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MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

LFK
FINALS
guide
KA

NSAS

FINALS GUIDE

KANSAN.COM

FINALS
GUIDE:
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
CRYPTOQUIP......................3
DEVONTE GRAHAM.......4
BEHIND LFK*......................6
PUZZLES..............................7
NUDISTS*..............................8

No. 9 Kansas stuns No. 1 USC in dramatic

comeback to advance to the Final Four

CROSSWORD.....................9
SENATE*...............................11
NORMAN AKERS*...........12
MARLENE MAWSON*....13
SUDOKU..............................14
TIMELINE.............................15

*: THESE STORIES
WERE PUBLISHED IN
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF
THE KANSAN.

ZOE LARSON/KANSAN
The Kansas womens volleyball team celebrates after winning a point. On Dec. 12, the team topped No. 1 USC to advance to its first Final Four in
program history.

AMIE JUST
@Amie_Just

It all came down to the fifth set. If the

Jayhawks won, they would be Omahabound. If they lost? The unprecedented season would come to a screeching
halt.
Somehow Kansas found a way, outlasting and upsetting the No. 1 USC
Trojans for the first Final Four bid in
Kansas volleyball history.
Prior to this year, Kansas had not
previously advanced to the Elite Eight.
Never before had Kansas defeated a
No. 1 ranked team.
Entering the Elite Eight match, Kansas was 0-10 all-time against No. 1
teams, only managing to win 2 of 30
sets in those matches.
That all changed Friday.
No. 9 Kansas (30-2) rolled out to a
2-0 set lead over No. 1 USC. But the
Trojans werent going down without
a fight. USC (33-3) came out of intermission fired up and squashed late
Kansas rallies in the third and fourth
sets. In the fifth set, Kansas had a late
start, finding itself in a 0-4 hole. But
that didnt stop the Jayhawks.
Set 1: Kansas wins (25-18)
The USC fans in the Jenny Craig Pavilion were stunned. Dropping a set to
a non-conference team? Thats unlike
the Trojans.
The Jayhawks got out to a 5-3 lead, in
part to attack errors by Samantha Bri-

cio and Alyse Ford, a service error and

a bad set by Baylee Johnson. The only
offensive point for Kansas in that run
was a service ace.
The set went back and forth, last tied
at 14-all when sophomore setter Ainise Havili threw down her first kill of
the match. Back-to-back errors from
USCs Johnson gave Kansas the 16-14
lead. USC couldnt recover, and Kansas went streaking, rolling to a 25-18
set victory.
Set 2: Kansas wins (25-21)
USC ran out to a 4-1 lead off of two
Bricio kills. USCs lead grew to 6-2 and
then 9-5. But Kansas rallied, capitalizing off of two Bricio attack errors and
kills from sophomore right side hitter
Kelsie Payne, senior outside hitter Tiana Dockery and junior middle blocker
Janae Hall. Halls kill tied the set up at
12-apiece. An attack error from USCs
Alicia Ogoms gave Kansas the lead.
Ogoms needed to be seen by athletic training staff, as she was visibly in
pain in a violent coughing episode. It
was later disclosed that Ogoms had an
asthma attack.
Once Kansas gained the lead at 1413, USC couldnt make a comeback,
throwing up attack error after attack
error.
The final nail in the coffin before the
intermission was a kill from Payne.
Set 3: USC wins (25-22)
After intermission was when things
got sticky. USC lept out to a 9-2 lead.
Kills from Brittany Abercrombie, Ford

and Bricio paired with service aces

helped the Trojans cause.
USC went up 12-3 after back-toback-to-back kills, one from Ford and
two from Elise Ruddins. But Kansas
fought back, getting the set back within reach at 10-13. Four USC attack errors provided some cushion.
The closest the Jayhawks would get
it was 19-all from a kill by Payne. But
she committed an attack error on the
ensuing point. Then Havili had a rare
bad set, and just like that, USC was up
21-19.
A kill from Abercrombie ended set
three.
Set 4: USC wins (25-19)
Kansas hadnt dropped a fourth set
all season. The Jayhawks were 10-0 in
needed fourth frames. Until this one.
The Jayhawks were out to a slow start,
falling behind 5-11 and then 7-15. But,
again, Kansas rallied. A kill from junior middle blocker Tayler Soucie got
the ball rolling, and a service ace followed. Then a kill from sophomore
outside hitter Madison Rigdon. Two
kills and an ace later, Kansas was only
down by three at 15-18.
A few points later, Kansas was down
by three again at 16-19, but it wasnt
going to be enough.
Two service aces for USC, paired
with kills from Bricio, swung the momentum in USCs favor. A Bricio kill
ended the set.
Set 5: Kansas wins (15-13)
The set for all sets. Kansas had only

