The Sunflower v.123 i.41

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019 • VOL. 123, ISS. 41

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

koch money

SGA tickets talk Shock the Future Four tickets for student body president and vice president will be on the ballot next month. Julian Cornejo, Reid Linot, Isaac Rivera, and Kitrina Miller lead the four tickets. Last year, Kenon Brinkley ran unopposed.

The Sunflower caught up with candidates and asked for their key issues and what their stance is on the Shock the Future student fee referendum, which students will be voting on between Monday and Wednesday.

Last December, Brinkley, who resigned as student body president in February, said that the referendum and SGA elections were separated because administrators didn’t want the referendum to be “centered around someone’s election platform.”

UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY Key issues: uniting Shockers from all walks of life, making WSU more transfer friendly

JULIAN CORNEJO President

WILL SCHINDLER Vice President

Do you support the referendum?: “Heck yes! I think that it will be wonderful for the school! My only worry is that Fine Arts will be put off until the end.”

ALL VOICES HEARD Key issues: focusing on mental health, student success, diversity and inclusion of all students, and campus innovation

REID LINOT President

Do you support the referendum?: “We feel as if students were not given a voice or enough options. In the future, BLAKE we hope that we can make all CHRISTOPHERSON voices heard while trying to Vice President improve the university.”

COURTESY OF WICHITA STATE

If this week’s student fee referendum passes, more than half of the money raised by the fee increase would go towards the construction of a new business building, Woolsey Hall. The building would be named after Wayne and Kaye Woolsey.

PERPETUAL Key issues: reinforcing the purpose of SGA, creating a council of students, providing consistent programming

New business building would house Koch-funded Institute for the Study of Economic Growth “THE CHARLES KOCH FOUNDATION DID NOT HAVE ANY SAY IN WHO WE CHOOSE TO INTERVIEW OR HIRE, AND HAS NOT SOUGHT TO DIRECT OUR HIRING PROCESS IN ANY WAY,”

BY MATTHEW KELLY

I

f this week’s Shock the Future referendum passes, $20 million in student fees from students across all six of Wichita State’s academic colleges will go towards Woolsey Hall, the $50 million business building set for construction on Innovation Campus.

Donors have already raised $30 million for the building, which would become the new home of the Institute for the Study of Economic Growth. Announced in September 2017, the institute was made possible through a $3.6 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation.

­—Ted Bolema, Director, Institute for the Study of Economic Growth

Through his foundation, the billionaire Koch Industries CEO has supported the creation of centers for economic research on college campuses across the country — spurring on concerns that his conservative, free-market ideology could compromise

Referendum voting open now through Wednesday

BY MATTHEW KELLY

Voting on the Shock the Future student fee referendum runs from 8 a.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Students are being asked to vote on a proposal to raise student fees by $6 a credit hour to fund campus facilities upgrades across all colleges. If the referendum passes, $20 million of the $38.6 million raised by the fee increase will go towards the construction of a new business building, Woolsey Hall.

Ballot links will be sent to students’ myWSU email accounts Monday morning. If students wish to vote in person, there are a number of polling locations that will be open at the following times:

8:30 A.M. - 1 P.M. MONDAY

• Rhatigan Student Student Center, First Floor • Clinton Hall, Lobby • Hubbard Hall, Center Lobby • Ablah Library, Lobby / Foyer 2 - 6 P.M. MONDAY

• Shocker Hall, Lobby

8:30 A.M. - 1 P.M. TUESDAY

• Rhatigan Student Center, First Floor • Clinton Hall, Lobby • McKnight Art Center • Hubbard Hall, Center Lobby • Jabara Hall • Lindquist Hall • Devlin Hall SEE REFEREDUM PAGE 5

universities’ academic research.

WSU already has a Center for Economic Development and Business Research that the institute will operate independently from.

WSU officials have maintained that the university’s academic freedom will be preserved in the institute.

“Preserving academic freedom and following normal university processes . . . Those two principles were paramount in our decision to move forward,” Barton School of Business Dean Anand Desai said in 2017. “It was important that we preserve those things at Wichita State.

ISAAC RIVERA President

ANISIA BRUMLEY Vice President

Do you support the referendum?: “Repairs are only going to get more expensive as time goes on, so it can be a lot to ask for $90 for a student with 15 credits in a semester, but there’s no other path if we want to make WSU a premier institution.”

TOGETHER WE CAN Key issues: increasing the availability of student services, expanding incentive programs and benefits, ensuring clear, concise, and transparent communication

KITRINA MILLER President

MICHAEL BEARTH Vice President

SEE KOCH-FUNDED PAGE 4

Do you support the referendum?: “I personally believe there are both pros and cons. However, I do not believe it is my job to force an opinion onto the student body, but to ensure that they are educated and vote for what they believe to be the best option for themselves.”

WSU maintains No. 1 national ranking in industry-funded aeronautical R&D

BY MATTHEW KELLY

Wichita State remains the top university in the country for industry-funded aeronautical research and development (R&D) expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation’s updated rankings.

The rankings, derived from a higher education survey, include data from fiscal year 2017, the most up-to-date information available.

In fiscal year 2017, WSU held its top position with $34 million in industry-funded aeronautical R&D expenditures. WSU also maintained its No. 4 ranking in total aerospace R&D expenditures with $52 million.

“Wichita State has made strategic efforts to increase industry partnerships and collaboration and gain additional federal grants — solidifying our reputation as the top

engineering research institution in the state and among the nation’s top 10,” said John Tomblin, vice president for technology transfer.

Tomblin said WSU’s efforts to increase industry partnerships and make new connections in the defense industry have driven WSU’s increase in R&D funding.

“Over the next few years, we expect to see greater increases, a direct result of the commitment of our faculty, staff, and students to go above and beyond to form and support these partnerships,” said Tomblin, who also serves as executive director of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR).

Tomblin’s base salary is $358,000, but records obtained by The Sunflower show he was paid $797,869 in 2018 — more than twice as much as President John Bardo,

WSU’s next highest-paid state employee.

In January, NIAR director of finance and operations Paul Werner told The Sunflower that Tomblin is “directly responsible” for WSU’s No. 1 ranking in industry-funded aeronautical R&D. WSU Budget Director David Miller said setting Tomblin’s base salary at less than $400,000 with the incentive of additional compensation acts as a performance driver.

“For someone like Dr. Tomblin, his [additional compensation] is driven by the grants and research that he’s bringing into the university, so if we incorporated that into his appointment letter and his salary is way up here, now what’s the performance driver for him to bring more and more research into the university?” Miller said.

