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Polar Vortex 2019: City workers on the job despite minus 20 temperatures p. 3

SPORTS Kansas softball looks to fill void left in the

Research suggests cause for extinction of dinosaur sharks p. 4

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vol. 138 // iss. 4 Thurs., Jan 31, 2019

Opinion: Past immigration policies explain the present p. 10

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Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019

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International students grapple with ‘American’ name changes to avoid mispronunciations NICOLE DOLAN @nikkidolan279 A name is a part of a person’s identity — but for many international students at the University of Kansas, creating an Anglo “nickname” or changing their name entirely for the sake of mispronunciations is a decision many face to blend into American culture. Between the Lawrence campus and the medical center there are 2,291 international students, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. That accounts for about eight percent of the students population. Though not all international students change their given names, it can be a serious dilemma for those who do. Sophomore Xuelin Xu from Chengdu, a city in Sichuan, China, has given herself the American nickname “Shaly.” “Some students think when others call their native name, they are showing respect,” Xu said. “Besides, the name was given by their parents, which illustrated their parents’ love and hope.” In an article by The Atlantic, research by KU psychology professor Monica Biernat as well as the University of Toronto’s Xian Zhao revealed that there is a higher chance for a Caucasian professor to answer to an Asian student with a more ‘American sounding’ name — like Alex. Xu said that more than the vast majority of international people that she’s encountered on campus change their name. This is due to a constant effort to correct name mispronunciation. “We don’t need to tell staff how to spell [our name] when we order a meal,” Xu said. “It saves time when we use American name.” Biernat declined request for comment. Zhao did not respond by the time of

Samantha Hsu/KANSAN KU senior Haseop Shin from Seoul, South Korea, is currently studying linguistics and Russian. In addition to his Korean name, Haseop, he has adopted an Anglo name, Peter. press. Senior Haseop “Peter” Shin from Seoul, South Korea, goes by a name rooted at home. “The reason I chose Peter is because in Korea in English classes, my name was Potter,” Shin said. “And my brother’s name was Harry. So when I came to America I wanted to keep being Potter, but my father told me to pick a different one, so I went with something similar.” Shin said that the reasoning behind choosing to adopt a more American sounding name is situational and confusing for each person who chooses to do so. Shin understands that name pronunciation is hard, as he has experience with it himself. “Now this part is confusing because sometimes it can be due to the diffi-

culty of pronunciation for the Americans,” Shin said.

“...I miss being called [Haesop] sometimes because I was called ‘Haseop’ for most of my life.” Haesop Shin senior

“But I’ve met many Chinese people with names I can hardly pronounce without American names and I’ve met others with easy native names with American names.” Changing his name to Peter also meant Shin wouldn’t have to deal with correcting others’ mispronunciation. Though this allowed more ease, Shin

said that a part of him is missing. “I think the connection between their given name and their identity plays a big role,” Shin said. “I actually somewhat regret changing my name to Peter from Haseop, because I miss being called that sometimes because I was called ‘Haseop’ for most of my life. But it would cause too much confusion to change now unless I move to the lands far away.” When Shin’s given name is mispronounced, he said that he understands why Americans struggle so hard with foreign names and that there is never any offense taken. “When people mispronounce any foreign name written in English, all it shows is that they are correctly following the proper English phonological sys-

tem and may not have had much contact with foreign people with such names before,” Shin said. “So never an offense is taken, and when it is pronounced correctly, I’m merely impressed by their adaptable phonology.” Shin said that he believes that Americans are simply trying their best when these instances occur. There is an unfamiliarity that creates confusion, and Shin said that is why there is often a need for repetition. “I think Americans are totally willing to learn foreign names and even try to pronounce them correctly,” Shin said. “It’s just that they’re unfamiliar with different sounds so they forget and feel bad for having to ask repeatedly. But I don’t think they make people feel like they’re a burden.”

