4-19-18

THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904

The University Daily Kansan

vol. 136 // iss. 27 Thurs., Apr. 19, 2018

EDITORIAL: NOW OR NEVER Since taking office, Chancellor Douglas Girod has failed to offer any substantial initiatives to better KU, but his installation on Friday offers a chance for him to finally take on the role of an effective leader

Gina Huss/KANSAN Chancellor Douglas Girod speaks to the Student Senate on Wednesday, Feb. 7, answering questions on things like funding, graduate student support and scholarship halls.

KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD @KansanNews It took 51 days in office for Chancellor Douglas Girod to send his first email to students. It took him 221 days to attend a Student Senate meeting. And, here we are, 293 days into his tenure, and he still has not announced a single significant initiative to better the University.

When Girod takes the stage on Friday for his official installation as the 18th chancellor of the University, he’ll be on day 294. KU should not get to day 295 without knowing its future.

Girod must show that he is ready to make meaningful, substantial change in his speech this week, or he will cement his administration as utterly ineffective and set the University on a path to nowhere.

To move forward and disrupt the disappointing narrative he has set in motion, Girod must propose quantifiable and original steps forward and engage with the people who make up the University.

If he does not give some indication in the very near future (like Friday), that he’s finally ready to make an impact as chancellor, Girod forgos his opportunity to forge a meaningful legacy at the University.

Instead, he chooses an ineffectual chancellorship that will perpetuate every problem that comes along.

IT’S TIME FOR A PLAN In the 293 days he’s held the office, Girod has made one thing clear about himself: He can maintain the status quo. His main actions as chancellor have all been reactionary or continuing the work of others.

He’s appointed two people who have been at the University for years to vital positions without any formal committee, application process or public input.

He’s backed up the continued employment of football coach David Beaty and Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger despite yet another humiliating season. He’s overseen the reform of outof-state scholarships, but it was set in motion long before he came on board.

(And, if the presentations to the Board of Regents are any indication, it appears now-departing Provost Neeli Bendapudi had a big role in that one.)

For reference, when Gray-Little was inaugurated in April 2010, she’d made much more progress on making substantial changes to the University. After coming to Kansas from the University of North Carolina, Gray-Little had groups making reports and working on making her goals a reality by November. When she was actually inaugurated, she released a three-part strategic initiative that gave step-by-step suggestions for what the

University could be doing better. And this was all in the midst of a major athletic scandal and funding problems.

This is not to say that Gray-Little didn’t have her issues, as her administration furthered or failed to improve several problems on campus, including diversity and campus sexual assault. But her tenure at the University can never be called one of inaction.

Girod, on the other hand, likes to talk about his focus on improving areas like “student experience,” “outreach” and “research enterprise.” But there are no details available for how he actually wants to make the University improve on these buzzwords.

It’s been 293 days.

That’s far beyond how long it takes to get “settled in,” especially for a man who was supposedly chosen for his in-depth knowledge of the University. We need to hear a plan now.

IT’S TIME FOR PERSONABILITY Though the plans and outcomes of chancellors are absolutely the most important part of assessing their performance, there’s something that matters almost as much, especially those who actually frequent the KU campus: how a leader interacts with the people who rely on him.

Thus far, Girod has shown no interest in get-

ting to know students or faculty at the Lawrence campus, which he’d barely stepped foot on before July 1. Most students wouldn’t even recognize him if they saw him, he so infrequently appears outside of Strong Hall. Aside from one “Coffee with the Chancellor” event eight months ago, he’s offered students no chance to become familiar with him. If faculty have had open chances to interact with him, they weren’t in any public setting.

This is not to say that Girod is completely neglecting his job. He’s still appearing at fancy ceremonies at the medical center, and he’ll surely go to all the big events this year christening the Central District buildings (which were set into motion long before he took office). He’s still going in front of the Board of Regents and the state legislature. But interest in engaging with the people who make up the institution he runs? That’s nowhere to be seen.

Even when Girod claimed to advocate for “the student experience” in a September message (which was only sent to faculty), he displayed no actual knowledge of how a typical undergraduate goes to school, instead crafting an extensive simile about how students are like patients.

If he wants to be more than a figurehead to a university filled with staff in need of pay raises and

students in need of tuition cuts, Girod must do more. He must go and greet people, ask them questions about themselves. He must follow the example of Bendapudi, who attends events on campus and asks every student their name, year, hometown, etc. Especially given the provost’s planned departure for the University of Louisville this May, a welcoming face for students is much needed on campus.

Holding coffee events, hanging out on Wescoe Beach, conducting forums, offering office hours, getting a Twitter account— any show of openness Girod can muster will have a huge impact on this campus and the legacy he will leave.

IT’S TIME Girod’s installation on Friday, though it’s largely a public spectacle meant to promote the University to itself, has the potential to change the trajectory of this university.

By how he follows up his 293 days of inaction, Girod will either establish a legacy of change or a legacy to be forgotten. Either way, the University should enter day 295 with a better sense of what’s to come.

The Kansan Editorial Board is made up of Chandler Boese, Erin Brock, Danya Issawi and Baylee Parsons.

news

Thursday, April 19, 2018

staff NEWS MANAGEMENT

Editor-in-chief Chandler Boese Managing editor Erin Brock Digital operations editor Brady Maguire Social media editor Nathan Mize Associate social media editor Emily Juszczyk ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

Business manager Baylee Parsons Sales manager

Cooper Scott

SECTION EDITORS

News editor Emily Wellborn Associate news editor Katie Bernard Sports editor Shaun Goodwin Associate sports editor Michael Swain Arts & culture editor Josh McQuade Associate arts & culture editor Rachel Gaylor Opinion editor Danya Issawi Visuals editor & design chief Gracie Williams Photo editor Missy Minear Copy chiefs Gabby Cinnamon Emma Green ADVISERS

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K A N S A N .C O M / N E W S

Rec event aims to boost inclusivity CHIHIRO KAI @ChihiroKai98 The Ambler Student Recreation Center held the first annual Inclusive Recreation Extravaganza on Tuesday afternoon.

The rec held the event with the Amateur Sport Research Center, part of the University’s sports management program.

Zach Scola, co-president of the research group and a second-year doctorate student in Sports Management, said encouraging undergraduate participation in specialized sports was one of the biggest goals of this event. “Because I think a lot of our undergrads don’t even, aren’t even aware of a lot of the sport we’ve seen here today.”

The rec’s namesake and Former Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs David Ambler made an appearance early in the event.

Ambler said that his encounter with John Watson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Journalism, on the basketball court earlier this year inspired him to attend.

“I had never seen anybody in a wheelchair here before,” he said. “So I got down and introduced myself to him, and started talking to him. I said, ‘I don’t think we have any wheelchair basketball teams here at KU.’ And he said ‘No, but I’m trying to organize one.’”

The extravaganza opened with wheelchair basketball.

Participants with varying degrees of experience played half-court games while passing, dribbling and shooting the ball from their wheelchairs.

“It was fun, but it was difficult, because you forget you can’t use your lower body,” said Fidelis Odoh, a veteran and founder of Mustardseed Recreation Health & Well-

Chance Parker/KANSAN Brady Tanner, Special Olympics three time gold medalist high fives junior Cooper Perry after scoring a goal in unified soccer at Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center during the Inclusive Recreation Extravaganza on Tuesday. ness, a fitness gym operating in Fort Leavenworth and the Riverfront Community Center. “I only scored zero times, but I got four shots.”

Odoh was invited to the event by the University, as he is currently collaborating with the school to establish a grant for veteran students.

“I just did my first government grant for veterans with disabilities, and I reached out to the University of Kansas because I wanted to get veterans with disabilities with other people who don’t have disabilities interacting in some recreational activity,” he said. “My whole purpose and goal was to come here, learn what I can learn about adaptive sports, and how to integrate two different communities.”

On the other end of the court, students played games of goalball. The sport was invented after World War I by soldiers who had been blinded during combat. The objec-

tive is to roll a bell-filled ball past the opposing team’s defense. The offensive players must do this with opaque goggles covering their eyes. The defensive line relies solely on the rattling of the rolling ball and the raised outline of the court to block the shot.

Two students from the Kansas State School for the Blind, Jackson Puett and Lieben Beal, were present beside the court.

Both Puett and Beal play for their school’s goalball team.

“I usually play right wing [defense] on the team,” Puett said.

Beal, who plays center defense, said students at his school are involved in a variety of recreational activities.

“We do do other sports, like track and wrestling,” he said.

Later in the event, Special Olympic gold medalist Brady Tanner performed a round of public bench presses. Tanner is an acclaimed athlete who was

inducted into the World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters in 2016, and he was the first special Olympian to be inducted into the American Indian Hall of Fame in 2013. Tanner is a part of the Douglas County Special Olympics League, which is supported by, but not directly affiliated with, the University.

