Issuu

/ The Sunflower

WICHITA STATE’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896

@sunflowernews @thesunflowernews

THURSDAY Nov. 11, 2021 Volume 126 Issue 15

www.thesunflower.com

SHINING AT SONGFEST

Advocate for the artist: Poetry student wanting more opportunities for creative minds BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE news@thesunflower.com

PHOTOS BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER

Top: Paeten Howard of Delta Gamma sorority performs during Songfest on Nov 7 at the Orpheum Theatre. Bottom: Payton Dill of Gamma Phi Beta sorority performs during Songfest on Nov 7 at the Orpheum Theatre. For more coverage of the event, turn to page 3.

ouquin Fox, the new president of the Fairmount College Student Advisory Committee, nominated himself for the position in order to create a bigger emphasis on creativity and ideas. His goal is to hopefully provide more creative outlets for students at WSU as well as job opportunities for students in the Fairmount college at places like NIAR after they graduate. “I thought it would be good for an artist to be on the committee,” Fox said. Fox is a junior double majoring in creative writing and English language and literature, and said that the committee will be making steps this year to get recognized student organization status from SGA. “We created the committee so that we could have better communication,” Fox said. “So we’re trying to just get a committee set up with some students who really care about the college and want to have a communication with the bigger caucus and students in general. Hearing their problems and seeing if we can do anything about them.” Jouquin is the former undergraduate poetry editor of Mikrokosmos, the literary journal of Wichita State’s MFA program, as well as currently serving as a liberal arts and science senator on SGA. “As much as it’s romantic for a writer to just kind of sit in a hole and write all the time, it’s good to explore and figure out stuff, so I wanted to see the smoke and mirrors of it all, see like how stuff actually gets done,” Fox said. Fox said he would like more creative writing outlets available to students beside Mikrokosmos and The Sunflower. He said is working on publishing an independent poetry magazine made up of WSU students. If interested in contributing, you can reach out to him at spectrumofwordz@gmail.com. At previous committee meetings, Fox said that they have discussed working with bigger companies on campus to figure out a way for the Fairmount college to be more adequately represented in

“I feel like there’s a lot of open job opportunities and a lot of information about engineering students specifically, and not so much about writers and stuff.” JOAQUIN FOX President of Fairmount College Student Advisory Committee

the job market. “I feel like there’s a lot of open job opportunities and a lot of information about engineering students specifically, and not so much about writers and stuff,” Fox said. “That might be a larger issue with the full job market, I think we are trying to figure out a way for writers and philosophers and people to be hired by a place like NIAR, which is kinda like, ‘why?’ More to generate ideas and help with their writing so they can focus on the engineering, you know.” Fox said that he hopes to help voices be heard as well as make some sort of change on campus in his position on the committee. “Just the economy of the United States and the world in general where we produce like the material goods, there needs to be an emphasis on the idea creation and making the human more full,” Fox said. “America has largely been more a transfusion of cultures around the world, and I think with the more emphasis on creating more ideas, making humans more full there would be a more American culture besides just the ideals that are falling apart.” Fox said he is going to get his master’s in poetics, and hopes to one day be a professor and writer. He also writes rap music and has performed at Kirby’s four times this year. “I have a couple different avenues, I’ve been like doing music for a while so during my college career I’ve specifically tried to use my sort of hip-hop stuff with actual poetry because they do go together,” Fox said. “Rap is a form of poetry, poetry is very musical so I’ve been trying to fuse those two together.”

Proposal to add an A+ to grading scale recieves first read at Faculty Senate LINDSAY SMITH editor@thesunflower.com / @Lindsay_KSmith

A proposal to add an A+ to WSU’s grading scale received first read at the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday. Currently, WSU uses a plus minus grading system, with the exception of an A+. They offer an A-, but do not offer anything above an A. The proposal first came to light from the Student Government Association and was then passed on to the academic affairs committee. “The academic affairs committee agreed that this should be an option that faculty should have the opportunity to award an A plus if

they chose,” Raina Rutti said. Option 1 would make the A+ equal to a 4.33 gpa. The second option would make the A+ an “honorary” grade, and keep the grade to a 4.0. “This can be beneficial to students going into professional schools like law school or medical school,” Rutti said. The proposal cites that having an A- can put extra pressure on high-achieving students and makes it harder for maintaining a higher gpa. The proposal argues that when a 4.0 student earned an A-, that student has no way to raise their gpa back to a 4.0. Sociology professor Chase Billingham argued that an A+ may be used to “cheat” a students’ way

to a 4.0. “The fact of the matter is that students earn grades for reasons and if they don’t have A’s in all of your courses, then you shouldn’t be able to earn a 4.0,” Billingham said. “At least for this first option, where we have the 4.3 option available, I just think it’s sort of cheating a system that I think is really unfair to the students who do earn a 4.0.” Earlier this semester, SGA passed a resolution asking the faculty senate to accept the proposal. The resolution also cited that the non existence of an A+ in the scale put an uneeded burden on students to make up their gpa. “I personally don’t agree with the plus minus system at all, but

this is what the student government wants to go to,” Rutti said. “We don’t take orders from the student government,” Billingham said. The proposal will receive a vote at the next faculty senate meeting. If accepted, the proposal will then move on to the general faculty for a vote.

ILLUSTRATION BY THY VO / THE SUNFLOWER

2 | THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021

NEWS

The Green Group plans future sustainability events, partners with NetApp BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE news@thesunflower.com

