The Sunflower v. 130 1. 23 (March 24, 2026)

WICHITA STATE VS. OKLAHOMA STATE

Shockers blow out Oklahoma State on the road in NIT second round

OWEN PROTHRO sports@thesunflower.com

Paul Mills was pleased, despite his stoic expression and folded arms.

Oklahoma State fans started exiting Gallagher-Iba Arena with four minutes left. Wichita State guard Kenyon Giles drained his seventh 3-pointer. Center Emmanuel Okorafor followed with a dunk.

Players, coaches and fans in black and yellow were on their feet and screaming as the lead stretched to 21 points and shut the door on the Cowboys.

“What indicates fun is are they celebrating each other’s success?” Mills said. “That’s what good teammates do. There was a lot of elevation in the room.”

The Shockers celebrated with each other a lot during a 96-70 win Sunday night in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament — a stark contrast to last season’s disappointing first-round exit at the same venue.

They’ll have at least one more chance to celebrate even more.

“Survive and advance,” Giles said. “We understand how hard it is [to win a title]. There’s no byes in this one. We have to go win four or five games.”

Wichita State (24-11) advances

This team is the most fun I’ve ever had. We want to win, win, win, win, but I just want to — if my teammate hits a three, I want to celebrate.”

KENYON GILES Senior guard

to face American Conference rival Tulsa in the quarterfinals, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Reynolds Center on ESPN2. The meeting will be the teams’ fourth this season. Unlike their first-round win over Wyoming on Tuesday, the Shockers didn’t have to rely solely on their 55 rebounds to secure the outcome.

While they did pull down 46 boards to Oklahoma State’s 38, they shot an efficient 49.3% from the field for the game, including a 14-of-26 (53.8%) mark from beyond the arc.

Wichita State converted 14 offensive rebounds into 23 secondchance points — more than five times the amount that Oklahoma State ended with.

Giles finished with 28 points on 10-for-24 shooting, going 8-of-16 from deep. Senior forward Karon Boyd contributed 13 points, and sophomore forward Dillon Battie scored 12 to go along with 10 rebounds. Two other Shockers finished with 10 or more points.

Former

SGA presidential debates approach

BY KAMI STEINLE steinlekami@gmail.com

Debates for the Student Government Associations presidential tickets will be held in the Rhatigan Student Center room 233 at 6 p.m. on March 26 and April 2. Mason Fouquet and Jayden Island are the two candidates for student body president. Fouquet is running with Nazanin Kasirosofar. The pair is running on the platform of increased

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student involvement, enhanced communication and transparency, advocating for student resources and results. Island is running with Anoushka Raju on a platform of community, transparency and resilience. The debates will be moderated by The Sunflower and livestreamed to SGA’s YouTube and The Sunflower’s Instagram. Students can submit questions for the debate to editor@ thesunflower.com.

Oklahoma State was held to 41.5% shooting from the floor and just 30% from deep. Its season ended at 20-15.

Giles got hot early and often, drilling back-to-back threes — including one from the black and orange OSU logo at Gallagher-Iba Arena — to open an eight-point first-half lead.

The gap quickly widened to 12. Then it was 14. The contingent of Shocker fans filling Sections 212 and 213 generated most of the noise on Oklahoma State’s home court. The Cowboys had to remember where they were.

Christian Coleman took over, helping trim the Shockers’ 14-point lead down to seven by halftime. Coleman, a senior guard, poured in eight more early in the second half, giving Wichita State its first and only deficit of the game, 47-46.

It didn’t last long.

The Shockers responded with a decisive 14-2 run. The Cowboys

went cold. The final score became lopsided following one of Wichita State’s most efficient shooting nights this season.

“Defense is what wins games. Offense will tell you by how much,” Mills said. “It’s a big win from a margin standpoint simply because we shot it really well.”

For the Shockers, they were a team firing on most, if not all, cylinders for the final 20 minutes. With every successful shot or defensive stop, the bench was energized. The crowd grew louder. By the end, the atmosphere felt more like Koch Arena than a venue two hours away from campus.

“These guys are the best core I’ve been with,” Battie said. “I love that we’re able to continue to win with these guys. It just gives us more games and opportunities.”

For Giles, the run is about more than just advancing.

“This team is the most fun I’ve ever had,” Giles said. “We want to win, win, win, win, but I just want to — if my teammate hits a three, I want to celebrate.

“Because I might not ever get this opportunity again where I can be with guys that love each other. Who want to see each other win and celebrate other people’s success.”

Student government announces 2026 election candidates

BY KAMI STEINLE steinlekami@gmail.com

Student Government Association general elections for student body presidential tickets and student senators will be open from April 6 at 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. on April 8. There are two pairs of candidates for student body president and vice president. Jayden Island and Anoushka Raju are running against Mason Fouquet and Nazanin Kasirosafar. Senators represent academic colleges and other groups on campus. In the legislative processes, senators create and vote on bills and resolutions. Bills include bylaw changes, funding for certain projects and resolutions act as the official opinion of the student government, typically recommending action on campus. Ballots will be emailed to students via SimplyVoting. Voters can also write in candidates not on the ballot.

