THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Thursday April 11, 2013
Volume 125, Issue 131
www.THEDAONLINE.com
WVU students win nat’l scholarship by summer ratcliff staff writer
Two West Virginia University students were recently awarded the Critical Language Scholarship, a highly competitive award that will allow them to travel abroad this summer for an intensive language learning experience. The Critical Language Scholarship was started in 2006 as a program of the
United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program offers fully funded scholarships for students to travel abroad to study a critical language. The Critical Language Scholarship is a highly competitive one, with nearly 5,000 applicants from across the country. Only 600 students from 200 colleges and universities were selected as recip-
ients of the scholarship. Stephanie Khoo and Jared Leggett were both awarded scholarships, due in part to their experiences and education. Khoo, a first-year graduate student studying linguistics, was awarded a scholarship to study in Xiamen in southern China. Prior to studying linguistics, Khoo graduated with degrees from WVU in biology and Chinese studies in
2011. In the future, Khoo said she hopes to combine her love of Chinese with her background in science by becoming a biology and Chinese teacher. “I really love the Chinese language, but I don’t want to abandon science because I have spent so much time focusing on it, and I really love both,” she said. Khoo said the Critical Language Scholarship pro-
gram will allow her to completely focus on increasing her Chinese fluency. “I haven’t really had the opportunity to increase my Chinese abilities in the past,” Khoo said. “But with this program, you’re in class quite a bit, so there is a lot of intensive teaching and opportunity to come away fluent.” In addition to her focus on becoming more fluent in the Chinese language,
By Carlee Lammers City editor
Wythe Woods/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
WVU Hillel organizes 24-hour event to remember victims of the Holocaust By madison Fleck Staff Writer
Unto every person, there is a name. A group of West Virginia University students are honoring Yom Hashoah, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. During this day, people of all nationalities take a moment to reflect upon the lives lost in the tragedy. This year, West Virginia University’s Hillel is taking a full 24 hours to remember victims. WVU Hillel is a Jewish student organization that has been a part of WVU’s campus since 1928. The organization hosted its 17th annual “Unto Every Person There is a Name” memorial Wednesday, and it will continue through today at noon. During this 24-hour memorial, students will be reading as many names as possible of more than six million Ho-
Israel’s flag is draped over a table on display at the reading Wednesday. reading their names and hope that this tragedy will never happen again.” Events will occur throughout the world for Yom Hashoah to remember the devastation that occurred during World War II. This year, Israel dedi-
locaust victims. “It is important for us to never forget,” said Julie Winegard, president of WVU Hillel. “Eli Wiesel said ‘To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.’ We honor those innocent victims of the Holocaust by
Wythe Woods/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
cated its memorial to the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. At 10 a.m. a siren went off for two minutes to remember the victims. Nearby people paused – even drivers stopped on the
see reading on PAGE 2
Gary’s Comics and More a High St. specialty by alyssa pluchino staff writer
High Street serves as home to dozens of local businesses, including several unique restaurants, boutiques and specialty stores displayed alongside the sidewalks. Among the hidden treasures downtown is Gary’s Comics and More, located at 314 High Street. Owner Gary Loring opened the doors of his “smurf blue”
venue in November of 2003. “It’s my hometown. It’s been a great area for comics through the years,” Loring said. “The tradition must continue.” Although operating in Morgantown has been a challenge, Loring and his passionate staff still love their work, selling comics to others who share the same interest. “We make it interesting,” Loring said. “We’re a pretty friendly and ‘slightly
off ’crowd of people. We just aren’t interested in boring jobs here.” In a world that is constantly revolving around the latest technologies, comic books hearken to a different time. Loring remembers when he first became interested in comic books. “One day as a young child, I came down very sick. My mom wanted my brother to get me something to cheer me up as I lay
in bed,” he said. “He bought me some comics off a local rack. He then tried to beat me to death with an old issue of Conan. That’s what got me interested in comics – it was self-defense.” Loring’s personal favorite comic book series is “Iron Man,” but the comic store offers a wide variety of genres to suit numerous tastes. Currently, the most
see comics on PAGE 2
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INSIDE
High profile court cases must separate emotions from decision making. OPINION PAGE 4
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Mingo Co. shooting sparks gun debate
IN MEMORIAM
A student reads the names of victims of the Holocaust during the 24-hour event to remember those who passed away.
