Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026
Volume 131
Issue 8
MAGA FOR MARSHALL
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally for Roger Marshall in Park City on Oct. 19. The president took the stage nearly an hour after originally scheduled. Photo by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
Trump visits Kansas to bolster support for GOP candidates BY JOSH PFLEGER-BERNAT
L
jbernat13@gmail.com
ong lines, devoted supporters and passionate protestors surrounded Heartland Credit Union Arena in preparation for a rally for Roger Marshall. President Donald Trump came to Kansas to boost support for Republican senator Marshall’s election campaign. Polls have shown Marshall to be essentially tied with Democratic opponent Adam Hamilton. Republicans have held nearly a century-long hold on both U.S. Senate seats in Kansas. Some of Trump’s supporters recognize the challenges ahead for Marshall in the election. Trump also had GOP governor candidate Ty Masterson, U.S. House 4th district Representative Ron Estes (who’s up for reelection) and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach speak at the rally. Ted Nugent, a musician who has been a long-time supporter of Trump, also spoke at the rally. About 8,000 people were in attendance. The Heartland Credit Union has a capacity of 6,000, and the remaining supporters watched from a live screen outside the venue. Holly Tucker, a rally attendee dressed up in head-to-toe MAGAthemed clothing, was excited to see the president, but is worried about Marshall’s chances. “I hope that we’re able to pull it off,” Tucker said. “I hope that it’s not going to be as tight as they say because from what I’ve read about the opponent — and I haven’t been able to do a deep dive on them — but I wouldn’t vote for the opponent either way, so we’re hoping that Marshall can pull it off.”
A man sells Trump merchandise outside of Heartland Credit Union Arena on Oct. 19 before Sen. Roger Marshall’s rally. Photo by Ellery Prothro / The Sunflower
“
I wouldn’t vote for the opponent either way, so we’re hoping that Marshall can pull it off.” HOLLY TUCKER Rally attendee
Her support and vote for Marshall is more due to voting along the conservative line than anything about the senator specifically, Tucker said. “I hope that he’s continuing to go out and do everything that it takes to talk to every person who really does have concerns about where the
country is and where the country is headed if the other side gets in control,” Tucker said. Republican congressman Estes thought the crowd indicated a high level of support for Trump, but didn’t mention Marshall. “As we can see, there’s a big long
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line of folks that are really interested,” Estes said. “I think the president’s going to be here and be motivated about some of the exciting things that are happening in the country.” Others outside the arena didn’t agree with Estes’ assessment of the situation. Dawson Mesh, a Kansas City native holding a sign reading “NO WAR, NO ICE, NO KINGS,” stood amongst other protestors in the designated “Free Speech Zone.” Mesh said Trump coming to the state, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance visiting the state last month, shows the Republicans are “scared” of what could happen on Nov. 3. He became much more actively against the Trump administration after witnessing the ICE raids that occurred earlier this year. “Everything with ICE, like, that’s just a secret police,” Mesh said. “I’ve seen it firsthand myself. I was up in Minnesota when Alex Pretti was murdered, so just being out in the streets of Minnesota and seeing that firsthand really changed my mind about a lot of things.” Masterson, despite recently seemingly trying to distance himself from Trump, seemed to be very supportive of his fellow republican nominees. Kobach, Kansas attorney general, was also a key speaker at the rally. Kobach has voiced his support for Trump throughout his times in politics. Recently, Kobach said he was not seeking Trump’s endorsement because he thought it “wasn’t necessary.”
SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 6
ELECTION GUIDE
2 | Oct. 20, 2026
www.thesunflower.com
Political student organization talk about their focus as election season ends BY JOSH PFLEGER-BERNAT jbernat13@gmail.com
Student organizations at Wichita State that focus on civic engagement work to ensure community members are able to navigate the voting process during elections. With the 2026 general election coming up on Nov. 3, these groups are shifting what they’re focusing on. The main focus early on is getting individuals registered and ready to cast a ballot. Once the voter registration deadline of Oct. 13 passed, WSU Young Dems started to focus on making sure people know how to submit their ballots. College students face unique challenges during election season. Many students have never voted before. Only half of registered college-aged voters cast a ballot in most elections, according to data from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Those voters also struggle with where to find their polling location. Some students live on campus while being registered to vote in their hometown. Students in these situations often have to travel home just to vote, or navigate a complicated process of mailing in a ballot as inexperienced voters. “People who have never voted, especially younger folks, it can be very overwhelming having to go through a lot of different steps, and Kansas is pretty streamlined,” Case Brown, WSU young democrats treasurer, said. Even before voters head to the polls or mail in a ballot, they need to familiarize themselves with the issues and political offices that most directly affect them. It’s important for voters to think about what they want their government to do and how they want it done when filling out their ballot, Brown said. “A lot of folks, from our eyes, don’t agree with how it’s being run right now and don’t agree with how even the state of Kansas operates, “ Brown said. “It really comes down to what issues are important to you and how should they be addressed.” According to Insider Ed, 57% of college students believe their vote doesn’t matter, despite decisions at the local, state and national level impacting their education. Wichita Public Schools will have two bond issues on the general election ballot. The first bond has to pass in order for the second one to pass. The bond would provide funding for various school buildings in need of major repair and maintenance issues addressed. National issues are often the largest focus for voters over local issues that are more likely to affect them. Local elections often see lower voter turnout, thus making each vote all the more impactful for how issues are handled. That is even more true in mid-term elections compared to presidential elections. Once voters are prepared to submit their ballot, WSU Young Democrats trusts voters to make the right decision for themselves, Grotto said. The Sunflower also reached out to WSU’s chapter of Turning Point USA leadership to discuss its efforts during the election season. Ryan Whalen, president of TPUSA, responded to The Sunflower in an email statement. “We are a non-partisan organization, so we will not be able to comment on any election related matters,” Whalen wrote.
Wichita State students and alumni organized a rally in support of President Jay Golden outside of Charles Koch Arena, ahead of a Kansas Board of Regents Meeting that will reportedly decide Golden’s future at the university. Left to right: Caitlyn Hammack, Tajahnae Stocker, Tony Ibarra and Grant Day. File Photo by Daniel Caudill
Caitlyn Hammack fights power and money with bullhorns and phone calls BY MYA SCOTT
editor@thesunflower.com
It was Caitlyn Hammack’s senior year when she realized her fight wasn’t over. It wasn’t a fight that required fists or left bruises; it required words and a bullhorn. In 2020, Hammack and her friends protested against the firing of former Wichita State President Jay Golden following the cancellation of Ivanka Trump’s virtual commencement speech at WSU Tech. And for a while, it worked — the school announced Golden’s position was safe. But then a couple of months later, he stepped down in a “sneakyback-door” way. “I feel like that was something on campus that showed me we have power with activism to a certain extent, but there’s a serious underbelly of money and power, but we need to build much more people power to topple that,” Hammack said. “... It sure is a long game. It is a marathon. It is not a sprint. We’re not going to make change with one protest, so really, that was one of my first seeds that were planted that made me realize this fight is our whole lives… In our dream world, I wouldn’t do this job.” Hammack graduated from WSU in 2020. She is now a senior digital organizer at
Loud Light. Loud Light is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on helping people get out to the polls, whether that be through helping them register, request a mail-in ballot or helping them find their polling locations. “The core of what we do is voting rights,” Hammack said. “That’s like our bread and butter … Whatever they need to do to make sure that ballot actually gets cast. Because, as we know, there’s so many ways that they try to disenfranchise the vote and make it harder for people to get there. “And typically it’s the people that we really want to be at the polls — our young people — and so really making sure folks have those resources.” Loud Light points voters to multiple resources, a main one being ksballot.org, a tool from The Voter Network allowing voters to look up their registration status and ballot. Loud Light isn’t a new stop for Hammack; she was part of the inaugural class of fellows — Loud Light’s paid internship. Bri Hammack, Caitlyn’s sister, said her change from fellow to full working for Loud Light has been “nuts.” “It’s been really almost jarring to watch her be a professional and handle things with so much grace and understanding when folks don’t have the same knowledge
she has,” Bri said. Hammack’s took on a new role, specifically given to her by Loud Light following her layoff from Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equality. Her focus is on connecting with people in rural areas of Kansas because there aren’t ground organizers everywhere in the state. “The purpose of what I’m doing is I’m building a digital CAT — a community action team — and it’s to be able to connect people from different areas in the state,” Hammack said. “So Pittsburgh, Hutchinson, Hays, all these different places, and connect and share ideas for what has been working in their community.” Hammack herself is from Russell — a small town in Western rural Kansas. “Her (Caitlyn’s) passion at Loud Light focusing on smaller Western Kansas rural communities, but also bringing it back to Russell,” Bri said. “From the very beginning, when she was just a fellow, she was always just teaching and wanting to help people understand things that she got to learn.” While typically most people who work at political nonprofits are political science majors, according to Hammack, she majored in social work with a minor in women’s studies and psychology. She said having that
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 opportunity 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.
