April 14th 2016, Page 12 The Concordian
Upcoming Events April 14th, 2016
Volume LXXXV No. 5
RECESSION HITS CONCORD UNIVERSITY James Hoyle
Charles Becker, Vice President of Business and Finance, discusses Concord’s financial outlook. Photo Courtesy of Concord Faculty/Staff Directory. uncertainty of the economic nature of the state at this time, Chuck Becker, vice president of business and finance, estimates that the state is going to cut the budget to education by roughly six-and-a-half percent, which means roughly five to six hundred thousand dollars could
be cut from Concord’s appropriations. “Just three or four years ago,” he explained, “We were getting about almost ten-and-ahalf million dollars for the state every year on our appropriations. This year that we’re just now finishing up, it’s around eight-and-a-half. So they’ve cut
SEE RECESSION, P. 3
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• Recession • Map of Africa • SGA Elections • Fall Freshman
studeNt Life: • Presidential Candidates • Voter Awareness • Anxiety • Clothing Drive • Post Secret
Arts &eNtertAiNmeNt: • Coal Camp Memories • GSA Drag Show • Senior Art Show • CU Concert Band • Ona
OpiNiON: • Abortion Laws
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Second verse, same as the first. That is what has happened at Concord University. Once again in what has become an annual event, the state has decided to cut funding to higher education, including the funding to state institutions like Concord. In addition to having cut the university’s budget every year for the past few years, it does not help that, according to recent reports from The Washington Times and The Register Herald with titles like “Economic report indicates West Virginia is in recession,” West Virginia’s economy is in rough shape. Coal, the staple of West Virginia and the prime mover of West Virginia’s economy, is in trouble. Jobs in the coal industry are being cut across the board. Fewer coal jobs means fewer taxes, and fewer taxes means a significant windfall that West Virginia has to make up somehow to cover expenses of running the state. Rather than increasing taxes on cigarettes or taking other measures, the state legislature has decided to cut funding to higher education once again. Schools from all over the state, as of the next fiscal year, will have to make due with less. Concord University is no exception. Though unsure due to the
News:
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us two million dollars over the last three or four years. And If we get this cut that I told you about for next year, it’s going to take us down to right around eight million dollars, and that is what I think is happening with the state.” That equals roughly a six-and-a-half percent cut from last year’s budget. As a result of these budget cuts, Becker stated that Concord University’s Board of Governors have approved an increase in both tuition and fees for students. Students can expect to see an increase of roughly five percent. Other than that five percent tuition and fee increase, Becker says there is nothing else Concord University is going to increase fees on, as only the Board of Governors has the authority to raise the fees for students. As for possible cuts to financial aid, Becker said that they will not cut anyone’s financial aid, and that the school will find alternative ways to make up the cut to the budget. It should also be noted that the renovations to Towers, set to begin at the end of this year, will not be affected by the budget cuts and will continue on schedule. “The students get over four million dollars from the school in financial aid, and we will not reduce that,” Becker
This EdiTion
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Opinion
News
GIANT MAP INSPIRES STUDENTS James Hoyle
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Many students visited and explored the giant map. Photo Courtesy of Linda Poff and Sarah Dalton start in geography by asking the question ‘where.’ There are only two great ways to look at the world ‘when’ and ‘where’, and students need to have an idea of how places [connect together].” He cited West Africa as an example. West Africa has the unfortunate honor of being the place where the majority of slaves were taken from Africa
to the Americas. Manzo stated that this is just one of the important places that students need to know about. Students do lessons on the map, though the nature of the lessons change depending on the map. Lacy Blankenship, an education major, said that they labelled things such as capitols of countries, peninsulas, bodies
RONNI WOOD RE-ELECTED Christian Pridemore
Staff Writer From March 31 to April 5, 2016, Concord’s Student Government Association held elections for students to vote for their new student President. After some campaigning seen around campus, Ronni Wood won approximately 60% of the votes to become president for her second term. Being SGA’s new president, Wood takes a bold stance on some of the most pressing issues acing Concord Univer-
sity and her students. “I honestly feel that the biggest issue facing Concord right now is the budget,” says Wood, “The state keeps cutting funding to higher education due to their own funding issues, which leads to budget cuts across the board on campus. Although there aren’t many ways to directly fix this issue, I’d like to do more to tell our state legislature what we as students think about the problem, as well as work with the university to build our own revenue.” In addition to addressing state
legislation on this issue, Wood has also had a hand in trying to solve the issue of budgeting at a more local level. Wood has had a direct involvement with the new employees in admissions and has been helping them to find new ways to recruit more students. Wood says that she welcomes help from current students on this matter; if you or someone you know has an idea or a question about growing the student population, Ronni Wood is the person to contact. One other major issue that Wood wishes to address is the
lack of student involvement with events on campus. “I also feel that student life and student involvement is at an all-time low right now” Wood says, “Although the budget for events has gone down, we still have plenty of events on campus that students just don’t go to. I would love to try and find new ways to get students involved with campus activities, SGA, and the campus as a whole. If students have any ideas on this subject I’d love to hear them!” Wood maintains the stance that students who have ques-
