THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 VOL. 68, ISSUE 3

VantagetheSTUDENT VOICE OF NEWMAN UNIVERSITYsince 1968

Science center, Eck Hall details revealed

By ELLEN HEALYStaff Writer

Newman University is working hard to raise $3 million more for the new Bishop Gerber Science Center and Eck Hall renovations. Construc-tion and renovations to help further develop Newman’s nationally ranked medical and nursing programs could start as early as summer if the funds are met. On Saturday, the university posted its Facing Forward campaign video that outlined the project’s pro-cess and status.

A few years ago, Newman identi-fied a need for an upgrade while plan-ning a strategy to make its facilities better for students. The Heimerman Science Center and other science facili-ties including Eck Hall were made top priorities.

“Heimerman was built around 1966,” said Clark Schafer, Newman’s director of university relations. “Al-

though it has this cool architecture that is really unique, it is not condu-cive to what students in those types of studies are needing today. So a plan was formed to create a better facility for all students.“

The science building will have new laboratory facilities, classrooms and other meeting and gathering spaces. Shafer said that the updates will bene-fit all students, but especially students pursuing careers in health sciences.

“Not only will there be new facili-ties to learn in, but there will also be new equipment for research and other learning opportunities,” he said. “It’s a huge upgrade to the learning envi-ronment for the students of Newman University.”

Fundraising for the new building began in 2014 with a plan to raise $30 million. Of that, $24.5 million will be granted to the new science center and the renovations made to Eck Hall. The remaining funds will go to the New-man Fund, which supports scholar-

ships, the endowment and planned giving, all of which help to keep New-man alive, Schafer said.

“The money raised helps the over-all sustainability of the university,” he said. “It all goes to the betterment of Newman and its students.”

Schafer said that exact dates of con-struction for the new science building and Eck Hall have yet to be deter-mined. According to Facing Forward video, Newman needs $3.1 million more to reach its total goal by Jan. 12 of next year. Most likely, renovations will begin this summer.

“We don’t have an exact plan when it comes to construction dates because it’s based on funding and when it all gets raised. The university’s board of trustees required the fundraising arm of this campaign to reach a certain level, so that we could move forward. We’ve now reached that level so con-struction documents are being drawn up. Ideally, we’d like to be doing

WWW.NEWMANVANTAGE.COM

Diversity speaker ties student stories into presentation

See “Science” on Page 2

CONSTRUCTION CREWS have begun to mark the surrounding areas of Eck Hall and Heimerman Science Center with flags denoting construction and renovation grounds. Hank Griggs, Photo Editor

See “Speaker” on Page 2

FACING FORWARD

By DELANEY HIEGERTManaging Editor

The first speaker in this semester’s LEAD series, Terri Houston, will present at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center.

Houston, di-versity expert from the Center for Leadership D e v e l o p m e n t Inc., will be de-livering a speech titled “Empow-ering the ‘One Beloved’ to Trans-form Society”.

Though the LEAD presentations have been occurring events on cam-pus, Houston has taken an approach much different than previous pre-senters in her position.

Lauren Susong, director of stu-dent activities, said that Houston was very interested in talking with Newman students before she pre-sented on campus in order to get the conversation started.

Susong said Houston chose to in-teract with Newman students who attended the student leadership re-treat over the summer via Skype conference call.

“She wanted to make sure she had the chance to get students think-ing about these issues of diversity at Newman and give them time to talk about them before she came,” Su-song said.

After talking with the students at the retreat, Houston selected three students that would help to shape her speech for Newman.

Sophomore Jacob Hobbie, senior Ruben Lerma and junior Shakeria Zachry were the students Houston selected to work with her through-out the fall semester to help her ob-tain a better understanding of the dynamics at the university.

$30 million ‘Facing Forward’ campaign in place for campus renovations

Terri Houston

something as early as summer and have everything open as early as fall of 2017. But that’s best case scenario,” Schafer said.

The Eck Hall renovations will pro-vide nursing students with better learning opportunities, said David Shubert, Newman’s dean of the col-lege of undergraduate studies and professor of chemistry.

“The current nursing rooms will be updated. Rooms 104, 116 and 117 will also be reconfigured into two, very large lab facilities for nursing, nurse anesthesia and respiratory care. These renovations will help students learn better, more efficiently than ever be-fore,” Shubert said.

