Arts & Culture 5

Brandon Keenans
prints inspired by
trip abroad

News 3

Government officials
discuss education cost
and managing loans

Sports 10

Kansas heads to
the Sweet 16

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 | VOLUME 130 ISSUE 16

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN

THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904

Former athletes parents sue KU over safety of

on-campus housing after daughters alleged rape

University clears
professor who used
racial slur in class

The parents of a former University athlete

have sued KU after their daughter was
allegedly raped by a University football
player in Jayhawker Towers.

Contributed
Assistant communications
professor Andrea Quenette

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo illustration by Roxy Townsend/KANSAN

Daisy Tackett was a member of Student Senate before withdrawing from the University in January 2016, following her alleged sexual assault.

MIRANDA DAVIS
VICKY DIAZ-CAMACHO
KELLY CORDINGLEY
@KansanNews

he parents of a former
University
student
who was allegedly sexually assaulted on campus
have sued KU. The class-action lawsuit alleges KU did
not provide safe housing
for their daughter, who says
she was assaulted by a KU
football player in Jayhawker Towers in November
2014.
Amanda and James
Tackett, whose daughter
Daisy enrolled at the University in the Fall 2014 and
left in January 2016, allege in the lawsuit that the
University did not fulfill its
promise for safe housing.
The complaint also alleges
that Tackett was harassed
on campus after the assault.
Daisy was on the rowing
team and also served as a
student senator during her
time at KU. According to
the Dallas Morning News,
she left the University in
January because of the alleged assault and the Universitys handling of it.
Dan Curry, of Brown
and Curry LLC, is one of
the lawyers representing
Tacketts parents. He said
one purpose of this case is
to force the University to
change its marketing.
Theres no mention in
[promotional] videos of the
problem of sexual assault in
KU residence halls, he said.
To say, Put them here,
well take care of them, and
theyll be safe, and not say
that sexual assault happens

every year in the Jayhawker

Towers, thats what needs
to change, and thats the
feeling behind the Tacketts
lawsuit.
Curry said the University led the Tacketts to believe they were sending
their daughter to a safe environment.
Looking at it from a
parents perspective, from
a consumers perspective,
you ask, Did I get what I
was led to believe I was paying for? And for the Tacketts, that was a safe college
experience for their daughter, Curry said.
Daisy said in a statement to the Kansan that she
thinks the University needs
to be held accountable and
hopes the lawsuit will create change.

In addition to the
horrific assault of
our daughter, we
are concerned for
the safety of all
students at KU.
Amanda Tackett
Daisy Tacketts mother

I fully support my parents and their decision to

sue, Daisy said in her statement. I think KU needs to
be held accountable and I
want to see KU become a
better place. I hope they
will address the way they
advertise their school.
She added: Its obviously not a safe place to send
your kids and my parents
learned that the hard way.

I left a week into the spring

semester; I went to two
days of classes and then
withdrew.
According to the lawsuit,
when Daisy went to the
Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, the
campus office charged with
handling cases of sexual assault, the office was slow to
respond and offer resources
during the investigation.
The lawsuit, which was
filed in Douglas County
district court on Friday,
is a class action suit filed
on behalf of the Tacketts
and any University student
similarly situated who
attended in the past three
years before the lawsuit
was filed. It seeks relief of
tuition and housing as well
as an injunction for KU to
stop advertising on-campus
housing as safe until it is
proven.
We feel the University cannot say their campus and their dorms are
safe unless they really are
safe, Amanda Tackett,
Daisys mother, said in a
press release. In addition
to the horrific assault of our
daughter, we are concerned
for the safety of all students
at KU. We believe there
are many more victims of
on-campus crimes in the
dorms. Had we known this,
we would not have considered KU as an option.
The family is suing the
University under the Kansas Consumer Protection
Act, and alleges that the
University did not fulfill its
commercial promises made
to students and families
about safe housing.
In its attempts to solic-

it students to enroll in the

university, KU has repeatedly represented to Plaintiffs and other prospective
or current students or their
family members that KUs
residence halls are safe and
secure, the lawsuit says.
These representations are
false.
In truth, KUs residence
halls have for years been
home to a known, persistent and growing problem of instances of sexual
assault. Plaintiffs daughter
and many other residents of
KUs dormitories have been
sexually assaulted while
residing at KUs residence
halls, both before and after
KU made widespread representations of safety and
security.
It cites 27 different instances of specific sexual
assaults, cleary data and
public statements from
University officials that the
lawsuit alleges prove the
unsafe nature of on-campus
housing.
However University representatives disagree with
the nature of the lawsuit.
The suggestion that our
residence halls are unsafe
or that we misrepresent
campus safety in our student recruitment is baseless, Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director for news
and media relations, said in
an email. This lawsuit inaccurately portrays the environment at the University
of Kansas and our ongoing
efforts to ensure students
are safe and aware of their
surroundings.
Edited by Cassidy
Ritter

A four-month investigation into a University

of Kansas professor who
used a racial slur in class
has concluded the word
was used in an educational
context and not intended
to be racist.
Assistant communication studies professor Andrea Quenette has been on
paid leave since November, when a group of eight
graduate students filed a
discrimination complaint
after she used the slur in
response to a question in
class.
The universitys Office
of Institutional Opportunity and Access notified
her on Friday that she did
not violate the schools
nondiscrimination or racial and ethnic harassment
policies when she used the
word, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.
This word is offensive,
but it was used in the context of retelling a factual
event that occurred at another campus, Quenette
said, summarizing what
the university wrote in a
letter explaining its conclusion. It was not used in
racial animus.
The discussion occurred on Nov. 12, a day after a heated, campuswide
town hall forum on race.
Her comment was in response to a students question about how to best talk
about the event and racial
issues with other students.
Quenette
responded
that as a white woman it
was difficult to relate to
others challenges because
she has not experienced
racial discrimination herself, according to both
Quenette and students.
Then she noted that
unlike on other campuses where there had been

visible racist acts and

assaults, she had not
seen the racial slur she
used the actual slur
spray-painted on walls at
KU.
Dr. Quenettes deployment of racially violent rhetoric not only
creates a non-inclusive
environment in opposition to one of the University of Kansas core
tenets, but actively destroys the very possibility
of realizing those values
and goals, the graduate
students, some of whom
werent in the class at the
time, wrote in their complaints.
Jyleesa Hampton, a
first-year communications
graduate student who is
black, signed the open
letter but was not in the
class. She said Friday that
the offices conclusion that
Quenette didnt violate
policy doesnt mean her
comments werent perceived as racist by those
who received them.

This word is
offensive, but
it was used
in the context
of retelling a
factual event
that occurred at
another campus,
Andrea Quenette
Assistant communication
studies professor

The University recommended that Quenette

undergo cultural competency training, re-evaluate
orientation
curriculum
to include more diversity
support and pair up with
a faculty member. The
school also recommended
possibly reassigning duties within the communications department.
University spokesman
Joe Monaco confirmed
Friday that the investigation was complete and that
all involved parties had
been notified of the outcome. University administrators wont comment on
the findings, Monaco said,
citing confidentiality.
Information from:
Lawrence (Kan.)
Journal-World.