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Photo courtesy of Caitlyn Hammack
different lens has been beneficial in her career. “The numbers and stats are important, and they guide us, but it’s people, and it’s social issues that take people to the polls,” she said. “And it’s people trying to take care of their families and make ends meet… So thinking about that in more of a macro-lens, that’s what really led me to be interested in policy and politics.” Loud Light isn’t alone in its endeavors of trying to get more people to the polls. They collaborate with other nonprofit organizations in something they call the state table. “Just a bunch of the good guys,” Hammack said. “Like the Avengers in nonprofit form.”
CONTACT US
The Sunflower, founded in 1896, is the student-run news publication covering Wichita State University. The print edition is published Tuesday during the fall and spring semester. The staff publishes daily online at www.thesunflower.com. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mya Scott editor@thesunflower.com
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For a complete staff list, go to www.thesunflower.com
019 Elliott Hall 1845 N. Fairmount Ave. Campus Box 134 Wichita, KS 67260-0134 EDITORIAL Mya Scott: 316-978-6906 editor@thesunflower.com ADVERTISING Addie Clayton: 316-978-6905 admanager@thesunflower.com FACULTY ADVISER Amy DeVault: 316-978-6052 amy.devault@wichita.edu
CORRECTIONS The Sunflower is committed to accuracy in its publications. If you find an error in any of its publications, please email the editor at editor@thesunflower.com immediately.
ELECTION GUIDE
www.thesunflower.com
Oct. 20, 2026 | 3
IS KANSAS FLIPPIN’ BLUE?
Photo illustration by Kami Steinle and Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
Democratic nominees are giving the GOP a run for its money according to some professors BY KAMI STEINLE
news@thesunflower.com
W
ill the people of Kansas punish the party in power, or will they stay loyal to the GOP? The last time Kansas voted for a democratic president was in 1964 for Lyndon B. Johnson. Since 1939, both Senate seats have been republican. Wichita State Political Science professors said it’s not likely that Kansas will make the full flip, but it’s possible. “I think there’s a long way to go for that to happen,” Associate Professor Brian Amos said about a permanent flip. “I feel like with the Trump elections, I think he won by 15, 20% — pretty large margins. Usually those statewide races, like Senate races, have been similar margins.” Amos pointed out different sections of the state that have gone from republican to democrat, like Johnson County — which has a major sway in Kansas’ fourth district for the House of Representatives races and has elected a democratic representative in the past four elections. So far, polling from Emerson College has shown that for the senatorial race, Democratic Candidate Adam Hamilton is favored over Republican Incumbent Roger Marshall, but the gubernatorial race between Democratic Candidate Cindy Holscher and Republican Candidate Ty Masterson is too close to call. “One of the more interesting
things I’ve found from that data was that 15% of respondents who are Republican said that they planned to vote for Adam Hamilton,” Department Chair Alexandra Middlewood said. “Which 15% doesn’t sound big, but it is when you’re talking about republicans defecting to democrat or vice versa … I wouldn’t say it’s likely to happen or guaranteed to happen; I would say it’s too close to call, which even for Adam Hamilton is a win because a democrat has not held this seat in nearly 100 years.” Why this is happening is confusing to even political scientists. “Hamilton might be better known to start with, being a pastor with a large congregation ... Where Holscher, she’s in the legislature, so she is known on that front,” Amos said. “... Sometimes you hear about the theory that voters might intentionally vote different ways. Again, because Kansas is so republican, maybe they’re willing to flip on one, but both is a step too far, or they want a divided government to some degree.” Middlewood said she thinks Hamilton has a bigger shot at winning because 42% of independents said they would vote for him and only 27% said they would vote for Marshall. “(Hamilton) is more moderate than Holscher is — she’s a self-proclaimed progressive,” Middlewood said. “... On the voting records, it’s hard to be a progressive and a lot of the policies she supports are considered more progressive policies.
Whereas Adam Hamilton is truly a moderate, and that speaks more to independence and even some of the more moderate republicans in Kansas than a progressive democrat will.” Amos said when Governor Laura Kelly was first elected in 2018, it was similar to this year — midterms of a Trump presidency — and typically the party that is in office during the midterms has backlash against them, and nationally many democrats won back seats. Kelly’s opponent, Kris Kobach, also never had unified republican support. Middlewood also said she and other political scientists have a hunch it could be because republican voters are willing to vote for one democrat, but not two. In that case, she said, they would probably vote for the moderate pastor, not the progressive legislator. “That’s probably — to a large extent — why Hamilton has a chance this time,” Amos said. “... If the Hamilton race wasn’t happening, and it was just that Holscher race, it’d be like, ‘Oh, she’s running ahead of what you would expect.’ Like she’s not doing bad relative to Kansas normally; it’s just in comparison to Hamilton, he’s doing astonishingly.” Middlewood said voters typically think there are lower stakes for governor races, as opposed to Senate races. This is why the governor seat flips for Kansas so often, but the Senate seat stays republican. “I also think in general, the governor’s race typically gets stronger democratic candidates than
democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate,” Middlewood said. “Part of that is because of this legacy of how long it has been since Kansans have elected a democrat. It’s really seen as uncompetitive.” The audience governors and senators appeal to is also slightly different; governors can talk about Kansas issues that affect Kansans and their everyday life, whereas senators have to focus more on federal issues, Middlewood said. As for the U.S. House race, there are no polls on who is in the lead between Democratic Candidate Katy Tyndell and Republican Incumbent Ron Estes, Middlewood said. Emerson College only polled for governor and senate. The republican candidates tying themselves to Trump also plays into why republican candidates aren’t doing well. “When the economy is bad, historically, people punish the party that’s in power,” Middlewood said. “... Trump’s approval ratings right now are really low.” Trump’s approval ratings are about 35%. Masterson, though, also tied himself to Trump for the midterm elections in August, but recently he removed the picture of him and Trump from his campaign website. “He’s feeling the pressure,” Middlewood said. “But even acknowledging that, it’s easier for a statewide race or a state-level race to separate themselves from the president both in terms of their messaging, etc., but also in voters’ minds. Whereas when you think of
Congress, you’re also thinking of the president.” On social issues like abortion, Kansas has voted more pro-choice, but that is not a sign of a more democratic state, according to the professors. “Kansas voters are more libertarian and necessarily left-leaning,” Middlewood said. “I think what we see from both the 2022 abortion referendum and this year’s referendum on Supreme Court justices is that there’s this view of wanting smaller government on these particular issues. I say that specifically because there are times when republicans want big government on some issues and small government on others, and the same with democrats.” Amos said the different populations that make up different parts of Wichita explain this, with Black and Hispanic communities downtown voting very democratic; suburban areas radiating from that are mostly college-educated and wealthier — like Johnson County being more republican before Trump was elected, then swinging more democratic in response, then further out from that are working-class white neighborhoods that are less college educated that are the typical Trump voters. “I think it’s almost a coincidence, if anything,” Amos said. “We have the balance of the traditional democratic, the new democratic and then some of the new republican, traditional republican constituencies.”