played one match to five sets. That was

when No. 2 Texas came to Lawrence.
The fifth set was off to a rocky start.
Kansas was in a 0-4 hole. It didnt look
good.
The Jayhawks first point of the match
was a kill from Hall. USC went up 1-5
in part to a Kansas service error.
But then, magic happened.
Back-to-back kills from Payne put
Kansas down by two. An attack error
from Bricio put Kansas down by one.
As the set progressed, USC went up
7-10, then 9-13, and Kansas hopes of
making the Final Four looked dashed.
Kansas was down by four points.
USC only needed two to win the
match. But insanity overtook Jenny
Craig Pavilion.
Hall threw down a kill. 10-13.
Johnson had a bad set. 11-13.
Bricio faulted on her attack. 12-13.
Junior libero Cassie Wait put up a
service ace. 13-13.
Payne hammered out a kill. 14-13.
Rigdon sealed the deal. Kill. 15-13.
Stat breakdown
Payne recorded 18 kills. Hall, Ridgon and Soucie all had 10 kills apiece.
Havili had 48 assists. Wait flew all over
for 28 digs. Havili recorded 22 digs
and senior outside hitter Tiana Dockery compiled 14 digs. Hall led the team
in blocks with five.
Up next
No. 9 Kansas faces the No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers (30-4) on Thursday,
Dec. 17.

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For Devonte Graham,

family bonds influence
success on the court
SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU

Devonte Graham sits at his locker,

getting ready for the upcoming game.
He reviews a gameday text from his
mom, throws on his jersey and enjoys
a pre-game meal of Fruit Gushers. He
sees the trainer to get his ankles taped
always the left before the right
and pulls a padded shooting sleeve
over his right arm to help provide
some comfort to what he describes as
a sore elbow.
However, theres one more thing he
has to do before hes ready.
He reaches down and pulls a hairband off his right wrist. He tosses it
to one of the managers to keep until
after the game.
That hairband, something that
might be disregarded by many, carries special meaning to Devonte, now
in his second year as a point guard at
the University.
I got it from my sister, he said. Every time I look at it, I just think about
her.
Devontes been wearing the hairband long enough for it to feel like
second nature. He says he keeps it
with him wherever he goes, and he
doesnt quite feel right without the reminder of his 13-year-old sister.
However, he has to take the hairband off during games because of the
league rules, although hes quick to
ask for it back after the buzzer sounds.
And one time, he even managed to
sneak it into a game well, sort of.
At Late Night in the Phog, which
is technically classified as a practice,
Devonte played in the scrimmage
with the hairband on his wrist. And
even though his coach Bill Self
has a strict rule about players wearing
various items during games, Devonte
wasnt too concerned about sporting
the hairband.
[Coach] probably didnt even notice, he said with a laugh.
For Devonte, basketball has always
been more than a shared experience
with his teammates, and its evident in
almost everything he does. He began
playing the sport at just four years old
when his mother, who was 18 at the

time, put a basketball in his hands,

something he hasnt forgotten about
to this day.
Thats kind of why I wear the number four, Devonte said. It just puts a
smile on my face.
Sports has always been a family affair for Devonte. Back in Raleigh,
North Carolina, hed go with his
mother and sister to a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings to eat as a family and
watch some games, although that tradition hasnt quite died now that hes
in Lawrence.
Devonte said his mother and sister
still go there on Tuesdays, though he
isnt always completely removed from
the dinners; they pay special attention to the televisions when Kansas is
playing.
My three girls
Even when Devonte takes off the
jersey, there are reminders of his
family everywhere. He has tattoos
representing his sister, mother and
grandmother all of whom played a
significant role in his upbringing.
Those are my three girls, Devonte
said. Theyre my rock.
Dewanna King, Devontes mother,
had him when she was just 14 years
old. They first lived with Grahams
grandmother, Doris, in the Southgate
Community of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Later, Devonte and Dewanna would
experience a slight change in scenery,
moving to Crawford Drive, about a
block down the road. There, the two
would bond over basketball among
other things something that has
continued to keep them connected.
Before every game, theres usually
some kind of communication between the two of them, whether its
over text, phone call or FaceTime.
And after, Dewanna usually has some
words of wisdom for her son, though
thats not always how he views it.
Well, my mom criticizes me after
every game, Devonte said with a
smile. Shes just straightforward. If
I suck, shell be like, You sucked tonight.
Dewanna views the conversations a
little bit differently. She said her message varies game to game, though

