Feb. 16, 2015

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SUNFLOWER WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN NEWS SOURCE

MONDAY • FEBRUARY 16, 2015

VOLUME 119, ISSUE 65

Shockers at the statehouse

Photo by Kevin Brown

Wichita State undergraduate researcher Colton Turner speaks with Zack Pistora, Kansas lobbyist with the Sierra Club, about his research on pedestrian detection while texting and driving at night. Turner was one of five WSU undergraduate researchers to present at the Capitol in Topeka on Wednesday.

Student researchers represent WSU at Capitol

By Kevin Brown STAFF REPORTER @krbrownjr

Buzzing with lawmakers, interns, lobbyists, pages and government employees, the state capitol building in Topeka became the stage for a few Wichita State undergraduate researchers to display their findings Wednesday morning.

Students from WSU, Pittsburg

State, Kansas State, Fort Hays State, Washburn, the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Kansas presented research and networked with legislators who were on their way to meetings.

By putting together posters, products and materials highlighting the findings, methods and plans that detail their research, students spoke about their experiences and lessons

WSU responds to governor’s order rescinding LGBT protections

Sebelius responded to Brownback’s order negatively, expressing surprise and concern over the governor’s decision.

Kerry Wilks, the associate dean Elle Boatman, a transgender of WSU’s graduate school, who is student and employee, was gay, said she was extremely sickened when Gov. Sam Browndisappointed by the governor’s back rescinded an executive order order, but not surprised by it. protecting LGBT employees from “I guess I’m not surprised by discrimination in the workforce the view, but I didn’t think such a on Feb. 10. measure, that is to me draconian, “I think it’s appalling that the would happen,” Wilks said. “I governor would take this action,” wouldn’t expect his support, but Boatman said, “It’s not just this goes beyond not supporting.” refusing to On Friday, enact protecuniversity “There’s no place for tions for the John discrimination or hatred President LGBT Bardo released a community, in the state of Kansas.” statement in but it’s going — Kerry Wilks reaction to the one step Associate Dean, WSU Graduate School governor’s order. further and “In response to actually recent discussion trashing protections that LGBT of nondiscrimination policies at people have.” the state level,” the statement In a statement released Friday, reads, “we want to reaffirm that Wichita State reaffirmed that it WSU’s policies prohibit discrimiwill not discriminate LGBT nation in our programs and employees. activities on the basis of race, The executive order Brownback religion, color, national origin, repealed last week was enacted by gender, age, sexual orientation, then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in marital status, political affiliation, 2007, protecting LGBT state status as a veteran, genetic employees from discrimination. information or disability. These Brownback said he rescinded the protections remain in place.” order because such changes should See RESPONSE on page 2 be made by the state legislature.

By TJ Rigg EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @TJ_Rigg

while completing specialized research.

“It is a great chance to practice presentation skills,” said Stephanie Rogers, Honors College adviser and undergraduate research grants program assistant. “It gives [the students] a chance to show that higher education is worthwhile to continue funding.”

See CAPITOL on page 2

Student research: Lydia Ibarra Senior, Sociology “Shaping the Ideal Stepfamily: Myths and Stressors” Maha Madi Junior, Psychology “Reducing Meication Administration Errors in Emergency Medical Servixes through th Implementation of a Verbal Berification Method”

Spencer Sinclair Junior, Printmaking “Mezzotints” Tyler McGinnis-Extine Senior, Mechanical Engineering “Effect of dwell time and dwell length on friciton coefficient in machinging under minima-quatitiy lubrication” Colton Turner Senior, Psychology “Pedestrian Detection During Night Time Driving and Texting”

Political Science Club finds peak in interest

By Travis Gillespie STAFF REPORTER @November61999

Few people analyze what’s going on in politics anymore, said Mel Kahn, a professor of political science.

“We need more people who present occurrences based on factual knowledge rather than just trying to persuade people to a certain point of view,” Kahn said.

That’s the idea that moves Wichita State’s Political Science Club, a group that has seen a surge in attendance for its weekly political discussion event, “Times Talks.”

Traditionally, the club has had around 10 people participating in its political roundtables, but lately that number has jumped up to 15 to 20 people, and occasionally 30.

