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Q&A with Lawrence’s new police chief p. 3
Devonte’ Graham’s play leads to Jayhawks’ opening win over Tennessee State The University Daily Kansan
vol. 135 // iss. 24 Mon., Nov. 13, 2017
Lawrence veterans suit back up for Veterans Day Parade p. 5
SEE GRAHAM • PAGE 9
Editorial: Fire Beaty and Zenger
Kansas football coach David Beaty has a 3-31 record in nearly three years at the University. Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger’s two hires to lead the Jayhawks football program have won nine games in six years. That’s unacceptable.
KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD @KansanNews
“I set out to find the best, and I found Charlie Weis.” With this bold declaration in December 2011, Kansas Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger put the future of the Jayhawk football program in the hands of a brash, brazen man — a man with little success coaching college football and a man who Notre Dame was paying millions to never coach its football team again. Fast forward two and a half years to the 2014 season. Kansas loses 23-0 at home in late September to a dreadful Charlie Strongcoached Texas team, and Zenger is forced to fire the man he entrusted to rebuild the Kansas football team after Mark Mangino’s downfall and two dismal years under Turner Gill. “I normally do not favor changing coaches mid-season,” Zenger said after firing Weis. “But I believe we have talented coaches and players in this program, and I think this decision gives our players the best chance to begin making progress right away.” Weis left Kansas with a 6-22 overall record, winning roughly 21 percent of his games, and just one win against Big 12 opponents. Kansas Athletics and Zenger agreed to pay Weis $5.6 million to go away, in search of real success in football for the first time since 2008. The man Zenger hired to replace Weis? He’s actually been worse. Zenger brought David Beaty to Kansas soon after the 2014 season ended. A position coach under both Mangino and Gill, and
coming off his last job at Texas A&M, Beaty exuded positivity from the day he was hired. He came in with grandiose goals of restoring the high-flying offenses and stout defenses that had taken Kansas to three bowl games between 2005-08. He admired, and even coached, several of the most prolific players in Kansas history. A man familiar with the Jayhawk football program, Beaty seemed like he could be the answer to the woes that consistently plagued Kansas since Mangino was fired. Fast forward two and a half years to today. Beaty is now 3-31, fresh off a 42-27 loss at the hands of the Texas Longhorns that could have been a win if not for a series of coaching missteps.
Last season, Kansas miraculously beat Texas in overtime for Beaty’s only victory against an FBS school. But without six Texas turnovers in 2016, Kansas would be going on three years without an FBS win. And while Weis undoubtedly left the football roster and the team’s culture a mess, that is an unacceptable lack of progress. In a Kansas City Star article from Big 12 football media day in July, Beaty told writer Sam Mellinger that this was the year he expected to see dividends begin to pay off for the Jayhawks. “We know that in year three and year four we have to be more than competitive,” Beaty said. “We have to start getting over that hump and winning games.” Instead, the current Jayhawks team is arguably
the worst of Beaty’s tenure — including his first squad in 2015, who didn’t win a game. They haven’t even come close to Beaty’s goal of being “more than competitive,” and seem to be regressing with each game. Beaty said year three is when fans could expect tangible progress. Instead, Kansas has lost to two teams from nonPower Five conferences, been shut out in two consecutive Big 12 games — one of which saw them gain only 21 total yards — and lost by 29 at home to a winless Baylor team with a heavily depleted number of scholarship players. Coaches in all sports get fired for this level of performance. Beaty should not be any different. What’s most important for the future of Kansas
MAJOR HIRES MADE BY KANSAS ATHLETICS DIRECTOR SHEAHON ZENGER
CHARLIE WEIS Football Record: 6-2 (1-18 Big 12)
Source: Kansas Athletics
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Coach David Beaty watches from the sidelines against Ohio on Sept. 10, 2016.
CLINT BOWEN (INTERIM) Football Record: 1-7 (1-7 Big 12)
DAVID BEATY Football Record: 3-31 (1-24 Big 12)
BRANDON SCHNEIDER Women’s Basketball Record: 14-47 (2-44 Big 12)
“I won’t sleep,” Beaty told a crowd of 16,000 in Allen Fieldhouse shortly after his hiring, “until we give you something to be proud of.” It’s been a restless three years. And it’s time to move on. Kansan Editorial Board
football is that Zenger — who was brought to Kansas specifically to fix the football program and has touted himself as a “football guy” since he was hired in 2011 — doesn’t get the chance to hire a third coach. Weis and Beaty have proven that the intangible qualities Zenger looks for in coaches don’t translate to any success. While Zenger has served Kansas’ non-revenue sports — volleyball, track and field, and cross country, among others — well, it was clear from the beginning he had one job at the University: fix the football program. Zenger’s two permanent hires to lead the Jayhawk football team have won nine games in six seasons. Beaty has a lower winning percentage in more games coached than both Weis and Gill. Apathy toward the program as a whole is at an all-time high. Attendance at the most recent home game, an embarrassing 38-9 loss to previously winless Baylor, was announced as
21,797 — less than half the capacity of Memorial Stadium — and was likely less than that. Simply put, Kansas fans cannot support the football program in its current state, and they frankly shouldn’t be expected to. This University deserves better. And Zenger and Beaty, while both wellintentioned, aren’t the answer to fixing the seemingly insurmountable problems facing Kansas football. “I won’t sleep,” Beaty told a crowd of 16,000 in Allen Fieldhouse shortly after his hiring, “until we give you something to be proud of.” It’s been a restless three years. And it’s time to move on.
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Conner Mitchell, Ryan Liston, Omar Sanchez and Mitch Tamblyn.
— Edited by Chandler Boese
news
Monday, November 13, 2017
staff NEWS MANAGEMENT
Editor-in-chief Conner Mitchell
Survey on tobacco ban launched A University professor will measure students, faculty and staff’s opinions prior to the campus going tobacco-free in fall 2018. The survey will be repeated after the ban goes in effect.
Managing editor Omar Sanchez
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Digital operations editor Brady Maguire
Associate Professor Derek Reed launched the survey for all University students, faculty and staff on Tuesday following the announcement of the ban of the use of tobacco on campus beginning in the fall of 2018. “We are interested in how you – the students, faculty, and staff of KU – feel about tobacco use at the university as well as in your personal lives in order to establish a baseline of viewpoints for later assessment of tobacco use after the policy has been implemented,� Reed said in the email sent to the campus. Savanna Cox, president of Breathe Easy at KU, a group dedicated to promoting a tobacco-free community at the University, believes the survey will provide useful information on how students, staff and faculty feel in regards to tobacco on campus and the recent policy change. “Speaking from my personal interactions with the student body in regards to
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the policy change, I think that a majority of the responses are enthusiastic about a tobacco free campus,� Cox said. “I think there still is a percentage of the population that has concerns and are not in favor of the policy change and we have tried to remain sensitive and open to all opinions in order to make the transition to a tobacco-free campus a smooth one.� The survey is voluntary to anyone at the University and will run until Thanksgiving break. According to Director of News and Media Relations Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, the plan is to conduct a similar survey each fall for the next few years “to determine the degree to which the policy is creating positive change,� she said in an email to the Kansan. Reed and Barcomb-Peterson both declined multiple interview requests. Cox, a junior majoring in exercise science on the pre-medicine track, also said that she believed the tobacco ban on campus was long overdue, after
Kansan file photo KU’s campus will go tobacco-free in fall 2018. One University professor is planning to study members of the campus both before and after it goes into effect. working for it since January 2016. Breathe Easy has been pushing for a tobacco-free campus since 2013 by conducting surveys of their own, working closely with University Senate executives, and securing a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to assist in implementing a ban on tobacco. “While it is hard to bal-
ance personal rights with the safety and well-being of our campus environment and everyone within it, I believe this to be a change that will positively impact a vast majority of the KU population,� Cox said. Cox also mentioned that the members of Breathe Easy along with Watkins Health Center are “eager to serve as a support� to any
student trying to end a tobacco addiction, as well as supply them with various resources. According to Barcomb-Peterson, data from the survey will likely not be available until spring 2018.
