A New Deal Calls For a Black Stain

Kansas football hasn’t even played a game yet and somehow David Booth Memorial Stadium has already seen its first loss:

Yes, that is our very own field with a Monster-ified Big 12 logo. The contract required this big black box and that the monster logo be green, even though most Monster cans don’t feature a green logo.

While patches and sponsorships are expected in this new NIL era, the worst part about the Monster fiasco is that it was HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Some analysts estimate that Monster underpaid by an order of $60 Million. Each school is reportedly receiving between $1-$1.25 million a year in exchange for Patches, Court Logos and Field Logos. For context the red XRP patch seen above brings in $5 million/year by itself with nothing on the field or the court.

KU will likely keep adding more sponsorships as they recently hired Sam Strantz as the “Executive Director of Front Office Strategy and Operations,” a role he will pursue similar to his Senior Team Councel role with the Houston Rockets.

The NCAA Won’t Let KU Have its Dawg

The NCAA does not want Melvin Council Jr. back on a basketball court, and they filed 20 pages in Douglas County court a week ago to make sure a judge knows it. C’mon guys, let the man play!

The response asks the court to deny Council’s request for a temporary injunction that would let him play a sixth season at KU. Council sued in July arguing his two years at Monroe College (a junior college) shouldn’t count against his NCAA eligibility clock. He’s already burned a JUCO waiver and a COVID year to get this far, and the NCAA calls his ask for a third “no basis in law or the bylaws.”

The filing also leans on the fact that Council has an agent, a signed Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans, and actual NBA Summer League minutes, arguing he hasn’t even challenged the rule that makes turning pro disqualifying in the first place. The NCAA suggests that ruling for Council would open the door to a “seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth season” to which there was no objection from KU fans.

Bill Self has been careful not to build any plans around a return, calling it “a bonus” rather than an expectation. We all know Melvin was the heart of last year’s team and he would be more than just the bonus. We don’t have to lie about that.

Chief Judge Mark Simpson, a double Jayhawk, hasn’t set a hearing date. Until he does, Melvin “Dawg” Council remains ineligible, which is exactly what the big bad NCAA wants him to be.

Bathroom Update

As we reported a few weeks ago, a KU custodian was reported for using the women’s restroom on campus. On Wednesday evening, there was a rally to support and raise money for potential court action. As of now, Kirchstein has only received an email warning, but told reporters that they are taking donations to be ready if fees do come.

In Silverware News, Bamboo is the New Plastic

In a surprising shake-up KU dining is trading plastic silverware for bamboo cutlery.

Plastic ends up in landfills which isn’t beneficial for the environment. KU, ever the visionary when it comes to things like this, has implemented a new policy as a result of the administration discovering roughly 710,000 plastic forks ended up in landfills within a single year.

This policy began last spring at Courtside Café, which offered students the opportunity to take if for a test drive. Fortunately, no rioting ensued, so KU Dining will expand the policy across campus.

If you find yourself having trouble with the adjustment, just think about the Lawrence Sea Turtle population who will benefit from this shift.

“No Mo” Says MO State as KU Piles it on

Springfield, Missouri has a Buc-ee's and the original flagship Bass Pro Shop. One thing you won't find there? Defense. Kansas discovered this very quickly as the Jayhawks tied its own program record for goals in a match, dropping seven on Missouri State in dominating fashion. The Jayhawks had five different players contribute to this offensive thrashing that included a brace apiece from Caroline Castans and Faith Johnston.

The last time Kansas scored seven was 2008 (which seems to the best year in Jayhawk sports history) against Francis Marion, a Division II school. Missouri State only managed one shot all game, so we can add offense to a list of things not found in Springfield too. Kansas soccer is now 2-0 to start this season off and currently has not allowed a single goal.

Their Practice Squad Beat Our Practice Squad

For the past few months, Kansas City was home to a different kind of football. Arrowhead was briefly renamed to “Kansas City Stadium” as a result of the strict regulations employed by FIFA. Now that the World Cup is over, we can return to real football again (take that world!). Finally, the “Soccer Capital of America” is once again home to Chiefs Kingdom.

The Chiefs kicked off their preseason recently, and it went about as well as anyone should expect from backups and rookies. Kansas City fell to the Los Angeles Rams 20-12 in week 1, with rookie quarterback Garrett Nussmeier going 13 of 19 for 98 yards and Harrison Butker accounting for all 12 Chiefs points on four field goals. Twelve penalties didn’t help.

In preseason week 2, the Chiefs lost again, this time to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A highlight from the Chiefs was Harrison Butker nailing a 69-yard field goal which would have set an NFL record had it occured in an actual game.

Additionally, KU legend, Jalon Daniels, signed a contract to play with Tampa Bay after going undrafted. What you might not know is that he showed flashes of greatness in both of his preseason games. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards, ran for a touchdown, and led a 16-play, 65-yard game-winning drive in his debut against the Jets. Against the Chiefs, Daniels led three scoring drives and accounted for a touchdown pass. We will sure miss our guy when the college season starts up again.

The Chiefs are set to leave Arrowhead behind entirely in 2030, relocating to a new $3 billion domed stadium on the better side of the state line. While this is old news, it’s hard not to gloat at another border war win. Missouri already watched the Rams pack up for Los Angeles back in 2016. Leave it to the Show-me state to lose 2 teams in 10 years.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal. Nick is the Free State Journal’s movie expert.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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Sit back and enjoy this Friday’s presentation from the Free State Journal.

A Tale of Downsizing and Upcharging

The KU Athletic Director, Travis Goff, says fans walking into David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium this fall will finally be able to picture the finished product, even if the project itself is still under construction. You’re a little late, Mr. Goff; the finished version of the stadium was already on College Football 25 two years ago.

If you remember from last year, the Booth was half complete, with the student section being the one thing remaining from the old stadium- a subtle nod that the student experience always comes second.

Phase 2 work is ongoing for the east and south sides, along with an entirely new district being built east of the stadium in what used to be a dirt parking lot. The Kansas City Star said it’s safe to expect “temporary conditions” for restrooms and concessions this season, with full completion targeted for 2027.

The bigger change is capacity. The old Memorial Stadium sat 47,000, with, in Goff’s words, some of the worst seats in sports lining most of the north side. The finished stadium will hold around 43,000, and this season capacity drops by 11 to 12 thousand seats while construction wraps up, putting attendance in the low 30,000s for 2026.

Goff framed the smaller number as a deliberate industry trend, pointing to pro sports and European soccer moving in the same direction in shrinking capacity but upgrading the experience. Whether that view holds remains to be seen, but at least by 2027, nobody will be stuck looking at the monstrosity of metal and concrete that is the current construction site.

KU and Former Professor Are on a Roller Coaster Ride

For those not accustomed to the craziness at the foundation of the KU administration, look no further than this. Franklin Tao is a former tenured chemical engineering professor at KU, and he is suing the university again, this time alleging retaliation. Tao was arrested in 2019 under the first Trump administration’s “China Initiative,” a DOJ program aimed at stopping economic espionage. For Professor Tao, an “anonymous tip” accused him of spying, and he was subsequently convicted. That conviction was tossed out entirely by an appeals court in 2024.

An understandably frustrated Tao first sued KU in 2025 to get his job back, claiming discrimination. This new lawsuit, filed in July, accuses the university of retaliating against him for that complaint. Central to his claims is a temporary faculty review board KU set up to handle his case, staffed entirely with non-tenured faculty whose own careers remain subject to KU's discretion. Like always, KU does a phenomenal job at being impartial here.

Tao argues that setup created exactly the kind of conflict of interest the review process was supposed to prevent. To absolutely no one’s surprise, the board dismissed his objections in March.

KU hasn’t responded to the lawsuit yet. Tao has since taken a non-tenured position in Arizona and is asking KU to cover lost wages along with damages for reputational harm and emotional distress.

KU Sororities Put the ‘Work’ in Work Week

It seems like all of social media has been flooded with new posts from sororities showcasing all of their work week themes. Why Halloween comes a little early for them will continue to plague the mind of every fraternity whose annual back-to-school traditions typically involve a little less working and a lot more celebrating.

Regardless of the intensity of preparation, FSJ has seen all the work that the sororities have been putting into this process and admires the dedication to the craft. Nobody does a work week or a recruitment quite like the KU sororities. Great job, ladies!

KU Passes Go and Collects 4.8% More

You may not have been informed, but way back in June, our dear Kansas Board of Regents took a vote on tuition increases across the state. Now that school is starting back up soon, it seemed fitting to let you know that KU tuition has risen by 4.8%. Welcome back!

Fortunately, though, KU wasn’t alone. Nearly every public university in the state got a bump, ranging from 3.5% at Pittsburg State to 6% at Fort Hays State, with Wichita State and K-State landing in the 3-4 range. Emporia State was the lone holdout, keeping tuition flat for a third straight year, though even they admit that streak probably won’t last much longer.

Inflation, state funding cuts, and rising utility costs are squeezing budgets that used to have a little more breathing room. Athletic departments that used to funnel money back into general university budgets are now doing the opposite, thanks to the new reality of NIL. Maybe the only silver lining for students is that KU might continue to have a greater NIL budget than K-State.

Kansas Ranked 24 by WalletHub in Best States to Live

WalletHub dropped its 2026 “Best States to Live In” rankings, comparing all 50 states across 51 measures covering affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Our beautiful state of Kansas landed at 24th, comfortably above the 50th percentile. Just like everything else, Missouri trails behind at 30th.

Interestingly, Kansas also outperformed every state that’s home to a blue-blood basketball program. Kentucky was 41st, North Carolina was 26th, and California was 31st, though UCLA hasn’t exactly been striking fear into anyone lately anyway.

To all the Jayhawks who are looking for a new home after graduation, let us know what you think of Idaho!

Not Our Circus, Definitely Not Our Monkeys

Although we are the Free State Journal and enjoy reporting on all the good and bad of Lawrence, we would be lying if we said we didn’t also have a field day with all the misfortune going on a little bit east. Case in point: a parking garage dispute at Mizzou that escalated into one of the more unhinged property crimes you’ll read about this year.

It starts with this guy, Lukasz Czarnik, who allegedly rammed a cargo van into a construction worker’s personal truck inside the Tiger Avenue Parking Structure, then got out and took a chainsaw to it, cutting into the tires— a reasonable escalation. He also reportedly damaged the victim’s company iPad (Oh no!), which is the real headline here. Witnesses caught the whole thing on video to the delight of all who expect this from Missouri.

When police asked Czarnik why he did it, he said he wanted to get the victim a new vehicle, which is exactly what I would have said. He then tried to resist arrest by pulling away from officers and rolling onto his back, presumably the same energy that got him into this in the first place.

Total damage is estimated at around $15,000, the same amount as his bond, which he’s already posted.

A Hometown Mystery

Recently, Lawrence had a mystery on its hands. A crew of individuals had been painting the roads in two areas. These were the southbound lanes stretching from the city limits to the Kansas River Bridge, and the stretch from Vermont Street to Congressional Drive, all without the city’s knowledge or approval. City officials said no restriping was scheduled and confirmed it wasn’t done by city crews or a city contractor.

You ever heard about how Kansas has really good roads? Well, maybe the people in charge aren’t as good as we thought. Kids are taught to color in the lines, but here, we have smudged stripes!

The city announced Thursday it had solved the case. Turns out the mystery painters were with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). The cherry on top is that Lawrence won’t be stuck paying to fix the unauthorized work.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal. Nick is the Free State Journal’s movie expert.

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We have a packed week so enjoy the following highlights!

Delta Upsilon Reveals Inconsistency in SFL

A new lawsuit in Douglas County District Court accuses KU’s Delta Upsilon chapter of pledge abuse that undercuts its own branding as the “world’s oldest nonsecret, non-hazing fraternity.” The plaintiff alleges pledges were locked in a room and forced to drink as many as 60 beers, had ice thrown at their heads, and were denied sleep. The most disturbing claim is that a prospective member was allegedly dunked headfirst into a bucket contaminated with human waste. He’s seeking $450,000 in damages.

KU sanctioned the chapter in April after opening an investigation last October, with probation running through 2028. This isn’t DU’s first offense. The chapter was removed from campus entirely in 2018 for a nearly identical pattern before returning in 2023.

However, DU is on IFC’s newest instagram post preparing incoming students for rush.

Meanwhile, ATO was removed from campus recently due to a single undisclosed allegation and reports of “calisthenics,” Beta and FiJi both unaffiliated from campus after allegations with no repercussions (still being allowed to participate in KU sanctioned events such as RCR) and non-Greek organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine and KU Cheer only receiving warnings and disclosures on KU’s website.

Maybe if they added one more SFL administrator, they could figure it out.

Mizzou Adds Theft to Long List of Missouri Transgressions

Apparently, it is Columbia news that the ‘favorite tradition’ of a sunflower display will be back this year. I wonder where they got the idea.

Just like everything else, our sunflowers will always be better.

Dr. Chancellor Doug Girod to Draft Policy for Trump

KU Chancellor Doug Girod M.D. was one of four university presidents who helped the Trump administration draft its newest ask of higher ed. They want to publicly commit to seven “statements of principle” by the end of the year, covering everything from AI, grade inflation, to keeping protests from interrupting class. Girod chairs the Association of American Universities and wrote the letter alongside leaders from Arizona State, WashU, and Johns Hopkins, sent by Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

There is nothing explicit tied to the paper at this time, just the promise of “more research funding” for schools that play along. Girod told Bloomberg he’d rather be at the table than guessing.

The letter wants universities to put “American interests first” and broaden their ideological range, which likely means to “hire people who agree with us more.” KU hasn’t said what signing on looks like yet. Ask again in December, once we see who’s still standing.

This is a big step for the Trump-KU relationship, as last time he was president the administration deported a Computer Science Professor for suspicion that he was a Chinese Spy.

Primaries Give Kansas a Preview for this November

Months of debate came to an end Tuesday night as Kansan Republican’s and Democrat’s showed up to the polls.

On the Primary Front, the matchup is set between Trump-backed Senate President Ty Masterson and Sen. Cindy Holscher for the gubernatorial race.

Both sides of the aisle were filled with flare. Materson described his opponent Phillip Sarnecki as “an angry elf” and a “democrat plant.” The Democrats were even more divided, as current governor Laura Kelly’s office accused Holscher of blackmail. Kelly’s chief of staff claimed Holscher threatened to leak details of the governor’s divorce.

On top of the primaries, Republicans tried to pass a constitutional amendment that would have selected Supreme Court Justices by popular vote. They had been frustrated with the left-leaning court for some time, but the amendment failed and lost by a wide margin. This is the second time republicans have tried to force a constitutional amendment during a primary and coincidentally the second time it has failed.

KU Athletics Grows the Bureaucracy

KU had some tough decisions to make. It sounds like the athletics department really wanted a general manager on staff. In comes this guy:

Sam Strantz was senior team counsel for the Houston Rockets, hired to fill a job that didn’t exist a year ago and will apparently exist everywhere in five. He still hasn’t updated his LinkedIn, unlike noted LinkedIn warrior Fernando Mendoza, who somehow found time to polish his profile before draft night.

