Student Body President Joseph Shepard announced a list of five demands Monday that were to be presented to university President John Bardo during a Kansas Board of Regents meeting Wednesday.

But after a two-and-a-half hour meeting Tuesday, Shepard and Bardo reached a “happy medium” and the protest was called off. Here’s what we know so far about what was originally asked of the administration, and what actions the university plans to take to respond.

Demand 1: Sexton removed as vice president of Students Affairs and a search conducted for a new vice president with student leaders serving on the search committee.

Eric Sexton will remain as vice president of Student Affairs, but will no longer serve as director of Athletics or adviser to the Student Government Association.

Sexton replaced Wade Robinson as SGA adviser in April. Shepard said in a six-page document explaining the demands that Sexton has missed four SGA meetings this semester.

At a State of the Union address Wednesday, Shepard said it “doesn’t matter if [Sexton is] African American, it doesn’t matter if I have a personal relationship with the Sexton family … The fact of the matter is that it’s unrealistic to expect someone to hold two positions.”

Bardo said Sexton will transition to a full-time position in Student Affairs in a “reasonable and timely manner.” Sexton was not immediately available for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Sexton has been Athletic director since 2008. Marche Fleming-Randle, assistant dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will replace Sexton as adviser.

Demand 2: Response from the Administration and Finance department pertaining to the email sent on Sept. 29 inquiring about student fees and supplemental fees.

An SGA treasurer inquired about the distribution of student fees early in the semester to find out why some numbers didn’t add up. Twenty-three days after the initial email was sent, Administration and Finance responded to three of the five questions the treasurer asked.

SGA has yet to receive the answers to the remaining two questions, plus clarification on the first three, according to Shepard’s six-page document.

“It became a pass the buck game,” Shepard said Wednesday.

In their meeting Tuesday, Bardo told him, “There is no excuse or reason as to why SGA did not get the answers,” according to a Facebook post from Shepard.

The Facebook post said SGA should expect a response to all five questions by the end of the day Tuesday. At the State of the Union address Wednesday, Shepard indicated he had still not received a response.

Demand 3: Public apology issued to student organizations and students who were attacked verbally by alumni, community members and donors in regards to the interfaith prayer space.

Changes to the Grace Memorial Chapel last spring sparked a delayed backlash in early October as alumni, community members and people from across the country took to social media to express their opinions about a “Muslim takeover.”

Shepard has said that students were accused of being part of a “Muslim Brotherhood,” called terrorists and told to “go to hell.”

“These students not only never received an apology, but the President never privately visited with them as a collective to let them know that the administration supports them and is available for anything,” Shepard wrote in his six-page document. “We constantly stress the safety and security of our student is our number one priority. However, when political interest and money is involved we drop the ball.”

In their “happy medium,” Shepard and Bardo agreed that a letter would be sent via Shocker Blast apologizing to those “who were attacked verbally in regards to the interfaith prayer space situation,” Shepard said in a Facebook post.

The letter is expected to be distributed no later than Dec. 1, the Facebook post said.

“I don’t consider it appropriate to call people names,” Bardo said, and every side of the argument felt that they were attacked.

Demand 4: Agree to hire more faculty and staff that is reflective of the student body at Wichita State University in a timely manner.

At the State of the Union meeting Wednesday, Shepard cited statistics provided to him by the Human Resources department. 

About 80 percent of the WSU faculty and staff population is Caucasian, he said, and the remaining 20 percent is considered a minority. More than half of that minority works for the Physical Plant.

“We want to increase the ratio of faculty/staff, especially targeting race and ethnicity,” he said.

Bardo announced Monday that Fleming-Randle, the new SGA adviser, would serve as assistant to the president for diversity. Her responsibilities would include shaping efforts to increase on diversity, he said.

“She’s a really wonderful person,” Bardo told The Sunflower. “Very down to earth. Very bright capable person. But more than that she’s got the best interest of people at heart.”

Shepard said in his Facebook post that a task force will be created to investigate ways to implement diversity training for Bardo’s cabinent.

“We need to become more culturally competent,” Shepard said Wednesday.

Demand 5: Provide more scholarship opportunities for in-state students

In his six-page explanation of the demands, Shepard cited numbers from a 2015 enrollment factbook that the average scholarship amounts have decreased $1,000 while the average loan amounts have gone up $1,100. 

As a result of his meeting with Bardo on Tuesday, Shepard said on Facebook that Bardo plans to find ways to continue to increase scholarship opportunities to in-state students.