April 15, 2019

kentuckykernel

Monday, April 15, 2019 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971 www.kykernel.com @kykernel @kentuckykernel

JOE B. HALL’S

KENTUCKY

DREAM SACRIFICES FOR SUCCESS

STUDENTS SHARE STORIES OF FOOD, HOUSING INSECURITY PAGE 4

Monday, April 15, 2019

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2 | kentucky kernel

Monday, April 15, 2019

A LITTLE BIT OF JONATHAN KRUEGER GOES A LONG WAY… AND THAT’S A GOOD THING. Four years ago, on April 17, 2015, around 7 a.m., I answered a phone call from my boss. It was earlier than normal to hear from him, and I wondered why he couldn’t wait an hour or so. I was in the kitchen with my two children, who were eating breakfast and getting ready for school. After the third attempted phone call, I reluctantly answered the phone.

Krueger

I was stunned, speechless and grief-stricken to hear the unbelievable news that Jonathan Krueger had been murdered earlier that morning. I had just seen him the previous afternoon at the Kentucky Kernel, where he was the photo editor in the newsroom and wrapping up his junior year of study. He was filling out paperwork for a required fall internship he was to do with me through his Integrated Strategic Communication (ISC) major. We were going to meet again that morning to go over details and expectations.

My meeting with Jonathan never happened. Instead of a normal Friday at the Kernel, our offices in the Grehan Journalism Building turned into a safety zone for students, faculty and staff to gather, embrace, grieve, awkwardly laugh, sit silently and just cry.

‘HIS SMILE’

The last words Jonathan said to me as he rushed out on that late Thursday afternoon were, “Yes, ma’am! Thank you! Be here in the morning.”

That is one nice kid, I thought.

Jonathan’s mom, Mary Krueger, and family friends, can’t quite pinpoint why he wanted to go to UK, but suspect the strength of the basketball program had something to do with his desire to visit the campus.

“I remember our drive down, pointing out all the colleges and universities we were passing on our way from northern Ohio to

Lexington. That did not phase him one bit,” Mary said. “We were both struck by the beauty of the campus, the city of Lexington and most importantly by the people we met.”

Jonathan came to the Kernel as a freshman and got involved with the photo desk.

Jonathan joined the brotherhood of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, was completing a marketing internship with Red Bull and had worked his way up at the Kernel, eventually earning the title of photo editor by his junior year.

You can ask anyone who knew Jonathan about what type of person he was.

Will Wright, editor-in-chief of the Kentucky Kernel in 2014-15, remembers Krueger as a hard worker and the life of the newsroom.

“It feels not that long ago that I was sitting in the Kernel office, pulling my hair out over the next day’s paper,” Wright said. “Then, on cue, Krueger would strut through the door and lay three or four Red Bulls on my desk.”

Wright said Jonathan was a positive force in the newsroom.

“His smile could change the mood of a room in an instant. No matter how stressed we were at the Kernel, or how tired we were, Krueger’s enthusiasm and his lead-by-example attitude always gave us that shot in the arm we needed,” Wright said. “I’m sure he got stressed, too, but if he did, he overcame it by encouraging others. That’s an admirable quality for a guy to have, and I remember being so grateful to have him even before he was gone. He was a true leader in that way.”

THE BRIGHT LIGHT

Four years later, the Kernel has moved to a new (old) building on campus and is now a weekly printed paper. The names and faces of students have changed, but Jonathan’s spirit remains very much alive in the Kernel newsroom— there is always the listener, the driven reporter, the “bright light” at any moment, the motivator, the clown, and the leader. I also see the compassionate, the genuine, the mischievous and the sarcastic in the staff.

And there is always a sincerely kind student, one who always wears a smile, and the rare one who always says “Yes, ma’am.”

“He was a vibrant individual, with a contagious personality, in a positive way. He made the newsroom a happier place,” said David Stephenson, Kentucky Kernel photo

adviser.