AD Travis Goff called it a “centralized GM” role. We expect this guy to be a master of the jimmies and the joes.

College sports have handled this a few different ways. Michigan and Toledo let software do it. Stanford, Oklahoma, and Davidson handed it to Andrew Luck, Trae Young, and Steph Curry (in name only), because “fiscal responsibility” is obviously attributed to famous sports figures. KU skipped all that and hired a lawyer (which might not offer its own challenges).

Strantz spent two years helping the Rockets go from lottery-ball regulars to back-to-back 52-win seasons. Somewhere, a Big 12 quarterback is about to learn his NIL deal outgrew the football budget.

Spider-Man's Longest Relationship Is With the Box Office

Many moviegoers have been experiencing increased superhero fatigue, and it’s led to a real slump at the box office when it comes to men in tights. That fatigue seems to have skipped over one guy.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” opened with the biggest domestic opening day ever for a movie, pulling in $168 million on day one alone. By day three it was sitting at $927 million globally, and it crossed $1 billion worldwide within six days, one of the fastest movies ever to hit that mark. It’s also sitting at a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest of any live-action Spider-Man movie yet.

This movie was a masterclass in acting by Tom Holland and included some genuinely iconic sequences. Fans of the Insomniac PlayStation games or the comics will spot moves and art covers pulled straight from the source material. I've always been a Punisher fan, so it was cool seeing him on screen, even if his character felt watered down. It's also great to see both characters together, given that Punisher's first comic appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #129.

The largest issues with the film involves pacing, lack of a clear antagonist and a large focus on overstimulation. Other than that, solid work, Marvel. I give this one 4/5 stars and highly recommend it.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal. Nick is the Free State Journal’s movie expert.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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This article was updated 8/3/2026 to include Scott Schwab’s interview responses.

As the rest of the country holds its primary elections, Kansas is gearing up for its own. On August 4th, Kansas voters will decide their Republican and Democrat nominees for Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer. Also on that ballot is a constitutional amendment regarding the state Supreme Court, allowing voters the choice to elect their justices directly.

As the primaries come closer, I interviewed State Treasurer Steven Johnson, Representative Pat Proctor, State Senate President Ty Masterson, and Secretary of State Scott Schwab.

I asked each of these candidates the same 5 questions; now it’s time to hear directly from them. What will these candidates do to protect Kansans, what are their policies, and why should we vote for them?

Note from the Editor: This article does not constitute an endorsement from the Free State Journal of the candidates below.

Pat Proctor is running for Secretary of State and has served as a Representative from Kansas’ 41st district since 2020 and as the Chairman of the House Elections Committee and Kansas Security Committee.

Why did you decide to run for Secretary of State, and why now?

I served 25 years in the Army, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen firsthand what it looks like when people no longer believe they can settle their differences at the ballot box or through civil processes—they pick up guns and shoot each other. I swore an oath to defend the Constitution, our form of government, and our way of life, and that oath didn’t end when I took off my uniform. I am running for Secretary of State now because I want to restore confidence in our elections so we can bring people back into the process and ensure our civil processes remain strong.

What do you want to accomplish in your first term?

In my first term as your next Secretary of State, I will continue the work that I started as the Chairman of your House Elections Committee. My top priority will be restoring confidence in our elections by increasing transparency, combating non-citizen voting and ballot harvesting, and cleaning up our voter rolls.

What policies/aspects of your job do you think would help Kansans? Why?

The Secretary of State isn’t just the chief elections officer; the office also runs the Business Division, which presents a huge opportunity to help Kansans. When my wife and I started our restaurant in Leavenworth, we usually only found out we hadn’t done something when we got a nasty letter from a state agency. I want to shift the regulatory burden from business owners to the government.

I will transform the Business Division into an entrepreneurship engine by requiring state agencies to populate a database with all business requirements. We can add an AI-enabled chat window on the website where an aspiring entrepreneur can type, “I want to start a restaurant in Leavenworth,” and it will spit out every form they need to fill out at the federal, state, and city levels. We should be helping business owners meet the requirements, not punishing them.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you got into public service.

I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 25 years of service, including time on the Joint Strategic Assessment Team during the Surge in Iraq. I hold a PhD in History from Kansas State University and am the author of books on military strategy. I currently serve as the State Representative for District 41 and own Baan Thai restaurant in Leavenworth. I entered public service out of a deep commitment to the principles of our Constitution and a desire to serve the people of Kansas, drawing from my experiences defending our nation abroad and understanding the importance of strong leadership at home.

Why do you think the Constitutional Amendment on August 4th is so important?

The Constitutional Amendment on August 4th—the Right to Vote amendment—is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally change how we select our state Supreme Court justices and restore accountability to an out-of-control court. Right now, Kansas is the only state in the country that uses a nominating commission dominated by unelected lawyers to pick our highest judges behind closed doors. Because of this broken system, our Supreme Court is disconnected from Kansas values. They recently came within one single vote of stripping the legislature of its constitutional authority to write our state’s election laws. If just one more activist justice had flipped, they would have had the power to strike down every common-sense safeguard we’ve passed. This amendment will abolish that unaccountable commission and finally give the citizens of Kansas the right to directly elect our Supreme Court Justices, ensuring our court is truly impartial and transparent.

Ty Masterson is running for Governor of Kansas and has served in the Kansas Senate since 2009 for the 19th district. Masterson is the current President of the Kansas State Senate.

Why did you decide to run for Governor, and why now?

I am running for Governor because all my kids are choosing to raise their families here in Kansas, and I have a vested interest in ensuring that this state is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I’m running now because we’ve got significant and timely issues to tackle. First and foremost, we must address the property tax crisis, which is taxing older Kansans out of their homes and serving as a key deterrent to young people from pursuing homeownership. There are others - such as both K-12 and higher education- pursuing policies that grow our economy and create jobs, and making life more affordable for everyday Kansans. More broadly, I believe the next two years are a key moment in time that we must get right - we don’t have the luxury to wait.

What do you want to accomplish in your first term?

Solving the property tax crisis is essential. We started by making property taxes purely for local government, which was an important step. While ultimately property tax rates are decided by school boards, cities, and counties, the state has a role to play in reforming the process. That must include implementing the initiatives the Senate passed, such as empowering the people’s representatives to address out-of-control appraisals, as well as giving the people themselves more tools to fight when local governments raise property taxes.

Education is always going to be a key priority, given the fact it occupies nearly ⅔ of the state budget. That includes a new finance formula that makes sense and is student-focused, not system-focused. It means expanding parental choice so our children’s futures aren’t determined by their zip code. We also must reform higher education so it’s sustainable and affordable, both for the students themselves as well as the communities that house our 19 community colleges.

It’s also imperative that the executive branch has an approach to governing that is geared towards real economic growth through tax and regulatory policy that makes businesses want to set up shop here, creating high-quality jobs in the process.

Related to each of the above items is affordability. In addition, I believe we can build upon our historic housing legislation to build more affordable single-family homes. I support continuing to expand consumer choices in health care to make it easier for people to get the care they need at an affordable price. No matter the policy or issue, promoting affordability is essential.

What policies/aspects of your job do you think would help Kansans? Why?

It’s rather simple - I’m a battle-tested, proven leader. I’ve served through every type of balance of power in Topeka - different makeups of philosophies in the Senate, divided government, unified government, etc. Regardless of the setup, I know how to get things done and have the track record to prove it. We must be able to hit the ground running and deliver for the people. That’s what Kansans expect.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you got into public service.

Like a lot of people who run for office, I originally ran for local office because I was dissatisfied with the direction of my local government. That soon led to an opportunity to serve in the Kansas House and ultimately, the Kansas Senate.

I’ve also been a small business owner, entrepreneur, and laborer. I currently lead GoCreate, a community workspace at Wichita State University that gives entrepreneurs of all ages the resources they need to launch businesses and turn ideas into a reality.

Most importantly, I’ve been married to Marlo for 32 years - and together we have six children and eight grandchildren. We attend NewSpring Church in Wichita.

My desire to participate and continue in public service has been inspired by my family. I have a vested interest in making Kansas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

Why do you think the Constitutional Amendment on August 4th is so important?

I’ve said on the trail that the Constitutional Amendment is actually even more important than the governor’s race. The current system is controlled by a nine-member commission that is controlled by lawyers selected exclusively by other lawyers, and the governor must choose between whomever they nominate. The people have no meaningful say in the process, and it’s time for that to change. 22 other states elect their highest court, and it’s been proven to work - and it even works here in Kansas, as half of our district judges are elected. In Kansas, we elected our justices for 100 years, and I think it’s high time to restore the people’s right to vote.

Steven Johnson is running for a second term as the State Treasurer. Before becoming the state Treasurer, Johnson served in the Kansas House of Representatives. Johnson was elected in 2022 with 54% of the vote.

Why did you decide to run for State Treasurer?

I ran for State Treasurer because the responsibilities of the office closely match both my professional background and my commitment to public service. I grew up on a family farm, studied agricultural economics and finance and spent my career working with investments and financial decision-making. I understood how much disciplined cash management, sound investment practices and careful oversight matter—not only to state government but to every Kansas taxpayer.

I also believed the Treasurer’s Office could do more to help Kansans build financial security. The office must be a responsible steward of public funds, but it also helps people save for education, prepare for homeownership, achieve greater financial independence and recover money that rightfully belongs to them. I saw an opportunity to strengthen both those missions.

What do you want to accomplish in your second term?

In a second term, I want to build on the progress we have made and ensure those improvements continue delivering lasting value to Kansans.

We have strengthened the management of state funds, modernized Kansas’ education savings program, expanded financial education, and increased awareness of Kansas ABLE accounts.

My goal is to continue improving these programs while making them easier to understand and use. That includes returning unclaimed property, helping more families save for education, expanding financial opportunities for Kansans with disabilities and ensuring every state dollar is managed carefully and productively.

I also want to complete the rollout of the state’s collateral pool. In simple terms, the pool provides a more efficient way to protect public deposits by allowing participating financial institutions to collectively pledge assets as security for taxpayer funds, rather than securing each public account separately.

Just as important, I want to establish strong, lasting systems for overseeing the Quest529 plan and the other assets managed by the Treasurer’s Office. The goal is to ensure the progress made during my administration continues long after I leave office. That requires clear standards, consistent oversight and ongoing attention to fraud, cybersecurity and financial risk.

Most importantly, I want the Treasurer’s Office to remain accountable, accessible and focused on measurable results for the people of Kansas.

What policies or aspects of your job do you think would help Kansans? Why?

One of the most important responsibilities of the Treasurer’s Office is protecting and managing public funds. Good cash management may not always attract attention, but it has a direct effect on taxpayers. When the state earns more on its money, that is money Kansas does not have to collect from taxpayers.

Our savings programs also provide practical ways to improve financial security. Quest529 helps families prepare for education and career-training expenses. Kansas ABLE allows eligible Kansans with disabilities to save and invest without jeopardizing certain means-tested public benefits. Programs supporting first-time homebuyers, agriculture and adoption can help Kansans prepare for major milestones. These tax-advantaged programs are tools to plan for and achieve dreams.

Unclaimed property is another important service. That money belongs to individuals and businesses—not the government. We should use every reasonable tool available to identify its rightful owners and return it. These programs may serve different purposes, but they share one goal: helping Kansans keep more of what is theirs and make informed decisions that create greater opportunity.

Tell us a little about yourself and why you got into public service.

I was raised on a cattle and grain farm near Assaria. Farming teaches you to plan for the future, manage risk and understand that every decision has consequences. I studied agricultural economics at Kansas State University and later earned an MBA from the University of Chicago with an emphasis in finance and business policy. I built my career in financial services while remaining involved with our family farm.

The economic downturn of 2008 and 2009 helped motivate me to enter public service. I saw how decisions made in government could affect families, businesses, agriculture and the broader economy. I believed my financial background could contribute to better public policy, so I ran for the Kansas Legislature in 2010.

Public service, to me, is about doing the work carefully, listening to people and leaving an institution stronger than you found it. That principle guided my service in the Legislature and continues to guide me as State Treasurer. Steven’s official biography

Why do you think the constitutional amendment on August 4 is so important?

The Kansas Supreme Court makes decisions that can affect every Kansan, yet voters currently do not directly choose the people who serve on that court. A majority of the members of the nominating commission that selects candidates for the governor are chosen by a relatively small group of attorneys.

The August 4 amendment asks a fundamental question: Should Kansas voters have a direct voice in selecting the justices who serve on the state’s highest court? I believe they should.

Kansans are trusted to elect the governor, attorney general, legislators and other officials who make consequential decisions. They should also be trusted to evaluate candidates for the Kansas Supreme Court. Judicial independence is important, but independence and public accountability do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Scott Schwab is running for Governor of Kansas. Since 2019, Schwab has served as the Secretary of State; before this, Schwab served in the Kansas House from 2009-2019 in Kansas’ 49th District.

Why did you decide to run for Governor, and why now?

A lot of people want to be governor but I want to do Governor. After my years of experience in the legislature and head of a statewide office I’m ready to tackle hard goals like property tax relief and reducing government spending.

What do you want to accomplish in your first term?

In addition to cutting property taxes in the first legislative session on day one all agencies will be instructed to modernize, reduce or both. I’ve proven in the Secretary of States office how to create savings for an agency by modernizing our technology and we’ll take that statewide.

What policies/aspects of your job do you think would help Kansans? Why?

The modernization efforts that I’ve pushed through my agency which decreased our workload corresponded with heavily reducing fees the Secretary of States office levies on businesses. That can be applied to other state agencies for tremendous savings that can be passed to you via tax cuts.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you got into public service.

Public service is a mission field for me. I grew up in Great Bend before raising my family in Olathe. I’ve always been passionate about making government work for the people instead of the other way around. Today I desperately want to preserve our rural communities like where I grew up and make government more efficient by making real progress getting out of technology debt

Why do you think the Constitutional Amendment on August 4th is so important?

This is a critical vote on August 4th to vote yes to get rid of the most ridiculous way to choose Supreme Court justices. A commission with a minority comprised of unelected lawyers is the furthest thing from a democratic process and electing them obviously puts the power back into the people’s hands.

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Caden Foster is the Editor-in-Chief for the Free State Journal and is on the Editorial Board. He is studying Political Science and Communications at the University of Kansas. Caden is from Runaway Bay, Texas.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving free speech on campus. For contributions or to get involved, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @thefreestatejournal and X @FreeState_J.

Some campus journalists take the summer off or write about “Cresta Alta,” the fresh new film on Glacial Climate Change. Fortunately for KU, we at FSJ treated the summer as an opportunity, and we hope you enjoyed our coverage of the month’s developments.

Now with that being said, let’s dive into the last news for July 2026!

Give Us Our Wins Back While You’re at It:

This week Melvin Council Jr. stood up for his individual right to a sixth year of eligibility. Council is suing the NCAA, claiming that since his first two years of basketball were at a Community College governed by the NJCAA, he has only used three years of his NCAA eligibility. The Free State Journal does not condone petty local corruption. Having said that, if any Jayhawk judge gets this case and plans to rule against a man who did Wabash in Manhattan after a double-double, they should plan to never step foot in Lawrence again.

