The Sunflower v.123 i.38

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 • VOL. 123, ISS. 38

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

Which colleges get the best and worst deal out of the Shock the Future referendum?

BY MATTHEW KELLY

Wichita State students will vote March 4-6 on a referendum to raise student fees by $6 a credit hour.

Money raised would allow the university to bond $38.6 million to address campus infra-structure priorities.

More than half of the money raised by the proposed hike would go towards a new business school. The combined price tag for the Liberal Arts and Sciences, Applied Studies, and Engineer-ing infrastructure priorities is $1.3 million — just over 3 percent of the money the fee hike would raise.

If the referendum passes, $8.6 million will go to centralizing student services in Clinton Hall, and another

$795,000 will go to other projects in Ablah Library, including expanding the 24-hour study room.

The remaining $29.2 million would be split between WSU’s six colleges, with $20 million going to-wards the construction of a new business building on Innovation Campus.

That’s more than 454 percent of what would go towards Business priorities if money raised by the proposed fee hike was distributed proportionally by how many students are in each college.

On the other end of the spectrum, if the referendum passes, just $100,000 would go towards the College of Engineering’s sole priority — renovating and modernizing supersonic wind tunnel labs. That’s 2 percent of the money that would

go towards Engineering if funds were distributed pro-portionally between colleges.

Two other colleges, Applied Studies and LAS, would also receive less than 10 percent — roughly 8 and 9 percent, respectively — of the money they would get if funds were distributed propor-tionally. More than a third of WSU students are in LAS, making it far and away the school’s largest college.

If the referendum passes, Health Professions would get $4.4 million for projects. That’s 107 percent of what Health Professions would get if funds were distributed proportionally.

For the College of Fine Arts, an audio and visual equipment upgrade and renovations to aging Henrion

% of student body

Money for projects if If funds were proportional referendum passes to student population

Business

14.9 %

$20 million

$4.4 million

Fine Arts

5.1 %

$3.5 million

$1.5 million

Health Professions

14.1 %

$4.4 million

$4.1 million

Liberal Arts & Sciences

34.4 %

$900,000

$10.0 million

Applied Studies

13.4 %

$300,000

$3.9 million

Engineering

17.9 %

$100,000

$5.2 milllion

Hall and Wilner Auditorium have a $3.5 million price tag. Fine Arts students make up just over 5 percent of WSU’s student body, so $3.5 million is more than 233 percent of the money that would go to the college if funds were allocated proportionally.

When addressing the apparent financial inequities of the infrastructure

proposal, university offi-cials have said a new business building will benefit students from all colleges, and that the refer-endum may be the only way for smaller projects to get funding in the near future.

“Rising tides lift all ships,” Fine Arts Dean Rodney Miller said at a recent town hall meeting.

Comedy of Errors

SELENA FAVELA/TTHE SUNFLOWER

The cast of Wichita State Mainstage Theatre’s “The Comedy of Errors” performs during dress rehearsal in Wilner Auditorium Wednesday. Performances run from 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday at Wilner Auditorium.

SGA will start livestreaming meetings next week

BY AUDREY KORTE

The Student Government Association met Wednesday night for the first full Student Senate meeting with Shelby Rowell and Matthew Madden as student body president and vice president, respectively.

Rowell and Madden were sworn in last week after Student Body President Kenon Brinkley resigned amidst accusations that he sexually assaulted multiple women.

Rowell announced prematurely that SGA would be livestreaming weekly meetings. The plan was to start livestreaming Wednesday night, but that got pushed to next week’s meeting.

“Today, we are actually livestreaming on Youtube. It is the first time we will be live streaming,“ Rowell said. “Never mind.

We will be doing that next week.

I’m so sorry. I thought we were full steam ahead this week.”

Rowell then addressed what it will be like to have cameras at meetings.

“Please be aware of your facial expressions, because we have three cameras around the room.

They do zoom in on whoever is talking,” Rowell said.

Rowell was asked during

AUSTIN SHAW/TTHE SUNFLOWER

Student Body Vice President Matt Madden speaks at Wednesday’s meeting.

the question section after the president’s report where the third camera was located.

Rowell began pointing to cameras and counting.

“One, two...”

She stopped. The room broke into laughter at the same time as Rowell.

“I honestly could not tell you right now,” Rowell continued.

Someone explained that there are two cameras now, but a third will be used if needed.