I’m in the Kernel newsroom daily and I have had the pleasure and opportunity of getting to know the staffs very well from year to year. Although the Kernel students who knew and worked with Jonathan are now gone, Jonathan’s legacy continues to live on through the Jonathan Krueger Memorial Scholarship, awarded to a Kernel student who exemplifies his character and an individual who demonstrates promise in the area of photojournalism and multimedia.

In late August 2018, photo editor Jordan Prather became the fourth recipient of the scholarship.

“It is truly an honor to be a recipient of the Jonathan Krueger Memorial Scholarship and continue the job where he left off. He meant a lot several people at the Kernel, in the field of photojournalism, and elsewhere, and that is still obvious today,” Prather said.

“I hope that I can honor his memory in the work that I do each day and that future recipients for many years to come will do the same.”

ALWAYS WITH US

It’s always around this time of year that I think of Jonathan Krueger. And it’s very easy (and I’ve learned that it’s OK) to be emotional about his death. This is the time of year students sign up for fall class internships, finalize summer plans or jobs, and generally seem happy about spring and the semester wrapping up. Generally, it’s a happy time.

I miss Jonathan.

Life was an adventure for Jonathan and he lived it to the fullest. With his tremendous potential and zest for life, he will never be replaced.

I wish you had had the chance to meet Jonathan. He would have been an amazing friend to you and would do anything for anyone without hesitation. I feel blessed that I was able to spend time with him.

Knowing Jonathan, he’d be happy that I get to witness his character and spirit in the diversified, dedicated, hardworking, passionate, hilarious, troublemaking, (generally) always smiling and happy crew that gather at the Kentucky Kernel every day.

RIP, JKru.

May May Barton is one of the Kernel’s advisers.

kentuckykernel

CONTACT Editor-in-chief

Bailey Vandiver editor@kykernel.com

Managing editor

McKenna Horsley

News editor Rick Childress news@kykernel.com Asst. news editors

Jacob Eads Sydney Momeyer

Sports editor Erika Bonner sports@kykernel.com Asst. sports editor

Chase Campbell

Opinions editor Sarah Ladd opinions@kykernel.com Asst. opinions editor Hannah Woosley Lifestyle editor Akhira Umar lifestyle@kykernel.com Asst. lifestyle editor

Emily Baehner

Art director

Arden Barnes

Photo editor

Jordan Prather

Asst. photo editor

Michael Clubb

Social media editor Makenna Theissen kernelsocial@kykernel.com KENTUCKY KERNEL OFFICES 340 McVey Hall University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506 P: 859.2571915 www.kykernel.com

ON THE COVER MICHAEL CLUBB I STAFF Joe B. Hall cracks a smile after hearing a joke during his weekly gathering with the “Lunch Bunch” at Immanuel Baptist Church’s ROC Cafe on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky.

spring 2019 | 3

Monday, April 15, 2019

news

WHO ARE THEY?

By Rick Childress news@kykernel.com

Who are those students who go hungry to pay tuition? Who are those students who don’t have a stable place to live because housing is too expensive?

After weeks of covering a public battle between student activist groups and the UK administration on how to alleviate growing concerns over student hunger and housing insecurity, Kernel reporters and photographers set out to find those students who are struggling with food and housing insecurity.

In late March, the Basic Needs Campaign, backed by multiple student groups and a 2,000-student survey, called for action. The campaign called for the university to build a fully funded and fully staffed Basic Needs Center to provide aid to the 43 percent of UK students who the survey said were food insecure and the 8 percent who were housing insecure.

In multiple statements to the Kernel, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said that the university agreed that food and housing insecurity were a real problem, but the university disagreed on how to address it. The Basic Needs Center was a $200,000 fix that the university couldn’t accommodate.

In the first week of April, after an ensuing six-day-long student hunger strike and a day-long building occupation, administrators appeared to budge. After a passionate meeting with students, UK President Eli Capilouto agreed to establish a Basic Needs Fund and hire a full-time, professional staff member who would begin to coordinate UK’s approach to helping students meet their basic needs.

