The Sunflower v. 128 i. 13 (November 16, 2023) by The Sunflower Newspaper

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 www.thesunflower.com

Nov. 16, 2023

Volume 128 Issue 13

‘INCREDIBLE, BUT INSANE’

2021

2022

2023

32 ORGANIZATIONS $206,146.43 REQUESTED

42 ORGANIZATIONS $419,042.92 REQUESTED

74 ORGANIZATIONS $722,174.93 REQUESTED Infographic by Thy Vo

What is the future of student organization funding from Wichita State’s Student Government Association? BY MIA HENNEN

editor@thesunflower.com

arlier this semester, the Student Government Association went through a several-round process of allocating and reallocating dollars to student organizations. The ever-growing number of student organizations and money requests have spurred conversations in and outside of SGA about adjusting the allocation process. This year, student organizations, in total, requested over $722,000 worth of funding. Initially, the Student Government Association only had $165,000 to give, which was later upped to $180,000 through reserve money. A week later, an emergency Senate meeting was called to allocate an additional $33,000. “This is a great year and a great example to recognize we cannot afford this program, yet we also cannot afford to not provide dollars to student organizations because constitutionally we are required to,” Gabriel Fonseca, who helps advise SGA, said at the Aug. 30 Senate meeting. The Sunflower met with SGA and deans of various colleges on campus to discuss what the future of student organization funding from SGA could look like.

POSSIBILITIES GOING FORWARD Government Oversight Committee Chairperson Jay Thompson touched on a few ways SGA’s allocation process could proceed. The current process is 3 years old, and according to Thompson, it was created to ensure that smaller groups weren’t left out when asking for money. In 2021, which was the process’s first year, 32 organizations collectively requested over $206,000; just over $95,000 was allocated. “For the first year, it worked,” Thompson said. “It was a little confusing, and people didn’t know what was going on, but it worked.” 2022 saw 40 organizations request over $420,000, with less than half being allocated: $163,000. This year, though, Thompson said the amount of requests was “incredible, but insane.” Seventy-four organizations went through the allocation process, almost double the past two years. SGA could only afford to fund a quarter of the $722,000 request.

Due to the enormity of requests this year, Thompson laid out some potential solutions to the issue of funding: Increasing the amount of money for appropriations To increase the amount of money that the SGA can give in appropriations, the association has to receive more dollars from student fees. Currently, organizations receive funding from SGA’s budget. SGA receives money for its budget from student fees. SGA is part of a three-year cycle that has various student support services request a portion of student fee money once every three years. SGA’s last time in the cycle was last year, meaning the association is not scheduled to go up again until 2026. A rule in SGA’s bylaws permits any entity in the three-year student fees cycle to request a “one-time budget enhancement allocation.” Later this month, SGA leadership will meet to decide if the association wants to request more in student fees to then increase the allocation budget. “That’s something that joint leadership will have to decide on, which we haven’t had those conversations yet, but I think we’re all in agreement that we’ll have to,” Thompson said. Thompson said a task force will be put together to help determine how much SGA should request if they go up for the student fee cycle again. There have been discussions about who to include on the task force, such as past members of student fees committee, previous treasurers and SGA members with emeritus status. Adopting a cap on funding requests Thompson discussed potentially capping student funding requests in the allocation process. Currently, there is no limit on the amount that student organizations can request from SGA. Some organizations requested as low as $700 to as high as $75,000 this year. “I’m sure for the larger groups, that (cap) probably won’t be tiny or anything but still be a good amount of money,” Thompson said. “But caps are necessary so that we don’t have multiple groups requesting $50,000 plus because that’s difficult to fill.” Splitting the fund for student organizations into categories As the process currently stands,

“ This is a great year and a great example to recognize we cannot afford this program, yet we also cannot afford to not provide dollars to student organizations. GABRIEL FONSECA Interim Executive Director of Student Engagement

all organizations are within the same group when it comes to funding requests. Thompson said one way to correct the issue of funding could be to split organizations into categories. “That could help us not ignore the small groups as much,” Thompson said. Thompson said that regardless of what the association decides to do, greater participation from the deans of colleges at the university, as well as the university foundation, is necessary moving forward. Thompson said this would help “alleviate that gap in funding to make sure that these groups don’t have to dissolve.”

DEAN RESPONSES The Sunflower reached out to the six major colleges and their deans to ask what financial support has and could look like for organizations under their college. Four of the six deans responded. The conversation about funding has been “bubbling up” among deans, according to Andrew Hippisley, dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “The deans meet once or twice a month, and we discussed this recently,” Hippisley said. “And we all thought, wouldn’t it be good to have SGA in the room and just say, ‘This is the problem we’re trying to solve.’” Hippisley said while this meeting has not happened yet, it is being arranged. “The deans and the colleges — they really want this to work.” College of Engineering One of the biggest asks in the allocation process this year came from organizations associated with the College of Engineering. Shocker Racing Baja and Shocker Racing Formula SAE requested $42,343.60

and $75,000, respectively. Both organizations received just shy of $20,000 in the final allocation round. According to both teams in August, the engineering college did not fund either of the groups. College of Engineering Dean Anthony Muscat said future funding will have to be split in some capacity among departments. “The lion’s share will have to come from the College of Engineering,” Muscat said. “We can’t keep asking the Student Government Association because I met with them, and they made it clear that their funding is limited.” Muscat said of the 20-plus student organizations under the college, several are supported in various ways. “Not only monetarily but in staff time,” he said. “We have quite a bit of staff time going to help mentor and coach the student organizations.” The dean said, while the college wants to support the organizations, there have to be “reasonable plans.” Muscat also talked about having to prioritize where funding goes in the college and what warrants investment. “The flip side of it is … I don’t want students thinking ‘I can’t participate in this organization because I don’t have the funds,’” he said. Some of the engineering groups receive chunks of money from outside funding and donations; Muscat said going to companies and fundraising will be one of his priorities this year so that students don’t have to. “I can’t cover everything, but we are ready to make a commitment,” he said. Muscat said he’s also asked his staff to help generate ideas for funding to help make future years more predictable. Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hippisley said there are 13 student organizations he knows of that fall under LAS. Out of these, Model United Nations had one of the largest funding requests at $42,000. At the end of the allocation process, Model UN came out with $9,970. “Their numbers have just grown; there are 26 (students) now,” Hippisley said. “They have more students wanting to do it than ever. They never had a budget for that many students.”

SEE FUNDING, PAGE 2

NEWS

2 | Nov. 16, 2023

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Two killed and one injured in car crash on Wednesday BY ALLISON CAMPBELL news@thesunflower.com

Two Wichita women, including a Wichita State student, were killed in a car crash early Wednesday morning after their vehicle slid into a pole near Pawnee and Woodlawn. The driver, 20-year-old Ahmad Juma, was taken to the hospital in serious condition but was released Wednesday afternoon. Juma, a WSU student, was driving on the 6200 block of East Pawnee with 19-year-old WSU student Carol Chakra and 19-year-old Lian Awadi around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The trio was driving alongside another vehicle of friends. While traveling westbound on Pawnee, Juma’s Lexus went off the road and struck a utility pole before rolling multiple times. Juma, Chakra and Awadi were thrown from the vehicle. The second vehicle was not involved in the crash. Chakra was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. Awadi and Juma were transported to a nearby hospital, where Awadi was later pronounced dead. Following treatment, Juma was released from the hospital the same day.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff ’s Office said it did “not appear alcohol was a factor in the crash at this time.” While the incident is still under investigation, lieutenant Nathan Gibbs said in a press release that “speed is a likely factor.” When contacted by The Sunflower, Wichita State expressed concern regarding the mental well-being of those close to Chakra, Awadi and Juma. “Whenever a student dies, it’s heartbreaking for our Shocker community, especially for those who were close to the student,” Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, WSU director of communication, wrote in an email. “Any classmates or friends needing support are encouraged to reach out to Counseling and Psychological Services at wichita.edu/caps or the CARE Team at wichita.edu/ care.” Westbound Pawnee was closed for several hours as crews worked to clear the scene, but it has since been reopened. Officers are currently seeking additional information about the crash. Those with information are encouraged to call the sheriff ’s office patrol division at 316-660-3760.