Government officials aim to help

students manage college finances
LARA KORTE
@lara_korte

Secretary of Education
John King held a conference call with college journalists Friday afternoon
to discuss how the government is working to help students manage federal loan
repayment.
The average amount of
debt for a student graduating from the University is
about $30,000, according

to Jeffery Heppler, senior

peer educator with Student Money Management
Services at the University,
who recently spoke to the
Kansan about the costs of
financing higher education.
King spoke about the
value of a college education,
and said for many, it is the
clearest path to the middle
class. However, King also
acknowledged the hopes
and dreams of a career and
stable income do not come
without some harsh facts.

I know that with those

dreams come the reality of
how much they can cost.
Its the reality that you and
your peers have grappled
with, King said.
King said the Obama
administration has taken measures over the past
seven years to make repayment simpler, including an
income-driven repayment
plan that lets borrowers
cap their payments at 10
percent of their income,
and the Public Service Loan

Forgiveness program.
King said students often
shy away from public service jobs because they are
afraid their salary will not
be enough to pay off student
loans. However, with the
Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, students
who pursue careers such as
nursing, education or positions within non-profits can
SEE EDUCATION
PAGE 2

TRUMP VISITS
KANSAS CITY
Read coverage from Donald
Trumps Kansas City, Mo. rally
News 2

news
Kansan
staff

NEWS MANAGEMENT

Editor-in-chief
Vicky Diaz-Camacho
Managing editor
Kate Miller
Brand & creativity
manager
Hallie Wilson
Digital operations editor
Anissa Fritz
Print production manager
Candice Tarver
ADVERTISING
MANAGEMENT

Business manager
Gage Brock
Sales manager
Katie Bell
SECTION EDITORS

FROM EDUCATION
PAGE 1
have their loans forgiven after 10 years.
In addition to efforts to
alleviate financial burden
on students, one of the issues King said the Department of Education is working on is increasing the
simplicity and transparency
of financial aid.
Ajita Talwalker Menon,
senior policy advisor for
Higher Education at the
White House Domestic
Policy Council, said the Department has been working
on developing tools on their
website to help students
make smart decisions about
the costs of a higher education.
As more students are
reliant on student loans
to finance their education,
its important they know
there are options to support
them, Menon said.
King also said the department has worked on
shortening the time it takes
to fill out the Free Appli-

cation for Federal Student

Aid, or FAFSA. He said it
now takes about as long as
watching a TV show.
We want to make sure
that we ask the questions
that are needed for students
to get financial aid, and we
think we can continue to
make further simplification
and look forward to working with Congress on that,
King said.
Although the website
does what it can to explain
the borrowing and repayment process, King said
he encourages individual
universities to offer financial counseling to their students.
The University currently
has Student Money Management Services to help
students assess their financial situation and make
sound decisions.
In a recent interview
with the Kansan, Heppler
also said it is important for
students to understand how
they will deal with loan payments after graduation.

We try to empower
students by helping them
understand their situation
and develop a plan, Heppler said. You need to understand your financial aid
because youll have to pay
it back, and youll have six
months after graduation to
figure out how youre going
to do that.

We try to empower
students by helping
them understand
their situation and
develop a plan.
Jeffery Heppler
Senior peer educator
with Student Money
Management Services

Financial aid from the

federal government might
be a traditional way of
funding a college education, however, for some
students, filling out FAFSA
just does not cut it, and they

KANSAN.COM/NEWS | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

turn to private loans.
Ted Mitchell, Undersecretary in the Department of
Education, said the department is looking at working
with Congress to create
refinancing programs that
would extend into the private loan spectrum.
Although loans can help,
King said it is up to states to
continue to invest in public
institutions to help alleviate
the burden of tuition.
On March 1, Gov. Sam
Brownback announced a
3 percent cut to Kansas
universities, resulting in a
$7.18 million cut to the University. In a statement to
students on March 2, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said the cut presents
significant challenges and
will require difficult decisions moving forward.
King said cuts like these
can increase the burden of
student debt.
One thing that has driven higher costs have been
disinvestment in higher
education, King said. We

News editor
Kelly Cordingley
Associate news editor
Cassidy Ritter
Sports editor
Scott Chasen
Associate sports editor
Shane Jackson
Arts & culture editor
Ryan Wright
Associate
arts & culture editor
Christian Hardy
Opinion editor
Maddy Mikinski
Visuals editor & design
chief
Roxy Townsend
Chief photographer
Caroline Fiss
Investigations editor
Miranda Davis
ADVISER

Roxy Townsend/KANSAN
Protestors interrupted Trump several times during his speech. The republican presidential candidate has been met with protest at many of his rallies.

Sales and marketing

adviser
Jon Schlitt

Trump rally riddled with protesters

as he discusses campaign platforms

The University Daily Kansan is the

student newspaper of the University of
Kansas. The first copy is paid through
the student activity fee. Additional
copies of The Kansan are 50 cents.
Subscriptions can be purchased at the
Kansan business office, 2051A Dole
Human Development Center, 1000
Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS.,
66045.
The University Daily Kansan (ISSN
0746-4967) is published on
Mondays and Thursdays during
the academic year except fall
break, spring break and exams. It is
published weekly during the summer
session excluding holidays. Annual
subscriptions by mail are $250 plus
tax. Send address changes to The
University Daily Kansan, 2051A Dole
Human Development Center, 1000
Sunnyside Avenue.

KANSAN MEDIA PARTNERS

Check out KUJH-TV on Wow! of
Kansas Channel 31 in Lawrence
for more on what youve read in
todays Kansan and other news.
Also see KUJHs website at tv.ku.
edu.
KJHK is the student voice in
radio. Whether its rock n roll
or reggae, sports or special
events, KJHK 90.7 is for you.
2000 Dole Human
Development Center 1000
Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, Kan., 66045
editor@kansan.com
www.kansan.com
Newsroom: (785) 864-4552
Advertising: (785) 864-4358

ENGAGE WITH US

@KANSANNEWS
/THEKANSAN
KANSAN.NEWS
@UNIVERSITY
DAILYKANSAN

KELLY CORDINGLEY
@KellyCordingley

Roughly three thousand people packed into

the Arvest Bank Theatre at
the Midland on Saturday,
March 12, to rally for Republican presidential candidate and front-runner Donald Trump. The event came
three days before Missouris
Republican and Democratic
primaries on March 15.
Trump spent the first
30 minutes of his speech
discussing protesters. He
touched on the protests in
Chicago the previous Friday
night that prompted him to
cancel that rally. By the end
of the speech, 12 separate
groups of protesters demonstrated against Trump and
were escorted out of the
building.
With the first few groups,
Trump called for them to be
removed and applauded the
police who did so.
It sounds like you have
a couple of protesters back
there, the hell with them,
he said.
As more and more demonstrators
popped
up,
Trump threatened to press
charges against them, but
said he didnt want to have
to go that far.
The only way were going stop this craziness is to
press charges, Trump said.
I dont want to do that.
If you do anything, were
pressing charges, he said.
The second half of
Trumps speech focused
on his platforms to Make
America great again, in-

