WICHITA STATE’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 MONDAY
Volume 125
www.thesunflower.com
April 5, 2021
Issue 22
Student Government Association voting open today through Wednesday BY LINDSAY SMITH editor@thesunflower.com / @Lindsay_KSmith
ILLUSTRATION BY THY VO / THE SUNFLOWER
Voting for this year’s Student Government Association elections begin today and are open through Wednesday. This year there is only one ticket running for the office of student body president and vice president. Last year, there were two. Current Student Body President Rija Khan won last year by 86 votes with running mate Mackenzie Haas. Khan is running again this year for the same office. This time, her running mate is SGA Senator Kamilah Gumbs. The ballot also includes college-specific, at-large, and special constituency senator spots. Last year only 8.4% of eligible
voters participated. In 2019, 16.2% voted and in 2018 12.3% voted.
FULL LIST OF CANDIDATES: Student Body President and Vice President: Rija Khan and Kamilah Gumbs The Office of Student Senator: College of engineering (4 seats): Jay Thompson, Aboubakar Diablo, Lizzie Koonce College of fine arts (2 seats): John Kirk, Jade Warden Graduate school (3 seats): No declared candidates Honors college (2 seats): Ella Brynne Ihrig, Jacob Tubach College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (7 seats): Mackenzie Lane, Bridget Kennedy, Kryslyn Sherer,
Thomas Rafter, Bayle Sandy College of Business (4 seats): Rexhd Martin College of Health Professions (3 seats): Olga Lesnik, David Liu Underserved Senator (8 seats): No declared candidates International students (2 seats): No declared candidates At-large (17 seats): Sheikh Md Sorwardi, Tayton Majors, Jordy Mosqueda, Ella Perkins, Dalton Dicks College of Applied Studies (4 seats): No declared candidates Out of state (2 seats): Nate Thomas Veteran Students (1 seat): No declared candidate Returning adults (3 seats): No declared candidate
PHOTOS BY LENA ALLHALAQ / THE SUNFLOWER
Above: Current Student Body President Rija Khan answers a question during a town hall Thursday, April 1. Khan is running for her second term as president. Right: SGA Senator Kamilah Gumbs speaks during the town hall Thursday. Gumbs currently serves as the diversity, empowerment, and inclusion chair and is running for her first term as student body vice president.
Khan and Gumbs discuss food insecurity and other campaign goals at town hall BY SEAN MARTY sports@thesunflower.com / @Theseanmarty
Student Government President and Vice President candidates Rija Khan and Kamilah Gumbs spoke at a town hall on Thursday, April 1 to discuss their campaign promises and goals. The event was held at the Rhatigan Student Center and was streamed to a virtual audience. Khan is running for her second term as student body president and has served in SGA since she was a freshman. Khan previously served as freshman senator and ways and means chair. Gumbs is in her first year as a senator for SGA and currently serves as the diversity,
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empowerment, and inclusion committee chair. Gumbs and Khan met during an american politics class. From there, they were able to build a bond through their similarities as international students. “From there we kind of clicked because we realized we were both not from the united states … our stories were different but similar in a sense,” Gumbs said. One of their main goals for next session is to address food insecurity. The problem of food insecurity is a problem that needs multiple solutions, Khan said. Khan signed an executive order creating a task force earlier this session. She said one task force
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@sunflowernews
“My background gives me the opportunity to ... stand out in the crowd a little bit. That way my voice is different, it’s unique.” KAMILAH GUMBS Student Body Vice President Candidate
wasn’t enough, so her and Gumbs are working to do more next year. “We personally believe that this issue is more so than just for our students, it affects our community @thesunflowernews
directly,” Khan said. “We know that the university is wanting to present changes, we want to make us the students present at the table to engage in those conversations, to present our ideas, and to further this goal of making sure that everyone has food or a plate.” Khan and Gumbs both said their international background helps them as leaders. Khan said that her background helps her to relate to students at a different level. “I’m a woman of color, I’m an asian immigrant to this country, I am also a muslim,” Khan said. “I carry these titles that make me the first in the student body president role. This position already has so
much that one requires. Like the amount of work, meetings, and everything else. But I believe when it comes down to the opportunities provided, I see my experience, myself as an individual, being able to empathise with other folks.” Gumbs said that her background has given her a louder voice that she can use to stand up for the underrepresented groups. “My background gives me the opportunity, I would say, to stand out in the crowd a little bit,” she said. “That way my voice is different, it’s unique, it’s allowed me to be a little louder in certain situations.” SGA election voting will take place April 5-7.
2 | MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021
NEWS
Wichita State rescinds all COVID-19 mandates
This week’s weather in brief
BY LINDSAY SMITH
“We understand that we must continue to remain flexible and willing and able to pivot to alternative arrangements as circumstances dictate.”
editor@thesunflower.com / @Lindsay_ KSmith
Wichita State has removed all COVID-19 mandates, according to an email sent to students on April 2. The decision was made after the recent vote by the Sedgwick County commission to rescind all local COVID health orders, including mask mandates and social distancing guidelines. “Accordingly, WSU has rescinded all mandates requiring masks, social distancing and mass gathering limitations on our campus,” the email, which was signed by Interim President Rick Muma and Interim Provost Shirley Lefever, stated. “However, we continue to strongly encourage our entire campus community to engage in these practices whenever possible.” The statement said that even though Wichita State will not be enforcing those policies, certain situations may call for additional rules. “There may be programmatic requirements for faculty, staff and students to wear masks – for example, in our patient-serving clinics
ILLUSTRATION BY THY VO
Source: iPhone weather app
or students on clinical practicums and rotations, or in those instances where close contact cannot be avoided, and additional precautions may be warranted,” the release stated. “Please consult with your supervisor and/or instructor for further instructions.” The current university plan is to return to pre-pandemic normal on June 1— which means in-person classes, events, and less faculty and staff members working remotely. “So, as we work toward what will now be our post-pandemic normal, we understand that we must continue to remain flexible and willing and able to pivot to alternative arrangements as circumstances dictate,” the release stated.