tions or comments about anything on campus are welcome to come and speak with her. “Whether it is a problem that they’re having in particular and just don’t know where to go or how to handle it, or something that they know lot of students are having issues with, I’ll do my best to get it taken care of if they bring the issue to me.” Students can contact Ronni Wood via email at Woodr18@mycu. concord.edu or through the SGA email, sga@concord.edu
Tsivia Chonoles
A&E/Student Life Editor Texas is one of twelve states that has enacted legislation based on a debunked notion that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks gestation. And it is because of this “fetal pain” law that Taylor Mahaffey, who was only 20 weeks pregnant, was forced to wait and feel her child die inside of her and then give birth to a stillborn. Taylor and her husband rushed to the hospital when Taylor went into preterm labor; at the hospital, they were told that their child was already pushing through Taylor’s cervix, feet-first, but that he would not be viable outside of the womb. At only 20 weeks, however, inducing labor would have been considered the same as performing a late-term abortion under Texas law. So doctors did nothing more but send the Mahaffey’s home for the four days that it took their child to die. These “fetal pain” laws not only have no basis in fact, since, according to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the AMA found that “fetal perception of pain is unlikely before the third trimester,” they also cause undue emotional and physical pain. Texas has a history of passing bills intending to restrict or prevent a woman’s right to choose. In 2012, a law went into effect requiring that all women seeking an abortion be subjected to a trans-vaginal sonogram at least 24 hours before
The Mahaffey’s were sent home to wait while their child slowly died in his mother’s womb. Photo Courtesy of Daniel Mahaffey and thedailybeast.com. being allowed to have her abortion. This invasive procedure is non-negotiable, and although a woman can choose whether or not she wants to see or hear the sonogram, her abortionprovider is legally obligated to describe the sonogram to her out loud and in detail. The only people able to opt out of hearing the description are those who were victims of incest or sexual
assault, but no one is exempt from having the sonogram performed. The bill that prevented doctors from assisting the Mahaffey’s, House Bill 2 (HB2), was passed in 2013 and also included clauses that would force a majority of Texas’ abortion clinics to close their doors, as only five clinics met the standards set by the bill. Luckily, the
most restrictive of these clauses requiring that clinic doctors have hospital admitting privileges was shot down before the bill was passed. Both of these laws do nothing more than add more pain and difficulty to a decision that is already possibly the most painful and difficult decision that a woman can make. Bills and laws such as these
are drawn up, advocated for, and passed by people who only consider their own ideological sensibilities and not the wellbeing of those people who may be directly affected by the bill. The majority of women seeking an abortion are women who already have at least one child and who are usually raising them as a single-parent. The majority of women seeking an abortion at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy are doing so for health and/or safety reasons, or because they have been advised that their child has some sort of defect that will negatively affect their quality of life outside of the womb. People who call themselves pro-life and advocate for these anti-abortion bills and laws are not truly pro-life, but pro-birth. They only care about the child up until the point where it is born; once the child has been born, they couldn’t care less. If lawmakers truly wish to prevent and cut down on the numbers of abortions that are performed, then the most successful way to do so is by providing more accessible birth control and more comprehensive sex education. Reducing or restricting the availability of abortions only serves to make them more dangerous. A woman’s body is her own, and she should not be forced into making any decisions or undergoing any (invasive) medical procedures against her will due to the ideological beliefs of others.
The views and opinions expressed in this student newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty, Staff, or Administration of Concord University, or that of the editors and advisor of the Concordian. They are that of the authors.
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Approximately 800 students entered a whole new world with the Giant Map of Africa that Concord University hosted from April 1 to April 8. According to Dr. Joe Manzo, professor of geography, Concord University holds this event every year. “We’ve had several [maps]. We’ve had the Giant Map of Asia, the Giant Map of Europe, and this year we had the Giant Map of Africa, and it’s been successful with us.” The entire event was sponsored by the West Virginia Geographical Alliance, which is hosted at Concord. “We share this [map] with other people, so it’s going to Shepherd University for a week, and then it’s going to be in the state capitol.” Manzo said that the reason why Concord University hosts this event every year is to bring awareness to the world and all of its parts. “Just as history might start with the question of ‘when’, we
has one is that as a whole, this state is pretty consistent in geography. “The reason why we’re consistent is in West Virginia is that we have great teachers, and that they find substance in geography. The kids love it, and the advanced placement geography program is the fastest growing advanced placement program of all of the different specialties.” Manzo stated that next year they are planning on moving the Giant Map around from four locations to five. In addition, Concord University is receiving a Giant Map of West Virginia that will be able to be kept by the school for the entire year. Concord University will be getting the map around September and, according to Blankenship, the Giant Map of West Virginia needs to be viewed by at least 2,000 people every year, so that Concord University will not have to pay for the map. Anyone with further questions may contact Joe Manzo via email at manzoj@concord.edu.
