2-16-17

NEWS

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

Long-term birth control use jumps post-election

Q& A with comedian and actor Adam Devine

Kansas men’s track and field ranked in top 10

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THURSDAY, FEB. 16, 2017 | VOLUME 133 ISSUE 10

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904

‘Redo Your U’ misleading, unnecessary, critics say DARBY VANHOUTAN @darbyvanhoutan

W

ith only two months left until students vote on almost doubling the University’s union fees, the conversation surrounding the Union referendum is building.

The referendum allows students to vote either yes or no to the Redo Your U initiative, which will charge students an additional $50 semester fee, starting in the fall of 2019, in order to fund a complete renovation of the Kansas Union.

If the referendum passes, these fees would allow a $45 million renovation to be completed by the spring of 2021.

Collin Cox, a sophomore from Alliance, Nebraska, and a student leader with the Redo Your U initiative, said he believes the Union renovations are necessary.

More than that, if the Union isn’t renovated as soon as possible, it will negatively affect students, Cox said.

“As a student invested

Miranda Clark-Ulrich/KANSAN A student committee is leading the Redo Your U initiative. The initiative is asking for students to vote yes to renovations for the Memorial Student Union.

in the future opportunities of all students, I know that this is the best opportunity to do this, and at the lowest possible cost, without

risking over 750 student union employees and every student organization and governance that utilize this building losing their jobs

and opportunities if the referendum does not pass,” Cox said.

In contrast with student leaders like Cox, there are

students against the initiative that plan on voting no in April. Among these students are co-founders of the student group KU

Against Rising Tuition, Tommy Finch and Lev Comolli, both sophomores from Lawrence, who are spearheading a campaign called “Keep Your U.” The campaign hopes to educate students on alternatives to the referendum and convince them to vote no in April, Comolli said.

“We’re against all unnecessary added fees. I want to stress the unnecessary part,” Comolli said. “We do think there are parts of this Union that need renovation, plumbing specifically.”

According to the website for the referendum, $6.5 million of the final $45 million project price tag will fund functional renovations and updates to the current union, including things like plumbing. Though Comolli supports this part of the project, he said he thinks the referendum as a whole needs to be voted down.

Danny Summers, a senior from Mission Hills and SEE UNION PAGE 2

Info session on guns raises concerns YAF distributes

free speech test

LARA KORTE @lara_korte

As the University prepares for guns on campus, many students and faculty are still raising concerns over safety and security.

At an information session in Budig Hall on Wednesday night, University Police Chief Chris Keary, Provost Neeli Bendapudi and professor Mike Williams walked through the fine print of the law and the University’s proposed weapons policy and answered questions from the audience.

Kansas universities are currently exempt from the 2013 law which allows the concealed carry of handguns by anyone 21 or older in any state or municipal building, unless those buildings have adequate security measures. The exemption for universities expires on July 1.

The weapons policy, which the Board of Regents approved last semester, specifies guidelines for concealed carry on campus. For example, those who wish to carry a firearm must carry it in a holster that covers the trigger, and anyone found to be in violation of the policy has the potential to be removed from campus.

Earlier this month, KU Athletics announced it will

HAILEY DIXON @_hailey_dixon

Sarah Wright/KANSAN Provost Neeli Bendapudi speaks at a session about concealed carry Wednesday at Budig Hall.

seek to put metal detectors in Allen Fieldhouse, Memorial Stadium and Rock Chalk Park. Keary said these security measures will likely be temporary. Furthermore, he said there will be potential for departments or organizations to request security at certain events, but permanent security measures will most likely not be provided for most buildings.

Despite the University’s efforts to implement safety measures within the confines of the law, many were still concerned about its impact on the campus.

“People are malicious anyway. When they have a gun on them, the chances of that turning violent or deadly increase,” said

INDEX NEWS............................................2 OPINION........................................4 ARTS & CULTURE..........................................5 SPORTS.........................................10

graduate student Megan Jones after the event.

“Now, instead of somebody just calling someone a slur when they’re walking down the street, maybe they’ll show them their gun too.”

Members of the University community have been vocal about their opposition to guns on campus — including testifying in the Kansas legislature and publicly protesting. Right now, however, the goal of the University is to do as much as possible to inform the public on how to be safe with guns on campus, Williams said during the event.

Some people, like Professor Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, said the University

should be taking a more proactive stance to stop the law from going into effect.

“I’m really concerned about the entire approach here, that it’s looking at it as if it’s a 100 percent done deal, and we have nothing to do but hide and plan for the big terrible event,” said Barrett-Gonzalez, a chapter president of the American Association of University Professors, during the event.

Certain Kansas legislators have been making an effort to stop guns on campus before the exemption expires. One bill, HB 2074, would allow universities to indefinitely exempt themSEE CONCEALED CARRY PAGE 2

KANSAN.COM GALLERY: Check out the basketball gallery from the West Virginia game.

Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF, is a nonpartisan national organization with a chapter on campus led by chairman Gabe Lepinski, a junior from Chicago who founded the group last semester.

Art Hall, a lecturer in the School of Business, is the current adviser. Hall said he is there to enable the organization to have discussions within the group.

The organization recently conducted a test to find out exactly how much students know about their free speech rights, Lepinski said.

“I would call it more of a test than it is a survey because there are right answers on it,” he said.

Lepinski believes that not many University students know enough about their free speech rights. The survey asked questions about the First Amendment, like what categories of speech are legally protected.

“With our interactions with the rest of the KU community, both in person and things that we see throughout KU social media, whatever platform it might be, we get the feeling that not a lot of people know exactly what their free speech rights are

on campus,” he said.

The organization recently received funding from Senate.

Connor Birzer, communications director of Senate, said in an email that the bill was passed because of general funding, but was not debated by senators because it was not on the regular agenda.

“

We get the feeling that not a lot of people know exactly what their free speech rights are on campus.”

Gabe Lepinski YAF chairman

Since YAF used some of the funding to conduct the survey, Lepinski said the group had to request permission from Student Senate to hand out the test, which was approved.

Lepinski said they are still tallying up the results from the test. They received approximately 60-70 tests back, but they are trying to reach 100 before YAF publishes the results.

“The initial first impresSEE YAF PAGE 2

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KANSAN.COM/NEWS | THURSDAY, FEB. 16, 2017

Tense political climate tests local businesses EVAN LAY

@KansanNews

The recent political climate has created an atmosphere that local businesses have never had to deal with before, a University marketing professor said.

The recent tension between ends of the political spectrum has led consumers to demand that businesses take a stand on issues.

“In the past, after an election, people forget about what’s going on politically,” said Noelle Nelson, assistant professor of Marketing and Consumer Behavior at the University.

“That’s really not happening right now.”

In the past, most local businesses have tried to stay apolitical.