INSIDE

FEMALE BISHOP

TWO FOR ONE

SENIOR SEND-OFF

The Shock the Future referendum is far from equitable.

WSU’s former Episcopal campus ministry director was named bishop Saturday.

Shocker baseball swept a doubleheader against former conference-rival Creighton.

Seniors McDuffie and Haynes-Jones have one more game at Koch Arena.

OPINION • PAGE 2

NEWS • PAGE 5

SPORTS• PAGE 7

SPORTS • PAGE 8

DON’T BE DUPED

OPINION

2 | MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

www.thesunflower.com

www.thesunflower.com

THE STAFF EDITORIAL

Editor in Chief Matthew Kelly Digital Managing Editor Andrew Linnabary 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

ADVERTISING

Advertising Manager Kylie Cameron

ADVISING

Faculty Adviser Amy DeVault

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.

DON’T BE DUPED. VOTE WITH A PURPOSE.

I

f you plan to vote yes on the Shock the Future referendum, do so with a purpose. Vote yes not because projects sound good in theory, but because you feel they equitably represent the interests of Wichita State students.

Otherwise, vote no.

Liberal Arts and Sciences, whose students make up more than a third of the student body, get a mere 2.3 percent of the $38.6 million that will be raised if the referendum passes. If each student’s $6 per credit hour went towards infrastructure priorities in their own college, LAS would get $10 million.

But this infrastructure proposal isn’t about equitable distribution of funds. It’s about cobbling together the right assortment of projects to get students to pay $20 million for a new business building — a building that donors already raised $30 million for with the expectation that the university would cover the rest.

Don’t vote yes because you feel guilted into “paying it forward.” The cost of college is astronomical, and if the referendum passes, WSU will have the highest student fees of any university in the state. Yes, Kansas has not invested in higher education in recent years, but it’s not up to students to bear the financial burden of a shiny new recruiting tool for the university.

If you’re a business student, you might as well vote yes. You’ll be paying for a new building regardless. Officials have acknowledged that the backup plan is a $30-$35

STAFF

EDITORIAL per credit hour business-specific fee hike, and any vote on such a fee is likely a formality.

In fact, administrators are counting on you to be so opposed to doubling your program-specific fees that you turn out in droves to support a comparatively minor $6 per credit hour increase.

WSU is just now getting around to asking students if they want to pay for a new building, even though they knew full well students would have to cough up the rest when they promised donors $20 million would come from university funds.

Administrators openly admitted that WSU was in no position to bond money two years ago when it was a compelling argument for building a campus YMCA instead of renovating the Heskett Center. Don’t worry, students paid for the YMCA partnership, too.

The only thing university officials learned from the YMCA debate is that students don’t take kindly to having no say in what they pay for. What administrators would be well-served to learn from this referendum is that hosting dozens of town halls where students can ask questions but have no say in workshopping priorities or funding models doesn’t constitute a “student-driven” label.

Just like with the YMCA, when

much-needed upgrades to the wellness center were held hostage as a reason for students to support the partnership, Fine Arts priorities that were long neglected have now been rolled into the Shock the Future initiative.

Certain changes in Henrion Hall must be made for “health and safety” reasons, Vice President for Student Affairs Teri Hall told The Sunflower. Those changes will have to be made, regardless of the outcome of the referendum.

But Fine Arts deserves more than the bare minimum. WSU should invest in Fine Arts — not just use their projects to sweeten the deal in an effort to pass a business-centric referendum.

The Sunflower applauds the student members of the Shock the Future steering committee for caring enough about WSU to inform students of pertinent issues, but committee members were tasked only with disseminating information — not shaping the initiative.

If this referendum fails, it’s not because students don’t support investing in the school. It’s because they’ve had enough of being told what they want by administrators.

If WSU wants a truly student-driven initiative, they should scrap this referendum and engage with students in a transparent effort to find out what projects they’re willing to invest in. Ask students what they want before promising away their money.

Legal

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.

CONTACT THE SUNFLOWER 019 Elliott Hall 1845 N. Fairmount Ave. Campus Box 134 Wichita, KS 67260-0134 ----------

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Inequality, lack of transparency plague infrastructure initiative This week, students will vote on a proposal to increase their fees by $6 per credit hour. The fee increase will enable WSU to bond $38.6 million dollars for infrastructure upgrades with more than half of that money, $20 million, going towards a new business school, Woolsey Hall. The faculty of the history department are dismayed not only with the campaign’s contents, but especially with how this ‘student-driven initiative’ has been conducted. We, therefore, urge students take the following concerns into consideration as they vote.

As with other initiatives in recent years, we believe the process has not been transparent. Two years ago, when student fees were raised to pay for the new YMCA, administrators stated WSU would not be able to bond money for the foreseeable future. However, plans for a new business building with a $50 million-dollar price tag have been in the works for years. WSU Foundation President Elizabeth King has explained that donors were told “from the beginning” that the remaining funds would come from students (The Sunflower, February 22, 2019). Why were students only told about the proposed fee hike recently? Why was the student referendum not conducted first, to see if there was student support for financing a new

LETTER TO THE EDITOR business building through fees, before promising donors something that was not theirs to give?

More to the point: has the administration even demonstrated the need for a new building?

If $30 million dollars has been raised, why can we not build a $30 million-dollar building? Why not renovate Clinton Hall with the $30 million dollars?

As the Sunflower reported, while administrators characterize the initiative as ‘student-driven,’ a student steering committee was only appointed this year, and there are questions as to whether it is simply a university PR mouthpiece or even has any say in decision-making (The Sunflower, February 25, 2019).

Regardless, bringing students in so late to a process claimed to be ‘student-driven’ is disingenuous: that the signs erected by the committee read ‘Vote Yes!’ only

underline these concerns.

The inequality built into the campaign is also deeply troubling.

Raising money for the new business building seems to be the main goal and other projects have been tacked on to make the fee increase more palatable. But as the Sunflower has reported (February 21, 2019), students from other colleges will carry most of the financial burden: Liberal Arts & Sciences, for example, while making up 1/3 of the student body — and thus 1/3 of the fees raised — will see little more than 2 percent of the total money generated put towards their infrastructure priorities. If the goal is to distribute the financial burdens equally, should not the benefits be distributed equally as well?

We especially object to the threat to pursue another referendum should the first one fail, one that would only see business students vote on a program-specific $30-$35 per credit hour fee increase to pay for the new building. This plan is a scare tactic to frighten business students into voting ‘yes’ for the initial proposal, in fear their fees will increase dramatically should it fail. We find this to be a bad faith decision, one that could potentially make our business school prohibitively

expensive, thus hurting us doubly: increased costs now and declining enrollment later. As a public institution priding itself on affordability, we should be looking for ways to keep costs down, not increase them.