“People are becoming more aware of what’s going on,” said TC Edwards, a junior studying political science. “People see that current events and politics are becoming daily events in their lives, and we provide a great place for them to air their opinions or learn more about what’s going on.”

The Political Science Club was founded by the WSU Political Science Department to expand student knowledge of and participation in politics at the local, state and national levels. Club members meet to discuss domestic and international political issues and events. They host educational events including speakers, voter education campaigns and political debates, giving students a place to socialize and interact with others who share their interests.

The big draw, however, is Times Talks.

“It started in an interesting way,” Kahn said. “The New York Times

Photo by Kevin Brown

The Wichita State Political Science Club meets on the fourth floor of Lindquist Hall on Friday. The group has seen increasing numbers in membership lately.

itself agreed to give us money — for food, originally — if we would organize something around reading their paper, and since I assign the topics in my classes anyway, that became an incentive.”

The discussion group formed three years ago and has been going strong ever since. Edwards, the group’s president, posts topics and hyperlinks to articles ahead of time so that participants can arrive informed.

That analysis of facts is an important factor for Kahn, who is concerned the U.S. is becoming a nation of nonreaders. Even at the college level, he said, most people get their information from blog articles, entertainment figures or 140-character summaries, and that we’re become a people who doesn’t know what we’re talking about.

“A lot of what passes for education is just rote feedback,” Kahn said.

“Being able to articulate and get educated through opinions outside yourself and be challenged by opinions that are different from yours is a very important part of the education system.”

The group is not for any particular political leaning, but for anyone

who’s interested in the political process or world events.

“We have Republicans, we have Democrats, we have Libertarians, we have — well, he’s never come out and said he’s an anarchist, but basically he’s an anarchist,” Edwards said. “I myself am a Democratic Socialist. We have all kinds of political leanings, even unaffiliated and people who really are not sure where they stand.”

Edwards described their meetings as not heated, but enthusiastic.

“We’ve never actually argued,” he said. “We’re not shouting, we’ve never gotten into any fist fights. We keep things civil. I’m very proud to say we’ve managed to maintain a civil and inclusive atmosphere.”

According to Ciboski’s recent commentary on Wichita Public Radio station KMUW, a 2008 survey revealed that Americans with a college degree score only 13 points higher in civic literacy than those with a high school diploma. Elected officials scored even lower than the general public. He even gave the exam to one of his political science classes at Wichita State.

See CLUB on page 2

2

OPINION

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FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Reflections on an election Shockers skip across 17th Street

On any given school day, Wichita State students, faculty and staff can be COLUMN BY found playing LARISSA LAWRIE a dangerous game of real life “Frogger” as they attempt to cross 17th Street.

Often, those jaywalking are trying to get to and from the neighborhood and parking lots near Brennan Hall.

Brennan contains offices that have been displaced by renovations, including Career Development, Counseling and Testing and the Division of Student Affairs. For those who depend on those services, traveling to the building is an annoyance that could be deadly.

The obvious answer might be to put a crosswalk or traffic signal between the main campus and Brennan. Junior Rebecca Pedrazzi agrees that something needs to be done — and a traffic signal might be the answer.

“There are more cars crossing the street, and it’s taking forever to cross the street and waiting for somebody to let you go,” Pedrazzi said, “and it’s also unsafe because you never see who’s coming from the other side of the road.

Students are not the only ones dealing with traffic. Jessica Provines, associate director for the Counseling and Testing Center also agrees a traffic signal would be beneficial.

“There is a lot of foot traffic across 17th, and I’m frequently having to dodge cars,” Provines said.

Despite being so close to campus, the City of Wichita — rather than the university — would make the decision on how to handle pedestrian movements on 17th Street, and if the placement of a signal would be

beneficial.

City of Wichita traffic engineer Brian Coon said he thinks traffic signals at Yale and 17th would not meet signal warrants and could put pedestrians at risk. Due to the layout of 17th Street, pedestrians would have a greater chance of being injured, he said.

Coon said the bus stop across the street from Brennan decreases visibility. Crosswalks in front of buildings are generally not recommended, he said, and there is less than 150 feet before a left-hand turn. A signal would do more harm than good and cost around $130,000, he said.

