The DA 02-05-2014

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

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

Wednesday February 5, 2014

da

Volume 126, Issue 90

www.THEDAONLINE.com

City passes marriage equality resolution by jacob bojesson staff writer @dailyathenaeum

The Morgantown City Council unanimously approved a resolution in support of the Employment and Housing NonDiscrimination Act in the West Virginia Legislature and a resolution in support of marriage equality in the West Virginia Legislature. The two resolutions were of large public interest; dozens of people unable to go inside the chamber due to seat limitations. More than 20 people, including West Virginia University students and faculty and representatives from various organizations, took a stand and expressed their support for the resolutions without opposition. A letter by David Fryson, chief diversity officer at WVU, expressed the University’s support of the resolutions and its openness to equality. “I don’t think any words I was going to say could come close to what I heard this evening,” said Mike Fike, city council member from the sixth ward. “I think my question is, how can we not vote for it? I can’t see any logic that would say that we couldn’t pass these resolutions.”

Before voting on marriage equality, Ron Bane, council member from the first ward, said the voting in support of marriage equality does not mean that the council members exclude Morgantown citizens who may disagree. “I want to make sure that those people in Morgantown that have their own views (understand) that they are not being excluded by this council by passing it, because they are allowed to have their views, whether (they) disagree with it or not,” Bane said. “The only thing I didn’t like about some of the statements was that some of you said their statements were shortsighted and ugly. This council is to represent everybody in the city of Morgantown. In my 14 years of sitting in this chair, this is the toughest (issue).” Rachel Lake, who spoke up during the meeting, said the decision was significant, but the issues have a long way to go. “I grew up in West Virginia, so there are a lot of us who don’t have the same rights as everybody else, and it kind of sucks. It’s one of the biggest reasons why we leave,” she

by Meghan bonomo staff writer @dailyathenaeum

Professional triathlete, Kate Bruck, has plans of racing in Morgantown and said she is thrilled to come back to her alma mater. Bruck graduated from West Virginia University in 1997 with degrees in sociology and criminal justice. She earned her professional athlete title in June 2012 and began racing professionally in September 2012. The Ironman Triathlon is inspired Bruck to race. Ironman triathlons consist of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon. As of fall 2013, she is a sub10 hour Iron Distance finisher with her personal best record at Ironman Arizona with nine hours and 49 minutes. “Some people know all along that they are meant to do something, and I think all along that was kind of my case, as well,” Bruck said. “That first time I ever watched the Ironman was when I was young, (in) the third or fourth grade, and it was kind of just one of those things in the back of your mind where I knew I wanted to do it.” She began running and swimming competitively when she was about 7 years old. When Bruck

44° / 18°

RAIN TO SNOW

INSIDE News: 1, 2, 3 Opinion: 6 A&E: 4, 7, 8 Sports: 9, 10, 12 Campus Calendar: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 11

SOME PEOPLE WAIT A

LIFETIME

WVU police officer makes it to ‘American Idol’ Hollywood Week By Summer Ratcliff City Editor @SummerRatcliff

see CITY on PAGE 2

WVU alumna to compete in Ironman triathlon turned 12 years old, she went to track and field junior Olympics and won the bronze medal. During her time at WVU, she was active but did not focus on developing her athleticism. “I had considered and was asked to be a walk-on for the WVU swim team, but I just wanted to focus on studying. And I was also a Kappa Kappa Gamma, so that was really important to me,” Bruck said. “I raced in the local races there in Morgantown, and I was a lifeguard all four years and swam at the (WVU) Natatorium during the off hours.” Bruck said she loves to come back and go to sports events when she has the chance. “West Virginia is a great campus and a wonderful university. I would do it over a million times if I had the opportunity,” Bruck said. “I feel like those of us that do go to school there are so lucky that we have that opportunity.” Bruck’s career began after college when she decided to get fit and run in her first marathon around the age of 25 years. “After I did my first race, I was completely hooked, and I wanted to train and race in the Boston Marathon. So (for) my second marathon, I qualified for Boston,” Bruck said.

see TRIATHLON on PAGE 2

FACEBOOK TURNS 10 Facebook celebrated its 10th birthday Monday. A&E PAGE 4

Wythe Woods/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

WVU police officer has made it through to Hollywood Week of this year’s ‘American Idol’ competition.