Director of Public Relations Andrew Martin said SGA will use a closed-captioning service to livestream. Martin said the

site is ready to launch and will be ADA compliant.

The service will be available on the new Wichita State Student Government Association Youtube account.

It’s a different account than SGA has used in the past, and the two old accounts will no longer work, Martin said. He said he’s currently trying to get the other accounts removed.

SGA used to livestream meetings, but stopped in October 2017 because, without closed-captioning, broadcasts were not ADA-compliant.

Wednesday’s meeting was

marked by several instances of procedural confusion.

Madden described the session as, “a bit of a mess”.

He said there are a number of new senators who are learning the rules right now in addition to the unexpected changes in leadership last week.

He also noted that some of the procedural issues that came up were atypical and said that he would be putting flashcards of the rules on his phone.

“Parliamentary procedures were all over the place today,” Diversity Task Force Chair Anisia Brumley said during the remarks towards the end of the meeting.

“Make sure we have the right motion before we raise our hand,” Brumley said. “Go over that packet that Shelby (Rowell) made for us because it’s super helpful.”

“There were some parliamentary errors,” Brumley said after the meeting. “It’s just that Robert’s Rules can be very confusing.”

Rowell encouraged the senate to take SGA sessions seriously and remember that it is a job.

“We want to finish out this session strong,” Rowell said. “So keep coming and doing your job every week.”

Natasha Stephens out as WSU Title IX coordinator

BY MATTHEW KELLY

Christine Taylor has been named Wichita State’s interim Title IX coordinator, according to a university release. Natasha STEPHENS Stephens, who was appointed Title IX coordinator in March 2016, is no longer listed in the university’s staff directory.

Taylor, who became TAYLOR director of WSU’s new Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance last June, previously served as Title IX coordinator at Marquette University. As title IX coordinator, Stephens reported directly to Taylor. Vice President for Strategic Communications Lou Heldman said Taylor will continue to serve as director while taking on the additional responsibilities.

Heldman declined to comment on the circumstances of Stephens’ departure.

INSIDE

RIP, BLAKE HALL

NEAR-PERFECT OFFENSE

HARDEST WORKER

There’s something for everyone at Riverside Park.

Blake Hall, which housed KMUW from 1981-2016, is being demolished.

WSU dominated Tulsa for an 81-60 victory on the road.

Eli Farrakhan has had his doubters on the way to becoming a D-I scholarship player.

CULTURE/OPINION• PAGE 2

NEWS • PAGE 3

SPORTS • PAGE 4

SPORTS • PAGE 4

RIVERSIDE REVIEW

CULTURE/OPINION

2 | THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 2019

www.thesunflower.com

THE STAFF EDITORIAL

Editor in Chief Matthew Kelly

www.thesunflower.com

Riverside Park

Digital Managing Editor Andrew Linnabary

shocker

street speak

What do you think about Kenon Brinkley resigning as SGA president?

Visual Managing Editor Madeline Deabler Culture Editor John Darr Opinion Editor Austin May Sports Editor Evan Pflugradt Photo Editor Selena Favela Sports Photo Editor Joseph Barringhaus

EDUARDO CASTILLO/THE SUNFLOWER

A pine tree at Riverside Park reaches into the sky.

ADVERTISING

Advertising Manager Kylie Cameron

Riverside Park, the park that has everything

ADVISING

Faculty Adviser Amy DeVault

“My initial thought was that him resigning puts things in a negative light because of the allegations. I think that it is a good thing, though, that he resigned, with everything that was happening.”

— LAUREN EICHMAN, psychology, junior

JOHN DARR

CULTURE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Send letters to the editor to editor@thesunflower.com or submit at thesunflower.com. Please keep letters to 400 words or less. All letters are edited for clarity and length. Please include your name, WSU affiliation and a phone number for verification purposes.

Our Mission

The Sunflower — both in print and online — will be a timely resource of information about the Wichita State University community. It will report on news, issues, activities, academics and athletics, in addition to offering a forum for discussion, reviews and commentary. It will also be an effective learnig experience for students, who will have the final authority over what is published.

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The Sunflower (published for use by WSU students, faculty and staff) is private property and unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable. One copy may be taken for free. Additional copies must be purchased for $1 each. The Sunflower is also partially funded by the Student Government Association at WSU. The opinions expressed in The Sunflower editorials, columns, guest columns, reviews, advertisements, letters and editorial cartoons are not necessarily those of the staff, publications board, student body or university. The Sunflower reserves the right to edit or reject any submission. We also reserve the right to edit or reject any advertisement.