On Oct. 10, The Green Group met for their weekly meeting to discuss future events for the semester, including the new compost bins going into the community garden, a recycled art contest in March, a move-out event for the Spring semester where students living on campus could “recycle” items that they don’t need anymore, and invited NetApp employees to discuss collaboration. Chris Hepner, applications engineer at NetApp, said that they would be moving into their new building on campus in January and wanted to reach out to the group to see how they could partner on upcoming projects. Jason Unrein, software engineer at NetApp, mentioned mentoring students in the group to help with advice on

projects and sponsoring events. “Getting all of the companies to help the campus more … I would like to help you guys succeed however you can, help however we can on the side,” Unrein said. In terms of volunteer events, The Green Group started planning Saturday events for the winter months, which include trash pick-ups and thrift-store volunteer events. The compost bins, which are available for all to use to dump plant-based products, should be going into the Community Garden sometime before the end of the semester. Fitzgerald mentioned working with Chartwells dining to make recycling more noticeable for students during things such as catering events, such as adding signs above bins. “They have a huge grasp on

what we are able to do on campus,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald said she talked to housing and residence life about a move in, move out event, so that items that students didn’t need when they moved out could be recycled to another student for a much cheaper price than buying new. They also want to partner with Shocker Support Locker during this event to ensure access to low-income students. “I think the move-out event where we are kind of gonna be collecting, you know, just extras that people have, that’s gonna be one of my favorite events if we can carry it out,” Fitzgerald said. The Green Group also got advice from NetApp employees on how to create a recycled art contest, something that they had done previously. They discussed how to get people involved through

PHOTO BY MIA HENNEN / THE SUNFLOWER

Alice Fitzgerald, president of the green group, speaks at their meeting on Nov. 10 at the Rhatigan Student Center.

monetary prizes and having an art major and computer science major partner up to create something out of e-waste. “There’s a media gallery

downstairs and it always includes student submissions … I know that they are definitely open to the students,” Fitzgerald said. Read the rest at thesunflower.com

James Broughel speaks to economics students about reform in regulatory procedures BY MITCHELL ADAMSON mxadamson@shockers.wichita.edu

PHOTO BY MONIQUE GAINES / THE SUNFLOWER

Senators at the SGA meeting on Nov 10, 2021. They coverd a multitude of topics such asfailing a bill that would transfer the authority to recognize organizations to student affairs agenda and getting a sneak peek at plans for the new Student Success Center.

Senate rejects bill that would transfer RSO granting authority to student affairs BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE news@thesunflower.com

A student senate bill regarding the transfer of authority to recognize student organizations to Student Involvement was rejected after being tabled last week. The vote came after much debate on various options to amend the bill, create a new committee to craft a new piece of legislation, or to kill the bill altogether. This bill follows a controversial decision by the student senate last month that rejected the conservative organization Turning Point USA registered student organization status. The decision was deemed unconstitutional by the Student Supreme Court and was overturned the following week. The bill was introduced to the senate last week by Senator Ella Perkins. “Whether the senate has true authority over recognition of

RSOs has long been a question, and it has become increasingly clear through conversations that have been had over the last month, the denial of any student group RSO status will always have the potential to put the association in legal jeopardy,” Perkins said. Last week, the senate voted to table the bill after a large amount of debate from both sides. This week was no different. Student senators went back and forth about the different options for roughly an hour. The main source of debate was surrounding whether to kill the bill or create a committee to re-evaluate what the bill looked like. “I believe there are great intentions with this bill,” Ways and Means committee chair Tayton Majors said. “We need more time…In the end, let’s just vote to kill this bill tonight, I think this is the best potential solution.” Many senators voiced

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.

“One of my reasons for voting against this bill tonight is that a lot of those discussions were not made in the week we tabled.” ANNE WASINGER Freshman Senator

concerns that the bill was created too quickly to provide proper thought. “This bill has a lot of traction and it also has a lot of different viewpoints,” Freshman Senator Anne Wasinger said. “We can see that there are a lot of people who care how this decision is made. One of my reasons for voting against this bill tonight is that a lot of those discussions were not made in the week that we tabled… And that all comes from how quickly this bill was formed.

James Broughel, a senior research fellow from the Mercatus Center, with a PHD in economics, presented on this topic for the Institute of Economic Growth and AIER Bastiat Society program, giving insight into what Kansas can do to further stimulate reform in regulatory procedures. The event was held at the John Bardo Center, for the purpose of creating a discussion around the options facing policy makers improving economic freedom in Kansas and across the country. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of all final goods and services produced and put on the market in a specific period of time, is a great measure of Standard of Living. Nations with a higher GDP, have a higher standard of living, and generally happier lives. Regulations take away the freedom for GDP to flourish, restricting it, slowing it, which takes away from the growth of the economy. Put simply, a regulation is a rule created by administrative agencies, more narrow in scope. These rules are supposed to help bring about the laws that are passed by legislatures. For example, these laws may concern environmental regulation and how much you can pollute as a business, child labor laws, minimum wage laws. Every aspect of your life is affected by these rules, they help make the laws passed by legislatures more applicable to your average American. “Regulation touches nearly every aspect of our lives in one capacity or another, from the shower head in your bathroom at home, to the fuel efficiency of your car in your driveway, to the labels on the food that you eat, that’s just

EDITOR IN CHIEF Lindsay Smith news@thesunflower.com

DESIGN DIRECTOR Thy Vo design@thesunflower.com

NEWS EDITOR Julia Nightengale news@thesunflower.com

PHOTO EDITOR Khanh Nguyen photoeditor@thesunflower.com

OPINION EDITOR Jaycie Nelson opinion@thesunflower.com

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Lena Alhallaq photos@thesunflower.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Kyran Crist arts@thesunflower.com

MARKETING MANAGER Kaylee Stout marketing@thesunflower.com

SPORTS EDITOR Sean Marty sports@thesunfower.com

ADVERTISING MANAGER Rachel Thomas admanager@thesunflower.com

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Emmie Boese elboese@shockers.wichita.edu

FACULTY ADVISOR Amy DeVault amy.devault@wichita.edu

federal regulations,” Broughel said. “At the state level there are regulations affecting the professions you can work in, if you want to be a doctor or a pharmacist. ” As an economist, Broughel has had the ability to weigh the benefits and costs of regulatory procedures at the federal and state level. Making efforts so that the states can have clear and measurable plans that guide their thinking when making economic regulatory decisions. “Regulations are definitely necessary in some cases, but they also impose costs, so the trick is finding the right balance,” Broughel said. “That we get regulations that are effective, that are achieving good outcomes for the public, but are doing so at a reasonable cost. When we get too many regulations we can slow the economy, lower growth, lower incomes for people, lowering opportunity.” Quantifying regulations, with the help of computer programmers, has been less of a taxing process. Quantifying helps economists analyze regulations systematically. Regulation Data (RegData) is a complex computer program that measures texts from federal documents, assigning a probability to certain documents that can be applied when searching Regulations for certain text features. After finding certain passages that are important within the regulations, the probability assigned is the most important. “Then we can combine that information with the restriction counts from those parts, and say ‘okay there is a 5% probability that this part of the regulatory text applies to the manufacturing sector,’” Broughel said. “Then we will add that up for every part of the regulatory code.”