For these reasons, the History Department faculty urge students to carefully consider the proposed student fee increase. We do not believe this is a ‘student-driven’ initiative nor that this is an equitable distribution of resources, and we especially do not feel the process has been transparent.

While we agree that it will be problematic to return to donors afterwards, proper leadership could have forestalled this situation by not promising what was not already given. Generous donors have already raised an enormous sum of money that could be used to upgrade existing facilities or invest in student scholarships. If they are committed to supporting the school and its students, it should not matter whether their names grace a new building. We believe that WSU should be investing in its people, not its buildings.

Signed,

The History Department Faculty

Top 5 ways to spend the final week of classes before spring break Damn. Six weeks down, and one to go. Five more days until the huge time investment that we all threw down in January finally begins to pay dividends in the form of a single week off. There is still one more week, however, and The Sunflower is here to help you navigate the fine line that divides failure from success at this critical point in the semester.

DISHONORABLE MENTION: SKIP ALL OF YOUR CLASSES AND TAKE AN EXTRA WEEK OFF

Really? You’ve made it through six weeks nonstop, and you can make it through one more.

Quit your whining and pick up your pen. You can count down the hours, but don’t give up.

Believe in yourself — at least for one more week.

study room if you need to, but definitely don’t just blow them off.

4. READ FROM ONE OF YOUR TEXTBOOKS

AUSTIN MAY

OPINION EDITOR 5. CRAM FOR YOUR TESTS THAT YOU UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE THIS WEEK

I have been personally going through the five stages of grief in regards to tests this week, but there comes a time when we all have to just jump ahead to acceptance. No matter how little you want to take them, they’re simply not going to go away. Suck it up, pick up a book, and spend the night in the 24-hour

You know those super expensive things that you’re using to prop open your door? Believe it or not, they actually serve a purpose. Crack that bad boy open, and you might just learn something. Worst case scenario, you can at least justify the $300 door stop to yourself.

3. SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS AFTER BREAK

With a full week off of school coming up, and many of us mentally checking out as we count the seconds, it’s important to realize that the semester is far from over.

Don’t make academic decisions that you’ll regret in a couple of

weeks. Even better, do as many assignments as you can that are due after break. Future you will thank you.

2. DON’T PUT THINGS OFF UNTIL THE END OF THE WEEK

Have an assignment due on Friday afternoon? Don’t put it off until then. Do future you a favor and do anything that you can early on in the week, and you’ll be able to start to ramp into spring break mode on Thursday and Friday.

1. DON’T GIVE UP

You’ve made it so far. With the finish line — or at least the midpoint — in sight, you can push through this final week before you can go into full rest mode. Keep the pedal to the metal and grind through. Just five more days.

OPINION

www.thesunflower.com

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S U N I O N

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

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S A T I R E

The 5 best places on campus to existentially contemplate the spending of your student fees

BY HARRY TALL

E

ver since I was a child, it was my dream to graduate college, spend 20 years clawing my way up the corporate ladder, and then donate large sums of money to feel something again.

Somewhere along the line, the powers that be moved the last step of this plan to the beginning. Through student fees, I now get to donate large sums of money before I’ve even graduated college. If you’re anything like me, donating money I haven’t earned yet sometimes creates more existential dread than it eases. So here are five of my favorite places on campus to sit down and, like any good student, think through the big questions of my life.

1. NEXT TO THE SALVADOR DALI STATUE AT THE ULRICH

thing that can put it into context is looking at a piece of art by a man who, by all indications, thought that time and money were abstract concepts. Here, I like to think about how I can learn, like WSU Director of News and Media Relations Joe Kleinsasser says, “to look at a bigger picture than just [my] immediate four years here.” At first, I thought this meant managing my personal spending in order to avoid student loans and enter the workforce with enough money to pay for rent, but I’m beginning to understand that this means donating cash to future WSU students and just hoping that I don’t undergo any personal emergencies for the first 10 years of my career. Trust me, this all made sense when I was chatting with the Salvador Dali Statue at the Ulrich.

2. THE DEFORESTED LOT WHERE THE YMCA I’M SUPPOSEDLY NOT PAYING FOR IS GOING TO GO

the future YMCA that will provide facilities very similar to the Heskett Center but, in lieu of history or nostalgia, will have a nice Christian organization brand name slapped on it. It is here that I contemplate how church and state are separated, just like how myself and hundreds of dollars in student fees are separated every semester.

The deforested lot where the YMCA I’m supposedly not paying for is also my favorite place to contemplate a quote by Vice President for Finance and Administration Werner Golling: “The university would be able to take on new debt because of the new funding source from increased student fees.” I don’t exactly know what it means, but it seems to really bring the room together. I don’t know. It’s a little hard to think with all the construction vehicles going at it.

like to contemplate how my student fees help build this fine university. I imagine gazing upon the buildings produced by of Public-Private Partnerships, contemplating my own conflicts of interest as I wonder how they match up to the potential conflicts of interest that could be occurring here at Wichita State. For example, I’m thinking, I want to graduate to make money, but I also want to not go broke trying to graduate to make money. Meanwhile, WSU might be thinking that people who have been married should not be allowed to make business deals over public-private lines, but that they also want to make money. It’s at times like these that I feel especially close to my administration.

4. THE FLATS

3. INNOVATION CAMPUS

TANAT MAICHAN/THE SUNFLOWER

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

COURTESY

Often, the size of my student fee bill feels surreal. The only

Ideally, this section would be titled “The beautiful rolling grassy area that I love walking through on the way to class,” but now it has been leveled to the ground. So instead, I like to stand next to the chain link fence that separates me from

COURTESY

Now I’ll admit it — I don’t really know where Innovation Campus is, but it sounds like exactly the sort of place I’d

Sometimes, I like to sit in The Flats and pretend that I, like nearly 15 percent of our student population, live on campus.

I think about how WSU is transforming into a live-on campus, just like how my student fees are transforming into a life-threatening bill. Could these things, like my drive to succeed and my desire for a 24-hour library, be related?

Only more contemplation will tell.

5. WAITING IN THE PARKING LOT FOR THIS STUDENT TO FINALLY GET OFF HIS PHONE AND BACK OUT SO I CAN TAKE THEIR SPOT

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

One of my favorite times to contemplate student fees is when, after I’ve been driving around the student parking lot for ten minutes to find a spot, I finally find a student walking back to their car and follow them like some kind of parking lot stalker.

