THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2010
VOLUME 124, ISSUE 3
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FallFest was ‘Ludacris’
Ken Hechler, US Senate candidate, to speak at WVU BY TRAVIS CRUM CITY EDITOR
MATT SUNDAY/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Fans cheer on Ludacris when he asks where the ‘Independent Women’ are in the crowd at West Virginia University sponsored FallFest Monday evening.
Despite showers, FallFest brings an intense, energy-packed crowd BY MACKENZIE MAYS ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR
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To see more coverage on FallFest, 123 Pleasant Street’s alternative FallFest and Chants of “Luda” were more of the interview with Kris Allen, heard throughout the densely read page10. packed Mountainlair Green Monday night, as rapper Ludacris attracted one of the larg- music,” Carver said. “He had est and most intense FallFest a lot to live up to tonight, and crowds in recent years. he definitely didn’t disappoint Ludacris gave a high-energy anyone here. He did an amazshow, performing old favor- ing job and kept the crowd goites like “Act A Fool” and new ing from start to finish.” hits like “My Chick Bad,” past Despite the intermittent midnight, making the crowd rain, fellow headliner Maroon quick to forget the delay be- 5 promised a good time. tween sets. “I love the rain; it don’t matErin Carver, a senior psy- ter. I say bring that s--t on,” chology and child develop- said lead singer Adam Levine ment major at West Virginia to pump up the crowd, openUniversity, said Ludacris’ ing with current hit single performance exceeded her “Misery.” expectations. The band gave energy“I’m a huge fan of Ludac- packed performances with ris, mainly because he’s been hits like “Harder To Breathe” on the rap scene forever, and I’ve grown up listening to his see FALLFEST on PAGE 3
STAFF WRITER
Two new student organizations have started to serve African-American students at West Virginia University. The WVU student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists began in the spring semester and in June was officially accepted by NABJ. WVU NABJ is committed to diversity and providing opportunities for black students, said Morgan Young, NABJ president and senior print journalism major. “It allows you to meet many great people,” Young said. “I received an internship through NABJ. It was a great experience.” Bringing diversity to campus and opening up opportunities are some of the benefits of NABJ, Young said. Two members, Chelsea
Fuller, NABJ vice president, and Brandon Radcliffe, NABJ member, attended the 2010 NABJ Annual Convention and Career Fair in San Diego this past summer. “This group can offer a direct chance to network with professional people,” Radcliffe said. “The people in this group truly care about students and want to see them successful in the future.” The group has various plans for its first year as a recognized WVU student organization. “Right now, we are trying to plan a mentoring program through the Journalism school,” Young said. They are also working on putting together a basketball tournament, chili cook-off and community service projects through organizations such as the Red Cross and the Bartlett House, Young said. NABJ is also looking at or-
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Faculty Senate discusses new policy for graduate students’ ‘incompletes’ BY JESSICA LEPPAR CORRESPONDENT
MATT SUNDAY/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Kris Allen plays on stage in front of the early FallFest crowd.
New student groups created to focus on diversity BY NICK ASHLEY
West Virginia University will play host to a campaign speech by one of the 15 candidates for the U.S. Senate. Ken Hechler, a 95-year-old former West Virginia Secretary of State and U.S. Congressman and democrat from Huntington, will be speaking in the Mountainlair at 7 p.m. today to raise support for his campaign. He plans to tell students and Morgantown residents about an issue that is ruining the state, he said. “Mountaintop removal is my number one issue, and it will be the first bill I will introduce into the Senate,” he said. “This is the most devastating form of mining, when the coal industry blasts off the tops of mountains and dumps the trees, rocks and soil down into people’s yards in the valleys.” Mountaintop removal mining is a process of extracting coal from a mountain’s coal seam by removing the layer above it. Hechler said this process pollutes air, water and soil and could lead to health problems for West Virginians. Recently, Hechler received an endorsement by key environmental movement groups such as Sierra Club West Virginia. Jim Kotcom, Sierra Club West Virginia Political Com-
mittee chair, said his group was excited about the work Hechler is planning. Kotcom said WVU students should get more involved in environmental issues within the state. “It’s the Mountain State, why wouldn’t we care about mountains?” Kotcom said. “How can we have Mountaineers if there are no mountains?” Hechler would like to meet with members of WVU’s Sierra Club Coalition to listen to their concerns about the issue. Members of the club are also looking forward to meeting with him. “I’m excited to see him speak, because he is a good candidate for West Virginia,” said Meredith Brown, organizer for the Sierra Club Coalition. “I look forward to hearing what he has to say about state policies.” Brown said she hopes students in attendance will learn more about the issue, even those from out of state. “I would like people to understand how this mining process does relate to them,” she said. “(Many states) are using coal from mountaintop mining sites that are responsible for destroying mountains across the state.” Hechler said he decided to enter the Senate race because he was not satisfied with Gov. Joe Manchin “electing himself,” he said.
