THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
Wednesday June 11, 2014
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VOLUME 126, ISSUE 141
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BOG votes to increase WVU tuition BY Summer Ratcliff City Editor @SUMMERRATCLIFF
West Virginia University’s Board of Governors approved a $980 million budget for the next fiscal year at their meeting June 5. This budget includes tuition increases for the main WVU campus of $252 per semester for resident students and $396 for non-residents. The Board also approved increasing financial aid at a
higher percentage rate than tuition and fees, including adding an additional $1.5 million in need-based scholarship aid. The budget reflects nearly $20 million in state funding reductions over the last two fiscal years. “While we recognize that increasing the tuition even one dollar is a concern for our current and prospective students, a West Virginia University education remains one of the best investments you can make,”
WVU Children’s Hospital receives new, updated pediatric ambulance By Hannah Wigal Staff Writer @DailyAthenaeum
The West Virginia University Children’s Hospital has teamed up with JanCare to purchase a new pediatric ambulance to better serve patients and their families. The updated ambulance will be equipped with all of the specialized instruments to provide medical assistance to children in need of urgent care. As children are transported to the WVU Children’s Hospital they will receive the same care as they would in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The original ambulance transported 292 children in need of critical care in 2013, and since 2010 children from West Virginia and parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland have been transported to the WVU Children’s Hospital in the ambulance. The newer vechile has fewer miles on it and all of the medical equipment is brand new. The original ambulance will be utilized as a spare, however both of the ambulances are certified as critical care transport units through the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. The WVU Children’s hospital ambulance can transport children ranging in age from a birth to adolescence, and infants can either be carried in a car seat or isolette.
The medical equipment on the ambulance includes a heart monitor/defibrillator, a ventilator and monitoring arterial catheters, which are used to check blood pressure and can be used for arterial blood gas measurements as well. The ambulance is also equipped to provide patients with medical air, which is typically used when transporting premature infants because the diluted dose of oxygen is safer for newborns. Along with the state of the art medical equipment the ambulance has features including GPS tracking, a drive cam with back-up cameras and drop-down chains for winter weather conditions. Lora Buchanan, R.N, works for the WVU Children’s Hospital as a pediatric transport nurse, and knows how important it is to have updated equipment for the sake of the patients and families of patients. “It’s not just the patient. You take care of the whole family,” Buchanan said. Buchanan has experienced the transport process as a mother and as a transport nurse, and says that medical exposure can be an intimidating experience for families. When her son Kyle Feick was visiting family in Parkersburg, West Virginia in September 2012 he was thrown into respiratory arrest after having a seizure. A local emergency squad was able to stabilize Feick’s condition,
see AMBULANCE on PAGE 2
President Gordon Gee said. “Even with the rising cost of higher education, the return over a lifetime remains substantial – even into the millions of dollars.” For the fiscal year beginning July 1, resident tuition and base fees for undergraduates will be $3,480 per semester and $10,212 for non-residents. Divisional campus tuition and fees will increase to $3,024 – up $120 – per semester for resident students
at West Virginia University Institute of Technology and $1,740 – up $72 – for twoyear programs at Potomac State College of West Virginia University. Non-residents will pay $7,596 and $4,729 respectively. Ryan Campione, former WVU Student Government Association President and current BOG member, cast the sole nay vote during his last meeting as student representative on the board, “This is an issue that has
kept me up the last several nights. I sympathize with the situation WVU is currently in, while trying to maintain a quality education,” Campione said. “I’d really like to encourage the state of West Virginia to come together as a whole and invest in higher education.” The increase in tuition for West Virginia residents is 7.81 percent and 4.03 percent for non-residents. While WVU’s tuition increase is the largest to be
approved in the state thus far, Marshall University students will see a 4.99 percent increase for residents and 4.01 percent for non-residents. Concord University students will also see an increase, as their tuition will go up by 7.0 percent for residents and 5.90 percent for non-residents. Newly elected WVU Student G overnment Association President and
see TUITION on PAGE 2
Race raises money for rail trail
Laura Harnish becomes first woman to win Deckers Creek Half Marathon By Jake Jarvis A&E Editor @JakeJarvisWVU
The feet of 623 runners pounded the pavement for 13.1 miles in the 14th Annual Deckers Creek Half Marathon on Saturday. For the first time in the race’s history, a woman won. Laura Harnish, the 27-year-old runner from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, finished the course in one hour, 19 minutes and 12 seconds. Her pace was 6:03, putting her finish just one and a half minutes ahead of runner-up Charles Edward III. Ella Belling, the Executive Director of Mon River Trails Conservatory and race director, said a woman winning a half marathon like this is unusual. She said Edward was leading most of the race, but Harnish pulled ahead in the final miles. “I am just really competitive,” Harnish said. “Like today, I’m actually getting over being iron deficient, and so I dropped out of a race a month ago. So, today was just a really exciting time and felt really good.” Harnish and friend Jamie Morgenstern have competed at Deckers Creek for the past three years but regularly run full marathons. They agreed the half marathon presented different challenges and “a sharper pain.” “Two years ago, I had never broken an hour and thirty minutes in a half (marathon),” Morgenstern said. “But we came out here, camped at Coopers Rock, ate pasta, drank beer, and I beat my personal record by eight minutes.” Harnish said it’s the ca-
