Knork Knork's No Joke
We've all used a spork, that nifty small-tined invention that allows us to eat soup and salad with the same utensil. But a knork? The brainchild of entrepreneurship student Mike Miller fs '01, this fork-knife hybrid combines tines with beveled edges, so it's easier to cut food. Miller got the idea “in eighth grade, eating pizza at Pizza Hut. Trying to eat pizza with a normal fork, I realized how uncomfortable the standard fork was. I also noticed one of the workers in back cutting the pizza with a rocking motion with a pizza cutter.” The Knork also features a finger platform that makes it more comfortable to apply downward pressure. It's available online at www.knork.net and at stores in Wichita and around the county. No word yet on the Spife that would complete the place setting - or is it the Knoon?
Double Take
John Walsh, host of TV's America's Most Wanted, discussed the power of television as a crime-fighting tool with a group of WSU criminal justice students last December. Walsh was in Wichita taping a segment on the serial killer known as BTK. The killer's possible connection to the late professor P.J. Wyatt was underscored by Walsh's lecture — which took place in the same room in Hubbard Hall where Wyatt once taught a folklore class.
Wu-Dog
It seems that WSU President Don and Shirley Beggs may be more prescient than they know. Their first dog was named Wu. That's right, spelled W-U. As the First Lady says, “This is true. He was a darling little Schnauzer, and we were as crazy about him as we are CJ (the university's First Cat, a 'spoiled Russian Blue'). Isn't it weird that we had him so long ago and even spelled his name Wu! Think that was a premonition?” Yup, a Shocker of a premonition!
Shades of Gray
Robin Meyer '75's problem with modern society? Everything is black and white. You're either for us or against us, wrong or right. But this Oklahoma City-area minister and rhetoric professor sees it differently: we need to embrace ambiguity to clear up national and global confusion. Even the Seven Deadly Sins, he argues in his 2004 book The Virtue in the Vice: Finding Seven Lively Virtues in the Seven Deadly Sins, can provide lessons on how to live a good life. Each sin, he writes, contains a seed of virtue found in moderation. So pride becomes self-worth, envy emulation, and destructive wrath the righteous anger that fueled even peaceful revolutionaries like Gandhi. Meyer applies the lesson of his book to polarized American politics: that nothing is black and white (or red and blue).
Red Rider
In a land of rising gasoline prices and aging baby boomers, the motorcycle is enjoying an explosion in popularity. G.O. (Glenn) Davis '62/70 is certainly not alone in employing a big, highway-burning cruiser to explore his middle age, but he's unique in having written a book about the experience. Red Rider, Davis' novel based on his real-life two-wheel adventures, tells the story of a man discovering America - and himself - with excitement, humor and insight. The book is available now through Amazon and other booksellers.
Nothin' but a Number
After spending most of her working life as a nurse, Caroline Cook Wilson '97/03 earned — at 79 — the bachelor's degree she had long desired. She attributes her success to Carol Konek '68, who was instrumental in establishing women's studies at Wichita State. “She really got me through,” says Wilson. When WSU instituted the associate’s degree, Konek encouraged her to apply. Wilson did and earned her first diploma. The bachelor's degree came next. “It was the thrill of a lifetime, I'll tell ya,” says Wilson, who proves: Age is nothin' but a number.
Where's WuShock?
Noticed anything missing from the floor of Devlin Court in WSU's revamped Roundhouse? While many a basketball court boasts the home team's mascot emblazoned in school colors, the center court at Charles Koch Arena is graced, not with mighty WuShock, but with the WSU Athletic Department's traditional “wheatshock” emblem. Curtis Richardson '98/03, perplexed by the situation, has decided to take matters into his own hands. He’s established an online petition “to have the athletic department logo replaced with an image of WuShock.”
Spirit Dancers
WSU’s dance team — a spirited complement to the university’s cheer squad — has danced itself proud with an outstanding performance at the Universal Dance Association's Collegiate Dance Team Nationals in Orlando, Fla., in January. The Shockers, ranked sixth going into their first appearance at this competition, finished fourth — and are already looking forward to besting the best at next year’s competition.