cluding ensuring Americas

safety against terrorists.
Were going to rebuild
our military. Were going to
make it so strong we wont
have to fight wars because
no one is going to fight with
us like they do now, he said.
He also discussed the
March 10 Republican debate
and the question of whether
he supports waterboarding.
Theyre
decapitating
people, theyre drowning
people, and theyre chopping
off heads, he said. Yes, Im
in favor of waterboarding.
As far as Im concerned, you
can go a lot farther than waterboarding if you like.
Trump promised to repeal the Common Core and
take care of veterans. When
he addressed building a wall
between the United States
and Mexico, his supporters
began chanting, Build the
wall.
Were going to have
strong borders. Were not
going to let the drugs pour
in; were not going to let
people come in that are illegal, he said. Were going to
build a wall, and Mexico, as
sure as youre standing here,
Mexico is going to pay for
the wall.
As Trump wrapped up,
he promised that once hes
president, the American
people will have a president
to be proud of.
Were going to knock
the hell out of ISIS, Trump
said. Were going to win
with our Second Amendment, were not going to let
them chop up our Second
Amendment. Were going to

start winning so much, and

youre going to be so proud.
With the Missouri primaries only three days away, he
urged Missouri voters to go
out and vote because he said
if they dont, weve wasted
our time.
Youre going to remember that evening, two, three,
four years from now, youre
going to say you remember
that evening, and youre
going to look back and say
thats the greatest thing you

ever did because youre going to be proud of the country, proud of your president
and were going to go out
and make America great
again, Trump said.
Before the event, supporters and protesters argued and chanted at each
other. Some supporters
began lining up four hours
before the doors opened at
4 p.m.
Edited by Candice
Tarver

are pushing states to make

better investments.
King has recently met
with students and educators
in Georgia and Alabama as
a part of the Departments
College Opportunity Across
America tour. According
to the Departments Press
Office, King will set out to
hear stories from students
and campus leaders about
innovative strategies that
increase access, affordability and positive outcomes
for all students. Next week,
King will be making stops
in San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Edited by Matthew
Clough

NEWS

KANSAN.COM

Kansas veterans seek help with education funding

Illustration by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN

JOHANNA HECHT
@KansanNews

OPEKA Lt. Col. Evan

Holt, a Kansas native
and veteran of the Marine Corps, was shocked to
find his daughter was ineligible to attend a Kansas college
and pay in-state tuition.
Thats why he is working
to close a loophole in state
law that allows members of
the military serving in Kansas to get in-state tuition for
themselves and their families but doesnt allow Kansas
natives and their families the
same benefit.
House Bill 2567, which
passed the House 124-0 on
Feb. 22, would reinstate resident tuition for families who
permanently live in Kansas.
The provision for in-state
tuition was inadvertently
eliminated a year ago when
lawmakers passed House
Bill 2154, a bill that brought
Kansas into compliance with

federal laws. HB 2567 also

would reimburse families
if they were denied in-state
tuition. The bill is now in the
Senate.
Holt, who served in the
military for 21 years, returned to Kansas with his
family after he had retired.
HB 2154 allowed in-state
tuition for veterans, spouses
and dependents of individuals stationed in Kansas while
they were serving in the military. But it excluded veterans, spouses and dependents
from receiving in-state tuition if they lived in Kansas
before their military service.
Holt, who testified before
legislators, said the current
law allows non-Kansan veterans who served in Kansas
for as little as two years to
receive in-state benefits.
Theres always going to
be people who slip through
the loopholes, in a sense you
get strange cases like that. Id
say theres definitely frustra-

1712 Ohio

tions with the bureaucracy as

far as trying to navigate the
different avenues and trying
to get the benefits, said William Rector, a Kansas State
University graduate research
assistant in Non-Traditional
& Veteran Student Services.
Helping veterans and
their families navigate college can be a challenge for
veterans advocates. Creating
an awareness of these issues
is one of the biggest hurdles,
Rector said.
On a statewide level,
Wayne Bollig, deputy director of the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office, said its difficult to even
identify who is a veteran in
the state of Kansas because
veterans have to identify
themselves.
Many veterans dont
participate in clubs as much
as they used to, so we have
a harder time determining
what communities theyre in,
where theyre at and where

1015 Mississippi

1125 Tennessee
A home to fit your needs!

http://www.midwestpm.com
785.841.4935

they need help, Bollig said.

More than 220,000 veterans live in Kansas, according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.
Bollig said trying to create
an awareness of various veteran services is continuously
difficult due to the high costs
of advertising and the limited budget his organization
has to work with.
The University of Kansas
is taking steps to help veterans. To improve awareness
and help veterans and their
dependents, Kansas is opening a 3,000-square foot Student Veteran Center in January 2017. The center will be a
hub for all veteran activities
on campus and be located
in Summerfield Hall. It will
offer a lounge area, offices
for a variety of veteran services and potentially include
members from the state district attorneys office to offer
advice. The University will
also hire a Center Director.

KU is making a big step

forward by hiring a Student
Veteran Center director because that person will be
responsible for recruiting,
retaining and graduating our
student veteran population,
said Lt. Col. Randy Masten, a
program assistant for the KU
Office of Graduate Military
Programs. Theyre ensuring
that they will get all the support theyve earned through
their military service and all
the benefits theyve earned
as well.
This center is the next
phase in creating a stronger presence for veterans
on campus and will provide
opportunities for non-traditional student veterans who
need help structuring their
Kansas experience.
Some [veterans] come
in and are older, and they
feel a little bit out of touch
with the undergrad populace, and they want to find
that community where they

feel a little bit more belonging and grounding, Derek

Kandt said, president of the
KU Collegiate Veterans Association.
Kandt said there are
around 800 Kansas students using some type of GI
Bill benefits. These students
could also be dependents
of veterans, such as Holts
daughter.
The Kansas Collegiate
Veterans Association focuses
on helping student veterans
through the process of receiving their GI Bill benefits.
We want to make sure
people who are being frustrated by the process know
that this is an avenue for
their voices to be heard,"
Kandt said. "And by enlargement we could be very
successful for getting policy
changes.

Edited by Leah Sitz

and Kate Miller

opinion
FREE-FOR-ALL
WE HEAR
FROM YOU

Issawi: Legislature needs

to start acting like adults

Text your #FFA

submissions to
785-289-UDK1
(8351)
The best part of
watching sports is
insulting where the
other team is from

Stop Everything,
Vanilla Ice is coming to
KC in June

A bird just tried to

fly into my class. It
was determined. I am
determined to get out
of here.

Illustration by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN

Liston: Department of
Education should oversee public school funds

RYAN LISTON

Note to self: Do not eat

Cheetos while reading a
library book

Break, also known

as time to forget
everything for your test
on Tuesday
Everything in Miami
smells like weed and
coffee

Two words: Bracket

Busted

I think I just now

realized what ODBs
song Baby I got Your
Money meant. ew.

Lets have FFFAs, free

food for alls

DANYA ISSAWI
@danyasawi

You know its going to

be a great day when you
forget to put on pants to
open the door for your
Jimmy Johns

Theres nothing more

sad than seeing a
homeless guy kick his
sign in frustration

KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

THE STATE OF EDUCATION:

@rliston235

he Kansas Supreme
Court ruled on Feb. 11
that state funding of
public schools was unequally and unlawfully distributed. The Kansas legislature
passed a budget bill last
month that did not include
amendments to funding of
public schools. The court
told
lawmakers
public
schools will not open in the
2016-2017 school year unless the issue is corrected by
June 30.
The state government
needs to make the school
budget a priority instead of
acting like a college student,
cramming for a test to try to
get prepared at the last minute.
Kansas public school
closings would be detrimental for children, families and
school employees. Parents
that work during the day
would need to find babysitters, students would be a
year behind and everyone
who works for the schools
would have to find alterna-

tive ways to earn money.