The Student Senate listens to student organizations present during public forum on Aug. 30. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower

FUNDING FROM PAGE 1 Hippisley said LAS offers faculty and staff support to organizations. “I also chip in money, too, so when organizations don’t have enough,” he said. Hippisley didn’t outline any potential solutions moving forward but highlighted the importance of conversations between different campus entities. “We have to be transparent,” Hippisley said. “The students need to know where their fees are going.” College of Applied Studies The College of Applied Studies only has one registered student organization that falls into SGA’s allocation process: the Wichita State Counseling Student Association. This group received

$1,570 in the final allocation round after initially requesting $7,997.90. CAS Dean Jennifer Friend said no one from the counseling association has come to her with budgetary concerns. She said the college’s Department of Intervention Services & Leadership in Education supports this group with “things like arranging venues and helping with planning professional development activities, doing marketing, and encouraging students to attend the activities that the group does.”

College of Fine Arts Dean of Fine Arts Marie Bukowski responded to The Sunflower but declined an interview, writing via email, “I definitely look forward to a collaboration between the College of Fine Arts and SGA as we move forward. However, at this time, I am not interested in an

interview on this topic.”

College of Health Professions The College of Health Professions did not respond to The Sunflower’s multiple requests to speak.

Barton School of Business The Barton School of Business did not respond to The Sunflower’s multiple requests to speak.

HOW TO SHARE INPUT Students or others interested in sharing their thoughts with SGA can do so at the Senate’s public forum. Public forums and the Senate are held every other week on Wednesdays in the Sante Fe Room on the second floor of the Rhatigan Student Center. Meetings start at 6:30 p.m. To sign up for a public forum, visit wichita.edu/student_life/sga.

Liberal Arts and Sciences gen ed changes take effect in fall 2024 BY COURTNEY BROWN

newsprojects@thesunflower.com

The biggest college of study at Wichita State is set to reduce the required general education coursework for its students. Starting in fall 2024, the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) will change its college’s general education requirements, which will only have students complete courses that fall into nine “competencies.” Andrew Hippisley, the LAS dean, said the college hopes that changing LAS general education requirements will clarify to students what skills they’re learning; the advisers and faculty will be trained to explain these skills to students. “The real change in requirements is to make it explicit that while you’re doing this course … you are learning how to think critically or you’re learning how to argue or to communicate,” Hippisley said. All incoming LAS students will be required to complete the nine competencies. Transfer students may come in with courses that satisfy competencies if determined as equivalents. Current LAS students will have the option to switch to the new LAS graduation requirements, and Hippisley said advisers will discuss with students the potential benefits of doing so. He said LAS plans to do outreach in the spring. Currently, LAS general education requirements consist of 12 hours of foundation courses and at least 45 credit hours in upper division courses. Under the new requirements, the nine competencies are divided into three categories: communication, human behavior

“

I want students to be excited about their education, not just their subject. PATRICIA PHILLIPS Director of LAS Advising Center

and diversity, and scientific interpretation and analysis. Each competency, except for the foreign language requirement, can be fulfilled by one three-credit hour course, according to Patricia Phillips, the director of the LAS Advising Center. “So it’s a reduction for the students, and hopefully, it’s more meaningful instead of ‘Here, choose 24 hours from this basket and 24 from that basket,’” Phillips said. “We want (students) to know what they’re getting out of those courses. That way, they can put it on their resume and be better applicants for jobs.” In addition to helping students become more marketable, Hippisley said that the nine competencies will also allow for greater flexibility in selecting courses. For example, LAS students are currently required to take American politics or one of two United States history courses, but to meet the civic responsibility competency, they can choose from various electives. “We don’t want it to be there’s only one course or there’s only two courses (to meet a competency); we want there to be 15 or 18 courses,” Hippisley said. Hippisley said that some competency courses may also meet general education or major requirements as well. In addition, certain courses may fulfill two competencies at once, giving

students the option to complete the competencies with reduced courses. Phillips gave an example of how a foreign language class could meet two competencies. “To me, it makes a lot of sense that our students could do both the world language and the cultural literacy (competencies),” Phillips said. “Because to me, if you’re not learning about the culture of the language that you’re learning to speak, you’re missing a big chunk of it.” Phillips said for courses to satisfy two competencies, faculty must ensure their learning objectives meet both sets of competencies and receive approval. According to Hippisley, the faculty in all LAS departments have copies of the competencies and are currently submitting their courses’ syllabi, specificizing which competency their course meets. After, a committee will approve it or specify any adjustments needed. When students pick their classes for the fall of 2024, Hippisley said the competencies will be programmed into the online course schedule, with a drop-down menu to show which classes fit each competency. Hippisley said the faculty in LAS voted and approved the new general education requirements. “I think there was consensus that our current requirements are confusing,” Phillips said. “And again, a lot of people had the opinion that it seemed more like a checklist.” For two years, Hippisley, Phillips and a committee with members of different disciplines worked on the new LAS gen ed requirements, reading articles and considering other schools’

processes. Hippisley said the competencies drew inspiration from the American Association of Colleges and Universities, an organization that WSU is involved with. Hippisley said they also worked to ensure faculty understood the new changes and “bought into it.” “To be honest, when you make a change like this, it takes a lot of time to get it right and to get people to understand what you’re doing and to listen to their objections and take them on board,” Hippisley said. “A number of times, we have thought we were there, and someone from outside the committee would raise a point, and we had to adjust because they were right.” One of the “big changes” Hippisley noted is the technological literacy competency, which falls under the scientific interpretation and application competency. He said that regardless of students’ degrees, LAS wants students to understand how technology works and how to solve problems. “You can take that with you, have it on your CV (curriculum vitae), and it makes you more marketable,” Hippisley said. Phillips said she wants students to enjoy taking courses outside of their major requirements and for LAS graduates to realize they gain skills beyond just “a piece of paper.” “I’m very excited about this because, well, I want students to be excited about their education, not just their subject,” Phillips said. “To me, these fill in the gaps. (With) these, you can walk out of WSU with a liberal arts and science degree and say, ‘Wow, I got a really good education. I’m prepared for the future.’”

MISSION 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 learning experience for students, who will have the final authority over what is published.

The Sunflower, founded in 1896, is the student-run newspaper covering Wichita State University. The print edition is published Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. The staff publishes daily online at www.thesunflower.com. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Salsabila Attaria arts@thesunflower.com

ADVERTISING/DESIGN MANAGER Thy Vo admanager@thesunflower.com

SPORTS EDITOR Melanie Rivera-Cortez sports@thesunflower.com

MANAGING EDITOR Trinity Ramm managing@thesunflower.com

OPINION EDITOR Sascha Harvey opinion@thesunflower.com

The Sunflower is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Association and the Wichita Journalism Collaborative.

