The Sunflower v.122 i.23

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 • VOL. 122, ISS. 23

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

Recent WSU grad killed in crash

BY JENNA FARHAT

Recent Wichita State graduate Christian Kyllonen was killed in a car accident Wednesday.

Kyllonen, 26, swerved into a light pole and was later pronounced dead in a hospital.

KYLLONEN According to the obituary, Kyllonen had recently graduated from WSU with a degree in sociology. He worked at Wichita Drywall and Acoustics as a project manager with his father.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. this Wed., Nov. 15 at Lakeview Funeral Home and Cemetery.

The obituary asks that people honor Kyllonen’s love for animals by making memorials in his name to Tanganyika Wildlife Park and the Kansas Humane Society.

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

Ron Matson, dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts ad Sciences, shares a laugh with his students of the Men and Masculinity class.

A quick look at tobacco quit kits

MATSON REFLECTS ON HIS TIME AT WSU

BY DANIEL CAUDILL

BY ANDREW LINNABARY

T

Students in a public health sciences class are providing free tobacco-quit kits to Wichita State students in an effort to support WSU’s Tobacco Free Wu & Me initiative.

The kits include gum, mint, suckers, coupons for smoking cessation aides, and information about “campus-based support for tobacco users,” said Amy Ham, instructor in Public Health Sciences. “[The kits] are a small, simple gesture provided … to encourage students who want to quit using tobacco,” Ham said.

Since November 6, Student Health Services has offered the quit kits for free, and nicotine replacement gum and lozenges for purchase, in honor of College of Health Professions Week.

The quit kits are a part of the tobacco-free student ambassador program, which is a class of about 20 students from the department of public health sciences.

Student ambassadors have no power to penalize tobacco users.

They’re instructed to provide tobacco users with an information card listing policy and cessation instruction.

hough his classes average a couple hundred students, Ron Matson has a knack for making each person feel as if he speaks directly to them.

“He can take a room full of 300 people and make you feel like he’s talking to you personally,” said Chuck Koeber, who works alongside Matson as an associate dean in the college of liberal arts.

Last month, Matson, who is the dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences, announced he will retire after 48 years at Wichita State. In that time, he has taught 35,000 students.

The classroom was never just about teaching, Matson said. Through questions and observation, Matson said students gave knowledge back to him in every lesson.

“It’s a ludicrous idea to have 60, 80, 100, 200 people in a classroom and you be the only one who knows anything,” Matson said. “There’s always something to learn.”

Matson was honest and open about his own life with students. That made students feel comfortable sharing stories about themselves.

Rick Parkhurst, a freelance copywriter who took classes from Matson in the ’90s, said, “He always made sure that you knew your voice was heard.”

Parkhurst said it’s been two decades since he took Matson’s courses, but he can clearly remember many of them. And the lessons resonated with Parkhurst, beyond tests and quizzes.

“Many of the things he said, I’ve applied as a parent,” Parkhurst said. “To this day, I use his teachings, and I feel that I’m a better parent and have a great relationship with my sons because of that.

“When their lessons stand the test of time, that’s the sign of great instructor.”

Matson’s influence was strong enough

“I HOPE I CAN LOOK IN THE MIRROR THE NEXT DAY AND SAY, ‘JOB WELL DONE, RON. JOB WELL DONE.’” ­—RON MATSON, LAS DEAN

to make some students change their whole career trajectory.

Lori Knight, who took his classes in the late 2000’s, said Matson was the reason she decided to major in sociology.

“I learned so much in his class — not just about the subject, but about life.”

‘LIVING IN THE HERE AND NOW’

Matson’s approach to teaching was not something he was born with, he said. It came from meditation early in his career

focused on “living in the here and now.”

“When you can bring your whole self into a moment like that, with all the energies that you have -- physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual -- phew. You don’t get tired or bored.”

Each year of teaching was a challenge of getting students to listen and learn from what he was saying, Matson said.

“If I were an artist, it would be like painting a picture,” Matson said. “There’s a profound sense of challenge, accomplishment and creativity that it takes to do teaching the way I like to do it.”

Transitioning to dean presented new challenges, Matson said. One of those challenges was going from working largely with students to working largely with faculty.