Khoo said she hopes to gain more cultural experience. “Being able to meet other people who love the Chinese language as much as I do and learning their stories, combined with the cultural experience, will be so valuable for my future,” Khoo said. While Khoo is hoping to teach Chinese in the future, she also has a
April 3 Mingo County, W .Va. , sheriff Eu gene Crum, was fatally wounded eating lunch in his car. Tennis Melvin Maynard, 37, allegedly pulled up next to Crum’s vehicle and shot him with a .40 caliber Glock handgun. According to reports from the Associated Press, Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney C. Michael Sparks said Maynard had been barred from purchasing a firearm. However, due to an error in the system, he was able to purchase the gun used to attack the officer from an arms dealer. “It appears the local dealer did what was legally required under the law,” Sparks said in the AP report. “The breakdown happened somewhere else. There was a delay in the reporting of the necessary information. Really, an inexcusable delay.” According to the report, Sparks would not elaborate why Maynard barred from possessing the firearm, but Maynard’s father said his son had a history of mental illness and had been previously institutionalized. In 1993, the Brady Bill required each state to share names of mentally ill individuals with the national background check system. Maynard allegedly made subsequent attempts to purchase guns; however, the system’s fluke was recovered and red-flagged Maynard in his later attempts. Due to a recent nationwide string of murders of public officials, including the incident in Mingo County, issues of gun control have become widely debated. And West Virginia University’s campus has been no exception. In a March 13 WVU Student Government Association meeting, former Board of Governors members Christian Guy and Joseph Reidy proposed a resolution concerning concealed carry on campus. The resolution, which ultimately passed, carried no legislative power, but rather expressed support of allowing students and
ON THE INSIDE The West Virginia football team continues to look for replacements at wide receiver – a position occupied by Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin last season. SPORTS PAGE 10
faculty with the proper licensing to carry concealed weapons on campus. While the resolution has since expired, it has still sparked debate within the campus community. Jim Nolan, WVU sociology professor and former Wilmington, Del., police officer, said for him, April 3’s incident in Mingo County hit close to home. “It shows you how vulnerable a police officer can be,” he said. “There’s always that threat that somebody’s going to walk up to the car and open fire.” Nolan said he believes the Mingo County incident is a prime example of how he believes, regardless of laws set in place, guns can and will fall into the wrong hands. “Even in Connecticut, the shooter’s mother, one of the victims, actually purchased the guns. Her son actually used those guns to kill her and the students,” he said. “The dialogue out there says that certain resolutions are going to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illness or people who are criminals. But really, anyone that wants a gun is going to get a gun. And (the Mingo County) incident is an example.” Nolan said he believes mental illness plays a unique factor in the gun control debate, and he believes it must be looked upon beyond what it currently is. “We’re led to believe that there’s ‘good’ people and ‘bad’ people – this is the NRA’s argument. They say we have to put guns in the hands of ‘good’ people. But that’s not really the reality,” he said. “The reality is people are good, but then life’s circumstances change, they’re stressed or they’re angry. Not many people are just born criminals. They become and then they phase out. They may be perfectly sane one day and then may go insane the day after they buy a gun.” As college students often face the highest rates of mental illness, Nolan said allowing students and faculty to carry concealed weapons on campus presents too many risks. “If you live long enough, you see it happening. In
see guns on PAGE 2
CATCHING CONFIDENCE The West Virginia baseball team rebounded with a 5-1 victory against Youngstown State Wednesday. SPORTS PAGE8
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