Engineering Senators

n Sania Mohib

n Erin Vance

n Kabir Bhakta

n Andrew Beam

n Matthew Phan

n Ahmad Bassaleh

n Alex Le

Business Senators

n Brayden Short

n Adán Parker

n Jamie Winslow

n Ryan Whalen

Out of State Senator

n Ashly Artiaga Sevilla

Underserved Senator

n Ismail Saeed

College of Education Senator

n Caiden Berry

Liberal Arts & Sciences Senators

n Ryan Taylor

n Kevin Dunn

n Amanur Rahman

n Braeden Miller

n Josh Mallard

n Case Brown

n Grace Naylor

n Alani Bland

Health Professions Senator

n Eiden Hinojosa

Adult Learners Senator

n Ella Rundquist

International Senator

n Zainab Tariq

TRANSPARENCY IS KEY

Both student body presidential tickets are highlighting transparency in their campaigns

Island,

Raju — ‘A place for us all’

BY KASS LEWIS news@thesunflower.com

Jayden Island and Anoushka Raju are running for Wichita State student body president and vice president, respectively.

Island is a junior majoring in philosophy and Raju is a senior biomedical engineering and biology student.

Island currently serves as a student advocate in SGA and was a senator last year. Raju is the health and wellness director under the executive branch.

Their goal is to make student government more casual and transparent so students aren’t confused or intimidated by beneficial resources, the pair said.

“If in any way I’m able to provide that support for students in a way that … mitigates or takes away some of those barriers that they may have had in the first place, I always want to be able to do that,” Island said.

Creating transparency and connection Island said they’ve heard feedback from students that SGA “can feel a little messy.”

“If we’re able to ensure that students understand what goes on within committees, what’s going on within joint leadership council, and (students) understand what’s going on within student government — not just those Wednesday live streams — then we’re going to be able to foster a little bit more understand between ourselves and the student body,” Island said.

Island said students may feel like some pieces of legislation are less important, such as changes to the rules governing SGA.

“If we’re able to communicate that these bylaw changes, and the — some of the internal things that we’re doing — are just as necessary as some of those external endeavors, then we may have a little bit more cohesion between us and the student body,” Island said.

The two said they want to continue Wichita State’s initiatives that are aimed at helping students, like Student Outreach Services and the CARE Team, and “put these resources on students’ radars.”

“Not only are our staff so supportive, but students are so supportive of each other in the spaces that we find each other in,” Raju said. “And I think that just speaks to the multiculturalism of our campus”

The two want to expand that to connecting students with each other rather than just resources. Island said this could happen through outreach events or collaborating with Provost Monica Lounsbery to put initiatives into place.

“I know we had our involvement fair and things of that nature, but I think getting students connected to their peers on a more intimate level to allow them to share experiences with one another, be able to foster those more close connections,” Island said. “That can, in turn, really boost our

school spirit and alumni engagement in future years.”

Island compared Wichita State to other universities and pointed out the difference in school spirit.

“They love their school,” Island said.

“They are repping school colors all the time. They can’t wait to go to grad school there, so on and so forth. And that’s not really a sentiment we see at Wichita State.”

Background and experience

Raju said she’d been looking forward to being on campus since childhood because her parents both attended Wichita State.

“I think what’s kept me here and kept me involved over the past few years are the people in our community,” Raju said. “I think we’re so lucky to have the community that we do. I think that Wichita State is definitely one of Kansas’ best-kept secrets.”

Island competed in the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational during their senior year at Derby High School and earned a McNair scholarship. They said meeting their scholarship cohort gave them a sense of community, pushing them toward Wichita State.

Island is majoring in philosophy with a concentration in ethics and a minor in public health. They also tutor for the philosophy department and plan to pursue a PhD in bioethics.

As a student advocate, they help students with processes like academic or parking appeals.

“A lot of the time, that looks like attending academic appeal or grade appeal hearings with students, where they may be in jeopardy of being dismissed from a program, at risk for suspension, things of that nature,” they said.

Raju is a fourth-year student, majoring in biomedical engineering and biology with a minor in chemistry on the pre-medical track.

She has been involved with the Student Belonging Coalition. In her current role as SGA health and wellness director, Raju helps connect students to support services and wellness activities across campus.

The campaign’s tagline is “a place for all of us.” Raju said this means accepting the fact that every student is different.

“Hopefully — within our administration as well, we’re able to learn a little bit more about each student’s demographic and how we can best support them through their college journey,” Raju said.

The presidential and vice presidential candidates debate on March 26 and April 2 at 6 p.m. in Rhatigan Student Center 233. The debates will be live streamed on SGA’s YouTube and The Sunflower’s Instagram.

