesy Photo Jason Probst speaks to the community about his ideals.
Blue Dragons weekend forecast
Nov. 22-23 — A Midsummer Night’s Dream 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Nov. 27-29 — Thanksgiving Break ~ Gobble Gobble
said. “The state has lowered its share of the cost, and so that gets spread somewhere else, often to higher tuition and higher fees that are (placed) on students. “(Loans) have become finance instruments. Instead of being a way to get through school with a reasonably priced loan that you could afford to pay, we’ve let big banks get into the business and make money off of it. We’re sending people out into the workforce with an enormous amount of debt which they can’t get out from under. It’s one of two debts that you can’t get rid of through bankruptcy – taxes and student loan debt. This was very well-crafted legislation for banks, and they did a good job of getting that through.” Probst said he supports students gaining a technical degree if they believe they are well-suited to a career in that field. He
Inside Scoop
Opinion: Page 2 - Emily Fehrman and Caleb Spencer write about their perspectives on bathroom etiquette Campus: Page 3 - What do students claim is the best Thanksgiving food? Campus: Page 4 - “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Preview