FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 • VOL. 122, ISS. 40
THESUNFLOWER.COM
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.
LET’S TALK ABOUT STUDENT FEES ... What do student fees pay for?
Dear Reader, If you’re a fee-paying student at Wichita State University, you’re paying for The Sunflower through your student fees. To be specific, The Sunflower is a fixed line item on the annual student fees budget a committee votes on each year. Our newspaper, which is 100-percent editorially independent, needs your support now more than ever. We’re asking for a restoration of our funding to $158,00 today, after our budget was cut by a third two years ago. As you can see from the chart on the right, the other fixed line items on the budget have not been equitably cut compared to The Sunflower. Right now, the average student pays less than $7 a year for a subscription to Wichita State’s news source, both in print and online. Your $7 a year provides paid, applied learning opportunities for 40 students a year. It empowers The Sunflower to remain a powerful platform for students and to serve as a watchdog of the university. As you can see from the information to the right, The Sunflower is not getting the same support as other campus resources. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support all year long. If you have any questions about The Sunflower, or how it is funded, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at editor@thesunflower.com.
Tuition and fees at Wichita State have more than tripled in the last 20 years — not including course- and program-specific fees for engineering, health professions, or fine arts students. A freshman taking two 15-credit-hour semesters in 1998 paid $2,475 in tuition and fees for the year. This year, a freshman taking the same course-load will pay $8,093 for the year. Last summer, the board of regents approved a 2.5-percent tuition increase and a 2.45-percent fees increase for students taking 15 credit hours, which included an increase for joining the American Athletic Conference and a new fee that provided each student a YMCA membership and could help fund a wellness center on Innovation Campus. But those aren’t the only mandatory fees students pay to Wichita State. The most important student fee at Wichita State is the student services fee, which provides support to students in their academic lives and beyond.
WSU gets: $3.5 to $5 million The health and wellness fee was added to mandatory student fees this year. An undergraduate student taking 15 credit hours a semester paid $190 this year for a membership to the YMCA and to help fund 15,000-squarefeet of a potential Health and Wellness Center on Innovation Campus, which will cost students $3.5 to $5 million. The rest of the building will be funded $10 million from the YMCA and $5 million from WSU’s board of trustees.
ATHLETICS
You pay: $340 WSU gets: $4.2 million The fee increase for athletics is estimated to generate $4.2 million this year ($1.8 million more than last year) “to support the transition from the Missouri Valley Conference to the American Athletic Conference.” WSU President John Bardo said at the Kansas Board of Regents meeting in June that it could be 5 years before the university sees a “positive financial impact” from switching conferences, and that the new conference would help the “brand” of the university and build a connection to Wichita State.
Last year: $2,907,047.78 This year: $3,687,999.27 (summer pending)
Chance Swaim Editor in Chief
Expected student services revenue next year: $9.5 million
Muzzy seeks funding for Pando Sarah Muzzy, Interim Executive Director of the Child Development Center, attended an Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) hearing Wednesday on behalf of various cooperative education opportunities. One of those opportunities is through Pando Initiative, a non-profit organization dating back to 1990 that pairs college students -- specifically those seeking a career in Education -- with at-risk youth in Wichita area schools through paid internships. An EOF-funded account was created to allow students from the Wichita State college of Liberal Arts & Sciences to participate in the cooperative education opportunity with Pando. Muzzy said that the account had been around before she was hired at Wichita State in 2008. “It’s been a long-standing
You pay: $190
Last year: $0 This year: $2,047,201.26 (summer pending)
Sincerely,
BY DANIEL CAUDILL
HEALTH AND WELLNESS (YMCA MEMBERSHIP)
program,” Muzzy said. “I imagine that it was started to give more opportunities to students that otherwise MUZZY wouldn’t have some of those opportunities, plus you’re pairing up with a non-profit that’s helping the city and the region in an area of need.” EOF generally provides money for Wichita State students who, without the funds, may not be financially capable to seek opportunities such as internships and graduate programs. For the last two fiscal years, EOF allocated $16,509 to the Pando Initiative fund, which was previously divided between four students. “This past semester, there were six students enrolled with our
office that were working with Pando in individual schools,” Muzzy said. “Four of them were paid from this EOF fund, the other two were paid directly by Pando Initiative.” Muzzy said that Pando’s primary donor is United Way, another non-profit; however, USD 259 provides approximately $50-75,000 to the program each year. For the 2019 fiscal year, the CDC anticipates only three Pando fund recipients, and is requesting $14,563. Student Body President Paige Hungate and Senator Shelby Rowell, members of the EOF Budget Committee, asked Muzzy if specific colleges at Wichita State -- like the College of Education -- provided any funds to the Pando program. “Has anyone ever reached out to Dean Matson to see if that would SEE MUZZY PAGE 4
“You pay” based on 15 credit hour/semester undergraduates taking classes in fall and spring. “WSU gets” based on Kansas Board of Regents 2018 Tuition and Fees proposal. “This year” based on actual fees collected as of Feb. 21, 2018.