section, and wanted to use the same typeface used in the signs around the park. “You see those signs everywhere. And most of the time, the lettering on those signs is all pretty consistent, all this same kind of typeface,” Shellhorn said. “I wanted to use that typeface in some of the newspaper, especially when talking about, like, hiking park visitors because they would see that typeface, and we have associated back to the National Park, but they didn’t have it digitally.” Shellhorn said he set about finding the typeface and discovered that it was created by a router used in the sign shop. It didn’t exist digitally. Feeling that this typeface needed to be shared, Shellhorn set out to digitize it. Former University design students of Shellhorn’s, Chloe Hubler and Jenny O’Grady, worked on

creating the typeface with Shellhorn. “We began with paper and pencil over the wooden signs to get the order form down and had asked for kind of like a map that the router used when the signs were made,” said O’Grady, who graduated in 2018 and currently works for Design Ranch in Kansas City, Missouri. “There was no digital file for them. So we had to take the path and draw it out in Adobe.” After on-and-off work for six years, the typeface, National Park, was completed and posted in fall 2018. National Park can be downloaded for free from the official website for the typeface. “It’s kind of preserving the science,” Shellhorn said. “So no matter how they make them, they now have the typefaces as a digital typeface.”

Professor digitizes National Park typeface ADAM LANG @superduperadaml

A new typeface called National Park — based on wooden signs in national parks — has been created

by University of Kansas professor of design Jeremy Shellhorn. Shellhorn was introduced to the park signs during a sabbatical in 2012 where he worked for the Na-

tional Park Service to help design Rocky Mountain National Park’s newspaper. He had been working on the newspaper for a short while when he began looking for a new typeface for the hiking

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Emma Pravecek/KANSAN Jeremy Shellhorn along with his colleagues have created a new digital typeface resembling National Park signs.

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NEWS

City workers brave Kansas cold BROOKE BOYER @BrookeBoyer422 EMILY BECKMAN @EmilyBeckman7 City and federal workers across Lawrence bundled up and headed out on the job despite the frigid cold on Wednesday. For Municipal Systems Operators, enduring cold weather and getting your feet wet is just part of the job – and the most recent winter blast was no exception, Frank Courter and Simon Barnes said. Despite temperatures reaching the negatives, Courter, of Ozawkie, and Barnes, of Lawrence, reported to work for the Lawrence Utility Department as usual. Getting the day off due to weather conditions isn’t likely, Courter said. “You gotta like the cold weather,” he said. “You gotta like getting dirty and wet.” Courter and Barnes, along with two other crews of Municipal Systems Operators, spent the day checking for water leaks and frozen

meters throughout the city, Barnes said. The two started working around 7 a.m. and expected to work until 5:30 p.m. unless they found a leak, Courter said. “It takes a certain person to do this job,” Barnes said. Due to these danger-

“It takes a certain person to do this job.” Simon Barnes Municipal Systems Operators

ously cold temperatures and wind chills of 20 below zero, the U.S. Postal Service briefly considered suspending its deliveries in some parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday. However, that didn’t stop the Lawrence bureau from sticking to its motto. The final decision that services would function

as normal was made late Tuesday night. The agency’s motto, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” guarantees services no matter the weather conditions. “I’ve been with the postal service since 1991, and we’ve never not delivered the mail,” Lawrence mail clerk Carol Huggins said. Other areas in the Midwest did, however, suspend deliveries, according to the U.S. Postal Service. This included parts of Nebraska, Illinois, North and South Dakota, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. “From everything that I have heard, people seem shocked that we are out for delivery,” Huggins said. “I think that there would have been support from most of the public to keep carrier’s safe.” Employees are not aware of any issues with deliveries up to this point and say that things are running like normal.

Emily Beckman/KANSAN The Municipal Systems Operators worked Wednesday despite low temperatures.

ANIMALS IN THE COLD

Brad Harris/KANSAN A donkey and several goats huddle for warmth at the Carrier residence near Baldwin City. An arctic blast drove wind chills 20 below zero Wednesday morning.