During the inevitable seven minutes between them getting into the car, posting to Instagram, and deciding which Ariana Grande playlist to blast on repeat on the drive home, I like to think about increases in student fees.

The contemplation sometimes goes a little like this: “Most people I know aren’t going to willingly say ‘I want to pay 90 more dollars a semester to do something,’ right?

So at face value, you’re going to just say ‘Why should I,’ right?

‘I’m poor. I can’t afford it all.’”

But then I remember that that’s actually a quote from Teri Hall arguing for student fees to be increased. By the time I realize this, the student has finally pulled out of the spot. I park, try not to die crossing the designated crosswalks, and make my way to the Salvador Dali statue at the Ulrich, where everything just seems to make a little more sense.

IT PAYS TO BE A SHOCKER. EARN A $300 BONUS WITH A NEW JUST CHECKING ACCOUNT. Interactive Banking has arrived. Now you can connect with a live banker to cash checks, make deposits, withdraw money, make loan payments and more, right on campus in the Rhatigan Student Center. Interactive banking is available until 8:00 p.m. on weeknights and until 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

To celebrate, WSU students, faculty and staff can earn a $300 bonus when opening a new Just Checking account.* Your Just Checking account is packed with features that take the complications out of banking, including a free VISA® debit card. Each account comes with online and mobile access that allows you to bank when and where you want.

For our fellow Shockers, we stand ready to serve. *Bonus offer only available to new Fidelity Bank checking customers. Students, faculty and staff must present a valid WSU ID card. Account must be opened on or before March 30, 2019. $300 bonus is earned by completing 15 combined signature or mobile wallet point-of-sale transactions within 60 days of account opening. Bonus will be paid within 30 days of meeting the transactions requirement. Minimum deposit of $25 is required to open an account.

fidelitybank.com/shockers 1.800.658.1637

OPINION/CULTURE

4 | MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

www.thesunflower.com

MATTHEW KELLY/THE SUNFLOWER

Bottled waters aren’t created equal. We took it upon ourselves to rank them definitively.

Bottled water ranked from nice to absolutely disgusting

B

ottled water is not usually the sort of product that triggers “what the f***” reactions, and yet here we are. Your public servants at The Sunflower have painstakingly tasted 16 different bottled waters to find the very best and worst. The best is pretty tasty — refreshing with just a hint of pleasant flavor. The worst, however — well, we’re surprised anyone would finish the bottle.

Now, from best to most horrible: bottled water.

Dictionary as “The water that rich folk drink.” Well, at least they have a good reason to drink it — it’s clean with a tiny bit of minty delight. This is really refreshing water, and it’s not even close to as expensive as far inferior options down this list. However, the bottle itself is kind of reminiscent of a baby bottle with its oblong rounded design and pink stripe.

Substance over style here still results in a good drinking choice.

4. LIFE WTR

Price Per Liter: $1.00 Presentation: Good Taste Rating: 10 Dasani may be barely filtered, glorified tap water, but it’s proof that a little goes a long way. Dasani has one of the fullest tastes of the waters we tried, with a nice, slight fruity tinge rounding it out. It’s also one of the cheapest we tasted, and its bottle is clean, appealing and modern. Overall, it’s a stellar bottled water. Happy drinking!

Price Per Liter: $1.50 Presentation: Literally art Taste Rating: 8 LIFE WTR bottles are basically pieces of art, and the water on the inside is almost as good. Out of all the waters we tasted, this is the closest to an absolute neutral.

There are a variety of awesome bottle designs, and each bottle feels solid and stands up nicely to avoid accidental spills. It’s just a really nice bottle with some really nice water inside. Definitely worth the bump in price.

2. KROGER PURIFIED DRINKING WATER

5. ESSENTIA

1. DASANI

Price Per Liter: $1.00 Presentation: What do you expect Taste Rating: 8.5 Yes, Kroger is a beast in the water game. The water is very neutral and clean with the barest hint of a plastic bottle taste, and it barely costs anything. I don’t exactly know how a company can mass produce better water than more expensive, supposedly fancier brands, but they’re doing it.

Krogerheads unite.

3. EVIAN

Price Per Liter: $1.50 Presentation: Baby bottle Taste Rating: 9 Evian is defined on Urban

Price Per Liter: $2.56 Presentation: Good Taste Rating: 9 Essentia water makes a statement with a decidedly vodka-esque edge to its flavor. If you like vodka, this is almost guaranteed to be your favorite water on this list, and if you don’t, you’re better off going for anything else in the top 10.

The unique, clean flavor is almost enough to rationalize its ridiculous price point, and its scientific bottle is a pretty nice bonus as well.

Definitely worth at least one buy, and essential for Russian drinkers.

6. FIJI

Price Per Liter: $3.41 Presentation: Overrated, but cool

Monday

monday

Time: All Day

Time: 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Location: RSC 219

Location: Hughes Metropolitan Complex

FOOD FOR FINES

Cost: Free!

Have you, overwhelmed by the sheer impossibility of finding a parking spot on campus, ever received a parking fine? You know the answer is yes. Well this week, head to the Shocker Support Locker with a food donation and have your fine forgiven! It’s a great deal for everyone involved – you’ll be doing good for yourself and good for the community at the same time. For more information on this opportunity, call 316-9783480 or visit www.wichita.edu/ studentadvocate.

GREEK AWARDS

Cost: Free!

Celebrate the positive impact of leaders in the Greek community this Monday by attending the Greek Awards. Accomplishments by chapters and chapter members will be recognized. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about Fraternity and Sorority Life while supporting friends who participate in it.

tuesday

tuesday

SAC TRIVIA NIGHT

BE DAMNED

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Location: RSC Starbucks

Location: Ulrich Museum

Cost: Free!

Cost: Free!

Are you a trivia champ? Are you looking to hone your trivia skills in a convenient on-campus location? Come on down to the RSC Starbucks to participate in this monthly night of trivia and fun!

A range of prizes, specials on food and drink, and a fun theme make each night a delight. You can preregister as a team or solo at the SAC website, sac@wichita.edu.

Carolina Caycedo, a Los Angeles-based artist, will be presenting her multimedia project “Be Damned” this week at the Ulrich. The piece utilizes sculpture, photography, video and performance in order to explore the social dynamics and ramifications of water-oriented public works projects. The piece’s sweeping film aspect, “A Gente Rio” (We River), will be on display in the Ulrich through March 31 for visitors wishing to dive into the work.

bad or that good. At the price, it’s certainly no crime against humanity, but there are certainly better options out there.

