By SAM ZEFF

In the ongoing struggle on college campuses for LGBT equality and acceptance, Kansas State University is an unexpected leader.

K-State is best known for agriculture and football.

On a gorgeous fall day in Manhattan, with the K-State marching band entertaining tailgaters, many fans were surprised to learn that their school was ranked in the 25 campuses for LGBT friendliness by CampusPride.org.

“That’s not the stereotype of Kansas State,” says Aaron Reed from Tonganoxie, who received his undergraduate degree from K-State in 1995 and his doctorate in 2004. Reed says he has not been on campus much in the past decade but calls the rating “great.”

Mike Clark, a 1993 graduate from Mission, says K-State certainly had a conservative feel when he was in school but he always thought of Manhattan as a melting pot.

“You had folks from urban communities, farming communities,” says Clark. “The thing that I always loved about K-State, I still love about K-State, is that everyone always comes together and always has a good time.”

If this was a story about the University of Kansas, few would bat an eyelash.

But it’s about a university on the edge of western Kansas and generally perceived as conservative.

So how did K-State get here?

By most accounts, much of the credit goes to Brandon Haddock, the coordinator in the LGBT Resource Center in the Office of Student Life.

Haddock didn’t start out at K-State to transform LGBT life on campus. He came in 2007 for his doctorate at a time when he says there was “no LGBT community in town.”

In 2009, K-State was given 1.5 stars out of five by Campus Pride. The school now rates five out of five stars. Haddock says when he took the job running the LGBT Resource Center he started making friends and allies in all departments.

“What we’ve been able to do at K-State is make sure that colleges like the College of Ag and the College of Engineering that they recognize we have those relationships built, and we have people who are open and affirming about their identity,” he says.

The other person who changed the climate for LGBT students was former president Kirk Schulz who made it a priority. In 2009, K-State was the only university in Kansas with an LGBT resource center.

Schultz left for Washington State last year, but his successor, Richard Myers, is just as committed.

“People aren’t going to want to come to a school that has biases and prejudices and isn’t a friendly atmosphere. And parents aren’t going to want to send their sons or daughters to those kind of schools,” Myers says.

In fact, Myers says he wants to strengthen K-State’s diversity in other areas. Right now, the university is searching for a chief diversity and inclusion officer. “He or she will report to me directly and be on the president’s cabinet, which is our senior body that does, deliberates university policies and so forth,” Myers says.

If there’s a place where K-State’s friendly atmosphere towards LGBT students is most evident, it’s at the annual drag show that now sells out the 1,500 seat McCain Auditorium.

Theater major Drew George from tiny Uniontown, Kansas is in his fourth year in Manhattan and says he’s seen a lot of change.

“It’s grown so much since I’ve been here,” he says. “It is such a big presence on campus. Like, they did the drag show last year, and they sell out McCain almost every year and that’s just an amazing thing to see.”

It is a much different experience than his hometown or in Fort Scott where he attended community college before coming to Manhattan.

“Back home it wasn’t something that anyone even discussed,” he says. “Once I got here and began to see the opportunities that were available, that was an eye opening experience.”

Most of this has happened quietly, but that is changing.

We got a hint of how K-State has changed when Scott Frantz, who starts at left tackle for the Wildcats, came out as gay in July during an ESPN interview.

“I’ve never felt so loved and so accepted ever in my life then when I did that,” he told the network about coming out at a team meeting. “Ever since then it’s been great. I’ve grown so much closer to my teammates since then so it’s been an amazing experience.”

Before Frantz came out, KCUR reported on how K-State is actively recruiting DACA students.

Haddock says the university’s has to prepare students for a life outside of K-State.

“I don’t want a student to go out in the world and have problems in the work place because they are suddenly presented with somebody, working side-by-side with somebody that is a lesbian,” Haddock says.

Sam Zeff covers education for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SamZeff.

Geary County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Hildebrand Farms Dairy on Rucker Road just west of Junction City on November 13 for a Burglary.

An unknown suspect forced entry into the business and attempted to remove property from within. Security video from the business shows a person wearing blue jeans and a black hooded jacket. The suspect can also be seen wearing a clothing item or mask covering their face. The suspect arrived and left in a dark colored GMC or Chevrolet truck.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Office is seeking assistance from the public to help identify the person involved. If you have any information regarding this case, contact Detective John Lytle at 785-210-3649. Or call Crime Stoppers at 785-762-8477.

The officers for the Geary County Extension Council in 2018 have been elected.

They include Verle Amthauer as chair, Retta Kramer the vice-chair, Michelle McDaniel as secretary and Kirsten Gates the treasurer.

They were elected by fellow extension council members during the council’s annual meeting.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to the 700 block of North Washington Street for a non-injury accident.

Kelly Mann, Junction City. was backing out of a parking space in her 2008 Chevrolet Malibu when the vehicle struck a 2015 Nissan Altima driven by Kenric Blades, Fort Riley. There was minor damage to both vehicles. No injuries were reported.

The accident was reported at 1:09 p.m. on Thursday.

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The Sheriff’s Department reported that Deputies responded to U.S. 77 Highway mile marker 161 for a car vs. deer non-injury accident.

Anja Goettl, Wakefield, was driving northbound in her 2006 Ford F250 when a deer ran out in front of her vehicle, striking the front of the truck and causing minor damage.

The Junction City Family YMCA annual auction Thursday evening at Brown Auction Service produced approximately $35,000 in revenue.

YMCA Director Ted Hayden provided that estimate, noting that is about the same as in past years. “And I felt real good about that. Things are tight in Junction City so it was a real good auction, I was very pleased with it.”

This was the 43rd year for the annual auction which serves as a big fundraiser for the Family YMCA.

Visit Manhattan has secured an agreement with the National Association of Farm Service Agency County Office Employees for a late-summer 2019 convention to be held in Manhattan. The probable economic impact of the estimated 500-person convention has been calculated at $1 million.

Manhattan Conference Center will host the gathering July 29 – August 3, 2019.

For six decades, NASCOE has been granted exclusive recognition to represent full-time county office employees, primarily in negotiation with management on terms of employment and working conditions. The organization will celebrate its’ 60th anniversary during the summer of 2019 in Manhattan. NASOE is composed of five area offices and serves as the national affiliate of the various state associations, which organized in 1958.

 

A pediatrician, Dr. Tessa Bandhan will join Geary Community Hospital on Monday.

The native of Trinidad and tobago recently made the decision to choose Junction City to begin a new chapter of her career. ” I narrowed them down to a few and Junction City was one of them. As soon as I came out and I met with everybody at the hospital, and met the hospital I said this is the one. ”

Bandhan was a guest on the JC Now program on 1420 KJCK, The Talk of JC.

When dealing with a sick child Bandhan noted it’s nice to see them begin to get better and get back to themselves. “That’s what I like, I like to see them get better.”

Bandhan will work in the pediatrics clinic at Geary Community Hospital.

High

71°

Warmer. Cloudy in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Slight chance of drizzle in the morning. Highs in the lower 70s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.