INVESTIGATIVE NEWS EDITOR Courtney Brown newsprojects@thesunflower.com

PHOTO EDITOR Kristy Mace photo@thesunflower.com

NEWS EDITOR Allison Campbell newsprojects@thesunflower.com

PODCAST EDITOR Jacinda Hall podcast@thesunflower.com

One free copy of The Sunflower is available to members of the WSU community. Additional copies may be obtained from the newsroom, Elliott Hall 019. The Sunflower is private property and unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable. The Sunflower is funded by a combination of print and online advertisement sales and student fees allocated by the Student Government Association.

COMMUNICATION: Written Communication: Produce

clear, organized writing and express and ideas and thoughts Textual Analysis: Understand, analyze and respond critically to variety of written texts Oral Communication: Give speeches appropriate for topic, audience and occasion, effectively using research and organization

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND DIVERSITY: Civic Responsibility: Become

informed and engaged citizens; articulate one’s views and evaluate different perspectives; assess political systems Cultural Literacy: Recognize nuances

of their own culture and others’ cultures

World Language: Gain intermediate

proficiency in a world language

SCIENTIFIC INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION: Quantitative Literacy: Reason and

solve quantitative problems from various contexts; understand and make arguments supported by quantitative evidence

Scientific Reasoning: Understand

scientific reasoning; experiment to form and test hypotheses and theories Technological Literacy: Use

technology to address problem in students’ discipline or outside of it

EDITOR IN CHIEF Mia Hennen editor@thesunflower.com

LEGAL

THE NINE LAS COMPETENCIES:

019 Elliott Hall 1845 N. Fairmount Ave. Campus Box 134 Wichita, KS 67260-0134 EDITORIAL

Mia Hennen: 316-978-6906 editor@thesunflower.com ADVERTISING

Thy Vo: 316-978-6905 admanager@thesunflower.com FACULTY ADVISOR

Amy DeVault: 316-978-6052 amy.devault@wichita.edu

CORRECTIONS

The Sunflower is committed to accuracy in its publications. If you find an error in any of its publications, please email the editor at editor@thesunflower.com immediately.

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Nov. 16, 2023 | 3

‘NEED TO BE HEARD’

Suha Jibril, a math lecturer, and Jens Kreinath, an associate professor of anthropology, read the names and ages of some of the first Palestinians to die on or after Oct. 7. The pair read more than 220 names during the Arab Student Association’s vigil for lost Palestinian lives on Nov. 9. The organization also hung sheets of paper that included the names and ages of every Palestinian that died from Oct. 7 until Oct. 26| Photos by Allison Campbell / The Sunflower

Kendah Ballout expresses her frustration about companies providing funding to Israel, like Boeing, and their prominence on campus. She encouraged vigil attendees, especially aerospace students, to strategically boycott brands that provide funding to Israel.

Arab Student Association vigil honors Palestinian lives lost BY GENESIS MERRIETT genserudition@gmail.com

s the crisis in Gaza worsens, students at Wichita State are still advocating for and honoring the lives of Palestinians facing violence. On Thursday, Nov. 9, the Arab Student Association (ASA) hosted a vigil for the lives lost in Palestine outside of the Grace Memorial Chapel near the Rhatigan Student Center. During the vigil, Suha Jibril, a math lecturer, and Jens Kreinath, an associate professor of anthropology, read about 200 names and ages of the first Palestinians to die since Oct. 7. ASA hung sheets of paper, including the names and ages of every Palestinian that died from Oct. 7 through Oct. 26. There was also a table with flyers about upcoming events to discuss and support Palestine, as well as a poster board with facts and figures about the conflict. After Jibril and Kreinath finished reading the names, ASA opened the microphone to anyone willing to share their thoughts and feelings about the tragedy. The creation of Israel in 1948 led to displacing more than 700,000 Palestinians and the capture of 78% of the region’s land. Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist political group, launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. According to Reuters, the Israeli death toll of that day has been lowered from 1,400 to 1,200. Israel started a bombing campaign on Gaza shortly after Oct. 7.

As of Nov. 14, 11,423 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7. This includes 4,630 children, 198 medical staff and 41 journalists. Of the 35 hospitals in Gaza, 21 are out of service due to bombing and lack of medical supplies and electricity. There are about 42 bombs dropped by Israel every hour. On Oct. 12, another vigil for Palestinian lives lost was held on the Wichita State campus. According to Abdelkarim Jibril, a computer science major and an ASA event coordinator, ASA felt it was important to host another nearly a month later due to the drastic increase in the death toll and violence. The death toll was over 1,500 Palestinians on Oct. 12. “We’re just trying to raise awareness that so many innocent people are getting obliterated because ‘Israel has the right to defend itself,’” Jibril said. “Is it defense when you’re killing 10,000 people, who most of them have nothing to do with any of that?” Jibril hoped that anybody who saw the vigil would look into the issue and its history further. “There’s a lot of Palestinians on campus, a lot of Arabs,” he said. “Our voices need to be heard.” Jibril is Palestinian and has extended family in the West Bank. He said he and his family in the United States worry about them every day. “We have lost family,” he said. “We’re scared even in the West Bank, even though it’s not getting bombed the hell out of like Gaza is. They’re not getting money anymore. Things aren’t coming in;

things aren’t going out.” Several people attending the vigil said the crisis in Palestine has been mentally draining. Jibirl said he sees the violence in Palestine whenever he opens social media. “You see people dying, see people crying, screaming, every single (time) — these are innocent people there,” Jibril said. “What did they do? They did nothing to deserve this.” Most American news media outlets have focused on Israel’s perspective, giving a one-sided view of the violence in Palestine, according to Jibril. Jibril mentioned that Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian U.S. Congress member, was recently censored due to her support for a free Palestine. Jibril said this contributes to Palestinians not being heard in America. “Raising awareness for something such as the Palestinian cause in America, where it’s not very known about, is very important,” he said. Easton Vogt, a student speaker at the vigil, said, “It’s so hard, and it’s so sad and so tragic that we are in the minority and seeing the crisis as it is in America.” Vogt said that for the U.S. to call out Israel on its war crimes, Americans would have to admit that the U.S. committed war crimes during the end of World War II with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the violence in the Vietnam War, invading Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11, and crimes against Venezuela. “It is hard for many Americans

to look at the crisis (in Palestine) and see it as bad because seeing Israel engaging in the atrocities that it is causing are no different than what we’ve (the U.S.) done for 100 years in modern warfare,” he said. “It takes a lot of bravery for lots of Westerners to look at this because you’re also looking at yourselves.” According to The Guardian, the United Nations (UN) said Israel and Hamas may have both committed war crimes since Oct. 7. The UN said Hamas’s “indiscriminate killing of hundreds of noncombatants” and taking Israeli citizens as hostages is a crime under international humanitarian law. The UN also said that Israel’s siege on Gaza may have committed the war crime of “collective punishment.” The UN called Israel’s siege and their instructions for Gaza’s population to evacuate, along with Israel denying Gaza food, water and electricity, as “not compatible with international humanitarian law.” Kreinath shared the significance of Nov. 9 with the audience and the history behind Israel. “It is today, 100 years ago, that Hitler made the first attempts in 1923 on Nov. 9 on the government’s democratically elected government in Munich, so there’s a significance to this day,” he said. “Today is also the 85th anniversary of the heist, Kristallnacht, which, in a way, tragically perpetuated some of the problems we are encountering today.” At the end of World War II,

many Jewish people embraced the Zionist Movement after fearing persecution from the Nazi regime. This caused many to flee to Palestine and press for a Jewish state. He also shared how he thinks some of the strategies used for propaganda about the violence in Palestine are similar to those used by the Nazi regime. One method dehumanizes your enemy. Many people at the vigil shared how to combat those methods and help Palestinians. Jibril recommended making social media posts and using your platform to uplift Palestinian voices or anybody else speaking about the conflict. Kendah Ballout, another student speaker at the vigil, shared how boycotting weapons manufacturers would decrease their profits. “The people benefiting most from this war are the CEOs of Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon and other weapons manufacturers,” Ballout said. “If you are an engineering major at this university, I am begging you to not use your knowledge and your education to build weapons and bombs that are murdering us.” Kreinath also drew everyone’s attention to how incomprehensible 11,000 deaths are. He shared his sorrow at every loss of potential for the betterment of humanity each individual carried with them. “Every one of these persons had a past, a present and no future.”