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of water, population, and where the population will be moving to in the coming years. According to Dr. Manzo, Africa is one of the largest continents in the world. It’s so large, in fact, that one could fit about 7,000 West Virginias into it. This map can help students to better visualize the supreme size of the continent. “It works particularly well, I think, up to eighth grade.” Manzo said, “I suspect that the high schoolers are less interested in taking off their shoes and walking around on a giant map, but the kids who come in up to eighth grade are fascinated. We’ve had whole schools come out [and look at the map], and that’s also good for Concord, by the way, as it shows those that are in school, and those that are home schooled as well, to understand that Concord University is a center of education.” According to Manzo, there used to be geographic alliances in all 50 states, but not all of them have them now, and the reason why West Virginia still
A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE
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News
Arts & Entertainment CU CONCERT BAND STAGES SHOW James Hoyle
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next song “Music for Prague, 1968.” This piece, written by Karel Husa, describes the problems and frustration that the Czech people experienced during Soviet occupation. The piece was divided into four parts. Each one, with its militaristic overtones, attempts to
Some of the band after a job well done (Left to Right: Lucas Bolyard, Sarah Bailey Joshua Baker, Roman Runyon, and Austin Bolden) Photo Courtesy of Lucas Bolyard pilot during the Second World War. This particular song is used frequently throughout this particular opera, and also serves as the opera’s opening number. After the Prokofiev piece,
though the clouds do not move in the stillness of the skies. As mentioned before, all of these pieces were complex. However, nothing would prepare the audience for the intricate intensity seen in the
portray the Soviet Union in all its martial might as oppressive and full of hatred for the Czech people. At the same time, pieces of an old Czech song “Ye Warriors of God and His Law” plays. This song, dating back to
ONA PERFORMS AT CONCORD Christian Pridemore
Staff Writer On Wednesday, April 6, 2016, students were invited to the Subway stage to listen to the musical stylings of the local West Virginia band Ona. While the images of the band depicted on flyers seen for the show might have hinted at a more
Country style of music, with each member wearing some iteration of plaid and denim, what was performed was a welcome and rejuvenating set of pieces very reminiscent of the 90’s Alternative and Classic Rock scene. The night began with a set entirely performed by the band’s pianist Brad Goodall, who
performed some of his original songs with such themes as relationships and a throwback to Billy Joel, as well as a particularly soulful piece titled “Virginia.” After the half hour warm-up from Goodall, the entire band came on to perform their set of songs which bore striking resemblance to a Rhythm & Blues style, while
still maintaining the Classic Rock vibe. Such songs on the list included original pieces titled “World at War,”“Tornado Ride,” and other songs with easy listening and somewhat somber tones and themes. To hear full playlists of their albums and to purchase merchandise on the band, visit https://thebandona. bandcamp.com/.
the 15th century, invokes the ideas of the medieval heroes of old and the ideal of a free and united Czech nation. This song had many moving parts, and while it was exhausting, percussion player Lucas Bolyard promises that many of the performers were smiling the entire time of the performance. After this song concluded, the concert was wrapped up with a performance of “With Heart and Voice,” a piece written by David Gillingham. It was commissioned by Apple Valley High School Bands in Minnesota. It is primarily based on an old Spanish hymn that made its way into several Christian hymnals under the title of “Come, Christians, Come to Sing.” This tune is used as an Alma Mater for those schools. The first line of this hymn contains the lyrics “Let all, with heart and voice, before His throne rejoice.” This is where the title is derived from. Much like the last concert, this concert proved that Concord’s concert band values craftsmanship above all. One can only hope that in the coming years they can maintain this quality.
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students have been admitted, and most of them are first-time freshmen, though it should be noted that not all of those students might actually attend. With such a large incoming class, the budget cuts may be
offset. If anyone has any questions about the budget or the tuition increase, Chuck Becker can be reached at 304-384-5190, extension 5234, or online at beckerc@concord.edu.
THE FRESHMEN ARE COMING! Christian Pridemore
Staff Writer As the semester draws to a close, Concord students are sure to have noticed high school students on tours around the campus. Naturally, students will write this off as a common occurrence and think nothing of it. However, the freshman class for the Fall 2016 semester is going to be one of the largest Concord has seen in a few years. There have been well over 1,300 admitted students from the state of West Virginia alone, which is already more admitted students than there were West Virginia applicants from years past. According to the Concord University Admissions Office, there have been 4,586 applications received for Fall 2016 enrollment, which is more than double the number of applicants from both Fall 2015 and Fall 2014, having 1,992 and 1,806 applicants respectively. Admissions is well on its way to a goal of 4,900 applications by August, and says that they are well ahead of pace to eclipse this goal. As it stands, there have been 2,192 applicants that have been admitted, completing their applications by sending in transcripts and test scores at a rate of 50%. This is considerably higher than years past; in Fall 2015, admits were only at 577 which had a 31% completion rate, and in Fall 2014, there were only 396 admits, repre-
senting a 23% completion rate. As it stands right now, there have already been 230 scholarship acceptances as compared to 114 last year; housing reservations for Fall 2016 stand at 96 as compared to 64 in Fall 2015; to date, there have been over 140 RSVPs for orientation dates from prospective students. All of these numbers seem like a bit much to digest, so to put it more simply, Greg King, the new Vice President for Enrollment Management, says that the administration’s goal for the incoming class is 750 new fulltime students and 300 transfers and readmits, which represents a 30% increase from last year. So King and admissions are projecting an incoming freshman class of at least 1,000 students. As stated previously, this is one of the biggest classes Concord has received in a long time. So what does this mean for on-campus services such as dining and housing? King and his team have the answers for student’s worries and doubts. “This actually gets us back to our all-time high,” said King, “We’ve actually handled this volume before. We’re working closely with housing, and all of our projections look like we’ll have enough rooms to handle it. We won’t have a ton of extra space, but we’ll max out what we have.” With the renovations on Towers getting ready to start soon, King says that there will be approximately 30 rooms at any given time out of commis-
sion. However, even with these rooms unable to be used, King states that there will still be just enough rooms to house everyone. However, if complaints begin to arise about housing, talks with the housing office and Rick Dillon will be necessary to determine if 30 rooms might be too many to be renovating at a time. As far as dining services and the cafeteria, King states that it might be necessary to adjust hours of operation for the cafeteria and keep the 1852 Room open at all times. Naturally, some students might be concerned that the rising class size might mean an overall fall in academia. As it stands, Concord is ranked by US News and World Report for 2016 as being ranked six out of eleven of the top public colleges in the south, and 47th amongst all colleges in the southern region. King intends to keep Concord this highly ranked, saying “My job as an enrollment manager is to increase the quality if there’s any change at all. So, the last thing I want to do is hurt the student quality. Of the students right now…we have an increase in the GPA by about a tenth, and also a little bump on ACT. That standard for acceptance is catalog policy, and the state also holds us accountable. We don’t want to dip there.” One other natural question that students might have is why tuition is increasing if there are so many new students coming in. Both King and Dillon, Vice
President for Administration and Associate Dean of Students, state that the tuition increase is coming from a statewide cut in funding for education. According to Dillon and King, schools all across the state are receiving about a 6% cut in funding, which is a lot of money for smaller schools statewide such as Concord University. In light of these facts, however, Dillon regards the new admissions faculty as a resounding success. “I truly believe that Greg knows what he’s doing, but we’ll know better after we get those numbers,” Dillon said. He later added, “I believe it was a good decision to make that investment, and I was part of the team that made that decision… I think it was a wise decision. The less money you get back in appropriation, the more money has to come from admissions and retention…all revenue streams that bring money into the institution have to come through for us, and so especially because of that, I think it was a good decision.” Both Dillon and King agree that a general increase in the student body is going to be an overall benefit for the university, and will help to continue the excellence for which Concord University is known. For more information about the student population and how the new freshman class will be affecting upperclassmen, contact Greg King at gking@concord.edu.
