The DA 01-29-2013

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

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

Tuesday January 29, 2013

da

Volume 125, Issue 85

www.THEDAONLINE.com

Moore resigns as city manager “ ” staff writer

Morgantown city manager Terrence Moore announced Monday afternoon he will relinquish his roles with the city of Morgantown effective Friday and become the city manager of College Park, Ga. Moore said he was drawn to the city of College Park because of the level of service the city embodies and

the opportunities the position will provide. “It is an opportunity to make contributions in a “ I really appreciate the time and large, metropolitan area, involvement I’ve had here in the city of which is very attractive. It’s Morgantown” also an opportunity to grow professionally,” he said. Terrence Moore “There are very genuine and City manager sincere reasons behind my decision.” College Park is a suburb of Atlanta and is home the world’s busiest airports. dents, and businesses such to Hartsfield-Jackson In- The city has approximately as Chick-fil-A and Expressternational Airport, one of 15,000 permanent resi- Jet Airlines are headquar-

WVU to offer free course on social media by meghan bonomo correspondent

Everyone is familiar with online courses hosted through colleges and universities, but what if some of those classes were free and open to the public? The Department of Communication Studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University is doing just that by hosting a Massive Open Online Course, also known as a MOOC. Massive Open Online Courses are online, nontraditional courses aimed at large-scale participation and open access on the web. The courses will focus on the role of communication technology and how it impacts daily lives. WVU’s course begins Feb. 4 and is four weeks long, with each week covering a different topic. “The WVUCommMOOC is not a course for credit; it is a free, ungraded event designed to allow the public to explore some of the current issues involving the role of communication technologies in our personal and professional lives,” said Matt Martin, chair of the Department of

Communication Studies. This nontraditional course is being offered for the benefit of anyone interested. There are no grades, fees or credits involved, and it is free to everyone. “We are not talking about a course that we teach and offer it to everyone,” Martin said. “But we recognize that we have some information that might be of value to individuals – particularly to our alumni, individuals who may have not had any social media classes, because they basically didn’t exist when they were here.” MOOC is based on optional participation. Individuals can choose when and what to partake in. One of the main ideas of MOOC is to encourage individuals to build their own material – whether that means holding separate discussions or forming Facebook groups, the idea is to expand for personal gain. “The idea of open is that it’s free, there’s nothing to purchase at any time. One needs computer access, but beyond that, the

see online on PAGE 2

Website puts spin on making decisions by madison fleck staff writer

People are constantly faced with decisions – some more trivial than others. One West Virginia University student wants to help alleviate the frustration caused by choosing where to eat, what to wear or what to do through an easy to use app. Corey Zinn, a junior business student, has relaxed the pressures of decision making with his website, www.wheeldecide.com. “I’m a very indecisive person,” Zinn said. “I have difficulty deciding where I want to go or where I want to eat.” Users can go to the website and type in the options from which they are choosing. Then, they simply spin the wheel, and a decision is made.

Zinn proposed the idea of the website to his brother, Gareth Lewis, a software developer at TES International. The two have been working on the project since October. “The original intent was for the wheel to be any random decision that you are trying to make,” Lewis said. “In order to give people more ideas of how to use the wheel, we started thinking about common decisions that people make.” Zinn and Lewis have been using techniques to tailor wheels to different users. The two also have incorporated other applications and services such Google Places Search for local restaurants, Flixster for theater movies and Eventful for concerts and other events in the

see wheel on PAGE 2

56° / 54°

NOT AGAIN

INSIDE

West Virginia finds itself near the top of a ranked list but not for a good cause. OPINION PAGE 4

CLOUDY

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

tered there. Like Morgantown, the city operates under a council-manager form of government. Prior to becoming the Morgantown city manager in 2010, Moore held similar positions in Sebastian, Fla. and Las Cruces, N.M. He said he feels his past experiences will prove beneficial in his endeavors to expand his career. “Given the experiences

and achievements that I have as a city manager over the past 14 years – that’s where I have essentially been – I truly believe that to continue making contributions at that level is appropriate,” he said. Moore said during his time in Morgantown, one of the things he appreciated most and will take with him in his next role is

see city on PAGE 2

‘ALMOST’ HEAVEN

mel moraes/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

by summer ratcliff

FOR COVERAGE OF WVU’S 61-56 LOSS TO KANSAS SEE SPORTS

TALES OF ‘THE INCURABLES’

WVU professor reads from recently published short story collection By Caroline Peters Staff writer

The West Virginia University Department of English and the Eblerly College of Arts and Sciences hosted a reading in the Mountainlair’s Gold Ballroom Monday. Professors Mark Brazaitis and Amanda Cobb read aloud from Brazaitis’s recently published book, “The Incurables: Stories.” “The Incurables: Stories,” is a fictional book about the struggles and lives of people with mental illnesses. “Some personal experience, along with depression is the foundation for my interest in the issue of mental illness – along with knowing people who have endured a range of mental illnesses,” Brazaitis said. However, Brazaitis’ method of writing tells stories he believes the reader

see book on PAGE 2

Katie Flowers/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

WVU professor Mark Brazaitis reads from ‘The Incurables: Stories,’ his award-winning collection of short stories.

Film honors victim of Challenger tragedy by carlee lammers city editor

In January of 1986, the nation watched as tragedy unfolded off the coast of central Florida. Just 73 seconds into flight, complications with an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster lead to the disintegration of Space Shuttle Challenger. The explosion took the lives of the shuttle’s seven crew members. Among the

tragedy’s victims was Ronald McNair. To celebrate Black History Month and commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy, the McNair Scholars Program is showing a film Thursday honoring McNair’s life and work. “This is part of American history. It was a tragic event, unfortunately,” said Betty Mei, Assistant Director for the McNair Scholars Program.

LET US HELP TELL YOUR STORY Have an idea for an article? Send your thoughts, tips and story ideas to danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu, and help us to share the interesting stories of our great community.

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

ON THE INSIDE The West Virginia women’s basketball team will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to take on No. 19 Oklahoma State. SPORTS PAGE 7

McNair was a first-generation college student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a doctorate in physics. McNair graduated and received his degree by the time he was 26. The McNair Scholars program provides firstgeneration, low-income students and under-represented groups the economic and educational resources needed to pursue a doctorate degree.

“The reason why there is a (West Virginia University) McNair Scholars program today is because of McNair, who gave his life, his sacrifice during that accident,” Mei said. “He was a remarkable individual. That’s not an easy task for anybody to do, so he is just a remarkable role model for students now.” West Virginia University is currently one of 149 schools nationwide

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TOO MUCH JAYHAWK The West Virginia men’s basketball team put up a spirited fight but ultimately fell to Kansas 61-56 Monday. SPORTS PAGE 7

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The DA 01-29-2013 by The Daily Athenaeum - Issuu