‘We’re faking it’: Fight Club teaches students stage combat BY JACOB UNRUH

jacobunruh333@gmail.com

What happens in fight club, stays in fight club … at least until the next performance. Wichita State’s Fight Club teaches students the basics of stage-choreographed combat. While the club prioritizes safety, Cat Kee, a theatre performance senior and the club’s president, said their name has elicited some shocked reactions from others. “We had somebody that, when it came up, said, ‘What is fight club, and why are we promoting violence in the university?’” Kee said. “Well, you see, we’re faking it.” Kee, who uses they/them pronouns, took two stage combat classes at Wichita State. They decided to start the fight club with the help of senior Emily Redfield and assistant professor of performing arts Joseph Urick after the class was not offered again this year. “We wanted to give everyone the experience of having this kind of foundational work if they wanted it,” Kee said. “Anyone who’s seen a TV show or movie or play, if there’s a fight scene, and they go,

‘Hey, I wonder how they did that.’” The class covers a variety of types of stage fighting, including punches, slaps, kicks, grapples, falls and swordplay. “Everything that we’re doing as actors is choreographed,” Kee said. “Almost like a dance, with the goal of making the story work on stage, making it look intentional, but then keeping each other safe.” Kee said consent and safety are the top priorities for the club. “We’re always checking in: ‘Is that okay? Do you need more pressure, less pressure?’” Kee said. Sky Duncan, a senior theatre major who wants to do motioncapture acting, said the club has provided necessary skills for the field. “Having that base stuff, it helps you get on the ground quicker (in motion-capture acting),” Duncan said. “And then if you’re able to do it faster, they’re going to be a little bit more happy with you and keep you on longer and potentially think about you for other projects.” Duncan called stage fighting “physically fun, mentally fun and emotionally rewarding.” “It does work your whole body in different types of ways,” Duncan said. “So it can be good exercise in a way that you may not regularly

Morgan Holcomb and Zac Richardson, both theatre performance majors, practice stage kicks. The two participated in a newly formed Fight Club at Wichita State. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower

exercise.” Lynnaya McClure, a third-year theatre performance major, said she had no experience with stage fighting prior to joining the club. McClure noted that the instructors were good at communicating their knowledge to beginners.

“I started with essentially nothing, and I’ve already learned so much,” McClure said. “Even people who do know more, the instructors are really wonderful; the people are wonderful. I recommend joining the club to learn and be in a cool

community.” The Wichita State Fight Club is open to all, including non theater majors. The group meets every other Tuesday on the Wilner Auditorium stage at 4 p.m. Their next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21.

4 | Nov. 16, 2023 www.thesunflower.com

SPORTS

HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact the Sports editor, Melanie Rivera-Cortez sports@thesunflower.com

Emerson Wilford and Morgan Stout block a shot from UTSA. Volleyball faced off against UTSA in a two game series. | Photo by Kadrian Ayarza / The Sunflower

Volleyball takes two against UTSA BY MELANIE RIVERA-CORTEZ Isaac Abidde prepares to shoot as Friends University goes up to block him. Abidde scored 12 points during the game. | Photo by Kadrian Ayarza / The Sunflower

Men’s basketball cruises to 30-point victory in intercity match up against Friends University BY MELANIE RIVERA-CORTEZ sports@thesunflower.com

Despite only being 6.7 miles away from each other, the last time Wichita State basketball faced off against Friends University was in 1943. Following the 80-year wait, Wichita State beat Friends, 95-65, in Charles Koch Arena on Nov. 12 Junior guard Xavier Bell said the game against Friends shows the players that they can mentally lock in for games down the line. “We know it was obviously not a Division I talent, but at the same time, just coming in with the right approach, right mentality and making sure we’re not making any dumb fouls or any dumb

turnovers,” Bell said. Friends came out swinging in the first few minutes of the game, holding a 14-9 lead. “When you’re down 17-15 after the first two media (breaks), you kind of abandon (the game plan) real quickly and realize that we need to do a better job of pushing up on their shooters,” Paul Mills, head men’s basketball coach said. Graduate student and forward Dalen Ridgnal was battling through a back injury during the game but helped create a 17-0 run that led to the Shockers gaining a lead over the Falcons. Ridgnal scored 11 points in four minutes after entering the match and had six rebounds throughout the

The Wichita State cheer team celebrates the volleyball team’s success at the Oct. 20 match. The cheer team performed on the court between sets. | Photo by Monique Bever / The Sunflower

game. “I thought Dalen was a huge spark,” Mills said. “He’s such a phenomenal rebounder, but his ability to stretch a floor is pretty impressive. He still (is) kind of laboring through some physical ailments with his back but he stays engaged.” Redshirt sophomore forward Isaac Abidde, who scored 12 points, said he and Ridgnal ignited the team from the bench. “We provide a lot of energy off the bench,” Abidde said about him and Ridgnal. “He gives me energy; I feel like I might give him energy too, but he always has energy.” Mills said he talked with coaches from Baylor and Gonzaga,

who told him that almost every team plays a non-Division I team in their first three games. Doing so helps coaches get an early idea of what some of the players can offer. All 12 players, who were available to play, saw at least seven minutes on the court. “What happens as the year goes on — there’s greater and greater clarity about what’s required in order to win,” Mills said. “That’s a good thing about these three games.” Up next, Wichita State will travel to South Carolina for the Myrtle Beach Invitational where they will face off against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 16. Tip off is scheduled at 3:30 p.m.

Wichita State dancers do turns and kicks during their Shocker Madness routine in Charles Koch Arena. | Photo by Kristy Mace / The Sunflower

Diving into game day with Wichita State’s Spirit Squad BY GENESIS MERRIETT genserudition@gmail.com

To an untrained eye, both the cheer and dance teams that make up the Spirit Squad at Wichita State may look similar; they both carry pom poms and stand on the sideline at basketball games, yet they are two completely different teams that help enhance the gameday experience. The dance team almost exclusively dances at men’s and women’s basketball games, while the cheer team cheers at volleyball games in addition to basketball games. While both teams perform at games, they also make appearances at community events, parades, and competitions. Both teams play a significant part in the game-day experience, filling empty moments with performances and entertainment for the crowd to achieve the full game-day experience. “I’d say dance is a very crucial part of Shocker basketball games, not only for the game day atmosphere but just also because it’s kind of a huge tradition here at Wichita State to uphold,” Audrey Menzies, a dance member from Kansas City, said. “We’ve had a dance team for almost as long as we’ve had a basketball team.” According to Menzies, although the dance and cheer teams respect and work alongside each other

a lot, the two are completely different teams, which is a common mistake people make. The differences between cheer and dance follow the National Dance Alliance (NDA) guidelines. Dance is not allowed to tumble, pass, or start yelling, among other things. On the other hand, cheer does not do turns, leaps, and jumps. “We use a lot of strength, but we use it in different ways,” Kennedy Willis, another dance team member, said. “(Cheer will) be more sharp, and you want to be more stiff, and you want to have clean motions and clean movement. Whereas with dance, you want to feel the music, you want to be able to shake your poms, and you want to be extra big.” The COVID-19 pandemic left the Spirit Squad with many restrictions, such as not being able to compete. “We just kind of had to get used to it,” Kale Lowery, a cheer squad member, said. “For what this team has had to go through, just mentally, physically, anything like that, I think it really was a win for us.” Winning awards and giving high-energy performances starts with intense practices and early mornings for Spirit Squad members. “We wake up at 5:30 in the morning so we can cheer at games,” LeGrand said.