The general election will take place from April 6 to 8. Ballots will be emailed to students via SimplyVoting.

Fouquet, Kasirosafar — ‘Every Shocker matters’

BY JOSH PFLEGER-BERNAT jbernat13@gmail.com

Mason Fouquet and Nazanin Kasirosafar are running for student body president and vice president with a campaign centered on improving communication and transparency.

Fouquet, a junior in business administration, and Kasirosafar, a senior biological sciences major, have each served less than a year on the Student Government Association.

Fouquet serves as a business senator on the government oversight committee Kasirosafar serves as a Liberal Arts and Sciences senator and chair of the academic affairs committee.

Their campaign focuses on hearing from those they serve first, then taking action based on that communication.

“If I’m here walking through the business building and I’m not there in the senate hall, there are things going on that I have no idea about,” Fouquet said. “Suddenly, university policy changes, and I’m thinking ‘What went wrong?’”

The lack of transparency and effective communication channels creates more questions about where the money students pay to attend WSU goes, Fouquet said.

Three goals of their campaign are increasing outreach, ensuring each student has a say, and prioritizing accountability.

Outreach and accountability

The pair said they want to ensure students’ needs are at the forefront of student government decisions.

Backlash from the funding recommendations recently made by SGA’s Student Fees Commission shows an area where SGA could improve, Fouquet said. Both candidates voiced difficulty turning down funding for organizations that depend on student fees.

They think the finance commission could have prioritized student needs better through the process.

There are also many things they think SGA has done very well for students.

“I believe SGA did well at supporting student organizations and creating other opportunities,” Kasirosafar said.

She spoke specifically about how SGA recently voted to recommend an honorary A+ to the grading scale. The initiative was put together by the academic affairs committee that Kasirosafar chairs.

That process included a survey sent out on Shocker Blast, an example of how Kasirosafar prioritized student input into her actions.

Fouquet said creating moments for students to communicate needs and wants is always at the center of how they lead. He thinks WSU has a culture of mutual respect for your neighbor and not bringing each other down.

Kasirosafar echoed Fouquet’s view by

speaking about her personal experience of being accepted by the WSU community.

“A favorite part of Wichita State for me is how supportive everyone around me was,” Kasirosafar said. “Including my friends and the community around me, especially for someone like me who came from another country.”

Both spoke to how the new experiences they had at WSU were both culture shocks and something they value greatly.

Fouquet grew up going to all Catholic schools, and Kasirosafar grew up in Iran. WSU exposed them to environments they were not familiar with. Those new perspectives showed them the value of WSU’s culture and motivated them to protect and improve it.

That includes leveraging their positions to create change in certain SGA processes and challenging powers above them.

“If we’re going to be representing the student body as number 1 and number 2, then we want to hear what issues we even can challenge and what we can’t,” Fouquet said.

Kasirosafar echoed that sentiment and said they want to work as leaders through collaboration.

“A good leader is someone who listens and communicates with others, while working as a team,” Kasirosafar said. The campaign is currently using Instagram as a way to outreach to students, with a link to a Google Form in their bio to allow students to provide anonymous feedback and input.

Background and experience

In addition to being a student senator, Fouquet serves as the vice president of WSU chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative student group. He is also a member of the St. Paul Catholic Student Center.

Turning Point USA has created an experience of hearing other students’ opinions and having constructive debates and discussions through tabling events, Fouquet said.

He said growing up in Wichita and having family who went to WSU, he’s had a connection to the community since he was young.

Kasirosafar has been a member of multiple honors society organizations, such as Phi Kappa Phi and a Dean’s Advisory Council. She is also an alumnus Chair for Mortar Board Honor Society.

They see their short-term experience on SGA and experience from other on-campus commitments as creating a unique perspective on how SGA could improve.

“I think students are able to see how we can impact student lives, because they see us as relatable,” Fouquet said. “They see us as not just on this level of long-term senators.”

for students, who will have the final authority on what is published.

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

LEGAL One free copy of The Sunflower is available to members of the WSU community. Additional copies may be obtained from

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ADVERTISING Kiona Brown: 316-978-6905 admanager@thesunflower.com FACULTY ADVISER Amy DeVault: 316-978-6052 amy.devault@wichita.edu

SPORTS

Men’s hoops plays Tulsa... again in NIT quarterfinals

BY OWEN PROTHRO sports@thesunflower.com

STILLWATER, Okla. — Wichita State’s postseason journey continues in the National Invitation Tournament, but the path ahead holds a particularly familiar obstacle.

The Shockers rolled to a commanding 96-70 victory over Oklahoma State on Sunday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena to advance to the NIT quarterfinals. Now, they will face American Conference foe Tulsa for a fourth time this season. The game is slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday inside the Reynolds Center on ESPN2.

“You don’t want to play a team four times (in a season),” senior guard Kenyon Giles admitted with a laugh after the game. “You’re like, ‘I’m tired of these guys.’

