The Sunflower v.123 i.14

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2018 • VOL. 123, ISS. 14

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

Moore: The interest for badges in higher education is growing

BY MATTHEW KELLY

When the Kansas Board of Regents released statewide enrollment numbers last week, Wichita State boasted 30.1 percent growth in non-degree-seeking students.

WSU’s badge course program offers working professionals and high school students online, self-directed courses for half a credit hour. WSU’s enrollment report does not specify how many of its non-degree-seeking students are enrolled in badge courses this fall, but the university has gone to great lengths to

market badges.

Last fall, in the two weeks leading up to the official KBOR enrollment tally, WSU offered badge courses for free. This year, the university has offered up to 850 full or partial scholarships through the Office of Online Learning.

“The university is making the money available as a way to introduce people to badges,” Kimberly Moore, director for workforce, professional and community education, told The Sunflower in August.

Three years ago, Moore was tasked with creating WSU’s badge program.

“Badges have been around for a while, but people were doing them primarily for non-credit,” Moore said. “A few universities were doing them for-credit, but the desire within higher education was to find ways to offer credit for badges as a useful professional development tool.”

At their September meeting, the Regents approved a proposal to allow degree-seeking students to take badges. Previously, only non-degree-seeking students could enroll.

“It was approved by KBOR for non-degree-seeking students, and I’m not sure why,” Moore said,

when asked why the badge course program originally excluded degree-seeking students. “I wasn’t involved in that process.”

In August, the Regents changed their enrollment-reporting metric from 20-day headcount to full-time equivalency.

Now that enrollment is based on total credit hours instead of headcount, degree-seeking students can take badges.

Moore said badges aren’t eligible for federal financial aid, so if a student receives financial aid to pay for their tuition, that can’t go towards a badge course.

She said more people would

take badges if they knew what they were.

“People don’t really understand what badges are,” Moore said.

“A lot of employers and a lot of people in the community have no idea what a badge is, so when you say, ‘Why don’t you take a badge course?’ there’s some reluctance because they don’t know what that means.”

Moore said that’s why the university has offered 850 badge scholarships at a time when tuition continues to go up at WSU.

SEE MOORE PAGE 2

puppy love TAT MAICHAN/THE SUNFLOWER

John, Heather, and Stephanie Hill drink coffee at the campus Starbucks.

Husband, wife, daughter all pursuing undergrad degrees at Wichita State

BY AUDREY KORTE

For the Hill family, student life is a family affair. Heather, John, and their daughter Stephanie, are all undergraduate students at Wichita State.

“We’re the trifecta,” John Hill said. “Triple trouble.”

John is studying history and Heather is working toward a degree in women’s studies.

Stephanie is a general studies major with a focus in anthropology, history, and English.

Stephanie hopes to work in museums after graduating in 2020. She works and interns at The Museum of World Treasures and hopes to be employed at The Smithsonian one day.

“That’s the dream,” she said.

Stephanie doesn’t mind having her parents on campus.

“I do everything online so I’m not even on campus,” she said.

“As long as they are getting their education and doing what they want, I’m fine with it.”

John and Heather have been a team for more than two decades

— pretty much since the day they met. The fact that they are both getting their degrees now displays a pattern in their relationship of leaning on each other.

John went to barber school with Heather’s best friend’s husband. That’s how the two of them met. Heather says when she and her husband met in 1992, John was “in his country phase, his Garth Brooks phase.” John walked in the door and took off his cowboy hat and threw it down.

Heather said to him, “that’s not the way to place your hat.” A friend of Heather’s responded by saying, “See, you’re not even married to her yet and she’s already telling you what to do.”

“She’s been telling me what to do ever since,” John said.

Three weeks after the couple met, the house Heather was living in burned down. She wound up moving into John’s mother’s house.

“We had started dating,” John said. “She literally had no place to live so she moved into my mom’s house.

SEE HILL PAGE 2

TAT MAICHAN/THE SUNFLOWER

Alayna Maslinski, a sophomore exercise science and biology major, plays with Mitty, a Cavachon dog, at the Love On A Leash event Friday. Love on a Leash is a non-profit pet therapy group.

Trump campaigns for Kris Kobach in Topeka

BY DRAKE ROBINSON

DRAKE ROBINSON/THE SUNFLOWER President Donald Trump rallied on behalf of Republican gubernatorial nominee Kris Kobach Saturday in Topeka’s Kansas Expocentre.

President Donald Trump held a campaign rally Saturday in front of a crowd of some 11,000 people at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka.

A few hours before the rally began, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

This gave Trump the chance to flaunt his achievement publicly for the first time. Within the first 30 minutes of the rally, Trump took to praising Kavanaugh, calling him a “man of great character and intellect” who will be a “constitutional conservative” on the court.

Trump urged Kansans to rally behind and vote for Republican candidates. He then took aim at Democrats, calling them “an angry, left-wing mob” for their actions

during the nomination process of Judge Kavanaugh.

At one point, Trump likened the prospect of Democrats taking control of Congress to “handing a box of matches to an arsonist.” He discussed a broad range of topics during the rally — including North Korea, the economy, immigration, unemployment, Iran, ISIS, and, most frequently, the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump then went on to introduce Republican gubernatorial candidate and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Kobach shared the stage with Trump and gave a speech about his vision as governor. Kobach mostly talked about immigration and his plan to cap property appraisal taxes in Kansas.

Next came Second Congressional District Republican candidate Steve

Watkins, who also gave a speech on stage with Trump. Watkins talked about the courts, his upbringing, and his military experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trump called out both Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Laura Kelly and Second Congressional District Democratic candidate Paul Davis, the challengers to Kobach and Watkins.

Trump took aim at Kelly, mentioning her F rating from the National Rifle Association.

“I assume that means that she’s not too big on the 2nd Amendment.”

Trump said.

He then attacked Davis on his voting record in the state legislature — saying his votes increased state taxes for Kansans during his time serving in Topeka.

INSIDE

DON’T FORGET

‘TIS THE SEASON

BACK TO SCHOOL

Examine the new look of the Joker for his upcoming film.

Innovation Campus is still rife with conflicts of interest, but at least we have a Fuzzy’s.

Shocker men’s and women’s basketball returned to Koch Arena for scrimmages.

MLB veteran Mike Pelfrey comes back to WSU to finish the degree he started.

CULTURE • PAGE 3

CULTURE • PAGE 5

SPORTS • PAGE 7

SPORTS • PAGE 10

NOT A JOKE

NEWS

2 | MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

www.thesunflower.com

NEWS IN BRIEF

www.thesunflower.com

WSU CHORAL GROUPS TO PERFORM AT FALL CONCERT

THE STAFF

Wichita State’s Concert Chorale and A Cappella Choir will host a fall concert 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wiedmann Concert Hall.

EDITORIAL

Editor in Chief Matthew Kelly

The concert is free for students.

Otherwise, tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors or military, and $6 for non-WSU students.

Digital Managing Editor Andrew Linnabary

Concert Chorale will perform a set called “Night and Day,” which includes works by William Byrd and Sergei Rochmaninoff. A Cappella Choir will perform pieces by Frank Loesser and Dan Forrest, among others.

Visual Managing Editor Madeline Deabler News Editor Jenna Farhat Culture Editor John Darr

This is the first performance of the year for both WSU choral groups.

Sports Editor Evan Pflugradt

For tickets, call 978-3233 or visit wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

Photo Editor Selena Favela

SEDGWICK COUNTY ELECTION OFFICE LOOKING FOR POLL WORKERS

Sports Photo Editor Joseph Barringhaus SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

ADVERTISING

Advertising Manager Kylie Cameron

ADVISING

Faculty Adviser Amy DeVault

The Shocker Support Locker is located in Grace Wilkie room 103.

SGA hires assistants to monitor food pantry after ‘hundreds’ of pounds of food disappear

BY AUDREY KORTE

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CONTACT THE SUNFLOWER 019 Elliott Hall 1845 N. Fairmount Ave. Campus Box 134 Wichita, KS 67260-0134 ----------

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The Shocker Support Locker implements two major changes to its operations this week. Due to the rapid disappearance of food from the pantry, the facility will now be monitored by two paid workers.