@sir.shaggy.dogMelvin Council Jr saved OUR lives #kansasbasketball #melvincounciljr #rockchalk #ku #cbb

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The NCAA messing with KU is a tradition almost as strong as the Rock Chalk Chant. They have been casting stones since the days of Phog Allen, who gave a student a ride from Kansas City to Lawrence in 1956 and triggered a team probation. As recently as 2023 the IARP “Found no credible evidence that KU coaches or the university knew of or directed the Adidas payments” yet still voided a Final Four appearance and 15 wins to make Kentucky the winningest basketball program of all time.

The Blue Blood Classic Returns:

Duke is coming to AFH this fall for the first time since the 1987-88 season. The last time the teams played in Lawrence, the unranked Jayhawks forced the #6 Blue Devils into overtime behind a dominant performance by Danny Manning, who had 31 points and 12 rebounds. The refs ultimately forced a Duke win for Coach K by calling a controversial 5th foul on Manning making him ineligible for most of Overtime.

There better be security watching Naismith’s original rules because Duke fans have been known to steal, and there is nothing the Dukies want more than the original rules - which must be why they anonymously tried to outbid David Booth for them 16 years ago.

Freddy, the German FIFA fan who went viral for his obsession with Bass Pro Shop and Bucc-ee’s, is planning a College Football tour in October. All KU fans should do everything in their power to get Freddy to campus and test if the European mind can handle the loudest indoor stadium in the world.

Hold Your Applause:

Lux Claridge, a Physics teacher at Emporia High School, made international news this week after being arrested and carried out of an Emporia City council meeting. Claridge was charged with interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct. The city council was meeting to change zoning laws to accommodate a data center. Officials warned the audience not to cheer or clap. Claridge was asked to leave after clapping several times and told the officers to carry him out.

Might as Well Start Them Early:

This past week in Columbia, a man was arrested after trying to corner the last untapped meth market in CoMo: preschoolers. Alphonso Lamark Fagala, 46, was taken into custody for allegedly selling meth out of a house located next door to a preschool. Babies using meth can lead to horrible side effects, with some parents reporting that the kids grew up to be Mizzou fans.

Dumpster Justice:

A maintenance man from Village at West End is in hot water after allegedly shooting three raccoons in a dumpster. A 14-year-old was taking out the trash when he reportedly saw the raccoons and watched the maintenance man shoot them. Two died on the scene, while one escaped injured. The maintenance man was charged with animal cruelty and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Little Brother Hasn’t Grown Up:

The Jayhawk Alumni Team won series against KState last Friday. Zeke Mayo had 25 points with 4 Threes. It took K-States entire team 27 shot attempts just to match his three’s.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal. Nick is the Free State Journal’s movie expert.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Walker Haber is an alumni with degrees in economics, political science and minors in math and spanish. He served as President of Alpha Tau Omega for two terms and is a contributor for the Free State Journal. Walker is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

Another Friday has arrived in Lawrence, and of course, more news follows. Last weekend, three members of the Free State Journal attended the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression conference in Philadelphia. They learned about the importance of free speech, even when you disagree with it, especially when it comes from Coach Drinkwitz at Mizzou.

We will get into that and more!

Mizzou Head Football Coach Puts Foot in Mouth

Coach Drinkwitz had some comments on Sirius XM. “What’s the best thing that comes out of the state of Kansas? I-70. What do you call a good-looking girl in Kansas? A tourist.”

SEC Media Days are supposed to be about SEC teams, yet Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz could not get through a session without bringing up the Jayhawks. It has become something of a pattern for him.

Last year he told reporters the Border War traces back to the Civil War and that people died in this rivalry, which is technically true and also not the kind of line you usually hear from a head coach. It is also very insightful to think that there would be casualties in conflicts. Someone should give this guy a gold star.

More recently, he had to walk back a comment on Paul Finebaum’s show that Kansas would be “looking for blood” after last year’s 42-31 Missouri win.

If we remember correctly, Kansas won the historical Border War.

Additionally, Instagram account College Weekly put Mizzou as the No. 1 SEC school that lacks Aura. Just this week they had invasive needle ants taking over their campus and invited back an athletic director that is involved in a fraudulent expense investigation. We here at FSJ think that it does a disservice to the truth by limiting the scope to just the SEC.

As for Coach Drinkwitz, he will just have to see how well these comments hold up this season. It’s no surprise how much Kansas fans hate Mizzou, and on September 11, we will get another taste of this rivalry in Lawrence.

KU Young Dems Have Difficulty Picking a Stance

The Young Dems of KU posted a statement on social media stating that they did not know Hasan Piker was set to make an appearance at the 2026 College Democrats of America Convention.

Following the event, the KU Young Dems stated that they do not endorse Mr. Piker or his rhetoric. Interestingly, the comments on the post were overwhelmingly from Piker-lovers.

The post has since been deleted.

So, the Young Dems showed up to an event that featured a guy who thinks America deserved 9/11 and has a lot of resentment towards jews. They then played the victim while denouncing those radical views, then deleted the unendorsement?

This week, the Young Dems have also been trying to help Siobhan, the reported person in the women’s restroom last week and highlighted Zohran Mamdani’s Netanyahu speech on their instagram story.

A KU Coincidence? Probably.

Last March, it was found that KU employee political donations were 25 to 1 in favor of more liberal candidates. That kind of imbalance does not stay confined to a ballot box. An administration this large does not stay neutral by default, and the people staffing it tend to vote the same way, which shows up in how the university behaves.

KU has had multiple deplatforming and heckling incidents in the last few years, and a former professor is now in the news saying KU retaliated after they filed a discrimination complaint. An administration that donates in near lockstep is not the neutral referee it claims to be when disputes like these come up.

The KU judicial appeals board’s handling of the Spring 2024 Student Senate election is one example worth reading directly, since the final action document lays out exactly what went wrong. The administration itself, which is way too large to begin with, tends to change the rules at exactly the moments when it matters most.

None of that is new. What is worth watching is who gets rewarded in the meantime. Last week, multiple KU faculty members were awarded Big 12 faculty fellowships, a genuine opportunity to expand research and collaborate across the conference. Good for them. But it is worth asking whether the same institution handing out fellowships with one hand is retaliating against dissent with the other, and whether that is two different institutions or just one.

Mario Chalmers Assembles the Avengers

The Basketball Tournament's $2 million winner-take-all prize is reason enough on its own to get a stacked roster fired up, but Mario Chalmers finally making his tournament debut has a second layer to it. JHX Hoops has blown three straight trips through TBT, most recently losing a fourth-quarter lead last year on a game-winning jumper, so getting over the hump has clearly been on everyone's mind.

Chalmers also pointed to something more personal. Dr. Scott Ward, known to generations of Jayhawks as Scoot, spent over two decades as an academic advisor for KU men's basketball and was, by every account, the connective tissue of the program. He spent years trying to talk Chalmers into playing TBT, and it never happened before Ward passed away in January following complications from surgery.

Chalmers said this year is his tribute to him, and Tyshawn Taylor, now an assistant general manager for the team, credited Ward with quietly stitching the roster together across eras.

The path to that money runs through the in-state rivalry first. JHX Hoops and Kansas State's Purple Reign are currently tied, 1-1, with game three taking place tonight in Manhattan. Good luck tonight, Jayhawks!

From Hoglund to Shining Cornfield

Fresh off winning the Big 12 both ways and making a Super Regional, Kansas baseball’s reward is a fall exhibition against Iowa on a field best known for producing dead baseball players.

The Jayhawks will face the Hawkeyes at the Field of Dreams ballpark in Dyersville on Saturday, October 10. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., with tickets priced at $12, which is really nice considering a lot of money will be spent on the six-hour drive from Lawrence.

Iowa finished this past season with a record of 33-23 with an eleventh straight Big Ten Tournament appearance, while Kansas enters having taken both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles.

Nothing on the line here counts toward next year’s record, so the entire event functions as a very well-produced scrimmage. Either way, getting to watch the Jayhawks play a little early will be a fun opportunity for fans.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal. Nick is the Free State Journal’s movie expert.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

Between the panels and the networking events with like-minded students, our staff eagerly awaits implementing everything they learned and expanding on the free-speech agenda our journal has championed.

Nick:

FIRE is one of the organizations that matters most to us here at Free State, given their mission to preserve First Amendment rights. What became evident over the weekend was how far certain institutions go to get around them.

We sat in on a Speech Codes class, and I was genuinely surprised how many schools have written policies vague enough to hand administrators broad leeway over student conduct. We read through several of them ourselves. One school defined protest as any “act of expression conducted on campus.” Acts of expression can mean almost anything: wearing a T-shirt with a message on it, for instance.

For administrators to have that kind of power and influence over student actions is absurd, so it was interesting to see where student influence can come into play.

I have thought for a while now that Greek life is the best avenue to address free speech on campus. The organization, the connections, and the unity all contribute to a formula that can change school policy. It’s no wonder universities try to restrict Greek culture so much.

Chris:

The Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression is one of the most important organizations in America. Their absolutist stance on freedom of speech has put them at the forefront of First Amendment fights on college campuses nationwide as universities actively suppress their students’ speech and expressions.

This is why it was important that we attended their Student Network conference this past weekend in the heart of Philadelphia.

Through their case law breakout session, I was able to immerse myself in the role of a FIRE attorney. We represented a student who was being criminally investigated after she spoke out in an Instagram comment section against her university’s handling of a roach infestation. We studied relevant case law from Supreme Court decisions concerning freedom of speech on digital forums, public universities’ role in preserving speech on campus, and freedom of speech as a whole in America, to defend the young student’s voice against her university.

I learned how to study case law, legal writing skills, and how to collaborate with others to help those in need.

This weekend was very important for the three of us. We heard from reasoned speakers, had hands-on work from seasoned free-speech attorneys, and collaborated with like-minded students from across the country.

Thank you to FIRE Student Network and the FSJ for making this weekend possible.

Ryan:

This past weekend, FIRE welcomed students from across the country to Philadelphia for its annual summer Conference. The three-day event focused on the principles of free expression, First Amendment law, and the future of free speech on college campuses.

The conference, held at the National Constitution Center, featured seminars by constitutional scholars, FIRE attorneys, and other speakers who explored legal and cultural challenges facing free speech in the United States.

Opening the conference, FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff emphasized that the First Amendment serves as the foundation of America’s constitutional liberties, arguing that the freedom of speech enables citizens to defend and exercise rights guaranteed by the amendments that follow. That theme carried throughout the entire weekend as speakers examined the role free expression plays in preserving a healthy constitutional democracy.

Additional sessions explored some of the most pressing First Amendment issues facing the United States today. FIRE attorneys talked about several ongoing cases to demonstrate how constitutional principles are applied in modern legal disputes.

Among them was Streever v. Mullin, an ongoing case involving allegations that federal officials violated a citizen’s rights in response to protested political speech. The discussion highlighted the legal boundaries of government action and constitutional protection given by the First Amendment.

By incorporating active litigation such as Streever v. Mullin, the presentations moved beyond theoretical lectures, illustrating how constitutional principles shape real legal disputes. Using current cases allowed those who attended to better understand the scale of impact that FIRE makes on our legal system.

Additional sessions offered students opportunities to network with peers, attorneys, and FIRE staff members who share an interest in free speech.

For many students who attended, the weekend served not only as an introduction to First Amendment but also a reminder that protecting free speech requires constant engagement from each generation.

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Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal.

Christopher Winn is a contributor at the Free State Journal. He is a Junior studying Political Science at the University of Kansas. Christopher is from Richmond, Virginia.

Ryan Hannigan is a junior at the University of Kansas studying History. He serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal and is from Omaha, Nebraska.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

It has been quite the week to be a Jayhawk, in the sense that several of them made national news for reasons that have nothing to do with basketball rankings. We had an alum trade his jump shot for a gunshot, a baseball program quietly assembling a few MLB draft picks, a restroom controversy that made Lawrence a headline for a new Kansas law, and a 97 year old coach getting a phone call about fifty years later than expected. Also, Jazz is back.

Here's the damage.

Shooters Gonna Shoot?

This Fourth of July was one to remember and it certainly was for Lagerald Vick as he was charged for shooting a man at a party in Memphis. Vick was a KU guard from 2015 and was a member of our Final Four run in 2018.

According to court records, Vick approached a man at the party, got into an argument, and allegedly had a handgun tucked under his armpit the entire time, a detail that never once showed up in his scouting report. The victim said he tried to walk away, but Vick followed him, kept yelling, and fired one shot into his lower back, then reportedly kept the gun trained on him as he fled, suggesting Vick’s sense of when a possession ends still needs work. He was picked out of a lineup days later and booked on attempted first degree murder charges, held on a bond of one and a half million dollars.

It is worth noting this is not Vick’s debut in the legal system. He is already facing separate felony burglary and theft charges from earlier this year over an alleged break in at a former girlfriend’s home.

Back in 2018, he was averaging 12.4 points a game and shooting 43.5 percent from three in the Tournament that sent KU to the Final Four. These days his stat lines are a lot less fun to read.

Jayhawks Onward and Upward

Detroit took Tyson LeBlanc in the second round at No. 61 overall, making him the highest drafted position player in Kansas history and the second highest pick of any Jayhawk ever, trailing only Curtis Shaw’s trip to Oakland in 1990. He did not have to wait long for company.

Dominic Voegele went right behind him, taken by Baltimore in the third round at No. 82, the third highest pick in program history, meaning Kansas baseball now owns two of its top three all time draft slots and is somehow still not the most surprising story in Lawrence this month.

The international flavor arrived a day later. Mathis Nayral rounded out the group, going to Toronto in the 13th round as just the third French born player ever selected in the MLB Draft, proof that Kansas has apparently become an international pipeline as much as a basketball school.

Not everyone left, though. Closer Boede Rahe and catcher Augusto Mungarrieta both announced they are staying put for 2027, with Rahe posting a cheerful “God’s Timing” after going unselected, which is one way to spin missing the entire draft.

That leaves one loose thread heading into the fall. Incoming transfer Jake Berkland now has a real decision on his hands after the White Sox popped him in the 19th round at No. 555, forcing him to choose between pro ball and honoring his commitment to Lawrence, a choice that will decide whether he is a Jayhawk or a rounding error in Chicago’s system.

Transgender KU Custodian Reported for Using Women’s Restroom

Siobhán Kirchstein, a transgender custodian at KU, received an email informing them that a coworker had reported them for using the women’s restroom, an enforcement action tied to Kansas’s SB 244, the law that restricts restroom access in public buildings based on sex assigned at birth.

Kirchstein told reporters they were shocked and furious to learn the complaint came from within their own department or building.

Kirchstein came to KU in 2017 to study religious studies and now serves as secretary for Lawrence Pride, giving them a fairly public profile in the local LGBTQ community even before this incident put their workplace restroom habits into the news cycle.

They said they have used the women’s restroom for years without incident and have no intention of stopping now that someone has finally decided to make an issue of it.

The episode leaves KU navigating the same tension playing out at public employers across the state who are caught up in a new state law.

Jazz Makes Headlines for First Time since La La Land

The Utah Jazz have somehow become good this offseason, which given the roster overhaul running through Lawrence, tracks as a Kansas story more than a Utah one.