“I recognize it’s not been a common practice, especially for small businesses, to voice their opinions or beliefs,” said Meg Heriford, operating partner at Ladybird Diner on Massachusetts Street.

Ladybird has been outspoken in their support of groups, like Black Lives Matter and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which supports foster care.

“It just seems like smart business to me to do everything I can to help foster a healthy, strong community,” Heriford said.

Ladybird’s political in-

FROM UNION PAGE 1 the current chief of staff for Student Senate, is also opposed to the referendum.

According to Summers, who has requested acrossthe-board facts and figures regarding the renovation with no success, the initiative is not being transparent and truthful to students whose vote and money they’re asking for.

“Along with cherry-picking certain facts, the campaign has placed them alongside this idyllic portrait of a ‘new Union,’ and it would seem to me that they are attempting to push students to blindly vote yes,” Summers said. “Students are being asked to foot the bill for a non-academic project without any reasonable effort to educate the students on its cost and the whole, true story.”

This is an issue that concerns Comolli and Finch as

volvement has gotten some backlash, Heriford said, but she said she respects people’s ability to express their opinions.

“There are some people that tell me to get back in the kitchen and worry about the pie and stop talking about stuff,” Heriford said.

“I think considering we live in a free market and people can vote with their dollars, it’s nice for people to have that information. If they genuinely don’t believe in supporting [those causes], then they totally should not spend their dollars here.”

“

It’s new territory for businesses and brands.”

Noelle Nelson University professor

Activist groups, like Black Lives Matter, have published lists of businesses who have pledged support to them, businesses to boycott and businesses that didn’t respond to their inquiry.

Nelson sees part of the shift as a generational shift.

Millennials, she said, are more conscious of the image of the brands they support.

“Millennials care that they’re supporting something bigger than just giving money to a company,” she said. “They want to make sure they’re supporting

well.

“The idea that the Union is trying to push is that the Union is the center of the entire campus, and that without these renovations we’re going to just be less prestigious or less competitive, which doesn’t make any sense,” Comolli said.

According to David Mucci, director of Memorial Unions at the University and one of the supporting staff on the Redo Your U initiative, the campaign pursued other options for financing the renovations before approaching Student Senate last year during fee review.

“The response from the fee committee was ‘we think you should do it all.’

It makes sense,” Mucci said.

“They also said, ‘It’s too big for us to wave a magic wand over and make it happen.

You need to go out and get student support for this.’”

In spring 2016, fee committee voted to put the ref-

Yusra Nabi/KANSAN Meg Heriford, operating partner at Ladybird Diner, is one of the locals who has voiced her opinions on political issues through her buisness.

something they believe in.”

Social media plays a big role in the divide.

“In the past, part of the reason that we didn’t care about a company’s point of view was because we didn’t know and didn’t think we would know,” Nelson said.

“Now, the CEO of a company can easily say, ‘Here’s how I feel about anything,’ and now everybody knows,’ so consumers come to expect that level from everybody.”

A recent example that Nelson discussed was Uber.

When President Donald Trump signed the executive order on immigration, New York City’s taxi fleet took the afternoon off in protest. Uber, meanwhile, kept running during the protest.

Coincidentally, the hashtag #DeleteUber began trending on social media because the company didn’t respond quickly enough. Despite Uber CEO Travis Kalanick

later making a statement against the immigration order, Uber still suffered.

“It was misinterpreted as, ‘Uber doesn’t care about what’s happening and doesn’t care about the issues,’ when, really, that wasn’t the case,” Nelson said. “It was kind of a misunderstanding, but that’s where you need really strong social media managers – people who understand and can take the temperature of the public, can figure out what they’re going to care about, and how they’re going to respond to certain statements. A lot of companies probably have never had people like that.”

Nelson said that companies are making a lot of mistakes right now in regards to social media.

“It’s new territory for businesses and brands,” Nelson said. “It’s constant PR spinning all the time.

Businesses must make sure

every move they make is very deliberate and careful because it spreads so quickly that there’s no putting an end to it if it’s bad publicity.

If Twitter gets it, then it’s everywhere.”

Still, most people are indifferent to where they choose to spend their money, Heriford said.

“There are certainly lots of people who just come in here and eat and don’t think a thing about any of this, they’re just looking for a quick bite to eat,” Heriford said. “Ultimately, that’s what we’re here for.”

It’s important to remember that politics aside, these businesses are hoping to help make their communities a better place, Heriford said.

“I don’t have a healthy business if I don’t have a healthy community,” Heriford said.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH

The Magic Beans 3 Son Green SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH

The Unlikely Candidates Miranda Clark-Ulrich/KANSAN A student committee is leading the Redo Your U initiative, which is asking for students to vote yes to renovations for the Memorial Student Union.

erendum on the ballot and required that it be a student-led campaign.

According to Cox, there are a total of five student leaders such as himself, 30 additional student ambassadors and supporting staff like Mucci who are overseeing the initiative.

However, Finch said he thinks that although students are the ones leading the initiative, it will be stu-

dents who lose if the referendum passes.

“You don’t hear a lot from students who have to work full-time to pay for their tuition because they’re always working. Fifty dollars more a semester, it doesn’t sound like much, but that’s huge,” Finch said.

“That can be the difference between being able to get groceries or not.”

Spencer Mackenzie Brown

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH

Smackdown Trivia MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH Open Mic @ The Bottleneck

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST

Madaila WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND

Hyborian FROM CAMPUS CARRY PAGE 1 selves from the law and is still alive in the statehouse.

“So I’m asking why don’t we at least, on the public website, post information about the state of the laws and the legislators that are voting one way or anoth-

er, because we do have a chance to save ourselves and there are events that are taking place that can contribute to saving our community in many ways,” Barrett-Gonzalez said during the event.

However, the University faces a dilemma when it comes to stopping con-

cealed carry. Keary and Williams explained it is illegal for University employees to use state resources to lobby issues.

“The legislature’s put the University in kind of a bind, really,” Jones said.

The information session lasted two hours and was attended by about 30

people, mostly faculty and administrators. At the end of the night, Jones said she thought the information presented was helpful, but inadequate.

“I’m glad it’s happening, and I’m glad that we have some answers,” she said.

“However, I think that we need more.”

Young Bull Keef Mountain THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD Midnight Marauders FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH

Ben Miller Band FROM YAF PAGE 1 sion of people taking the test was there was a lot of confusion,” he said. “It seemed like people were struggling.

It took them a couple of minutes to just answer eight questions and that’s good, we want people to think critically.”

Lepinski said he hopes

that everyone is educated about what free speech means on campus.

“But if we found that the results are less than flattering, then we’re going to consider avenues that our club can take as a political advocacy group and make sure that people do become aware of these rights,” Lepinski said.

However, YAF as an organization is not favored by every University student.

Rayfield Lawrence, a sophomore from Kansas City, Kansas, said he thinks that YAF, as an organization, is not a positive representation of the University.

