K-State president Richard Myers encourages students, faculty and other community members to come together as members of the K-State family in the face of coronavirus in a Monday morning video.
K-State president Richard Myers encourages students, faculty and other community members to come together as members of the K-State family in the face of coronavirus in a Monday morning video.
K-State president Richard Myers on Monday spoke out against comments made by Riley County Commission chair Marvin Rodgriguez, who said last week that Italy’s Chinese population led to the country’s coronavirus crisis.
On the first day of a planned return to classes — albeit online and through other distance-learning methods — Myers said Monday morning that now is the time to come together as a K-State family.
In the first of a daily series of videos using the hashtag #KStateStrong, Myers said the unprecedented situation would mean that K-State community members would not be able to meet in person, after the university last week decided to suspend in-person classes for the rest of the semester. (The daily videos are posted online at k-state.edu/today).
“We can become anxious where there’s a lot of uncertainty so we don’t know exactly what the future holds,” Myers said. “But we can’t let this physical separation create a disconnect from your K-State family. We’re all in this together.”
Myers then said that the coronavirus is something that all K-Staters should take seriously, “despite recent comments here in our community that this virus might have a nationality,” referring to media reports about the issue since the pandemic began. Last week, Rodriguez claimed that the Manhattan-area community was not at serious risk for coronavirus since it didn’t have as big a population of Chinese people as Italy.
“(The virus) does not discriminate,” Myers said, “and we have to remember that as we move forward and take care of one another. Your K-State family is here for you, and we’re trying to do everything we can to ensure everyone feels connected to our family.”
Myers encouraged members of the K-State community to share their own photos or videos on social media with the hashtag #KStateStrong to showcase the strength of the K-State family. Myers, and other K-State leaders and community members, will feature in the daily video updates. University officials said the videos are intended to provide hope, leadership and a sense of community.
“This great university has been through many, many challenges,” he said. “It’ll go through many, many more. But I can guarantee you, in 2063, well still be here, educating students for our state, our nation and the world.”