8. KROGER PURIFIED PLUS ELECTROLYTES

JOHN DARR

CULTURE EDITOR Taste Rating: 8 Out of all the waters on our list, Fiji’s brand carries the most weight. And yes, it tastes great — clean with a slight mineral edge.

However, for the price of just one bottle, you could grab a bulk package of Kroger. And honestly, the legendary packaging has been dropping in quality over time; most Fiji bottles I’ve come into contact with seem to be scratched up and they no longer have the satisfying square base. It’s still a great water, and yes, you can goof around and flex with it if you want to.

7. OZARKA

Price Per Liter: $1.00 Presentation: Budget patriotism Taste Rating: 6 Ozarka looks like a designer half-assed a Fourth of July version of their logo, and then they forgot to switch it back after the Fourth of July was over. Thankfully, the actual water is decent — neutral with a slight plasticky, chemical taste that doesn’t really taste that

Price Per Liter: $1.26 Presentation: Futuristic clip-art Taste Rating: 6 Kroger Purified Plus Electrolytes marks the spot in this list where things start to go a little downstream. The water has a tinge of ugliness to it, and the cheap bottle art doesn’t help wash that down.

However, it is pretty inexpensive, and rumor has it that electrolytes are pretty good for you. It’s far from the worst choice on this list.

9. WAIAKEA

Price Per Liter: $2.59 Presentation: Cheesy, but nice, resort Taste Rating: 7 Waiakea has a turquoise bottle with a slightly volcanic flair, but the design seems hesitant — neither bold enough to make a strong impression nor subtle enough to radiate classiness. The water inside hits that middle ground too, but in a good way — it’s about as neutral as it gets. At the price point, it’s not enough to make it a good pick.

10. BAI

Price Per Liter: $1.67 Presentation: Nice Taste Rating: 5 Bai’s bottle design is easily the

best thing about it, and it looks better than most bottles at its price range. However, the taste has a very noticeable plastic edge to it that just pushes it into the territory of unoffensive blah-ness. Buying this water isn’t a bad decision, it’s just a decision. Are you going to settle for that?

11. SMARTWATER

Price Per Liter: $3.37 Presentation: Smart Taste Rating: 5 Smartwater looks like it would be pretty good, and it is good if you have no other option. Almost anything else is going to taste better and cost less. Defy brand popularity and ignore this option for the good of both your taste buds and your wallet.

12. CORE

Price Per Liter: $2.53 Presentation: Organic-core Taste Rating: 4 Maybe Core thinks its gimmick — having the same 7.4 pH as the human body — will hide its synthetic-tasting water. As soon as you taste this water, you’ll know why you haven’t seen it around.

Guess what, Core — all water hydrates people. The only thing special about your water is that it hydrates people who are richer and less informed about their water.

SEE WATER PAGE 5

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Trailblazing: New trail highlights African American history in Kansas

BY AUDREY KORTE

COURTESY

The Reverend Cathleen Chittenden Bascom was ordained as the Tenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka on Saturday, March 2. Bascom was consecrated by The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas ordains former WSU campus ministry director bishop

BY AUDREY KORTE

A former Wichita State campus ministry director is the new Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas.

The Reverend Cathleen Chittenden Bascom was ordained and consecrated as the Tenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Saturday at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka.

Reverend Michael B. Curry — presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church — acted as chief consecrator at Saturday’s ceremony. Curry is best known for preaching at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Bascom is the first woman to be elected bishop of Kansas since the diocese was formed in 1859.

It was also the first time in the history of the Episcopal Church that a diocesan bishop was elected from a pool of all female candidates. Bascom was the first woman to go through the process of ordination to the priesthood in

Kansas in the 1980s.

Originally from Denver, Bascom has family ties to Kansas.

She has lived and worked in the state twice before — first as a student and then as clergy, serving in Manhattan and Topeka.

As a young priest, she was in charge of campus ministries in the Diocese. Wichita State did not have much of a campus ministry program at the time.

Bascom and WSU alumnus, The Rev. Gar Demo, worked to change that in the early 1990s.

From 1993 to 2001, Bascom lead campus ministry efforts at Kansas State University in Manhattan, and oversaw the program at WSU. Since the fall of 2014 Bascom has worked as Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa. She previously acted as dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Des Moines, Iowa, as well as rector of St. Stephen’s in Newton, Iowa.

The Kansas African American History Trail launched Feb. 21 at The Kansas African American Museum in downtown Wichita.

The History Trail tells the story of African American contributions to Kansas at eight historical sites across the state.

The sites chronicle the people, places, and events that created a statewide shared black history.

The sites include stops on the Underground Railroad, the location of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the first African American Township ever established in Kansas in Nicodemus, the Gordon Parks Museum and TKAAM. The current sites are considered founder locations, and it’s possible that other locations in the state will join the trail in the future.

Ted Ayres, TKAAM’s board of directors president, is coordinating the history trail project. He has overseen the trail’s launch, which officially began after the Museum received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“The goal of the trail project is to honor and celebrate the significant contributions that African Americans made to Kansas history,” he said.

The idea for the trail came from an article written by Angela Bates, a woman whose ancestors were among the original settlers of Nicodemus in 1877, Ayres said.

“She wrote a publication for the state tourism folks. It was called the Kansas African American History trail,” Ayres said. “And so she talks about some of the history in Kansas and some of the sites, and so that I think was an instrumental part of generating the idea.”

He also credits former TKAAM Director Mark McCormick for submitting the grant proposal.

Ayres said he hopes the new trail locations will make people appreciate the history and stories that emanate from Kansas.

“It’s not ‘black history’, it’s a history of all Kansans,” Ayres said.

The trail also has a website — www.tkaahistorytrail.org. Ayres said the goal is to make sure each museum has a handout, not only about each individual site but about the trail itself.

“What I've come to learn is, pretty much each of these institutions are small not-forprofits run by one or two people and some volunteers and it's a struggle, and I'm hoping that we can, by increasing attention and visitation, help them financially as well,” Ayres said.

To entice people to visit all eight sites, Ayres said he’s developing a “passport” that can be stamped at each location. When someone visits all eight sites they’ll be rewarded with a t-shirt.

Ayres said he hopes to write a book that provides background information and a bibliography of resources about the sites in the future.

The 8 stops on the history trail -John Brown Museum and Adair Cabin -The Richard Allen Cultural Center and Museum -Freedom Frontier’s National Heritage Area -John and Mary Richie House -Brown v. Board of Education -Nicodemus Township in Graham County -Gordon Parks Museum -The Kansas African American Museum

February campus crime log highlights

BY ANDREW LINNABARY

The police department’s daily crime log had 88 reports in February. Here are some of the more eye-catching offenses.

