ANTI-DIVERSITY AGENDA
Remove transgender troops from the military
Get rid of race-based programs in schools
Recognize only two sexes
Eliminate the Department of Education
Execute the “largest deportation” operation in U.S. history
Diversity Edition
From rolling back protections for LGBTQ+ students to banning cultural observances at the Pentagon to withholding funding from public schools, diversity, equity and inclusion is under attack. The Sunflower wants to recognize the diverse people who make up our campus and share the stories about our differences — and how they make us better together.
WALK IN THEIR SHOES
Ten years ago, The Sunflower published its first Diversity Edition, noting the drastic ways the campus — and the country — had changed throughout the decades. The edition focused on promoting and celebrating diversity, the ways it had changed, and how people interpreted it at the time.
2015 was much different from 2025 — then, we had cultural moments like the release of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” the “Hamilton” musical was inescapable and people were freezing in public spaces for the Mannequin Challenge.
And 10 years ago, the word “diversity” didn’t carry the tainted, controversial feeling it does now.
Fast forward to 2025, when more concentrated, specific targets on the concept of diversity seem to pop up daily. From executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to more subtle funding cuts nationwide, diversity has become something seen as a threat — rather than something to celebrate.
These changes across the country signal a troubling shift away from empathy — the core value that binds communities together. Initiatives that offer support to students with diverse experiences and backgrounds have become targets for politicians.
We must take a step back and look at just what we stand to lose. We should strive to walk a mile in each other’s shoes and have
STAFF EDITORIAL
empathy for our fellow students. Ask questions and pay attention to the changes that are being made.
With President Donald Trump’s recent executive order eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal agencies, the future of inclusive spaces is under threat.
Diversity in a newsroom — or any
— and a diverse campus — allows for stories that break through biases, challenge stereotypes and elevate underrepresented voices.
In this diversity edition, we aim to highlight the unique groups and people on our campus, and give you the information you need to follow the threats to diversity as they unfold.
Diversity — in every aspect possible — makes Wichita State University unique. Recognizing that is crucial. That’s why we have chosen
ANTI-DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION LEGISLATION
FEDERAL STATE
“DEFENDING WOMEN FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY EXTREMISM AND RESTORING BIOLOGICAL TRUTH TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT”
Signed Jan. 20, 2025
- Recognizing two sexes, male and female.
- All federal policies and documents use “sex” and not “gender.”
- Government-issued identification documents reflect the holder’s sex assigned at birth.
“ENDING RADICAL AND WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT DEI PROGRAMS AND PREFERENCING”
Signed Jan. 20, 2025
- All diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies, programs and activities in the federal government are terminated.
- “Environmental justice” positions and services are eliminated.
“PROTECTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AGAINST INVASION”
Signed Jan. 20, 2025
- Expanded expedited removal of immigrants who entered America illegally. Hired more ICE and border patrol agents. Prioritized criminal prosecutions for illegal entry into the United States.
“ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND RESTORING MERIT-BASED OPPORTUNITY”
Signed Jan. 21, 2025
Repeals several executive orders:
-Equal Employment Opportunity: “Affirmative Action.” Prevented discrimination in federal government hiring and employment.
- Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations): Made “achieving environmental justice” a part of every federal agency’s mission.
- Executive Order 13583 (Establishing a Coordinated Governmentwide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce): Directed federal agencies to develop a focus on diversity and inclusion in hiring and at work.
- Executive Order 13672 (Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity): Prevented discrimination in federal hiring based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
- Presidential Memorandum of Oct. 5 2016 (Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the National Security Workforce): Encourages federal departments to take a data-driven approach to hiring diversity.
“KEEPING MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS”
Signed Feb. 5, 2025
- Rescinds all federal funding from educational programs that allow transgender women to compete in sports with cisgender women.
More federal legislation can be found at whitehouse.gov.
‘Not really clear what is going to happen’ What we know so far about federal policies surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion — and how Wichita State is handling them
BY AINSLEY SMYTH news@thesunflower.com
The presidential administration’s arrival at the White House in January sent waves throughout the country as President Donald Trump signed various executive orders. One of Trump’s targets has been diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools and businesses that receive federal funding.
While many of Trump’s orders are facing legal challenges, uncertainty has arisen at Wichita State and other public universities about what initiatives are and aren’t at risk.
“There is no easy answer here,” WSU president Richard Muma said at a recent town hall meeting for faculty and staff. “Like most people, we’re not really clear what is going to happen next.”
‘DEAR COLLEAGUE’: ELIMINATE DEI
On Feb. 14, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights circulated a letter to educational institutions.
The “Dear Colleague” letter advises colleges and universities on how to handle federal orders against DEI initiatives. In short, its directive is to follow Trump’s orders.
The letter urges institutions to immediately stop initiatives meant to further diversity, equity and inclusion, including using race as a factor in admissions, financial aid and hiring.
“Discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is illegal and morally reprehensible,” the letter reads. “In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families. These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant racebased preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia.”
In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, saying it violated the constitution. This meant that universities receiving federal funding could not use race as a factor in admissions, but many in higher education worry the “Dear Colleague” letter may reach beyond affirmative action.
WHAT INITIATIVES COULD BE AFFECTED?
Laws cutting back on DEI initiatives are not new. In addition to the affirmative action case, a law passed last year by the Kansas legislature prohibits universities from requiring DEI statements in hiring and financial aid considerations.
At the Jan. 27 town hall, Muma addressed concerns about executive orders and the letter.
“These orders and the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter from the Department of Education could ultimately impact some of the programs we have,” Muma said. “We don’t
have any evidence that we need to do anything currently.”
Wichita State merged its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Student Engagement, Advocacy & Leadership in August, creating the Office of Student Engagement & Belonging. The University of Kansas made a similar merge of some of its diversity-related offices in September, which was met with protest from some students who worried about losing resources.
Gabriel Fonseca, the director of Student Engagement & Belonging, said the merger at WSU was a practical choice because the two offices already had similar programs, and the consolidation was not related to anti-DEI legislation.
SEB maintains many of the initiatives previously run by ODI. They include groups for students with a variety of identities and graduation ceremonies including a Multicultural Graduation, at which the university “recognizes multicultural students,” and Lavender Graduation, where LGBTQ+ graduates are recognized.
Muma pointed to commencement ceremonies as potentially being impacted by the new restrictions and advice from the Department of Education, although he said the university is not currently planning to change anything “until we hear anything different.”
It’s unclear if student groups will be affected, but Fonseca said all students are welcome to participate in programs run through the SEB office, as they do not discriminate based on race, culture or other factors.
“We have done some work in the past couple years to really make sure that our programs and services are open to all students, and that even though there may be focus areas in some of our programs and services, we want them to be an opportunity for everyone to be exposed to a variety of different backgrounds, cultures, etc.,” Fonseca said.
Muma added that the university’s general counsel is keeping a close eye on federal actions and the lawsuits against them, and “is in the process of assessing current positions, programs and policies that we have.”
Ultimately, Muma said, “We will have to follow the law.”
Fonseca encouraged WSU students with questions or concerns to reach out to the SEB office, adding that questions from students can even help leadership know what changes or policies to look at.
“I want our students to know that … we’ll continue to do the work that we’re doing and that we’ll continue to be advocating for our students and the needs that they have, and ultimately meeting those objectives as well,” Fonseca said. “And you know, to stay engaged with us. Stay focused with us, to stay present and again, to ask questions or to seek clarification on things.”
‘Their livelihood’: Task force works to build disability protections into
BY ALLISON CAMPBELL editor@thesunflower.com
In Annie Wasinger’s shared office in Rhatigan Student Center room 219, photos of impactful and influential women decorate the walls. Among them is Judy Heumann, the mother of the disability rights movement. While Heumann died in 2023, Wasinger said her resilience still lives on through the work of other disability advocates, such as those who comprise Wichita State’s Accessibility and Disability Pride Task Force.
“Disability is just a divergence,” Wasinger said. “It’s literally just diversity, and all diversity is good, just as we would accept diversity in thought or ethnicity or belief or race, (or) sexuality, we should accept diversity and the form of ability, and I don’t think that that limits anybody in any way.”
The task force is made up of members of Disability Rights, Education, Activism and Mentoring (DREAM), WSU professors, representatives from the Office of Student Accommodations & Testing (OSAT) and Courtney McHenry, who leads WSU’s Office of Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA Compliance (CTAC).
Since the group’s formation last year, representatives have met a few times this semester to create recommendations to present to the Student Government Association and Faculty Senate on how to enhance disability accommodations on campus. With local, state and federal administrations threatening to undo decades of work accomplished through disability advocacy, Wasinger — who serves as the student advocate and SGA liaison — and the task force are strategizing as to how they will preserve disability rights at WSU.
“The disability community has always been at odds with (pressure from the local or state level). We’ve always had to fight to receive accommodations,” Wasinger said. “We’re (the task force) called to more than just abiding by a procedure or being in code. I think that’s really making the difference on campus.”
That includes adding an amendment to The Student Bill of Rights to cement the protections offered under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Earlier this year, 17 states, including Kansas, filed a lawsuit — Texas v. Becerra — to eliminate this section that protects people with disabilities from
We’ve always had to fight to receive accommodations.
ANNIE WASINGER Student advocate and member of Accessibility and Disability Pride Task Force
discrimination. Wasinger said that, initially, she and SGA Sen. Andrew Hatch were going to propose a resolution to condemn Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s involvement in the suit.
“We were kind of preparing to, you know, make phone calls and just kind of get at Kobach’s office that way,” Wasinger said. “... Our disability community is great, and they were really flooding those AG (attorney general) lines. And now it kind of has seemed that those attorney generals are backing off and kind of just stated that they are not trying to declare 504 unconstitutional as a whole.”
