THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Monday September 24, 2012
Volume 126, Issue 26
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Telescope fights for funding
No. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 31 | MARYLAND 21
TAV-OWNED “This was Tavon’s best game. He played fast. His energy on the sidelines was tremendous, and he was the one guy we had offensively who played his best game.” — West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen
by bryan bumgardner associate city editor
A state-of-the-art radio telescope in southern West Virginia may lose funding, according to a report issued by the National Science Foundation. The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope or “GBT,” located in Pocahontas county, is the largest steerable, single-dish radio telescope in the world, and it is a highly demanded research tool for astronomers, physicists and students. At a construction cost of $95 million in 2000, the radio dish is larger than two football fields, weighs 16 million pounds and costs roughly $10 million per year to operate. The GBT also provides astronomers with 6,600 hours of “open-sky” observation time per year – meaning any individual with a compelling reason to use the telescope may do so. On August 14, a committee from the National Science Foundation, the GBT’s primary financial supporter, issued a report recommending the GBT be “fully divested” from the NSF’s funding portfolio within five years. The committee found the GBT to be “less cost effective” than other sites, and other similar facilities could “mitigate losses” to scientific research if the GBT was shut down. Alarmed by the recommendation, individuals, politicians and organizations across the state are lobbying in support of the GBT. West Virginia University associate physics professor and astronomer Maura McLaughlin said she came to WVU because of the GBT, and she has been growing the astronomy program around research done
see telescope on PAGE 2
matt sunday/the daily athenaeum
Senior inside receiver Tavon Austin celebrates one of the three touchdowns he scored in Saturday’s win against Maryland.
City, University initiative set to prevent DUIs By Ashley Tennant
Senior inside receiver Tavon Austin leads No. 7 WVU to win
Correspondent
PATRICK GORRELL/da patrick gorrell/da
Senior quarterback Geno Smith passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns - all to Austin - to dismiss the Terrapins’ upset bid and push the Mountaineers to 3-0 for the season. Read more from Saturday’s game against Maryland in Sports.
patrick gorrell/da
matt sunday/the daily athenaeum
West Virginia University’s School of Public Health and the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department recently teamed up to enforce the Zero Tolerance Driving Initiative in an attempt to stop underage drinking as well as drinking and driving. Law enforcement across the country have already begun taking steps toward eliminating underage drinking by enforcing the Zero Tolerance Law. The initiative adds a new degree of enforcement to West Virginia that has already begun in many states across the nation. “We’re working with WVU to provide more enforcement on underage consumption of alcohol – folks that are under the age of 21 who decide to drink and drive,” said Monongalia County Sheriff Kenneth Kisner. “We have zero tolerance for that, so we’re working with WVU and with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to initiate this as a pilot project and see how well it’s received.” Kisner said one of the efforts of the initiative is the new enforcement tool: passive alcohol sensor technology. “The sensors are actually built inside a flashlight called the Buzzkill Flashlight. Basically, they measure any amount of alcohol that someone may have on their breath, and that’s how it’s detected in the flashlight,” Kisner said. Kisner said the flashlight will introduce
see safety on PAGE 2
International parking event brings urban green space downtown by lydia nuzum editor-in-chief
With enough care and nurturing, anything can grow – even on cold concrete. Students in the West Virginia University Landscape Architecture & Environmental Design program coordinated the first Park(ing) Day event in Morgantown Friday. The international movement, which began in San Francisco in 2005, is an
annual open-source event in which participants create a temporary public green space in a metered parking spot. Park(ing) Day has expanded to six continents, and 162 cities in 35 countries took part in the event in 2011. Morgantown’s theme, “Park(u)py,” was designed as a demonstration of sustainable green infrastructure to encourage more urban green space, according to Angela Campbell, assistant professor of landscape
64° / 44°
MUSIC FOR GOOD
INSIDE
Farm Aid brought some of music’s biggest stars together for a common goal. A&E PAGE 6
SUNNY
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9
architecture at WVU. “We wanted to show the importance of having public, healthy, green spaces downtown and how it can actually bring more people to one space than just a single car,” Campbell said. “It keeps people downtown longer and is great for business, and we just wanted to promote our profession and what we can do for design by bringing ecological, sensitive spaces to the downtown area.” Campbell, a Michigan
native, has previously participated in Park(ing) Day in Detroit and said she hopes the Morgantown movement can grow into a large annual event. “We’re hoping this can be a big movement,” Campbell said. “In the past, it’s been a multi-block, multipark event.” Jenny Selin, WVU Community Design Team Coordinator and fourth ward city councilor, said she helped
see parking on PAGE 2
A sign promoting Park(ing) Day.
GAMEDAY GALLERY
Check out additional photos from WVU’s win against Maryland on The Daily Athenaeum’s Facebook page.
CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857
ON THE INSIDE The WVU men’s soccer team captured its first win as a member of the MAC with a 4-0 victory against visiting Florida Atlantic Sunday. SPORTS PAGE 8
Katie Flowers/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
WINNING WEEKEND The WVU women’s soccer team used strong offensive showings to net a pair of Big 12 Conference wins this weekend. SPORTS PAGE 10