Some students and faculty might be unaware of the crosswalk between Fairmount and Vassar, only 500 feet from where individuals are jaywalking. A temporary solution could consist of students and staff walking further to cross safely.

“What we want students to be aware of is that driver expectation and pedestrian movements need to be combined to create a safe environment,” Coon said.

What might be attributed to laziness might be due to logistics.

Visibility of the crosswalk is limited as trees next to it are overgrown and it connects directly to the tennis courts off 17th Street.

Coon said he thinks a partnership between WSU and the City of Wichita to employ Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPED) could possibly be the best solution to the problem. They could work to reroute foot traffic, trim or remove the current row of trees, put in bigger sidewalks and attempt to increase pedestrian visibility.

“Anytime we can reach out and work with Wichita State to make pedestrians and motoring public safety is always good,” Coon said.

RESPONSE

“We are basically extending those current protections to also cover transgender people for what we envision can be an instance of discrimination,” Gonzalez said.

“We are trying to interpret our current protections of gender and sexual orientation to expand that protection to the folks in the transgender community.”

Boatman said she would like to see further wording in WSU’s anti-discrimination policy explaining that transgender people are protected.

“If you feel like something is covered by something already in there, if you don’t have any problems covering them, what is the big deal about putting it in the clause for people who aren’t as inclusive and accepting?”

Boatman asked. “If we want to stay on the cutting edge of diversity and inclusion, it’s pretty much a no-brainer to include it.”

Wilks said Brownback’s executive order is disappointing to the people of Kansas looking to improve the state.

“Even here at WSU, we’re looking at innovation, we’re doing Innovation Campus, and we’re actively working for the good of all Kansans,” she said.

“And then you have something like this that is targeting a group of Kansans. It’s a step backward for civil rights. There’s no place for discrimination or hatred in the state of Kansas.”

from page 1

For LGBT employees on campus, that means they will not be discriminated against, despite the governor’s order, said Francisco Gonzalez, executive director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

“There haven’t been any changes, nor do we expect there to be any changes, in our ability to protect our students, faculty and staff,” Gonzalez said.

Wilks said on a personal note, she was happy with Bardo’s statement.

“It makes me feel positive that WSU, where I work and spend a great deal of my time,” Wilks said, “has spoken out about such an important matter and definitively has said, I think, that all of our students and all of our employees matter.”

However, one area of concern with WSU’s discrimination policy is gender identity and expression, Gonzalez said. He said that while the policy has never explicitly covered the two, the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity has interpreted discrimination based on gender identity to be covered under the policy regarding discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.

the traditional Republican-Democrat battle.

The results of the election were predictable: the voters in the great state of Kansas re-elected nearly all of the politicians that, according to voters, seemed to cause nothing but controversy in the time leading up to the election.

That leaves one question: if the present administration did not adequately represent the needs of Kansas, why were they re-elected?

Today, as individuals across the state sign online petitions asking for the recall of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback in light of recent legislation introduced since re-taking office, I can’t help but wonder where some of these individuals were in the days leading up to election day.

Although you may feel that your vote does not count, trust me, it does — in the 1974 general elections, the winning governor candidate won by 3,000 votes.

And, at the time, Kansas had roughly 2.2 million residents, turning those 3,000 votes into a real-life example of “your vote counts.”

After looking at data from the office of Kansas Secretary of State

Kris Kobach pertaining to the 2014 general elections, the same trends emerge.

In Kansas, a total of 1,744,866 individuals were registered to vote at the time of the election.

About 240,000 of registered voters voted early, and a total of 887,023 votes were cast in Kansas.

In the most important election since 1974, only 50.8 percent of voters in Kansas cast their vote.

And, the kicker: between the top two 2014 governor candidates, Paul Davis and Sam Brownback, Davis lost by roughly 32,000 votes, less than 4 percent of the total votes cast in the election between the candidates.

It does not matter if you are satisfied with the results of the elections or not — only 50.8 percent of registered voters turned out to the polls.

If you were part of those who turned out to vote, be sure to encourage those around you to vote.

However, if you were part of the 49.2 percent of registered Kansas voters that did not vote in 2014, but are unhappy with the way Kansas is going, I urge you to vote in the next election.