The government must
take the courts warning seriously.
To produce an adequate
plan, the Kansas government should have the Kansas State Department of
Education create a new
budget plan that eliminates
the inequitable spending
and focuses on the essential
operations that keep public
schools open.
The Department of Education should invite superintendents from all of the
Kansas school districts to
determine a fair distribution
of spending.
The Department of Education will have the best
resources and knowledge to
determine a suitable budget
for the states public schools.
Other state agencies would
be unable to accurately assess the needs of our schools.
Without a public school
budget in place and with
the governments deadline
approaching, there is no
time left to waste. Legislators need to create a public
school budget as soon as
possible so it can be reviewed and accounted for in
the overall state budget. The
Department of Education is
the best state agency to solve
the problem.
Ryan Liston is a freshman from Lawrence studying journalism.

nder the right circumstances, experimentation can propel us forward. After all,
trial and error are at the
pinnacle of discovery and
societal development. But
what happens when experimentation goes wrong?
When rather than acting
as a catalyst for change, it
becomes an inhibition that
halts all hope for prosperity?
Astoundingly enough,
this exact scenario, a failed
attempt at cultivating a
grand-scale
experiment
spearheaded by our steadfast state politicians, occurred within the Kansas
legislature. And we, the
students, will be left to
reckon with the retributions of twice-elected Governor Sam Brownbacks
economic policies.
During his first two
years in office, Brownback
and the rest of his gang
within the Kansas legislature decided to enact a tax
plan that was a real live
experiment in supply-side
economics. Because why
not experiment with the
livelihood of your constituents?
Brownbacks new policies included steep income
tax cuts for the wealthy
as well as exemptions for
business owners, who filed
as individuals coupled
with a hike on consumption taxes, all the hope

that the result would be

an increase in investment
and growth within the job
sector.
These changes maybe,
just maybe, could have
perpetuated a shift within the Kansas economy.
But what our noble leaders seemingly neglected
is that the lack of money
flowing in as a result of tax
cuts must be equated with
spending cuts as well.
Five years later, prospects are looking less than
lucrative. Kansas is currently swimming in a 30
million dollar deficit in the
state budget. With our legislators wallets becoming
increasingly tighter, weve
begun to lose the ability to
fund certain critical institutions. Institutions that
we pride ourselves on as a
state and nation and help
us stake our claim as a developed country; institutions like education.
Just last year, the
Shawnee Mission School
District shut down schools
a week earlier than intended for summer vacation in
lieu of budget cuts to education. Now if the state
cant figure out a way to
fund schools by July 1, the
government will have no
means of paying for public
education. In other words,
Kansas schools may not
open next year.
How comforting to
know that any hope of future academic prosperity
for Kansas students could
be thwarted at the hands
of irresponsible fiscal policies enacted by a group of
ill-placed politicians.
This problem, this apparent apathy toward
something so vital as education, is not an issue we
often observe within the
boundaries of our prideful
nation. We tell our citizens
that countries like ours
view education as a pillar

to any forthcoming success.

How can we claim any
sense of national superiority above less developed
nations when we ourselves
cannot seem to be fiscally responsible enough to
fund something as significant as learning?
With the knowledge
that this could affect our
siblings, our children and
even us as current college
students, we must push
our politicians to come to
terms with the magnitude
of their mistake and stop
playing politics. Shutting
down our schools will not
only impede intellectual
growth, but would exacerbate the economic disaster
our state is already drowning in.
The answer is not in
taking money from wealthier districts and passing it
on to less affluent districts
nor is the solution in voiding the contracts in place
for food and electricity
for school districts. The
solution must come from
adults acting like adults
and coming together in a
bipartisan fashion.
The moment our politicians overcome their inability to compromise due
to an inexplicable attachment to broken policies is
when they can truly help
Kansas children rather
than acting like stubborn
children themselves. The
men and women in Topeka have four months to figure out a solution, and the
clock is quickly ticking.

Danya Issawi is a
sophomore from Kansas
City studying journalism.

Edited by Shane
Jackson

Edited by Cele Fryer

I would vote Wayne

Selden for president

Somedays you win,

somedays you buy an
entire bag of ghirardelli
chocolate and plot to
kill your roommate

Can I eat week-old

Chipotle?

Love is... pooping in the

woods together without
breaking eye contact

Lets all take a minute

and be thankful that
bugs arent the same
size as us.

The chaos bracket

giveth and the chaos
bracket taketh away.

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

HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

LETTER GUIDELINES: Send
letters to editor@kansan.com. Write
LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the
email subject line.
Length: 300 words

The submission should include the

authors name, year, major and
hometown. Find our full letter to the
editor policy online at
kansan.com/letters.

CONTACT US
Vicky Diaz-Camacho
Editor-in-chief
vickydc@kansan.com

Gage Brock
Business Manager
gbrock@kansan.com

THE KANSAN
EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan
Editorial Board are Vicky
Diaz-Camacho, Kate Miller,
Gage Brock and Maddy
Mikinski

arts & culture

KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

HOROSCOPES
WHATS YOUR
SIGN?

Aries ( March 21-April

19)
Youre exceptionally clever
with words over the next few
weeks, with Mercury in your
sign. Creative ideas abound.
Take notes for later. Dont take
on more than you can do by
the deadline.
Taurus ( April 20-May
20)
Postpone an important
decision until youre sure. For
the next three weeks, with
Mercury in Aries, finish up old
business. Review what worked
and didnt, and update plans.
Include intuition and unspoken
clues.
Gemini ( May 21-June
20)
Participate with an energetic team over the next three
weeks, with Mercury in Aries.
The odds of breakdown are
high today ... slow down
and avoid mistakes. Avoid
arguments. Dance gracefully to
avoid stepping on anyone.
Cancer ( June 21-July
22)
Theres an abundance of work.
Watch carefully for professional opportunity over the next
three weeks, with Mercury in
Aries. Prepare to jump when
the moment is right. Measure
three times and cut once.
Leo ( July 23-Aug. 22)
Play by the rules, and wait for
favorable conditions. Travel
beckons over the next three
weeks, with Mercury in Aries.
Make long-distance connections. Study and research are
favored. Observe the running
game.
Virgo ( Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Dont waste effort. Work carefully so you wont have to do
it over. Its easier to organize
shared finances over the next
few weeks, with Mercury in
Aries. Determine how much
you can spend.
Libra ( Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Strengthen networks and
community ties. Partnership
makes the difference. The
competition heats up over the
next few weeks, with Mercury
in Aries. In a potential clash
with authority, use your own
good sense.
Scorpio ( Oct. 23-Nov.
21)
Promote your work. Postpone a potential argument
by sidestepping conflicting
goals. Over the next three,
weeks with Mercury in Aries,
find ways to work smarter
Increase organization. Public
demands take priority. Speak
confidently.
Sagittarius ( Nov. 22Dec. 21)
Connect with a distant loved
one. Express your affection
and deepest feelings. Romantic
communication flowers over
the next three weeks, with
Mercury in Aries. Outdoor
recreation is in the realm of
possibility. Gourmet dining
is on.
Capricorn ( Dec. 22-Jan.
19)
Take on a home renovation
project over the next three
weeks, with Mercury in Aries.
Resist the temptation to splurge
or gamble. Think of someone
who needs you. Avoid misunderstandings carefully. Set
family goals.
Aquarius ( Jan. 20-Feb.
18)
New opportunities arise. Wait
overnight to sign. Overcome
a temporary weakness. Learn
voraciously over the next three
weeks, with Mercury in Aries.
Youre especially creative and
words flow with ease. Write,
record and report.
Pisces ( Feb. 19-March
20)
Changes outside stir things up
at home. Unexpected circumstances require adaptation.
Check for errors. For nearly
three weeks, with Mercury in
Aries, develop new income
sources. Track finances for
growth. Make profitable
connections.