— Edited by Paige Henderson
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Pro-life event aimed at ‘Lies Feminist Tell’
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Jayhawks for Life, a prolife group at the University that believes “life has value in all stages, from birth to natural death,� will host an event next week featuring the president of a national organization with a mission to “abolish abortion in our lifetime.� In the discussion, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, will speak about abortion, feminism and more. The event is part of Hawkins’ national tour, “Lies Feminists Tell.� “Even having these discussions are extremely controversial and people get heated. And it’s hard to even have these discussions because a lot of them are personal, but these are discussions that need to be had in our nation,� Hawkins said. This year, Jayhawks for Life has been working with the national organization, which has provided resources and networking opportunities, according to group president Maya Hubbs, a sophomore from Highland, Illinois. “They do a lot of awesome things, I guess, in the pro-life world,� Hubbs said. “So I thought it was important that we work closely with them.� Marin Brown, a freshman from Leawood, is the coordinator for Pregnant on Campus — Jayhawks for Life’s initiative that works to help “make pregnancy and parenting plausible for women.� She said she has worked with Students for Life of
Contributed photo from Kristan Hawkins Kristan Hawkins, president of the Students for Life of America, will be speaking at the University on Thursday. America in the past when she started a pro-life group at her high school, St. Teresa’s Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. She has also served as a Stevens Fellow for the organization — a fellowship that helps prepare students to become pro-life advocates at the college level, she said. Brown said she is excited to hear Hawkins speak at the University. “She has been someone who I’ve looked up to for a long time and then someone who I’ve just known, and so I’m excited to go and see her talk,� she said.
Both Hubbs and Brown said they consider themselves to be pro-life feminists. Hubbs described the title of the tour as “out there� and Brown described it as “very hard.� However, they both recognized that it grabs people’s attention. Hawkins said she will be talking about the “lies of mainstream feminism.� These lies, she said, center on consequences of sex
outside of committed relationships, contraception, abortion and more. While Hawkins said she does not have a problem with people identifying as pro-life feminists, she said she no longer calls herself a feminist, like she did in the past. “Because mainstream feminism has been so corrupted, many people just don’t even want to use that label. So today I probably wouldn’t call myself that,� she said, “and I think that’s sad.� Instead, Hawkins is more concerned about making sure people recognize that the pro-life movement is “pro-woman,� she said. “I actually think we have a long way to go in the prolife movement of making sure when people hear that word they understand that means we are pro-mother and pro-child, pro-woman and pro-life,� she said. Hawkins said she has not been to the University before, and is unsure if people will protest the event, but she does anticipate having people in the audience with opinions that differ from her own. “Anyone is certainly welcome to come out and hear what I have to say and to ask me questions,� she said, “because I think this is a discussion that’s important and it’s worth having in our country and we simply can’t stop talking about these things because they’re hard to talk about.�
Hubbs said she hopes that people will come engage in dialogue at the event, regardless of their views. “I think it’s important for people to realize that you can have conversations about abortion without arguing,� she said. Ian Ballinger, a junior from Topeka, is planning to attend the discussion. While Ballinger is not affiliated with either group and does not speak on behalf of any group at the University, he said he considers himself to be pro-life. He decided to attend the event, he said, because conservative viewpoints are not always represented at the University. “KU is a generally more liberal campus [and] there aren’t a lot of conservative voices being heard at KU,� he said. Ballinger said he believes that students should attend events that may counter their personal views. “I honestly think that the entire point of institutes of higher education is to foster an environment for different viewpoints [and] diverse viewpoints,� he said. The discussion is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. in room 201 of the St. Lawrence Catholic Center. While the event is being held there, Jayhawks for Life is not affiliated with the Catholic Church.
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New chief talks police conduct, outreach
Lawrence Chief of Police Gregory Burns Jr. believes in maintaining good community relations, especially given recent issues of violence.
Savanna Smith/KANSAN
KATIE BERNARD @KatieJ_Bernard
factors that drive violence in any community and the hardest thing is the police can’t police anyone’s morality. If you think that it’s okay to go and shoot a gun in a crowd of people, then you’re going to think that’s okay and that’s going to happen whether I’ve got a hundred officers within a block or whether I’ve got only two officers on that block. That is the hardest thing to combat in policing because there’s so many driving factors. I can tell you, coming from a city where we were working a double homicide and then someone came up and shot and killed somebody in the same block where you’ve got about 30 or 40 police officers, that showed me that day that it doesn’t matter how many officers that you have somewhere, if someone is determined to do something they don’t care about the consequences and they’re going to do it.
Gregory Burns Jr. didn’t know what to expect when he took the position as police chief for the Lawrence Police Department. Coming from Louisville, Kentucky, he understood the dynamic of a college town, but not Lawrence itself. Sitting in a cluttered conference room in LPD’s main offices, Burns spoke candidly with the Kansan on everything from town safety to the relationship between KU and LPD. After a lengthy selection process, the city announced the hiring of Burns in August of this year. The decision made him the city’s first African American police chief in over a century. Burns was sworn in on Oct. 2, the day after a shooting in downtown Lawrence left three dead. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. KANSAN: How would you characterize the safety of Lawrence? Gregory Burns: I think the safety of Lawrence is good. Obviously everybody’s perspective on safety is going to be different depending on who you are and whether you’re the police department or the city government or just a regular citizen but it’s all about perspective. I think that the men and women of this police department, from what I have observed so far, work very hard and we have some great investigators who do a fantastic job. All of that is part of what goes into making this city a better place to live, work, learn and play. KANSAN: What are your main priorities in your position as police chief for
Lawrence? Burns: Obviously my main priority is the safety and security of the citizens and of the visitors to this community. The number one job of any police department is to prevent and control crime so when you’re doing your job you also have to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens. And then I would say that number two would be improving police-community relations. Besides the men and women that do the work every day in this police department, the citizens are also a vital part of that because they’re another piece of the puzzle. And you have to try and sustain relationships in order to be successful on that ground because we can investigate crimes, we can make arrests but without the assistance and input of the citizens we couldn’t do our job.
utes to emphasize with you because your car’s been broken into or your home’s been broken into that is also a part of community policing, letting people know that you care. I think sometimes people think there’s a planet that all of the police go off on and they live all together and you have to remember you know police live in this community. They have kids that go to school in this community, they go to the same churches and stores, so they’re part of the community and I want our officers to remember that, each and every day, when they go out. So that’s just something simple, when somebody speaks to you make sure that you speak back, make sure that you say hi, let people know that you’re approachable. Those simple things are big part of improving interactions.
