THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Thursday August 29, 2013
VOLUME 126, ISSUE 10
www.THEDAONLINE.com
SGA adopts new ethics code By Sam Bosserman Correspondent
The West Virginia University Student Government Association discussed ethics and conduct during its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday. The board began the meeting with a second reading of an amendment to the SGA Ethics Code which was initially presented at last week’s meeting. Gov. Spenser Wempe read the amendment aloud and
explained the reason for its implementation. “Sanctioning SGA members should be the responsibility of the Judicial Board… the impeachment and sanctioning processes should be separated within the respective legislative and judicial branches.” Wempe also read aloud the portion of the amendment that gives responsibility to the SGA President assuming responsibility for informing the Board of Governors of ethics violations.
“(Previously), the ethics code statement did not previously specify that the Board of Governors must be notified of ethics violations.” The Ethics Code amendment passed with a unanimous vote from the board. Aside from the passing of the ethics code amendment, the board considered four executive appointments and two Student Conduct Board appointments. All of those nominated were confirmed with little public discussion between
board members. Vice President Ben Seebaugh said all conduct board nominees go through an extensive vetting process where governors have the chance to ask questions. “The Student Conduct Board oversees any alleged conduct violations by students and within Student Government we have the opportunity to appoint those students who sit on the board,” Seebaugh said. “Students on the board help
GOLD RUSH
ensure there is student representation and that student’s perspective is brought to the table when considering allegations of misconduct.” In addition to appointments to the Student Conduct Board, six executive appointments were also confirmed by the board. The appointments ranged from Health Sciences liaison to director of legislative affairs. Kristen Pennington, who was reconfirmed in her role as co-chair of Student Advo-
correspondent
Doyle Maurer/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Maniacs distribute annual official shirt by shelby toompas staff writer
Excitement filled the air in Morgantown earlier this week as the countdown to the season’s first game began on Monday. However, on campus, the excitement came along with a famous gold t-shirt. Students came into the lair to pick up the one thing that, for many, marks the beginning of West Virginia University Football—the 2013-2014 Mountaineer Maniac t-shirt. Chris Northrup, director of the Mountaineer Maniacs, said there are currently 5,500 members registered and students can still sign up for ba-
sic membership. “Picking up your t-shirt is exciting, and it’s cool to see what the new Maniac shirt looks like,” Northrup said. “We didn’t want students to have to wait in long lines. We wanted to have it across three days, have it in a central location on campus and make it the most convenient for our members.” The Mountaineer Maniacs is the largest student group on campus and focuses primarily on Mountaineer athletics. The t-shirt distribution is one that both old and new students look forward to. Freshman biology student, Nadia Mardmomen, said she signed up to be a Ma-
niac member mainly because of all of the benefits that come with it. “By signing up for a basic membership, I still have awesome benefits such as receiving my free t-shirt and getting discounts on apparel at the Book Exchange,” Mardmomen said. Not only do Maniac members receive free t-shirts, but students will also have the advantage of getting 20 percent off apparel at the Book Exchange, traveling to a game, invitations to watch parties and tailgates, as well as receiving 50 percent off of the RubberU discount wristband. The t-shirt distribution was held Monday through
see MANIACs on PAGE 2
‘Feels like home’: church offers college program by madison fleck associate city editor
Relaxation and reflection are essential to many students at West Virginia University. While many student organizations that offer this, Suncrest United Methodist Church gives students a non-University affiliated option. The United Methodist Church serves as a place where students and nonstudents can feel at home and have a sense of belonging. “Our program is not just limited to people who are in college,” said Sven VerWythe Woods/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM linden, Suncrest United Logan Town performs at Suncrest United Methhodist Church’s “The Coffee House.” Methodist director of col-
84° / 64°
LIGHTS, CAMERA ACTION!