SCREENSHOT
On Wednesday March 31 Wichita State hosted a virtual panel discussion titled “Speaking Freely on Freedoms of Expressions” discussing the right students have through the First Amendment to share their viewpoints without retaliation from the university.
BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE copyeditor@thesunflower.com / @JuliaNightengale
Not only does Wichita State’s campus hold a wide range of students from different places, backgrounds, and interests, but it also holds a wide range of ideas and political leanings. While many people feel led to stating their viewpoints in a public space, a lot of students might feel uncomfortable sharing their ideas. On Wednesday March 31 Wichita State hosted a virtual panel discussion titled “Speaking Freely on Freedoms of Expressions”. The panel discussed the right students have to share their viewpoints without retaliation from the university. The panelists were Neal Allen, Wichita State political science department chair, Christine Hughes, former vice president of Emerson College, and Tyson Langhofer, senior counsel and director of the Center for Academic Freedom with Alliance Defending Freedom. The event was moderated by WSU alumnus Lee Pelton. In a short introduction video, viewers were informed that it is inappropriate for a university to censor— instead, it’s important to vigorously debate these issues in order to maintain a free society. “The First Amendment isn’t
always celebrated, is it? Not when it forcefully refutes our personal beliefs or substitutes opinions for facts or when it offends our most cherished principles,” Pelton said. “At those times, it tests our human capacity for tolerance and forbearance and what it means to live in a free society.” When asked what exactly the limits on free speech are, Hughes said that someone can not use free speech to incite someone to take immediate violent action. She also said it is important to remember that it’s a limitation on government. Slander and defamation are also limits on freedom of speech. “I think this is what makes people the most uncomfortable with the First Amendment, is that it protects hate speech,” Hughes said. “It does not protect hate crimes … in the context of committing a hate crime, if you use hate speech that is not protected by the First Amendment.” As humans, Langhofer said that we have a tendency to want to censor speech that we disagree with or to silence political opposition. Langhofer said that the first amendment produces a more capable citizenry and protects individual dignity. “The best approach is to do your own research and bring better research and engage with the idea that way, rather than
The Sunflower, founded in 1896, is the student-run newspaper covering Wichita State University. The print edition is published Monday during the fall and spring semesters. The staff publishes daily online at www.thesunflower.com.
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.
LEGAL One free copy of The Sunflower is available to members of the WSU community. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 in 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 advertisment sales and student fees allocated by the Student Government Association. The Sunflower is a member of Kansas Collegiate Media, the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association. Copyright © 2021 The Sunflower. This newspaper, its design and its contents are copyrighted.
PHOTO BY WICHITA JOURNALISM COLLABORATIVE
censoring,” Langhofer said. Allen said that it’s important to focus on a realistic understanding on what universities are able to do. “What do our students want or need in terms of building their later careers and life goals?” Allen said. “What ideas do we need to be talking about to have an informed citizenry that is able to be flexible and understand ideas that they might not have a lot of experience with?” Langhofer said it’s important for students to have the opportunity to understand that just because someone has an opposing viewpoint does not mean their opinion isn’t valid. Allen said that he tries to invite guest speakers with many different viewpoints into the classroom in order to expose students to different viewpoints. “One thing to keep in mind is that most people, even if they say things that some of us would find objectionable, are likely doing it from at least partly non-objectionable motivations,” Allen said. Langhofer said in the light of conspiracy theorists— such as flat earthers— it is important to note while they do have the right to share their ideas, at the end of the day, facts and truth will hold more than any theories without evidence. Read the rest at thesunflower.com
Muma doesn’t foresee campus COVID-19 vaccine mandate BY LINDSAY SMITH
“It becomes difficult to require something that hasn’t recieved full approval by the FDA.”
editor@thesunflower.com / @Lindsay_KSmith
Interim President Rick Muma does not foresee a university COVID-19 vaccine mandate, he said during a faculty and staff virtual town hall Friday. “I don’t really see that happening,” Muma said. “One good reason [is that] the vaccine is still given under emergency use authorization, in that kind of circumstance it becomes difficult to require something that hasn’t received full approval by the FDA.” Due to a recent order by the Kansas governor, all Kansans are qualified to receive a vaccination through their county. All faculty, staff, and students can receive their vaccination through Student Health Services. Faculty Senate President Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn said that if the university were to have a vaccine mandate in the future, that would not be due to a WSU decision. “To be clear, this is not a decision we would make as an individual organization,” he said.