Some people wait a lifetime for an opportunity to make their dreams a reality. However, one West Virginia University police officer is in pursuit of his dream and won’t look back until he’s caught it. In August 2013, Carlton Smith, a 26-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., native and 2009 WVU graduate, drove 10 hours to Boston to pursue his once-in-a-lifetime dream of becoming the next American Idol. From a very young age, Smith said he always wanted to be a singer. At the age of 5, he decided to learn to sing as a way to keep up with his older sister, who seemed to be getting all the attention. Throughout his childhood, teenage years and even into college, Smith still held on to the dream of one day becoming a professional singer. However, Smith’s family instructed him to first ensure he had a guaranteed career path, before pursuing a career in the music industry. Heeding the advice of his family, Smith graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and then went into law enforcement. He has worked as a University police officer since 2011.

“I always thought it would be amazing to be a professional singer, and it would easily be the best job in the world, but I really didn’t consider auditioning for American Idol until recently,” Smith said. “This year I just decided, why not? I figured it was my time to try to be happy and try to pursue what I want to do.” During a long weekend off work, Smith auditioned for the 13th season of the hit reality TV series, “American Idol,” which premiered Jan. 15 on FOX. During his audition, Smith wowed celebrity judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. and received a coveted ticket to Hollywood to compete in the second stage of the competition. Smith said the first thought that went through his head when he heard the judges give him three yes’s was to not cry since he had just explained he was a police officer. “It was just unreal,” he said. “This kid from Buffalo, N.Y., mostly a nobody, now has this amazing opportunity, and these three well-established people looked at me and told me ‘you may be good enough to be something.’ “It was absolutely breathtaking. I get this shot of a lifetime. You can’t beat

see IDOL on PAGE 2

“...These three wellestablished people looked at me and told me ‘You may be good enough to be something.’ It was absolutely breathtaking. I get this shot of a lifetime. You can’t beat that feeling. I was overflowing with joy.” – Carlton Smith, WVU Police Officer

Wythe Woods/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Smith, who has wanted to be a singer from a young age, auditioned for the show in Boston.

Activist to lecture on prison reduction by meghan bonomo staff writer @dailyathenaeum

Angela Davis, a human rights activist, will speak out on social issues and share her life experiences with West Virginia University students at the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas. “An Evening with Angela Davis: Legendary Human Rights Activist” is cosponsored by the WVU Center for Black Culture & Research as a part of Black History Month. Davis has been a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz for the past 15 years and is now professor emerita of history of consciousness, which is an interdisciplinary doctoral program, and of feminist

Studies. She has been internationally recognized for her dedication to combat all forms of oppression in the U.S. and abroad. Liz Dickinson, a writer and editor of event management at WVU, said she encourages students to attend. “I think it would be beneficial for students to attend, because (Davis) is someone that is historically significant, and she is coming to Morgantown to talk with students,” Dickinson said. “She is a professor, she likes students, and she likes to spread her message and her research. I think it’s a great opportunity.” Davis’ experience with oppression is personal, because she was wrongfully accused of a crime. She

IF YOU GO The Festival of Ideas lecture will take place tonight at 7:30 in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. #WVUIdeas was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List and spent 18 months in jail and trial. “She’s going to be talking about her life and her experiences, and she works a lot with prison reduction programs. Her work is centered on what she calls the prison industrial complex, and she would like to do away with that,” Dickinson said. “She calls it a modern abolitionist

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EDITORIAL City Council’s vote to support marriage equality in West Virginia is a step in the right direction. OPINION PAGE 4

movement to do away with prisons all together.” According to the Festival of Ideas website, Davis sits on the executive board of the Women of Color Resource Center, a San Francisco Bay Area organization that emphasizes popular education of and about women who live in conditions of poverty. She also works with Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to dismantling the prison-industrial complex. Internationally, Davis is affiliated with Sisters Inside, an abolitionist organization based in Queensland, Australia, which works in solidarity with women in prison. In conjunction with the Festival of Ideas

see IDEAS on PAGE 2

SOONER SHOWDOWN The WVU men’s basketball team will take on No. 21 Oklahoma tonight at the WVU Coliseum. SPORTS PAGE 15


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