According to a statement released by the Student Government Association, the new posi-tions are a response to reports of students who are “in violation of posted rules in the Locker.”

Student Body Vice President Shelby Rowell said at last week’s SGA meeting that a recent large donation of food by the Wichita State Police Department “was gone within a matter of like two hours.”

According to the statement, “176.4 pounds of food” donated at the recent food drive “were gone in a matter of a few hours.”

“Obviously, it’s being abused a little bit,” Rowell said. “That’s why we hired these student assistants.”

Similarly, the massive Dillon’s donation made two weeks ago disappeared in three business days.

“I have gotten personal reports of people leaving with trash bags full of stuff . . . of certain individuals taking large amounts, like grocery carts of food away from the Shocker Support Locker,” Rowell said.

HILL

FROM PAGE 1 “We were engaged after three weeks,” Heather said.

Those early days were tough.

The two were living in Liberal and had next to nothing.

“We started out dirt poor,” John said. “We were living in government-assisted housing. We were as broke as you could possibly be and we were 200 miles from anyone we knew.

“We figured out real quick how to rely on each other. That was the foundation for how you make something work. Relationships have become like TVs — they break and you throw them in the trash.”

Not so for Heather and John, who are nearing their 25th anniversary.

Heather began her studies at Seward County Community College in Liberal. She graduated with an associate’s degree in 1997 before the couple moved to Wichita.

“I got my first job at a law firm,” Heather said. “I was a legal assistant for almost 20 years.”

Then she started working at the WSU Office of Financial Aid. “My boss Angie said, ‘You really should consider going ahead and finishing your bachelor’s,’ Heather said. “I just hemmed and hawed, but finally decided to go ahead and do it, and then John’s like, ‘Maybe I should go back to school.’”

MOORE

FROM PAGE 1 “An instructor, to develop a badge course gets paid $1,500 and instruction, they get paid $625 if they have one to 39 students, so it’s a very small stipend — very small cost to the university,” Moore said.

WSU continues to offer free money to prospective badge course students. Moore said she doesn’t know when badges will start paying off financially for the university.

“I have no idea,” Moore said.

“It really depends on — we’ve got

Holly Harpel and Daniel Chikwendu will now be overseeing the daily operations of the food pantry, located in Grace Wilkie Hall room 103. Each student is scheduled to work 20 hours a week.

Also new this week, Shockers who want to take food from the pantry will be asked to swipe their Shocker ID card through a scanner.

According to an email from Gabriel Fonseca, SGA co-adviser, sent to The Sunflower, the “system will record the WSU ID in order to collect demographic information.

SGA and the Shocker Support Locker is committed to maintaining our promise of privacy; meaning we will only be using the information to collect demographic data and nothing else. Both assis-tants and student volunteers will sign confidentiality agreements in order to confirm this and to hold their positions.”

“One of the main reasons that we’re doing this is because we have to do it in order to continue our partnership with the Kansas Food Bank,” Fonseca said at the SGA meeting.

Fonseca said, despite the data collection system, the support locker will uphold its promise of anonymity. He said the demographic

data won’t be available to anyone in SGA because it’s protected information.

“I think our first good step is that we’re going to staff it for the entire time it’s open and hopefully that will alleviate some of the concerns of making sure that our procedures and policies are being followed with the space,” Fonesca told the senate.

The food pantry will remain open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except when campus is closed. The only eligibility requirement is current enrollment or employment at WSU. Students, faculty, and staff can use the pantry once a week and may take up to 10 items per visit.

Anyone wishing to donate food can do so at the SGA office in the Rhatigan Student Center room 219.

John’s situation was different from Heather’s.

“I went to school right out of high school — I went to Friends (University),” John said. “I was a dummy. I was the prototypical jock.

I played soccer.

“My senior year (of high school), I broke my thumb. I’m a goalkeeper.

I didn’t play my senior year and that caused a lot of issues with scholarship opportunities and recruitment,” John said. “Friends had a situation where someone got injured and they called me up and asked me if I was interested in playing. I had no interest in going to school. I wanted to major in girls and kicking the ball around.”

But then, “I got caught up in a bad situation.”

John got dragged into a sports scandal at Friends University.

The school illegally administered the ACT to its athlete recruits.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics refused the scores.

“I got bent out of shape, quit school, and walked away from it,” John said. “Almost 30 years later, I regret it. I always felt like that was a poor decision. I’ve been very fortunate in my career and done very well with it, but there’s a part of me that wanted the opportunity to prove that I could do it.”

Though John is only taking a few credit hours a semester because he runs a business fulltime, he’s pleased that he has the

chance now to pursue a degree.

“I have a 3.85 GPA. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it,” John said. “I’ll soon be 50 years old and the reality is they start throwing you out of the work force at 50, not inviting you into it.

I’m pursuing a history degree, but there’s only so much you can do with it. The degree for me is about personal satisfaction.”

Heather believes earning a bachelor’s degree will positively affect her career, but she’s unsure if she will ever want to leave the WSU financial aid office because of how supportive they are.

“I’ve got all these people rooting for me,” Heather said.

“Sometimes it makes me cry, how supportive everyone is over at financial aid. It’s totally different from the private sector.”

Though John is in no rush to graduate, Heather hopes to graduate in the spring of 2020 — the same as her daughter.

“I think it would be cool to graduate at the same time,” Heather said.

Stephanie agrees.

“I think it’s cool,” she said. “I think it’s awesome that there’s a good chance that my mom and I could walk across the stage at the same time. That’s a good memory to have.

“I really am proud of my parents. I know it’s hard balancing work and school, but I think it’s awesome.”

some new badges that are coming out that I’m really excited about that I think are going to draw a lot of attention, even nationally.”

Moore said the future of badge programming is to meet very specific workforce needs.

She cited the Practical Blood Flow Restriction Applications badge, which is being marketed to physical therapists, as one example of WSU meeting a specific workforce need.

“Nobody else is doing this — there certainly isn’t a badge, let alone is there any real types of education on this, so we think that this will be huge and that

enrollment will — these are the type of badges that are going to draw enrollment and that are going to yield definitely some results here with tuition income,” Moore said.

She said WSU’s approach to badge courses is gaining traction.

“The interest within higher education itself for badges is growing,” Moore said. “I’m asked to speak all over the country about badges. People are looking at WSU as a model.”

Twice this year, WSU President John Bardo has brought up badges while testifying before Congress in Washington D.C.

FAST FACTS

Sedgwick County Election Office is inviting WSU students, faculty, and staff to work the polls on Election Day, Tues., Nov. 6.

To qualify, applicants must be registered to vote in the county, able to read and write English, and be able to lift 25-50 pounds.

Poll workers must be available to work 15 consecutive hours on Election Day, and they must attend training and a hands-on equipment lab.

DONATE: Donations are

A number of dates are available throughout October for training and labs. For specific dates, visit sedgwickcounty.org/elections/be-anelection-worker.

WHAT: The support

ESPORTS CLUB TO HOST A SERIES OF LOCK-INS

WHERE: Grace WIlkie Hall 103

accepted in the SGA office, RSC 219. locker accepts donations of perishable and nonperishabale foods, as well as hygienic products.

Shocker Esports will host a lock-in from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. starting Friday, Oct. 26 at Next Level Cafe, a gaming cafe at 3802 E. Harry.

The lock-in is the second of three held

by Shocker Esports this semester. The third will be held Friday, Nov. 23.

Entry is $10. There will be a raffle.

7 arrested by WSU police last month

BY JENNA FARHAT

Wichita State police made seven arrests in September.

In August, WSU police made eight arrests — the most made in a single month since December 2014.

Last month, Interim WSU Police Chief Bob Hinshaw attributed the rise in arrests to police making more traffic stops.

On Monday, The Sunflower requested additional information regarding each of the arrests made in September — including names of arrestees and for those arrested with outstanding warrants, what the warrants were for. On Friday, Capt. Guy Schroeder with the WSU police said he could not provide the records because the administrative specialist who handles them was away on medical leave that week.

The following information regarding the seven arrests is available on the WSU crime log online.

1. Sept. 6: Two people were found in the Rhatigan Student Center after hours. One of the people, a 35-year-old man, had an outstanding warrant for his arrest and was booked into jail.