INSIDE
Mountaineer Idol auditions began Wednesday. A&E PAGE 8
MOSTLY SUNNY
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 6, 7, 8 Sports: 9, 10, 12 Campus Connection: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 11
lege ministry. “We don’t want to exclude people who don’t go to college or maybe are taking some time off. We want to make sure they also have a place to go to.” Verlinden and his wife, Lisa, are new to the youth ministry at Suncrest United Methodist, and they hope to add something to the group. They are working to organize a mission trip for spring break both take students to contemporary Christian concerts. “Lisa and I are really excited about working with college students,” Verlinden said. “We’ve always been really interested in working
see CHURCH on PAGE 2
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Follow @dailyathenaeum on Twitter for news, sports, A&E and opinion updates from the DA
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
GET INVOLVED The WVU Student Organization fair will be held today in the Mountainlair. NEWS PAGE 2
see SGA on PAGE 2
Tailgate to offer networking for students by alexis randolph
Students lined up on Monday morning to get their Mountaineer Maniac shirts.
cates for Legislative Advancement (SALA), said it is entirely up to each executive to decide how big an influence he or she will have during their time in office. “With SALA, we’ve had state media coverage on our efforts, and as an executive I certainly do my best in this position and make something of it.” Pennington also said it was crucial to the SGA to have people willing to do their part in
The West Virginia University Career Services Center strives to prepare students for their future careers. The center will try a new approach to ready students through its Career Kick-Off Tailgate Party Saturday. The tailgate will feature prizes, food, entertainment, games and networking opportunities for the many students at Milan Puskar Stadium. The games at the tailgate will be run by different companies, such as Sherwin Williams, WVU Healthcare, First Energy, North Western Mutual Financial Network and more. The companies will network with students at each game station, making connections for the future. “We are trying to be more aggressive with our outreach to students,” said David Durham, the director of Career Services. “The idea is to get to students and pro-
vide them with information of what they can be doing to get career-ready.” When students arrive at the tailgate, they will be directed to one of four tables, depending on their class rank. The tables will be labeled with the CSC’s new slogan: Plan it, Build it, Work it and Live it. According to Durham, the new CSC branding was built on a four-year plan, and this plan breaks down the daunting process for becoming career ready. The idea for the tailgate itself came from a researchproject the CSC performed. “A peer university holds a similar event,” said Sarah Glenn, assistant director of Employer Relations at CSC. “We contacted them, and they have had great success in the past with the event.” “The tailgate is a fun way to engage students early in the semester,” Glenn said. At the Kick-Off, students will find traditional tailgate
see TAILGATE on PAGE 2
Morgantown Police offer taxi safety tips By Caroline Peters Staff Writer
From late night rides Downtown to visiting a friend across town, Morgantown residents often rely on public transportation. Some people, however, may not be fully aware of the risks they could be taking when stepping foot into a taxi. Laura Stefanow, a sports management student, said she recently experienced a startling taxi ride. “My best friend and I decided to take a taxi to the mall in Westover when it was still daylight,” Stefanow said. “The taxi picked us up, and we saw that there was an older male sitting (in the front seat) of the taxi. We were heading the right direction when suddenly the taxi driver went off track, and we grew nervous.” Although, her ride proved nothing to worry about, Stefanow said just feeling threatened was enough to make her uneasy. “It turns out the driver was just taking the other passenger home, but if the driver would have informed us, it wouldn’t have been (as scary),” Stefanow said. “My friend had 911 ready in her phone, because we were unaware of our
surroundings, and we weren’t used to riding with complete strangers.” Lt. M.D. Solomon of the Morgantown Police Department said if an individual ever feels threatened in a taxi, he or she should first remember to remain calm before taking further action. “(Passengers) should try to safely get away, but that’s not always possible,” Solomon said. “Depending on the circumstances, (passengers) should remain calm and listen to what the (driver) has to say.” Solomon said riders should never sit in the front of a cab and should always be prepared to call the police if they ever feel uncomfortable. “I would rather sit in the back so no one is behind me,” he said. “Victims should absolutely call the police, but they should always wait until the situation is safe. “You (could) call during the incident, but that could cause the criminal to go off the deep end.” Solomon said he encourages passengers to carefully follow up on any perpetrator’s appearance, as well as the time that the offender is acting out of place. “ Victims need to try their best to get a good description of the
see TAXI on PAGE 2
RIGG-ING THE SYSTEM Senior Doug Rigg is hoping to emerge as one of the best linebackers on the WVU defense in his final season. SPORTS PAGE 12