THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
Wednesday June 4, 2014
da
www.THEDAONLINE.com
BACK IN BUSINESS Mutt’s reopens after a disappointing close in 2013
VOLUME 126, ISSUE 140
Summer exercise competition encourages walking in all counties By Hannah Wigal Staff Writer @DailyAthenaeum
Shannon McKenna/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Patrons enjoy the new Mutt’s location by playing pool and lounging.
By Summer Ratcliff City Editor @SummerRatcliff
Ask any West Virginia University alum or current student to name the most iconic Morgantown bar and Mutt’s will surely be at the top of the list. Mutt’s Sunnyside Pub was originally opened in 1935 at a location on Beechurst Avenue. In 1979, after a fire destroyed the building, Mutt’s moved to what became its famous location in the heart of Sunnyside. Mutt’s remained in this location until 2013 when they were forced to abandon the building to allow for the construction of University Place. “We were just renting the previous space, so therefore when the property owner was selling the space we had to look for a new place for the bar,” said owner George Vrooman. For the last year and a half, Vrooman and his team have worked to ensure Mutt’s would reopen in Sunnyside and continue the legacy they have worked so hard to establish in the Morgantown area. “It’s not something you can just do overnight, we had to follow all the procedures and paperwork, it takes time,” Vrooman said. “Everyone we had to work with was so pleasant. They made the process go smoothly. “A lot of the old employees who had graduated and moved on came back over the weekends and helped us for the last two months
get everything ready. They were my weekend warriors, without them we would have never made it.” Vrooman said the reopening over the weekend was an emotional time because of all the hard work that had gone into recreating Mutt’s in Sunnyside. He said it was nice to see patrons ranging from alumni, townies and even current students flood into the bar to celebrate. “There were a lot of parents who came in over the weekend; their kids told them the bar was reopened, so they came to see us,” he said. “We do so much with student athletes and student organizations, we once sponsored the Snowboarding Club and helped them go to Nationals where they won third place, so those boys all came in to see us this past weekend as well.” Dylan Vorpe, a recent WVU graduate said he learned Mutt’s had reopened when he came back to Morgantown to visit friends for the weekend. “My friends were all excited and told me I had to go,” Vorpe said. “I was 20 when the old Mutt’s closed so I was never able to experience it but I really wanted to. People would constantly talk about Mutt’s and how much fun it was. “When they shut down the old Mutt’s it was like a part of Sunnyside was being torn away. I know alumni who are older that remembered Mutt’s and the unique experience it offered them.”
Staff Writer @DailyAthenaeum
Seventeen West Virginia University students in the P.I. Reed School of Journalism are currently in China participating in an exchange program that involves classroom experience, fieldwork, and an internship. Harrison/Omnicom Visiting Professor James Ebel teaches the integrated marketing communications course that is being offered to both Chinese and American students via a partnership with the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou, China. “This is not a run-of-themill study abroad course, and I am not a typical leader,” Ebel said. “I set professional expectations and students meet them. These students are the best of the best at WVU and can hold their own and more against any IMC student in the world.” The students work together to create an IMC campaign for a Chinese product. They are divided into four groups and each work with different Chinese companies
to conduct an IMC campaign for real Chinese clients. One group works to brand the city of Guangzhou. They attempt to campaign the city and persuade businesses and individuals to relocate to the city. Within 10 days, the students will present their campaign and government officials will decide if they would like to pursue their campaign. The second group works with Charm, China’s largest ad agency. They create a pitch to European clients who want to advertise on Tao Bao, China’s equivalent to Amazon. The third group works to position a new plus size women’s fashion brand and develop an IMC campaign to launch it overseas. The brand is called MsShe, and the students become the marketing experts for the brand. The final group works with Shunde Creative Industrial Park to attract leaders, entrepreneurs and tech experts to help get the park up and running. The students helped develop an IMC campaign with a video to attract tenants. Working in China and within the Chinese environment allows these students
79° / 57°
POP SOME TAGS
INSIDE
Thrift shopping provides cheap alternatives for summer essentials.