“... I expect everybody to treat people with dignity and respect both inside and outside the police department.” Gregory Burns Jr. Lawrence chief of police
KANSAN: What are your plans to achieve that goal? Burns: I think that we work on achieving that goal every day in every encounter that you have with any citizen. When you think about improving involvement and making that better I think sometimes too many people look at the big picture. I look at the little concise picture. Every interaction that every member of this police department has every day with somebody is very important and very vital. If I just take an extra five min-
“It doesn’t matter what race you are, what religion or color you are, I expect everybody to treat people with dignity and respect both inside and outside the police department.” KANSAN: Shortly before you started in Lawrence, a citizen review board was approved by city commission. How do you expect that board to work effectively with the department? Burns: I think that the way that it’s set up the board will work effectively with the police department be-
cause they’ll be looking at things that citizens may have questions on or may not be content within the police department. I think whenever you have citizen involvement it’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing. I think that it’s important, it is vital to the success of the community and the police department. As long as the citizens are engaged and they’re trained on what they’re doing I think it can only be a positive thing. KANSAN: There has been nationwide concern over the past couple months and years in regards to police conduct, especially in regards to unjust treatment towards people of color. How do you intend to address that in Lawrence? Burns: Obviously I’m African American so I’m sensitive to things like that but I expect everyone to do their job. It doesn’t matter what race you are, what religion or color you are, I expect everybody to treat people with dignity and respect both inside and outside the police department. I know that that is a concern but I think with the citizens, they need to know I’ve arrived from the outside so I really don’t have any vested interest in anything besides making sure that this is the best police department that it can be and this is the best city that it can be. Rest assured that I want to always make sure that we do what I perceive to be the right thing. Now, it may not always align with everybody, but I hope that the worst thing that can happen is people tend to agree to disagree and we don’t have to be disagreeable about it. To me it’s not about color it’s about right and wrong and the officers that serve this police department are going to do the
right thing. KANSAN: You were sworn in the day after a shooting occurred downtown, there has been speculation since then that that shooting was gang related. Can you address those rumors as well as where you are in that investigation? Burns: I will say that the investigation is ongoing and for that reason I really can’t get into discussing it, obviously because it’s in the early stages and judicial proceedings are still going on. But it was a definitely a tragic situation that shouldn’t happen in any community. The loss of one life is tragic enough. When you lose three in one time that wasn’t only traumatic to the city, that was traumatic to the officers that was there... And obviously the thing about violence is, as you probably know, there are many determining
opinion Monday, November 13, 2017
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or in the Free For All section on Kansan.com
FFA of the Day: *Works on paper for three hours, types a page* You all know how it is “Can I have a toasted white caramel mocha frappe?” -Girl at Starbucks (Verbatim) Today I’m trying the strategy of drinking 2 cups of coffee before a test to see if that will make up for not studying “i would vote for [michelle obama] based simply on the premise she could bench me” Some squirrels can live up to 12 years. That means there are squirrels that are older than my youngest brother... crazy “I admire you.” “Don’t.” finds a comfy spot between a trashcan and the wall to sleep “I thought it was a spider but it was my own hair.” I️ think it’s a record that I️ showed up for a meeting 24 hours late. “I don’t think Ive cried yet today. I dunno. Have I cried today?” just saw a guy outside my building smoking a blunt and playing Pokémon Go “Someone changed the thermostat to 65. It was probably me, so screw drunk me” Who do I contact if I still don’t have 280 characters “when i die i want my soul to be condensed into vape juice” why did i look at my timehop on election day now im crying on the bus “So that was drunk me last night, I was like, ‘Taco Bell?’ And they were like, ‘We’re playing beer pong. Go away.’” Buzzfeed told me my cat was part of House Bolton, and I have never been more livid! “I want to go on a three-bottles-ofchampagne date and have breakfast.” My dog hates it when I dance and repeat his name, but I love it!!! “How do you apply to be a Russian diplomat? Is it online?”
K A N S A N .C O M /O P I N I O N
Nussbaum: DeVos policies discriminate JADEN NUSSBAUM @Jaden_Nussbaum Many will agree that the current federal government is unprecedented in its chaotic methodology of establishing civic order. However jaded the politics of previous years may have been, there was at least a sense of grace in how we handled our domestic tranquility. Today, that is not the case, as the highest levels of U.S. government have displayed blatant disregard for how government communicates its action and intent to its people. It’s hard to organize all of the policy information thrown at us on a day-to-day basis, and it’s even more difficult for us as citizens to decipher which federal misdeeds deserve the most attention. I believe an important factor of our societal wellbeing finds itself under attack by the very people who are supposedly sworn to promote its benefits. That factor is the public education system. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is a billionaire, school-choice proponent from the state of Michigan. She never attended a public school and neither did her children. Yet, she still is the highest authority over a system she has never promoted or had interaction with. Although I believe DeVos has good intentions, there has been no evidence of her status as an openminded public servant as opposed to an ideologue with a predisposed attitude for policy implementation shrouded by prior personal beliefs. I believe she is putting one step ahead of the other by fervently advocating for a system change that is not universally applicable or needed. “Right of preference” is the rallying cry wielded by school-choice policy proponents. Their goal is to see that citizens be empowered to freely choose the educational establishment that works best for them, whether that be a private, public or
Associated Press Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks during a dinner hosted by the Washington Policy Center in Belleue, Wash. charter school. The idea behind school choice is sound, but the timeliness and desired mode of achieving this goal have little to no basis or support through objective evidence. DeVos and her bunch plan to disperse federal funds to usurp tax dollars normally allotted for public education and to invest them in what are called school-choice vouchers, which are then sent to parents as means of affording private or charter schools. Why is this a problem? Timeliness. We live in the United States in 2017, a time where discrepancies between the rich and poor are unparalleled to any previous era. To make matters worse, the discrepancies between the classes exist under an even more ominous system in which poverty is heavily concentrated in minority communities. The public education system is already terribly underfunded, and schools are struggling across the country. A school-choice-minded policy venture would take money from a system that
is already doing its best with the resources it has been given. We know this because of DeVos’ recent budget proposals, which includes huge cuts to the public education budget. Private schools, the sole beneficiaries of school choice, are mostly located in affluent, white neighborhoods.
“It takes a cautious governing body to correctly identify what needs to be fixed in our society.”
So in a circumstance where DeVos gets her way, and we do witness this transfer of funds, public schools in minority areas that are already struggling will see their funding slashed to a near inoperable level while those in white, affluent areas will have the convenient option of private schooling.
Essentially, this policy venture poses the risk of stripping poor and minority communities of their only mode of education and leaving them with nothing. Aside from financial and communal unity, this policy venture also disrupts the idea that government should not support any establishment of religion. Not all private schools are religious, but DeVos has made it clear that federal vouchers are okay to use for theologically based educational institutions. Using federal funds to support religious establishments should be an obvious ethical violation of the separation of church and state, although it is argued by school-choice proponents to be constitutionally sound. All in all, education is a pillar of our society. The openness and unity of how we educate our people directly reflects the openness and unity of our society. DeVos has experimented with school-choice policies in Michigan, and every fear of public school proponents came to life. Lower test scores in poor communities,
less funding for public schools and a continuation of racial discrepancies have all been observed. Education policy is a complex topic because of how education and class intersect. It takes a cautious governing body to correctly identify what needs to be fixed in our society. For us to move to a system like that of school choice, we would have to live in a society in which there is little to no class discrepancy, racial justice and proper infrastructure for the implementation of these new policies. We very obviously have not achieved any of these things, and DeVos has shown no sign of slowing down to make sure she isn’t behaving like a bull in a china shop. Education is a fundamental right for all human beings, and, until we live in a society where each individual walks on even terrain, school choice is implausible because of the lack of infrastructure for implementation and class discrepancies.