Our own Jazz program had a strong month too, with KU’s Jazz and Commercial Music program picking up a record eight honors at the 49th Annual DownBeat Student Music Awards, the most the program has ever won in a single year.

Jazz Ensemble I and the KU Jazz Singers both took home Outstanding Performance honors, Free State Bones and the Keegan Kaiser Ensemble each grabbed small ensemble awards, and individual soloists Heidi Lanita, Josie Jones and John Fraka all picked up honors of their own.

Program chair Dan Gailey has now steered KU to 45 DownBeat awards since 1992, so between the basketball team stocking an NBA franchise and the music department quietly running the table on student jazz, Kansas may be the only school in the country good at two entirely unrelated things called Jazz.

Ted Owens to the Hall of Fame

Ted Owens coached Kansas basketball from 1964 to 1983 and will offically be inducted to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He is the fourth winningest coach in KU history just behind Phog Allen, Roy Williams and Bill Self.

Owens is also one of just eight men to hold the KU head coaching job across 128 seasons, six of whom are already in a Hall of Fame. He turns 97 on July 16 and still lives in Tulsa, where by all accounts he is running an investment business. An interesting end to a storied career that included two Final Four teams and winning 348 games.

Congratulations and thank you for cultivating the greatest college basketball experience, Coach Owens!

The Movie of the Week — Matt Damon Tries To Go Home (Again)

We have watched Matt Damon get lost in space twice and get lost somewhere in France during World War II, so it was only a matter of time before Christopher Nolan got him lost around 1200 BC too. I watched this movie late Thursday night, having been anticipating it since I saw the first trailer back in December.

I have a lot of thoughts about it, but I will try to keep it brief. Also, if you are frustrated that there might be a spoiler, get over yourself; this story has been out for 2700 years.

Starting with what worked, Nolan handles the individual events of Odysseus’s journey adequately. The cyclops scenes were really well shot, maybe some of the better sequences across his films, and Circe’s island was interesting too, with each stop feeling genuinely different from the last.

Beyond the individual sequences, one change I liked was giving Odysseus real consequences for the Trojan War itself, rather than the book’s version, where most of his suffering comes from Poseidon’s rage after he blinds the cyclops Polyphemus, Poseidon’s son. I won’t elaborate, you will just have to see for yourself.

On the other hand, the pacing felt off, the way it often does in Nolan’s films, which is a strange thing to say about a runtime of nearly three hours.

Odysseus gets ping ponged all around the Mediterranean, and the time given to each stop just did not feel right. On top of that, the dialogue felt stale in parts, with Nolan opting for a modern style that often landed awkwardly, like Telemachus (Tom Holland) calling Odysseus “dad” instead of something like “father.”

My last general critique is the IMAX cameras. I am all for a better viewing experience, but with so few theaters able to actually show the film as intended, it works against itself. In one scene, a character swings a sword that is almost entirely out of frame.

Even so, if you are a fan of movies, I would definitely go see this film. It may not be a perfect adaptation of Homer’s epic, but it is still entertaining at the least.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal. Nick is the Free State Journal’s movie expert.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

The 4th of July has come and gone, so summer is officially in its second half. For Jayhawks headed back to Lawrence this fall, that means the countdown clock just started ticking. Thankfully, Lawrence will be loud soon enough.

Until then, we’ve got some catching up to do, and it starts with a wedding.

Two Jayhawk Cafe Enthusiasts Got Married

KU’s Jayhawk Cafe could be considered the 8th wonder of the world and is exactly the kind of hallowed ground to inspire the world’s largest love story.

Sometime between 2008 and 2012, young pop star Taylor Swift paid a visit to our stomping grounds and was dazzled by the exquisite scenery of Lawrence, KS. Her childhood friend and KU swim alumni, Abigail Anderson, was attending school around this time, which probably made for a pretty epic girls’ night out to the triangle.

In 2023, Travis Kelce wound up at the Hawk and the Wheel. Kelce attended the KU vs K-State basketball game and couldn’t leave without experiencing the Lawrence bar scene. Some students caught up with him at the Wheel, and he famously said that Wheel pizza was a “9 out of 10.” We are going to assume inebriation contributed to that low rating.

Neither knew it at the time, but Swift and Kelce would eventually end up married to each other, officially tying the knot on July 3rd at Madison Square Garden.

Lawrence, it turns out, had nothing to do with it. Still, it's a strange bit of trivia that both future spouses independently passed through the same college bars years apart, and we would like to credit the Hawks’ magic for it.

KU Athletics and Crypto, A New Bond

Cash is king, and the effect on athletics has been rippling through the collegiate world over the past few years.

The result? All Jayhawk uniforms will now feature a new cryptocurrency (Ripple XRP) logo on them for about $6 million. This partnership is unique as the founder of XRP is a KU alum! This comes after last year's controversial 'FNBO' logo on the Allen Fieldhouse court. However, Bill Self and Lance Leipold are quoted on their excitement over this partnership, so I guess we have to be in favor of it.

Big 12 Media

This past week, all Big 12 teams came together for media day. This year, there was even more to celebrate with the new Monster Energy collaboration, where every Big 12 team will get a Monster Energy patch for a sad $1 million per school. With two new patch-collabs, KU football jerseys are getting closer to Girl Scout sashes. Good thing Big Jay stands the tallest.

KU brings World Peace and Science Advancements through Sports

KU is most certainly the greatest peacemaker in the world, from the Civil War to today. No surprise Algeria loved us as much as they did; Lawrence is the best place on Earth. The School of Education and Human Sciences’ dean, Joshua Newman, was brought to New York to speak on global cooperation, specifically through FIFA. Combining sports with peace is what KU may be best at.

In addition, a new play is debuting this weekend in Lawrence, telling the story of a KU alum who switched his academic path to study medicine in the 1890s. He ended up doing important chromosomal research. The best part of all, he also played on KU’s first-ever basketball team from 1898-99.

No one does it better than Kansas. Sports, science and world peace. We will see about the play, though. Review coming soon.

New Tech to KU- Mizzou Could Never

As KU is embracing cryptocurrency and AI, many changes will be coming to campus. A tech start-up program is returning to campus in the old McClain’s bakery building behind Chi Omega’s Sorority House. The program will be utilized for one year before the entrepreneurial program begins.

KU researchers have also been training AI models as a resource for families affected by autism. It’s a good thing we are embracing the future and already advancing fields that utilize such technology.

On the other side of the state line, Mizzou is facing major layoffs in its medical clinics. Its main AI advancement is for soybeans, and the results for the newest scouting report for Mizzou are that Mississippi State may have a chance. If only they had Crypto and Monster patches.

Darryn Peterson on Fire

DP, as any Jayhawk would say, has already started the summer league with a bang. He played his first game on Saturday and easily scored 28 points against the Atlanta Hawks. In his second game on Monday, he scored 25 points with 12 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies. A few folks have even compared him to Kobe Bryant.

Despite this successful start, Darryn Peterson can’t seem to escape the “did not play” jokes from his time at KU.

According to some sources on X, ESPN posted a graphic (probably from some intern) saying, “DNP is a certified bucket.”

Come on, guys, the joke is getting a little old. Darryn Peterson is a generational talent, and he will do great things in his career! Despite his tumultuous one season as a Jayhawk, he will always have a home in Lawrence.

After losing to AJ Dybantsa last night, DP will likely be playing harder than ever and with no ‘flu-like symptoms.’

Honor Roll Is on a Roll?

Good news, guys! This past week, KU released its Spring 2026 honor roll. Over 9,000 students made it, which is almost half of the 22,000 total undergraduate population. That means roughly 1 out of every 2 students was an honor roll student.

Two main questions come to mind with data like this. Are almost half of the undergrads at KU highly disciplined, academic studs? Or have the school’s standards in the classroom fallen immensely over the years?

Good thing all the Free Staters made it.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

We went from being a nation of farmers upset by high taxes to a nation of farmers upset by high taxes in just 250 years. I’d call that a world record!

In reality, so much has changed, from the accents, teeth, and even the loss of powdered wigs (yeah, the British still use those).

On July 4, 1777, the first annual Independence Day celebrations were held in Pennsylvania. In 1938, the United States officially recognized the 4th of July as a federal holiday, thank you, federal government.

For those of you who actually enjoy history, this section is for you; if not, skip down.

On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Lee Resolution for Independence, officially declaring that all 13 colonies were free and independent states from the British Empire.

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, one of the greatest documents ever drafted, second best to this article. This document enshrined the idea that “they [the 13 colonies] are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved…”

As expected, this breakup text did not go over too well, and the redcoats, who obviously didn’t watch Hamilton on Broadway, decided they would send their army to fight some drunken farmers.

In 1776, the United States had an estimated total population of 2.5 million, compared to an estimated population of 331,449,281 as of the 2020 census.

The first country to recognize the independence of the 13 colonies was the Kingdom of Morocco. Unfortunately, they, too, like Connecticut, haven’t recognized the Free State Journal. To be fair, it took the Moroccans a whole year to do so, so there’s still time.

Just 6 years later, King George III of England formally acknowledged the United States of America’s Independence and ordered an end to hostilities on December 5, 1782. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

On September 17th, 1787, the Continental Congress officially ratified the Constitution of the United States of America into effect. It officially went into effect on June 21, 1787.

Now, if you have been living under a rock, or you’re from Europe (shoutout to our 17 subscribers from the United Kingdom…we don't miss y’all), the Constitution is the best living document ever to see the light of day. If you disagree, check the scoreboard.

On April 30, 1789, General George Washington became President George Washington.

On January 29, 1861, the State of Kansas was formally admitted as the 34th State. (Honorary mention to my home state of Texas, which was admitted on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state).

On August 21, 1959, Hawaii was admitted as the 50th and final (watch out, Canada) state.

USA, USA, USA!

It’s called soccer, not football. The World Cup is currently being held in the United States, Canada (51st state), and Mexico. Which leads us to our soccer section.

The United States Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT for short, or TMNT if you really don’t care) is currently mopping the floor with the people who don’t know what an air conditioner is. For the first time since 2002, the United States has won a knockout round, defeating Bosnia (seeing as they are in Europe, there is a 100% chance we would have bombed them) 2-0.

In fact, this is not the first time we have destroyed the Bosnians; in 1995, the United States, joined by NATO and UNPROFOR, bombed Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Let’s be honest, if you’re a college student, or just a red-blooded American, you like Football better. I mean, from the most important use of the $2.10 trillion-dollar defense budget to the scoring, and overall, just the fact that it’s much less boring.

In 1637, the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Massachusetts and Maine) set the price of a quart of beer at “not more than one penny a quart at the most.” In freedom units, that was $0.013 per two, and two-thirds cans of beer.

In 2026, a single can of beer costs about $1.25, or $3.68 per quart. That is, unless you live in California, where your life is about 10 times more expensive than the rest of us.

It is no secret that the United States’ favorite sport is War. I mean, the Founding Fathers looked at the world's strongest empire and said, “We'll take our chances.” Honestly, thank God they did. What else are we supposed to do with a two-trillion-dollar defense budget?

On the topic of war, the United States has finally stopped bombing the Islamic Republic of Iran…for now. As the leaders of both nations (whoever the Iranians could find left) meet in Doha, Qatar, to discuss peace once again.

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Let Freedom Ring.

It has been 250 years of nice teeth, being able to say “bottle of water”, and no canned cold beans on soggy toast; and we couldn’t be happier here at the Free State Journal.

Now, to the 17 people from the UK who found us…we are not sorry. Here’s one for good times’ sake! Next time you need to be bailed out of a World War, just give us a call; we’re always excited to use our B-2 bombers!

And before you say “wE bUrNeD dOwN tHe WhItE hOuSe,” yeah…we know, and we don’t care; it looks nicer the second time around. Imagine losing half of a continent because someone threw your tea in the harbor…

If you have been following Free State for any amount of time, you know we LOVE free speech. So here is an overview of Free Speech since 1776 (and prior)!

In 1662, the British government instituted the Licensing of the Press Act, which severely limited publications within its broad empire.

In 1774, the Intolerable Acts were passed by the British Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party, further limiting free speech and government opposition.

Then 1776 rolled around, and the Declaration of Independence was signed, enshrining that there are certain unalienable rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

In 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, limiting the power of the government to assault the personal liberties of a citizen of the United States.

In 1791, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution was ratified, in full: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In 1931, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Near v. Minnesota that “Under the Free Press Clause of the First Amendment, and with limited exceptions, government may not censor or prohibit a publication in advance.”

In 1997, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Reno v. ACLU that “The ‘indecent transmission’ and ‘patently offensive display’ provisions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 violate the First Amendment.”

In 2026, the Kansas Legislature passed the KIRK Act, which became law on July 1, acknowledging that Free Speech is a fundamental right, and banned so-called “free speech zones” on campuses across the state. This also allows for the distribution of literature, speeches, peaceful protests, and petition drives to take place as long as it does not “intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupt another individual’s expressive activity when occurring in a campus space.”

Thank you for reading, and Happy Birthday America. 250 years is a long time; let’s hope you’re not collecting Social Security at the big 250.

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Caden Foster is the Editor-in-Chief for the Free State Journal and is on the Editorial Board. He is studying Political Science and Communications at the University of Kansas. Caden is from Runaway Bay, Texas.

The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

A lot has happened since last Friday, and we understand that you are excited to join us for this week’s edition. It’s important to note that we naturally share your enthusiasm and have been waiting to bring you this Friday’s edition, courtesy of the red, white, and blue, as USA Founding Father Toby Keith used to say. That will surely help to start us off here as we begin with America’s 250th Birthday.

Let’s get to it.

A Touch of Freedom and Dash of Patriotism

Happy Birthday, America! Two hundred and fifty years of conflict, politics, scandals, and social movements, and you do not look a day over 30. They are calling it the Semiquincentennial, which I am willing to bet you didn’t even try to pronounce as you skimmed over it just now. We will just call it the big one.

President Trump has certainly been busy smoothing over Uncle Sam’s wrinkles with a few renovation projects. It started with Trump deciding the East Wing of the White House needed a facelift (he tore the whole thing down last October). His vision centers on a very snazzy ballroom, expected to be complete around the summer of 2028. America turns 250 and has to wait two years for its own party. Meanwhile, the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been repainted “American flag blue,” which was apparently an urgent national priority.

Additionally, Kansas showed up to the party, too. Senator Roger Marshall hosted a Kansas booth at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, featuring our agriculture, Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart, and The Wizard of Oz. From the pictures, it also looked like there was a bucket of corn. Solid booth, Senator!

Two hundred and fifty years, and there is nowhere else on Earth quite like it. Crack open your favorite drinks, settle in with a fireworks show or two, and be grateful you aren’t eating beans on toast. Happy birthday, America.

Lawrence Is Thriving. Columbia Is Not.

This past week, CNN ranked Lawrence in top 10 towns, not just college towns. The article highlights our Civil War history and local flair.