“I came [to KU] because of its inclusivity and its equity and trying to be more

inclusive to different identities,” he said. “But when I have had interactions with YAF, I’ve been referred to as one of the ‘blacks on campus.’”

Going forward, Lepinski said that all individuals are welcome to attend his organization’s meetings to participate in civil discourse and discussion.

Fastfood Junkies Ghost of Grandads Past

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH

Ultimate Fakebook Creature Comforts Berwanger

3

NEWS

KANSAN.COM

Watkins sees jump in long-term birth control DARBY VANHOUTAN @darbyvanhoutan

I

s it possible that a presidential election can drive women to their OBGYNs? Based on numbers obtained from Watkins Memorial Health Center, the answer may be yes.

Over the last few months, Watkins has implanted more long-term birth control devices than the same time period last year.

The number of intrauterine devices, in particular, has more than doubled.

These numbers involve the time frames of Nov. 2015 to Jan. 2016 and Nov. 2016 to Jan. 2017. In 201617, 105 long-term birth control procedures were done, compared to 60 in 2015-16.

This patient increase is consistent with other forms of long-term birth control provided at Watkins. The Skyla IUD, specifically, rose from nine implants to 20 implants during the same time periods, respectively.

These numbers are in line with a national study

that showed a 19 percent increase in the amount of IUD procedures and prescriptions from Oct. to Dec. 2015 and Oct. to Dec. 2016.

According to Kathy Guth, a nurse practitioner in the OB-GYN department at Watkins, the number of women receiving IUDs and other long-term forms of birth control has been rising at the University for several years.

“We started noticing that women really like them,” Guth said. “Word of mouth got around. We started seeing that within probably the last five to six years.”

However, Guth also believes President Donald Trump’s administration has played a role in the recent spike.

“With the election came the scare factor,” Guth said.

“Nobody knew what was going to happen. Nobody knew what the insurances were going to do. So, then we started seeing more and more people.”

This scare factor,

File photo/KANSAN Watkins Health Center has done almost twice as many long-term birth control procedures in recent months as compared to last year.

Sarah Wright/KANSAN Kathy Guth, a nurse practitioner at Watkins Health Center, has been busy in recent months with an increase in long-term birth control procedures.

according to Guth, comes from a Republicancontrolled U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as well as a Republican president. This change of party-driven ideals forces, in this instance, women to look at rights that may either be taken away or restricted, Guth said.

The new administration has everything to do with one student’s recent choice to get an IUD. Margo Hellman, a sophomore from Overland Park, credits her to decision to receive an IUD to Trump.

“I started looking into different forms of birth control mostly because of the election,” Hellman said.

“This administration, what it’s already done and what it plans to do, is not normal.”

“

I started looking into different forms of birth control mostly because of the election.”

Margo Hellman Sophomore

Although a baby is not in Hellman’s near future, she hopes her decision to practice control over her own body will be a talking point with her children

down the road.

“I mostly want to tell my kids one day that I was one of the many people who got IUDs and donated to Planned Parenthood in Mike Pence’s name after the election,” Hellman said.

Marlena Geller, a sophomore from Denver, received the Mirena IUD in 2014 and remains confident she made the right decision.

“I knew myself well enough to know that I didn’t want to take a pill at the same time every day,” Geller said. “I wanted complete coverage for five years, and honestly I love the peace of mind.”

According to Guth, many women come in with the

same confidence as Geller.

“Most of them say ‘Well I have a friend,’ or ‘I have a sister,’ or somebody that does very well with this particular method, and they want to try it,” Guth said.

Although no policy has been implemented by the Trump administration against either short-term or long-term birth control so far, Guth believes the numbers will continue to increase among University students.

“We’ve seen a big increase from last year,” Guth said. “There’s not just one reason. Our schedules are just getting fuller and fuller. Right now we’re just busy with [the IUDs].”

opinion FREE-FOR-ALL ›› WE HEAR FROM YOU

KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, FEB. 16, 2017

bitch is my favorite petname No amount of Febreze can cover up the stench of vomit and regret that’s in my house right now. i’m on year 21 of trying to get my shit together Adele is high key talented af Things I hate: My own life decisions dork is a genderneutral term Do you ever see someone on the road and wonder just how they got a drivers licensee?

“Holy shit a quarter.

Today is a good day” - Most college thing I’ve heard today i feel like if you do heroin at a young age you’ll be absolutely shredded for life I end a majority of my emails with “let me know if none of this makes sense”

Illustration by Erica Gonzales

Munoz: Russia inquiry must be bipartisan

Tyler Self is doing a great job as Josh Jackson’s #1 cheerleader I worship cielito lindos Whenever I work through automatic doors I just slightly flick my wrist before they open so I feel like a Jedi. my ideal valentine’s day includes a cheesecake and bottle of champagne all to myself. rubs my slowly fattening stomach as I mutter to myself “peak human performance” Can the couple who is always making out in the Malott hallway f----- chill I feel god in this Comfort Inn

VINCE MUNOZ @vmunoz_18

T

he time for political games is officially over.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that four anonymous government officials confirmed that American intelligence agencies intercepted communications from as far back as 2015 between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government.

Just a day before the story, National Security Advisor

I stayed and I still don’t believe

To send in an FFA, text 785-289-8351

READ MORE AT KANSAN.COM @KANSANNEWS /THEKANSAN KANSAN.NEWS @UNIVERSITY DAILYKANSAN

wrong. But given the important unresolved questions, it’s time for Congressional Republicans and Democrats to come together and seriously investigate this matter. The American people deserve to know, once and for all, the extent of Trump’s knowledge or lack thereof about these recent activities.

“

Given the important unresolved questions, it’s time for Congressional Republicans and Democrats to come together and seriously investigate this matter.”

For Republicans, this means a willingness to buck their party’s highest ranking government official at a time that is typically seen as a “honeymoon” period. They have to put other important agenda items on hold to give this issue the proper attention. I fully understand — although, strongly disagree with — their desire to repeal the ACA, lower taxes and confirm Neil Gorsuch before they lose momentum.

But the integrity of our federal elections is worth the lost time.

As for Democrats, this means dropping the vengeful attitude that has been brewing since the election. Even the slightest insinuation that this investigation would delegitimize the legal mandate of the GOP could undermine the important task at hand.

Yes, Hillary Clinton won

more votes than Trump — but part of being in a democracy is playing by and respecting the rules. These rules gives the states, not individuals, control over the outcome of the election. She lost. It’s time to move on for the good of the country.

In 1974, Congress pursued an investigation that destroyed a crooked presidency. This was only accomplished through a fair, bipartisan inquiry that put the nation ahead of any one politician or party. Despite the deep divisions within our society today, we can achieve the same thing, but only if we work for it.

Vince Munoz is a junior from Topeka studying political science and strategic communications.