“I like that we get to play them again,” he continued. “Really good team, we get to battle again one more time.”

Tulsa punched its ticket to the quarterfinal with a 77-66 win over Nevada-Las Vegas, setting the stage for another regional rivalry showdown in the postseason. It will be the first time Wichita State faces the same opponent four times in a season in the modern era (1945-present) and the first time in the long-standing rivalry

between the teams dating back to 1930 that they will meet for a fourth time in a season.

“This is going to be a heck of a game and a really fun environment,” WSU coach Paul Mills said, making a playful plea to the community. “I do ask that the mayor would let everybody off in Wichita at 2 o’clock so everybody can make the 6 p.m. tip.”

The matchup presents a challenge for Mills, who has yet to defeat the Golden Hurricane on their home court in his three seasons at the helm. He holds a 0-3 record at the Reynolds Center with Wichita State — including a

93-83 loss earlier this February.

However, the Shockers enter the game with momentum, having won nine of their last 10 contests. During the stretch, they are averaging 80.8 points and 44.3 rebounds per game. Their only recent setback came in the American Conference Tournament championship game against South Florida, after they defeated Tulsa in the semifinals to get there.

Wichita State also benefits from a dedicated and road-tested fanbase.

The Shocker faithful traveled well to Tulsa in February and again to Stillwater on Sunday. They

filled Sections 212 and 213 of the historic Gallagher-Iba, creating a Roundhouse-like atmosphere as Oklahoma State’s season concluded on its home court.

“When we played there last time (in Tulsa), we had a tremendous following,” Mills said. “Today (Sunday) here at Oklahoma State, for all the Shocker fans to come down, I look forward to seeing Shocker fans in Tulsa on Tuesday night.”

Wichita State has taken the last two meetings against Tulsa: an 81-77 win at Koch Arena on Feb. 14 and an 81-68 victory in the conference tournament semifinals on March 14. Yet, the Golden Hurricane earned the right to host the NIT quarterfinals matchup as the Tulsa Region’s No. 1 seed, while the Shockers are the No. 3 seed.

Regardless of the venue or seeding, the long-time rivals will clash with the highest stakes of their seasons on the line: a trip to the NIT’s Final Four in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

“A lot of teams don’t get this opportunity,” Giles said. “So us getting it, we’re just trying to take advantage of it. We love this team.”

‘JUST A BATTLER’

BY MACK SMITH mackred22@gmail.com

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the game was in Trinity Allen’s hands.

Tied at two runs, Allen stepped up and hit a home run to lift the Wichita State softball team over Florida Atlantic on Friday night, 3-2. The Shockers extended their win streak to six games in the process.

“Trin’s just a battler,” WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “She’s not always going to get up there and hit a home run, but she’s got that power that she’s capable of.

“To me, anytime we can put her at the top of the lineup, she works a good count, she gets a good pitch and kind of sets a tone.”

Since joining the league, the Owls have beaten Wichita State in five of the eight meetings, which included a sweep last season.

“I think it’s awesome. It’s really great. It’s a good momentum booster for us,” Allen said after the game. The bottom of the seventh started promising for WSU with a single by senior shortstop Chloe Rhine, but freshman Mackenzie Rooney hit into a double play, leaving bases empty. Allen hit the walk-off home run on the second pitch that she saw.

“Honestly, I didn’t think too much,” Allen said about her

It’s awesome. It’s great. It’s a good momentum booster for us.”

TRINITY ALLEN Junior, WSU Softball Team

approach. “I was just thinking, ‘Get on base, get a hit.’

“It’s not the end of the world.

If we had to go to an extra inning, (then) we had to go to an extra inning. It wasn’t that deep.”

The game started with runs being at a premium, with nobody crossing the plate for three-anda-half innings. FAU threatened to score in the top of the fourth, but a lineout and throw to second from Wichita State’s defense ended the inning.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that the seal was broken, as freshman infielder Kinzey Woody smacked a home run over the left field fence.

Woody was the Shockers’ designated player for seven games before transitioning to third base.

Bredbenner said the switch has given Woody more confidence.

“I think that sometimes Woody plays better when she’s playing defense than when she’s the DH (designated hitter),” she said.

“When she’s the DH, sometimes you overthink hitting, and you don’t have that other thing that

changes her mind.”

FAU took its first lead in the top of the sixth on a two-run triple hit to shallow right field, but it was short-lived as sophomore catcher Gabby Scott hit a lead-off home run to tie the game at two apiece in the Shockers’ half of the inning.

After Scott’s home run, FAU turned to its bullpen and brought out Ainsley Lambert, the conference leader in saves with six this season. Lambert allowed a single but retired the next three batters to keep the score even.

The Owls loaded the bases with two outs, but a ground ball hit right back to the pitcher ended the inning.

