MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2018 • VOL. 123, ISS. 19
THESUNFLOWER.COM
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.
There was an aggravated robbery near WSU Thursday night. Students didn’t know about it until 12 hours later BY JENNA FARHAT
Two teenagers pointed a handgun at a person and demanded money around 10:40 p.m. Thursday night just south of Wichita State’s campus. WSU students weren’t alerted about the aggravated robbery until 12 hours later. A safety alert was sent out to the WSU community around 11:20 a.m. Friday. The aggravated robbery took place at 1732 N Fairmount, across 17th Street, directly south of campus. All universities receiving federal financial aid are required to provide “timely reports” for criminal activity
that is considered an ongoing threat to the campus community, according to the Clery Act. The Clery Act mandates the reporting of crimes that occur on campus and on public property within and immediately adjacent to campus — such as streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities — and non-campus institutions related to the university’s educational purposes and frequently used by students, such as fraternity and sorority houses. The first page of the incident report, which is an open record, was not available as of Friday afternoon. No one was available
at the WSU police department to answer questions. When emailed questions about the timeliness of the alert, WSU Police Captain Corey Herl wrote back that the case was handled by the Wichita Police Department and that WSU police “only assisted” on the case. “There was no threat to the university as this did not occur on university property nor was there an ongoing threat as the suspects involved did not flee toward the university,” Herl wrote in an email to The Sunflower. The safety alert from Friday morning reads: “The Wichita Police Department
responded to an aggravated robbery on 10/25/18 around 10:40 p.m. The incident occurred near 1732 N. Fairmount. The victim in this case was walking near the area when he was approached by two suspects. One suspect produced a handgun and demanded money. After the victim complied with the demands, the two suspects fled the area. The victim was unharmed.” Friday night, WSU Police Chief Rodney Clark emailed a statement to The Sunflower stating that the incident didn’t happen within WSU police’s jurisdiction. WSU police frequently respond to calls
Comicfest gets haunted
off-campus, especially in the general area surrounding WSU’s campus. In the statement, Clark wrote that he “would like to clarify some misinformation presented in the Sunflower story.” “This incident did not happen on campus and was not in our jurisdiction,” Clark wrote. “It was also not deemed to be a continued immediate threat. We were therefore not required to send a timely warning. After reviewing the situation this morning, the University Police Department decided to instead send a Rave alert so the campus community would be aware.”
Cargill, Capitol Federal donate $1.75 million toward new business building BY MATTHEW KELLY
KHANH NGUYEN/THE SUNFLOWER
Graduate assistant Seulki Lee talks comics with an attendee at Halloween ComicFest, hosted Saturday in Ablah Library.
Graphic novels meet cosplay, spookiness at Halloween ComicFest BY AUDREY KORTE
I
t’s not normal to see Ghostbusters walking through a library unless, of course, someone has seen a ghost. But thanks to this year’s Halloween ComicFest, Ablah Library welcomed Ghostbusters, superheroes and lots of costumed comic book characters this weekend. The building, normally home to students cramming and researching, became a hotbed of family fun Saturday afternoon, which combined Halloween with people’s love of cosplay. “It’s a combination celebration of Halloween and comics,” said Lizzy Walker, assistant professor and metadata and digital initiatives librarian. Walker had wanted to put on an event that draws attention to graphic novels for a while. “We wanted to showcase that we have all these items in our collections,” she said. “ComicFest is similar to free comic book day except it’s near Halloween,” Walker said. “It’s been mostly focused on retail
KHANH NGUYEN/THE SUNFLOWER
The Virtual Reality Zone was a crowd pleaser at Halloween ComicFest.
shops but last year I received a newsletter email from Diamond Comic Distributors about getting libraries involved in ComicFest. Last year was our first year and it was so successful that we decided to do it again this year.” Walker said she wanted to make sure that people of all ages in the community had access to an event where they could dress up in costumes, play with new technology, and win prizes including free comic books. History department chair
Jay Price was one of four people on the keynote panel that kicked off the festival. He appeared alongside three WSU students — Lisa Duran, Miles Foley, and Andrea Wilson — who helped him get a graphic novel published last year. They discussed the process of creating Luke the Longhorn: Chisholm’s Trail. It’s a graphic novel set in early Kansas that shows everyday hardships of some historical figures during the cattle drive. Though Luke is fictitious,
Andrea Wilson and Lisa Duran, who both worked as researchers on the novel, said that a lot of fact checking went into the graphic novel to make sure the historical details were accurate. Price said they are now working on getting the graphic novel into stores. There were a handful of breakout sessions offered after the keynote. “The breakout sessions are designed to be more academic,” Walker said. “There’s a superhero poetry session. They’re all comic or cosplay related.” WSU alumnus Veronica Dowty ran a breakout session on cosplaying during which she explained how she created the costume she was wearing. She described how she used vinyl rolls, wire, craft foam, fabric dyes, paint, contacts and a well-designed wig to complete her costume. The day ended with a costume contest involving prizes including some artwork made by the library’s curator as well as WSU and Halloweenthemed swag. SEE COMICFEST PAGE 4
The WSU Foundation’s campaign to bring a new home for the W. Frank Barton School of Business to Innovation Campus got a boost of $1.75 million from Cargill and Capitol Federal. Cargill pledged $1 million towards the effort and Capitol Federal contributed $750,000 — bringing the total raised for the project to $28.5 million. The project is expected to cost roughly $50 million. Last year, Cargill donated $350,000 to help bring a new YMCA to Innovation Campus. At the time, Brian Sikes, president of Cargill Protein, told The Wichita Eagle that WSU is a target area for developing future talent. “The more we engage there strategically fits what we want to do in Wichita,” Sikes said. The building will be named Wayne and Kaye Woolsey Hall in honor of the couple that donated $10 million to the project. Groundbreaking on the 136,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin in 2019.
After false starts, Innovation Campus will get a hotel BY MATTHEW KELLY AND ANDREW LINNABARY
Wichita State will open a Hyatt Place Hotel on Innovation Campus in 2020, pending approval by the Kansas Board of Regents. The 110-room hotel, a partnership with hotel management group Lodging One Hospitality, is slated for construction in spring 2019. It will be ready for occupancy by spring 2020. After WSU President John Bardo outlined plans for Innovation Campus in 2014 — including a new business school, apartments, restaurants, shops and more — a 123-room Element by Westin Hotel was the first deal inked for Braeburn Square. Development of the Element hotel was originally planned to begin between fiscal year 2015 and 2016. In February, after several false starts, WSU told The Wichita Eagle ground would break on the Element in the spring. The Hyatt Place Hotel, Lodging One Hospitality’s first venture into the Wichita hotel market, will include a restaurant and bar, meeting space, indoor pool, and a fitness center.
INSIDE
HALLOWEEN PLAYLIST
UNDEFEATED
STEPPING UP
Disliking an article is not a good enough reason to label it “misinformation.”
Cue up these tunes for the spookiest night of the year.
Wichita State club soccer finished off an undefeated regular season.
Freshman Kora Kauling shines in the absence of injured senior.
OPINION/CULTURE • PAGE 2
OPINION/CULTURE • PAGE 2
SPORTS • PAGE 5
SPORTS • PAGE 6
MISINFORMATION