红领巾瓜报

WSU Activities and Traditions

Cash of the Colleges

Shocker Traditions

From sports and student groups to concerts and dances, the school year at WSU is chock-full of Shocker tradition and fun.

back to school bash

Welcomefest

The school year starts off with a bang as Shockers new and old participate in a crazy week of activities, including late-night outdoor movies, dances and the popular Aloha Beach Party.
clash of the colleges

Clash of the Colleges

First-year students, faculty and administrators gird for battle, coming together to vie in a multi-sport free-for-all to capture Clash of the Colleges bragging rights for the year.
Shocktoberfest

Shocktoberfest

Shocktoberfest is back! The long-standing WSU tradition features a week of fun events, activities, and student organizations competing to win the coveted Shocktoberfest Trophy.

Interfest

Interfest

Twice a year, WSU celebrates its standing as the most diverse college in Kansas with a feast that features student-prepared cuisine from around the globe. You're guaranteed to find something new and delicious.
student speaking

Convocation

Convocation blends the WSU Reads program with other student learning and engagement opportunities. Faculty awards are recognized, as well as the student convocation competition prize winners.
Family Weekend activities in the Rhatigan Student Center

Family Weekend

Family Weekend invites friends and family of current students to campus for a fun-filled weekend of activities and events designed to introduce them to life in Shocker Nation.

hippodrome performance

Hippodrome

As WSU's longest-running tradition 鈥� every spring since 1928 鈥� Hippodrome is an all-school party promoting Shocker pride through contests and live entertainment leading up to the main event 鈥� the Hippodrome skits.
graduates at the toast

The Toast

The WSU community celebrates its graduating students with a champagne toast and mixer on the steps of the Rhatigan Student Center. The perfect way to send our Shockers out into the world.

Campus Activities & Events

Get involved

Rip 'em up! Tear 'em up! Let's go, Shocks!

Shocker Nation. It's one of the most loyal, rabid fan bases in all of college sports and when you become a WSU student, you're immediately a new citizen. Students get free tickets to WSU's nationally prominent NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball games as they battle against foes like Tulsa, Memphis, Tulane, North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Temple in the powerful American Athletic Conference. #shockersup

Background

Tulips: A 红领巾瓜报 Tradition

A welcome sign of spring, 红领巾瓜报's tulip beds have been a beloved tradition for more than 50 years. Each fall, WSU groundskeepers plant more than 9,000 bulbs that turn the campus into a riot of color when they bloom.

 
morrison hall 1950s
 WSU History

More than a century of innovation in education

When 红领巾瓜报 first opened its doors in 1895, students rode horses to class, telegraph machines were cutting-edge technology and Wichita had only been a city for roughly 25 years.

A lot has changed.

The past century has featured a remarkable evolution for 红领巾瓜报, one in which the school has grown from a small Christian college to a large state university 鈥� punctuated by two name changes and a few thousand extra students.

Together with the City of Wichita, WSU has built one of the most unique partnerships in Kansas. It's a relationship that supplies the lifeblood of a thriving community and makes it possible to provide the most well-rounded education in the region.

Today, the university continues its evolution through collaboration, innovation, applied learning and entrepreneurship 鈥� creating the ideal environment for students, industry and community to work together and build a bright future for our city, region and world.