Heimerman will stay open while the new science building is being built, Shubert said.

“With the Eck renovations, there is a specific amount of time to get through a very ambitious project,” he said. “It’s not clear when those renovations will start exact-ly, but if it does affect finals week, then we will find alter-native venues for students.”

Schafer said that these up-dates should benefit the Newman com-munity, show-ing them that Newman cares about every individual and his or her learn-ing environment.

“It’s really exciting,” Schafer said.

“It’s something that’s been in the plan-ning stages for a long time, so we’re excited to be entering a crucial phase, where there’s still a lot to do, but you can see the light down there. The next 12 months of fundraising will be

crucial, hope-fully getting the next $3 million, from the sci-ence building perspective, to where we need to be. This will be the biggest building we’ve ever built. The most expensive we’ve ever built

on campus. It just shows that there’s lots of great stuff that goes on here at Newman and that it’s a campus that is very much alive, one that is vibrant

and continues to grow.”J.V. Johnston, Newman’s vice presi-

dent of university advancement, also expressed his excitement, saying that the improvements will not only ben-efit Newman students, but also the project’s donors and the community.

“What’s really cool is that when you look at Newman’s mission statement, you can say, ‘Yeah, I really believe that.’ But in being able to enhance that for students with more opportunity, I think that’s just amazing,” Johnston said. “And beyond that, we can give the donors something to look forward to because if you think about it, these buildings, these renovations are help-ing to develop better healthcare within the community. We are training future doctors, future nurses, and we are giving them the best opportunity to learn, in an environment that supports them.”

News BriefsTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 NEWS 2

Stay on top of the Newman news!

Go to newmanvantage.com and click subscribe for a weekly e-newsletter

with all your campus news.

From “Speaker” on Page 1

Newman Night at Wichita Thunder game

Newman students can pick up a free ticket to the 7:05 p.m. Wichita Thunder hockey game Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena.

Tickets are available at the Student Life Center all week on a first-come, first-served basis.

Valentine’s Day photos and enchiladas

Newman’s HALO club will have a photo booth on campus along with an en-chilada sale to raise funds starting at 10 a.m. Friday in the Dugan Library Atrium.

The Valentine’s Day-themed photo booth will be free for Newman students and enchiladas will be on sale for $1.50. each or four for $2.

From “Science” on Page 1

Motivational speaker for CAB

Monti Washington, nationally known motiva-tional speaker, will be on campus at 8 p.m. Monday in the De Mattias Perfor-mance Hall

Washington, 2011 Ari-zona Performing Artist of the Year, will be giving a speech titled“From the Streets to the Stage”.

This CAB sponsored event is free to all Newman students.

“We talked with Terri back and forth and the main thing she wanted to know, from us, was what we would change about Newman,” Lerma said. “Aside from that question, we also touched on issues like race relations and acceptance of other cultures.”

Zachry said she also spoke with Houston about the issue of cultural awareness and acceptance.

“I hope that Terri will bring ideas and concepts that we can apply to help improve the atmosphere of our campus,” Zachry said. “The issues of diversity and inclusion are two things we still haven’t mastered how to con-front and improve.”

Lerma said that Houston wants to ensure people get the message of em-powerment and the possibility of so-

cietal change and feels this coincides perfectly with Newman’s mission statement.

“It’s great because Newman also talks about individuals having the power to change society. So I really hope the one thing the campus gets out of the presentation is to just value each person’s potential. You can’t just devalue a person because they don’t have self-confidence as a student or be-cause they don’t understand a certain subject. You can’t just write someone off,” he said. “Especially not because of their race or their financial status. Everyone has their own potential and everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.”

Lerma and Zachry both agree that Houston’s speech will resonate better with Newman students because she took the time to understand the cam-

pus dynamic.“She wants to talk specifically

about Newman,” Susong said. “She’s not coming in to preach or say nation-ally this is what’s happening. What she really wants to talk about is what’s going on at Newman and what’s go-ing on within our community that we could be enlightened to.”

Lerma, who will be recognized alongside Zachry and Hobbie for their role in the LEAD presentation, said he’s excited for the outcome of the speech.