Gary Tanner, father and coach to the athlete, informed the crowd that his son was born with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome.

According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the genetic condition results in varying degrees of intellectual disability and can cause delay in infant physical development. Patients are also prone to respiratory infections, as well as difficulty eating, and children may face the risk of obesity.

“Main thing though, he was born two months early, and so his brain just didn’t really develop. So, he’s mentally delayed,” Gary said. “Right away,

mom and I, we didn’t put any boundaries ... We didn’t treat him special.

We just treated him safe.”

After the introduction by his dad, Brady began to display his training routine.

“We usually just start, stretch him out,” Gary said as the bench press bar was set at 135 pounds.

“This is where mom closes her eyes,” said Janie Tanner, laughing, as her son worked up to bench pressing 405 pounds.

Brady said he felt “pumped up and excited” bench pressing in front of a crowd. When asked what part of competing he enjoyed, Brady confidently replied: “Winning.”

“You put your own boundaries on yourself,” Gary said as the demonstration drew to a close.

“He doesn’t put limits on.

Lesson to be learned here is, everybody that can put limits on, what are your limits? What do you limit yourself?”

Dean of CLAS to become interim provost EMILY WELLBORN @EmWellborn

Chancellor Douglas Girod announced an interim provost and executive vice chancellor on Tuesday, and it’s Carl Lejuez, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“Since arriving at KU, he has further established himself as a skilled administrator and a respected leader,” the announcement said.

“His experience with the College — our largest and most diverse academic unit — positions him to continue ongoing Provost Office initiatives while also pursuing new strategies on behalf of our university.”

Lejuez will be stepping into the role on

“Since arriving at KU, he has further established himself as a skilled administrator and a respected leader.”

Douglas Girod chancellor

April 30, replacing Neeli Bendapudi, who is leaving the University after serving as provost for two years to become the president of the University of Louisville.

Lejuez has been the dean of the College since 2016.

Because of his new appointment, there will

Kansan file photo Carl Lejuez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, speaks to Student Senate in September 2016, soon after beginning at the University.

need to be an interim dean appointed sometime next week, according to the announcement.

K ANSAN.COM

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New schol hall staffing process prompts concern SYDNEY HOOVER @sydhoover17

University alumna Nancy Sims-West describes the communities within the 12 scholarship halls on campus, which house up to 50 students, as families.

Sims-West, a 1980 graduate who lived in Miller Scholarship Hall, has one child who currently resides in a scholarship hall and one child who formerly lived in one.

When she was approached by students about potential policy changes in the halls, she became concerned.

“They had certain concerns that they felt weren’t being heard by the office of housing, and they felt that maybe the voice of an alumna would be heard,” Sims-West said.

“So, they reached out to me and asked if I might help or try to help.”

The students she spoke with told her the process of placing hall leaders, who proctor the halls or manage their food boards, was changing. Students were concerned hall leaders would be placed in halls other than those they had lived in before.

“There are similarities among all the halls, but they’re all very unique as well, and so, each one,

they’re not interchangeable,” Sims-West said.

“You can’t just move from one to the other and know how it works.”

Sims-West appreciated the closeness of Miller when she was a resident and fears that a change in placement process might take away from the tradition of community in the halls.

Meredith Shaheed, a freshman from Lawrence and current Rieger Scholarship Hall resident, said her hall proctor, who has lived in Rieger for four years, has only added to her experience and helped create an even more welcoming community.

“My proctor is actually probably one of the closest friends I have in my hall,” Shaheed said. “I don’t feel like they’re staff, I guess. I feel like they’re just people who live in my hall who happen to also be paid by housing.”

Director of Student Housing Sarah Waters said for the coming year, the majority of applicants who received proctor or food board manager positions were placed in their requested hall.

Waters said that there was no plan to change the way in which hall leaders were placed. The only real change was that instead of telling scholarship hall

Miranda Anaya/KANSAN Despite concern by scholarship hall residents, Student Housing said changes were designed to make residence hall, scholarship hall and apartment living staff feel like one team. staff members their assigned hall at the time they’re hired, the office will release the information at the same time resident assistants receive their assignments.

“If we had to do it over again, we wouldn’t put the scholarship halls in a holding pattern,” Waters said. “I think it’s one of those where we tried to have our apartment living staff and our residence

hall and scholarship hall staff really see each other as one team, even though they have distinct communities, and we just didn’t think through that far enough.”

However, Waters noted that Student Housing services did try to place scholarship hall staff members in their home halls unless staff members requested otherwise.

“We understand the

history and tradition of the halls,” Waters said.

“We work really hard to try to have residents of communities placed into communities where they’ve lived. The other reality too is if we have multiple people from a particular hall who want a job, there’s only two roles in a particular community.”

Waters said changes made to the hiring process are based on a need for

flexibility and compliance with housing rules. SimsWest is hopeful that any future changes will continue to honor the tradition and community that comes with living in the scholarship halls.

“I think keeping that flavor of the scholarship halls and that community together, you know, that’s the heart and soul of what it’s about,” Sims-West said.

National consent conversations prompt KBOR action LARA KORTE @lara_korte The Board of Regents is collecting feedback from faculty at universities across Kansas about the possibility of a new policy that would regulate consenting relationships with power differentials.

The policy, which is still in very early stages of discussion, has the potential to prohibit relationships between students and professors, Regents President Blake Flanders said.

If a policy were to be approved, it could be statewide or give universities the responsibility of making their own localized policies, or a combi-

“We want policy that works, at the end of the day, that’s what we really want and I’d like to hear: Do presidents, do faculty, feel like their current policy is adequate?”

Blake Flanders Board of Regents president

nation of both.

Flanders said the main goal of the discussions is to make sure students have the protection they need.

“Can you really have a consensual relationship with someone when there’s that kind of power differential? Because we’ve heard nationally, we’ve seen nationally, people come forward five

years later and say ‘I really felt like I didn’t have a choice,’” Flanders said.

Flanders initially asked for feedback at a March meeting of faculty presidents. He said he’s received some comments already from university leadership, and the conversation will continue in meetings next month.

Some institutions, like the University of Kan-

Kansan file photo The Kansas Board of Regents is the governing board of the state’s 32 public higher education institutions. The Kansas Board of Regents building is located in Topeka. sas, already have specific policies outlining what is appropriate behavior for members of the university community in relationships where power differentials exist.

The University’s policy applies to romantic or sexual relationships between persons of “unequal power” and explicitly prohibits a professor from evaluating the work of a student with whom they have a relationship.

Flanders said the structure of any kind of policy is still being debated.

“We want policy that works, at the end of the day, that’s what we really want and I’d like to hear: Do presidents, do faculty, feel like their current policy is adequate?” Flanders said.

A representative from University Faculty Senate told the Kansan the

policy discussion is still very preliminary and does not have feedback at this time.

The University’s ombuds office offers confidential conflict resolution for members of the community. Maria Orive, faculty ombuds, said the office gets approximately 400 to 500 cases every year involving a variety of conflicts or disputes. In the 10 years on the job, Orive said a very small number of people have come to her with problems about consenting relationships.

And even then, Orive said she can only remember one case that involved a student.

Orive can’t say if her experience as faculty ombuds is representative of the University as a whole, but said consenting relationships exist through-

out the community, and the University is very clear on protocol for relationships where there are power differentials.

“Sometimes our faculty are in relationships with people who are at the University,” Orive said.

“It’s not uncommon for partnerships to include two people who are at the University in various positions.”

Flanders said there has been some concern about the possibility of faculty spouses who want to take a class taught by their husband or wife. The issue is complex, he said, and will require ongoing conversations.

“I’d really like to get plenty of feedback as we move forward,” he said.

­— Edited by Chandler Boese

opinion Thursday, April 19, 2018

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

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

Babb: Facebook won’t lose users

FFA of the Day: I cried two hours last night not on addy about how ugly I am and why tinder boy won’t respond EXPLAIN THAT

If i throw up on my b----group partner today it’s her fault not mine The new market place by engineering on the hill serves mimosas and I may not be making it to class after this meeting Beer bong water breaks should be a thing in basketball.

Hear me out coach Self, timeouts will never be the same.

Twitter is down and my first instinct was to tweet about how Twitter is down but Twitter is down and now I’m spiraling into a black hole i haven’t done the reading in this class for at least 6 weeks aim for the bare minimum ladies if you answer one question in my class then spend the rest of it ignoring people and doing work on your computer, do you still get participation points? asking for a friend

**Goes to a coffee shop and orders a beer** I’ve never considered myself a high maintenance person until I step foot into a chipotle

Radio on the bus: “Great, now we’ve got 189 bicycles to watch out for” i can’t stop thinking about that video of the grinch screeching during yoga

“my parents forgot my 18th birthday. They got me a towel.”