The Concordian The Concordian office is located on the bottom floor of the Alexander Fine Arts Center, Room M-08.
Brittany Strother Editor-in-Chief Tsivia Chonoles Managing Editor Staff Writers: James Hoyle Christian Pridemore Patrice Mitchell Mrs. Lindsey Akers Faculty Advisor
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Concord University’s Concert Band performed their second concert of the semester at 6 pm on April 8. The title, Music for Prague, 1968, alludes to the name of the central piece performed by the concert band that night. However, it was not the only piece performed that night. Over the course of an hour, audiences were able to hear about five different musical pieces, each of them for either the 20th or the 21st centuries. Each of the musical arrangements were varied. However, all of them were complex, and they only got more complex as the night wore on. It was clear right from the beginning that, much like the first concert from earlier in the semester, that hours of hard work, practice, and dedication went into learning and performing these musical numbers. The layout of the concert went on as such. To start, the band played Fanfare from “La Peri.” This ballet, written by Paul Dukas and dating back to 1912, is one act and is inspired by a Persian story. In it, a character named Iskender searches for Peri, a fairy that carries the flower of
things were changed up as the band switched over to a song written by an American composer. The song, “Sheltering Sky,” was written by John Mackey. In this song, Mackey attempts to paint a visual picture for the listener. He tries to show ever-swirling clouds,
depends on how much aid is given out and how much students accept of that aid and FROM PAGE 1 come here.” According to projections, Concord University said, “In fact, it may very well is expecting a large incoming go up this next year. It all just freshman class. Roughly 2200
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immortality that he is searching for. Next up was a Russian piece called “March, op. 99.” It was written by the great Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev for his final opera, “Story of a Real Man, op. 117.” The opera tells the story of a Russian fighter
RECESSION
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Arts & Entertainment April 14th 2016, Page 9 The Concordian
Student Life
MEET THE CANDIDATES Tsivia Chonoles
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Although Clinton has a strong record of being pro-choice, she has a history of making statements that highlight the negative stigmas surrounding abortion; her main emphasis is on improving access to birth control and advocating improved foster care and adoption
Democratic candidates former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders Photo Courtesy of abc13.com 2000, Trump has stated that he is strictly against gun control, saying in an October 2015 interview with Bob Schieffer that gun ownership makes the U.S. safer and, in January 2016, that mass shootings are due only to a huge mental health problem. In 1990, Trump was recorded in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as saying that U.S. drug enforcement was a joke and that all drugs should be legalized; as of 2015 though, Trump is a supporter of medical marijuana as the only legal drug, and all others should be handled on a state-by-state basis. Trump has not said much about higher education, but rather on educa-
instead. In regards to immigration, it is one of the topics that gets Trump the most attention. He has said that we need a wall around our borders to keep out illegal immigrants and that, even though the Syrian refugee crisis may be our fault, we should not take in any refugees since they are a possible Trojan horse; he also believes that a database needs to be kept of Muslim refugees and that Muslims should be banned from entering America. Hillary Clinton is next, and has a long political history dating back to her tenure as First Lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, was president.
