The Sunflower v. 122 i. 49

MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2018 • VOL. 122, ISS. 49

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

SGA voting opens today 13,205 total Students

2,601 students voted

1,517

students voted for hungate/towner

Each person represents 100 students.

Source: 2017 Election Commission

4.17% Unopposed SGA ticket hopes to combat apathy next year

BY DANIEL CAUDILL

F

or the first time in 13 years, a single ticket is running unopposed for student government elections.

Liberal Arts and Science Senators Kenon Brinkley and Shelby Rowell lead “Revival,” the unopposed ticket for upcoming student elections.

Brinkley, a Junior Strategic Communication Major, serves as Revival’s Student Body President candidate. His running mate Rowell, is a sophomore studying Political Science with a field major in French, Economics, and Communications.

“Our name, Revival, stems from the lack of passion and sense of apathy that we’ve seen during our tenure as senators this year,” Rowell said.

students who feel sga definitely represent their interests

11.17% students who feel sga definitely does not represent their interests

SOURCE: SGA SURVEY, FALL 2017

COURTESY PHOTO

Kenon Brinkley, left, and Shelby Rowell, right, are running unopposed for SGA president and vice president. Voting runs for Monday to Wednesday.

That apathy can be seen in past year’s elections. Last year, less than 20 percent of the student body voted in SGA elections. The year before that, 12.6 percent voted. This year, there’s only one ticket running for the first time since 2005.

As an SGA Senator, Rowell has served on several committees, including those that deliberate over Student Fees and the Educational Opportunity Fund. Brinkley SEE ELECTION PAGE 6

vote

at polling stations on campus or through Orgsync. polls open until 5 p.m. wednesday.

MADELINE DEABLER AND CHANCE SWAIM/THE SUNFOWER

Wichita State expects to pay regent’s company more than $2.5 million next year to lease The Flats

BY CHANCE SWAIM

Wichita State expects to pay the chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents’ company more than $2.5 million next year to lease The Flats, according to a lease agreement approved by the board of regents and projected occupancy levels provided by the university.

The Flats is a university-run, privately-owned apartment complex on Innovation Campus.

It was built by MWCB, LLC, a real estate development company owned by four prominent local businessmen: David Murfin, the chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents; Nestor Weigand, of JP Weigand and Sons; Ivan Crossland, of Crossland Construction; and Steve Barrett, of JP Weigand and Sons. The lease agreement was signed between Wichita State and The Flats of Kansas, LLC — a company a spokesperson from the board of regents said has the same ownership arrangement as MWCB — in December.

The lease agreement will begin June 1, the day the current lease agreement ends. That agreement was signed after Wichita State announced it was moving “about 300 students who had reserved space” in university-owned Fairmount Towers to The Flats on Innovation Campus, which had less than one in five beds filled the month before move-in day, before receiving the required state approval. Forty-eight students had signed up to live in the 280 available beds at The Flats at that time.

Wichita State’s Director of Governmental Relations and Wichita State Innovation Alliance board member Andy Schlapp said in July that filling the apartments with Wichita State Students would take developers “willing to take a loss to solve this problem.”

“They’re going to lose their ass in this deal. But they think it’s the right thing,” Schlapp said of Murfin’s company in July.

This year, Wichita State will pay a base rent of more than $1 million

to Murfin’s company to operate the Flats, according to the lease agreement signed in late July.

Next year, the university has agreed to almost double the amount it pays to lease The Flats.

Wichita State will pay Murfin’s company $7,000 a room for 281 rooms at the Flats, according to the lease agreement approved by the board of regents, making the base rent $1.96 million. Base rent will increase by 2 percent each year of the agreement, according to Kansas Board of Regents documents.

Wichita State will also pay Murfin’s company 70 percent of gross rental revenue above the base rent. If The Flats reaches expected occupancy, gross rental revenue will be $769,000 above base rent.

That means the university will pay an additional $538,300 to Murfin’s company, on top of the base rent.

If occupancy levels go as projected, the university will make $230,700 from students’ rent payments to run the facility.

The Kansas Board of Regents

MATT CROW/THE SUNFLOWER

A single-occupancy apartment in The Flats this year is $5,900 for the academic year. A double-occupancy room is $4,380. Next year, a one-bedroom will cost $9,000 and a two bedroom will cost $8,300, not including a mandatory meal plan.

also approved Phase 2 of The Flats, a lower-priced addition that will be built and attached to The Flats, set to open in the fall of 2019. In his March newsletter, Wichita State President John Bardo said The Flats has “been more successful than we hoped or imagined.”

“Because of this success,” Bardo said, “we (Wichita State) sought and received approval from KBOR for a second phase of Innovation Campus housing. The developers have received feedback from staff and students for lower-cost,

space-efficient housing units.”

