By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

For the second year, the city of Hays welcomed Fort Hays State University and Hays Hair Academy Students back at Core2Campus in downtown Hays on Thursday night.

The event began with a parade down Eighth Street led by Hays city commissioners, members of the FHSU Student Government and FHSU President Mirta Martin, who is in her first year at FHSU. Once arriving downtown, students were treated to a free meal along with a T-shirt. Several businesses also were open to introduce students to the downtown area.

“I’m so thankful to have this wonderful opportunity to solidify the family of Fort Hays State University with the family of Hays, America,” Martin said. “At the end of the day, we are all one, and that’s what I want all of our students to know.

“We’re committed to making the relationship even stronger, and we have great and big expectations of what we want at Fort Hays State.”

Mayor Henry Schwaller also said the event was much better “the second time around.”

“Every community has a core or a heart that connects to a university,” Schwaller said. “Whether it’s Mass Street in Lawrence or Aggieville in Manhattan. We don’t want to recreate that. We want to create something that’s new and unique. That’s what we’re doing here.”

An estimated 300 students attended the Core2Campus festivities. The event was sponsored by Downtown Hays Development Corp., the Tiger Gold On Friday Committee, Hays Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Eagle Communications.