“I think we, as a community, will get some sort of desire or inspiration to help people and make people re-alize their failures don’t make them worthless,” Lerma said. “It’s just a matter of going about it differently.”

THE BISHOP GERBER Science Center will be built to look like this model. Illustration courtesy of Newman University Relations

“We are training future doctors, future nurses, and we are giving them the best opportunity to learn, in an environment that sup-ports them.”

J.V. JOHNSTON

Hey cool cats, swingers, and hip-happening bachelors/bachelorettes! If you’re like me you’re not only incred-ibly busy – but also incredibly lazy. So here are some last minute Valentine’s Day date ideas. For those of us ballin’ on a budget without a lot of free time.

The PalaceAlright. Let’s say you want to take

your date to the movies. You open your wallet and a moth flies out. You only have about ten dollars and your date is tomorrow! Payday isn’t un-til next Friday, so you have to think fast. And that fast thought brings you to The Palace Theatre. For just $3.50 a ticket, you can take your sweet ba-boo down to 535 S. Ridge Road Circle, near the intersection of West Kellogg and Ridge Road, and see movies that are nearly new. The hits of last week, last month, and last holiday season are usually what are playing at The Pal-ace. If you missed your chance to see a popular movie that’s about to come out on DVD, but also need to take your Valentine out on a date, The Palace is a great place to go.

Churn & BurnLet’s say you have a Valentine that’s

really sweet. Or we can also say you have a Valentine that’s kind of bitter. But if you have a Valentine that enjoys coffee, ice cream, or any combo of the two, then head on down to Wichita’s one stop shop for espresso and gela-to: Churn & Burn. Located off of East Bound Kellogg, at 548 S. Oliver Wich-ita, KS, you’ll find yourself immersed in old Joyland memorabilia. Remem-ber that amusement park? Yeah? You don’t? Well, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is you can go to this unique ice cream shop, totally hipster coffee bar, jam packed with atmosphere and an insane variety of flavors of hot java and frozen treats for a fun experience that won’t break the bank. Also, they make coffee/ice cream combinations that are frozen before your eyes with liquid nitrogen. SCIENCE!

The Keeper of the PlainsThe Keeper of the Plains? What?

Why would I take my date there? Be-cause, stupid, at sunset every night, including Valentine’s Day, the mar-velous 8th Wonder of Kansas his sur-rounded by giant, romantic firepits. At a safe distance, you and your Val-entine can stroll around Downtown

Wichita, near the Keeper of the Plains, watch the sunset and the minute the sun is gone – BAM! – you and your valentine are now watching the fire pits come to life. Hopefully igniting the flame of your love, this Valentine date idea won’t cost you a penny. The Keeper of the Plains is near Explora-tion Place. Head downtown and you can’t miss the giant statue.

All Star Sports ArcadeNow, All Star Sports itself can get

a little expensive. But if you look hard enough you can find a coupon that gives you 100 tokens for just $20. If you can’t find that, splitting $5 per person gets you 20 tokens. Which is still a de-cent amount of tokens. You and your Valentine can slay zombies, win tick-ets, play Skee-Ball, face off in Air Hock-ey, and do all those cute things they do in 80s movies. The arcade choice is fun and relaxed. And let’s you and your Valentine get in touch with your inner child and casually competitive spirit. And if you win enough tickets, you can get your Valentine a gift to com-memorate the evening. With two loca-tions in East and West Wichita, check online for which All Star Sports would be closest to you.

a&eTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

3

BALLIN’ ON A BUDGET

By TAYLOR MANNISStaff Writer

THE PALACE THEATRE recently hosted a “Newman Night” with a free movie, popcorn and drink for Newman students. Kati Bush, A&E Editor

By JUSTIN RALPHSenior Columnist

Last-minute dates that won’t break the bank

Jed Heath, 33, is one of those teachers who wears many hats. You can hear the excitement in his voice as it begins to pick up speed while his hands and arms follow quickly behind to match the pace as he an-swers any question about science.

Heath, a Newman alum and cur-rent Derby North Middle School faculty member was awarded the “Teaching Horizon Award” from the Kansas Department of Educa-tion in January.

Heath earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Washing-ton State University before serving seven years in the Army. While he was still in the Army, Heath was as-signed to recruiting duty in Wichita.

