THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Monday December 8, 2014
Volume 127, Issue 70
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MOUNTAINEERS TRAVEL TO
LIBERTY BOWL
WVU will face Texas A&M on Dec. 29 in Memphis. SEE MORE ON TOMORROW’S SPORTS PAGE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWw4a6Lp2uq891HbAT7ANw
Business Plan Competition teams announced, will spend year developing business by jennifer skinner
FINALISTS
staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Ten teams of West Virginia University students were announced as finalists on Saturday in the Collegiate Business Plan Competition, hosted by the WVU College of Business and Economics BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The finalists are Allegheny Genesis, Country Roads Meat, Planet Density Foods and Pubstomper Brewing Company, all in the Hospitality and Tourism category; Precision Agriculture Sampling Service, Spyder Lacrosse and Temp Sentry, all in the Lifestyle and Innovation category; and Creative Health, Shady Ridge Enterprises, LLC and Sustainable Dental Products, all in the STEM category. Participants spend an entire academic school year coming up with a business ideas, writing studies, presenting pitches, interviewing with business professionals and developing their businesses with mentors and stipends before presenting the business plan to the final judges. The competition educates students on how to manage a start-up business and gives them the skills and contacts needed to make a reality of their ideas. Reem Eldawud, a fourthyear chemical engineering PhD student, is finalist in the STEM category with Creative Health, her medical supply company that creates syringes based on how painful they are for kids. “It was really, really exciting, and I was hoping we would get this far. I hope that this will be my career if we make it. It’s what I want to do,” Eldawud said of the “eye-opening” experience of managing her own startup company. “We’re also students and have a lot of coursework to do. We’re all busy but we managed to communicate, have a specific idea of what we want to do and how to do it, and put the work into it. (The competition) helped us organize ourselves and with time management.” Evan Dodrill, a junior animal sciences student also in the STEM category, made it to the finals with
Hospitality & Tourism - Allegheny Genesis - Country Roads Meat -Planet Density Foods -Pubstomper Brewing Company Lifestyle & Innovation - Precision Agriculture Sampling Service - Spyder Lacrosse - Temp Sentry STEM Category - Creative Health - Shady Ridge Enterprises, LLC - Sustainable Dental Product Shady Ridge Enterprises, LLC. His company is developing a prototype for a cattle security system to help farmers track their animals and keep cattle and drivers safe from cattle wandering into roads. “We’re making our roadways safer for every citizen,” Dodrill said. The Greenbrier County, W.Va. native’s family had 19 cattle at their 500-acre cattle farm killed in Oct. 2013 from cars on busy roads. Dodrill wants to make his product affordable for every farmer so fewer cattle are lost to traffic and fewer drivers have to worry about cattle escaping their farms and entering dangerous roadways. “The U.S. has 1.67 million sheep, and we’re not in the top 10 sheep producing countries in the world. It’s not just an American problem, it’s a global problem,” Dodrill said. “Our goal is to eventually have a prototype before the final road, win, go into production phases, and I want to make it a U.S. and also a global product.” Emily Wells, a senior agribusiness management and rural development student, is a finalist in the Lifestyle and Innovation category with her company Precision Agriculture Sampling Service.