— Edited by Allison Crist

Hoedl: Oklahoma’s abortion bill is degrading

Do you ever just remember that a guy f----- a mcchicken?

I kid you not, my gene expression professor showed us a video that had both Justin Bieber and Chuck Norris

Mike Flynn resigned following the revelation that he lied to the Vice President about discussing sanctions with Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. By themselves, any of these events would certainly be disturbing — but this comes after a January report from the Director of National Intelligence stating that Russia leaked hacked DNC information in order to help Trump win the election.

The significance of what is happening cannot be understated. The last time a major party was broken into during a campaign resulted in the resignation of a president — the difference being that all of Nixon’s cronies were Americans.

To be fair, no one has gone on record to confirm the latest revelations. It is entirely possible that Trump and his campaign did nothing

ALYSSA HOEDL @AHoedl

On Feb. 8, the Oklahoma State House Public Health Committee introduced a bill that would require women wanting abortions to get hand-written permission from their sexual partners before being allowed to obtain an abortion. This bill does not apply in cases of incest or rape or if the woman’s

life is in danger.

The author of the bill, representative Justin Humphrey, referred to women’s bodies as “hosts” for the fetuses while giving interviews about this bill.

Women should not be told that the moment they become pregnant, their body automatically becomes a host body and the fetus takes over. Yes, being pregnant for most people means that they now have to care for two lives and not just one. For some women, caring for two lives is just not an option.

If women have to give up their bodies for another life, then why isn’t every person who is able required to automatically give blood or be automatically required to

become organ donors when they die?

Shouldn’t all people be required to save someone else’s life if possible if women are automatically assumed to?

“

For some women, caring for two lives is just not an option.”

Many people will make the argument that a woman chose to take the chance of getting pregnant when she had sex. However, some women who are on birth control or utilize other forms of contraceptives still become pregnant because not every-

HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES: Send letters to editor@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.

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thing works 100 percent of the time.

Humphrey stated to The Intercept that the original intention was to make fathers pay child support from the very beginning. While that intention may seem like a good idea, the bill is not. The language Humphrey used to describe women is most definitely not.

Although the bill doesn’t apply to when a woman’s life is in danger, if you use the same terminology – calling a pregnant woman’s body a host – then when the woman whose life is in danger gets an abortion, you are putting the host’s body in priority over the fetus’. This doesn’t make sense if the woman is just the host for the other hu-

CONTACT US Lara Korte Editor-in-chief lkorte@kansan.com

Tucker Paine Business Manager tpaine@kansan.com

man being inside of them.

Calling women anything other than women is degrading. Calling them hosts makes it seem like once they become pregnant, their selfworth goes away and the fetus’ becomes the priority.

The fact of the matter is that women’s bodies should not be considered hosts. Yes, they may be carrying another child around in them at some point in their life, but, even then, they should be considered two separate lives within the woman’s body.

Alyssa Hoedl is a freshman from Olathe studying journalism.

– Edited by Sean Collins

THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Lara Korte, Christian Hardy, Tucker Paine and Vince Munoz.

arts & culture HOROSCOPES ›› WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

Aries (March 21-April 19) Review family resources, and study the money flow.

Your words inspire others to act. Make an excellent suggestion, and invite participation. Group efforts bear fruit.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Get inspired from another’s insights. Strengthen partnerships and alliances.

Share information, resources and results. Friends are happy to help. Support each other for common good.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Get moving. There’s plenty of action coming. Ratchet the tempo up a notch. Take breaks, rest deeply and nourish yourself well. Get farther than expected.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) See the world through another’s eyes. You’re developing a new perspective. Give up something that no longer serves.

Grasp a fleeting opportunity. Romantic dreams can come true.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Family holds your attention.

Domestic responsibilities call. Take advantage of an offer. Listen carefully for what’s required. A spiritual lesson sinks in. Support each other.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Research and writing flow easily. Ask probing questions and get the full story.

Reveal interesting developments. Friends help you advance. Music is a wise investment.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Compute expenses and update financial accounts.

Focus on making money.

More work increases your sense of security. Be careful when practicing new skills.

Discover fringe benefits.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Focus on personal matters.

Keep your faith and your word. Listen for what’s most authentic. Dreams reveal your true feelings.

Avoid lies like the plague.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Slow down and think things over. Clean up from the last project. Envision your next direction in detail, and map out steps and milestones.

KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, FEB. 16, 2017

Q&A: Adam Devine is now a force to be reckoned with in the comedy world OMAR SANCHEZ @OhMySanchez

O

nce just an avid Cornhusker from Omaha who looked to comedy after a life-changing childhood accident, “Workhalolics” and “Pitch Perfect” actor/comedian Adam Devine is ready for the next big step in Hollywood.

“I looked up to Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell, those type of guys who did big movie projects and were stars of those big movies, so you went to go see them,” Devine said in a phone conversation with the Kansan, answering from his Los Angeles home. “So I’m excited that I’m actually having the opportunity to maybe be — not saying I am at that level or anything — but hopefully be walking that direction.”

With origins in community college improv, YouTube sketch comedy and a recurring role in ABC’s “Modern Family,” Devine is setting his sights on having his name etched with the great comedy minds of today. A journey which includes working on a new Disney project from the mind of one of the most acclaimed comedians of his time, Steve Martin.

After wrapping up the seventh and final season of Comedy Central’s “Workaholics,” Devine spoke with the Kansan about his rise to fame, a conversation that includes topics like cute afros, Ariana Grande and the one time a drunk night with his family went a little too far.

The Q&A was edited for clarity and brevity.

Kansan: As I understand, you’re in the middle of shooting a Disney movie with Gillian Jacobs and Jeffrey Tambor. Tell me a little bit about the project.

Devine: Yeah I actually just finished Saturday [Feb. 4], which is awesome. I literally wrapped on a Friday from “Workaholics” and then on the following Monday I started on this movie. So it was a full-on shotgun blast of work and it was just such a change of pace from doing like a hard, R-rated sitcom like “Workaholics,” to this because, even though we

Contributed photo Comedian Adam Devine will be performing at the Lied Center on Feb. 23 as part of his “Weird Life” tour.

are on TV, we get nasty.

And then I’m going to a PG-rated Disney movie. It was still a super fun [project], so I kind of felt like I had to do it. It was a fun change to figure out how to not curse every second.

I basically was trying to figure out words to say, because I don’t want it to feel false where it’s something like “frickin’ heck” and that kind of thing. So, I was just like, “Just say shit. Shit’s a good word.”

Turns out shit is a curse word. I started saying shit in front of these kids and they were like, “Ooooh, Adam” and I’m like “No!” One of the parents had to come up to me and was like, “Shit is a curse word, just so you know.”

I’m like, “Oh is it, I had no idea.” Evidently it is.

Kansan: Season 7 of Workaholics is in the middle of airing new episodes right now. Looking back, what about the show are you going to miss the most and why?