CAROLINE FISS/KANSAN
Devonte Graham plays to the crowd before the teams game against Harvard, wearing a hairband from his
sister on his right wrist.

shes never going to sugarcoat her

thoughts.
The truth never hurt anybody,
Dewanna said. They just tell you it
hurts.
Meanwhile,
Devontes
sister,
Shamaria Massenburg goes about
those postgame phone calls in a different way. Devonte said regardless of
how he thinks he played, she always
tells him good game. He said he
feels like he cant let her down on the
court, and, in the end, their conversation is usually the same.
I always play good, to her, Devonte said.
However, while it may not be as
unconditionally positive, Dewannas
postgame critique comes from a place
of love. Dewanna, who said she cherishes the time she gets to spend with
her son, has only been able to see him
in-person twice since August.
Shell see him just once more this
year at Christmas, when the team
gets two days off and she expects it
to be just as emotional as every other
time theyve seen each other since he
arrived at the University.
When I see him, when I have to
leave him, Im always crying, Dewanna said. Words cant really explain how proud I am.
Chest bumping with little
sis

The bond Devonte shares with his

mother is special to him, as is the one
he shares with his sister, Shamaria.
Devonte was seven years old when
she was born, and as the big brother,
he quickly found his way.
In many ways, Devonte is the same
as every big brother. He said he and
his sister would get along well most
of the time, but he also found chances
to mess with her and then cover it up
by offering her some candy before she
ratted him out to their mom.
However, as time has gone on, the
relationship between them has matured, something thats apparent every time he comes home.
You can tell they really care about
each other, Dewanna said. And you
can see it even more now that hes
been gone. When he comes home,
theyre kind of chest bumping and
doing the I miss you stuff.
With Devonte in Lawrence for most
of the year, that chest bumping is
reserved for only special occasions.
However, even when Devonte and
Shamaria dont see each other, they
text and talk on the phone throughout the week, even when theres nothing much to say other than a simple,
Hows it going?
Devonte said hes come a long way
since the days of ducking out of family photos and trying to get on his sisters nerves, though that doesnt mean

they dont still have a healthy sibling

rivalry.
Devonte said Shamaria will come
with him to the gym and try to play
him 1-on-1, even though shes more
of a volleyball player and cheerleader,
as described by her brother. And with
the seven-year age gap between them,
she really doesnt pose much of a
challenge to her 20-year-old brother,
but hes not taking it easy on her.
Does Devonte win a lot?
Of course.
Has she ever beaten him?
No. No chance.
Would he ever let her win?
Cant do that.
For Devonte, everything he does
has family written all over it. The reminders of where he comes from and
all the people who have helped make
him who he is are everywhere.
As hes grown, hes learned to appreciate all the things his mother did
for him, especially growing up in a
single-parent household. Hes learned
to be more hands-on and protective
as a brother. Hes learned to appreciate everything that comes with family.
For Devonte, his relationship with
his mother and sister is a huge part of
where he is.
And thats why the point guard for
the No. 2 ranked college basketball
team in the country sports a hairband
on his wrist.

KANSAN.COM

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Behind LFK: The acronym created by an alumna

ALEX ROBINSON/KANSAN
Leslie Kuluva stands in her printing studio next to poster prints she
created. She prints shirts and merchandise for bands in Lawrence.

COURTNEY BIERMAN
@KansanNews

This appeared in the Kansan on Oct. 15.

Local artist and University alumna
Leslie Kuluva, known on social media
as Leslie Kay has worked in various
media throughout her career, but she
is best known for her screen printing:
LFK.
Although the meaning of acronym
LFK cant be explicitly published
in this paper, its Lawrences most
beloved slang term. LFK shirts and
stickers are found on campus and in
the greater Lawrence area almost as
often as University merchandise.
Kuluva moved to Lawrence from
Kansas City in 1999 to study art and
design at the University, where she
gradually developed her artistry. She
was working toward a degree in textiles until she discovered printmaking
and just fell in love with it, she said.
Kuluva would steal away to the tex-