The unprecedented suit, however, inspired Wasinger and Hatch to build disability protections into WSU’s 57-year-old safeguarding document, which has only been updated twice before.
“We recognize that, you know, politics are fluid. Everything’s fluid, and whether or not it was
intentional, there was a direct attack on 504,” Wasinger said. “... So we’re working on that just kind of a backup plan to make sure that those rights are enshrined somewhere in our organization, and we’re not just leaving it up to the federal guidelines.”
The goal is to enshrine the same concepts included in Section 504, like guaranteeing access for anyone with a disability to the university’s procedures, buildings, committees and activities, but without using the same verbiage. It will also defend funding for disability-based services like OSAT.
“The hope is that in the off chance 504 does go away … we say in our Student Bill of Rights that we have to accommodate students to the best of our ability. One way we do that is by funding OSAT,” Wasinger said.
Currently, OSAT receives funding from both the Student Government Association and the federal government. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 125 anti-DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) bills have been introduced at the collegiate level since 2023, many of which have impacted policy or DEIA funding.
The task force receives some funding from the student advocate fund but, according to Wasinger, is mostly financially independent, which means it should be able to continue to offer advocacy despite state or federal legislation. However, the task force is not guaranteed to be renewed for another year, as the decision lies with the next SGA administration.
“The future (is a) little unknown as it is with the task force,” Wasinger said. “I’m hoping that whoever picks up the next administration is happy to include accessibility as one of their tenants. I think it’s really important.”
But Wasinger, who will graduate this spring, isn’t worried about the task force’s future. She said people with disabilities, like Heumann, will continue to do what they’ve always done.
“Even if this task force isn’t alive, the people who are part of it are still doing their individual part for disability and advocacy because they have to,” Wasinger said. Anyone can bring their concerns to the task force or become involved in the group. Wasinger said concerns, which can be shared anonymously, can be emailed to her at sga.ugadvocate@wichita.edu.
Y(OUR) STORIES
Executive orders issued at the federal level and bills passed at the state level have impacted countless LGBTQ+ individuals. For many, including members of the Wichita State community, these decisions have created fear and uncertainty. The Sunflower staff thinks legislators are making these life-changing decisions without empathy and without knowing their transgender and gender-nonconforming constituents. We want to give legislators and those opposed to gender-affirming care the opportunity to hear directly from people who need it to survive. Without this care, and many of the protections offered through diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, many trans and gender-nonconforming individuals fear for their health and future.
Living authentically and navigating gender identity in the current United States LGBTQ+ DEFINITIONS
BY MALEAH EVANS arts@thesunflower.com
NON-BINARY:
Non-binary people usually fall under the transgender umbrella as they typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth. Not all consider themselves to be transgender, though. They could identify as an intermediate or separate third gender, with more than one gender, no gender or have a fluctuating gender identity.
GENDER-NONCONFORMING:
Gender nonconformity or gender variance is behavior or gender expression by a person who doesn’t match typical gender norms associated with their sex at birth. Someone who identifies as gendernonconforming may change their gender identity, be transgender or non-binary. They could also be cisgender.
CISGENDER:
Cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth. The term is often shortened to cis.
TRANSGENDER:
A person whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Often, transgender people desire medical assistance to medically transition from one sex to another. Transgender does not have a universally accepted definition and can function as an umbrella term. The term is often shortened to trans.
QUEER:
An umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or not cisgender. In the 21st century, queer has become increasingly used to describe a broad spectrum of sexual or gender identities and politics.
LGBTQ+:
LGBTQ (also commonly seen as LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, and LGBTQIA+) is an initialism for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. It is an umbrella term broadly referring to all sexualities, romantic orientations and gender identities that are not heterosexual, heteroromantic or cisgender.
GENDER-AFFIRMING
CARE:
It is designed to support and affirm a person’s gender identity and can lessen a person’s dysphoria. It can include social, psychological, behavioral and/or medical interventions.
DYSPHORIA:
A state of feeling very unhappy, uneasy or dissatisfied. Gender dysphoria is a type experienced by individuals whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth. Some who experience dysphoria will utilize gender-affirming care.
We live in a gendered society. Everything has its own gendered box, from birth to death. Even the most pointless items, like toothbrushes and deodorant, are separated by gender.
Isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic helped me put a name to the issue that had plagued me for a couple of years. It helped me realize that I didn’t fit into the boxes of ‘“boy” and “girl” that society wants people to fit neatly into.
After some frantic Google searches, akin to the classic “Am I gay” quiz on BuzzFeed, I found myself wrapped in the embrace of gender-nonconforming and nonbinary people.
Once I found these terms that described me, it felt like a large weight was lifted from my shoulders. I felt complete enough to come out to my girlfriend.
She was the first person I was comfortable enough to come out to, and she has been my support system ever since.
I use they/them pronouns and, despite being open about my identity, some people around me still refer to me as she/her as I am still slightly female presenting in the traditional sense.
It’s a bombardment of “‘miss,” “ma’am,” and “young lady,” which hurts a lot more from people I know than strangers, but there is still a sting that is hard to ignore.
When I first came out, I attempted to dress and act as androgynous or masculine as possible. I’ve become comfortable enough in my identity that I can start to reincorporate feminine aspects back into my wardrobe,
though it’s been a slow process.
INCLUSION
A non-inclusive environment can be harmful to gendernonconforming students, both physically and mentally. They can face bullying and harassment, experience depressive episodes or even suffer from gender dysphoria, significant distress related to their desire to conform to another gender.
All that I — and others who are going through gender realization — ask is that you please educate yourself and stand up for those who have no voice of their own, especially in light of recent legislation and anti-LGBTQ+ decisions.
LEGISLATION
The University of Cincinnati has started displaying new signs in various on-campus buildings in response to the new Senate Bill 104 law restricting the bathrooms transgender people can use; the signs have been altered to say “biological woman” and “biological man.”
Actress and model Hunter Schafer, among other trans individuals, has been misgendered on passports or denied when trying to change gender markers in response to executive orders signed by the Trump administration. Several trans and non-binary people have started to sue the administration for this new policy.
After Inauguration Day, The Trevor Project saw an increase in the volume of calls to its crisis line, following a record-breaking 700% increase observed on Nov. 6, 2024.
UNCERTAINTY
My passport is currently in limbo while the government tries to correct a mistake it made. My gender marker reads male even though I submitted the paperwork as female.
I submitted my passport with my birth certificate, trying to change my gender marker to female, and I received a letter from the passport application department saying they couldn’t issue a passport with the sex marker requested and that my documents submitted didn’t establish a biological sex at birth.
I can only guess that because my birth certificate was amended due to a wrong birthday, it was assumed that it was my gender marker that was changed and my application was paused until I am able to get proof of what was amended. With recent legislation, I have been living with uncertainty about what the future could bring. Especially with the issues surrounding my passport, I hear the stories of others who are in similar situations, who have had their documents returned destroyed. I fear that my documents may be either lost or returned to me in a similar state. I also live in fear of hate crimes, especially as events like pride parades come up. I can’t help but worry if some people will decide to target and attack these parades and harm the community.
I will continue to live openly as my authentic self, but there is an underlying layer of fear of what harm my existence may bring.
If you want to help, educate yourself and others. Petition local politicians and be an ally to those who are around you. We’ve been here for centuries, and we’re here to stay.
There’s a lot more trans people in Kansas than you think
I am a freshman and a secondary education major with a focus in history and government at Wichita State. I am also a trans person, one of many who are trying to navigate the recent changes in trans legislation.
I began transitioning in junior high and am grateful I was able to do so when I was younger.
It was surprisingly more progressive than you would think. I came out in seventh grade, and I started my medical transition in eighth, which is very surprising for Kansas. That’s not very common at all.
This meant changing all of my legal documentation as well as starting medical care like hormones and surgery. But with recent legislation changes, it may become difficult for other trans people to do the same.
With the recent introduction of President Donald Trump’s executive order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government”, trans people would be required to change legal documentation such as passports, visas, and government-issued IDs to “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”
This can prevent people from changing their documentation to reflect their gender identity and can cause issues for those who already have.
Gender-affirming health care for minors has already been on the chopping block. Kansas Senate Bill 63 bans various gender-affirming care means for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone treatment, meaning other trans people can’t start medically
transitioning before turning 18. And it’s a lot harder to transition later in life after you’ve already gone through puberty.
With these and other legislative setbacks, trans people may struggle with their mental health and gender dysphoria stemming from a lack of health care accessibility.
Understanding the importance of transitioning and gender-affirming health care is crucial in supporting trans loved ones.
It’s different for everyone; every trans person has a different experience. For me, it was almost life or death. I couldn’t conceive that I was a real person. The saving grace was access to gender-affirming care.
Right as I started puberty, I had very bad dysphoria. I couldn’t see myself having a future at all. Once I started my transition and hormones and I was able to get top surgery, it was like a breath of fresh air. Now, I have a plan for the future. Before, there was no me at 18.”
For those who wish to support their trans loved ones, a good start is lending a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on.
Let them know you’re there. Let them know that they have that support and that you’re there for them.
Friends and family can also support by being aware and reading up on trans laws and legislation. There are also community support options as well.
It’s important for other people to know and care because we’re going to be the first group who gets restricted and bills against them. If those bills go through, I think it could be pushed onto the LGBT
community in general. I think that could spiral out of control. This type of legislation can be dangerous for the trans community, especially young people.
It affects more people than people realize, a lot of trans people could lose their lives to suicide and hate crimes.
In Wichita, there are many pride month events in June that people can attend to show their support, as well as volunteering. Wichita Pride has links for volunteers to sign up and a calendar of events for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies to attend. The Center of Wichita also has links to donate, as well as support resources. For trans people on campus, there are also places to find community, including the discussion group Spectrum: LGBTQ and Allies, which is also open to people outside of campus, and oSTEM, which provides support and services for LGBTQ+ students in STEM fields. Right now, I just want to finish the degree. Then I’ll wait and see what kind of legislation passes to see if I’ll have a job.
