10 CELEBRATING
HERDED
The Waterfront Place Hotel celebrates 10 years of service today.
The West Virginia volleyball team fell to Marshall 3-1 Tuesday. For a full recap see SPORTS PAGE 9
NEWS PAGE 2
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday October 30, 2013
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Volume 126, Issue 51
SGA talks gender neutral restrooms by jacob bojesson staff writer @dailyathenaeum
The West Virginia University Student Government Association is in the planning stages to propose the installment of genderneutral restrooms around campus. The intent is for every building on campus to have at least one restroom students can use who don’t feel comfortable choosing between a male of female restroom.
Elise Cowgill, SGA codirector of diversity, held a brief meeting Tuesday to look for volunteers to help sort out the logistics of the proposition. “Students who are transgender, or are in the process of becoming transgender, or feel like they need to cross-dress themselves accurately don’t necessarily feel like they have a place to go where they feel safe,” Cowgill said. “In order to meet that goal and move forward as
a university, that’s something that SGA has undertaken in order to move the University forward. It’s pretty clear that it’s necessary for the advancement for our university.” There have been incidents in the past where people have been called out for using the “wrong” restroom, because they are transgender, Cowgill said. “I do know of people that it has happened to, and I’m sure it happens to more people than we will ever know about, because
Morgantown looks to become ‘bikefriendly’ city By Sam Bosserman Correspondent @DailyAthenaeum
Whether it’s a Jimmy John’s employee delivering subs or a family having a night out, many citizens in the Morgantown area are choosing to ride bicycles in the downtown area. The Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization has recently drawn attention to the benefits of biking and is working to develop a bicycle plan to present to local governments as well as the West Virginia Department of Transportation. Bill Austin, director of the MMMPO, said his organization already works closely with the Morgantown Bicycle Board and he hopes to see many positive new efforts in response to the proposed plan. “The plan we are developing will help the Department of Transportation target the limited resources they have available to most effectively improve the environment for cyclists and motorists,” Austin said. Biking in Morgantown and the surrounding area can sometimes be difficult, but the area has a lot of potential to improve.
Staff Writer @DailyAthenaeum
The West Virginia Unviersity Foundation has named Cynthia Roth as their new president and CEO, replacing R. Wayne King, who held the position for six years. Roth, associate vice chancellor of institutional advancement at the University of Pittsburgh, will assume office Jan. 1. Roth will become the sixth president in the foundation’s 69-year history. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” Roth said. “It’s great to be part of an exciting organization and a university that’s on the move.” The main reason for Roth’s appointment as the new CEO is the success she had in raising money for a variety of organizations over the past two decades, according to foundation board chairman Bob Reynolds. Most recently, Roth and the University of Pittsburgh managed to raise more than $2 billion for the Building Our Future Together campaign. Roth is now hoping to
see ROTH on PAGE 3
We want to hear your opinion on the prospect of gender-neutral restrooms on campus. Use the hashtag #GenderWVU to join the conversation. @DailyAthenaeum
club spotlight
WALK THE LINE
Doyle Maurer/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
TOP: Nick Morales, a junior marketing student, tries slacklining for the first time while Andrew Leich, a seasoned slackliner, practices his tricks on the highest line. LEFT: Junior mechanical engineering student Stephen Khoo planks on the slackline outside of the Business & Economics building on the Downtown Campus.
see BIKE on PAGE 3
achieve similar results at WVU. “At the end of the day, it’s about building relationships and being able to lead teams,” she said. “I have had the privilege in my career to build great interdisciplinary teams to be able to seek and fulfill missions. We set goals and we achieve goals, and I’ve really enjoyed doing those things.” Roth is currently completing her duties at the University of Pittsburgh, and said she has to familiarize herself more with WVU during the next couple of months. “The people I’ve met have all been fabulous so I’m so excited to be part of that,” she said. “I have had a lot of experience in building partnerships (and) reaching out to other places, and that’s what the foundation does. “They build partnerships with other units, and those partnerships are about building good relations, and I’ve had that experience with lots of other organizations, so being able to that with (WVU) is an exciting thing to do.”
WHAT’s your take?
see RESTROOMS on PAGE 3
“Cyclists in the area can find much of the terrain and the relatively narrow width of many of the area’s roads to be challenging,” Austin said. “However, Morgantown is lucky to have the Rail Trail network. (It) is a valuable asset that can act as the spine for a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly transportation network.” Austin said he encourages all students and residents who have an interest in biking to make their voices on the subject heard. “It’s easy to complain about something, but doing something about it is much more productive,” Austin said. “Come out and let us know what you think about cycling and other transportation issues in our area” Gregory Mulley, the West Virginia University Student Government Association student representative with the MMMPO, said there are many ways WVU students can benefit from improved biking infrastructure. “Imagine a student without much money for gas, or maybe no car on campus. Perhaps a student spends 30 plus minutes a day walking to and from campus,” Mulley said. “Biking
WVU Foundation names Roth as new President, CEO By Jacob Bojesson
people are embarrassed about things like that and won’t feel the need to step forward,” she said. “To keep it from happening is much better than to search out for people that it’s happened to.” There is no number for how many students a gender-neutral restroom applies to, but one reason behind the proposition is to make prospective students who are transgender feel more comfortable
Slackline Club holds first meeting, invites students to take risks By Laura Haight Staff Writer @DailyAthenaeum
The West Virginia University Slackline Club made its debut Tuesday with its first official meeting between the trees outside the Business & Economics Building on the Downtown Campus. Slacklining is a practice similar to tightrope walking that consists of roping a line of webbing between two trees and walking across it. The line is slacktight though, and allows some give like a Doyle Maurer/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM skinny trampoline. The club started as a Facebook page where Sophomore wildlife biology student Andrew Leich and junior mechanical engislackliners could post times to practice together. neering student, Stephen Khoo balance on slacklines outside the Business & EcoNathan Baker, a junior computer engineer- nomics Building downtown. ing student, helped start the original club after enough people showed interest on the Facebook page. “Stephen (Khoo), Andrew (Leich) and I got together and said, ‘Let’s make this a legit thing,’” Baker said. “To To find out more about WVU’s Slackline Club and be a part of something we started in a school so large is practice times, check out their Facebook page: amazing. It’s nice to have the opportunity to do that.” http://facebook.com/groups/WVUSlackline Baker said he encourages everyone to try slacklining and to not be afraid of it. “The reality is that anybody can do it and the beginners just have to realize that it’s pretty easy,” he said. it. No matter how many times you fall, you keep tryThe club meetings are Bring Your Own Slackline, but ing and when you finally get it, it’s an amazing feeling.” members have slacklines set up for beginners to try. Stephen Khoo, a junior mechanical engineering stuClub members set up three different slacklines: one dent, said he was introduced to slacklining after seeing three-feet-high for beginners, one seven-feet-high for people do it outside of the Life Sciences Building. “The experienced slackliners and another four-feet-high hardest part is getting used to the way the line feels. for tricks. Once you get used to that it’s pretty easy,” Khoo said. “The hardest part for me is learning new tricks withKhoo offered advice to beginners at the meeting and out killing myself,” Baker said. “You have to let go of see SLACKLINE on PAGE 2 your fear and say, ‘I’m going to do this,’ and go after
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