THE DAILY ATHENAEUM “Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2010
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VOLUME 123, ISSUE 136
City changes definition of ‘family’ No more than two unrelated people can live in some areas BY SAMANTHA COSSICK STAFF WRITER
West Virginia University students could have difficulty finding housing based on a change in the Morgantown code that defines “family.” The code originally allowed up to three unrelated people to live in R1 or R1A residential districts, such as South Park. With the amended code, only two un-
related people can do so. “We’re trying to encourage (family) type of living arrangements in the residential areas and trying to direct more of the student life into the Sunnyside and the downtown area to enhance the living for both parties,” said Morgantown Mayor Bill Byrne. Under the code, residents would have to prove they are a “functional family,” not just three students who decide to rent a place, Byrne said. However, the residents will be looked at on a case-by-case basis, he said. For instance, a functional family with two foster children who are not related to them could still
prove they are a functional family, Byrne said. In the past, people often bought houses and converted them into student living or rental units to make money, decreasing the value of the residential neighborhood, he said. When three unrelated people rented a house in residential districts they lived a “student lifestyle” with friends over, staying up later and playing music louder, Byrne said. The new code is trying to encourage student lifestyles to take place in certain areas, he said. “I think everybody thinks this is a pretty good idea because it sort of recognizes that we want
to really work hard to preserve owner occupied neighborhoods,” Byrne said. “With Sunnyside Up and quality rentals downtown, we’re trying to get students closer to the campus and within walking distance of the campus and in areas more suited for student life.” Students already living with three or more unrelated people in R1 or R1A districts will not be affected by the new code because they are “grandfathered” in. Some students feel the new code is unfair to them, however. “I don’t think it’s a very good idea because a lot of students won’t find a place to live,” said sophomore advertising major
Allyson Nedzbala. Nedzbala said the city should work on providing more living in the areas they want students to live. Although she doesn’t currently live with several unrelated people, she had planned to do so next year with a couple of friends. “Whenever I do look for a house … it’s going to severely limit the places where I can live,” Nedzbala said. Sophomore criminology major Korey Flinton said moving students to the Sunnyside or downtown areas will just increase the number of riots already seen there. If the city does want students
to live there, they should focus on improving the housing and parking in the area, he said. Kody Leonard, a sophomore criminology major, agreed with Flinton, stating that it’s just going to push people to the High State area and make it worse. Areas like South Park are “extremely convenient areas for students to live,” Leonard said. Brittney Orwick, a sophomore animal sciences and nutrition major, also opposes moving students downtown. “People don’t want to live where all the parties are going on,” she said. samantha.cossick@mail.wvu.edu
Third B&E dean WVU holds Native American lecture candidate visits Banks focuses on globalization, collaboration BY TRAVIS CRUM STAFF WRITER
The third of seven dean candidates for the College of Business & Economics, McRae Banks, visited West Virginia University Monday. During his visit, Banks spoke to the WVU community in two sessions aimed at staff and faculty. Building a collaboration between schools and increasing WVU’s knowledge of the global economy topped the list of changes Banks would implement as dean. Sixteen College of B&E staff members met with Banks in a session to discuss his management style and why he wants the position. Banks said the first big change would be collaboration between schools. Collaboration would create a wealth of technology and innovation within the programs, he said. “Employers tell us we can find plenty of people who understand engineering and business, but finding those that can do both is hard,” Banks said. “We’re not building a niche program, but we’re building the future program everyone else wants.” WVU has a unique opportunity for collaboration because all
CHELSI BAKER/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
The West Virginia Native Women’s Hand Drum group sings a welcome song at the beginning of ‘Protecting and Respecting our Ancestors and the Making of the National Museum of the American Indian,’ a public lecture held by WVU’s Native American Studies program Tuesday evening.
BY ANN COMPTON STAFF WRITER
Suzan Shown Harjo has spent her life educating people about Native Americans. Tuesday evening, Harjo gave a lecture titled “Protecting and Respecting Our Ancestors and the Making of the National Museum of the American Indian” at West Virginia University as part of the Native American Studies Elderin-Residence program. “Within native nations there are people who hold the wisdom and experience, and they are revered as teachers and wise people,” said Bonnie Brown, coordinator of Native American studies. “So here at West Virginia University, every year, we invite someone to come and be a guest elder in our community.” Brown considers it a good time for students to see and hear diverse perspectives, as elders come from nations all over the country with different tribal practices. “Suzan Shown Harjo has a resume that could easily span over
20 pages,” Brown said. “She has an enormous amount of experience and experiences. She’s a mover and a shaker, and when we asked her to be our Elder-inResidence and she accepted, we were thrilled.” Harjo spoke of how Native Americans are the only group in the United States who are not allowed to protect their sacred, religious places, because they are often not granted rights to that land. “This is an outrage. It should outrage everyone that anyone’s religious freedom should be so unheeded,” Harjo said. “Our most religious, traditional people do nothing but go to these places of power and pray. And they don’t just pray for the Dakotas or the Cheyenne’s. They pray for a good day for everyone.” Harjo also shared her experiences with the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. In 1965, she said, she visited the Museum of the American Indian in New York and saw “horrible things - mummies and
shrunken heads” and her mother opened a drawer and saw clothes that she thought she had made to bury her grandfather in. Harjo herself saw a “small buckskin dress that was made for a Cheyenne girl and had a bullet hole where (the girl’s) belly had been, with a rust circle around it, signifying a painful death”. “I was visited by that girl who wore that dress in a dream that night, and she very simply said, ‘I’ll walk this way until my spirits return.’ And I dreamt about her for decades,” Harjo said. “Not a full dream about her, but she would just be there, sitting on a tree, in that beautiful buckskin dress before it had the bullet hole in it.” Harjo said she dreamed of the little girl until legislation that created the National Museum for the American Indian and had provisions for the reparation act with the Smithsonian had passed. “And when I noticed she wasn’t there anymore, I thought, okay, she didn’t need me to do that particular job anymore,” she said.