Megatherium got me cryin in the club

“Kanye and I are on the same wavelength.”

As a native Houstonian, Barbara’s death is making me cry way more than I thought word on the street is your boy Jacob Sartorius cheated on Millie Bobby Brown, can you get an inside scoop Get you a guy that makes you vomit lovey dovey things to your friends

Associated Press

The Facebook logo appears on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York’s Times Square.

ADAM BABB @TheAdamBabb Being the capitalist country we are, the U.S. has always pushed for as little regulation as possible. As the world transitioned into being dependent on technology, the U.S., for the most part, kept this ideology in the emerging industry. This freedom could be restricted after Facebook’s recent scandal, in which the company was accused of selling user’s data to companies and political organizations trying to target their advertisements toward a user’s online activity without the user’s consent.

The criticism regarding Facebook’s privacy controversy is primarily being put

on the social media company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

According to Forbes, he reportedly lost over $5 billion in net worth as a result of the company’s stock plummeting by almost seven percent since the scandal went public. Although the company is estimated to still be worth $69.5 billion, this has been the biggest PR disaster the company has had to face since its inception.

The data consultancy involved in the scandal, Cambridge Analytica, worked for Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.

A New York Times article said the company “harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users

without their permission.”

Zuckerberg has spent the last couple of days testifying on Capitol Hill as policy makers have been condemning his unethical actions and lack of urgency to address them. He’s apologized for the mishandling of Facebook’s user information but has explained that the company’s business model is designed to make money from this knowledge.

There’s no denying taking user’s information without authorization is wrong, and it’s been obvious this is a shared sentiment amongst American social media users. Although there has been somewhat of a mutual reaction, campaigns such as the #DeleteFacebook

movement haven’t affected user traffic on the platform.

An article from Barron’s cited a survey by Deutsche Bank Markets Research that found users were not leaving the platform.

This is proof that people may act more concerned than they really are with Facebook selling their user information and activity to other companies. You would think the users who are outspoken about their frustration with the social media website would withdraw completely after an invasion of their privacy, but they haven’t.

This scandal is one of many that the company has had to tough out. Until they begin to see serious negative consequences in

their user activity, they’ll likely continue to push the limits of regulatory freedom in the tech industry.

Facebook and other data-gathering platforms will continue to function on this business platform until the government stops them from doing so. The consistency in user activity, even through turbulence, serves as an indicator that social media users might not truly care that their privacy was breeched. If users aren’t able to boycott Facebook into change, the policy makers might have to.

Adam Babb is a freshman from Evergreen, Colorado, studying finance and economics.

Hendrickson: KU must stop overspending WYATT HENDRICKSON @WRH_KU The average debt of a University graduate in 2016 was $27,479. If recent trends hold true, regardless of what happens to the state budget, University students will be asked to foot an increased tuition bill and take on more student loan debt come fiscal year 2019.

The University must reverse the trend in rising tuition by cutting expenses not related to research or academic teaching and by dedicating any additional funding received from the state to reducing tuition and fees while boosting academic staff pay. This needs to happen if the University wants to be an option for all Kansas students who wish to go to college and for this school to remain competitive while hiring academic faculty.

“In 2009, KU had roughly 733 managers and supervisors running KU. That number has ballooned to

more than 800 today with top managers making ever more every year. The annual administration salary base grew by more than $10M in that time while the faculty salary base shrunk by nearly the same amount. Given that we have (by last count) 884 assistant, associate and full professors on campus, this means that the administration is now so bloated and top-heavy that we have nearly a 1:1 faculty-to-administrator ratio,” Ronald Barrett-Gonzalez, president of the KU American Association of University Professors, said in an email to the Kansan.

In addition to the expansion of non-academic departments and administrators, the University and Student Senate have focused on expansion instead of reducing tuition and student fees, even in areas where it is duplicating services that exist in other locations on campus. Students had previously voted against raising

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the student fee for the Union in a referendum and are now on the hook for an increase in student fees starting this fall for Union renovation.

Wasteful spending, like this year’s union fee increase and the University’s private jet, are a significant factor of why this college has become so expensive.

“The Chancellor’s jet is just the tip of the iceberg and emblematic of the hideous levels of waste that abound. The most wasteful endeavors are related not just to ‘consultants,’ ‘secret contracts’ and the ‘jet,’ but to the $744M in overbuilding that the institution has engaged in over the past 7 years. This wastage of money is the primary money sink where student tuition has been poured into,” Barrett-Gonzalez said.

Reversing the tide on runaway university spending on nonessential items is the first step in solving the college tuition crisis.

Obviously, the University

The University must reverse the trend in rising tuition by cutting expenses not related to research or academic teaching. does have to renovate and build some infrastructure to remain competitive. However, the University should focus on funding as much of the costs through private donations like the recently opened Earth, Energy and Environment Center or through a public, private partnership (P-3) like the new Central District. P-3s reduce the up-front and maintenance costs to the University and its students.

If planned right, P-3s can be a useful and innovative tool for universities to finance projects.

It can be easy to scapegoat the state government for the tuition and fee crisis and ignore the proximate causes due to decisions made by the University’s administration, but if the school hopes

contact us Chandler Boese Editor-in-chief cboese@kansan.com

Baylee Parsons Business Manager bparsons@kansan.com

to remain an option for all Kansas students who wish to attend, it is imperative that the University look at changing its culture of tuition and fee increases, regardless of what the state government provides in funding. The University has increased its tuition rates regardless of if the state provided more or less money, but the school has the ability to reduce tuition and fees with or without the help of the state if its administration chooses to.

Hopefully, in the future, we might be able to see at least one example of a tuition decrease for all University students.

Wyatt Hendrickson is a junior from Olathe studying civil engineering.

editorial board

Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Chandler Boese, Erin Brock, Danya Issawi and Baylee Parsons.

arts & culture Thursday, April 19, 2018

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

New McLain’s Market opens near campus

Ian Dominguez/KANSAN McLain’s Market serves coffee, pastries and a variety of artisan foods in a warm, trendy setting. The Lawrence store opened April 5 in place of the Jayhawk Bookstore near the Chi Omega fountain on Jayhawk Boulevard. the McLain’s will also be accepting Beak ‘Em Bucks.

“We’re kind of learning over the next month to kind of see what everyone is really enjoying. We’ll continue to adjust our menu,” Lothman said.

Ideally, Lothman would like McLain’s to be a place where students can stop

by for coffee prior to or after class. The restaurant also has online ordering available, so students can pick up coffee or food if they need to head somewhere quickly.

Ashton Roth, a firstyear from Leavenworth studying nursing, recently went to McLain’s Market

the business for three generations, but Lothman and her family bought the business about four years ago. Upon their ownership, Lothman and her brother, Jeff Hirleman, decided to expand the McLain’s franchise by opening up McLain’s Market in Overland Park in 2016.

The latest project is the largest the duo has taken on. Both McLain’s Bakery in Kansas City and McLain’s Market in Overland Park are a third of the size of the latest location in Lawrence. The restaurant-style bakery took over the location from the Jayhawk Bookstore, and, after 18 months of remodeling, is now opening its doors at 7:00 a.m. every weekday.

“We felt like there was a need close to campus for a place for students to study, have good food and gain community from one another. One thing we really like about our concept is that it’s really welcoming to anyone,” Lothman said.

“It’s something we think is really unique, but also

something we thought Lawrence would really love.”

Primarily, Lothman wants McLain’s Market to act as a place for community to foster. When viewing the most recent venue, Lothman thought that the appeal of it was its proximity to campus and the fact that it was located directly next to a neighborhood.

To accommodate for its primary audience of University students, McLain’s market in Lawrence is open longer than its other locations. On Monday through Thursday, McLain’s closes at 10 p.m.

On Friday and Saturday, it closes at 11 p.m.

“You can walk to it from campus. It’s not oncampus dining, but it’s close enough to campus,” Lothman said. “You can get really good local coffee, good food and all that.”

Beyond longer hours, Mclain’s Market also has cheaper, smaller dishes for sale, like their avocado toast. Right now they accept cash, credit and Apple Pay; but in the fall,

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Take on domestic renovation projects with the Sun in Taurus for a month.

Invest time, money and energy for your family.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) Stand up for truth, justice and beauty. You’re especially powerful this month with the Sun in your sign. You’re in your own element with a natural advantage.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) You’re especially popular this month. Contribute to a group effort or community project with the Sun in Taurus. Keep everyone on track and on target.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) Expand your boundaries through travel, research or higher education over the next month. The Taurus Sun inspires your curiosity. Explore new frontiers.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) Strengthen the bonds of partnership. Reconnect with each other over the next month with the Sun in Taurus. Share delicious flavors, sounds and experiences..