“I miss students greatly in this position,” Matson said. He still teaches as dean, but it’s just one class instead of four a semester.

Matson said being dean taught him to depend on others in a whole new way. One man can’t run an organization the size of Fairmount College on his own. There are over 350 employees in the college, with 17 departments.

“It’s a huge conglomerate of activity … and I thrived in this.”

SEE MATSON PAGE 4

Strategic planning chair Joint senate meeting raises parking concerns elected to city council

BY JENNA FARHAT

BY RAY STRUNK & MATTHEW KELLY As chair of Wichita State’s strategic planning committee, Cindy Claycomb has worked to implement her vision for the CLAYCOMB university.

Now, as a recently elected member of the Wichita City Council, she said she would like to expand her vision to the city of Wichita — a vision that parallels the values she continues to champion for WSU’s Innovation Campus.

“I believe in my vision for Wichita,” Claycomb said.

Claycomb was elected by a

wide margin Tuesday to represent Wichita’s sixth district. She received 86 percent of the vote to her opponent’s 12 percent — the widest margin of victory in a Wichita City Council race in the last 16 years.

Claycomb said her message resonated with the residents of her district.

She said one of the three primary issues she campaigned on was strengthening the local economy —something she plans to do partly through workforce development on the Innovation Campus.

“The purpose of (The Innovation Campus) is to create workforce development,” Claycomb said.

“Creating that pipeline of workers… all the way from the GED to the PHD.” SEE CITY COUNCIL PAGE 4

Senators at a joint meeting between Faculty Senate, Unclassified Professional Senate, and Unclassified Staff Senate expressed concerns over parking issues on campus, particularly on game days when university parking lots are blocked off and reserved for game attendees.

The meeting was called Wednesday, when Unclassified Professional Senate and Unclassified Staff Senate invited Faculty Senate to meet at Ahlberg Hall. Around 40 senators met to discuss common problems amongst their constituents.

One discussion centered on expanding university employee incentives and perks.

Randy Sessions, president of the Unclassified Staff Senate and tech support consultant with WSU police, addressed providing

university employees with incentives instead of pay raises, “because we all know we’re not going to get those, probably,” Sessions said.

Sessions began the discussion on game day parking by referring to the issue as a “can of worms” that needed to be addressed.

“Please don’t get mad at us,” Sessions said. “They are $150 tickets.” That’s equivalent to the fine for parking in a red reserved parking spot on campus. Regular parking ticket fines are $25.

Carolyn Shaw, president of the faculty senate, said students can’t afford to pay a $150 fine.

“Is there any room to negotiate some of those tickets being slightly less ridiculous?” Shaw asked.

Michael Turenne, a sergeant with the WSU police, said people should understand not to park where they’re not allowed.

“We’ve tried to get as much communication out as humanly

possible,” Turenne said.

“You can’t help somebody anymore. There’s also a large number of people who simply don’t care.”

Sessions said the university police won’t begin issuing citations when the parking lots are blocked off. They begin about two hours before the game starts, he said.

“Don’t get mad at the police department, because they’re only doing their job,” Sessions said.

“That structure was set by the administration.”

Kelly Eden, academic program specialist in the school of nursing, said students feel that athletics are taking precedence over academics. “[Students] are required to purchase a parking pass to be on campus anyway for classes,” Eden said.

“They feel that academics should take precedence over games. That’s where a lot of the outrage is coming from.”

INSIDE

LANGUAGE OF FOOD

THOR ISN’T MARVELOUS

GAME DAY

Legendary journalism professor’s legacy lives on.

Fairmount neighborhood garden connects communities.

Thor’s latest installment carries baggage

Marshall goes up against a familiar face Monday night.

OPINION • PAGE 2

CULTURE • PAGE 3

CULTURE • PAGE 3

SPORTS • PAGE 4

REMEMBERING LES

2 | MONDAY, NOV. 13, 2017

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THE STAFF EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Chance Swaim Managing Editor Jenna Farhat Culture Editor Marissa Campbell Sports Editor Matt Crow Opinion Editor Evan Pflugradt Projects & Enterprise Editor Ray Strunk Copy Chief Matthew Kelly Creative Director Madeline Deabler Layout Editor Kylie Cameron Photo Editor Brian Hayes Digital Editor Nicole Byrne

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ADVISING

Faculty Adviser Amy DeVault

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OPINION

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REMEMBERING LES RAY STRUNK

CHANCE

SWAIM

ENTERPRISE EDITOR

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Les Anderson established culture of community

Six years after Les Anderson’s death, his work lives on Six years ago, Wichita State lost one of its greatest professors, Les Anderson.

