From Tornadoes to T-shirts, HutchCC Campus Closet Helps for Every Season

By Emma Wuthnow
Staff writer
Email: thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

As Kansans prepare for winter, some might not be as ready for the Kansas weather as others.

As many living in Kansas know, Kansas weather is unpredictable. Just last month, the weather was going back and forth between the 80s and 70s. The weather is finally at the correct temperature for fall, in between the 60s and 50s.

But winter is possibly going to be the same. For most students who lived in Kansas most of their lives, they are aware of the crazy weather shifts. But for students who have lived in different states or countries, it might be a little unpredictable for them.

Hutchinson Community College can help those students, as the college has a program for students who might not have weather appropriate clothes or other clothing needs. Located in Parker Student Union, the Closet originally was started by Catholic Connections, one of the clubs on campus, but has since been passed down to the Student Activities.

Dana Hinshaw, who is in charge of Student Activities, explained how it works.

“The door to the closet is open whenever the student union is open,” Hinshaw said. “Students can go in anytime and shop in the closet. They don’t need to have a staff member with them. We want our students to be comfortable getting whatever they think they need. We have men’s and women’ s pants, jeans, shirts, t-shirts, coats, socks and shoes. We have items that a student would wear everyday to school as well as some dressier items that a student might wear to a job interview or event. We also have some cold-weather gear.”

The club always tries to make sure that they have everything a student might need.

The closet will accept anything that is donated.

“We try to make sure we have a good variety of sizes of clothing that students will wear,” Hinshaw said. “If someone donates formal wear, vintage clothing or something your grandparents would wear, we will probably send that on to the Fair Price Clothing Store. Our space is limited, so we need to only stock clothing we think is useful for our students.”

Most of the items will stay in the closet, while some will be donated to another store. That doesn’t mean don’t donate to the closet, because donations will go somewhere else.

“Our space is very limited,” Hinshaw said. “We try to use that space efficiently. Women’s clothes are on the Southwest side and middle rack of the closet with signage and men’s clothing is on the Northside with signage, shoes are in the Southeast corner. We have clothing size dividers on the racks as well. We have boxes on top of the racks with rolled t-shirts by size or pants/jeans by size.”

With the limited space, Hinshaw was asked how many donations they receive per semester.

“We probably receive donations from an individual at least 3-4 times per semester,” Hinshaw said. “My church is connected with the Fair Price Clothing Store. When they get donations with a lot of college-age items, they will set some of those aside for me to look through and bring to the HutchCC closet.” 

This is helpful for students who don’t have clothes for the Kansas weather, especially in the winter.

Sophomore Farrin Mangelson, explained his experience is from San Antonio, Texas. When asked about adjusting to the Kansas weather, Mangelson said, “Hard but smooth. Texas is no stranger to bipolar weather patterns.”

Some weather challenges Mangelson faced when coming to Kansas was surprising.

“Snow. I used to want to be surrounded by snow but now that I have experienced it, I despise it,” Mangelson said.

Ritha Muehler, a sophomore from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is used to warm climate around the year.

“It’s where I spent most of my childhood. It’s a lively city with warm weather, lots of culture, and people who are very friendly and welcoming,” Muehler said. “Adjusting to the Kansas weather was definitely something new for me. Back home in Haiti, we don’t really have four seasons, it’s mostly warm or rainy all year. But here, the weather changes so fast. One day it can feel like summer, and the next it’s freezing. I wasn’t really surprised by the snow since I had seen pictures and heard about it before, but experiencing it in person was still very different. Despite how cold or sometimes too hot it can get, I’m grateful for the nice days we get in between – it makes me appreciate the weather even more. Over time, I’ve learned to prepare better, like checking the weather every morning if I have to leave and layering my clothes.”

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