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G

uess what, park nerds — there’s a river in Wichita that has a park next to it. Not impressed?

Make that three parks in one.

Let’s say you have a deep and wild passion for disc golf, but you also can’t get enough of hanging around cool buildings. Well, what are you waiting for? Get your park-loving self to North Riverside Park! It’s right next to the Oak Park disc golf course, where you can destroy your friends in a game of aim-the-frisbee before venturing towards the stately and beautiful park villa for a picnic.

I can just tell — you think this disc golf course is for noobs. Well, think that no longer. Oak Park disc golf is right next to Riverside Park’s titular river, and it is waiting for your amateur arm to feed it frisbee after frisbee. Heck, don’t feel bad — I chucked one in there on my first go around. But like Hell’s Kitchen, the Oak Park disc golf uses pain and struggle to turn you into a better person. It also turns river-wading frisbee-scavengers a good profit.

Not into disc golf? Say no more.

Head to the park villa, a building as simultaneously dignified and cute as a pug in a top hat. It’s got little benches in all the right places — some next to the pond, some looking off the villa porch, some just sort of randomly placed around to give it that avant-garde vibe — making it the best place for a Tinder date picnic. You can’t

EDUARDO CASTILLO/THE SUNFLOWER

Canadian Geese stand riverside at Riverside Park Sunday.

fish in the pond though. Bring your own picnic fish, you nerd!

What? You appreciate neither picnics nor disc golf? I’m not about to question your sanity unless you can’t find anything to love in Central Riverside Park. Love animals? Well, I hope those animals are geese! At any given time, there are at least three flocks to choose from. Nah, I’m half kidding. You can like just about any animal you want at Central Riverside Park, because it has a heckin’ zoo! That’s right, a zoo in the middle of a park, with its own cute little pond right next to it (throwback to North Riverside Park, anyone?) From the red foxes to porcupines to beavers to owls, the zoo will satisfy your need to Instagram cute beasts for the clout.

Oh no! You have a deadly fear of animals and don’t want to associate with them? Well, I hope you don’t have a fear of fun, because there’s a ton of that in store at Riverside Park’s interactive fountains! By interactive, I mean you can run

through them. It’s basically a ton of little fountains shooting up out of the ground, just begging to be sat on, because you know you want to.

Don’t say they make you feel like a kid again — I know you never grew up. Look how much fun you’re having just imagining running through those fountains.

Oh, you’re a sports person. I should have guessed, you crazy athletic reader, you. So obviously, you could run through the many glorious acres of the aforementioned North and Central Parks, but if your talking sportsball, we’ve got you too. Jog on over to South Riverside Park, home of the Ralph Wulz Riverside Tennis Center, where you can play handball. It also has tennis.

Seriously, Riverside Park has it all. Heck, my friend got married there, and that friend has the best taste in fashion and aesthetics of anyone in Wichita, so basically, it’s the best. Now stop reading this article, you crazy wordaholic! I’ll see you riverside.

A day in the life of a Harry Gore Memorial Scholar

“I believe he was correct in his decision to resign. If a leader no longer holds the trust or support of those he has committed to serve, he has no place continuing in that position.

I believe the students of Wichita State University have lost faith in Brinkley.

The actions described by Cuellar are despicable and disheartening, particularly considering Brinkley’s apparent advocacy for victims of sexual assault and violence.”

— EMILY RISHEL, marketing, junior

“I think his resignation was very respectful on his end, because had there been any drama that occurred, he wanted to spare the students from any scandal that could have upset people, so he was thinking of the students first. I appreciate that.”

— GABE CZEPIEL, music education, senior

BY DRAKE ROBINSON

Everything was on the line as Maribel Sanchez filled out her application to enter the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship contest.

Without the funding provided by the contest, she wouldn’t be able to afford a four-year university college experience.

Many essays, recommendation letters, and intense interviews later, Sanchez overcame seeming insurmountable odds and found herself able to attend Wichita State. There were 500 other applicants when Sanchez competed in 2017.

Since arriving on campus, Sanchez has been deeply involved in Shocker life. She’s active as a resident assistant at Shocker Hall and an employee of WSU Office of Admissions.

And Sanchez has already helped initiate change on campus.

The Lambda Pi Upsilon sorority just established their WSU chapter last year, and Sanchez took a lead role in getting it off the ground.