tiles department at night to make

t-shirts for her friends. Much of her
work was done in her living room
where shed make prints on her coffee
table and dry shirts on her couch.
All the grad students kept telling
me I was a printmaker, and I had no
idea what that even meant, she said.
"Finally I took a printmaking class
and it was like the exact opposite."
She added: "Textiles [class] was upstairs. It was basically all female
[printmaking] was downstairs and all
dudes, and they were all making, like,
penis prints. And I was like I think
Im a printmaker!
Kuluva created LFK when she unwittingly made the first LFK spray
paint stencil in 2001.
The original LFK design was
spurred by a road trip. Kuluva went
on several road trips around the Midwest, usually traveling with friends to
see a concert, and shed make a new
spray paint stencil for every trip to

tag the destination. They usually said

something like Lawrence Pride or
14th Street Pride. LFK was inspired
by the reaction Kuluva got when she
told people where she was from.
I would travel and people would
say Where are you from? and Id
say Im from Kansas and theyd be
like Oh Kansas and then I would
say Lawrence, Kansas and their face
would change, she said. Theyd be
like Oh, Lawrence, Kansas! That
place is really coolits just funny
how Lawrence was viewed. So I made
a [LFK] stencil.
The design took off. The first LFK
shirts were made by Kuluva and
a friend using the original stencil.
When people wore them in other
places, the shirts were recognized and
Kuluvas name would come up.

READ THE FULL STORY AT

KANSAN.COM

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Rogers: My evening spent with a nudist community

JARRET ROGERS
@JarretRogers

Editors note: Two of the people quoted

in this story are described only by their
first initial or first name in order to protect their privacy.
On a cool, gray evening I entered an
indoor swimming facility about 45
minutes away from Lawrence to meet
up with the Heartland Naturists, a
group that practices nudism. Adrenaline shot through me as I prepared for
what I thought would be a wild night of
skinny dipping.
Since its inception in 1982, the Heartland Naturists has been a group for
those who want to experience life without the typical threads. The members
of the community participate in a wide
range of activities; one night theyll socialize in a coffee shop, the next theyll
jam out to 80s music while doing jello
shots all of this completely nude.
For one night I decided to follow their

lead and see if the freedom of nudity

would overtake me or if I would fall
victim to embarrassment.
I had no experience with anything
like what I was walking into. In the
high school locker room, guys tried to
dress as quickly as possible. At home,
clothing is the only acceptable option.
Inside my dorm, the shower is the only
place Im ever nude.
To see how comfortable people were
with leaving all their clothes behind
and stepping into the pool was odd. I
knew what would happen, but similar to how Hunter Mickelson is never
as tall as he is when he is standing next
to you the Heartland Naturists were
never as naked as they were until I was
among them.
Inside the swimming facility, there
was no turning back. The longer I
chose to stay clothed, the more I would
stand out. Before I could talk myself
into anything else, I undressed and got
in the pool.
The initial feeling is one of personal

shock. Am I really doing this? I

thought to myself.
I bobbed around in the water, taking
in some of the faces surrounding me.
People chatted each other up about the
recent events in each others lives and
said hello to those whom theyd missed
the past couple weeks. There were men
who looked like TV politicians, couples who looked like they were from
a bad romantic comedy, and someone
else who looked like my brothers best
friend from college.
It was an overwhelmingly normal
group of people, which shouldnt have
been a shock but it was.
My first encounter was with a fellow student, L. A junior, L. had been a
member of the group since the spring.
Its just fun being nude, L. said. I
never really understood what the big
deal is. Back when I was in Germany
there were magazines out in the open
with nudity in them. In America [being nude] is such a big deal.
L.s friends around campus are un-

aware of L.s nudist habits, but at the

end of the day, L. said secrecy is no big
deal.
Im just not an open book that opens
up about everything, L. said. No one
ever really asks, and I just tell them Im
going out.
For others in the group, though, secrecy is crucial.
Some people in here keep this away
from their spouses or other people like
that in their lives, said Scott Haines,
the groups PR director. A lot of people dont get what it is that we do here.
Most people think its one big sex orgy
when the truth is there is nothing sexual about what we do. We just like to
be naked.
Anytime Ive told a girl about this,
things have gone downhill pretty
quickly.
Ray, a man in his 60s who told his
family about his membership with the
group, was disregarded by his children
when he opened up about his lifestyle.
I told my daughters and they just

dont get it, Ray said. They cant really comprehend what it is I do so they
dont really speak with me anymore.
The general sentiment among the
group: Other people cant seem to
comprehend the freedom of the people
inside of the group. They cant fathom a
group that sees each other nude more
than they do clothed and has no sexual
desire for each other, Haines said.
Im not one to step into peoples
minds, but the only reason I can imagine people having such a visceral reaction to people coming out as nudists
is that they havent seen it themselves.
Sure, its easy to see the group as a
place to fill sexual fantasies if youve
never been there. But even if you spend
the smallest amount of time with the
group, all predetermined conclusions
will go by the wayside.