“I started taking classes before I got out of the Army to get my teach-ing certification. I went to Newman for the smaller classes and quality of education,” said Heath.

Heath also spoke highly of the professors he got to work with dur-ing his time at Newman.

Heath is in his second year at Derby North Middle School. Prin-cipal Clint Shipley, said he thinks Heath is deserving of the award.

“It’s the relationships that he builds with the children. He’s a great teacher. The content is good, but his relationships with the kids is what makes him stand out over many of the teachers I’ve known over my life. He has a unique ability that not everybody has,” Shipley said.

A total of 32 teachers receive the Horizon Award across the state. They are recognized for their ex-emplary first-year success. Heath was nominated by Smith and Derby Middle School principal Clint Shi-pley.

“I was really exceed to get this award,” Heath said. “I have not won a lot of awards and this is pret-ty special because you can only win this in your second year of teaching. It is really nice to be recognized for working hard and trying to make school a good learning environment for my students”

NU alumniwins Teaching Horizon Award

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 A&E 4

Join us for High TeaTuesday, February 23

Main Event: 2 - 4 p.m. in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center

Evening Event: 5:30 - 7 p.m. in the Eck Atrium Free to all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends.

QUIRKY JOES

THE SLOPPY JOE IMPROV TROUPE performs at Mead’s corner with Maize High School’s improv troupe “Quirks!” on Monday. The troupe performs at 7 p.m. every second Monday of the month at Mead’s corner.LEFT: LAUREN SPENCER AND KATI BUSH play “Secret Word” with two “Quirks!” members.RIGHT: TREVOR FARNEY plays “Forward/Reverse” with his brother and “Quirks!”member, Lucas Farney.

Question of the Week

Senior Jenkins-Stankiewicz

What are your Valentine’s Day plans?

“I’m ordering Chinese, watching Netflix and FaceTime-ing my hus-band.”

Josie

SeniorWerner

“I got chocolate from Germany for Valen-tine’s, and I’m hoping for a romantic dinner.”

Max Junior

Paugh

“Eating a homemade meal. going to the mall and maybe see-ing a movie.”

Phil

sportsTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

5

MEN’S BASKETBALL (13-9) WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (9-8)

PAST GAMESFeb. 4vs. Okla. Panhandle State, W 82-68 Feb. 6vs. Lubbock Christian, W 84-76

UPCOMING GAMESTonight at 7:30at Oklahoma Christian

Saturday at 3 p.m.vs. Dallas Baptist

PAST GAMESFeb. 4vs. Okla. Panhandle State, W 63-43 Feb. 6vs. Lubbock Christian, L 57-85

UPCOMING GAMESTonight at 5:30at Oklahoma Christian

Thursday, Feb. 18 at 5:30at UA-Fort Smith

this week in sports...PAST MEETSJan. 24at Nebraska Kearney, L, 9-40

Feb. 4at Pratt CC, W 25-15 UPCOMING MEETSTonight at 7vs. Fort Hays State

Sunday at 9 a.m.at MIAA Conference TournamentSt. Charles, Mo.

PAST TOURNAMENTFeb. 6-7at Crusader Open, Dubuque OpenMen: SecondWomen: Third

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTFeb. 20-21at Hoosier ClassicIndianapolis

WRESTLING (2-7) BOWLING

@newman_jets

Baseball and softball preview: Jets build from 2015Both men’s and women’s programs look for success as a team

With spring just around the corner, it is time to break out the peanuts and cracker jack. That’s right, it’s baseball and softball season.

BaseballThe Jets have been selected in a

Heartland Conference preseason poll to finish seventh out of ten teams in 2016, but this is an expectation that junior outfielder Tyler Bugner hopes to shatter.

“We’ve brought in a lot of good re-

cruits and some good guys who have filled in spots that we lost last year,” Bugner said. “I think we are wanting to prove people wrong.”

Bugner, a 2015 All-Heartland Con-ference first team member, finished his sophomore season with a school high .436 batting average and finished second in the conference with 21 sto-len bases. This season he hopes to im-prove on his performance and he is aiming for a spot on the All-American first team at the end of the season af-ter being named to the preseason All-American team.

