The Sunflower v.122 i.44

THURSDAY, MRACH 7, 2018 • VOL. 122, ISS. 44

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WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center comes to WSU

‘PINNACLE OF COWARDICE’

BY ROBERT HITE

Mosaic Griffin thinks more Wichita State students would use the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center’s services if it had an office closer to campus than its downtown location.

“Downtown can be intimidating to a person,” said Griffin, a junior double-majoring in sociology and political science. “Not everyone wants to be seen as a victim.”

That changed when WASAC Campus Outreach Advocate Alexis Crowther began working in Room 301 in Lindquist Hall.

“I’m an advocate for survivors,” she said.

Crowther said she offers crisis counseling and refers survivors to counselors for therapy and other needed resources. Her office hours are 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays.

She has an undergraduate degree in criminology from the University of Kansas and a masters degree in criminal justice from WSU. WSU Title IX Coordinator Natasha Stephens said she began working toward having an advocate on campus more than a year ago.

She began her coordinator duties two years ago.

“It’s a collaboration between WASAC and WSU to support survivors of sexual violence and sexual assault,” she said. “It’s a need. It’s providing a service for the campus community.”

Stephens said the confidential services are for everyone – students, faculty and staff.

“We won’t deter,” she said. “I want to make sure we provide as many resources as possible.”

Stephens said available transportation and its expense and the time to travel to downtown Wichita can be a deterrent to some survivors getting help. A WASAC staff member on campus eliminates obstacles anyone might have to access the services they need.

She said easily, readily obtainable resources do more than help someone who has been assaulted.

“We’re trying to be proactive — that’s one of the goals,” Stephens said. “The more information we can provide, the better.”

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center website indicates that one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college and more than 90 percent of sexual assault survivors on college campuses do not report the assault.

The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence’s website says sexual violence is mostly a crime of power and control.

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

Senators and SGA cabinet prepare to hear statements from prospective election committee members during the February 7, 2018 meeting.

SGA cabinet criticizes Bardo’s call to open fees meeting

T

BY JENNA FARHAT

wo days after Wichita State President John Bardo called for the Student Fees Committee to reconvene and hold its deliberations in public, executive members of student government sent an email to Bardo calling his decision “the pinnacle of cowardice.”

“It was a choice solely made to get good press coverage,” the email read. “It has uprooted the entire process and has delegitimized it all.”

The email was signed by Student Body President Paige Hungate, Student Body Vice President Breck Towner, Treasurer Marshall Johnson, Chief of Operations Kylen Lawless, and Student Advocate Rheanna Pierce. Hungate, Towner,

your decision,” the email read.

Hungate said she met with Bardo at 2:15 p.m. that day, hours before Bardo sent his statement to Hall, and the email criticized Bardo for not informing Hungate of the decision at that time.

“We spent hours on end preparing for this, in hearings and in the office.” the email read. “How shameful now that all of that is for naught.”

Last Wednesday, Bardo called for the Student Fees Committee to reconvene “so that the campus and the community know we are committed to the First Amendment and the freedom of speech required in a first-class university.”

Hungate said in a Facebook message that Bardo’s decision made it seem as if the students had “malicious intent” and were the ones behind the decision to close the meeting. Hungate said the decision was made “after they gave us legal advice on KOMA

Johnson, and Lawless are on the Student Fees Committee.

Bardo made the call for an open meeting following controversy when Wichita Eagle and Sunflower reporters were barred from entering the room where student fees deliberations were being discussed.

Bardo’s statement was emailed to Vice President of Student Affairs Teri Hall an hour before the Student Fees Committee’s recommendations were set to undergo a first reading at the student senate.

Hall read the statement aloud at the beginning of the senate’s meeting last Wednesday.

“We had quizzes and exams that we did not study enough for due to student fees but this did not cross your mind as you instructed us less than an hour before our meeting of

(Kansas Open Meetings Act) and its requirements.”

The day of the closed-door deliberations, Hall said the decision was a student government decision, but she was the person who initially told reporters the meeting was closed and is the chair of the committee.