EDITOR IN CHIEF Lindsay Smith editor@thesunflower.com
COPY EDITOR Julia Nightengale copyeditor@thesunflower.com
OPINION EDITOR Audrey Korte opinion@thesunflower.com
DIGITAL PHOTO EDITOR Khanh Nguyen photoeditor@thesunflower.com
SPORTS EDITOR Sean Marty sports@thesunflower.com
PRINT PHOTO EDITOR Kaylee Stout photos@thesunflower.com
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Tabitha Barr arts@thesunfower.com
PODCAST DIRECTOR Audrey Korte podcast@thesunflower.com
FACULTY ADVISOR Amy DeVault amy.devault@wichita.edu
ADVERTISING MANAGER Noah Merrell admanager@thesunflower.com
RICK MUMA Interim University President
“It would be a legal mandate from our state or federal government.” “A legal mandate or something that has widespread acceptance and we’re not really seeing that at this point,” Muma said. “The big stumbling block is the vaccine is still under emergency authorization.” WSU announced Friday that they are removing all COVID-19 mandates, including mask wearing and social distancing guidelines. This decision follows the decision of the county to rescind all COVID health orders. The university’s current plan is to return to “post-pandemic normal” by June 1— which means in-person classes and events and less remote working.
Contact Us 019 Elliott Hall 1845 N. Fairmount Ave. Campus Box 134 Wichita, KS 67260-0134 EDITORIAL
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Corrections
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MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 | 3
Sports
HAVE A STORY IDEA? contact The Sunflower’s sports editor, Sean Marty sports@thesunflower.com
PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita State Redshirt Sophomore Orel Ovil celebrates during the game against Pepperdine at the Coleman Tennis Complex on April 4, 2021.
Tennis continues hot start with victories over Southern Methodist and Pepperdine BY SEAN MARTY sports@thesunflower.com / @TheSeanMarty
The Wichita State Tennis team picked up a pair of ranked victories over the week against No. 48 Southern Methodist and No. 28 Pepperdine. In their conference victory over SMU, the Shockers defeated them 4-1, picking up the series sweep over the Mustangs. Murkel Dellien and Marius Froda picked up a doubles victory in their first match since rejoining the rankings at No. 72. The pair picked up their fourth straight match victory. In the singles portion of the match, Dellien collected his second victory of the day, with his eight-straight victory. He won at No. 1 by set scores of 6-3, 6-1. Ry Lo also collected a victory for WSU, with a second set sweep at No. 6, 6-4, 6-0. Nicholas Acevedo clinched the victory with a threeset victory by scores of 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The Shockers were able to secure the doubles point on Sunday against Pepperdine as the pairings of Stefan Latinovic / Nicolas Acevedo and Orel Ovil / Luka Mrsic both collected 6-2
PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita State Redshirt Senior Murkel Dellien returns the ball during the game against Pepperdine at the Coleman Tennis Complex on April 4, 2021.
victories. The Shockers started off slowin singles, as Marius Frosa and Ray Lo both dropped their matches. But WSU responded as Dellien clinched the match victory by defeating No. 52 Adrian Oetzbach in three sets. Stefan Latinovic and and Orel Ovil also picked up three-set victories, leading to their thirdstraight ranked win. “We struggled at times closing it out,” Head Coach Danny Bryan
said. “I think the guys believe in themselves but they still need to get used to being in these big matches and coming through. We have a lot of confidence and I’m really happy they were able to get over the hump.” The Shockers have a pair of ranked matches upcoming for this week against No. 27 Tulane and No. 29 South Florida. Both matches are on the road and WSU will travel to New Orleans and Tampa.
PHOTO BY MONIQUE GAINES / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita State Redshirt Sophomore Nicolas Acevedo returns the ball during the game against the SMU Mustangs at the Coleman Tennis Complex on April 2, 2021.
Shockers win first conference series in AAC opener against Houston BY JOE BAKER joebakerwsu@gmail.com / @JoeBakerWSU
PHOTO BY KAYLEE STOUT / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita State junior Spencer Hynes prepares to throw a pitch during WSU’s game against Omaha at Eck Stadium on March 28.
Shocker baseball traveled down to the Lone Star State this past weekend to play a four-game series against the Houston Cougars at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park. Wichita State won three out of the four games in the series. On Thursday evening, Houston defeated Wichita State 5-3. The Shockers found themselves down 5-0 through the first seven innings. The Wichita State bats would generate three runs, but their comeback would fall short. Wichita State starting pitcher Liam Eddy threw six ⅓ innings, allowing five runs on eight hits in the 5-3 loss. Eddy was credited with the loss and his record moved to 2-4 this season. The Shockers and Cougars played a doubleheader on Friday. Wichita State won game one of the doubleheader 3-2. Paxton Wallace recorded two hits, including a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. Wichita State won the second
game of the doubleheader 2-1. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jace Kaminska tossed seven shutout innings, striking out four Cougars and allowing four hits. Kaminska, the Kansas native, is 2-0 on the season with 15 strikeouts and a 1.10 earned run average. Shocker first baseman Garrett Kocis hit two doubles in the victory. In the final game of the series, Shocker baseball won over the Cougars 3-2. Spencer Hynes got the start on the mound for Wichita State. Hynes tossed seven innings, allowing two runs off of five hits. Ryan Stuempfig pitched two scoreless innings in relief and picked up the win, moving his record to 5-0 on the mound this season. In the final game of the fourgame set, Paxton Wallace hit his second home run of the series, increasing his season total to six home runs. The Shockers ended the four-game series on a three-game winning streak. The three wins are the first wins against the Houston
Cougars in Shocker baseball history. Wichita State was 0-7 all-time against Houston before winning their first game over the Cougars on Friday afternoon. Shocker baseball now has a 15-9 overall record and a 3-1 record in American Athletic Conference play. Coming into this with the Cougars, the Shockers were 0-6 against Houston since joining the American Athletic Conference back in 2017. The sweep now puts WSU’s record at 4-6 with room for improvement this weekend. Next up, Shocker baseball takes on the Houston Cougars in another four-game series on April 9-11. April 9 will feature a doubleheader at Eck Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 1 P.M. and 6 P.M. Game three of the four-game set will take place at Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita on April 10, first pitch is scheduled for 2 P.M. Game four of the series will take place on April 11 with first pitch scheduled for 11 A.M. at Eck Stadium.