“I’d love to repeat last year and do it all over again,” Bugner said. “I want do well for the team and wherever coach needs me.”

Head Coach Zane Ehling, who is entering his sixth season leading the Jets, plans to pick up where the team left off in 2015.

“We are excited about the possibili-ties and potential of our team,” Ehling said. “We have a lot of experience re-turning on the mound mixed in with a couple guys who are going to make an impact right away.”

After a long preseason on intras-quad scrimmages, Ehling is looking forward to the season’s first pitch.

“I’m just excited to start playing games,” he said. “We have a great group of men and I’m excited to see what they can accomplish.”

The Jets, who finished sixth in the conference with a 23-24 record in 2015, open their season Friday with a doubleheader against Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Okla. They open their home season with a doubleheader against the Wayne State Wildcats Feb. 19 at noon.

SoftballThe Lady Jets were selected to fin-

ish the 2016 season in fifth out of nine teams according to a Heartland Con-ference preseason poll and opened their season last weekend at the SAU Invitational, where they finished 2-4.

This early season tournament gave first-year head coach Janice Esses a chance to solidify the roster and play-ers’ roles.

“We gained some confidence from players and found out that we’ve got some kids on the bench when we need a hit,” Esses said. “We found some things we really need to focus on and get better at.”

Junior pitcher Kate Smith said that knowing these weaknesses will help NEWMAN BASEBALL hopes to build on the success from 2015. The Jets finished

23-24 and placed sixth in the Heartland Conference. Hank Griggs, Photo Editor

By WESLEY WILLIAMSSports Editor

See “Preview” on Page 6

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 SPORTS 6

the team develop.“We’ve practiced and we have our

weaknesses as a team, just as any team would,” Smith said. “Coming out of the tournament we’ve been able to identify those weaknesses and we

will come out better because we know them.”

Smith, a first year transfer player from Highland Community College, said that, even thought being new to the team, she expects to win games.

“My expectations are the same as they would be with any team,” she

said. “Just go out and do our best as a team and as individuals.”

For Esses, the goal is simple: Win.“We’re going after wins, and as a

coach I want to win every ball game and put us in a situation where we can win every game,” Esses said.

The Lady Jets will be on the road

until the rennovations to the softball facilities are completed in early March, with their next action coming in the West Texas A&M Tournament next weekend. They will open their home season on March 9 in a doubleheader against Rockhurst.

From “Preview” on Page 5

Refugee turned coach: former Jet continues contributionsFormer men’s basketball player Elhad Emerllahu now assistant coach

Despite graduating from Newman, former men’s basketball player Elhad Emerllahu con-tinues to contrib-ute to the school, currently serving as an assistant coach for the

woman’s basketball program.Emerllahu joins the women’s

coaching staff after serving as the Graduate Teaching Assistant for the

men’s basketball team during their 2014-15 campaign.

During his senior year Emerllahu began to consider what to pursue following graduation. He was given the opportunity to return to his native country of Kosovo to play for their national team, which he declined in favor of the coaching assistant posi-tion for the Jets. Over the summer he was given the option to help coach the Kosovo team, which he accepted.

“It [coaching] was always in the back of my mind,” Emerllahu said. “I’ve always thought about staying around the game because I love bas-ketball.”

It was this love of basketball that

brought him to Newman. Having fled Kosovo with his family when he was nine years old due to escalating vio-lence, Emerllahu found a safe haven of sorts in basketball.

“It wasn’t as bad for me then as it is looking back on it now and un-derstanding how bad it really was,” Emerllahu said. “Basketball was my kind of way to forget about every-thing.”

Out of high school, Emerllahu played two seasons for the Northern Oklahoma College Mavericks before transferring to Newman, where he played two seasons as a Jet.

Emerllahu said that he relates to women’s head coach Darin Spence

because they have a similar philoso-phy.

“I knew Coach Spence was a great coach who came from a Division I program, and I wanted to see what his practices were like,” Emerllahu said. “He’s a hard-nosed coach and I think that we are very similar in that aspect.”

As a Jet Emerllahu averaged 8.45 points per game and averaged 20.9 minutes per game his senior year.

The women’s basketball team, un-der the leadership of Spence, Emerl-lahu, and fellow assistant coach Mik Love, next plays tonight at Oklahoma Christian. Opening tip is scheduled for 5:30 in Edmund, Okla.