ganizing a flag football game, bake sales on campus and pizza parties, Radcliffe said. Another black student organization starting this year is the Black Graduate Association. Members of the organization began doing research this summer, networked with students at other universities and received support from the National Black Graduate Student Association, said Robert Wells, president of BGA, in an e-mail. “We were inspired by President Clements’ desire to increase the diversity of WVU’s learning community,” Wells said. “There was a shared interest amongst graduate students to start up BGA for the purpose of networking and fellowship.” BGA plans on being active this year with community service projects, roundtable dis-
cussions, networking and social events as well as an end of year banquet, Wells said. Their first event is a mixer on Sept. 3. Wells hopes these events will help students academically as well as provide a positive environment for them. “In these social settings, we are able to talk about the challenges of academia, gain new perspectives and improve our community,” Wells said. The group has several goals, which include serving graduate students at WVU and becoming an affiliate member of NBGSA. “I want BGA to further prove that WVU is a preeminent institution where people from all backgrounds and walks of life learn from one another as we engage in innovative research,” Wells said. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
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INSIDE THIS EDITION The success of the West Virginia cross country will heavily depend on senior Kaylyn Christopher. See page 7.
Faculty Senate members discussed a change to the grading policy for graduate students at Monday’s Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting. The change would affect graduate students conducting research in an attempt to limit the use of “I” (incomplete) grades. “The grade of ‘I’ should not be used as a routine placeholder for grades for the graduate courses,” said Jonathan Cumming, associate provost for Graduate Academic Affairs. Cumming proposed that faculty members use the grades “S” (satisfactory) and “U” (unsatisfactory) in place of incomplete grades. “S” and “U” grades would not be used in the calculation of GPA. This allows graduate students to maintain their average GPA without overly inflating or deflating the student’s overall GPA, Cumming said. Beginning this semester, all “I” grades that have been on a transcript for longer than three years would be converted to “INC” (permanent incomplete) grades by course instructors, Cumming said. If the course instructor is no longer at the institution, chairs or deans would then convert the students’ grades. If students are currently conducting research in their program with “I’s” on their transcripts, the “I” grades would be changed to high-
light the work done during the semester it was issued as long as it was before Aug. 15, Cumming said. Starting in the fall 2010 semester, “I” grades would no longer be issued unless the coursework is unavoidably incomplete. The “S” and “U” grades for these courses should be applied for the same semester in which the student has registered for the course, Cumming said. This allows students to know the satisfaction level of their work for successful graduate study, he said. One subsequent “U” grade in research for master’s students or two subsequent “U” grades for doctoral students may lead to suspension or dismissal, Cumming said. Incomplete grades will no longer stay on transcripts while they wait for students to defend their theses or dissertation, Cumming said. Faculty members discussed developing a rubric, which would assist students in determining whether their research studies were considered satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The proposition for the new grading system will go to the graduate council for further review before being discussed further in the Senate. In other news, faculty members discussed possibly changing the hours required to obtain a bachelors degree from 128 to 120 hours in the future. The issue was brought up
see GRADES on PAGE 3
GALLOWAY’S GROUP The West Virginia football team and assistant coach Lonnie Galloway has its go-to receivers, but it is looking to fill one more position. SPORTS PAGE 5