MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018 • VOL. 122, ISS. 33
THESUNFLOWER.COM
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.
Strange men ask women to get in cars
WSU leads country in industry-funded research
BY JENNA FARHAT
University police have released a description of a man who tried to get a female student to get in his car last week on campus. Two female students were approached on campus by strange men who asked them to get inside their cars last week in separate incidents. Around noon Monday, a female student said she was approached by an “AfricanAmerican” man who appeared to be 19 or 20 years old, in a black, four-door car who asked her to get inside his car. She was approached in parking lot 19 East, which surrounds Eck Stadium, on the north side of campus. Tuesday afternoon, another female student was approached by two men as she crossed 17th Street just south of campus. She said they pulled over in a silver, four-door car and said, “You doin’ all right? You should come with us. Do you have a boyfriend? You should come with us.” She identified the two men as black males and said they “pulled around a couple times and kept asking the same questions.” She said the driver had a “scruffy beard” and the passenger wore eyeglasses. Both incidents were reported to Wichita State police.
BY CHANCE SWAIM
BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER
A fire hydrant shoots water as firefighters respond to a call at Henrion Hall on Friday morning. A student was injured when a tablesaw caused a fire, but the extent and nature of the student’s injuries have not been disclosed.
Saw catches fire, student injured BY JENNA FARHAT
A
student was injured in a fire that broke out in Henrion Hall Friday morning. A table saw caused the fire, which then spread to some sawdust nearby, Wichita Fire Battalion Chief Brad Boyd said. Boyd said the injured student was taken to a clinic on campus. A Sedgwick County ambulance was called “to check on her,” Boyd said.
The nature of the student’s injuries have not been disclosed. Members of the Wichita Fire Department put out the fire and were clearing smoke out of the building by 11 a.m. Half a dozen fire trucks were on the scene of the fire. Firefighters on the scene said the fire was contained to the area of the table where the saw was located and did not cause any structural damage to Henrion Hall.
Henrion Hall is used by the School of Art and Design as a studio space for ceramics, sculpture, and painting. Henrion Hall was built in 1921, and is one of the oldest buildings on campus. According to a Kansas Board of Regents report from January of last year on building conditions at state institutions, Henrion Hall was rated 58 out of 100, which is the worst condition of any academic building at Wichita State.
Wichita State has been ranked the top university in the country for industry-funded aeronautical engineering research and development, according to new rankings released by the National Science Foundation. The rankings were based on a survey from the 2015-2016 school year, when Wichita State reported $31 million in industry funded aerospace research and development. Wichita State ranked No. 4 in the nation in total aerospace R&D funding at $43 million. Tracee Friess, a spokesperson for NIAR, said the largest aerospace industry clients that year were General Atomics, B/E Aerospace, Beechcraft (Textron Aviation), Learjet and Boeing. Last year, the top industry clients were General Atomics, Gulfstream, Embraer, Northrup Grumman and Boeing. Friess said it’s important to know that the funding for R&D is not the same as donations. “I want to make it clear that these companies aren’t donating money,” Friess said. “They are contracting with the university for research, certification testing and/or training. Unfortunately, due to contract specifications (outlined by the client/s), we can’t provide details on how much was spent by each company or specifics on the work conducted.”
Newman cancels ‘Queer Kansas History’ art exhibit, Harvester Arts steps up to host BY MARISSA CAMPBELL
BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER
Newman University alumnus Clint Stucky poses with the “Evil & Sick” badges he made at the “Rainbow in Reverse: Queer Kansas History” exhibit at Harvester Art. “Evil” and “sickness” were some of the words used by a local Catholic writer in an appeal against the exhibit, focusing on LGBTQ history in Kansas, being shown at Newman University.