FROM PAGE 1 Farmers must also be aware of freezing winds. Hornberger said that cows will usually huddle together in a field when cold, but most other types of livestock will need a windbreak or shelter. He suggested putting hay in these areas to encourage the animals to move toward shelter. The energy-rich food will also keep the animals’ internal temperatures higher. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, dogs and cats are less resistant to the cold than livestock and should be kept indoors during such cold periods. At animal shelters

such as the Lawrence Humane Society, cold weather policies are enforced in order to keep all their animals warm and healthy. Lawrence Humane Society Interim Executive Director Meghan Scheibe said during cold weather, all meetings with prospective pet owners are conducted indoors. The local animal shelter also limits the time each animal spends outside to a maximum of five minutes at a time. “As a general rule of thumb, if it’s too cold for you to be outside, then it’s too cold for them.” Scheibe said. “The purpose of taking them outdoors is to [give] them a quick potty break and a few minutes to stretch their

legs outside of the kennel.” Scheibe also shared some tips for keeping pets safe during cold weather: Always make sure your pet has access to warm shelter. Keep your pet indoors whenever possible, and limit time outdoors. Even if your pet has a coat of thick fur, it isn’t enough to withstand cold wintery winds. Be sure to keep your pet well-hydrated. Staying hydrated helps prevent the cold from drying out animals’ skin. She also said to check under the hood of your car before starting it. When it’s cold outside, cats like to crawl inside the engine bay of cars to find warmth.

AN ATHLETE IN A WHITE SPACE FROM PAGE 1 because of the lack of conversation about race within the district. Ejelonu said the lawsuit and the situation are significant to her; they are a part of her own history and background. “We don’t tend to talk about race and prejudice and stereotypes that are being projected on students of color,” Ejelonu said. “So because of that, I wasn’t necessarily surprised. It was really good to hear that it was being called out in a manner that needed to happen because there still are teachers who don’t understand that what they say about a student’s race isn’t okay.” The most common response to combating racism is a lack of initiation. There is a desire to push things under the rug and pretend that it doesn’t exist, Ejelonu said. She said that attitude limits any opportunity to create equality or educate the ignorant, thus continuing words and actions of prejudice. “I think it is a responsibility for teachers, alumni and students to call out ignorance and make sure to create a conversation,” Ejelonu said. “A conversation sets up a space for people who face oppres-

sion to thrive and finally express why they feel the way they feel.” Ejelonu said that Sturdivant faces an added pressure to assimilate because of her race.

“We don’t tend to talk about race and prejudice and stereotypes that are being projected on students of color.” Charmaine Ejelonu freshman

“Initially, on her own, Camille already stands out,” Ejelonu said. “She is one of the only colored people on that dance team and that by itself is already enough pressure. But then when people recognize that and treat her differently because of that, that adds another sort of pressure.” This leads a person of color to question their worth and talent, Ejelonu said. Diversity within this situation and in any environment of education cannot be to fill a quota. “Not fitting in and being called out for her skin

color, that’s so belittling,” Ejelonu said. “It really is hard having to assimilate into white culture. I think the one thing we can do as a society is to make sure we have representation and that it is not forced.” Kansas track and field athlete Wumi Omare, a senior from Overland Park, also grew up in the Blue Valley community. Omare ran track at Blue Valley North High School, but said that since her track team had diversity, she never experienced obvious racial discrimination. “I’m glad it was brought to light and she had proof of them not being fair to her because of her skin color,” Omare said. “The track team was not necessarily all white. There were people from all over across the school and different backgrounds because there are a lot of things to do in track and a lot of people to do them. I think it makes a huge difference because you don’t feel isolated or you don’t feel excluded.” The University’s track and field team includes athletes from across the country and globe. Omare said that this allows the team to be in a space where their diversity is accepted and shared. “This team is definitely

a diverse space and community of people from different backgrounds, different cultures, and because there are so many of us you get to know so many people and there isn’t really any discriminatory vibe or feel from the team at all,” Omare said. “The coaches do a good job of keeping a good atmosphere to work hard and do what we do to compete well.” “I believe they can come back from this, but the caveat is that they need more action,” Choong said. “This instance of racism isn’t uncommon. Although we’ve had talks, meetings, we’ve had school assemblies on these things, we haven’t had a community

Kansan file photo University senior sprinter Wumi Omare is a graduate of the Blue Valley school district. outcry on these things.” Blue Valley schools announced in a Kansas City Star article that training will be held for faculty to prevent a repeat instance. Ejelonu said teachers must control their own classrooms.