For myself and many other trans individuals across the country, each day brings new uncertainties. However, community, support, and awareness can aid this struggle. There’s a lot more trans people in Kansas than you think. A lot of people have friends, and you may not even know that someone is trans.
Resilience through strength and authenticity
ANONYMOUS
I can’t say that I’ve always known that I was different. Looking back on it, I’m pretty sure that other people knew that I was different long before I did.
I only knew for sure in freshman year of high school that I wasn’t straight, and it would be years later when I accepted that I was transgender.
Growing up religious didn’t make any of that acceptance easy. Maybe that’s not the right word for it because it went farther than just “religious.” We prayed every night, and verses of scripture were drilled into my head, etched into my bones. We went to Mass three times a week, and an extra day in the week was spent at church events. Every day was filled with talks of God, Jesus and what they’ve done for us; they give us everything and all they ask in return is our everything. In the face of the divine, our needs and wants are nothing.
I don’t think my parents genuinely meant to harm us because they truly believed they were saving us. That doesn’t change the fact that it did harm. There was a lot of guilt in realizing that I was queer. All of those years of wanting to please my parents and avoid hell warred with the unhappiness of having to pretend to be someone I wasn’t. The only relief was school — a place where I could talk to my friends and be myself fully.
I could go into so much more detail, but I think it’ll suffice to say that school saved me, as stupid as that sounds. It was the place where I met most of my closest friends that helped me soothe the pain of being the kid that my parents didn’t want me to be. It was where I met my best friend and outgrew some of the guilt that Catholicism instilled in me.
When I accepted that I was trans, I was a freshman in college. I was in the one-room apartment
that I had rented as soon as high school ended. I found myself with a bottle of half-empty coconut rum, and I was sobbing into my hands under the pale light of the kitchen. There were many more moments where I mourned being the straight and cisgender girl that my family wanted me to be.
Yet, there was also so much all-encompassing joy. I found true happiness in being with people who saw me as the man I know I am, a new family who actually accepts me filled with so much love. It’s a good feeling. At the end of the day, I love being queer and trans. I love this community that I’ve fostered and the one worldwide. It’s a community that has always and will always exist.
Even in the face of bigotry running rampant, in hate being allowed to fester and laws that drag us back decades, we still exist.
I spent years denying a part of myself, and I am not going back to that, not for anything.
I am transgender and I refuse to stay quiet
I still remember the moment I realized I was transgender. It was around 5 a.m. on a Sunday in the storage room of a Burger King, where I worked at the time. I was still in high school and figuring myself out as a person, as we all do at that age. Now, years later, as a senior at Wichita State University, I have grown to know more about myself and my identity.
“Transgender” is an umbrella term used to describe any number of identities that revolve around the basic idea of not aligning with your sex assigned at birth. My specific identity, a label I have adopted for the convenience of others, is “agender.” This label describes someone who does not align with any gender identity, rather than being an identity itself. Not having a gender — what does that mean? I was assigned male at birth, and I never really felt like a boy growing up. I also never felt like a girl. My entire life, my gender has never defined any aspect of myself. I enjoy both masculine and feminine hobbies and traits. I paint my nails, but I also have facial hair. I dress
and present masculine, with black jeans, jackets, and punk rock band tees, but I’m scared of spiders. When I think of myself and my identity, I do not think of myself as a man or a woman. I am just… me. My personality, my traits, my hobbies, my accomplishments — those are my defining roles, not my gender. When Donald Trump was elected as president in November, I was horrified. I was scared. I woke up with panic attacks all night. I was scared for me and for my boyfriend. We are a queer couple, and a lot of the current Republican party ideas revolve around stripping queer people of our rights. The idea that I could go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow with the news that Obergefell v. Hodges has been overturned, scares me. I love my boyfriend, and want to spend the rest of my life with him. To know that some people see us as less-than-human and want to strip away our equal rights is terrifying. To know that so many people harbor such hatred in their souls for equality should scare everyone, not just queer people.
The Trump Cabinet is not just a risk to queer people, but to everyone who they’ve deemed a minority. This is the time for all of us to stand together. Queer people must stand with our Black and Brown siblings, with our siblings of different faiths and spiritual devotions. I am scared for myself, but I am scared for others. Queer people are the first target. If we let them eliminate us, who knows what group is next? Now, more than ever, we must stand firm and stand tall. Do not give in to fear. I haven’t. Use your sadness, your helplessness, and turn that into anger. That anger is a gift. Weaponize it into productivity. I encourage everyone to get together and organize. Do not let them erase us, our history or our siblings. If you’d like to reach out to offer your services or be in contact with local groups, shoot an email to oiboneszine@gmail. com, where I will do my best to get you in contact with the right folks.
Submitted by “Bones” (James Owsley) Journalism student
My journey to find my trans identity
My journey to find my identity and place in college has been a wild adventure.
I started out at Butler County Community College back when I was 19. I then transferred to Wichita State University, attended for a week and a half and then dropped out. Now, I’m back six years later, and I’m a senior. I started out in social work. I changed my major nine times, but last year, decided that social work wasn’t for me, and so I switched to a double major in applied linguistics and American Sign Language.
Identity was similar for me. It’s one of those things where I sort of identified as a boy when I was 3 or 4 years old, but I didn’t have the language to describe myself until I was on social media, like Tumblr, in high school. When I realized I was transgender, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s what I am.’ I didn’t have to put any thought into it — I just knew. I first realized I was trans when I was around 15. I didn’t start transitioning — or coming out — until I was 24 or so.
I anticipated a lot of rejection around coming out as a trans man, so I cut contact with my family and pretty much all my friends, and everyone I knew — just a fresh start sort of thing.
Still, it wasn’t very linear. I knew that I wanted to transition, but I went back and forth on it a lot, but the decision is truly lifechanging. I came out at 24, and 5 years later I’m out to everyone I know.
I’ve reached the point now where gender is not a large aspect of my life. When you’re at the beginning of transitioning, it’s all consuming; everyone’s misgendering you or treating you weird. But now, I don’t get misgendered very often.
But recently, it’s been stressful. At first with the new presidential administration, I didn’t think things would get that bad. But there’s been an increase in hate crimes and hate speech, so it has steadily become terrifying. I want to express my fears, but I also don’t want to show that emotion and vulnerability.
Because I pass, people just see me as a guy. A lot of times people assume I’m a cis, straight, white man, so they’ll just say all these conservative ideas, and that can put me in awkward situations — especially because I don’t have a car. I Uber everywhere, and there are some weird old men out there who just want to yell about trans people. I’m just sitting there, thinking ‘Please don’t flag me as trans.’
Recently, I started a Facebook group advocating for trans people in Wichita, called Trans Liberation ICT. I’ve created a network of people who are supportive. It’s nice to just know that there are people who care. Being trans is a random part of who I am. For me, it’s not this huge fundamental aspect; it’s just like being an introvert or some other trait.
Submitted by Liam O’Brien Linguistics and American Sign Language student
Blind communication student defined by more than disability
BY EVAN TONG evantong3@gmail.com
Emerging from a van outside the Elliott School is a spectacled man. Once out of the van, a white cane, the one that guides him throughout campus, extends from his hand.
His name is Hashim Syed, and he’s a junior studying communication at Wichita State. Syed is a first-generation student of Pakistani immigrants. While being a first-gen student comes with its own set of challenges, Syed has a different one.
“I started losing my vision when I was around 10 years old,” Syed said. “I have enough (vision) to look at my phone screen but not enough to walk on my own.”
Of his two eyes, one is sensitive to light while the other has limited vision which he describes as “fog.”
For a 10-year-old boy with a retinal detachment, Syed said it was a “dark process” once it began.
“You don’t know how to express your fears or your doubts,” he said.
Syed said that middle school was the hardest time for him as he adjusted to his new life, but that high school at Wichita Northeast Magnet was where he found his acceptance and a friend group.
“When I started losing my vision, it wasn’t something that we were expecting,” Syed said. “My family didn’t know how to deal with the process. I kept on telling myself that I wouldn’t be in college, (and) I wouldn’t get through high school. I’m here now because I had a support system and because I was motivated enough to go through the things that I needed to go through.”
While the Office of Disability Services helps Syed with transportation, braille material and access to electronic documents, Syed often traverses the outside with a friend by his side.
“I’m very blessed to be able to have a good support system and people that understand that my disability isn’t what defines me as a
person,” Syed said. When not concerning himself with his studies, he remains tied to his faith. He prays five times a day and regularly attends a mosque.
“All Muslims are included,” Syed said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from, your nationality, ethnicity, anything like that. You’re standing shoulder to shoulder with people who look different from you.”
As a Muslim, Syed observes Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. From the evening of Feb. 28 to the March 29, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.
“I was 9 years old (when I started fasting),” Syed said. “I wanted to do it because my parents were doing it and my older sister was doing it. I wanted to also be involved and take on this ‘challenge.’ Kind of a childish reason for why I wanted to do it. But, eventually, I understood why people fast and why they get involved with faith and religion.”
While he likely won’t listen to music during Ramadan, he does rely on audio for consuming media.
“I’m a person that’s into current events,” Syed said. “Things like Instagram and X, the information that I’m able to gather from there is how I consume it. There’s an application on the iPhone that I use that’s called VoiceOver, and it’s able to read out the information on the screen for me.”
Syed defines himself through creative outlets such as writing poetry or playing the guitar. He hopes to be a public speaker and also wants to pay it forward by helping those with disabilities in international communities just as his friends and family did.
