THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Wednesday April 13, 2016
Volume 128, Issue 129
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Students work to bridge wage gap by tessa iglesias staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Equal Pay Day is a national public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men’s and women’s wages. Tuesday, locations on the Downtown and Evansdale campuses were home to a Gender Equality Bake Sale, where the inequality of women’s and men’s wages was demonstrated by sugar cookies being sold for $1 to men but only 70 cents to women.
The bake sale was hosted by the Council for Women’s Concerns, the American Association of University Women and the Center for Service and Learning. “I hope to open a few eyes to the issues that are going on around us, not only for women but for men as well…,” said Chelsey Franklin, a December WVU graduate and organizer of the Equal Pay Day bake sale. “Because (as a male), your mom’s affected by this, your sisters are affected by it; it’s
not just for women, it’s for all of us. I want everyone to kind of see the bigger picture.” Franklin also works for AmeriCorps Vista, a national service program designed to fight poverty, staffed by the federal government. Franklin’s main role is to connect all of the local nonprofits and all the campus organizations to try and bring them together for a collective impact. “You may have one organization that’s working on one thing and then an-
other organization that’s working on a similar thing, so my role is just to bring those two together, that we can be more impactful in the population that we’re trying to attend to,” Franklin said. Franklin acted as a liaison between AAUW, the Counsel for Women’s Concerns and the Center for Service and Learning to plan and implement the bake sale. Inside the Mountainlair, there were also tables for
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Garrett Yurisko/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Chelsey Franklin getting interviewed by Channel 12 for playing her role in the Gender Equality Bake Sale.
National Teacher of the Year visits WVU
STARTING AHEAD Historian Crystal Sanders discusses the advantages of Head Start programs
by james pleasant correspondent @dailyathenaeum
Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, inspired an audience full of current, aspiring and retired teachers when she delivered a speech at West Virginia University during a historic visit yesterday. The lecture, held at the Erickson Alumni Center, was part of the WVU College of Education & Human Service’s Go First Speaker Series, illuminated the importance of equality in public education and the role of teachers as integral parts of society. Peeples, who teaches AP English in a povertystricken high school in Amarillo, Texas, urged current teachers to remain motivated and passionate even in the lowest points of their careers. “I think students appreciate it when they don’t waste their (time) and when they know that what we’re doing is relevant and connected,” Peeples said. Peeples attributed students’ inattentiveness and disinterest in school to a public school system that shows equal apathy toward them. She believes it’s a teacher’s duty to invigorate their students’ interests in school through time, trust and coaching. “What we do is foundational to our civilization,” Peeples said. “What is a public school but a message and a symbol of a community that believes in its own future, and believes that its young people will continue?” During her speech, Peeples told an anecdote about her recent trip to Palestine—a war-torn region where public education is impoverished and scarce. Peeples was taken aback and inspired by the few teachers who still come to school every day to educate their students, despite living in ruins. “Education is about relationships with a capital ‘R’,” said Ohio County school teacher Mary Lou Hutchins. “As (Peeples) said tonight, when you take a child and you hold their face and you tell them ‘I expect more from you because I am giving you everything I have,’ a child will believe in themselves and believe in you. Children need the power to become who they want to be through education.” Yesterday’s event was the first time in history a National Teacher of the Year visited West Virginia. “This position will never become an easy job,” Hutchins said. “It’s something that we do because we teach from the heart, and we love going to work every day, but you can become tired. Speeches like these re-energize and inspire us so that we can inspire the dreams of our students.” Peeples also teaches English to adult second-language learners, and coaches other teachers to better instruct their students. “We are so proud to be a part of bringing the National Teacher of the Year,” said Gypsy Denzine, dean of WVU’s College of Education & Human Services. “I think as much as we learn from her tonight it makes us think about our own teaching, and how we can be better teachers every day.”
Askar Salikhov/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Dr. Krystal Frazier, a history professor at West Virginia University, introduces the speaker, Dr. Crystal Sanders, at a public lecture event on Tuesday evening at Ming Hsieh Hall.
by rachel mcbride staff writer @rachelgmcb
This April, the Africana Studies Program is celebrating more than 50 years of Head Start, a War on Poverty program, by hosting Penn State University historian Crystal Sanders, who recently published “A Chance for Change: Head Start and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle.” Tuesday evening in Ming Hsieh Hall, Sanders presented “Cookies, Crayons, and Black Power: Head Start in the Magnolia State,” a lecture chronicling the struggles and triumphs of former sharecroppers and domestic workers who forged a program to provide early childhood education for their children whilst expanding their po-
litical reach and power. When discussing the importance of Sanders’ work, Krystal D. Frazier, coordinator of Africana Studies at WVU, said everyone can find inspiration from Sanders’ most recent publication. “I hope people can think about how they can relate to the people in her narratives, to feel empowered to make change, the way these people did,” Frazier said. Sanders’ lecture and book explores how working-class black women in Mississippi transformed the Child Development Group of Mississippi, a federal Head Start program, into an opportunity to secure political and economic self-determination. CDGM was one of the largest inaugural Head
Askar Salikhov/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Students attend a public lecture given by a Penn State University historian, Dr. Crystal Sanders, on Tuesday evening at Ming Hsieh Hall. Start programs in the country and proved to be the next wave of activism in the Magnolia State after the 1964 Freedom Summer. Sanders’ study of the Head Start program complicates the pervasive view that the War on Poverty
during this time period was a failure. According to Sanders’ lecture, problems occurring during the time of the Civil Rights Act caused African Americans to try and
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danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
NAACP to host Image Awards honoring students, organizations by rachel mcbride staff writer @rachelgmcb
The West Virginia University NAACP has hosted an Image Awards show since 2011 to recognize students, faculty, staff and organizations on campus who have worked to help improve the WVU community. Since 1967, the national branch of the NAACP has hosted the Image Awards, a presentation honoring outstanding people of color in
various fields such as film and sports. The fifth Annual WVU NAACP Image Awards Show will be held at 7 p.m. April 16. People and organizations who receive an NAACP Image Awards have embodied the goals and mission of the NAACP. “(This is a) time where we can gather on campus and recognize people who have done a lot for student engagement and social justice,” said Miguel Hen-
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BIG GIGANTIC performs at Mainstage Morgantown A&E PAGE 4
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riquez, vice president elect for WVU NAACP. An open nomination process was held in January and from there, the organization developed a list to allow those on campus to begin the voting process for the awards. Voting ended March 8. Ten awards will be presented at the event including the newly added awards, Graduate Student on the Move and Administration/ Staff member of the Year. Other awards include
Outstanding Achievement, Administrator of the Year, Student Leader of the Year, Student Organization of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. “This award show brings diverse groups of people together,” said Jihad Dixon, President of WVU NAACP. Henriquez said when people of many different cultures come together on campus, it makes the University stronger. “We have a stronger voice
on campus when we are together,” Henriquez said. The NAACP is a nationally recognized organization that has fought for, maintained and protected the civil rights of all people. Founded in 1909, the NAACP was established to combat lynching, segregation and injustices happening to people of color during the time. Today, NAACP fights to maintain civil rights having to do with voting rights, equal pay, police brutality, education, health-
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GO BLEAK WVU Greek Life dwindling as administration continues to crack down OPINION PAGE 3
care and advocacy. “People of color are being lynched with words,” Dixon said. “Now more than ever is a time to be aware of and celebrate cultural diversity.” Membership to the organization is open to all individuals no matter their race, sexual orientation or religion. Dixon and Henriquez said the organization supports everyone and strives to ensure social justice for all WVU students, faculty
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PITT-IFUL WVU falls short to rival Pitt SPORTS PAGE 7