But it appears a second phase was in the works before The Flats opened. June 23 of last year, almost a month before Wichita State announced it would be closing Fairmount Towers and moving students to The Flats, Schlapp forwarded an email between him, Vice President for Technology Transfer and President of the Wichita State Innovation Alliance John Tomblin, Steve Barrett (of MWCB), and DJ McClenny (of Crossland SEE FLATS PAGE 6

INSIDE

MASTERS OF DEBATE

LOOKING FOR A SNACK?

HONEYBLUSH ROCKS

Kathy Hull’s memorial service was held this weekend.

KU wins the National Debate Tournament hosted at Wichita State.

Look no further.

This local band rocked Final Fest.

NEWS • PAGE 2

CULTURE • PAGE 3

OPINION • PAGE 4

CULTURE • PAGE 5

REMEMBERING A FRIEND

NEWS

2 | MONDAY, APRIL. 2, 2018

www.thesunflower.com

THE STAFF

www.thesunflower.com

Remembering Kathy

EDITORIAL

Kathy Hull’s memorial service was held this weekend. Hull died March 12 from complications from injuries after being hit by a car at a crosswalk on Wichita State’s campus. Hull, who was the visual resources coordinator in the art school, worked at WSU for 27 years.

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

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ADVISING

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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Top: Friends and family of Kathy Hull perform a spiral dance and chant on the hill outside of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Wichita after Hull’s memorial service. Above: Carrie Armstrong and Matt Walston, who Kathy Hull considered her kids, share stories about the deceased Wichita State faculty member at the memorial service at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Wichita.

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FLATS

FROM PAGE 1

Housing and Residence Life about an “agreement we (Schlapp, Tomblin, Crossland Construction, and Barrett) have worked out.” The subject line of the email is “WSU Response Fairmount Tenants.pdf” and the attachment was not included in the emails obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act. “I can better explain over the phone but year one is trying to help Flats. Second year and beyond negotiated much like original deal.

They would commit to a building a low-cost option for our students.

“Key to Second year and until new low cost option is built is to have one house price,” Schlapp wrote.

The email also went to Lois Tatro, associate vice president for administration and finance for financial operations and business technology; Werner Golling, vice president for administration and finance; and Stacia Boden, a university attorney.

Schlapp did not respond to requests for comment about the June email.

Director of Housing and Residence Life Scott Jensen, who received the email from Schlapp, said he was not aware of “any condition related to Fairmount Towers for Flats 2.”

Asked specifically about the email from Schlapp, Jensen denied that filling the Flats by closing Fairmount Towers and moving students from university-owned housing to Murfin’s company’s apartment complex for the first year was a condition related to the second phase of The Flats.

“It does not change my answer,” Jensen said in an email. “Flats 2 is being developed because WSU continues to see a need for new housing to meet the needs of our growing population wanting on campus housing.”

A number of projects on Innovation Campus have been completed by Murfin’s development companies, MWCB and BGC LLC, including The Flats, Starbucks, Airbus, Partnership Buildings 1 and 2, and the Law Enforcement Training Center.

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

Left: LuAnn Dyson paints the eyelash on Kathy Hull’s death mask, made by Carrie Armstrong and Matt Walston after the memorial service at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Wichita. Painting the mask offered friends and family one last chance to make art with Hull. Above: A basket full of origami swans sets by the door of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Wichita. The Origami swans were made by students at WSU to commemorate Kathy Hull.

CULTURE

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MONDAY, APRIL. 2, 2018

|3

FOR THE WIN

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

Quaram Robinson, center, and Will Katz, right, are part of the KU debate team that won National Debate Tournament hosted by WSU.

KU wins national debate tournament hosted by Wichita State

BY RAY STRUNK

T

he University of Kansas debate duo of Quaram Robinson and Will Katz won the National Debate Tournament, which was hosted at Wichita State. The tournament fielded 78 of the top debate teams from across the country — including WSU’s Daniel Saunders and Jamie Welch.

Robinson and Katz defeated Georgetown’s David Bernstein and Natalie Knez in the finals last week by a judge’s score of 4-3. The duo, who came into the tournament as the No. 5 team in the nation, defeated No. 4 University of Nevada Las Vegas in the quarterfinals and top-ranked Harvard in the semifinals to advance to the final round.

This was Robinson’s fourth straight appearance in the elimination rounds of

the national tournament, each year with a different partner, an accomplishment Katz said is “almost unheard of.” She finished as a runner-up in 2016.

It was Katz’s first time competing in the national tournament.

“It’s really incredible,” Katz said. “(Robinson) is one of the best debaters of all time. I think she’s obviously proven herself.”

Robinson finished as the fourth highest-rated speaker out of 156 in the tournament. Katz finished 24th.

Katz, who is from Topeka, said he was glad the tournament was in Wichita because his parents were able to watch him debate.

“The travel normally takes more time out of your busy schedule,” Katz said.

“Being in Wichita is awesome. . . A lot of my friends are here.”

The National Debate Tournament is the

Retiring dean Royce Bowden went from sax player to dean of college of engineering

BY ANDREW LINNABARY

Royce Bowden, retiring dean of WSU’s college of engineering, kind of winged the whole college thing.

