THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 • VOL. 123, ISS. 4
THESUNFLOWER.COM
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.
chapter by chapter 9/30/17
Phi Delta Theta. Deferred suspension through December 2018, disciplinary probation through December 2019. Charged with hazing and violation of program and department policies.
4/30/16
Sigma Phi Epsilon. Disciplinary probation. Charged with violating alcohol policies and department policies.
7/21/15
Delta Upsilon. Disciplinary warning. Charged with theft.
11/16/13
Phi Delta Theta. Disciplinary warning. Charged with violating alcohol policies and department policies.
1/14/17
10/9/15
Hall: It gets to a point where the university has to say ‘enough’ They’re less than 3 percent of the student organization population. But fraternities have about half of all organization-based conduct violations. BY ANDREW LINNABARY
There are 17 violations in Wichita State’s database of registered student organization violations. Just under half of the violations in the database — which represents the disciplinary history of more than 240 student organizations — come from fraternities on the Interfraternity Council. Those fraternities make up less than 3 percent of the registered student
organizations at WSU. The most recent violation in the database, which goes back five years, is still under investigation — charges brought against Beta Theta Pi fraternity last week. The outcome of that investigation is likely to be determined this week, said Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards Scott Jensen. Hazing, theft, and a multitude of alcohol-related violations are some of
the charges that have been brought against several fraternities over the last five years. “It’s expected that college students are going to screw up,” Vice President for Student Affairs Teri Hall said. “The key is, how do we have students learn from those mistakes so those things don’t happen again?” The sanctions for the fraternities have mainly been training classes — alcohol awareness, hazing prevention, and the like. Some have lost the privilege of having alcohol at fraternity events. SEE FRAT PAGE 4
Beta Theta Pi. Temporary suspension. Pending investigation.
10/13/17
Beta Theta Pi. Deferred suspension through March 2019, disciplinary probation through 3/20. Charged with hazing, violating alcohol policies and department policies.
Phi Delta Theta. Disciplinary probation. Charged with violating alcohol policies and department policies.
8/24/18
Sigma Phi Epsilon. Disciplinary probation through December 2018. Charged with violating the underage drinking, distribution, and social host sections of WSU’s alcohol and drug policy. Also charged with falsification of records.
Beta Theta Pi fraternity temporarily suspended, under investigation BY ANDREW LINNABARY
Beta Theta Pi fraternity is on temporary suspension pending the outcome of an investigation into unspecified charges. The fraternity was already on deferred suspension before the investigation, and will likely be put on full suspension if any of its charges are found to be true. Scott Jensen, director of Student Conduct and Community Standards, said the initial investigation should be finished by the end of this week. He would not confirm or deny any of the rumors
circling among students, including wet recruiting and providing alcohol to minors. The event in question occurred Aug. 24. Jensen said if charges are brought forward and the organization is found to be in violation of school policies, Beta’s deferred suspension will be removed and they will likely be placed on full suspension. Beta’s temporary suspension means the fraternity has to “cease all organizational activities,” Jensen said, until the outcome of the investigation. SEE BETA PAGE 5
SGA introduces bill that would add seats to Educational Opportunity Fund, Student Fees Committees BY DANIEL CAUDILL
Student Government Association introduced a bill Wednesday that would increase the number of seats on the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) and Student Fees Committees. These two committees are in charge of the distribution of student fees. The EOF is primarily used to fund applied learning opportunities for students. Last school year, former Student Body President Paige Hungate appointed three students to the Student Fees Committee and four students to the EOF Committee. If this legislation passes, both committees will have five seats. “With Student Fees and EOF, we got a lot of complaints last year that the committees were too ‘cabinet-centric,’” said Shelby Rowell, student body vice president and author of the legislation. “So we wanted to make sure they were student-centric.” The bill states that the president
MATTHEW KELLY/THE SUNFLOWER
Student analysts conduct research for the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) Wednesday, Aug. 29 at the Firepoint Innovations Center on Innovation Campus.
ELLA DOMINGUEZ/THE SUNFLOWER
Student Body President Kenon Brinkley speaks during Wednesday’s SGA meeting.
shall make a “good faith effort” to appoint at least one graduate student to both committees. “Graduate students pay one fifth of all of our student fees, so we thought representation was important,” Rowell said. “This summer, we had a lot of conversations about how we can make graduate students feel more welcome in the association.
“This is just one of the measures that we’re looking at changing.” If no graduate students apply, Rowell said that undergraduates could fill the positions. “Who exactly has the authority to define what a ‘good faith effort’ is?” Studies Senator Isaac Rivera asked. SEE SGA PAGE 5
FirePoint student employees research for U.S. Army’s ‘highest-priority programs’ BY MATTHEW KELLY
Ten months after Wichita State partnered with the U.S. Army on a $1.9 million research grant to develop military technology, six WSU students are working at FirePoint Innovations Center. The Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) funded FirePoint,
which is located in the Partnership 2 building on Innovation Campus. “What’s really cool about what we’re doing here at Wichita State University through FirePoint is that the Army has asked us to support them on their highest-priority programs,” FirePoint Executive Director Peter Perna said. SEE FIREPOINT PAGE 5
INSIDE
SOLVED
TOP DOG
TRIAL RUN
Check out the first round of hot takes.
Read the explanations behind The Sunflower Medallion Hunt clues
Shocker volleyball gets set for a showdown with No. 1 Stanford.
Cross country star Rebekah Topham returns to competition after redshirting.
OPINION • PAGE 2
CULTURE • PAGE 5
SPORTS • PAGE 6
SPORTS • PAGE 6
OPINION LINE