“It seemed as though President Bardo’s decision was solely made to appease those who were frustrated at the closed deliberations,” Hungate said.

“It was simply based on the negative attention that the closed meetings brought about.”

Hungate said she and her student government cabinet were not angry with Bardo, and that the email wouldn’t “hinder our ability to work together.”

Hungate ran for student body president on a platform based on repairing the relationship between student government and university SEE BARDO EMAIL PAGE 5

WSU staff member hit by car on campus

BY JENNA FARHAT

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

The crosswalk where a staff member was hit by a car near Wilner Auditorium.

A Wichita State staff member received injuries after being hit by a car at a crosswalk this morning.

The staff member was hit while using the crosswalk on Perimeter Road near Wilner Auditorium.

The staff member possibly received a head injury, but was

conscious and talking at the scene, said WSU Police Chief Robert Hinshaw.

Hinshaw said there were no “immediately visible signs of injury.”

The staff member was taken to a hospital.

The accident was called to university police around 9 a.m.

Innovation Campus development moving forward out of the public eye

BY CHANCE SWAIM

A Kansas senator and the Wichita Eagle editorial board have called for increased accountability for decisions made on Innovation Campus this week. E-mails obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act show the concern has been shared by university officials since as early as August and that the YMCA project is moving forward outside of the typical competitive bidding process.

Many projects on Innovation Campus have been leased to the closely-held nonprofit Wichita State Innovation Alliance and then sub-leased to third parties without a public discussion, vote, or a competitive bidding process normally required for state-owned property.

Senator Lynn Rogers (D-Wichita) told the Wichita Eagle Sunday that the way projects are managed on Innovation Campus seem like a “work-around” to bypass public discussion and accountability.

In June, Student Body President Paige Hungate used that exact phrase to describe how the YMCA lease arrangement on Innovation Campus was explained to her by John Tomblin, vice president of technology transfer and point person for development on Innovation Campus.

“I was talking to Tomblin this afternoon and he explained the whole leasing situation,” Hungate said in a June 23 email to former Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Wellness Maureen Dasey-Morales. “We

would ‘lease’ the building for like $1 for 50 years in order to work around the state law that says one building cannot be dually owned on state property.”

Dasey-Morales responded favorably to Hungate’s information, saying it sounded “reasonable and more secure.”

“It’s a similar deal to what we are doing with the downtown boathouse then,” Dasey-Morales said.

Asked if Tomblin used the phrase “work around state law” Hungate said Wednesday that she didn’t remember the “exact verbiage” used by Tomblin.

“It would be hard for anyone to recall exact words that anyone stated, but from what I remember, he did not say we were ‘working around the law’ by doing this. It was a poor choice of words on my

part, but I figured that was the only way to explain it. This is not so much a workaround, but instead, it is addressing the law in a way that is very common,” Hungate said.

“In order to allow this partnership to work, the University is leasing the space at a very minimal expense,” Hungate said Wednesday. “This is normal on government property and should not be looked at as if the University is doing something wrong in this instance.”

Not everyone is convinced.

Wichita State administrators have defended Innovation Campus development repeatedly, and the Wichita Eagle called for increased accountability for building projects on the campus.

At the end of July, Tomblin sent a lengthy email to the President

and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, Blake Flanders, defending the bidding process for Innovation Campus after a series of articles in The Sunflower and Wichita Eagle following Wichita State’s decision to move students from university-owned Fairmount Towers to The Flats, a private apartment complex on Innovation Campus, after fewer than one in five beds were filled.

The Flats is owned in-part by the chairman of the board of regents, David Murfin.

Wichita State announced the move before getting the required state approval in mid-July. At the end of the month, Tomblin wrote Flanders, responding to “press articles and anonymous comments” about the bid process and contract awarding on Innovation Campus.

SEE INNOVATION PAGE 5

INSIDE

RED SPARROW NOSEDIVES

SHOCKERS MAKE DEBUT

SEE THE BRACKET

Wichita State’s acapella group put on a show.

