Washburn Review: August 29, 2018 -Issue 2

Page 1

News that matters to WU

August 29, 2018

Volume 145, Issue 2

washburnreview.org Established 1885

Silvestri makes an impact Sarah Miller Washburn Review sarah.miller@washburn.edu

Photo by John Burns

Washburn alumnus creates unity through flavor Morgan Holloway

Washburn Review morgan.holloway@washburn.edu

If you ask Viet Lam, co-owner of 4 Guys Bar & Grill, how he got the name, he will tell you that it was just a lucky of 4 Guys number and there are Photo courtesyBar & Grill four seasons, but it is still just a number. After talking with Viet Lam, there is a much deeper meaning to what 4 Guys actually represents. Before Viet Lam and his brothers made a home in America, they fled from communism in Vietnam. “It was my idea for 4 Guys because we have four brothers in my family. My oldest brother has worked for Topeka Police Department for over 25 years, my second brother lives in Indiana, and I work with my other brother, Tuan,” Viet Lam said. Around 1954, when the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into the north and south, Viet Lam’s family had fled into the south region. Once they had settled back into a house and began working good jobs, they had to flee again. At this time, about 1977, Viet Lam’s uncle was imprisoned as a governor. When he was released, Viet Lam’s grandma sent him out of the country with Viet Lam’s oldest brother. They came to the United States and after two years, they sponsored his second brother from Singapore. Viet Lam escaped out of the country in 1987 and fled to Malaysia. After 10 months, his family sponsored him to come to the United States. Viet Lam’s family grew up in Topeka, graduated from Highland Park High School and each attended college. Viet Lam graduated from Washburn University in 2000. “This is our family, our home now, we settled here, we built up a community and we try to thank the country for helping us. We want to give back to the people,” Viet Lam said. Former home of Boss Hawg’s BBQ in Brookwood Shopping Center will be home to 4 Guys Bar & Grill this fall. Story continued on page 6

History professor Tony Silvestri lives a double life as a celebrated and renowned lyricist and composer. Silvestri, a well-known face at Washburn University, was recognized for his composition at the 2018 World Choral Fest held in Salzburg, Austria. Silvestri traveled to Salzburg to attend the event and unveil his newest composition titled, “The Hallstatt Carol.” The carol was based largely on the rich, beautiful history of Hallstatt, Austria, where a small concert was held at the end of the festival. He was awarded for his astounding work with a key to the city of Hallstatt and an experience he will remember forever. Silvestri spent nearly a year perfecting the composition, which was to be performed during the fest at a small concert in the historic town of Hallstatt. Hallstatt is one of the oldest towns in Europe, and its history dates back 7,000 years. Silvestri, as a historian, tapped into the region’s rich, expansive history to create a beautiful composition based on the ancient pagan rituals practiced in that area thousands of years ago. The lyrics, written in both German and Latin, tell the story of the ancient people of Hallstatt giving praise and worship to the pagan god of the hunt as they return to their village. “The piece merges the men marching with the women singing until it comes together into a raucous, orgiastic, ecstatic experience,” Silvestri said. The piece will be performed again in Kansas City in the spring of next year. Silvestri is an accomplished lyricist, composer, musician and artist. The beginning of his journey in the choral

world was very much an accident. He wrote the lyrics to accompany a composition as a favor to a friend, and the composition was very successful, as were several others. Silvestri continued to work with other composers and has found great success in the choral world since then. Silvestri has been a lyricist for over 20 years, working with many renowned composers. According to his website, Silvestri has worked with composers such as Eric Whitacre, Dan Forrest, Ola Gjeilo and Andrea Ramsey. His works have also been performed by renowned groups like the King’s Singers, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, the Tallis Scholars, Westminster Choir College and the Houston Grand Opera. On his website, Silvestri has a list of 37 poems that have been written or commissioned by other composers. Within the last few years he began to dabble in composing his own works. Silvestri’s first full composition, titled “Each Morning She Walks,” was debuted in the fall of 2016 at Washburn University. Silvestri has taught history for over two decades in the collegiate and high school levels. He is known for his entertaining and educational history courses. Silvestri has taught many courses in which he asks students to fully immerse themselves in the history that they are studying. In classes, such as “Ancient Greece” or “ Traditional Japan” he requires the students to dress up and perform as if they were living in the time and place they are learning about. This has been incredibly memorable for his students, but Silvestri captivates his students even with a simple lecture. It’s safe to say that Silvestri has a way with words that has translated well into both his academia and his choral passions. Chase Sachs, a former student of Silvestri who graduated from Washburn Story continued on page 7