Kernel reporting found three students, all from different backgrounds, but all struggling with an issue that administrators and student activists agree is pervasive among UK students. Here are their stories.

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SATURN X WANTS TO BE THEIR TRUE SELF, BUT IT COMES AT A HIGH PRICE Story by Ryan Brokamp | Photos by Emily Wrenn

For many out of state students, college would be near unaffordable without family support and financial aid.

But for students like Saturn X, a sophomore gender nonbinary student, familial support and extensive financial aid aren’t available because they’re trying to be their true selves.

While it might seem that being gay or non-binary has no financial effect on college, Saturn, who hails from a Chicago suburb and goes by the pronouns they/them, faced struggles related to sexuality before even stepping on campus.

As Saturn prepared for the ACT, the stress of the test and the stress of not being out to their parents added up.

“The night before the ACT, I was really scared and stressed out,” Saturn said. “I felt like they should know. I was crying on the couch and I told them I think I’m gay.

“My dad just paused and my mom just paused, too. My mom was cool with it, but my dad was very much pissed off.”

Because of Saturn’s sexuality, their dad refused to provide financial support. With parents unwilling and unable to help fi-

ABOVE: Saturn tries on a pair of heels from the closet in the Office of LGBTQ Resources in the Gatton Student Center on April 4, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky.

LEFT: Saturn was one of the students who participated in the March occupation of the Student Center in support of the SSTOP Hunger Campaign.

nancially, Saturn was denied the student loans they applied for.

Facing non-acceptance at home, Saturn came to UK hoping that they could express a more honest version of them-

self. But with the current high cost of college, Saturn might not be able to do that.

In the fall of 2018, Saturn was housing insecure. Saturn now lives in a dorm working as

a peer adviser for LEXengage, a university program designed to increase awareness and understanding of issues related to civic engagement and global citizenship.

For a marginalized student like Saturn, the cost of college is starting to outweigh the benefits.

Every morning when Saturn steps outside their dorm room, they start looking over their shoulder. As a racial, gender and sexual minority, Saturn said they face discrimination through micro-aggressions, such as mis-gendering and dead name usage.

“I am back into a world where I have to watch my surroundings,” Saturn said of leaving their dorm.

Saturn, a gender and women’s study major with a minor in African American studies, feels more comfortable in their classes.

“I feel like I’m back in a safer environment,” they said.

When Saturn isn’t in class they are usually in the Office of LGBTQ* Resources in the Gatton Student Center. Programs like the LGBTQ* office help provide a more complete product for the campus’ students.

These programs help students like Saturn, who have had to hide their identity in the past, to finally live their true self.

“Sometimes in the office, I’ll just throw on some heels and walk around to have fun,” Saturn said. “The LGBTQ* office is somewhere people can hang out and relax and be themselves.”

Monday, April 15, 2019

DREW VAN’T LAND SUPPORTS HIS FAMILY ON A GRAD STUDENT SALARY Story by Emily Laytham | Photos by Natalie Parks

These days, Drew Van’t Land starts his morning with a veggie scramble: kale, spinach, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and avocados, all sautéed together, often with eggs.

It makes him feel good. It also makes him feel guilty.

“I feel really nourished and healthy, but I also feel like, ‘wow, I just ate a ton of produce,’” Van’t Land said. “I start calculating that in my head compared to a bowl of cheerios or some Nutella on toast.”

One bowl of cheerios with milk costs about 38 cents. A single piece of toast with one serving of Nutella costs about 60 cents.

As a sixth-year graduate student with a wife and two children to provide for, these are the breakfasts that Van’t Land can guiltlessly afford.

For the past year, Van’t Land, 31, has been the sole source of income for his four-person household. His wife Julianne stays home with their 5-year-old twins, Evelyn and Rowan. Meanwhile, Van’t Land works on his research at UK and teaches two sections of PHI 130: Intro to Philosophy and Morality in Society.