WSU’s starting pitcher, sophomore Ryley Nihart, pitched out of danger all game long. Nihart only had one inning where

Shocker Sports Roundup: What you

missed over the last week

BY OWEN PROTHRO sports@thesunflower.com

Baseball

Wichita State’s baseball team won its opening series in the American Conference against Charlotte after a Game 1 win on Friday.

The Shockers dropped Game 2, 19-6, after leading by four runs through four innings Saturday. The 49ers put up big six- and seven-run innings in the seventh and ninth innings during a collapse on the mound for Wichita State. Junior Brady Hamilton (3-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings.

Wichita State rebounded in the series finale against Charlotte with a convincing 7-2 win on Sunday afternoon. In five innings on the mound, Johnny Nuanez (3-0) struck out six 49ers batters in winds that peaked near 40 mph. Seniors Jayson Jones and Owen Washburn came up big in the batter’s box during the eighth inning, delivering four runs on a two-RBI single and a two-RBI double.

Softball

Another walk-off home run secured a series win for Wichita State’s softball team against Florida Atlantic over the weekend.

Junior Trinity Allen smacked one to give the Shockers the win in Game 1 on Friday, and freshman Mackenzie Rooney followed up with a two-RBI blast in extra innings of Game 2 for a 10-8 victory on Saturday.

Rooney is now hitting .237 with four homers and 11 RBI during her first season of collegiate softball. But after the Game 1 and 2 heroics, Wichita State dropped the finale and missed out on the series sweep in a pitcher’s duel Sunday afternoon, 2-1.

Freshman Kammie Smith plated freshman Kinzey Woody on a fielder’s choice in the first inning, but that was the only run production the Shockers managed for the game. The Owls scored their two runs in the third and sixth innings on a solo home run and sacrifice flyout, respectively.

Men’s tennis

The Shockers’ men’s tennis team won their eighth-straight game this season by rattling off three more against Coastal Carolina, UNC Wilmington and No. 56 Charlotte.

The 4-2 win over the 49ers was the team’s third nationally-ranked win of the season to extend its win streak to the longest since 2008, when they won 10 in-a-row.

Coastal Carolina didn’t stand a chance Tuesday afternoon, as Wichita State steamrolled the Chanticleers in a 4-0 decision.

UNC Wilmington presented the toughest task for the Shockers, as the match was pushed to the final game on Thursday afternoon. Wichita State eventually continued its streak with a 4-3 decision over the Seahawks.

WSU Senior Luke Bracks flexed his clutch genes, winning on singles court six in a 6-4, 7(7)-6(3) game against UNC Wilmington’s Brady Hussey to claim the win.

she left no one on base. Nihart left Owls 11 runners on base and struck four of them out for her seventh win of the season.

“Today, I really tried to stay more in tune with my body and what I was doing,” Nihart said. “I think that is what got me out of it in a lot of cases.”

Bredbenner said Nihart’s ability to get out of jams, especially as an underclassman, shows a lot of composure.

“She’s only a sophomore; a lot of people forget about that,” Bredbenner said. “Sophomore year is your toughest year, because there’s a whole year of film on you.

“You’re trying to be who you were last year, but only a little bit better, plus you got all this film on you.”

The Shockers faced little doubt against Charlotte on Saturday morning, dropping just two singles courts en route to the 4-2 victory.

Women’s golf

The women’s golf team placed last out of 16 teams at the MountainView Collegiate, hosted by Kansas State in Tucson, Ariz., from Friday to Sunday.

The Shockers finished the three-round tournament with 918 strokes as a team (54 overpar). No. 25 Iowa State won with a score of 844 (20 under-par), beating Wichita State by 74 strokes over the weekend.

Senior Mackenzie Wilson manufactured the best individual finish for Wichita State, placing in a tie for 60th place with rounds of 75, 77 and 74 to finish 10 over-par.

BY MYA SCOTT opinion@thesunflower.com

As an avid theater fan, one of the biggest banes of living in Kansas is the lack of shows around me — especially shows performing on Broadway. For years, I’ve survived off of cast recordings and promotional clips, until on Friday night, when I had the privilege of sitting in a theater for 2 and a half hours to see one of my favorite shows of all time.

“Hadestown.”

It’s a retelling of the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, entwined with the tale of Hades and Persephone, putting a musical twist on classic myths. In the original tragedy, and the musical, Eurydice dies and Orpheus travels to the Underworld to bring her back to life. Hades agrees — only if Orpheus doesn’t turn around to see if Eurydice is following.

This Broadway on Wichita performance of “Hadestown” was one of the best shows I’ve seen in my entire life and I’ve seen the touring productions of “Hamilton,” “Mean Girls” and “Six.”

There was so much emotion in this production, which does make sense considering it’s a

ARTS & CULTURE

tragedy, but I was still impressed. And it wasn’t just one person who carried the scenes; it was everybody on that stage, from the cast to the chorus to the band on stage.

Special shoutout to Haik Demirchian; he absolutely killed it on the trombone.

