the
SUN FLOWER
A memorial will be held at 9 a.m. Friday in honor of the 45th anniversary of the tragic plane crash.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015
VOLUME 120, ISSUE 17
THESUNFLOWER.COM
Cyclists go on lock down
Photo by Xavier Mortenson
The annual fundraiser, “Murder at Venue 332, Death by Champagne & Chocolate,” will take place Friday at the Scottish Rite Center to raise money for WSU’s Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic.
Murder mystery Friday night to aid WSU clinic BRENNEN SMITH
REPORTER
@brennen19_26
A “murder” will occur Friday in a 130-year-old building in downtown Wichita with tall chimneys, stone spires and stained glass. The police will never be called and no one will be arrested, charged, tried or convicted. The “crime” begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Wichita Scottish Rite Center as a murder-mystery fundraiser for clients at Wichita State’s Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic (SLH Clinic), titled “Murder at Venue 332, Death by Champagne & Chocolate.” The fundraiser includes dinner, an auction, raffle, live entertainment, champagne and chocolates, while the audience awaits the verdict. “Attendees will be entertained by the antics and shenanigans of the murder mystery players,” said Lisa Sparks, office manager for Wichita Scottish Rite, and a WSU alumna. The innocent and guilty alike can stalk through the Egyptian Room, filled with sphinxes and paintings of Egyptian gods, the Crystal Room, adorned with a wall of crystal windows and armchairs, and the library, in an attempt to identify the killer. It will be similar to the board
game Clue. The audience participates, and at the end of the three-part mystery, all attendees will vote for whom they think committed the murder, Sparks said. The raffle and auction include donated items from local businesses to support the charity. Some of the big items include a historic Stearman plane ride, a Christmas light trolley tour with River City Trolley or a dinner for two with men’s basketball head coach Gregg Marshall. “What the funds do is make [clinic care] more affordable and give scholarships to the families to use the family services at the clinic,” said Carrie Wyatt, senior administrative specialist at the SLH Clinic. The clinic offers diagnostic and clinical services to children and adults in the areas of speech, language and hearing. Clinic Director Mary Beasley said WSU faculty and supervised graduate students provide care to clients at different agencies throughout the Wichita area. Beasley said the clinic also has a pre-school program for children aged 2 to 5 years old, and special areas for autism and stroke rehabilitation. The clinic currently serves about 150 clients.
SEE MYSTERY • PAGE 4
‘Quirky Kansas’ class tells story of unique history DANIELLE PREWITT MANAGING EDITOR
@danimal902
Nestled in a classroom at the Wichita State west campus sits a “quirky” group. The class is called “Quirky Kansas,” and it teaches students to explore a unique, or “quirkier” side of the Sunflower State. Topics include great ghosts of Kansas, celebrities, festivals and eateries. “I love the sunsets, the sunrises, the weather and the way it changes,” said student Jo Hillen. “I wanted to learn more about the state that I dearly love.” Wednesday’s lecture encompassed Kansas musicians and famous melodies. “It’s the arts who most define our heart and spirit,” class instructor Beccy Tanner said. “The arts allow us to look within our soul.”
A native of Bentley, guest speaker Orin Frieson is a radio personality and a recent Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee. “I love the heritage and the cowboy heritage,” he said. “It’s home and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” “I wanted to do this so you guys can start understanding that there are so many amazing things that come from Kansas,” Tanner interjected to her students. “There are so many things about our legacy that other states, such as Texas, claim,” she joked. Tanner is a fourth-generation Kansan, serves as the Kansas history writer for the Wichita Eagle, where she has been for the past 32 years, and teaches Kansas history classes at WSU. This is her first year teaching “Quirky Kansas.”
SEE HISTORY • PAGE 3
Photo by Tarun Bali
Three bicycle thefts have been reported in the last two weeks at Wichita State, especially around the dormitories. University Police suggests cyclists use solid steel loop locks, which are available for residents at the dorms.
After recent bike thefts, Wichita State reminds cyclists to use proper locks CHANCE SWAIM
A
REPORTER
@chanceswaim
mid the frustrations with parking at Wichita State, students have turned to alternative modes of transportation to navigate across campus, one of which is bicycles. In the last two weeks, three bicycle thefts were reported on campus, according to the University Police Department. The first incident, on the morning of Sept. 14 at Fairmount Towers, an unknown person or persons cut the lock on a bicycle at the south tower rack and moved it to the north tower rack, where they attached a new lock, according a campus police blotter. The report remains under investigation by UPD. Later that day, a 35 year-old male was seen trying to steal bicycles from a bike rack at Fairmount Towers, the blotter said. The male attempted to flee from officers, but was caught. The man had cocaine and a syringe in his possession at the time of his arrest. The bike he had been riding was reported stolen out of the city of Wichita. The male was booked into Sedgwick County Jail. “It’s my understanding that the bike he had in his possession originally was stolen earlier that morning in downtown Wichita,” UPD Capt. Corey Herl said. “[The bike from downtown] was returned to its owner and there was an additional bike he removed by cutting a cable lock [from Fairmount Towers].” UPD has been in contact with WSU Housing and Residence Life, Herl said, but hasn’t been able to locate the rightful owner of that bike. “In our talks with UPD, we’ve found that the reason the man who was arrested got caught was because our student residents were watching and reporting, and keeping an eye on each other,” Housing and Residence Life Director Scott Jansen said. “I think they did a good job.” In the third report of theft, a Fairmount Towers resident reported two males stealing bicycles from the racks Sept. 25 in the courtyard of Fairmount Towers, according to the police blotter. The two males fled as officers arrived, and the incident remains under investigation by UPD. According to the Sedgwick County Sheriff Department’s website, bike thefts can occur for a variety of reasons. For example, bikes make good getaway vehicles, they are relatively easy to steal and require few tools to do so. The rise in popularity has also created a rise
in demand for parts and bicycles themselves, the website said, and poor locking practices by cyclists ensure a constant supply of available targets. “It is always our suggestion that people use the solid steel loop locks to secure their bicycles,” Herl said. “A year or so back we talked to [Housing and Residence Life] staff and they purchased a number of those steel locks that are available for anyone living in the dorms.” Jensen said the U-locks are available to students who live at Fairmount Towers or Shocker Hall. “We let students borrow U-locks for the full year for free,” Jensen said. “They just need to go to the front desk and it can be checked out to their room.” Housing and Residence Life also offers students free registration of their bikes at the front desk. “That way, if a bike is found after it’s been stolen, it can be returned to its rightful owner,” Jensen said. If a U-shaped steel lock is unavailable, UPD suggests a casehardened steel chain of 5/8-inch thickness or more, but Herl said students should err on the side of caution, especially since the locks are available through Housing and Residence Life. “I have seen cables and chains get cut,” Herl said. “I have never seen one of those solid steel loops be cut and a bike secured with it to be stolen.”
6 STEPS TO PREVENT BIKE THEFT 1. Lock your bike through both wheels and the frame 2. Use a U-shaped steel lock or a steel chain 3. Secure it to an immovable object, such as a bike stand 4. Lock in a visible and well-lit area where other bikes are present 5. Record the serial number and register your bike 6. Don’t lock in the same location every time
Source: intownbicycles.com