It was the early 1980s. Bowden, a sax-playing music major at the University of Southern Mississippi, was a first generation college student raised by parents who couldn’t afford college for themselves, but who set the expectation that their son would attend college.

So college was a strange concept for the young jazz BOWDEN musician and his parents.

“There were things others knew about and how to navigate that I didn’t,” Bowden, 57, said in a southern drawl, developed from years lived in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

But people made the difference for Bowden, he said. He quickly learned the impact a conversation could have.

Bowden had an interest in flying as a young man. That led to a fateful conversation with an Air Force recruiter.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Son, if you’re going to fly planes for the Air Force, you need to major in something more technical.’

“And I thought, ‘Engineering type stuff is technical.’ So that’s the direction I went off into.”

Bowden changed his major to engineering. Soon after, a faculty member changed his career path completely.

Bowden figured he’d finish his undergraduate degree and go back to work at Texas Instruments in Dallas, his entry-level job into the engineering industry. He had no

thoughts of a career as a faculty member or university administrator. That soon changed. “(A faculty member) called me and said, ‘Royce, it’s time for you to go to graduate school. Here’s where you need to go, and they’ll offer you an assistantship (at Mississippi State). It’s all taken care of — all you have to do is go.’

“How do you say no to that?”

From there after, it became about helping others like that faculty member had helped him, and “giving them pathways to achieve their dreams,” Bowden said. There was no better career than as a professor at a university to accomplish that, he said.

Bowden earned his bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering technology at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1984, his master of science in industrial engineering at Mississippi State University in 1989, and his Ph.D. in engineering at Mississippi State in 1992.

He never joined the Air Force, but Bowden got his pilot’s license.

He spent the next 30 years working in higher education, with the last five years as a dean acting as a culmination of that work.

Starting off as a faculty member at Mississippi State, he was able to impact 30 or so students at a time, he said. Then, as head of the department of industrial engineering, he was able to impact hundreds. As a dean at WSU, he impacts thousands.

His biggest impact at WSU includes hiring 35 faculty members, increasing bachelors degrees by 47 percent and Ph.D.s by 53 percent, helping launch two new engineering buildings, and raising over $21 million for scholarships, chair positions and facilities, he said.

SEE BOWDEN PAGE 6

largest and most prestigious policy debate tournament of the year.

The national committee selects the top 16 teams as the first entries into the tournament. The next 46 entries are decided through nine district tournaments.

The committee then selects the top 16 teams not already qualified through the first two entries to round out the field.

“It was really a great experience,” Katz said. “A lot of high-level competition that you don’t see in every debate at every debate tournament.”

Saunders and Welch, both seniors at WSU, finished with a record of 4-4 in the preliminary rounds, one win shy of advancing to the elimination rounds.

The Shocker duo, who was ranked No. 48, split their opening two rounds, sweeping James Madison and losing to University of Southern California, before beating Wake Forest in round three.

They then lost three straight to Emory, Michigan, and Dartmouth in rounds four, five, and six.

The duo finished the tournament with wins over Wyoming and UC Berkeley.

Saunders and Welch finished as the 88th and 85th highest-rated speakers, respectively.

WSU was one of three Kansas schools in the national tournament, along with KU and Emporia State.

Emporia State’s Arriq Singleton and Kalese Warfield, ranked no. 27, advanced to the elimination rounds with a record of 5-3 in the preliminaries. The Emporia State duo lost to no. 6 Oklahoma in the opening elimination round.

Individually, Singleton and Warfield finished 150th and 152nd.

KU fielded two additional teams.

Neither qualified for the elimination rounds.

‘Unsane’ wastes potential MATT GARNER MOVIE CRITIC

There’s a certain amount of disbelief one must suspend when watching a movie — could the things occurring on screen actually happen given the logic and rules of the world the film lives in.

This varies from film to film: superhero movies are given a little more slack than political thrillers, for example. In Steven Soderbergh’s latest movie, “Unsane,” this concept is pushed to its extreme, asking the audience to acquiesce to some truly ludicrous events. But, beyond all this, is the inexcusable squandering of so many interesting ideas the script initially offers, taking novel questions and concepts and answering them in mundane and ultimately forgettable ways.

“Unsane” is about Sawyer Valentini (a mercurial Claire Foy), a young woman who unknowingly commits herself to voluntary confinement for 24 hours during a routine therapy appointment.

Once trapped inside, she starts seeing visions of her stalker. These glimpses are filmed with the same techniques as her supposed reality (or what the film wants you to believe is her reality), which provides an interesting tension for the audience to grapple with.

Given that the film doesn’t visually differentiate between what is perceived as real versus a possible delusion, an intriguing internal conflict is immediately established. The first half of the film performs this trick quite nicely and to great effect: Valentini’s experiences in this voluntary asylum spider-web into broader and more pointed questions on a spread of issues, like the state of mental

COURTESY

“Unsane” is about Sawyer Valentini (a mercurial Claire Foy), a young woman who unknowingly commits herself to voluntary confinement for 24 hours during a routine therapy appointment. Once trapped inside, she starts seeing visions of her stalker.