Devine: Just being in the writers’ room every day with our little room of writers and the guys.

Even though we still have several projects that we’re working on together as a group — me, Kyle, Blake

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The more you learn, the farther you go. Listen to your team. They see your blind spots.

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Contributed photo

and Ders X — we won’t ever have that “Workaholics” room with our other writers and the other people that helped create the show. Being in that room together and being creative and making each other laugh. I’ll miss that a lot.

I’ll also miss the crew that we had. A lot of our crew, it was awesome. We had some fantastic people that we kind of lucked out getting season one, and they all were like, “We will do this little Comedy Central show and then we’ll move on to our bigger projects,” but then they fell in love with the show. We became such close friends. It was a really tight-knit family.

“

Being in that room together and being creative and making each other laugh. I’ll miss that a lot.”

Adam Devine Comedian

A lot of our crew was there since the very first day, so we were able to keep a lot of the same people, which gave it a real fraternal vibe to where we felt like one, big dysfunctional happy family. I think it will be a good thing that we stopped when we still had our creative juices flowing and that creek bed wasn’t fully dry.

Kansan: Backing up a bit, you actually went off to Orange Coast College after high school and that’s where you ended up meeting Blake [Anderson]. What about that college experience sticks out to you?

Devine: I mean really, the first time I met Blake and Kyle was in improv class, literally the first day of community college. I just moved there from Nebraska. It was the first day of class, first day of improv class and especially in community college

there’s not a lot of people. Blake was heads and tails above everyone in the class and I was like, “I got to write with this dude with a cute little afro,” because he had a tiny little curlicue afro, and his best friend Kyle was kind of shy, and he didn’t really participate in the improv as much, but he really had a good eye of comedy. That’s the moment I took away from community college, was meeting those two guys, forming a friendship and deciding that we’re all going to do this together and actually taking it really seriously.

Kansan: You’re currently touring and doing comedy shows around the country. Beside the paycheck, what keeps you wanting to do touring shows with all the movie and TV projects you have?

Devine: I started doing stand-up. When I was twenty years old when I first moved out to L.A. from Orange Coast College with Kyle. He was going to film school, and I was just going to try to do comedy full time.

I got a job at the Hollywood Improv Comedy Club, which is this famous comedy club here in L.A., and I fell in love with stand-up. I got to see the best stand-ups in the world like, Chris Rock and Louis C.K. come on stage and test material out. To see them forming jokes that they then, later on that year, they would shoot a special and then you’d see it and you’d be like, “Whoa.”

I have such a love and appreciation for stand-up comedy and for me, since now my life has taken a weird awesome left hand turn with all these movies and TV projects that take up a lot of my time, for me right now, stand up is a release for me. I get to just go on the road and get to party with my awesome fans.

I know everyone always says that, “My fans are the best.” Ariana Grande I heard somewhere was like, “Oh I got

the number one fans of the world,” no you don’t.

My fans kick ass, these guys are party maniacs.

Kansan: When people come to your show, what topics can they expect you to talk about?

Devine: Everything, man.

I talk about how weird my life has gotten the last seven years. All the kind of strange things that I have to deal with, people starting to recognize me and how I can’t go to certain places without some bonkos and bizzaro things happening to me.

Like, I’m just a regular guy from Omaha, Nebraska. I had no connection to Hollywood or the entertainment industry at all, so all this stuff is so brand new to me. It’s just all so exciting and weird. This is just a weird celebration of the years on “Workaholics” and going and having one big, gigantic “Workaholics” wrap party.

Kansan: Recently on Ellen you talked about the different kinds of fans from the east coast to the west coast and the Midwest.

Have you had any sort of experience touring the Midwest that sticks out to you?

Devine: One time I had this fight with my dad, which has never happened ever before, so we were touring the Midwest with my dad and my family all came out to the shows.

After a show, because growing up we would always slap-box with each other, where we would like open palm batting each other way like a couple baby cubs, so we’re just batting, but we were really drunk. So, he closes his fist and pops me in the mouth. And he’s like, “Oh my God. I’m so sorry,” and then I’m like, “Oh yeah?” And I just haul off and deck him in the face.

The next morning, I have this big swollen lip, and he has this black eye. I was like, “Yup, welcome back to the Midwest.”

— Edited by Mara Kubicki

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7

NYC actors bring ‘Julius Caesar,’ ‘X’ to Lied Center

Contributed photos

(From left to right) Gabriel Lawrence as Julius Caesar, Jimonn Cole as Malcolm X, Joshua David Robinson as Casca and William Sturdivant as Bootblack.

COURTNEY BIERMAN @courtbierman

A

New York City acting troupe is in Lawrence to perform two plays at the Lied Center focused on prominent leaders who were killed by people they once trusted. 10 actors from The Acting Company performed Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and “X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation,” on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. "X," a play by Marcus Gardley, is about the life and assassination of civil rights activist Malcolm X. Both plays feature the same allblack cast of 10 actors.

The first performance tells the story of Caesar's

rise and fall as a group of politicians come together under his tyrannical rule.

For “X,” the performance includes Malcolm X’s death at the hands of a member of the Nation of Islam who presumably conspired with others whom he would not identify.

“Julius Caesar” was directed by Devon Brain.

It is a more modern adaptation than some audience members may be used to, according to Lied Center Executive Director Derek Kwan.

“X” was commissioned specifically by The Acting Company, and had its world premiere last month.

By reimaging Malcolm X’s death through the lens of “Julius Caesar,” actor Joshua David Robinson

said more insight is offered into the ways in which history tends to repeat itself when it comes to the fall of powerful leaders.

“There’s very little evil in the world, I think is what our play tries to depict,” said Robinson, who plays Casca and Titinius in “Caesar” and Eugene Robertson in “X.” “But there are people who are in a set of circumstances and make choices based on those circumstances that they think are going to lead to a beneficial outcome.”

The Acting Company is in the final year of a three-year educational partnership with University Theatre. The cast and crew will visit an audition techniques class, as well as a weekly

stage managers meeting to do workshops and offer advice to students in the theatre department. The University is the company’s first stop on their tour of the Kansas City-centered residency consortium, which includes three other schools in the region. All of the University’s theatre students get to attend the plays.

The residency is part of a new touring model The Acting Company designed to be more engaged with the communities it performs in. Actor William Sturdivant, who plays Cassius in “Julius Caesar” and a narrator in “X,” is on his fourth tour with the company, but his third with the new model. He said that the first tour was

a blur of small towns and uncomfortable buses. With this model, the actors get to meet the people they’re performing for, who are in turn more in-tune with the performance.

“For them, there’s a different engagement that happens when you are connected to a performer or performance,” Sturdivant said. “There’s like an opening that you make.

You’re already with the show in a way, and so you are able to engage with it in a much more fuller way than if you just came to it without knowing anyone or anything about it.”