“It’s uncomfortable to talk about oppression and prejudice,” Ejelonu said. “It is really important that we focus on those trainings and making sure that everyone feels accepted and equal.”

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arts & culture Thursday, January 31, 2019

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K A N S A N .C O M /A R T S _ A N D _ C U LT U R E

Was supernova super bad for dinosaur sharks? RYLIE KOESTER @RylieKoester

A recent collaborative study, conducted by retired University of Kansas professor of physics and astronomy Adrian Melott, suggests particles from supernovas 2.6 million years ago may have led to the extinction of several species, most notably the Megalodon — a massive species of shark. “We thought this is interesting because there was an extinction event around that time, and it particularly affected large ocean creatures, so we think there might be a connection,” Melott said. Melott’s study includes a new hypothesis connecting extinction to supernova activity, while also building on past supernova and extinction research, he said. Previous scientific research shows that when an isotope rarely found on earth called iron-60 is discovered on earth, it can only come from supernovas. From the iron-60, researchers can calculate when the supernova took place and about how far away it occurred, Melott said. Previous research found peaks of iron-60 on the ocean floor between 1.5 and 3.2 million years ago. In the study, Melott conducted simulations to replicate the effect of radiation from superno-

Contributed Photo A Hubble Space Telescope composite image of a supernova explosion designated SN 2014J in the galaxy M82. At a distance of approximately 11.5 million light-years from Earth it is the closest supernova of its type discovered in the past few decades. vas about 150 light years away. “That’s an interesting distance because it’s not close enough to really be a disaster for the Earth, but it’s much closer than any supernova that exists in the historical record,” Melott said. Supernovas produce cosmic rays, and when the rays interact with the atmosphere, they produce byproducts. One of those byproducts are muons — electron-like

particles. Melott mainly focused on muons in the study because a good part of the radiation on Earth and its inhabitants gets hit with are muons, Melott said. “If you multiply that by a hundred or a few hundred, you have enough radiation to increase the rate of cancer and mutations,” Melott said. That’s exactly what Melott’s study says might have occurred — the increased radiation may

opportunities to create social change around food and the environment. Freiburger started the organization with Emily Hampton in 2015. Sunrise Project opened Sunrise Coffee in February 2018. However, after seven months straight of losing revenue, Freiburger said it was time to close the coffee shop and focus Sunrise’s resources on more effective community programs. “We thought that it would do really well,” Freiburger said. “We thought for many reasons that it would just be everyone’s favorite coffee shop.”

One of those new programs is a monthly community meal to bring people into the space. Sunrise hosted its first community meal in early January. The next meal will serve spaghetti and meatballs, with vegetarian meatball options, and will take place Feb. 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Freiburger encourages those interested in attending to RSVP beforehand by emailing melissa@sunriseprojectks.org. Freiburger said the community meals are a good way to get people back to Sunrise Project. “We wanted people to have another reason and to just come back to this space and be with the other community members,” Freiburger said. The nonprofit hosts other programming events as well, such as cooking classes and horticulture workshops. Sunrise Project also invites community members to host workshops in an area of their expertise. The most recent one was a Thai curry workshop. “We really like to draw on the wisdom of our community,” Freiburger said. “We don’t see ourselves as the experts — we just are providing the space and opportunities for people to share their traditions and their knowledge with one another.” Sunrise Project has two free food sites where

have caused the extinction of the Megalodon and other land and ocean dwelling species. The Megalodon disappeared from the fossil record approximately 2.6 million years ago, which is the same time the most powerful supernova would have hit the earth. Melott’s study also combines several different fields of study, including physics, astronomy, paleontology and atmospheric science.