- On Feb. 6, “a man wrote in the book at the art gallery in the [Rhatigan Student Center] that he was the victim of human trafficking and a man was trying to kill him,” the crime log says. “The man requested being contacted at the Union Rescue Mission.”

The case was sent to the Wichita Police Department.

WSU Police Chief Rodney Clark said the man was describing something that happened “like decades ago, according to him, in Florida, so it wasn’t anything to do with the city of Wichita or anything.”

“I don’t know his motivation,” Clark said. “I don’t know if he was homeless or just mentally . . . we do deal with people like that frequently who might not be exactly correct in what they’re saying.

And there was an exhibit going on about human trafficking, which was kind of ironic, you know? But what prompted him to write that in the book? Your guess would be as good as mine.”

- Also on Feb. 6, campus police found bullet casings at 16th and Yale, near Fairmount Park. The casings were found after an investigation of the area because of “a drive-by shooting reported to [the Wichita Police Department]” at 6:40 a.m. That crime log entry was followed by another entry at 8:30 p.m. describing casings

found at Fairmount Park after “reports of gunshots in the area of Fairmount Park.”

- On Feb. 19, a former student shouted and “started throwing objects” — including a ring and a book — at officers in Wilner Auditorium. The man was arrested for battery of a law enforcement officer and for having drug paraphernalia.

- On Feb. 26, there was report in Ablah Library of a man “who has been urinating on chairs.”

- On Feb. 28, a man was found passed out by Hubbard Hall’s fifth floor elevator around 11 a.m. He was taken to the hospital by EMS. - Also on Feb. 28, a woman reported an iPhone lost during the May 2018 commencement ceremony.

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State guard Landry Shamet sinks a three point basket last year against Temple.

Shamet shatters Clippers’ franchise rookie record for 3s

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Landry Shamet exploded for a big night with the Los Angeles Clippers, sinking seven 3-pointers and shattering franchise records.

In Sunday’s game against the New York Knicks, the Clippers latest addition, Shamet, sank six 3-pointers in the first quarter.

That’s not a typo. The ExShocker knocked down seven 3-pointers all in the first half — breaking the Clippers’ record for a rookie for 3s in a game,

REFERENDUM FROM PAGE 1

8:30 A.M. - 1 P.M. WEDNESDAY

• Rhatigan Student Center, First Floor • Clinton Hall, Lobby • McKnight Art Center • Ahlberg Hall, South Lobby • Jabara Hall • Ablah Library, Lobby / Foyer WSU first announced the initiative last November.

and tying the league’s record for threes in a half by a rookie, last set in 2003.

Shamet’s 18 points were two shy of what the entire Knicks team put together in the first quarter.

His shooting cooled in the second half, where he missed two attempts from three.

The Clippers acquired Shamet in a trade that sent Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Earlier this season, Shamet broke Philadelphia’s rookie record for 3s in a game with eight makes from deep.

Since then, the university has held numerous town hall meetings to inform students about what they will be voting on.

To read all of The Sunflower’s reporting on the referendum, visit thesunflower.com and click on the referendum link on the home page.

According to the Shock the Future website, results of the vote will be announced by 6 p.m.

Wednesday on “official social media channels.”

ARTIST TALK

CAROLINA CAYCEDO: BE DAMMED Tuesday, March 5 5:30 P.M. Reception | 6:00 P.M. Program Free Admission | Public Welcome

Be Dammed is a research project by Los Angeles-based artist Carolina Caycedo that explores concepts of flow and containment, investigating correlations between the mechanisms of social control and the unethical aspects of public works infrastructure projects, including large water dams and reservoirs. Be Dammed encompasses sculpture, photography, video and performance, and reflects the artist’s ongoing query into the development of mega-infrastructures over natural and social landscapes. A Gente Rio (We River), from the Be Dammed project, is featured in the Ulrich exhibition In the Wake, on view through March 31, 2019.

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6 | MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

www.thesunflower.com

Sunflower Archives — Feb. 24, 2010

Rhatigan survey didn’t provide students enough information, time In 2010, when Wichita State sought to raise student fees to renovate the Rhatigan Student Center, students were sent out a last-minute email surveying their support for the project. The survey was sent to all students, but just 8.6 percent of the student body responded — with 53 percent saying they were supportive of the project. These results were then presented to the Student Fees Committee, which voted to support the initiative. WSU students will be paying off the RSC renewal project for the next 11 years.

FEB. 24, 2010

BY KASSIDEE LANK

In case the “I Support the Rhatigan Renewal!” buttons handed out over the last several weeks haven’t effectively

WATER

FROM PAGE 4 13. ICELANDIC

Price Per Liter: $2.58 Presentation: Very cool / cold Taste Rating: 3 Either you think that Icelandic water looks awesome or that it looks like a crumbled mess. Either way, you won’t like the taste.

Icelandic water carries an offensive flatness that somehow manages to bring the water down a lot with just a little flavor. How are you that bad at making water, Iceland? Stick to spacey music and keep your water to yourself.

14. SIMPLE TRUTH

Price Per Liter: $1.41 Presentation: Organic-core Taste Rating: 2 The simple truth about this water is that it’s bad.

15. VOSS

Price Per Liter: $3.52 Presentation: Very cool Taste Rating: 1

quantified student support of the Rhatigan Renewal, which will raise $33 million primarily through increased student fees to renovate and expand the RSC, Vice President for Campus Life and University Relations Wade Robinson sent out 14,604 e-mails Monday morning, asking students to provide their feedback by completing an online survey by 5 p.m. yesterday.

The survey results will presumably be used in his presentation to the Student Fees Committee at 5 p.m. today as an illustration of broad student support for the project.

However, as a measure to gauge student support of the renewal, the survey falls short.

The survey asks only two questions.

The first, “Do you support the

Do you remember when Voss had these thicc, badass glass bottles? They can’t afford to make them anymore because no one buys Voss water more than once.

It tastes like burning chemicals. If this is what Norwegians drink, it’s a miracle that any of them are still alive. If you’re curious to how water can actually taste bad, do yourself a favor and just drink out of a local river instead of wasting three dollars on this bottled abomination.