Black actors don’t often get the chance to perform in classical theatre, Sturdivant said, which also makes this production of

“Julius Caesar” special.

He said that he rarely got to see live theatre growing up, and when he did the actors were almost always white. He said he sees this performance as a chance to empower other black children and aspiring actors.

“This is why I do theatre, this type of piece,” he said.

“It really is transformative, like life — you don’t just touch people with the performance. You actually engage them with their lives, and that’s what art should do.”

More ticket information for "Caeser" and “X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation" is available on the Lied Center's website.

Emily Taylor Center to host talks about transgender studies BRITTANIE SMITH @britters__smith

The Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity is holding a spring Lunch and Learn series to discuss various topics related to transgender studies. It held its first session on Feb. 13 on the history of the field and will have four more sessions that will delve deeper into current topics on Feb. 27, Mar. 27, April 10, and May 5, all from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

The topics that will be covered include pop culture and media representation in Feb., “fight the system” in March, personal narratives and trans styles of writing in April and a web series viewing party in May. A graduate student involved with the Emily Taylor Center, An Sasala was in charge of bringing this monthly series to the center and will be hosting the events as well.

Sasala said the events will help awareness because most of the time when trans topics are talked about in classrooms, it’s

based on issues with bathroom identification, and there is more importance to the topic than that.

“I really want people to take away that gender is fluid and it’s fun and it’s messy, but especially when it comes to transgender and non-binary identities. I really want them to walk away knowing something they didn’t know before,” Sasala said.

“

I really want people to take away that gender is fluid and it’s fun and it’s messy.”

An Sasala Graduate student

Sasala’s main reason for moving forward with this series is because they said while taking courses in this field of study for about six years, they have been frustrated that in their time there was only one day dedicat-

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ed to trans studies, so they took action.

The Emily Taylor Center will be providing copies of the texts covered during the lunches for free, but they ask that you bring your own lunch for this hourlong discussion. Anyone who is a student or works for the University is welcome to join.

“I can’t speak to the undergraduate experience, but as one of the few non-binary graduate students, it can be really alienating, people don’t respect your pronouns. They just don’t quite understand that you can be struggling with certain things because they just don’t see them,” Sasala said.

Sasala said they hope it will be a place for personal learning for the students that attend, whether they are trans, non-binary, or not. Sasala aims for it being a place to discuss problems that exist on campus and use that to help build a more solidified community at the University.

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SPORTS

KANSAN.COM

As crowd loses faith, Kansas mounts ferocious comeback BRIAN MINI

@brianminimum

W

ith just minutes left in the game, several Kansas fans had left and West Virginia supporters had started chanting. No. 3 Kansas was desperately pressing and fouling down 14 points. Fifty minutes later, Kansas walked off James Naismith Court with an overtime victory.

Everyone thought that Kansas would lose at some point during the 84-80 win. The outcome even surprised coach Bill Self.

“I still don’t know how we did it,” Self said in his postgame press conference.

They had good reason to doubt the possibility.

The biggest deficit Kansas had come back from this season was against Kentucky, when halfway through the first half, Kansas found itself down 12.

This was new for the Jayhawks, though. They found themselves down by 14 with 2:43 remaining in the game at home.

“Basketball is a game of runs, Coach always says that," senior guard Frank Mason III said. "He just said, 'Keep fighting, play every possession like it’s your last.'"

To make matters worse, the last time Kansas lost back-to-back home games was in 1989 when it lost consecutive home games to Oklahoma State and then Oklahoma.

“We were definitely thinking about that down

Missy Minear/KANSAN Senior guard Frank Mason III celebrates an overtime victory over West Virginia with fans on Feb. 13.

14 with two minutes left,” Mason said about the possibility of losing two home games in a row. “We were just thinking about it as a group, and we had to do whatever we had to do to make that not happen.

“It’s still amazing to me,” he said about the comeback.

Despite the unlikelihood of a comeback, the players still fought back.

The fans? Not so much.

Junior guard Devonte’ Graham, whose two three-pointers in overtime

ignited the crowd, smiled as he said, “the ones who left, missed out. Definitely.”

Self said that the fans “that left a little bit early missed a hell of a finish."

It’s understandable why some fans didn’t stay the entire game. Kansas shot just 34 percent from the floor and that was after Kansas stepped up offensively during overtime.

The ESPN broadcast even acknowledged the slightly dwindled attendance when commentator

“

“I think it’s the most remarkable win I’ve ever been a part of, and we’ve had some great ones here, but we’ve never come back from 14 down with 2-and-a-half minutes left against the No. 9 team in the country.”

Bill Self Kansas coach

Dick Vitale commented

that people who had left were not, “true fans."

“I think it’s the most remarkable win I’ve ever been a part of, and we’ve had some great ones here, but we’ve never come back from 14 down with 2-anda-half minutes left against the No. 9 team in the country,” Self said.

It’s remarkable not just because of the comeback itself, but because of the implications in the Big 12 title race.

With the win and the Baylor loss on Monday

night, Kansas moves two games ahead of the Bears for first place in the conference. With a loss, Kansas would have had little room for error with an upcoming game against Baylor in Waco.

Regardless whether they stayed or left, fans got what they wanted most: a win closer to a Big 12 title.

— Edited by Ashley Hocking

basketball gameday Saturday, Feb. 18, noon, CBS SKYLAR ROLSTAD @SkyRolSports

3

AT A GLANCE An incredible comeback win built character for a Kansas team that has been through a close game every time it has taken the court.

The Jayhawks are in a position to win the Big 12 for the 13th year in a row, and it doesn’t look like Baylor is going to change that. The win over West Virginia indicates Kansas has risen over a difficult stretch in Big 12 play.

PLAYER TO WATCH

KANSAS

4

(23-3)

QUESTION MARK

?

How well can Kansas shoot threes against the zone?

Kansas’ shooting was atrocious in the win over West Virginia. Now the Jayhawks come up against a much tougher opponent in a game that essentially decides who wins the Big 12. Kansas will need much better shooting, especially from three-point land. Baylor’s zone defense will be difficult for Kansas to break through.

BY THE NUMBERS

4.3

— Graham currently averages 4.3 assists per game.

@brianminimum

(22-4)

STARTING FIVE

STARTING FIVE

Frank Mason III, senior, guard Mason has battled the flu over the last two games.

He said he was almost fully recovered after scoring 24 points in the comeback win over West Virginia on Monday. A rested, full-strength Mason should be available for the Jayhawks in this important matchup against the Bears. Despite two difficult performances in the last two conference games, Mason still averages 20.2 points per game.

King McClure, sophomore, guard McClure hasn’t made a huge jump since his freshman year and highlights Baylor’s guard situation.

Over the past three games, McClure has played more than 20 minutes each time, but is still averaging just 13.2 minutes per game. Given Kansas’ high level of guard play, McClure should continue to play more on the forward-heavy Baylor team.