The stakes are high as WSU’s chapter is a special one — it’s the only colony of Lambda Pi Upsilon in the entire Midwest. This gives the organization a chance to gain national attention. As a founding member, Sanchez said she hopes to shape the organization for years to come as it gets off the ground.

Being an RA at Shocker Hall is also a huge responsibility for Sanchez. Her duties include organizing and participating in

“I think it’s a good thing he resigned.

After everything that has happened, the fact that he stepped down because of it — it shows that there are consequences to doing things.”

— COURTNEY NUNEZ, health management, junior

KHÁNH NGUYỄN/THE SUNFLOWER

Maribel Sanchez hangs out with her dormmates at Shocker Hall. Sanchez, a Gore Scholarship winner, is also an RA and a founding member of Lambda Pi Upsilon sorority’s Wichita State chapter, which was founded last fall.

events around campus. Most recently, Sanchez worked as one of the hosts for the Shocker Date Auction. RAs like Sanchez are not only responsible for engaging in established campus activities, but responsible for launching new ones as well.

Sanchez’s work in the Office of Admissions comes full-circle in her personal journey. Her work involves recruiting high school seniors to WSU. Sanchez said she believes that higher education is vital to society and the success of young adults, and she uses her

own story as a pitch to high school students to recruit them to attend the university.

Sanchez’s work as a scholarship recipient and as an RA give her a great working knowledge about many of the activities on campus, and she shows students that the obstacles between them and a great college experience can and have been overcome. Although all her activities keep Sanchez busy as a college student, she wouldn’t have it any other way, she said.

“I choose everything I want to do because I love them all.”

“It’s a little disappointing if the allegations are true.

I am happy that there was a resignation. It’s just rough. If everything is true, I don’t think he should represent our student body.”

— MIA MAUPIN, biology, junior

NEWS

www.thesunflower.com

THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 2019

|3

From bell-bottoms to broadcast RIP Blake Hall

BY ANDREW LINNABARY

C

arla Eckels loves KMUW’s new downtown headquarters, which the NPR-affiliated public radio station moved into in 2016. But one thing Eckels, who is director of cultural diversity at KMUW, does miss about the station’s old building, Blake Hall? The access. Certainly not the giant cockroaches.

Take, for example, when John Bardo became Wichita State president in 2012. Instead of talking on the phone, or meeting elsewhere, “he just walked across the street,” she said.

“That access is gone,” Eckels said.

And so is Blake Hall. The spot, across from campus near Kirby’s Beer Store, functioned as KMUW and Blake Hall for nearly 40 years. But before that, the location was a variety of things:

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

1934 - Varsity Shop

Blake Hall, which housed Wichita State’s KMUW radio station from 1981-2016, is currently being demolished.

1935 - vacant

1971 - Damery Shop (women’s clothing), Gentry Shop (men’s clothing)

1946 - Varsity Grill

1973 - Tinker’s Corner (women’s clothing), Gentry Shop (men’s clothing)

1951 - Campus Grill 1955 - The Canteen Grill 1961 - Doherty’s Canteen restaurant 1964 - Kampus Kitchen restaurant

1976 - vacant 1981 - 2016 - KMUW

Eckels remembers buying bell-bottoms when the building was still Tinker’s Corner.

1965 - vacant 1968 - Gentry Shop

She also remembers interviewing academic and activist Dr. Ronald Walters in the building, a highlight for her.

“He was like an icon for real,” Eckels said. “I think he was at Howard at the time. He taught all over. He was one of Jesse Jackson’s speechwriters . . . I was honored when he came.”

Eckels joined KMUW in 1996.

Back then, they were often still using

cassettes to play music, she said. The equipment has changed, but the core of what she does — and the people — have stayed the same, Eckels said.

“Buildings, they come and go. But it’s the people that matter, wherever you are.”

Still, each day, on her way home as she passes where Blake Hall used to be, “I’ll always look to my right and have fond memories,” Eckels said.

The Sunflower Archives — Feb. 21, 1969

Termites, facilities, money, personnel, KMUW woes As KMUW nears its 20th anniversary, many of the staff members are beginning to look back at their glorious past. The most eventful happening they can remember is a fundraising spaghetti feed held in their honor back in 1961.

WSU’s radio station is nestled on the corner of Fairmount and 17th. It’s located in a small two-story building with business offices on the first floor and the studios on the second. Looming over the building is the huge transmitting tower almost 60 feet from the ground.

