/ The Sunflower
THURSDAY April 28, 2022 Volume 126 Issue 31
WICHITA STATE’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896
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TIME TO SHINE ASC PERFORMANCE SETLIST JOCELYN PAREDES Freeze - T-pain Kickin’ Back - Mila J A.D.T.O.Y. - 2PM
VSA DANCE TEAM Gái Mien Tây - Duyên Dáng
JESSE METHMAN 2 soon - Keshi
ROBAM MUNIVONGSA Robam Bopha Lokey
MYANH MA Warrior - Demi Lovato
CHI SIGMA TAU Congratulations - Post Malone September - Earth, Wind, & Fire Spicy - by Ty Dolla $ign Good Boy - GD & Taeyang I Invented Sex - Trey Songz Bop - DaBaby
ALETA SOUPHANH Need to Know - Doja Cat X - Chris Brown
KVERSITY Tudsaley Vongsena of KVersity performs a mashup of “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X, “Left & Right” by SEVENTEEN, “Hot Sauce” by NCT Dream, and “Deja Vu” by ATEEZ at ASC Assembly on April 23. | Photo by Thy Vo / The Sunflower
Industry Baby - Lil Nas X Left & Right - SEVENTEEN Hot Sauce - NCT Dream Deja Vu - ATEEZ
Asian Student Conference brings night of music and dancing BY THY VO design@thesunflower.com
T
he Asian Student Conference returned with a night full of music and dance performances on Saturday, April 23. The nine performances showcased different aspects of culture and musical expression. “It felt exciting,” junior Ricky Pham of Chi Sigma Tau said. “Giving a show to the audience was really fun and just being yourself up there was cool too.” The ASC members performed “Gái Miền Tây” by Vietnamese artist Duyên Dáng, “Need to know” by American rapper Doja Cat, “Déja Vu” by Kpop group Ateez and many other songs. Throughout rehearsals for their special stages, the ASC members mentioned how they
encountered multiple struggles while preparing for their performances. Freshman Aleta Souphanh signed up for the event at the last minute and had little time to prepare. “This week has been a tough week for me. I was like ‘Oh do I want to perform again?’ or ‘Oh do I have enough time?” Souphanh said. “I decided that I might as well just do it because this is one of the only chances I have right now [to perform].” The stages were judged by the audience and five judges: Alicia Newell, Quang Nguyen, Richard Mai, Trang Bui and Taben Azad. The audience also had an opportunity to compete for a $10 Round1 gift card by doing the most pushups while votes were being tallied backstage. The winners were
announced and received certificates for their performances. Aleta Souphanh placed third, Chi Sigma Tau National Fraternity placed second, and KVersity placed first. “Winning feels great. We’ve performed here for the past three years but for us to actually get first place here – it’s like an achievement that we’ve always wanted to strive for,” senior Jennifer Dang of KVersity said. “It’s really satisfying to see everyone in-person, it just feels good to be here.” The night concluded as the performers gathered their members and friends on stage for photos and hugs of celebration. “I loved the show. I knew with all these performers – I know all these people and they’re super talented so I knew it was going to be a good show,” ASC coordinator Vivian Le said.
Aleta Souphanh performs a mashup of “Need to Know” by Doja Cat and “X” by Chris Brown at the ASC Assembly on April 23.. | Photo by Thy Vo / The Sunflower
Kevin Le of Chi Sigma Tau performs a mashup of “Congratulations” by Post Malone, “September” by Earth, Wind, & Fire, “Spicy” by Ty Dolla $ign, “Good Boy” by GD & Taeyang, “I Invented Sex” by Trey Songz, and “Bop” by DaBaby at ASC Assembly on April 23. | Photo by Thy Vo / The Sunflower
New NIL collective launches to help WSU student-athletes make money BY SEAN MARTY sports@thesunflower.com
With the emergence of new name, image and likeness deals recently, Wichita State has formed its first NIL collective. Tyler Weber and Tymber Lee, both former WSU baseball players, have formed Armchair Strategies, LLC, to help Shocker student-athletes earn money from name, image and likeness rules that were formed last summer. Both Weber and Lee are prominent businessmen in Wichita, with Weber serving as the director of business development for Aegis Group and Lee as the co-owner of the Wichita Sports Forum. Armchair Strategies is WSU’s first NIL collective, a stand-alone
start-up company that helps create financial opportunities for athletes. NIL collectives can also be a larger company, for-profit or non-profit. The collectives are also a separate entity from the university. When the NIL rules were established last summer, the WSU athletic department used a cautious approach and the athletes had to go out on their own to land NIL deals. But with this new collective, deals will be more accessible to the athletes. “Well I just think NIL is here in college athletics and it has a place and it’s something that Wichita State needs,” Weber said. “Whether people like NIL or not, it’s here right now. It’s something that we have to adapt to and the biggest thing we want to do is
support the players.” Armchair Strategies will be the sixth American Athletic Conference program with an NIL collective in place, joining Memphis, Houston, SMU, Tulane and UCF. They have been active with current student-athletes at WSU to help them start earning money. Weber and Lee have also partnered with Matt Baty, a Wichita native who has experience on an NIL Collective called 6th Man Strategies at the University of Kansas. Baty played a key role in signing all 18 players to the collective on KU’s national championship winning men’s basketball team. “It’s huge because there’s a lot of stuff that’s already been done
Junior Craig Porter Jr. is announced in the starting lineup before the game against the SMU Mustangs on Feb. 5 in Koch Arena. Porter removed his name from the transfer portal and is returning to WSU because of the new NIL collective. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower
and been put into the works that’s already been successful at a program like KU,” Weber said. “The compliance side, the back workings of the company have already
been set forth. Now, we’re coming in and being able to have access to a lot of that.” SEE NIL PAGE 6