Fellow K-Staters,
Hope you are all having a productive week. I would first like to thank everyone who attended Saturday’s game against Oklahoma, especially those who stayed for the entire 60 minutes. While we did not manage to come out with a win, we want to reiterate our support for coach Snyder and the entire football team as they put this week behind them and move forward.
Joe and I represented the student body in our meetings with K-State Athletics this week as we discussed initiatives to promote sportsmanship at basketball events. Despite being one of the most intimidating environments to opposing teams, we believe that it is always important to be respectful when it comes to engaging with the fans and opposing teams before and after the game. As the loudest section in the stadium, the student body can dictate how we as a university are perceived on a national scale. I encourage you to not take this responsibility lightly and uphold the virtues of sportsmanship as we welcome opposing teams to Manhattan.
This week K-State Libraries is celebrating Open Access Week. The week serves as a platform for us to advocate for free and open access to research and scholarly information. Having access to information at a reduced or no charge has a marked impact on how students perceive and use the information at their disposal, which makes for more informed decision making. We believe that open access is a vital element of the education process and look forward to your participation in the week’s activities.
We realize that cost is often a significant barrier when it comes to having access to scholarly material. Every year, students spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks and class materials that, for the most part, often go unused. K-State Libraries and faculty have therefore teamed up to set up an Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative designed to help students dramatically reduce the cost of class materials. Since the program was first launched in 2011, students have saved approximately $1 million over 27 courses in textbooks and class-materials cost. We encourage you to learn more about this initiative at http://www.lib.k-state.edu/open-textbook.
Lastly, we hope you’ll cheer on the ‘Cats as they go to Austin this Saturday to take on the Texas Longhorns. We’re looking forward to an exciting game and will be rooting for the team wherever we are.
Feedback from the K-State community goes a long way in helping us understand the concerns and views of the K-State family. I encourage you to reach out to us via Twitter at @KStateSBP_SBVP or through email at sga@ksu.edu with any questions, comments or concerns. We look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you and Go ‘Cats,
Andy Hurtig, student body president
Joe Tinker, student body vice president