Melissa Pearson, senior nursing major and president of the Organization for Native American Interests, attended the lecture. “I absolutely loved it. I think in our schools, a lot of us were not taught hardly any Native American history,” she said. “We see them as past tense, and we barely think of them as present, and it’s important because this issue is going to come up all over the United States, not just here.” Brittany Yeager, a junior forensic science major and member of ONAI, agreed. “It’s important to know that Native Americans were here before us and how they help us move forward, and it’s important to know our pasts and our ancestors,” she said. Bambi Bevill, a senior regents Bachelor of Arts major, said that Harjo’s lecture was very personal to her. “I think everybody has something or someone or someplace that is important to them, whether it’s their home or their
EDITORINCHIEF
The national economic downturn can be characterized like a hard basketball foul, said Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Tuesday. “The recession is over, as economists define it, is when you hit the floor,” he said. “But you don’t feel like its over until you get back
up on your feet, and even then you might have some lingering bruises.” Lacker spoke to city and state business leaders as part of a regional forum of the Richmond branch of the reserve. “I’m supposing most of you have heard that the recession is over, and I also suspect that few of you feel like the recession is over,” he said. In his speech, Lacker addressed
recent indicators of recovery, from job numbers rising and stabilizing industries, such as housing numbers and vehicle sales. Though West Virginia hasn’t been affected as much as other states, its number of unemployed citizens has grown. West Virginia grew from a 3.8 percent unemployment rate in October 2008 to double that in just a few months, he said. Several factors worked in the
BY SARAH O’ROURKE CORRESPONDENT
West Virginia University’s Collegiate Chapter of the NAACP held an informative session Tuesday night to discuss the legislation of the new health care reform and its effects on students and their futures. The presentation covered the principles of the health care reform, who will pay for the reform and what the reform means for families, unionized workers, insurance companies, doctors, hospitals and small businesses. After the presentation, students and the executive members of the WVU National Association for the Advancement of Colored People discussed and debated aspects of the reform and asked questions concerning the new law. “It is important to educate people about health care,” said Lauren Collins, a senior international relations major and WVU NAACP secretary. “It is a hotly debated topic today.” Collins said the new health care reform will guarantee affordable health care for everyone, and it will include 10 princi-
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state’s favor, however, including the strength in energy markets such as coal. Lacker said West Virginia did not have the same high house prices that other states did. High house prices were a contributing factor to the subprime mortgage problems that contributed to the economic downturn. “Because you didn’t get a big
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ples drafted by President Barack Obama and the more than 190 members of Congress. “I feel it can be a really great thing for America,” Collins said. “It is unfair that how much money you make could dictate how healthy you are, and I hope the health care reform rectifies the unfairness in the system.” Under the new health care law, an inclusive program leaving no one out will be adopted. Families and individuals can choose between private and public health insurance without discrepancies in coverage costs, and the government will serve as a “watchdog” over health insurance providers, Collins said. Collins said she believes the fact health insurance payments will be based off how much income you make is the most important piece in the new health care reform law. Ellis Lambert, a freshman pre-business major and president of the WVU NAACP said his main concern is that proper people receive the proper health insurance under the new health care reform and that everyone
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NAACP hosts session on health care reform
Richmond Federal Reserve Pres. talks economy, recovery BY DAVID RYAN
the schools are on the same campus, he said. For example, other universities have their college of medicines miles away on different campuses, he said. Creating space within the College of B&E for more students and creating new programs to attract incoming freshmen will bring more money to the college, he said. Lana Cantoni, administrative assistant to the dean, said during the session the College of B&E needs someone to step in and offer leadership. “You have the perfect opportunity here. We have the president, the provost, and now we need a dean,” Cantoni said. “The sky’s the limit with what you could do for the school.” Banks said one of the first things he would do while in office would be to meet with the administration and faculty members to discuss its needs to develop a plan. WVU’s role in the global economy was the focus of the faculty session attended by 17 members. Banks said it is important for the College of B&E graduates to understand other countries and how they operate.
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WVU FOOTBALL INVESTIGATED The NCAA has been to Morgantown to speak with officials in the West Virginia football program, apparently over former coach Rich Rodriguez’s practice regimen. SPORTS PAGE 8