Meanwhile, in the last week alone, a former Mizzou football coach pleaded guilty to a second DWI, a former student was sentenced for dorm strangling, and they reportedly finished last in the SEC for the Director’s Cup - a metric used to score university athletic departments’ performance across all their sponsored sports. It is truly embarrassing to fall short to the Gamecocks, Aggies, Commodores, and Bulldogs across all sports. KU also ranked ahead of Mizzou, obviously.

Additionally, a member of the tiger community published an impressive, in-depth analysis of Mizzou’s basketball freshmen and their reasonable baselines for the next season. I think Tyran Stokes or Taylen Kinney may beat all Mizzou freshmen in minutes this upcoming year. Have fun with super-loyal Bryson Tiller, guys.

Team Algeria Returns Home

Team Algeria sadly left their home base in Lawrence to play their 32-round match. Switzerland took their World Cup dreams away by defeating them 2-0. In their last KC game, they brought a huge ‘Thank You Lawrence’ banner, which is hanging on Mass Street now. This bond will be remembered, bringing so many people in our town and their country together. Rock Chalk, Algeria Forever.

NCAA Bureaucracy Finds a Way- Bardwell Updates

Here at FSJ, our staff consists of Jayhawk basketball fans, and if you consistently read our articles, you probably are too. Most of you have followed our basketball coverage in the past, like a few months ago when we commented on the Tyran Stokes recruitment.

Now there’s a new twist with a different KU recruit in five-star wing Javon Bardwell. Standing at 6-foot-6 and hailing from both Harlem and Phoenix, Bardwell committed to Kansas back in October 2025 as a 2027 recruit, choosing the Jayhawks over Louisville, USC, and Texas (horns down).

Ever since then, he has been rumored to be a potential reclass player, which would see him move up to the 2026 class and enroll at KU this fall.

Before moving forward, let’s talk quickly about the recent rule changes at the NCAA, because when something can’t be complicated, college athletics will figure out how to make it so. Athletes now have 5 years to use 5 seasons of eligibility, starting from when they enroll or from when they become 19 in the fall, whichever happens first.

It’s certainly more risk for many players who want to reclassify, but not for Bardwell. He’s already 19, which means that no matter what happens, a jump to the 2026 class loses him nothing.

On top of that, he has already played with Taylen Kinney on Overtime Elite. Javon Bardwell will already play for the Jayhawks as he has already committed. We are just hoping he comes home sooner than expected!

These Lips Don’t Lie

Recently, KU researchers mapped out around 20,000 English words with the mighty goal of trying to understand why some words might be more challenging to read than others. That’s quite a lot of grant money to prove that KU students have no clue what drinks their friends want from across the Hawk. From their study, about one-third of all English words look identical to at least one other word when spoken.

Some of the specific overlaps provided within their article are very short and simple words. Words like “kit,” “cat,” and “cut” all look relatively similar rolling off the lips, and so do “vet,” “fit,” and “fuzz.” This means if a friend of yours mouths the words, “I need a vet,” there may be a lot of confusion when you confidently send them to get a new pair of jeans.

The most fascinating part of the study is that the lead researcher straight up admitted that people think they are good at lip-reading when, statistically, it is quite the opposite. Leave it to a peer-reviewed journal to tell us something our friend group could have told us years ago.

Thank you, KU researchers, for this fun and audibly challenging contribution to science.

Dear Movies, Be Better

Last week, we said movies were up! Now they might be back down. Thanks, Supergirl!

The movie of the week, Supergirl, is currently expected to lose $100 million at the box office and sits at a glorious 54% on Rotten Tomatoes. I would call the cinematic equivalent of a C minus. You passed, technically.

I recently had the chance to see this movie, and I, like most folks, was unimpressed with the writing and overall story. It approaches dark topics with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and was nowhere near as “super” as I’d hoped. What are we to expect when Hollywood’s solution to poor flicks is throwing stacks of cash at the dumpster fire?

In the grand scheme of things, this is an unfortunate setback for James Gunn's DC Universe, which made genuine noise last summer with Superman (2025). Supergirl was supposed to build on that momentum and instead became one of the worst superhero openings in recent memory.

Gunn even personally selected the final needle drop, a cover of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle," which has since been mocked with memes. When the most talked-about moment in your superhero movie is the song choice, you messed up. Especially for James Gunn’s musical repertoire.

We hope you enjoyed spending a few minutes of your Friday with us, and hope all FSJ readers have a wonderful 4th of July!

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Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a columnist for the Free State Journal.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

First off, thank you for all the support you’ve given us over the past year. This past week, the Free State Journal has grown to more than 1,000 subscribers from 49 different states (come on, Connecticut!). Whether you’re reading from Lawrence, your hometown this summer, or somehow found us from the other side of the country, we’re glad you’re here. We appreciate all the support you have given us this past year and look forward to continuing this journey as we pursue our quest for media and journalism expansion!

By now, most Jayhawks have left Lawrence for the summer. Some of you are soaking up the sun, others are pretending your European vacation is “finding yourself" (#EuroSummer), and the rest of us are working internships or a good ole fashioned 9 to 5. That’s adulthood, apparently.

But just because classes are over doesn’t mean Lawrence has slowed down. Between NBA Draft night, KU athletics, international soccer, concerts, construction, movies, and whatever KBOR (The ever-so-elegant Board of Regents) is arguing about this week, there's still plenty happening around our favorite college town. Let’s get to it.

NBA Draft Night:

And just like that, the Darryn Peterson era of KU basketball is over. A once highly touted recruit projected and hailed as the “No. 1 overall draft pick” was selected second by the Utah Jazz. The streets of Utah must be on fire after BYU fans spent all year justifying AJ Dybantsa as the better prospect from the Honor Code Prison of Provo. Relax, BYU/Jazz fans… Your guy went 1st overall, and not only that, but you get the better prospect to play for your NBA team anyway. I’d call that a win!

We also have to show some love to Tre White and Melvin “Dawg” Council Jr. Both were excellent role players and carried the team on their backs during difficult stretches throughout the season.

Tre had the ability to draw some well-timed fouls and will be remembered as a Jayhawk star. We congratulate you on signing with the Miami Heat!

Melvin was, without a doubt, the brightest spot on the roster this past season and will be missed. No one will ever forget him kissing the Jayhawk at half-court any time soon. Congratulations on signing with the New Orleans Pelicans, you dawg.

The Algerians Love Lawrence:

In case you have been living under a rock, hate sports, or are genuinely an off-the-grid nobody, you have probably heard that the FIFA World Cup has made its way to the United States. As a result, you may have seen that Algeria was hosted by none other than the best place on Earth- Lawrence, KS. Both Lawrence and Algeria have embraced the relationship with the Mayor signing an official letter of support before the Algeria v. Austria match-up this Saturday.

While KU is busy hosting a World Cup team and having massive celebrations city-wide, Mizzou had a ‘great turnout’, even though most chairs appear empty, with their ‘Zou-to-You’ event.

Lawrence has made national news thanks to our welcoming community. The team can be found at the Double Tree on Iowa St.- let’s go, team Algeria!

Hill Revival Returns:

It has been 19 years since KU last hosted Hill Revival. Now Slayyter and Die Sprtiz are bringing the tradition back to campus, giving students one more reason to look forward to returning to Lawrence this fall. For incoming freshmen, this is brand new. For everyone else, it’s also new since it has been 19 years since the last Hill Revival. I don’t know who Slayyter and Die Spritz are, but they have a lot to live up to since Snoop Dogg and the stripper poles at Late Night at the Phog a few years ago.

DEI… Again?

If you thought the DEI debate was taking the summer off, think again.

This week, the Kansas Board of Regents officially adopted its long-awaited definition of “DEI-CRT” to comply with a new state law. Under the policy, public universities can’t require courses that promote certain DEI or critical race theory concepts, but the board also made it clear that classes can still teach about race, racism, civil rights history, and critical race theory as subjects of historical, legal, and scholarly study.

The policy won’t take effect until the 2028-2029 academic year, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that no matter the season, there’s always another chapter in the DEI debate waiting around the corner- and KU Professors are not happy about it.

No Omaha? No Problem:

Yes, KU may have failed to slide into Omaha, but there is nothing to be upset about. Coach Danny Fitzgerald, the man, the myth, the Jayhawk legend, is back-to-back coach of the year? KU had a much better performance in baseball than in basketball this past season. I mean, Big 12 champions. And if you weren’t tired of baseball, you could always go to a Royals game- just avoid July 17th unless you want an ugly cat cup. They must be desperate if they decided marketing to Manhattan would save attendance records! Since play is subpar and the games are plenty, you can snag a ticket for the low, low price of $15 (sometimes!). And even better, they will throw incentives your way for hotdogs, bobbleheads, and purple Cat’s garbage. This is your sign to take your buddies out to the ballgame.

The Booth Keeps Growing:

The Booth is almost symmetrical and is finally starting to look like a football stadium again. It now ranks it as one of the most expensive college stadiums in the nation. With a price tag of $809 million (that’s roughly 124,000, 2008 Honda Civics), we’re hoping it came with a bowl game somewhere in fine print.

K-State is one of the only Big 12 schools left not selling beer at football games- KU always wins.

Spooky Summer?

The movies Backrooms and Obsession (especially) have been absolutely soaring this summer. The last time there was this much buzz surrounding a movie was when Avengers: Endgame was released pre-COVID, which is most likely a result of the superhero fatigue cinemas have been experiencing. In sum, both of these movies have collaborated for a sicko’s take on 2023’s “Barbenheimer” and continue to exceed expectations for the small budgets they were produced on.

With both movies scoring high amongst critics (Backrooms with 88% and Obsession with 94% on Rotten Tomatoes), the joy of going to the movies lives on! This may show signs of a large shift as the success and the word of mouth from the films have whispered sweet nothings into the ears of moviegoers for what is to come for the genre and hopefully movie experience as a whole. Additionally, AMC reported that May 2026 was their highest-attended month globally since 2019, with roughly 25.5 million moviegoers. It’s safe to say the sacred grounds of movie theater magic is back and we at FSJ could not be happier. If you haven’t made it down to Regal Southwind on Iowa St., I think you may have just found a new way to spend your Saturday night!

That’s all for this week’s edition of Free State Friday. Have a great weekend and as always… Rock Chalk. We’ll see you next Friday.

Ryan Hannigan is a junior at the University of Kansas studying History. He serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal and is from Omaha, Nebraska.

Nick Young is an Alumni with degrees in Political Science and History at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a contributor to the Free State Journal.

Sarah Green is the founder and serves on the Editorial Board for the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

Before the first pitch of the Lawrence Regional, Arkansas fans had opinions about Hoglund Ballpark: the stadium was too small, and Kansas shouldn’t have been awarded a regional in the first place.

On social media, many Arkansas fans appeared to believe regional spots are selected based on who historically has a better baseball team. Unfortunately for them, the selection committee focuses on something more important: winning baseball games. Despite Arkansas’ baseball stadium seating nearly 11,000 fans, they have won the same number of College World Series titles as KU: zero.

Those complaints grew quiet on Sunday night.

While Arkansas fans spent the weekend complaining about where the regional was going to be played, Kansas spent the weekend winning it. The Jayhawks erased an early deficit and defeated Arkansas 13-10 to capture the Lawrence Regional championship, advancing to the first Super Regional in program history and moving within two wins of Omaha.

What’s next for the Hawks?

Kansas will face Oklahoma in a best-of-three Super Regional series starting June 6 in Lawrence, Kansas, adding to what has already been a historic season for the Jayhawks. This is the first year in program history that they have hosted both a regional and a Super Regional in the NCAA tournament. The Sooners advanced through the Atlanta Regional and stand as the final obstacle between Kansas and Omaha.

The two programs last faced off in the Big 12 Tournament in 2024, before Oklahoma departed for the SEC. There is no shortage of bad blood between the schools. The rivalry has been simmering for years across multiple sports. Now it shifts to the baseball diamond, with stakes neither program has played for against each other.

The winner advances to the College World Series; the loser goes home.

Back in April, we argued that Kansas was building a legitimate case for Omaha. At the time, the Jayhawks were still trying to prove they belonged among the nation’s elite programs. Since then, they have won the Big 12 Tournament, hosted the first regional in school history, and defeated Arkansas to reach the program’s first Super Regional. What was once a possibility is now a feasible reality.

With rested arms, Kansas is set to start Dominic Voegele in game one and Mason Cook in game two. Both starters played key roles in winning back-to-back games last weekend against Arkansas. Voegele, a junior right-hander, holds a 6-3 record with a 5.85 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 92.1 innings across 17 starts. Cook, a sophomore right-hander, is 5-1 with a 4.23 ERA in 12 starts. If a third game is necessary, the likely starter will be lefty Mathis Nayral, who carries a 4-3 record and a 4.92 ERA.

Oklahoma enters the Super Regional fresh off an upset of No. 2 Georgia Tech, but the Sooners will find a Kansas team that matches up far more evenly with them than the Yellow Jackets did.

On paper, there is very little separation between the two programs. Kansas enters the weekend with a .289 team batting average compared to Oklahoma’s .287. The pitching staff has posted nearly identical ERAs, with the Sooners at 5.28 and the Jayhawks at 5.31. Defensively, both teams own a .973 fielding percentage.

The biggest difference comes in how the two offenses generate runs. Kansas has built one of the most dangerous power-hitting lineups in the country, launching 110 home runs this season compared to Oklahoma’s 76. The Sooners rely more heavily on speed and aggressive baserunning, stealing 117 bases in 138 attempts, a formula that worked to perfection in Atlanta, where Oklahoma shocked Georgia Tech by hitting nearly 80 points above its season average and blasting 11 home runs during the regional.

Kansas, however, presents a different challenge. The Jayhawks have spent the entire season proving they belong among the nation’s best. The road to Omaha runs through Lawrence.

While creating their budget book, the Student Senate had to consider their $170,000 deficit. Throughout the year, the Senate has attempted to balance this budget deficit by lowering funds allocated to block-funded, line-item, Educational Opportunity Fund, and Community Development organizations.

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Money allocated for the fiscal year 2026:

Block Funded organizations received a total of $735,106. These organizations receive their funds in a lump sum, and organizational leaders determine how and when to use them. Their reach is campus-wide, and their inner workings are sophisticated; their budgeting requires more autonomy than line-item funded groups.

For example, the Lied Center of Kansas funds performing arts programming that serves audiences across the region. Block funding provides operational stability for a professional venue with ongoing staffing, production and maintenance costs.

Block-funded groups and why they need block funding

(Graphic by Chris Winn)

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Line-item organizations received a total of $46,150. Groups benefit from this type of funding because it provides predictable, upfront budgets for their annual operations and major events.

Unlike other funding types that are distributed throughout the year, line-item allocations are reserved at the start of the fiscal year, giving organizations financial stability to plan their activities.

Line-item funding also allows for less waste, as money is directly funded to certain events based on need.

Line-item funded groups and how much they received

(Graphic by Chris Winn)

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The Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) is a dedicated pool of money that provides grants and scholarships to support students with demonstrated financial need. For fiscal year 2026, the Student Senate allocated $184,000 to the Educational Opportunity Fund.

The largest portion, $60,000, goes to general financial aid and scholarships for students who might otherwise struggle to afford tuition or related expenses.