KMUW’s list of accomplishments is dominated by the many times the University has been able to conduct maintenance on the building — just enough to get it off Wichita’s condemned list.

Frank Kelly, KMUW adviser, was asked to comment on the problems and goals of KMUW. He said the fact that the station was an obscure place in the University was beneficial in some ways, mentioning that they can rearrange the furnishings or paint the walls anytime they want. He said the building wasn’t too bad, except for the termites.

Exterminators have been to the station several times in the past years, he said. Kelly added, “When a

building gets so old there isn’t much you can do.”

up to the antenna.

SHORT TOWER

“Another problem with the station is that there are only two faculty members employed here,” Kelly commented. “If we could just have one professional technician to manage the station, it would be a help.”

He added that although the students try hard they have to learn as they go along, therefore mistakes are made. The students who work at the station are usually snapped up by commercial stations as soon as they learn most of the procedures.

There are only four people at KMUW who get paid. They are on the work-study program and make about $95 a month. Working conditions at the station are not all they could be in the warmer weather. The studios are barely tolerable, according to Kelly, due to the fact that the building has no air conditioning and the broadcasting equipment emits so much heat.

Kelly was asked why there was not some attempt made to raise the money for necessary improvements.

“The University doesn’t like for us to solicit money on our own,”

“I would guess that in two years or so we will probably fall through the floor,” Kelly remarked. “We won’t have far to fall through — its only 18 inches to the ground from the first floor.”

When asked about the station’s broadcasting equipment Kelly said the station has a radius of seven miles on a good day. There are people who live a few blocks away that can’t pick up the station at all.

There are shadow zones because the short tower can not project over a lot of the surrounding buildings and obstructions, he continued.

Kelly stated that one bad aspect of having the tower right next to the building is that the broadcasted frequencies come back down into the building. Because of this they cannot record anything while they are broadcasting. The frequencies get into the wiring and ruin the tapes, he said.

Kelly estimated a new 250-foot tower would cost the station about $3,200 and necessitate the purchase of $1,700 worth of remote equipment and a $500 dollar cable to run

STAFF PROBLEMS

SUNFLOWER ARCHIVES KMUW, Wichita State’s radio station, moved downtown in 2016. In 1969, KMUW was housed in a two-story building on the corner of Fairmount and 17th Street.

he answered. “Since the station belongs to the University we are supposed to make a capital request through them.”

Asked why the University doesn’t supply the money, Kelly said, “I think there are certain faculty members who felt that the less KMUW is heard the better.

We don’t pronounce the names of the classics correctly all the time and our music choices don’t suit their tastes.”

Kelly ended by mentioning that the cable TV people have promised to donate some equipment to the station. “We will probably get it one of these years,” he said.

WEEKEND PREVIEW ARTIST TALK BY CASEY WHITTIER

ARCADE AT THE RSC

Location: McKnight Art Center, Room 210

Location: Rhatigan Student Center, Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes

Time: 4 - 6 p.m.

Cost: Free!

The world of ceramics is gracing Wichita State this Thursday with Casey Whittier’s exhibition, “For Desires that We Wish to Name.” The imaginative, intricate pieces grapple with the artist’s duty to both preserve and reimagine the world around them. Whittier will be giving a talk on her exhibit for the first hour of the presentation. A reception with the artist will follow.

Time: 6 - 10 p.m.

Cost: Free!

One of the best parts of the gaming experience is sharing it with friends. This Thursday, SAC is bringing the arcade experience to you with Arcade at the RSC, which will feature classic games and tournaments with awesome prizes to boot. Grab some friends and hit the arcade for free food and fun for what’s sure to be a winning night.

THURS. - FRI.

THURS. - SAT.

Location: Ablah Library

Location: Wilner Auditorium

Time: 10 – 11:30 a.m. Thursday, 2 – 3:30 p.m. Friday

Time: 7:30 – 9 p.m.

Cost: Free!

Cost: Free! (For students, general public $10 - $15)

It’s still happening! Rustle up some good friends and get ready for top-of-the-line spooks at the WSU Library’s free escape room! You’ll be solving puzzles and orchestrating team maneuvers to help Mary Shelley complete her masterpiece, Frankenstein, and defeat other writers in a ghost story contest. Make sure to register with six to eight friends ahead of time at https:// libraries.wichita.edu/wihm to get in on the fun.

