Instead of burning the Hornets with a magnifying glass during a spirit week, Washburn University is going to celebrate what makes the Ichabod truly better than the Hornet.

“It’s just a whole pride thing of being a Washburn student at this time on campus, rather than just kind of degrading Emporia State or saying we’re so much better than Emporia State,” said Pat Vogelsberg, chief of staff in the Washburn Student Government Association and Bod Squad president. “Let’s focus on why we are better than Emporia State.”

Instead of negativity toward Emporia State, Washburn is looking at what makes Washburn great in renaming the week’s festivities.

“It’s been a tradition every year when we play Emporia in basketball to have a spirit week during the week,” said Josh Shald, Spirit Committee chair for WSGA. “And we thought this year we would change it from Stomp Emporia week to I Love Washburn week in order to promote positive spirit.”

Activities start today and will last all week to rouse even more spirit for the Washburn-Emporia State games on Wednesday night. The activities center around positive school spirit, and there’s no reason not to get involved.

“It’s pure benefit for [the students]. It’s an exciting way to show Emporia what we’ve got,” said Shald.

Not only is it pure benefit for students, but it’s another way of showing that Washburn isn’t just on the map, it’s a prime destination.

“It’s much more than just supporting two great basketball teams,” said Vogelsberg. “It’s supporting Washburn University which directly reflects you in the future. Washburn is transforming. It’s becoming more and more popular in this town, across Kansas, and in this region, the Midwest.”