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) You’re especially lucky in love this month. Get light-hearted with someone attractive. The Taurus Sun inspires romance, fun and laughter. Share your passion.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) Stick to practical objectives. Communication projects come together over the next month. Write and get the word out with the Taurus Sun. Make valuable connections.

NICOLE ASBURY @nicoleasbury

When McLain’s Market co-owner Mollie Lothman was first approached about a new location available in Lawrence, she did not expect it to be in the same building of the pizzeria her mother used to work at.

Earlier this month, Overland Park-based McLain’s Market added another location in Lawrence near the intersection of Crescent Road and Naismith Drive.

For Lothman, it’s given her the ability to reconnect with her family history.

“One of the reasons we wanted to come to Lawrence and have a connection to KU is because my mom’s side of the family is a huge KU family. We have lots of connections to KU,” Lothman said. “It’s been really fun. It has been coming full circle and it has been worth it.”

The McLain’s franchise was created in 1945 with the opening of McLain’s Bakery in Kansas City.

The McLain family owned

this past Sunday to study with her roommate.

“Their cinnamon rolls are to die for. They’re about the size of your face,” Roth said. “There’s a lot of quiet spots you can go to, but also some spots that are open; so if you want to talk to people, you can.”

Ian Dominguez/KANSAN McLain’s Market in Lawrence is designed with its primary audience, college students, in mind. It has two floors and a full coffee and espresso bar.

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Murphy Smith is a senior music major who plays the stand-up bass. He plans to move to New Orleans to pursue music after graduation.

7

Missy Minear/KANSAN

Senior’s devotion to music extends post-grad

GRACE MENNINGER @KansanNews

Standing in his kitchen, senior Murphy Smith slaps some peanut butter on a piece of toast and heads for the door, reaching the street just in time to catch the bus to campus and begin his day.

For the next 10 hours, Smith will spend most of his time in Murphy Hall, the sole music building on campus, studying music theory, conducting and attending the orchestra and jazz classes required for his jazz studies major.

In the evening, the 22-year-old Kansas City,

Kansas, native takes threehour bass lessons from Jeff Harshbarger, a local bassist. Seniors in the School of Music work alongside musicians in a mentorship program.

And if all of that isn’t enough, Smith often practices bass late into the night, sometimes until 2 a.m. or later. He says the late night hours are the best time for him to work. There are no distractions from social media or friends wanting to hang out, so it’s easy to focus on his work.

“I normally practice until I fall asleep,” Smith said. “My parents are kind

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“I’ve lived in Kansas my whole life, so I want to be forced into a situation that I’m not familiar with musically.”

Murphy Smith senior

of that way too. They don’t need a lot of sleep, and neither do I, and they both work pretty hard. I like to think I got at least some of their work ethic. But also just energy-wise, night time is always a good time of the day for me.”

Smith falls asleep with his bass nearby and wakes up the next morning in time to catch the bus back

to campus, where he will work and practice the next day.

According to Michael Dannov, a former classmate, he was always impressed by Smith’s work ethic.

“In high school, Murphy was able to focus on multiple instruments, while the rest of us usually worked on one in jazz band,” Dann-

ov said. “He can work hard, but he’s also chill. Last year we had a lot of fun kicking back and listening to Frank Zappa’s ‘Joe’s Garage.’”

Once Smith graduates this year, he plans to move to New Orleans. He has family there and wants to play gigs in New Orleans’ music scene.

“I’ve lived in Kansas my whole life, so I want to be forced into a situation that I’m not familiar with musically.” He added that he hasn’t been in a band since high school, and is looking forward to doing that again.

Later on down the line, Smith’s dream is to play bass for Bruno Mars or St.

Vincent. St. Vincent, along with Prince, are his two biggest musical inspirations. Although neither are jazz musicians, their music is partially inspired by jazz, Smith said. And while Smith studies jazz and enjoys playing it, it’s surprisingly not his favorite music genre.

“I like music that’s a lot more composed and planned out from end to end. Less improv ... I find that it’s easier to listen to,” Smith said. “I listen to as much music as I can. I want to be as multifaceted as possible.”

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SPORTS

9

Youngs: Who to watch at Kansas Relays RAELEY YOUNGS @raeleyy

From high school to the professional level, thousands of athletes from across the country and world will compete in this week’s 91st annual Kansas Relays, taking place Wednesday through Saturday.

With so many athletes in the Lawrence area, there is an abundance of talented and exciting athletes who will put on a show this coming week. The Kansan takes a look at some of the most exciting athletes competing in Lawrence this weekend.

MORGANN LELEUX-ROMERO, POLE VAULT

LeLeux-Romero will be one of seven professional women competing in the Street Pole Vault Exhibition on Thursday evening.

Last year, she was the No. 4-ranked American in the pole vault and is currently ranked No. 7 in the world.

LeLeux-Romero spent her collegiate career at Georgia and UL-Lafayette, where she earned First Team All-America honors five times as well as three SEC conference titles. Her personal best so far this year is 4.60 meters, but with a competitive field, LeLeux-Romero will most likely have to come close to duplicating that performance to come out victorious.

KANSAS SOPHOMORE GLEB DUDAREV, HAMMER THROW

Dudarev will be looking to earn his second-straight Kansas Relays title in the hammer throw. Last year he threw for 72.65 meters, over 12 meters farther than the next best competitor, to earn a victory in the quadrangular.

The Belarus native has

Missy Minear/KANSAN Then-freshman Gleb Dudarev throws during the hammer throw on April 21, 2017, at the Kansas Relays. Dudarev will compete in the Relays again this year and attempt to earn his second-straight title. taken over the Kansas record books in the event, currently holding three of the topfive marks in school history, including a school-record throw of 74.35 meters that he set earlier this month at the Sun Angel Classic.

As a freshman, Dudarev earned First Team All-American honors by finishing third in the hammer throw at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The men’s quadrangular hammer throw is set for 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

HARVARD MEN’S 4X400-METER RELAY TEAM

The Crimson’s four-man team of Rodney Agyare-May, Myles Marshall, Jovahn Williamson and Matt Hurst

set a new school record of 3:08.57 at the Texas Relays last month.

For reference, at last year’s Kansas Relays the winning time in the 4x400 was 3:08.72, ran by Kansas’ then-freshman Isaiah Cole, sophomore Ivan Henry, junior Tre Daniels and senior Strymar Livingston.

Marshall is a two-time All-Ivy League first team selection who also holds Harvard’s indoor record in the 800-meter run. Williamson, a new addition to the team, has earned praise from Harvard coach Marc Mangiacotti for his potential.

“Jovahn is a tremendous talent with a lot of upside … I think [he] can help our 4x400 meter relay achieve a new level of success during his time in Cambridge,”

Mangiacotti said, according to Harvard Athletics.

The men’s quadrangular 4x400-meter relay is scheduled for Saturday at 5:22 p.m.

KANSAS STATE JUNIOR SHADAE LAWRENCE, DISCUS

Lawrence has been an integral part of No. 10 K-State women’s track and field success in her time as a Wildcat, most recently earning victories at the Texas Invitational over the weekend and at the Jim Click Shootout earlier this month.

In 2017, the St. Catherine, Jamaica, native won every meet that she competed in and earned the outdoor national champion title and was named a first team All-American in the discus.

Last season, she also set the school, meet and facility record in the discus with a throw of 62.59 meters at the Big 12 Championships.

Women’s quadrangular discus is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

KANSAS SENIOR SHARON LOKEDI, 5,000-METER RUN

Lokedi is already a household name at Kansas, but has the opportunity to set yet another record this year at the Relays. The senior already broke her own school record this outdoor season in the 10,000 meters, clocking in at 32:21.19 in her season debut at the Stanford Invitational. She also holds the outdoor school record for the 5,000-meter with a time of 15:44.51.

Heavily decorated in virtually every collegiate distance event, earning another victory at the Kansas Relays would only add to her already impressive resume.

Lokedi’s history in the meet includes a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter quadrangular in 2016 and a victory in the same event in 2015.

Coming off of a successful indoor season, Lokedi was named the Big 12 Women’s Indoor Track & Field Performer of the Year and won the Big 12 championship in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, which she holds school records in for both.

The women’s 5,000-meter run is scheduled to start on Saturday at 4:59 p.m.

Weekly Debate: Who has stood out in NBA playoffs? be beneficial, as the Heat look to move farther into the playoffs. Bringing his experience and leadership to the court, Wade is clearly a standout, even just two games into the playoffs.