ART IN FOCUS

Brandon Keenan uses printmaking

to transform memories into artwork
MINSEON KIM
@adropofsunny

or many students,
studying abroad is a
chance to experience
another country while still
completing classes. While
that remained true for
Brandon Keenan, he also
used his experience abroad
this past summer to inspire
his artwork back home.
During his trip abroad,
Keenan, a senior from
Lenexa studying art and
art history, visited three
different European cities,
including Venice, where he
took photos that inspired
his own artwork.
A lot of what I have
been interested in recently
is memories and how we
perceive them, Keenan
said. I was thinking about
the really bright colors on
the buildings, how everything seems stacked on top
of each other and really
chaotic.
At the same time,
Keenan started to post his
works on his Instagram account. Using the photos he
took while traveling in Europe, he painted on top of
the printed out photo and
did inkjet transfer, a form
of printmaking, to create
his prints. These artworks
have been displayed at
Mana Bar, located at 1111
Massachusetts St., since
Feb. 26.
I wanted to make them
real and tie in the memory
and experience of why [it]
was that important enough
to post, like why was that
important enough to document, Keenan said.
Keenan began to seriously consider going to
art school after taking a
photography class in high
school. The first course
Keenan took at the University was a lithography class,
which quickly became his
favorite type of printmaking and led him to take
more courses. He said he
likes how he can build up
his own image layer by layer
with printmaking.
In addition, Keenan said
the weather has a huge affect on printmaking, which
makes it difficult to adjust.
As he reprints the image in
different times of the year,
the conditions of the image
change depending on the
humidity and temperature.
Its really fickle but

once you get everything set

up right, it goes really, really well, Keenan said.
Madison Tubbs, a sophomore from Colby, went
on the study abroad trip to
Europe last summer with
Keenan and got to know
him as a lyrical, determined and experimental
artist.
Its topical and always
tells a great narrative,
Tubbs said. Brandon's
prints are really beautiful
because he always has a
personal connection or purpose for the work that he is
making."
While most of Keenan's
current works have been
influenced by his time in
Europe, he also likes to be
creative with other types of
prints and maps. The first
print Keenan worked on
was a portrait of Nick Offerman wearing cornrows
in a scene from "Parks and
Recreation."
Keenan said what draws
him more to printmaking
than painting or drawing is
the process of putting it all
together that allows him to
make multiples.
With a painting, you're
just painting and eventually
you're done, Keenan said.
Whereas with printing,
making you kind of have
to plan out your image and
there's usually something
that goes into making the
thing that holds your image, and then you have to
print it.
This summer, Keenan
and other art students will
travel to Tokyo and Kyoto
in Japan for study abroad
to experience woodblock
printing and papermaking.
They will be able to visit nationally-known artist
residencies that have been
making paper for more than
150 years in Japan. Keenan
said he hopes to gain hands
on experience with traditional printmaking.
For Keenan, art is a language that everyone can
share. He said he thinks it
allows him to express himself and communicate nonverbally by using images.
You know, you dont
have to speak French to get
Picasso; you dont have to
speak Italian to see Da Vinci and get it, Keenan said.

Edited by Shane
Jackson

Brandons prints are

really beautiful because
he always has a personal
connection or purpose
for the work that he is
making.
Madison Tubbs

Sophomore

Baxter Schanze/KANSAN
Brandon Keenan, a senior studying art with an emphasis in printmaking, works on a print. Last summer, Keenan studied abroad, which has made a big impact on his work. Recently, Mana Bar
on Massachusetts Street featured his prints.

ARTS & CULTURE

PUZZLES

CRYPTOQUIP

!"#$"%!&'(&$
)(&*+,*-.!)

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

FIND THE ANSWERS AND

OTHER GREAT CONTENT AT

KANSAN.COM

KANSAN.COM

ARTS & CULTURE

KANSAN.COM

Eight graduate students will showcase art in spring exhibits

SAMANTHA SEXTON
@Sambiscuit

he spring semester
brings a unique opportunity for graduate
students at the University
to show off what research
has interested them in
their three years of study.
Throughout the rest of
March and the first two
weeks of April, eight artists
working with various media
will present their thesis in
the Art and Design Gallery
in Chalmers Hall.
One such graduate student, Shelby Burchett from
Liberty, Mo., has taken her
previous education from
the Kansas City Art Institute with textiles and fabrics and elevated it to a new
creative process shes titled,
Goo-Witching:
Hydromancy."

A lot of my work is experimental, but I definitely

consider my textile background as the reason Im
working with such strange
materials, Burchett said.
Burchett once focused
on weaving as her art form
and said working with the
goo," as she calls it, is just
an elevated form of weaving. She said her research
with goo and other unorthodox materials began as an
accident after leaving unclean materials out for too
long. Crystals began to form
on one of her pots, peaking
her curiosity in the chemical process that led to the
formation.
I started to grow my
own crystals and researched
the chemical compounds of
the material to experiment
with the composition, and
thats where I discovered

my goo, Burchett said.

Burchett uses the flowing and evolving materials
to highlight her interest in
change and entropy. Fascinated with magic and the
occult, Burchett said she
uses her work to explore
her spirituality while attempting to illicit child-like
curiosity from viewers.
When I came to KU I
was opened up to so much I
hadnt experienced before;
I had never seen so many
books," Burchett said. "I began looking at magical traditions and the anthropology of witchcraft and have
been transitioning those
ideas into my own personal
belief system and spirituality through materials.
Burchett said through
her work she can explore
both the science and magic
of the world and that shes

always looking for new

things to fill her heart with
child-like curiosity."
Another artist in the
graduate program, Jason
Zeh from Kansas City, Mo.,
also understands the concept of change and fluidity
with his work that will be on
display in the exhibit under
the title, Asynchronous:
Voice & Body.
Zeh, originally from
Bowling
Green,
Ohio,
moved to Kansas City, Mo.,
after his partner accepted
a job offer. Zeh, who has a
masters degree in English,
began teaching writing in
the University's English
department when he discovered the expanded media program in the School
of the Arts, which he said
worked perfectly given his
other interests.
My real life outside of

my job for the last 10 or 15

years has been devoted to
experimental music, Zeh
said.
Zeh primarily works
with sound and will display
a multimedia performance
art piece during his exhibition, which may be more
daunting than it sounds.
Ill be performing for
four hours a day all week
long and fortunately everything has been so busy
lately that I havent had the
time to appreciate the reality of what that means, Zeh
said.
Zeh said he was listening
to NPR when a speech therapist began to explain how
she would help transgender
people negotiate the differences between the speech
patterns of men and women; his thesis has since been
looking at just that.

