THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Tuesday August 30, 2011
Officials, bikers meet to change parking policy by mackenzie mays city editor
Officials from the West Virginia University Department of Transportation and Parking met with student motorcyclists Monday to discuss the recently introduced parking fees. Until this year, student bikers were allowed free oncampus parking. In August, the University introduced a $162 motorcycle parking fee, which allowed bikers to park on either the downtown or Evansdale campuses, but not both. Following student protests in the Mountainlair parking garage last week, the University has decreased the price to a flat-rate fee of $100, which will allow bikers access to both campuses with the same pass. John Dorsey, a sophomore political science major, in addition to five fellow members of the Morgantown Motorcycles group, met with parking officials Monday afternoon to reach a compromise. “This is a lot better and a step in the right direction,” Dorsey said. “We’re happy that they listened to us and are making changes to benefit the group, but we hope to knock the price down
further.” The Morgantown Motorcycles group protested in the Mountainlair parking garage by occupying about 15 spaces and holding signs that read “Are we parking in your would-be spot? We’ll be here until parking is free again.” More than 400 students signed a petition in favor of changing the policy following the protests. Since a motorcycle only occupies about 1/6th of a parking space and bikers can’t ride year-round, the group is pushing for a yearly fee of $55, Dorsey said. “It makes sense that we should pay for parking, and $100 isn’t that bad of a figure. What happened was a compromise,” Dorsey said. “We’re marginally happy with it, but we could still use some improvements.” Hugh Kierig, director of transportation and parking, said the new policy will benefit parking-pass holders across the board. “I was very happy to meet with the students and hear their concerns,” Kierig said. “They went through great lengths last week, and I think we came up with a
VOLUME 125, ISSUE 8
www.THEDAONLINE.com
LOCALjobs for LOCALworkers? Construction of Beech View Place leads to protest by union workers
see parking on PAGE 3
SGA 2011
COVERAGE
By Charles young Associate City Editor
SGA seeks candidates to fill executive officer positions by Charles Young Associate City Editor
Remaining positions:
West Virginia University’s Student Government Association will accept applications for executive officer positions until Friday. Executives serve as advisors and directors for specific areas of student government. Executive officer appointments are approved by a vote of members of SGA’s Board of Governors. Any student, regardless of age or year, can apply for a position, said Jason Bailey, SGA president. “We look for candidates who are passionate about making a change on campus and who are extremely excited about getting involved in SGA,” Bailey said. When selecting candidates, Bailey and Vice President Megan Callaghan said they look for two qualities above all others: knowledge and experience. “We want students who are motivated to work hard and work with everyone in SGA,” Bailey said. Callaghan said it was important to become involved with SGA because it is a student-run organization that aims to better the general college experience for all students. “The more students that are involved, the more ideas we will have for more solutions,” she said. Jason Junkin and Garrett
zz Executive Secretary zz Communications Director zz Off-Campus Housing Director zz Elections Chair zz Outreach Director zz Webmaster zz Director of Transportation zz Director of the Arts zz Directors of Legislative Affairs zz Director of Student Connections zz Director of Student Organizations zz RHA and RAC Liaison zz Director of Neighborhood Associations zz Director of Diversity zz City Council Liaison zz Greek Liaison zz International Student Liaison zz Director of Student Health zz Director of Safety
INSIDE
Tyler, The Creator, took Sunday’s VMA’s by storm winning Best New Artist. A&E PAGE 6
News: 1, 2, 3 Opinion: 5 A&E: 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 4 Puzzles: 4 Classifieds: 9
Should construction in Morgantown be promised to local workers, or should the market decide on who should be employed to build? Flip to PAGE 5 to check out what Opinion Editor Jeremiah Yates and then tweet @dailyathenaeum what you think.
charles.young@mail.wvu.edu
TYLER, THE CREATOR
see local on PAGE 3
SEE TODAY’S EDITORIAL ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION PROTEST
Robinson were appointed to the positions of Attorney General and Treasurer, respectively, during last Wednesday’s meeting. Voting on the appointment of Chief of Staff was tabled during the last meeting due to the candidate’s absence. Applications for executive officer positions can be picked up and dropped off at the SGA offices, located in the Student Organizations wing of the Mountainlair, until 5 p.m. Friday.
81° / 62°
SUNNY
Brooke Cassidy/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
TOP: A group of local contractors stand on Beechurst Ave. on Monday morning holding signs encouraging giving local jobs to local workers such as themselves. The men stand on the corner of where a new apartment complex is currently being built by a company not locally based. ABOVE: Protestors stand on a corner outside new construction that is being built.
Members of the West Virginia District of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters protested the employment of out of state workers by MEDCO, the construction company building the Beech View Place apartments on Beechurst Ave., Monday by holding signs and waving at passing traffic. Joe Murphy, a representative for the group, said the protest was meant to grab public attention and raise awareness about the plight of local workers. “This is more or less a free speech thing to let people know we’d like to have local carpenters to build this building here in Morgantown,” Murphy said. According to Murphy, MEDCO overlooked the resource of local, unionized workers and chose instead to hire workers from Pennsylvania and Georgia. “We need local workers to be on a project this big,” said Paul Castner, a member of the group. “There’s a lot of money that local people aren’t getting a piece of.” A representative for MEDCO declined to comment. Murphy said the protests were planned to coincide with Labor Day, the national holiday celebrating the efforts of workers. The protests, which began last week, are planned to continue until next weekend. Murphy said no further actions are planned by the group. The Beech View Place apartments, scheduled for
Programs aims to teach students to be healthier by Jessica Lear Staff Writer
A monthly educational program sponsored by West Virginia University promotes healthy lifestyle choices for students. LiveWELL aims to teach students how to handle college pressures and succeed academically while staying healthy. “LiveWELL is a lifestyle education program that encourages students to embrace
healthy lifestyles,” said Colleen Harshbarger, Director of the WELLWVU Wellness and Health Promotion. The program, run by the WELLWVU Wellness and Health Promotion, aims to make students healthier so they can do better in school while learning lifelong health habits. “If students can learn to take care of themselves with positive lifestyle habits when they’re young, they’ll have the skills to continue those behav-
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ON THE INSIDE WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen talked about his team’s preparation for its game against Marshall. ON PAGE 7
iors as they get older,” Harshbarger said. LiveWELL was started largely in part because of West Virginia’s status as one of the unhealthiest states in America, coupled with WVU’s reputation as one of the top party schools. “We know that West Virginia leads the nation in lifestyle related diseases and believe that education and prevention targeted towards the young adults at WVU can help to turn that around,” Harshbarger said.
LiveWELL will focus on a new theme every month based on data collected from the National Collegiate Health Assessment. “For liveWELL we have a different theme each month. For August and September it’s drinkWell,” said Kati Seelbach, a senior multidisciplinary studies major and representative for WELLWVU. In October, students can
see livewell on PAGE 2
WVU FALLS AT MARYLAND The No. 17 West Virginia men’s soccer team lost 3-1 to No. 4 Maryland Monday night in College Park, Md. SPORTS PAGE 8