He was the heart of the Elliott School of Communication. He was a mentor, a newspaperman, a friend.

He loved his students and his students loved him.

Through his work at his newspapers, as The Sunflower adviser, in his journalism classes, and his ability to affect students’ lives outside of the classroom, Les Anderson’s reach into the local journalism scene is immeasurable.

Six years later, I still feel his presence.

People who respect him include people from all walks of life throughout this community.

I never met Les Anderson, but people tell me I would have loved him.

It seems to me that people who share enough of themselves with the world, who pass on so much knowledge and make such a positive effect on the world — as Les Anderson did — never really die.

Les Anderson led by example, and that’s something we should all strive to do.

A 1981 opinion piece that ran in The Sunflower about Les Anderson’s creed, “Teach, don’t preach,” reprinted here, exemplifies the way his students felt about him. And, six years after his death and 36 years after its publication, it’s still relevant.

Almost everything written there about Les Anderson applies to The Sunflower’s current adviser Amy DeVault, who learned first-hand from Les Anderson the importance of putting students first.

When your life’s work is teaching, your work outlives you by a long-shot.

Thank you, Les Anderson, for setting such a good example for us all.

Your work is still being done.

FILE PHOTO

This photo of Les Anderson printed in The Sunflower in 1981.

Anderson died six years ago, but his student-first legacy lives on.

Teach, don’t preach Paper adviser’s creed Reprint, The Sunflower, Feb. 11, 1981

It takes a special kind of man to love a newspaper. He has to enjoy hard work, long hours, short pay and loads of controversy.

Our adviser is that sort of fellow, and even though Les Anderson’s never written a word in the Sunflower, he’s proven his friendship more times than any of our young staff can remember.

We aren’t an easy lot to work with. We usually arrive as green as any boot camp recruit and graduate just when we have learned our jobs. We are volatile, full of quirks, ambitious and touchy about criticism.

But our unpaid adviser has a compassion that is longer than any list of our faults.

He’s never easy on us, always seeing through the paper-thin alibis to the sloppy work beneath.

“Beef it up and work it over,” he says. “You’re not trying hard enough unless your eyes look like road maps.”

So we try harder, not just because he tells us to but because we know he does it himself. Every year, Les’ two newspapers, The Ark Valley News and Maize This Week take honors at the Kansas Press Association meetings.

He’s a journalism teacher, a father of four and a gentle and humorous man who you hate to disappoint.

He has every reason to complain about us, to take us over or to abandon us with our squabbles and indecision.

He’s seen the same red-faced Sunflower editors who groused about outside interference grow weak in the knees when a tough decision had to be made.

He kids us, corrects us, refuses to tell us what to do, but he never lets us down. For all the good or bad we’ve done, he’s never budged an inch.

He’s living proof that a good example is better than a sermon.

I was too young six years ago to understand the impact Les Anderson would have on my life.

To me, he was the old guy that I’d see telling jokes at my dad’s office and stories at the barbershop.

As I look back now, I realize how important he was, and continues to be, to my family and to me.

When I was eight years old, my dad took over the Ark Valley News.

I was angry because that meant I had to move to a new town and leave my friends.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this new town would shape my future.

My dad took on more than just a newspaper in Valley Center. He took on a culture. A community.

I am a product of that culture and that community.

I was too young to learn about journalism from Les Anderson when he was alive. But I continue to learn each and every day through the culture of community-focused journalism he brought to my hometown — a culture that my dad carries on.

Les Anderson helped start the Valley Center Recreation Commission and the Valley Center Historical Society. The community scholarship fund that he established continues to improve the lives of Valley Center students every year.

His love for Valley Center lives on through his family.

Les Anderson often said the library was his favorite place in town.

For the last few years, Nancy, his wife, has been the central voice in the fight for a new public library. In true Anderson fashion, she was not afraid to confront the city council at a contentious time to remind them how important the public library is to the community.