2. Sept. 11: A 34-year-old woman was stopped in traffic on E Aloma, near Harry and Hillside. She had an outstanding warrant with the city of Wichita and was booked into jail.

3. Sept. 17: A 57-year-old woman was arrested on campus near Perimeter Rd and Yale due to an outstanding warrant with Sedgwick County.

4. Sept. 17: Police tried to make a traffic stop for an “incorrect taillight.” The 58-year-old man first fled but was eventually stopped and found to be in-toxicated. He was arrested for fleeing/ eluding an officer and driving under the influence.

5. Sept. 23: A 32-year-old woman was stopped in traffic for an expired tag, gave false information to an officer, and was found with a suspended license and an outstanding warrant. She was arrested for interference with a law enforcement officer.

6. Sept. 24: A 31-year-old woman was arrested on campus at parking lot 16 near Perimeter Rd. She was stopped for expired registration and was found to have an outstanding warrant with Sedgwick County.

7. Sept. 30: A 19-year-old man was stopped in traffic for a defective headlight. He was found to have an outstanding warrant and was arrested.

CULTURE

www.thesunflower.com

MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

|3

I should laugh, but I cry described as if Hot Topic and Monster Energy drink came together and threw up their own version of the Joker.

Leto’s Joker wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. It was meant to be a different depiction of the Joker, but it was such a departure from Ledger’s striking performance that it didn’t sit well with many die-hard Batman fans. In the wake of that portrayal, the future of the Joker in film was unclear.

BY MADELINE DEABLER

A

fter the train wreck that was “Suicide Squad” and Jared Leto’s Hot Topic-esque Joker, Batman and the DC universe were in dire straits.

When I first heard there would be a new movie with Joaquin Phoenix portraying the Joker, I was skeptical. I’d seen Phoenix in movies like “Her” and “Walk the Line,” but I couldn’t imagine him playing a psychopathic killing clown.

The first look at DC’s 2019 movie “Joker,” gave a glimpse of Phoenix’s character, Arthur Fleck, a greasy middle-aged ex-comedian. Fleck looks like he could’ve been cast as the terrifying Anton Chigurh from “No Country for Old Men.” “Joker” is rumored to be a low-budget character study.

The film presents a story about a relatively nondescript guy (Fleck) whose personal issues drive him into a downward spiral that eventually results in him becoming the Joker. Reactions to the film’s promotional materials have been mixed at best.

THE SCREEN TEST

A couple of days after the image for Phoenix’s Joker was released, a 30-second screen test of Phoenix in full clown make up hit the Internet.

Nothing about the clip seems to belong in a super hero movie. The music in the clip, “Laughing” by The Guess Who, plays as the camera slowly zooms in on Phoenix, and scenes from the movie play over his face.

The music quickly cuts and Phoenix’s ear-to-ear grin drops into a deadpan.

The combination of music and cinematography is indicative not of a superhero movie, but a weird clown movie at an indie film festival. This is much more flushed out than a lot of initial screen tests that are released to the public.

High production value of the video aside, what initially caught my attention was Phoenix’s makeup.

It appears heavily inspired by the clown makeup of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. It fits as creepy clown makeup, but not necessarily makeup reminiscent of the Joker’s legacy as a character.

Since the Joker’s origin narrative is set earlier on in the Batman universe when Bruce Wayne is still a kid, Phoenix’s portrayal is designed to be a rough, formative version of the character. As years go by, and his character develops more, he is likely to transform into a more recognizable version of the Joker we know today.

The movie is still under production and people have only been able to speculate over a few images and video clips, so there is still a lot to this new Joker movie that we don’t know.

I can’t wait to see what this movie has to offer. Legendary actors Robert DeNiro and Frances Conroy have also signed onto the film. Even if some elements end up falling flat, acting talent from Phoenix and his supporting cast will carry this movie.

A DUMPSTER FIRE

When the image of Phoenix as Fleck was first released, a lot of internet-goers and comic book nerds didn’t like the Joker’s new look. Critics have called Phoenix too old and his look too different from other Jokers.

However, the weathered, aged portrayal shows a Joker who has been through a lot. The Joker is a character who is supposed to look like a dumpster fire.

He was born out of someone that society has discarded and swept under the rug.

Then again, the masses have always been skeptical of new portrayals of “The Joker.” When the image of Heath Ledger’s Joker was first shown to a public, it scared people. It took the typical comic book slapstick Joker image as portrayed by Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson and turned it on its head.

Ledger’s portrayal was that of a deranged madman with messy, smeared makeup, scars, greasy hair, and no smile. It was scary and demented — perfectly in-line with Ledger’s performance in “The Dark Knight.”

Then came the first image of Jared Leto’s pimped-out Joker for the movie “Suicide Squad.” It can only be

MADELINE DEABLER/THE SUNFLOWER

From The Sunflower Archives— Monday, Oct. 14, 1991

‘A Star Is Born’ debuts as genuine, gripping

Decades of Silence

Editor’s note: Starting on Oct. 11, 1991, the Senate Judiciary Committee held four days of televised hearings on charges that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed his former aide, Anita Hill. Thomas was later confirmed.

Saturday, the Senate approved Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in spite of the sexual assault claims made against him.

BY SHERRY MCKENNEE

“What’s going to happen to me for doing the right thing?” asked Angela Wright. She is the second person to come forward and say she experienced harassment from Supreme Court nominee Judge Clarence Thomas. Neither Wright nor Anita Hill had sought out publicity from the time of the alleged harassment. What’s going to happen indeed?

Hill has been accused by President Bush and several senators of “coming forward at the 11th hour” to initiate an attack against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. It is bizarre that Bush and Sen. Orrin Hatch insist on pretending that none of us know Hill was dragged into this against her will. In fact, she was repeatedly apologized

JORDAN SHANNON MOVIE CRITIC

The cacophonic stage lives of many successful artists are riddled with underlying personal issues. Drug habits, complicated personal relationships, and more, act as crucibles that artists must either overcome or submit to.

This phenomenon is the focus of Bradly Cooper’s ambitious directorial debut, “A Star Is Born.” The remake of the 1976 film proves Cooper is not

SUNFLOWER ARCHIVES

to by the committee on Friday for the leak that brought about the hearing. The leak refers to the information she gave in response to questioning by the committee that occurred months ago.

Equally outrageous is the continued portrayal of Hill as the lone gunman, as it were, a single and lonely cry of disapproval, as unnatural as a fly in the ointment of Approval Ocean. The “she’s the only detractor so who cares about her?” attitude should have been shut down sharply by the emergence of Wright and others. Thomas’ friends and supporters have said that “he was often a patron of X-rated movie houses while a student at Yale Law School in the early 1970s and that he would sometimes humorously describe the pornographic movies to his friends and colleagues,” according to the New York Times News Service report.

Next in the line up of mindlessness is the notion that it would be impossible for a woman to continue a working relationship for many years with a man who behaved so badly. Right.

SEE ARCHIVES PAGE 6

COURTESY Bradly Cooper and Lady Gaga star in ‘A Star is Born,’ Cooper’s directorial debut.

only a world-class actor but a more than capable director. His leading performance is perfectly complimented by his co-star, contemporary pop music icon Lady Gaga. The two have an irreplaceable chemistry.

Even though both leads play the roles of successful

artists, the catharsis that “A Star Is Born” offers is astonishingly convincing. The movie also presents an impeccable soundtrack of Gaga and Cooper’s joint composition.

SEE STAR PAGE 6

CULTURE

4 | MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

www.thesunflower.com

WEEK PREVIEW Oct. 12

Oct. 9

oct. 11

CERAMICS DEMONSTRATION

BETTER SISTERS, BETTER WOMEN, BETTER FRIENDS LECTURE

Date: Tuesday, Oct. 9 Time: 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Location: Hubbard Hall Cost: Free Are you struggling to mold your life into a beautiful work of art? Start small with a pinch pot at this week’s Ceramic Demonstration! Get your hands on some clay and prepare to learn the not-so-dark art of ceramics. For more information about SAC-sponsored events, please visit wichita.edu/sac or contact sac@wichita.edu.

Date: Thursday, Oct. 11 Time: 7 p.m.