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11

Top Student Senate leaders called on to resign

CASSIDY RITTER
@CassidyRitter

The Student Executive Committee

called for the resignations of Student
Body President Jessie Pringle, Vice
President Zach George and Chief of
Staff Adam Moon at a meeting on
Nov. 13.
Pringle, George, Moon, Communications Director Isaac Bahney, Development Director Tomas Green and
Government Relations Director Stephonn Alcorn were in Texas at the Big
12 conference student government
meeting, but attended the Committee
meeting via Skype. Members of Rock
Chalk Invisible Hawk also attended.
The Student Executive Committee
voted to reduce the general elections
spending cap to $1,000.
There was also a motion of no confidence in the leadership of Pringle,
George and Moon, according to a
statement presented by the Commit-

tee.
We demand that all three resign
their positions by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 18, 2015. If they fail to
submit their resignations, we ask that
the Full Student Senate body take up
a bill of impeachment and adopt the
measure according to Student Senate
Rules and Regulations Article V Section 16.4, read the statement.
Pringle, Moon and George did not
resign and impeachment proceedings
have begun for Moon.
At the meeting on Nov. 13, Tyler Childress, the finance committee chair, said the Student Executive
Committee supports Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk.
Im first proposing that we support
Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk and the 15
demands that they have made to the
University, Childress said. I think
theyre really quite simple and tame
demands. They could be demanding
a lot more, and I think we need to get
behind them now on these.

One of the reasons calling for the

resignations was that students at the
Nov. 11 town hall meeting spoke of
the disconnect between Student Senate and its black constituents, according to the document presented to
attendees.
The conversation on Nov. 13 then
divided into other issues listed in
the document, including Pringle and
George not standing when white students were asked to stand and proclaim that black lives matter at the
town hall meeting. Another issue
was the silence from Senate in regard to Rock Chalk Invisible Hawks
demands. Bahney said Pringle and
George stood at that time, but did not
stand when the audience was asked to
stand in support of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawks demands.
We are pissed, and we are livid,
and you guys are incompetent, said
Kynnedi Grant, president of Black
Student Union and a member of
Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk. Zach

even said he didnt know that all these

multicultural organizations that he
cares so much about are having a food
drive. How do you not know when
you are constantly engaged?
I really need you to engage about
everything else that you havent done
for the rest of these students for the
entirety of the semester. I really dont
care anymore about whether or not
you were standing up at this one
event. Youve been absent at literally every other conversation, said
Shegufta Huma, vice president of
University Senate.
George, who was on staff last year,
said this Senate has exceeded what
was done last year. He said that Student Senate has regular meetings with
the Office of Multicultural Affairs and
president roundtable meetings.
You have an entire group of the
student body that dont think that
you represent them anymore and that
the Senate is illegitimate in their eyes
because the Senate doesnt represent

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them anymore, Childress said. That

threatens the integrity of this institution. And quite frankly, if you think
that youve done enough when you
have students at a forum, students on
social media, students talking to other senators saying that we arent doing
enough, but you think that we are because you are meeting with some administrators, but youre really not going out and mixing with students that
are facing these concerns on a day to
day basis, thats the premise of why I
have no confidence in your leadership
anymore.
Pringle said she agrees with a lot of
the demands from Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk but would like to know
more about the demands. Pringle
said the problem is that campus isnt
educated and that some people do not
believe there is racism on campus.
READ THE FULL STORY AT
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Professors artwork deals with cultural identities within limits

SAMANTHA SEXTON
@sambiscuit

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Occupation, a monoprint by Norman Akers.