“I want to motivate and teach others that the disability they have isn’t going to be the end of them,” Syed said. “That they can move past it and find a support system and find a clear path to the career they want or the education they want to get.”
Mobile app brings graphic novels to visually impaired
BY KASS LEWIS lewkass05@gmail.com
A Wichita State professor is developing an app that aids visually impaired people in reading graphic novels. English professor Darren DeFrain has been working on the app, Vizling, for five years. Users are able to move their fingers across their screen and get audio feedback in order to “read” the word bubbles and “see” the illustrations.
“That’s where we came up with this combination of using haptics and some visual linguistics to kind of allow people to use their finger to go across the cell phone and get some feedback, hear an audio version,” DeFrain said.
Recently, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded DeFrain $150,000 to continue developing his app, which is already on app stores. They previously gave DeFrain $100,000 in 2021.
DeFrain said that this award gave him validation for all the hard work he and many others have put into this project over the years. It showed him that more people share his passion for aiding the visually impaired.
“You work on something, and you work on something, and you hope that it’s going in the right direction,” DeFrain said. “... The money’s necessary for the project, but I mean, the validation is at least as important for us to want to keep going with it.”
Vizling utilizes audio and haptic feedback, small vibrations triggered by touches on the screen, to help readers visualize the story on their screen. As the reader moves their fingers from panel to panel, descriptive audio plays. Haptic feedback helps guide the finger on where to go on the screen.
Defrain said one issue on his mind when developing the app was the subjective nature of art, including graphic novels
Using a Batman comic as an example, he explained the problem at the heart of the project: In a top panel, Batman says he is going to hit Joker on the head, and then in the next panel, he hits Joker on the head.
“But that’s me interpreting that whole thing, which really undermines the reading process,” DeFrain said.
DeFrain said reading in that way is closer to a math problem, which has a definite answer, but reading, and art in general, is extremely subjective. DeFrain wanted to maintain that subjectiveness as much as possible when translating a comic to audio.
HOW THE PROJECT STARTED
DeFrain experienced
temporary blindness from an adverse reaction to prescribed medication five years ago. After missing one day of work, he was back at it the next day with bandages covering his eyes and help from his wife and students to continue his class’ education.
“This was such a WSU experience,” DeFrain said.
“Students were like, ‘Well, it’s alright; we’ll read the things out loud.’”
After about two weeks, DeFrain’s vision returned.
Shortly following this incident, DeFrain began teaching a graphic novels class. He had wanted to make his classes as accessible as possible, and, despite not having a visually impaired student, started to contemplate the difficulty of reading comics for those individuals.
Traditional books have audiobooks, movies have descriptive audios, and while those may not be perfect solutions for those mediums, DeFrain said there is a severe lack of accessibility for graphic novels.
There, the idea for Vizling was born.
Rob Gerlach, executive director of tech transfer and commercialization at WSU, joined the Vizling team after connecting with DeFrain through E-Launch. Gerlach’s job, as DeFrain put it, was to help them “learn all the things we didn’t know we needed to learn.”
Gerlach said his role is to help develop the technology required for added features on Vizling.
A key upcoming feature is an in-app audio description creator.
While Vizling is currently available in most app stores, DeFrain said it is ever evolving as he and his associates continue to add features. The biggest upcoming step is implementing a
way for publishers to create their own audio description formats for their graphics.
GRAPHIC NOVELS & BEYOND
DeFrain and his team think Vizling has potential to help visually impaired people access more art and information, not just graphic novels.
Gerlach used an example of an art museum when describing how a person or business will be able to create their own audio descriptions in-app. The museum could upload the art onto Vizling, and then add in their own audio descriptions, including descriptions of textures and smaller details based on where individuals touch the art piece on their screen.
The implications of that technology could reach not only museums but also workplaces and schools.
DeFrain has a vision of Vizling’s capabilities expanding to include graphics such as charts and graphs to aid visually impaired people in the workplace and classrooms.
“It’s something we’re applying beyond comics,” DeFrain said. “It’s been for any multimodal text, which is just something that you encounter online, like, all the time now in your classes.”
Vizling and its team have dedicated themselves to creating a more accessible way for visually impaired people to enjoy the wonderful art of graphic novels. The team has come far but still looks to the future to continue their development in making the best app they possibly can.
Gerlach said the amount of energy DeFrain and other partners have continually put into the project “makes you want to root for them and jump on the team.”
Hashim Syed, a junior at Wichita State, uses his cane to navigate the Ablah Library. Syed is a first-gen student with Pakistani immigrant parents. | Photo by Peyton Eck / The Sunflower
Photo courtesy of Wichita State University
Barracks to bass drops: WSU DJ combines Indigenous culture with EDM
BY MYA SCOTT mds.200624@gmail.com
When William Leclair was stationed in Georgia, far from the fields of his childhood in Oklahoma, he found himself stuck in the barracks and too young to go to a bar. To escape the boredom of being confined, he picked up a new hobby.
“One of my favorite ways (to pass time) was to DJ,” Leclair said. “... I had a little board in the barracks room, so I would just DJ … You’re surrounded by 18, 19-year-old people, and you’re all like-minded. Some people are going to be like, ‘Hey there, I’m a musician. I have a guitar, let’s jam. We’re all stuck in here in the barracks together.’”
Leclair’s love of music didn’t start in the Army — it started in childhood at powwows.
“I had grown up going to powwows,” Leclair said. “… It’s in my blood. I just grew up hearing the drum beat.”
Now at Wichita State studying audio production, Leclair, a member of Kaw Nation, decided to join his two musical loves together. Leclair said it started as a Frankenstein project, making the music he wanted to hear. But it soon became something more than that.
“That pride of where I come from, (I) just kind of (wanted to) put it on a platform where people who would not be exposed to it would be exposed to that new culture, maybe somebody has never heard of Native American powwow music,” Leclair said. Leclair said he likes to introduce tribal sounds first when he begins a set. This could be chants, prayers or Native American-esque instruments. He said he then gently passes the music into the new genre, usually electronic music with a high bass.
“A lot of people really like the Native American sound,” Leclair said. “They really like that Indigenous sound because you
don’t really hear that when you go to these (music) events at all.”
Even when trying to spread his culture to other people, Leclair makes sure he balances making a good set and paying respects to the culture.
“What I try to do is be (as) respectful as possible to the culture first, and then blend that into my own heavy bass music that I enjoy to play,” Leclair said. “... I got to be good at bridging the cultural side, where it’s very spiritual, motivational music. It makes you open up and feel kind of heroic a little bit and then bridge that into the dubstep side.”
To spread his music further, Leclair performs at multiple different venues. He’s performed at The Cotillion, Tribal Roots Collective and Astral Abyss.
Amidst challenges, Leclair’s healthy mindset and love for DJing keeps him performing for others and showing off his latest sets.
“People love it,” Leclair said. “I try not to be as nervous whenever I do showcase (it) because it’s still a very new type of music … People can identify with the spiritual side of it and then once it goes into the harder, heavy bass, that’s like, ‘Oh, cool. Now it’s time to celebrate.’”
WHAT IS A POWWOW?
According to Powwows.com, a powwow is a Native American celebration. These events include singing, dancing and reconnecting with friends and family. Some powwows are thrown because of a certain event — like a birthday or wedding — but some are thrown without a special occasion.
Singing and dancing are a crucial part of powwows. The music can range from religious songs to war songs to songs just for fun or a social purpose. Some music doesn’t rely on lyrics to get meaning across. The songs are a reminder of their old ways and deep heritage.
LGBTQ+ organization highlights goals amidst current political climate
BY RILEY SIPES rsipes03@icloud.com
Last semester, WSU’s Spectrum: LGBTQ & Allies ushered in a new executive board of mainly freshman and sophomore students. In the spirit of their fresh start, they decided to regroup and take some time to transform their “safe space” into a “brave space.”
Ruby Godsey is a freshman studying political science. She is in charge of campus outreach on Spectrum’s executive board and thinks the new vision for Spectrum will allow their members to have tougher conversations in a space they are already comfortable with.
“The goal with the ‘brave space’ is to push the limits a little bit,” Godsey said. “To, you know, engage head-on with those kinds of uncomfortable conversations because we believe that’s more effective, being an agency at WSU, and a demographic of people that have been very targeted by legislation recently.”
Spectrum has already implemented this new vision into their weekly meetings, held every Thursday at 7 p.m., by hosting informational meetings about subjects like the “ins and outs” of issues within the LGBTQ+ community.
Spectrum’s goal is to find a good balance between having more serious conversations and cultivating an environment where members feel close enough to have them in the first place.
“I know a lot of people are probably seeking a more comfortable, fun environment, which I think is completely fair and valid,” Godsey said. “We’re looking at more intentionally balancing them out. So like, last week we had ‘Just Dance’ and this week is ‘state of the world’ (for our meeting themes).”
Freshman education major and member of Spectrum, Moe Hatfield, highlighted how the executive board has managed to integrate more serious themes into a fun space.
“There was (a meeting) about aromantic identities, and it was set up as a quiz thing,”
Hatfield said. “We were quizzing ourselves on what knowledge we already knew. And then afterward, we went through it and kind of explained things, and they gave people a chance to explain their own relation to those identities.”
Starting this semester, Spectrum has also begun executing conversation-based meetings, rather than meetings focusing solely on networking.
“We believe that, as college students, we’re all adults,” Godsey said. “We are capable of having these highly intellectual conversations with each other, having disagreements, working them out, doing those sorts of things.”
This idea came about largely in part due to the recent spotlight on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Some lawmakers are looking to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. More locally, Kansas Senate Bill 63, a bill that bans gender-affirming care for minors, passed.
“I think mostly it’ll just give people a space to express their worries, but then also get people rationalizing those things,” Hatfield said.
Hatfield called attention to the importance of understanding the legal process.