“It’s really multidisciplinary research,” Melott said. “It’s actually somewhat unusual.” Bruce Lieberman, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University, has collaborated with Melott on studies in the past because he said they are both interested in the field of astrobiology. An important aspect of the field that draws their attention, Lieberman said, is that it in-

cludes looking at how events pertaining to stars, asteroids and other space phenomena might have impacted life on Earth — exactly what Melott’s recent study is concerned with. Lieberman said Melott was able to come up with compelling patterns that supported his hypothesis in his study, and he also found supportive chemical evidence as well. “What Adrian really did was kind of put the pieces together with this puzzle,” Lieberman said. Lieberman was particularly intrigued Melott was able to connect the supernova explosion to the extinction of the Megalodon. “I thought that was a good idea on his part to sort of relate it to this charismatic organism,” Lieberman said. A take away from Melott’s study, Lieberman said, is that it encourages a broader understanding of the environment and how it impacts the Earth and its life. “We’re affected by the environment and environmental changes, and we need to have a very broad concept of what the environment is,” Lieberman said. “It’s not just on this tiny blue marble that we live on, but the broader solar system, galaxy and universe that we’re a part of.”

Sunrise Project to focus on other community initiatives RYLIE KOESTER @RylieKoester After the recent closing of Sunrise Coffee, Sunrise Project is refocusing its efforts and shifting its attention to new programs. “It was necessary for us to put a lot of energy into getting the coffee shop going and off the ground, and now that energy is being used in other ways for different programs,” said Melissa Freiburger, executive director and co-founder of Sunrise Project. Sunrise Project is a nonprofit organization that provides space and

Sarah Wright/KANSAN The Sunrise Project, a nonprofit organization in Lawrence, is closing its coffee shop, Sunrise Coffee.

Rachel Griffard/KANSAN Melissa Freiburger, executive director and co-founder of the Sunrise Project, discusses the redirection of vision since the coffee house closed. community members can harvest free food. The first is the community garden located at Sunrise Project, 1501 Learnard Ave., and the second is

Project for about a year and a half. Harness works with youth on programming events, and she will also help with the community meals.

“We don’t see ourselves as the experts — we just are providing the space and opportunities for people to share their traditions and their knowledge with one another.” Melissa Freiburger Sunrise Project co-founder

the community orchard near Burroughs Trail in East Lawrence. Nancy Harness has volunteered with the Sunrise

Harness began working on a certificate for horticultural therapy about a year and a half ago and asked the Sunrise Proj-

ect if she could volunteer there. “The thing that I so appreciated about them — then and since — is how excited they were to have me call, how excited they were about what I was studying and that I wanted to be part of Sunrise,” Harness said. Freiburger said Sunrise Project has always been innovative and is willing to try new things and listen to community input. “I see the coffee shop as this little blip on our timeline of who we are as Sunrise Project,” Freiburger said. “We’re just going to keep doing other things that bring people here and create community.”

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OPINION

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Text your Free For All submissions to (785) 289-8351

FFA of the day: “Maybe if I light myself on fire I’ll be warm.” “if you hard, then you hard.” --psych prof Cher’s Believe is a banger “I’m really sick cause I was eating my band aid” I only put in a request to fix my dishwasher and came home to a new dishwasher. This is what dreams are made of. “do you ever think about how beef jerky is just like...cow raisins” who needs murder when u could hack a computer and get rid of student loans do u think i could just forge a bachelors degree during the purge? “i still haven’t talked to men in my major. it’s been a year.” - my roommate, a computer science major “i don’t like peeing. it’s weird and i have to do it so many times a day.” - my roommate The smell from my roommates room just made me literally puke. my favorite musical artists really need to stop releasing concert tour dates bc it’s really inconsiderate to my bank account I’ve lived in Kansas for 3 and a half years and my mom just asked me if I owned gloves “I’d take a bullet to the foot for free undergrad” Like everything else Chicago is weaponizing cold

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K A N S A N .C O M /O P I N I O N

Immigrants fuel US history, economy BIJAN ESFANDIARY @BijanEsfandiary

As the government debates the funding for a southern border wall, it is important to note the policy actions that led us to this moment. The anti-immigration policies pushed in the last few years are nothing new to the United States, and neither is the rhetoric used by the government. Historical accuracy of immigration policies and perceptions matter and its evaluation must begin before the 2000s. Professors always begin here, yet students only have a baseline knowledge of current and past immigration policies. Analyzing immigration before the 2000s is critical, as it explains how America has manufactured an immigration threat today. One of the most important immigration programs the United States has built the Bracero Program, which goes against almost all forms of anti-immigration positions today. As explored in “Beyond Smoke and Mirrors,” by Douglas S. Massey, the Bracero Program began in 1942 to fill agricultural labor shortages from World War II, and it lasted until 1964. This process of “importing” Mexican workers is credited with preventing mass food shortages at the time and providing a system of obtaining citizenship via naturalization. The program streamlined immigration effectively for roughly 200,000 Mexican immigrants every year. When businesses began turning to people living in the country illegally for labor as an alternative to the program, it was shut down. It should be noted, however, that Mexican laborers did not steal the jobs of citizens that came home from the war; Americans instead took

