THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday March 13, 2013
Volume 125, Issue 116
www.THEDAONLINE.com
City sounds alarm on area pollution By Laura Clark, Kelsea Lynch & Matthew Fouty Correspondents
Students who walk down Beechurst Avenue on a daily basis are taking their lives in their own hands – and it has nothing to do with getting hit by a car. Health is being compromised daily by the noxious fumes emitted by all vehicles backed up at stoplights in Morgantown and by the old, coal-powered plants scattered across the city’s
landscape. In fact, the air pollution throughout Morgantown is so bad the city is close to failing the air-quality standards required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to city officials. If the city falls into a category know as non-attainment, it could lose federal funding. Without that funding, it would be difficult for Morgantown to put together a plan to meet air quality standards. The federal funds at risk here are also used to
maintain the city’s roads, as well as other improvement initiatives. “If [non-attainment] happens, the EPA says we can’t use any federal money for anything other than cleaning up air quality,” said Jeff Mikorski, Morgantown’s interim City Manager. The main pollutant of Morgantown’s air is sulfur dioxide, which comes from the burning of coal and crude oil in coal-powered plants in and around the city, experts said.
correspondent
The American Medical Women’s Association will host its seventh annual Run For Cover 5K Sunday to raise money for the Bartlett House. The race will begin at 2 p.m. outside the Student Recreation Center. No prior registration is required to participate. “We’ve had this event for seven years, and it’s a pretty standard 5K,” said Nicole Shockcor, AMWA president. “You can sign up the day of. Bring a check or cash. It’s just 20 bucks, and it includes a T-shirt.” New for this year, the race will move from Star City to the Rec Center, providing runners with a more enjoyable course. “It’s a bit of a challenging course – some of it is uphill, some of it is flat,” Shockcor said. “You get to run around the CAC and a lot of the gardens. You can’t beat WVU; it’s a beautiful campus.” The proceeds from the fundraiser will go directly toward the Bartlett House, a University Avenue homeless shelter. “I’ve only been in Mor-
gantown for about a year, and just walking downtown, I’ve noticed a lot of homeless people on the street that don’t really have a place to go,” said AMWA vice president Jaime Singh. “I think we need to be more sympathetic towards those who are less fortunate than ourselves, and I think the Bartlett House is trying to do that,” she said. “We’re happy to organize this fundraiser to try to donate money to them.” Medical students at WVU go to the Bartlett House every other Thursday to provide check-ups as part of their practice. The Run For Cover will be a way for the students to give back to the Bartlett House for helping them work toward their medical careers. “We have this program called Mushroom, and every other Thursday, a couple of medical students go out to do eye exams, foot exams and light chest and lung exams on the homeless people at the Bartlett House,” Singh said. “It gives us practice as medical students, and that’s how we interact with
see BARTLETT on PAGE 2
Maniacs to host Big 12 tournament watch party By Summer Ratcliff Staff writer
Tonight the West Virginia University men’s basketball team will take on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech in their inaugural appearance in the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament. The Mountaineer Maniacs will host a Big 12 watch party in collaboration with Residential Education, Mountainlair Programming and Coca-Cola, as an opportunity for students across campus to come together in support of their team. The game will be shown on multiple TV screens throughout the Gold and Blue Rooms in the Evansdale Residential Complex at 7 p.m. Sonja Wilson, senior programming administrator for Mountainlair programming said the watch party will be an excellent opportunity for students to join with fellow Mountaineer fans to cheer for the
team. “We planned this event so our students can come together to watch our Mountaineers play,” Wilson said. “Some students may live in places where they don’t get the appropriate channels to watch the game or perhaps they want to be in a place where they don’t have to watch alone.” All who attend are asked to help the environment by bringing two empty cans or bottles to recycle. For each donation, students will have their name entered into a drawing for 12 prizes donated by Coca-Cola. The prizes include a bicycle, a Coca-Cola couch and four Visa gift cards ranging from $75-150. The Maniacs will provide free Papa John’s pizza and a Qdoba Mexican Grill burrito bar to all attendees. Coca-Cola will provide beverages. Maniacs Director Chris
see watch on PAGE 2
The Rack, located in the Mountainlair, anonymously provides students with canned foods and other toiletries.