SPORTS
4 | MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021
ROSTER OVERHAUL
What the Shockers’ roster looks like for the 2021-22 season BY SEAN MARTY sports@thesunflower.com / @TheSeanMarty
Last season, Wichita State’s mass exodus grabbed many headlines especially when young, promising players entered the transfer portal. This year has been a different story. Just like many other teams across the country, the Shockers are dealing with players opting to transfer to another school. WSU has six players from last year’s roster in the portal in hopes of finding a new home. So, here is how next season’s roster is taking shape following the offseason departures:
RETURNERS WSU is expected to return seven players from last year’s roster, including three starters. AAC co-player of the year Tyson along with Dexter Dennis and Morris are expected to return after the three started in all 22 games last year. Craig Porter Jr. is back after entering the transfer portal earlier this offseason along with sophomore Clarence and freshman Ricky Council IV. Freshman guard Chaunce Jenkins will return as well after seeing limited action last season. Although WSU had six scholarship players transfer for the second straight offseason, this season’s impact is much different than a season ago. The Shockers are slated to return 63% of the minutes from last year along with 70% of the scoring. Last season, WSU had to replace 56% of the minutes and 58% of the scoring. Head Coach Isaac Brown mentioned during his coaches’ show that Etienne could play more of the point guard position after still playing mostly off the ball last
Track and Field participates in Hayward Premiere
“We want to get more athletic inside. I think in this conference, you’ve got to have big time guys inside that can block shots, that can finish around the basket, so we’re always looking for that.” ISAAC BROWN Head Coach
season. Brown noted Etienne’s improved passing as a reason to let him make the change. “Now he can break you down off the bounce, he can get in the paint, he has deep range and you’ll see him next year playing a lot more point guard,” Brown said. “He’s proven that so we can put him at the one some, move Dexter to the two and Ricky to the three and I just like that lineup.” The Shockers are waiting for the final domino to fall from last season’s roster as redshirt senior guard Alterique Gilbert is yet to announce his plans for next season. Gilbert’s scholarship would not count against the 13-limit.
DEPARTURES The Shockers have had six scholarship players transfer so far this offseason, with only announcing their next destination. Junior Trevin Wade was the first Shocker to enter the portal – one day after the end of the season – and has already announced his commitment to Eastern Kentucky. Walk-on Remy Robert II and scholarship players, Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, Jaden Seymour, Trey Wade, Jospahat Bilau have followed suit.
PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita State players gather together at crunch time during the game against Temple at Charles Koch Arena on Feb. 7.
The most sizable of the transfers was senior forward Trey Wade who entered his name in the portal instead of returning to WSU for his final season. Wade arrived at WSU after playing at UTEP and South Plains College. In his first season as a Shocker, Wade averaged 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Wade started 27 of the team’s 31 games, a teamhigh.Wade had similar success this past season, averaging 6.7 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds per game. There are currently 1,191 names in the transfer portal, according to Verbal Commits. Brown said in recent years he has tried to tell players the importance of staying with the program, even if they’re playing limited minutes. “I tell kids all the time, ‘if you want to play more, go work on your game’,” Brown said. “Don’t just be one of those guys that when it doesn’t work out here, you want to jump and go somewhere else. Because that’s not how life works. It’s going to be tough, you just have
to fight through it.”
NEW ADDITIONS WSU has already landed its first commitment of the spring recruitment period as junior college prospect Matt McFarlane announced his decision to play for WSU. McFarlane, a 6’10 center, opted for the junior college route coming out of high school and played the past two seasons at Colby Community College. He averaged 10.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 53.7% from the field this past season. McFarlane averaged 11.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, the year prior. Brown said that there has been a focus on adding length and size, which McFarlane helps fulfill. “We want to get more athletic inside. I think in this conference, you’ve got to have big time guys inside that can block shots, that can finish around the basket, so we’re always looking for that. You
Shockers win second AAC series with sweep of Memphis
need guys off the perimeter that can create off the bounce, they can’t just be catch and shoot guys.” The Shockers have been active recruiting players out of the portal including a couple of high-profile names. Duke transfer Jordan Goldwire has been reached out to by WSU. Goldwire averaged 5.8 points anf 4.0 assists per game last season with the Blue Devils and would be a graduate transfer. Within the high school ranks, the Shockers have formally extended offers to two players, Kuluel Mading and Dondre Watson. Both players are forwards and are three-star recruits. Prior to McFarlane’s commitment, Brown hinted at a couple recruits being close to finalizing their decisions. “We’ve got a guy or two that’s ready to commit. Hopefully early next week we’ll get that done. We have weaknesses at certain positions that we need to get longer and more athletic at. So we’re trying to get more length and athleticism.”