THERE IS A SERIES OF EVENTS ABOUT A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH “UNSANE” THAT TAKES ANY SEMBLANCE OF LOGIC AND REASON AND DECIDEDLY THROWS IT OUT THE WINDOW. healthcare, a woman’s right to be believed, and the seemingly paradoxical status of healthcare as big business. But, the script quickly shows its hand, revealing that it doesn’t have good or even interesting ways to answer the questions it’s raised. What starts as unique quickly becomes dull.

Continuing further this motif of the unusual becoming the usual, “Unsane’s” stocky and grainy footage (it was filmed on three separate iPhones) promptly asserts itself as more novel than necessary, contributing nothing to the overall aesthetic of the film except a few cleverly staged shots thanks to the iPhone’s compact size. The cinematography is competent, but it’s nothing more than standard cuts and the occasional long take to emphasize a character’s particular mental state.

It’s as if Soderbergh thought the fact that it was filmed with an iPhone (an impressive but not wholly unique feat) excused any attempt at innovating the camera work, given the iPhone’s unique

cinematic properties. While there are a few scenes where the cinematography deviates from what’s considered standard, the rest of the camerawork operates like the movie was filmed with a normal camera. And while there are quite a few unique angles — again, due to the iPhone’s compact size — they don’t contribute anything more to the story than their ability to call attention to themselves.

There is a series of events about a third of the way through “Unsane” that takes any semblance of logic and reason and decidedly throws it out the window.

It flies in the face of Valentini’s character, anything resembling legal authority, and common sense; but it has to happen for the film to work, and that is a tell-tale sign of bad writing. Marred by coincidence and threaded by fate, “Unsane’s” plot resembles less of a narrative arc and more of a lottery ticket. The number of things that has to go just “right” for the film to work is the equivalent of being struck by lightning. If you can continually swallow the bitter medicine (laced with exposition) the film keeps asking you to take, then you might be okay with the illogical mess happening on screen. Up until this fateful point, “Unsane” is a promising movie.

It’s asking interesting questions in a unique way while constructing what looked to be a mental thriller. After this point, it’s a mess.

OPINION

4 | MONDAY, APRIL. 2, 2018

www.thesunflower.com

THE ISLAND OF LOST SNACKS AGNES CORRIGAN

T

COLUMNIST

he other day, I was perusing the aisles of Dillon’s for snacks, (because really, what is the Final Four without the proper snacks?), when I stumbled across an old friend: Cheetos Puffcorn in the butter flavor.

I was immediately transported to the fifth-grade sleepover where I basically huffed handfuls of Puffcorn while wearing my Dr Pepper chapstick. Somehow, the combo of just worked. This rediscovery of butter-flavored-crack led me down the rabbit hole. I wondered about the fates of my other favorite childhood snacks, so I did some investigating.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but my ideal morning when I was 8 was waking up way too early and watching cartoons (Rugrats…duh) while eating a bowl of Oreo cereal. This cereal tasted exactly like crushed up Oreo cookies in milk. Plus, you got a free bowl of Oreoflavored chocolate milk after each round (because there were several) of cereal.

But then, after years of my morning ritual, Post discontinued their Oreo O’s. I was crestfallen. Cinnamon Toast Crunch couldn’t hold a candle to its predecessor.

Years later, on a very late night when I was feeling fifty shades of nostalgic, and I was spending money stupidly like it was my job, I bought a box of Oreo O’s off of eBay. I waited for a month for my Oreo O’s to be sent over from China, only to discover that they didn’t taste the same.

Luckily, Post recently brought Oreo O’s

As a Wichita State alumnus, who worked closely with the university administration and Student Government Association in a variety of capacities as a student, including as a reporter for The Sunflower, I have to say I have never been so disgusted with my alma mater as I am now.

Perhaps it is because back then, WSU administrators and the SGA understood that WSU is a public institution – that taxpayers and tuition-paying students are stakeholders, and that as such, backroom deals and the ominous threats more common in private industry have no place on a college campus. Perhaps it is because the administration lacked hubris and did not believe that they and they alone controlled the narrative.

Perhaps it is because the administration respected the independent press and wasn’t threatened by oversight.

Let’s put to rest the notion that the SGA vote, planned and plotted by university officials — including Vice President of Student Affairs Teri Hall, and the SGA President — financially knee-capping The Sunflower was anything but retaliation for the excellent work

back to life. You can buy them at Dillon’s, and I’m happy to report they taste just like the original.

I wandered into the fruit snack aisle, where I was happy to find that my old standby, Fruit by the Foot, was still alive and well.

Fruit by the Foot is so genius. It’s a fruit snack that can double as a jumprope. I just hope kids are eating them the right way these days.

I specifically remember my childhood friend, Richard, stuffing the whole three feet of fruit rope into his mouth. I’m not sure if this checks out, as I’m not a psychologist, but I think that’s a clear sign of psychopathy.