programs. Her latest NARAL Pro-Choice rating, from 2007, was 100%. Clinton said in 2008 that she believes that universal health care is a core Democratic principal and has been a supporter of ObamaCare; her earliest attempt at universal health care was in 1993 during her tenure as First Lady; this attempt failed. A strong advocate for gun control, Clinton believes in reversing gun manufacturer immunity and allowing them to be held responsible in lawsuits. In 2000, she was advocating for a national gun registry, and backed off of this plan in 2008. She wants to rein in the idea that anyone, any-
where, can own a gun, seeking to balance lawful ownership with preventing criminal access to firearms. Her latest NRA grade from 2006 was an “F”. Clinton has been a supporter of the legalization of medical marijuana since 2014, adopting a wait-and-see policy in regards to recreational use, and has long believed that drug users should be sent to treatment instead of prison. In the Iowa Democratic primary debate in November, Clinton said that community college should be free, but that college should not be free for all and, in the primary debate in Las Vegas, she said that all college debt should be refinanced. She had an 82% rating from the National Education Association (NEA) in 2003 due to her voting record on education issues. In the Democratic primary debate in Iowa, Clinton went on record to say that she believes in raising the national federal minimum wage to $12 an hour. In regards to immigration, Clinton has said that immigrants keep America young and dynamic and that undocumented immigrant kids should be included in healthcare coverage and state college tuition; in 2006 she was given an 8% by the United States Border Control (USBC) due to her open-border stance. John Kasich, Republican Governor of Ohio, Kasich was recorded in 1999 as being pro-life, recognizing exceptions in the case of rape and incest victims, but as of September 2015 he has been an advocate for defunding Planned Parenthood. He has a 0% NARAL Pro-Choice rating. Kasich does not believe in government-run health care and SEE POLITICS, P. 5
Christian Pridemore
Staff Writer On Thursday, April 7, 2016, the Butcher Gallery in the Alexander Fine Arts Center held a showing of a few different galleries created by the students of Concord. Among these galleries, Senior Aaron Isner, a Graphic Design and Advertising major, presented his works entitled “Pixeled Parodies” for his Senior Capstone project. At the urging of Kevin Bennington, Isner says that he went with what interested him rather than continuing with themes with which he hadn’t found success. “I like art, I like video games, so I figured I’d mash the two up… and the theme took off from there.” What came of this inspiration are revamps of popular themes and tropes throughout
COAL FROM PAGE 8
the Mainlands, we meet Hallie again, this time a bright sixteen-year-old. She has finally returned to school after being forced to take time off to help her mother raise the children. She is still mostly cheerful, but the mood of this portion was notably darker as she described trips to the company store, and how their prices were four times as much as in other places; but miner’s families didn’t dare shop elsewhere, lest they face the wrath of the company. She also mentions how odd it is that, no matter how long the miners worked underground, they never could seem to get out of debt to the company. The next time we meet Hallie, she is married to her elemen-
“Pixeled Parodies” presented classical art with a techno twist. Photo By: Christian Pridemore
tary school nemesis and has three children. Her husband is a miner now, and she has become wiser to the ways of the coal company and how poorly they treat miners and their families. She talks about women’s role in the coal camp and how they’ve often been the ones to feed their families when ends just wouldn’t meet. She described how important it was for everyone to work together in the camp, especially to combat the company’s tyranny. The next and final transformation shows Hallie as an old woman. Her husband long since dead after a mine “accident,” Hallie and her family finally moved out of the coal camp. Her children are grown and gone, successful and happy. Hallie, however, is still haunted by memories of the coal camp, looking back on her childhood and realizing just how twisted
and cruel the coal company is and how much they took advantage of the humble miners and their families. The show itself was a moving demonstration of the atrocities that happened on West Virginian soil and a clear reminder of people’s willingness to manipulate and abuse the hard-working people of Appalachia. Adding to the potency of the show was the fact that it premiered two days after the six year anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion that left twenty-nine miners dead. The official ruling on the case was that a coal dust explosion had been triggered by violations to safety procedure that could have been absolutely preventable. “Coal companies would rather pay a fine than fix a safety violation,” Vuranch lamented at the end of her performance.
history such as the Mona Lisa, Muhammed Ali’s boxing career and “The Thinker” to incorporate some aspect of video games and gaming history. For the game enthusiast, the pictures were very inspired and quite original in their conception. Guests enjoyed Isner’s integration of retro era games such as “Mike Tyson’s Punch Out” with some newer characters and images from games such as “Half-Life” and “Halo.” It’s enjoyable and comforting to know that on some level the games that defined a generation and started a revolution in entertainment are still eliciting a positive response out of the newer generation of gamers. One image in particular that guests enjoyed was the classic Atari game “Space Invaders” set against Van Gogh’s “Starry
Night.” Unfortunately, that piece was not shown due to its nature; the piece was deemed too unoriginal because it was basically the sprites from the game superimposed over the painting. Although there were other galleries being displayed at the time, which did have some delightful and impactful displays, this one required a certain degree of creativeness and originality that doesn’t come straight out of inception, but comes from the recombination of classic themes into something entirely new and uniqueIsner himself stated that he just wishes to finish his education and move on, and if he continues with the originality which inspired these designs, he may have a promising future ahead of him.
Recent history would show that she is right. Mine disasters happen frequently, and they are most often caused by a safety violation that was never fixed or overlooked. The coal companies pay fines when these disasters occur, but it seems they would rather do that than pay for safety procedures in the first place. The value of the human lives deep in those mines never seems to be a concern. Even six years later, after many legal disputes, justice to the deceased miners and their families has yet to be served. Don Blankenship, CEO of the Massey Energy company, who was in charge of the Upper Big Branch mine when it exploded, was sentenced on April 6, one day after the six year anniversary. His punishment? One year in prison and a $250,000 fine in exchange for the deaths of twenty-nine miners.
It doesn’t matter whether one supports coal or opposes it; it’s a part of West Virginia’s past, present, and likely its future. Regardless of one’s stance on the issue, one thing is certain; coal miners deserve better than what big coal companies give them. They work one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and even today, they aren’t guaranteed safety because a funeral costs less than safety procedures. Though they don’t live in physical coal camps anymore, miners are still being mistreated by big corporations. Vuranch’s performance and monologue afterwards ensures that the people of West Virginia can’t plead ignorance by forcing the issue to the front of their mind, obliging them to be part of the change.
