<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599686489270.png" alt=" Wichita State University students gathered at Cessna Stadium to compete in the annual Clash of the Colleges. This year the bleachers were left empty. Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Wichita State University students gathered at Cessna Stadium to compete in the annual Clash of the Colleges. This year the bleachers were left empty. Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By STEPHAN BISAHA <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/why-kansas-colleges-are-still-holding-film-nights-and-relay-races-amid-pandemic">Kansas News Service</a>WICHITA, Kansas — Universities don’t just sell the 
chance at an education. The whole college experience has been a key tool
 for keeping students around.Wichita State University budgeted <a href="https://www.wichita.edu/about/public_information/images/WSU_FY19_Operating_Budget.pdf" target="_blank">more than $1 million dollars</a> on ways for students to have fun on campus last year.But
 face masks and social distancing make it harder to pull off those 
in-person events built on the idea of bringing lots of students 
together. Even with those precautions, any gathering risks spreading the
 coronavirus. That’s caused universities in Kansas to cut back on their 
computer-free, real life physical activities.Yet colleges haven’t canceled all of campus life. Kansas State University has film screenings. Wichita State’s held relay races.Here are four reasons why universities still plan on holding in-person events.<h2>Keep students enrolled</h2>Across the country, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/12/16/787909495/fewer-students-are-going-to-college-heres-why-that-matters" target="_blank">fewer kids are going to college</a>.
 Schools in Kansas have tried different tricks to get more students to 
enroll, such as offering in-state tuition to out-of-state recruits.But there’s another way to get more students to graduate — stop the ones already on campus from leaving.“To
 be able to keep a student is far less expensive than being able to 
recruit a new student,” said Thomas Lane, K-State’s dean of students.For
 years, universities have banked on in-person events to get students to 
stick around. The theory goes that silly games and food festivals make 
students feel connected to their school and less likely to leave.Universities
 argue that if an in-person event keeps students from dropping out and 
wasting a semester of tuition dollars, then those events should keep 
happening — even in a pandemic.“I don’t think any student starts
 off their higher education journey thinking that they don’t want to be 
on that journey at that some time next year,” Lane said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599686552048.png" alt=" Students competed in relay events at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium during the first week back at school. Bleachers, crowded in past years, were kept empty because of the coronavirus. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Students competed in relay events at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium during the first week back at school. Bleachers, crowded in past years, were kept empty because of the coronavirus. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Virtual events don’t cut it</h2>Universities have
 shifted many of their events online. But a videoconference session 
isn’t much of a party. It can’t replicate meeting face-to-face.“Zoom
 is not a replacement for those social events,” said Rob Danzman, a 
mental health counselor in Indiana. “We miss a lot when we’re not in 
person.”There’s also the “<a href="https://news.northeastern.edu/2020/05/11/zoom-fatigue-is-real-heres-why-youre-feeling-it-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/" target="_blank">Zoom fatigue</a>.”
 With students taking a large portion of their classes online, getting 
them to hop onto yet another video event is a tough sell.Kansas 
schools have been trying to offer a mix of both, to satisfy the students
 itching for that in-person interaction and those uncomfortable with 
gathering in the flesh. Wichita State let students watch the Clash of 
the Colleges — a collection of absurd competitions — at home or join in 
with virtual games.<h2>Mental health</h2>Colleges have been dealing with <a href="https://www.npr.org/2009/10/19/113835383/colleges-see-rise-in-mental-health-issues" target="_blank">mental health issues</a> on campus for more than a decade. Stress. Anxiety. Loneliness. Last year, one doctor called it an <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/28/727509438/college-students-and-their-parents-face-a-campus-mental-health-epidemic" target="_blank">epidemic</a>.Health experts worry those problems will worsen this fall.“Social isolation kills people very easily,” Danzman said.Some
 students were already feeling socially isolated before the pandemic. 
Now they say making new friends is a lot more difficult when you only 
see your classmates on a screen.“I definitely am missing out on 
actually sitting next to people in my classes and making small talk,” 
said Ashley Thompson, a freshman at Wichita State. “It’s hard to make 
those connections.”Students also said it’s difficult making friends even on campus with desks kept six feet apart.Universities
 worry that removing all in-person events will further cut off students 
from each other and only deepen the mental health crisis.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599686592245.png" alt=" Students were required to wash their hands before taking and leaving the field during Wichita State University’s Clash of the Colleges. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Students were required to wash their hands before taking and leaving the field during Wichita State University’s Clash of the Colleges. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Safer than a kegger</h2>Since opening up, 
universities have seen a rapid increase in coronavirus cases. 
Universities have been pointing at fraternities and sororities for 
holding big parties that spread the coronavirus. As of Friday, colleges 
and universities had 27 outbreaks, many linked to Greek organizations.Most students plan on skipping the parties this year, according to a <a href="https://www.axios.com/college-students-return-campus-poll-fc32654f-39e1-4d69-9e90-f2c54f8fba48.html" target="_blank">national survey</a> conducted before school began. But a viral <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article245177585.html" target="_blank">video</a> showed a large, mask-free gathering at one KU fraternity.Schools say if they don’t offer students a safe alternative, they’ll continue to find riskier ways to meet up.Universities
 are taking precautions with their events — limiting sizes, requiring 
face masks and keeping most events outside. Still, even with these 
steps, schools can’t guarantee these events won’t further spread the 
virus.“Anytime you get anybody together right now that is a 
wildcard,” said Rachel Kohman, the senior director of Emporia State’s 
Center for Student Involvement. “But if we aren’t offering some safe, 
in-person opportunities for our students, then the likelihood that 
things we have zero control over … are going to inherently increase.”Stephan Bisaha reports on education and young adult life for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/stevebisaha">@SteveBisaha</a>
 or email him at bisaha@kmuw.org. The Kansas News Service is a
 collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public
 Radio focused on the health and well-being of Kansans, their 
communities and civic life.

Why Kan. colleges are still holding film nights, relay races amid pandemic