WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 www.thesunflower.com
April 11, 2024
Volume 128 Issue 27
BLINDED BY BEAUTY
Students observe the solar eclipse on April 8 using glasses on the south side of Jabara Hall. Wichitans saw a partial solar eclipse, with 87.7% of the sun obscured by the moon. The last solar eclipse to have a path of totality over the United States took place in 2017. | Photos by Monique Bever / The Sunflower
Solar eclipse unites students on campus BY PIPER PINNETTI
piperpinnetti12@gmail.com
A
celestial spectacle occurred on campus Monday afternoon as a solar eclipse graced the skies. It captivated students who paused their daily routines to witness the event firsthand. When a new moon moves between the Earth and the sun, it creates a solar eclipse. Wichita was not situated within the path of totality, yet residents still witnessed an 87.7% coverage of the sun. Students left class to witness the celestial occasion, and teachers helped add to the experience. Customers gathered in Braeburn Square to enjoy a late lunch with their glasses ready on the table. Employees left the kitchens during the peak eclipse time to savor the best of the view. Eye protection is a priority during the solar event, and people across campus made the effort for not only themselves, but other students. A large crowd of students gathered outside of Jabara Hall and waited for a chance to use a friend’s pair of glasses or another unique tool to observe the sun and moon. Jason Ferguson, professor and director of physics, set up a telescope from his work on the south side of Jabara Hall. “The telescope is owned by the physics department,” Ferguson said. “It is a Celestron
Physics professors Mathew Muether and Jason Ferguson set up telescope on lawn of Jabara Hall for observers to see solar eclipse on April 7.
8-inch reflector. I used a 25mm eyepiece and solar filter to protect everyone’s eyes.” The telescope allows viewers to see more details before, during and after the eclipse that the eclipse glasses do not. “Before the eclipse, we could see sunspots on the surface of the sun,” Ferguson said. “The edge of the eclipse is more defined as well.” Not too far away, students stood outside of the Heskett Center. Senior Mariah Anderson caught sight of the alignment with solar glasses. “It was very surreal,” Anderson said. “I
loved looking at that kind of change in the environment.” At Ablah Library, Freshman Angelina Le Calvez caught glimpses of the eclipse with her friend before class. “I actually asked four people if I could borrow their glasses because I always wanted to keep looking at them,” Le Calvez said. Le Calvez, originally from France, was glad to have another opportunity to catch an eclipse after the sight in 2017 left her disappointed. “In 2017, there was an eclipse in France, but it was cloudy so we didn’t get to see it,” Le Calvez said. “So actually seeing it like the moon aligned with the sun was just crazy, breathtaking and the experience of a lifetime if you ask me.” The partial eclipse lingered above Wichita for only a few hours, but left a lasting impression on those who witnessed it, sparking conversations and igniting excitement for astronomical events. All over campus, students, faculty and staff joined together, remembering their last eclipse experience in 2017, stood in awe of this alignment and now wait patiently for the next one. The next solar eclipse will happen in 20 years on Aug. 23, 2044. Later this year, on Sept. 18, there will be a partial lunar eclipse visible for America, Europe and Africa.
Tanganyika animals take over the RSC Special election to be held BY PIPER PINNETTI
piperpinnetti12@gmail.com
An array of wildlife animals roamed the Rhatigan Student Center, giving students and other passersby the chance to meet and pet the animals. On Wildlife Wednesday, two employees from Tanganyika traveled to campus with four exotic animals: an African crested porcupine, a three-banded armadillo, a sulcata tortoise and a two-toed sloth. Each animal was featured for 30 minutes to ensure all had their time to get pets or give high-fives. Students lined up for a chance to pet the animals in the designated area. A small group of students were able to get an up-close experience for each ambassador animal, and then a new group would cycle through. Taylor Craig, an animal experiences specialist at Tanganyika,
handled animals and talked to students. In her role, she usually handles interactions between the guests and animals. “We get to work with lots of animals, which is my favorite part, but we’re the ones that do things like meet and greets or education stuff,” Craig said. Before each event, employees traveling with the animals conduct study sessions, where they catch up on fun facts through shared Google Docs and Googling of their own. Credit for the Wichita State event belongs to Vanessa Bell, the director of marketing for the Rhatigan Student Center, who found online that Tanganyika offers opportunities for their team to bring animals and educate people about them. “I thought college students might like the chance to interact with animals they might get to, or
for student senator seats BY TRINITY RAMM managing@thesunflower.com
Quilliam searches for treats as Taylor Craig tells a group of students facts about African crested porcupines. Quilliam was born and raised at Tanganyika and has been an animal ambassador for eight years. | Photo by Brianna Cook / The Sunflower
they may not make it all the way to Goddard to Tanganyika,” Bell said. Tanganyika offers meet and greets like the event at the RSC as well as presentations for larger audiences.
Certain Senate seats will go into a runoff election after the declared and write-in candidates for those seats received the same number of votes. Only students in the Colleges of Applied Studies, Fine Arts, Health Professions and the Graduate School will receive a ballot as there are only ties in Senate races for seats in those colleges. The runoff election will be held April 15-17, with the unofficial results being announced around 6 p.m. on April 17. Gabriel Fonseca, an SGA adviser, said that this year was “fascinating” because there were a larger number of
write-in candidates compared to previous years. “We’re talking about a significant number of them because (the College of ) Engineering had seven seats, and there was not a single declared candidate, so seven of the write-ins will take the seat,” Fonseca said. During a meeting on the night of April 4, SGA’s Supreme Court ruled that election code does not differentiate between a declared candidate and a write-in candidate. Prior to this meeting, write-in candidates who won their race were asked if they accepted the role. The results of all other races, including the presidential race were officially certified on April 5.