According to Menzies and Willis, these early morning practices are more of a blessing than a curse, as they free up the rest of the day. “We’re really fortunate with our scheduling that we have those … practices that allow us so much flexibility within our schedule,” Menzies said. The positive attitude and smiles are some of the most iconic parts of cheerleaders and dancers, but both of these seemingly effortless traits take work. “We’re representing an entire university, and so it’s a lot more mentally demanding,” Lowery said. “It’s so much different than a lot of other sports, and we have to do a lot of different things all the time.” Yet another difficulty the Spirit Squad faces is the stigma that cheer and dance are not sports, and they do not often feel respected as such. “We are discredited a lot of what we do, and it just, it comes from people not knowing, and that’s why we want to share with people,” Lowery said. Both teams have won awards at National Cheerleaders Association/National Dance Association Camps this summer and made it to their respective national competitions. The cheer team won first place in Rally Routine for Division I,

brought home the NCA Cheer Stick and won a superior rating for Game Day Performance and Rally Routine. They also won the Most Improved Award for all divisions, earning them a silver paid bid to the NCA Collegiate Cheer Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida. In addition to that, the cheer team was able to go to NCA Nationals this spring. Elise LeGrand, a cheer squad member, said, “It was quite an accomplishment.” The dance team won first place championship of DI Team Performance and brought home the NDA Spirit Stick. They also received a superior rating in Game Day Performance and Team Dance performance. The dance team also won a silver bid to the 2024 NDA Collegiate Dance Championship in Daytona Beach and made it to NDA Nationals this year. “We actually got seventh, which was a huge accomplishment for our team,” Menzies said. “We’re really lucky to work hard all year, and then achieve our goal.” Most of all, the cheer and dance members are grateful for the role they play in creating memorable game days. “I’m very grateful to be one of the first steps in leaving a positive and lasting legacy on this university and for my team,” Menzies said.

sports@thesunflower.com

Wichita State volleyball faced off against the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in a two game series at Charles Koch Arena over the weekend. The Shockers came out on top, winning game one (3-1) and game two (3-0).

GAME 1 Wichita State pulled out a win on Friday night’s win, marking head coach Chris Lamb’s 500th win as a head coach within the program. He became the 19th active NCAA coach to do so and the ninth active coach to reach 500 at one school. The Shockers won the first set and UTSA won the second, but it was junior outside hitter Morgan Weber who had two service aces and nine digs. A block from redshirt junior Morgan Stout and redshirt senior Brylee Kelly cut the Roadrunners advantage to 22-21, but UTSA scored the final three points of the set to make the score 1-1 before the intermission. Wichita State came back ignited in the third set. They did not trail at any point during the last two sets. Senior hitter Sophia Rohling led the Shockers with 17 kills and a hitting percentage of .417 on 36 attacks. Junior middle blocker Natalie Foster ended the match with 14 terminations.

GAME 2 On Veteran’s Day, Wichita State volleyball swept UTSA, (25-21), (25-16), (25-20). During the match, Natalie Foster gained her 1,000th kill. Foster had 12 kills and two blocks during the match. Senior setter Izzi Strand said that Foster is a versatile player who can contact a high ball and has a good snap. “Natalie is just amazing,” Strand said. “There is just no clue to what she’s going to go do.” Strand said when she receives a clean pass and has hitters who are ready, it makes it a lot easier for her to deliver the ball. Strand surpassed 1,000 assists during the match. “It makes it a lot easier for the hitters to not only be confident in their swings but also get one up or two up and just find that hole and get a good swing,” Strand said. Head coach Chris Lamb said he felt that the team got more and more comfortable with the prepared to handle their offense. “We knew what they were about,” Lamb said. Wichita State will travel to Houston for their final two road matches against conference newcomer Rice. The teams will face off on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. The Saturday game will begin at 2 p.m. Both games can be watched via ESPN+.

HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact the Opinion editor, Sascha Harvey opinion@thesunflower.com

OPINION

What can you actually do for Palestine? Here’s an idea Sascha Harvey

opinion@thesunflower.com

OPINION

6,730 miles away, war is raging in the Gaza Strip. Here in Wichita, it’s business as normal for most of us — at least, those of us that have no connections to Israel or Palestine. But there are easy steps everyone can take to make a difference overseas. In a world of social media and disinformation, posts exploiting the suffering of Syrian citizens and video game clips as footage of the current war are easy to find. The identification and spread of facts are crucial to keeping the public out of the dark in relation to what is actually happening. For young Americans with no direct relation to the war in Palestine, it’s easy to be disengaged and leave our activism to Instagram stories. Still, I believe there’s more we can do here in the states to support Palestine. Many in the Palestinian liberation movement are supporting a boycott of Israeli products as well as companies that have been in support of the Israeli government and Zionism. “The Israeli regime’s economy is not self-sufficient and is heavily dependent on trade and imports, especially energy, as well as exports, which makes it vulnerable to foreign boycotts,” Ivan Kesic wrote in an article for PressTV. The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement is led by the Palestinian sect of the BDS National Committee (BNC). BDS pushes audiences to pursue a targeted boycott — which is proven to be more impactful, as shown by the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the Civil Rights movement in America and the anti-Britishcolonialism movement in India — that focuses on fewer companies to maximize impact. Although not included in the BDS targeted boycott,

I urge consumers to boycott Starbucks as well for the corporation’s response to the Starbucks Workers Union’s message in support of Palestinian liberation. Starbucks has also been historically anti-union and hasn’t reached a labor agreement with any branches that have unionized, so maybe frappuccino fans should look for a new coffee shop anyway. On Wichita State’s campus, Starbucks is far from the only choice for coffee. The Groundhouse in Shocker Hall and Cargill Cafe in Woolsey Hall (temporarily closed) both offer coffee sourced from the local Reverie Roasters. In Delano, Leslie Coffee Co. is a great alternative — make sure you stop by before they shut down at the end of this year. For the organic targets, there are many options for avoiding purchasing from the targets. Instead of McDonald’s or Burger King, try Braum’s, Dairy Queen or the locally owned Sport Burger. Instead of Pizza Hut or Papa John’s, visit Papa Murphy’s. To support some smaller chains and businesses, try one of the Ziggy’s locations or Picasso’s Pizzeria. Even if “boycott” feels like a strong word, it can be as simple as avoiding purchasing from these companies for the time being. I think a lot of people feel like they’ve “done their part” by reposting activism on social media, but I urge you to think again and put your money where your mouth is. Although verbal support is obviously very important and crucial to highlighting the terrors of the war (especially in a country with a staunchly Zionist leader), money makes movement. Boycotts are, historically, a great way to make your voice heard, especially with an organization leading supporters in a targeted boycott. If you’re in support of the Palestinian movement, consider how you can make these easy and more mindful choices in alignment with your values.

Nov. 16, 2023 | 5 www.thesunflower.com

Illustrations by Wren Johnson / The Sunflower

WHO’S BEING BOYCOTTED? BY SASCHA HARVEY

opinion@thesunflower.com

The following companies are popular companies included in the boycott for Palestine organized by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. The companies’ relation to Israel ranges from direct support of the Israeli government to occupying territory in Israel.