“There are a lot of steps, and also, people are going to be on our side every step of the way. It’s not likely that any of those things are going to move quickly at all,”
Hatfield said.
In light of these events, Spectrum has also teamed up with WSU’s Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the Black Student Union (BSU) for a few of their meetings.
During their combined meeting with BSU, they did an activity called the “beads of privilege” where participants got paper stars that corresponded with the types of privilege people can experience like gender, race or economic privilege.
“It was kind of just recognizing how, even though we are both two groups that are oppressed, we both have some differences in privilege and intersectionality. There were definitely a lot of good conversations during that meeting,” Hatfield said.
Godsey and Hatfield said that regardless of recent events, Spectrum only plans to grow and evolve.
“We’re trying to be really present on campus and just show queer people exist everywhere and not just in this designated box,” Godsey said.
Godsey said that, as of right now, there are no policies that threaten Spectrum’s existence on campus. But even if that were to change, queer and transgender individuals aren’t going anywhere.
“No matter how much legislation is passed,” Godsey said. “You can’t erase us.”
BY MIA HENNEN managing@thesunflower.com
When Kiora Joseph began attending Wichita State University in the spring of 2020 for her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, she quickly ran into a problem.
“Everything was fine at the beginning of the year, prior to COVID, and then as soon as spring break hit, the university was like, ‘Everybody needs to leave,’” Joseph said. “(So I was like,) ‘What do you mean everybody needs to leave? Where am I supposed to go?’ And then they’re like, ‘No, it’s OK. International students can stay for the rest of the semester.’” Joseph, who had just moved to Wichita from her home country of Zimbabwe, said the COVID-19 pandemic complicated an already difficult transition.
“(It) made school really hard, especially as an international, you’re already in a foreign place,” she said. “... I know we speak English back in Zimbabwe, … it’s just different English. And the food is not the same, the people are not the same, and then all of a sudden you just have to be completely isolated and by yourself. And so that was really difficult.”
But, as Joseph said, “It turned out OK.”
ADJUSTING TO LIFE ABROAD
Much of Joseph’s transition from
Zimbabwe to Wichita began with Fai Tai, the associate director of finance and marketing at WSU’s international education office.
In her role, Tai travels internationally to recruit students. Joseph said Tai, who is from Hong Kong, helped get Joseph situated when she first came to the States.
“When I got here, … she was like, ‘Oh, you can stay with me for like two weeks prior to the semester start,’” Joseph said.
Tai said much of the transition involved reassuring Joseph’s mother that she was doing well.
“Her mom was so worried about her,” Tai said. “She would just text me all the time just to make sure that she’s okay.”
Family is huge for Joseph. She currently lives with her sister Caitlyn Joseph, who transferred from a university in Pennsylvania to WSU because of her.
“I noticed how (Kiora) was getting opportunities to do research and basically just gain more from
the college experience,” Caitlyn, a biomedical engineering major, said. “... So I wanted to come here because I saw sort of how she was benefiting from all the resources that were made available to her and also she’s my sister.”
FROM JOB LOSS TO RESEARCH
Joseph began studying aerospace engineering because, while she’s interested in science, she’s not “too keen on bio and chemistry.”
“So I was looking for something that still deals with lots of math and lots of science,” Joseph said. “... A lot of people tried to convince me to go into mechanical engineering because mechanical engineering and aerospace are very similar … but I wanted to be different, and I thought airplanes are cool and rockets are also cool, and so that’s why I decided to go into aerospace.”
Joseph wrapped up her bachelor’s degree last spring. Last
fall, she began studying for a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at WSU.
But deciding to pursue another degree wasn’t a linear process.
“As an international student, especially in the aerospace industry, getting a job is really, really difficult because of the (U.S.) Department of Defense,” Joseph said. “So a lot of things are ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restricted.” Joseph found herself continuously meeting roadblocks when trying to gain work experience.
“I’d go up to professors all the time, and I’d be like, ‘Hey, I’m interested in doing research,’” she said.
Being an international student, though, Joseph was often unable to participate in programs faculty would recommend, such as the NASA Jump Start Program.
“And then I would go back (to professors), and I’d be like ‘Is there anything else?’ And they’d be like, ‘No, I’m sorry,’” Joseph said.
“... By the time junior year came around, towards the end of sophomore year too, I was starting to freak out because to get a job, you need to have experience.”
Eventually, Joseph landed a position at the National Institute for Aviation Research. She worked there for a couple of years and hoped to continue to do so post-graduation.
“And in the spring of my senior year, they let me go,” Joseph said. “It
came out of nowhere because it was a regular day at work.” Joseph soon found out that her home country had been added to a list of countries prohibited from working on foreign data at NIAR. She said the chance, especially in her final semester, felt like it was “ripped out from under” her. Joseph, noting her precarious position, considered seeking additional education.
“I was like, ‘Okay, well, now what?’” Joseph said, laughing. That led her to assistant professor Nadia Kianvashrad, who describes Joseph as finding “something interesting in everything.”
Joseph began working with Kianvashrad in the final semester of her bachelor’s degree.
Under Kianvashrad, she’s focused on research around high speed aerodynamics. She’s even been able to present her research at an AIAA SciTech conference, which is the largest aerospace research, development and technology event worldwide.
“She’s (made) so (much) progress in her research in a short time that I’m sure that what she’s doing will not last for the entire four years (of the Ph.D.),” Kianvashrad said. “I’m starting to add more and more things for her research because she’s so quick in finding answers.” Joseph said aerodynamics is something that comes naturally.
“Aerodynamics … is like a love language; I love it,” she said.
Photo courtesy of William Leclair
Moe Hatfield talks about why they joined Spectrum. Hatfield also discussed the organizations change from a safe space to a brave space. | Photo by Maleah Evans / The Sunflower
Photo courtesy of Kiora Joseph
WSU campus visit by Sen. Jerry Moran draws anti-Trump protesters
BY AINSLEY SMYTH news@thesunflower.com
A group waving homemade signs arrived on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus Monday to protest U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican. Moran was touring the National Institution for Aviation Research with Kathy Warden, the CEO of Northrop Grumman, a large aerospace company and defense contractor.
The protestors shared a variety of complaints centered around President Donald Trump’s actions during his first months in office, including federal funding and job cuts, and the administration’s stance on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
“Trump is trying to take over,” Carol Natanson, one of the protesters, said. “He’s closing all of the departments of government just so he can have control. And he wants to be a dictator.”
Doug Ballard, a WSU alum, said he’s also concerned about federal funding cuts, and will continue to make his voice heard.
“If you want something to fail, even in business, you underfund it and make it overly accountable, and it will self-destruct,” he said.
The crowd surrounded the entrance to one of the National Institution for Aviation Research’s buildings on campus when Moran was scheduled to arrive. When
WSU
Moran did not appear, some moved to wave their signs in front of the building’s window while others headed to the sidewalk by Oliver Street.
Betsy Hallstrom, another protester, said she was there to ask Moran to “stand up and be the adult,” and use his role in the U.S. Senate to oppose some of Trump’s actions.
“If our representatives will listen to us, we would totally be in support of them, but we’re not feeling very listened to at the time,” she said.
Hallstrom cited the UkraineRussia war and the Department of Government Efficiency as particular causes for concern. Moran has been strongly in support of Ukrainian independence, but protesters said Trump appears to have different views, getting into an argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pausing aid to the country.
Moran again expressed his support for Ukraine during his visit on Monday, saying that he wants to listen to his constituents and work for agreement in a tumultuous political environment.
Moran’s visit follows Sen. Roger Marshall’s town hall meeting in Oakley, Kansas, where he was shouted down by protesters and left the meeting amid boos.
majorette dancers want to bring a new legacy to campus
BY MALEAH EVANS arts@thesunflower.com
If you look to the stands during breaks in Wichita State basketball games, you may see a group of similarly-dressed dancers blending styles of hip-hop and jazz dances. The group is composed of 12 girls who are primarily Black.
They’re a part of the Wichita State majorette team, named the Golden Heat, a group that began on campus that got its start in 2022. Denazhia Williams went through the process of creating the team and registering it as a recognized student organization (RSO) herself.
“My purpose of doing it was because I love to dance; I love to cheer, and I noticed that the cheer or the dance team (didn’t) have anyone that looked like me,” Williams said. “I wanted to create a space for our Black community so that they can be able to dance through our culture.”
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) majorette started in 1968 and has since spread to universities across the United States.
Majorette is a combination of different dance styles, including jazz, hip-hop, stepping and bucking.
The team started with just
five members but has grown to 12 since it was founded. Williams mentioned that several of the girls on the team have not danced on majorette teams before.
Nakyia Pierce had similar reasons for joining the team as Williams did for creating it.
“A lot of those girls (on the dance and cheer teams) are trained from being 2 years old and up in technical and jazz, and I personally don’t have that qualification,” Pierce said. “I wanted to join a team that I knew I could shine on.”
The team works to create a safe environment for like-minded
people of color, especially at a predominantly white institution (PWI).
“It’s kind of hard on a PWI campus to find people who have the same goals and same aspirations that you do,” Pierce said. “It’s typically an HBCU style of dance so we’re just trying to bring (majorette) culture to our campus and let people see it.”
MAKING IT INTO THE STANDS
It took Williams and her team a year to be able to gain access to games and dance in the stands.
Currently, the team performs in the upper bowl of Charles Koch Arena near the band at men’s games and near the student section at women’s games.
“Everyone (in the athletic department) was on different paths,” Williams said. “I would communicate with the cheer coach and dance coaches and see how they felt about it. I would talk with the band director, and one would say yes and the other would say no, and then it was just athletics as a whole.”
Williams succeeded in getting her team in the stands by continuing to ask the athletic department, despite the repeated no’s.
“I push, push, push, push, push because I didn’t want to settle for a no,” Williams said.