Lindsay Smith: 316-978-6905 editor@thesunflower.com ADVERTISING

Rachel Thomas: 316-978-6906 admanager@thesunflower.com

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.

THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021 | 3

WWW.THESUNFLOWER.COM

Arts & Entertainment

HAVE A STORY IDEA? contact The Sunflower’s A&E editor, Kyran Crist arts@thesunflower.com

PHOTOS BY MIA HENNEN / THE SUNFLOWER

At the 2000s themed skate night on Nov. 6, WSU students skate together around the Carousel Skate Center rink. “Throw It Back to the 2000s Skate Night” was hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Students throw back to the 2000s with WSU at Skatenight BY MIA HENNEN mbhennen@shockers.wichita.edu

With a theme that brought students back to a decade of skirts over pants, slim-cut jeans, and yoga pants, Throw It Back to the 2000s Skate Night invited students to spend the evening roller skating, playing games and meeting people at Carousel Skate Center on Nov. 6. The event was sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and cosponsored by Housing and Residence Life and Student Involvement. The influx of in-person events after over a year of being confined to a room with a laptop appealed to many students. “I decided to come tonight because a lot of these people are new people I can meet and also network with, also it’s a really fun time,” Jordy Mosqueda said. “ODI put this through so it’s pretty fun to see their events and how they come out from Covid.” “I wanted to get out of my dorm room because it’s been boring,” Jordan Wyrick. “I just go home every weekend, so I’d rather come out and skate.” Others were inspired by mentors or friends to attend. “I’m a part of the PASS

“I decided to come tonight because a lot of these people are new people and I can meet and also network with.” Jody Mosque Wichita state student

(Promoting Academic Student Success) program and my mentor in PASS, Alondra, suggested I come here because I am an introvert,” Adriana Owens said. “It helps me build a network and also have fun with people I know.” PASS, a program within the ODI, allowed students to meet with mentors dedicated to helping them navigate their college life and connect with others. Although PASS mentors do not organize them, they encourage their mentees to attend events like the 2000s themed skate night as a way to get out of their bubble. “I also think that it is important to lead by example,” PASS mentor Alondra Aguilera said. “I try to show them my involvement with a variety of organizations on PHOTO BY MIA HENNEN / THE SUNFLOWER campus so that they can be just as Students look at the arcade games at Carousel Skate Center on Nov. 6. “Throw It involved.” Back to the 2000s Skate Night”.

“Maid” tells the real story of struggling to survive in modern day America BY JULIA NIGHTENGALE news@thesunflower.com

“Maid” on Netflix managed to tell both a heartbreaking and beautiful story at the same time, while also highlighting the struggle that many women face while struggling to escape their abuser and the difficulty of navigating a system that is meant to help you. “Maid,” a miniseries released on Netflix on October 1, has remained in the top 5 shows most ever viewed since in many countries, according to Forbes. com. The series is inspired by the 2019 memoir “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.” The series starts out with Alex (played by Margaret Qualley) escaping her house in the middle of the night with her two year old daughter, Maddie, which we soon learn is because her husband, Sean, is abusive. The show does a great job of portraying how Alex has to think quickly on her feet to survive, showing how her already small amount of money drops with every purchase, she has to think two steps ahead at all times. And the acting is phenomenal, I was on the

edge of my seat the whole time. Alex works with a Social Worker at various points during the episode, and the audience can’t help but also feel frustrated at the various hoops that she has to jump through in order to just get a place for her and her daughter to sleep. These scenes were very realistic to me and offered the audience a point of view that some of them have or never will experience. While the thing that makes Alex run away initially is Sean punching the wall next to her head, a large amount of the abuse in their relationship is verbal. We see Alex transform through the series, as she receives education at the domestic violence shelter and is finally able to recognize the verbal abuse in her relationship as abuse. The series also touches on generational trauma, with Alex’s dad never believing that her and Sean had an abusive relationship because he was an abuser as well in his first relationship with Alex’s mother. Alex’s mother, who suffers from untreated medical illnesses, also doesn’t believe Alex about the abuse because she has been in abusive relationships her whole life.

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK THURSDAY

Veterans Day - Free bowling for Veterans, active duty, and their families

FRIDAY

World Kindness Day COURTESY OF NETFLIX

The series did a good job of painting Sean realistically with both good and bad sides, showing how hard it is to recognize and have other people recognize an abuser. The series also shows Sean’s struggle with alcoholism and his realization that his family might be safer without him until he tackles his addiction. Ultimately, I think that this series highlights many societal issues that people struggle with all over America, and gives a voice to a lot of people and problems that need to be fixed. I recommend that everyone should watch this, and would love to see similar series come from Netflix.

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP 2-3 p.m @ Student Wellness Center Three Minute Showcase 4 p.m. @ RSC room 233 Game night @ Braeburn Square 6-10 p.m. COSMIC BOWLING 5-11 p.m

SATURDAY

Chi Sigma Tau: Seventh Annual Stroll For Tomorrow 7-9 p.m. @ CAC Theater COSMIC BOWLING 5-11 p.m

4 | THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021

ARTS & ENTERAINMENT

SONGFEST 2021

PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER

Delta Delta Delta sorority comes in first place with their Just Dance-themed performance. Songfest was held at the Orpheum Theatre on Nov 7.

PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN / THE SUNFLOWER

Corey Woltman of Delta Upsilon performs during Songfest on Nov 7 at the Orpheum Theatre.

Alpha Phi members ends their performance during Songfest. The event was held at the Orpheum Theatre on Nov 7.

