Providing a voice for Washburn students since 1897 Volume 144, Issue 23
washburnreview.org
March 28, 2018
News Pages 1-3
Opinion Page 4
March for Our Lives
Sports Pages 5-6
Cambridge Analytica mess
Watched from above
Features Pages 7-12 ‘Tomb Raider’ review
Remembering David Jensen, beloved faculty member Jessica Knieff Washburn Review jessica.knieff@washburn.edu
David Jensen, a beloved member of the Washburn faculty with a rich history on campus and in the community, passed away March 21. Jensen lived in Benton Hall for a time while he attended Washburn in the 1970s, when the building was a dormitory. His office was most recently located in the same building, where he later acted as the practicum coordinator for the social work department. Jensen taught at Washburn for about 30 years in the criminal justice, human service and social work departments. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Washburn University in psychology and corrections in 1974 and a master’s of social work degree in 1978 from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Kasey Paez, a senior social work major, has grown as a social work student because of the classes she has taken with Jensen. “He is a very sweet, gentle guy,” Paez said. “He is always willing to help after class. He is very compas-
sionate.” Bassima Schbley, interim social work department chair, described the breadth of Jensen’s knowledge that he brought into the class-
Photo courtesy of Washburn.edu
room. She said that he had a way of teaching students difficult topics in a way that was very easy and very real. “[He is] the most gentle human being you can probably encounter ... He understood life, he understood cultures, he was just non-judgemental all the time,” Schbley said. “He helped our program maintain a very high clinical quality nationwide.” Schbley said that losing Jensen has been especially difficult for the department simply because he was such an outstanding individual. She says students, faculty and everyone who encountered him loved him.
“It would have been easier for us, all of us in the department, if David had done something negative once; he hasn’t,” Schbley said. Steve Spyres, director of field practice in the social work department, described Jensen’s extensive reach within the social work field. “He had extensive relationships with social workers all over the region, many of whom he taught when they were in the social work program,” Spyres said. “[He is] the most gentle human being you can probably encounter...He understood life, he understood cultures, he was just non-judgemental all the time. He helped our program maintain a very high clinical quality nationwide.” -Bassima Schbley Senior social work major Becky Mauer reflected on her experiences with Jensen. She said Jensen took a great amount of care in helping her select the
1974 Kaw Yearbook features Psi Chi, the psychological honors society. David Jensen, a student at the time is the third from the right.
practicum that was right for her. Instead of just assigning her to a random placement, he went above and beyond to ensure that her placement put her on track to become the social worker she wants to be. “As a social worker, part of that responsibility is to model certain behaviors. I feel like he did that with modeling strength and dedication [and a] drive to succeed. He was a great role model, especially for students,” Mauer said. Carolyn Szafran, social work department field practicum coordinator, spoke highly of Jensen as a friend and colleague.
“David is the most caring, compassionate and competent social worker, colleague and friend I’ve known. He will be greatly missed,” Szafran said. Dan Petersen, social work professor said, “David was an enormously gentle and caring individual. He not only had knowledge, but he had the wisdom to translate it into practice and share that with others.” A memorial service to celebrate Jensen’s life has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 31 at the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center.
Washburn debate wins national title at NPDA Championships Natalie Croze Washburn Review natalie.croze@washburn.edu
Maintaining a standard of excellence, Washburn Debate won their fifth Overall Squad Sweepstakes National Championship at the National Parliamentary Debate Association Championships. The debate was hosted by the Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and included 46 schools participating in the largest national intercollegiate debate competition in the United States. Washburn Debate has had a tradition of winning the NPDA Squad Championship since 2010, and this year was no different. In a tight victory, Washburn Debate continued its success by winning the Overall Squad Sweepstakes National Championship for the fifth time since 2009, beating runner up, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, 34 wins to 33 wins. The championship is scored based on the performance of each squad’s top four teams. Washburn’s squad consisted the team of seniors Matt Parnell and Bailey Hockett; the team of seniors John Williams and Will Starks; the team of juniors Brooke Manny and Jackson Hermann; and the team of sophomore Jaishivani Balram and freshman Emily Unruh. Hockett, a marketing and management major felt that this year the squad has been very good together. “All of us get along very well,” Hockett said. “We are very supportive of each other and we work well with each other ... Everyone takes constructive criticism and survives constructive criticism in a very positive way. I think that that is what has allowed us to flourish this year as an
Courtesy of the Washburn Communications Department Facebook page
Washburn Debate stands together with their national championship trophy. The team brought home its fifth championship since 2010.
entire team.” All four Washburn teams made it to the Sweet 16 round of the single elimination tournament. The Sweet 16 round saw three Washburn teams eliminated. Parnell and Hockett, the remaining Washburn team, advanced to the Final Four round. Their path to the Final Four also saw them secure a win against a Texas Tech team, which Washburn had until then failed to do this season. In the Final Four semifinal
round, Parnell and Hockett were defeated by another team from Texas Tech and eliminated from the team competition. Despite the loss, Hockett is happy with the outcome. “When I first started on the team, I never ever would’ve thought I would be in the semifinals of a nation tournament,” Hockett said. “So I’ve definitely grown over the years with the help of our coaching staff, specifically Steven Doubledee who’s been very
helpful development me as a debater and as a person.” The Washburn debate team’s performance in these debates means they remain a great source of pride for both the school and its students, as well as to continue a legacy that could inspire future debate teams to victory. “We’re all really happy to be Ichabods and happy that we can provide another national championship for the university,” Hockett said.
WSGA names president, vice president-elect, seeks applicants for staff Charles Rankin Washburn Review charles.rankin@washburn.edu
Photo courtesy of Zac Surritt and Jim Henry for WU
Jim Henry and Zac Surrit, WSGA campaign
On March 16, University President Jerry Farley announced the winners of the WSGA president and vice president election, and the incoming student administration is forming
its executive staff in the coming weeks. Zac Surritt and Jim Henry were elected president and vice president, respectively, defeating their opponents Jack Siebert and Sydney Fox in a vote of 408 to 286. The incoming Sur-
ritt-Henry administration is accepting applications for its executive staff until 5 p.m. Monday, April 2, in the SAGL offices. The applicants will be interviewed throughout next week, and Surritt and Henry will send their nominees to the WSGA
senate for confirmation. The entire new members of WSGA including senators, executive staff members, president and vice president, will be sworn-in at a WSGA meeting in April.