1. CONSUMER BOYCOTT TARGETS The BDS movement calls for a boycott of these brands due to the company’s history of complicity in Israeli apartheid. - PUMA - SodaStream - RE/MAX - Products of Israel

2. DIVESTMENT TARGETS The BDS movement wants to pressure governments and institutions to divest from these companies due to their business in Israel’s illegal settlement, according to the UN database. - HD Hyundai, Volvo and CAT - Chevron

3. PRESSURE (NON-BOYCOTT) TARGETS The BDS movement calls for pressure campaigns against these brands due to their complicity in Israeli apartheid. For strategic reasons, BDS has not called for a boycott but instead for supporters and institutions to pressure them to end their complicity in Israel’s apartheid and support of the Israeli government. - Google - Amazon - Disney - Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia

4. ORGANIC BOYCOTT TARGETS The BDS movement did not initiate boycotts of these brands but is in support of the boycotts due to their support of Israel in the genocide of Palestinians. - McDonald’s and Burger King - Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s - Wix A full list of all companies being boycotted is available at bdsmovement.net.

Don’t shame people for not boycotting for Palestine Jacinda Hall

podcast@thesunflower.com

OPINION

Let me start by prefacing that this piece is not meant to say “boycotting is bad.” I am in full support of boycotting brands, but some things that should be known when it comes to the act of boycotting. I also would like to preface that I am both pro-Jewish and pro-Palestine, and this column is not meant to be antisemitic or Zionist. The act of boycotting has been around for hundreds of years. In fact, it was popularized in the late 1800s by Charles Stewart Parnell during the Irish land agitation of 1880 to protest high rents and land evictions. Boycotting was also big during the Civil Rights movement after Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat for a white man on a bus. Many people boycotted the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama. Now, since the rise in awareness of the Israel-Palestine conflict, many people are boycotting businesses, including McDonald’s and Starbucks. McDonald’s has been under fire for giving free meals to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and Starbucks is being boycotted for suing its unions over posts in support of the liberation of Palestine. While both companies’ actions are bad, we shouldn’t shame people for not boycotting these companies. There are many reasons why people aren’t able to boycott these companies. For some people, including students on campus, if they don’t want to go to Starbucks, they’re not left with many options other than Fairmount Coffee Company or Credo Coffee Shop, which may not fit very many people’s personal values either since they are both affiliated with religious organizations and/or located

inside a church. Other on-campus coffee shops, such as Cargill in Woolsey Hall and the Groundhouse, have limited hours throughout the week and on the weekends. These limited options for your everyday cup of coffee can leave some people stuck in the middle on where to go when they spend most of their time on campus. Also, boycotting can also have some classist undertones. Wichita, as a city, has 44 square miles of food deserts. Wichita State University is located in and around several of these food deserts, which means, for some people, the two McDonald’s restaurants within a mile of each other on Hillside are the only option they have. Not to mention, McDonald’s is a franchise, and all McDonald’s here in Wichita are owned by Lane Enterprises, who happen to be a family of local business owners. By boycotting McDonald’s, you could be hurting the local economy. The specific branch of McDonald’s that gave free meals to the IDF was a branch that was based in Israel and not the U.S. or McDonald’s as a company. McDonald’s franchises in other middle-eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey put out statements saying that they were disassociating themselves from McDonald’s in Israel. Because McDonald’s is a franchise, all owners have different opinions on the IsraelPalestine conflict. Some of the other owners across the world, like the ones mentioned above, could very well disagree with the decision the branch in Israel made — we just don’t know. All I am saying here is, before you boycott, please do your research on these companies because while most are corporately owned, some are not. If you see someone drinking coffee from Starbucks or eating food from McDonald’s, don’t judge or shame them.

‘The Sims 4’ continues to disappoint despite constant updates Makenzie Miller

makenzieleightart@gmail.com

OPINION

“The Sims,” a popular and well-known video game franchise, combines its life simulator qualities with (a lot of ) chaos. With four installments in the franchise’s repertoire, it’s disappointing that the newest installment, “The Sims 4,” is one of the most lackluster. “The Sims 4” came out on Sept. 2, 2014, with the base game originally costing $40. As of now, the game is free (even though players who paid the original cost received no compensation, but that is a different conversation). With “The Sims 4,” players all around were ecstatic for the new content, better graphics and a more immersive gaming experience, but were immediately let down. The new game had better

graphics than its previous games, but the customization, from clothing and decor to creating the Sims themselves, paled in comparison to the previous game, “The Sims 3.” Many, including myself, argued that the base game clothes were dull and the color choices were often ugly, including hair customization. Even now, I find a lot of the clothing in the game to come off as really repetitive or just plain boring, especially when it comes to colored hair. On top of this, I find that a lot of the clothing is not flattering on Sims, and if you try to put masculine clothes on a feminine body or the opposite, it looks ill-fitting. This is far from the biggest problem with the game, though. As well as clothing options, the Sims’ whims, which are things the characters like to do, as well as their “moodlets” (moods) are often the same no matter what

personality traits you have given them. While in past games, these aspects were interesting and unique, now it can be easy to simply forget the traits you have given Sims because of how little they matter. Personally, I was super excited about the open world aspect that was assumed to be in “The Sims 4,” due to the fact it was introduced in “The Sims 3.” But the open world concept was actually taken away with the new installment. This was confusing in many ways, considering the fact that the open world concept was well-received by players, including me. I feel like “The Sims 4” has the same issue with non-playable characters (NPCs) that “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” has, being that these NPCs have zero personality. In past “Sims” games, the NPC characters all felt alive and had lots of interesting lore and personality. “The Sims 4” severely

lacked this, and many of the NPCs feel the exact same as one another. The gameplay was also disappointing for lots of players. I found that lots of mechanics simply did not work. If there was any sort of fire in your home (which was rare), oftentimes calling for a fireman did nothing, and your Sim would just burn if they were unable to put the fire out themselves. Many of the concepts in the game felt half-baked and unfinished, which can be extremely frustrating when trying to play the game using the base mechanics. A game from a company like EA should be capable of creating games that have finished experiences that should be able to run smoothly, especially with the popularity of their “Sims” franchise. This even includes Sims’ basic autonomy. Sims can often not take care of themselves at all and have to

be constantly instructed. This can get tedious and annoying, and as someone who is prone to micromanaging the games I play, it can make the game kind of stressful. When toddlers were added — no, they were not originally in the base game; they weren’t added until 2017 — their highchairs did not work. Even now, they can be buggy and hard to deal with. These poor mechanics and late addition are made more disappointing when considering that both “The Sims 2” and “The Sims 3” started with toddlers in the base games. Once again, though, these issues were not the main problem that set off most fans, as that award goes to the lackluster quality of the base game and the millions of expansion packs. Full story available at thesunflower.com

6 | Nov. 16, 2023 www.thesunflower.com

ARTS & CULTURE

In a world of streaming services, CINE-GENIC was opened with the intentions of bringing back the nostalgic feel of renting a film and watching it at home. | Photos by Monique Bever / The Sunflower

HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact the Arts editor, Salsabila Attaria arts@thesunflower.com

CINE-GENIC is located at the back of Vortex Souvenir. For $12 a month, CINE-GENIC members can rent two movies a day from the store.