Tri Delta takes first place at Songfest BY KYRAN CRIST

PARTICPANTS AND THEIR LETTERS

arts@thesunflower.com

Tri Delta took first place at the Sonfest 2021 event with their Just Dance themed performance Sunday night. Tri Delta was followed in placement by Sigma Alpha Epsilon coming in second and Delta Upsilon placing in third after performing for the first time in four years. The teams were judged by First Gentleman Rick Case, Office of Diversity and Inclusion communications and marketing specialist Quang Nguyen, director of the Student Health Services department Heather Stafford, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce Ricki Ellison and SGA Speaker Jacob Tubach. First place received a prize of $1,000, 2nd won a $500 prize, 3rd took $250. All three brought home their own trophy. The sorority performed with eight other fraternities and sororities Sunday night, at the annual lip sync battle event hosted by Wichita State. The event had been on a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, but brought the event back this year in full swing with dancers and watchers filling the theater with excitement and energy throughout the night. The theme for the performances this year was alphabet soup, where the artist or song they were dancing and lip syncing had to start with the letter they drew prior to the event at the captains meeting. Tri Delta drew the letter J and went with the theme “Just Dance”, with dancers pretending to be playing the Wii game and others acting as the characters from the game. Captain Megan Secrest said

In order of performances, these are what the organizations drew at the captians meeting that took place before the event.

GAMMA PHI BETA - A SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON -B PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN

Alpha Phi members cheers on their sisters during Songfest. The event was held at the Orpheum Theatre on Nov 7.

that after weeks of practice leading up to the event that she thinks the night went how they had hoped it would. “I thought it went really well,” Secrest said. “I was so proud of everybody. We just kind of did what we had practiced, which is what you can only hope for.” Dances ranged from Looney Tunes themes, with dancers dressed as the cartoon characters, a Just Dance theme, and other types of dances. Performers talk about how preparing for the event went the weeks leading to the event and how it was to be on stage after the event being held off a year. “I think it has gone above and beyond my expectation,”Christi James, a sophomore nursing student at Alpha Phi. “It’s been such a fun experience. And the show itself, like, the energy here is so high. “It’s really nerve wracking, because you never know what your

“Our motto is building better men and for us, that means just being confident in out authenic selves. And so I think we did that tonight. John Ramey Delta Upsilion caption

other teams are going to bring to the table. But all in all, I think we prepared really hard, and it paid off.” The night came to an end with Delta Upsilon performing for the first time in four years, Coming back to the stage after being off for four years, Delta Upsilon brought to the stage the letter T, with dancers dressed as Marvel superhero Thor, Disney’s High School Musical Troy Bolton, and more.

Delta Upsilon fraternity council president and Songfest captain, John Ramey, said that the fraternity’s performance was to show their authentic and real selves and just have fun with the night. “For our fraternity, we’ve always taken pride in, like, quality over quantity,” Ramey said. “So that was showing up tonight just in kind of goofy costumes. We wanted to stay true to the type of men that we are. “Our motto is building better men and for us, that means just being confident in our authentic selves. And so I think we did that tonight.” “Just looking at the crowd’s reaction for Corey’s solo, the way the mutant ninja turtles worked out, like, really, every piece of it came together, and we were ourselves for all of that. Maddie, our sweetheart choreographer, helped us out immensely, we wouldn’t be here without her,” Ramey said.

SIGMA PHI EPSILION - H DELTA DELTA DELTA - J ALPHA PHI - L KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA -M PHI DELTA THETA - O DELTA GAMMA - R DELTA UPSILION - T

WWW.THESUNFLOWER.COM

THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021 | 5

Sports

HAVE A STORY IDEA? contact The Sunflower’s sports editor, Sean Marty sports@thesunflower.com

57 – 60

Etienne drills gamewinning three-pointer BY SEAN MARTY sports@thesunflower.com / @TheSeanMarty

yson Etienne released a stepback three-pointer with two seconds to play in Tuesday’s game against Jacksonville State, with the score tied at 57. His shot rolled off his fingertips and found the bottom of the net, pushing the Wichita State men’s basketball team ahead to its 60-57 victory. With the game on the line, Etienne opted to shoot a contested jump shot from the WSU logo, which proved to be the difference in the win. Etienne said he remained confident due to the work he’s put in to be ready for these moments. “I put myself in that position every day,” Etienne said. “At the

end of my workouts, I put myself in those types of positions to make those types of shots. So, it really didn’t feel that it was a matter of the moment shot for me. I was confident that I’d make it because I’ve worked on it so many times.” After Etienne nailed the game-winning shot, there was no celebration from the sophomore guard. With time still left on the clock, Etienne was focused on playing until the final buzzer sounded. “At the end of the day this is business,” Etienne said. “We’re going to take each day at the time, each game at a time, but we also have to take it each play at the time. Yeah I made a great shot, that’s cool or whatever but there’s still two seconds on the clock. Anything can

happen in 2.2 seconds and I didn’t want my team to think the final buzzer had sounded.” Etienne’s ability to convert these types of shots doesn’t come as a surprise to his teammates. Junior Dexter Dennis said that he’s seen that caliber of shots on occasion from the reigning AAC Player of the Year. “I’ve probably seen that shot hundreds of times by now,” Dennis said. “When I go out in practice, I try to call out his moves sometimes because you see it so much it’s routine.” Etienne played a crucial role down the stretch, aside from just his game-winner. With the Shockers down 55-53, with 1:28 remaining, Etienne dished it off Joe Pleasant to draw back even. He then tied the

game on the ensuing possession with a contested lay-in. Etienne finished with a teamhigh 16 points, on 5-14 shooting from the field. He also tallied four rebounds and three assists. “I’m just grateful that we won the game, that’s my biggest thing, starting off the season on the right foot,” Etienne said. “I’m just glad we were able to stay together, a lot of young guys, nobody held their head, everybody stayed focused after halftime and I’m just glad we pulled the win out.” Dennis was the only other Shocker to reach double figures, with 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. Freshman Kenny Pohto played impactful minutes off the bench with eight points and four rebounds.

Top: Sophomore Tyson Etienne shows little emotion after drilling the game-winning three-pointer to seal WSU’s victory over Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 inside Charles Koch Arena. | Photo by Sean Marty / The Sunflower Above: Kenny Pohto dunks the ball during WSU’s game against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 inside Charles Koch Arena. | Photo by Rachel Rudisill / The Sunflower Far Left: Ricky Council IV celebrates after a big play during the game against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 inside Charles Koch Arena. | Photo by Rachel Rudisill / The Sunflower Left: Tyson Etienne looks to attack during the final possession against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 inside Charles Koch Arena. | Photo by Sean Marty / The Sunflower

SPORTS

6 | THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021

PHOTO BY RACHEL RUDISILL / THE SUNFLOWER

Lily Liekweg celebrates after a point during the match against Tulane on Nov. 7 inside Charles Koch Arena.