Traditionally, majorette teams perform in the stands, but Williams would like to see her team on the floor during half-time.
Williams, a senior, is planning on becoming the adviser for the team next year when she graduates.
“I want this to be a legacy,” Williams said. “I want this to be something that sticks around for years because I don’t want them to think they have to go to HBCU to do majorette.”
Grace Outwater and Mark Barlow hold signs during the March 3 protest. Outwater and Barlow are Wichita community memebers that attended the Monday afternoon protest. | Photos by Kristy Mace / The Sunflower
Jane Byrnes encourages other protestors to come to future events. Byrnes is a adjunct professor at Wichita State.
WSU majorette dancers perform a choreographed dance during the women’s basketball game on March 4. The team attends various basketball games at Charles Koch arena. | Photo by Garima Thapa / The Sunflower
Protestors yell at individuals attending the Sen. Jerry Moran event. Sen. Moran gave a speech at the Wichita State Innovation Campus on March 3.
The reality of being undocumented in higher education
When I was accepted into Wichita State University, it felt like a dream realized. As an undocumented student, I always knew my path to higher education would be difficult, but thanks to scholarships like Adelante and Parkinson, I was given an opportunity many in my situation never receive. With my passion for health care, I eagerly pursued a nursing degree, believing that my hard work and dedication would be enough to overcome any obstacles.
For two years, I gave everything to my studies. I completed rigorous coursework, and met every requirement to stay on track. But beneath my determination was a constant anxiety — would my status eventually become a barrier? Unfortunately, that fear became a reality.
Despite following every guideline, I was dismissed from the nursing program because of my undocumented status. The decision felt like a betrayal. No one had warned me that this could happen — not my professors, not my advisers, and there was no mention of this requirement even on the program application. I had dedicated years of my life to something that, in the end, I was never going to be allowed to complete. I sat in meetings with faculty members who showed no urgency to help, no sympathy for my situation. Instead, I was met with indifference. Their silence spoke louder than words. I felt lost. Everything I had worked for was suddenly ripped away, and I had no idea what to do next. I thought about leaving school altogether. What was the point of fighting a system that was never built for me?
That changed when I met with Alicia Newell, an administrator who not only listened to my story but genuinely cared about helping me find a new path. She guided me through the process of switching my major and building a new graduation plan. She was the first person in the entire experience to see me as more than just my status. Thanks to her support, I found a new direction in health care case management, a field that still allows me to help others while navigating a career path that is possible for someone like me. My story is not unique. Across the country, undocumented students face similar barriers — doors that appear open until they suddenly slam shut. Many of us are encouraged to chase our dreams, only to realize too late that the system was never meant to accommodate us.
It’s exhausting to constantly advocate for us when the institutions that accept us fail to protect us.
But I refuse to be silent. My experience at WSU has shaped me in ways I never expected. It has fueled my passion for advocacy and my desire to ensure that other students don’t face the same struggles I did. No one should find out at the last minute that their dreams are unattainable.
Schools need to do better — by being transparent, by offering real support, and by ensuring that all students, regardless of status, have a fair chance of succeeding.
I am undocumented, and I am still here. My journey isn’t over; it’s just taking a different path.
Submitted by Jennifer Diaz-Reyes Health science student
Rap music is much more than mindless violence and drug pushing
Maleah Evans arts@thesunflower.com OPINION
Rap and hip-hop music are in the spotlight once again, especially after the Grammy Awards and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX half-time performance which was riddled with cultural and historical references relevant to the Black community.
Rap and hip-hop are traditionally Black genres, gaining traction in Black communities in the 1970s and ’80s. Rap, by definition, is original poetry recited over prerecorded instrumentals. Rap music evolved with the cultural movement of hip-hop.
EARLY 1970S AND MID-1980S
The modern rap genre evolved from a humble start in The Bronx, New York, in African American, Afro-Caribbean and Latino communities plagued by poverty, drugs and gang violence. Emcees and DJs were often former or active members of gangs who used the art form as alternatives to gang warfare and violence.
Originally, they performed at local house parties and in community centers, but by the mid-1970s, record and film producers took notice and started to capitalize on hip-hop culture. Sugar Hill Records introduced rap into mainstream music with the release of “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979.
Emceeing evolved into the mainstream rap industry while DJing went underground, establishing itself as turntablism. These changes led to the imposed concepts of old and new school, with old school being associated with the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.
THE GOLDEN ERA: 1980S-1990S
This golden age of rap saw the emergence of the humorous styles of The Fat Boys and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and the more rock-oriented style of Run-D.M.C.
Women rappers like Salt-NPepa, Queen Latifah, and MC Lyte also emerged in this period, bringing the Black woman’s perspective to the game and proving they were just as skilled and successful as men.
Groups like N.W.A and Public Enemy became known for their hardcore, harsh lyricism that mirrored the deteriorating communities in the inner city. Groups like Public Enemy became associated with “conscious rap” while N.W.A and its members became associated with “gangsta rap.”
The popularity of N.W.A and “gangsta rap” saw the rise in the perception that rap music was dangerous and only promoted gang violence. People saw the name of the group and the lyrics they rapped, and never took a deeper look at the meaning behind
the aggressive lyrics.
N.W.A does have aggressive lyrics and even song titles, but each of their songs has a deeper meaning about the Black experience in low-income neighborhoods. If you can get through the base layer of violence and profanity, it’s quite clear.
These styles dominated the 1990s, but “gangsta rap” overtook them in the 21st century, influencing more modern rappers like T.I., 50 Cent and Jeezy.
MAINSTREAM IN THE 21ST CENTURY
During the 2000s, hip-hop and rap were the mainstream genre. Kanye West’s lyricism redirected attention from gangster rap, exploring topics like anti-Black racism, a middle-class upbringing and faith in a self-aggrandizing style.
This era also saw the emergence of Eminem, who has become a revered lyricist and broke the obstacle of white inauthenticity. Eminem — after Vanilla Ice created a falsified rags-to-riches story to appeal to Black people — learned to embrace his white heritage and find ways to legitimize his place in the genre. Authenticity is important in the rap genre, and Eminem stayed authentic to who he was and where he grew up.
The music style moved away from the East and West Coasts, where the genre found its start, to the South, where several epicenters began developing their own styles.
The 2010s saw the beginnings of socially conscious rap and its crossover into the mainstream as artists responded to rising tensions from increased police violence and shootings of unarmed Black Americans. Several artists, like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, played massive roles in this genre. We also saw the further rise of female emcees, with Nicki Minaj and Cardi B.
LYRICISM
The lyricism genre is rooted in African American oral traditions of self-aggrandizement, narrative poems and insults.
Old-school lyrics are often characterized by a party style that exploits the art of bragging.
New-school lyrics saw commentary on economic woes, social ills and the deterioration of inner cities. Gangster rap provided descriptions of gang culture and the ills of inner city communities.
Socially conscious rappers emerged alongside the Black Lives Matter movement and the increased shooting-related deaths of unarmed Black Americans by police, critiquing the justice system and lack of accountability.
SOCIAL ISSUES
Rap albums often have a tie to social issues that are prevalent in the community at that moment in time.
N.W.A and their album “Straight Outta Compton”
included themes of what it is like to be working class and Black in Compton, California. They touched on and attacked institutionalized racism, violence and police brutality. One song in particular, “Fuck Tha Police” has become an anthem associated with protest, especially in the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Tupac and his album “All Eyez on Me” talked about drug-related issues, misogyny and social issues. People understood Tupac as a poet, and his prominence helped his audience to listen to what he was saying. He was also one of the first well-known rappers to talk about what was happening in the “hood.”
Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp and Butterfly” is riddled with references to social justice, from the album cover itself to the content within. The album cover has the White House, which could be a commentary on either Obama’s presidency or society post-Obama administration. Former President Barack Obama included songs from the album on his summer playlist in 2017. Lamar’s song “Alright” has also become an anthem associated with protest and unity within the Black community. Outside the lyricism, several artists have been known for using their platforms to raise awareness and mobilize the younger generation to vote, protest and demand change. The genre’s ability to speak to young people, especially those in urban communities, has made it a powerful tool for political activism.
IMPACT ON YOUTH CULTURE
For those in marginalized communities, the genre is more than music; it is a way of life. It provides a sense of community and belonging, allowing people to connect through shared experiences.
There have also been profound influences on sexuality and gender. While there have been several criticisms for the perpetuation of misogynistic and homophobic messaging in rap music, there have been challenges from within. Artists like Missy Elliott, Megan Thee Stallion and more recently Doechii have broken barriers and records, making their voices known.
Despite some people who claim rap music is mindless and promotes violence, rap is more than that. The social impacts have made themselves known from the very beginnings of the genre. It also allows for a community that is more often than not marginalized to come together and have shared experiences, even if they live across the country from each other. Rap has proved time and time again that it is more than mindless violence and aggression. When you’re driving around listening to Kendrick or Kanye or Eminem, take a second and actually listen to the lyrics in the songs; they’ll often hold deeper meanings than what you’d expect.
Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder is often misunderstood despite being one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting an estimated 8.4% of children and 2.5% of adults. Yet, the stigmas and assumptions made around ADHD remain frustratingly prevalent.
People with ADHD are frequently subjected to ignorant assumptions including the idea that the disorder isn’t real or that it stems from excessive screen time. These misconceptions diminish the challenges we face every day and overlook the resilience required to function in a world that is not built for our brains. It is persistently present in daily functions, from academic and professional performance to relationships.
ADHD is a chronic and debilitating disorder that affects nearly every aspect of life because it is a disorder in the middle of a person’s world — their brain. According to the National Library of Medicine, ADHD primarily impacts the brain’s frontal cortex, the area responsible for executive functions like attention, planning and impulse control. The brain alone has control and knowledge of every function of the body, so it makes zero sense that a person would think ADHD stems from phone use.