This movie flops.

WSU men’s basketball will make their American tournament debut.

Catch a glimpse of the AAC tournament.

CULTURE • PAGE 3

CULTURE • PAGE 3

SPORTS • PAGE 5

SPORTS • PAGE 5

ACAPELLA FOR SHOW

OPINION

2 | THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2018

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THE STAFF EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Chance Swaim Managing Editor Jenna Farhat Culture Editor Marissa Campbell Sports Editor Matt Crow Opinion Editor Evan Pflugradt Projects Editor Ray Strunk Creative Director Madeline Deabler Photo Editor Brian Hayes Digital Editor Nicole Byrne

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ADVISING

DO WHAT IS RIGHT, NOT WHAT IS EASY Following the Student Fees Committee’s closed deliberations meeting, the Student Body President offered a new motivation for 2018, publishing the quote “Do what is right, not what is easy,” to her Twitter the following week.

Now, under President John Bardo’s request to have the committee reconvene in public for a re-do, will Hungate and the committee do what is easy, or do what is right?

Behind closed doors for the deliberations were Hungate alongside five SGA representatives; Vice President for Student Affairs Teri Hall, who is the chair of the committee, her Associated Vice President, Aaron Austin, and Werner Golding, Vice President for Finance and Administration. That’s a lot of Student Affairs and SGA representation — and it’s that group that’s in charge of deciding how over $9 million in student fees are spent.

When the door closed,

EVAN PFLUGRADT OPINION EDITOR

deliberations were made on The Sunflower, SGA, and Student Affairs.

The result of those deliberations ended in a recommendation to cut The Sunflower’s funding to one-third of the requested amount, a $118,811 increase to Student Affairs, and a $39,600 increase to SGA — not counting the $62,500 that was previously earmarked for the Collegiate Readership Program that SGA cut in January.

The easy decision would be to

fulfill the requests for SGA and Student Affairs. The right decision would be to evenly distribute the budget — which, if the recommendation passes, will increase by 1 percent — to student organizations.

How can the Student Fees Committee ensure no conflicts of interest when the president, vice president, treasurer, chief of operations, and two student senators for SGA, deliberate on funding for their own organization? The same applies for funding for Student Affairs, which has the VP as the chair of the committee.

In its current structure — fueled with absurd conflicts of interest — the Student Fees Committee cannot openly deliberate without challenges, frustrations, and desires to opt for the easy decisions. Please, committee, consider Hungate’s motivation when you reconvene to deliberate publically, and challenge each other to do what is right, not what is easy.

Faculty Adviser Amy DeVault

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The Sunflower — both in print and online — will be a timely resource of information about the Wichita State University community. It will report on news, issues, activities, academics and athletics, in addition to offering a forum for discussion, reviews and commentary. It will also be an effective learnig experience for students, who will have the final authority over what is published.

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The Sunflower (published for use by WSU students, faculty and staff) is private property and unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable. One copy may be taken for free. Additional copies must be purchased for $1 each. The Sunflower is also partially funded by the Student Government Association at WSU. The opinions expressed in The Sunflower editorials, columns, guest columns, reviews, advertisements, letters and editorial cartoons are not necessarily those of the staff, publications board, student body or university. The Sunflower reserves the right to edit or reject any submission. We also reserve the right to edit or reject any advertisement.

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Did someone say marriage?

WELL BEHAVED WOMEN RARELY MAKE HISTORY In Honor of Mary M. Harren

Sometimes, I wish I were a dog

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you seem to have 10,000 exams and papers due?

On top of that, you’re probably working, while also trying to navigate the single life so you don’t die alone aside from your horde of cats and guinea pigs? I had one of those weeks recently, and I looked at my dog, Flip, and I wished I was her. Aside from the full-time job of loving me unconditionally, Flip sleeps all day, and she does so happily. She goes on one brisk walk, eats two meals, but aside from that, she’s in total relaxation mode all day. Flip is not losing sleep over bills. She’s unaware of grades, or why having a college degree is important. She doesn’t have thumbs, so she doesn’t lose

her mind when someone doesn’t text her back. She’s not envious or shallow. She doesn’t even care that her breath smells like a dumpster on fire. She simply exists. She knows she’ll be loved at the end of the day. She knows she’ll be fed and cared for, and she looks forward to seeing the ones she loves. Flip lives in the “now.” She is completely present in every moment. She is not preoccupied with past mistakes or nostalgic nor is she stressing about the unclear future. She simply is as she is.