I needed something to drink with my snack haul, so I headed over to the juice aisle. My eyes darted over the Capri-Sun juice pouches and the Hi-C juice-boxes. They wouldn’t cut it.

No. There was one clear winner. The original gangster, the Kool-Aid Burst.

The Kool-Aid Bursts are those wax bottles with the bizarre twist and pull away tops that were impossible to open when you were 6.

It was like a mental marathon trying to open the bottle without the whole thing squirting all over you. You had to try to find an adult to open it for you, and even then, you got like two sips of juice.

I’m just saying, whoever designed the Kool-Aid Burst bottle is going to do some time in Hell.

These snacks were the accompaniment to my childhood. Though Wonderballs, and purple Ketchup have sadly died and gone to snack heaven, it was nice to discover that kids have the chance to experience the same joys of three feet of fruit leather and cookie cereal that I had. While my tastes have changed, my fond memories of snacking through childhood remain.

of the student staffers, who despite ongoing threats from administrators, reported on financial deal-making intentionally kept from the public eye. Those students had the courage to report on arrangements between university officials and private developers – including a member of the State Board of Regents – that this year will see a transfer of millions of dollars from university coffers to the pockets of those developers.

Student reporters have pursued stories about the development of publicly owned land to the benefit of corporate interests and private-sector financial benefactors. They wrote about artificially inflated enrollment figures.

Student reporters also wrote human interest stories, covered sports, clubs, events and recorded the daily history at Wichita State.

Student reporters wrote stories that informed us – the taxpaying public, tuition-paying students, and alumni who poured our hearts and souls into WSU long before Hall, John Bardo, or any current administrator set foot on campus – because we are entitled to know, because WE paid the bills.

After repeated threats over the

LETTER to the EDITOR

COURTESY

past year to withdraw student fee funding from The Sunflower – a revenue stream that is historically non-controversial due its status as a STUDENT-RUN newspaper – Hall promised in an email (addressed to administrators at WSU) to “fix” the (funding) problem that is The Sunflower.

That would be the same Hall, who: after one year on the job, secured a $100,000 increase in the student fee allocation to heroffice while simultaneously stripping The Sunflower of $80,000; reportedly said in an SGA meeting on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, that students have no business questioning how her student fee allocation is spent; who appears to lack a fundamental understanding of how The Sunflower fits into the structure at WSU; who seemed unable to comprehend the difference between KU/Lawrence and WSU/Wichita in a telephone conversation with me; and who

belligerently defends the initial decision to conduct an SGA Student Fees Committee meeting behind closed doors.

Hall has repeatedly sworn that stripping funding for The Sunflower was not retribution despite her email promise to “fix” The Sunflower problem, and despite it being single largest cut to a campus organization – which coincidentally is the entity most reviled by university administrators. Apparently, Hall, the SGA and WSU administrators expect everyone to disbelieve the truth plainly before their eyes.

If this really is all about fiscal responsibility, perhaps someone can explain how the SGA passed its own $256,000 allocation? Or why Hall deserves an extra $100,000 – and why no one is allowed to question it?

I hope Mr. Bardo takes some time to reflect on this situation before forwarding a student fees budget designed to destroy the 123-year-old campus institution that is The Sunflower.

No vibrant, exciting and welcoming university in America lacks a student newspaper.

The majority of those papers,

whether strategically independent or not, rely on student fees.

Most universities are run by intellectually honest people who understand their campus and community market enough to know when there are limitations on the prospects for ad revenue.

The argument that The Sunflower can simply make up lost student fees in ad revenue is specious and stupid.

Most university administrations don’t, in conjunction with the student government, declare war on student newspapers they don’t like in order to justify destroying those organizations. Regardless of all claims to the contrary, that is EXACTLY what has happened at WSU. Hall and others may think they have “fixed” their problem. They would be wise to realize those of us standing with The Sunflower and on the side of good and open governance aren’t going anywhere.

student government officials.

That number increased from 12.6 percent the previous election cycle. Those elections each had two and three tickets, respectively.

This election cycle isn’t likely to gauge the same kind of results.

Those numbers are likely to dip to low numbers of election’s past.

Put matters into your own hands.

Visit OrgSync or stop at polling stations on campus to cast your ballot. Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, with winners

announced at 5:30 p.m.

With such large decisions at stake at a campus as ever changing as Wichita State’s, student voices shouldn’t be the ones that grow silent. Educate yourself and let your voice be heard.

The field is wide open.

—Sandy West, WSU ’89 ’91 Professional journalist (Arkansas City Traveler, Wichita Business Journal, Orange County Business Journal, Associated Press, Money), writer

Vote like you mean it Now is the time to cast your ballot.

Elections for the next session of the Student Government Association open today and close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

This year, the only ticket on the ballot is Revival, a campaign led by Kenon Brinkley and Shelby Rowell. If Revival is elected, Brinkley will lead the 61st session as the president, succeeding Student Body President Paige Hungate, and Rowell will lead the Senate, succeeding Student Body Vice President Breck Towner.

