Kansas State University Parent Guide
K-State PROUD Campaign
K-State PROUD is a student-led campaign that is dedicated to helping students in need. In 2010 the PROUD campaign raised over $95,000 to help preserve the K-State family atmosphere. Dr. Michael Wesch played a vital role in this year’s campaign, serving as the honorary chair. Dr. Wesch is a cultural anthropologist that has been studying the effects of new media on society in addition to serving as an assistant professor of anthropology at K-State. He has been recognized as the CASE Professor of the Year, Emerging Explorer by National Geographic, and is popular for his video work on YouTube.
The money raised by the PROUD campaign helps students pay tuition who could otherwise not afford to stay at K-State. Students donate $10 and receive a popular K-State PROUD t-shirt. To receive an opportunity award, students can either nominate themselves, or be nominated by their peers. Nominations can easily be made by using the PROUD website.
As K-State PROUD began to raise awareness for this year’s campaign, Dr. Wesch provided a spark that propelled the program to gain momentum in the form of a YouTube video called “Students Helping Students.” Dr. Wesch proposed that the organization use a “flash mob” video to show the spirit of K-State PROUD. In the video, a mob of 100 people perform acts of kindness for students on K-State’s campus while videographers from Dr. Wesch’s Digital Ethnography class caught the acts on film. The mob purchased text books for a student, lunch for another student, handed out free money at the K-State Student Union, picked up and parallel parked a car, and carried a student across a cross walk. View the video.
At the end of the video, two students are featured who benefited from K-State PROUD Opportunity Awards. They describe how the K-State PROUD award affected their lives, helped them stay at K-State, and exemplified the type of family atmosphere that K-State students share.
To learn more about K-State PROUD, those involved with the campaign, and how the resources are utilized, visit K-State PROUD.
— Reed Pankratz, Junior in Mass Comm.