Now, I’m not saying that living the existence of a dog is feasible or even necessarily desirable— thumbs really are the best--but there’s beauty in an existence that is organic and uncomplicated. Dogs

AGNES CORRIGAN COLUMNIST

milk joy out of the most unremarkable situations. They are overflowing with excitement when you pull out a bone shaped treat that smells like cardboard. They run to the door to greet you with such zeal, after you’ve only been gone for 10 minutes. Dogs love unconditionally,

but they also live unconditionally.

They accept the now, whatever that may be, and they find joy in the monotony of the everyday.

I think the next time I feel stressed about school, dating, my murky future—I’m going to channel Flip. I’m going to live in each moment, and I’ll look for excitement and joy in the most ordinary of places. If I feel like sleeping, I’ll sleep. If I feel like eating, I’ll eat. I’ll treasure the ones I love, and make sure they know they’re loved, and I think in doing so, I’ll gradually destress. I will, however, scratch my itches with five fingers, drink water from a glass, and be happy that I don’t feel the need to roll in the remains of a dead animal.

The Sunflower provides an independent platform for students During a meeting about The Sunflower’s coverage with Chance Swaim, Matthew Kelly, and Ray Strunk, WSU General Counsel David Moses said that the student newspaper chooses only those stories that make the university look bad.

“Have you ever written a story about the effort Wichita State is making to reach out to the community, to be a part of the community, and to not maintain the status quo?” Moses asked. “No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.”

These claims struck a nerve with me for a couple reasons.

First, The Sunflower, as an independent student newspaper, holds no obligation to report information based on its reflection of the university — whether good or bad.

A significant part of The Sunflower’s job is to provide members of the Wichita State campus community with access to information, especially that which won’t be included in the university’s strategic communication

DANIEL CAUDILL COLUMNIST

platforms — like Shocker Blast.

When this information is open to the public, it enables a dialogue about important issues that may not be covered anywhere else – issues that campus community members at WSU have a right to discuss.

In the process, some of the stories published may not align with the reputation that the WSU administration aims to create. That is merely a result of the work, and not a premeditated goal.

The Society of Professional Journalists, a nationwide organization that represents and educates journalists, says in its Code of

Ethics that journalists should “act independently” and “be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.”

The priority of The Sunflower must not be the way in which its coverage reflects the university.

Such could compromise the integrity of the organization.

Secondly, I feel that Moses’ broad statements fail to acknowledge one of The Sunflower’s most vital roles — giving students a voice.

Since I began working at The Sunflower, I have seen a broad range of coverage over student life at Wichita State.

Both online and in-print, all four of the newspaper’s sections – News, Sports, Opinion, and Culture – provide a platform for students as well as the many programs and events they orchestrate.

Culture covers concerts, theatrical performances, art exhibits, and more. Profiles and photo galleries in this section work to paint the experience these student-led events provide.

Opinion, with topics ranging from beer and movie reviews to campus policies and sports, displays the thoughts of Sunflower contributors and letters to the editor from various members of WSU’s campus community.

News covers crime and incidents, Student Government, new projects on campus, and more.

Sports, of course, provides coverage for Wichita State games, but it also provides an in-depth look into the lives of student athletes and the world of sports.

The students contributing to The Sunflower come from backgrounds as diverse as the topics they cover, and each of them work hard to ensure other hard work at WSU is represented and acknowledged.

So to Moses and others who feel The Sunflower conspires to paint the university in a “bad” light, I ask of you: read the entire paper thoroughly. You may find something you like.