You’d be hard-pressed to attend an event in Valley Center and not run into at least one of the Andersons.

Today, thanks in no small part to the lasting impact of Les Anderson, I understand what it means to be a journalist in a small town. It is about much more than words on paper or on a website. It is about community.

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Liberal Arts and Sciences needs a hero Ron Matson is just one of the guys.

At every stage of his outstanding tenure at Wichita State, Matson has been an honest, accountable, easy-going guy — and even more, he’s been a foundation piece of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Scienes.

Matson has been a piece of Shocker history since 1970. Many students who spend four or more years at WSU find themselves in Matson’s Men and Masculinities course. There’s usually one person in the nearly 300-person lecture hall who is a second-generation student of Matson — something you won’t find in any other course at WSU. It’s no surprise Matson considers his 2011 Kansas Teacher of the Year award to be his greatest accomplishment. Few on campus find the same enjoyment in teaching that he does — it’s honorable.

When WSU’s Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences needed a dean in 2012, no one person was more qualified than Matson. Who better to lead WSU’s largest college than someone who’d experienced more than four decades worth of highs and lows?

At 74, Matson is ready to hang it up.

At the end of the academic year in June, Matson and Wichita State

EVAN PFLUGRADT OPINION EDITOR • @EVPFLU

will break their 48-year marriage.

Matson’s impending absence has already raised significant questions about the future of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“I am confident in the bright future of Fairmount College,” Matson said at the time of his retirement announcement.

The Fairmount College now faces difficulties, including major budget cuts. Professors in the department haven’t seen raises in years, and applied-learning programs in the Fairmount College are crumbling after not getting the funding and support they used to.

While the schools of engineering and business have benefitted from private budget support, LAS has been historically forgotten, and the road to progress is cloudy at best.

“The university’s initiatives with Innovation Campus and extending applied learning experiences for all students provides endless opportunities for growth and enrichment for everyone,” Matson added in his university statement.

Applied-learning experiences

haven’t been what they’ve needed to be for the Fairmount College.

Declining university-wide funding is often the only answer to backup the lack of support the college has received.

A committee chaired by Dennis Livesay, dean of the graduate school, will conduct a national search for Matson’s replacement.

Tony Vizzini, provost and senior vice president, said he is “eager to see how the next leader will build on the foundation of Fairmount College.”

I am, too.

Wichita State was founded Fairmount College, and today, LAS is the longest standing college at WSU, dating back to the 19th century. Fairmount College oversees 17 departments.

Though the foundation of Fairmount College has built up through decades of history, in recent years, progress has gone stale. It’s time for a fresh perspective.

Matson’s seniority commands its own sense of appreciation. A new lead should command the same respect. LAS needs a hero.

Evaluating the dean position is a crucial decision. As the university makes strides in innovation, now’s not the time to forget about Fairmount College.

RATE MY

PROFESSOR BAD I am a Psychology major and I took his class to meet a general education requirement. On a regular basis he talks down on psychology as a discipline and is disrespectful about it. I will never take a class from him again. He writes his own book and makes you get a course packet too. More money in his pocket!

Psychology majors BEWARE!!

This 70-something know-it-all definitely lets his personal political and world views lead this class. I expected this class to be very enlightening from all the good things I’ve heard, but it turned out to just be 3 months of man-bashing. I think you’ve driven this class into the ground, Ron. It’s time to pass the torch off.

GOOD GREAT teacher. And i loved his lectures!

Its an easy, fun class. He does do a little “male bashing” but he is a feminist ... but overall good experience.

Dr. Matson comes across as a wonderful man. He is smart, funny, caring, and gives a new take on the world. I learned so much personally about myself, my relationship, and the people around me.

Lectures are engaging and fun to be apart of, never boring.

CULTURE

www.thesunflower.com

MONDAY, NOV. 13, 2017

|3

Immersive exhibit addresses oppression, privilege

BY FIONA KEE

ISAIAH HITTLE/THE SUNFLOWER

Darryl Carrington and children get ready to work in the community garden at Fairmount and 16th Street.

Community garden brings people together from all walks of life

BY FIONA KEE

Parsley, mint leaves, potatoes, and strawberries adorn the grounds of the community garden on Fairmount and 16th St. Darryl Carrington, community liaison, said the garden is another step in connecting the Fairmount and Shocker communities.