Lower dopamine levels in people with ADHD can impair focus, motivation and reward processing — making it harder to start tasks and stay organized. Even perceiving the passage of time is difficult. I personally cannot tell the difference between five minutes and 35 minutes if left to my own devices. I measure time by how many songs play on a playlist or how many times my alarm goes off.
Despite these neurological differences, school, work and other aspects of life still expect people living with ADHD to perform like everyone else. We must keep up with school work, job responsibilities and home maintenance and chores. All of this and our brains must be managed despite a disorder that fundamentally alters how we process information and regulate behavior.
When we struggle, our parents label us as lazy; our jobs think we are scatterbrained — not as individuals navigating an invisible disability.
I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until college, but the signs had been there for years. Growing up, I often daydreamed and zoned out so much that I couldn’t remember a majority of my class. I struggled to maintain a schedule but also would thrive better once a schedule was established.
It wasn’t until I sought help through Wichita State University’s Counseling and Psychological Services that I began to understand the root of my struggles. My end result — combined-type ADHD — was both validating and overwhelming.
I finally had an explanation for why I found tasks like time management impossible and remembering difficult. But that explanation came with a new burden: learning how to advocate for myself and what works for me in a world that refuses to fully acknowledge my disorder’s severity — or even existence.
Illustration by Wren Johnson / The Sunflower
Jennifer Diaz-Reyes
Jacob Unruh sports@thesunflower.com
I remember being forced to learn Hebrew and study Jewish history for my bar mitzvah, and as a 13-year-old, I hated it.
Looking back, though, I’m glad I learned about the long history of Jewish people overcoming oppression and turning hardship into a strong community.
If you look at me, you’d easily identify me as a white person. But I feel no connection to white people or “white culture.” From years of Hanukkahs, Passovers and family stories, I feel tied to my Jewish heritage.
Even white people have aspects of their identity that are important and diverse. But these are found in our ethnicities and smaller cultures, not skin color. The concept of “whiteness” is inherently flawed, as is race as a whole.
The modern concept of race has no biological basis. Many studies have found that human genetic diversity cannot be classified along racial lines. The way we view race today is arbitrary.
Far too often, we think of race as an ingrained form of categorization. But the concept of race — and whiteness — is relatively new. Prior to the 17th century, most people identified with their social class or religion rather than their skin color.
But, once the chattel slave trade intensified, the slave-owning class needed to create a hierarchical categorization that was intrinsic and permanently separated African enslaved people from themselves.
African slaves could convert to Christianity. They couldn’t change their skin tone. Therefore, slave owners began to refer to themselves as “white.”
In this period, the ethnic groups granted “whiteness” were more limited than they are today. In 1751, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “... the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans.”
Indeed, when groups like Italians and Irish people first immigrated in waves to America, they were demonized and treated as lesser than the dominant white population. Over time, these groups assimilated into whiteness by defending the established racial hierarchy, presenting themselves as oppositional to African-Americans.
Whiteness today has even expanded to encompass Jews, which would have been unimaginable even a century ago.
In America, we see all these varied quasi-European ethnic groups and arbitrarily classify them as white. Try telling a European Serb and Croat person that they’re basically the same because they’re both white. It won’t work out well.
The reality is that there is no “white culture.” It’s such a broad, category that there isn’t a shared experience or culture to relate to. If you identify as white, what are you actually identifying with?
For this reason there can never be a “white history month,” or “white pride event.” Because the concept of whiteness only exists to reinforce racial hierarchy, people celebrating their “white heritage” have nothing to celebrate besides that hierarchy.
White people can still be diverse. We do have unique backgrounds, experiences and cultural expressions that are valuable and worth celebrating. But that is found in our ethnicities and smaller cultures, not our race. There are cultural events and activities that I share with other Jewish people, and don’t have such connection with everyone who is “white.”
The importance of diversity is the unique backgrounds and experiences that each person brings to the table. Identifying only as white robs white people of the ability to find a shared culture that might actually give meaning.
The Conservative promise is an American nightmare
Mya Scott mds.200624@gmail.com OPINION
Project 2025 has been a topic of heavy discussion since campaigns for the 2024 election began. “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” also known as Project 2025, is a nearly 900-page policy agenda written by The Heritage Foundation, laying out the plans to achieve the Conservative dream.
And while it may be the Conservative dream, it’s an American nightmare.
Project 2025 was written for the next Republican president to follow, which happens to be President Donald Trump, who claimed to know nothing of it when Democrats attempted to use it as a reason to not vote for him.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
But these claims of knowing nothing seem slightly suspicious when you look closer at him and his administration.
In 2018 during Trump’s first term, The Heritage Foundation posted an article praising Trump and his administration for “embracing nearly two-thirds” of the policies laid out in the five-part series of “Mandate for Leadership.”
According to the article, at least 70 former members of The Heritage Foundation worked
under Trump’s administration during his term, which helped him develop his policies. Yet he claims to know “nothing” of the people behind Project 2025 even though he has openly worked with them in the past.
Not only was Trump himself openly involved with The Heritage Foundation, but so was current Vice President JD Vance.
In 2017, Vance wrote the introduction for the “Index of Culture and Opportunity” which was under The Heritage Foundation. Vance is labeled as “a partner at Revolution LLC and the author of “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” connecting him to the very foundation Trump tried to deny knowing anything of.
On top of the current administration’s former ties to the foundation, the policies of both seem to be eerily similar.
Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump has signed over 40 executive orders. They have ranged from withdrawing from the World Health Organization to ending diversity, equity and inclusion hiring.
More than one executive order has aligned with the Project 2025 policies. Removing DEI from workplaces is discussed in Chapter 18 of Project 2025, which the book says has become “a vehicle with which to advance race, sex and other classifications and discriminate against Conservative and religious viewpoints on these subjects and others, including pro-life views.”
Communications Director of WSU Young Democrats Jenna Ghant said the campus, specifically clubs that focus on diversity, should be scared of Trump’s recent DEI policies as
this could take away funding.
Another policy that follows the ideologies of The Heritage Foundation is how Trump views the Department of Education.
Chapter 11 of Project 2025 reads, “Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” At a 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said, “I’m going to close the Department of Education.”
Ghant said that cutting the Department of Education will affect WSU negatively due to many factors like federal aid and the Title IX office.
“A lot of people rely on FAFSA,” Ghant said. “... I think one thing that a lot of people are realizing is Title IX is run through the Department of Education. That’s our whole training system here, where students and staff are protected from sexual harassment or hazing and all of those policies implemented and enforced by the Department of Education to get funding.”
Later when speaking with reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said he wanted it to be closed “immediately.”
“Look at the Department of Education. It’s a big con job,” Trump said.
With how much Trump’s policies line up with Project 2025, it’s terrifying to see what other ideals could be taken from this book. “Mandate for Leadership,” while spoken about a lot, hasn’t seemed to be read by most of the general public because if it had, I feel there would be more American panic.
Project 2025 aims to undo progress that has been fought long and hard for. In the foreword,
The Heritage Foundation openly states it wants to target “woke culture warriors.” This includes deleting terms such as sexual orientation, gender identity, reproductive rights and more, all because of claims that it harms America’s First Amendment rights.
Do they mean to tell us that the government should erase words from contracts and grants because it doesn’t line up with their ideologies? These words — words that have been fought for, words that can mean the difference between feeling accepted and feeling suicidal — The Heritage Foundation wants to get rid of.
Despite being so worried about being discriminated against for being Conservative, as stated in Chapter 18, the foundation seems to have no empathy for the minorities that have been discriminated against for centuries. Literal centuries of work will be coming to an end.
Not only is this a slap in the face for the targeted communities and hypocritical of The Heritage Foundation to care only about their successes, but it’s a terrifying possibility. Despite Trump’s claims of knowing nothing of this series of policies, the facts lead me to think he may be hiding the truth from the public. And if that’s true, we the people are already in danger.
Project 2025 has other aspirations written within its 887 pages, and if I went through all of their plans and schemes, I would likely end up writing an 887-plus document myself. I encourage everyone to go read Project 2025 for themselves and decide if this is really the America you want to live in.
DEI cuts might mean saying goodbye to Greek Life
Owen Prothro owenprothro@gmail.com
On Feb. 18, President Donald Trump called for schools and universities across the United States to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or risk losing federal money if they do not comply within a 14-day time frame.
This would drastically impact the Greek Life landscape at Wichita State. Of the campus’ 25 chapters, 13 fall under Cultural Greek and National Pan-Hellenic Councils.
That time is rapidly approaching, and the result of Trump’s reign could be locally devastating.
CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling Angel Pérez said in an article with the Associated Press that “colleges and universities are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place” resulting from the proposed cuts. Could you imagine if more
than 50% of an organization faced cuts? This would derail its entire operation and force them to either conduct major layoffs or face other financial problems.
At WSU, DEI programs provide vital resources to countless students. According to an article by political news source
The Hill, Black fraternities and sororities and culturally based chapters could possibly face adverse effects of said cuts.
Over time at a university, the proposed cuts could mean fewer and fewer students are accepted into the university and memberships of that chapter would diminish.
This could mean the chapters have to disband.
When students decide to join these chapters, they go into it with a sense of security and comfort to express themselves, their ideas and promote the chapter’s mission. If they’re forced out, this would completely erase decades worth of progress.
The chapters at Wichita State do great things around the community.
In conjunction with the Wichita Public Library, Wichita State’s chapter of Omega Psi Phi installed a StoryWalk, an interactive activity that combines reading with physical activity, an event I can attest to as a volunteer.
Wichita State’s Sigma Lambda Beta chapter volunteered at voter registration tables last October.