LAUREN HAWKINS & ARMAN ALHOSSEINI @laurensidney_ & @PERSIAsGREATEST With the NBA postseason in full swing, people have their eyes already set on the NBA Finals. However, there have already been fantastic performances, both individual and team, throughout this playoffs.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been devouring the headlines all season, but the first weekend of postseason play was a different story. From rookies getting double-doubles to teammates dropping 30 points each, the playoffs already have had standout performances. This week, Kansan sports columnists Lauren Hawkins and Arman Alhosseini debate who already has had a standout performance in the 2018 NBA playoffs.

DWYANE WADE HAWKINS

After playing only 19 minutes in game one of the first round of the playoffs, Miami Heat veteran Dwyane Wade did not appear to be a standout player. The 36-year-old guard seemed to be heading toward retirement, until his perfor-

THE ENTIRE BOSTON CELTICS ALHOSSEINI

Associated Press Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade reacts to his basket in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. mance on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

With 28 points in 26 minutes, Wade was able to lead the Heat to a 113-103 win over the 76ers. Wade is a player with experience, great leadership ability and an exceptional feel for the game. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra knows what Wade is capable of and is confident he will be a playmaker in the playoffs.

“That’s what defines Dwyane Wade ... in these

compact minutes, he can settle the group with his experience and his level of experience just to add a little bit of calm for some of our young guys,” Spoelstra told ESPN. Wade’s performance in game two was a flashback to younger years. With 14 years of experience in the league, he is no stranger to the importance of postseason play. Before this standout night, the veteran was reduced to a bench role for

the first time in his career and had been averaging just 11.5 points per game.

Wade’s performance in the victory was stellar, allowing him to pass NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird on the list of most career points in NBA playoffs history with 3,910.

Though it’s still early in postseason play, it is evident Wade is looking to be a much-needed force for Miami moving forward. Keeping Wade on the court will

When it was announced two weeks ago that All-Star guard Kyrie Irving would miss the entire postseason due to a knee surgery, many assumed that the Eastern Conference favorite Boston Celtics could kiss their 2018 NBA championship aspirations goodbye.

However, after beating the Milwaukee Bucks in an overtime series opener on Sunday, it is evident that the Celtics should not be overlooked. Although many teams in the league now focus their entire season on one star — as this team has been doing this season — Boston was able to use its full lineup to bring out their best performance.

Against a young and exuberant Bucks team, some predicted that the Celtics would not advance to the next round. Yet, they were able to prevail across all perimeters of the game. With four of their players scoring

20 or more points, along with rookie forward Jayson Tatum’s 19, the Celtics could not be stopped.

This not only was impressive, but also can prove to be deadly for opposing teams when an entire lineup can be called on for a excellent shooting night.

Although the emptiness of Irving will be heavily felt this postseason, it is not the first time the Celtics have had to battle without a key contributor this season.

Many forget that in the first game this season, heavily anticipated forward Gordon Hayward went down with a gruesome ankle injury, eliminating his whole season after a mere five minutes. However, thanks to Irving’s leadership and the rest of the team’s resilience, the Celtics surpassed nearly everyone to a second seed in the conference.

Although most teams have only went through only two games this postseason, there have been impressive individual performances. However, none could be more hopeful for a team — and alarming for others — than the group effort the Boston Celtics proved in only game one.

sports

Thursday, April 19, 2018

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

Athletes compete against cold weather

ANDREW ROSENTHAL @Rosentrotter Just before the beginning of the 200-meter dash section of the women’s heptathlon, the wind gauge device used by FloTrack, the timekeeper of the Kansas Relays, had been blown over and lay flat on the clay of the east straight.

The incident created a new event - one between the gauge, a Kansas Relays worker and the wind. As racers approached the finish line, a Relays worker had to quickly set up the measurement device and hold it steady in order to keep track of athletes’ times.

With wind speeds peaking around 6.8 meters per second (14 miles per hour) and wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour, both athletes and workers alike had trouble with the gusty conditions.

While no Kansas men competed in the first five events of the decathlon due to senior Lucas Shaw pulling out the day of the meet, Kansas juniors Teri Huslig and Morgan Griffiths competed in the heptathlon portion of the Relays.

Huslig finished the first day of the Kansas Relays in fourth place of the heptathlon with 2,592 points after four events, on track to a personal best finish.

Missy Minear/KANSAN Junior Teri Huslig attempts to clear the bar during the high jump at the Kansas Relays on Wednesday.

Huslig finished the first day of the heptathlon in fourth place with 2,592 points.

Heading into the 200-meter dash, the final event of the day, Huslig sat 8th in the standings out of 16 competitors.

At the start of the event, the Relays worker operating the gauge would get set up next to it. Once hearing the sound of the start gun behind them, the worker would quickly begin assembling the gauge. With approximately 15 seconds before the athletes hit the straight, the worker has little time to set up the gauge on it’s tripod and keep it steady with their leg.

Huslig crossed the finish line in 26.78 seconds to take first place in the event, just 0.14 seconds behind

her personal best.

If the official speed from the wind gauge was over 2 meters per second during the event, the time of the event could not count for NCAA rankings, or personal and program records.

The gauge recorded the wind of the race at 1.7 meters per second, falling below the determinant mark. This allowed some runners to go home with a personal best or benchmarking their time for the first time this season.

One was St. Cloud’s Natalie Gottschalk, who set a personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.11, an event she had not run outdoor since 2016.

She led for much of the final race, having a stellar day as she sat in 2nd place after four events.

In the end, Huslig pulled away in the final 50 meters to win the final event. Huslig jumped in the rankings from eighth to fourth, with her favorite event, the 800-meter run, still to come on Thursday.

She sits behind Central Missouri’s Hannah Vanbuskirk, who leads with 2,814 points after taking two second place finishes, a first place finish in high jump, and fourteenth in shot put. Gottschalk sits in second as the only athlete on the day to finish in the top-5 of each of the four events. UMKC’s Gabriel

Foster sits in third after winning the shot put, an event where Huslig struggled despite normally doing well.

Thanks to the ability to go back into team lockers and utilize athletic training equipment, Huslig and her teammate Griffiths were able to keep themselves warm and ready to continue and compete.

This was unlike Maddie Minnaert of Benedictine, who won the opening race, the 100-meter hurdles, only to finish out of the top five for the remaining three events of the day.

“You don’t want to pull any muscles if you’re not loose,” Griffiths said after a brisk 100-meter hurdles

race. “If you’re not warm, then you’re going to be tight, and just the more warm you are the more mentally warm you feel.”

In the shot put, Huslig didn’t quite hit her mark.

Her personal best of 9.37 meters came earlier this season in the heptathlon at Wichita State, and Huslig started off on pace to match up with the field with a 8.77 meter mark.

After a 7.69 meter throw on her second attempt, the second lowest among the field, Huslig fouled on the final throw and placed her 15th in the event.

Huslig and Griffiths took an extended route between the shot put and the 200-meter dash. In what should be a short walk, the pair ran inside the locker room to change their shoes and apply heat pads onto their hamstrings for the final race of the day.

“No downtime, we just got to keep going,” Huslig said. “It helps that we’re at home, cause we have an ability to go inside and warm up.”

The heptathlon returns on Thursday, with athletes competing in the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run.

The first event, the long jump, begins at 9 a.m.

Meanwhile, the college open portion of the event begins at 10 a.m. with the women’s shot put and men’s long jump.

Last minute goal saves KU soccer from loss to U14 CARLEE MAHAN @carleemahan Kansas soccer scraped by another opponent with a last-minute goal on Monday night — the second time the Jayhawks have done so in a three-day span.

This time, Kansas faced off against Sporting Kansas City Academy U14, a club team for boys born in 2004 or later. The Jayhawks managed a 2-1 victory, thanks to a goal from sophomore forward Katie McClure with 28 seconds remaining.

Despite their age, Sporting KC’s youngsters were more than a match for the Jayhawks, as they compete against other top academies across the country year-round. Sporting KC took the early 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, after a long ball over the top of Kansas’ defense led to a 1-on-1 opportunity for Sporting KC. In a Kansas Athletics press release, coach Mark Francis complimented the young team’s talent.

“The boys gave us a great

quick hits

game,” Francis said. “They were very good, very quick.

It was definitely the biggest defensive test we’ve faced this spring, and I thought we defended really well.”

However, Sporting KC’s lead did not last for long, as Kansas midfielder Elise Reina scored five minutes later, bringing the score to 1-1.

The sophomore from Fayetteville, Arkansas, scored when a corner was cleared to the edge of the box, allowing Reina to latch onto it and send the ball inside the right post.

“To come back from behind again after doing the same thing on Saturday definitely shows some resiliency,” Francis said. “This was a really good game for us.”