Ive been looking into

all of the non-language
parts of speech that really
say a lot about the societal concept of gender, Zeh
said.
Zeh created a software
that allows him to collect
data as people are walking through his exhibit
and translate that data in a
way that distorts his voice
to replicate the attitude or
presentation of that person.
Burchetts exhibit will be
displayed starting April 10
and ending April 15. Zehs
exhibit will be displayed
April 3-8.
The dates and titles for
the other six graduate exhibits can be found online
at the University's calendar
of events.

Edited by Shane
Jackson

Paige Stingley/KANSAN
Shelby Burchett uses textures and goo to explore her spirituality and curiosity. Burchett is one of eight graduate students presenting their thesis in the Art and Design gallery in Chalmers Hall.

KANSAN
CLASSIFIEDS
785-864-4358

JOBS

Engineering Internship
City of Lawrence
The City of Lawrence is seeking
an Engineering Intern to assist
staff with civil engineering tasks related to stormwater infrastructure,
roadway design & project inspection, including office & field work.
Prefer current student in CE program w/working knowledge of GIS
(ArcGIS & AutoCAD). Starting pay
is $13.00/hr. Requires drivers license. Apply by 03/25/2016 at
www.lawrenceks.org/jobs
EOE M/F/D
City of Lawrence, KS
Provide landscape services & horticulture practices for Citys parks &
public right of way. Requires Bachelors equivalent in Horticulture or
related field w/at least 1yr landscape horticulture exp. Must be
able to aquire CDL & KAA Arborist
certificate within the first 6 months
of hire. $18.35/hr. Must pass post
offer background check, physical
& drug screen. Apply by 03/25/16.
To Apply Go To
www.LawrenceKS.org/jobs
EOE M/F/D

housing

SALE

SUBJECT
of
IMPOrTANCE

jobs

for sale

hawkchalk.com

JOBS

City of Lawrence
Provide highly responsible & confidential admin support in Human
Resources. P/T position works
9am1pm; must have ability to
work flex hrs if needed. Requires
at least 1yr HR clerical exp; excellent communication & Customer
Service skills; 40wpm & MS Office
(Word, Excel, Outlook). $10/hr.
Apply by 3/16/16.
Apply online at
www.lawrenceks.org/jobs
EOE M/F/D
EVENING CLEANER
35 nights weekly, 24hrs. nightly,
$9/hr. 1020 hrs. weekly. Locally
owned since 1984. BPI Building
Services, 939 Iowa St (NAPA Auto
Parts bldg.) References required,
stable work history. 7858426264
Other shifts P/T, F/T. EOE
Help wanted for Phoenix Gallery
downtown Lawrence. Evenings,
weekends & summer hrs. needed.
Must be outgoing, friendly & have
computer exp. KS work study eligible students preferred. Call 785
8430080 for more info or bring resume to 825 Massachusetts.

textbooks

announcements

JOBS

Great American Bank is currently

accepting applications for 2 P/T
teller positions at our downtown
Lawrence location. Hours are flexible but must be available to close
until 6pm and Sat. mornings. Send
resume to HResources@greatambank.com or stop by one of our
branches to complete an application.
SET EM UP JACKS SPORTS BAR
Now hiring all positions. Apply in
person 23rd St. just past Harper.

classifieds@kansan.com

JOBS
JOBS

Highland Community College is

Seeking a Director of Academic
Advising & Student Success Center on the Highland, KS, campus.
F/T w/benefits. Directs advising,
disabi.ities, placement, tutoring &
strategies to assist in student academic success. Masters required;
Relevant
experience.
Position
available May 1, but start date negotiable.
Request
application
packet: 7854426144 or humanresources@highlandcc.edu EOE

Student Laborer
Rock Chalk Park
Responsible for assisting with field
& facility preparation at Rock
Chalk Park for soccer, softball &
track events. Visit www.kuathletics.com for full details & to apply.
EOE
Sunflower State Games seeks energetic and responsible summer
interns to assist in event planning
and promotions for Olympic Style
Sports Festival. Visit sunflowergames.com or call
7852352295 to inquire.

HOUSING

7BR FOR RENT

Available Aug. 2016 1/2 block from
Stadium 7855508499
NEWLY RENOVATED 3 BR
Close to Campus, Stadium, Downtown. Available Aug. 2016
Call or text 9139720098
or pack2323@gmail.com
NEWLY RENOVATED 5 BR
Close to Campus, Stadium, Downtown. Available Aug. 2016
Call or text 9139720098
or pack2323@gmail.com
RENOVATED 10BR, 5BTH
Right off Mass Street
Available Aug. 2016
Call or text 9139720098 or
pack2323@gmail.com

SPORTS

KANSAN.COM

The man behind the jersey: Inside Marlins Mans

connection to the community and Kansas City
MATT HOFFMANN
@MattHoffmannUDK

awyer by day and Marlins Man by night,

Laurence Leavy is as
close as were going to get
to a real life superhero.
Perhaps
super-fan
seems more apt, considering Leavy has been to
more than 90 World Series games, 70 NBA Finals
games and countless no
really, countless regular
season games across all of
Americas favorite sports.
In fact, most recently
you may have spotted Marlins Man at a few Kansas
basketball games, including
the Kansas-Kentucky basketball game on Jan. 30.
He was hard to miss,
clad in bright orange including his customary visor and jersey. He wont
change his jersey (hes been
asked before), but he was
supporting Kansas despite
the just-escaped-Leavenworth-Prison look.
Leavy said his neighbors son goes to the University, adding that before
he even got on campus he
said he had players texting
him asking to meet. He said
those players have been
Marlins Man fans for two
years.
Theyve been trying
since the Giants won the
World Series to get me to
a KU game and I finally
agreed to go, Leavy said.
Big city lights, Kansas
City nights
It's not like Kansas-Kentucky is the only high profile event Leavy has ever
been to. It's not even close.
In addition to Lawrence,
Marlins Man has made
appearances in Chicago;
Los Angeles; Oakland, Calif. and New York City just
to name a few. However,
when asked what his favorite sports scene was, his answer was clear.
Kansas City.
Leavy says that after seeing how Kansas City adopted him more than any other
city, he told his staff to get
me there once a month.
Earlier this month, Leavy
attended another Kansas
City appearance at a fundraiser for the Humane Society.
And when it comes to

sporting events, Leavy gives

a strong reason for why
Kansas City is his home
base of sorts. He praised the
class of the city, adding that
he was impressed with how
the people reacted to winning the World Series.
Kansas City had hundreds of thousands of people turn up for the World
Series parade. Ive been to
cities where theres been
rioting in the streets after a
win, Leavy said. The way
Royals fans handled themselves they're true class.
But even with a favorite
sports city, it's no secret
Marlins Man is everywhere.
One more place Leavy
has been known for showing up at is the Preakness.
And this year, he had a
chance to do so in style.
Leavy said the race organizers offered to pay for his hotel and flight, complete with
a golf cart to mosey around
the finish line.
But he declined.
He said he'd rather pay
his own way, leaving him
free to criticize the race if
he sees fit.
Thats a sticking point
for Leavy. He wants the
world to know that the Marlins Man isnt a PR stunt
and that he isnt a marketing genius trying to sell a
product.
Fame, fortune and
e-court
Before Leavy became
famous for sports, as he
calls it, he says he was famous in three other areas:
Personal injury law, horse
racing and Florida State
(his name is on the side of
Doak Campbell Stadium).
According to Leavy, this
means he wasnt fazed by
his sudden rise to sports
fandom.
People love it. It never
went to my head, Leavy
said.
So whats a day in the
life of Marlins Man like and
what factors enable him to
be at a sporting event most
days of the year? After all,
he was at a major league
sporting event nearly 90
percent of the time, ranging
from last April through the
World Series.
I figured out a way that
I could work seven nights a
week and be at a sporting
event each night, Leavy
said. Its all because of so-