Jaden Nussbaum is a junior from Rose Hill studying psychology and education.
Hendrickson: Local election move necessary WYATT HENDRICKSON @WRH_KU Kansas has struggled with voter turnout in local elections. In order to break this trend, the recent Kansas elections were part of an experiment by Secretary of State Kris Kobach. The Secretary of State had the local elections moved from April to the typical election date of Nov. 7. All early indications siggest that this move boosted registered voter turnout. According to the Douglas County elections website, registered voter turnout was about 5.7 percent higher than the comparable elec-
tion in April 2015. Likewise, in Topeka their election results saw a similar increase in voter turnout of 5.1 percent, according to unofficial results from Charlee Bonczkowski, a board worker for the Shawnee County Election Office. Although a 5.7 percent increase does not sound like a major increase in registered voter participation, it is substantial considering registered voter turnout for the 2017 local election was still under 25 percent. Other counties had the same problem. This is problematic because a small portion of the electorate is choosing local
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officials who run the most substantial portion of the U.S. government. According to an article in the KLC Journal, one vote in the 2015 Olathe mayoral election had an equivalent of 21,701 presidential votes in 2016. Local elections struggle with turnout because voters do not hear as much about local elections as the state and federal elections, which occur in even number years. Additionally, most of the positions in local elections are not as high-profile as the statewide and federal positions because of the limited scopes of the constituencies for those positions. At a minimum, Kansas
“All early indications suggest that this move boosted registered voter turnout.” needs to permanently move the local elections to Nov. 7. There is no reason not to since it appears to have increased voter turnout considerably. However, if Kansas combined the state, federal and local elections into the current state and federal cycle, it would also drastically increase voter participation in the local elections without much additional effort from election officials. Additionally, voters are more engaged in federal election years so
contact us Conner Mitchell Editor-in-chief cmitchell@kansan.com
Mitch Tamblyn Business Manager mtamblyn@kansan.com
they are more likely to research candidates and keep up with politics. In a society where voter turnout has been lagging, it makes sense to embrace the positive changes that Kobach has made to reverse that trend, especially when those changes are easily made and well-executed.
Wyatt Hendrickson is a junior from Olathe studying civil engineering.
editorial board
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Conner Mitchell, Omar Sanchez, Ryan Liston and Mitch Tamblyn.
arts & culture Monday, November 13, 2017
K A N S A N .C O M /A R T S A N D C U LT U R E
Mitch George/KANSAN Army veterans Dennis Greenfield, 71, Ernie Richardson, 74, and Tom Patson, 72, lead the Veterans Day Parade procession down Massachusetts Street on Saturday.
Mitch George/KANSAN A medic vehicle makes its way down Massachusetts Street.
Veterans Day parade returns after 89 years MITCH GEORGE @MitchLGeorge The last time Lawrence hosted a Veterans Day parade, in 1968, Dennis Greenfield, Ernie Richardson and Tom Patson were enlisted in the United States Army. Greenfield was in training, Richardson was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado and Patson was deployed in Vietnam. On Saturday, with each of the three being over 70 years old, the trio comprised the color guard that led the parade procession down Massachusetts Street for the first time in nearly 50
years. “You know, we missed the last one,” Richardson said. “So it means a lot.” Despite the gloomy weather, approximately 300 veterans, families, police officers and military support organizations made their way from Seventh Street to South Park. The parade included marching soldiers, military humvees, transport vehicles, civilian vehicles and a tank. “It’s just one of those things that I think is very important for our country, for our communities and for each other,” parade coordinator Kim Murphree
said. “The stories that we’ve heard from our vets and how much this means to them, it just fills my heart.” Murphree, whose father and uncle both served in World War II, had been planning the parade since March and intends to make the parade an annual event. The veterans that participated represented all branches of the military. Their service campaigns included World War II, the Korean War, the Bosnian War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. Max Qurke, whose father was in the parade and
served in both the Gulf War and the Iraq war, was in attendance to watch him march. “It’s really cool to see him in [the parade] and to know that I’m in a military family and have a relationship with them,” the 14-year-old said. The day after he graduated from Lawrence High School in 1945, 89-yearold George Taylor caught a train to New York to become a Merchant Marine and serve in the Coast Guard. After this stint of service, he returned to Lawrence and received a geography degree from the University in 1952.
Following his college graduation, he once again left Lawrence, this time to join the Army. After receiving little commendation for his efforts at the time, Taylor marched in the parade and garnered the appreciation that he deserves. “I got on the train twice
— the day after I graduated from high school and a month after I graduated from KU,” Taylor said. “I really think nobody ever said, ‘thanks,’ so they’re saying ‘thanks,’ today, and I think it’s great.”
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) Keep costs down with home renovations or repairs. Family matters have your attention. Imagine everything working out perfectly. Provide leadership and a positive attitude.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) Postpone financial discussions. Misunderstandings spark especially easily. Avoid distractions or silly arguments. Escape somewhere peaceful and take care of business. Profits are available.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) Hide into your cocoon to weave your magic. Peace and quiet feed your spirit. Think about what you want and prepare to spread your wings.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) Focus on a professional goal or deadline despite distractions or misunderstandings. Patient persistence wins out. Your influence is on the rise.
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) Creativity flows. Others may demand quick action but rushing a job could cause costly mistakes. Edit your work carefully. Slow and steady wins the race.
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) Consider a new style. Let go of a personal limitation and try something new. Polish your image and presentation. Have fun with it.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) Keep a low profile. Keep to yourself and you can make great progress with a community project. Gather information. Coordinate efforts privately.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) Traffic could present unexpected delays. Find a spot to sit and admire the view. It’s not a good time to gamble. Journal your discoveries.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) Do the homework before presenting to your partner. Anticipate some disagreement on money matters. Get your numbers together and get expert support. Adjust to changes.
“It’s just one of those things that I think is very important for our country, for our communities and for each other.” Kim Murphree parade coordinator
— Edited by Gabrielle Cinnamon
horoscopes ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) Talk about what you love, and remain forgiving with miscommunications. Ignore false rumors and gossip. Listen to the emotional undercurrent. Follow your heart. TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) Romance beckons. Set aside an old fear. Don’t go along with something if you don’t agree. Fantasies can prove flimsy. Follow your intuition.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) Support each other quietly for least fuss. Ignore criticism or worries for now. A long-term goal is within view. Don’t waste time arguing. Patiently keep showing up.
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Photos by Missy Minear/KANSAN John Niswonger is a stained-glass artist who is inspired by sci-fi, horror films and the natural world.
