Illustration by Mia Hennen
Kansas day is January 29th. On January 29, 1861, the Kansas Bill passed both houses, and President James Buchanan signed the bill into law, admitting Kansas as the 34th state to the union.
163 years ago, Kansas was not yet a state. On January 29, 1861, the Kansas Bill passed both houses, and President James Buchanan signed the bill into law, admitting Kansas as the 34th state to the union. Instead of celebrating Kansas, Cadence LeBoeuf said it’s also time to take a critical look at the state.
“Maybe look back at what your state has done for you and the people around you and decide if it’s actually worth celebrating or perhaps take a more critical look,” said LeBoeuf, a young musical theater student.
LeBoeuf was born in Oklahoma, but has lived in Kansas for a little over three years.
“I haven’t really had a chance to explore or tour much of Kansas, so I’m pretty much just in Wichita,” LeBoeuf said. “I would say I’m quite proud of the community that I’m in. It’s quite uplifting and supportive of the career path I want to take.”
Jennifer Siviseth, a senior studying computer science, said it makes sense to celebrate Kansas’s birthday since we’re celebrating our own.
Siviseth was born in Wichita and says there is a sense of community within the state.
“You grew up with people from the area, we’re used to it (the community),” Siviseth said.
The Wichita State Student Engagement, Advocacy & Leadership (SEAL) will host a celebration of its own, giving students the opportunity to decorate cookies in the RSC on Monday, February 30.
Kansas trivia:
- According to this study done, Kansas is flatter than a pancake
- Amelia Earhart was born in Kansas
- The state song is “Home on the Range”
- The state capital is Topeka
- The largest city is Wichita
- Nicknamed “The Sunflower State”
- The state bird is the western skylark
- In 1905 helium was discovered at the University of Kansas
- Home of the original Pizza Hut
- It’s illegal to hunt whales in Kansas