Volleyball splits pair of matches BY EMMIE BOESE AND SEAN MARTY

PHOTO BY RACHEL RUDISILL / THE SUNFLOWER

Sophomore Shamaryah Duncan battles for a rebound duirng the game against Chicago State on Nov. 8 inside Charles Koch Arena.

Women’s basketball dominates season-opener BY MELANIE RIVERA-CORTEZ mrivera1047@gmail.com

The Wichita State women’s basketball team defeated Chicago State by a 44-point margin in their season opener. The final score was 78-34. The Shockers took an early lead in the first quarter of the game. Freshman-guard Nhug Bosh Duran scored a two-point jump shot at the last second to end the first quarter 25-2. At the beginning of the second quarter, senior guard Mariah McCully had a steal and a lay-up to lead the Shockers. McCully had an all-around game leading the Shockers with 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists. “Mariah had a really good game, she defended, got the basket, she assisted,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “She read the game and had a solid one.” Junior guard Seraphine Bastin made the score 59- 17, toward the end of the third with

“I think our team this year has a lot of depth that allows us to play a more up tempo style and play faster.” KEITHA ADAMS Head Coach

a backwards layup. Wichita State had a good transition game with a lot of fast breaks, tallying 26 points off of them. “I think that our team this year has a lot of depth that allows us to play a more uptempo style and play faster,” Adams said. The Shockers had good play defensively which was an improvement to their exhibition game. “Our defense in the first quarter was really good, our players came out and brought a lot of energy,” Adams said. “I

was really impressed with how many times we got on the floor for loose balls and our defense really set a tone.” “Being more aggressive and playing with a lot of confidence and helping us in the transition,” Adams said. McCully said she thrived off the energy from the Shockers home opener after deciding to play one more round of basketball as a fifth year senior. “I was really excited, I turned around and my team was right there with me, so it became more fun and easier to do,” McCully said. Playing to their strengths in the game, the Shockers ran the court and finished shots. “Think we did a better job this game closing out the quarters, running the clock down, picking out the defense,” Adams said. Up next, the Shockers will play at the University of Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m.

The Wichita State volleyball program went 1-1 over the weekend dropping a match against Houston on Friday and defeating Tulane on Sunday to draw even for the week. The Shockers now sit in a three-way tie for third place in the American Athletic Conference, as they head into the final three weeks of the regular season. During their match against Houston, WSU was able to claw back into the match by taking the fourth set, to force a fifth set. However, they found themselves in a big hole to start as the Cougars jumped out a 10-2 lead in the final set. WSU battled back, cutting the UH’s lead to 14-13 behind five kills from Sophia Rohling and four from Brylee Kelly. The ensuing serve landed out of bounds, with Houston taking the match and season series against WSU. “I thought we had them on the brink but we just made too many errors,” Lamb said. “You’re not going to beat a better team doing that and if you do, they’re probably helping you out. They didn’t help us out tonight. ” The Shockers were able to respond on Sunday, defeating Tulane in four sets, 25-22, 25-23 and 26-24. In the Shockers first conference game of the season, Tulane beat the Shockers by winning three out of the four sets. Head coach Chris Lamb decided to take a different approach against Tulane the second time around. Lamb and his team decided that they would take their focus off of Tulane’s best hitter and see if they could expose the other players’ weaknesses on Tulane’s roster. Lamb said his team did better against Tulane’s top hitter after not preparing for her.

“It’s frustrating when you are not able to figure things out,” Lamb said. “You figure things out and you still can’t deal with it. I know that might be even more frustrating to some people but you start to feel like you are getting it and sooner or later you get some touches or you get some digs so I felt like we were much more understanding of a couple of their attackers.” The Shockers have been trying to adjust their pass game all season long. The Shockers lost freshman middle blocker Lauren McMahon early in the season due to an injury so the passing game was something Lamb knew his team was going to need to adjust to. “We’ve been getting good value out of that and today if you look at the stats, that’s where we made our biggest gap against Tulane is the certain pass game,” Lamb said. Another key component to the Shockers win on Sunday was freshman middle blocker Morgan Stout’s ability to slide and get behind sophomore setter Kayce Litzau. “Morgan was put on this Earth to be an M1 and you know it just takes time to get that and the rhythm with her and her center and her practice time has been cut down so you just rely on Morgan and the athlete to go find that ball and go up and get it [and] make plays,” Lamb said. A huge key to the Shockers offense against not only Tulane but against Houston last Friday, was sophomore opposite hitter Sophia Rohling’s ability to break out of her shell with her hitting. Rohling had 28 kills combined against Houston and Tulane. Rohling was named first team in the American Athletic Conference last season as a freshman. The Shockers will be back in action on Friday as the take on Tulane. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.

Freshman hopes to reach new heights at WSU BY RACHEL LYONS ralyons@shockers.wichita.edu

If asked to choose between taking the three point shot or making the layup, Issac Abidde would choose the three pointerbut he’ll be honest and say that he’d rather dunk the ball. During this past high school season, Abidde helped lead Westover High School to the semifinals, while also earning first team all-class honors. He had plans of attending prep school before his commitment to WSU. Abidde, a 6’ 9” forward from Albany, Georgia said the quick connection he formed with the coaching staff was key in his decision to join the Shockers and skip out on a year of prep school. “I mean, I felt like I really just had a good connection,” Abidde said. “Well, IB [Issac Brown] the head coach and the whole coaching staff, I just really felt like a connection with him and it was like the most important thing to

me.” Abidde said he felt that Brown understood the challenges he faces both on and off the court, as a player and as a person. “Me and him talk a lot about the challenges they have and they’re afraid is like that off the court. We talk alot about stuff like that.” Abidde’s athleticism has already been put on display this year, winning the dunk contest as a freshman during Shocker Madness. Isaac Brown said that as he starts develop more in the weight room, fans will start to see that athleticism on the court. “He’s going to be a really good player, he’s really athletic,” Brown said. “He’s one of those guys that can play the four but can play the two or three spots. Once he gets bigger and stronger, he’ll have a high ceiling.” Although Abidde has found his home in Wichita, there are still places that he misses from Georgia. While some Atlanta favorites