The lead actors of “Hadestown” went above and beyond. Orpheus, played by Jose Contreras, and Eurydice, played by Hawwa Kamara, left me stunned.

I, in my life, have never seen a man with so much open yearning on his face. Contreras was a desperate Orpheus — a man willing to do anything to bring back the love of his life. He perfectly embodied the character’s essence. If my future partner doesn’t look at me like that, I don’t want them.

And his voice, oh my god, it was magical. It was heavenly and echoed through Century II, giving me goosebumps every time he opened his mouth.

Kamara was such a powerful Eurydice. Her voice rang throughout the theater with well placed pitches throughout

the entire performance. I would kill to have her voice. And her acting was perfect. Her body language truly summed up her cold, isolated nature to finally accepting Orpheus’s warmth. Something about her sarcastic tone mixed with the need for love mashed up perfectly for her.

The contrasting couple of Hades, played by Nickolaus Colón, and Persephone, played by Namisa Mdlalse Bizana was also exceptional.

My mother, who went with me, is now in love with Colón, and frankly, so am I. To begin with, his voice was a deep bass that reverberated through my bones and Century II. But his actions, every step, every facial expression, were perfect.

Bizana radiated sunshine, literally, in her role as Persephone, and vocally with her songs. She did such a good job of conveying her character’s emotions through body language, like when she was stumbling around drunk on wine, or feeling pity for Orpheus using his voice to bring his love back from Hadestown.

Rudy Foster, who played Hermes, was so, so amazing. His

performance was so enchanting that I found myself searching for him even when he wasn’t the main focus of a scene. His voice was majestic and so full of energy. I think Foster was one of my favorite parts of the whole show.

The Fates played by Gia Keddy, Miriam Navarrete and Jayna Wescoatt were absolutely phenomenal. Their voices were so haunting, with harmonies that settled like a chilling fog over the audience. Their movements were fluid and in sync as they moved across the stage. Watching them

REVIEW: Goldfinch Coffee and Cocktails: A 1920s service station finds second life

BY ANSHIKA CHAUHAN

axchauhan0@gmail.com

Identity, love and self: MFA student exhibition to open in April REVIEW:

If you’re cruising down East Waterman near Hydraulic, you’d be forgiven for thinking you took a wrong turn. It’s a quiet, slightly desolate stretch of the Hyde Park neighborhood, but right on the corner sits a building you can’t miss — mostly because of the weird, wishbone-shaped roof and a massive brick chimney that looks like it’s been there since the city was founded.

That’s Goldfinch Coffee & Cocktails. Despite the “middle of nowhere” location, the place was wall-towall people when I swung by on a recent weekday morning.

Vibe check

I caught up with the general manager, Justin Mork. He gave me the backstory on the building, which was a gas station and auto garage back in 1925. Apparently, there were still actual car lifts embedded in the floor when the owners started renovations.

You’d never guess it now, though. The vibe isn’t your typical “Ikea-chic” coffee shop; it’s moody, dark and feels more like a highend hotel lobby in New Orleans or New York than a Wichita garage. Between the salvaged crystal chandeliers and the massive tree murals by local set designer Jordan

Slusher, the place has a soul that most study spots lack.

“The goal was that hotel bar energy,” Mork said. “You wake up, there’s coffee and food ... then as the day goes on, the space evolves.”

It’s designed to be a “third space” that shifts from a morning caffeine hit to a late-night lounge.

Breakfast breakdown

My friend and I showed up hungry and split the veggie quiche and the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. The quiche was actually flaky — not that soggy, microwaved stuff you get at a chain — and the sandwich was the exact kind of elevated fuel you need before a three-hour lecture.

For drinks, I grabbed the Flight Line Fix, which is super refreshing if you’re burnt out on black coffee, while my friend went for the Gold Standard. Mork also pointed out the Gilded Feather — a Navystrength gin martini — for anyone looking for something a bit stiffer once the sun goes down.

The short list

One thing to keep in mind is that the food menu is pretty lean. You aren’t getting some giant binder of brunch combos or a dozen sides to pick through. They keep the food list to just a handful of staples, but honestly, that’s probably why the quiche doesn’t

The vibe isn’t your typical ‘Ikea-chic’ coffee-shop; it’s moody, dark and feels more like a high-end hotel in New Orleans or New York than a Wichita garage. Between the salvaged crystal chandeliers and the massive tree murals by local set designer Jordan Slusher, the place has a soul that most study sports lack.”

ANSHIKA CHAUHAN First-year Reporter

taste like it was sitting in a freezer for a month.

If you need 30 different options to be satisfied, the food side might feel a little thin. But the drink menu is a different story — it’s deep and clearly the main event, which makes sense given the name on the sign. If you’re just looking for a solid sandwich and a drink that wasn’t just pumped out of a machine, the lack of clutter is actually a relief.

Checking the receipt

Let’s talk about the verdict most students care about: the money.

