The DA 10-11-2012

Page 1

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”

da

Thursday October 11, 2012

Volume 126, Issue 39

www.THEDAONLINE.com

Organ donor gives gift of a lifetime By Carlee Lammers City Editor

For Nefeterius McPherson, Saturday’s West Virginia vs. Texas game was more than a record-breaking crowd at Darrell K. Royal- Texas Memorial Stadium or a history-making Mountaineer victory. It was a connection to the young girl who gave her the gift of life. In 2005, during her first

year as a law student at Southern Methodist University, McPherson was diagnosed with (the rare bile duct liver disease) (secondary sclerosing cholangitis.) “I was told that I may, one day, need a liver transplant,” she said. “Either one of those situations alone is stressful, but it was almost like my two worlds collided. You have this medical condition, and then you have law school. It’s just

by the grace of God that I stayed sane.” In 2009, McPherson – relatively healthy at the time – moved to Washington D.C. to serve under the Obama administration as the as the press secretary for United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk. McPherson said she knew Washington was where she belonged all along. “I had always lived in

Texas. I just knew I needed to move to D.C. I just knew that’s where I was supposed to be,” she said. By last May, McPherson’s condition worsened, and she was placed on a national liver transplant list. Nov. 6, just 172 days after she was placed on the list, McPherson received a call from Georgetown University Hospital saying a match had been found.

McPherson’s donor was 12-year-old Taitlyn Hughes of Martinsburg, who died of a brain hemorrhage caused by an AVM rupture. “It is amazing to me now when I look back on everything. See, I thought I was supposed to move to D.C. just to be a political appointee for the Obama administration. I now realize it was destined for me to move to D.C., because that’s where I was going to

By Jacob Bojesson Correspondent

By Evelyn Merithew Staff writer

West Virginia University’s ultimate green challenge is underway. Ecolympics is an annual, month-long challenge for WVU students, staff and faculty to win prizes and make a difference. “This challenge encourages different campus buildings to see who can recycle the most,” said Stephanie Toothman, operations coordinator for Facilities Management Recycling Services. The challenge hosts a variety of recycling and conservation events for the WVU community, including an environmental research seminar or simply visiting the Morgantown Farmers’ Market. The residence hall with the most student participation at the end of the month will win entertainment equipment worth $3,000, and the campus building with the most participation will award its employees with a two-hour work release luncheon. New to Ecolympics this year is the potential to win the challenge on an individual level.

by madison fleck correspondent

Patrick Gorrell/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

PC Renewal teams up with WVU WECAN to recycle old computer parts

SGA addresses last week’s postgame chaos staff writer

West Virginia University’s campus is aflame with discussion about last Saturday’s chaotic post-game celebrations, and WVU’s Student Government joined in the discussion Wednesday night during its meeting. Student Body President Zach Redding said he was happy to hear fans were excited about the win against Texas, but he was disappointed with the actions of students. “Having won a BCS (bowl game) in three out of the last seven years, our fans should know how to act after a big win,” Redding said. “With

that said, I’m incredibly disappointed with the behavior of some individuals in showing no class, sportsmanship or respect for authority.” Redding said he believes a minority of students can be blamed for the entire student body’s problem. “I’ll take all the feedback you’ll give me,” Redding said. “Basically, all I can emphasize to our administrators, city council, mayor and everyone in the town is that we, as students, need to find a solution.” He believes students can be the source of the solution. “We are the ones who know the people out there getting maced or burning couches or causing riots, so

we should be the ones who can voice our opinions and come up with a solution,” Redding said. SGA Governor Ryan Campione said one thing that struck him are the reactions to the incidents on Grant Street. According to Campione, fellow students have said things such as “Did you see Grant Street? I really wanted to be there!” or “I walked out of my house when I saw everything on Twitter, because I wanted to see the action.” “I keep hearing it time and time again, and I don’t think people are realizing it,” Campione said. “We’ve demonized the situation and put so much negativity on

it to a point where it’s almost become a circus that is drawing people to the attention.” Campione said he believes the University and the student body needs to look at the issue from a cultural aspect, similar to the way in which Fallfest was started on WVU’s campus. According to Campione, these patterns of excessive partying and couch fires date back to the ‘80s. The behavior got so out of control in the ‘90s that President Hardesty created FallFest for students who wanted to party without participating in criminal

see sga on PAGE 2

59° / 43°

A NEW STRATEGY

THE DA IS HIRING WRITERS

INSIDE

Are emails a sufficient strategy to curb student misbehavior? OPINION PAGE 4

Inquire about paid positions at The Daily Athenaeum at DA-editor@mail.wvu.edu or pick up an application at our office at 284 Prospect St.