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For artist and University of

Kansas associate professor of visual
art Norman Akers, identity and
boundaries have played a leading role
in his recent works. Brightly rendered
images of U.S. presidents faces
inside spacey aircrafts are layered
over sketched historical scenes and
vintage-looking road maps.
Akers is known in his own words
for portraying topics of personal
and cultural loss, and seeks to express
the world in a light that the majority
of Americans wouldnt be able to see.
Theres always a sense of loss, be it
culturally or physically, through the
loss of land for the Osage people and
others like us, Akers said. I never
meant for my art to be political, but
being a part of the Osage Nation,
when I express my experiences, its
almost impossible for them to not
become politicized.
Akers grew up in Oklahoma on the
Osage reservations, which is part of
what inspired his work.
Akerss most recent exhibit,
Contested Territories, is a series of
20 monoprints that will be displayed
on Sept. 25 at the Percolator Art
Space. Akers uses layers to express
his experience with the difficulty
of finding ones space in a land
that uses boundaries and titles to
fit individuals into his or her own
specific hole, he said.
Even there is an issue of having
multiple separate names for one
place. The Osage people call it the
reservation, while the state refers to it
as Osage County, he said.
Bobbie Rahder, a board member
for the Percolator Art Space who was
inspired by Akerss conclusion on
space and how it can define not only
individuals but whole peoples, took
it upon herself to propose showing
Contested Territories.
Akers came to the University first
in 2002 and then in 2007 as a visiting
artist. He said he liked the towns
ambiance.
Its a good place for an artist, and I
enjoy the idea of having a challenge in
exposing my art to a new audience,
he said.
Shortly after his second visit, Akers
was offered a teaching position by the
Universitys art department.
I enjoyed the atmosphere here
and I thought it was going to be an

important and interesting challenge

to move to a place outside of where I
had been comfortable, Akers said of
the different demographic of people
he would meet in Kansas.
He added: I also thought it was
important that I come here and share
what I know and a bit of my culture
especially since Haskell is down the
road.
Akers
became
increasingly
concerned about this lack of
identity as he traveled for work,
which can be seen in the use of
mapping throughout his piece. Akers
said that over the years he has come
up with his own personal symbolic
styles, like in his most recent piece,
which shows bright, contrasting
colors, asymmetrical linear patterns
and layered images.
I always found it interesting,
when I would be driving home to
Oklahoma, how there would always
be sign telling you exactly where you
were. But for natives, that sense of
place simply doesnt correlate, Akers
said. When I drive to my mothers
house down a small dirt road where
boundaries dont matter, thats when
I have a true sense of place and feel a
belonging.
Growing up in Oklahoma meant
being separated from his ancestral
home, which had been described to
him as the land of his people, given
that the Osage Nation once existed in
Missouri and Kansas.
Now that hes in Lawrence, Akers
still needs to make the trip to and
from Oklahoma to visit his family
and friends hes left behind. The
struggle of being caught between the
home of his birth and the home of his
people has been the core inspiration
for his most recent work.
For Akers and he said he believes
for other natives such as himself
finding a sense of identity in his home
has been a difficult process. Not only
are there borders in America that
rarely coincide with the First Nations
ethnic and cultural borders, but even
the language used to describe people
and where they belong can feel
ostracizing.
We use words such as indigenous,
native, immigrant and others to
dictate where someone may belong,
Akers said. But that rarely covers the
whole subject.
Rahder agreed with this sentiment,
and said she believes its necessary to
educate through art. She said it would

help others understand how to look

beyond what theyve experienced.
I want the audience to see his
work and understand what it is that
he is trying to convey, Rahder said.
I hope that at least some people
become interested in his art and what
it means.
Contested Territories is an effort
to address several parts of identity,
including
contesting
common
stereotypes associated with native
peoples and examining what is alien
as the natives become foreigners in
their own land.
I dont want to scream and yell
about politics, but this issue of not
knowing ones sense of place and
not understanding ones ancestral
homeland is a real issue that I have
had a personal experience with and
one that I know others like me have
had experiences with, Akers said.
This series of monoprints will be
the first major show that Akers will
present in Lawrence. Having done
most of his work while living in
Oklahoma and New Mexico, Akers
could not predict how local people
would react to his art.
As an artist, I want to create
something that makes people think
and hopefully enriches their lives,
Akers said. This is an issue that
needs to be addressed. I dont think
that my work fits the stereotypical
model of what native art is, so I hope
it appeals to many people in that I
want to them look at my work, I want
them to learn something and come
to their own conclusion, hopefully
starting a dialogue.
Although this September will mark
his first in public exhibit in Lawrence,
hes already managed to make a
positive impact on campus. An art
student of his, Hannah Soor, said she
enjoys his work because because of its
connection to his Native American
heritage and the way he addresses
sense of place.
Some of my favorite moments were
learning how to build our canvas
frames and panels, and when he
would suggest artists that we might be
interested in looking at that related to
the work we were making, Soor said.
I also liked taking trips to the Spencer
and having discussions about certain
styles and techniques of paintings
it helped connect the past with what
we were doing in class.