Letter to the Editor FROM

Kelsey Ryan Recent developments regarding a proposed 50 percent funding cut for Wichita State’s Sunflower are troubling.

But they’re far from surprising.

This scenario replays across the nation when student journalists do a good job — coverage of campus beyond the latest sorority fundraiser, basketball game or feature piece.

It’s what happens when student journalists examine the money, the relationships, and the policies in practice at a public university that is supposed to promote a marketplace of ideas.

And this is not the first time it’s happened at a university in Kansas.

The similarities are uncanny to what’s hapRYAN pening at Wichita State and what occurred at Emporia State from 2009 to 2011, while I was editor of the student newspaper there.

Here’s the general script: Student journalists write critical coverage of an administration and student government. Student government threatens funding in apparent retaliation for coverage. The untenured newspaper adviser is threatened for not censoring student coverage.

Student journalists raise hell.

But one major difference is the university president at Emporia

State at the time — who resigned under pressure following coverage by the student newspaper — did not have business dealings with the chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents. As head of the Wichita State Innovation Alliance, WSU President John Bardo does, as The Sunflower has pointed out in its recent articles.

And if things take a turn for the tyrannical, where else will the student newspaper be able to redress its grievances, if not the Kansas Board of Regents?

Journalists are not perfect.

And student journalists are still students. But the student journalists at The Sunflower have shown enormous courage to speak truth to power. They are doing what we should all most want, and indeed what we all most need, in a free press.

For the record, the student government at Emporia State ultimately made the right decision to keep and eventually increase funding for student publications on campus.

But if Wichita State’s student government does not do the right thing on Friday, then the duty falls to Bardo to reject their proposal to cut funding.

Will they make the right choice?

Will he make the right choice? Or is free speech and a free press dead at Wichita State?

—Kelsey Ryan is an investigative reporter at The Kansas City Star and a board member of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government. She’s a former reporter at The Wichita Eagle and was editor of her student newspaper, The Bulletin, at Emporia State University from 2009-2011.

CULTURE

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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2018

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SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

The Wichita State acapella group warms up in the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

Acapella choir performs at KMEA for first time in 16 years

I

BY AGNES CORRIGAN

t’s been 16 years since the Acapella choir performed at the KMEA Friday Night Concert, but last week, that streak was broken.

To be selected for the showcase, choir director Thomas Wine sent in a tape of last year’s choir, and based on their performance, the Acapella choir was selected. The Acapella choir started rehearsing in August for the distinguished honor of performing at this showcase.

Hannah Chegwidden, vice president of the choir, has been a member of the Acapella choir since 2015.

“Being in a group of highly motivated musicians who are all there to make music is my favorite part,” Chegwidden said.

Chegwidden said that’s what being in

the choir is all about. Students coming together to create music and having a close-knit bond is imperative for the Acapella choir.

“The most difficult part was at the KMEA concert when we sang one of our pieces unconducted,” Chegwidden said.

“It presented us the challenge of making sure we listened to one another to keep a steady tempo. We had to rely on one another to execute a good performance.”

To go unconducted, and to rely solely on the strength of your partners would not be possible without familiarity and trust among the group. Chegwidden said learning to harmonize with someone can be difficult to maintain without matching the part of the voice next to you.

“Usually we sing within our own sections so the people surrounding you are

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Members of Wichita State’s acapella group rehearse in the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

in your same voice part,” Chegwidden said. “We also do sectional rehearsals so each section is able to learn their parts individually to make sure we don’t have any issues with our pieces. It is also important that we hear other voice parts so that all of parts blend together as a

‘Red Sparrow’ clips its wings

choir.”

Through their hard-work, determination, and their close trusting relationships, the Acapella choir creates music that is truly extraordinary. Their inner joy and passion for making music becomes a joy that we all can share.

