MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 • VOL. 122, ISS. 8
THESUNFLOWER.COM
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.
Oldest building on campus to re-open with fewer termites, more accessibility BY JENNA FARHAT
More than two years of construction later, termites, mold, and accessibility issues for students and faculty with disabilities are almost a thing of the past for the oldest building on Wichita State’s campus. Built in 1904, Fiske Hall is home to the history and philosophy departments. In the summer of 2016, both departments were temporarily relocated so construction could begin. Renovations to Fiske Hall are expected to be completed in December, and the building ready for use by the
spring 2019 semester. The major renovations include termite and water damage repairs, a new air conditioning system, and a new elevator in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The accessibility issue came up with a former history professor who used a wheelchair. With no elevator, the now-retired professor had no way of reaching her office on the first floor. “She didn’t go in the building for 10 years,” said Susan Castro, a philosophy professor. “If you go in Fiske in the main entrance, you either have to go
downstairs to the basement or upstairs to the first floor,” said James Schwartz, a philosophy professor. “So there’s no direct entry (to the first floor), and her office is on the first floor, and she had no way to get up to it in a wheelchair,” Schwartz said. Schwartz said the renovations would make it much easier for students and faculty with disabilities to get around Fiske Hall. “It was that sort of thing where if you’ve got a student in a wheelchair, they can’t come to your office at all,” Schwartz said.
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SEE FISKE PAGE 4
Fiske Hall has been under construction since the summer of 2016.
Playing dirty
No. 1 New York Times Bestselling author to speak at convocation BY RYAN CREWS
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Teams brave the mud to compete in SAC’s annual event Above, members of the Alpha Phi $$$ team celebrate after winning a round of the mud volleyball tournament, Saturday, Sept.15 at the Metroplex fields. The Alpha Phi $$$ was victorious in the volleyball tournament, and the Delta Gamma Blue team won the tug of war event. Right, a member of the Delta Gamma team digs the ball during the mud volleyball game against Alpha Phi. The annual mud events were hosted by the Student Activities Council.
SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER
Bryan Stevenson, author of #1 New York Times Bestseller “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” will be the keynote speaker at Wichita State’s Academic Convocation Thursday. Academic Convocation starts at 9:30 a.m. in Wilner Auditorium. Stevenson will sign books from 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. at the Ulrich Museum of Art. The book signing is hosted by WSU Reads. “Just Mercy” tells Stevenson’s account as a defense attorney for STEVENSON Walter McMillian, a man who spent six years on death row in Alabama for a murder he didn’t commit. As a young lawyer, Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative to fight for the impoverished and challenge racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. The Equal Justice Initiative focused on death row inmates and children facing sentencing in adult prisons. In 2015, Stevenson was named in TIME Magazine’s TIME 100, which recognizes the world’s most influential people annually. In 2014, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” was awarded the Carnegie Medal by the American Library Association for nonfiction and a 2015 NAACP Image Award. In a 2015 Vanity Fair article, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu said “Just Mercy” is “as gripping as it is disturbing, as if America’s soul has been put on trial.” In his 2012 TED Talk, Stevenson challenged his crowd with racial discussions — insisting it’s the only way for the United States to heal its racial wounds, which have been buried in the social consciousness by fear. SEE STEVENSON PAGE 4
Engineering dean candidate promises to recruit women in engineering BY TIFFANY TREJO
ELLA DOMINGUEZ/THE SUNFLOWER
A finalist for the Dean of the College of Engineering, Hamid Hefazi speaks to faculty and staff about his qualifications for the position. Hefazi currently serves as the Aerospace Engineering department head at Florida Institute of Technology.
Hamid Hefazi, professor and head of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Florida Institute of Technology, is one of the four finalists for dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State. Thursday, WSU hosted a public forum for faculty and students to ask Hefazi questions as part of the process of selecting the next engineering dean. Hefazi said gender and cultural diversity are two areas that need improvement in the
engineering field. A lack of gender diversity is a consistent problem, he said. Hefazi said 50 percent of faculty that he brought on at his department at the Florida Institute of Technology were women, and he would strive to support and recruit women engineers at WSU. “The future is a bit brighter than in the past,” Hefazi said about the representation of women in engineering. “Leaders must articulate the vision — encourage, direct, and inspire faculty towards the
desired future state,” Hefazi said. Hefazi said that, if chosen as the next dean, his vision for the future of engineering at WSU will be similar to WSU’s current mission. “Excellence has to be deeply embedded in the culture of the college,” Hefazi said. Three areas that Hefazi mentioned several times as pillars of success for any university were recruitment, admission, and support for the students. He stressed the importance of building “a community of support for these students.”
INSIDE
‘LEARN TO SWIM’
NO MORE MADNESS
WELCOME ABOARD
Check out your anonymous takes on everything from salaries to longboarding.
The Cavves’ debut album joyfully submerges its listener.
Shocker Madness has been replaced with a new basketball kickoff event.
Men’s basketball completed their 2019 recruiting class with a point guard.
OPINION • PAGE 2
CULTURE • PAGE 3
SPORTS• PAGE 4
SPORTS • PAGE 4
OPINION LINE