NEWS | 2
SPORTS | 3
OPINION | 6
ADVOCATE
DENMARK
MASK UP
WSU’s Student Government Association takes a stand against Kansas Senate Bill.
Golfer from Denmark shares his story of how he made WSU his home.
Opinion Editor Audrey Korte talks about Americans’ habit to politicize mask ordinances.
WICHITA STATE’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 MONDAY
Volume 125
www.thesunflower.com
March 29, 2021
Issue 21
COURTESY OF TRAVIS WASHINGTON
Travis Washington started a petition to change the way we hold law enforcement accountable for the shootings of unarmed indidicuals. To date, the petition, called the Hands Up Act, has 2.7 million supporters.
Student starts petition to get law enforcement who shoot unarmed persons a mandatory sentence BY AUDREY KORTE opinion@thesunflower.com / @akorteshares
In December 2018, Travis Washington created the ‘Hands Up Act,’ a policy that would require police officers who shoot unarmed citizens to serve a mandatory 15-year- sentence. As of today, Washington’s petition has 2,738,750 signatures. Washington joined the Wichita State community in January after receiving both a B.A and M.A. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He came to WSU to receive his teaching certification
before beginning a position teaching sixth-grade math. “I was listening to a speech by Dr. (Martin Luther) King Jr. about how he woke up one morning, and he was receiving death threats from white supremacists saying they were going to blow up his house and hurt his children,” Washington said. “And he sat down, and he prayed, and he said ‘Lord, I am trying to do what is right. Give me a presence, give me a feeling to know what is right.’ Washington said he felt this presence in his stomach and all around him, saying he should fight
“[Publishing the petition] was a spiritual experience that’s hard to describe.” TRAVIS WASHINGTON Wichita State Student
on. “That’s why I published the petition,” Washington said. “It was a spiritual experience that’s hard to describe.” After demonstrations took hold
across the nation and the world in the summer of 2020, Washington’s petition garnered more attention. It hit a million signatures than two million signatures and is now closing in on 3 million signatures. But are signatures and attention enough? Will that translate to legislation? Washington is hopeful but not convinced. “People will put you on TV. They will give you a platform, but that does not mean that they support you,” he said. “I’ve had six Governor’s call me, and they did not pursue me. We have to keep
this pressure up. There have been so many names that we can just move onto the next name instead of having accountability.”
WHAT WOULD ACCOUNTABILITY LOOK LIKE? “I said this in my Ted Talk — by punishing somebody,” he said. “If we hear cops using racial slurs or see them beat somebody, what’s the punishment?” Washington said for him, accountability means making sure that the individual is held SEE WASHINGTON PAGE 5
Office for Student Money Management provides free financial assistance to students BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE copyeditor@thesunflower.com / @JuliaNightengale
While earning a degree is hard enough on its own, college brings along many other stressors— many of them being financial. Following a budget or filling out taxes are just some of the things that the Office for Student Money Management offers to teach students about for free. “We help students become financially literate, which is especially important in college to not go into massive debt. We also help them throughout college with budgeting their finances,” Hannah Hoopes, office manager of OSMM said. Some of the services offered to students through OSMM include helping students file taxes for free and creating weekly budget sheets or budget sheets to graduate college with less debt. The office also helps students with building credit, locating external financial education resources, saving money for a goal, or counseling any student who is struggling financially. For questions about existing scholarships and tuition bills,
FOLLOW US
OSMM sends those students to the financial aid office. “College is already pretty stressful without finances, so with finances it becomes more stressful,” Hoopes said. “We want to help them make smart decisions so they are not spending all of their money. If they have loans or a bad credit score we want to ease their stress and get them prepared for after college.” OSMM also designed a free two-credit hour course located on Blackboard called “Financial Wellness and Money Management.” The course teaches students about first steps in a financial journey, a chance to reflect on their own finances, and additional financial resources in the community. “Essentially, it is designed to make you more financially literate,” Hoopes said. “You can complete it whenever you have extra time. A lot of first year seminar professors are requiring it of their students. It shows us where you are at in your finances and gives you a good realization.” OSMM had to move their appointments online instead of in person due to the pandemic.
/ The Sunflower
@sunflowernews
ILLUSTRATION BY KAYLEE STOUT / THE SUNFLOWER
Hoopes said that they are hoping to have a physical location in the RSC in the near future. “Before COVID-19, we were planning on getting a Rhatigan Student Center room and just letting students walk in and helping students with their taxes,” Hoopes said. “We would be able to help @thesunflowernews
multiple students at a time. We are trying to expand more on campus and reach a bigger audience.” Hoopes said students are always grateful for the help that they get from OSMM, and feel a sense of relief when they are able to fix their financial stressors. “A lot of times when we are able
to help students you can instantly see them take a breath of fresh air and say, ‘Ok, I’m done with that’ so I think they feel a weight lifted off their shoulders,” Hoopes said. If students are interested in scheduling an appointment with OSMM, they can email OSMM@ wichita.edu.