McConnell highlights research, academic programs during time at WVU
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MONDAY MARCH 25, 2019
President Gee speaks on tuition, campus carry, Greek life BY JOE SEVERINO
New Appalachian Studies minor offers students opportunities to understand and appreciate Appalachian culture
NEWS EDITOR
BY RACHEL JOHNSON
WVU President E. Gordon Gee discussed next year’s tuition, campus carry and the Spruce Street snow day riot among other issues in an interview with the DA staff on Thursday. Tuition Gee said because the legislature did not make cuts to higher education funding, he thinks if there are any tuition hikes at all, he expects the increases to be “very moderate” ones. “I think with the stability of our budget, I think the expectation would be that if there is any, it will be very, very modest,” Gee said. Last year, WVU upped tuition 5.7 percent after cuts were made to the state’s total higher education funding. Average tuition for West Virginia residents this year was $4,428 per semester and $12,480 per semester for out-of-state students. Campus Carry WVU spent a good chunk of January and February preparing for the increasing probability of campus carry being passed into law, allowing any person with a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon on campus. The University and Gee have long been opposed to campus carry being enacted at the state level, asking that WVU have “local control” on the issue. Ultimately, the bill never made it to the governor’s desk. It passed the House of Delegates, but was eventually struck down in the Senate Judiciary Committee just a few days before the 60-day session ended.
ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR
PHOTO BY TEMITAYO ADESOKAN
President Gee lounges at the DA. Gee said for him, this legislative session in particular was one of the most difficult to navigate due to this bill, along with funding and the organization of higher education. “I think in many ways it was the most challenging that I’ve been through in a long time,” he said. “We did very well; it’s just that there were a lot of moving parts.” As for next year, Gee said he sees one of two things happening with campus carry: either the supporters of the bill run it again without negotiating exemptions with WVU, or they’ll just wait until the 2020 session again in hopes to put Republican legislators on the record about it during an election year. “Now, there’s a theory that it may not come back next year because it’s a non-election year, and maybe those who want to have it passed will pass on having it come up because they want to punish who vote against it this year, then they can go after them in the following year,”
he said. “So, I hope that that’s not the case. “People in political life are afraid of being labeled, or afraid of having someone run further to the right than them, and I think that’s probably where it is,” he added. He said WVU’s approach next year will be a little different than this year’s. “I think our strategy will be a pretty clever one,” Gee said. “We’ll just, between now and then – I’m going talk about it a lot, I’m going to get other people to talk about it a lot, rather than us being sort of quiet and hoping it won’t come up.” “I think we have to be prepared by very aggressively explaining why we don’t think it’s good because, as I say, I doubt if we’ll be able to negotiate exemptions next year,” he added. But he did say that WVU will work toward getting more exemptions in residence halls if the bill comes up again.
WVU students will now have the opportunity to focus their studies on the rich culture of the Appalachian region through the new Appalachian Studies minor set for the Fall 2019 semester. Any undergraduate student on the Morgantown campus is eligible to enroll. Travis Stimeling, an associate professor of musicology at WVU, is spearheading the minor. “An Appalachian studies minor, especially the way we’ve designed it, is intended to help students have a deeper appreciation and understanding of the ways that people in Appalachia live, work, think and address problems,” Stimeling said. According to Stimeling, WVU had previously offered a major in Appalachian Studies but it is no longer available. Currently, WVU offers classes focusing on Appalachia and a minor in Appalachian music. Stimeling said the minor “is about a connection to place”. “Our hope is that students will approach this minor from lots of different majors and take courses in Appalachian culture, Appalachian history, Appalachian sociology and social sciences, and Appalachian sciences as a way to connect their work to this place,” Stimeling said. A student can either decide they are pursuing the minor and then take the necessary courses, or can decide to declare the minor after taking a few courses within the minor. Stimeling said he has many goals in mind for the minor, one being that students can see there is a need for
The following courses will be offered as part of the Appalachian Studies minor: • BIOL 318: Writing Appalachian Ecology • BIOL 353: Flora of West Virginia • ENGL 252: Appalachian Fiction • ENGL 238: Literature of Place • ENGL 251: American Folklore and Culture • ENGL 329: Topics in English Literature • ENGL 351: Folk Literature • ENGL 352: Topics in Appalachian Studies • HIST 250: West Virginia • HIST 473: Appalachian Regional History • MUSC 118: Music in Appalachia • MUSC 363: Appalachian Music Ensemble • POLS 321: West Virginia Government • SOCA 323: Sociology of Rural Life • WGST 225: Women in Appalachia them in Appalachia. He also hopes to help students see how they connect their knowledge and expertise to problems and challenges that West Virginians currently face. “Twenty years from now we’ll look back, hopefully, and go, ‘Oh, that minor was really good in drawing people back into our state or keeping them committed and helping to improve a lot of things around here,’” Stimeling said. Stimeling also hopes more courses with a focus on Appalachia will be offered as the minor grows. “This minor will flourish when there’s a diversity of people involved in it.” Anyone interested in pursuing the minor should contact Stimeling at travis.stimeling@mail.wvu.edu.
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