Dance Theater hosts spring recital

BY MATT MADDEN

MATT GARNER MOVIE CRITIC

Red Sparrow is a film about a Russian ballerina turned covert spy after a terrible accident forces her into a Russian spy school. She’s trained in the dark art of sexual seduction and espionage. She’s taught to give up her body to the state. She learns to kill. Then, she’s released into the field to do Russia’s bidding — a piece on the global chessboard of the Cold War. It’s a good premise for a movie, right? Attach a world-famous star (Jennifer Lawrence) and surround her with some great character actors (Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons) and it would seem you have a recipe for success, or, at the very least, a good time in the theater.

But, “Red Sparrow” is neither of those things. It is, by all accounts, a boring and hollow film. Artfully shot and competently crafted (strange editing aside), “Red Sparrow” is the equivalent of fake fruit — it looks like it should be good, but biting into it only reveals plastic.

This dullness arises from a lack of developed and significant narrative motivation in Jennifer Lawrence’s character, the ballerina Dominika. Her relationship with her mother is what drives her to joining this clandestine program, but the mother’s character and their subsequent relationship is so thinly developed and unrealized that it seems almost like a placeholder for the audience’s empathy.

Furthermore, the importance of this relationship isn’t really communicated to the audience.

Dominika is given two choices after her accident: death or exile. She justifies her actions through her relationship with her mother, but the film never really

COURTESY

Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika, a Russian ballerina turned covert spy in Red Sparrow.

establishes this other than through clunky scenes of exposition with the mother. I honestly forgot she was in the film for the longest time.

This lack of development extends to the supporting players too. Joel Edgerton’s character, an American field agent tasked with trying to turn Dominika, is both featureless and a faint copy of other supporting characters from films in this genre. The same can be said for Jeremy Irons, though he does bring a certain gravity to his role as a high-ranking general in the Russian army. However, uniformly, they are all bland.

This is a long film, one with lengthy stretches of statecraft punctuated by staccato-like bursts of hyper-violence. Jennifer Lawrence is subject to torture and cruelty, and the repeated acts of carnage portrayed on screen are shocking at first, but then subside to a dulled and numbing throb.

Gratuitous scenes of bloody violence are present, and there isn’t real justification for it outside of showing the audience the gravity of the matter at hand.

Granted, there are opportunities in film where violence plays a necessary part, but the narrative here seems to almost relish in it,

as if it was a substitute for good storytelling. Violence should be an extension of character, not a placeholder for it. But all of this is for naught if the story itself isn’t engrossing and worth following.

The labyrinthian plot is needlessly complex and relies too much on a reveal at the end that feels shallow and unearned. Characters are picked up and dropped with a moment’s notice. It all adds up to something that is incomprehensibly dull.

There’s a lot of talent in front of the camera here, and Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton do solid work in balancing the two shifting leads of this feature. Yet, the film is so full of potential energy that the diffusion of that energy at the end of the picture only leads to disappointment.

Backed by Lawrence’s frequent directorial partner in Francis Lawrence (who directed her in “The Hunger Games” trilogy), “Red Sparrow’s” pedigree outpaces its final product. While Francis Lawrence (the director) pushes Jennifer Lawrence (the actress) into a new and authoritative element with this role, one can’t help but think it was all for shock value and not for storytelling.

The Wichita State Contemporary Dance Theatre will be performing their Spring concert this weekend.

Cheyla Chandler, assistant director, said the concert will feature mostly Wichita State students joined by guest performers Makayla Williams and Deiondre Teagle, both of whom are members are the WSU community.

Chandler said performing in the concert is an important part of the dance program at Wichita State.

“Students that are dance majors are required to audition for the resident company, it’s a really important component of their training,” she said.

One performer, Nadia AlKhalidi, said that the concert features dance works of the contemporary style, which she describes as being an innovative dance style that derives from various classical styles.

“It’s innovative movement wise, and even innovative in sets and costume,” Al-Khalidi said. “It’s all primarily barefoot, and the stories are more relatable to average

humans than, for example, the story of ‘The Nutcracker.”

Chandler reiterated this theme of more relatable, human stories, saying that one of the concert’s performances tells the story of a person’s morning routine.

Chandler said the concert has no connecting theme, and will instead simply feature a variety of contemporary works from various performers and choreographers.