16. JUST WATER

Price Per Liter: $2.58 Presentation: Paper chic Taste Rating: -3 Maybe when they first filled this water, uh, container, there really was Just Water in there. By the time you unscrew this paper water bottle’s top off, something else has definitely joined the party. Is it paper? Rotten tree bark? Straight up pee? There’s a label on this water bottle where you can write your name because, as the water bottle says, “Not everything needs to be shared.” That’s certainly true of this water.

Rhatigan Renewal Project?” must be answered with either a yes or no, rather than choosing from a continuum of options. If the survey intends to determine student response to the project, why doesn’t it account for gray area?

The second question, “How often do you use the Rhatigan Student Center?” may be used for demographic purposes, but fails to find out specifically why students support or oppose the project.

A survey that effectively measured student support would likely include questions about specific aspects of the renewal.

For students who oppose the project, is the problem the funding mechanism? The amount being spent? The construction itself?

A survey incorporating these questions could better

KOCH-FUNDED FROM PAGE 1

“The goal is to expose our students to a broad range of ideas and methodologies so that they will ultimately decide. We’re not forcing them to think in any particular manner. It’s their choice.”

WSU already named a director for the institute, Ted Bolema, who is teaching Principles of Macroeconomics this semester.

There was no university press release announcing Bolema’s hiring.

Prior to coming to WSU, Bolema researched and wrote on communications economics and policy for the Free State Foundation, which promotes “free market, limited government, and rule of law principles at the federal level and in Maryland,” according to their website. The Center for Media and Democracy classifies it as a “conservative” think tank.

Prior to that, Bolema spent five years as director of policy

determine students’ feelings on the renewal and use that information for a purpose.

In addition to those two narrow questions, the survey provides a few brief paragraphs of background information that gloss over details about the project costs and fail to present any arguments against the renewal or tell students where to find more detailed information.

A final problem with the survey is the short time frame students had to complete it.

Robinson said that the decision to send out a survey was fairly last minute. Still, the committee members who use the survey’s findings as part of their decision-making surely can’t expect an accurate analysis of student responses based on a survey that students had fewer than 48 hours

to complete.

Robinson said student response to the renewal initiative has been very positive. Even so, a number of students have raised concerns about the project and doubt their feedback will contribute much.

“I’m kind of curious as to whether my opinion really matters. They seem pretty hell-bent on going through with this,” said junior William Silcott. “Are they really going to say ‘well, these students don’t seem to be digging this idea, so we’ll change it?’ It seems a matter of fact that it’s going to happen.”

If proponents of the project continue to push for it regardless of whether the majority of students agree, so be it. But the only way to know if this is the case is to administer a thorough, unbiased survey.

research editing at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.

The center describes itself as “100% privately funded,” and has received major contributions from foundations that support conservative causes, including $8.8 million from the Charles Koch Foundation between 2002 and 2012, according to the Center for Media and Democracy.

Bolema said that at the Mercatus Center, one of his initiatives was to make sure research was “unassailable in quality and could reach a variety of different audiences with differing viewpoints on public policy issues.”

Desai said the Charles Koch Foundation played no role in hiring Bolema.

“The Charles Koch Foundation had no input in the process and none was requested,” Desai wrote in an email. “After Dr. Bolema accepted the position and the onboarding process was completed, we connected Dr. Bolema with the Foundation.”

Bolema said WSU is in the process of filling two more professor

positions funded through the Institute for the Study of Economic Growth. Bolema said he, along with another member of the economics department and a member of the management department, reviewed more than 280 applications in January.

The committee is now conducting on-campus interviews with candidates, who will meet with business school faculty, the dean, and the provost, Bolema said.

“The Charles Koch Foundation did not have any say in who we choose to interview or hire, and has not sought to direct our hiring process in any way,” Bolema wrote.

WSU officials discussed a potential Koch-funded institute in emails provided anonymously to The Sunflower in 2016.

“This opportunity is transformative for the Barton School,” then Provost Tony Vizzini wrote in a July 2016 email. “By us being stewards for the [Charles Koch Foundation] we assist them in their mission. They, in return, transform us allowing us to advance in our mission.”

SPORTS

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MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

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KHÁNH NGUYỄN/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State senior Clayton Mcginness throws a pitch during their game against Creighton on Friday at Eck Stadium.

Baseball sweeps Creighton in doubleheader

BY SEAN MARTY

W

ichita State swept Creighton in the doubleheader of its opening series at Eck Stadium Friday.

The Shockers beat their former Missouri Valley Conference rival 4-3 and 7-5.

In the first game, the Blue Jays got out a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning, but the Shockers responded with a four-run rally in the bottom half, including a two-run double, courtesy of right-fielder Hunter Gibson, who finished the game going 3-4 with three RBIs. “I was just focused on hitting the ball up the middle,” Gibson said. “I was starting to get their pitches down and what they were doing in certain counts, and it worked out for me.”

In the second game, Preston Snavely gave WSU five scoreless innings on the mound before he began to fall apart in the sixth.

The Blue Jays piled on for three runs in the top of the sixth inning, but the Shockers quickly returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning with four runs. Gibson hit a sacrifice fly to give the Shockers their first and only lead of the game.

“I just tell them to keep playing,” Wichita State coach Todd Butler said. “You just wait for the opportunity and deliver the hit.”

Wichita State had to rely on the likes of Tommy Barnhouse and Liam Eddy to deliver down the stretch. Barnhouse, who has taken up the role of a starter earlier in the season, pitched 1 and two-thirds scoreless innings and struck out three batters.

KHÁNH NGUYỄN/THE SUNFLOWER

Top, Wichita State junior Jacob Katzfey hits the ball. Above, Wichita State sophomore Paxton Wallace runs to first base.

Eddy pitched 3 and twothirds scoreless innings while only allowing two hits, and helped to sustain the one-run lead.

“Coming in, I knew we were down, and I just wanted to pound strikes,” Eddy said.

With the cancellations of the games on Saturday and Sunday, Butler decided to use

Barnhouse and Eddy as starters to help shorten the games down the stretch.

With the sweep, the Shockers move to 5-5 on the season, and are now on a four-game winning streak.

Next up the Shockers travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, against the Cowboys of Oklahoma State.

KHÁNH NGUYỄN/THE SUNFLOWER

Clayton Mcginness delivers a pitch against Creighton.

Wichita State eyes seeding in American Athletic Conference tournament

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

Wichita State is in sole possession of sixth place in the American Athletic Conference standings with a week of action left. The Shockers won seven of their last nine games to get to this point, and if they hold on, they’ll be the first team in the league with a 1-6 conference start to finish better than eighth.

Where did that come from?

“This was my own doing,” WSU Head Coach Gregg Marshall said.