Associated Press Supporters of immigrants’ rights march downtown Washington, D.C., during an immigration protest Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. manufacturing jobs. This echoes the trend of modern immigrants working jobs Americans leave empty. Immigration degradation followed the creation of Project Camelot in 1964. Project Camelot was a counterinsurgency measure to begin research that would justify economic and military action in Latin America. Backed by the Department of Defense, the project was funded with $44 million. Although the project was canceled after just one year, it truly began the narrative that our southern neighbors are threats to the American way of life — something Reagan took to heart. When the Reagan administration took office in 1981, it began to link socioeconomics to migrants. This was coupled with terms such as “invaders” and “terrorists” to

describe these migrants, which began the otherization of Mexican immigrants. The Reagan administration passed new repressive policies that forced migrants to take riskier measures to cross the border, such as weaving through traffic.

If social safety nets and education are illegal to people in the country illegally, how exactly are they costing the United States billions of dollars a year? The administration sent film crews to the border to create a propaganda film about migrants called “Border Under Siege,”

“I have TWO ADHD gremlins shouting in my ear right now and I don’t have the patience for one” When my professor said she was going to “give us tea” I was expecting hot gossip and not actual tea but actual tea is what I got. profs who make students who trip over every word read out loud are drinking extra strength haterade i literally forget that hunger and food are things until my stomach is roaring in the middle of a quiet classroom at noon “next stop sunny miami beach. JK it’s wescoe beach”

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which was intended to showcase claims that America was under invasion. The Reagan administration was influential in manufacturing a border crisis despite immigration levels being stable. What followed this manufactured crisis was some of the worst policy actions on immigration the nation has seen, which created a framework for the country and the president to expand their powers. First came the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which allowed the president to declare immigration emergencies. This allows the president to send the military to the borders, close the border and suspend asylum applications. In 1996, the Immigrant Responsibility Act eliminated any form of a social safety net for people in the country illegally, including education. But this raises an interesting question before the passing of DACA: if social safety nets and education are illegal to people in the country illegally, how exactly are they costingthe United States billions of dollars a year? One might say they circumvent the law to access social safety benefits, but that does not address what George Borjas, a professor of economics and social policy at Harvard University, and the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) found. Even if people in the country illegally cost the United States billions of dollars a year, according to NASEM, they have expanded the American economy by $2 trillion, as they put more money into the economy than they take out. These policies have effectively led the United States to otherize those

south of the border and undermine immigration policies for decades. Immigration was at stable rates, even so much that “importing” immigrant labor was not enough to fulfill labor demands. With the ending of the Bracero Program, the Cold War hysteria prompted our government to create contingency plans that justified stopping immigration in Latin America, as well as military intervention. This idea resonated with Reagan, who began the assault on immigration, as well as the otherization of our neighbors. These socioeconomic woes have never aligned with the reality and statistical proof that immigrants have actually expanded the economy massively, yet the passed policies allowed for the rise of the modern-day anti-immigration state. This rhetoric is solely based in xenophobia, and as Massey describes it, xenophobia works empirically. Analyzing how we got here and where we are going is critical to the immigration discussion, and the failure of students to educate themselves has retrenched anti-immigration rhetoric that allows for baseless claims to perpetuate. We need a new generation of citizens who are educated on immigration to attack false statistics. If our country’s citizens do not defend immigration then the words that are engraved on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” are not worth the metal they are made of.

Bijan Esfandiary is a junior from Overland Park studying political science and sociology.

editorial board

Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Shaun Goodwin, Savanna Smith, Aroog Khaliq and Emma Greenwood.