In between all of it, Van’t Land figures out how to stretch his $16,000 teaching stipend to pay for food, clothing, transportation and rent for himself as well as his family. “$16,000 would cover our rent for four people, and it would cover– maybe– transportation. Probably not food,” Van’t Land said. “So we’ve got a lot of other basic necessities that need to be covered.”

To make ends meet, Van’t Land teaches an extra philosophy class at BCTC. He also teaches an online course and a week-long philosophy camp for high schoolers, both in the summer. These part-time jobs bring his household income closer to $24,000.

But even with his UK stipend, extra work and thousands of dollars in loans, Van’t Land couldn’t bring food to the table without assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Van’t Land said the program provides “several hundred dollars a month”

than me,” Van’t Land said. “(Graduate students) are a really precarious demographic… but we’re also really privileged. You get the time to think about all these things – especially if you’re studying social theory like I am – and it just drives you crazy.”

Van’t Land even feels privileged when he thinks about his own history with food insecurity.

Now, Van’t Land eats out once or twice a week.

He typically gets Chick-

TOP: Drew Van’t Land, a graduate assistant in philosophy, teaches his Philosophy 130: Morality & Society class on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky.

BOTTOM LEFT: Drew Van’t Land leaves Patterson Office Tower on his bicycle on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Drew Van’t Land drinks an Ale-8 at Coffea on April 2, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. Van’t Land balances teaching classes and his own research with spending time with his wife and children.

for groceries.

Although they need the financial assistance, Van’t Land said the process of maintaining SNAP can be “horrendous,” as the system requires undeniable proof that you qualify for the program.

“I would break down after waiting and waiting in line,” Van’t Land said. “I was going early. I was going so frequently to give them new information. You think you’ve given them everything they need, and they’re like ‘nope, we need more.’

So, you give them more. And it’s not enough, and by this time, your

application has expired, and you have to re-apply.

“But it’s also a privilege that I know some of my colleagues don’t get,” Van’t Land added. “(It’s a privilege) to be able to get any kind of assistance from the state.”

As a philosophy student studying exploitation of labor, Van’t Land feels caught between need and privilege. He sees that privilege in his decisions– like making a veggie scramble instead of eating a bowl of cheerios– and in his profession as a graduate student.

“Most workers have it worse

fil-A with his family once per weekend. But just a few years ago, when he and his family lived in Toronto, he couldn’t afford any meal outside the home.

“I remember… going out with some students, some of my new colleagues, and getting lunch, and literally not having enough money,” Van’t Land said. “I got a bowl of soup that was a dollar. That moment really sticks out in my mind. Like, yeah, I was definitely food insecure then.

“Now I feel guilty that things

have opened up a little bit,” Van’t Land said.

Most of Van’t Land’s budget decisions come down to what is healthiest and what is cheapest.

He describes the two options as a “tradeoff between physical and moral sensitivity.”

The tradeoff applies to food decisions as well as transportation and extracurriculars.

Two hours of Van’t Land’s average day are reserved for biking to and from campus. Although faster transportation services like Uber or Lyft are tempting, they add yet another cost to the family’s budget. As a result, Van’t Land limits campus activities that occur in the evening, like the Basic Needs Campaign and Black Student Advisory Board’s occupation of the Main Building on Monday, April 1.

During the occupation, Van’t Land spent “a few minutes” in the Main Building to support the movement, but ultimately went home.

“I thought about coming back (to stay the night),” Van’t Land said.

“It was dark… but I thought, ‘well, I could just take an Uber back,’ and then I’m thinking, ‘okay, that means I’m gonna have to take one back tomorrow, and it’s gonna be 8 to 10 bucks both ways, so that’s another 20 bucks, and on my bike it’s free.’

I’m always making calculations like that.”