CLUB

17 of the 19 were familiar with cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead.”

Kahn said the Political Science Club is a good place to start learning about civics.

“One of the things I like about Times Talks is that we not only have a core of political science students, but we have a great diversity,” Kahn said. “One of the constant students, in terms of his presence, is an engineering student. He’s very bright and brings a different perspective.

Getting a good mix of viewpoints is beneficial to all.”

For students who may be less interested in politics, Edwards

has some advice.

“Even if you’re unsure, the best way to learn is to listen,” he said.

“It can be very intimidating to be in a room with a lot of smart, opinionated people, but it doesn’t have to be. If there’s one thing I want students to take away from our meetings it’s that this is a place where they can come and learn. Come and get informed about whatever issue you’re interested in.”

“We’re here to learn from each other as much as to discuss.”

For more information about the Political Science Club or “Times Talks,” contact Edwards at txedwards@wichita.edu.

The presentations were not limited to scientific fields, either — WSU students presented findings and materials on the study of step-family stressors, pedestrian detection while texting at night, modulaton-assisted machining, reduction of medication administration errors in emergency medical services through verbal verifications, and Mezzotint printmaking, a classification of print artwork where designs and text are carefully etched into a slate of copper using precision tools.

“You use a tool to create a texture on the surface of the plate,” said Spencer Sinclair, a junior printmaking student.

Presentations came from researchers in departments of sociology, psychology, printmaking and mechanical engineering.

“We are proud of the diversity and the projects we have,” Rogers said.

At the end of the event, students who presented the findings from their research were presented with an award detailing their achievements.

Although this has only been the

third year of the program, plans are in place to continue it for future students — many of the students who presented were able to commence their studies with the help of grant money.

“We can build awareness,” said Augusto. “Get more state senators, representatives and lobbyists to come by.”

In recent times, talks of budget cuts by Gov. Sam Brownback have placed educators across the state in a lurch.

On Feb. 5, Brownback announced a list of cuts to Kansas schools totaling $45 million, which includes universities governed under the Kansas Board of Regents.

From this total, WSU is scheduled to receive a cut of $1.5 million.

Even with this prospect, Kimberly Engber, dean of the Honors College at WSU, doesn’t think the cuts are going to affect the students and their drive to succeed.

“They will make the most of it,” Engber said. “Undergraduate students are pretty hardy.”

from page 1

“Four of them knew that James Madison is the ‘father’ of our Constitution,” Ciboski said, “and only seven knew that the phrase ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’ is from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address.

“Five students did not know that our Constitution established the division of powers between the states and the federal government. All of the students knew of rapper Snoop Dogg, and

CAPITOL

from page 1

For 12 years, graduate-level researchers at WSU have had the opportunity to preview the results of their research to lawmakers and others in their field, originally suggested by a graduate-level researcher wanting an opportunity to present the result of his work.

However, it was not until three years ago that undergraduate researchers had the same opportunity.

“We asked, ‘We’ve got this great thing for graduate students,’” said John Augusto, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research at KU. “‘But where are the undergrads?’”

For the past three years, “leadership” of the event has been claimed by one school per year.

Included in this responsibility is the setup, refreshments, event organization and the photographer, Rogers said. This year, Wichita State’s Honors College took ownership of the event, providing logistics as well as research presentations from five undergraduate Shockers.

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In what seems to have been only a short time, months have absolutely COLUMN BY flown by KEVIN BROWN following the 2014 General Elections here in the United States.

However, with the amount of legislation that has happened in the past three months, it has felt like years.

Recently, the media has been a buzz with budget cuts, minority protection battles and discussion over whether or not professors should be allowed to use their university titles in newspaper columns.

Unfortunately, I wish that I could say these conversations surprise me.

Looking back, the 2014 campaign season was one that would mark history books. A governor’s race marked with three strong candidates, a secretary of state race involving two candidates that differed drastically and a senatorial race between a Republican and Independent candidate, bucking

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FEBRUARY 16, 2015

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At 23, WSU graduate Blake Carpenter is the youngest Kansas representative in office

By Rahim Thompson STAFF REPORTER @RahimLegend

The youngest legislator in the Kansas House of Representatives was once the ringleader of some of the most thrilling airsoft shootouts on the Wichita State campus.