All eight of the NPHC chapters hold a study hall for all students to join every other Wednesday. Sigma Psi Zeta participated in an event last November where
they created cards for hospitalized children.
Multiple other chapters host events to promote the customs, traditions and food of their cultures.
For a campus such as Wichita State — whose student population was nearly 50% people of color as of 2023 — being able to share this diversity is paramount. It’s things like these that make CGC and NPHC chapters great for campus. A cut to these chapters would mean a cut to the community.
Illustration by Wren Johnson / The Sunflower
Illustration by Wren Johnson / The Sunflower
Basketball loses on senior day, but holds on to first round AAC bye
BY JACOB UNRUH sports@thesunflower.com
The stakes for Wichita State women’s basketball heading into its senior day against the University of Tulsa were clear: win, and the team would clinch the 11th seed and a first round bye in the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Shockers were defeated on Tuesday night, 58-46 — but managed to retain the first round bye anyway.
Wichita State finished its regular season with a 4-14 conference record — one game worse than its result last year. Tulsa ended at 11-7, fifth place in the AAC.
Wichita State had the same regular season record as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The Shockers earned a tiebreaker over the 49ers due to their win against Rice University in February, the highest-ranking win for either team.
The Shockers’ two lowestscoring games of the season came against Tulsa. WSU head coach Terry Nooner said the Golden Hurricane’s quickness, matchup zone defense and versatile post players make them a difficult opponent.
“They really do a good job of
wearing you out with how they play offense,” Nooner said. “And then, I mean, we just didn’t do as great a job as we needed to when we had chances to finish around the basket.”
Seniors Ella Anciaux, Carla Budane, Taylor Jameson, Aicha Ndour and Ornella Niankan were recognized after the game.
It was an uninspiring performance overall from WSU’s senior class, as Jameson was the only senior player to score a basket.
Jameson, a Wichita native, said the day was “bittersweet.”
“It’s not the outcome that we wanted, not the outcome I wanted to leave Koch Arena with for my last game,” Jameson said. “But the sweet part is, you know, I was able … to play this year in front of my community.”
Tulsa produced two early turnovers by trapping Jameson in the corner of the baseline. Tulsa’s length and speed made its press defense difficult to break down.
“They have some really long, athletic guards, so some of the normal passes that we normally are able to use to break the presses weren’t really working,” Jameson said.
The Shockers gave the ball away a season-high 22 times but forced 23 Golden Hurricane
turnovers, nearly a season-best on the defensive side of the ball.
“We had some unforced turnovers where they got some easy buckets,” Nooner said.
The Shockers came out of an out-of-control half of basketball trailing, 28-27.
Blow scored WSU’s first points of the second half — but not before the Golden Hurricane took a commanding 14-point lead five minutes into the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, it was the road team’s turn to go on a long scoring drought.
Halfway through the period, Tulsa hit a backbreaking 3-pointer to increase its lead to nine points.
With the regular season over, the Shockers will turn their attention to the AAC Tournament. Wichita State will make its debut against sixth-seeded Tulane University in the second round of the tournament on Sunday, March 9.
Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas. Nooner said he is expecting to pull off four wins in as many days to become AAC Champions.
“We feel like when we play our best, we can match up against anybody,” Nooner said. “There’s nobody that we’re scared to play against.”
Softball transfer makes small but mighty impact at WSU
BY SHELBY DUVALL shelbyd306@gmail.com
One of Wichita State softball’s offseason acquisitions is, to some, the very definition of “small but mighty.”
Jodie Epperson, a junior outfielder, transferred to Wichita from the University of North Texas this year.
Epperson said she was influenced to pick Wichita State by a positive visit, the coaches’ vibes and the chemistry shared between WSU’s players.
Wichita State junior Sami Hood helped convince her to make the transfer. Hood and Epperson played softball together as kids and were reunited when Epperson joined the Wichita roster.
Now, they’re roommates.
“Sami keeps me in check,” Epperson said. “I’ll be walking out of my room in the wrong outfit and Sami will be like, ‘That’s not what we’re wearing today.’” Hood said she enjoys rooming with Epperson.
“Our house is a lot of fun,” Hood said. “We joke around with each other a lot … we’re always laughing.”
The only thing that could’ve kept Epperson from transferring was the distance from her family.
This includes her mom, who she says is her biggest inspiration.
While Epperson hadn’t grown up watching many sports, her love of bouncy balls was noticed by her mother, who got her started in softball.
“My mom, she played softball,” Epperson said. “She just thought, ‘Well, softball has a ball in it. So we’ll try that.’”
While the distance between Texas and Wichita may be great, Epperson says she still stays close to her family.
“We’re very close,” Epperson said. “... They’re able to come to some of my games.”
At Wichita State, Epperson is known to many on WSU’s team as “Mighty Mouse” for her speed, stature (Epperson is 5-foot-3inches tall), and quiet demeanor.
“I would describe her as silent but mighty,” Hood said. “When she calls the ball it’s so innocent … but you know she’s going to get it.”
The team’s bond has met Epperson’s expectations, including a cheering crowd of teammates meeting her at home plate to celebrate her first Shocker home run.
“Everyone wants the best for everyone,” Epperson said. “After I hit my home run, seeing how happy everyone was for me … it’s
really special.”
Wichita State’s hitting staff was also a big draw for Epperson. She hit a modest .239 average and seven RBIs at North Texas last year and is excited to improve her batting skills in Wichita.
“I struggled with hitting at UNT,” Epperson said. “Our hitting coach here … she really seemed like she knew what she was doing.”
Epperson has already made strides at the plate. In her first game as a Shocker, she hit two two-run home runs against
Men’s basketball loses second close game at North Texas
BY EVAN TONG evantong3@gmail.com
Wichita State men’s basketball’s second matchup against the University of North Texas ended the same way the two teams met earlier this season. The Shockers lost by a slim margin on Monday night, 68-66.
Wichita State had a chance to earn the road win at the buzzer but couldn’t get a clean shot off. The game featured just two lead changes and the Shockers led for less than four minutes of game time, hanging around but never quite pulling ahead.
With the loss, Wichita State fell to 17-12 overall and 7-9 in the American Athletic Conference. UNT upped its record to 22-6 on the season and 13-3 in the AAC.
“We need to find a way to win some gritty games,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said in his postgame radio interview.
The Shockers turned the ball over just seven times in the game, their lowest since December. While the bench struggled in WSU’s previous game, the four Shocker reserve players combined for 25 points in Monday’s matchup.
Wichita State finished the game shooting 46% from the floor and sank 84% of its free throws. UNT shot more efficiently at 51% from the floor and nearly made all its free throws with a 91% mark from the stripe.
Senior guards Xavier Bell and Harlond Beverly spearheaded the offense. Bell scored a team-high 19 points on a perfect 7-7 mark from the free-throw line, and Beverly added 16 points of his own while coming off the bench.
UNT came out the gate hitting its field goals and 3-pointers to take a commanding 16-4 lead after the 14-minute mark of the first half. With the bench on the floor, fifth-year guard Justin Hill and Beverly calmed the storm. Beverly led the team in scoring and rebounding in the first half with eight points and four rebounds.
Senior guard Bijan Cortes cashed the first 3-pointer for Wichita State, and a steal by senior center Quincy Ballard’s fast hands led to a fast break opportunity. The two plays by Cortes and Ballard capped off a 7-0 run to make the score 25-22, UNT.
While UNT took 17 3-pointers in the game, the Shockers preferred to knife inside and work the midrange.
Closing out the first half, Beverly took to the skies for a putback as Wichita State trailed into the break, 31-28. The Shockers managed five points off UNT turnovers in the opening period.
In a rarity, Ballard was limited in his impact on the boards. He pulled down four rebounds during the game, his least since November.
The Shockers were held to their lowest rebound total this season with 24.
While Beverly and Hill calmed the storm in the first period, the Shockers came out erratic in the second half. The team settled for tough layups on the offensive end. Beverly and Washington manufactured an 8-0 run to take WSU’s first lead of the game with 14 minutes to go in the second period, 42-41.
In the waning minutes of the game, the Shockers tightened their approach on both defense and offense, sending the game into a gritty slugfest.
Northern Illinois University. As far as post-college goes, Epperson, a general studies major, already has big plans. She wants to attend esthetician school to specialize in skin treatment. Epperson has already made a lasting impression on her teammates.
“She’s very determined, very sweet,” Hood said. “She’s the most caring person in the world; you’ll never hear a bad thing come out of her mouth. She’s one of the best teammates to ever have.”
In the last 37 seconds of the game, down 68-66, Wichita State managed to force a shot clock violation to take the ball back for the final shot of regulation.
The game ended unceremoniously as an errant pass from Bell slipped through the fingers of Washington, who recovered for a missed heave from the logo as time expired.
Wichita State will stay in Texas for the second and last game of a mini road trip, this time in Houston, to play Rice University on Thursday, March 6. Tipoff against the Owls is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Junior forward Jayla Murray receives the ball on March 4. Murray scored 10 points during Tuesday’s game, a loss to Tulsa. | Photos by Ananda Smith / The Sunflower
Jodie Epperson tries to beat out a throw at first base on Feb. 28. Epperson was called out after the play against the University of Missouri. | Photo by Mack Smith / The Sunflower
Ella Anciaux is joined by her mom and dad as she accepts her farewell gifts on the court following her senior day game. Anciaux is from Wichita.
Taylor Jameson is joined by her family on the Shocker home court after the March 4 game to receive her farewell gift. Jameson is a Wichita native.
Freshman
Freshman Catelyn Beckerley is honored by head coach Kristi Bredbenner for hitting her first home run at Wichita State.
Junior Jodie Epperson receives
Junior Jodie Epperson waits for a pitch on Feb. 28. Epperson had three at bats against the University of Missouri. | Photos by Mack Smith / The Sunflower