WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 www.thesunflower.com
Oct. 6, 2022
The annual Memorial ‘70 ceremony of rememberance honors WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane crash on Oct. 2, 1970. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower
Volume 127 Issue 8
52 years later the plane crash of Oct. 2, 1960, mourners at the Memorial ‘70 listen to “Go Rest High on That Mountain” by Vince Gill. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower
Mourners hold hands at the Memorial ‘70. The ceremony honored WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane crash in 1970. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower
52 YEARS LATER
The annual Memorial ‘70 took place Oct. 2. The ceremony of rememberance honors WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane crash on Oct. 2, 1970. | Photo by Mia Hennen / The Sunflower.
University athletic community remembers the ‘70 plane crash “ To see athletes supporting the BY MELENIE RIVERA-CORTEZ
mrivera-cortez@shockers.wichita.edu
T
he beginning of Oct. 2, 1970 was just like any other day for the Wichita State football team. Since then Oct. 2 has been an annual day of grieving. “I don’t think you can ever forget that, we’re going to honor that forever. It will be an important day for us in athletics,” Director of Athletics Kevin Saal said. Wichita State hosted the memorial for the 52nd anniversary of the football team’s plane crash at Memorial ’70. The team was traveling in two planes named the “Black Plane” and the “Gold Plane,” to play against Utah State. The planes departed from the Denver airport, yet only one plane made it to Logan, Utah. The “Gold Plane” never made it after crashing into Mount Trelease near Silver Plume, Colorado, after the pilots took a scenic route. The “Black Plane” landed safely. On Oct. 24, 1970 Wichita State finished the rest of the season known as the “second season.” The lives of the players, crew and families that
memories of athletes, those who died young. It’s pretty special. BILL GLASCO Former WSU football player
boarded on those planes would be forever altered. That day is engraved in the hearts of the players and families that knew the Wichita State football team. Ed Plopa was a sophomore at the time of the event who rode on the “Black Plane.” He said that the memorial is significant because over the years the families and players that were affected have been able to build camaraderie with each other. “We are like family,” Plopa said. Plopa said that there were times during the years where he felt to emotional to attend the memorial despite living four to five miles away from Wichita State. “It’s like ripping a band aid off, like a scab,” Plopa said. He said that when he does attend he is happy
because being there with everyone creates support. Various sports teams from Wichita State gathered during the ceremony. Bill Glasco rode on the “Black Plane,” he lost many of his closest friends that day. “To see athletes supporting, the memories of athletes, those who died young. It’s pretty special,” Glasco said. Saal said that it is important for student athletes to see and feel who they are competing for. Saal choked up during his speech at the ceremony. He said that he is saddened by the amount of loss for those who were not on the “Gold Plane” experienced. “These folks who carry both the blessing and the burden,” Saal said. He said that players who survived are blessed to be alive with their families. But carry the burden of waking up, thinking of their teammates and knowing that could have been them. “I just think there is a really fine line between blessing and sorrow,” Saal said. The memorial is located on the west side of Wichita State’s campus near 18th and Hillside.
‘Let’s stay on the right side of history:’ Vigil for Iranian women held JULIA NIGHTENGALE
nightengaleja@gmail.com
A somber mood filled the air as the Wichita community gathered at The Keeper of the Plains for a vigil. It was held to mourn the Iranian women who have been killed in the protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, who was detained by Iran’s morality police for not fully following the country’s veiling laws, according to Penn Today. “At least 75 protestors have been killed so far,” Seyyedeh Mandana, an Emporia State student, said at the vigil. “But protesters are undeterred. Women and men have taken to the streets, women are burning hijab, cutting their hair and publicly defying oppressive laws they have been forced to live with.” Ellen Brackeen, a community member, said that she decided to create the event after “ending up on the side of TikTok” where Iranians were asking for their voice to be heard due to having
their internet shut down by their government. “There’s just a lot of parallels between the Islamic regime and how they are running their government like a theocracy, kind of Christian nationalism and what we are seeing going on with women’s rights in the United States, obviously on a way more extreme scale,” Brackseen said. “When you are wanting to prevent that extreme scale, you need to intervene and show those parallels and speak for the people who can’t speak for themselves.” Sina Davani, Iranian Student Association (IRANSA) president, said that he was thankful to see people show up due to the small Persian-Iranian community in Wichita. He said it is important for people to act as a voice, especially in English, for the Iranian people. “We want to show our support for the Iranian people, the women of Iran mostly, and to show our support not just for them but for women all around the world that are in oppression who have
to abide by laws they don’t want to abide by, that don’t align with human rights,” Davani said. Davani said that it is important for people to understand that the history of Iran spans back 2,500 years, and that it used to be the largest and most powerful empire in the world, built on tolerance of all religions. He said that women had rights, such as maternity leave and paid time off, during the origins of the country. “There shouldn’t be an entire law enforcement system in any country dedicated to policing women’s bodies or any aspect of women’s lives,” Mandana said in her speech.“Her name has already been turned into a international symbol of protest against inequality, injustice and systematic discrimination against women.” Multiple Iranians were present at the vigil who wished to remain anonymous due to safety reasons if they decided to go back to Iran. They said that they have faced this before as a country, and had family back in Iran who are very hard to
Candles light up the artwork presented at the vigil for Iranian women killed on Sept. 30. After a speech was given, the candles were lit, and a picture was taken of the group who attended. | Photo by Julia Nightengale / The Sunflower
get connected to. Brackeen said that one way to help would be by downloading Snowflake, a system that can allow people in Iran to bypass Internet censorship. She said people can also call their representatives and ask them to be public and speak on this issue, as well as stop negotiating with their government that doesn’t represent the people. “Women are not free when
their bodies are legislated, whether we are talking about reproductive freedom or gender expression,” Mandana said. “As an Iranian, as your neighbor, as a member of the Wichita community, we ask everyone who does believe in humanity and human rights to please acknowledge what is happening in Iran. The very least we can do is continue to pay attention.”