Location: RSC Beggs Ballroom Cost: Free In college, it can be difficult to live intentionally. Tina VanSteenberg, a speaker from For College For Life, is coming to campus on Thursday. Her talk, “Better Sisters, Better Women, Better Friends,” centers on how women can build effective, lasting friendships during their time at university. Though VanSteenberg’s focus is on sorority relationships, her advice is relevant to a universal audience.

CAMPUS SAFTEY WALK

AFRICAN NIGHT

Date: Thursday, Oct. 11 Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: RSC East Patio Cost: Free

Date: Friday, Oct. 12 Time: 8:00 p.m.

Location: RSC Beggs Ballroom Cost: $7 for WSU students, $10 nonstudents

Safety is the foundational building block that allows day-to-day life as a Shocker to flourish. Stretch your legs in service of safety this Thursday at the SGA’s annual Campus Safety Walk. You’ll not only get in touch with your representatives, but also help brainstorm ways to improve safety at key places on campus such as crosswalks and off-path areas.

Sometimes, helping yourself and others really is a walk in the park.

There’s no better opportunity to experience African culture on campus than during “African Night.” Hosted by the African and Caribbean Student Association, this event showcases African food, music, dance, drama, and fashion all under one roof. Be sure to stop by and dive into all the opportunities for fun and nourishment!

INFORMATION COMPILED

BY JOHN DARR

Wichita’s not boring. Students like Joe Hagen are proof.

JOHN DARR

CULTURE EDITOR

Joe Hagen, with his gleeful smile and ambling stride, is one of the most deceptively laid-back guys at Wichita State. I first found out about him at last year’s Final Fest. After watching him perform with his band, After Judo, I found out he had also helped create and run the entire festival.

When I brought this up during our conversation at Fairmount Coffee last Wednesday, Joe is quick to mention the two other WSU students who founded the event. “@xandramattek and @rynecarballo on Instagram,” he quickly adds, smiling to acknowledge the weirdness of dropping usernames in a real-life conversation. That’s just part of who Hagen is — humorous, but also business-cognizant and concerned that his friends get the recognition they deserve.

These attributes shine through Hagen’s approach to his time at WSU. He hit the ground running with a mechanical engineering scholarship and made sure to study French as well to fulfill his dream of being bilingual. By his junior year, he realized how deeply his passion for music ran and made a bold switch into WSU’s new audio production program.

“That was so much weight lifted off of my chest because . . . I’d always put music first anyways,” Hagen said. “Even though I was good at engineering, I would rather just engineer a song rather than engineer a machine. It was a principle of passion.”

Hagen’s passion for music naturally led him towards extracurricular involvement — most visibly in his role as a vocalist and guitarist in After Judo. The band grew organically after Hagen joined some dorm friends at a judo practice one night. Soon, musicians that Hagen met through his dorm, his classes, and the judo program began to practice together, well, after judo.

Soon enough, they were performing in venues around Wichita.

The creation of the band, which pulled members from several different parts of the WSU community, resulted in a unique mix of musical tastes that inform After Judo’s sound.

“We all listen to everything,” Hagen said. “Flavio (Perez) and An (Nguyen) are big jazzheads.

Everyone’s into rock, obviously — that’s why we’re a rock band.

I’ve been listening to rap forever . . . Same with Rob (Mabrey). Ryne (Caballlo)’s got the acoustic singer/ songwriter kind of taste.”

The result is a band that often jumps between and fuses musical genres.

“We have happy acoustic chords with hard drums and some jazz soloing,” Hagan said.

“It’s a mixture of everything.

That’s what alternative is.”

Being in a band is extremely time-consuming and intense for an engaged student. Hagen said there’s a mutual understanding in the band that everyone contributes whatever they can. There’s no yelling at anyone who can’t make it to a practice, for example. Amidst “throwing musical ideas at each other” and working through the “very taxing” process of recording their debut album, Hagen said they keep in mind that “being in a band is a side project that we’re doing for fun.”

“EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOOD AT ENGINEERING, I WOULD RATHER JUST ENGINEER A SONG RATHER THAN ENGINEER A MACHINE.” ­—JOE HAGEN

Even so, After Judo pushes Hagen to think deeply about the business and practical elements of the band. Through the process of making a record, Hagen notes, a band creates a tangible product by which they can spread their brand.

He also cites that all his time behind the audio production console helps him develop professional skills as an audio engineer. He’s learned that the first thing to do in a studio is to make sure that “everything sounds good going in.”

“If you have good raw audio, you can always go back to something that’s good, no matter how hard you screw up later,” Hagen said.

Hagen’s journey into audio production started about six years ago when he set up a small, makeshift studio in his basement. He’d invite people over to record or set up shop wherever he could work.

“If you have the right space that doesn’t have any noise — doesn’t have a washing machine going, for example . . . it doesn’t matter where you are,” Hagen said. “If it’s quiet, you can record there.”

The drive to help musicians turn

COURTESY

Audio engineering major Joe Hagen plays his guitar while sitting on an amp.

their ideas into tangible recordings drove Hagen from the start.

“You can be an artist, you can be a musician, but you can’t live off your live art until you have something tangible to give people.”

Shocker Studios, a state-ofthe-art facility acquired and supplemented by WSU last year, served as a perfect opportunity for Hagen to refine his approach and ultimately pushed him to switch his major to audio engineering.

“I toured it and was like, ‘This is freaking awesome. I’m going to use it all the time,’” Hagen said.

“And I ended up using enough to the point where I wanted to use it all the time as my career.”

On top of using the studio to record After Judo’s new album, Hagen is also using it to engage the community.

From rappers looking to spit over instrumentals to folk artists, Hagen’s looking to put his growing skills towards helping other developing artists. He hasn’t let his lack of experience scare him away from working with others.

“You have to develop a taste over time,” Hagen said. “I’m still developing my taste, obviously — I’m going to school for it. I don’t know everything.”

For all the humility, Hagen undoubtedly has established a strong resume early in his college career.

Perhaps the crown jewel, for now, is setting up the extremely successful Finals Fest last year.

Hagen, Xan Mattek, and Ryne Carballo set up the festival with very clear goals in mind. In a city dominated by age restricted venues, they wanted to create a space where all their college-aged

INTERFEST

PHOTOS BY SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State’s International Student union hosts Interfest Thursday in the courtyard outside the Rhatigan Student Center.

The event featured food from cultures around the world.

Kara Schmidt, a freshman majoring in biology, pictured above, said. “I love (Interfest). I think that one of the best ways to share your culture is by food.” She tried chicken on a stick from the Sigma Psi Zeta tent.

friends could attend. They wanted to make a free concert where fees couldn’t prevent anyone from coming. Most of all, they wanted to bring overlooked artists attention.

“We saw so many good artists who would play for like 20 to 30 different people when they play,” Hagen said.

“It’s nice to showcase local art. It doesn’t happen enough here.”

Hagen said he’s thankful for the opportunities WSU has afforded him.

“What is Wichita State? It’s a diamond in the rough,” Hagen said. “It’s helped me learn to live on my own. That’s the main reason people go to school, I think. It’s the main reason I went — just to step back from how I was raised and pave something for myself. Being away from home helped me pave a path for future me.”

Hagen’s has a twofold vision for WSU — that it continues to grow, but in a way that is student-oriented and values a fuller range of disciplines.

“My vision for WSU is to expand and be more welcoming to people who aren’t in business or engineering,” Hagen said. “It’s good to have a really strong engineering school, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of other programs. If you want to be

a strong university, you need to have many strong programs.”

He’s most preoccupied with the school’s interactions with the private industry.

“I think something holding [Wichita State] back would be the expansion of the Innovation Campus. I’m not against it at all, but I think it’s being utilized in a really odd way that detracts from the education aspect of the campus and makes it more of a business,” Hagen said. “That’s going to probably be the downfall of the education aspect of the university. I don’t know what to do about it, but it’s something that I see happening. I love that there are new spaces and that the university is expanding. I just hope it’s for the right reasons.”

Hagen dismisses naysayers who say WSU has nothing to offer the community.

“People say that there’s nothing to do, but I’ve been finding things to do for two years. Maybe people just aren’t looking,” Hagen said. “You’ve just got to know where to look. You’ve got to find enough people who are like-minded so you can progress with them and develop your own community within the community you’re given.”