Few remember Gregg Marshall’s second season with the Shockers. Wichita State lost its first six games in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team finished with an 8-10 record and played in the College Basketball Invitational.

“The guys are playing a little better,” Marshall said. “There’s a lot of factors at play.”

WSU is busy competing for seeding in the American Athletic Conference tournament.

The Shockers are out of contention for one of the top spots in the conference, but Marshall wants the team to finish in sixth place.

That’ll give WSU its best shot at moving through to the semi-finals of the conference tournament, Marshall said.

Sure, WSU could lose in the first round, or it could finish in

the finals. How good of a chance the team has is dependent on how the next two games — against East Carolina and at Tulane, teams WSU has already defeated — play out.

UConn beat South Florida on Sunday. That put WSU in sole possession of sixth place. If WSU wins one of its two remaining games, it can finish no worse than seventh. The Shockers can climb no spots in the conference

standings. Sixth place in the conference tournament is important because that likely means a firstround meeting with East Carolina.

Seventh place could mean either UConn or Southern Methodist in the first round.

The winner of the 6-10 game plays the team that finishes third, and that team is currently Central Florida. The American Athletic Conference tournament begins March 14 in Memphis.

SPORTS

8 | MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

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ONE LAST TIME

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER Wichita State senior Markis McDuffie hugs and celebrates with senior Samajae Haynes-Jones. McDuffie told Haynes-Jones to “sit down” on the couch that sits courtside after scoring the buzzer beater against UConn.

Samajae Haynes-Jones, Markis McDuffie take the floor as Wichita State’s lone seniors in farewell send-off Tuesday

I

t’s likely most will remember Wichita State’s 2018-19 season for the team’s lack of experience. That’s not what Markis McDuffie had in mind when he returned for his senior year.

McDuffie, the team’s lone four-year senior, and teammate Samajae Haynes-Jones, will play their final game in Charles Koch Arena on Tuesday.

WSU isn’t competing for a regular-season conference title, and its postseason opportunity is in doubt.

Still, Haynes-Jones and McDuffie have provided Shocker fans with more than what some had likely dubbed a rebuilding year.

SAMAJAE HAYNES-JONES

Samajae Haynes-Jones’ first big moment on Devlin Court was during his senior year at Wichita East High School. He lead the team to a 6A state championship.

Since then, Haynes-Jones has become a success story for Wichita State. In a short two-year stint with the Shockers, he’s hit two big buzzer-beating shots that will define his legacy with program.

Haynes-Jones wasn’t an overnight success. He dealt with grade issues — keeping him from jumping directly to a Division-I school out of high school — and spent his early years at Hutchinson Community College, where he won a NJCAA championship. When he got to Wichita State, he played behind Landry Shamet.

It wasn’t until he had no choice but to take ownership of the team that Haynes-Jones became the

senior WSU needed. His career, a short two-year stint, has had defining moments.

“When he’s good, he’s really good,” Head Coach Gregg Marshall said. “There are games when he does not get in the flow and does not get a rhythm going. It’s been up and down, but by in large, where would we be without him?”

Thursday night, Haynes-Jones came alive in Koch Arena. He scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, with a game-winner at the buzzer. He commanded the ball. Why? Because he’d been there before. Less than a month before, Haynes-Jones hit a near-identical shot at the buzzer, stealing a win from Southern Methodist.

Before he was a Shocker, he was a 6A state champion on Devlin Court.

It’s clear, Haynes-Jones won’t likely forget either his first or his last time playing in the arena just three miles from where he grew up.

MARKIS MCDUFFIE

Markis McDuffie first set foot on Devlin Court a lanky 17-year-old.

Now a senior, McDuffie has had the challenge of leading the nation’s fourth-youngest team as a young 21-year-old senior.

McDuffie has served as the team’s lively, carefree teenager throughout his college career.

Whether dancing in huddles, singing in the locker room, or dog-piling his teammates, McDuffie has struggled to outgrow his fun-loving demeanor. That’s largely why having to step up as the team’s most-experienced player has served

Shockers steal third road win of the season at SMU

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

Dexter Dennis and Markis McDuffie combined for 27 points and 16 rebounds as Wichita State secured its third road win of the season Sunday at Southern Methodist.

WSU (15-13, 8-8 AAC) won its second straight and swept the season series with the Mustangs.

The Shockers beat a depleted SMU (14-14, 5-11 AAC) team 67-55. The Mustangs played without point guard Jimmy Whitt.

McDuffie fought poor shooting, but finished as the Shockers' leading scorer with 15 and a rebound shy of a double-double. The Shockers got a boost from Jaime Echenique, who had eight points and six rebounds.

Asbjørn Midtgaard didn't show up in the box score much. He had seven points on 2-3 shooting with two rebounds, but his play helped WSU open up to as much as a 20-point lead. His defense forced SMU outside the perimeter, where they made just three 3-pointers on 26

attempts (11 percent). Setting screens on the other end, Midtgaard opened up the lane for Samajae HaynesJones and Jamarius Burton, who combined scored 15.

When the Shockers played the Mustangs at the end of January, WSU had a 1-6 conference record.

The Mustangs had 45 points at halftime. Samajae Haynes-Jones helped WSU top SMU with his first of two buzzer beaters this season.

That ignited a drastic turnaround for the program, as it has gone on to win seven of its next nine games.

WSU moved into sole possession of sixth place in the AAC, with South Florida losing to UConn on Sunday. It's likely Gregg Marshall's team will be the league's first team to have a 1-6 start and finish better than eighth in the league.

With two games remaining on its schedule, WSU cannot advance to better than sixth in the conference, but cannot theoretically fall to worse than seventh.

as such a demanding challenge.

Nonetheless, McDuffie has had a career defined by big moments.

There are the accolades that poured in his freshman year. He collected honors as the Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year — the first under Gregg Marshall’s tenure at WSU. Then, in the absence of AllAmericans Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker, McDuffie elevated his game

once again. As a sophomore, he lead as the new face of the program with team-best averages in scoring and rebounds. A stress fracture set him back at the start of his junior season.

He missed the first half of the season and never got back to peak potential.

Twice, he’s tested the NBA waters.

His future is uncertain, but he’s too focused in on finishing out his final days at Koch Arena with another big moment to think about what’s next.

In four years, McDuffie has transformed his game. He’s making shots that a senior forward should make, and that’s why he’s commanding the attention and respect of top-level American Athletic Conference opponents. McDuffie wants fans to remember his charismatic attitude and passion for the game.

“I know it’s going to end fast,” McDuffie said of his senior season.

And now, that time has come.