Author: Caelin Bragg

Clash of the Colleges, one of WSU’s largest single-day events and a longtime campus tradition, starts at 7 p.m. tonight Aug. 21. Freshmen are representing their colleges in a day of friendly competition at Crossland Stadium.

Even if you aren’t competing, you can still cheer on your peers and college as they fight for bragging rights for the rest of the school year.

Looking to strengthen your research skills? The Savvy Scholar Workshop Series is a collection of workshops designed to help students (plus faculty and staff) navigate multiple stages of the research process. Whether you’re just getting started or preparing for advanced projects, these sessions introduce practical tools and strategies for finding, evaluating, organizing and presenting information effectively.

Each workshop is a standalone event and requires its own registration, so participants can attend the sessions that best fit their interests and needs. Attendees may also earn a certificate of completion for each workshop they attend.

List of workshops:

• “Using AI Tools for Library Research” – 3:30 p.m. Sept. 8, online
• “Intro to Data Visualization” – 3:30 p.m. Sept. 15, online
• “Make Your Mark as an Undergrad through Research” – 3:30 p.m. Sept. 29, in-person
• “How to Write a Literature Review” – 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6, online
• “Mastering EndNote: Citation Management Made Simple” – 3:30 p.m. Oct. 20, hybrid
• “Evidence Beyond the Database: Discovering and Incorporating Grey Literature into Your Research” – 3:30 p.m. Oct. 27, online

Various campus streets and parking lots will have limited access starting at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26 for the Barton School of Business Centennial Bash 5K Run/Walk.

Lots 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 19, 28, 29, 37 and 44, as well as Perimeter Road, Memorial Drive, Yale Avenue, Alumni Drive, Mike Oatman Drive, Innovation Boulevard and 19th Street will be partially or completely blocked off for the duration of the 5K.

Stop by the Food Truck Plaza on campus to enjoy cuisines from local food truck vendors.

Wednesday:

• Desi Fusion: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Carne Asada Jalisco: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Thursday:

• Desi Fusion: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Schedule is subject to change. Visit the Food Truck Plaza website for the most up-to-date information.

The Wichita Eagle has released its 2026 Best of Wichita nominations, and Wichita State has been nominated in several categories. The community can vote once a day for their choices in each category through the voting period until 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4.

• Eat & drink – Lunch Spot: Wichita State Food Truck Plaza
• Eat & drink – Sports Bar: Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes
• Education – Childcare: WSU Child Development Center
• Education – College/University: Wichita State University
• Health & beauty – Audiologist/Hearing Center: Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic
• Health & beauty – Speech Therapy: Wichita State University (Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic)
• Things to do – Art Gallery: WSU Shift Space, Ulrich Museum of Art, Clayton Staples Gallery
• Things to do – Bowling: Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes
• Things to do – Live Theatre: Wilner Auditorium
• Things to do – Museum: Ulrich Museum of Art, Lowell Holmes Museum of Anthropology

We’re halfway through the first week of classes, but the rest of it is still jam packed full of events to help you keep going strong. See below the lineup we have for the rest of the week.

Kicking us off today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. is a cookout with Dr. J, your new vice president for Student Affairs, who will be grilling and serving up hot dogs and barbeque chicken, free to all WSU students, on the north patio of the RSC (find directions to the cookout). Remember to bring your Shocker ID!

Tomorrow, the Rhatigan Student Center is hosting its all day, all night, RSC Day Shocker Night series of events. Head over to the RSC any time from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a variety of events, including grabbing free stuffed animals, video game free play stations and tournaments, live music with free shirts and snacks, and so much more. View the full RSC Day Shocker Night schedule.

Finally, today’s the last day to sign up for Clash of the Colleges, one of WSU’s largest single-day events and a longtime campus tradition, this Friday, Aug. 21. Sign up now for Clash.

As always, this is only the tip of the iceberg, so check out WSU’s interactive campus map and select which days to view to see what’s coming up, and check out the ShockerSync calendar to see what WSU’s student organizations have scheduled for you.

SEAS (the Student Early Alert System) is a tool used by faculty to identify students who, if they continue with their current academic behavior, are in danger of not doing well in their course.

Instructors may go into the system at any time during the semester to flag your academic behavior for attendance, participation, assignments or quizzes/exams. The instructor will then send you an email encouraging you to seek assistance from them or other university resources. When you get the email, you are not in trouble. It is a nudge for you to look at your current habits and see how you can improve.

This message will also include a link to “raise your hand” virtually for assistance from the Student Success team if you need it.

Remember, your best resources for success in the classroom are your instructors.

College can be stressful, whether you’re a freshman living away from home for the first time or starting your final year and planning for your career, but you don’t have to navigate challenges alone. Counseling and Psychological Services, located in the Student Wellness Center at the Steve Clark YMCA, offers confidential counseling and mental health resources to support students’ well-being.

Whether you’re managing stress, anxiety, relationships or other concerns, CAPS can help. Find directions to CAPS using the campus map.

Join the Student Government Association Student Senate for a meeting at 5:30 p.m. today in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail room. Meetings will also be livestreamed on the SGA YouTube.

Where students come first, the Wichita State Student Government Association is the governing entity for the student experience at the university. SGA is charged with promoting and stimulating student participation in the university’s activities and providing an official channel of communication between the students, faculty, staff, administration and elected officials.

To learn more about SGA, visit wichita.edu/sga, email sga@wichita.edu or stop by the offices in 219 Rhatigan Student Center.

The next University Staff Senate (USS) meeting is scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25 in 142 Rhatigan Student Center, Harvest Room, or join online via Microsoft Teams. All USS meetings are open to the Wichita State campus community.

Learn more about University Staff Senate, access meeting links and review previous meeting minutes by visiting wichita.edu/staffsenate.