THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday September 3, 2014
Volume 127, Issue 13
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Eberly names interim dean by patrick clarke correspondent @dailyathenaeum
Rudolph P. Almasy, an English professor at West Virginia University, was named interim dean for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences for the fourth time in his career at WVU. Almasy completed his graduate work at the University of Minnesota, earning a Ph.D. in renaissance and reformation stud-
ies. He taught 6th grade in Chicago for a few years and later married a Morgantown resident. “I came to the English Department at WVU in 1969, so I have a long history at this institution,” Almasy said. Almasy’s position is only temporary. He will be replaced once a permanent dean is named, which could be next summer. “Interims keep things running smoothly, make
Students invited to take part in Megabus mobile town hall
decisions, deal with issues and attend to everyday business,” Almasy said. “They also identify issues and opportunities for the next permanent person, and prepare the way for the new appointee to understand those issues and seize the opportunities.” Almasy said he is very passionate about his job. “For me, English offered the perfect combination of literary study, history and philosophy,” Almasy said.
“I see the same excitement in my students’ reading and writing, which comes from, and helps educate, the heart and brain.” Almasy has been teaching within the Eberly College for 45 years, but that’s not all. He has administrative experience as well. He served as chair of the Department of English, Associate Dean in Eberly for Development, once served as an interim dean of the
Davis College and interim dean of Eberly. “WVU is full of eager and enthusiastic students, faculty who are great colleagues and citizens, unselfish with their time and expertise,” Almasy said. “For my 45 years (of ) being here, (there are) administrators with a vision to move this institution forward. It’s great to be part of WVU’s bright future.” english.WVU.EDU
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FEATURE PHOTO
LIGHTS OUT
to sign up Students wanting to sign up for the mobile town hall can email kelly@hanser.com. by taylor mcsorley staff writer @dailyatheneaum
The first-ever mobile town hall event held on a double-decker Megabus with Congressman David McKinley in attendance will be Sept. 15, traveling from Morgantown to Washington D.C. The event is open to students from West Virginia University and Fairmont State University, and the bus will be open to the general public traveling from Morgantown to D.C. “The Megabus Mobile Town Hall with Congressman McKinley will bring together a United States Representative and local students who are interested in politics, career planning or other issues that matter to them,” said Sean Hughes, Coach USA and megabus.com Associate Director of Corporate Affairs, North America. “Students have the one-of-a-kind opportunity to interact with a U.S. Representative for the four-and-a-half hour trip,” Hughes said. Students will be on the upper-deck with McKinley. Thirty of those students, on a first-comefirst-serve basis, will tour the Capitol and potentially other points of interest when they arrive in Washington, D.C. before boarding the bus back to Morgantown. The bus will depart at 8 a.m. from the Morgantown Megabus location.
“If you’re not able to attend, you can follow (or) engage the conversation on Twitter by searching for #MegabusMcKinleyTH as students (and) media will be live-tweeting the event,” Hughes said. “Poignant questions tweeted with that hashtag may get asked during the trip. Follow megabus.com on Facebook and Twitter as we monitor the conversation.” With more than 35 million customers served, Megabus offers low rates with high customer value. Megabuses include state-of-the-art, green-certified doubledecker buses with free Wi-Fi, power outlets, seat belts, restrooms and wheelchair accesibility to assure customer satisfaction. “Megabus.com represents a new way to do this, and this unique event will allow me to go talk with area students about politics and issues that matter to them in a much more intimate setting than a lecture hall. I couldn’t be more excited about the trip,” McKinley said. Students can sign up via a promo code through Van De Walle, Hanser and Associates account manager, by emailing him at Kelly@ hanser.com. For more information about Megabus visit, http://megabus.com.
Kyle Monroe/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Cars sit in traffic at the intersection of West Run Road and Stewartstown Road Tuesday afternoon after a power outage in the area caused traffic lights to fail at numerous intersections across Morgantown.
Reception to welcome international students by jacob bojesson city editor @jbojesson
The Office of International Students and Scholars at West Virginia University will host its third annual International Scholars Welcome Reception from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Mountaineer Room of the Mountainlair. The reception is a way for International Scholars at WVU to network and learn more about what they can expect from their time in Morgantown. It is open to any international scholar, not international undergraduate students, who wish to attend.
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“The public that we are trying to reach are all international scholars – current, former and future,” said Cecilia Pucci Orrego, OISS Administrative Secretary. “The scholars are researchers, faculty and physician employees, and during this welcome reception, we’re going to have a continental breakfast from 9 to 9:30 with people from the University and other people in the community.” The reception will start with a continental breakfast and will be followed by welcome remarks and speeches. WVU currently has around 300 international scholars on campus, many of whom are looking to make their temporary stay in the country
permanent. For new scholars it will mean an opportunity to hear from alumni scholars that have successfully been able to achieve immigration status. “There are going to be other current, old and new scholars that are going to share their experience,” Pucci Orregio said. “They give advice on everything about getting a work visa, green card and other kinds of visa for special cases.” The WVU Women’s Tennis head coach, Miha Lisac, from Slovenia will be the keynote speaker at the reception.
see RECEPTION on PAGE 2
Morgantown City Council passes truck law for street safety by victoria madden correspondent @dailyathenaeum
The Morgantown City Council discussed the environmental issue of unhealthy fumes being brought into downtown Morgantown by heavy trucks Tuesday. For months, the Council has discussed the best option to solve the problem. A new law banning trucks that exceed 26,000
pounds and have three or more axels, passed during the meeting, by the count of 6-1. Trucks have been a concern to many residents and business owners in the downtown area. Ambulances are getting stuck for up to a minute because of heavy trucks blocking the roads. Daniel McMullen, a concerned Morgantown resident, gave his input on the issue.
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MUSICAL THEATRE
INSIDE
The College of Creative Arts is scouting students for its new major. A&E PAGE 6
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News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Connection: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9
McMullen said Greenbag Road could be an alternative route of transportation, although far from an ideal one. “An ideal solution involves collaborating with their county, and (moving) them out of town would be a better solution,” McMullen said. “It would keep them from going right through downtown and be an improvement.” Many business owners agreed the trucks should
not go straight through the downtown area to keep it safe and secure. Evan Hanson, a business owner on High Street, introduced a Facebook group called Safe Streets Morgantown, which now has more than 900 members. The page is a collaboration of Morgantown businesses and residents. Many council members wanted to see it through and start the planning process right away, while oth-
ers wanted to wait. The council members decided to work on a two-to-three month timeline to complete the changes. “I want to find a lasting solution, not a quick answer,” said Wes Nugent, council member from the third ward. “I am just unconvinced to what we had before that this is the good answer. (I am) just not prepared to gamble the city’s money.”
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ON THE INSIDE The West Virginia football team is focusing on improving in critical situations following Saturday’s loss to Alabama. SPORTS PAGE 7
While Nugent said he wanted a lasting solution, others like Nancy Ganz, council member from the seventh ward, had different thoughts on the matter. “I want Morgantown to be prosperous and secure,” Ganz said. The next regular City Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m on Tuesday, Sept. 16. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
FINDING CONSISTENCY The WVU women’s soccer team is looking to become more consistent against a tough nonconference schedule. SPORTS PAGE 7