Newman University was set to hold the art exhibition “Rainbow in Reverse: Queer Kansas History” by Genevieve Waller in the Steckline Gallery Friday. But following backlash and protest from “conservative Catholics who thought the show would be evil and sick,” the university decided to cancel the exhibition, said Mary Werner, director of Newman’s art department. “The word ‘queer’ in the title is what scared them,” Werner said. “They had seen no images . . . and now they look pretty narrow-minded.” Since the university cancelled the show about a week before
Final Friday, Werner was quick to act. She reached out to Harvester Arts to see if they would host the show instead. “When Mary [Werner] called, it was pretty lucky that we didn’t have a show already,” said Kate Van Steenhuyse, founder of Harvester Arts. “This space is about hosting critical conversation and this exhibition does just that.” Werner said the department presented an argument to the university to try and keep the show, but were turned down. “This is very academic work,” Werner said. “There’s nothing here that should frighten anyone. I told my kids in class the other day, you can’t catch gay from a drinking fountain, a toilet, a
swimming pool — you can’t catch gay. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” After earning her undergraduate degree in art history from Wichita State and a master’s degree in photography and art history from Ohio University, Waller began creating art that combined her art history knowledge into her work. Waller said “Rainbow in Reverse: Queer Kansas History” was created because she felt like there were many important LGBTQ+ people from Kansas that people didn’t know enough about. Even the namesake of the exhibition “Rainbow in Reverse” comes from native Kansan Gilbert Baker SEE NEWMAN PAGE 3
Kobach takes down government ethics database ODI’s Phenomenal Women Awards open for nominations BY CHANCE SWAIM
Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach vowed to fight the “culture of corruption” in Kansas. Then he took down one of the most important tools in the state related to government ethics. In a Nov. 27 guest letter to the Kansas City Star, Kobach vowed to fight the “culture of corruption in Kansas’ capitol.” His letter followed a forceful investigative series by the Star exposing the uniquely secretive government in Kansas, where public records are hard to obtain. Thursday, Kobach’s office took down one of the most important, publicly available databases on the outside business interests of state government officials — including Wichita State
employees — because the website Gizmodo reported on the fact that the database has made the last four digits of thousands of Kansas state workers’ Social Security numbers available to the public for more than a decade. The move came three days after Kobach defended the release of partial Social Security numbers for nearly 1,000 Kansas voters as part of his search for fraudulent voters to the state of Florida. The database gave the public access to statements of substantial interests for elected officials and other state personnel. The forms give an overview of the financial interests of state employees and reveal potential conflicts of interest, which is one of the things Kobach said he would like to remove from state
politics in his letter to the Star. “Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach does not believe that the last four digits of a person’s social security numbers should be part of this publicly available information,” Kobach’s spokesperson Samantha Poetter said in a statement to the Star. “The statements are still available for someone to request in person pursuant to Kansas statute,” Poetter said. “Secretary Kobach takes security measures very seriously and is looking for a solution that would allow this sensitive information to be redacted, while still following the rule of law. (Statements of substantial interest) are an important tool in ensuring government transparency and any solution should reflect this fact.”
BY CHANCE SWAIM
If you know a phenomenal woman at Wichita State, you can help them gain recognition for their accomplishments and contributions to Wichita State and society. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion has opened the nomination for the “Phenomenal Women” awards, which are open to students, employees, faculty and staff of Wichita State. Last year’s winners were Christine Schneikart-Luebbe, Misha Nazir, Risa Rehmert, and Johnnie Thompson. To see requirements and nominate somone, visit wichita.edu/ phenomenal by Feb. 9.
SCHNEIKARTLUEBBE
REHMERT
NAZIR
THOMPSON
INSIDE
COACHING FOR A CAUSE
700 WINS AT KOCH
Wesley is ranked among the best.
Learn why Coach Marshall rocks a green tie.
The Shockers men’s basketball team picked up win No. 700 Wednesday.
CULTURE • PAGE 3
SPORTS • PAGE 4
SPORTS • PAGE 4
MIDSEASON REPORT CARD
NURSES RECOGNIZED
The Sunflower’s Sports and Opinion grade the men’s basketball team.
OPINION • PAGE 2