Do you love to laugh but also like to feel smart and witty while doing so? Then “Comedy of Errors” is the perfect show for you! Shakespeare’s slapstick masterpiece of clever banter, mistaken identities, and comedic mischief is the perfect blend of smarts and silliness. Make sure to request your free student ticket in advance to lock down a night of laughter.

MAKING MARY’S MONSTER

COMEDY OF ERRORS

INFORMATION COMPILED BY JOHN DARR

FREAKS AND GEEKS WELCOME

LIVE MUSIC- FREE ENTRY - COLD BEER - PIZZA -TASTY BEVERAGES FREE USE OF OUR OUTDOOR PATIO FOR WSU STAFF OR STUDENT EVENTS

WWW.KIRBYSBEERSTORE.COM 3227 E 17TH - 21+ TO ENTER

SPORTS

4 | THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 2019

www.thesunflower.com

Eli Farrakhan was told he might not touch the floor at a Division-I program. Now, he’s on scholarship at Wichita State

E

BY MARSHALL SUNNER

li Farrakhan didn’t have options for where he’d play college basketball.

At 5-foot-11 and a slender 165 pounds, the Division-I hopeful didn’t attract much buzz. His stats over a quick two years at a Florida community college weren’t commanding a slew of Division-I offers. But Farrakhan isn’t one to settle.

Even when a past coach told him he “might not touch the floor one time” at a top-level Division I program like Wichita State, Farrakhan didn’t listen.

That’s not his style.

Fast-forward to Feb. 9. WSU defeated Tulane for its fourth straight win. Players left celebrating with their families, donors piled into the Champion’s Club, and 10,000 fans left the stadium empty.

There stands Farrakhan in the corner of the court — shooting.

He didn’t log a minute of action in the team’s 14-point win, but that’s an afterthought. His focus is on shots up.

Five days ago, he was a walk-on.

Today, he is a select recipient of one of the team’s 13 scholarships, after being surprised with the news during a film session.

The route was anything but an easy one. Farrakhan was a walk-on at East Florida State junior college, about a 20-minute drive from where he grew up in Florida. That’s where Farrakhan met now-teammate Ricky Torres.

Torres briefly was a walk-on for the school, too. Though Torres never set foot on the court, the two point guards connected.

Torres rose to junior college stardom at Missouri State-West Plans, and Farrakhan finished out his junior college career at Central Georgia Tech. In 34 games, Farrakhan gained exposure, but none from Division I programs.

His six point and two assist averages weren’t flashy in the eyes of many recruiters. Those stats failed to show his work ethic.

Farrakhan turned down Division-II offers. He instead turned to Torres, a prized junior college recruit in his own right. Farrakhan had been in the walk-on role again,

so why not once more?

“I knew I could play at the Division-I level,” Farrakhan said.

Torres quickly brought up Wichita State. He had just signed following the departure of Alex Lomax, a four-star recruit who was granted release from his letter of intent so he could reunite with his high school coach Penny Hardaway at Memphis.

Farrakhan followed as a late walk-on with the Shockers. If not for Torres, Farrakhan wouldn’t be a Shocker today.

At WSU, the expectations are clear. Gregg Marshall demands the world of his guards. Fred VanVleet, Landry Shamet, Ron Baker, and Toure’ Murry show the program’s overnight success stories — behind closed doors, these successes show great challenge.

That’s a lot for anyone to take in. Farrakhan joined the program with the mentality that he’d stay in his own lane and not get in the way — but that’s not the role of a point guard.

“I’m a point guard,” Farrakhan said, “And you have to become a leader as a point guard.”

Before Farrakhan could command a segment of the offense, he had to command the respect of his teammates — junior college standouts, three- and four-star recruits, guys who had options.

“Nobody is going to want to listen to you because you haven’t proved anything,” Farrakhan said. “Once I started getting more comfortable and proved that I could play, that’s what helped me become a leader.”

This was starting over again.

Taking a Division-II offer would have been the simple choice.

That’s the route most guys go. But Farrakhan, someone who knew the hardship of being a walk-on, took that challenge with pride and dignity.

“When I first got here, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to do this again?”

Farrakhan said, laughing.

One thing is for certain — Farrakhan never stops working on his game.

“He’s always in the gym,” Torres said. “No matter what . . . After games, it doesn’t matter.”