How the Trump-Bombardier trade dispute will affect Wichita State students BY JOSH PFLEGER-BERNAT & JAGGER JACOBS jbernat13@gmail.com & jaggerjacobs2025@gmail.com
President Trump’s trade policy against Canada could drastically impact Wichita’s local economy and Wichita State students relying on the aviation industry for steady employment. In a social media post on Sept. 7, Trump stated Canadian jet manufacturer Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell its airplanes in the U.S. unless it moved its manufacturing operations to the U.S. This came after Canada put a $27.6 million dollar tariff on American products in retaliation to the 50% tariffs the Trump administration put on Canadian products. The company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Wichita’s economy since the 1990s. According to the City of Wichita, Bombardier is a top employer in the city and the third largest aerospace employer. “We’ve not had a dispute with Canada’s trade like this before,” Michael Hall, associate professor of political science at Wichita State, said. “There was some discussion in the first Trump administration, but the Trump administration was not looking to block aerospace sales when having its prior disputes with Canada, and in the end, things
were renegotiated in President Trump’s first term before it came to that.” Wichita Mayor Lily Wu, along with the entire city council, wrote a letter to the Trump Administration in defense of Bombardier and to outline its importance to Wichita’s economy. “For more than a century, Wichita workers have built aircraft that transport people and defend our nation. Bombardier’s U.S. headquarters in Wichita employs nearly 1,500 people supporting aerospace, defense, engineering, flight testing, service and special mission work. Bombardier’s presence also supports suppliers and manufacturers throughout south central Kansas whose livelihoods are tied to our aerospace industry,” the letter said. Last week, Bombardier announced the North American Learning Center in Wichita. The facility comes from a $50 million investment from Bombardier and will help individuals learn the skills needed to succeed in the aviation industry. In 2024, the company launched a technician apprentice training program in collaboration with WSU Tech. “If sales of Bombardier planes are blocked in the United States, which the Trump administration has moved to do,” Hall said. “It
affects those jobs here in Wichita. Engineering students in particular may have been hoping to get a job in the aerospace industry with Bombardier, but may find it difficult to get a future with that company.” Hall also pointed out other fields — like human resources or business — that would have jobs available within the company. Candidates running for office in the upcoming midterm elections made statements responding to President Trump’s announcement.
Governor candidates
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson, a previously vocal ally of Trump, took a mediated stance on the issue. “Bombardier’s U.S. headquarters is in Wichita, and Kansas workers build and service those aircraft every day,” Masterson said. “I support President Trump’s vision to build in America, and I share that vision, but an all-out ban that puts Wichita jobs at risk is the wrong way to get there.” Democratic candidate Cindy Holscher’s statement was more direct. “Donald Trump is threatening to ban Bombardier from selling in America, putting 1,200 Wichita jobs at risk in a pointless trade war,” Holscher said. “From tariffs to beef imports, Ty Masterson
refuses to stand up to his bosses in Washington. I will always stand up for Kansas workers. He will not”
U.S. Senate Candidates
Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall posted on social media praising the president’s trade policy while promising to protect current Bombardier jobs in Kansas. “I’m going to fight to keep Bombardier’s over 1,200 Kansas jobs. I’ve already taken that concern inside the Oval Office,” Marshall said. “We agree on the mission: bring more good-paying manufacturing jobs back to Wichita.” Marshall’s opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Adam Hamilton (D), framed the issue as directly affecting working families “Bombardier supports 1,500 Kansas families, providing good-paying jobs that put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads during a cost of living crisis caused by Washington,” Hamilton said. “And now, the president is trying to take that away. The decision to ban Bombardier from selling in the U.S. is a direct attack on Kansas workers and Kansas jobs — yet Roger Marshall is notably silent. We cannot allow this chaotic economic policy to continue to hurt Kansans; they deserve so much better. As your Senator, I will always stand up for Kansas workers.”
Candidates for U.S. House
Ron Estes, Republican representative for Kansas’ district 4, is the co-chair of the House Aviation Caucus. The caucus lists protecting the U.S. aerospace industry, protecting workers, highlighting the work being done by workers, and helping solve challenges faced in the industry. “Wichita has long been at the forefront of global aerospace, and Bombardier’s impact locally plays a critical role in our region’s dominance,” Estes said. “... I will always advocate for policies that keep these manufacturing jobs in Kansas, expand opportunities for our workforce, and demonstrate why our state is the premier location to invest and grow in aerospace.” Katy Tyndell, Democratic Nominee Kansas’ district 4, responded to the potential of the ban in an interview with The Wichita Eagle. Similar to Holscher and Hamilton, she spoke about the impact it would have on everyday Kansans while calling out their opponent by name. “Kansas workers should not have to pay the price for another reckless trade fight,” Tyndell said in a press release. “Our elected officials should be standing up for Wichita’s aviation industry and the families whose livelihoods depend on it.”
ELECTION GUIDE
4 | Oct. 20, 2026
www.thesunflower.com
KNOW YOUR BALLOT GOVERNOR CINDY HOLSCHER Democrat
Holscher has represented the 8th district for the Kansas Senate since 2021. Her key platforms are lowering the cost of healthcare, housing, childcare and groceries, increasing the minimum wage, lowering property taxes, putting a moratorium on data centers, building more affordable housing, investing in public education, protecting Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security and legalizing
TY MASTERSON
U.S. HOUSE, 4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT KATY TYNDELL Democrat
Tyndell is a business owner and an attorney for the National Congress of American Indians. She also co-founded Leading Kansas, a nonpartisan civic engagement organization. Tyndell’s campaign focuses on access to healthcare, rewarding hard work, protecting Kansas farmers, putting Kansas workers first, safeguarding Kansans’ privacy,
Republican
Masterson has represented the 16th district for the Kansas Senate since 2009 and has been the Senate President since 2021. He is also currently on a leave of absence from his job as the director of GoCreate — the Koch-funded makerspace on WSU’s campus. He was endorsed by Donald Trump and says he is running for governor to “reverse liberal mismanagement” that happened under Laura Kelly.
STATE HOUSE, DISTRICT 89 CAROL BREWER Democrat
Brewer is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Dorothy’s Lane, and she has never held public office. Her priorities are fully funding education, supporting foster families, expanding health care and mental health services, strengthening small businesses and promoting affordable housing. Brewer, a WSU alumna, is also the daughter of former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer. She is running unopposed in the 2026 general election. * There is no republican candidate running for State House, District 89
U.S. SENATE ADAM HAMILTON Democrat
RON ESTES
Republican Estes served as Sedgwick County treasurer in 2004 and Kansas State treasurer in 2010. He is the incumbent candidate for District 4 and has served on Congress since 2017. Estes’ campaign focuses on tax reform, free and fair trade, retirement security, ag production and lowering the price of health care.
DREW CRANMER Libertarian
Cranmer built his campaign on principle over party. His campaign is focusing on five issues: Foreign policy and war powers, privacy and surveillance, sound money and fiscal accountability, decentralization and returning power where it belongs, and judicial reform and sanctity of human life. Cranmer is a data engineer and small business owner.
KANSAS MEASURES Yes
No
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Hamilton is a newcomer to politics. He founded the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area in 1990. Hamilton is running as the selfdeemed moderate in the race for the United States Senate. Hamilton’s main issues revolved around lowering prices of health care, housing, energy bills and gas and diesel.
An amendment to Kansas’ constitution will affect language about who can vote in elections. The constitution already limits voting in elections to citizens. This amendment would change the language from “every citizen can vote,” to “only citizens can vote.” Proponents of the amendment say it will make the language barring noncitizens from voting more clear. Opponents say it opens the door for lawmakers to pass more voter suppression legislation in the future.
ROGER MARSHALL
USD 259 SCHOOL BOND
Republican
Marshall has represented Kansas as a United State senator since Jan. 3, 2021, under the republican party. Before that, he served as Kansas’ District 1 U.S. House representative. Marshall’s television ads have mainly focused on deporting “illegals” and stopping sex change surgeries for children.
USD 259 is asking voters to decide whether a $615 million twopoint bond will pass during the general election. The funds will go toward infrastructure improvements for several schools in the district, including new heating and air conditioning, and longneeded repairs. The bond is split into two sections for voters to select yes or no. In order for the second vote to pass, the first must receive a majority of yes votes.