By ALYSSA TAYLORStaff Writer

Elhad Emerllahu

Having a strength and condition coach is a must

There has been an increasing trend of injuries among student-athletes over the past few months, with many of the teams losing players, rais-ing the question: why is there not a strength and conditioning coach on staff?

Kesha Buckner, a senior guard, was the first on the women’s basketball team to go down with injury, tearing her ACL earlier this season.

“I don’t think this could have been completely avoided,” Buckner said. “But if we had proper ACL preven-tion exercises it could have helped to eliminate the risk.”

While having a strength and conditioning coach doesn’t guarantee perfect health, having one on staff can reduce the risk; however, I believe that coaches should also be aware of the health risks of the exercises that they have players do and a strength

and conditioning coach would in-crease this awareness.

I think the issue seems to be money. Having to make unexpected repairs to the soccer and softball fa-cilities earlier this year forced athletics to spend funds that could have been put toward bringing in a strength and conditioning coach. As soon as funds are readily available, the athletic de-partment should make their move.

Junior forward Mali Wright and redshirt junior guard Brianna Cald-well are other basketball players that have been also sidelined with ACL injuries this season, and the injuries don’t stop there. Numerous wrestlers have had to miss out on part of their season due to various injuries, and sophomore utility player Breanna Pingry has been taken out of action on the softball team with a torn ACL.

Wright says that while Newman’s athletic trainers do the best they can at treating sports-related injuries, the school needs someone to work with strength and conditioning.

“Cam [Clark] and Terra [Macklin] do a great job helping athletes come back from injury,” Wright said. “If

we had a strength and condition-ing coach though, the risk of injury would lower tremendously.”

At a recent NCAA Division II convention, a new law was passed

that requires each institution to have a strength and conditioning coach on staff. I hope this will help reduce the amount of injuries to Newman athletes.

STUDENT-ATHLETES SUFFER from sidelining injuries, such as torn ACLs. Hank Griggs, Photo Editor

Courtney Sartin

We need to focus on improving athlete

saftey.

Softball player weighs in on rash of student-athlete injuries

I don’t know if anyone on campus has noticed, but something very spe-cial is happening on our wonderful little campus. If you’ve checked your email in the last couple days, you may have noticed one with the subject line: “Home-coming Court Nom-inees.” And, well, I don’t mean to brag but it seems that I have been nomi-nated for Home-coming King. Honestly, I don’t even care if I win, because it’s an honor sim-ply to be nominated.

I’m not going to ask for your vote – mostly because I know I already have it – but I will give you a run down of the many exceptional qualities that make me the ideal candidate. Frank-ly, I don’t know whom it was who nominated me, but they must be very

close to me because they know things about me I’ve never shared with a sin-gle soul. The list of my qualities are as follows: I, John Denny, am enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program. I am graduating in Spring, Summer, or Fall 2016. I am enrolled in classes on the Wichita campus – that one always gets to me. And finally, I must be present at the basketball games on February 25, 2016. Wow, sometimes I surprise myself with how much I’ve accom-plished.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering, “John, you’ve done so much, but what sort of ruler will you be as King of Newman Homecom-ing?” Well, first off, great question. Secondly, I promise as Supreme Ruler of the Homecoming that I will not only be a kind and benevolent dictator, but that all Kings before me will pale in comparison to my never-ending reign. The enemies of Newman shall be my enemies and will know my Home-coming Wrath. The cadavers of those

who stand in my way will be used by the health science departments for dis-sections. Except for the heads, for they belong to me now. And the week after, when I take my queen and ascend the throne we will stand arm and arm be-

fore you as your Most Awesome and Omnipotent Overlords of Homecom-ing and Khaleesis of Dragons.

Anyway, please vote for me on Monday and together we can sate our thirsts on the blood of the heretics.

opinionTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

7

My name is John Denny and I’d like to be King

New sweat pants joggin’ their way into my heartHey everyone. My witticisms in the

form of rambles, ravings, and impas-sionate rants about food are back - Is back? – I’m not the best with grammar. It’s why I have an ed-itor. But a few things have happened to me over the break. Such as, having my first professional audition, moving into a house with a cool group of peo-ple, and I even learned a little bit about bartending. But the BEST thing to hap-pen to me over break was…JOGGERS.