Childcare Grants, at $34,000, are the second-largest allocation. These grants help student-parents cover childcare costs, removing a significant barrier to completing their education.

“EOF” Groups and how much they received

(Graphic by Chris Winn)

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Passed legislation during Fiscal Year 2026

Here are the various bills and resolutions passed during this year’s Senate cycle. This legislation impacts campus life through services provided and voices students’ opinions on various issues.

This graphic shows what legislation was voted on and how it impacts campus life.

Graphic by Chris Winn

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The KU Student Senate’s fiscal year 2026 was defined by a strategic effort to manage a $170,000 deficit while distributing nearly 1 million dollars in student fees.

The Senate ultimately allocated $735,106 in block funding to campus-wide entities like the Lied Center and Student Support and Case Management, and $46,150 in line-item funding to student organizations such as Mock Trial and the Black Student Union. Additionally, they allocated $184,000 to the Educational Opportunity Fund for financial aid and childcare grants to the Community Development Fund.

Beyond the budget, the Senate’s legislative impact was equally significant, as it passed bills and resolutions that touched on everything from transportation and student media to campaign finance and academic freedom. This includes proposals to reinstate SafeRide, defund the University Daily Kansan, and merge DEI funds with Wednesday-night funding.

Together, these financial and legislative actions demonstrate a year of difficult trade-offs and deliberate choices, as student leadership worked to balance fiscal responsibility with the diverse needs of the campus community.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to cover the Student Senate this year and for supporting The Free State Journal! Have a great Summer break, and we will be back next fall to continue our work advocating for a free and informed campus.

Christopher Winn is a contributor at the Free State Journal. He is a sophomore studying Political Science at the University of Kansas. Christopher is from Richmond, Virginia.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

Kansas, the geographical center of the United States, and the home of ole KU, has a rich political history. From its admission as a free state in 1861, being the home of President Eisenhower, home of Presidential Candidate Alf Landon, to being the record holder for ‘longest streak of presidential margins +5%,’ but what’s new?

Despite being a state President Trump carried 3 times, Kansas has had a Democrat governor since 2018. This sets the stage for a midterm report card for President Trump, and being the geographical center of the country, we matter a bit more. So what’s on the ballot?

The Governor of Kansas, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, as well as 125 state house districts, 2 state senate districts, 1 U.S Senator, 4 U.S House Representatives, and a constitutional amendment are on the ballot. As of this writing, the filing deadline for candidates has not yet passed, so the list of candidates may change, we will produce an updated list if anything changes.

Ballot Initiatives

Judicial Selection is on the ballot in Kansas, after being passed by the State Legislature. This constitutional amendment would allow for the direct election of Supreme Court Justices in the State of Kansas. A yes vote would abolish the smoke-filled room run by lawyers. This commission is made up of a 5-seat majority of Lawyers and 4 gubernatorial appointees.

“A ‘yes’ vote supports amending the state constitution to authorize the election of state Supreme Court justices and abolish the existing state Supreme Court nominating commission.”

“A ‘no’ vote opposes amending the state constitution to authorize the election of state Supreme Court justices, thereby maintaining the existing state Supreme Court nominating commission.”

Gubernatorial Election

The governor’s office in Kansas has been held by Democrat Laura Kelly since 2018. Kelly is term-limited and barred from seeking a third term under Kansas Law. Republicans are eyeing a pickup in one of the 5 states Trump carried in the 2024 election, which are currently run by a Democrat governor.

Republicans:

The Republican field is the most crowded in the U.S., featuring 9 candidates.

• Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover, serves as the President of the Kansas Senate and has been a state senator since 2009.

• Dr. Jeff Colyer, a Republican from Hays, was the 47th Governor of Kansas. Dr. Colyer also served as the 49th Lt. Governor of Kansas and in both the Kansas House and the Kansas Senate.

• Vicki Schmidt, a Republican from Topeka, has served as the Insurance Commissioner of Kansas since 2018. Schmidt also served as a state senator from 2005 to 2019. Schmidt is a graduate of the KU School of Pharmacy.

• Philip Sarnecki, a Republican from Bucyrus, founded RPS Financial Group and owns various industries in Kansas. Sarnecki attended the University of Illinois and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

• Scott Schwab, a Republican from Overland Park, has served as the Secretary of State for Kansas since 2018. Schwab has also served as a state representative and was a small business owner.

• Charlotte O’Hara, a Republican from Olathe, has served as a State Representative from 2011 to 2013, and served on the Johnson County Commission. She was previously a general contractor and attended the University of Kansas!

• Stacy Rogers, a Republican from Wichita, is a business owner. She has also been a public, private, and homeschool teacher, and worked in the Pharmacy sector.

• Joy Eakins, a Republican from Wichita, who runs a data analytics company and is a former member of the Wichita Board of Education. Eakins attended the University of Colorado Boulder.

• Doug Billings, a Republican, graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is a talk show host. He has been an Adjunct Professor at Rockhurst University and a former Human Resources professional.

Democrats:

• Ethan Corson, a Democrat from Fairway, has been the State Senator for Kansas’ 7th since 2021. Corson has earned a Bachelor’s Degree and a JD from Washington University in St. Louis, and is a former director of the executive secretariat at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Corson was endorsed by Governor Laura Kelly.

• Cindy Holscher, a Democrat from Overland Park, has been the State Senator for Kansas’ 8th district since 2021. She was also the Representative for Kansas’ 16th district, and worked in corporate marketing at Sprint.

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  Attorney General

  A rematch of the 2022 Kansas Attorney General’s election will play out this year, Kris Kobach v Chris Mann 2.0. In 2022, Kobach defeated Mann

  50.80% to 49.20%. The Attorney General is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the State of Kansas, and serves as the State’s’ Chief Legal Officer in court.

  Republican:

  • Kris Kobach, the Incumbent Attorney General of Kansas, is up for re-election. AG Kobach has served as Attorney General since 2022 and has also served as Secretary of State.

  Democrat:

  • Chris Mann, a Democrat from Lawrence, is a former police officer, prosecutor, and candidate in 2022.

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Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is Kansas’ Chief Elections Officer, and is also in charge of the business sector of Kansas. The Kansas SOS office handles all registration, upkeep, and reporting of businesses (like us!) across the state. Fun fact, the Secretary of State also handles flag requests!

Republicans:

• Representative Pat Proctor, a Republican from Leavenworth, is a retired U.S Army Colonel, and currently serves as the Chair of the Kansas House Elections Committee. Proctor is a small business owner, who owns a few restaurants across Kansas, and is an Assistant Professor at Wichita State University.

• Representative Ken Rahjes, a Republican from Agra, serves as the chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in the Kansas House. Rahjes is in the Agricultural Communications Business.

Democrats:

• Jennifer Day, a Democrat from Overland Park, was the former Representative for the 48th District, and worked in the real estate, finance and technology fields.

• Sam Lane, a Democrat from Leavenworth, and works in inspection of materials for construction sites, and is a former line cook.

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Treasurer

The State Treasurer handles all of the investments and tracks the income for the State of Kansas. It is currently an unopposed race, being the only executive position without a challenger.

Republican:

• Steven Johnson, a Republican from Salina, is the current State Treasurer, and served as Representative for Kansas’ 108th district until 2022. Johnson won his election in 2022, defeating Incumbent Democrat Lynn Rogers 54.03% to 41.39%.

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Commissioner of Insurance

The Insurance Commissioner of Kansas regulates insurance companies across Kansas, and acts like the insurance complaint doormat for the state, and leads the Kansas Department of Insurance. The incumbent Commissioner Vicki Schmidt is running for Governor, leaving this as an open race.

Republican:

• Representative Dan Hawkins, a Republican from Wichita, is the current Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives, and chairs the interstate cooperation and legislative coordinating council.

• Others have expressed interest in running, but as of now no others have declared.

Democrat:

• Senator Dinah Sykes, a Democrat from Lenexa, is the current Senate Minority Leader. Sykes switched her party affiliation in 2018 from Republican to Democrat

U.S. Senate

This year, the class 2 senate seat is up for re-election. The class structure has no bearing on any power in the legislature, but rather helps to maintain stability within the senate.

Republicans:

The GOP has won every Senate election in Kansas since 1939, and is looking to keep that streak alive.

• Incumbent Senator Roger Marshall (R) will be up for re-election; he is seeking his second term as U.S. Senator for the State of Kansas. Dr. Roger Marshall served as the Congressman from the Big First until 2020, and was an OBGYN before running for office.

Democrats:

The Democrats have a crowded field in their search for a candidate to break their 87-year losing streak for the U.S. Senate seat.

• Christy Davis, a Democrat from Wichita, Kansas, served under President Biden as the Kansas Director for the USDA’s Rural Development department.

• Jason Hart, a Democrat from Wichita, Kansas, has been a prosecutor focusing on child abuse crimes in Kansas.

• Erik Murray, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, is an entrepreneur of a “multi-million dollar business.”

• Anne Parelkar, a Democrat from Overland Park, Kansas, is an Immigration Lawyer.

• Patrick Schmidt, a Democrat from Topeka, Kansas, is a former Naval Intelligence Officer and a current state senator for the 19th district of Kansas.

• Noah Taylor, a Democrat from Kechi, Kansas, is a former U.S. Army grunt.

• Sandy Spidel-Neumann, a Democrat from Shawnee, Kansas, works in the financial sector.

  ---

U.S. House

All four congressional districts are up for re-election, as are all 435 representatives across the country.

1st District:

Republican:

• Incumbent Congressman Tracey Mann (R) is up for re-election in the Big 1st; he is seeking a fourth term. Mann is the former Lt. Governor of Kansas and has served as a Congressman since 2020.

Democrat:

• Collin McRoberts, a Democrat from Lawrence, Kansas, is a former lawyer and current professor at the University of Kansas School of Business.

• Lauren Reinhold, a Democrat from Lawrence, Kansas, is a former Attorney Advisor at the Social Security Administration who was terminated as a part of the DOGE cuts last year.

2nd District:

Republican:

• Incumbent Congressman Derek Schmidt (R) is up for re-election in the Second District of Kansas. He has served as Representative since 2025, and is seeking a second term. Schmidt is the former Attorney General of Kansas (2011-2023) and a former state senator from the 15th district.

Democrat:

• Don Coover, a Democrat from Galesburg, Kansas, is a Graduate of West Point Military Academy, a former Infantry Officer, and served in Korea, and a rancher with his wife.

• Braeden Curwick, a Democrat from Topeka, Kansas, is a Democratic Precinct Committee Person. He wants to raise the minimum wage to $25/hr.

3rd District:

Republican:

• Chase La Porte, a Republican from Kansas City, Kansas, is a small business owner and is running for the GOP nomination for the 3rd District of Kansas.

• Blake Stanley, there is no readily available information on this candidate.

Democrat:

• Incumbent Representative Sharice Davids (D) is the only democratic member of the Kansas Delegation. She was first elected in 2018 and is seeking a fifth term as representative.

• Sarah Preu, a Democrat, was a technology and communications professional (whatever that means) and a former small business owner. She is running against Davids due to her “funding of ICE,” which Preu wants to abolish, and Davids receiving money from AIPAC.

4th District:

Republican:

• Incumbent Representative Ron Estes (R), from Wichita, Kansas, is running for re-election in Kansas’ fourth district. Estes has served in Congress since 2017 and was previously the State Treasurer of Kansas.

Democrat:

• Chris Carmichael, a Democrat from Wichita, Kansas, served in the U.S. Military, has been a bartender and radio DJ (very qualified).

• Cole Epley, a Democrat from Wichita, Kansas, was a part of the US Army Band and is a former member of the Marching Jayhawks. Epley was a social worker and case coordinator.

• Ryan Gilbert, a Democrat from Wichita, Kansas, worked in the renewable energy sector and, with no law degree, started Thompson Family Law LLC. He filed after “watching in horror as Donald Trump was elected to a second term.”

State House:

All 125 Kansas House of Representatives districts are on the ballot. As it stands, Republicans have an 88-seat majority in the lower chamber.

State Senate

This year, there are two state senate seats on the ballot, caused by appointments due to vacancies. They will serve the rest of the term, then be up for re-election in 2028.

Senate District 24:

Republican:

• Senator Scott Hill, a Republican from the Salina area, is up for re-election after being appointed to the seat in 2025. Hill took over as Sen. Claeys took a job with the U.S Department of Agriculture in DC.

Senate District 25:

Democrat

• Senator Silas Miller, a Democrat from Wichita, is up for re-election after being appointed to the seat in 2025. Miller took over as Sen. Mary Ware retired during her second term.

  ---

Caden Foster is the Managing Editor for the Free State Journal. He is a junior studying Political Science and Communications at the University of Kansas. He is primarily focusing his studies on Public Policy, Political Communication, and Campaign Management. Caden is from Runaway Bay, Texas.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

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One of the Hottest Teams in the Nation

Hoglund Ballpark is the place to be this season as Kansas is one of the hottest college baseball teams in the country. Now ranked No. 15 in the latest Baseball America Poll and achieving a record of 29-11 with 14-4 in Big 12 play, Kansas is holding a two-game lead over second-placed West Virginia this season.

This KU baseball hot streak has come at the right time. Kansas is dangerous and there isn’t one easy way to stop them. KU can easily score runs when its offense functions at its full potential. One example is Kansas’ recent three-game series against Utah, in which the Jayhawks scored 14 runs in each of the first two games, a 14-12 walk-off victory on April 2nd and a 14-9 victory on April 3rd.

The Kansas squad has enough talent on their roster to defeat other formidable opponents. In terms of offense, Kansas has Brady Ballinger who entered this season as a Preseason All-American selected by D1Baseball, Baseball America, NCBWA, and Perfect Game, the best honor ever achieved by a Kansas hitter.

Apart from Brady Ballinger, Tyson LeBlanc has a skillset that lends itself useful to the team as showcased recently in his outstanding performance against Wichita State and the Oklahoma State series. The Kansas player was 8-for-19 with three home runs last week.

Apart from offense, Kansas' pitching staff is incredibly talented and capable of shutting down a lot of their opponents' lineups, which helps them win closely contested games. Junior Dominic Voegele is undoubtedly one of those exceptional talents. In the Jayhawks most recent series against Oklahoma State, the pitcher threw a career-high 15 strikeouts, the most by a Jayhawk since at least 2002.

This upward trajectory for KU baseball gives fans a lot of hope for the postseason. Last season, Kansas finally made it to the postseason for the first time since 2014, but the results of this season show that the team has elevated to a completely different level of play.

By sweeping No. 12 UCF on April 10th and 11th, Kansas claimed sole possession of first place in the Big 12 and proved that it is a much stronger team than people initially believed. This past weekend, the Jayhawks clamped down further on first-place in the Big 12 by winning the series over Oklahoma State in Stillwater. That series win over Oklahoma State was also Kansas’ fifth consecutive Big 12 series victory, the longest streak in program history. On top of that, a Dariel Osoria grand slam in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game led to the team’s 19th comeback victory of the season.

Tonight, Kansas is set to host No. 20 Nebraska at Hoglund Ballpark. These teams have already faced off earlier this month in Lincoln which featured a 5-3 KU victory. Later this week, the Jayhawks will visit Kansas State for a three-game road series. In order to win the Big 12, Kansas will need to do some damage to little brother in Manhattan.