CINE-GENIC brings nostalgic movie experience back with video rentals BY MONIQUE BEVER monibever@gmail.com

Dust off your DVD and VHS players and head to CINE-GENIC, located at the back of Vortex Souvenir, because video stores are so back. Like many Americans, Kevin Wildt grew up going to video stores. Wildt’s passion for cinema was born while visiting mom-andpop rental shops in a small Kansas town. “I think what excites me is opening my eyes to different stories and parts of the world that I’m not

as familiar with,” Wildt said. “I can kind of be more sympathetic and understanding of other people’s stories, outside of my own, and their perspectives.” As streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max, became more popular, video rental stores went bankrupt and shut down. But when Vortex Souvenir had a VHS tape pop-up shop last winter, Wildt received an ecstatic response from the Wichita community. “Hearing people talk about the

rental stores that they used to go to on Friday nights with their family and like, how much more fun they have looking at shelves and artwork, versus flipping through streaming,” Wildt said, “That was exciting for me to think of.” Though the pop-up, Dud’s Video Palace, was temporary by design, the idea stayed with Wildt. “Once I shut it down, I was like, ‘What would it look like if I did do rentals?’” Wildt said. “And then that started getting me hyped on the idea of seeing that through. And then it was just off to the

races.” Wildt said it took about six months to build his passion project. A standard CINE-GENIC membership costs $12 per month for the ability to rent films. CINE-GENIC standard members are limited to two films at a time with unlimited exchanges and rentals through the member’s subscription. On Letterboxd, CINE-GENIC maintains a library of their entire film collection. As of Nov 11, 2023, CINE-GENIC has nearly 3,000

films. When curating CINE-GENIC’s collection, Wildt pays great attention to his customers’ requests. “If someone recommends something I don’t know, I immediately research it, Wildt said. “And there’s been multiple times where I’ll have that movie here within a week for someone to check out just because they suggested it.” More information about CINEGENIC can be found on their website.

Editors of literary journal Mikrokosmos plan to face challenges head-on BY AINSLEY SMYTH

ainsley.smyth3@gmail.com

Clarence Albury, who works under the name Clarence Carvell, picked up a small brown book from the corner of his desk, the very first copy of the Mikrokosmos literary journal from 1958. “It’s really remarkable,” Albury said. “All of the issues back in those days were really small. They were very short, but I thought the writing was amazing.” Mikrokosmos publishes poetry, art and prose from Wichita State students and alumni. Albury became involved with Mikrokosmos as soon as he came to WSU in 2021. After holding the position of poetry editor in 2022, he took on the editor in chief role for the 70th issue, which will be released in the spring. Albury had a long journey before becoming an editor at Mikrokosmos. He’s from the Bahamas, where he lived until he was 21. He was a part-time student at a local college but wanted to move faster in his education, so a friend suggested he look abroad in hopes of finding a scholarship to fund his studies. Albury applied to a university in Shanghai, China, and received a full, five-year scholarship. In Shanghai, he studied Chinese language and culture and found a job teaching English. Albury said the move had its challenges. “It look some getting used to,” he said. “Being in any new environment takes time, takes a little bit of courage. I mean, I’m 10,000-plus miles away from my country. I couldn’t just jump on a plane and then go back, so I had to figure out a way to adjust and sort of acclimate to this new environment that I was in.” After five years, Albury returned home to the Bahamas with a new goal in mind. He told himself that if he made it through the COVID-19 pandemic, he would apply for graduate school and pursue writing. “2021 came around; I sent in my application and got accepted into the writing program here,” he said. Albury said there were several things that drew him to a school so far from home, including the graduate teaching assistant program, which allowed him to fund his Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. Another draw was the school’s connection to some writers he looks up to. “One of my role models came here back in the 1970s: Dr. Maya Angelou,” Albury said. “And a queer Black poet by the name

of Jericho Brown also came to Wichita State a couple of years back to do a poetry workshop.” Albury carries his past experiences into his editing work at Mikrokosmos. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life, and so I just approached this assignment as just another one of those opportunities that you get to do something great, to do something wonderful,” he said. “I’m just seeing this as an opportunity for me to just do something different. Do something bold; that’s what Mikrokosmos has always been about.” Mikrokosmos has an online counterpart, mojo. The two publications share an editing team that is responsible for going through the hundreds of submissions that the publications receive each year. Albury is responsible for putting together the editing team, leading the search for the best submissions, and making decisions about the final journal as well as how to market it to readers. “This role is just being the visionary behind what this new issue is going to look like,” he said. “I have a whole bunch of ideas going on in my head, but obviously, I can’t put all of them into the books, but I do enjoy the process.” Hannah Holliday, Mikrokosmos’ genre editor, said the journal provides a chance for any students, staff and alumni to get their work published. “This is one of the best ways to get involved and also to give recognition to all these really talented writers on campus, especially that are not in the English department,” Holliday said. “We even have engineering majors submitting poetry, and that’s really important that they get that creative outlet, and they get recognition for their amazing work.” Albury and his team have been faced with the resounding impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on Mikrokosmos and mojo. “We discovered that there were past submissions, dating back to 2020, that had not been processed,” Albury said. “What it means is a lot of the people that submitted those things had no answer. They didn’t know if they were accepted or not.” The team decided to go through this backlog of submissions and reach out and apologize to the writers and artists who never heard back. “We just thought that we wanted to start this new issue on the right foot, in a positive light, and thankfully, that apology was well received,” Albury said.

The pandemic also led to the cancellation of readings in local coffee shops, bars and bookstores. Albury said bringing these events back is a priority for the journal. “We think that’s an opportunity to give the journal some exposure; it’s an opportunity for us to get the word out about what we’re doing, too,” Albury said. “We think we need to because the journal has been around for so long; we think more people should know about it.” Over the summer, Albury and his team were hit with yet another familiar challenge. “We had received some funding, then it was cut, as was other groups’,” Albury said. “And so I had to go before SGA and give a little speech and tell them, ‘Hey, in order for us to do the work that we do, we need funding to keep ourselves afloat.’” Albury said he doesn’t see this threat to funding going away, but his goal for the journal is to stay ahead of the issue and raise some of the required money on their own. “One of my main goals, as this year’s editor in chief, is to make sure that the magazine is profitable, and that means getting all of these issues that are just here on the shelves, to get them in a store, get them sold,” he said, gesturing to the rows of Mikrokosmos volumes on the shelf beside him. He views the funding cuts as a symptom of a wider problem: a disregard for the value of literature. He wants Mikrokosmos and mojo to have a role in fighting back against this. “All across the country, books are being banned, and libraries are closing,” Albury said. “We see this as an opportunity to fight even harder because, at any moment, we could face that same fate.” Albury said he wants to lessen the financial stress for future editors and members of the journal as well. “I don’t want them to face the same hurdles that we’ve had to face,” he said. “We’ll be reaching out to the alumni to see if they’d want to donate money. We’ll be hosting fundraisers to try to get more funding into our accounts.” Albury has high hopes for Mikrokosmos while he’s editor in chief, as well as after he’s left the journal. “I have an opportunity here to give it more exposure, to let more people … know about the great work that we are doing here at Mikrokosmos,” he said. “I just hope that those that come after me have that same passion and that same zeal about the written word.”