THUNDERSTORMS
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9
see EXERCISE on PAGE 2
Student sets up summer basketball sessions on Mountainlair courts Shannon McKenna/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
The night’s drink specials are displayed on a door along with a welcome message. Vorpe said the unique, casual environment Mutt’s offers is what draws his group of friends there time after time and is what will continue to draw them there in the future. “The new location is very different than other bars around Morgantown. It was a more relaxed atmosphere with a lounge feel,” he said. “Between the pool table and Wii sports there are many things to do while catching up with friends.” Mutt’s may be in a different location now, but Vrooman said it was his
desire to keep the same casual feeling that the old location boasted and to ensure every patron can make lasting memories just as they always have. “The patrons that come in walk here and now instead of walking up the hill they can just walk down the street,” he said. “Change is good, we are still in Sunnyside, now we just have a nicer location. The same pictures are on the walls and we are the same Morgantown staple we always were.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
Journalism students gain experience in China By Alyssa Lazar
The West Virginia University Extension Service and the West Virginia Association of Counties are offering the Summer Steps program to motivate West Virginia residents to incorporate walking into their daily routines. The Summer Steps walking program is a competition between all of the state’s 55 counties, and at the end of the program the county with the most steps logged will be named “WVU Extension Service’s LiveWell Community.” Last year over 17,000 miles were logged by participants in the program, and in the third year of the Summer Steps challenge the Extension Service wishes to further increase participation. To register for the competition participants will go online and indicate which county they want their miles to be logged toward. After selecting a county, participants can begin tracking their steps with the online tracker
available on the WVU Extension Service’s Families and Health website, http://fh.ext.wvu.edu. “We want to let people know that walking is the easiest and probably the most beneficial health action that you could do,” said Elaine Bowen, a WVU Extension health promotion specialist. “Just getting out and increasing your steps throughout the summer is really a way people can improve their health.” The online program is free of cost and will run from June 1 to Aug 31. However, participants may sign up for Summer Steps whenever they wish. “Even though the program runs from June to the end of August, people can participate as long as they want. They can do it all summer or they can begin when they want,” Bowen said. “We try to make it easy for people to participate.” WVU Extension is committed to improving the health of all West Virginians and aims to target
to practice their professional discipline in a global environment. “It is a once in a lifetime experience for them,” said Maryanne Reed, dean of the P.I. Reed School of Journalism. “They are getting hands-on experience working for Chinese businesses and agencies doing strategic communication.” Ebel said the cultural immersion in the Chinese environment is absolutely essential for their success in this field. “If any of them want to work globally, and China is the emerging global economic power, they have to understand China,” Ebel said. The experience they receive while in China puts them far ahead of their peers and makes them more competitive. “They have to come back from China understanding how important it is to cooperate with other countries, but even more importantly they need to understand that we have to be competitive and win,” Ebel said. “The benefit they derive primarily is that they are light years ahead of their peers when they return.”
A&E PAGE 6 CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Classifieds 304-293-4141 or DA-Classifieds@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857
The students stayed on campus at the University or moved out closer to their Chinese companies. The students would have to commute to work each day on the Guangzhou metro system. “This exchange is about creating a real Chinese work experience,” Ebel said. Among the exchange in China, the school of journalism also offers other global experiences. The school offers an international media course, where a faculty member has taken students to Peru, West Africa and China. It also offers a strategic communications capstone course in Ireland, Italy and Brazil. These opportunities are an ongoing effort by the school to increase global experiences and make students more marketable to future employers. “We see this as a growth area for our school,” Reed said. “Many of our students will be working for companies that will most likely be global, and not necessarily focused on consumers of the United States.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates and give feedback.
@dailyathenaeum ‘CLEAN POWER PLAN’ UNVEILED The Environmental Protection Agency announcedMonday that they plan to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030. OPINION PAGE 4
vidzshare.net
Students can play basketball on the courts behind the Mountainlair.
By Alexis Randolph Staff Writer @DailyAthenaeum
Summers in Morgantown can be slow for the remaining students and a local DJ would like to change that. Dollar ‘DJ Dollar’ Agbemadon, a junior business administration student, has been bringing people together for afternoons of socializing and basketball and plans to continue to do so throughout the summer. “Summer down here is pretty boring, there isn’t much going on,” he said. “So we came up with the idea. Why not bring people out and enjoy the great outdoors, some music and some refreshments?” Agbemadon said they will be setting up music equipment and refreshments at the Mountainlair Green basketball courts from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. every day the weather permits. Since the first time they set up, he said things are picking up, with more people coming out to play every day. “It has picked up every single day and we have been trying to get more people on it,” he said. “We have picked up some sponsors, and it has been getting bigger day by day.” With great weather and better turn outs, the group has even been extending their days, Agbemadon said. “We have had a great turn out, I think the most
we have had is about 3035 people come out,” he said. “It is 5-7 p.m., but sometimes we end up staying until 8 because the people are here and the weather is so good.” They often share refreshments and help spread the word about the events. Agbemadon said networking and meeting new people is a great reason for everyone to come out and enjoy the games and the weather. “Just come out and have some fun,” he said. “You can make new friends and connections. We bring all of this out here and meet people and tell them about all of the shows we have going on. “This is more of a networking event, you make new fr iends, business relations and fans.” Agbemadon said to expect more events from DJ Dollar coming up this summer and into the fall and spring semesters. Ayo David Alaka, a junior international business student, helps to organize the events. Alaka said the Mountainlair Green courts are a great place for the event. “We usually come out here because it is out in the open,” Alaka said. “It attracts people who are walking by here, which is really nice too.” Chris Allen, a sophomore sports
see BALL on PAGE 2
RUNNING BACK OPTIONS Redshirt sophomore Rushel Shell to play larger role at running back position. SPORTS PAGE 7