MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2017 • VOL. 122, ISS. 19
THESUNFLOWER.COM
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.
Why 12 dead bodies reside in Ahlberg Hall basement
BY MATTHEW KELLY
Bodies arrive in Ahlberg Hall’s cadaver laboratory with no names — just an identification number, the donor’s age, and a medical diagnosis. Lisa Garcia, a clinical educator in the physical therapy department, said one of the first things she tells her students to do at the beginning of the semester is name the cadavers. “They make it to feel like it’s your first patient,” Garcia said. “You get to
really intimately know them.” Betty, Henry, Ed, Francene, and Stacey are among the 12 cadavers that graduate students are dissecting and examining this semester. Student Diana Symens said naming cadavers can help to humanize them. “Some people might see it as being disrespectful, but some people find it as being respectful,” Symens said. “Instead of like, ‘it’ or ‘that cadaver,’ we’re respecting it as something that was a human being.”
University police say traffic tickets are coming
—RICARDO NAVA, STUDENT
Student Ricardo Nava said he and his group often talk to Stacey, the cadaver they were assigned to. “We say, like, ‘good morning, Stacey,’ when we take her out and ‘goodnight, Stacey,’” Nava said. “We
apologize to her sometimes when we cut stuff off.” Garcia said students benefit from the hands-on nature of dissection, going beyond looking at pictures and memorizing anatomy terms. “To dissect it and find it, it locks a picture into their head long term,” Garcia said. “It’s not as much brunt memorization. You can actually see it, touch it. You can pull on a muscle and see the fingers move.” Garcia said some of her students had never seen a dead body before they entered the cadaver lab on
Freaky? Geeky? Greeky.
BY JENNAH FARHAT
Wichita State police will issue traffic tickets and fines beginning Nov. 1, ditching the former verbal-warning-only approach, the university announced in a news release. Interim Police Chief Robert Hinshaw said early October that university police had never issued traffic citations before. “Traffic citations, they’ve never been issued,” Hinshaw said in early October. “That’s what I’m told. I find it strange to believe, myself.“ HINSHAW When Hinshaw was appointed interim police chief, he said he aimed to work on policy regarding how traffic citations are handled. “Unless there was an actual criminal violation . . . there was really no option other than verbal warnings,” Hinshaw said. “There was never a mechanism in place.” The press release cites two violations — running stop signs and failing to yield to pedestrians — as reasons for the change. Tickets issued to WSU students, faculty, and staff can be appealed through the Traffic Appeals Committee, the university news release stated. “It has been the custom of Wichita State’s police department to offer verbal warnings to drivers for traffic infractions on campus without real consequences for their bad driving habits,” the news release said. “It is not intended to be a revenue-generating process.” Issuing tickets and fines incentivizes good driving, the news release stated. One of the reasons provided for the change was a near-fatal accident in 2016 on campus. “Because of a number of complaints and a near fatal accident in 2016, it has become necessary to change driving behaviors,” the news release stated. University police issue parking tickets and patrol campus. University police said they will also issue citations through the district court with Sedgwick County. Hinshaw did not say how the university’s fines would compare to the county’s and city’s for infractions on campus, but stressed the importance of curtailing bad behavior. “It doesn’t do any good if there are no sanctions or repercussions to inappropriate behavior,” Hinshaw said.
“WE APOLOGIZE TO HER SOMETIMES WHEN WE CUT STUFF OFF.”
the first day of class, and were noticeably squeamish. She directed them to make their first cuts on the backs of the cadavers, waiting until later in the semester to tackle more sensitive areas such as the face. “The face tends to be the hardest region for a lot of people,” Garcia said. “Some of them are like, ‘I’m not interested in seeing the face,’ because it makes it too real for them. And then, once you skin SEE CADAVERS PAGE 4
COURTESY
Ron Matson teaches his “Men and Masculinity” class. Matson joined the WSU faculty in 1970 and announced he will be retiring after this school year.
LAS Dean announces retirement BY CHANCE SWAIM
SELENA FAVELA/THE SUFNLOWER
Members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority dance to “Time Warp” from the movie “Rocky Horror Picture Show” Saturday night at Songfest. Delta Delta Delta won first place at the event with their Halloween themed dance. See more photos on page 2.
The Sunflower wins national award in Dallas BY EVAN PFLUGRADT
The Sunflower was recognized for second place in Best of Show by the Associated College Press at its fall convention in Dallas. The The Best of Show is held at all ACP conventions. Awards are presented to the top 10 publications — split into categories for two-year and four-year institutions, and to publications printing once per week and more than once per week. Best of Show awards signify excellence among attendees, as only publications with students in attendance at the convention are eligible to enter. The Sunflower was recognized for its Oct. 2 publication that featured outstanding overall content in each of its sections.
ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS
BEST OF SHOW
Four-year newspapers printing more than once per week
1. The Daily Illini University of Illinois 2. The Sunflower Wichita State University
3. Minnesota Daily University of Minnesota 4. Indiana Daily Student Indiana University 5. Technician North Carolina State University
6. Rocky Mountain Collegian Colorado State University 7. The Daily Iowan University of Iowa 8. Oklahoma Daily University of Oklahoma 9. The Baylor Lariat Baylor University 10. Iowa State Daily Iowa State
Ron Matson, dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and associate professor of sociology at Wichita State, announced Friday that he will retire at the end of the academic year. “I have enjoyed immensely my career at Wichita State and view my time as dean as a fitting capstone,” Matson said in a university statement about his retirement. “My wife Linda and I will always be Shockers, but we look forward to concentrating on one another in the times to come.” Matson was appointed interim dean in 2013 and named dean the following year by Provost and Senior Vice President Tony Vizzini. Matson was named interim dean when Bill Bischoff stepped down. At that time, Matson was selected from a pool of candidates reviewed by the LAS College Council. Matson began teaching at Wichita State in 1970 as an assistant professor of sociology. In 2011, Matson was selected as the Kansas Professor of the Year. WSU will conduct a national search for Matson’s replacement, WSU said in an email statement. A committee chaired by Dennis Livesay, dean of the graduate school, will handle the search. “This is a key position at Wichita State, and I am excited about recruiting the next dean of LAS through a national search,” said Tony Vizzini, provost and senior vice president, in an email. “I am eager to see how the next leader will build on the foundation of Fairmount College.” Matson said he considers his teaching award the highlight of his career. “I am confident in the bright future of Fairmount College,” Matson said. “The university’s initiatives with Innovation Campus and extending applied learning experiences for all students provides endless opportunities for growth and enrichment for everyone.”
INSIDE
SONGFEST FREAKOUT
SPOOKY WICHITA
SCREAMAGE HOMERUN
The Indian Student Union hosted a night of celebration to raise cultural awareness.
Greek Life turned up for Songfest, a lipsynching and dance competition.
Want to know what to do around town on Halloween? We’ve got you covered.
Shocker baseball held a scrimmage, but their uniforms were a little ... different.
CULTURE • PAGE 2
CULTURE • PAGE 2
CULTURE • PAGE 3
SPORTS • PAGE 4
INDIA NIGHT LIVE