UPCOMING HOME GAMES
BY JOE BAKER sports@thesunflower.com / @JoeBakerWSU
BY EMMIE BOESE elboese15@gmail.com / @elboese15
The Wichita State Track and Field team sent 11 athletes to participate in the Hayward Premiere on the campus of the University of Oregon. The event took place on April 2-3 and is the second outdoor event for the Shockers. Senior Michael Bryan won the men’s hammer throw event. Bryan’s throw measured out at 68.54 m/224-10 and is an improvement on his previous school record. Bryan’s throw currently ranks sixth in the NCAA and currently has the second longest throw in the American Athletic Conference. Distance runners Zach Penrod and Jed Helker impressed in the men’s 1,500 meter race. Penrod finished the race in second place, running a time of 3:43.64 and was .68 seconds off of his personal best. Helker ran a new personal best 3:47.42 and placed in ninth. Distance runner Yazmine Wright ran a 4:25.97 in the women’s 1,500 meter run. Wright finished 11th in the race out of 30 runners. Senior distance runner Ethan Kossover participated in the 3,000 meter-steeplechase event, running a time of 9:01.42. The Wichita native placed seventh in the event. Rebekah Topham and Nicole McMillen ran in the women’s 3,000 meter-steeplechase event. Topham ran a time of 10:04.38, placing in fourth. McMillen placed seventh, running the event in 10:32.45. Cory Martens participated in the discus and shot put event. Martens finished in third place in the discus competition with a 50.87m/166-10 throw. Claudia Rojo placed third in the 100-meter hurdles race and also placed third in the 400-meter hurdle race, with a time of 1:00.53.
The Wichita State women’s softball team got their 2nd conference sweep at Memphis on Saturday, April 3. The Shockers beat Memphis 12-2 Thursday, April 1. They then went on to beat Memphis in a double header on Friday, April 2. In game one they won 6-2. Game two was a close game with a score of 6-5. Their final win came on Saturday, April 3 with a score of 5-0. On Thursday, five players homered, giving them 51 total homers on the season for Shockers. Senior catcher Madison Perrigan hit the first homer of the game. Sophomore shortstop Sydney McKinney, and freshman right fielder Addison Barnard also hit homers back to back. Senior third baseman Ryleigh Buck followed with an RBI double. The Shockers didn’t let up by scoring eight runs in the top of the 5th inning. Senior pitcher Bailey Lange allowed only two runs on five hits. She struck out four batters. In game one of a doubleheader on Friday, Memphis started out the scoring with one run in the bottom of the 1st inning. After that though, the Shockers continued to push through to get the win. Buck homered twice in game one along with three RBI’s. The Shockers scored most of their runs in the top of the 4th with four runs scored. Junior pitcher Erin McDonald got the start for the Shockers and allowed only two runs on four hits. She struck out
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7
SB: WSU vs No. 1 Oklahoma 6 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
FRIDAY, APRIL 9
BSB: WSU vs Houston (Game 1) 1 p.m. Eck Stadium
SB: WSU vs Houston 5 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
BSB: WSU vs Houston (Game 2) 6 p.m. Eck Stadium PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER
Wichita State players talks with head coach Kristi Bredbenner during the game against ECU at Wilkins Stadium on March 28, 2021.
six batters while also collecting her eight win of the season in a complete game performance. In game two, Memphis started out the scoring with two runs scored in the bottom of the 1st. The Shockers responded with an unearned run scored from McKinney in the bottom of the 3rd. The Shockers biggest scoring output came in the top of the 4th with four runs scored. Despite Memphis scoring three runs in the bottom of the 6th, the Shockers responded with a run scored in the top of the 7th. Senior center fielder Bailee Nickerson homered in the top of the 7th to give the Shockers the win. Lange tallied her third save of the season for the Shockers. Junior pitcher Caitlin Bingham got the win by pitching 6.0 innings. Bingham allowed five runs on six hits and five walks. In the final game of the
series, the Shockers got their 4th shutout of the season. Barnard hit her 14th home run of the season. This puts Barnard close to the single season home run record which is 16. The Shockers scored one run in the top of the 3rd and one in the 6th. The final runs scored of the game came in the top of the 7th with a two-run home run from Barnard. Lange got the start for the Shockers in the final game. She allowed three hits on one walk and struck out five batters. Lange collected her 12th win of the season, while collecting her third complete game shutout on the year. The Shockers will play number one Oklahoma University on Wednesday, April 7 inside Wilkins Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10 BSB: WSU vs Houston 2 p.m. Riverfront Stadium
SB: WSU vs Houston (Game 1) 2 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
SB: WSU vs Houston (Game 2) p.m. Wilkins Stadium
Track: Wichita State Open 12 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
SUNDAY, APRIL 11
BSB: WSU vs Houston 11 a.m. Eck Stadium
SB: WSU vs Houston 12 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
TUESDAY, APRIL 13
SB: WSU vs UMKC (Game 1) 4 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
SB: WSU vs UMKC (Game 2) 6:30 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2020 | 5
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Arts & Entertainment
HAVE A STORY IDEA? contact The Sunflower’s A&E editor, Tabitha Barr arts@thesunflower.com
From Cuba to Wichita: Student brings his passion for the organ overseas BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE copyeditor@thesunflower.com
Wichita State University is home to many all over the world. For David Perez, a Cuban native, it was the place to be to learn his passion for music. Perez, a graduate organ performance student in his last semester, said that his decision on a master’s program in the United States was hard, but he knew that Wichita State University was the perfect fit for what he was looking for. “I decided to come to WSU because I was amazed by the teachers we have here. We talked about the program and everything I can do here to perfect my organ skills . . . I knew I was going to get the best personal attention here, which is what I was looking for and I have made a lot of progress in my abilities,” Perez said. Perez started playing the organ at 16, when he was studying at a conservatory in Cuba. Perez said that he found the organ extremely fascinating and took the leap of faith to getting a master’s degree. “The thing that really made me come here was because I wanted a master’s degree and the organ in Cuba is a forgotten tradition . . . We don’t have graduate studies at universities in Cuba so that is why