Sporting KC continued to come out strong in the second half, making several good attempts at a goal and threatening to take the lead several times. However, Sporting KC couldn’t find the back of the Jayhawk’s net, with its closest attempt clanging off the crossbar in

Bettina Bugatto/KANSAN Sophomore forward Katie McClure travels down the field with the ball during the match against West Virginia on Friday night. The Jayhawks lost the match 2-0. the 55th minute. Kansas also had junior goalkeeper Lauren Breshears to thank, as she logged six saves in the second half.

As the seconds slowly ticked by and the two teams fought to find the opposite goal, a last minute marvel

ended the game.

Junior forward Grace Hagan sent in a low pass to McClure, allowing McClure to slot home the winning goal from close range. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Kansas managed to avoid a major defen-

sive collapse and sealed its seventh straight win of its spring schedule.

“It was good to see us stretched against a team that was really athletic, and I thought we handled it really well,” Francis said.

Kansas is set to round

ROWING

SOCCER

WOMEN’S GOLF

K ANSAS REL AYS

2

28

79

2,592

Place finished by Kansas rowing at the Knecht Cup in New Jersey

Seconds left when Kansas soccer scored its winner against Sporting KC U14

Shots over par by women’s golf to finish last at the Liz Murphey Collegiate

Points scored by Teri Huslig on the first day of the Kansas Relays Heptathlon

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

out its spring schedule on April 22 when they travel Colorado Springs, Colorado, to face off against the Air Force Academy.

— Edited by Margo Johnson

2B

DAY IN THE LIFE

K ANSAN.COM

MS. AMANDA LOVE

FINDING ONE’S SELF IN AN ALTER EGO

KATIE COUNTS @countskatie752

During the day, Nate Stitt works as a manager in campus dining, where he deals with kitchen crises. But that’s just his “boy job.” At night, Stitt switches to a life of glitter and glamour as drag queen Ms. Amanda Love.

ENTERING DRAG NIGHT

Almost every Thursday, Love hosts Drag Night at the Jazzhaus, something she’s been doing for several years now.

“It allows you to express anything you want to be,” Love said. “Whether it’s me where it’s just myself turned all the way up or if you want to be a model or if you want to be a rock star. Whatever you want to be, drag can allow it.”

Love first got into a drag about five years ago as a University student living in Hashinger Residence Hall.

One of her friends made her dress up in drag for a spring fundraiser show. As a gay man, Love really felt at home in the drag community.

“I definitely felt like this is a community that I kind of knew I was missing,” Love said. “People can be themselves and can be gay.”

Soon after, Love started performing at a local bar called Chateau. However, Chateau closed down, so she began to look around eventually, contacting someone at the Jazzhaus. Originally, she started hosting to have a space where she could feel

DRAG NIGHT

comfortable, because there are many situations where she doesn’t feel safe expressing herself.

“By all accounts, I’m still a big white dude, so I can get away with stuff, but there’s still always fear of coming off as too feminine, too gay, walking down the street that you don’t run into the wrong person,” Love said. “There are always those fears. I know it’s worse for the transgender community who don’t get to take this makeup off to feel like themselves. I’m fortunate that way, but there are still times where it’s concerning.”

Drag allows Love to do whatever she wants, she says. She can be as big and bold as she wants without that sense of fear.

“Ms. Amanda is an entertainer and a comedy queen at a core,” Love said.

BEFORE DRAG NIGHT

Love sings, dances and cracks jokes at the crowd.

But it takes a lot of work to be a queen who can do it all.

Everyday, Love asks herself, “What have you done to improve your drag today?”

This means before heading to work, Love will get up and work on a poster for an upcoming show or the music for the performance. During the morning commute to work, Love will listen to the songs memorizing them planning how she will use them in the show.

“If I’m not at my boy job and even when I’m there, I’m probably working on some-

Ms. Amanda Love prepares for a show. thing drag-related,” Love said.

During breaks at work, Love will record her LawrenceHits radio show as Amanda Love which airs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Love hopes opportunities like this

will pay off because she has goals.

At the minimum, Love wants to be able to do drag full-time and make enough money to support a regular lifestyle. But Love wants much more than that. The end goal is to travel the world

Katie Counts/KANSAN and use drag in “whatever art medium I want.” Love is also trying to get on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

“There are sacrifices I got to do and things I don’t want to do to get me where I want to be,” Love said. “Those are all day, every day.”

On drag nights, Love’s workload increases. With RuPaul’s Drag Race running in the background, Love starts her makeup. She has to cover her entire face with foundation so she can draw on new eyebrows and contour her face to look more feminine. After that comes body, which includes several layers of pantyhose and a corset. Then Love puts on outfit and a wig. The whole process takes several hours.

According to Love, the makeup is heavy and uncomfortable, but it is worth it.

“The bar is the reward,” Love said. “Kind of like athletes, the practice is what sucks, but the games are just fun. That’s what the drag shows are.”

While Love may have started the show to have a place to go, the show has had an impact on many in the LGTB community on campus.

“It empowers people to be who they are,” said Cody Murray, University freshman and Drag Night enthusiast.

“Nobody cares. It’s a freedom thing. You can be you and do drag.”

This idea resonates deeply with Love because she said drag is one of the most outward expressions of pride.

“Pride is expressing who you are and being proud of it,” Love said. “I think drag is the epitome of that, because it allows us to express and show who we are on the inside.”

K ANSAN.COM

ALEXANDRA MARTINEZ @alexssandra It’s senior year. Justin Kim has been involved with many organizations, held different internships, currently works three jobs and has taken 18 credit hours each semester since his sophomore year. A day in his life is as busy as you’d think it would be.

If you’ve been around the University long enough, you’ve probably seen or heard of Kim at some point. He is a senior from Derby studying anthropology and visual art, with a minor in business and French. He’s the president of KU Young Democrats, president of the Student Alumni Leadership Board, vice president for the Mortar Board and an intern for the Kansas Union Gallery.

Now, as a senior, his days are busy. He has a full load of classes and holds jobs as an assistant for the chancellor’s office, assistant for the visual arts department and brand representative for Amazon — all while continuing to volunteer with organizations and participate clubs. Most recently, he was the campaign manager for Student Senate coalition Rise KU. “Being involved on campus, there’s always different meetings and

DAY IN THE LIFE

3B

JUSTIN KIM

MENTOR, ARTIST, LEADER things that pop up, so I always am working them into my schedule somehow,” Kim said.

“All of these things really wouldn’t have been possible without my time at KU... I wasn’t really sure, and this place has just fully opened up my horizons.”

VAN GO

Tuesdays and Thursdays, his days are packed with classes, starting at 9:30 in the morning. Fitting in breaks where he can, Kim finishes on-campus classes at 1 p.m. From there, Kim volunteers at Van Go, a Lawrence-based social service agency that serves as a job-training program for youth ages 14 to 24.

“I’ve actually been able to do a really cool experience where … it’s technically a studio course through the department of visual arts, volunteering at Van Go,” Kim said.

“I go and I pick up the kids from school, I take them to the site and volunteer there for a few hours.

Help them with their art and just encourage them.

Hang out with them really is what it is.”

Kim helps out at Van Go till 6 p.m. What might be the end of the day for most students isn’t for Kim. After helping at Van Go, Kim heads back to campus to fit in meetings with the organizations he’s involved in.

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

“I’ll have a meeting up on campus, usually [the]

Justin Kim senior

Chance Parker/KANSAN Senior Justin Kim from Derby has accepted a job in France for October 2018 teaching English.

Student Alumni Leadership Board,” Kim said.

Ally Stanton, director of student programs of the KU Alumni Association, advises the Student Alumni Leadership Board, of which Kim is president.

While working with him, Stanton says she’s found him to be an asset. He often uses his knowledge of other offices across campus to benefit the Stu-

dent Alumni Leadership Board.

“He knows how to navigate [campus] and people think so highly of him,” Stanton said. “And I mean it’s evident that he’s involved in more than just [the] Student Alumni Network, because his connections in other offices have led us to some really wonderful collaborations.

He’s such a well-con-

nected individual and so well-respected.”

Kim’s day normally ends at 8 p.m. While he goes from morning to evening nowadays, that hasn’t always been the case. During his freshman year, Kim lived off campus and wasn’t very involved. It was his first job with the University in the Office of First-Year Experience that initially got him involved.

“I applied for the job and after that is where I kind of learned about the ways you can get involved here and the different organizations, because I was telling incoming freshmen about them,” Kim said.

Kim attributes much of his experience at KU to the activities he’s been involved in.

“All of these things really wouldn’t have been possible without my time at KU. Like I said, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

I wasn’t really sure, and this place has just fully opened up my horizons,”

Kim said. “For me, being able to come here and do this... I really want to get everything out of it that I could.”

FUTURE

As Kim begins to make his exit, his time at KU will leave an impact in the areas he has worked in.

