K-State News Insider

Those without a sweetheart this Valentine’s Day need not drown their sorrows in heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. K-State relationship expert Tony Jurich says instead, singles should make light of the traditionally couples holiday.

“When you’re surrounded by couples you might start to think that something’s wrong with you,” Jurich said. “It not only makes you acutely aware that they have something you don’t, but it makes it seem like the ‘normal’ people are together.”

When you are single on a holiday – particularly on Valentine’s Day – you don’t do yourself any favors by spending it alone, Jurich said. Instead of ruminating in self-pity, singles should celebrate their status with just as much enthusiasm as couples.

“If you are single, you probably know other singles. Go out make it a night of it,” he said. “When you make a restaurant reservation, they’ll assume that you want a table for two, and you can say ‘no, a table for 12.’”

Read the full story.

From Michael Wesch, K-State assistant professor of anthropology:

“What you see in the video is 100 students coming together, pooling their money, and then running all over campus using that money to perform random acts of kindness for other students. It is simply a way of acting out what K-State Proud really does.”
Read his blog entry.

Reflecting a campus commitment to sustainability, two of K-State’s latest building projects are seeking international recognition that they were built with environmental impact in mind.

K-State is seeking LEED certification for the new School of Leadership Studies building and Building 5 at Jardine Apartments. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a standard developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that takes into account how a project is designed, constructed and ultimately operated to mitigate its impact on the environment and those who occupy the building.

“Like accreditation, LEED recognizes that we’ve taken the necessary steps to have a project that is environmentally sound,” said Mark Taussig, associate director of facilities planning at K-State.

Read the full story.

High school students born in the United States need not view their immigrant classmates as a threat to getting a good standardized test score and, ultimately, into a good college, according to a K-State economist.

Florence Neymotin, an assistant professor of economics, evaluated students’ Scholastic Aptitude Test scores over seven years, taking into account the immigrant makeup of the students’ communities. She concluded that the native students’ scores weren’t negatively affected by immigration and that their chances of applying to a top college or university weren’t diminished.

“With immigration, I think people do get concerned and wonder whether their non-immigrant children are going to get a good education if they are in public schools with many immigrants, and whether the parents of these non-immigrant children should, therefore, move their children to schools with fewer immigrants,” Neymotin said. “These results can quell anti-immigrant sentiment to some extent, but I don’t think this is the complete picture of immigration by any means.”

In October 2009, the research appeared in the Economics Education Review and was featured in the editor’s choice section of the journal Science.

Read the full story.

Middle school-age girls from across Kansas have the opportunity to participate in “Helping Hands” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, on campus.

The event, offering hands-on exploration of innovative medical treatments, is sponsored by K-State’s GROW, Girls Researching Our World program. GROW is a part of the Women in Engineering and Science Program and introduces middle-school girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields.

K-State graduate and undergraduate students from related fields will be in charge of the activities that will allow the girls to play the role of scientist or engineer while exploring how to design and create products and research that will make life easier and healthier for people with disabilities.

A registration fee of $15 includes event participation and lunch. For additional information or to register, contact Susan Arnold Christian, Women in Engineering and Science Program outreach coordinator, at 785-532-6152 or visit the GROW Web site.

K-State’s Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship is offering $18,000 in prize money to students with unique business ideas in the second annual “Next Big Thing” competition.

The competition provides K-State students from all academic disciplines with an opportunity for entrepreneurial thinking. Throughout the semester, students will fine-tune a feasibility plan to compete against others.

Read the full story.

Getting a new financial start in the new year may mean ditching credit cards in favor of cash.

Although living without credit cards has financial benefits, a K-State expert said there are a few things to consider before taking scissors to your plastic.

“Living without a credit card is possible, although a little more effort may be required,” said Jodi Kaus, who directs K-State’s Powercat Financial Counseling. “Lifestyle choices regarding spending habits, travel habits and the like have an impact on whether living without credit is practical.”

Read the full story.

To help K-State students, faculty, alumni, sports fans and friends of the university more easily show their school spirit, K-State’s Division of Continuing Education is offering more downloadable items on its giveaway Web site, where showing and sharing purple pride is free.

The giveaway Web site offers nine items that are accessible to anyone. New items include K-State stickers, bookmarks, paper projects, address labels and a 2010 wallpaper calendar featuring photos of campus locations.

The site also allows Web visitors to send items to friends via e-mail or submit ideas for additional items they would like to see developed.

Jane Butel wears the title Chile Queen with aplomb. Often credited with starting the Tex-Mex cooking craze, she wrote and taught about Southwestern and regional Mexican cuisine before most people knew how to pronounce “jalapeno.”

Butel will bring her internationally famous skills to K-State on Thursday, Feb. 25, and Friday Feb. 26, for the annual Culinary Enhancement Workshop sponsored by the department of hospitality management and dietetics.

After graduating from K-State’s College of Human Ecology with a degree in home economics and journalism and landing in such hefty positions as vice president for American Express in New York, Butel became a devotee of the chile and its accompanying cuisines. She has written “Real Women Eat Chiles,” published by Northland in 2006, and 19 other cookbooks.

Read the full story.

Find out more about attending K-State by chatting with K-State admissions before, during and after the K-State vs. the University of Kansas basketball game Saturday, Jan. 30.

The live, online chat from 5-10 p.m. is available to anyone with an interest in K-State. A chat representative will be available to answer questions about K-State admissions, financial assistance and scholarships, housing, student life, academic programs and more.

To access the live chat, go to the consider K-State Web site and click on the chat logo, or visit the official K-State Facebook Fan Page.