AT A GLANCE

After starting the season 15-0, Baylor has gone 7-4 since. Baylor has still only lost once at home, but that came earlier this month and the Bears have gone 2-3 in February. Baylor is coming off a loss at Texas Tech, but that doesn’t make the Bears any less dangerous than they were when they were undefeated.

PLAYER TO WATCH

★★✩✩✩

★★★★★

Devonte’ Graham, junior, guard It’s clear that Mason is tired and battling the flu. Although he should be in fine condition for the Baylor game, Graham has the opportunity to take the weight off Mason’s shoulders.

Against West Virginia, Graham played Mason’s role as he knocked down key shots when the game was on the line. Expect Graham to make another big impact in what will be a hotly contested game.

BAYLOR

BRIAN MINI

Devonte’ Graham, junior, guard Self said after the West Virginia game that Graham is still waiting to have a breakout stretch of games.

Graham saved Kansas with clutch three-pointers against West Virginia. Mason’s outstanding season is likely the reason Graham hasn’t had the opportunity to shine like he did when he scored 27 points at Oklahoma last season, but Graham could find that stretch Self talked about with a big game against Baylor.

Ishmail Wainright, senior, guard Wainright’s drop from last year is even stranger than McClure’s incremental stat increase. His field goal percentage is down to below 40 percent, while his three-point shooting has dropped from 40 percent to 29 percent. Wainright offers some height to Baylor’s guard situation, and that’s probably his biggest asset against Kansas.

★★★✩✩

★★★★✩

Svi Mykhailiuk, junior, guard Mykhailiuk usually provides an important threepoint punch for Kansas. He faltered with only four points against West Virginia on Monday night.

Mykhailiuk’s ability from beyond the three-point line will be important for battling Baylor’s zone defense. Mykhailiuk is shooting 42 percent from three on the season.

Manu Lecomte, junior, guard Lecomte, along with Motley, was Baylor’s leading scorer in the first meeting against Kansas. Lecomte is the only Bear playing more than 30 minutes a game, so it’s safe to assume there will be plenty of the junior going up against Kansas’ Mason. Even if the Jayhawks can stop Motley, Lecomte will likely be a problem.

★★★★✩

★★★★✩

Josh Jackson, freshman, guard Jackson has lived up to the hype as one of the best freshmen in the nation. The upcoming matchup with Baylor will be one of the last big regular season games Jackson will play in. Jackson scored 23 points in Kansas’ home win over Baylor on Feb. 1.

Jackson is known for his driving ability, but also shoots 35 percent from three.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, junior, forward Any time there’s a 7-footer on the roster, there’s going to be matchup problems. Lual-Acuil is a great shot blocker and a decent scorer, but his rebounding is where Kansas will need to limit the junior. Kansas limited him to 4-of-11 shooting last time the teams met, but he’ll likely have a better offensive game this time around if he can exploit Kansas’ size problems.

★★★★★

★★★★✩

5

— Lucas has recorded single digits in rebounds in only five Big 12 games this season.

Johnathan Motley, junior, forward Kansas’ defense against Baylor’s guards should be fine, which makes the defensive uncertainty center on stopping Motley. Motley is coming off an un-Motleylike game (4-of-10 shooting, only five rebounds and four turnovers), but that doesn’t mean Kansas can consider him anything less than Baylor’s most dangerous player. Last time Motley shot under 50 percent in a game, he responded with 24 points the next game.

QUESTION MARK

?

Will Baylor bounce back from its loss better than it did against Kansas State?

Baylor’s loss to Kansas was followed by its only home loss of the year to Kansas State.

Lecomte shot just 30 percent, and the team shot just 7-of-13 from the free throw line. This is unarguably a more important game for Baylor’s season, but it’s also against a tougher opponent in Kansas. Baylor is 2-3 in its last five games, which makes a bounce back game even more important this late in the season.

BY THE NUMBERS

1—

Baylor has just one senior on its roster, Wainright.

2 — The number of con-

ference wins Baylor sits behind Kansas in the Big 12 standings.

41.3

— Kansas currently shoots 41.3 percent from three-point range.

Landen Lucas, senior, center Lucas fell into some early foul trouble, which made a myriad of problems worse, as Kansas faltered in regulation of an overtime win over West Virignia. Lucas made some key plays as Kansas sped to a comeback in the final three minutes, finishing with eight points and 13 rebounds. Lucas recorded five points and 11 rebounds last time out against Baylor.

Johnathan Motley, junior, forward Motley is Baylor’s version of Frank Mason III in that he does pretty much everything at a high level. Averaging almost a double-double with 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, Motley is a National Player of the Year candidate. He creates matchup problems when on the floor with Lual-Acuil which will trouble Kansas’ forwards, especially if Kansas goes with a four-guard lineup.

★★★★★

★★★★✩ Beat Writer Prediction

Skylar Rolstad: Kansas 81, Baylor 79 // Jordan Wolf: Kansas 75, Baylor 70 // Brian Mini: Baylor 70, Kansas 69

3

— Baylor is third in the country in strength of schedule, according to ESPN.

sports

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, FEB. 16, 2017

New-look Kansas baseball roster set to open season WESLEY DOTSON @WesDotsonUDK

Y

outh and inexperience at almost every position will surround the Kansas baseball team when it travels to Charleston, South Carolina, this weekend to open the regular season.

The Jayhawks will participate in the Charleston Crab House Challenge at Riley Park, where they will first face The Citadel Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m.

“We’re really excited to get going,” said Kansas coach Ritch Price at Kansas baseball’s media day on Wednesday.

Kansas will then play Liberty at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and No. 15 Virginia on Sunday at 9 a.m. to close out the weekend.

After the key departures of senior infielder Colby Wright, senior pitcher Ben Krauth, senior infielder Tommy Mirabelli, senior pitcher Sam Gilbert and junior catcher Michael Tinsley, the Jayhawks will enter 2017 with several fresh faces.

“You’ll be shocked when you see how young our team is [that we] put on the field,” Price said. “There could be as many as five freshmen and three sophomores playing at one time.

When you have a team that young, we’d like to get comfortable and get in a routine where they could get off to a good start and have some

Baxter Schanze/KANSAN Junior infielder Matt McLaughlin throws to first base during batting practice on Oct. 21.

success before you throw them to the wolves playing in the Big 12.”

Kansas will have 11 freshmen on the roster this season, including redshirt-freshman outfielder Peyton Grassanovits, as well as four junior-college transfers.

That inexperience will be especially tested in the starting rotation. The loss of Krauth, who was the most successful pitcher on the staff, is a significant blow to a rotation that struggled for the majority of the season in 2016.

The Jayhawks have add-

ed junior transfers Taylor Turski, Chase Kaplan and Jeider Rincon to the pitching staff.