OPINION/CULTURE

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MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

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Wichita rapper Marrice Anthony defies hiphop norms, stands in solidarity with abuse survivor on new album “ain’t got time to die”

RYAN CREWS MUSIC CRITIC

The hip-hop community seems to be collectively just as in denial over the “Me Too” movement as the Republican Party.

Many fans boycotted the progressive boy band Brockhampton for kicking out Ameer Vann due to sexual misconduct. Superstars Kanye West and Nicki Minaj continue to co-sign child-predator 6ix9ine in 2018, three years after he spread a video of the sexual exploitation of a 13-year old girl and plead guilty to use of a child in a sexual performance. Tupac Shakur, often labeled the “best rapper of all time,” was a convicted rapist, rap legends Dr. Dre and Nas have known pasts of physical violence against women, and “Rap God” Eminem made a career of making fun of physical, mental, and sexual violence against men and women.

Despite its embodiment of freedom as an art form, much of hip-hop’s history has been speckled with toxic masculinity, and nobody knows what to do about it.

Local rapper Marrice Anthony has tweaked the formula and provided a breath of fresh air with “ain’t got time to die.” He primarily uses his latest album to amplify the voice of an abuse survivor.

In this tumultuous time, Anthony dodges the denial of the broad rap community and addresses sexual misconduct headon by interviewing the survivor in skits. Their discussions of the

COURTESY

survivor’s abuse, which occurred during a 16-year-long relationship of manipulation and physical violence, narrate the album.

In this way, “ain’t got time to die” highlights the cycle of trauma that abuse survivors deal with on a daily basis. Anthony uses her story to set the tone and backdrop for him to spit his introverted raps over. On the lead-single, “Nosebleeds,” Anthony forlornly states, “Still, the feeling of dying, slightly subsided but it’s not spiraling so I’m Gucci.”

Anthony employs vulnerable lyricism that’s strong in heart with no need for stunting. His strengths are highlighted in his introspection.

He spends the album fighting, then addressing his feelings of non-belonging. This mental battle reaches a peak as he imagines his family shopping for the “black tuxedo” that he would be buried in. “ain’t got time to die” functions, then, as a multifaceted exploration of pain and death that showcases Anthony as Wichita’s best MC. Anthony almost entirely self-produced this project. His lo-fi hip-hop beats are highly textured yet powerful enough to blast from arena speakers.

Anchoring the concept album are allusions to recent hip-hop history, including Chance the Rapper’s “10 Day” instrumentals and Kendrick Lamar’s early-career storytelling.

The instrumentals, some of

which were jointly handled by producer Toussaint, are layered and often gorgeous. The lyricism strikes consistently from the heart.

However, the album’s weakest element is its mixing. Even though each instrumental composition is on point, they aren’t mixed with the production one would expect in rap. The drums don’t always hit hard enough, and with headphones, the raps often sound as if Anthony is speaking to the listener from a cellphone rather than a recording booth.

Even if the sound quality is a bit off, the message of the album is loud and clear: We need to listen to the stories of survivors so we can empathize and heal.

In “workinonit,” the survivor states that her abuser gaslit her and used friends in the local police department to stymie her calls for help. In “i wish you well, pt.

1,” she details a suicide attempt followed by a truly haunting audio clip, taken from her Instagram, in which she is being strangled by her attacker. It’s a clip that Anthony states he wishes he could mute but must to be heard. The most powerful line of the album follows: “The point of this is to keep somebody I care about alive / so, ironically, I wouldn’t bat an eye if he died.”

Anthony doesn’t want to be a role model, nor does he want to be a hometown hero. He wants to confront his trauma so he can heal from his depression and suicidal thoughts. He wants to help his friend be heard — contributing to her healing process.

Through “ain’t got time to die,” he does this in the only way he knows how — venting on the mic and delivering intricately crafted stories through rap. He wants to reach out and make the biggest human impact imaginable and attainable. “ain’t got time to die” does so through empathy and love.

Rating: 8.4/10

For use on a light color background, on uncoated materials.

MADELINE DEABLER/THE SUNFLOWER

For use on a dark color background, on uncoated materials.

NO BACKGROUND, on uncoated materials.

<--THERE IS A WHITE ONE

CHILI COOK-OFF ^ pantone 109 u

For use on coated materials.

^ pantone 116

COURTESY

Honors and education major Lauren Rust poses on a hike north of Vaasa, Finland. Rust is studying abroad at Åbo Akademi in Turko, Finland.

Finnish education abroad: A first-hand Shocker account There are Shockers out in the world who are taking their education into their own hands. In this series, we grant them an opportunity to pen personal essays about their experience abroad. Our first essay is courtesy of honors and education major Lauren Rust, who is currently studying at Åbo Akademi in Turko, Finland. The school rests on the west coast of the country, overlooking the gulf of Bothenia.

What Rust enjoys most, she said, is the exchange of contextual education. She elaborated in a short conversation with the Sunflower.

“This has actually improved my language skills,” Rust wrote in an email.

“I am enjoying helping others improve their English and learn new words . . .

From my stay in Finland I hope to gain more insight into the brilliant education system of Finland. I would love to bring aspects of this back to the US and work to improve our educational system.”

BY LAUREN RUST

I came to Finland to search for the secrets of the best education system in the world. I did not think that the answer would be outside the classroom, in the forest. Finland

is 75 percent covered in forest area, making the scenery gorgeous. The focus of communities naturally turns to the wilderness. This is reflects in education through the simplest, but most brilliant, ways imaginable.

From the time students are in first grade, they are required to be in ‘Sloyd’ classes. Sloyd is an educational form that emphasizes connection to nature and practical methods by having students work with wood, textile, and metal. When students are young, they begin with simple textile and woodwork; they progress through their education to more advanced techniques.

When I came to Finland, I knew I had to learn more about this method.

I am currently taking a Sloyd class myself in the university that lays out all of the basics for the method as well as the logic behind it. So far, I have made a wreath out of willow found in the woods, a hand-carved butter knife, a cookie cutter in the shape of Kansas, and gingerbread cookies shaped with the finished cutter. I’ve also embroidered a patch and learned how to loom knit a hat.

SEE FINLAND PAGE 6

Saturday, October 13

11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Experiential Engineering Building $20 Donation | $10 Student Donation Join the fight against hunger in our community! In exchange for your $20 donation ($10 for students), choose a bowl to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. Select your favorite bowl from hundreds of handmade ceramic vessels, fill it to the brim with over 25 varieties of chili donated by local celebrity chefs, and enjoy a fun-filled afternoon. All proceeds will benefit the Kansas Food Bank in honor of Hunger Awareness Month. Follow Empty Bowls on Facebook for more information @EmptyBowlsWichita This year, Dillons will donate ten meals for each bowl sold in celebration of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste. Spirit Aerosystems is the event’s official sponsor.

Ulri

SPORTS

6 | MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

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Taflinger overcomes D-I doubts, reaches new heights at WSU

BY MARSHALL SUNNER

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State outside hitter Megan Taflinger sends the ball back to Memphis during the game in Koch Arena earlier this year.

FINLAND

FROM PAGE 5

All these tasks have challenged me to problem-solve and ask the right questions. They have taught me to learn about culture and customs in a new way, bringing me closer to my classmates. In short, they have done what Sloyd classes are supposed to do.

One of my first Sloyd classes was held in the forest. After doing team-building activities, we stopped by various trees and plants. We were asked questions about them, and then shown how we could use them to teach students in the forest. After hiking for about a mile, we found a place to start a fire and were challenged to find the right materials to do so.

As we all sat around the fire, we shared how our home countries dealt with the relationship between society and nature. We then made the butter knives out of wood pieces by implementing the safety rules we learned the day before.

These days, the forests are not limited to visiting university students. Rather, they are a tradition for students from Finland. In the school I observe through the education program abroad, certain grade levels have days where they share lunch in the forest and talk about life and culture. These students benefit from such trips by not only understanding more

ARCHIVES

FROM PAGE 3 It is a widely known fact that women of all levels of education and background are often subject to the low self-esteem that keeps them in abusive relationships for decades.