ELECTION GUIDE
5 | Oct. 20, 2026
www.thesunflower.com
Shockers Vote! Coalition hosted the national voter registration day in the north patio of Rhatigan Student Center on Sept. 17, 2024. File Photo by Garima Thapa/ The Sunflower
Shockers Vote! Coalition focused on getting students out to vote “
BY JOSH PFLEGER-BERNAT jbernat13@gmail.com
While political campaigns and special interest groups bombard potential voters with political ads and fundraising texts, Shockers Vote! Coalition is helping college students cut through the noise and understand the election process. Shocker’s Vote! Coalition is a student-led group that works to increase civic engagement and voter participation by educating students and community members about the process. Many college-aged voters are going through the process for the first time and struggle to navigate it on their own. College students also face obstacles in elections that many other voters do not. For example, some students are from out of state and are registered to vote out of state. These students often struggle to understand their state and county requirements for voting. Ryan Taylor, a member of Shockers Vote!, is an out-of-state student from Texas facing these issues himself. “I was doing a lot of research early on about voting, and I realized that I could not mail-in vote,” Taylor said. “If I wanted to do any sort of voting, I’d have to basically drive down to the specific county I was registered in and vote there on Nov. 3, which isn’t feasible for me.” Shockers Vote! Coalition wants to help other students avoid
I think a lot of people are not informed partially because they’re apathetic. I think it’s not something that is within their minds a lot, which I completely understand.” RYAN TAYLOR A member of Shockers Vote!
the same experience by helping students make plans for how they’re going to vote, Loren Belew, program coordinator for Student Engagement and Belonging, said. A major part of these efforts is to expand student participation in the coalition, as well as helping other student organizations hold voter registration drives. The coalition received a grant from Student Learn Students Vote — a national nonpartisan network working to increase student voter participation. The grant can be used to help other student organizations host their own voter registration events. Shockers Vote! Coalition is changing the focus to providing organizations with information on get-out-the-vote efforts while providing funding for organizations to use as they see fit. The main priority now is to help students understand where their polling location is, the early voting process and how to understand what’s on the ballot. Belew pointed to the TurboVote platform as an immensely valuable tool for all students to find voter information.
Students can enter their voter registration information and be directed to the Secretary of State’s Office that oversees elections where they are registered. That will help students find out deadlines and other information personally relevant to their situation, and the coalition can shift their focus to increasing overall turnout. “The next couple of weeks will hopefully be about response and trying to inspire a little bit of civic pride and civic engagement by getting communities involved and providing really good information about voting,” Belew said. The necessity of “good information” has become increasingly necessary due to the spread of misinformation and disinformation that manipulates voters’ perception of the political landscape. The combination of college-aged voters’ lack of experience with the dangers of wrong information leads many college-aged voters to develop apathy toward the voting process. “I think a lot of people are not informed partially because they’re apathetic,” Taylor said. “I think it’s not something that is within their
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minds a lot, which I completely understand. I understand being frustrated with the political system or maybe not being very familiar with it, ergo don’t care about it. “But I do think it is something that fuels the other issues. I think people don’t know a lot about voting because they’re not seeking out that information. I think that’s part of what our organization is trying to solve to the best of our ability.” A challenge for the coalition to properly provide information to voters is the lack of engagement from political campaigns. The coalition plans months ahead for many events, so early campaign participation is crucial to their efforts. Without campaign involvement through that process, it becomes difficult for the coalition to ensure the best information is being given to voters, Taylor said. Taylor’s advice to voters is not to focus on one specific policy issue, but to think more large-scale about the structure of government. That can help voters understand the total impact of their vote and what will be the primary focus for elected officials as they enter or keep their office. Voters should also consider what issues they have the most control over. National policies get a lot of focus and coverage, but local issues have the most direct impact on each voter. According to the Pew Research Center, voters often see better political outcomes when local issues are prioritized over national issues.
ELECTION DATES Monday, Oct. 19
Early in-person voting open at three Sedgwick County locations n Sedgwick County Election Office n Advanced Learning Library n Sedgwick County Extension Office
Tuesday, Oct. 27
Early in-person voting opens at the rest of the Sedgwick County locations n Voters may vote at any early in-person vote site during the early in-person voting period.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
2026 midterm election day Polls open 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
VOTING LOCATIONS
ELECTION GUIDE
6 | Oct. 20, 2026
www.thesunflower.com
TRUMP VISITS KANSAS, FIRST TIME IN A DECADE
An attendee of Sen. Roger Marshall’s rally spreads dollar bills while wearing a T-shirt against Former President Joe Biden. Photo by Ellery Prothro / The Sunflower
Crowd cheers and raises their phones to record as President Donald Trump walks out onto the stage at Heartland Credit Union Arena on Oct. 19. The arena reached it’s full capacity and had to turn away a large portion of the line. Photo by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
A bedazzled Trump hat for sale at Sen. Roger Marshall’s rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena on Oct. 19. Merch was sold at various locations around the arena. Photo by Ellery Prothro / The Sunflower
Roger with a News
U.S. Senator Roger Marshall addresses the crowd at a campaign rally on Oct. 19. The rally was headlined by President Donald Trump, drawing thousands of supporters to Heartland Credit Union Arena in Park City. Photo by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
Protestors hold signs before Sen. Roger Marshall’s rally on Oct. 19. Photo by Ellery Prothro / The Sunflower
Protestors stand outside the rally before Trump arrived. Most of the protestors were in a designated “Free Speech Zone.” Photo by Kami Steinle / The Sunflower
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally supporting republican candidate for U.S. Senate Roger Marshall. Many guests camped out overnight for a chance to make it in the door and see the president. Photo by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
U.S. House Representative for Kansas’ 4th district Ron Estes talks to a supportor at a rally. Estes is up for reelection in November. Photo by Kami Steinle / The Sunflower
Seven weeks after request, university provides Ty Masterson’s emails; all but one redacted BY MYA SCOTT editor@thesunflower.com
Wichita State’s General Counsel sent The Sunflower information requested two months ago through the Kansas Open Records Act — but with an email from GOP gubernatorial Ty Masterson missing, compared to what was shared with another media outlet that made a similar request. On Aug. 26, The Sunflower filed a public records request seeking all of former Director of GoCreate Masterson’s outgoing emails during July 2026. The request was made intentionally narrow to try and avoid an excessive wait time or expensive fees, as The Sunflower has seen in the past. The Sunflower requested the emails after the Kansas City Star reported on his “no-show job” to see what work Masterson was completing over email. Kami Steinle, The Sunflower’s news editor, said it’s important for voters to know Masterson’s work record. “Public institutions exist to serve the public,” she said. “At a certain point, the administration can’t argue that that is their goal when anything can be redacted for ‘personnel reasons.’” Steinle added: “We don’t know what happens behind the scenes, and KORA is supposed to help us. When that fails, institutions can do whatever they want, and serving the public isn’t in their agenda.” The Sunflower received Masterson’s July emails on Oct. 16, more than seven weeks after the initial request. Eight of the nine pages were completely redacted. General Counsel cited K.S.A. 45-221(a)(4), (14) and (30) — information containing personnel
records, performance ratings or individually identifiable records, correspondence between a public agency and a private individual and information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy — to explain the redactions. On Oct. 15, the Kansas City Star reported that Masterson had sent 14 emails in four months. The Star had filed a request to WSU’s General Counsel similar to The Sunflower’s request for emails. The same day, The Sunflower contacted General Counsel via email asking why its request had not been fulfilled when they had clearly sent the information requested to The Star. The Star requested records that spanned four months, April through August, and The Sunflower had requested just one, July. When The Sunflower did receive the information requested two days later, nearly everything was redacted, and the information did not include one of the emails from July that had been turned over to and reported on by The Star. In the Oct. 15 email, The Sunflower also requested to meet with General Counsel in person or via telephone to discuss the length of time it took to receive the information as well as the omission of the one email provided to The Star but not to The Sunflower. General Counsel did not respond, and The Sunflower followed up on Oct. 17, again with no response. Two days later, The Sunflower again sought comment from General Counsel and Director of Strategic Communications Lainie Mazzulo-Hart. Stacia Boden, WSU’s chief legal officer, responded.