Artist reignites passion for stained-glass Kansas native John Niswonger is classically trained in illustration and painting, but has turned his casual hobby of creating ecelctic stained glass work into a career BRIANNA CHILDERS @Breeanuhh3 When local stainedglass artist John Niswonger first got his hands on pieces of scrap stained glass, he wasn’t quite sure what direction he was going to take it. Since then, Niswonger has created a collection that contains a wide variety of items, ranging from candle holders and mobiles to a skateboard with a screaming hand logo and a portrait of Leatherface, the iconic character from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” “Stained glass is something I kind of fell into and I haven’t even begun
to scratch the surface of things I want to make,” he said. The amount of time Niswonger spends on a piece ranges. For a pair of earrings, it takes about an hour, but to make a piece like his Leatherface portrait, it can take around 40 hours. While living in Colorado, he had made stainedglass pendants with pressed flowers in them. He said that since pendants are small, it was a pretty easy task to complete. After moving back to Lawrence for a time, he started working at a friend’s skate shop and stopped working with
stained glass. He currently lives in McLouth in a house in the woods. He redeveloped his love for the art when his father started doing stained glass as a hobby after he retired. His father, who did patterned windows, gave Niswonger a box of scraps, and he decided to work with it. Niswonger, who graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute with a degree in illustration and painting in 1992, said he never thought about stainedglass art in college since it was more of a hobby. Niswonger said he takes requests from people who want a specific item, such as a portrait of their pet,
but he also comes up with many ideas himself, like the Leatherface portrait. “I do mobiles, and I like to use old coat hangers for that, old scrap wire, and I like to incorporate bones and other trash really,” he said. “We find roadkill, and the dogs drag home deer bones all the time.” He also sells some of his pieces in Lawrence stores, including accessories store Striped Cow. Libby Gard, a buyer for the Striped Cow, said that the store has around 50 of Niswonger’s pieces, ranging from mobiles, candle vases, pendants, and earrings. “There is always something unexpected about
it, the colors of the chakra or the different animal bones,” Gard said. Gard said what she thinks people love about his pieces is that they’re local, one-of-a-kind, and they stand out. “We are a newer store, and we really wanted to get some local art, and Nish has a wide range of pieces,” she said. “I have had some of his stuff for a couple years, earrings, and that was something everyone has commented on.” Niswonger said he likes to play with many of different colors but that he has always liked earth tones, such as blues and greens.
“I have been making space scenes, which is a lot of black, but light can’t go through it at all, except where you cut out where a planet would be,” he said. “I think all colors are my favorite.” Much of Niswonger's stained-glass scrap comes from a store in Kansas City called Bearden’s. He said he hopes that people buy his art and just enjoy it. “Have something they can hang in their window, brighten their day a little,” he said. “If that’s what it does, then it makes me so happy.” — Edited by Gabrielle Cinnamon
Flag art installations to spark cultural dialogue REBEKAH LODOS @rebekahlodos
Above Spooner Hall flies a piece of art by Yoko Ono: a series of statements on a white flag that ends with the imperative, “IMAGINE PEACE.” Ono’s work, part of a public arts project funded by New York nonprofit
Creative Time titled “Pledges of Allegiance,” is the first of many flags to be hoisted at the University. The installation was first displayed on Thursday and will continue until June 30, 2018, with the sponsorship of The Commons and the Spencer Museum of Art. “The works in ‘Pledges of Allegiance’ raise
“I hope students will be thinking about issues that are important to them, and how they might be in respectful exchange with others.” Joey Orr assistant curator
significant topics that affect human life, within a framework of bringing people together in discussion,” said Emily Ryan, director of The Commons at Spooner Hall. “We hope that the installation will help to spark dialogue about the issues represented on the flags.” Ryan said that, beyond discussions about the explicit themes, she hopes the display will also provoke dialogue about what flags, as cultural symbols, represent to us. Joey Orr, assistant curator for research at the museum, was an advocate for bringing the project to the University. Orr said one motivation
for the museum’s involvement was to join other arts venues across the nation in supporting an open marketplace of ideas, which, he said, is an essential feature of a research university. “I personally hope that students, faculty, staff, and members of our larger community will enjoy the broad range of visual statements created by some very interesting contemporary artists,” Orr said in an email. The flag series came to the University less than a week after several posters were found on campus with the phrase “It’s okay to be white.” Fourteen sites all over the country are taking
part in the “Pledges of Allegiance” project. Outside Creative Time’s headquarters, a flag will fly until next year. On the nonprofit’s website, Artistic Director Nato Thompson said the flag represents a symbolic space. “We realized we needed a space to resist that was defined not in opposition to a symbol, but in support of one,” Thompson said. Orr said he hopes the flags will inspire students to do work that enriches “a diversity of perspectives.” “I hope students will be thinking about issues that are important to them, and how they might be in respectful exchange with others,” Orr said.
According to Orr, 10 other artists will be featured in the spot outside Spooner Hall over the next few months. The Commons will host events to discuss the flags’ themes as part of their “Framing the Dialogue” series. “That is exactly the type of thing The Commons strives to do in creating a platform for all perspectives,” Ryan said. “To consider important topics in new and different ways.” — Edited by Wesley Dotson
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1959 play parallels modern US politics
TAYLOR LIMOGES @taylor_limoges
Local theater specialist Ric Averill is directing Lawrence theater yet again, with a production of “Rhinoceros” for University Theatre next week. The Broadway production of the play received a Tony Award in 1961. “Rhinoceros” highlights government systems including totalitarianism, xenophobia and fascism. Averill said there is no better time for this play, as the U.S. is currently experiencing these issues, although playwright Eugène Ionesco wrote the work in reaction to the rise of fascism in Romania. “Rhinoceros was a classic of the absurdist theater movement that was written in the 1950s,” Averill said. The play takes place in France and follows a character named Berenger, who is a bit of a mess, as displayed through his heavy drinking. His friend meets him at a cafe to tell him to clean up his act. During their chat, a rhinoceros tramples through the town. As the play progresses, everyone except Berenger turns into a rhinoceros, which Averill said is a metaphor for ideological conformity. In other words, Berenger is the last man standing. The show is also a metaphor for the Trump administration, according to Averill. The main actor even wears a “Make America Great Again” hat for the entirety of the show. “It’s comedic, political and revolutionary,” Averill said. The production is estimated to be just over an hour long with no intermission. Senior Josh Philoon
“Rhinoceros,” translated from playwright Eugène Ionesco’s Romanian play, is KU Theatre’s latest production. plays Berenger. He said the show is thought-provoking and was created for the purpose of making the audience think. “Everything meshes with our current political climate,” Philoon said.
“Here we are, half a century later, grappling with these problems again.” Thanks to theater professor Mark Reaney, the production includes contemporary digital and visual imagery. Media such as
political cartoons, tweets and podcasts are featured throughout the performance. Averill said the play upholds a very smart type of humor. “It’s droll humor,” Averill
said. “It’s smart humor — it’s smart comedy.” Showtimes include Nov. 14 to 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Murphy Hall’s William Inge Memorial Theater. Tickets are available at the Murphy Hall box office,
Contributed photo
online and over the phone at both the Lied Center and the University Theatre.
— Edited by Chandler Boese
Metalsmithing artist fuses science, culture in work
NATALIE TURNER @KansanNews For Angela Li, the artwork she creates in class differs from the artwork she does at home. In the classroom, her primary focus is creating jewelry pieces, and at home, her focus is on graphite and ink drawings. She makes her unique work by drawing inspiration from cultures around the world. Li, a junior metalsmithing student, said the unique thing about her artwork is the fusion of different cultures that inspire her with an occasional fantastical element. Her inspiration comes from art and motifs of other cultures, including her own, as she is a Chinese-American. She has also borrowed elements from Celtic motifs and Egyptian symbols. Li said she believes that Lawrence has a unique community of young, developing artists that bring fresh ideas and new twists to unconventional materials. Sydney Weese-Hinton, who has been friends with Li for about a year, said Li’s dedication and passion for what she does extends beyond the classroom. “We connected through our artwork immediately. We are about as far apart on the art spectrum as it gets.