Edited by Colleen Hagan

FINALS GUIDE

KANSAN.COM

13

Meet the mother of Kansas womens athletics

CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy

Senior Tiana Dockery rose up

above the net, found a lane, and
slammed the ball to the hardwood
court; the thunderous collision between ball and floor shook through
Horejsi Family Athletic Center.
Point, Kansas.
On the edge of the bench closest to
the net, coach Ray Bechard eagerly
jumped out of his seat and shouted a
few words of encouragement.
Another coach sat 10 rows behind
him, between sections A and B. She
gazed at the court with her eyes
wide, startled by what Dockery had
just done. This coach, though, was
retired, more relaxed, and rather
removed yet equally important
to what became a 19-game win
streak for Kansas volleyball on that
Wednesday night.
Its Marlene Mawson.

Theyre not good, Mawson said,

looking onto the court. Theyre fantastic.
For most of the match, Mawson,
who is considered the mother of
womens athletics at Kansas, sat with
her fingers locked in her lap, with a
quiet comment or criticism of the
game here or there every so often.
She twiddles her thumbs maybe
a sign of the investment she has in
the team.
She breaks her folded hands to join
in the applause with the 1,520 people
in attendance. But, even then, her
hands seem to end up back in her
lap, her thumbs fidgeting.
Mawson knows what its like to be
in the position Bechard is today;
shes been there. In fact, she might be
the reason it exists.
She got womens athletics off the
ground here, Bechard said. She just
gave females a chance to compete.
In 1968, Mawson was tasked with
establishing an intercollegiate wom-

ens sports program at the University of Kansas with a budget of only

$2,000 per year to cover for six sports.
That $2,000 covered equipment, uniforms and travel, and comes to about
$13,675, accounting for inflation. So,
on top of her physical education faculty position, Mawson was suddenly
coaching four womens sports volleyball among them.
We did not have floods of money, so a lot of the people who were
coaching would coach two or three
or four sports, said Kerry Kapfer,
who played for Mawson in the early
1970s and is in the Kansas Volleyball Association Hall of Fame for
her efforts at Shawnee Heights over
26 years. Without her, I really dont
know what would have happened at
KU.
Mawson coached the volleyball
team for five years and also contributed to building womens basketball,
softball and field hockey programs.
Then, even though on a much small-

er budget and with fewer resources,

the programs were much different.
When Kapfer played for Mawson, the team traveled in station
wagons and played in generic uniforms. Now, it has hotels, identifiable
Adidas-sponsored uniforms, and
charter busses or on occasion
planes. Mawson was major player in
that transition, especially before she
left the University in 1990.
For all the things that we get from
the standpoint of Adidas, and travel,
and opportunities, we should look
back at those that didnt have anything and still competed because
they loved the sport, Bechard said.
Its exciting to just to see the
changes in sports for women over
the last 40 years, Kapfer said. Its a
different world, and its better. Its really the way it should be.
READ THE FULL STORY AT
KANSAN.COM

PAIGE STINGLEY/KANSAN
Marlene Mawson watches Kansas
volleyball on Oct. 21.

Individual and group therapy // ADHD and Gre Assessment // Testing services
Watkins Memorial Health center // 785.864.2277 // www.caps.ku.edu // facebook.com/KUCAPS

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KANSAN.COM

15

JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Katherine Rainey, a member of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk, speaks through a megaphone to the assembled demonstrators in front of Wescoe Hall on Dec. 9.

Timeline: What led to the current campus climate

KANSAN STAFF
@KansanNews

After the town hall meeting on Nov.

11, racism and discrimination at the
University has become the dominant
conversation. Throughout the semester,
several events have contributed to the
current campus climate.
Sept. 9: The Office of Multicultural
Affairs hosts "Making Black Lives
Matter: One Year in the Movement,
facilitated by Olubukola Gbadegesin
of Saint Louis University and a panel
of speakers.
The next week, campus leaders said
they were striving to engage all students in conversations about racial
inequality.
Oct. 5: KU students join students
from the University of Missouri in expressing frustration over an incident of
racism on campus, using the hashtag
#KUstandswithMU.
At Missouri, an inebriated white man
interrupts the rehearsal of an AfricanAmerican student group's Homecoming performance. The man argues with
members of the group before calling
them a racial slur while on the phone
with someone else.
Nov. 9: After more incidents of racism, student protests at the University
of Missouri result in the resignation of
UM System President Tim Wolfe and
Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