“The reason for the community garden is for people of different denominations to come together,” Carrington said. The garden is a place to promote diversity and participation. Many members of the community come to this place to take and give back.”

The garden was set up by the Fairmount United Church of Christ on a plot of land purchased across from the church.

Mythili Menon, assistant professor of English and linguistics, teaches the class “Language of Food,” and her students volunteer at the garden for their service-learning project.

“The idea behind this is for students to apply what they have learned in class outside of the classroom,” Menon said.

While volunteering in the community garden, Menon said students are exposed to different kinds of people they don’t usually meet. She said the garden

encourages students to learn more about both their community and how food is taken for granted in today’s society.

In addition, the garden has been a place of connection and learning for TRIO, a college opportunity program aimed at supporting and motivating young students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This year, middle and high school students working in the garden are learning how potatoes can combat diabetes.

Alongside Shockers and TRIO students in the garden are members of the Fairmount community.

Carrington describes the garden’s visitors as “eagles” and “turkeys.”

He said the eagles donate and participates in gardening while the turkeys take and feed off the land.

“This can be a community that doesn’t have enough,” Menon said. “Students can learn from this real-world experience, which is a community that relies on this garden for their meals.”

Carrington said the garden gives people from different walks of life an opportunity to form relationships with each other.

“I have seen people that don’t naturally come together,” Carrington said. “In this garden, I have spoken to people of different denominations and race.”

IF YOU GO ISAIAH HITTLE/THE SUNFLOWER

Children gather to help harvest sweet potatoes in the community garden.

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is fun but forgettable I imagine most people reading this have seen a Marvel movie — how could anyone not have?

Marvel films and television programs dominate our cultural space, creating a monopoly on spandex and superheroes. However, Marvel’s film formula is becoming obvious.

While Marvel has gotten better in recent years about letting their directors express themselves within thr formula, that expression reveals itself only through tone, not structure. “Thor: Ragnarok” is no exception to this trend, and, while director Taika Waititi makes serious strides in individualizing this entry into the Marvel machine, it struggles with the same elements that have hindered other Marvel films.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is the third Thor film and seventeenth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it’s easy to imagine the narrative baggage this film carries in reference to its place within the Marvel franchise.

However, one of Ragnarok’s greatest strengths is its ability to carve out its own niche in this massive universe through its unique and colorful tone. Marvel films

MATT GARNER

MOVIE CRITIC • @SUNFLOWERNEWS

have often been criticized, and rightfully so, for their bland visuals and dull soundtracks. “Thor: Ragnarok” reverses this trend, thanks to its bright and candy-coated aesthetic combined with a retro soundtrack that harkens back to old 80s sci-fi comedies. Does this sound familiar? It’s the same trick Guardians of the Galaxy used in 2014.

In addition, Waititi infuses almost every scene with his singular comedic touch, letting characters rattle off funny quip after funny quip. Thor’s character undergoes a complete reinvention, evolving from a regal and reluctant god to a much lighter and more nimble player.

Waititi’s sensibilities can be felt from the first frame of the movie, shedding preconceived notions of what Thor means to modern audiences. Above all, this is a very funny film — easily the funniest of the Marvel films.

Privilege, power, and hate crimes fill the multi-sensory experience of the “Tunnel of Oppression,” a simulation exhibit showing in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Monday and Tuesday.

As participants walk through a simulated tunnel, they will be confronted with sights and sounds intended to display oppression of marginalized groups in today’s society.

“We are seeing more hate crimes, particularly in our own community, and we are always talking about this thing called ‘privilege,’ but there is a common misconception about it,” Assistant Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Danielle Johnson said. “This experience is meant to arouse all of your senses about these issues.”

Johnson said the tunnel might include disturbing images and sounds. She said the purpose of this multi-sensory experience is to create an emotional response in the participant.

The concept of the tunnel, which originated at Western Illinois University, was inspired by the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Participants can expect audio, video, and acting from students, addressing such issues as homophobia, transphobia, sexual assault, racism, negative body image, and ableism.

Johnson said she is inspired when students say they want to be part of the cause.

