Kansas State University - The Royal Purple Yearbook

“by Lindsay Porter and Alex Yocum T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, flowers, banners, signs, mugs, ties, folders, pens, ice cream, letterhead and even cars embodied the personality of the university. From the K-State Student Union to Wagner Field, and classrooms to offices, purple was seen everywhere, every day. " I thought there was a lot of purple when I first came on campus, " Adam Wildhaber, freshman in civil engineering, said. " All that wearing of purple, it was a little overwhelming. After a while, I knew it was representative of school spirit and pride. " In a country dominated by reds, blues, golds, oranges and greens, K- State was among a handful of Division I universities with purple as its official color. Kent Hildebrand, 2005 Student Ambassador and senior in mass communications, said the school color contributed to K-State ' s public image. " You see a lot of it when you step back and take notice, " he said. " There are very few other schools that have purple as a dominant color. " Wildcats young and old, past and present wore purple to show school support. Before the football game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Dustin Kucerik, freshman In computer science, has his friend Lane Goodin, freshman in open-option, paint him from his waist up. Kucenk along with his fellow purple- painted friend Bill Gepford, freshman in open-option, began tailgating at 4:30 a.m. for the 11 a.m. game, Joslyn Brown At Bill Snyder Family Stadium or around campus, K-State ' s colors remain as popular as ever - more than 50 years after they became official " Purple is a sense of pride, " Danielle McManigal, junior in sociology, said. " Everywhere you go on campus you see someone wearing purple. I think we are very proud to be a part of Kansas State University, and purple is a way to represent that. " The essence of purple transcended the physical color and became a sense of community. " The first thing I think about is the family atmosphere and the community that everyone has, " Hildebrand said. " When you see someone on the sidewalk, it feels like you have a connection to them. It ' s a sense of family - how we ' re unified at K-State. We share a bond of being Wildcats. " Although purple reigned on game days and at university events, its presence was an integral part of the university ' s culture, not because it was the official school color but because of what it represented. " I wear purple everyday, " McManigal said, " not because I have to - because I want to and I love K-State. " Among the crowd, Crystal Childress, sophomore in apparel and textiles, cheers during the Sept. 24 game. Purple was the color of choice, though there were other colors of K-State apparel. " What ' s the deal with all these hoodies that aren ' t purple? " said Kent I Hildebrand, senior in mass communications. " It ' s fine, but purple definitely has its place. " Christopher Hanewinckel n m tonieo Sstudent life ”