have suitable Kansas alternatives, Abidde is still searching for a suitable alternative to Publix, his favorite grocery store at home. Abidde looks forward to building more chemistry with the team this year, as well as “Just getting better, get stronger, just developing more IQ about the game and stuff like that, just learning,” he said. That’s what basketball is to Abidde, a chance to learn more about the game he loves. The learning is constant, both about himself as a player and about the team he is with now. Ultimately, Abidde’s goal is to play in the NBA, although he does not have a specific team he dreams of playing for. But, this wasn’t always what Abidde wanted. His love for the game didn’t truly start until his freshman year of high school. That was when he started watching and paying more attention to basketball. Even then, it was more of a case

of physical stature rather than love for the game. “I mean, I think, like at first it was a time when I was doing because I was tall, just taller than everybody else, but then I really started, like, loving, like practice and playing the game.” Now, he loves everything about basketball, practice and workouts included. Currently, Abidde is working with Coach Brown to develop more internal and post skills to complement his current perimeter playing style. “Usually, I’ll just stand on the outside, may wait for a shot or like, lift up or sink to get a shot, but I think I need to get better posting”. Even though Abidde has only been in Kansas for a few months, when the going gets tough he remembers his friends and family back home who have helped him get to this point. Abidde is excited that his parents will be able to watch him play during the Roman Main Event tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada in November.

PHOTO BY SEAN MARTY / THE SUNFLOWER

Isaac Abidde goes up for a dunk during Shocker Madness on Oct. 12 inside Charles Koch Arena.

THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021 | 7

SPORTS

Shockers win season opener in thrilling fashion BY EMMIE BOESE elboese15@gmail.com / @elboese15

By halftime, the Wichita State men’s basketball team was trailing in their season opener. They couldn’t get shots to fall and they played rushed, according to Head Coach Isaac Brown. However, by the second half the Shockers executed and sealed the deal after sophomore guard Tyson Etienne made a three-point jumper with 2.2 seconds left on the clock. “The second half once we started executing, once we started to make shots,” Brown said. “So proud of those guys for stepping up to the foul lines. Going 12 to 14, and sometimes you gotta make free throws in order to win close games.” The Shockers defeated Jacksonville State University 60 - 57 on Tuesday evening. Etienne led the Shockers in points by scoring 16 and had four rebounds. After

receiving multiple honors and preseason awards, Brown said that Etienne proved he was the type of player that makes big shots and steps up in a high pressure game situation. “I’m happy for the kid,” Brown said. “We wanted to get the last shot but that’s the shot he takes a lot in practice. I would prefer him to drive but he makes that shot a lot in practice you know. He’s one of those guys who works on that. Everything he does in a game he does in practice so I seen it a lot.” The Shockers stuck to the tough minded defense mentality that they are known for against Jacksonville State. Junior guard Dexter Dennis did not get many shots to fall in the first half but eventually he got his shots to fall by scoring 14 points on the night and grabbing eight rebounds. “You know what I’m always telling Dexter to keep shooting,” Brown said. “I’m not worried about

“I thought he was great,” Brown said. “You know for a freshman to come play in that environment against a veteran team. He can make shots. He’s got some good offensive rebounds, and I thought he defended well in the paint.” Etienne said he wasn’t sure if fans realized how much energy Pohto’s dunk created for the team and for the fans throughout Charles Koch Arena. “I mean it’s energetic, you know, especially when you get a stop,” Eitenne said. You know you wanna capitalize on it you know. You don’t want to go down there and take a bad shot you know or miss.” Dennis said the Shockers facing some adversity in games at the beginning of the season will help them out further down the road. “Everybody can cheer and clap when you’re winning but when you’re losing who has that same attitude you know,” Dennis said.

you making or missing shots. I want you to take them. I got all the confidence in the world that you can make this shot. Dexter Dennis stays on the basketball court because he defends. That shot is going to fall. We not worried about that. I want him to keep taking that shot don’t think twoice about it and in order to make that shot you gotta take it so I want him taking them.” A huge momentum shift for the Shockers was tying the game up at 45 with about eight minutes left in the game. Freshman forward Kenny Pohto scored on a fast break dunk off a no-look pass from Etienne. Pohto scored eight points, and had four rebounds against JSU. Despite a successful performance in the season opener for the Shockers, Pohto almost didn’t get to play due to sickness. However, he joined the team for 15 minutes prior to gametime and saw 18 minutes of action for the Shockers.

BACK FROM THE PORTAL

PHOTO BY SEAN MARTY / THE SUNFLOWER

Head coach Isaac Brown talks to Tyson Etienne during a timeout against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 insdie Charles Koch Arena.

Taylor ends 20year wheelchair tennis career BY EMMIE BOESE elboese15@gmail.com / @elboese15

PHOTO BY SEAN MARTY / THE SUNFLOWER

Morris Udeze celebrates after a play during the game against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 inside Charles Koch Arena.

Porter and Udeze reflect on decisions to stay at WSU BY EMMIE BOESE elboese15@gmail.com / @elboese15

They almost left but second year juniors Craig Porter Jr. and Morris Udeze are glad they decided to come back to the Wichita State Basketball Program after entering the NCAA transfer portal. Udeze decided to enter the transfer portal on March 19 of 2020. A month later Udeze decided to take his name out of the portal. The impact of his decision to stay at Wichita State was current Head Coach Isaac Brown. Brown took over the program as the official head coach on February 26 0f 2020. This was just a few months later after former Head Coach Greg Marshall resigned on November 17 of 2020. Due to the turmoil that was boiling over still in the program from player complaints made about Marshall, Udeze was ready to leave Wichita State. “I was in the portal but IB [Isaac Brown] used to call me like kind of recruiting me back and I would be like no I’m kind of done with it,” Udeze said.”I’m