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SPORTS

ANALYSIS

Should men’s basketball lower its expectations? JACK JOHNSON @JohnyJ_15

Once again, Kansas men’s basketball fell on the road for the second straight time and fifth time this season, losing to Texas, 73-63, on Tuesday. Facing a Texas team that had dropped the first meeting in Lawrence, the Jayhawks produced a horrific display in the first half, with the only positive coming from a freshman who was wearing street clothes on the sideline last month. Finishing with a career-high 24 points in his first career start, freshman guard Ochai Agbaji contributed most of the workload for the Jayhawks, but it wasn’t enough as the outcome was decided by double digits. Moving to 16-5 on the season and 5-3 in conference play, the sputtering offense and inconsistent defense has raised a question that many Jayhawk fans have been pondering: What is the ceiling for this team? Now, falling half a game behind in-state rival Kansas State and Texas Tech in the Big 12 standings, the quest for yet another Big 12 conference title is not out of question by

Chance Parker/KANSAN Coach Bill Self shows his frustration with the referee during the game against Iowa State. The Jayhawks defeated the Cyclones 80-76 on Monday, Jan. 21. ly dwindled into a mere prayer following five losses without their star center junior Udoka Azubuike. Make no mistake, there isn’t any shortage of star-studded talent on the roster and being led by one of the top head coaches of all-time certainly

any means. However, the ultimate goal remains the same as it always has been in heading to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to cut down the nets in April. Those aspirations that looked so achievable after a 10-0 start for the Jayhawks have methodical-

has its perks. But waiting for a drastic change in the performances by each individual player may be something that is only false hope. Perhaps the most concerning lack of production has come from senior guard Lagerald Vick, who

had torched the nation in the first month of the season. Although on Tuesday, after being benched due to a coach’s decision, Vick only managed 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Aside from a couple of timely threes, the senior was al-

most non-existent, something Kansas can’t afford to have any longer. Very few times this season have the Jayhawks managed a full 40 minutes of consistent performances and it’s safe to say the see-saw type of games haven’t boded well for Kansas. Where at first the close victories in November aided them in almost every way, these lackluster efforts have things lining up for a cataclysmic collapse in March. There is no doubt that Kansas still excels in a handful of categories and hasn’t tapped into the full potential that may come about in the coming weeks. Obtaining one of the nation’s top forwards in redshirt junior Dedric Lawson and breakout performances from Vick still can ignite a fire in this team, but the loss to Texas has certainly busted the Big 12 standings wide open and clouded the future of the 2018-19 season.

next game vs. Texas Tech Sat., Feb. 2 3 p.m.

ANALYSIS

Offensive production questionable for Kansas softball FULTON CASTER @FCaster04

As the Kansas softball team prepares for its season opener against Oregon on Feb. 8, the attention quickly must turn to how this team will rebound from the sheer amount of talent missing from since last season. Kansas will enter this season having lost Erin McGinley, Harli Ridling, Jessie Roane, Annie Mehringer, Sarah Miller and Amanda Organ all to graduation. In that graduating senior class McGinley, Ridling, and Roane were the top three hitters for the team in terms of average. Ridling led the team in home runs with nine and RBI with 32. With Kansas losing three of its best offensive players, as well as being their top three emotional team leaders, the Jayhawks must turn to other areas to find their production immediately. One of the most important players in picking up the slack will be sophomore catcher/ utility Shelby Gayre. In her freshman campaign, Gayre hit .273 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. She showed tremendous flashes of power and run

production. She will be a prime candidate to fill the void left by Ridling both at the plate and possibly even behind it. Another important player who needs to pick up some of the offensive slack will be junior utility Sam Dellinger. Dellinger, a transfer from Creighton. She hit .283 in her first season as a Jayhawk while primarily playing second base. Dellinger will be expected not necessarily to drive in runs but will be relied on to get on base and set the offensive tone as a run scorer for the team much in the same way Erin McGinley was used for much of her career. Picking up the slack of Jessie Roane will be tremendously difficult for this team. Roane led the team with a .377 batting average last season while also hitting six home runs and driving in 31 runs. It will be a team task to replace that level of production, but sophomore pitcher/utility Tarin Travieso could do a lot to help with the production. During her freshman campaign, Travieso hit .275 with four home runs and 30 runs driven in. While not packing a ton of power, Travieso continually came up clutch