“However, Angela bleeds creativity, and it is immediately obvious and appealing.” Sydney Weese-Hinton friend
Contributed photo University metalsmithing student Angel Li makes jewelry inspired by her love of science and other cultures. She works with hard metal; I work with soft fabric,” Weese-Hinton said. “However, Angela bleeds creativity, and it is immediately obvious and appealing. Metalwork, just as an art field, is ridiculously cool.” Weese-Hinton said Li’s metalworks take advantage of the edginess of metals, but take the form of dainty scarabs or bronze jewelry.
Since Li has an interest in science as well as art, Weese-Hinton said there is a certain meticulousness to her pieces that is evident in the clean lines and solid compositions. Li is also a cosplayer and makes all of her own costumes and accessories. Li has been drawing since she could hold a pencil, but she only recently considered
herself an artist who makes thoughtful and meaningful pieces. “I was an absolutely incorrigible child, drawing all over the walls and on any surface I could reach.” Li said. Li took drawing lessons from age 7 to 12, where she learned the basics of still life and perspective, as well as watercolors, graphite and
charcoal. However, she said it wasn’t until she took a jewelry and metals class in high school that she truly fell in love with making art. Last year, Li participated in Inktober, which is a worldwide 31-day drawing challenge for any artist to improve inking skills and develop positive drawing habits, but was not able to participate this year. Last
year she was consistent and made it nearly throughout the entire month. Li said she thinks Inktober is a great way for artists all over the world to share their pieces, be challenged, and improve their skills. “Last year, I felt that throughout the month, I would get faster at creating sketches and coming up with ideas, and I think my drawing speed overall improved,” Li said. “Though I have been inconsistent with Inktober this year, I do keep up with many other artists on Instagram and Tumblr who do participate; it is such a joy and learning experience to see the other artists posting their work.” After graduation, Li intends to apply for medical school. If accepted, Li plans to become a physician. Li wants to continue doing her artwork on the side, as a change of pace and frame of mind.
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Graham controls offense in first win In response to Tennessee State’s plan to keep him from shooting, Devonte’ Graham created excellent ball movement Friday night, racking up a career-high 12 assists. SHAUN GOODWIN @ShaunGoodwinUDK Running across the Jayhawk paint in the middle of the Allen Fieldhouse court, senior guard Devonte’ Graham looked directly toward the set of fans to his right. As a pair of Tennessee State guards dropped their hands, Graham whipped a no-look pass in between them and into the hands of senior guard Svi Mykhailiuk. Graham simply wheeled away in the direction he was already looking, not even aware that Mykhailiuk had made the layup. “Yeah, he’ll do that, he’ll do that from time to time,” Kansas coach Bill Self said with a laugh. Graham finished the night three rebounds shy of a triple-double, posting 10 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the Jayhawks’ 92-56 win over Tennessee State. The performance saw Graham improve on an already impressive exhibition slate, which saw him average 19.3 points, six assists and 3.3 rebounds in the Jayhawks’ three games. On Friday night, Tennessee State’s game plan was to keep Graham away from shooting the ball,
Missy Minear/KANSAN Senior guard Devonte’ Graham feeds the ball inside during the first half against Tennessee State on Friday. Graham had 10 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists in Kansas’ 92-56 victory. in hopes it could stand a fighting chance. Refusing to lie down, Graham instead produced a career-high 12 assists. “He’s such a good ball handler, he doesn’t see the guy that’s guarding him,” said Tennessee coach Dana Ford. Graham was a vital part of play throughout the majority of the
first half, taking part in some of the prettiest ball movement the Jayhawks have produced this year. Playing 18 minutes in the first half, Graham put himself on course for a triple-double, scoring all 10 of his points, as well as four rebounds and five assists. But with just 13 minutes of the play in the second half, Graham
could only produce a double-double — the first of his career. Although Self wanted him to get more points in the second half, Graham was happy to dish the ball to his teammates, taking just one shot and collecting a further seven assists. “It felt good,” Graham said. “I love sharing the
ball and getting guys open shots. If I do my job getting downhill and the help comes, I’ll try and make the right play every time, and guys just making shots make me look good.” Graham’s main outlet was junior guard Lagerald Vick, who made 13 of his 23 points in the second half.
“It feels good to see everybody making shots and to get the crowd involved,” Vick said. “It definitely makes us look good as a team.” The Jayhawks will now travel to Chicago to take on Kentucky in the 2017 Champions Classic on Tuesday. The game is set for an 8:30 p.m. tip-off at the United Center.
Preston misses game due to illegally parked car WESLEY DOTSON @WesDotsonUDK An illegally parked car prevented Kansas freshman Billy Preston from making his official debut against Tennessee State on Friday night. Preston, who recorded 11 points and three rebounds in Tuesday night’s exhibition game against Fort Hays State, was held out of the Jayhawks’ season-opening game against the Tigers after missing curfew Thursday night and then class the next day. After Kansas’ 9256 win over Tennessee State, Self said there was one point in the night on Thursday that he had dinner with Preston. “Last night curfew was 10 p.m., and we fed them and everything,” Self said. “Then he missed class today because he had to go get his car because when he got in last night after curfew, he had to park it illegally.” On the other hand, Self said he was pleased with the fact that Preston was straightforward about the situation prior to tipoff against the Tigers. “The great thing about Billy was, he just told us,” Self said. “It was right before warmups, and I said, ‘Hey, uh, did you miss class today? And so he told me, and I asked him why, and he told me. So, I mean it wasn’t much of a decision made.” Still, that decision left Kansas with only two frontcourt players in
sophomore forward Mitch Lightfoot and sophomore center Udoka Azubuike, but it didn’t affect the Jayhawks much. Azubuike scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and helped put a trio of Tigers players in foul trouble, including Tennessee State forward Ken’Darrius Hamilton, who fouled out with 13:15 left in the game. Self said the only shift in his game plan was to keep Azubuike and Lightfoot out of foul trouble early.
“He’s a good kid, but certainly needs to become a little bit more disciplined and that will happen.” Bill Self coach
“The only thing that I adjusted was just trying to make sure that Mitch and Doke didn’t both get two fouls early,” Self said. “I was going to not play them together, just let them back each other up.” In Preston’s absence, senior guard Clay Young also provided minutes for Kansas in the first half and made an impact. He dished an assist to senior guard Svi Mykhailiuk to extend the lead to 49-21 at the time, and he drew a hard flagrant one foul call on Hamilton late in
Missy Minear/KANSAN Freshman forward Billy Preston did not play against Tennessee State on Friday. the half. “I didn’t anticipate putting Clay in and everything, but Clay did great when he was in there,” Self said. As for Preston, Self is expecting to have him in the rotation for next week’s game against No. 5 Kentucky in Chicago. “We have to be responsible, do what’s right and he’s trying,” Self said. “He’s a good kid, but certainly needs to become a little bit more disciplined and that will happen.” The Jayhawks will face the Wildcats on Tuesday in the Champions Classic at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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KU outpowered by Baylor in home loss
The Bears came into Saturday’s game looking to redeem themselves after the Jayhawks had swept them in October, and succeeded, shutting out the home team with superior hits and stifling defense ANDREW ROSENTHAL @Rosentrotter
Alexit Slotemaker/KANSAN Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Smith reaches for a kill on Saturday against Baylor. The Bears defeated the Jayhawks in three sets.