This Kansas baseball team has worked hard for everything it has accomplished this year. Overcoming ranked opponents, having success away from home, and leading the conference standings in the Big 12 are no small feats. The postseason appearance last year was an important step forward for this baseball team. But now, with Omaha in reach, they have more ambitious plans in mind.

The Road to Omaha

Nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Dirt,” the Men’s College World Series serves as a meeting place for the best eight college baseball teams every June. And for the first time in a long time, Kansas is creeping into that conversion.

Ranked No. 15 by Baseball America, it’s the highest ranked KU baseball team ever, and the term “OmaHawks” is spreading throughout Lawrence almost as quickly as a fastball at Hoglund Ballpark. The Kansas Jayhawks baseball team has only reached Omaha once in program history, back in 1993. That team made a surprising run all the way to Omaha, putting Kansas baseball on the map for a small moment. Since then the program has spent decades trying to get back to that level, with flashes of success but nothing close to another World Series appearance.

The Big 12 Gauntlet

If Kansas is going to make a real push, it has to survive the Big 12 Conference first.

Although it’s not exactly SEC baseball, this isn’t a league you can cruise through. Squads like Oklahoma State and TCU have built reputations as consistent post season threats. Even middle of the pack conference teams can steal a series off another team if they show hesitation.

The key factor that is building enthusiasm for the Big 12 tournament is that Kansas is leading the pack. The Jayhawks at long last have become a team even the Cowboys in Stillwater don’t want to see next to them in a bracket.

Pitching vs. Bats

Every Omaha team has one thing in common: balance. We know Kansas’ offense has been electric—especially in the regular season. But postseason baseball is much different.

In regionals and super regionals, games slow down, pitching tightens and runs are harder to come by. That’s when the question comes in: can Kansas pitch well enough to survive?

You don’t need a perfect rotation, but you need consistency. You need starters who can go deep enough to save your bullpen, and relievers who can close the door without letting things spiral. One bad inning, even one bad pitch, can end your season. If they Jayhawks’ arms can match what their bats are doing thats when this team becomes dangerous.

First is Regionals: a four team, double elimination bracket. One bad game won’t kill you, but it puts you right on the edge.

Then comes Super Regionals: a best-of-three series, usually against a top-seeded team, often on the road. This is where things get real. Teams with elite pitching depth and experience tend to separate themselves here. It’s not just about talent, it’s about handling pressure, making adjustments, and winning games when the game tightens up.

For Kansas, hosting a regional would be a massive advantage. It would mean playing at the Hog with momentum and avoiding an early road test.

So….. Is Omaha realistic?

Right now, it’s not crazy to think the Hawks could pull this off. Kansas has done enough to itself in the conversation. The is real, the momentum is real, and for the right time in a long time, the belief around this program feels real too. If the Jayhawks can finish strong in the Big 12, continue to win consistently, and avoid slipping in the postseason, success will be all but guaranteed.

Ryan Hannigan is a sophomore at the University of Kansas studying History. Ryan is from Omaha, Nebraska. Ryan played baseball his whole life and was projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. However, he got injured.

Nick Young is a Senior Political Science and History student at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a contributor to the Free State Journal.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

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Sam Walker, a student at the University of Kansas, conducted interviews for a sports gambling documentary set to be released next year.

Contributor Ryan Hannigan spoke with Walker, KU professors, and students about sports betting, aiming to highlight the current effects of online gambling.

The Free State Journal will continue to follow the making of this documentary till its release next year.

Ryan Hannigan is a sophomore at the University of Kansas studying History. Ryan is from Omaha, Nebraska. Ryan is a much better writer than his older brother John.

Jackson Scribante is a junior at the University of Kansas studying Marketing and Film. Jackson is from Excelsior, Minnesota. Jackson is one of The Free State’s Marketing team members and helped produce this project.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

“Bryson Tiller is now known to me as the betrayer. He has backstabbed Lawrence and crossed the border to join forces with evil. He will not be forgiven for this.” - Caden Clark

Earlier today, former KU Basketball player Bryson Tiller committed to Mizzou. This makes him the first player in the history of Kansas Men’s Basketball to cross the border directly from our state.

Where has loyalty gone?

Kansas basketball fans top the list of the most passionate fans of any sport around the world. From century-old traditions, to two-week camp-outs for games, no one matches their passion. This is why the transfer portal era is hard to stomach. Many students feel like this loyalty is not being repaid and many are asking “Where has the loyalty gone?”

Bill Self is one of the best player developers in college basketball. In his tenure at Kansas, he has completely transformed raw talent into NBA-caliber players countless times. The best example of this in recent memory is Ochai Agbaji, who entered KU as a lightly recruited two-star. Through Coach Self, Agbaji morphed into a #14 NBA draft pick and the best player on the 2022 championship roster.

Fans love watching players grow throughout their careers. Players from decades past often return to Allen Fieldhouse and are met with generations of fans who remember them fondly. Some special players even have their names hung in the rafters as a result of their contributions to KU athletics.

Since NIL changed the transfer landscape in 2021, about half of all NCAA basketball players enter the portal every off season. This has blessed KU with amazing talent like Zeke Mayo, and true culture builders like Melvin Council Jr. It has also burned KU, including losing Zuby Ejiofor because of playing time allocated to Hunter Dickinson, and then losing to Ejiofor in the Round of 32 this past season.

The transfer-heavy strategy makes sense for players and especially their agents. Schools are a lot more likely to pay top dollar to obtain a player than to keep a player. Just earlier today Paul Mbiya’s agent was complaining that his heart was with Kansas telling a reporter that “He is on emotion. We need to help him understand it's also a business.”

While most Jayhawk fans had come to terms with the portal, almost no one thought we would ever see a player do something as absurd as what Tiller did today.

Bryson Tiller joined Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball at a pivotal time and had every advantage a college player could ask for: a top-ranked roster with NBA-level talent, one of the best atmospheres in the sport, a Hall of Fame coach known for developing bigs, and NIL opportunities to match.

With all of that history and opportunity in mind, not only did Tiller walk away from KU basketball, but he headed to our greatest, historical rival.

Some notes on Tillers decision:

First of all, Mizzou isn’t good at basketball. Mizzou’s “prestigious” basketball program includes fewer Elite Eight appearances than Kansas has national championships. While Self himself holds two titles, Mizzou has two all-time in track and baseball. The most recent of those came in 1965.

The reasoning behind Tiller’s decision probably has nothing to do with the Kansas or Missouri rivalry. The landscape in college basketball has evolved significantly in the past few years with the introduction of NIL and the unregulated transfer portal. The days of recruiting freshmen and developing them into star players are long gone. Coaches are no longer coaching the game the way they used to as they’ve transitioned into a type of General Manager as seen in professional leagues. The effect of all these changes has now reached fans of college sports.

For Jayhawk fans, basketball is a way of life. When you first arrive in Lawrence, you are greeted by a large sign that highlights the number of basketball championships the school has won. When you walk around Massachusetts St., there are countless shops with KU basketball merchandise displayed in windows. Basketball is at the heart of Lawrence and Lawrence is the heart of basketball.

So, how are fans responding?

Nick Green, a KU alumnus who is currently enrolled in graduate school at Mizzou:

“I will always be rooting for KU basketball first over Mizzou… College players seem to not care about rivalries at all similar to pro players getting traded to other teams, and why should they? The current NIL landscape functions as a get rich quick scheme with no long-term benefits for majority of athletes who have no potential to go pro. They have to do what is best for them, which is almost always to take millions. Loyalty seems to be rarer than ever, but that is a result of the current NCAA structure.”

Wylie Barnes, a current KU students says that:

“seeing Tiller transfer just shows how much different college basketball is now compared to earlier, we would’ve never seen this happen on any pre NIL Bill Self KU team..”

Interestingly enough, we have not seen anything like this happen before in the 135 years of the Border War.

Caden, a junior KU student says:

“Bryson Tiller is now known to me as the betrayer. He has back stabbed Lawrence and crossed the border to join forces with evil. He will not be forgiven for this. Bryson is a back stabber and thinks that joining Mizzou will magically turn him into Michael Porter Jr. News flash, it won’t. The tigers are lucky they got him because it’ll result in another loss on their record once more by the great Jayhawks.”- Caden Clark

Historical rivalries and school spirit make college athletics what they are. So too does school spirit and loyalty to your alma mater. When the KU basketball team was struggling, former Jayhawk and national champion, Christian Braun, tweeted: “Play the guys who care about having KANSAS across their chest.” This mentality is long gone as players have shifted to the name on their back.

Sarah Green is the founder and current Editor-in-Chief of the Free State Journal. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from KU and is currently pursuing her JD at KU Law. Sarah is from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Nick Young is a Senior Political Science and History student at the University of Kansas. Nick is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a contributor to the Free State Journal.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

Sam Walker, a KU student, produced a documentary on the effects of sports betting. Walker created it to highlight how common gambling is among college students.

He was inspired by “Gambling Away Stability” a study co-authored by KU Professors Kevin Pisciotta and Justin Balthrop, which analyzed credit card data from over 200,000 U.S. households and found that ease of access to online platforms has made Americans more financially unstable.

According to Walker, gambling today is less about isolated risk and more about constant access. College students are encouraged to gamble in group chats, at watch parties, and during live games, often blending seamlessly into how they experience sports. That normalization is what Professor Prisciotta was hoping to study.

Pisciotta teaches finance at KU and has examined how sports betting affects financial behavior. His research suggests that gambling doesn’t just exist as entertainment spending - it actively replaces saving and investing, particularly for those with limited financial flexibility.

For college students, that matters.

Many students already operate on tight budgets, making them more vulnerable to the financial consequences of repeated betting. What starts as small wagers can quickly add up, especially when losses lead to attempts to win money back.

Justin Balthrop, another KU finance professor, focuses more on the behavioral side of gambling. He points to the role of accessibility and design, particularly through mobile apps that “Bring the roulette wheel into your own living room.”

Unlike traditional gambling, which required time, travel, and physical money, modern sports betting is immediate and continuous. Betting apps offer promotions like bonus bets and free bets, which can make it feel less risky to start, even if the long-term behavior becomes more expensive.

Part of that shift comes from how these apps are designed. Sports betting platforms make it easy to place bets in seconds, often with features like live betting, instant payouts, and constant notifications. Many of these platforms also use celebrity endorsements, featuring well-known figures like Kevin Hart in advertisements to make betting feel more familiar and entertaining.

Together, this research helps explain a key theme in Walker’s upcoming documentary: gambling doesn’t feel like traditional gambling anymore.

Instead, it often feels like part of a game.

At a large, public university like KU, where basketball and football dominate campus culture, that distinction becomes even more blurred. That popularity is heavily reflected in numbers. Since Kansas legalized sports betting in 2022, the, the state has seen hundreds of millions of dollars wagered each month. The vast majority of those bets are placed on mobile devices, making up a very strong percentage of the money wagered in the state.

With major events like March Madness driving significant spikes in betting activity, as seen in monthly totals, it is clear that gambling has become deeply embedded in how fans experience college sports.

Students may approach betting as a strategy or entertainment, but both researchers suggest that perception can be misleading. Knowledge of sports does not eliminate risk, and frequent betting can gradually increase both financial and emotional stakes.

One student I interviewed described how easily betting can become routine. He described times when he doesn’t even care what he’s betting on. “Sometimes it is just whatever is available, even that’s table tennis.” The student highlighted how gambling has become part of his and his friends everyday habits, rather than being a novel entertainment device.

Wylie Barnes, a student I interviewed, said he always bets on teams he likes. Unfortunately, his favorite NFL team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, which does not always make that strategy a winning one.

That’s why Walker hopes his documentary does more than just tell a story.

He wants it to start conversations.

The project highlights not only individual experiences, but also the broader systems, legal, technological, and cultural, that have made gambling more accessible than ever. It raises questions about responsibility, awareness, and how students understand risk in an environment where betting is increasingly normalized.

Walker is conducting dozens of interviews over the next year to put together his documentary. As betting becomes more embedded in everyday sports culture, the question is no longer whether students are exposed to it, but how it is shaping their habits, decisions, and sense of risk.

Ryan Hannigan is a sophomore at the University of Kansas studying History. Ryan is from Omaha, Nebraska. Despite being nearly three years younger than his older brother John, Ryan is widely considered the more accomplished one.

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The Free State Journal is dedicated to the mission of improving Free Speech on Campus. For contributions, email thefreestatejournal@gmail.com.

In Kansas, it can truly seem like the decisions made back in Washington D.C. don’t really affect us that much. Despite the distance though, those decisions from our elected officials shape everything from tuition costs to the job prospects we have after graduation. As the college environment evolves to become more politically polarizing, life becomes more expensive, and the future of our work is unsure, it is critical to know what solutions are being proposed to help America’s young people. Issues like campus free speech, affordability, home accessibility, and potential AI job replacement are the ones many worry about right now because it seems like our elected officials are ignoring every possible concern. Our questions about what Congress is doing to provide us with the same American Dream our parents and grandparents had are now more relevant than ever.

To better understand how these national issues translate to Kansas, I sat down with U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) for a brief yet informative conversation about the policies he believes will impact students the most—for now and in the years ahead.

In conjunction with this article, please listen to the full 16-minute interview with Sen. Marshall (R-KS) on our X, @FreeState_J.

Free Speech

The Free State Journal has covered the lack of a healthy free speech environment on campus here at the University of Kansas, and Senator Marshall offered his opinions on the matter. When told that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ranked KU 177st/257 ranked schools, Marshall commented “It just breaks my heart.” He said that as a previous graduate of KU Medical Center and parent of two Jayhawks, he has watched the environment evolve. He said that especially his second son, who attended the University more recently, experienced exclusion for the ideas he held.

”The question I’m going to ask folks tonight is did you ever feel like your ideas are welcome on campus or not?”

- Sen. Marshall (R-KS)

Senator Marshall emphasized that the university is supposed to be the place for students to have and exchange different ideas. He argued that the core purpose of higher education is not only to learn, but to challenge perspectives and do so respectfully.

It is no secret that one can look at Senator Marshall’s voting record and see that he remains a staunch and principled conservative, but it is important people can know that he remains this way even after studying texts he strongly disagrees with. Simply teaching the ideas and allowing people to form their own beliefs is effective, but for the sake of having a good perspective and worldview, people should understand ideologies they don’t believe in.

“[Universities should] go back to a focus on the education at hand. And yeah, philosophy class should still be philosophy class. I mean, I read … the communist manifesto … those experiences are good as well. But, I just think that to be totally honest is that teachers, the professors, they’ve gone beyond their core mission here.”

- Sen. Marshall (R-KS)

Referencing his former medical school classmate, University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod, Marshall said he respects him and knows he is trying to steer the university to the right place. He alluded though that there is work to be done by his former classmate on improving the culture because there is something wrong that needs to be fixed. When asked about what responsibility a culture has to change when people get silenced, he offered some insight. The Senator said that he would like to see more universities go back to their core mission of teaching the basics rather than advocating for stances on politics, religion, and social issues.