“The show is a repertory-style concert that consists of different pieces with different meanings that range from about anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes in length,” Al-Khalidi said.

The show will feature six works in total and will be about 60 to 90 minutes long including a 15 minute intermission. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. on March 9 and 10 in Miller Concert Hall.

Tickets are free with a student ID and can be acquired at the box office in the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

“This show has everything a movie has like humor, romance, action, and adventure because the story is always up to the viewer or audience,” performer Hunter Jones said.

Before his regime came to WSU, John Bardo was at Western Carolina University. From that area’s paper, the Smoky Mountain News: “Belcher [Bardo’s replacement] was a breath of fresh air for faculty compared to his predecessor.... Faculty often felt disenfranchised and under-valued

by Bardo, especially in the final years of his tenure.” This, and more, was available during the search that brought him to WSU: QUESTION: was he hired despite or because of this penchant?

Jane Mayer’s Dark Money is a brilliant and prestigiously valorized study of Koch family bought-up influence.

QUESTION: What does it mean when the president of a public university creates a beachhead on his campus for forces that have unashamedly claimed they want to dismantle (and in the meanwhile control) public education?

FINAL QUESTION: How many WSU faculty are pleased to be lackeys, yes-men and -women jockeying to advance in that kind of climate?

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Wichita State to make American Tournament debut on Friday

N

BY ALIYAH FUNSCHELLE

o. 11 Wichita State makes their debut in the Aaron’s American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship this weekend.

After dropping the No. 1 seed and a share of the regular-season title by one point, The Shockers go into the tournament as the No. 2 seed, sharing the regular-season second place spot with No. 21 Houston.

In their inaugural season, Wichita State was able to make a splash on The American’s leaderboards.

In their first year in the conference, the Shockers are on track to set American records for scoring offense (83.1), rebounding offense (40.7) and assists per game (18.8).

They head into the tournament also leading in rebound margin (+9.8), field goal percentage (.480), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), defensive rebound percentage (.771) and three-pointers per game (9.2).

Head Coach Gregg Marshall said that the team has not yet hit their peak, but he wants to keep their motivation up regardless of the fact they’re not fighting for a bid to the Big Dance.

“Knowing that you’re in, it’s just a matter of trying to get your team to play at their peak this time of year, regardless

MATT CROW/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State center Shaquille Morris points to a member of the athletic staff Sunday against Cincinnati.

of what tournament,” Marshall said. “It’s one and done from here on out.”

The Shockers will play the winner of No. 7 seed Temple/No. 10 seed Tulane in the quarterfinal game.

With a Temple being the 7 seed, Marshall thinks that just shows the depth and talent of the teams that The American has.

“They can beat anybody in the country. They finished seventh in our league.

It’s amazing,” Marshall said. “It speaks to the depth of the league.”

Wichita State and Temple split the regular-season series, with each team

winning on their home courts. The Owls lost four of their last five regular-season games finishing 16-14 and 8-10 in The American. Per NCAA RPI calculations, Temple has played one of the nation’s 10 toughest schedules, ranking in at No. 52.

Tulane and Wichita State played once during the regular-season. Sophomore guard Landry Shamet was out due to illness allowing Marshall to showcase the depth of his bench.

Senior center Shaquille Morris matched his career-high with 25 points and senior guard Conner Frankamp scored a season-best of 18 points with

four assists.

Tulane’s Melvin Frazier led The Green Wave with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Wichita State is heading into the conference tournament weekend with a 12.3 scoring margin averaging 83.1 points per game along with a 9.8 rebounding margin averaging 40.7 rebounds per game.

If The Shockers can secure the quarterfinal win, they will grab their ninth-straight 25-win season--one of the four-longest streaks in the nation.

Wichita State plays on Friday at 6 p.m.

CT and will be broadcasted on ESPNU.

2018 aaron’s american conference men’s basketball championship march 8-11 amway center orlando, fla.

