THE
SUNFLOWER WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN NEWS SOURCE
WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 1 2014
WWW.THESUNFLOWER.COM
VOLUME 119, ISSUE 28
Haiti trip offers work, life lessons for Shockers By Kevin Brown STAFF REPORTER @krbrownjr
Photo by Manny De Los Santos
Duo-organists Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault acknowledge the crowd after performing a song Tuesday night inside the Wiedemann Recital Hall. The Chenaults have performed extensively throughout the United States and in Europe. The event is part of the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series.
Duo organists fill Wiedemann Hall with music By Jake Trease MANAGING EDITOR @thejaketrease
Wiedemann Hall at Wichita State was built around the Great Marcussen Organ, the first organ built on American soil by the Denmark organ company Marcussen and Son. Each year, the venue holds an organ series sponsored by the Rie Bloomfield foundation. Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault filled Wiedemann
with contemporary duets on that organ on Tuesday. Every song was commissioned or arranged by the couple because of the lack of duets written for the organ. The Chenaults enjoyed the on-campus organ, but were also impressed with the hall itself. “The organ is fantastic,” Raymond said. “The best spec on the organ is the hall — the acoustics.” Terence Truong, a freshman studying computer science, agreed.
“I think it’s probably the room itself,” he said of the performance. “This was a secluded area, so sound could bounce around a lot better.” Steven Brown, a freshman studying music composition, said it’s because of the grooves in the walls and ceilings. They are made specifically for the acoustics of the organ, he said. The performance consisted of six pieces, from the French choral, “Sonate à Deux” to a contemporary medley from the “Phantom of the Opera.”
Truong said his favorite piece was the medley. “It was awesome,” he said. “With two-person, you hear everything.” After the performance, the duo came back out on stage to perform their final song — an arrangement of “Stars and Stripes” in honor of the active military in the audience. WSU associate professor and organist Lynne Davis asked the audience, “Now do you see the benefit of four hands and four feet?”
Sign Language students gain experience in deaf community By Dylan Edelen STAFF REPORTER @DylanEdelen
It has been proven that the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in the culture and be left to your own devices. Wichita State American Sign Language students attempt to immerse themselves in the deaf culture every month. A group of sign language majors meets once a month at a west-side Arby’s with some of the area’s deaf population to hone their skill and mastery of the language. “Students that actively participate love it,” said Kathy Stewart,
assistant director of the Office of Disability Services. “Once they take the plunge and start trying to sign with someone, they find it is worth the effort.” Some people in the deaf population volunteer their time to work with the students, as they recognize the importance of these students’ development. “Students have come back to tell me they were scared to start with,” Stewart said. “Then they realized the deaf people are only there to help them practice.” Madison Meyer is a senior learning American Sign Language. See SIGN LANGUAGE on page 5
Photo by Kevin Brown
Teresa Schoch signs a message in a conversation outside of Grace Wilkie Annex. Wichita State offers sign language interpreting services from the Office of Disability Services, Grace Wilkie Annex, room 150.
For the small group of WSU students who hopped on a plane headed to Haiti at the beginning of spring break 2013, life would never be the same. Global Faith in Action (GFIA), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping others accept beyond simple tolerance, has hosted an alternative spring break for college students, helping communities in northern Haiti improve schools, medical centers, housing and infrastructure. The organization has also operated a school in Lambert, Haiti since 1993, creating an opportunity to positively affect local individuals and families long-term. After taking her first trip to Haiti during spring break two years ago, Wichta State communication student Chandler Williams had a vision and a wish to open the oppertunity to other students her at WSU. “I wanted more students to be more aware of interfaith,” Williams said. “So, I started a group on campus.” The college affiliate of Global Faith in Action said it aims to help bring students beyond simply tolerating each other — but appreciating those around them on a personal level. “We are doing more dialogue events to push students past tolerance,” Williams said. “Not just tolerating each other — but enjoying each other and appreciating each other.” One way the group has put their mission into action is by allowing students to travel to Haiti for a week to serve. Haiti is the poorest country in the world — according to the World Bank — with many citizens living on less than $1 a day. The mission trip has the opportunity of showing students a world distant from home. For Williams, however, the contrast between Kansas and Haiti was much more stark than she previously realized. “Poverty in the United States doesn’t even come close to Haiti,” Williams said. “It gives you a new perspective on what poverty looks like.” See HAITI on page 4
2014 Kansas college enrollment numbers 2014 WSU student population
15,003
2014
2013
3.11% The student population grew by 435 since fall 2013, a growth of 3.11%
This is the largest enrollment increase in 12 years 2002
1,381 more students
2014
The Kansas Board of Regents four-year institutions collectively grew by 1,381 students in 2014, a 1.47% increase over 2013.
Technical college enrollment increased in 2014
6,844 total students
Community college enrollment is down
4.34%
6.32% enrollment increase
Butler enrollment fell 158 students to 9,205
1.69%
enrollment decrease -Information from the Wichita Business Journal
Infographic by Jillian Clough