In the middle of the second set, sophomore middle blocker Mmachi Nwoke swung a ball that looked like it would fall right in-between three Baylor defenders. Instead of one player making a break for the ball, all three put their arms out and tried to dig it out. Almost effortlessly, the Bears put the ball in play and circled its way to the other side of the net with the Bears’ three hits, ending with a kill by junior outside hitter Aniah Philo to put the Bears up 23-20. Despite being within one point of the Bears’ 75, the conference leading defense was not giving the Jayhawks anything, even the promising moments that looked like they were going their way. No. 23 Baylor surged past No. 11 Kansas (215, 10-2 Big 12) for their fifth straight sweep (2517, 25-21, 25-18), Saturday afternoon. The last time the Bears lost a set was when the Jayhawks swept them in Waco. “I honestly think they gave everything, I think they were strong in all aspects,” senior middle blocker Taylor Alexander said after the game. Baylor’s win (21-5, 11-2 Big 12) snapped a streak of nine straight wins over the Bears for the Jayhawks. The last time the Bears won in Lawrence was in four sets
on Nov. 17, 2010. Still in absence of senior outside hitter Madison Rigdon, Kansas didn’t have much to work with offensively. For the first time in her career, sophomore Ashley Smith led the team in kills with 10. Smith swatted a promising pair of kills early in the first set to help the Jayhawks jump out to a 4-1 lead. Though she added an additional eight throughout the match, she didn’t lead the Jayhawks as she hit .147 on 34 swings, making five errors. Closing in on Kansas’ all-time leader in kills, senior right-side hitter Kelsie Payne didn’t do much to work toward it. She finished with six kills on 23 swings, her second lowest offensive outing of the season behind the last matchup against Baylor on Oct. 18. The Bears didn’t give anything away to the Jayhawks, now averaging the lowest opposing hitting percentage on the season among the conference (.152). Saturday afternoon, the highest the Bears allowed the Jayhawks to hit was .194 in the third set. And even with the Jayhawks playing senior defensive specialist Tori Miller for the majority of the match in the back row, also making her sixth start of the season, the Bears had it their way as well. Also the leader in kills among the Big 12, Baylor outnumbered the Jayhawks’ kills 49 to 32. Coach Ray Bechard
said after the match that the kill disparity was the biggest difference. Both Alexander and senior setter Ainise Havili agreed that this was the Jayhawks’ worst match of the Big 12 season. “It’s starting to get late in the season, and this is where teams that are usually successful start to peak, and we’re not all seeing that right now within us so we really just have to find that out and bring it everyday in practice, ” Havili said. With three of the Jayhawks last four wins against conference bottom feeders, Oklahoma, TCU and Kansas State, Bechard thought the wins and losses column didn’t accurately describe how the team was playing. “We’ve gotta regroup a little bit,” Bechard said. “Even in the last couple of wins, we haven’t been as sharp as we needed to be in a lot of areas.” In two days, Kansas will have its second chance at taking down Texas, currently ranked No. 3. Kansas kept it a close match earlier this season in Lawrence, taking then-ranked No. 5 Texas to five sets in a heartbreaking loss. The Jayhawks have yet to win in Austin. “Is this a situation we learn from? I guess we’ll only know when we take the floor against Texas and see how competitive we’ll be and how hard we’re going to play for each-other,” Bechard said.
Days from Texas game, KU plans to ‘wake up’ JORDAN WOLF @JordanWolfAP No. 11 Kansas’ worst game of the conference season couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. With just two days until they take on the undefeated No. 3 Texas, the Jayhawks were thoroughly dismantled by a No. 23 Baylor team that came into Horejsi Family Athletics Center Saturday morning and took the match in a resounding sweep (17-25, 21-25, 18-25). Kansas had just posted its worst attacking performance of the season, marking lows in total kills (32), assists (30) and hitting percentage (.126). The team was missing star senior outside hitter Madison Rigdon due to injury, and Baylor took advantage of that as it effectively contained its opponent’s other offensive options. While certainly no one expected such a lackluster showing from the Jayhawks, it points toward a trend in recent matches. Excluding a strong offsetting TCU match, they have now dipped below .200 in
hitting in three of their last four matches. “With the Jayhawks right now, we’ve got to regroup a little bit,” coach Ray Bechard said. “Even in the last couple wins, we haven’t been as sharp as we needed to be in a lot of areas.” The absence of Rigdon undoubtedly contributed to the loss, but it wasn’t the end-all-be-all as sophomore outside hitter Ashley Smith led the team in kills as her replacement in the starting lineup. Instead, in Bechard’s eyes, his team was just simply outplayed. “That’s not the issue today,” Bechard said speaking of Rigdon’s injury. “It’s just the Jayhawks got outplayed, Baylor came in on a roll, and obviously this match was extremely important to them, and they showed it by the way they played.” “On a roll” is one way to put it. Since the Bears were swept by the Jayhawks in Waco last month, they’ve yet to lose another set — their 15 in a row stretches across their last five matches, including two ranked opponents. By all accounts, the
two teams are trending in opposite directions, and that showed in this match. “Credit Baylor,” Bechard said. “They were more prepared. They were ready to play. They’ve been playing extremely well as of late.” Clearly, however, Kansas shouldn’t be written off in any regard. Bechard has seen this movie before. He knows how to fix the problems this team is facing, even in the real final heat of the year, and that those adjustments are multi-faceted.
deservedly-so,” senior setter Ainise Havili said. It’s not just coming from Bechard, though. The players know that this level of play is unacceptable for this point in the season, and that it’s on them to come together and grow. “Starting to get late in the season, and this is where teams that are usually successfully start to peak,” Havili said. “We’re not seeing that right now within us, so we really just have to find that out and bring it out in ourselves every day in practice.”
“Credit Baylor. They were more prepared. They were ready to play. They’ve been playing extremely well as of late.” Ray Bechard coach
“Obviously, this time of year, it’s a tough lesson,” Bechard said. “It’ll be a great opportunity for us to refocus on how we’re practicing, how we’re teammating, and how we’re executing.” That refocusing begins now, it seems. “We got ripped a little bit in the locker room,
Whether or not that can come instantly with such a short turnaround is unclear. “I guess we’ll only know when we take the floor against Texas, and see how competitive we’re gonna be and how hard we’re gonna play for each other,” Bechard said.
Alexit Slotemaker/KANSAN Sophomore libero Allie Nelson passes a serve on Saturday against Baylor. The Bears defeated the Jayhawks in three sets. Regardless of who they play next though, the Jayhawks know that turning things around comes with an increased sense of urgency. “We’ve just got to wake up,” Havili said. The Jayhawks will
take on the Longhorns at the Gregory Gymnasium in Austin on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
— Edited by Conner Mitchell
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KU falls to Texas in high scoring game MICHAEL SWAIN @mswain97
Kansas’ game plan to come out and start aggressive backfired as Texas jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, eventually winning 42-27. The Jayhawks' game plan was evident within the first seconds of the game as Kansas tried to catch Texas off guard with an on-side kick try. The plan backfired as Texas recovered the kick and scored on the first play from scrimmage. With the first offensive possessions, Kansas’ offensive strategy was clear, get wide receiever Steven Sims Jr. involved. Quarterback Carter Stanley did just that with multiple screen passes to the junior wide receiver. Sims finished the game with nine receptions for 53 yards.