Top 2019 Returners

Kansan file photo Then-freshman Shelby Gayre swings at a pitch against Oklahoma State on April 5, 2018. The Jayhawks lost to the Cowgirls in the first game of the double header, 2-1. and was able to drive in runs when asked. Travieso should be a solid candidate to continue to both hit for a high average and drive in runs for the Jayhawks. Overall replacing the senior leadership and production on this team

Shelby Gayre .273 AVERAGE

HRs

RBIs

will not be easy. Losing offensive players like Roane, McGinley and Ridling is never easy for a young team, especially one that is also replacing nearly its entire coaching staff. This season will be one of trial and error

for Kansas but if players like Gayre, Dellinger and Travieso step up as well as gain help from other members of the team, then Kansas may be able to outperform its expectations in 2019.

Sam Dellinger .283

AVERAGE

HRs

RBIs

first game

vs. Oregon Fri., Feb. 8 12:30 p.m.

Tarin Travieso .275

AVERAGE

HRs

RBIs

sports

SPORTS

KANSAN.COM

Basketball Gameday Thursday, January 31, 2019

K A N S A N .C O M /S P O R T S

Kansas vs. Texas Tech, Saturday, Feb. 2, 3:00 p.m.

Chance Parker/KANSAN Freshman guard Ochai Agbaji drives the ball against Texas. The Jayhawks defeated the Longhorns 80-78 on Monday, Jan. 14. MADDY TANNAHILL & BRADEN SHAW @KansanSports

Beat Writer MADDY Predictions: TANNAHILL

75-70

KANSAS 16-5 (5-3 BIG 12)

70-68

TEXAS TECH 17-4 (5-3 BIG 12)

Ochai Agbaji

Jarrett Culver

★★★★

freshman guard

sophomore guard

Touted by Kansas coach Bill Self as one of the Jayhawks’ “best players,” according to a Kansas Athletics press release, Agbaji led all scorers in Texas’ 73-63 upset of Kansas on Tuesday night, posting a career-high 24 points in his first career start. Knocking down 8-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, Agbaji’s performance marked his second double-digit outing of the year.

Culver has been the star for Texas Tech all season, averaging 18.5 points per game. Coming into the year, Culver was overlooked, being named a preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention. Now, the 6-foot-6, 195 pound, Lubbock, Texas, native has taken the reins of this team, at times single-handedly winning games. He’s scored in double figures in all but one game this season.

Dedric Lawson

Matt Mooney

★★★★

redshirt junior forward

senior guard

Despite just missing his 15th double-double of the season, Lawson contributed in every column of the stat sheet against the Longhorns, recording 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist in the loss. Although this marked his lowest point-production since the game at Iowa State on Jan. 3, Lawson remains Kansas’ season leader in scoring , averaging 19.2 points per game.

While Mooney certainly contributes on offense — he averages 10.7 points per game — the 6-foot-3, 200 pound guard has most notably made his name on defense. Mooney has accumulated a team-high 33 steals this season and was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list this past week. Mooney can make plays on both ends, but Kansas should be extra careful of his defensive acumen.

Lagerald Vick

Tariq Owens

★★★

After losing his position in the starting lineup for the third time this season, Vick contributed 23 minutes off the bench for Kansas, his second fewest on the season. In his 23-minute showing, the senior dropped 10 points for the Jayhawks, including a couple of rebounds and an assist.

Owens leads one of the nation’s best defensive units with 51 blocked shots on the season. He was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list along with his teammate Mooney. On the offensive side, Owens averages 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while also shooting 56.7 percent from the floor.

redshirt senior forward

senior guard

quick hits

BRADEN SHAW

BASEBALL

TR ACK & FIELD

MEN’S BASKE TBALL

TENNIS

players in program history named to Preseason All-American teams following Ryan Zeferjahn’s nod this week

Women’s team ranking in the NCAA top-25

Number of seconds Kansas led Texas in Tuesday night’s loss

ITA ranking earned by Kansas tennis on Wednesday

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

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