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West Virginia’s primary elections are fast-approaching, and the candidate pool has finally been whittled down to five: three Republicans and two Democrats. Yet many people still find it difficult to parse through all of the political jargon and keep up to date on the key issues of the candidates. So allow me to assist; here in this article you will find summarized information regarding candidate information and standings on eight issues that are debated back and forth in America today: reproductive rights, healthcare, gun rights, decriminalizing drugs, higher education, the minimum wage, and immigration. We shall begin with Donald Trump. As the only remaining Republican candidate who is not a politician and has never before been a politician, Trump has absolutely no history when it comes to voting on these issues, and thus has no rating with the National Rifle Association (NRA) or with NARAL Pro-Choice America. Thus all of the information given here is taken from responses to questions about these issues and none of it can effectively be corroborated through any political action. Although he originally labelled himself as being prochoice back in the 1990s, as of April 2011 Trump has declared himself as being pro-life, believing that abortion should be banned in all cases except for victims of rape or incest and is a supporter of defunding Planned Parenthood. In his book published in 2000, “The America We Deserve,” Trump said that we must have universal health care; he believes that Medicare and Medicaid can be saved
tion in general; he believes that not only Common Core should be cut, but the Department of Education should be cut down as well. He does not believe in raising the minimum wage, saying that it makes us noncompetitive, and has said that more jobs should be created
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without cutting them completely, but also wishes to completely kill ObamaCare; he also still believes that smaller vaccine amounts can prevent autism. Despite advocating in favor of banning assault weapons and instituting a waiting period and background checks back in
SENIOR ART PRESENTS PARALLELS
April 14th 2016, Page 5 The Concordian
Arts & Entertainment April 14th 2016, Page 8 The Concordian
COAL CAMP MEMORIES: WEST VIRGINIA HISTORY Brittany Strother
Editor-in-Chief
and sweet as one would expect from a little girl. She described her daily life: helping her mother with chores, waiting for her father to come back from the coal mines, and her dealings with the rotten boy picking on her at school. Even though Hallie is thus far fairly naïve to her surroundings and the underhanded dealings of the coal company, the viewer is still privy to small indicators of how life in the coal camps affected
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even the youngest residents. Descriptions of her father, too exhausted to move after a 16 or 18 hour shift in the mines, and of her mother’s constant state of worry over his safety, dampened the otherwise cheerful demeanor of ten-year-old Hallie’s performance. After a brief costume change and musical piece courtesy of SEE COAL, P. 9
DRAG SHOW ROCKS CONCORD Tsivia Chonoles
A&E/Student Life Editor Last Tuesday, April 5, saw the return of the annual drag show hosted by Concord University’s Gay-Straight Alliance. The drag show is held every Spring semester by the GSA in honor of Pride Week. Contestants compete in two categories as either Drag Kings or Drag Queens. This year saw Beth Bain, Sara Mason, and two-time reigning champion Sara Horning competing for the title of Concord’s Drag King while James Frye, James Baker, Corey Lantz, and reigning champion Brandon Edwards competed for the title of Concord’s Drag Queen. All of the contestants were very entertaining, working the audience and strutting their stuff to put on an excellent show. The top two Kings and Emma Cockson (Left) and Mick Swagger (Right) gave it all they had in their respective performances. Queens were chosen by the Photo By: Tsivia Chonoles judges to compete for the overall title: Sara Horning v. Beth Bain and Brandon Edwards v. Corey Horning and Brandon Edwards as Mick Swagger and Emma Lantz. In the end, however, Sara both retained their crowns Cockson.
opposes ObamaCare, but not all public healthcare programs; as of August 2015, he was an advocate for the expansion of Medicaid. A strong advocate of protecting Second Amendment rights, he opposes restrictions on gun ownership. In 1999, he was recorded as believing that more parenting would be better than more gun laws. As of August 2015 Kasich’s grade with the NRA was changed from an “F” to an “A”. Kasich does not believe in legalizing drugs for any reason, as it sends “mixed signals” to kids about drug use. In Ohio, Kasich was a proponent of a $120 million student debt relief fund; he has also said that they are going after cost-drivers and ensuring colleges do not get paid unless a student graduates. His most current rating from the NEA in 1999 was 20%. Kasich has said that raising the minimum wage should be done at the state level through calculations between employers and labor. Kasich believes that the focus of immigration should be to keep families together, and that there should be a focus on border and guest workers, not on birthright citizenship. As of 1999, he had a 100% rating from the USBC. Our second Democratic Presidential hopeful is Senator Bernard ‘Bernie’ Sanders from Vermont. Sanders has a lifetime
record of being pro-choice and advocacy for family planning funding, with a 100% NARAL pro-choice rating and Planned Parenthood Action Fund rating of 100%. Sanders believes in vaccination, Medicare for all, and in taking healthcare reforms such as ObamaCare even farther than they currently are; he sees healthcare as a basic human right, with ObamaCare simply as a step in the right
unstable cannot gain access to firearms. However, he does not believe that gun manufacturers should be held responsible for firearm misuse. He has a “D-” from the NRA. Sanders has said that the war on drugs is a failed policy and that treatment should be prioritized over punishment, and, during the Las Vegas debate, that he would vote to legalize recreational marijuana if only to reduce jail-
from the NEA. Sanders is a supporter of raising the national federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as a means of fighting the disappearing middle class. Sanders believes in comprehensive immigration reform with no border and no guest workers; he says that our borders must be secured without building a fence and most undocumented immigrants should be offered a path to citizenship. His last