I decided to perfect myself and my organ skills,” Perez said. He has spent the last two years in Wichita, far away from home for the first time in his life. Perez said he misses his family and friends back home. “I really miss my family, that’s what I miss the most,” Perez said. “I have a lot of friends in Cuba who I used to hang out with all the time and I remember on Sundays we would get Cuban coffee and catch up . . . I want to go back to Cuba in the future and teach, restore instruments, and promote competitions.” As a musician, Perez said that COVID-19 impacted him in many different ways. Not being able to collaborate and perform with others was hard for him. “I consider myself a performer and it’s hard when you have so many limitations on performing because of social distancing and no concerts,” Perez said. “I’m grateful for technology so we can live stream but it is not the same experience for me.” Perez also had a hard time finding a performing job during COVID-19, because many positions were cancelled or not needed anymore. “It has also been difficult because I was looking for jobs and
it was really hard during that time . . . It was a shutdown for everybody; for musicians, it was even harder,” Perez said. “As musicians, we are always collaborating with other musicians so making relationships in the music world is really important, at least to m.” After completing his last semester, Perez said he would like to continue his career as a performer to make a living and gain more experience as an organist. He is applying to positions in and outside of the state and hopes to learn more about the organ tradition in America. “I am kinda privileged because I’m the first generation of Cuban organists so I want to promote the organ tradition in Cuba,” Perez said. Perez said that his favorite thing about attending WSU has been the people he has met. “It’s true when people say that Kansans are really nice people, I feel blessed and happy that I can engage so well with people from the school of music because it’s my own little world here,” Perez said. “I’ve been able to make friends with colleagues and collaborate with them in a very easy and healthy way.”
From World of Wu-Shock to World of Warcraft
COURTESY PHOTO
David Perez sits in front of his passion, the organ. His is a graduate student looking for a life of playing the organ.
STUDENT IS MUSICIAN FIRST, FILMMAKER SECOND BY TABITHA BARR arts@thesunflower.com
BY WYMAN WHEELER wjwheeler@shockers.wichita.edu
The video game industry has become an expansive outlet for creativity and artistic vision. While one may not realize it at first, there is actually an incredible amount of hard work that goes into creating an immersive game. When designing a game, all things must be considered, such as level design, textures, character details, etc. Even games like Fortnite have had a monumental amount of thought, planning, and love poured into them. The process of creating a video game is a collaborative effort that involves thousands of individuals giving every single pixel their utmost care; Zachary Sewell is well on his way to becoming one of those individuals. Sewell has lived in Kansas his whole life. Raised in Salina, Sewell spent a good part of his childhood playing video games. Like most children, Sewell loved playing video games. However, while others would enjoy a game purely for entertainment, Sewell would get swept away by the details of an immersive online world. Over time, Sewell’s love for gaming became his passion, and so, after graduating from Maize South High School, he pursued an Associate’s Degree in game design at Butler Community College. After earning his degree, Sewell transferred to Wichita State in 2019 to earn a Bachelor’s Degree. It’s taken a great deal of hard work, but all of it led him to a career-expanding opportunity with one of the most prestigious
“I’m at a loss for words any time I bring it up. It’s a massive multiplayer game ... I get to be able to make stuff for it.” ZACHARY SEWELL Wichita State student
gaming companies on the scene. Blizzard is a game development company that is most famously known for its popular massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft. Blizzard awarded Sewell with an internship that will grant him access to the best resources in the industry and will have him working with Blizzard’s immensely talented game designers. Sewell does not know what he will be working on specifically, but he does know that he will be involved with Warcraft’s level design team. The internship was quite exclusive; thousands of individuals apply every year and Sewell was one of the lucky few who were granted the opportunity. “I’m at a loss for words any time I bring it up. It’s a massive multiplayer game that’s out there and I get to be able to make stuff for it, and learn how they do things there.” Sewell’s path towards his internship did not take place in a few days. The process was drawn out and required a fair amount of patience. “Their application process was only from September to December. So last year there was
that monthly set time where I applied. It was a simple process through Linkedin; just follow the questionnaire, apply portfolio, and a resume and cover letter, which I did,” Sewell said. “A couple months went by after the application process until finally I woke up and the first thing I saw on my phone was an interview request from a hiring manager at Blizzard.” All of Sewell’s hard work had led up to his accomplishment. While at Butler, Sewell met a friend who currently works for Blizzard. It was this friend who told Sewell about the internship and convinced him to apply. After he transferred to Wichita State University, Sewell had access to more resources than ever before, as well as more advanced courses than what Butler provided. This allowed him to create projects that caught the attention of the hiring personnel at Blizzard. Sewell’s connections and experiences assisted him on his way to landing the highly coveted internship. It takes a village to complete a video game that can connect with the masses; Sewell is now a member of that village and he could not be more honored. Sewell’s passion for game design is apparent. The amount of work that he put into his craft has started to pay off and the opportunities available to him are plentiful. Sewell hopes that his new internship will blossom into a career that he can live on and love doing at the same time.
