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Sports >>12 Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor addressed Allen Fieldhouse one last time
Arts & Culture 5 Joshua Mendoza combines his love of music and science
MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016 | VOLUME 130 ISSUE 14
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
Colleen O'Toole/KANSAN
Juniors Gabby Yaeger and Cora Burgoyne and senior Morgan Shapiro balance on kettlebells during a weekly workout.
Women's weightlifting club sees growth in its first year
ANISSA FRITZ
@anissafritzz
"H ere" is a Cross-Fit-style gym with graffiti
walls, Marine flags, heavy weights and punching bags. With rap music booming in the background, 16 University women lift barbells over their heads and do squats under the direction of the coaches.
A year ago, Katelyn O'Leary, a senior from Stillwell, joined KU Babes. She wanted to workout in comfort, and continue her weight-loss program.
"One of my friends told me to come here," O'Leary said. "I was scared to go do it at the rec because of all the guys. Here they teach me technique so we don't
hurt ourselves.'
KU Babes' founders, Gabby Yeager and Cora Burgoyne, both juniors from Wichita, and Morgan Shapiro, a senior from Leawood, saw a lack of female weightlifting opportunities at the University, so they created their own in spring 2015. The club meets for workouts at CrossFit Lawrence four times a week and membership costs $80 a semester.
"In our first semester, we were excited but it isn't
On this day, two rows of women, eight on each side, do lunges with heavy weights on their shoulders. The women shout encouraging words like, "You got this," and "Come on, you're almost done," to challenge each other.
to where we are now," Shapiro said. "Now everyone is cheering each other on. It's exciting for us to see the excitement between members. Everyone is pushing each other but they are also happy for everyone too."
Because of the encouraging environment, members like Caitlin Carnivale said she is stronger mentally as well as physically.
"I've gotten a lot stronger. Just like the past few weeks I've maxed out on a lot of things," said Carnivale, a junior from Olathe and ambassador for KU Babes. "Without this club I would definitely be weak. I wouldn't be lifting if it wasn't for this club. I would be scared but here they show you if you're a beginner. Before I was at the rec
running around the track everyday."
KU Babes has been a learning process for not only members, but the founders as well. Shapiro said the biggest challenge she faced when starting the program was learning how to coach.
Ambassadors and captains were added to the program to ensure that lifts were being done safely by all members as well as running the program's website and social media. Burgoyne said that the group hopes women who hold these roles will continue to lead the program even after the founders graduate.
Tess Zayyad, a freshmen from Huntington Beach, Calif., and KU Babes captain, also runs the program's official Snapchat account. She posts workouts as well as healthy food options to motivate and educate members, so even when not at workouts they still gain motivation.
Additional leadership roles are not the only thing that is different about the program. The perception of health and fitness among members like Rachel Nault, a junior from Chicago, has evolved too.
Even Kyle Thatcher, co-founder of CrossFit Lawrence, said he can see the group's growth in size and mentality.
"You care more about what your body is able to do rather than how you look," Nault said.
"The spontaneity they have in here is so refreshing," Thatcher said. "You usually see the same workout done over and over but seeing a younger community after it the way they do is different."
Shapiro said that the club plans to partake in Olympic lifting and Cross-Fit competitions at the end of the year. KU Babes also recently applied to be a sport club in hopes to become more sustainable and competitive, Yeager said.
After the hour and a half workout, members drenched in sweat were eager to share their testimonials of how the program has bettered their lives over the last year.
"Gaining muscle is more exciting than losing five pounds," Carnivale said.
Marco Rubio speaks in Topeka alongside Sam Brownback before Saturday's caucuses
> CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio stood in front of an American flag as blew in the cold morning air at his rally in Topeka Friday.
Rubio was flanked byighter jets to his right andleft as he spoke to the crowd of roughly 300 people. Onthe front-end of a three-rally tour around Kansas, Ruio focused on the importance of Saturday's Kansasaucuses during his Friday rally at the Topeka Regional Airport.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Sen. Pat Roberts, who both previously endorsed the Republican candidate, praised Rubio before he stepped up to speak. Brownback said he sees eye-to-eye with Rubion on foreign policy, military expansion and Obamacare.
"He's got that Reagan-esque nature to him, where he's lived the American dream; he's very hopeful, passionate, forward-looking, he's a good, solid conservative." Brownback said before the rally.
During his speech, Rubio emphasized several points from his campaign, from support for the military and veterans to repealing Obama care. He also tried to tear down Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the process.
For most of his 30-minute speech, Rubio threw shots at Republican candidate and frontrunner Donald Trump, one night after the heated Republican debate in Detroit. Rubio painted Trump as "simply a businessman," one not fit to run a presidential office.
"Trump is not prepared to be the commander-in-chief," Rubio said. "Anyone who thinks the
Nuclear Triad was a rock band, is not qualified to be the commander-in-chief."
Rubio asserted he is the most electable candidate in the Republican party, just days after Ted Cruz also said he is the most electable candidate at a rally in Overland Park.
Rubio said he cannot win this election if the party remains fragmented, as it is now. Just as Cruz did on Wednesday, Rubio noted the majority of Republican voters — those who have not voted for Trump in primaries and caucuses to this point — need to to defeat Trump.
"The truth is, 65 percent of people who have already voted don't want him as our nominee," Rubio said. "I can win this election because I can unite this party and I can grow this party, and I can grow this party without compromising our principles."
Christian Hardy/KANSAN Rubio walks to the stage alongside Kansas Gov, Sam Brownback before Rubio's rally on March 4. 2016.
Christian Hardy/KANSAN
Henry Cannon, a student at Olathe South High School, said Rubio supporters seem to share the same sentiment: He's the man who can save the Republican party from Donald Trump.
"Without going into any of the terrible things he's said about religion or anything else, [Trump] has never done this before in any capacity," Cannon said. "That's what I've been hoping throughout this race — I hope Rubio can be our saving grace."
Rubio also had words for Hillary Clinton, who is running to be the nominee from the Democratic party. Rubio said the former Secretary of State was "unqualified" for the presidency, and that he could defeat Clinton, unlike his fellow Republican running mates.
"If we don't win, that means you're going to wake up to the news of president Hillary Clinton, and that is an unacceptable outcome," Rubio said.
Brownback also backed Rubio on his sentiments against Clinton. Though Brownback has endorsed Rubio, he said he will support the Republican nominee regardless of who it is, as it fits his agenda more clearly than any Democratic candidate.
"I'm going to support the Republican nominee, because their policy agenda versus Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton is what I more agree with," Brownback said. "It's important, that policy agenda."
Edited by Sam Davis