Both Rowell and Brinkley are senators in the 60th Session.

However, if you’re not satisfied with the only option, that shouldn’t keep you from voting in this year’s SGA election.

You, as a student, elect representatives to speak your mind and be your voice during important decisions.

In the spring semester, the Senate votes on the student fees budget proposal, a $9 million-plus allocated budget. This decision alone determines how on average, over $700, of your money each semester is allocated.

It’s your decision who makes the call on non-fixed-line items of this proposal are handled, and whether or not the proposal passes entirely.

Just because there’s only one ticket on the ballot, doesn’t mean your decision is any easier. It’s your responsibility to elect with confidence. If you’re not satisfied with the ticket, it’s your privilege to write in candidates who will speak your mind.

Don’t leave the ballot blank.

Don’t forgo voting.

Vote like you mean it.

Last year, more than 19 percent (2,601 students) of WSU’s student body voted in the election for

CULTURE

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H O N E Y B L U S H

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Honeyblush performs at Final Fest held at the ICT Urban Pop-Up Park.

W

BY JOHN DARR

ichita’s Pop-Up Urban Park conjures an air of tantalizing possibility. It’s a place where seemingly anything can happen: a large clearing snuggled between buildings in downtown Wichita stocked with a rainbow’s-worth of colorful chairs and tables.

The Pop-Up Urban Park serves as a delicious pit-stop by hosting different food trucks throughout the week, as well as events like a Tallgrass Film Festival Showing, and more.

Last Friday, three Wichita State students upped the ante by bringing a full-scale festival to the venue. The product of concentrated efforts by Xan Mattek, Joe Hagen, and Ryne Carballo, Final Fest overflowed with communal energy as live music, delicious smells and admiring discussion of displayed art filled the air.

As the resident music nerd, I spent most of my time badly dancing near the stage. Every band brought their A-game while Kadrae Smith, or, DJ Krae Krae, kept up the energy between sets with impressive emcee skills. By the time

rising local stars Honeyblush ascended the stage, a large crowd had settled in for the night, chatting with anticipation under the night sky.

Honeyblush kicked off their best set yet with a no-holds-barred rock cover of the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It be Nice” before launching into their gauntlet of originals. By the time they hit the cathartic explosion of show-closer “Flux,” the crowd was electrified and smiling. In anticipation of this amazing set, I sat down with most of the band the week before to gather the inside scoop on Wichita’s catchiest noise-pop outfit (drummer Luke McAdam couldn’t make it).

JD (John Darr): Honeyblush is nearing its first birthday. How are you going to celebrate?

KB (Kalie Belt, vocals, guitar): We are celebrating by hopefully putting out an EP this summer.

CM (Claire Monroe, bass): Throwing back some Mike’s Hards.

KB: Oh my god. (laughs) CM: That was a joke. Don’t write that down.

CR (Caroline Ragatz, guitar): Let’s bake a cake.

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Bassist for Honeyblush, Claire Monroe, performs at Final Fest held at the ICT Urban Pop-Up Park.

CM: Well, we’ve started the recording process so hopefully we’re gonna put out an EP this summer with all of our top jams we play at our shows.

CR: Top jams.

KB: We want to have a big show this summer with some of our close friends too.

JD: So, kind of like Final Fest coming up now!

Wichita State hosts first ever Formal Approaches to South Asian Languages Conference

BY LARISSA LAWRIE

Over the weekend, linguistics scholars from around the world gathered at Wichita State to discuss the formal approaches to South Asian languages. The scholars presented on keynote topics, such as “Reading carefully: Adverbs, polarity, and verb movement in a verb-final language” and “Acquiring Articles without the help of Articles: Lessons from L2.”

This was WSU’s first time hosting the Formal Approaches to South Asian Languages 8 (FASAL 8) conference. The FASAL conference has previously been hosted by universities such as MIT, Yale, and the University of Southern California.

The conference was organized by the WSU English department.

Mythili Menon, an assistant professor of English and linguistics, was the chair of the organizing committee.

“We have students that are already part of the Linguistics minor, but we are trying to expand and build a Linguistics major,” Menon said, “The conference is about attracting people to Wichita State, bringing in eminent scholars from across the world and giving students that exposure to see a conference.”

This is also the first time that a state university in the Midwest has hosted the conference, Menon said.

Drew Colcher, an instructor in the English department and a graduate English student, described the conference as a positive opportunity and experience for undergraduate and graduate students to be

BRIAN HAYES/THE SUNFLOWER

Charles Redmon of KU presents “On the importance of machine-readable lexicons in the study of South Asian phonologies” to attendees of the Formal Approaches to South Asian Languages 8 conference held in the RSC.

involved in the linguistics research community.

“It’s gone really well. We have people from all over the country and world,” Colcher said. “Ph.D. students and professors from different universities all presenting on a very specific topic. It’s pretty much the only linguistics conference that Wichita State has ever hosted as far as anyone knows.”

Amanda Purcell, a French and Spanish major, found the conference exciting.