“I’ve had students come up to me and said they didn’t realize this was happening and they wanted to be more aware and part of the conversation,” Johnson said. “This has been the most inspirational part of the Tunnel.”

The exhibit is on display Monday and Tuesday in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, located in the Rhatigan Student Center in Suite 208. The tours run every thirty minutes.

“The main object of this exhibition is for students to recognize their privilege, and recognize oppression,” Johnson said. “I am also aware that are people that are going to say this is dumb and will ask ‘Why do you keep bringing up oppression?’ but people are opened to learning and having an open conversation like this needs to happen in order for change to take place.”

It helps that Chris Hemsworth has the comedic chops and timing to pull off most of these jokes, coupled with a strong supporting cast.

Everything from Jeff Goldblum’s portrayal of the Grandmaster to Cate Blanchett’s Hela is stellar.

These veteran relish their eccentric roles.

Mark Ruffalo returns as the frazzled and mercurial Hulk, while Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as the mischievous Loki. Newcomer Tessa Thompson joins this rowdy cast as Valkyrie, an Asgardian warrior with a personal link to Hela. The real miracle here is the comedic chemistry every actor brings to the table, spinning dialogue and acts of physical comedy into a spool of cotton candy for the audience to devour.

Yet, for all of its accolades, “Ragnarok” can’t rectify the flaws that plague Marvel films in general — an under-developed villain, a severe lack of dramatic tension, and a plot that exists only as a stepping-stone to a larger idea.

These persistent problems are partially the film’s fault and partially a symptom of its existence in tangent with the larger Marvel universe. Whatever the origin,

these problems detract from the film.

Hela’s arrival and sudden departure feels ultimately meaningless. Marvel films in general feel less like films than episodes of a superhero show that tackle a new antagonist every week. The Hulk’s character arc is flimsy and inconsequential, resolving in such a way as to undermine any character development that may have happened over the previous two hours.

The film’s plot is standard superhero fare, and it can’t hide the fact that its true motivations lie in putting characters in place for the next Avengers film. Unfortunately, these problems just come with the Marvel territory.

What has surprised me the most in my time since seeing “Ragnarok” is how little I’ve thought about it since. Walking out of the theater, I felt like a child walking around an amusement park with a large strand of cotton-candy wrapped around a sugary stick. Now I’m that same kid, hours later, wondering where all of that confectionery went — my eyes glazed over from sugar, my stomach upset. I’m still hungry.

WHERE: ODI office, RSC 208

WHAT: Tunnel of Oppression, an exhibition intended to simulate the day-to-day lives of marginalized groups in society

WHAT: Nov. 12-13, every 30

minutes between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS Arts and Crafts: Wichita Pride Paint Night When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tonight Admission: Free The Office of International Education is hosting the event Wichita Pride Paint Night. In Rhatigan Student Center 142, participants can paint their own Wichita Flag while supplies last.

Thanksgiving Dinner When: 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday Admission: $5 The Office of International Education and the Community Service Board are hosting the third annual Thanksgiving Dinner. In Rhatigan Student Center 233, students are invited to celebrate this traditional American holiday with one another.

Arts and Crafts Fair When: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, RSC first floor Admission: Free, prices per item varies The Student Activities Council will be hosting their annual arts and crafts fair featuring various artists and crafters.

Hedda Gabler Performance When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Wilner Auditorium Admission: Free for Wichita State students with ID, $10, $12, $15 for general public The School of Performing Arts performs “Hedda Gabler,” a Henrik Ibsen play about a newly-married couple that feels trapped in a boring marriage.

SPORTS

4 | MONDAY, NOV. 13, 2017

www.thesunflower.com

Marshall and Shamet looking to tie school records against College of Charleston said. “They’ve got some really, really good players. They are a dangerous team, and we are going to have to play very well.”

The game against Charleston will tie a school record for Marshall.

It will be his 353rd game coaching at Wichita State, which ties Ralph Miller who coached from 1951-64.

Sophomore guard Landry Shamet is also looking to tie a school record. Shamet needs a three against Charleston to match Ron Baker’s record for consecutive games with a three (27).

Tipoff is at 8 p.m. Monday evening at Charles Koch Arena.

BY ALIYAH FUNSCHELLE

Wichita State’s second game of the season against College of Charleston will be broadcasted on CBS Sports with Brent Stover and Bob Wenzel.

