Dole to serve as grand marshall [Edited Again]

The Honorable Robert J. Dole will serve as the grand marshal in the 2015 Homecoming Parade  Saturday, Oct. 24.

Dole graduated from Washburn with a bachelor of arts and juris doctor degrees in 1952. He held elected positions as a Russell County attorney, Representative of Kansas and a United States Congressman before he was elected to the U.S. Senate. In his 30 years with the Senate, he was chairman of the Republican national committee and the Senate Majority leader in which he set a record as longest-serving Republican leader.

In 1976, Dole was President Ford’s vice presidential running mate and a presidential candidate in 1988 and 1996.

Washburn University has honored him with many awards including Honorary Doctor of Law in 1969, Honorary Doctor of Civil Law in 1985 and the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1966. Washburn Law honored Dole with the Law Alumni Association Distinguished service Award in 1981 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Since retiring, Dole has been traveling around the state endorsing and speaking for state officials during reelection.

Dole will ride in the first convertible of the homecoming parade with President Farley and his wife, Susan.

The Homecoming Week celebration is Oct. 18 through Oct. 25. The week long celebration includes traditions such as Yell Like Hell and Top Hat decorating.

The Grand Tailgate, Bow Tie Bash and Grand Finale are special Homecoming events in celebration of Washburn’s 150th anniversary.

Students are encouraged to attend the events throughout the week and become involved in activities. 

The week will finish up with the football game against the University of Central Oklahoma, which starts at 2 p.m. at Yager Stadium.

Washburn student attendance lacks at football games (EDITED)

The stands at football games this year are looking like a morgue due to lack of participation from students. 

I have began to notice a trend at football games within my four years of attending Washburn University. Every year the first football game always starts off with a full student section. The stands are filled with students with painted chests who are full of Washburn spirit. As the season continues, the crowd dwindles down with every home game. 

There also seems to be a correlation of how the Ichabod's season goes and the student attendance at games. Although when homecoming comes around, the stands will be filled with fans once more. The only section that seems to stay consistent is the alumni section. The dedicated alumni never seem to have missed a game since they graduated 20 years ago. 

Greek life usually lasts the longest in attendance at games but in the end, they seem to dissipate as well. At the beginning of the season, the hill where the fraternities and sororities sit usually starts off with all of them showing their letters and filling the hill. Though one can see they have a lot of school spirit, it tends to die off. After awhile, it seems that they all stay outside and tailgate or not even show up. 

In past years, the cheerleaders would rotate each quarter to cheer for the student section. Since participation is lacking, they no longer go to the other side of the field. This restricts the cheerleaders from interacting with the band who have always been the loudest people in the stands. 

With homecoming being this upcoming week, there is hope to have the stands full so the crowd could cheer the Ichabods on to a victory. The cheerleaders would love more than anything to cheer for the students of Washburn University.

Millennials opt to rent over purchase housing

With college costs on the rise, each year students are graduating with more and more debt. Having a higher debt to income ratio means many less young professionals are purchasing homes. An article by Forbes.com reported in 2014 homeownership for 18-34 year-olds was at an all time low of 13.2 percent.

However, the choice to rent is not limited to money. Millennials enjoy the amenities of apartment complexes. Many apartment complexes offer gyms, pools, media centers, tanning beds and a clubhouse that can be used to hold parties. The cost to add these features to a single family home would be far out of reach for many young professionals.

Another perk of living in an apartment is having a sense of community. In an apartment setting it is easier to get to know the people living around you. Knowing neighbors adds a layer of protection. Statistics have shown having strong bonds with neighbors can reduce crime in the community.

It's also convenient. Living in an apartment millennials do not have to worry about maintenance or where to store yard care equipment. If a pipe breaks or a toilet clogs there is no out of pocket cost to the renter, a call to maintenance will get the problem solved quickly.

However, potential renters should be sure to do research on properties and landlords to ensure the company has a good reputations and maintenance is taken care of promptly. Slow maintenance or broken amenities can make for  a very unpleasant atmosphere. Another problem with renting is that smells can permeate through the walls. When living next door to a heavy smoker, smoke may permeate through the walls resulting in exposure to secondhand smoke. 

Washburn students lack interest in attending football games.

The lack of participation from students at football games has the stands looking like a morgue.

Going to Washburn for four years now I have started notice a trend at the football games. Every year the first football game always starts off with a full student section. There are people with painted chest and full of Washburn spirit. But with every home game after the crowd dwindles until homecoming the stand will be filled once more. The only section that seems to stay consistent is where all the alumni sit. Those old people who never seemed to miss a game since they graduated 20 years ago. The Greek life usually last the longest but in the end they seem to dissipate also.

The hill where all the fraternities and sororities sit usually starts off the year with all of them showing their letters and filling the hill. Though you can see they have tons of school spirit, it tends to die off. After a while it seems that they all stay outside and tailgate or not even show up.

In the years past, the cheerleaders use to rotate and cheer to the student section during a quarter but with lack of participation the cheerleaders don’t go to the other side of the field anymore. This restricts the cheerleaders from also interacting with the band. The band has always been the loudest people in the stands.

With homecoming being this coming week there is hope to have the stands full so the crowd could cheer the team to a victory. The cheerleaders love more than anything to cheer for the students of Washburn University. There also seems to be a correlation to how many people attend the games and if Washburn wins.

Editing Experience

This past week I experienced editing in a whole new light. I was there sitting in a room staring at real stories that were up to be published. I was sitting there asking myself if I was ready to actually edit something that a lot of people could see. After a couple of minutes of editing I felt like I was actually making a difference in these stories. Now I can't say if it was for the best or not.


I made it through two stories. Both were over things I liked. The first one was over TV series that were coming back on and the other was over sports. As I was editing these stories, my eyes started to hurt from staring at the screen. I decided right then that if was ever going to edit some long paper in the future that I would print it off and write on it.

Washburn Review editing experience

I was a little nervous editing for the Review because I felt like as an editing student I really needed to know what I was doing. The student worker that was in there helped me a lot and reassured me in my editing skills.

I edited around 4 stories. I was surprised when editing my first story because there were a lot of AP Style mistakes. The rest of the stories did not have as many and they were all well written. It was hard for me when reading an opinion piece because I kept wanting to make AP Style changes that aren't necessary in opinion pieces.

I feel like I learned a lot and that it was a good experience overall to further my knowledge with AP Style.

Spring course schedule causes panic in mass media department

 It is hard to believe, but it is almost time to enroll for classes for the Spring 2016 semester. The course catalog is now available on the Washburn University website.

While looking at the course catalog online, mass media students intending to graduate in May of 2016 may have a panic attack when they see that the class “Promotion Writing” is going to be offered online in the spring.

This class has not been offered in several years, and the mass media department has allowed students to take another upper division elective to fulfill the writing class requirement. Several students have taken a special topic elective titled “Murder, Media, Mayhem: Crime Reporting” that is taught by adjunct lecturer Timothy  Hrenchir, who currently works for the Topeka Capital Journal.

According to department lecturer, Regina Cassell, students who have taken a substitute for the course during the time it was not being offered will not be required to take the class. The substitute will still satisfy the requirement. This comes as a big sigh of relief for those who are expecting to graduate in either spring or summer 2016.

Be sure to keep a look at your email to ensure you don’t miss advising for the spring. Advanced registration opens Nov. 2. Make sure to check with your adviser to ensure proper a date to enroll, as it is based on class rank. 

(Corrected: Nov 5 DC)