“I’ll miss him personally when he graduates this spring; I think campus is losing a huge asset,” Stanton said. “I think he has made the University better by being here.”

Kim graduates in May and has accepted a position with the French Ministry of Education, teaching English in the Teaching Assistant Program in France, which starts in October. He plans to eventually come back and work for political campaigns.

“I’m going to miss the place a lot. It’s a weird mix of nostalgia and excitement,” Kim said.

4B

DAY IN THE LIFE

K ANSAN.COM

EVAN NICHOLS

CODING, DESIGNING, CREATING: DELVING INTO GOOGLE

LINDLEY LUND @lindley_mae98 On a typical day, Evan Nichols arrives to work in Google’s New York City office at around 8:30 a.m., stopping at one of the numerous restaurants and cafes that fill the fourteen floors for breakfast. Once he gets to his desk, he gets to work as a software engineer.

“Forty percent of my job is coding, 20 percent is writing design documents, another 20 percent is reading other people’s design documents, and the last 20 percent is going to meetings,” Nichols said.

A graduate from the class of 2017, he was in the SELF program, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and involved in the KU Energy Club. It was during his last two years at the University that he began to partake in freelance work for numerous companies. These companies include Red Tire, a business run by two KU School of Business professors, and the University of Kansas Medical Center. However, he said he couldn’t have gotten to where he is without his professors.

“I had some really great teachers in computer science that exposed me to concepts that I use today, here, so I think the computer science curriculum was really, really helpful in giving me a good foundation for working and doing actual software development,” Nichols said.

One of these teachers is Andy Gill, an associate professor in electrical engineering and computer science.

“Evan was a great student who asked lots of questions.

I like to teach using end-toend systems and real-world examples, and this resonated well with him,” Gill said.

After being at Google for nine months, Nichols has established a daily routine.

The first thing he typically does is check his email for any outstanding comments he may have on code reviews.

“A code review means that I’ll write a portion of code and will put it up for review, and somebody else in my team will look at that code and give me feedback and say ‘Hey, you need to change this part [or] maybe use a more clear variable name, make these changes,’” he said. “Then I’ll do those things, send it back to them, and they’ll give me a ‘LGTM’ or, ‘Looks Good to Me’ and then I’m able to submit it to our actual code base.”

After working on that for a few hours, it’s time for his team’s standup meeting, which occurs Tuesday through Thursday. In these meetings, Nichols’ software engineering team tosses around a stress ball among its the seven members.

When someone catches the ball, they tell the team what they did the previous day, what they’re planning on doing that day, and if you are blocked on anything that will require need help from

other team members.

“For instance, yesterday I’ve been working on a demo for the part of our project that I’m working on, sending audio data to a cloud speech,” he said about a speech-to-text function.

“Today I was working on that as well, and [was] not really blocked on anything,” Nichols said.

After the meeting, which takes about 30 minutes, Nichols returns to his desk and continues working before going to lunch.

One day a week his team also meets for what is called Sprint Planning, where they spend about an hour estimating their milestones for the upcoming week.

“Sprint is like a week-long coding portion, or coding to get one specific task done,” Nichols said.

According to Nichols, they’ve had sprints to create calendar widgets or general new features.

A neat aspect of the Google office includes demo days within certain product areas, one of which Nichols had attended the day before his interview with the Kansan. The demos, stemming from Google for Education, showcase products that work with universities or K-12 education.

“Four teams did demonstrations of new products that they’re working on and their progress so far, how they work, and took questions afterward,” Nichols said.

Nichols typically leaves

Contributed photo Evan Nichols graduated from the University in 2017 and is now a software engineer for Google. the office after a day of work at around 6:30 or 7 p.m., but he says it varies.

“One thing I really like is that my team, and Google in general, is pretty flexible about working from home or coming in later and working later or if you want to leave at four, go workout for a little bit, and then hop online later you can do that,” he said. “As long as you’re getting your work done you can kind of

work when you want to.”

Upon arriving at Google, Nichols had to adjust to the size of the offices, which span over a quarter mile.

“The first two weeks I got lost just trying to find meeting rooms and stuff,” Nichols said.

He said employees navigate through the office on scooters and that there is a ladder that connects the fourth floor to the fifth floor.

While he said he enjoys the atmosphere at Google, Nichols is also proud of what he’s done in his nine months there.

“I’ve written a lot of design documents, which isn’t necessarily the most exciting thing, but it’s been a really cool experience seeing how being a good communicator in writing really plays a role in being a software engineer,” Nichols said.

KANSAN.COM

DAY IN THE LIFE

LALA VICK

5B

A CELEBRITY IN HER OWN RIGHT SEAN COLLINS @SeanCollins_UDK LaLa Vick waits all week to be a different person.

Lawrence is a city of opportunity for her. She got to see her son Lagerald play basketball for the storied Kansas Jayhawks program for three years, but she also lived weekends of community and diversity.

Oh, and also she’s a celebrity when she makes the trip to Lawrence.

“Momma mode.” That’s what Vick calls her life back home in Memphis, Tennesse. She takes care of her children and grandchildren, feeding, clothing and assuring their attendance in school and at practice.

But her momma mode includes taking care of all of her children, and she would never miss her son play.

The drive from Memphis to Lawrence is seven hours and thirty-seven minutes.

Vick, her brother, Patrick Brown, and her mother make most of the trips together, with Vick doing most of the driving.

“I get us up at four in the morning,” Vick said.

“I’m the driver, so I make the decisions.”

She sounds serious, but Vick is a people person, which means she pleases the masses. Everybody gets their music played on the trip.

“We start with gospel music, momma likes that,” Vick said. “But we always make the same transition after. It’s R&B, then hip hop

Contributed photo After a Kansas basketball game, LaLa and Lagerald Vick pose with family. after that.”

Vick has made this trip so many times that there are traditions, including stopping at a chicken place she can’t remember the name of. Vick knows what the building looks like, so she never misses the exit.

The drive is fine, but Vick doesn’t talk about that as much. Her favorite tradition doesn’t take place un-

til she arrives in Lawrence: ditching her family.

“Most of the time we get there, we are tired and stay in, but LaLa has to go to the parties,” Brown said.

Brown said when the family first arrives in Lawrence, they link up with Lagerald. It’s usually later in the evening, and the team has to rest before the game on Saturday. Brown

and their mother need rest, too. But like Brown said, Vick doesn’t stop at the hotel check in.

“I don’t get home until late into the night,” Vick said. “Sometimes 3 a.m. before the games.”

Vick will go out to the Lawrence bars all by herself.

She said she likes to explore Massachusetts Street and then hit up bars like The

Bull and The Wheel.

“I’ve been to all kinds of places and met all sorts of people. There’s really no way to put it lightly. Everybody back at home is black, but in Lawrence there’s so many different types of people and that’s what LaLa is all about,” Vick said. “I love the people and the new things I get to see and learn.”

Vick has a hard time

describing how she feels when she’s in Lawrence because it’s so different from everything else she does in her life. She used to do stand up comedy, but that was decades ago before she had a family. Her charisma and humor still delivers, and it’s what makes her a Lawrence icon.

“People be coming up and asking me for pictures,” Vick said. “Like one time I had this guy that recognized me at the bar and he looked at his friends and goes, ‘Holy s---, it’s LaLa Vick.”

Brown laughed at the thought of seeing Vick in public with the Jayhawk faithful. In San Antonio before the Final Four, he took pictures of Vick as she was taking pictures with fans.

He said it was such a bizarre experience, he couldn’t pass it up.

At 35, Brown has been out with Lagerald before, but he said there was one major difference between this experience and going out with Vick.

“I’m not fabricating this, I’m not exaggerating,” Brown said. “But when I’m with LaLa, more people recognize her than when I’m with Lagerald. It’s crazy.”

Brown, while exhausted by these trips to Lawrence, loves to see his sister in this environment.

“She’s really made a name for herself and for Lagerald,” Brown said. “She’s been like that her whole life.”

6B

DAY IN THE LIFE

KANSAN.COM

AYEL

HOW STORYTELLING SHAPES KC RAPPER’S CAREER DEASIA PAIGE @deasia_paige Life’s been busy for rapper AyEl since graduating from the University two years ago. He’s building his brand, writing new songs and preparing to open up for YFN Lucci at The Granada this month. He also just finished shooting a video for his hit single “Motion,” which garnered over 12,000 listens on SoundCloud. He even has his eyes set on a fashion collaboration.

ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC

There’s a lot of work that happens before AyEl steps on stage, and it all revolves around perfecting his craft. The Kansas City, Kansas, rapper, whose real name is Aaron Leapheart, starts his day by responding to emails about various shows and upcoming projects. Then, he makes sure to work on his personal projects before writing songs for other artists.