Before devoting his life to politics, Blake Carpenter — a December graduate of Wichita State — spent his free time playing first-person shooter games such as Call of Duty and Halo. Carpenter would then use similar shooting techniques when playing airsoft with a group of friends at the Heskett Center.

“When I was a sophomore there wasn’t anything to do in the dorms,” said Carpenter, 23. “I decided to start up a airsoft team on campus. Airsoft is a game similar to paintball but instead of shooting paint, players would shoot plastic beanies. It’s a lot safer than paintball, but the guns look more realistic.”

Carpenter has long since put the video and airsoft games behind him for a more lucrative passion.

Prior to graduating in December, Carpenter got married and campaigned his way to becoming the youngest legislator in the Kansas House of Representatives, something he didn’t foresee happening until his late 30’s.

Political Beginnings Carpenter’s interests in politics began when he turned on the radio.

There he heard his first political debate and said he instantly became intrigued. The more he listened to the radio, his interest grew until he eventually joined the College Republicans and changed his major to political science.

“I think attending WSU was a great preparation and was instrumental in helping prepare me because of the broad base of politics that are taught,” Carpenter said.

“The political science classes there were great. Everything up until this point has been what I expected it to be, because the classes I took on campus were very informal.”

As Carpenter’s interest in politics intensified, he began weighing in on political issues with anyone who would listen.

Carpenter’s passion caught the eye of professor Ken Ciboski.

Ciboski taught several of Carpenter’s classes, but it was in his political science and legislative politics classes that he noticed how driven Carpenter was.

“Blake was a serious student,” Ciboski said. “He was never late nor did he miss any classes. I can recall the time I noticed him developing a great interest in politics. His intense interests and focus on politics made him different. I think that was a big thing.”

Ciboski required each student in his legislative politics class to interview a member of the Kansas House of Representatives for a class project. Carpenter interviewed then-Derby representative Jim Howell, who convinced him that running for legislative didn’t have to be put off until he was “old enough.”

Twist of Fate In the course of the interview, Carpenter learned that Howell was looking for a predecessor.

“When Jim told me he hasen’t been able to find a replacement, I told him someday I was going to run when I was 30 or 40,” Carpenter said. “He replied ‘Why not now?’ That’s something that never crossed my mind until that moment.”

What happened next was a dramatic role reversal. A simple class interview turned into a fourto five-hour session of Howell vetting Carpenter on his political ideologies.

“He went through the Republican platform and went down the list and wanted to hear my thoughts,” Carpenter said. “He wanted to know where I stood on physical issues in particular.”

After their discussion, Carpenter

had convinced Howell that he’d found his new replacement.

Carpenter walked out of the interview with more than a school project.

He left with a cosign.

Howell is serving as the District 5 Sedgwick County Commissioner and said he remembers vividly of what his first impressions of Carpenter were.

“Blake is young but he is very serious,” Howell said. “He understood the politics around issues.

He’s mature for his age. He’s energetic and he immerses himself into the role of being a representative of the people.”

It was advice that has stuck with Carpenter.

“I just encouraged him to realize it’s not as hard as it seems,” Howell said. “I think people doubt themselves and believe they don’t have a lot to offer. The reality is that the people that run for these positions are like everybody else.

They care about the issues and care about making a difference.”

After the interview Carpenter knew he found his niche. He was going to run as Howell’s eventual predecessor.

Finding balance Everything was a matter of balance for Carpenter. In the fall semester he was balancing school, work, campaigning and marriage.

It’s been a full year since Carpenter married his wife in December 2013. He said she, along with friends and professors, such as Ciboski, have been conducive in his

success thus far.

“He talked to me about running,” Ciboksi said. “He asked me what I though about it. I told him, ‘I think you can win it. Yes, you’re young but I think you can win.’ I gave him a list of things he would encounter to help prepare him, along with things he would need to do to win.”

One of those things was to go door-to-door and get acquainted with the citizens of Wichita.

Carpenter spent hours going house to house last summer and fall, sometimes visiting the same house up to three times, something Ciboski said would be excessive but will increase his chances of winning.