College students find many ways to express themselves and communicate with others. For some, it’s music. For others, it’s creating stories. For Talyn Sherman, it’s both. Sherman, a sophomore majoring in media arts with a concentration in film, is originally a musician. “I have sang since I was kid. I started playing guitar at age 10, and learned piano around the same age,” Sherman said. “I was in a band all throughout high school, that’s where that all started.” In highschool Sherman took an audio production class through a community college. That’s where her passion for filmmaking began. “I completely fell in love with actually making the film and everything that went into it,” Sherman said. “How to portray certain characters and emotions through lighting and camera and all of that sort of stuff.” Born in Oklahoma, Sherman came to Kansas to join Wichita State University for the film program. Sherman loves the creative process in filmmaking. “I personally love directing but I’m torn between that and scriptwriting,” she said. Her process normally starts with scriptwriting, then a rough shot list of things she knows she wants, then storyboarding, filming and editing. In the works, Sherman has a possible feature film called Molly. “I am currently working on a film called Molly, which should be in production in the next couple of months,” Sherman said. She is also about to start working on a criminal documentary piece that she’s excited for. “Molly is about a drug addict, a twist on words, who gets kidnapped and is taken into this ring, it’s like a serial kidnaping.” The story follows Molly and another character in their struggles to find freedom again. Writing and creating an idea into reality can be a lot more tough, especially when a pandemic changes everything. “It honestly kinda felt like a reset button to me. I felt like I was
“I completely fell in love with actually making the film and everything that went into it. How to portray certain characters through lighting and camera and all that.” TAYLIN SHERMAN Wichita State Sophomore
phase one again,” Sherman said. “It got to be a tough time there for a minute, but I think it really helped this semester because it’s getting me out of my comfort zone and I’ve started talking to people.” Before COVID-19, Sherman felt classes were more special. “[Class] was a lot more personal,” Sherman said. “We’re kind of getting back to the hands-on, but . . . it was a struggle for students. I didn’t feel like I was getting anything out of it. And now it’s kind of slowly getting back to where it was.” However, Sherman used her passions to help her during these crazy times. “I have been writing quite a bit. Both scripts and songs,” she said. “I think both of those are really good outlets for me. Not only can I put my own emotions in there but also things I see my friends and family struggle with.” Future goals Sherman has are in plentiful amounts. Being a musician, she wants to one day compose her own music for her films. It would connect her to the project in ways she couldn’t describe. Sherman also wants to change up the production process. “Most of the time you write the script before, but I want to challenge that and try to scriptwrite as we film.” The biggest takeaway that Sherman wanted audiences to understand is to appreciate the content you are watching. As a filmmaker herself, she knows how much work goes into the process. “Just pay attention to the things you watch and see how much goes into what you’re watching,” she said. “There’s so many little things thrown into it. Look at what you’re watching and appreciate it.”
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Opinion
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Dropping all COVID-19 safety mandates puts the campus community at risk. On Friday, Wichita State announced it was dropping all COVID-19 health orders on campus— such as enforced social distancing, mask wearing, and gathering number limits. It makes sense to drop some COVID restrictions. Recently, the case and hospital numbers both have seen a decrease and a large selection of Kansas’ population have received the vaccination. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. But even with all of those aspects in mind, Wichita State’s decision to suddenly drop every mandate and call it good is an easy way to put the university’s students, staff, and faculty at risk of infection. When the university went online in March of 2020, there
was yet to be an identified COVID case in Sedgwick County. Now, over a year later, the coronavirus has made its why into the majority of families and friendship circles. Knowing someone who is currently fighting the virus is a common occurrence. What makes it safe now that wasn’t safe in March of 2020? Just because the vaccine is now available to all of the population does not mean automatically every community member is immunized. Many of our citizens have not been able to receive the vaccine yet due to many factors. Schedules, locations, and accessibility play a large role in whether someone has received it or not. Even with a large number of those who plan to get vaccinated, there is still a large number of our
STAFF
EDITORIAL population who have no intentions of receiving the vaccine. While the vaccine has proven to be a safe and effective way to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s still true to say many citizens will not receive the vaccine automatically after it was offered to them. But even if every single person goes out there today and gets vaccinated— it is still not safe to drop every single mandate right away. It’s true, everyone wants to get back to normal. No one wants to wear masks and keep six feet distance between people at all times. But in order to get back to that normal, jumping off a cliff to do so is not the answer.
Lifting all mandates risks a case number spike on campus. If one person walks on campus without a mask, carries the virus to an entire group of people not wearing a mask, all of a sudden the university could find itselves back to where it started. There are safer ways to reach normalcy again. Start slow. Ease into normal. Maybe masks don’t have to be required outside. Maybe have a higher number group allowed, but still enforce mask wearing. There are many options the university could’ve looked into. Don’t rush into things, Wichita State. That’s not putting students first. It’s risking your student, faculty, and staff groups. Students won’t feel safe if they walk into class and see no one wearing masks. Faculty won’t
like when a student walks into their office for office hours and is breathing in their face. It is unfair to put the health and safety of our community in danger just because the county might be doing so. As of Sunday, there have been 10 new cases in Sedgwick County with a 3.2% positivity rate, according to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard. These numbers are a lot better than recent times. They do provide some sense of hope. But let’s not take off our parachute too soon. Let’s not risk that 3% rate to raise up any higher. We’re reaching the end, yes. But let’s not make this pandemic longer than it has to be. There is a safe and effective way to go back to normal. This isn’t it.