“Our office received your e-mail on Thursday, October 15, where you request to meet in person or a call to discuss your assertion relating to records produced to the Kansas City Star in comparison to records produced to the Sunflower,” Boden wrote. “The Office of General Counsel does not sit for media interviews or questions as it relates to open records requests.” In its request for emails sent from Masterson, The Sunflower received one non-redacted email sent on July 7, where Masterson was following up with a WSU employee that he had the right phone number to schedule a lunch meeting. The Star reported an email coming from Masterson in July — one The Sunflower did not receive despite it falling in the timeframe requested — responding to a WSU records custodian informing him of an open records request the university had received for all of his work calendar entries from April 2026 to the present date, including any events, meetings or appointments related to his official office duties at GoCreate. Masterson responded on July 31, asking the university to wait to turn over his calendar after he could meet with his lawyer two days after the primary election on Aug. 6. “Thanks for the opportunity to review this request before it goes out,” Masterson wrote. “I keep most of my work/personal calendar entries on my own private calendar. So I have additional records to provide regarding my WSU calendar items, but I’ll need to go through my calendars with my attorney to make sure any personal calendar
(entries) are redacted. “My attorney is out of the country on a preplanned family vacation through August 9, but he and I have planned to go through my calendars remotely next Thursday (August 6) when he’s back in the country. I’d respectfully request the opportunity to provide these records before the calendar request is filled to make sure all of the records are provided at the same time and a complete picture is made available to the public.” It’s unclear whether the email is missing or simply redacted. The Sunflower reached out to General Counsel and Mazzulo-Hart for a comment on Oct. 19. Boden responded via email. “The Office of General Counsel responded to your records request with all records that were responsive and not otherwise withheld under an exception,” Boden wrote. “If, however, you would like for us to accept your request as a grievance and a request to review the University’s response, we are happy to review to determine if any delay in responding was improper, unethical, unlawful, or unjustified. “We can, however, reassure you that there is never any intention to respond to any open records requests in a manner contrary to the law and certainly not in a manner where one party is favored over another party. We support the educational mission and journalistic pursuits of the Sunflower and regret any perception that a response, or delay in a response, was with the intent to cause frustration or harm.”
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TY MASTERSON
n Since 2021, Masterson has held the highest position in the Kansas Senate as its president. His objectives also include eliminating “woke left ideology from our college campuses.” n Masterson was the director of WSU’s GoCreate — a Koch-funded makerspace — starting in 2017. The position has been a point of contention throughout his campaign for governor, with opponents calling it a “no-show job.” He announced he was taking a leave of absence in August 2026. n Masterson has earned more than $1.1 million from his position at GoCreate. n Masterson has earned more than $1.1 million from his position at GoCreate, seeing a raise of $214,000 last year. n In May, President Donald Trump endorsed Masterson. Recently, billboards showing the two of them together have been taken down. The president’s favorability hit an all-time low of about 35%. n Days before the primary election, former Senator Mark Steffan filed a complaint to the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission “regarding what appears to be a serious and ongoing violation of Kansas campaign finance law.” It alleged Masterson was using taxpayer-funded time at his job at WSU to campaign for governor. The case was dismissed with no details.
OPINION
HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact the Opinion editor, Jadin Kaltenbach opinion@thesunflower.com
Remember this during election season: There is no such thing as good propaganda
Does voting matter? Complaining won’t make a change, but voting might Destiny Reicher Destinyereicher@gmail.com
Mya Scott
OPINION
editor@thesunflower.com
OPINION
I first heard the word propaganda in middle school. We were taught that the Nazis used it to gain and maintain influence and power in World War II. I was scared of the word, and I honestly still am. But, truly what is propaganda, and can it be good? Propaganda is information, usually misleading or biased, used to promote a cause or doctrine. So, off the bat, it can’t be good, because it’s not truthful. Propaganda is half-truths or bold-faced lies spoon fed to the masses in an effort to make the public feel good, despite something bad happening. This means that phrases calling democratic gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher’s daughter a witch — something GOP gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson has recently done — is a form of propaganda, because it is inherently untrue. But that also means calling Masterson, “MasterSCAM” is also propaganda because it is heavily biased. Both are telling the general public statements used to make them believe in their campaign, and that they would be the best candidate for governor. That is propaganda. It doesn’t matter which side you support; both use this tactic to gain sympathy, support or power. And it’s honestly sad that that is what politics has boiled down to; who can come up with the better retort. Now you may be sitting there thinking, well that means everything is propaganda, because this is all politics is now. But that’s not true. Explaining your platforms without tearing down your opponent in a proper debate is not propaganda. Making ads explaining why you care about Kansas — not why your opponent is basically the devil reincarnate — is not propaganda. Literally doing almost anything other than what many politicians do right now is not propaganda. As I get older, I have realized that we haven’t left behind the childish antics of name calling, but instead evolved it into a profession. So no. There is no such thing as good propaganda because anything that is misleading and heavily biased is not a good route to garner information from. And you don’t have to take it from me. Look at our candidates and how they promote themselves. There’s no innocent party in this bully war happening in the bullpen, but we have to show we care about tact and class. Show that we don’t like propaganda, and we want to go back to an era of truth and respect.
Oct. 20, 2026 | 7 www.thesunflower.com
Exterior of Praise Chapel Wichita, location where Republican Gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson accused Democratic opponent, Cindy Holscher, of practicing witchcraft on Oct. 11. Photo by Jadin Kaltenbach / The Sunflower
/ CHURCH/STATE
Polling locations being in churches is weird and borderline unconstitutional Kiona Brown arts@thesunflower.com
OPINION Gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson recently spoke at a church in Wichita and accused his opponent, Cindy Holscher, of practicing witchcraft because of a TikTok that her daughter posted to a trending audio of a woman chanting. With the surge of discussion around church, witchcraft and our gubernatorial candidates, I’ve been thinking more and more about how weird it is that we vote in churches. In the First Amendment, there is a provision called the Establishment Clause, which the government refers to in tandem with the “Lemon” test, a test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman. The “Lemon” test says the government can assist religion if the primary purpose is secular, if the assistance doesn’t promote or inhibit religion, and if there is no “excessive entanglement” between church and state. I have always been weirded
“
My polling location in El Dorado, Kansas, is a church, and I am not at all religious — not even close — so it has always felt weird to go into a church a couple times a year for the sole purpose of exercising my right to vote.” KIONA BROWN Arts and Culture Editor
out that a considerable amount — about 20% — of polling places are churches. My polling location in El Dorado, Kansas, is a church, and I am not at all religious — not even close — so it has always felt weird to go into a church a couple times a year for the sole purpose of exercising my right to vote. It always rubbed me the wrong way, but after looking into the First Amendment more, I am even more confused. To me, the “Lemon” test failed in this instance. One out of every five polling locations being in a church seems like an excessive entanglement between church and state. And, to be completely honest, I don’t feel super comfortable in Christian places of worship — just like I don’t feel comfortable in any place of worship — but I have never heard of a polling location
being in a place of worship that isn’t Christian. I’m sure people of other faiths feel weird about voting at Christian churches — if their religion even allows them to. Overall, it just doesn’t seem fair or just. I’m not dissing Christianity or places of worship themselves — at this moment — and I also understand that we have a lack of community and third spaces right now; that doesn’t mean forcing people who want to vote on Election Day into churches is the right, or constitutional, thing to do. If we truly want a separation of church and state, we need to find polling locations outside of churches. If we care about being constitutional and following precedents set by the Supreme Court, then we need to reconsider 20% of our polling places.
Someone has something to say about politics in every space I am in lately, whether it is on social media, in conversations with friends or in my classes. People are constantly talking about what they like and dislike about the direction our country is heading. Despite all of these opinions, one thing I keep hearing is that voting does not matter and doesn’t actually do anything. I disagree. Voting matters now more than it ever has, in fact. With the political climate we’re living in today, it’s hard for me to understand why so many people feel like their voices don’t matter or that they can’t make a difference. We all have opinions about the decisions being made and the people making them, yet when it comes time to participate in the process of electing those officials and influencing change, some people don’t see the point. I have heard around campus that politics don’t affect us, so why even bother voting? Just because certain policies or politicians don’t immediately affect your day-to-day life doesn’t mean they won’t eventually. With the midterm elections coming up this November, positions like governor and seats in Congress are on the ballot. The people elected to these positions make decisions that can and will directly affect our lives. I think part of the problem is that many people don’t fully understand what these elected officials do or how much influence they have on our everyday lives. When you ignore politics or don’t understand what someone in office is responsible for, it’s easy to assume their position doesn’t affect you. But that lack of understanding can also mean overlooking decisions that could shape your education, career, finances and future. As college students, we are preparing for our futures, and the decisions being made by elected officials today can very easily shape what those futures look like. According to a June 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, Americans under 30 made up 20% of the population eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election but only accounted for 15% of the votes. So, why aren’t more young Americans voting? I understand why some people feel like their one vote won’t make a difference among millions, but there’s a difference between feeling like your voice doesn’t matter and choosing not to use it at all. Voting is not just about one person making a difference; it is about people from all backgrounds and opinions coming together to create change in spaces we rely on for our future. So, does voting matter? The answer is yes. Complaining about the direction things are heading might start a conversation, but voting gives us an opportunity to have a say in what happens next.