Most of us know women who have stayed in physically or emotionally abusive relationships for years.

Millions of Chinese women put up with the 24-hour torturous physical pain of foot binding from childhood until death for a full 5,000 years before foreign intervention stopped it. These things being true, how hard can it be to believe that simple verbal abuse could be tolerated and unreported? Long-term toleration of abuse is a well-documented psychological phenomenon among women and does not in itself discredit Hill’s testimony.

To add insult to injury, Hatch has insisted that the type of person

about nature, but also more about themselves. My instructor told us that being in the forest can be a place for shy students to come out of their shell. On the other hand, it can also challenge students by forcing them to learn how to thrive in different environments.

There is one benefit to the Sloyd program that I think the United States education program often misses. Working with your hands and being able to accomplish something tangible can be what students need to keep them motivated. I have noticed this myself. In Sloyd, we work independently on a task, then ask for help when needed. We have time to work and make mistakes with our hands, giving our minds a rest from constantly reading and writing. When a task is finished, the feeling of holding a product in your hands and knowing that you made something that you can use is just the feeling that many students, including myself, need.

Sloyd has given me many surprising new insights to Finnish culture and the school system.

Soon, I will begin work on my final task for the course — a team woodworking project that will combine all the skills we have learned so far in a collaborative effort. My goal is to bring Sloyd to classrooms in the states and inspire teachers to think about education in this unique, yet simple way.

who would make the remarks Hill alleges would either be “in an insane asylum” or be some type of “psychopath.” Sorry, senator, major news flash. I’ve heard extremely similar remarks to the ones Hill claims to have heard dozens of times over the years, even as recently as last week.

The most odiferous offender I’ve ever worked for is now employed at the Pentagon. (Yes, we told on him.

Nothing happened.) The point is — has Hatch been living under a rock all his life? Sexually harassing remarks are commonly experienced in the workplace. The people who make the remarks are not generally regarded as psychopaths.

Thomas has asked: What has this country when an accuser can come forward and destroy your life? In light of Hill’s decade of silence, perhaps the question should be: What has happened to this country when an accuser feels they cannot come forward?

Megan Taflinger didn’t know if she would play collegiate volleyball, let alone at a Division I school.

Taflinger is from Leona Valley, a small California town outside of Quartz Hill, where she graduated high school. Growing up, she worked on cars, spent time with her family, and played volleyball.

Throughout high school, Taflinger bounced around — playing for five club teams in a matter of four years. She wanted to find the right fit that would get colleges interested in her.

“I just wasn’t getting anywhere,” Taflinger said.

She knew the level of volleyball she was playing at during that particular time wasn’t high enough to get coaches’attention.

“Each year, I would change to try and find a team that was in the higher division, so coaches would come and watch me play,” Taflinger said.

The constant change was difficult. Taflinger was never with the same girls. Building team chemistry was near impossible.

“It was difficult at that time,” Taflinger said. “I was playing with girls that have been playing together for four or five years. I was just

STAR

FROM PAGE 3 Perhaps the most poignant and reoccurring line in the movie is a line sung by Jackson Maine, the aging country star that Cooper portrays. “Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die.” Behind the melancholic veiling of a smooth-rolling melody, the anthem captures Jackson’s struggles to overcome his alcohol and drug addictions.

As something of a Hemingway hero, Maine fights through a life of pain on his own terms. Cooper showcases his incredible acting as he transitions through Maine’s sobriety, inebriation, and artistry.

In the gut-wrenching moments when Maine’s struggles are truly highlighted, the audience is slammed with a wave of emotion and relatability.

constantly being incorporated in every way possible to see if I could play well with them.”

Taflinger was set on playing at a higher level.

“It could get frustrating from time to time, but it was worth it,” Taflinger said.

She wasn’t getting the offers she wanted. She drew offers mainly from Division II liberal arts schools.

With her heart set on engineering, that wasn’t going to work.

During a team camp at UCLA, Taflinger caught the eye of UCLA Assistant Coach Tony Ker. Ker, a close friend of WSU Assistant Coach Sean Carter, promptly called Carter, telling him about a girl he might like for his program.

Taflinger quickly committed to WSU. After redshirting her freshman season, Taflinger has found success on a depleted WSU team. She recorded her first career double-double in a five-set victory over Tulane. She topped career highs in both kills (24) and digs (17) in five sets against Tulsa.

“Every day that goes by, Megan is a six-rotation player,” WSU Head Coach Chris Lamb said.

“You’re just grooming a future star at Wichita State, and those are hard to come by.”

It would be a disservice to simply state that Lady Gaga plays her character, Ally, flawlessly.

In her own battle with defining her self-image and artistry, Gaga infuses Ally with the authentic pain and fighting spirit that she has embodied throughout her own musical career.

Bold, charismatically foulmouthed, and incomparably talented, the real life of Gaga overlaps with the fictional life of Ally, providing audiences with a singularly authentic performance.

When the movie was being filmed, Gaga insisted that all of the musical performances be performed live. Cooper’s acceptance of the challenge pays off. Although it’s insanely hard for live recordings to sound as well as lip-synced performances, it’s nearly impossible to tell that both actors were singing live.

Setting aside the soundtrack

WSU senior Kali Eaken praised Taflinger for her abilities in the front line.

“She makes my job easier,” Eaken said. “She’s not afraid to take a rip at it.”

Taflinger continues to set new personal records, week by week.

Her weekly improvements are boosting her confidence levels through the roof.

“Every time I play better than I did, it just brings more confidence in the fact that I belong out on the court,” Taflinger said.

“There’s always that thought in the back on my head asking me if I’m good enough to play. Every time I get better, it reassures me that I should be out there.”

Off of the court, Taflinger, who graduated from high school with a 4.7 GPA, shines in the classroom.

She’s a double major in biomedical and mechanical engineering.

“My dad is a mechanical engineer, and I grew up helping him work on cars and engines and I loved doing it,” Taflinger said. “I really want to do well in school, and I want to do well in volleyball.

She said work ethic is key in both engineering and volleyball.

“It’s all about working hard and getting the job done.”

and the acting, the direction and dialogue of the film are equally masterful in their presentation.

Each conversation offers brutal realism. Even though this is Cooper’s directorial debut, the cinematography of the film is stellar as well.

This is admirable in its own right — even more so considering the fact that a large portion of the movie takes place on stage, a notoriously difficult place to manage lighting in regards to film.

The dialogue, though poetic and plot-driven at times, is genuine in its management of curse words in both writing and delivery.

In its cathartic acting, realist dialogue, immaculate soundtrack, and poetic angle on music, “A Star Is Born” offers a remake unlike its predecessors. It showcases the talent of its cast while amplifying an emotional experience that audiences will never forget.

SCULPTURE GLOW Wednesday, October 10 7:30 P.M. | McKnight West Atrium

An after-hours exploration of the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection as the glow of the evening light shifts from sunset to darkness.

Flashlights and glow sticks fill the path of selected artwork—by some of the world’s most celebrated artists—for an adventurous evening engaging with the most beloved sculptures on campus. Hot apple cider and donuts cap off the evening.

SPORTS

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MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

|7

family feud

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie calls to his teammates on the court during the Black and Yellow Scrimmage at Koch Arena on Saturday.

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JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

1. Wichita State’s Teddy Allen goes up for a basket during the Black and Yellow Scrimmage at Koch Arena on Saturday. 2.

WSU freshman Chance Moore drives toward the basket. 3. WSU freshman Jada Peacock looks to pass. 4. WSU’s Alyssia Faye dribbles.

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SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

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4

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

Shocker men, women on display at intersquad scrimmage

BY MARSHALL SUNNER

T

his year’s Shocker men’s and women’s basketball teams are marked by their inexperience.

The men’s team has two seniors and just four scholarship players returning from last season.

The women’s team has 10 freshmen.

The two teams are among the youngest in the country.

The public got a first glimpse of the young classes Saturday at the Black and Yellow Scrimmage, when the Shocker men and women took turns intersquad scrimmaging.

WOMEN

Senior Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage led the women’s black squad in scoring with seven points. She shot three for four from the field and stepped out behind the arc to knock down a three-pointer. Maya Brewer, a 5-11 junior guard, scored seven

points in the paint on five shot attempts.