Silvia Cotacachi sells indigenous art at the Student Activities Council’s Maker Market. The Maker Market featured local artists and their handmade creations on the first floor of the RSC. | Photo by Monique Bever / The Sunflower

Maker Market highlights small businesses in Wichita BY LYDIA STEEBY

steebylk@gmail.com

By purchasing handmade goods, Wichita State students can support small business owners. To do just this, the Student Activities Council recently hosted the Maker Market in the Rhatigan Student Center, which featured multiple small businesses selling jewelry, clothing, food, paintings and more. One small business in attendance was Jack & Batt Candles, an ethical candle company. The business’ goal is to make candles that don’t contain dangerous chemicals and that are more sustainable than candles found at large-scale stores. “Bath & Body Works has really bad candles; they smell good and whatever, but all chemicals are bad for you,” business owner Jack said. “I wanted to make candles that are good for you.” Jack, who uses they/them pronouns, runs the candle business on top of being a busy student at WSU Tech, while holding a part-time job. They hope to turn candle-making into a full-time business one day. “My business is too small to pay for all my bills … right now,” Jack said. “Eventually, the plan is to do the business.” Jack has been running their business for around a year and a half and they said that having an opportunity to sell candles at Wichita State brings them closer to their target market. “Since I have cartoon-inspired candles, the older generation doesn’t necessarily understand, but the younger people here, they go nuts for that,” Jack said. “They love it; they love my stuff; and I’m happy.” More information about Jack & Batt’s Candles business can be found at jackandbattcandles.com. The Maker Market also hosted

creators selling edible goods, like The Cookie QueenDom. Cookie Queendom is run by Draziarae Cameron, who started baking for fun and to spend time with her family. “My nieces come over a lot, and that’s how we bond — we get in the kitchen, and we start baking,” Cameron said. “That’s kind of how this started; I would go out with them to sell treats and stuff from my brother’s food truck.” Cameron recently started her baking business, and the Maker Market is the first big sale she has attended. “I’ve been baking for about five months now, so it’s really early in the process,” Cameron said. “This is kind of like a market test to see what sells and what’s doing the best so far.” Despite being new to the world of small business, Cameron is optimistic about opening her own bakery in the future. Alongside cookie and candle businesses, the Maker Market also hosted small business veterans, like Barbara Blumenshine and her business Belle & Buddy’s Kitchen. Belle & Buddy’s Kitchen sells jams and jellies in a wide variety of flavors, from classic strawberry jam to jams with jalapeno peppers. Blumenshire started canning 30 years ago as a hobby and has been running her small business for the last eight years. “When our youngest son started high school, I thought it was time to do something for me,” Blumenshire said. “I was a stay-at-home mom, nonstop running and taking them to and from school. They all played sports, music, all of that, so I just never had time to do anything.” Read the rest at www.thesunflower.com.

ARTS & CULTURE

www.thesunflower.com

Nov. 16, 2023 | 7

‘UNIQUELY THEATRICAL’

Shirley sings a romantic ballad to audience volunteer Chaston Simmons. The drag brunch took place on Nov. 12 at Roxy’s Downtown, featuring a variety of performances paired with a meal and mimosas. | Photos by Brianna Cook / The Sunflower

Roxy’s downtown hosts end-of-year drag brunch BY TALIYAH WINN

tmwinn03@gmail.com

Christmas came early at Roxy’s Downtown, where audience members were met with a raunchy drag performance hosted by local drag queen Divinity “Brad Thomison” Masters. “We’re not doing a show in December, so I decided to bring us Christmas today,” Thomison said as Divinity. Second Sunday Drag Brunch is a monthly event at Roxy’s hosted by Divinity and her drag daughters. Other rotating guests also perform. Divinity entered in a red bodysuit lined with white fur and lip-synced to a remix of “Sleigh Bells.” The show’s performances were mixed with live singing and lip-syncing. The songs included “I’m Just Ken” from the “Barbie” movie, “Bubblegum Bitch” by MARINA and “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. Performers were heavily engaged with the audience, mixing prepared performances with improvisational moments. Artist Irox De Panties danced with many members of the audience, accepting his tips with kisses on the hands. Divinity’s “cousin” Shirley performed a rendition of “On My Own” from the musical “Les Misérables” and brought an unsuspecting audience member, Chaston Simmons, on stage to act as a prop. Simmons has performed with Shirley at Roxy’s before and has been performing at the brunch since his senior year at Wichita State University. They worked together in previous productions of “Priscilla,” “The Queen of the Dead” and “The Play That Goes Wrong.” Though he has acting experience, Simmons said that he wasn’t told anything about his role on stage besides where to stand, but he was happy to be a part of it. “The community that I have witnessed here at Roxy’s Downtown is very open and very loving,” Simmons said. Audience member Zoe Phillips, a musical theatre major at WSU, said she was there to support two of her friends who were in the show — Dee Lightful and Cadenza Masters — who are both theatre majors at WSU.

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The community that I have witnessed here at Roxy’s Downtown is very open and very loving. CHASTON SIMMONS An audience member

She described her favorite performance. “I really liked the drunk 12 Days of Christmas; that was cracking me up,” Phillips said. “12 Drunk Days of Christmas” was performed live by Divinity Masters, closing out the first half of the act. The song starts out traditionally but slowly descends into a drunken stupor as she slurs between lyrics, appearing more intoxicated as the performance goes on. Describing her drag style as campy and old school, Masters emphasized her goal to make people laugh and have a good time but not without some bite. “Divinity is a bit of a Stepford bitch,” she said. “Giving backhanded compliments with a smile, all in good fun, of course.” In addition to hosting the Second Sunday Drag Brunch as Divinity, Thomison is also the house coordinator at Roxy’s Downtown. In this role, he oversees guest experience, media production, staff management and show coordination. “Some drag queens really are excellent dancers,” Thomison said. “They have amazing hair; they have all these other things that they focus their energy on. I focus on producing good shows.” Offering a non-age-restricted environment for both performers and audience members, Roxy’s can be a daytime opportunity for entertainment, distinct from the typical late-night bar scene. The space encourages audience engagement, which can make it more exciting for performers. “This space is so uniquely theatrical,” Thomison said. “Everybody who’s here is here for our show … I think it gives entertainers a chance to try new things and to really experiment and see what works.” The next Second Sunday Drag Brunch will be Jan. 14, 2024. Tickets can be purchased on Roxy’s website for $25. Tickets include food and a tip for the waitstaff.

Dee Lightful Masters performs to Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at Roxy’s Downtown Drag Brunch on Nov. 12.

Divinity Masters closes the brunch by performing to “Sparkling Diamond.”

Special guest Unholy Lotus Carmicheal dances through the audience collecting tips to “Blue (Da Ba Dee).” Performers at Roxy’s Downtown displayed a variety of songs, costumes and personalities.

NEWS

8 | Nov. 16, 2023

BRING ON THE

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Despite several local church groups attempting to shut it down for “promoting satanic rituals,” the Paranormal Cirque let the show go on in the Towne East parking lot over the weekend.

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UPCOMING EVENTS SHOCKER FIT : F45 CLASS WHERE MOVEMENT BECOMES FUN THURSDAY, NOV. 16 6:15 - 7 a.m. | Heskett Center

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An aerialist prepares to hang by her hair while engaging with the crowd. The Paranormal Cirque took place at Towne East Mall on Nov. 12.

A hooded perfomer casts a fireball over a well during a performance of the Paranormal Cirque on Nov. 12.

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A trapeze artist, dressed as Samara from “ The Ring,” hangs from a ring above the stage while doing acrobatic tricks.

WSU IMPULSE PERCUSSION GROUP | GERALD SCHOLL, CONDUCTOR MONDAY, NOV. 20 7:30 - 9 p.m. | Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY A contortionist twists his upper body around while on the stage at the Paranormal Cirque at Towne East Mall on Nov. 12.

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A female performer balances her entire body with one hand on a raised post.

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HAVE AN EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE LISTED? CONTACT THE ARTS EDITOR: arts@thesunflower.com A wide shot of the Paranormal Cirque at Towne East Mall on Nov. 12. The Cirque was held over Nov. 9-12 in the parking lot of the mall.

While trapped in a cage, a contortionist screams out during an onstage performance at the Paranormal Cirque on Nov. 12.

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