Let’s not bring public execution to the modern age Mya Scott
editor@thesunflower.com
OPINION
Some stories say that after old-timey public executions at the guillotine, the brain is still alive for 23 more seconds. When executioners would hold up the head of the convicted, the eyes would still be rolling around, seeing nothing as a crowd jeered or cried. There are no stories about how long the brain is alive after someone is killed by firing squad — for the last several decades, no one has seen it. We almost found out just how long the human body could survive after being riddled with
bullet holes. A couple of weeks ago, the Pentagon announced that the execution of the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooter would be publicly livestreamed. On Oct. 15, President Donald Trump canceled these plans after days of outrage, but the possibility still leaves a bad taste in the American people’s mouth. The families of victims can still attend the execution, if they wish. I’m not here to argue the merits of capital punishment. I’m here to bring attention to the message the United States government is pushing. So what is the point of a public execution, via in person or livestream? Let me tell you, it’s not for
justice’s sake. Maybe some believe that it is the ultimate form of justice — a poetic end for someone who took so many lives. But it’s not that. It’s all about power and control. Livestreaming someone’s death is brutal — it doesn’t matter who. It’s humiliation for the convicted and a lesson to the public at the same time: Don’t do what we don’t like, or else. In Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the cancellation, he literally wrote, “With all of that being said, I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good
and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.” And I’m not saying this shooter is a good person — he wasn’t — and doesn’t deserve some karmic justice, but this was never the way. The families of his victims deserve justice more than anything in the world. But experts shouldn’t have to warn parents to prepare their children to see someone die on a screen. I shouldn’t be afraid that the entire internet is going to turn into some government-sanctioned version of Reddit 50/50. I don’t want to see a guy get shot live, and neither did most people, apparently.
Columbia, South Carolina’s electric chair. Courtesy of Kinard Lisbon / AP
Even though it’s canceled for now, the idea lives on. For every capital punishment, there’s the possibility of another live-stream announcement, and that terrifies me. Our entire lives, our parents have turned our eyes away from the screen when someone dies in a movie, so why was our president trying to force us to watch?
8 | Oct. 20, 2026 www.thesunflower.com
SPORTS
HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact the Sports editor, Evan Long sports@thesunflower.com
VOLLEYBALL OUTLASTS UTSA
Shockers’ Maddie Wilson continues to make her point in volleyball victory BY EVAN LONG
sports@thesunflower.com
Maddie Wilson, the Shockers’ dynamic fifth-year middle, said that she has a simple approach when she’s attacking. “I said it at the beginning of the season, like I’m trying to prove this point,” Wilson said. “I want to be one of the top middles in the conference. I just think ‘see ball, kill ball.’” This mindset helped Wilson, who’s in her fourth season at WSU, against UTSA Friday night as she hit .538 and recorded 16 kills. It was the fifth time this season Wilson notched a hitting percentage above .500. “That’s a match to remember from Maddie,” head coach Chris Lamb said. “I think we finally kind of found a sweet spot for her with the setters. Maddie’s also been healthy, able to have complete practices. I just think that’s great to be able to get the work and be able to get the reps.” Thanks in large part to Wilson’s impressive performance, the Shockers defeated UTSA 3-2 (2522, 14-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-11) at home Friday before falling to Rice 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-11, 25-17) Sunday at Charles Koch Arena. Wichita State travels to North Carolina this weekend to take on East Carolina (14-6, 7-1 American) at 5 p.m. Friday and Charlotte (4-15, 1-7 American) at noon Sunday. WSU (11) and UTSA (9) combined for 20 service errors Friday night. The Shockers were outhit by the Roadrunners .212 to .151 and outblocked 17 to nine, but were able to end a five-match losing streak. “When I break this down, I think
I’ll be happy with serve and pass,” Lamb said. “They were busy in the middle, and I think it freaked us out a little bit.” Sophomore outside hitter McKenzie Jones registered a matchhigh 18 kills and added four blocks. Wilson led Wichita State in blocks with five, and Olivia Cohee, also a sophomore outside, recorded nine kills and a team-high 12 digs. “Slow to fast definitely (has been working for me),” Jones said. “Literally all I ever get told is ‘slow to fast, slow to fast.’ So I just keep having to repeat myself, ‘just be patient.’ If I just wait a little bit, maybe I can have better vision and better hand contact.” Jordan Heatherly, a senior setter, notched a match-high 29 assists, while freshman setter Addie Oeth contributed 18 assists. UTSA was led by junior outside Ally Tribe, who finished with 16 kills, a .324 hitting percentage and 10 digs. Caroline Tredwell, a junior middle blocker, also had a productive night offensively, hitting .368 and recording eight kills. “It’s the first match in a while where one of the girls we were trying to stop, we didn’t,” Lamb said. “Ally Tribe over there. That might be her match of the year, and that was someone we were wanting to deal with, so that was frustrating for me.” Ledisi Kpea, a 5-foot-11 middle, notched a season-high 14 blocks Friday night and hit .444 with six kills. Kpea is second in the American in total blocks (89) and blocks per set (1.25). Setters Valeria Ortiz (26) and Megan Hawkins (22) combined for 48 assists, and Ortiz added 11 digs for a double-double. The Shockers started the opener with a 5-0 lead before a 4-0 UTSA
The Wichita State volleyball team huddles up during Dig Pink night at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers defeated UTSA in five sets on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak. Photo by Samantha Harader / The Sunflower
run cut their advantage to 6-5. Later in the set, the Roadrunners put together a 4-1 stretch to go into the media timeout leading 15-14. Wichita State had committed four service errors before the break. A 5-1 run put the Shockers up 19-16, and WSU took the first game 25-22 following a strong Jones kill. Wichita State outhit UTSA .316 to .200 in the opening set. The second set was all UTSA as the Roadrunners jumped out to an early 12-4 lead after a 7-2 run. The Shockers fought back with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 13-10, but UTSA put together an 11-3 stretch to win 25-14 and even the match. Wichita State led 8-3 at the beginning of the third set, and went on a 4-1 run to extend its advantage to 15-8. UTSA strung together a late 5-0 run, but the Shockers took the game 25-23 to go up 2-1. In the fourth set, UTSA went on a 4-0 run to grab a 6-3 lead, and WSU put together a 4-1 stretch to tie it 13-13. However, the Roadrunners went on another 4-0
run to retake the lead 17-13. The Shockers tied the game at 21-21 after a 6-1 run, but UTSA recovered by scoring four of the last five points to win 25-22. Wichita State entered its second consecutive five-set match after the Roadrunners tied the contest once again. WSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but UTSA quickly evened the score after a 3-0 run. The teams traded points until the Shockers put together a 4-1 stretch to go up 9-6. The Roadrunners cut Wichita State’s advantage to 13-11, but a Wilson kill and Gabi Maas service ace gave WSU a 15-11 victory.
VS RICE
The Shockers hit .221 on Sunday compared to Rice’s .344 hitting percentage, and the Owls outblocked WSU nine to six. Rice (nine) and Wichita State (eight) combined for 17 aces, but the Shockers committed 10 service errors to Rice’s five. Jones led Wichita State in kills
for a consecutive match with 10 and hit .250. Cohee registered nine kills and 11 digs to finish one kill shy of a double-double once again. Wilson notched eight kills, a .238 hitting percentage and a team-high four blocks. Heatherly recorded 23 assists, the most by a Shocker, to go along with nine digs. Maas, a fifth-year defensive specialist, finished with a match-high 17 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Sydnee Peterson notched a matchhigh 17 kills, hitting .341 and adding 12 digs and three blocks for Rice. Ashlyn Seay, a freshman outside, registered 14 kills and eight digs, while senior middle Arissa Smith had nine kills, a match-high five blocks and hit .500. Savannah Skopal, a junior setter, recorded match-highs in assists (46) and service aces (four), and added 12 digs. Graduate defensive specialist Jordan Hummel finished with 16 digs and two service aces.