Economic Affordability & Homebuying

Shifting to the issues most people are concerned about though, I wanted to spend as much time as I could on the economic environment for Kansans, especially college students, right now.

I asked Senator Marshall about what he heard from people across the state on affordability during his “4 corners, 50 counties” tour of the state.

“Yeah, I think thats the number one defining issue right now is the cost of living. That under the previous administration we saw housing go up 50.0%, we saw healthcare go up 50.0%, property taxes, property insurance went up 50.0%. We saw groceries go up at least 25.0%.”

- Sen. Marshall (R-KS)

No matter where you go, people are feeling strained when putting together their monthly budgets when accounting for rent, insurance, gas, and food. Despite the fact that the cost of living spike has stunted, it is still rising slowly. The Trump Administration has to create comprehensive policies to reverse or further stunt affordability issues to help the American people. One solution that Marshall mentioned was real wage increase. As of now, wages are outpacing inflation in a meaningful way for the first time in many years. After the interview I did some research and found that according to a Texas A&M University study this past year, purchasing power decreased greatly during the Biden Administration with real wages going down by 4.0% overall. The first 18 months of his tenure showed a sharp decline in earnings for Americans, leaving a large enough impact that recovery is still ongoing.

The data backs up the claims that Senator Marshall makes, so thankfully the current environment is helping correct course after a disastrous four years of real wage losses.

“The Biden Administration, shown in blue, experienced a sharp decline in real wages during the first year and a half (18 months into his tenure). Real wages steadily fell from the beginning of his term, as a rising inflation rate outpaced wage gains and eroded the purchasing power of wages.”

- Texas A&M, Jansen & Sinha 2025

Despite subtle improvements in the economy though, many feel as if they are not in a good spot to build wealth and purchase the things they need. College students need to know what their Representatives, their Senators, and their President is doing for them. But, press releases and the rhetoric around affordability from the Trump Administration can seem unconvincing to those who don’t do a deep dive into the numbers behind the scenes.

Senator Marshall has been incredibly influential on the Senate Finance Committee- specifically to codify some of the policy goals the White House has set in the last 16 months. In the One Big Beautiful Bill, Senator Marshall worked on “No Tax on Tips", “No Tax on Overtime,” and the “Working Families Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” This legislation has been incredibly successful at providing families and students the opportunity to increase their take home pay. Just a few weeks ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that nearly half of American taxpayers are claiming new deductions and benefits under Republican tax law, with average tax refunds jumping 10.9% over the previous Fiscal Year. On average, Americans will receive $3,571 dollars which goes back into their pockets. Reflecting on this success though, Senator Marshall offered more thoughts on how there is always more work to be done for Kansans.

“This is the tale of Kansas that I see right now. I describe it as a two lane economy. The fast lane, thats people that are probably over the age of 50, they bought a home 20 years ago, they got a good interest rate, they’ve been putting money in their 401k every years, they got a good retirement plan, the stock markets up. And then there’s a group of people like my children under the age of 40. They cannot afford a house, they can’t afford health insurance, childcare went up 50.0% as well. So those people are truly struggling, and that is my focus in Washington D.C. is what can I do to bring down the cost of housing, of healthcare, of children.”

- Sen. Marshall (R-KS)

One of the things that he said is that affordability is not one of the issues that can be fixed overnight. Yes inflation is down at a healthy level, and yes real wages are growing, but just one full year of policy cannot solve a crisis that has now existed for well over a decade. The One Big Beautiful Bill was the first step at increasing wealth, and the White House has also been working on more policies like Trump Accounts for youth to start preparing for the futures along with directing the Department of Labor to explore expansion of 401k investments into private markets and cryptocurrency.

One of the critical questions I was excited to ask was on the topic of homeownership.

“On that same topic of building a future after college, a lot of college students including myself are deeply worried that things like homeownership might feel out of reach. Do you have anything that you could speak to on what Congress and President Trump are doing to make buying a home more achievable for first time homebuyers?”

- Michael T. Redlich

The Senator was incredibly excited to explore the topic and jumped immediately onto the topic of interest rates. Marshall noted that under the previous administration we witnessed interest rates jump from 3.0% to 10.0%. Finally though, the Federal Reserve has begun a movement in the correct direction which makes homebuying more accessible. The 30-year interest rate is now dipping closer to 6.0%, and CNBC reported just days ago that Federal Reserve’s projections show more cuts in the near future. As interest rates decrease, accessibility to purchasing homes becomes a reality for many and also eases pressure on those with high rates due to refinancing options becoming available.

Senator Marshall also said though that one of the larger reasons for such high prices is the absurd amount of red tape for homebuilders through regulations.

“You talk to any builder and you say: Why is the cost of housing so much more than it was 20 years ago—and the first thing they’ll talk about is the regulatory environment. From the time you get a group of people together, you go buy about lets say 20 acres of land … it takes over two years to go through the regulatory process.”

- Sen. Marshall (R-KS)

He was quick to say though that this is not just a federal issue, but one that states are exacerbating as well. Marshall said that Congress needs to streamline the regulatory environment if we want the cost of housing to ever start going down. But another key issue affecting affordability is the cost of lumber. America has not, according to the Senator, managed its forests—leading to us needing to import wood from Canada despite having enough here at home.

“Look, I’m a huge believer in saving the environment. I want to leave this world cleaner, healthier, and safer than I found it. For every tree we cut down, lets plant 10, lets plant 20—but we have to start managing our own forests as well.”

- Sen. Marshall (R-KS)

Some of these concerns have been a key focus of Congress recently, and Marshall said that the Senate passed a bill to roll back regulations. He was speaking of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, sponsored by Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Republican Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), which later passed 89-10. This legislation aims to boost housing supply through regulatory cuts, streamlining environmental reviews, and easing construction of factory-built housing. This is the same key piece of legislation that codifies President Trump’s ban on institutional homebuying. The bill is considered one of the largest housing reforms seen in decades, and should lead to an exponential increase in housing needs being met.

Industrial Health & Job Stability

After discussing many of the economic woes that have propelled the affordability crisis the United States, I was curious on what Senator Marshall had to say on a couple of Kansas specific issues. Many students in college will never work in industries like agriculture or energy, but the strengths of those industries are still critically important to the Kansas economy because it adds to the opportunities people feel they have after they graduate and look to build a life for themselves. College graduates often work in industries critical to other sectors of the economy, so the success of any single industry can spread quickly.

I do see agriculture and manufacturing really hitting their stride across the state of Kansas. So, one side effect of the tariffs is people want to buy things made in America, even more so. So, I saw a lot of these small manufacturing companies starting to grow and add jobs in agriculture. We passed this Working Family Tax Cuts bill and, among other things, we made it much more favorable for small businesses so that they can write off bonus depreciation, interest deductibility, research and development, we doubled the death tax exemption as well. So, I think that, you know, when you talk about the four corners of Kansas, it’s very rural focused. So [we are] seeing those communities starting to thrive and really enjoy the benefits of some of these policies that President Trump and a Republican led Senate and House have passed. [who said this quote]

I asked Senator Marshall about what he thinks would be his biggest goal to make a difference for Kansans, and he said, bluntly, that we need to start addressing the national debt. He said that the national debt is the biggest challenge facing America in the long term, and that $1 Trillion in annual interest is something we can no longer ignore. America is roughly $39 Trillion dollars in debt and as the Senator likes to say, “living on borrowed credit cards.” The number one thing he wants to work on is developing a budget that allows the United States to start living within its means. Bringing down the interest rate will allow for more money to be spent on infrastructure like roads and bridges, education, and more.

Lastly though, I had a key concern about artificial intelligence that I wanted the Senator’s thoughts on. Attached below is a transcript of a question I asked relating to job security for college students and all Kansans moving forward.

Michael T. Redlich: “A lot of students are also thinking a lot about their jobs in the future and how AI might impact where they’re working, and if people will be able to find alternative employment. People like Jeff Bezos are saying they’re going to invest $100 Billion to invest in automating manufacturing … so do you think that Congress is poised to take any actions on data center development? I know there’s proposals from Senator Sanders for AI moratoriums and all sorts of things, but just wondering what you’d be in favor of.”

Sen. Marshall: “I think I would describe it as a light touch … I remember when the internet came about, people wanted us to really overregulate it. We gave it king of some soft guardrails, and, you know it’s not perfect … But, I think the same thing is a light touch to AI. We certainly want to stay ahead of China … But certainly I do have empathy for the job part of this and I’m afraid Jeff Bezos is probably right. We’re already seeing tens of thousands of people laid off at Facebook, at Amazon, all these different places with AI replacing those folks. So my words of encouragement is today students need to learn how to use AI. I mean I’ll spend an hour or two a day now using AI as well … So you better figure out. It’s coming right? Don’t let the train run over you.

As concerns about the powers of artificial intelligence grow, even many Republican voters and some congresspeople would like to see sweeping regulations that serve as a protection for Americans. As the Senator said though, there has to be a light touch to make sure that AI can both be regulated correctly, but not so much so that we stunt innovation and lose to other competitive nations in the field like China. On March 20th, 2026, the White House released a comprehensive plan to create a national AI framework.

The goals of the Trump Administration are to allow for AI to grow in a healthy, sustainable, managed, and effective way. According to the White House, state legislatures have introduced roughly 1,000 piece of legislation thus far in order to regulate AI, which creates a patchwork of regulation. In Kansas, the legislature via HB2592 and SB2313 has slowly introduced some plans for and minor examples of regulations to AI in the state. These respective bills established an AI commission in Kansas and also barred state employees from using these programs on state owned devices. One visit to AI.gov, a new website created by the President’s staff, can summarize the current goals and priorities of the administration.

As artificial intelligence concerns grow, Congress will inevitably return to the topic in order to make sure Americans stay safe. Fear over the industrial revolution, the .com boom, and more have all plagued the nation at some point—but policymakers have always been able to take effective actions. The “AI Boom” is just yet another example of people being fearful of what they don’t understand yet, and education over programs can help to ease those concerns.

Concluding Thoughts

As a closing question for the interview I wanted to explore one of the biggest concerns that hundreds of thousands of Kansans have when it comes to their congressional representation: what about the Democrats? So, as the interview concluded, Senator Roger Marshall and I had the following exchange.

Michael T. Redlich: “I have one really important question that I know is critical to many Jayhawks on campus. It’s no secret that you came to visit us in a blue dot, and that’s Lawrence, but even in such a polarizing time what would you like to say to Democratic Kansans, including college students, who might not always agree with you but still want to know that their voices are being heard and that you’re fighting for them in D.C. as well?

Sen. Marshall: “I wish that they would know the personal relationships that I’ve developed across the aisle. Bernie Sanders is one of my close friends, we disagree on a lot, but we have a lot of the same goals. We both love this country, we want everyone to have meaningful, affordable access to healthcare—[*On topic of building relationships*] through our bipartisan prayer breakfast I co-led now. President Eisenhower started this back in the ‘50s. I developed really close relationships with probably twelve different Democrats as well. Look, we’re stuck right now. I am the first to admit that we’re stuck for a lot of different reasons, that between social media, and legacy media, and cable entertainment—they call it cable news but it’s really entertainment—that we’re stuck right now, but I’m not giving up and that as long as we share the same goals, and I think my Democrat friends you’re referring to, we share the same goals. We believe in an exceptional America, and we want to leave this country better than we found it. Benjamin Franklin challenges, “He gave us a republic, if we can keep it.” And I think it’s our challenge right now, is let’s stay focused on the goals. We don’t always agree on how to get there, but at least let’s stay focused on those same goals.

Holding politicians accountable to their constituents is important, but it doesn’t need to be done in a disrespectful way. I love the way that Senator Marshall addressed this question because of the sincerity it carries, and that Democrats are still their constituents too. Too often now, voters and politicians act as if they should only help their own side—but that isn’t how politics truly works. Bipartisanship, the personal relationships the Senator has with at least a dozen democrats, those are the avenues to create solutions that work for everybody.

I feel like the way that some Kansas Democrats choose to go about engaging with our Congressional delegation is not productive and leads to a lack of willingness to engage. For example, KU Young Dems rather than trying to advocate for real change would rather go outside and angrily hold signs outside of Strong Hall or on Massachusetts Street here in Lawrence. But it isn’t just college students, it is also those who raise us—parents, teachers, members of our communities—they need to do better. The GOP is far from an innocent collective, but group postings on Facebook to go crash a Republican event with protest signs isn’t going to do anything other than create a nuisance. The willingness of a Republican congressman to go meet with constituents goes down when all they would like to do is be angry rather than have a simple talk. Senator Marshall and I don’t agree on everything, but he and I were willing to do what many people refuse to do: have a discussion.

Going to a “No Kings” protest does nothing other than build on and stir anger. If we really lived under a “King Trump”, do you think he would allow yet another federal court injunction to hinder his agenda? Do you think he would put up with Republicans in Congress who are unwilling to spend time on his policy goals? No, he would not—and the Senators we have in Kansas, along with our Representatives, are all committed to being a part of the process that solves the issues we face. Mechanisms that do nothing but create anger are not an effective way to channel your advocacy.

There is a narrative around Kansas’ Representatives & Senators about “ignoring constituents,” but I have on many occasions seen nothing but the opposite. With just two weeks effort—nothing more than a few dozen emails and a handful of phone calls, I secured an interview with a sitting U.S. Senator simply because I was curious about the policies affecting the state where I study, live part time, and soon plan to call home. The way I see it, if I can do that as a freshman in college, other Kansans can have their concerns voiced and grievances heard. For those who are truly interested in advocating for change, the opportunities are there if you go through the proper avenues rather than being just yet another angry constituent on the phone.

I feel that there is a large disconnect between my experiences and those of many others due to one factor: respect. You can scroll through social media comment sections for any Republican Congressman or Senator from Kansas and find nasty comments that do nothing more than call for harassment, flooding the phones, advocate for petty annoyance, etc. This is not the way to advocate for change. These people are not in office to accomplish sinister goals, harm people, or make the state they come from worse—they want to leave the country better than when they started serving it. Coming to the table in a respectful manner, submitting requests to meet with your lawmakers, and engaging professionally with your elected officials makes a huge difference. If a college student can pull it off, anyone can.

At a Turning Point USA meeting that same evening, Senator Marshall said to us “Look, even more than I’m a Republican or conservative, I’m an American—and Kansan first.” And that I feel is the proper way for any citizen, especially elected ones, to view their role in society. Marshall added, “If we get our values right the policies and culture will follow. You’re not going to find happiness through what job you have or the things you have but your faith, a family who loves you, a community who stands beside you—and a job that gives you meaning.”

And on the note of happiness, I myself and the Free State Journal are so appreciative of Senator Roger Marshall and his excellent team for being so willing to work together on a time to meet—so that the issues concerning college students had a platform to be addressed on.

Senator Marshall - Thank you for making the time to see us, attending our event, and for all you do back in Washington D.C. for the Sunflower State.

Michael T. Redlich is a freshman student at the University of Kansas pursuing degrees in Political Science & Finance, later aiming to attend law school. As a proud American, he works in consultancy to the Kansas Statehouse, is a current member of the British Parliamentary Debate & Mock Trial teams, and volunteers at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.

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