A student senator stood in front of the Student Government Association, wearing a Kansas state flag as a cape with a stuffed buffalo in one hand and a jar of dirt in the other as “Home on the Range” played in the background.
Sen. Kian Williams, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke to SGA about Kansas Day, the Jan. 29 holiday commemorating the day Kansas officially became a state.
SGA passed a piece of legislation on Sept. 11 following Williams’ speech, acknowledging the upcoming holiday and encouraging the university and Kansas Legislature to do the same.
The legislation is called the Kansas Awareness Nourishes Sustainability Achieving Success and Deep Appreciation Yearly, or K.A.N.S.A.S. D.A.Y. Act.
Williams said they think people in Kansas should have more pride in their state, and that observing Kansas Day could help.
“Unfortunately, our governments and institutions make it difficult to celebrate our state as they don’t recognize Kansas Day as an official holiday, and that opens us up to a host of issues,” Williams said. “Young people are leaving our state in record numbers. Their education, professional skills, and innovative dreams are vital, not only to our economic successes, but to our communal culture. I constantly hear young people talk about our state with immense despair and somberness.”
According to the Kansas Historical Society, Kansas Day was first celebrated in 1877. Kansas is one of many states whose residents don’t recognize the day of its admission to the United States as a public holiday.
The K.A.N.S.A.S. D.A.Y. Act also urged the Kansas Legislature to recognize wheat as the official state crop.
Williams shared examples of other state symbols, including the official state soil of Kansas, a type of soil called Harney silt loam.
“In 1990, during a recession, record substance abuse issues, and skyrocketing property taxes, our state government got together and decided that what we needed as Kansans was an official state soil and an official state soil we got,” Williams said. “I am worried that we have an official state soil, three state fossils and two state wine grapes but no state crop.”
SGA approved the act through unanimous consent. View the livestream of the meeting here.