cial media. No, thats not

right more like the Internet.
The ability to file Internet court briefings online in
Florida makes Leavys lifestyle a reality.
I can e-file a motion and
then respond to it by email,
you never see the judge
anymore except for trial,
Leavy said. I could be in
a hotel room in New York
City logged on to the Internet working for six or seven
hours."
The implementation of a
new e-court didnt mean
the end of changes at the
brick and mortar offices.
Leavy says hes had to hire
four new people to keep up
with media requests and
other projects surrounding
his spectator sport fame.
As a side note, perhaps it
was one of those new employees that set off the
smoke alarm in his building
just before our interview.
However, most of his
work takes place on the
road.
The Actual Marlins
Laurence Leavy does
not technically represent
the Marlins, but its impossible to not associate his
persona as Marlins Man
with the ballclub. If you go
to Yahoo and type in "Mar-

lins", the first suggestion is

Marlins Spring Training,
followed by Marlins, and
then Marlins Man further
down.
Even though he's not
a member of the team or
staff, the Marlins are keenly
aware of who he is.
Hes definitely got a
following and its funny to
see how popular he has become, not only locally but
across the country, Vice
President of the Marlins
Sales and Service department Ryan McCoy said.
McCoy tried to deflect
attention away from Leavy
being directly tied to the
Marlins but its just as obvious to see the two are directly connected.
Last year the Marlins
went 71-91, finishing 17
games back of a playoff
berth. Leavy, as the Marlins Man, is quite possibly
bringing more attention to
the Marlins than anything
the team is doing on the
field.
Last year I was in San
Francisco waiting for somebody outside the ballpark
and I saw two young Marlins fans walk by, McCoy
said, chuckling. They were
looking at their phones, and
they said, 'Oh wait, Marlins
Man is here we've got to
find him.'

McCoy also added that

Leavy's "15 minutes of
fame" have not ended in
Florida, let alone the rest of
the country.
From what I understand hes quite popular in
the Kansas area, McCoy
said.
Game day
Finally, after completing
a full workday at the hotel,
Leavy heads to whatever
game is on the slate that
night, mingling with fans
beforehand and taking pictures that will inevitably
end up on his Twitter timeline later that night.
It can not be understated just how active Leavy is
in the sports community.
Avid Marlins Man fans will
notice that hes in a different city at a different stadium or a different sport altogether every night.
Marlins Man fanatics
will also notice Leavy on his
phone at baseball games but
not other sports, an important distinction. Leavy says
that with baseball there is
plenty of downtime from
the batter stepping into the
box, the pitcher taking the
mound, waving off a signal
or two and the actual pitch.
Leavy enjoys this downtime, letting him catch up
on emails or tweets but

says he puts his phone away

during other sports like
football and basketball, two
sports that are prevalent in
the Lawrence area, even if
the football is more Chiefs
football than Kansas football.
Like any good superhero
(fan), Leavy has the moral
principles to boot. On Twitter, Leavy encourages people to pay it forward and
says, If someone is nice
and sincere, Im happy to
talk to them.
And he practices what he
preaches.
Before the Kansas-Kentucky game, Marlins Man
spoke to a couple of schools
in the Kansas City area,
including Lyndon High
School in Lyndon, Kan.,
and was a celebrity bowler
at a fundraiser hosted by
the academic wing of the
University.
Leavy is a celebrity and
an Internet phenomenon,
yes, but he's also a person
who does what he can to
give back.
"The most important
thing for me right now is
people paying it forward,"
Leavy said.
Edited by Brendan
Dzwierzynski

Missy Minear/KANSAN
Marlins Man attends the game against Oklahoma State on Feb. 15 in Allen Fieldhouse.

Two KU players chosen to represent USA Volleyball

SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3

On Friday, two players from Kansas volleyball

were named to USA Volleyballs 12-player roster.
All-American sophomore

setter Ainise Havili and

All-Big 12 sophomore outside hitter Madison Rigdon
were chosen to represent
the U.S. College National
Team (CNT-China) in China this summer, according
to a University release.

The team will be in

Shanghai from June 2123 and Nanjing from June
23-26, finishing the tour in
Beijing from June 26-July
1. Havili and Rigdon are
two of three players from
the Big 12 conference on the

Sophomore setter Ainise Havili sets the ball. On Friday, Havili was named to USA Volleyballs 12-player roster.

CNT-China roster.
Havili
and
Rigdon
helped lead the Jayhawks
to a 30-3 record in the 2015
season, ultimately going to
the programs first ever Final Four before falling to
Nebraska 3-1. Havili led the

Missy Minear/KANSAN

team with 1,371 assists. Rigdon finished third on the

team in kills with 311 in her
sophomore campaign.
The CNT-Europe roster will be announced next
week, and the CNT-GJNC
roster will be released by

the end of the month. No

timetable has been set for
the coaching staff to be
named, but it is expected to
happen later this spring.

file photo/KANSAN
Sophomore outside hitter Madison Rigdon smiles. She was also named to the roster.

sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Jayhawks top Huskies to

advance to the Sweet 16

NEXT STOP:
LOUISVILLE

Missy Minear/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Devonte Graham yells in delight during Kansas win over UConn on Saturday. With the win, Kansas is headed to the Sweet 16 to take on Maryland.

SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU

ES MOINES, Iowa
After Michigan State
fell to Middle Tennessee State in one of the most
shocking upsets in NCAA
tournament history, the
Kansas players met, informally, to discuss what had
happened.
The message from the
meeting was a simple one.
When I saw them lose, I
was telling the guys, Dont
let it be us, senior forward
Jamari Traylor said.
While a meeting like that
might seem useless to a typical team, for the last two
years, it had been them.
In 2014, an Andrew Wiggins-led Kansas team rolled
into St. Louis with high expectations, even without
star freshman Joel Embiid. That teams run would
be short-lived, as Kansas
was bounced in the second
round by Stanford.
One year later, a depleted Kansas team bowed out
in the Round of 32 once
again; the culprit was Wichita State.
This year, the situation
seemed all-to-familiar. As
senior forward Perry Ellis
exited the game early, after knocking knees with a
UConn player, a hush fell

over the Kansas contingent

in the crowd as well as the
Kansas bench.
What went through my
head [...] I see it, and I go,
Oh shoot, junior guard
Wayne Selden Jr. said. I
kind of said something different.
However, thered be a
different script this time. A
couple of players went over
to check on Ellis and got the
good news they were hoping for.
Me and Wayne were
like, Ah man, what happened? sophomore guard
Devonte Graham said. He
told us he bumped knees,
and we were like, Oh,
youre alright.
Ellis would end up being
more than alright, scoring
21 points in Kansas 73-61
win over UConn.
In fact, shortly after he
returned to the game, Ellis
knocked down a three to
cap off a 16-0 Kansas run,
as the team took control.
We were really, really,
really good in the first half,
Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Weve got four pretty consistent scorers. And if we
get three out of four scoring
the ball consistently, weve
got a chance.
From the start, everything seemed to click. The
team was shooting better
than 70 percent from three

through the first 10 minutes

and held an early 16-6 advantage on the boards.
At that point, junior
forward Landen Lucas had
as many rebounds as the
entire UConn team. After
the game he talked about
his performance, as well
as one particular person in
the stands, his mother, who
cheered him on the whole
way.

