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SUNFLOWER WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN NEWS SOURCE
WEDNESDAY • SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
VOLUME 119, ISSUE 25
News: United in WU Page 3 | Sports: Shockers of the Roundhouse: P.J. Couisnard Page 4
Photo by Marcus Wright
Wichita State students take part in the Human vs. Zombies event hosted by the Student Activities Council. The SAC is a student organization that brings a variety of events and programs to campus each year.
Campus of the Dead: A zombie apocalypse befalls WSU By Paulo Lazo STAFF REPORTER @Paulo_JLazo
For the next 24 hours, Josue Rios will endure an agreeable sense of paranoia. The seventh edition of the campus-wide game Humans vs. Zombies brings students together as they engage in a three-day cat-and-mouse game. “[The best thing is] being scared all day,” Rios said. “You
have to look around all the time wherever you’re at, you gotta be careful for stalkers and things like that, and then you can find some people and then you can team up and maybe go to a building together,” he said. “Toward the end it gets really, really competitive.” The rules forbid participants to venture into the halls — the actions must transpire outdoors and within university limits. Humans may throw socks at
the zombies in order to keep them on a timeout for 10 minutes, yet the latter merely have to place one hand on their opponents to “turn” them. In order to tell each other apart, humans wear a bandana around their arm, whereas zombies do so around their head. “If you break it down it’s just a big game of tag,” said SAC adviser Jeff Nilsen. “We had 60 people sign up this year, and you
start with one original zombie, so that person’s infecting everybody else, and then you’ll see the game spread.” The game started at 8 a.m.; around 5 p.m. both parties get together in front of the RSC for a joint mission. Humans need to stay “alive” until Wednesday to achieve victory. Nevertheless, should the zombies manage to infect all involved humans, they will win
the game. Freshman Craig Lehman, original zombie at the west campus, expressed his joy to participate in the event despite his disability, which he stated actually helps his team achieve their goals. “It’s a good experience to get to know people here on the main campus,” he said. “It isn’t just that I’m disabled — they’re also using me as an asset. It’s working so far.”
Music theatre gets real in ‘The Spitfire Grill’ By Alex Perry STAFF REPORTER @sunflowerAP
Photo by Kevin Brown
Allison Schultz shares tales from her experience working at Disney World during spring of 2013.
Making Disney dreams By Courtney Holmes STAFF REPORTER @itstheintern
Allison Schultz was completing her senior year at Wichita South High School in 2011 when she first heard she could go work for Disney in college. Schultz began her college career living on campus at Wichita State and regrets not getting a job right away. “Many times, I would not do anything on the weekends except sit in the dorm room,” Schultz said. “I needed more.” Soon after, Schultz joined Alpha Phi, a sorority on campus, and has remained highly involved ever since. “I probably [wouldn’t] have come as far as I did in college without them,” Schultz said. “They kept me going when I needed it. I’ll remember the sisterhood and friendship
forever.” During her sophomore year, Schultz decided she needed a change and got a job at American Eagle Outfitters. However, she felt in her heart that Disney was calling her. In the fall of 2012, she applied for a job with Disney. She did not end up receiving the position, but she never gave up. When she reapplied in January 2013, Schultz was successful. Even though some of her friends and family were skeptical of the situation, Schultz was set on taking the opportunity. And, when January hit, Schultz left Kansas for Florida. She was assigned to work at Epcot, one of the four theme parks at Disney World. She said it was the most motivating thing that could have happened to her. “Disney is big on their employees having degrees,” Schultz
said. “When I was there, I decided this is the organization I wanted to be a part of after college, and I knew then I had to come back to Wichita and really focus.” That is exactly what Schultz has done since her August 2013 return to WSU. On top of classes, she remains an active member of Alpha Phi. She also works at Prairie Pines, which hosts its annual “Field of Screams” attraction, she nannies and she continues to work at American Eagle Outfitters. She has changed her major to Strategic Communication but is working hard to get back to Disney after graduation. Schultz advises any student thinking about an internship or opportunity out-of-state to really look into it. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something,” Schultz said. “Stick it out. Take the risk.”
During her theatrical career, sophomore Hannah Fernandes has gotten her fair share of lead roles, such as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz.” But Fernandes does not place prancing down the yellow brick road in the same category as playing an ex-convict named Percy, who decides to start anew in a rural town in Wisconsin. Fernandez will be playing Percy when the Wichita State School of Performing Arts puts on its musical production of “The Spitfire Grill” starting Thursday. “This is such a meaty role to play,” Fernandes said. “To have it be my first real lead, it’s amazing.” The musical (an adaptation of the 1996 film of the same name) can be seen at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Wilner Auditorium, with one last show at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The film, a non-musical drama, was adapted to stage in 2001 with musical numbers. Fernandes said this is an effective way to communicate emotion to the audience. “Music in musicals is kind of the expression of characters beyond what they can say with just words,” Fernandes said. “There’s just an added emotion that comes from having the music behind it.” Director Wayne Bryan was initially drawn to “The Spitfire Grill” because of its smaller cast and more down-to-earth plot than other productions. According to Bryan, the story
goes to some fairly unhappy, but realistic, places. “As [Percy’s] past is revealed, it deals with some very mature, contemporary issues,” Bryan said. “So it really deals with social situations that we encounter in real life.” Bryan said the orchestra contains a violin, a cello, two guitars and an accordion to attain a folksy, bluegrass feel. The idea, he said, is to use the score to tell a more personal, introspective story than in bigger musicals. “This isn’t that kind of musical at all,” Bryan said. “This is a more reflective, dark, almost melancholy piece, but it has a quality of redemption to it that keeps it from being a downer.” Senior Emily Monrad, who plays a 70-year-old widow in “Spitfire Grill,” feels the realism of the story will make the show more accessible and appealing to those who normally have little interest in musical theatre. “It has a purpose and a point to make that is relatable to anyone who comes to the show,” Monrad said. “It’s deep. It’s not surface-level material whatsoever.” Monrad said she is excited to share the story with the audience because it has had an impact on her as a human being. For Monrad, “The Spitfire Grill” should not turn anyone away because of its occasional melancholia, as it also has a positive message of redemption. “It’s funny and heartwarming and there are some weighty parts of it, but it’s not like you’re going to be depressed when you leave,” Monrad said. “You’re going to be really happy when you leave the theatre.”