Planned Parenthood funding, but also for prosecuting Planned Parenthood for criminal violations. As of 2015 he has a NARAL pro-choice rating of 0%. Cruz believes ObamaCare should be repealed completely. He wants to defund, repeal, and replace all federal health care with free market health insurance, and also wants to raise the eligibility age of Medicare. Ted Cruz opposes all restrictions to Second Amendment rights and has a stringent pro-gun track record; he has received an “A+” NRA grade as of 2012. Although he disagrees with the legalization of even medical marijuana, Cruz recognizes it as a state’s right; he is also an advocate for allowing more flexibility for judges in the sentencing of drug offenders in order to lessen the burden on federal prisons. With no spoken stance on higher education, Cruz is a supporter of abolishing the U.S. Department of Education; as of 2015 he has a 0% from the NEA. Cruz is against the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and wants to triple the size of Republican candidates Texas Senator Ted Cruz, entrepreneur Donald Trump, and Ohio the border control. Governor John Kasich There you have it. A somewhat comprehensive overview of the Photo Courtesy of nymag.com candidates and their issues. Don’t forget West Virginia’s direction. One issue that he ings. In regards to education, rating from the USBC in 2006 primary elections are May 10, has not been static on is gun Sanders wants to make public had him at 8%. 2016, and the last day to register rights; currently Sanders wants university tuition free, as well Finally, we have Republican to vote is April 19, 2016. to ban semiautomatic weapons as make college affordable for Senator Rafael ‘Ted’ Edward and close the gun show loop- everyone and allow college loan Cruz from Texas. Cruz has a hole, as well as institute instant borrowers to refinance and long history of opposing aborbackground checks to assure repay at lower interest rates. In tions of any kind, and has been that criminals and the mentally 2015 he received a 100% rating an advocate for not only ending
The First Amendment
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.
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her own one-woman play about a girl growing up in a West Virginia coal camp on Thursday, April 7, in the Marsh Library. Vuranch’s performance was assisted by Tim and Maggie Mainland, who provided eraappropriate music for the show. The play centered around one girl’s life, Hallie Marie Jones, as she grew up in a coal camp. At the beginning of the performance, Hallie was only ten years old, and acted as care-free
POLITICS
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Like it or not, coal is an integral part of West Virginia’s history. The Mountain State’s abundance of the resource put West Virginia on the map as an economic power in the early 1900s, and it is estimated that even today, when a more ecologically aware populace is striving to shut down the use of coal in favor of cleaner energy, 30,000
West Virginians are directly employed through the coal industry. Coal has permanently cemented its place in Appalachian history, though modern West Virginians tend to forget. One Concord University professor is striving to fix that problem and educate students and the community about their West Virginia heritage. Karen Vuranch, an instructor of speech and theatre at the university, wrote and performed
Student Life
April 14th 2016, Page 7 The Concordian
April 14th 2016, Page 6 The Concordian
Student Life
Student Life
CU RAISES VOTER AWARENESS James Hoyle
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Since Millennials are one of the largest voting demographics, it is crucial for college students to use that privilege. Photo By: James Hoyle entire week, they had about 35 people sign up. “We’ve had a pretty good draw this week,” he said. According to Smith, of those 35 people that had signed up to vote, the majority of them registered as independent or non-affiliated, followed by Democrats, and then the Republican party bringing up the rear. Smith added that he hopes that the booth will raise awareness of the importance of voting, and that its mere presence will help convince people
to go out and register to vote, no matter what party or candidate they may endorse. For those that may have missed registering at the table, registering can be fairly straightforward. Before one can qualify to vote in an election of any kind, be it local, state, or federal, some criteria must first be met. First, the person must be a citizen of the United States of America and must be a resident of the state of West Virginia. They also
must not be deemed “mentally incompetent” by the court and cannot have been convicted of a felony (such as treason or bribery), be on probation or be on parole. Having satisfied all the criteria, there are several ways to go about registering to vote. First, there is the old fashioned way of going to the county courthouse and filling out paperwork. The courthouse in the capital of each county is the one that needs to be visited. This process can also be done
ANXIETY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS Michelle Laneave
Guest Writer College students are expected to wear many hats at once. The tests and papers you are required are enough to overwhelm, but then if you add in work, being there for family and friends, and trying to figure out plans for your future, it can
become unbearable. What makes you the most anxious about school-financial aid, your grade point average (GPA) or the thought of a big exam? The Student Health Services Office at Georgetown University links anxiety and stress. They also discuss the topic of test anxiety, saying “Students
experiencing test anxiety may do poorly on an exam even if they know the material better than a classmate.” According to an article by Remez Sasson in “Success Consciousness,” some ways to overcome your anxiety are: • Focus on the positive things that are happening to you. Find reasons to laugh daily.
• Take control of the thoughts that are fueling your anxiety. Start your day with positive affirmations. • Stay active to keep your mind off anxiety. Exercise may help. • Set daily goals and work to achieve them. • Find someone you trust to talk about things that make you
anxious. Don’t try to fight it alone. If you need additional help to cope with stress and anxiety, please contact: Concord Counseling Center, Bonner House2nd floor at 304-384-5290, or CU Academic Success Center, Rahall 243 at 304-384-6074.
