THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday September 24, 2014
Volume 127, Issue 28
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Alum donates $1 million to WVU by david schlake staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Student debt constantly weighs on the mind of many college students. The headache it creates generally lasts for a long time after they graduate and does not ease up until they finally work themselves out of debt. Fred Tattersall, a West Virginia University graduate, has donated a generous gift of $1 million in scholarships to the College of Business and Econom-
ics, to help reduce the burden of student debt. Tattersall, a finance student who graduated from WVU in 1970, is chairman of 1607 Capital Partners, an investment firm located in Richmond, Va. He said after everything, his degree from WVU has helped him accomplish, he feels he has some responsibility to give back. “I’ve been in the investment business for 44 years,” Tattersal said. “I’ve been very fortunate with the success that I’ve had. This is my way of paying it forward to other students who want the same
Rachel Poe runs for Homecoming Queen
things that I did.” Over the course of their junior and senior years, elected students have the opportunity to earn a sum of $19,000 in scholarships. Two juniors will be elected each year, and initially they will be rewarded a $9,000 scholarship. If each student maintains a reasonable GPA, they will be eligible to receive a second $9,000 scholarship their senior year. Each student also has an opportunity to receive an additional $1,000 scholarship from Beta Gamma Sigma, a prestigious
honor society for business students. The scholarship is only offered to West Virginia residents, and only two students are selected each year. “There’s an obvious problem of student loan debt build up that has really accelerated over the last 10 years,” Tattersall said. “I have a bias that if someone works hard at school and does well, the last thing they need is the burden of a loan that will make it difficult to get started right out of school.” Tattersal said the idea behind the schol-
arship funding was not only to benefit students who excelled in academics, but also for those who work hard in other areas. “Ultimately, I want to make a difference for those who work harder. I know how hard it is for students to balance school and work, as well as extra-curricular activities like Greek life and clubs. I hope that with these scholarships, those who prove they have the drive to work hard can focus on academically succeeding rather than staying financially stable,” he said.
The tw o students elected for the scholarship this year were Tyler Anderson and Nicholas Kirby. Anderson is a finance student from Morgantown and Kirby is an economics student from Charleston. “I’m lucky to have the resources to do something like this,” Tattersall said. “When people come up to me and say, ‘It’s because of scholarships like these that I could get my degree,’ it makes me happy that I could help.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
OPEN EAR, INSERT FOOTE
Retired CEO William Foote speaks at Distinguished Speakers Series
by alexis randolph staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Rachel Poe has spent the last 21 years watching West Virginia University students walk across the football field to be named Homecoming King and Queen. Now, she plans on claiming the title herself. As a Morgantown native, Poe said she always thought Homecoming Queen was one of the highest and most respected honors a WVU student could receive. “To me, this is just the highest honor that WVU could appoint to one of its students, so I thought it would be a great way to see my hard work pay off,” Poe said. Poe, a senior accounting student, is involved in many aspects of the University. She currently serves as the president of the Panhellenic Council, the organization sponsoring Poe, and is an active sister in Alpha Phi. Poe is also a member of the Honors College, Mortar Board and Beta Gama Sigma, a business honorary society. Poe said her favorite part of the Homecoming Court process so far has been getting to meet the other court members. “So far the thing I have liked the most is getting to know all of the other court members. We are very, very different from each other, but it is really clear that everyone, no matter what they are involved in, has excelled tremendously throughout the last four years,” Poe said. “I
Doyle Maurer/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
really like getting to know all of the different personalities and seeing the different ways we have taken (at) WVU.” Poe said she is already working toward positive change for WVU within the Morgantown community and hopes to continue if elected. “One thing I have really tried to do is create a positive face here at WVU and in the community for WVU Greek Life,” she said. “Because there is such a negative stereotype. If elected, Poe would like to work on campaign programs against drunk driving, as well as work with student advising to better accommodate student needs and help find their passion. In the past, Poe said she has noticed that once elections are over, Homecoming Kings and Queens disappear. This is not what Poe wants if elected. “One thing I would really like to do is stick around, get to know the students and their faces,” Poe said. “I want to try and take the problems students have and put a face to it and take it to the higher