“I’m just getting started with my studies in linguistics, it’s very exciting to get to attend one of these conferences,” Purcell said. “I feel like it’s an honor for Wichita State to host it. It’s good experience listening to what other research is being done and getting ideas for your own research. It’s furthering your education in ways that you

might not get in the classroom.”

The conference was not only an opportunity for exposure for WSU, but also an opportunity for students from various universities to present their studies. Sakshi Bhatia, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented her talk “Forgetting effects in Hindi.”

“In linguistics, we study the kind of structures that people use in their languages. We look at a whole bunch of languages. This conference looks at a bunch of South Asian languages,” Bhatia said. “The reason we look at them is because people treat languages as an everyday thing. They don’t even notice that language is systematic and beautiful. This kind of conference works on highlighting that structure that is in this everyday language.”

KB: Yeah. This is our last show for a while cause we’re all super busy. Well, OK, it’s mostly me. So, this is going to be our last show until June and after that, we just want to play a bunch of shows this summer. We don’t really know what’s going to happen after that, but fingers crossed. The future is SEE HONEYBLUSH PAGE 6

|5

SPORTS

6 | MONDAY, APRIL. 2, 2018

www.thesunflower.com

Shamet declares for the 2018 NBA Draft

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

L

MATT CROW/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State guard Landry Shamet dibbles down the court at Southern Mehtodist University in February.

andry Shamet will forgo his junior and senior seasons at Wichita State University to pursue a childhood dream.

He announced via Instagram last week that he intends to sign an agent and enter the NBA Draft, held in New York City on June 21.

Shamet, 21, has long dreamed of a career in the NBA. He said in his announcement that he knew when he was 4 years old an NBA career was his dream.

When he was 13, Shamet would bicker with his mother, Melanie Shamet, about futures.

“Mom, you don’t understand, I’m going to the NBA,” he said.

After much consideration over the last two weeks, including research and advice from teammates and a circle of family and friends, Shamet made the choice to end his career with the Shockers.

Shamet has long given consideration to his mother, Melanie, and how he might provide for her in the future. Shamet was brought up by a close family structure of his uncle, his grandpa, and others who helped Melanie, a single mother, raise Landry. Melanie Shamet worked third-shift at a casino in Kansas City.

Shamet told Paul Suellentrop in

an interview that he’s always liked watching professional athletes provide better living situations for their parents.

“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for me to have a chance to repay my mom for the countless things she’s done for me. … Take care of her, because I know how hard she worked.”

Shamet will hire an agent, ending his college eligibility.

Current draft projections have Shamet as high as a first round draft pick. NBADrat.net, which updates daily, has dropped Shamet out of their mock draft. Most mock drafts have Shamet projected as a late first round pick. Gary Parrish for CBS has Shamet taken No. 20 to the San Antonio Spurs.

If Shamet is drafted in the first round, he will secure a guaranteed $1.6 million starting salary. If he were to be drafted in the second round, he would be not secure a guaranteed contract.

Former Shocker All-Americans Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet both actively play in the NBA; both signed contracts after failing to be drafted in the 2015 NBA Draft.

If Shamet were to be drafted, he would be the first Shocker to be drafted since the New York Knicks took Cleanthony Early in the second round of the 2014 draft.

ELECTION

FROM PAGE 1

has served on the Organizational Outreach Committee, as well as the Diversity Task Force.

“The student body doesn’t know what SGA is, what it does, or how to become involved with SGA,” Rowell said. “To be blunt: this isn’t [the students]’ fault at all.”

Rowell said that it was SGA’s job to make people care.

To address this, Rowell said that she would like to ensure that senators in the 61st session “have the tools they need to be proactive when it comes to solving problems on campus.”

“Right now there is a common complaint of, ‘SGA doesn’t represent me’,” she said. “We want to create workshops where students can come in to the office, … address their concerns, and write legislation alongside their senators.”

An SGA survey conducted in the fall found that 4.17 percent of students felt SGA definitely represents their interests, while 11.54 percent felt SGA definitely does not. Another 17.95 percent felt SGA “probably” represents their interests. More than half of all respondents were unsure, saying SGA might or might not represent their interests, according to the raw data from the survey obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act. “Students don’t know that they can write legislation,” Brinkley said, “that they can be a part of every senate committee even if they aren’t senators themselves, or that they can attend every senate meeting we have.”

“A successful term, to me, looks like more of the Body threading themselves within the proceedings of SGA year-round,” he said.

BOWDEN

FROM PAGE 3

He’s spearheaded things like a senior-to-freshman mentoring program to strengthen retention, and his associate dean Jan Twomey said Bowden has worked towards stronger gender equity in the department — starting with hiring her about three years ago as associate dean for graduate studies, research, and faculty success.

“Before Royce, we never had this position, and I give him credit — he hired a woman in engineering,” Twomey said.

Since Bowden’s arrival, the engineering school has put two female faculty in every department except for bioengineering, Twomey said.

