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The Daily Athenaeum
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WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper
Doomes could be missing piece for Mountaineers p. 8 danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
www.thedaonline.com
MONDAY JANUARY 14, 2019
The case for allowing vaping on campus BY RACHEL JOHNSON ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR You have probably seen someone vaping on campus before or maybe even done it yourself, but sometime in the near future that could all change. The Tobacco Free Task Force at West Virginia University recommended steps to expand WVU’s tobacco ban to include banning vapes and electronic cigarettes on WVU’s campus. Both vapes and e-cigs are already banned in WVU residence halls under the community standards of conduct. The chairman of the task force, Rocco Fucillo, admitted that no one has ever been cited for violating the current policy because, as of now, no one is responsible for enforcing the policy. While almost everyone might agree that traditional tobacco products like cigarettes and chewing tobacco are a detriment to the individual using them and the public around them, banning milder nicotine products like vapes and e-cigarettes might not be as black and white an issue. The Vapor Hut, which sells products such as e-cigs, has been in Morgantown for seven years with two locations, one at 111 Walnut St. near the University and the other at 250 Retail Circle. Employee Chris Morgan said he has been vaping for six years and thinks that there are some benefits to vaping. “Vaping leads to a decrease in [cigarette] smoking,” Morgan explained. “Most of the customers who come into the store are looking to replace their cigarettes. Most people vape to try to get away from cigarettes, it’s never the other way
PHOTO VIA TEMITAYO ADESOKAN
Guard Katrina Pardee goes up for a mid-field shot.
Pardee to miss 3-6 weeks with ankle injury BY QUINN BURKITT SPORTS WRITER
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PHOTO BY COLIN TRACY
The Drop by Suorin is a popular vaporizer which is refillable with nicotine vape juice of your choosing. around.” Morgan himself said he started vaping as a way to curb his use of chewing tobacco. Morgan acknowledged that vapes have their own health concerns, but insisted that people should only start vaping as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. “Anything that goes in the body that’s not supposed to be is going to do harm,” Morgan said. “So you should just use vaping as a way to get away from cigarettes. You should never start as a fad, just to show off or do tricks.” In respect to being a public disturbance, Morgan said it is up to the
individual to be responsible. “I could see where people could get irritated [with vaping in public], but it’s not as disrespectful as smoking and there’s no second-hand smoke or bad smell,” Morgan said. “It’s on the user to be mature enough to realize they are being disruptive.” It is likely that the ban on vapes and e-cigs will go through. However, as the task force moves forward with their new enforcement plans, perhaps they should consider lessening the punishments of expulsion for students and termination for employees laid out in Policy 57.
Mountaineer senior shooting guard and team leader Katrina Pardee is expected to miss three to six weeks after an ankle injury forced her out of Wednesday night’s victory over Oklahoma State, according to a University press release. Pardee has been one of the Mountaineers’ top three-point shooting threats on the West Virginia squad since her freshman year. On Dec. 29, the Texas-native registered a career-high 28 points against Niagara in an 84-32 whopping victory. Pardee has averaged a career-high 13 points per game as well as 4.9 rebounds this season and has been a large part of a strong 11-4 Mountaineer team. Before exiting Wednesday night’s game, she held 14 points on the night, one of the key pieces in a West Virginia 67-58 victory. A strong three-point shooter, Pardee tied for second on the team in three-point shooting her freshman year with 39 made three-point-
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ers as well as recording double figure points in eight games while leading West Virginia in scoring three times. Pardee’s increased production from beyond the three-point arc only continued into her sophomore campaign, ranking sixth in the Big 12 with a 39.4 three-point percentage while also netting 54 three-pointers, seventh all time in Mountaineer history. Last season, Pardee climbed even higher in the ranks and checked in at fourth in the Big 12 with 82 threepoint field goals, as well as starting in all 37 WVU games. Pardee’s absence creates an interesting case for West Virginia head coach Mike Carey, who will have to work with eight players now that Pardee is unavailable for the majority of conference action remaining. “If it’s even a high ankle sprain, it’s not good,” Carey said. “We’ll be down to eight players for a while.” The Mountaineers will have some big tests in the coming weeks, hosting 20th-ranked Iowa State on Wednesday and road trips to fourthranked Baylor and 11th-ranked Texas to close out the month.
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