11 May 2023
MANHATTAN, KS. (KSNT) – Changes are already in store for the brand new Aggieville sign. After the sign’s formatting caused commotion on social media, the City of Manhattan decided to take action.
“I feel like I heard about it before I saw it,” Brooklynn Bennett, a K-State student, said of the social media buzz. “Because people are kind of seeing it and being like ‘That looks dumb.'”
The sign appears to read, ‘Aggieville, Welcome To,’ because the ‘Welcome To’ portion of the sign sits underneath the ‘Aggieville’ letters. Some residents said they were confused by the placement of the words, saying the sign itself does not make any sense.
“‘Aggieville, Welcome To,’ that doesn’t sound right,” Christopher Wells, another K-State student, said. “It looks weird, it sounds weird.”
Because of how people reacted after the sign’s unveiling, the City made the decision to remove the ‘Welcome To’ line at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.
“Basically the majority of the folks want it taken down, so it seems like the right thing to do,” Manhattan City Commissioner Wynn Butler said. “A number of them were worried that during football season, people would come down here and see this ‘awful sign’ and it would leave a bad impression on Manhattan. So, I think it’s sort of humorous. It’s not the biggest crisis we have in the city, that’s for sure.”
Butler said he and other commissioners received various emails concerning the sign, which they brought to the attention of the sign’s design team and the city manager. According to Butler, the design team and city manager thought the best solution was to remove that portion of the sign. Many Manhattan residents are in favor of their decision.
“I think it’s great,” Bennett said. “That’s how local government should be. If people want it gone, it should be gone.”
“I’m pleased about it,” Annalise Parr, a Manhattan resident, said. “At least it’s not going to be something stupid that you have to look back 15 years from now when we come back to Aggieville for football games or anything.”
“I guess it’s good that they’re listening to people,” Casey McCool, the owner of McCool’s Bar and Grill and Mojo’s Beach Bar, said. “If enough people don’t like something, you can change it. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Aggieville just returned to normal after years of construction, so the City is trying to make sure everything is perfect for visitors. The design team plans to take the “Welcome To” portion down this week at no extra cost to the City.