I love when
[Devonte] smiles
like that. Its so
darn cute.
Kansas fan
Courtside at KU vs. UConn

With the 33 on. Yep that

was her, he said. Shes my
biggest fan [...] Shell do
anything to make sure she
sees me play.
In the first half, it
seemed as though the entire
team was playing like they
had family in the crowd.
Rebounding, shooting, hustle plays everything was
going Kansas way, and it
just kept building.
As Graham hit a deep
jumper to put Kansas up
19, things were starting to
come unglued. As the crowd

roared, one Kansas fan

courtside turned to another, having to raise her voice
to be heard over the crowd.
I love when he smiles
like that, she said. Its so
darn cute.
That smile returned to
Grahams face several times
over the course of the half,
and for good reason. The
Jayhawks led by 20 at the
intermission, thanks in part
to two separate runs, an
early 16-0 spurt and a 19-0
one later in the half.
We executed the gameplan, junior guard Frank
Mason III said. The effort
was there. We just did a
great job executing what
coach wanted.
However, that execution
tailed off coming out of the
halftime break.
After the intermission,
the first five minutes of
the second half belonged
to UConn, who quickly cut
Kansas lead to 14.
What I did talk about at
halftime was [...] there have
been a lot of teams that
have played well in the first
half and have blown big
leads. Thats not going to
be us, Self said. That talk
went over so well they cut it
to single-figures.
Looking for answers,
Self inserted Traylor back
into the game. In the first
half, Traylor recorded a pair

of chasedown blocks that

electrified the crowd. Traylor later said he hoped to
see them on SportsCenter.
In the second half, Traylor provided somewhat of
a spark, recording another
block without even jumping, but UConn kept chipping away at the deficit.
Kansas lead dropped off
to 13; the game would get
even closer before it was all
finished.
The second half, we
didnt do many of the same
things we accomplished in
the first, Self said. We became very passive.
After a dunk to pull
UConn within single digits, guard Rodney Purvis
turned to the UConn fan
section and posed. Self
called timeout, clearly unhappy with his team.
In fact, just two days
earlier, UConn had been in
a similar position, battling
back in the second half to
top eight-seeded Colorado.
But this time, there
would be no dream comeback, as Selden and Ellis
quickly regained control of
the game with three straight
buckets.
We just had to stop
playing so flat, Traylor
said. We were playing like
we wanted to get the game
over with instead of being
aggressive and taking it to

them.
As Selden scored his
second basket after the
timeout, Anthony Pitts
Seldens uncle and internet
phenomenon Uncle Anthony flexed behind the
Kansas bench.
Pitts reaction would
only become more emphatic as Selden smashed home
a one-handed alley-oop that
effectively ended the game.
I got the rebound, and
they only had one guy back.
I saw Wayne coming down
the left side of the court,
and I just knew I was going
to throw it up to him, and he
was going to go get it, Graham said. Im pretty sure
Uncle Anthony went crazy.
Hes probably going to be
on SportsCenter again.
Selden finished with 22
points, the most hed scored
in any NCAA tournament
game in his three years at
Kansas.
After the game, it was
pointed out to him that hed
been playing better since
Pitts had started showing
up. Asked if he thought
there was anything to that,
Selden gave a simple answer.
I guess he has to keep
coming, Selden said.

Selden ends tournament slump with breakout game

Missy Minear/KANSAN
Anthony Pitts, Wayne Selden Jr.s uncle, cheers from behind the KU bench.

SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3

DES MOINES, Iowa

Junior guard Wayne Selden
Jr. let out a huge roar in
frustration midway through
the first half as he stepped
out of bounds. It ruined
what would have been a
steal and a breakaway finish
on the other end.
Instead, Selden contin-

ued to run down the court

as he wouldve if play hadnt
been stopped, yelling all the
while. He stomped on the
floor in frustration as he
walked back.
Fortunately for Selden
and the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, that was just about
the only thing that went
wrong in the second round
victory over the UConn Huskies, 73-61. In the

12-point victory, Selden

scored 22 points on 8-of-15
shooting from the floor.
Hes as big [of] a key as
anybody because hes a guy
[who] can go for big numbers, Kansas coach Bill Self
said. Hes one of the better
guys that we have that can
get his own shot.
For the first time in
Seldens career, Kansas will
be playing basketball in

the second weekend of the

NCAA tournament, rather than watching at home.
With the win, the Jayhawks
clinched their first Sweet 16
berth since 2013.
I would be lying if I
didnt say its like a small
monkey off our back,
Selden said.
Saturdays Sweet 16
clinching victory displayed
the growth that Selden has
undergone in his Kansas
career. The junior guard
was criticized by the media
for his performance in his
first two trips in the NCAA
tournament. He scored a
combined 10 points in four
games in the big dance.
Earlier in the week,
Selden topped that fourgame point total in Kansas
opening round victory over
Austin Peay. He scored 12
points taking a small step in
his postseason growth.
But on Saturday he
leaped to another level,
matching his previous tournament total through five
games.
In the early going, it was
evident Selden was looking to put all that behind
him with a strong showing
against a perennial program. In the first half, he
was being aggressive on the
offensive end looking for
his shots. On one of the first

possessions he clapped for

the ball, and when he finally got it, he bottomed a trey
from the right wing.
He would not stop there.
Multiple times he attacked the lane; even if he
wasnt finishing at the rim
he was drawing contact and
getting to the line. In the
first half he accumulated 12
points, with four of those
coming at the charity stripe.
The ball stuck a lot today, Self said. But what
we had, we had some individuals step up and make
some good plays. I thought
him driving the ball, putting
pressure on the defense was
good.
Things were not so easy
in the second half. UConn
chipped away at a 20-point
halftime deficit, ultimately cutting it to nine points
with nine minutes to go in
the game.
Selden answered, as he
was responsible for the next
six points on three consecutive possessions. He recorded a dime to senior forward
Perry Ellis for a midrange
jumper and followed it up
with two aggressive drives
and finishes in the lane.
He was big. He made
some clutch shots down
late when we didnt have
anything going for us,
sophomore guard Devonte

Graham said.
From there Kansas never looked back as the margin never fell below nine.
But before the final buzzer sounded, Selden ended
his night with a monster
slam off a lob from Graham.
Afterwards he turned towards the bench and posed
a bit, as Wells Fargo Arena
erupted in cheers.
Graham admitted after
the game that he thought
that his pass might have
been a bit off the mark.
At first I was thinking I
threw it too far. But he can
go up and get it. You can
throw it anywhere and he
can go get it, Graham said.
Selden on the other hand
was more than pleased with
Grahams pass.
I thought he threw it up
just fine. He did the hard
part, I did the easy part,
Selden said.
The two can further debate the play on the bus ride
home, a ride that Selden
admitted he is looking forward to having after the last
couple trips back home.
Ive never rode back on
a win in this place, so its
going to feel good, Selden
said. There was a little celebration in here for getting
over the hump. But we want
more.