The upcoming K-State vs. Nebraska game is going to be one for the ages. It will be a great victory Thursday night, and the celebrations will probably last through the weekend.
However, the recent resolution passed by Student Senate encouraging faculty to change or eliminate academic loads, such as assignments and tests, around the game is a solution looking for a problem. The game has been set since June and faculty members probably had their semesters planned before then so why was the resolution introduced in just the last few weeks?
If faculty members want to excuse a class or test due to an athletic event, that is fine because it is their choice. It should be up to the sole discretion of the individual faculty member. Trying to pick and choose major athletic events and asking faculty to schedule courses around those dates is a tragic loss of focus on the mission of K-State. I’m confident the overwhelming majority of students who will find themselves working or involved in the gameday process Thursday and Friday have planned accordingly and considered the repercussions of skipping on the academics at the end of this week.
Athletics do play an important role as the front porch to a university, but a porch doesn’t stand by itself. I look forward to gameday processing with a great crowd of Wildcats Thursday and watching a great win over the Huskers. Go State!
Tanner Banion
Graduate student in public administration