That’s Farrakhan’s prized work ethic talking. It’s why Farrakhan

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State junior Eli Farrakhan takes a shot during their game against the University of Oklahoma at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on Dec. 8, 2018.

has earned the sought-after trust in his coach to run the offense.

Typically, someone in his role might see action in the final minutes of a blow-out win, but that’s not the situation this season. Farrakhan has run the offense at key points of games when the team’s first rotation has been plagued with foul trouble or turnover troubles. He’s the man to settle the game down.

Trust from his teammates and his coach is a major milestone, Farrakhan said.

He said that at times, it felt like no one knew the struggles of a

disrespected walk-on. Looking for inspiration, he watched “All the Way Up,” a documentary about former Heisman Baker Mayfield, who went from a walk-on at Texas Tech to among college football’s best.

“When I watched that, it told me that if he could fight through the adversity, then I could do it, too,” Farrakhan said. “When you’re a walk-on, you have to work that much harder to conquer the goals you want to conquer.”

That’s why it’s not uncommon to find Farrakhan on the court at 5 a.m. for an early start, or 2 a.m. finishing

a long evening.

“I feel like I work harder than anybody,” Farrakhan said. “That’s no disrespect to my team or anybody I have ever played with, but I truly believe that 100 percent no one works harder than me.”

That’s the way it was at Florida Eastern State, Central Georgia Tech, and now Wichita State.

“I knew he was good enough to earn a Division-I scholarship, he just didn’t have the exposure he needed,” Torres said. “Everybody knows he’s the best shooter on the team — period.”

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER The sun sets behind Eck Stadium during a WSU baseball game last year.

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER Wichita State senior Samajae Haynes-Jones drives to the basket during the game against Cincinnati at Charles Koch Arena on Jan. 19.

Shockers steamroll Golden Hurricane with near-perfect offense

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

Head Coach Gregg Marshall hasn’t been shy with his comments.

He’s said repeatedly to his players that he’s been dissatisfied with his team’s guard play. Tuesday, following the team’s horrific offensive performance at Cincinnati, Marshall said his players couldn’t pass the ball.

“Some guys instinctively have it and others don’t,” he said. “We’re not a good passing team.”

Those comments were reflective of a team that had just eight assists on 19 shots (71 attempts). What happened Wednesday night at Tulsa was a 180-degree difference.

“They’ve heard me talk about it (passing),” Marshall said.

“Maybe reading it in the paper was the impetus.”

Wichita State had eight assists on its first eight shots. In total, WSU

finished with 24 assists on 30 shots.

Ricky Torres had seven assists and no turnovers. Freshman Jamarius Burton had 10 assists.

The result was near-perfect offense and an 81-60 road win — WSU’s second of the season.

Freshman Dexter Dennis tied a program record for made threes by a freshman. He made six of eight from deep, and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. He’s made 10 three-pointers in the span of the last two games.

“If you play hard, a lot of things will work in your favor,” Dennis said.

As a team, WSU’s offense was at its best. The team shot 45 percent from three and 47 percent from the field. Senior Markis McDuffie, who averages 19 points per game, scored nine points and missed all six threepoint attempts. The Shockers traded blocked shots, off-balance threes, and what Marshall would call “bad”

shots for wide-open opportunities.

“Passes were crisp, they were ontime, they were on target — it shows with our shooting,” Marshall said.

“This is a decisive road win.”

Samajae Haynes-Jones had 17 points with five made threes. Jaime Echenique added 14 points and three blocks off the bench. Erik Stevenson had seven rebounds and snapped a cold shooting streak with 11 points.

Tulsa, which owns the best three-point shooting percentage in the conference, shot 18 percent from three in the game.

WSU sits in seventh in the American Athletic Conference standings, holding the tie-breaker over Tulsa. The Shockers next return to Charles Koch Arena with favorable home matchups against Memphis and UConn approaching.

“We’re playing for seeding in the conference tournament,” Marshall said.

Bring your own beer to Eck Stadium? Not anymore, Wichita State says

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

After years of tradition, Wichita State is putting a hold on fans bringing their own beer to games at Eck Stadium.

The rule change comes with the university’s updated state liquor license. Spectators were previously permitted to bring in coolers of “reasonable size” into

the outfield grounds.

Eck Stadium will continue the sale of beer at its concession stands.

The university’s athletic department plans to inform fans of the change with an official statement closer to its home-opener on March 1. WSU has 28 home games at Eck Stadium this spring.