On a Shocker budget, Goldfinch is more of a “treat yourself” spot than an everysingle-morning habit. Most items land in the $6 to $12 range. However, unlike some places that glare at you for staying more than twenty minutes, the staff here

actually encourages you to camp out.

The main catch for some people on campus is the age limit.

It’s a great spot to hide away and study during the day — they even have a drive-through open until 2 p.m. if you’re just passing through — but once 5 p.m. hits from Wednesday to Sunday, it’s strictly 21 and up. It makes sense since it’s a cocktail bar, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind if you’re under 21 and looking for a place to hang out late at night.

Goldfinch Coffee and Cocktails is a bit of a trek from campus, but it’s a unique use of an old building and the staff manages to make a high-end concept feel as accessible as your neighborhood diner. If you want a change of pace from the usual coffee shops, it’s worth checking out.

only made me want to have the opportunity to play one of the Fates in my future. Both the chorus and backing band were on point throughout the entire show, with highly energetic and emotionally poignant performances. I can not say it enough: this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life. I highly recommend anyone who has the opportunity to see the touring cast of “Hadestown” to purchase those tickets as soon as you can. You won’t regret it.

BY MALEAH EVANS arts@thesunflower.com

Three Wichita State Master’s of Fine Arts students will be displaying their solo thesis exhibitions in Harvester Arts and ShiftSpace gallery in the Lux building in downtown Wichita. The exhibits open April 3, and run through April 24.

Sloane Dyer is a Kansasbased Choctaw artist and her upcoming exhibit, titled “Making, Mending, Becoming | Native Embodiment Through Reconstruction and Material Memory,” is an exploration of her Native identity.

Branden Lawless, specializes in sculpture. His exhibit, titled “Rat Bastard University: Home Sweet Home,” is a continuation of his satirical world that focuses on identity, love and the absurdity of life.

Madison Mullen is a multidisciplinary artist whose new exhibit, “Attention Icon,” aims to reveal the many contradictions between images and real-life experience.

Exhibits can be viewed in the ShiftSpace gallery and Harvester Arts, which are both located at 120 E 1st St N, Wichita.

OPINION

GOD FORBID I NEED A CIG

Smokers deserve a place on campus too

Kami Steinle

WSU became a tobacco-free campus on July 1, 2017, and what good has that really done for anyone?

Almost nine years of no smoking on campus, yet nearly everyone I know uses tobacco in some form or another. All banning tobacco on campus did was make it more inconvenient to get a little stress relief in the already incredibly stressful life of a college student. So, adding a few smoking areas might be to the benefit of students at Wichita State.

I’ve seen people stand on the edge of campus to smoke so they won’t be told to leave, but even then, things like vaping and nicotine pouches are still prevalent on campus — it’s just done inside a private room instead.

About one in four college students uses tobacco in some form or another, and this number is reportedly on the rise. According to a survey from the National Institutes of Health, more than half of college students think having designated smoking areas on campuses is beneficial.

Putting smoking areas on campus would benefit many

students. It would reduce the number of students who use tobacco indoors, would allow people on campus to destress without going out of their way and it might be a good opportunity for students to socialize and make friends.

Many places on campus could house smoking areas, like behind Elliott Hall, the open area beside McKnight or Duerksen, near Grace Wilkie Hall, or in one of the areas between the Rhatigan Student Center and Morrison Hall.

Some might argue there’s no need to allow tobacco on campus because it’s a harmful substance. However, having a cigarette every now and then isn’t the end of the world — it even has the potential to stop the world from feeling like it’s ending.

As someone who smokes, I agree smoking does more harm than good, but that hasn’t stopped people from doing it, and it never will.

If anything, making students leave campus to have some tobacco also causes more harm than good. It takes away precious time that could’ve been spent studying, since students have to make a trip off campus for a sweet hit between classes.

We could potentially be studying while we sit outside having a smoke. I’m sure campus authorities would love to see

more people sitting on the lawns of campus, just like in the movies. The outdoors is such an underutilized space these days. Give the people a reason to sit in the sun and enjoy the weather; I bet being able to have a smoke break on campus would be enticing to many students.

People today are so isolated, and it can be really hard to make conversation with strangers, but one place I’ve observed people come out of their shells is in a smoking area. I mean, what else is there to do when you’re sitting outside, enjoying the weather, than talking to the person next to you?

Creating a community on campus has been a goal of Wichita State’s, and I think making a space for all the smokers on campus to gather is a step in the right direction.

It’s not encouraging harmful behavior — it’s allowing people to do what they were going to do anyway, but in a place that’s familiar to them, potentially with people that are familiar to them.

We’ll still be out of the way of everyone who is bothered by the smell, and we’ll be able to stay close to our studies. So, what’s the harm in putting a few smoking areas on the WSU campus?

The Shocker Career Accelerator and ChatGPT: Finding the generative limit

It’s been six months since I last wrote about the use of artificial intelligence on campus, and generative AI still feels like an incredibly powerful force. In a way, it’s even more powerful now, and the discourse is much more vitriolic.