“What Blake found out was that residents would see him as a young person, and were impressed,” Ciboksi said. “I told him, ‘You’re the kind of person I would send to the door.’ I know people in this town and I knew he wouldn’t have any problems.”

Meaning: Carpenter’s clean-cut, well-dressed manner would be appealing to residents in Wichita.

Carpenter is eloquent and knows how to relate politics to individual lives, a trait that led to him winning more than 61 percent of the votes during the election.

“He won handily,” Ciboski said.

“I recall he was nervous. I think it hit him that he won and now he would have to serve in Topeka. It was probably difficult to think he was just a student two months ago and now he’s in office.”

‘Just being humble’

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Blake Carpenter, representative for the 81st district, is a recent Wichita State graduate.

Since Carpenter has been in office, not many adjustments have been made on his behalf. He said he didn’t move to Topeka with the notion he was going to change the entire system right way.

“Because I’m young, I didn’t go up there thinking everyone was going to love me or I was the best thing since sliced bread,” Carpenter said. “I’m just being humble and I found that when you give respect you get it back.”

Other than getting his own parking spot, there hasn’t been any luxurious perks for being the youngest in office. At the moment, Carpenter has his mind focused on dedicating his weekdays to his job and driving several hours back to Derby on the weekends to see his wife.

“Most of us representatives have to drive two to six hours to get to the capital Monday through Friday, which makes it tough for us to see our families,” Carpenter said. “It definitely takes work to balance my marriage because of that. I’m glad it’s only part-time. It’s only 90 days and after 90 days we live out lives in a normal state. Next year when January comes around we start the cycle again. It’s just a big balancing act.”

Though Carpenter is young, he isn’t short on goals. Only two months in office, Carpenter has launced a plan to remedy several key issues in Kansas, such as judicial selection.

“I have a plan to fix the budget situation and change the judicial selection,” Carpenter said. “Kansas has the only judicial selection like this in the United States. [I] would like to see it change to more of a democratize method. It’s the least democratic.”

Because fixing issues in politics is a tedious task, Carpenter no longer has time for gaming or airsoft. He admits he’s been more productive since then, hanging up the game controllers and airsoft guns.

However, he plans to return to WSU at some point to get his master’s. Carpenter even extended an offer to speak to students in Ciboski’s classes. He plans on giving students similar advice Howell gave him — politics are not that difficult. However, Ciboski said he thinks even if that’s true, there’s one thing that set Carpenter apart from the rest of his students.

“His intense interests and focus on politics made him different,” Ciboksi said. “I think that was the major selling point.”

and a five-year residency at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has performed hundreds of concerts at many North American, European and Asian prestigious series and festivals.

Doors for the concert open half an hour before showtime. The Wiedemann Box Office opens one hour before the show.

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Tickets are $7 with discounts available. For more information, call the Fine Arts Box Office at 978-3233, Monday through Friday noon to 5 p.m., or email fastickets@wichita.edu.

Ablah Library hosting workshop for finding reliable sources

Students needing help with conducting research can get some help from Ablah Library during a research workshop from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the library.

Attendees will learn how to identify which articles are best for background information and which are for more complex questions, how to understand the

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differences between primary, secondary and tertiary sources and become familiar with SmartSearch and other library search tools.

The workshop is free and open to the WSU community.

For more information, call 978-6331.

Chief strategist for Apples & Arrows featured speaker for Business Booster Series Todd Ramsey, chief strategist for Apples & Arrows advertising company, is the featured guest speaker at Friday’s Business Booster Series event.

Ramsey will present “Happiness Matters: Creating a Culture for Business to Thrive” from 12 to 3:30 p.m. Friday in 010 Devlin Hall.

The cost to attend this series presentation is $50 for the general public, $10 for faculty and staff and $5 for students.

For more information, contact Wendy Veatch, director of outreach programming for the Wichita State Center for Entrepreneurship, at 978-521.

— TJ Rigg Office of Financial Aid to host FAFSA Workshop The Office of Financial Aid will host a workshop to assist students and their guardians in navigating and filing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Office staff will be on hand in Lindquist 429B Tuesday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and in Jabara 124 from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The workshop is free and open to the public.

For more information, call 978-5027.