Brittany Strother
Editor-in-Chief Spring often prompts people to make a fresh start. This can be in the form of a new diet, picking up new hobbies, or, most commonly, spring cleaning. Many people take the opportunity to overhaul their closets and drawers and donate the discarded items to places like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Concord University’s Alpha Sigma Tau sorority saw this as an opportunity to benefit the community while clearing space for spring. Laken Sutton, Alpha Sigma
Tau’s chair of community relations, had the idea because it was close to home for her. “Being from Bluefield, I knew the need for donations. So, we had decided to do a spring cleaning clothing drive and I brought up donating the clothes to the Bluefield Union Mission,” she said. The Bluefield Union Mission operates every day, including holidays, and “is available to meet the social, physical, and spiritual needs for people in need 24 hours a day,” according to the organization’s homepage. The organization started in 1931 as a means of helping those af-
fected by the Great Depression. It originally comprised of ten churches, but now 106 religious groups make up the Bluefield Union Mission. In 2002, the privately-operated organization was named the “Busiest Little Mission in America,” according to Bluefield Union Mission director Craig Hammond. They are proud to service the people of Bluefield and beyond every day as is evident by their tagline, “Helping all the time.” The sisters of Alpha Sigma Tau ran the clothing drive from March 29 to April 8, and invited anyone to donate new or gently used clothing items to
SHH...IT’S A SECRET Tsivia Chonoles
A&E/Student Life Editor How many of us have secrets that we never speak out loud? Secrets that sit on our shoulders like the weight of the world itself is ours to bear? And although we may know that sharing that secret and speaking it out loud would help lift that weight, we can’t force ourselves to do so. Maybe because we don’t know who we can trust with our deepest secrets or because saying it out loud makes it really true. So what can we do? How can relieve ourselves of some of that weight? Concord University’s Bonner Program has the answer. For the third year running the Bonner Program has organized a PostSecret campaign here on Concord’s main campus. Many of you may be asking what, exactly, is PostSecret? According to the campaign’s website, PostSecret is “an ongoing community art project where
PostSecret is an outlet for people to admit things they may be scared to say out loud. Photo Courtesy of PostSecret.com
the cause. The ladies then took the donations to the Bluefield Union Mission. “There they will be rewashed and set out for people in need to choose from for free,” Sutton explained. This is where the AST clothing drive differs from simply dropping off donations at a second-hand store. Places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army resell the clothes at a cheaper price. The Bluefield Union Mission will be offering the clothing items for free to anyone who needs them, which could be a blessing for those who wouldn’t normally have the means to purchase clothing
for themselves or their families. The ladies of Alpha Sigma Tau have held similar clothing drives in the past and enjoyed quite a bit of success. As a result, they plan to continue this event every spring for the foreseeable future. For anyone that missed the AST clothing drive but has clothing or other useful items in good condition to donate, the Bluefield Union Mission happily accepts donations every day of the year. The Mission is located at 2203 Bluefield Avenue in Bluefield and can be reached by phone at (304)-327-8167.
people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard”. Created in 2005 by Frank Warren, the project is meant to empower, inspire, and help heal both those who share their secrets and those who read them. This year, the Bonner Program’s PostSecret campaign was organized by Concord student Chris Meadows. According to Meadows, Bonner tries to find different programs that happen at other colleges around the country that would also fit well here at Concord, and PostSecret was one of those programs; it gives people who may not fit the norms in the area a chance to share. “I read all of the postcards as they came in and a lot of them would break your heart,” Meadows said, “I think that’s the hardest part, is not knowing who they belong to and if they’re going to be okay.” Meadows said that he wishes that there were a way to set up a safe space here
at Concord for these people to share their secrets and know that they are not alone. For the week of April 4 through April 8, there were postcards and drop boxes set up around the Concord University main campus where students could anonymously submit their own secrets, and a total of 40 postcards were submitted, all of which have been on display since April 11 in front of the International Student’s Office.
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Voting is the foundation upon which this republic has been formed. Men and women of all shapes and sizes have bled and died to give us the right to vote. With the 2016 presidential election looming ever closer like an oncoming train, and with the specter of local elections hanging over the state population like the ghost of Jacob Marley, it is imperative in the eyes of many to spread awareness of voting and its importance out there for everyone. To that end, Concord University hosted a booth where everyone could come and register to vote if they had not done so yet. The booth was open from Monday, March 28, to Friday, April 1. It was sponsored by the Mercer County Progressive Alliance and, according to Kevin Smith, one of the people helping people register, the panel was nonpartisan. “It’s very important [for people to go out and vote], it’s the primary way that you can voice your opinion as a citizen, and have that power as a citizen, so it’s crucial to vote.” Smith explained that throughout the
online. A citizen can register to vote at any time during the year. However, the deadline to register to vote during an election year is the 21st calendar day before that specific election. In order to register, a resident must have a valid West Virginia Driver’s License or ID Card, the name that appears on that Driver’s License or ID Card, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. If a citizen cannot provide that information, then the process cannot be done online, and the County Clerk must be visited or communicated to through mail at the county courthouse. Alternatively, one can also register to vote through their local department of motor vehicles. After filling out the paperwork, a person will be sent a voter card in the mail that shows them where their polling station is. This polling station is based on home address, and someone can vote only at this location unless an absentee ballot is filled out. For those looking for the registration form for voting online, it can be reached at www.sos. wv.gov.
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Staff Writer
AST HOSTS CLOTHING DRIVE