Joggers are an answer from the Lords of Fashion and Comfort. They are for those of us who hate wear-ing jeans day in and day out during the winter. Joggers are for those who switch to shorts and deal with the cold in the comfort of their homes instead

of lazing about in frumpy sweats. They are for those who find pajama pants too fuzzy. Joggers are for those of us who want to look good and feel good. Joggers are like yoga pants but for men. Let me explain.

Late in the year 2015, on the infa-mous “Black Friday,” I ventured into the mall around 3 a.m. with my girl-friend and friends. After wandering around, we sauntered into the fabled store for teens and tweens - and for fools like me - Aeropostale. Trying to find sweet black Friday deals between the folds of clothes for trendy tweens and sweaters for hipster teens I found them: a pair of pants that weren’t quite sweats. They peter out at the hem near the ankles, and they fit snug-ly and comfortably yet don’t make me feel like a lump.

Joggers are to guys what leggings and yoga pants are to girls, because they are comfortable, casual, and you can dress them up and down. Some

days I’ll wear my joggers with a hood-ie and just not worry about my hair. People can deal with the messy look. Other days I’ll color coordinate my shoes to my shirt, add a casual plaid shirt, put on my joggers and muss up my hair with some gel.

Joggers allow me to be adventurous too. They’re comfortable and loose, so if I feel like going out on a run, or messing around in a park, I’m not re-stricted by them. Not to mention that joggers come in a variety of colors, so I can be adventurous by wearing my bright blue joggers to make a state-ment, and that’s that joggers are here to stay.

Check out any of your local stores you think are for tweens, teens or dweebs like me. You might find a new fashionable look that fits into your personal style. And if you like to look good, feel good, and are sick of your jeans ripping, I recommend jogging to the mall and finding your own pair.

Justin Ralph

You don’t even have to jog in them.

John Denny

The only vote that really matters.

A MOSAIC DEPICTING the very first Homecoming Ceremony. Courtesy Photo, listverse.com

...Ellipses...with...justin...ralph.....................................

MEN’S JOGGERS are the newest way to make a statement. That statement: “Let’s jog or not it’s whatever.” Kati Bush, A&E Editor.

on the weatherThursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

SunnyLow:51° 32°

Partly CloudyHigh: Low:48° 21° High: Low:42° 30°

CloudyHigh: Low:52° 34°

AM Showers

High: Low:59° High: Low: 42°

SunnyHigh: Low: 43°

forecasts from weather.com

Sunny Sunny

High:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 OPINION 8

Published every Thursday, except during University breaks and the summer session. De Mattias Hall, Room 266 3100 McCormick Ave., Wichita, KS 67213.

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Love is a funny sort of thing. One minute you’re casu-ally perusing apart-ment tours on You-tube for inspiration on aesthetically pleasing home de-cor, regardless of the fact that you live in your parents’ base-ment with no pros-pects of an apart-ment of your own in the near future. When suddenly, you stumble upon a houseplant haul, as well as the beautiful, poetry-inspir-ing, life altering creatures called “Suc-culents”. Then you actually see one

and you find yourself only a few short weeks later in your parents garage at 10 p.m., the icy coolness of February seeping from the cement floor through your jeans and into your bones, but you don’t care, because you are cur-rently potting the most beautiful crea-tions the Lord has yet to make.

The more I think about this the more I come to terms with the fact that this is probably an experience unique to my-self. However, my passion for succu-lents does not falter at this realization, in fact it only grows (pun intended) it only fills me with more of a desire to share my love of succulents with you.

So in honor of the impending holi-day of love, let me count the ways:

You propagate in countless colors, siz-es, and shapes

Buying four of you all at once wouldn’t even make it to 5th place on my list of mis-takes

I would love nothing more than to kiss the leaf of your cheeks

I really dig that in the winter you only need watered once every three weeks

Just looking at you brings me indescrib-able joy

I hope you know my love for you is no ploy

I only wish to gaze at you from across the room

You’ve got me wrapped around your perfect bloom

A Valentine’s Day Ode to Succulents

Lauren Spencer

Supple succulents sit silently staring.