—Kevin Brown

4

SPORTS

WWW.THESUNFLOWER.COM

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Shockers clip Redbirds in away game

By James Kellerman SPORTS EDITOR @JamesKman13

Wichita State’s men’s basketball team traveled to Peoria, Ill., Saturday to face the Illinois State Redbirds for the second time this season. The last time these two teams played, WSU won 70-61, but were out-rebounded 32-27 on Jan. 4.

This Saturday’s game was different, at least in the rebounding category. The Shockers out-rebounded Illinois State 40-26, led by senior Tekele Cotton’s 10 rebounds in the game. “[I’m] clearly, obviously disappointed in our rebounding effort,” Illinois State head coach Dan Muller said on the WJBC postgame show. “We have not rebounded in the last four or five games like we were earlier. [I attribute it to] effort and toughness.”

The other thing Illinois State didn’t do was limiting their personal foul count. Ending the game with 24 team fouls, two players had four and Redbird sophomore Reggie Lynch had five. The fouls led to 32 free throws for the Shockers, converting 27 of them for 84.4 percent.

With 8:56 left in the first half, Fred VanVleet jumped up at the three-point line to catch a high pass. Illinois State’s Paris Lee slid his foot under VanVleet leaving him to hobble to the bench.

VanVleet returned and finished the game with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.

“VanVleet, 15 points with the

File photo by Marcus Wright

Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet drives by a defender in the second half against Illinois State in a game earlier this season. The Shockers beat Illinois State again last Saturday, 68-62.

ankle problem,” head coach Gregg Marshall said on the 103.7 KEYN postgame show with Mike Kennedy. “He comes down on his ankle. I’m sure most kids would not be able to finish the game.”

Going into the second half with a 29-23 lead on the Redbirds, the Shockers were able to extend their lead to 11 points.

Ron Baker, hampered with foul trouble, only played 12 minutes in the second half. That didn’t stop him from leading the team in scoring with 19 points.

Illinois State cut the lead to two with a dunk from Reggie Lynch. That’s when VanVleet drove down the court, dished it to freshman Rashard Kelly in the lane and Kelly dunked it over

Reggie Lynch to take a four point lead, fouling Lynch out of the game.

Wichita State was never able to pull too far ahead of the Redbirds, but were able to avoid giving Illinois State any chance at taking the lead or tying the game.

Late free throws from the Shockers solidified a 68-62 win,

moving them to 23-3 on the season and 13-1 in the MVC. “[It was] just a tremendous win for our team and it puts us in pretty good position now heading into Southern Illinois,” Marshall said.

Wichita State’s next game will be against the Southern Illinois Salukis (10-17, 3-11 MVC) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Carbondale, Ill.

Braves provide no challenge, Shockers win

By Cole Yancey SPORTS REPORTER @CAYancey21

The Wichita State women’s basketball team defeated the Bradley Braves 66-36 Sunday afternoon.

The Shockers moved to 20-4 with the win and the Braves fell to 4-20 with the loss.

WSU senior guard Jamillah

Bonner helped the Shockers secure an early lead that they held the remainder of the game by scoring eight points in the first 10 minutes.

Bonner was helped by teammate and fellow guard Alex Harden. Both players controlled the game with their defense and led the team in scoring. Bonner finished with 18 points and Harden finished with 26.

The Shockers’ defense dictated

the game. WSU forced Bradley into 17 of its 28 turnovers in the first half.

WSU capitalized on Bradley’s mistakes by scoring more than half of the team’s points off turnovers.

In the last 10 minutes of the half, WSU held the Braves to only five points, as they built an early 20-point lead.

The score was 33-15 at the half.

WSU did the same in the

second half.

Although Bradley was able to score early and chip away at the lead, Harden and Bonner again stepped up and forced turnovers that led to easy layups in transition.

Bradley struggled in the half court, and was held to their lowest score of the season. No Bradley player scored more than six points.

WSU head coach Jody Adams

said she was pleased with the full game performance of her team.

“I love what we did defensively today,” she said. “I thought we were aggressive offensively and got to the free throw line.”

With the win, the Shockers remain tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Shockers move forward with a two game road trip against Illinois State and Southern Illinois next weekend.