“Since I’ve gotten my own equipment to record, it’s a way more comfortable process. I sit in front of the microphone and freestyle melodies, then plug in words,” AyEl said.

AyEl said his music-making process depends on the project and the vibe he gets from recording it. For “Motion,” AyEl said he spent five hours rapping in the studio

before actually writing the single and recording it.

Though he prioritizes his own music, he responds to offers to be featured on other songs and works on songwriting, which consumes most of his daily routine. He recently got a songwriting credit on an upcoming album by OneInThe4Rest, whose hit single “Jiu Jitsu” features Chris Brown.

“It’s all music,” AyEl said. “I put all of my time into that. Songwriting is basically like my full-time [job], and me, being an artist is almost like my parttime, now. There isn’t a lot of money that goes into being an artist until you really make it, so that’s why I got into songwriting.”

A STUDENT OF HIS CRAFT

If he’s not working on projects, AyEl spends the rest of his day studying music, which involves watching music videos or listening to podcasts that will help him grow as an artist. Listening to artists like Kendrick Lamar and Nipsey Hussle, along with “Sway’s Universe” and Tidal’s “Rap Radar” podcast, inspires him.

“Nipsey Hussle is my favorite rapper,” AyEl said.

“Just watching his journey and being a fan of him for more than five years, and seeing where he’s at now, is a big inspiration on the independent grind and just

Sarah Wright/KANSAN AyEl is a Kansas City rapper and KU alumnus. AyEl is also an opener for YFN Lucci at the Granada April 29. learning more about the business. We’re getting to a time where independent artists are really taking over, so I focus a lot on that.”

TELLING STORIES

Another aspect of AyEl’s daily music-making process includes telling the various stories of Kansas City. One way he does this is by wearing clothing from MADE Urban Apparel, which is based in Kansas

City, every day.

Mark Launiu, co-founder of MADE, said that AyEl’s music mimics the theme of the clothing brand.

“He tells stories,” Launiu said. “I’ve always told him that he reminds me of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. One reason why I like his music so much is because it reminds me a lot of my clothes and how we tell stories. We both tell stories by what we do.”

AyEl said his experience at the University ignited his skill of telling stories through his music.

“I liked learning about different people, and I think that’s something I didn’t know I had in me until I came here [to the University],” AyEl said. “[I liked] meeting all kinds of people and finding those commonalities across the different parts of the world that we live in.”

Having people resonate

with the stories he tells in his music is something that AyEl aims for every day.

“There’s a lot of relatable experiences in my music, and I like to let people know that they’re not suffering in silence,” AyEl said. “We all go through the same things, and we’re all human, so that’s basically what my music is about.”

— Edited by Hannah Strader

KANSAN.COM

DAY IN THE LIFE

SANDRA SANCHEZ

7B

PASSION, AMBITION DRIVE HISTORIAN’S SUCCESS RYLIE KOESTER @RylieKoester Sandra Sanchez knew she wanted to study history in the seventh grade, but she didn’t know that she would eventually intern at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Sanchez is a senior at the University studying history and Chinese language and literature with a minor in indigenous studies.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else besides doing this,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez, from Overland Park, was born in Guatemala, but moved to the United States after she was adopted at the age of four.

Her internship at the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. in the program for Latino history and culture lasted 10 weeks.

As a freshman, Sanchez said she made a list of all of the scholarship and internship opportunities that she wanted to do in college. She thought one of the only internship opportunities she could do as a history major was to work at a museum, so she subscribed to the Smithsonian’s internship and fellowship emailing list.

“I think I just got lucky that I was somehow picked,” Sanchez said.

One of the main activities she did while working at the Smithsonian was running mini-sessions on the museum floor. Her favorite place

“I’m really excited to finally be able to start working on something that I think is really important.”

Sandra Sanchez senior

Chance Parker/KANSAN Senior Sandra Sanchez interned at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History last summer. to run the sessions was in front of the “Star-Spangled Banner” exhibit.

Sanchez said she would talk to visitors at the museum about different cultural items that immigrants from Latin America might bring with them to the United States.

“A lot of people didn’t know about that stuff, so it was a really cool experience that I was actually able to feel as though I was part of the museum because I was teaching people,” Sanchez

said.

Sanchez’s work at the Smithsonian was tied to a research project she conducted last year. Sanchez wrote her senior honors thesis in history her junior year, ensuring she would have a research project to submit when applying to graduate schools her senior year.

Sanchez’s thesis explored how art during the Mexican revolution became a national statement, but she didn’t just focus on the big names like Frida Kahlo and Diego Ri-

vera. Instead, she researched other lesser-known artists who looked at the same issues as Kahlo and Rivera, but approached them from a different perspective.

After taking 20-credit-hour course loads each semester, she is currently enrolled in four classes, which is the fewest amount in her time at the University. Sanchez has also taken graduate-level classes and seminars in history, American studies and indigenous studies.

“I loved those classes,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez usually arrives on campus before noon and returns home in the afternoon to prepare for her classes each day. She works on her smaller assignments on the weekends and completes her readings between classes. On Fridays, she works for the University Honors Program, so she doesn’t have much time to study that day.

When she isn’t reading, writing, working, or going to class, she likes to unwind by spending time with her cat, Ludwig. She also likes to cook to relieve stress. Her favorite dishes to cook are rice and beans, because it reminds her of her parents’ home-cooked Mexican food.

Tony Rosenthal, a professor in the department of history at the University, has taught Sanchez in several classes, and he also oversaw her honors thesis.

“She has an unusual intellectual ambition,” Rosenthal said. “I think that she really goes after hard questions, and she has the stamina to really wrestle with them well.”

Moving forward, Sanchez said she plans to focus her studies on immigration and

indigenous history within the United States and look at the way citizenship is received or withheld.

“I think she has put her finger on something that’s going to turn into something really intriguing,” Rosenthal said.

After being accepted at six graduate schools across the U.S., Sanchez has decided to attend Yale University next year to pursue her doctorate in history. Sanchez’s goal is to become a professor.

“I’m really excited to finally be able to start working on something that I think is really important,” Sanchez said.

She said working at the Smithsonian allowed her to engage in educating the public outside of the University. She found that the museum was working to make history and knowledge accessible to everyone, which is what she hopes to do in the future.

If teaching at a university doesn’t work out, Sanchez said she would consider working at a museum again in the future.

“I would love to go back to the Smithsonian,” Sanchez said.

8B

DAY IN THE LIFE

K ANSAN.COM

SARAH SCHAFFER

‘THE UNIVERSITY IS BETTER FOR HAVING HER’

RACHEL GAYLOR @raegay218

Sarah Schaffer, a student from Lawrence, loves her life here at the University, and you can see it on her face when you speak with her. Schaffer, who has Down syndrome, is a typical 23-year-old who enjoys being around as many people as she can.

Schaffer originally took classes at Washburn University for a few years, but given that her parents and older sister both attended KU, she decided to make the switch to Lawrence where she can take classes and participate in the Transition to Postsecondary Education program that gives students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to experience an inclusive environment.

SCHOOL DAYS VARY

Like most students, Schaffer’s days are never consistent. There are a few things that stay the same, though. She wakes up and eats breakfast in her dorm, GSP-Corbin Hall, then heads off for one of her three classes each day — either a health or education course, or University Band, where she plays percussion.

Schaffer does more than just go to class; she has a communication coach to work on speech three times a week and attends a music therapy session once a week to work on other specific goals. Despite joking that she goes to the gym to

Sarah Schaffer is a passionate volunteer and a percussionist in the University Band at KU. workout 10 times a week, she admitted she still goes once a day.

Stephanie Meehan is an assistant clinical professor of speech, language and hearing at the University, and one of Schaffer’s good friends.

“Sarah has really high positive energy,” Meehan said. “She is friendly and outgoing. I have never

known Sarah not to be in a good mood. She’s happy to be here. I think college life suits her because she’s so social and likes to meet new people.”

WORKING WITH KIDS

When classes are done, Schaffer heads over to the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence to volunteer with

kindergarten and first grade students twice a week.

“They’re so tiny,” Schaffer said. “They don’t really pay attention... kids are like that.”

While Schaffer loves living in the dorms – she came to the University for the opportunity to live in one – she said she hopes to move into an apartment and get a job at the University.

“My dream is to drive a car,” Schaffer said. “But I’d also like to work with other kids.”

Schaffer loves education. She used to volunteer in the Language Acquisition Preschool (LAP) and proved that she is “very good with little kids,” according to Meehan. She can remember everyone’s names after just one meeting.

Caitlynn Salazar/KANSAN

Schaffer said that after she is done with school, she hopes to continue her work with kids in whatever capacity. Meehan concurs that kids love her and would be lucky to learn from her.

“I think the University is better for having her on campus,” Meehan said.