There’s even an official AI Club on campus, and now the Shocker Career Accelerator is taking part in the mad dash to adopt this new technology.

Admittedly, this shift isn’t super surprising as AI continues to be implemented in the professional world. In the grand scheme of things, it’s no wonder that this shift would extend to the Career Accelerator as well.

But what does this AI use even look like?

To get more specific, the Career Accelerator is encouraging students to use AI when crafting their resumes by providing sample prompts and guidelines. There is an explicit emphasis on human input and using AI as a jumpingoff point, which I do appreciate. The Career Accelerator’s guidelines also specify how generative AI works when it comes to collecting and regurgitating sensitive information, which is another good measure for the sake of security. There are still some concerns I have about this implementation, however. How much AI is too much AI? What if, despite the accelerator’s best efforts, students still get the wrong idea when it comes to generative AI use cases? The pitfalls of AI are vast and extreme, but they can also totally apply to the job search. Resumes and cover letters are admittedly rather dull documents to make, but the human element of them is important and shouldn’t be lost, even with the advancement of AI. Ultimately, I just hope everyone involved in the Career Accelerator uses AI cautiously, especially right now. Even if the bubble bursts, these tools will still be around, and we should take steps to make sure they don’t dictate our lives.

As college students, a lot of our work is required to be completed online. This means that we must have files on our computer to complete the work, and with these accumulating over time, some can be forced to pay for storage.

This is a problem not only at work and school, but even on our personal social media, where we can see storage becoming something that needs to be paid for.

Recently, we’ve seen Snapchat put a storage cap of five gigabytes on the memories tab unless one decides to pay for more. Users would have 12 months to either pay for storage or back up the saved memories. According to RTÉ News, the app launched memories in 2016, which means long-term users have amassed many snaps, over 1 trillion to be specific.

Overall, the reason for my usage of Snapchat was primarily for the memories. Paying for iCloud+ was not in the picture, so it was used to dump photos and videos instead of putting them in my camera roll. Now that can not be done for anyone who was in the same boat.

The payments may not seem like much now, but when thinking of the bigger picture, one should know that they will increase over time. For example, iCloud+ is 99 cents for 50 gigabytes, but how many pictures or files will one person have in a lifetime?

Personally, I have surpassed 50 gigabytes, so I am now paying 2.99 a month for iCloud+. I can only imagine what the price will be once I am 30 years old and have thousands of more files.

Especially with regard to inflation, I could see storage prices rising. For example, on Jan. 31, 2026, I got a notification saying that my Spotify Premium price was

going to rise from 11.99 to 12.99. Who’s to say prices won’t rise with file hosting services? And how long will it take before I am paying 10 to 20 dollars a month for storage? As a college student, that is a no-go. This can especially be a problem with those who are doing majors relating to things done online, such as graphic design, filmmaking, etc.; it can be easy to see the files add up. There are lots of file hosting services that have a free limit, but at some point, they cost money. As a student double-majoring in filmmaking and journalism, it seems as though buying an external hard drive or an sd card would be better than paying monthly amounts for the rest of my life. Google drive used to be my go-to as a student because it was the easiest for me. However, according to CBackup, there is only 15 gigabytes for free and the storage is shared by Gmail, Google drive, and Google photos. With the storage being shared among all of those Google platforms, it seems that it can be easy to go past the 15 gigabyte cap, resulting in the need to pay for more storage or find a different file hosting service.

According to WSU, there are file service plans for students, and the options have a good amount of storage for academic purposes. This makes it easier for students to have space for files instead of using up their personal cloud storage on assignments and more. Thankfully, those options are given to us; however, only for now.

Paying for files to be backed up and saved is a scam. Storage payments will continue and add up for the rest of our lives and I doubt many people want to lose precious memories or resume content. At this point of modernity where memories are now in the cloud instead of on tapes, we can see how monthly payments are becoming a new regular. My question now is, how long until the free limit is taken away or costs?

POSTSEASON PLAY

Shocker men’s basketball compete at conference championship, NIT

WHITE

Rhatigan

Celebrate

7:30 p.m.

Wiedemann Hall

Experience an organ recital by Lynne Davis, known for her performances across North America and Europe. Tickets to the concert are free to all current students.

LEADERSHIP LAB

Wednesday, March 25

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Rhatigan Student Center

Come for hands-on experience and leadership practice as a part of Lead Forward. The event is hosted by the Office of Student Engagement and Belonging.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERTO-ARIA CONCERT

Wednesday, March 25

7:30 p.m.

Duerksen Fine Arts Center

Listen to the symphony orchestra’s annual Concerto-Aria concert, directed by Mark Laycock. Tickets to the concert are free to current students.

NEON NIGHT OUT Wednesday, March 25 8 - 10 p.m.

Rhatigan Student Center

Party back to campus

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