THE WWW.THESUNFLOWER.COM
SUNFLOWER WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN NEWS SOURCE
MONDAY • JANUARY 26, 2015
VOLUME 119, ISSUE 56
Retiring Ted Ayres leaves legacy, continues community work By Alex Perry STAFF REPORTER @SunflowerAP
For the past 19 years, Wichita State has turned to Vice President and General Counsel Ted Ayres for a variety of needs, including legal and personnel issues. However, starting this June, Ayres will write a new chapter of his life: retirement. Ayres practiced law in various capacities from 1972 to 1976, never feeling satisfied in the connection he was making to his community. His first role as legal counsel for a university came in 1976 at the University of Missouri, and, a decade later, he became general counsel to the Kansas Board of Regents. Holding that position for 10 years, Ayres did legal consulting
with many schools, including WSU, which did not have a full-time legal counsel at the time. He took the job at WSU in 1996 after being lobbied by former Vice President Fred Suderman and now Athletic Director Eric Sexton. The fact that he greatly enjoyed working with WSU also helped convince him. “Early on in that process, I really enjoyed Wichita State,” Ayres said. “I liked the feel of it, I liked the community, I liked the people here.” Much has happened during Ayres’ tenure at WSU, such as the construction of Shocker Hall and the move toward becoming an Innovation Campus. However, Ayres said the most difficult part of his job has been dealing with personnel problems.
He said it is never easy to let anyone go, but the staff here has always been equipped to handle it. “It’s difficult for everybody,” Ayres said. “One of the things I’ve enjoyed is that people here don’t take those responsibilities lightly.” Ayres is perhaps most well known within the community for spearheading the efforts to bring some of the works of Gordon Parks — a photographer and native Kansan whose list of accomplishments and job titles is too long to print — into WSU’s collection. WSU beat out the New York Public Library and the Smithsonian, among other institutions, to house countless Parks manuscripts and photographs. See AYRES on page 2
Photo by Kevin Brown
Ted Ayres will retire from his position as vice president and general counsel June 30, but will continue his lead role in the Enough is Enough task force.
‘Be a player in making a difference’ SGA
begins semester By Cole Yancey STAFF REPORTER @CAYancey21
Photo by Kevin Brown
A crowd gathers in the community building at Fairmount Park — located one block south of campus — to discuss community safety Thursday night.
University, community come together in sexual assault discussion By Shelby Reynolds MANAGING EDITOR @_shelbyreynolds
With several university representatives in attendance, a community discussion Thursday evening emphasized Wichita State’s role in the safety and livelihood of its surrounding neighborhoods. The conversation at the Fairmount Park community building — located one block south of the WSU campus — centered on the reality of sexual violence in Wichita in the wake of a violent assault that killed 36-year-old Letitia Davis in November. “We wanted to see what the community thought of the events,” that happened last November, said Wyatt Vieux, president of WSU’s Interfraternity Council. “And see what the next actions would be to take.” About 30 community members and representatives from the Wichita Police Department, City of Wichita, Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center and WSU were in attendance.
What happened to Davis is not the reality of sexual violence, explained Robin Bariel, outreach advocate with WASAC. “Most of what we see is not someone walking through a park and is attacked by someone completely unknown to them,” Bariel said to the small audience. “Most of the sexual violence we see is perpetrated by someone they know, trust and most often love.” It is that reason, Bariel said, that many cases of sexual assault go unreported. Victims don’t consider what happened to them “rape,” she said. Bariel also said she heard many comments of ‘I don’t feel safe in my neighborhood anymore’ and ‘This used to be a good community’ following the attack in Fairmount Park. “It’s not about neighborhoods,” she said. “I can’t tell you that living in College Hill is not going to be any safer than it is going to be living here at WSU … Because it’s not about location.” Members of the audience expressed their concerns for future steps to be taken against
sexual violence in the area. Several attendees said education is key. To that, Bariel said WASAC is available to lead discussions among audiences of two to 300 people, if requested. Several WSU officials in attendance Thursday represented a variety of departments and services, including the Counseling and Testing Center, the Interfraternity Council, university police and members of the newly-formed “Enough is Enough” task force. Wade Robinson, vice president of student affairs at WSU, once again put forth the offer to provide a location for self-defense classes, as previously brought up at a campus safety forum following the attack. “If you need a place, the offer there was to have a place of no charge at the Heskett Center,” Robinson announced at the meeting. “We have an excellent facility with matted floors. “I get it — learning how to hit isn’t going to stop this. But if it’s risk reduction and awareness, if it helps one person, then it’s been worth it.” Vieux said several of WSU’s
fraternity chapters will do their part to put a stop to sexual assault, including plans to host a gala in which all proceeds will go toward WASAC. “One thing we wanted to focus on was getting the chapters in the area and attend [Fairmount Neighborhood Association] meetings,” Vieux said. “I think it would be a good way to let us know what’s going on in the area.” The university is a “great resource” to the community, Robinson said. Ted Ayres echoed those sentiments. Ayres, who recently announced his retirement in his role as WSU’s vice president and general counsel, also spoke up in the discussion to represent his lead role in the Enough is Enough task force, which aims to create safe neighborhoods near campus. “I wanted to re-emphasize the university’s concern,” Ayres said during the discussion. “What we’re trying to do is gather up university expertise and resources — both financial and human — and be a player in making a difference.”
The Wichita State Student Government Association started the semester Wednesday with a short meeting that elected committee members and appointed three new senators. Dalton Stanfield and Jarvis Lawson were appointed as at-large senators and Sohaib Tahir was appointed to the position of graduate senator. At-large senator Reece Burns was elected to lead the Oversight and Inquiry Committee, and at-large senator Jonathan Dennill will join Burns as a member of the same committee. To conclude business, legislative director Mariah Smith introduced a bill for its first read. The bill deals with transition processes between old and new Senates. It will be voted on next week. The bill is relevant because an election for a new senate happens every spring semester. SGA will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in room 233 of the Rhatigan Student Center.
Ulrich presents new spring exhibits By Brittany Ponds STAFF REPORTER @brittany_forev
Jennifer Lane, public relations and marketing manager at the Ulrich Museum of Art, describes Evan Roth’s “Intellectual Property Donor” exhibit as timely. “It’s so relevant to everything right now,” Lane said. Roth’s exhibit is one of three new exhibitions to reach the Ulrich’s Winter Opening Reception. These exhibits are a mixture of graffiti and viral media. Occupying center stage of the technology-driven exhibit is the “Internet Cache Self-Portrait.” Lane said the piece makes viewers look at what their cache says about themselves. See ULRICH on page 3