The protests begin to reverberate

throughout the country as national
news outlets pick up the story.
At KU, students show support for
protesters at Missouri again with the
hashtag #KUstandswithMU.
Nov. 9: At a Black Student Union
meeting, students share stories of experiencing racism at KU, posting on
social media using #RockChalkInvisibleHawk, a hashtag created last year.
Nov. 10: Kynnedi Grant, president
of Black Student Union, posts a status on Facebook saying she and her
friends were attacked and a gun was
pulled on her friends at a party in
Lawrence on Halloween. It was shared
more than 500 times.
Nov. 11: Chancellor Bernadette
Gray-Little moderates a town hall forum on race, respect and responsibility
in response to events at MU and other
universities. More than 1,000 people
attend.
During the forum, a student group
named Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk
takes the stage to introduce a list of 15
demands for the University, including
hiring a director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs by December and banning concealed carry on campus.
Nov. 11: Later that evening, the Student Senate Rights Committee eventually passes a resolution in support of
the 15 demands.
Nov. 12: On Wescoe Beach, Rock
Chalk Invisible Hawk members stand

in solidarity with Concerned Student

1950 at the University of Missouri.
Katherine Rainey, a member of Rock
Chalk Invisible Hawk, says a large focus of the group is making all students
feel included at the University.
We truly are looking to bring other
students into this space to make sure
that they are able to have a conversation, able to feel safe at KU to feel
supported, to feel respected, to feel like
they can succeed, Rainey said.
Nov. 13: Gray-Little releases a statement, saying that KU would begin
sharing information on how we will
move forward on this issue together
early next week.
Other departments, senates and student groups also begin to release statements in support of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk and student calls for change.
Nov. 13: A graduate student, Johnny
Cowan, starts a hunger strike until
the University responds to the 15 demands of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk.
Nov. 13: Later that evening, the Student Executive Committee calls for the
resignations of Student Body President Jessie Pringle, Student Body Vice
President Zach George and Chief of
Staff Adam Moon by Nov. 18 at 5 p.m.
Tyler Childress, finance committee
chair, presented a document detailing
reasons for a vote of no confidence in
their leadership.
Nov. 14: Pringle, George and Moon
respond to the calls for resignation

with a statement saying that they

would publish a plan to address Rock
Chalk Invisible Hawks 15 demands
early the next week.
Nov. 15: An online petition surfaces
calling for Pringle, George and Moon
to resign.
Nov. 16: An online counter-petition
surfaces calling for Pringle, George
and Moon to stay in office and for
senators to reject any impeachment
measures.
Nov. 16: Cowan ends his hunger
strike after more than 70 hours without food. In a statement, he said he was
ending it because it was gaining attention for the wrong reasons.
Nov. 16: Student Senate releases an
11-item action plan to address issues
of diversity, discrimination and other
issues. The first issue and subpoints
refer to making Senate more inclusive.
Nov. 17: Provost Jeffrey Vitter, in a
campus-wide email, asserts that the
institution we are today is not the institution we strive to be, or need to be.
We are assembling a small advisory
team of faculty, students, staff, and
administrators. The group will deliver
an action plan by mid-January that
addresses challenges put forward by
Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk, as well as
concerns from others at the forum, he
wrote in the email. The action plan
will target retention and graduation
rates of students, in addition to mandatory education, through facilitated

sessions, on inclusion and belonging

for all students, faculty, staff, and administrators and a plan for accountability.
Nov. 17: A screenshot circulating
on social media purports to show
a conversation between Black Student Union President Kynnedi Grant
and University Senate Vice President
Shegufta Huma. The conversation as
it appeared in the screenshot shows
Huma editing Grants written account
of a hate crime
Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk releases a
statement saying that the screenshots
were fabricated.
Dec. 9: Almost 100 members of
Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk and supporting students, faculty and staff occupied the chancellors office to continue discussions of how University
administration could address racial
discrimination on campus. It was part
of demonstrations that started in classrooms, moved to the School of Social
Welfare, then Wescoe Beach and finally into the chancellors office.
The group was calling for solidarity
and administrative action.

This timeline will be updated online at

Kansan.com as this story develops.
READ THE FULL TIMELINE
OF INCIDENTS FROM 2015
AT KANSAN.COM

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