Men’s cross country kicks its way to fourth-place finish at Pre-National Invitational BY NOAH DEVAULT
noahdevault1@gmail.com
The Wichita State cross country team traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana, on Friday where the men took fourth as a team and had two runners finish in the top three at the Pre-National Invitational. The women placed 16th in the 6K White division without their best runner, sophomore Vivien Kipkorir. She finished 63rd in the more competitive Blue division with a time of 20:35.5. The men finished fourth in the 8K Blue division, and each of the Shocker scorers placed in the top 100. A runner scores if they are a top five finisher on their team. “We were all really excited with the way we raced,” head coach Kirk Hunter said. “I think our top five had a terrific race. It’s kind of
interesting because even though they had a terrific race, Austin Carrera was disappointed that he didn’t run a little better.” Carrera, a sophomore from Nebraska, finished as the Shockers’ fifth runner at 92nd with a time of 24:15.6. “Even though he was disappointed, he pulled it off and outkicked some people in our conference which was an important part of his race,” Hunter said. The men’s top runners, junior Elkana Kipruto and senior Nicholas Kipchirchir, finished second and third, leading Wichita State to yet another impressive performance after both of them finished in the top five at the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 25. Kiptanui, a sophomore at conference-rival Tulane, ran a 23:17.4.
“ One thing I don’t think a lot of people know is how competitive those guys are not only as individuals, but for their team.” KIRK HUNTER Head Cross Country Coach
Kipruto finished just over a second later at the 23.18.8 mark, and Kipchirchir had a time of 23.19.8. For Kipruto and Kipchirchir, it’s not about how they finish individually, but more about how they score for their team. “One thing I don’t think a lot of people know is how competitive those guys are not only as
individuals, but for their team,” Hunter said. “They are very, very big on the team doing well, and they know that their role in helping the team get better is for them to be successful at the front.” Hunter also expressed how he felt about the duo as leaders, whether it be on or off the course. “You’d be impressed with the way they talk about wanting to be successful as a team,” Hunter said. “They are just very impressive individuals, not just as runners, but overall just very, very impressive.” Although it was a great day for the men’s team, Wichita State fell off after Carrera at 92. The next Shocker to finish was senior Jacob Meyers who placed 252nd. “Five (runners) is the bare minimum to being successful,” Hunter said. “We need to find at least a
sixth and a seventh guy to close that gap on Austin because right now if something happens to one of those five we’re in trouble.” The women struggle with depth more severely as Kipkorir was the only runner to compete in the Blue division, and no one on the team runs within a minute of her. Kipkorir placed 17th at the Gans Creek Classic with a time of 20:01.4. Hunter noted that Kipkorir should’ve finished in the top 40 in Indiana but got outkicked towards the end. “She had really great positioning going into the last mile,” Hunter said. “She could’ve run a lot better, even with 1K to go. She was really right where she needed to be; she just couldn’t finish it.”
STUDENTS PLEASE VOTE FOR TEACHER OF THE YEAR $500 SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO 2 STUDENTS FOR VOTING!
It is time for students to vote for the 2026 teacher of the year award Voting is open Monday, October 19 through Monday, November 2
Vote @ webapps.Wichita.edu/FAVote For more information, visit Wichita.edu/aet
HAVE A STORY IDEA? Contact the Arts editor, Kiona Brown arts@thesunflower.com
ARTS & CULTURE
Oct. 20, 2026 | 9 www.thesunflower.com
Lead singer of The Embarrassmen, Britt Rosencutter, hypes up the crowd while singing at Barleycorn’s. Rosencutter performed with The Blivets and The Embarrassmen on Oct. 16. Photo by Emma Wilks / The Sunflower Wichita State senior Cooper Chadwick smiles for a portrait at his farmer’s market booth on Oct. 3. Chadwick designs clothes using upcycled materials. Photos by Ellery Prothro / The Sunflower
CLOTHES FOR CLIMATE Student uses his passion for fashion to promote sustainability BY SARAH MATADI
sarahjmatadi@gmail.com
In a world where fast fashion is seen as the easy option, Cooper Chadwick, the founder of the sustainable clothing brand Bright Eye Originals, is determined to provide a more sustainable alternative. Chadwick is a 21-year-old senior at Wichita State and initially took an interest in clothing during the pandemic when he began to feel emboldened to experiment with his own sense of fashion. He was inspired by all the trends at the time that involved thrifting and decided to do the same. “I dressed differently in high school and people made fun of me for it, but I didn’t care,” Chadwick said when reflecting on the beginning of his fascination with clothing. However, despite his profitable and creative hobby, Chadwick hopes to pursue a career as a physical therapist after graduation. Chadwick is currently majoring in exercise science and has recently been accepted into WSU’s physical therapy program. He recalled gaining an interest in these subjects after taking an anatomy class during his sophomore year of high school, which he says changed his life. His curiosity about human anatomy was amplified by his participation in soccer, basketball and track during high school. Even though Chadwick can pinpoint the exact moment when he became interested in physical therapy, he struggled to identify what exactly drew him to fashion in the first place. About a year and a half ago,
“ Any fabric that I can get my hands on that feels different or has a cool pattern that you wouldn’t usually see…that’s what I typically go for.” COOPER CHADWICK Senior, founder of Bright Eye Originals
Chadwick took an interest in learning to sew. After vocalizing this to his grandmother, she began to teach him and even bought him his first sewing machine. Chadwick, a self-proclaimed tree hugger, says that his affinity for nature and the outdoors motivated him to make sustainable clothing that would hopefully have less of a negative impact on the environment. He recalled once driving through Maize and seeing a giant landfill that was covered almost entirely with grass. “I thought it was insane that all those clothes and blankets, usually from Goodwill, end up there,” Chadwick said. “I just wanted to give those items a second life.” It wasn’t until after a few months of practicing on the sewing machine that he gained the confidence to begin selling his clothes, making Bright Eye Originals about a year old now. His lack of business experience did not dissuade him from starting the brand. Chadwick was motivated to begin his unique fashion journey with the encouragement of his family and friends. Chadwick typically sources his material from secondhand stores such as Goodwill. He tends to gravitate toward more unconventional items that would not
typically be used for your average clothing piece. These materials include blankets, towels, curtains and bed sheets. “Any fabric that I can get my hands on that feels different or has a cool pattern that you wouldn’t usually see…that’s what I typically go for,” he said. Some people tasked with the challenge of creating their own products in addition to promoting them may see this as a downside — but not to Chadwick. Chadwick, who has recently started doing pop up shops around town, stated that handling the business aspect of the brand allows for more face-to-face interaction with customers. “That’s my favorite thing, when people walk up to my booth and just give a compliment,” he said. “They can walk out of there and not buy anything but just hearing that brightens my whole day.” Even though some customers may be deterred by his potentially steep prices, he manages to prove through his actions that the brand is about so much more than money to him. He describes several instances where he was quick to knock down the price of an item just so he can know that he made someone’s day a little better. Chadwick admitted that sometimes running the business alone
One of Cooper Chadwick’s custom hoodies hanging at the Old Town Farm and Art Market.
can get a little overwhelming. “I’ve taken a step back from the social media aspect and have gone back to focusing on just making the clothes because it feels like less of a job whenever I don’t do the social media,” he said. He expressed doubt about potentially expanding in the future and fear of the brand feeling like a chore. “For now, it just feels like something fun that I do on the side that helps make a little impact,” he said. In the short time that Chadwick has been exercising his clothing-making talents, he has never expressed a desire to venture into a more traditional, non-sustainable style. “It would just go against everything I’ve ever preached,” Chadwick said. “I feel like there’s already so much of that out there and I want to be the difference.”
Snicks Cat Café is practically ‘purrr’fect Sarah Matadi
sarahjmatadi@gmail.com
REVIEW I’ve always held the belief that most people who dislike cats just haven’t spent enough time with them. But now, I know that people who feel that way especially have not visited the ones at Snicks Cat Café. I knew the second I crossed the threshold of the door that this experience was going to be everything I had hoped it would be. The atmosphere was warm, comfortable and bohemian enough to signal that you’re about to have an excellent specialty beverage. The service mirrored the cozy ambience. As a broke college student, I’m usually hesitant to buy food that isn’t a substantial meal, but the 20% discount that the café offers to college students helped soften the blow just a little bit. The discount took my original price of $9.28 down to $7.74 After absolutely no deliberation, I ordered a strawberry Italian soda and a chocolate croissant — my go-to order since I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker.