LinkedIn Learning is the best way to make moves you probably aren’t using Audrey Korte Opinion editor opinion@thesunflower.com
ILLUSTRATION BY KAYLEE STOUT / THE SUNFLOWER
Easter is an opportunity to help local businesses Audrey Korte Opinion editor opinion@thesunflower.com
For those of us who celebrate Christian holidays and holy days, Easter is a time of renewal, regrowth and celebration. It’s a time of hope, healing and happiness. Many of us are still coping with the bleak and somber heartaches of the last year, however. It can feel a little forced to try and celebrate anything. At the same time, the need to be with friends and family is driving, relentless and even frantic right now. We’ve been so disconnected from each other — physically, emotionally, politically. We must make time to celebrate. In my mind, celebrations we’re meant to be shared; to be inclusive and thoughtful. One way that you can celebrate this year is to show some love to local businesses. You may be looking for new clothes or for food and drink to share and show off for Easter or during Spring. You should spend those dollars with intention. Businesses of every size were hit hard by the pandemic. People are still grappling with unemployment and some businesses may still be
closed. Many places didn’t survive and for that I am sorry. For those businesses that are still around, there’s a good chance they’re still struggling. They may have limited staff, limited menus, limited hours. That means we the people — the consumers — have to have a little empathy right now. Our job is to help each other get on the other side of this trying time. If your favorite place demands you wear a mask and you don’t like that, wear the mask because you support local business. If your bakery isn’t baking your go-to items, roll with it and try something new. If prices increased a little bit, don’t take it out on the staff. If a restaurant has all new employees and none of them know how to wait tables, laugh it off and remember that you were once learning too. Commend people for trying and give them the benefit of the doubt. I recently made an intentional Easter purchase. I decided to spend money buying something for this weekend that we’d typically bake ourselves just so that we could support a small downtown business. Instead of buying one item -- which is all we needed --, I purchased one large item and five small items.
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It’s a gesture. It’s my way of saying, “I support you, Wichita.” I hope you all will do the same. Please remember your dollars matter, and the way you treat workers and business owners matter. Many are holding on by a thread. I am grateful for this community despite our many flaws. I hope that the money I spend this weekend at a small locally owned and operated storefront helps brighten someone else’s days. I hope it helps keep their doors open and the lights on. If something goes wrong -- if the order isn’t 100% right, or it’s late, or it costs more than expected, or they run out of something, I’m going to let it go and thank them for their hard work. I’m going to say, “I’m glad you’re here.” That’s how I plan to celebrate because celebrations were meant to be shared. One last thing. According to the Christian calendar, Easter is a season -- it’s 50 days. Therefore we have multiple chances to show each other our love, appreciation and support. If you don’t have the cash to spend this weekend, you have weeks ahead to still contribute to our local economy. Just spend with intention.
I have a love-hate relationship with LinkedIn and a love-love relationship with LinkedIn Learning. I mentioned this to my students recently and was stunned to realize that most of them had no idea that WSU students have free access to LinkedIn Learning material. With them in mind, I decided to write something about what the platform offers and why every student (and faculty member) can benefit from using it. Here’s what you should know. LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform that helps people learn business, software, technology, and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. The platform offers over 12,000 courses and 5,000 video tutorials from industry experts and leaders. Anyone looking to level up, make moves, polish professional skills or learn a new craft should check out what LinkedIn Learning has to offer. LinkedIn Learning is usually a service professionals pay for. Wichita State students pay for it with tuition and fees, some would argue. So why not take advantage of the opportunities it offers? I admit I love free stuff. Who doesn’t? As I inch closer to finishing my Master’s degree in Communication, I am painfully aware that all these student subscriptions, the software and all the student discounts I get are in the final countdown. Now it’s a race to maximize these offerings in the coming months. I want to be poised and ready for whatever life has in store next. And LinkedIn Learning is helping me do that. Here are some of the topics I’ve been checking out lately: • Data analysis and spreadsheets
SUNFLOWER HOT TAKES The Sunflower editorial staff gives their one-sentence opinions.
Lindsay Smith: Get vaccinated, kids! Sean Marty: The mall during the pandemic is a scary place.
• Diversity and Inclusion • Resumes and Job hunting (for the soon to be graduate) • Sales Metrics • Higher Education Training • Writing and Editing for Print • Academic Writing • Citation Management • Google Analytics • Productivity • Teamwork and Leadership But why stop there? For students, I suggest checking out all the good stuff about job interviews, applications and resumes, design, analytics, budgeting and website creation. Few of us will escape life without wanting or needing to set up a website at some point. Most of us don’t have the budget to outsource website development. With the affordability of hosting, blogging and content creation for students, you don’t need to. That doesn’t mean everything is instinctual, quick and easy. Take a few courses and make a plan, and you will be glad you did. I understand that some of us are breathtakingly busy, so your best bet is to make a schedule. Set aside 75 minutes a week to work on LinkedIn Learning. It’s not graded, so that’s a bonus. And when you’re done with a course, you can showcase your accomplishments on your LinkedIn page. This shows bosses or potential bosses that you’re a go-getter. You work to improve your life and skillsets even without a lot of oversight. Who isn’t looking for that in a future employee? If you’ve never logged into LinkedIn Learning with your WSU ID, you should start here: https://www.wichita.edu/services/ linkedin-learning/. The WSU website has clear instructions on how to get started. Those of you using a LinkedIn account that doesn’t connect to your WSU email, never fear. You can easily connect your existing account to the WSU one. So do something good for your brain and career this week and get started with LinkedIn Learning.