The Shockers and The Cougars have met only one time before in the 2011 NIT where WSU won 82-75.

Head Coach Gregg Marshall and College of Charleston’s head coach Earl Grant are no strangers. Grant worked six seasons under Marshall.

He was Marshall’s assistant coach at Winthrop for three years for the 2004-07 seasons, and three seasons at Wichita State from 2007-10.

“It will be good to catch up with some folks that I really like and admire,” Marshall said.

Marshall believes that Grant has built his program and has his best team yet, which poses as a threat to The Shockers.

“I think it is his best team...He built it the right way,” Marshall

IF YOU GO WHERE: Charles Koch Arena

WHAT: WSU plays College of Charleston

WHEN: Oct. 13, 8 p.m.

NO. 20 WSU VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS CINCINNATI WSU

CINCINNATI

3-0

KILLS

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NOW HIRING!

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State guard Landry Shamet drives past a defender during their victory over UMKC. (Nov. 10, 2017)

Rod Brown to take redshirt season

BY MATTHEW KELLY

Rod Brown’s goal of winning Freshman of the Year for the American Athletic Conference has been put on hold.

The forward from Cordova, Tennessee will redshirt this season after not suiting up for the Shocker Men’s Basketball opener against UMKC. In October, Brown said he was expecting to redshirt this season until star forward Markis McDuffie sustained a stress fracture in his foot in September.

“When my name’s called, I’ve got to be ready to step up,” Brown MATSON

FROM PAGE 1

and I thrived in this.”

Matson said he still feels he’s thriving, but at 75 — which he’ll turn in June — “sounds like long enough,” he said.

“I know people who have outlived their legacy and weren’t doing well by the time they left,” Matson said. “Maybe they didn’t have a good relationship with the institution and felt like they weren’t appreciated. I don’t want to be like that. I want to leave when it’s the right time for me.”

Matson said retirement wasn’t something he mulled over or contemplated.

“I wasn’t one of that people that 20 years ago set a retirement date,” Matson said. “I always felt like if I was enjoying it, and I thought I was doing a good job, then I’d just keep working.”

He could have retired a decade ago, he said, but he’s been pushing it out, two years at a time.

“I was thinking about that this fall and thought, ‘June of ‘19, how does that sound?’ And then I thought, ‘I could do this in June of ‘18.’ And at that point, when I just entertained the idea, there was this sense of freedom and exhilaration that came over me.

“So I knew it was time.”

Retirement was inevitable, but finishing the job at an institution so attached to Matson’s spirit was never going to be easy. He loves Wichita State, he said.

“We all come and work together, and that somehow makes up Wichita State University at each moment,” Matson said. “And so, over 40 years, there have literally been thousands and thousands of people who created this mystique

CITY COUNCIL FROM PAGE 1

CONTACT Bryan Parker at 620-532-2681 or bryan@mainplaceyouth.org WWW.MAINPLACEYOUTH.ORG

Claycomb said that, although this will be her first time holding public office, she believes her experience at WSU and on various community boards has helped to make her “reasonable,” “collaborative,” and “someone who knows how to analyze situations and gather data to make good decisions.”

Claycomb cited her work with the 2010 campaign to eliminate smoking in Wichita restaurants as preparation for public office.

“When you work on things like that, you have to work really closely with city council,” Claycomb said. “There are seven people on the council. You have to get four votes to get anything done.”

“I have seen a lot of pieces of government already.”

Claycomb is currently on phased retirement at Wichita State. She works part-time for the university as a professor of marketing and assistant to the president for strategic planning.

Her employment is scheduled to end in December 2018.

She is paid $83,325 yearly for her

said.

Following the injury, Brown set an ambitious personal goal.

“I actually want to win freshman of the year,” Brown said. He will still be eligible for the honor next season as a redshirt freshman.

Brown, who graduated from high school a year early to attend Wichita State, said he made the decision to do so because he was excited to take his game to the next level.

“I just wanted to play at the next level,” Brown said. “Playing D-I basketball is pretty huge, and translating my game from high school to college is a huge decision

for me.”

Brown said he has plenty to offer the team.

“Toughness, athleticism, and defense,” he said. “And I can score with the best of them as well.”