SUNNY

News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9

Before presenting at the Festival of Ideas lecture in the Erickson Alumni Center Wednesday, one of the world’s leading oncologists and bestselling author Dr. David Agus sat down to talk about his new book and how he believes human health can be improved. Agus released his New York Times no. 1 bestselling book “The End of Illness” in January. “Two or three times a week, I see people dying,” Agus said. “I don’t want to do that anymore, so I wrote the book because I want to prevent disease.” The book offers several simple solutions on how one can prevent diseases. “‘The End of Illness’ is a way of looking at the body as a whole system to prevent disease into our ninth and 10th decade,” Agus said. “If everybody in the country over the age of 40 took a baby aspirin a day, we would save about $90 billion a year in health care costs.” According to Agus, citizens tend to think they lead healthier lives than they actually do. Agus said sitting down

most of the day can be more dangerous in terms of future diseases than being a smoker, even for those who go for a run every morning. Agus refused to call this statement controversial, backing it up with a study of 26,000 workers at the British transit authority in 1954. “Half were the bus drivers that sat 90 percent of the day, and half the ticket takers that walked around and took the tickets,” Agus said. “They weighed the same, ate the same, lived in the same neighborhoods. There was 70 percent less heart disease and about 40 percent less cancer in the ticket takers.” Agus said even though he is working in an office environment, he has found ways to stay active during the day. “I move a lot during the day,” Agus said. “I got one of those phones in my office where I look like an air traffic controller.” “The End of Illness” also covers a large debate on the effects of multivitamin supplements. Agus suggests multivitamins are not beneficial and

see ideas on PAGE 2

GOP Senate candidate visits campus

see ecolympics on PAGE 2

by lacey palmer

see transplant on PAGE 2

Speaker explores ‘End of Illness’

GO FOR THE GREEN

Ecolympics provides University community the ‘ultimate green challenge’

be transplanted,” she said. “You never really know what those plans are that God has for you. I look back on it now and think ‘wow.’ I thought I was going to D.C. for one reason, but I was clearly going for a couple of reasons.” Ever since her transplant, McPherson has made a commitment to carrying out Hughes’ story

CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Classifieds 304-293-4141 or DA-Classifieds@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857

Yesterday morning, John Raese, the West Virginia Republican candidate for the senate, met with students in front of the Mountainlair to express his views and to gain support. Although the West Virginia University alumnus has lost previous elections – most recently against Democratic Senator Joe Manchin – he has not lost hope. “I think I’m going to do very well against Joe Manchin. West Virginia is looking for a new kind of leadership, so I’m making myself available,” Raese said. One of the reasons Raese said he is confident is because he supports the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney. Although he does not completely agree with Romney’s policies, Raese is willing to compromise. “In politics, if you can agree with 80 percent of what somebody says, then

ON THE INSIDE After a loss to Oklahoma last week, Texas Tech is looking to bounce back with an impressive performance at home against West Virginia this weekend. SPORTS PAGE 7

I think that’s somebody you can live with,” he said. On the other hand, he disagrees with most of Barack Obama’s campaign platform. “We’re talking about a guy who is a neighborhood organizer, and he’s trying to lead the largest free-enterprise system in the world,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.” Raese believes President Obama isn’t supporting job growth in West Virginia – another reason Raese feels confident about his prospects of victory. “Obama has a vicious campaign aimed at West Virginia,” Raese said. “He wants to replace sulfur fuels. How can Manchin play for that team? It doesn’t have the best interests of West Virginia at heart.” John Raese has a strong campaign in favor of many of Romney’s policies, and recent polls suggest Romney will more than likely have West Virginia’s vote. Raese is in support of lowering taxes and

see raese on PAGE 2

DEFENSE IN WEST TEXAS West Virginia senior quarterback Geno Smith and the rest of the offense are not overlooking Texas Tech’s defense. SPORTS PAGE 7


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The DA 10-11-2012 by The Daily Athenaeum - Issuu