maraderie with fellow runners that make all the hours she trains worthwhile. The pair are a part of the Pittsburgh Pharaoh Hounds, a group of 19 (some nationally ranked) runners in the Western Pennsylvania region. “We have a lot of people who have been running this race for several years and always give us feedback,” Belling said. “We’re considering some things like finisher medals to mark the accomplishment of just finishing the race.” Currently, Mon Trails offers winners a one-of-akind “rail road spike” award. These spikes are gathered throughout the year by volunteers to serve as a testament to the history of the Deckers Creek Rail Trail. The $50 registration fee funds the race and also the upkeep of 48 miles of land the conservatory manages. Belling said the race brought in over $20,000, which is just a small portion of the $70,000 yearly budget. “We would love to see (the trails) connect all the way up to the Great Allegheny Passage,” Belling said. “We’re looking at a major long distance trail that would go from Washington D.C., to Fairmont.” From there, Belling hopes to see it link to the North End Trail, connect to Parkersburg and ultimately cross the Ohio River. This final project would make the trail over 500 miles long, mimicking The Appalachian Trail. After the awards ceremony, live music was supplied by Sam Lamong & Ben Gilmer and Uncle Mike and the Half Fast Band. “I’m always amazed at the talents that are here lo-
Andrew Spellman/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Harnish crosses the finish line in triumph. cally,” Belling said. “We are very fortunate to get some really good bands. I actually saw some runners dancing at the finish lines.” Not only was there dancing, but after 17-year-old Adam Roh finished first in his category and 36th overall, he grabbed a bottle of water, took a long drink and went running down the trail again
Each year there are more racers and more surprising stories. But, what unites them all together, from competitors to supporting family members, is the love of running. “As long as we live in Pittsburgh, we plan on coming back each year,” Harnish said. jajarvis@mail.wvu.edu
Touch a Truck benefit provides learning experience, fun for children By Alexis Randolph STaff WRiter @DAILYATHENAEUM
The annual Morgantown Touch a Truck event, which featured vehicles of all types for children to climb in and check out, was held to benefit the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center Saturday. “Today is about fighting cancer,” said Sheila Powell, the event’s organizer. “All of the proceeds, 100 percent, go towards the cancer research fund,” All vehicles and personnel at the event were there on a volunteer bases according to Powell. The event has been taking place for several years and growing each year. As the organizer, the event holds a special place in Powell’s heart she said. “This is actually going into an endowment fund, which is for my father, who died of cancer,” Powell said. “My niece Leah and my daughter are also involved. It means a lot to us, to the whole family.”
Many families with children came out in support of the event, which had a $5 admission fee, children could purchase hard hats and t-shirts to commemorate the day as well. With vehicles to fill up several of the main lots at the Coliseum, the children were able to gain hands on experience with things such as food trucks, cherry pickers, fire trucks and even an emergency response helicopter. “We are very happy with the turn out, we have had beautiful weather and lots of people,” Powell said. Powell was also happy to get West Virginia University students involved by putting the event on iServe. She said she had about a dozen students sign up, who were a huge help for the day. Breanna Haught, a senior multidisciplinary studies student, said the event is something she has loved helping with in the past. “Since freshman year I have come and helped with this organization,” Haught
The Army Reserves showcase several trucks at the Touch a Truck benefit for kids to see inside. said. “Of all the different community service events you can do for eight hours, this is actually pretty fun.” Haught said she thinks the event is great because of the way it has brought people together ad benefited not only charity but also the community.
“It is a good way to bring the community together as a whole, all of the proceeds go to a good cause, The Mary Babb Cancer Center,” Haught said. “It is fun to see all of the kids come and enjoy themselves and see all the things the community can bring together
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POP ARTIST TOURS
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INSIDE
New York pop artist travels to local library to share his work. A&E PAGE 6
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as a whole.” While Haught said she believes there have been bigger crowds in the past and it all depends on which vehicles they are able to get, the event was a huge success in her eyes. Haught said events like this take the feeling of ob-
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WVU BASEBALL MAKES HISTORY WVU ties program high with six players selected in 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
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ligation out of volunteer work and make it more about having fun and being rewarding. “It will be a lot more fun than you think it is,” she said. “People think of volunteering as ‘Oh I
see TRUCK on PAGE 2
HARRIS HEADS TO MICHIGAN Eron Harris announced he will be transferringw to Michigan State. SPORTS PAGE 8