Sports complex joins Washburn’s campus Matt Self Washburn Review matt.self@washburn.edu

A new building will soon begin to be constructed on Washburn’s campus and it will be all about sports. From football and soccer to baseball and volleyball, this new building will allow athletes on Washburn’s campus to train with access to greater resources than they have had previously. Not only will this new building greatly benefit all of the sports teams on Washburn’s campus but it will also be a statement that Washburn’s athletes are ready to compete on a higher level than they have in the past. A whopping $6 million have been generously donated to Washburn to fund this massive undertaking. The money comes from a variety of sources such as alumni, local businesses and other corporate sources in Kansas.

Many other schools in Kansas have been upgrading their sports facilities recently, giving their teams an edge in future competitions. This new sports complex has been in the works for four years after the Board of Regents approved of adding cross country and track and field. With the addition of two new sports to the campus, a need for new upgraded facilities to be used exclusively by Washburn students was needed. Other colleges in Kansas have also upgraded their sporting facilities, hoping to gain an advantage over other teams. With this new building, Washburn will be ready to field the best athletes its sports teams can produce.

photo courtesy of Bruce Steinbrock

Now, all 16 teams on campus will be able Story continued on page 11

New withdrawal policy benefits students education Baylee Wolf Washburn Review baylee.wolf@washburn.edu

Washburn has altered their Complete Withdrawal process. Before this Fall semester, students had available access to withdrawing themselves from the university completely with no ifs, ands or buts. After seeing possible negative student impacts from this process, the institution is adapting their process to what they feel will be most beneficial to their students. Following the new protocol, in order for students to withdrawal themselves from the university, the student must contact the institution’s new student success coach. The SSC can be reached through the academic advising office, which is located in Mabee Library. “The new process is that when [one] is trying to complete a total withdraw from the university, we have a new Student Success Coach that was set up to try and catch those students who may be dropping prematurely or who may just be dropping their classes because maybe their financial aid hasn’t gone through,” said Yvette Phifer, university service adviser. “We try to catch those students to try to help them to make sure that there is nothing we can help them with before they do the total withdrawal.” Phifer explained that issues arose with the original self-withdrawal process because stu-

graphic by Joshua Irsik

dents sometimes get frustrated with the financial aid process. “They don’t really understand how it works so ssometimes they may need a little guidance on how to complete it so they can get the payment for school. Or, some students, say, if they’re having a personal issue with an instructor,... they just drop not knowing that there may be a work-around, or maybe we can get them into a different class,” Phifer said. The faculty at Washburn University want to help students in any way they can in order to keep them enrolled in classes so that the students can further pursue their degree. “I think that it’s good just to learn feedback for Washburn, like if [the student is] withdrawing because they decided they don’t want to go here or [are] going somewhere

else, [Washburn University] know[s] the reasons,” said Rheanna Leckner, sophomore. Hannah Arneson, another Washburn University sophomore, and Leckner are both in favor of the new policy. Leckner and Arneson think that the student success counselor will serve as a benefit rather than as a disadvantage, “…especially if [the student(s)] are just overwhelmed. If [the student(s)] want to drop out completely, talking to somebody could help them and they could figure out a better plan than just completely leaving.” “And it might be their first time actually talking to a faculty member about it because they may not have known where to go before” Arneson said. However, this newly created process covers only total-withdrawal from Washburn University, not dropping singular classes. Regarding the means of dropping one or a few classes, a student is still able to do this by themselves. They can complete this process through MyWashburn. There are a few, yet extremely vital things to remember about all of this. The last day to receive a 100 percent tuition refund is Friday, Aug. 31. The last opportunity to receive a 40 percent tuition refund is Friday, Sept. 7. The last day to receive a 20 percent tuition refund is Friday, Sept. 14. The final day to withdraw, without receiving any tuition refund is Friday, Nov. 2.

College Politics

New Org

Six Appeal

Volleyball Invite

Take a look at the primary elections through the perspective of the College Democrats and Republicans.

Students Builidng Stronger Ground took off July 2018 to make a difference in Topeka.

Behind-the-scenes of an A Capella group from Minnesota who took first place in the Moscow Spring A Capella festival.

Washburn hosts eight teams in annual volleyball invitational to kick off the season.

Page 4

Page 5

Page 7

OPINION

ARTS & LIVING

FEATURES

Page 10

SPORTS


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.