As a self-proclaimed expert on these two items, I would rank Snick’s take on these items highly. To be fair, there isn’t much you can do to mess up a chocolate croissant, but the Italian soda is typically more of a gamble. Luckily for me and all my fellow Italian soda connoisseurs, I am happy to report that it was the perfect balance of syrupy sweetness and sharpness. Since Snicks is not like most cafés, instead of sitting down to enjoy my refreshments, I headed over to check in for my appointment to mingle with the cats. The closed-off cat lounge is a separate service from the café, but is definitely still worth the extra $15. After hastily signing the online waiver, one of the employees briefed me on the rules before I went in. The policies detailed to me before meeting the throng of cats revealed to me that while they care about the enjoyment of their customers, they clearly value the safety and well-being of their furry friends over everything else. I made my way to the cat meet-and-greet, but not before being offered a container for my food just in case one of the cats had a mischievous streak. There is a sink provided for
customers to wash their hands before and after the lounge. This is for the safety of the cats, but it is also meant to prevent too much crossover between the café experience and the cats. The lounge looked like cat heaven. Tons of toys, pillowy beds, towers for them to climb and their very own cat-sized hamster wheel. Of course, there are tons of human-made seating options, but they seemed to be useless since the other patrons and I took to sitting on the floor in hopes of being graced with the close presence of a cat. The cats, all various breeds, ages and temperaments, played with their toys and even occasionally snuck off to their enclosed area when they seemed to tire of their round-the-clock visitors. If you know anything about cats, it will come as no surprise when I say that cats tend to have a quickly drainable social battery. But even when a few of them decided to temporarily take some time to themselves, there were still cats galore. Just when I thought I had met them all, there were still a few peeking out from unlikely places, ready to make themselves known.
A cat lies down at Snick’s Cat Cafe. Photo by Sarah Matadi / The Sunflower
Typically, I associate cafés with the anxiety of needing to meet a fast-approaching deadline when I am no longer capable of doing work with all the distractions in my home. But the cat aspect of this café added an additional sense of fun and relaxation that allows you to temporarily escape. For cats and humans alike, the lounge area was a peaceful place to be. Stepping into the lounge almost felt like stepping into a different world in the best way possible. As wonderful as my experience was, I cannot recommend paying them a visit if you do not want to be tempted to adopt a new furry companion. However, if you are in the mood for an impulsive adoption, then by all means, stop by Snicks.
NO CHOICE BUT ACTION Veteran postpunk bands celebrate postpunk history book BY SARAH MATADI
sarahjmatadi@gmail.com
They might not look like what most people would expect punk rockers to look like. They’re not 22-year-olds with colorful mohawks or studded leather jackets; just people dressed in jeans and T-shirts that you would expect to find performing in any small Wichita venue. But what makes them stand out is their decades of experience in creating some of the most prominent postpunk music to ever come out of Kansas. On Oct. 16, three veteran postpunk bands came out of the woodwork to support the release of “No Choice but Action: The Kansas Postpunk Revolution” by Darren DeFrain and Francis X. Connor. That night, a crowd of all ages crammed into Barleycorns to hear The Blivets, Embarassmen and Freedy Johnston and Heidi Gluck Band perform hits that were older than some audience members. People may not think of the Midwest as a region with ties to something like postpunk, the book details the rich and deep-rooted history of the genre in Kansas. The fact that most people are unaware of this niche piece of history further encouraged DeFrain to enlighten people on the past and present state of postpunk. “I think it was just massively overlooked,” DeFrain said about the genre’s history in Kansas. DeFrain—the Director of the Writing Program at Wichita State— began the writing process about eight years ago and expressed relief about it finally being published. His coauthor, Connor, also an associate professor of English at WSU, expressed a similar sentiment about the process of putting years of history into the book. “I can finally relax… it was good and difficult in large part because we thought that it was just going to be a quick project about a couple of bands that kind of did well in Kansas,” Connor said loudly over the bass emanating from the stage. “But the more we listened to tapes and the more we talked to people, the more we found… we really had to take a lot of time to shape what we thought was an interesting narrative of what Kansas punk was from the beginning.” The book was released on Sept. 29 in tandem with an album featuring several Kansas postpunk bands. Some of the bands featured on the album were also among the bands that performed. Britt Rosencutter, who is featured heavily on the album, performed with both The Blivets and Embarassmen as drummer and lead singer respectively. Rosencutter has had a strong connection to punk music ever since he was 16 and that connection is yet to fade away as he approaches 65. “Punk is one of the only grassroots music movements that’s still going here in Kansas,” Rosencutter said. When asked about the importance of community to the punk scene, Connor said it was “essential.” “The communal desire to share interests and create things as a group… punk really embodies that spirit,” Connor said. “You don’t have punk without communities.”
10 | Oct. 20, 2026
NEWS
www.thesunflower.com
UPCOMING EVENTS TRANSFER STUDENT RESOURCE FAIR Tuesday, Oct. 20
11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Shocker Success Center Transfer students may drop by the Shocker Success Center and enjoy resource tables, food and celebrate their transfer experience.
COFFEE HOUR WITH THE VETERAN SUPPORT SERVICES Wednesday, Oct. 21
8:30 - 9:30 a.m. Grace Wilkie Hall, Room 320
Demonstrators with protest signs yell and chant towards passing cars during the “No Kings, Vote Early” protest on Oct. 17. Photos by Zachary Ruth / The Sunflower
A demonstrator leads others in chants using a megaphone during the “No Kings, Vote Early” protest on Oct. 17. The protest was scheduled to start around noon.
Join the Veteran Student Support Services for a weekly coffee hour designed to build community and foster connections.
OFF CAMPUS HOUSING FAIR Thursday, Oct. 22
11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Rhatigan Student Center first floor Stop by the RSC to explore local housing options, connect with apartment communities and learn what to consider before signing a lease.
CRAM CAFE
Wednesday, Oct. 21
2 - 6 p.m. Rhatigan Student Center, Room 266 Drop-in with coursework to the bi-monthly Cram Cafe and enjoy a cozy environment with free snacks and drinks while you study.
PROCRASTINATION PREVENTION NIGHT Wednesday, Oct. 21 6 p.m. - Midnight Ablah Library
Stop by the Ablah Library for a night of workshops, tutoring sessions, arts & crafts and games designed to ease the stress of the semester.
ARTIST TALK: ‘PRINTING HISTORIA’ Demonstrators crowd around an anti-abortion speaker on the corner of Douglas and Broadway during the “No Kings, Vote Early” protest on Oct. 17. Many demonstrators yelled or blew whistles to drown out his speech.
PRE-POTUS PROTEST
The weekend before President Donald Trump visited Kansas, Wichitans put together a ‘No Kings, Vote Early’ protest
Thursday, Oct. 22
4 - 5 p.m. McKnight Art Center, Room 210 Join artist Juana Estrada Hernandez as they discuss their current exhibit, ‘Printing Historias’ located in the Clayton Staples Gallery.
GHOST HUNTER CHRIS MOON Thursday, Oct. 22 8 - 9 p.m. CAC Theater
Join the Student Activities Council for a night with Ghost Hunter Chris Moon and the learn about world of paranormal investigation.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SERVICE BOARD Fri- Sat, Oct. 23-24
All Day 2634 N. Ash, Wichita, KS 67219 Join the Community Service Board at Habitat for Humanity for a volunteer opportunity to help build a home for a local family.
SOFTBALL VS. MURRAY STATE Saturday, Oct. 24 2 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
Watch Shocker softball take on Murray State at Wilkins Stadium as part of their fall exhibition schedule. Admission is free for students with ID.
SOFTBALL VS. JOHNSON COUNTY CC A demonstrator holds up a handmade protest sign during the “No Kings, Vote Early” protest on Douglas and Broadway on Oct. 17.
A demonstrator holds a sign out towards Douglas Avenue during the “No Kings, Vote Early” protest on Oct. 17.
Sunday, Oct. 25 1 p.m. Wilkins Stadium
Enjoy the Shocker softball team compete against Johnson County Community College in an exhibition game at Wilkins Stadium.
AUTUMN ART AND TREATS Monday, Oct. 26
1 - 2:30 p.m. Rhatigan Student Center Stop by the RSC North Patio and join WSU dining to paint autumn themed scenes and enjoy fall snacks while supplies last.
HAVE AN EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE LISTED? CONTACT THE ARTS EDITOR: arts@thesunflower.com Demonstrators take pictures and wave to passing cars while protesting on Douglas Avenue on Oct. 17.
CONTACT THE NEWS EDITOR: news@thesunflower.com