“The fact that he placed a female in this (associate dean) position says these things are important. He understands to lead by example,” Twomey said.

Around the dean’s office and around campus, he’s “friendly,” “respectful,” and brings a “positive climate” wherever he goes.

“Royce is a real gentleman,” Twomey said.

He could be quoting Albert Einstein — “He loves the quote, ‘Engineers create that which did not exist,’” Kim Bair, the WSU

COURTESY

Shelby Rowell and Kenon Brinkley are running for SGA vice president and president. Voting runs until Wednesday.

Brinkley said that Revival was different from other tickets in the recent past because of a “level of respect and trust that we’ve established since inception.”

“Our intentions are integrable and sincere, and showcase a variety of demographics that speaks for itself without even needing to campaign on the grand ideal of diversity,” Brinkley said. “That’s just who we are.”

Rowell said that she would like to see student organizations partner with Senators to write legislation in the future.

Rowell said that this could “diffuse the power” and “create an SGA that is more representative of the student body, and that serves the student body to the best of its ability.”

Within student government, Rowell said that apathy “manifested itself into incredibly poor retention rates.”

“We made sure the candidates on our ticket were fully aware of the time commitment, the emotional

impacts that come along with being a senator, and the expectations that we have going in to the next session,” she said.

Rowell said that she saw themes of apathy in Revival serving as the sole ticket for student elections this year.

“There are plenty of capable people who could be running for student body president or vice president, but they chose not to,” Rowell said. “We want to make SGA something students strive to serve on, we want to make SGA be an institution that students feel represented by and proud of, and we believe ‘Revival’ is the perfect name for that sentiment.”

“The populations of WSU and the greater Wichita community have no shortage of potential, but apathy can serve as a blinder in that regard,” Brinkley said.

“Purpose, persistence, and power are qualities that every Shocker is capable of,” he said. “Too many of them that don’t realize that yet, and we plan to fix that.”

Foundation senior director of development for the college of engineering, said — or he could be talking about his airstream camping trailer and backpacking with his wife, CeCe, through the mountains.

He could be inviting students into the dean’s office for a cup of coffee, a daily invitation to interact with the dean that doesn’t happen in every department.

Associate Dean Steven Skinner said that friendliness and willingness to get along with everybody defines Bowden’s personality.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, or what rank you have — he really treats everybody the same.”

His attitude as dean stems from his early collegiate interactions, the ones that set him down the path he now walks.

“He really sees his success in the success of others,” Skinner said.

“That’s what he sees his job as — making sure that everybody can be successful.”

So, at 57, why retirement now?

For Bowden, it came down to returning a 23-year-old favor to his wife, CeCe. “About 23 years ago, my wife gave up her career to stay home with our two boys and basically run the household so I could work crazy hours and focus on my career,”

Bowden said.

“When we moved here, she took a job with the Boy Scouts (working with volunteers). It’s been her dream job. So I’m going to do what she did for me 23 years ago, so she can focus on her career.”

Bowden will be replaced by an interim, followed by a national search to find the next dean.

Interim Provost Rick Muma will lead the search. Come June, Dean Bowden will pack up his things and leave Wallace Hall one last time.

But it’s not an end, Bowden said — it’s “more of a new beginning.”

“I think (the college of engineering) has a very bright future in front of them, and I’m proud of them, and I’m proud I could serve for part of that journey.”

He started as a saxophonist in an unfamiliar place, with no thought of one day being a dean at Wichita State. But one faculty member showed him the impact he could make on students. Then he spent the next 30 years striving for that same kind of student success, all because one faculty member had went out of their way so that one less college student had to wing their way to a degree and career.

“A lot of times it’s just a word — a word to a single individual. That’s the power of this profession.”

SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Kalie Belt, vocals and guitarist for the band Honeyblush performs during Final Fest held at the ICT Urban Pop-Up Park.

HONEYBLUSH FROM PAGE 5

kind of up in the air right now for Honeyblush.

JD: So, you’re kind of hitting a threshold because Kalie is about to graduate. What do you want to take away from your experience in Honeyblush, regardless of where it goes?

KB: I want to take the leadership experience I’ve gained and my learning on how to communicate.

CM: This is all of our first band and I think, especially for me,

that this has given me the boost to maybe start my own band.

CR: Just being able to play with my friends, it’s been one of the best experiences of my life for sure.

KB: We’ve made so many new friends just playing in the scene and I definitely want to take that with me. I wanted to start this band because I missed playing music with people. I used to be in choir and I missed performing live with people. I will definitely take away all the memories we had.

That makes it sound like we’re breaking up, but we’re not. It’s just up in the air.

The Wichita Symphony Presents

THE PLANETS Holst’s THE PLANETS perfectly choreographed with NASA imagery above the Wichita Symphony.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 @ 8 PM SUNDAY, APRIL 15 @ 3 PM CENTURY II CONCERT HALL.

$20 STUDENT TICKETS starting Monday, April 9 with Student ID, 1 ticket per ID BUY STUDENT TICKETS at 316.267.7658