Glen Smithberger runs for Homecoming Court Glen Smithberger, a senior secondary mathematics education student, is running for Homecoming King to represent all the organizations and ideals he loves about West Virginia University. Smithberger is the president of the men’s ultimate frisbee team and has served as captain for the past two years. He is also community service director of the Mountaineer Maniacs. “These (organizations) have given me a great group of friends for sporting events, friends who have become family, and my teammates now and those who have graduated are more like brothers, and
West Virginia University‘s College of Business and Economics Distinguished Speaker series hosted its second speaker of the semester on Tuesday. The event featured retired chairman and CEO of USG Corporation, William C. Foote. Foote spoke about leadership, careers and specifically his own journey as a professional that led him to become the CEO and the youngest chairman of USG. USG is a multi-billion dollar manufacturer and distributor of highperformance building systems. “I think the major reason for starting the Distinguished Speaker series was about role modeling. We wanted to have role models for our students to see success-
staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Johnnie Armes/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
I looked up to a lot of them when I was a freshman and sophomore,” Smithberger said. “Ultimate has allowed me to be a leader for a team and more importantly stress relief from class throughout the week.” Smithberger decided to run for Homecoming King
see COURT on PAGE 2
76° / 54°
WEEKEND FUN
INSIDE
The Wine and Jazz Festival returns to Morgantown. A&E PAGE 8
Campus Connection: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 11
staff writer @dailyathenaeum
by alexis randolph
correspondent @dailyathenaeum
News: 1, 2, 3 Opinion: 4 A&E: 6, 7, 8 Sports: 9, 10, 12
by taylor mcsorely
ful people in industry and in government,” said Jose V. Sartarelli, a Milan Puskar Dean of WVU’s College of B&E The College of B&E has had success with the Distinguished Speaker series and plans to host three to five speakers a semester. “For some people, their parents are role models or maybe their friends, and then there are a bunch of bad role models on TV and the internet, so if you’re in business you want to know how and get insight from people who know the ropes and Bill is an example of that,” Sartarelli said. Foote gave his perspective and advice to the audience about building a network to help open more doors for opportunities. He gave insight to how he began working internships when he was
Andrew Spellman/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Foote talks to the crowd about his past positions.
see SPeaker on PAGE 2
Club Sports crowdsources fundraising efforts
by victoria madden
SUNNY
Andrew Spellman/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Students listen intently to William Foote, a retired Chairman and CEO of USG Corporation, in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. Foote was one of many speakers chosen to present at the College of Business and Economics’ Distinguished Speaker Series.
Club sports give students at West Virginia University the chance to participate in physical activity in an organized, team-oriented environment. However, for most clubs, funding can be hard to find. In order to help gain funding, WVU Club Sports has teamed up with the WVU Foundation to implement the Club Sports Fundraising Challenge. Through the Friends Asking Friends peer-topeer fundraising tool, each club sport has been challenged to ask their friends, families and peers to help financially support their organization.
Kaylea Dulaney, a senior exercise physiology student and president of the WVU Mountaineer Swim Club, said this is a great way to spread awareness about options beyond varsity sports, while gaining financial backing. “The goal is that by just communicating, using social media, talking to friends and family and just using every form of communication out there, we come together and we try to raise money for our club team,” Dulaney said. “By doing this, it gains awareness that the college does have different club teams and you don’t just have to do varsity level sports.” Friends Asking Friends allows club members to fundraise on a social level,
allowing them to share their campaign via social media and other online sources. This software helps to make the fundraising for a group personal and puts a face to each club team as a whole through each member. Dulaney said the Swim Club has had a great response, and they have already raised $455 in just under a week. “So far, we have just communicated within the club team and told everyone ‘Hey, go on to the website and join our team,’” she said. “Then from there, it is up to everyone individually.” She also said they have made an incentive within their own club to reward
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BIG 12 OPENER WVU Volleyball opens conference play and hosts Texas at 8 p.m. in Coliseum. SPORTS PAGE 12
the member who raises the most money with a prize. “We really want to get people excited about this so they want to raise the most money,” Dulaney said. “This is a very effective way to raise money. It is really easy. We don’t have to sell anything with order forms and make sure everyone has the money. Here, it is just bing bang boom.” Dulaney said this is also convenient for club presidents because they don’t have to create fundraisers and try and collect money and resources for each member. The Swim Club hopes to use the money raised from this fundraiser to support its trip to nationals in the spring.
see SPORTS on PAGE 2
ROAD LOSS WV Men’s Soceer falls 4-3 in overtime at James Madison. SPORTS PAGE 9