see BUSINESS on PAGE 2
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FLY AWAY
INSIDE
Mary Poppins entertains audiences at Met Theatre A&E PAGE 6
CLOUDY
News: 1, 2, 3 Opinion: 4 A&E: 6, 7 Sports: 9, 10 Campus Connection: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 10, 11
Burch’s bell ringing draws crowd by jennifer skinner staff writer @dailyathenaeum
W
est Virginia University commemorated the life of Nolan Burch Friday at Oglebay Plaza with a bell ringing ceremony held by WVU’s chapter of the national service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. Burch was a freshman sports management student who was pledging to be a brother in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. The 18-year-old from Williamsville, N.Y. died Nov. 14 in Morgantown, W.Va. Burch leaves behind family members and, “the many people that he met during his too short time here with us, including his close friends in Summit Hall and his brothers in Kappa Sigma,” said Kim Mosby, senior associate dean and representative of E. Moore Hall and the Of-
fice of Campus and Community Life. “I didn’t know Nolan directly, but before every football game we had tailgates all over the place, and I remember distinctly seventh floor Summit, and I realized that I did meet him somewhere along the way, even though I didn’t know his name or where he came from,” said Michael Garcia, Mountaineer Mascot and member of Alpha Phi Omega. Burch and his friends on his floor in Summit Hall always met up for the Man Trip before football games. Garcia reflected on their consistent excitement and pride to be Mountaineers. “I’m really sad that I didn’t know Nolan on a personal level, and I’m really sad that he wasn’t here longer so I didn’t get that opportunity,” Garcia said. “But I am very happy to know that some-
where along the way, I shook his hand. I’m very happy that somewhere along the way, he touched my life.” Mosby sent Burch’s family a certificate signed by Dean of Students Corey Farris and WVU President E. Gordon Gee honoring Burch’s life and contributions to WVU. “I had the chance to meet Nolan’s family, and I heard from them what a special person he was. I’m not surprised, because his family was very special, too,” Mosby said. “They showed such grace under such tragic conditions.” Haley Besser, a senior public relations student and chapter president of Alpha Phi Omega, attended the ceremony with other members of the service fraternity. “I think it just goes to show how much we care about each other. By holding these ringings, we, the students and the community, can show
that we love and care about each other without needing to know them on a personal level,” Besser said. Funeral services were held Nov. 20 in Williamsville while students at WVU remembered Burch with a vigil on the Mountainlair Plaza. Those who attended the vigil linked arms and sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as they celebrated their fond memories of Burch. “As a student of West Virginia University, I’d just like to say that, even though someone passes away, even though someone isn’t here any longer, that person is still in our hearts,” Garcia said. “And as long as they’re in our hearts, we can pass on their memory through our actions right now. I hope that all of us remember that in this trying time.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
University honors 73rd Pearl Harbor anniversary by lauren caccamo & kendall snee da staff @dailyathenaeum
T
o honor the 73rd anniversary of the attacks at Pearl Harbor, the West Virginia University Office of Veterans Affairs sponsored a ceremony Friday in front of the USS West Virginia Mast outside of Oglebay Hall. The event honored the infamous attack on the American naval base on Dec. 7, 1941 which took the lives of more than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors and wounded another 1,000 in the fight. Though that barrage lasted only two short hours, the Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships and almost 200 airplanes. The attack caused President Franklin D. Roosevelt to seek approval of Congress to declare war against the Axis Powers. More than two years into the conflict, America entered World War II. Jeremy Allio, president of the Morgantown Veterans of Foreign Wars, spoke about the historical significance of the attack. “The attack on Pearl Harbor awoke a sleeping giant,” Allio said. “America was strengthened by its enduring values of freedom, tolerance, and service. The long odds that we faced during the dark days that followed the attack
Nick Jarvis/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Ringing of the bell during the Pearl Harbor day memorial service commemorates those who lost their lives. on Pearl Harbor served to fuel the indomitable spirit of our nation and carried us through to open victory against the Axis Powers.” Allio said while lessons learned from Pearl Harbor kept our nation safe and secure for nearly 60 years, the attacks on 9/11 proved that as a nation we must be ever vigilant. “We learned on Sept. 11 that we must never let our guard down—that while we enjoy an abundance of freedom we are not exempt from danger,” Allio said. “The attacks that occurred on Dec. 7, 1941 and Sept. 11, 2001 proved one thing: Our people may be attacked and our buildings
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CHANGING A CULTURE Commentary: Rape culture needs to be taken seriously on all college campuses across nation OPINION PAGE 4
may be destroyed, but our enemies will never be successful in crushing our democracy or the American way of life.” Also speaking at the ceremony was Lt. Col. Steven Clark, commander of WVU Army ROTC, who brought the audience’s attention to retired Navy Lt. James Downing, who was present at the attacks on Pearl Harbor. “Downing was on shore then the attacks began that Sunday morning,” Clark said of the retired Navy lieutenant. “His wife was cooking breakfast for service members at their home near the harbor when they heard explosions in the
distance. Downing said, ‘An aircraft shell landed outside and blew a crater about 25 feet across. There was no time to think, only time to react and rely on our training.’ So, Downing and other service members jumped in a trick and sped to the war zone. The worst damage of the attack occurred within the first 11 minutes. The drive to the harbor took about 20. When Downing arrived, he witnessed a scene of fire and destruction.” Downing, who turned 101 years-old in August, is the oldest known living survivor of the attacks on
see ANNIVERSARY on PAGE 2
GIRLS KEEP ROLLING No. 24 women’s basketball continues streak beating Coppin State 83-43 SPORTS PAGE 9