Student Government requests crosswalk signs BY RAY STRUNK
The Wichita State Student Government Association is requesting “adequate and visible signage” for pedestrian crosswalks across campus. The student senate passed the resolution Wednesday with the goal of increasing pedestrian safety and driver awareness. Senator Shelby Rowell, who authored the resolution, said she was inspired by a Jan. 31 letter to the editor in The Sunflower from faculty member Kerry Jones, a lecturer in the English department. In the letter, Jones pointed out what she called a “terrible lack of visuals” on crosswalks that she said led to her getting a ticket for failing to yield at a crosswalk. “Let both pedestrians and motorists know the score and be accountable,” Jones said in the letter to the editor. “Because after this morning, if I
even get tapped in a crosswalk and no sign is posted, the bodily injury suit is coming to Wichita State.” Rowell said she admired that Jones “felt empowered to make her voice known.” “I want to respect that and have SGA do what we can to make sure everyone is safe,” Rowell said. The resolution did not specify the signage requested, how much it would cost, or who would be paying for it. Rowell said she expects the campus police department to make those decisions. The student senate sent the request to WSU President John Bardo, Vice President of Finance Werner Golling, Director of the Physical Plant Bob Smith, Director of Facilities Planning Emily Patterson, and the campus police department. The resolution passed, with Senator Walter Wright casting the only vote against it.
Bank of America across from Koch Arena, Wichita State campus robbed BY EVAN PFLUGRADT
The Bank of America at the Southwestern corner of 21st St. and Hillside — across from Charles Koch Arena — was robbed late Wednesday morning, the Wichita Police Department announced. An alert was issued through the Wichita State rave alert system at 12:26 p.m. According to reports, the suspect indicated he had a weapon, but did not show it to bank employees
before they handed over an undisclosed amount of money. The bank is located next door SUSPECT to the north substation of the Wichita Police department. Police units arrived on the scene with a search dog, and searched
northbound on Hillside for the suspected robber. Police believe the suspect escaped on foot heading Northbound on Hillside. Wichita PD released a picture of the suspect on Twitter. Wichita PD is asking anyone with information to call their Crime Stoppers unit at 316-267-2111. At 2 p.m., Wichita State issued an all clear notice to through the WSU alert system.
MATT CROW / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita police search for the Bank of America robbery suspect near Fairmount Towers Wednesday. The bloodhound led officers north on Hillside before doubling back to the bank.
INSIDE
PANTHER POWER
OLD NEWS TALKS ALBUM
SHOCKERS GO DEEP
The athletic director’s decision could wipe out a treasured tradition.
Black Panther breaks down boundaries.
Music critic John Darr sits down with Old News to talk about EP.
Landry Shamet was sick. See who stepped up.
NEWS • PAGE 2
CULTURE • PAGE 3
CULTURE • PAGE 3
SPORTS • PAGE 4
CAMPERS UNHAPPY