“These coaches they’ve taken really good care of us and showed us uncondintional love on and off the court.” CRAIG PORTER JR. Junior

kind of done with Wichita State but I don’t know I felt like it was just right for me to come back. A great opportunity was there. I felt like it was a great decision.” For Porter, he had different reasons for wanting to enter the transfer portal. He entered the transfer portal on March 25 of 2021. Porter said wanting to transfer mostly had to do with playing time, getting injured, and wanting to be closer to home and family. Porter said ultimately he decided to come back for the environment in the program. “These coaches they’ve taken really good care of us and showed us unconditional love on and off the court so it

PHOTO BY RACHEL RUDISILL / THE SUNFLOWER

Craig Porter Jr. looks to pass during the game against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9 inside Charles Koch Arena.

just feels really family oriented around here so I didn’t feel like breaking that bond,” Porter said. Both Porter and Udeze are hoping for a big year this season. Due to COVID - 19, Porter said he was told that he missed almost 50 days out of the season last year. “It was difficult you know for the team having to stop every 14 days you know somebody catches it and just having that setback so often,” Porter said. “Obviously I want to improve off of last year, make it to the tournament again, just make

sure the team does good that’s all I’m really worried about.” For Udeze it is continuing to have a leadership role on the team and to have a breakout season. “By god’s grace I’ll have a great year,” Udeze said. “Stay out of foul trouble, be smart, I feel like I’m due for another great season. “I feel like last year and this year I had a big leadership role helping the young guys, everybody gel together kind of just being positive making everybody laugh, making everybody happy.”

After four trips to the Olympics, Nick Taylor has announced his retirement from Paralympic wheelchair tennis on Monday, Nov. 8. Taylor has won three gold medals in doubles and one silver with partner David Wagner. He also has won one bronze medal in singles. Taylor said he has known for a while now that he wanted to retire around this time but he didn’t want to end his career yet after barely missing qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Taylor played his final match with his partner in the USTA National Campus in Orlando to finish out his career last weekend. “I would be lying if I didn’t tell you between Saturday and now I cried more times than I can count,” Taylor said. Taylor said the reaction of the announcement of his retirement from many people was positive. However, he said his closest friends were reluctant to believe that he officially retired. “Well I think for a lot of them it’s really finally hitting home in the last 48 hours,” Taylor said. They kept saying “yeah right whatever.” “You are saying that but you won’t actually do it.” We know you too well.” [I said] Well I don’t know how to tell you this but you are wrong.” Taylor’s Paralympic career in wheelchair tennis may be over but not his athletic career. Taylor will be training to compete in Boccia Ball for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Boccia ball is a paralympic sport. The object of the game is to throw or roll leather balls on the other side of the court to a target ball called the “Jack.” He said when he first started his tennis career that the U.S. Paralympic Committee told him they had their eyes on him, which was before the span of a 20 year career in wheelchair tennis. “It’s going to be different but I’m still going to be training non stop,” Taylor said. I’m still going to be thinking about that next trip for that next competition. That’s not going to change so it’s just going to be in a completely different sport now.” On the way to Topeka for his first boccia ball practice, Taylor called two of his friends to ask them for their opinion on whether or not he should play the sport. His friends told him to go for it. “Do I actually go ahead and go in that gym because you and I both know what this is going to turn into if I go into that gym and start this,” Taylor said “It’s going to become an obsession, and it’s going to become what I do after tennis.” Besides training and competing in boccia ball, Taylor will do more committee work and plan different projects in his role as director of operations for the Wichita State men’s tennis program. He also will be potentially getting more into public speaking and coaching wheelchair tennis.

8 | THURSDAY, NOV. 11, 2021

WWW.THESUNFLOWER.COM

Opinion

HAVE AN OPINION?

contact The Sunflower’s opinion editor, Jaycie Nelson opinion@thesunflower.com

Fan interaction is the key to a great sport Rachel Rudisill Columnist racheltaryn268@gmail.com

Soccer may be the most popular sport in the world, but what is the most popular sport in America? If you go onto Google and look up the most popular sport in America, you will not get a definite answer. There is always a toss up between which is better: football or basketball. Anyone you ask will give you a different answer. If you are asking a student from Wichita State, they will more than likely tell you basketball is the most popular sport in America; however, if you ask someone from the University of Alabama, they will answer with football. There is no definite answer, but what makes these sports so enjoyable to watch? What makes these sports so popular? A winning season? My answer is simple, fan interaction and competition.

Watching people compete is always a thrill for the audience, but what makes basketball and football so great is they allow fans to interact. Football has fantasy football and basketball has March Madness brackets. Fantasy football has more to it than March Madness. With Fantasy Football, individuals are competing against one another with their own football teams. You are able to draft your own players, real players from the NFL, and depending on how well your players do, they earn or lose points. The team with the most points wins. Well, that’s great, but how do you get good at fantasy football? Fantasy Football is a mix between luck and knowledge of the sport. To be able to draft good or decent players, you have to watch each team to see how well they compete. All of your players will not necessarily come from the same team. You are not Clark Hunt, CEO and chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs, you have to have your own team. This allows for fans to watch all football teams,

“Watching people compete is always a thrill for the audience, but what makes basketball and football so great is they allow fans to interact.” not just their favorite team. Many people who live and breathe fantasy football also watch college football because they get to see how the players play before the NFL. That way when the football player gets to the NFL, they already know how they play and they will be willing to take a shot. Here comes the luck part. Will that player have a good season, or will your star player be injured? If you selected Christian McCaffery as your star running back, I’m sorry for your struggle this season. Injuries are difficult to predict, so it is always hit or miss. If you want to participate in a game full of more luck, I suggest the March Madness Bracket. March Madness bracket, for

those who do not know, also work based off of points. The big difference is the brackets use teams instead of individual players. Starting at the beginning of March, a list of 60-lock teams are given out with 4 empty spots. The four empty spaces are not to be filled out until the final eight. That way if you have no teams left over due to failed predictions, you can start over. The odds of having the perfect March Madness bracket are one in 9.2 quintillion. You are more likely to win the lottery or be struck by lighting than have the perfect bracket. Because you have to rely on a team rather than individual players, March Madness is more difficult to predict. With Fantasy Football, a player does not predict the winner of the Super Bowl, they are predicting which football players will perform well. Your players’ actual team can lose, but that does not mean you do not receive points. For example, as of November 2nd, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is ranked in the top four of

points earned by a quarterback. He is ahead of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray by 1.3 points. That may sound like such a small amount; however, the Eagles, statistically, are having a much worse season than the Cardinals. The Cardinals have a record of 7 and 1 whereas the Eagles have a record of 3 and 5. For the 2021 basketball season, March Madness Brackets were filled out by over 36 million individuals. For the current 2021-2022 NFL season, Fantasy Football has over 40 million players. Since the beginning of these games, viewership has had a significant increase. There are also more fans emerging from watching players. This allows for more tickets and merchandise to be sold. The Brackets and Fantasy Football also helped people to continue to interact with the sport from home. My suggestion for other sports to gain viewers is to allow for fans to interact. Americans live and breathe for healthy competition, and Fantasy Football and the March Madness Brackets gives that satisfaction.