FIRST ROUND THURSDAY, MARCH 8

QUARTERFINALS FRIDAY, MARCH 9

SEMIFINALS SATURDAY, MARCH 10

CHAMPIONSHIPS SUNDAY, MARCH 11

(1) CINCINNATI GAME 5 11 a.m. espn2

(8) UCONN GAME 1 11 a.m. espnu

GAME 9 noon cbs

(9) SMU (4) TULSA GAME 6 1 p.m. espn2

(5) MEMPHIS GAME 2 1 p.m. espnu

GAME 11 2:30 P.m. cbs

(12) USF (2) WICHITA STATE GAME 7 6 p.m. espnu

(7) TEMPLE GAME 3 6 p.m. espnu

GAME 10 2:30 P.m. cbs

(10) TULANE (3) HOUSTON (6) UCF GAME 4 8 p.m. espnu

GAME 8 8 p.m. espnu

(11) ECU

INNOVATION

FROM PAGE 1

“I thought it might be useful for you to have the factual documents that were followed, regardless of the fake news that seems to grab the most attention,” Tomblin wrote.

Tomblin cited the Experiential Engineering Building, Innovation Campus Utility and Infrastructure projects, and the parking garage, which were all awarded based on competitive bidding.

“Media articles would make one believe that bidding was not conducted and the MWCB constructed the entire innovation campus,” Tomblin wrote.

But a large number of projects on Innovation Campus have been completed by Murfin’s development companies, MWCB and BGC LLC, and awarded outside of

the competitive bidding process.

Projects by his companies include Starbucks, Braeburn Square, Airbus, The Flats, and Partnership Buildings 1 and 2.

Elizabeth King, president of the WSU Foundation, in a reply to Tomblin’s e-mail to Flanders, explained someone had told her they “hoped the process for building the ‘Y’ was ‘open’ because if it isn’t, a lot of people will be upset.”

“I was stating the importance of competitively bidding the YMCA which, as you know, will be built on the Innovation Campus. I was provided a list of all recently-bid or completed major campus construction projects, along with the names of the contractors and their prices. I was very satisfied with the information provided,” King said Wednesday.

In August, Eric King, associate vice president of facilities, wrote

Tomblin, passing along information from Greater Wichita YMCA Board Chair Jim Korroch, who had met with local real estate developer Steve Clark and talked about a “storm detention issue” that would “be an issue taking this to the YMCA Board for approval.”

In October, Tomblin scheduled dinner with three-fourths of MWCB (Nestor Weigand, Steve Barrett, Ivan Crossland) and two top YMCA officials, Korroch and President of the Greater Wichita YMCA Ronn McMahon. Also scheduled to meet for that dinner were Sam Sackett, senior manager of governmental relations and corporate communications at Spirit Aerosystems; Mark Nichols, vice president of governmental and public affairs for Koch Industries Public Sector; and Dave Jones, director of engineering and flight operations at Bombardier Flight

Test Center.

Tomblin did not respond to The Sunflower’s questions about this dinner or development of the YMCA on Innovation Campus.

“I’m having more and more questions about how business is done there,” Sen. Rogers told the Eagle. “And it has caused a lot of conversation in the hallways between legislators that aren’t necessarily from Wichita.”

On his Facebook page, Sen. Rogers explained his comments to the Wichita Eagle.

“The Innovation Campus holds promise, but it should not be expanded to the detriment of the students (as the decision to close Fairmont Towers student housing, or passing the cost of building a YMCA on campus directly to the students) nor should expansion decisions be secret. We must have a public discussion.”

BARDO EMAIL FROM PAGE 1

administration and often criticized the prior SGA session for “trashing” the administration.

Director of News and Media Relations Joe Kleinsasser said Bardo and Hungate agreed to discuss the email at their next meeting. Hungate said she will meet with Bardo next week.

The email made it clear that the message was directed specifically at Bardo.

“This is not directed to members of the President’s Executive Team who have continually shown their interest in supporting the [student government] association,” the email read. The letter from the cabinet also said it was not the opinion of the associations advisers or staff members.

6 | THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2018

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