McDuffie, who is set to return from his injury in December, agreed that Brown is a talented player, saying he just needs time to get used to Coach Marshall’s system.

“He brings a lot – athleticism.

You know, he’s a freshman right now,” McDuffie said. “He’s just trying to learn the system.”

“He’s a great player.”

that I think of as ‘Wichita State University.’

“Whether that’s a basketball coach or whether it’s an assistant professor or distinguished professor, dean, president, we’re all contributing something that enriches the fabric of the institution.”

The classroom has kept Matson young, motivated and excited about teaching for years, he said.

When he walks into a classroom full of students who are there “because they want to listen to something I have to say,” Matson said he still feels humbled.

Come the end of the spring semester, Hubbard Hall will be missing one of its longest reigning lecturers.

“It’ll be a bittersweet moment when I walk out of my last class next spring after being in the classroom for 52 years. I hope I can look in the mirror the next day and say, ‘Job well done, Ron. Job well done.’”

“We who study men in men’s study classes really stand on the shoulders of our feminist sisters who went before us,” Matson said.

“We didn’t do anything that they didn’t teach us how to do.”

FIVE PRESIDENTS

Part of Matson’s legacy will be defined by his Men and Masculinities course, created and first taught by him in 1979.

Matson said he formed the course at a time in his life when he was having personal growth issues stemming from his masculinity, which got in the way of him being the person he wanted to be.

“I discovered that, to become the person I wanted to become some day, I was going to have to get rid of a lot of my masculinity. I was going to have to set it aside.”

Through this increased personal awareness of gender, and an awareness of the second-wave feminism of the ‘60s that increased academic legitimacy to the study of gender, the class was born.

Four presidents — Beggs, Armstrong, Ahlberg and Hughes — came and went from the university during Matson’s 42 years. All had different visions for the institution, but none, Matson said, have moved the university as rapidly as the fifth, President John Bardo, who came to the university in 2012.

“The institution has changed more in the last five years than it did in the previous 40,” Matson said. “I’ll go to the bank with that.”

Before Bardo, there were years of growth, and there were years of decline, but there wasn’t anything “new,” Matson said.

“We weren’t moving the institution in a new direction in hopes of embracing the future,” Matson said. “I think Bardo’s vision and leadership has put us in that direction.”

Still, all the presidents were good people who did good things for the university, Matson said.

It’s all about leaving something behind, Matson said.

“This institution is going to outlive all of us. It’s been here for 120 something years now, and it’s going to be here 200 years from now. All we’re doing as we unfold our lives and our careers here is leaving something behind. We’re creating a wake as we move through here that will probably have some kind of permanency.

“Hopefully what you do in your time is add to, rather than take away from.”

part-time work.

Claycomb initially served as co-chair of Wichita State’s strategic planning process. She said that she collaborated with members of the university and the community to develop the university’s strategic plan.

Now, she is in charge of implementing the strategic plan — a task that makes the Innovation Campus the primary focus of her work.

She said the Innovation Campus exemplifies the applied learning aspect of the university’s strategic plan.

“Applied learning is part of our vision,” Claycomb said. “We have a goal that says every student will have an applied learning experience before they graduate.”

She said the university’s partnerships with private businesses on Innovation Campus, such as Airbus, provide students with invaluable real-world work experience while still in college.

For the first year of her term, Claycomb will remain an employee of WSU. The Wichita City Council often deals with issues that affect WSU and, specifically, the Innovation Campus.

In 2014, the council approved

a mill levy raise of about $6.2 million annually to fund the Innovation Campus, later voting to pay $42,986 toward a Californiabased consulting firm that assisted in developing the plans for the Innovation Campus.

In 2016, the council approved the development of the Innovation Campus’s new law enforcement training center.

Claycomb said she recognizes the potential for conflicts of interest between her work at the university and on the council.

“Someone is going to put me through training that explains when I can and cannot vote on things,” Claycomb said.

“If I believed that it was a conflict of interest and the city’s guidelines say that you have to recuse yourself, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Although the university is not in the district she represents, Claycomb said she hopes to provide insight on university issues from an insider’s perspective gained through 23 years of employment at WSU. “Being involved with the strategic plan and understanding the direction of the university is very beneficial to the city.”

MEN AND MASCULINITIES