Perspective is about trying on a different pair of shoes Rachel Lyons Columnist

raylons@shockers.wichita. edu

PHOTO BY RACHEL RUDISILL

Starting Christmas joy now is not too early Rachel Rudisill Columnist racheltaryn268@gmail.com

Spooky season is officially over. Time to pack up all the Halloween decorations and bring out the holiday scented candles. I feel as though starting up the holiday spirit in the beginning of November, or even at the end of October is completely understandable. This is due to supply. In the United States, Christmas is the most celebrated holiday. Around 93 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. There are roughly 329.5 million citizens in the United States, and that means roughly 306.4 million people celebrate the Holiday. That means there are 306.4 million Americans shopping for

gifts and decorations online, at Walmart, and at all other stores around the world. This does not even account for the 1.7 billion other individuals around the world who celebrate the holiday. Shipping, especially with covid19, takes time. Gaining material to make and ship out products can take weeks and even months. There are still shipping issues going on. Packages are arriving late and demands are greater than current supply. Not only do people need to prepare for Christmas, but Thanksgiving as well. At this point, Thanksgiving and Christmas are basically combined holidays, due to them only being about a month apart. People are buying canned goods to prepare for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so products need to be given out at an early and appropriate time.

In the United States, Christmas is the most celebrated holiday.” Companies also need these products at an earlier date. Coffee places such as Scooters and Starbuck release Christmas drinks this week. This is because the demand is so high. Yes, the Pumpkin Spice lattes are iconic, but Christmas drinks are sold for a shorter amount of time and bring in more income. If you do not want to listen to Christmas music or bring out those tangled lights until after Thanksgiving, that is completely fine, just keep in mind business runs on Christmas. They just want to help keep the holiday spirit alive.

When we think of people who work full time, typically a 9 to 5 job, why do we pity them for “how hard” it must be? Why don’t we look at college students who might work more than one part-time job, in addition to balancing classes, homework, a social life, and other extracurricular activities. Yes. We could take the route of “choose your hard,” although some disagree with this mentality. Yes. I’m sure that at the end of the day it seems as though working all day and then attending night classes would be harder — but what if it isn’t? What if both scenarios are just as hard as the other? I’m trying to balance a variable schedule, an hour round trip commute, a social life, attending classes, and making sure that I get my homework done, on top of writing for The Sunflower. Is this MY hard? Yes — this is what I have chosen for my level of difficulty right now. I will be honest and say that I hardly know what a social life is any more, so that rarely factors into my life’s difficulty level. I feel like this goes back to the same principle from grade school: “don’t judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes” (don’t judge a book by it’s cover either). I suppose I say this from a place where I’ve been the one to help someone pick out the floral arrangements for their family

“I feel like this goes back to the same principle from grade school: “don’t judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”” member’s funeral, or the one who has to turn someone away from cashing their check because they don’t have a valid photo id, or the id they provide isn’t something that I’m allowed to accept. Sometimes hard can’t be changed, sometimes it also can’t be taken away. I can’t change the fact that someone made a mistake, paid the price, and is now trying to get back on their feet. I can’t change the fact that a family member is gone, nor can I bring them back. I can’t tell you what the person I just cashed a check for is going through — all I did was cash a check, but I don’t know what that did, simply because I haven’t walked in their shoes and seen their lives outside of that moment in the store. So, while I can complain about trying to balance everything I’ve got going on or I can say that I think it would be much easier to balance one full time job and going to school, it doesn’t mean that the opposite isn’t true. I can’t say, “that person has it easy,” because you don’t know what they’re going through outside of school or work. I suppose it all comes down to one simple word: Perspective.

‘Spencer’ re-news Kristen Stewart’s acting Jaycie Nelson Opinion Editor opinion@thesunflower. com

This past Friday, the movie “Spencer,” starring Twilight star Kristen Stewart was released in theaters. The movie is based on Princess Diana and her mental health during a Christmas party with the royal family. Critic, Michael J. Casey wrote the movie is, “A portrait of a person at a breaking point.” This movie opens up with the words, “A fable of a true story.” Meaning this is based on a real person, but the events may not be true. This movie dives into Diana’s mental health after her husband cheated and also her dealing with the pressures of the crown. On rotten tomatoes, the movie received 84% approval from critics,

“The acting is phenomenal. If you’re not a fan of Kristen Stewart, let this film change your mind.” and 51% from the audience. I personally loved the film. It was heartbreaking, but felt so real. Even though most of us can’t relate to being a princess in a gold cage, we can relate to the struggle of social pressure — thanks to social media. The acting is phenomenal. If you’re not a fan of Kristen Stewart, let this film change your mind. She gave a stunning performance that many critics, myself included, believe could win her an Oscar. The movie portrays Christmas at the palace for 3 days, and while there is amazing dialogue, the silence and facial expressions is what contributes the most to this

COUTRESY OF DEADLINE

movie. Actions speak louder than words, and the acting did just that. While the ending to this movie is uplifting, the movie can leave you reflecting heavily. It’s an intense film, so I wouldn’t attend if you

want something light-hearted. The visuals of the film were astounding, and it was directed very well, I believe. However, if you want to experience a film full of powerful emotion, go see it.

We obviously don’t know what occurred every day in Diana’s life, but I do feel it represented some of her struggles with mental health. It’s a compelling story of a mother, princess, wife and person that is facing a struggle.