“We still need to get our chemistry going,” Brewer said.

Head Coach Keitha Adams, who is in her second season at WSU, said there’s still “a lot of work to do.”

“We are a work in progress,” Adams said. “There’s definitely pieces to the puzzle.”

MEN

Questions have been floated all summer and into fall regarding Gregg Marshall’s young team. Saturday, some were answered, but more were raised.

The biggest standout was West Virginia transfer Teddy Allen.

Allen proved his worth on the court, scoring 12 points and snagging a teamhigh seven rebounds. His presence on the court was dominant. Allen could be a defining piece of this team, but the question remains whether or not he will see action again this season.

WSU announced this summer their intent to file a hardship waiver for Allen, which, if approved, would allow him to play immediately. If the waiver is not passed, Allen will have to sit out one season per NCAA rules. As of Saturday, there was no new information on the hardship waiver.

Other newbies stood out as well.

Chance Moore showed off his skill from behind the arc, hitting three consecutive three-pointers. He led all scorers with 13 points.

“He was very good offensively, but very bad defensively,” Marshall said.

“When you look at a box score as a fan, you see this person scored X amount of points, but it doesn’t show how many points they gave up.”

Senior Samajae Haynes-Jones got shots to fall from deep at the start of the second half. Haynes-Jones and Moore brought the yellow team back into the game in the second period

after trailing the black team 12-5 at the break.

Haynes-Jones finished the night with eight points, three assists, and a steal.

Dexter Dennis, a freshman, showed both freak athleticism and an impressive basketball IQ — scoring eight points on six attempts.

Markis McDuffie, WSU’s only player with multiple years of NCAA D-I experience, scored two points from the free throw line. He missed all six shot attempts.

Marshall said he “forced” parts of his game.

Freshman Jamarius Burton scored a game-winning floater with two seconds left in the scrimmage. He banked the shot in after driving into the paint on the game’s final possession.

“It was an amazing play,” McDuffie said. “He made a huge play in a tough situation.”

SOFTBALL SCORING FRENZY: SHOCKERS DOMINATE SEMINOLE STATE 21-1

EVAN PFLUGRADT/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State defeated Seminole State 21-1 in the final home game of their fall schedule. Left, WSU infielder Lauren Mills celebrates a play. Middle, WSU pitcher Caitlin Bingham delivers a pitch. Above, a Seminole State player swings at a pitch.

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OCTOBER EVENTS <--THERE IS A WHITE ONE

Tallgrass Film Festival

Spotlight On Iranian Cinema October 17–21

Celebrate the humanism, artistry, and courage of Iranian filmmakers with the Ulrich Museum sponsored Spotlight on Iranian Cinema during the 2018 Tallgrass Film Festival. For more information visit tallgrassfilm.org No Date, No Signature Director: Vahid Jalilvand Narrative | Iran | 2017 | 1 hr 44 min FRI OCT. 19 1:30PM | ORPHEUM SAT OCT. 20 2:00PM | RUFFIN

Pig Director: Mani Haghighi Narrative | Iran | 2018 | 1 hr 47 min FRI OCT. 19 7:00PM | ROXY’S SAT OCT. 20 4:45PM | RUFFIN

Taxi Tehran Director: Jafar Panahi Documentary | Iran | 2015 | 1 hr 22 min SAT OCT. 20 11:30AM | RUFFIN

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Burnt Generation: Azadeh Akhlaghi and Gohar Dashti Tuesday, October 23 5:30 P.M. Reception | Ulrich Museum 6 P.M. Program | CAC Theater

The profound social and political upheaval of the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy provides the context for the photographic storytelling of the artists in Burnt Generation. Exhibition artists Azadeh Akhlaghi and Gohar Dashti will discuss the personal, political, and social themes in their work with Dr. Jessica Gerschultz, Assistant Professor, The Kress Foundation Department of Art History, African/African American Studies, University of Kansas and Dr. Razi Ahmad, Center for Global and International Studies, University of Kansas.

Funding for this program is provided by Humanities Kansas, a nonprofit cultural organization that connects communities with history, traditions, and ideas to strengthen civic life.

B.A. Shapiro: The Collector’s Apprentice Reading and Book Signing Wednesday, October 24, 2018 5:30 P.M. Reception | 6 P.M. Program

New York Times bestselling author B.A. Shapiro has made the historical art thriller her own with such novels as The Muralist and The Art Forger. Now, with The Collector’s Apprentice—her third, boldest, and unrivaled book—Shapiro takes readers to Paris in the 1920s and the ever-fascinating world of Gertrude Stein’s salon. The result, like all of Shapiro’s much-loved work, is a seamless blend of art history and fictional narrative. Shapiro has taught sociology at Tufts University and creative writing at Northeastern University.

Presented in partnership with Watermark Books & Café.

Writing Now/Reading Now: Whitney Terrell

Thursday, October 25 5:30 P.M. Reception | 6 P.M. Fiction Reading

Whitney Terrell’s 2016 Iraq-set novel The Good Lieutenant is “exhilarating” says Jayne Anne Phillips and belongs among “the ranks of great war novels.” His 2001 The Huntsman opens with a corpse found in the Missouri River and deepens from a standard mystery to explore racism over generations. The 2005 King Of Kings County describes wheelerdealers in Kansas City splitting the land to perpetuate a vicious Jim Crow world. The novelist teaches writing at UMKC. Writing Now/Reading Now is co-sponsored by the WSU Department of English, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Watermark Books & Café, and the Ulrich Museum of Art.

Sharing | Learning | Action

A Celebration of Horizontes Monday, October 29 | 5 P.M. Advanced Learning Library | 711 W 2nd Street N.

Please join us for an evening celebrating creative expression, cultural legacies, and neighborhood pride. Connecting two underrepresented neighborhoods in north Wichita, the Horizontes project prioritized the needs and vision of neighborhood residents through door-to-door engagement, large and small scale murals, and active preservation of cultural history. Join artists, community members, elected officials, and stakeholders for an interactive forum on the impact of this artist-driven project and learn more about priorities and needs of the residents of the Northend neighborhoods. The library’s A/V Studio will be available starting at 5:00 pm for participants to record their own personal stories of cooperation, resilience and liberation. What’s in your horizon?

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MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

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CHANGEUP SPORTS

10 | MONDAY, OCT. 8, 2018

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LEFT: THE SUNFLOWER FILE PHOTO RIGHT: SELENE FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Left: Mike Pelfrey pitches during a game in 2005. Pelfrey was an All-American for Wichita State. Right: Newman University Pitching Coach Mike Pelfrey instructs pitchers during a skills practice. Pelfrey directs a rotation of 24 pitchers.

Veteran major leaguer Mike Pelfrey hits the books

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

Mike Pelfrey can’t get the moment out of his head.

Chris Young, an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, walked up to the plate at Fenway Park. Pelfrey stood on the mound and watched as Young loomed over the plate, waiting for Pelfrey to throw one inside.

Pelfrey, a left-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, had a history of tormenting right-handed hitters with his sinking fastball.

Young begged for it inside, and Pelfrey delivered.

Young sent the first pitch over the Green Monster in left-field for a solo home run. Pelfrey was numb.

“Never in my career had anybody done that to me,” Pelfrey said.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the White Sox intentionally walked Andrew Benintendi to get another shot at Young. Again, Young wanted it inside. Pelfrey delivered a mid-90s sinking fastball inside, and on the first pitch, Young blasted a second home run over the Green Monster.

“That night, I went back to my hotel room and cried,” Pelfrey said.

“That was the turning point when I said, ‘I need to go, I need to get out.’

“I knew that this was it.”

Young went 3-3 in five innings against Pelfrey that night, tacking on a double.

“THAT NIGHT, I WENT BACK TO MY HOTEL ROOM AND CRIED. THAT WAS THE TURNING POINT WHEN I SAID,’I NEED TO GO, I NEED TO GET OUT.’”

­— MIKE PELFREY

“I have an expectation of how good I need to be,” Pelfrey said.

“I’m a competitor. I have a certain threshold I want to hit, and if I’m always falling short, I’m miserable.”

At 33, Pelfrey retired from Major League Baseball.