“We actually feel good about [the staff],” Price said. “They’ve come in and given us more depth.”

Price said junior pitcher Blake Weiman and sophomore pitcher Jackson Goddard, who spent the much of last season in the starting rotation, will move to the bullpen to begin the season.

Price said both received important exposure to starting due to the injuries to junior pitchers Jon Hander and Brandon Johnson.

“The only good thing to happen last year from a pitching standpoint, with the exception of Stephen [Villines] being really good and [Ben] Krauth being first-team all-conference, was that those guys got experience they wouldn’t have gotten normally if there hadn’t been so many guys hurt,” Price said.

Redshirt-junior pitcher Sean Rackoski will also make his return from injury this season and will take over as the Friday starter.

He is expected to start on Friday against The Citadel.

“I’m most excited for

him [to return],” Villines said. “He’s been making a lot of strides and he’ll be our workhorse on Friday and lead the rest of the staff.”

To fill out this weekend’s rotation, the junior transfer Rincon will make his Kansas debut against Liberty, and Turski will also make his debut against No. 15 Virginia.

With the inexperience surrounding the team, Price said he expects a younger Kansas team to lean on the experience that both junior infielder Matt McLaughlin and senior relief pitcher

Stephen Villines bring with them.

McLaughlin and Villines, who are captains this season, were labeled by Price as “winners” because of the impact each had on their Cape Cod Baseball League team last summer.

“Their Cape Cod baseball team played for the championship, and Stephen pitched all summer and [only allowed five runs], and Matt’s playing third base and shortstop, and I think that the fact that they got to the championship game speaks volumes,” Price said. “That’s why they’re there, they know how to win. They make the team and the players around them better.”

McLaughlin said having the exposure he had to other infielders on the team during his first two seasons will help him lead the younger infielders.

“As a freshman, we had a senior shortstop, a junior second baseman and a senior first baseman,” McLaughlin said. “Understanding how big those guys were for me in my development of the game, and just trying to do the same thing with these guys.”

After the opening weekend in Charleston, Kansas will return to Lawrence to play its home opener against Omaha on Tuesday, Feb. 21. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Maicke: Go away, Green MIKE MAICKE @MJ_Maicke

Hey, you guys know what your sports news feed needs? Another take on the mess that is the New York Knicks.

While I can write a thousand words about my personal opinion of New York Knicks owner James Dolan and how he has historically mismanaged his beloved franchise into perpetuated mediocrity, I’m going to start with, of course, Draymond Green.

Wait, what? You mean the power forward from Golden State who is completely unrelated to this matter?

Yep, that’s the one. The guy who should be completely uninvolved in this, yet in vintage Draymond Green fashion, chose to speak ignorantly and, well, stupidly about the recent events between Dolan and former Knicks player Charles Oakley.

If you have just returned from an extended wilderness hike, or haven’t paid an internet or cable bill in a few weeks, Oakley was escorted out of Madison Square Garden after he was supposedly trying to confront Dolan during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The intentions of both parties involved are disputed, but the facts are that Oakley was in a pushing match with security, escorted out, banned for life, only to not be banned anymore.

Yeah, sounds about right

Associated Press Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green drives down the lane during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 10.

for the Knicks, doesn’t it?

So where does a player on a team across the nation in a completely different conference come into play here?

On Draymond Green’s podcast, Uninterrupted Dray Day, Green said that Dolan had a “slave mentality,” then clarified “slave master mentality” about the treatment of Oakley throughout this process.

And just like that, like it almost always does, it became about race.

Attention, Draymond Green: You haven’t got the first clue what the actual relationship between Dolan and Oakley is like behind closed doors, and neither do I. That’s why I don’t go around throwing out insanely racially charged takes for everyone to ingest.

Have you (Green) not noticed how delicate race relations have been in the past few months? Does your immaturity know no bounds to the point where you’d have the audacity to compare anything in the

basketball world to the horrible atrocities of slavery?

I don’t think James Dolan has done a good job with the Knicks, but just because I disagree with his decisions doesn’t give me an inkling to call him a slave master racist.

This incident has nothing, quite literally nothing, to do with you, Draymond.

You are not media, hell, you are not even a Knicks supporter. You do not know the first thing about Dolan’s character, so stay the hell out of it.

I won’t weigh in on who’s right and wrong in this Dolan vs. Oakley debacle, because then this whole column becomes slightly hypocritical. But if a former player has openly ripped my franchise, I may not be inclined to throw any “Charles Oakley Nights” at my venue.

Not everything needs to be about race, Draymond, and certainly not everything needs your “insight.”

Miranda Anaya/KANSAN Erik Harken, a sophomore from Prarie Village, competes in the pole vault portion of the heptathalon at the Jayhawk Classic.

Men’s track cracks top 10 SHAUN GOODWIN @ShaunGoodwinUDK

Following another strong weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas and Ames, Iowa, the Kansas men’s track and field team has skyrocketed into the NCAA top 10. The Jayhawks climbed from No. 16 to No. 8, thanks to strong showings from the vaulters and throwers, making the leap into the top-10 for the first time in program history.

This ranking was released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. These rankings are slightly different than the NCAA rankings, due to the fact that for the preseason and first three weeks of the season, the USTFCCCA take into account last season’s performances.

Kansas vaulters currently occupy five of the top-30

NCAA spots, with 2016 Outdoor Big 12 Champion Jake Albright leading the way for the Jayhawks. They also currently own the top spot as a team in the USTFCCCA rankings.

Albright is currently ranked fourth in the nation after his vault of 5.54-meters (18-2) at the Rod McCravy Memorial in January.

Vaulters Nick Meyer, Nick Maestretti, Paulo Benavides and Hussain Al Hizam all join Albright in the top-30, all clearing 5.30-meters (174) at some point this season.

Elsewhere, freshman Gleb Dudarev and junior Nicolai Ceban lead the Jayhawk throwers. Dudarev leads the Big 12 in the weight throw and ranks third in the nation, helping the weight throw team to a No. 44 overall ranking. Meanwhile, Ceban also sits third in the nation in the shot put, with a toss of 19.65-meters (75-

1). This puts Ceban 3-meters over the national average and places the shot put team No. 11 in the nation.

Track athletes also had a strong weekend. Senior Strymar Livingston lifted the Jayhawks to a sixth overall ranking in the 800-meters, as he ranks No. 17 in the nation with a time of 1:47.95 seconds.

Livingston is also part of the 4x400-meter relay team that boasts the No. 16 fastest time in the nation, holding the Kansas record of 3 minutes and 7.82 seconds.

Junior Barden Adams launched himself 16.01-meters (52-6) in the triple jump last week in the Tyson Invitational. This career-best jump moved Adams to No. 11 in the NCAA rankings.

The team reconvenes this week and heads back to Fayetteville to participate in the Arkansas Qualifier.

Events start on Feb. 17.