Kristen Basham/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
staff writer
Attending college can be hard – even harder if a student can’t afford to buy food. That’s why West Virginia University hosts The Rack. Implemented in the fall of 2010, The Rack, WVU’s student food bank, is available to all students. The food pantry was developed based on the growing number of hungry and/or homeless college students in Morgantown. “The Rack project needs more publicity to spread the message of our service to students who are facing financial difficulties and struggling with hunger,” said Jacque Dooley, WVU program director of Student Organizations. “We need to reach the students in need who are attending WVU.” Dooley believes WVU has put in a great amount of effort to notify students of the food bank through emails, posters and newspaper articles, but not as many students know about it as they should. “We emailed the deans of the colleges to say, ‘Hey, if you notice a student behaving in a strange manner, perhaps hungry, let them know we have services available for them,’” Dooley said. Not only does The Rack stock nonperishable food items like pasta, peanut butter and canned vegetables, but it also stocks personal hygiene items like soap, razors and shampoo. The foods and toiletries are provided by students, staff and faculty members and other Morgantown residents. The WVU Greek community and the USDA also play a big role in supplying the bank. “Sometimes the parents of exchange students will send a check in to help the cause,” said junior Andrea DeJong, a student Rack worker. “Many student organizations and
see rack on PAGE 1
Kristen Basham/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
The Rack has a variety of nonperishable food items.
Site allows ‘grumbling’ about campus issues by megan calderado staff writer
In an attempt to bridge the communication gap between students and school administration, West Virginia University has just joined a website called Campus Grumble to solve on campus issues. Campus Grumble is an anonymous and free online platform for students to submit ideas, suggestions or complaints about the University they feel should be heard. “It’s like a suggestion box ...
on steroids. It helps students make rapid changes on campus by giving them the ability to anonymously ‘grumble’ about issues,” said John Kirkpatrick, Campus Grumble president and founder. Kirkpatrick and fellow Wake Forest University graduates came up with Campus Grumble during a group project their senior year. They realized issues on campus would go weeks on end without being solved, simply because students didn’t know who to go to or were ignored
CHECK OUR SPORTS BLOG
INSIDE
Thick smoke emerged from a W.Va. coal mine raising questions. OPINION PAGE 4
Get the latest on Mountaineer sports in our WVU Sports Insider Blog at http://blogs.thedaonline.com/sports/.
Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9
see pollution on PAGE 2
By evelyn merithew
BURNING BRIDGES
News: 1, 2, 3 Opinion: 4 A&E: 6, 7, 8 Sports: 9, 10, 12
of coal, and they can cause lung damage. “It [sulfur dioxide] can irritate your lungs, as will particulates. Both can cause asthma and bronchitis,” McCawley said. Studies show that all of these pollutants can cause asthma attacks, lung disease and exacerbate heart conditions. Children are among the most vulnerable victims of air pollution, in large
The Rack provides food, other necessities to students in need
38° / 26°
SNOW SHOWERS
basis also contibutes to the problem. Motor vehicles not only emit sulfur dioxide but other pollutants, as well. Particulate matter, or tiny particles of dust, soot and ash, also pollute Morgantown’s air, according to Michael McCawley, associate research professor for the Department of Occupational & Environmental Health Sciences at West Virginia University. These particulates are emitted from vehicle exhaust as well as the burning
A HELPING HAND
Run for Cover to benefit Bartlett House By Jacob Bojesson
Another significant pollutant in Morgantown is ground-level ozone, according to McCawley. This dangerous ozone is created by chemical reactions from fumes released by cars, trucks and other vehicles. Ground-level ozone is what is referred to as “smog.” Ozone levels are worse on hot, sunny days, but can also be high on cold days when it snows. The amount of traffic within city limits on a daily
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
by the administration. Kirkpatrick said the problem he and his colleagues experienced on campus was an infestation of bees on the patio of one of the busiest buildings. “We had nobody to really tell about the problem, because it fell between the cracks in terms of which administrator to contact,” Kirkpatrick said. Once an issue is “grumbled,” students can “mumble” a post or vote for it. As issues get more student sup-
ON THE INSIDE Spring football practice is under way at West Virginia and head coach Dana Holgorsen sees a lot of room for growth before the upcoming season. SPORTS PAGE 9
port, Campus Grumble then personally reaches out to University administration and student government to bring the issues to their attention. West Virginia University is one of only six schools currently on Campus Grumble. Being from West Virginia and a life-long WVU sports fan, Kirkpatrick said he hopes it can solve everyday issues as well as issues with tickets for games.
see grumble on PAGE 2
ALL OR NOTHING The West Virginia men’s basketball team is looking for some magic in the BIg 12 Conference Tournament. SPORTS PAGE 9