Pelfrey, a 12-year veteran of the MLB, is now a senior at Wichita State. He’s finishing up the bachelor’s degree in sport management that he started more than a decade ago.

“I’m the oldest kid in my classes,” he said.

He wants to finish his degree so he can focus on his second career, coaching Division I college baseball.

Most programs require their coaches to have a degree.

“I wanted to make sure if that was ever an obstacle, I’d have it taken care of,” Pelfrey said.

THE MAJORS

Major League Baseball started

in 1869. In the history of the MLB, 1,200 players have stayed in the league 10 or more years. Mike Pelfrey is one of them.

“I was given a gift and I tried to make the most of it,” Pelfrey said.

“I was blessed to be able to do it as long as I did.”

In 2009 with the New York Mets, Pelfrey emerged as one of the premiere pitchers in the league.

He had mastered the split finger change-up that off-season, and his game jumped to the next level. He had 10 wins and two losses a week before the All-Star break. His ERA was around a 2.7 at the time. In his mind, he was a lock for the All-Star game.

Pelfrey was short-changed of a spot in the All-Star lineup. The MLB gave Tim Lincecum, the reigning Cy Young recipient, the starting spot in the All-Star game.

Young had just six wins in 11 starts at that point, and a worse ERA than Pelfrey.

“It pissed me off,” Pelfrey said. “I understand the politics of it.

“Do you want to watch Mike Pelfrey or do you want to watch Tim Lincecum? You want to watch Tim Lincecum.”

“I told myself there’d be another opportunity,” Pelfrey said. “Well, there wasn’t.”

Lincecum won the Cy Young again that season. Pelfrey, meanwhile, experienced what he calls the “worst five-start stretch in the history of baseball” to start the second half of the season. He “had more baserunners than outs” and he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in any of the five starts.

“Boy, was it ugly,” Pelfrey said.

“Nothing was working.”

The Mets considered sending him down to the minors. Pelfrey rebounded the following season with a career-best 15 wins and nine losses, one save, and a 3.66 ERA. TOMMY JOHN

Injuries weren’t a part of Pelfrey’s baseball history. In high school and college, nothing kept him out of the bullpen.

In the 2012 season, Pelfrey felt some “tightness” in his forearm.

The trainers told him it was likely tendonitis, but a cautionary MRI revealed he had torn a ligament and would require Tommy John surgery.

He worried he’d never return to the major leagues.

“I had never had baseball taken away from me before,” Pelfrey said.

He didn’t travel with the Mets for much of that season, and for two months, he watched every game from his couch at home.

“I had dealt with adversity, but

7. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

guys [Justin Upton (No. 1), Ryan Zimmerman (No. 4), and Troy Tulowitzki (No. 7)] have like 100 of them.”

The draft class was stacked with position players, including Ryan Braun and Andrew McCutchen.

“Looking back, later in my career, I wanted to play in Kansas City,” Pelfrey said. “I called a couple of times and they said they were interested but I’d have to wait a little longer.”

The Royals called last year and invited Pelfrey to training camp. He declined the invitation.

“Mentally and physically, I was done,” Pelfrey said. “Any other year, I would’ve loved to go.”

8. Wade Townsend, Toronto Rays

NO OTHER CHOICE

2005 MLB DRAFT 1. Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks 2. Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals 3. Jeffrey Clement, Seattle Mariners 4. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals 5. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers 6. Ricardo Romero, Toronto Bluejays

9. Mike Pelfrey, New York Mets 10. Cameron Maybin, Detroit Tigers

nothing like that,” Pelfrey said.

Nine-and-a-half months later, Pelfrey returned to pitching. Eleven months after his surgery, he was pitching in Spring Training games.

“They tell you if you’re in the big leagues and you return to the big leagues, you’re a success,” Pelfrey said. “I don’t necessarily agree with the statistics.”

His fastball, Pelfrey said, was never the same.

DRAFT NIGHT

Mike Pelfrey was taken the ninth pick by the New York Mets in the 2005 MLB Draft.

Draft night wasn’t anything like it is now. Back then, there weren’t the same restrictions and salary caps on given draft slots. Teams could offer salaries to their first round picks, and negotiations dominated some of the top spots.

Pelfrey entered the draft as arguably the best pitcher in college baseball.

The Kansas City Royals, with the second pick in the draft, called Pelfrey and his agent. They had $4 million to offer — short of the $5.5 million Pelfrey’s agent knew his client was worth, and declined the offer. The Royals drafted outfielder Alex Gordon with the pick instead.

The Seattle Mariners called with the third pick and $3.2 million to offer. Still not enough. It wasn’t until the ninth pick when the Mets phoned in the right offer at $5.5 million.

“I was the third pitcher taken in that draft,” Pelfrey said. “I don’t know that any of us has All-Star appearances, but the three other

Mike Pelfrey used to go to Wichita State baseball games as a child.

Baseball was king under the direction of Gene Stephenson, the second winningest coach in NCAA baseball history. Games would sell out almost every night.

“This place was larger than life,” Pelfrey said. “Coming here as a kid, I remember thinking these guys were like eight feet tall.”

In high school, Pelfrey would rush out of Wichita Heights practices to go watch the Shockers.

“I always wanted to be here,” he said.

When the decision came for Pelfrey to consider college, there was no other choice.

“I was the easiest recruit Wichita State has ever had,” he said.

The first day of the early signing period that year, Pelfrey walked into the office of WSU pitching coach Brent Kemnitz and said, “this is the only place I want to be.”

Pelfrey signed a letter of intent in Stephenson’s office hours later.

Pelfrey was drafted out of high school. Kemnitz worried he’d never see the 18-year-old set foot on the campus.

“We weren’t sure he would go to college,” Kemnitz said. “He was projected to be a big-time draft pick and sign out of high school.”

Pelfrey slid too late in the draft.

“I remember telling him in my office when he slid in the draft, I said ‘this is a blessing in disguise,’” Kemnitz said. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to you because you’re going to grow up mentally and you’re going to grow up physically.”

Kemnitz remembers Pelfrey rolling his eyes. Pelfrey said to himself, “I don’t want to go to college.”

Kemnitz assured him that three years from then, he’d be the best player in college baseball and his

stock would rise greatly in the draft.

“Brent (Kemnitz) always tells me that it’s a blessing in disguise that I came here, and I agree,” Pelfrey said. “This might be the best decision I ever made.”

SECOND CAREER

Mike Pelfrey needed to walk away from baseball. Games are on TV now and he doesn’t watch them.

But his love for baseball hasn’t died.

Pelfrey is the assistant pitching coach at Newman University, a Division-II school in Wichita.

“This is what I know, this is what I love,” Pelfrey said.

Pelfrey believes he stayed in the majors for 12 years because he was a “clubhouse guy.” He’d mentor newcomers as they worked their way through the system into the majors.

In Minnesota, a young pitcher was late to practice. Rick Anderson, the pitching coach, motioned to Pelfrey, “you got him.”

“HE’S SUCH A DOWN-TOEARTH, PERSONABLE GUY WHO GENUINELY CARES FOR PEOPLE.”

­— BRENT KEMNITZ, FORMER WSU PITCHING COACH

“You don’t want me to take care of it, you take care of it,” Anderson said. “This is your problem.”

Kemnitz, who coached college baseball for 38 years, said Pelfrey is destined for coaching.

“He’s such a down-to-earth, personable guy who genuinely cares for people,” Kemnitz said. “It’s so refreshing to be around him.”

Outside of Newman, Pelfrey coaches his 9-year-old son’s baseball team.

“It’s fun for me because he loves it,” Pelfrey said.

Just like dad at 9 years old, he says, “Dad, I’m going to play in the big leagues.”

“Sure, man,” Pelfrey replies.

“I was the same way as a kid,” Pelfrey said. Pelfrey will often remind his son of the few opportunities there are to play in the major leagues, but it’s hard for his son to understand when dad played on TV in stadiums filled with 40,000 people.

“I’m not helping him understand that,” Pelfrey said.

Pelfrey’s career in the MLB didn’t end how he envisioned. His physical decline after Tommy John surgery came quicker than he expected. He never got into the All-Star game, but at the end of the day, he said, his accomplishments are far greater than he could have imagined.