Comeback kids: Softball finishes weekend 3-1

By James Kellerman SPORTS EDITOR @JamesKman13

The Wichita State softball team, now 6-3 on the season,

finished the weekend with three wins and one loss as part of the Texas Classic in Austin, Texas, at Red and Charline McCombs Field.

The Shockers were scheduled

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to play Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) on Sunday, but the game was canceled due to travel considerations.

Game 1 — Friday WSU started Friday’s double-header against the Colorado State Rams. In the first inning, junior outfielder Brittany Fortner hit her first homerun of the season. The Shockers went into the bottom half of the inning up 1-0. Then, the tide turned. It didn’t look good as the Shockers gave up a six-run inning to the Rams.

After four scoreless innings, the Rams committed three errors and allowed four runs by WSU — cutting their deficit to 6-5.

The Shockers had four runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead 9-6 and shut out CSU for the sixth straight inning to win the game 9-6.

Game 2 — Friday It was all tied with the University of Texas Longhorns

after four innings, 1-1. The Longhorns used a two-run fifth inning and a one-run sixth to take a 4-1 lead going into the final inning.

Down by four in the top of the seventh, the Shockers pinch-hit senior Erin Carney with the bases loaded and no outs.

Carney was hit by a pitch, bringing in a run for WSU and cutting the deficit 2-4. Then junior Paige Mason had a pinch-hit walk, cutting the Rams’ lead again.

Finally, senior Melanie Jaegers hit a three-run double, bringing in three runs for the Shockers.

Again, like in game one, WSU shut out the side to earn their second win of the weekend, 6-4.

Game 3 — Saturday WSU took on the Longhorns for the second-straight game to open Saturday’s double-header.

Texas had the lead through two innings after a one-run bottom of the first.

The Shockers’ two-run top of the third wasn’t enough to keep

the Longhorns down. Texas used a four-run third to capture a 5-2 lead, and WSU couldn’t make a comeback for the third game.

Texas won 10-4.

Game 4 — Saturday The Shockers faced IPFW in their final game of the weekend Saturday evening. It was a quick one for the Shockers, as they used 16 hits to earn 14 runs in four innings.

The game was called as IPFW failed to earn a single run in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman pitcher Kelsey Sterneker pitched all five innings with three strikeouts and only allowed two hits on zero runs.

The Shockers’ next set of games will be Friday through Sunday in the EMU Madeira Beach Tournament in Madeira Beach, Fla. The team will face Florida International University and Harvard on Friday, Villanova and the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday and Texas State on Sunday.

Baseball team opens season 1-2

By James Kellerman SPORTS EDITOR @JamesKman13

The Wichita State baseball team (1-2) opened its season Friday in Huntsville, Texas, in a three-game weekend series with the Sam Houston State Bearkats (2-1).

In game one, the Shockers and Bearkats were tied three-all going into the top of the seventh inning.

The Shockers used back-to-back homeruns from juniors Jordan Farris and Daniel Kihle against the Bearkats’ one-run seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead heading into the eighth.

SHSU took the lead in the bottom of the eighth on three hits, an error and two wild

pitches to earn four runs and an 8-5 lead.

The Shockers failed to score in the top of the ninth, starting their season 0-1.

Game two was a different story.

Junior Chase Rader led the Shockers on three-for-four hitting and two RBI and a home run.

With two runs in the top of the second and two runs in the top of the fourth, the Bearkats brought in three runs in the bottom of the fourth to close the game.

That’s the closest the Bearkats would come, though. The Shockers won the game 4-3.

Junior pitcher Isaac Anderson pitched six innings, giving up three runs, and junior pitcher Sam Hilliard came in relief to pitch the final three innings,

giving up four hits, but no runs.

Game three didn’t play out well for the Shockers. SHSU used a four-run bottom of the second to take a 4-0 lead. WSU had one run in the top of the third to cut the deficit, but the Bearkats earned another two runs in the fourth to take a 6-1 lead.

The Shocker’s two-run seventh cut the score to 6-3, but again the Bearkats scored three runs in the eighth to gain a 9-3 advantage.

The Shockers failed to score a single run in the ninth, ending the game with a 3-9 loss and moving to 1-2 on the season.

The baseball team will face Oral Roberts Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla., before coming back to play at 3 p.m. this Friday against Texas State at Eck Stadium.