On Kansas’ second offensive possession and inside its own 15 yard line, Stanley threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Antwuan Davis and returned for a 16-yard pick six. On the next drive, the Kansas offense redeemed itself with a long touchdown drive. It all started after Sims returned the kick for 26 yards to the Texas 39-yard line. Sims caught a screen pass and ran it for a five-yard touchdown then capped the drive. Stanley couldn’t build off the drive and threw two more interceptions in the half. In addition, the Kansas defense could not keep pace with the Texas offense. Texas led Kansas 35-17 going into the half. The second half was unlike the first. The Kansas defense was able to keep Texas off the board in the third
quarter while also notching a field goal to take the score to 20-35. Additionally, the Jayhawks' defense was able to stop the Longhorns on fourth down on consecutive possessions to start the second half. At the end of three quarters, Kansas only trailed Texas 35-20. With 12:07 left in the fourth quarter, Kansas had its chance. Hasan Defense intercepted a Shane Buechele pass and returned it inside Texas territory. Two back-to-back plays with a loss of yards and a quarterback scramble gave the Jayhawks fourth and two. A wildcat run by Taylor Martin ended up in a loss of yards and a Kansas turnover. Just like that, the Jayhawks' golden opportunity slipped away. The ensuing drive by Texas resulted in a one-yard
Associated Press Texas wide receiver Lorenzo Joe pulls in a touchdown reception, past Kansas defenders Hasan Defense and Shaquille Richmond, on the first play of Saturday game in Texas. touchdown run by Chris Warren III. A garbage time 18-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Chase Harrell made it a 42-27 game – the eventual
final score. Stanley could never get a consistent rhythm, throwing for 268 yards on 27 of 43 passing with three touchdowns and three in-
terceptions. Stanley also led the team in rushing with 43 yards on 11 attempts. Kansas will face ranked Oklahoma at home on senior day next Saturday.
Fast start propels women's basketball to early win
ETHAN BELSHE @The_Belshe The Fighting Camels of Campbell put up a fight, but just couldn’t hold their ground as the Kansas women’s basketball team opened its season with a 66-48 victory in Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. The Jayhawks got off to a fast start and never looked back, opening the game on a 17-0 run. Despite shooting 50 percent from three, the Camels were no match for the speed and athleticism of the Jayhawks. “We just came out strong, and we all had that feeling ... [that] it's legit now and we just wanted to be 1-0, and on that [winning] side,” said junior guard Kylee Kopatich. From the opening tip, the Jayhawks had a clear game plan on offense. They immediately made use of their athletic advantage, pushing the tempo in transition to set up open looks and easy baskets. Kansas often scored before Campbell’s defense
was able to set itself up. In the event that Kansas failed to score in transition, junior point guard Christalah Lyons would drive the ball into the heart of the defense. As Campbell’s defenders crashed inward to deal with this pressure, Lyons either dished the ball out to an open player on the perimeter or maneuvered around the defense for a layup. “She has a lot of different gears. She's very quick, but she'll lull you to sleep,” coach Brandon Schneider said of Lyons. “When she turns it on, it's hard to stay in front of her.” Kopatich, who paced the Jayhawks with a career-high 21 points, was especially able to take advantage of this offensive plan. The sharpshooter had a multitude of opportunities to show off her range, bagging five threes in the first half. Her first-half scoring total of 17 points matched that of Campbell’s entire team in the period. “I saw someone who was
Caitlynn Salazar/KANSAN Junior guard Christalah Lyons faces a player from Campbell in the Jayhawks' season opener Sunday afternoon. Kansas won 66-48. just hitting threes, and gosh, I was just like ‘yes,’” said junior guard Austin Richardson when asked what she saw in Kopatich. “Every time she got one, it made me excited.” As dominant as they were on offense, the Jayhawks may have been even better
on defense. It wasn’t until there was a minute and 55 seconds left in the first quarter that the Camels managed to score on a three, their only points of the period. Though the Camels were able to find the bottom of the net more often in the second quarter, their offense
struggled to be in sync. All of the Camels' points in the first half came off threepoint baskets, and one a running floater at the halftime buzzer. “It’s a little bit of how we’re trying to play, just protect the paint more,” Schneider said. [We want to] make
teams hit perimeter shots.” After the Jayhawks went into halftime up 35-27, the Camels came out of the break with something to prove. The Camels ripped off a 10-2 run to start the third quarter. But, the Jayhawks kept their composure and never allowed their lead to fall below 10. Kansas took a 14-point advantage into the fourth quarter, eventually increasing that number to 18. “Really we just had to think ‘next play,' don’t worry about what you messed up on the first play,” Richardson said. "We turned the game around.” Lyons and Richardson joined Kopatich as double-digit scorers. Lyons scored 13 points on five of nine shooting while Richardson added in 10. Kansas will return to action in Allen Fieldhouse this Wednesday when it takes on Texas Southern.
sports
Monday, November 13, 2017
K A N S A N .C O M /S P O R T S
Basketball Gameday Kansas vs. Kentucky, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 8:30 p.m.
Missy Minear/KANSAN Junior guard Lagerald Vick brings the ball up the floor in the first half against Tennessee State on Friday. The Jayhawks defeated the Tigers 92-56.
Beat Writer Predictions:
SHAUN GOODWIN @ShaunGoodwinUDK
KANSAS (1-0)
KENTUCKY (2-0)
Devonte’ Graham
Hamidou Diallo
★★★★★
★★★★
senior, guard
freshman, guard
Posting his first career double-double in Kansas’ win over Tennessee State last Friday, senior guard Devonte’ Graham already established himself as a true point guard. While Frank Mason III preferred to drive into the paint and draw fouls last year, Graham is about dishing the ball for assists. If Graham can build on his career-high 12 assists from last game, he could prove deadly to the Wildcats.
Hamidou Diallo impressed in his first outing in a Wildcat jersey on Friday, despite Kentucky stumbling past Utah Valley 73-63. He scored a game-high 18 points, while showing he is able to play a zonal defense, something Kentucky coach John Calipari usually isn’t a fan of. Diallo likes to shoot from three-point range, but Calipari is trying to turn him into an attack-first, shoot-later guard.
Lagerald Vick
Wenyen Gabriel
★★★
★★★★
junior, guard
sophomore, forward
This was always going to be the season junior guard Lagerald Vick burst onto the national stage, and he’s off to a good start after his game-high 23 points against Tennessee State. While consistency has been a problem in previous years, if Vick can remain a consistent scorer, he’ll prove to be key in Kansas’ season. Against Kentucky, his quick release and accuracy from beyond the arc will be a big factor.
After a solid showing against Utah Valley which saw Wenyen Gabriel collect seven points and 13 boards, he had a disappointing outing against Vermont on Sunday. In 20 minutes of play, he had just two points and three personal fouls. Gabriel has an incredible motor to get up and down the court and has an impressive length to make the ball his own on rebounds.
Billy Preston
Kevin Knox
★★★★
★★★
freshman, forward
freshman, forward
In what will probably be his lone season at Kentucky, Knox has the ability to lead this Kentucky offense alongside Diallo. Knox can score in a multitude of ways, is able to run the floor well, and is always looking to keep the offense fast paced. If anyone will be the difference-maker for Kentucky, it’ll be Knox.
After missing the Jayhawks’ first game of the season due to missing curfew, freshman forward Billy Preston will look to prove a point in his college debut against Kentucky. Preston will most likely be matched-up against Kentucky’s P.J. Washington Preston can pick up his defensive side of the game, his power and athleticism should prove him well against Washington on Tuesday night.
quick hits
Shaun Goodwin, Kansas 77-70
FOOTBALL
BASKETBALL
VOLLE YBALL
WOMEN’S BASKE TBALL
Interceptions thrown by Carter Stanley against Texas
Day until Kansas basketball plays Kentucky
Score of Kansas’ loss to Baylor
Points scored by Kylee Kopatich against Campbell
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