Van’t Land’s veggie scrambles cost about $1.87 each morning, compared to 38 cents for a bowl of cheerios with milk and 60 cents for toast with Nutella. This is the kind of calculation Van’t Land makes every day between his classes and his research. It is a calculation with consequences for himself, his wife and his children.

“I feel like I paint a picture of a life that I’m really enjoying– and that’s true,” Van’t Land said. “It’s just really precarious.”

“I don’t fear being food insecure next week, but definitely in a month,” Van’t Land said. “It’s like the edge of a cliff. Just one thing goes wrong… and life would just suddenly become very unlivable.”

spring 2019 | 5

Monday, April 15, 2019

KATIE MOUNT WORKS HARD TO BREAK OUT OF POVERTY Story by Hailey Peters | Photo by Arden Barnes

The American Dream tells people that no matter where you come from or what your circumstances are, you can break out of poverty and achieve anything you want in life. There are several real-world examples where this story has come to life, but for a lot of people, it is a dream more easily said than done.

Katie Mount is a junior history major at the University of Kentucky. Since her childhood, she and her family have struggled to make ends meet and be able to afford the basic necessities of life.

“My family has always been very poor,” Mount said. “That’s been a reality my entire life. I had two siblings, my mom was a single mom who didn’t finish high school, my dad killed himself when I was 10. We were really destitute. It was just our life... poverty was in my blood.”

Over the course of the last semester, through the Basic Needs Campaign and the SSTOP Hunger movement, students on campus have been putting intense pressure on campus administration to provide more resources for students struggling with hunger and homelessness.

The demonstrations and strikes that continuously popped up on campus brought attention to the question of what role a university should play in the lives of students in terms of providing for their needs.

Mount attended a SSTOP Hunger general assembly in late March with her classmates and friends to support the Basic Needs Campaign’s petition for more university support. Though not a participating member of SSTOP, Mount was pushed to share her story of working more than full time and not being able to afford to eat and attend school

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at the same time.

“I just went to the general assembly because I have friends in SSTOP,” Mount said. “Next thing you know, I just offhandedly mentioned that last summer I worked 50, 60 hour weeks, and then I got asked if someone wanted to share my story. I think it’s not right for that. It’s gotta come out of the horse’s mouth.”

“I’m first generation, so just getting here was a lot,” Mount said. “Paying for a freshman dorm was just ridiculously expensive. It’s obscene, and there’s just no way that my family could continue to afford that for three more years.

“My grants, my scholarships, everything... was almost gone after my first year. I had to work all

expenses and rent for the semester, she was able to budget $20 for groceries for the month.

“I lost 10 pounds in January,” she said. “Not because I worked out, not because I dieted, only because I could barely eat anything.

I couldn’t afford it and there was no way I could have asked my family for help... if I went to the university to help, they sent me

Katie Mount, a junior history major, poses for a portrait in White Hall classroom building on UK’s campus on April 10, 2019. Mount worked 50-60 hour weeks last summer to pay her tuiton and for her food and rent.

She continues to work full time while attending classes to pay her bills.

Continuously rising tuition costs, expensive housing options and meal plans that offer too few meals for combined with scholarship options that require a certain amount of credit hours and a high GPA keep many students like Mount working and going to school full time while still not being able to afford to eat every single week.

year long in addition to working for the university. What I spend on groceries now does not even come close to the meal plan my freshman year.”

In the month of January, Mount spent two days per week on campus with a fully packed schedule of classes. The rest of the week, she worked over full time at her job. After paying off her school

in a whole circle for resources that didn’t help nearly enough.

There are too many hungry students here for the resources we have now to suffice.”

When SSTOP Hunger began a hunger strike in late March, many students like Mount began to disagree with the tactics the group took to achieve their goals.

“They have a good message,

but that hunger strike pissed me off,” Mount said. “Those kids can choose to stop starving whenever they want and go back to their lives of eating like a normal, healthy human. I don’t have that option. I’m stuck being hungry. There are so many like me too.”

A lot of controversy has come up about the Basic Needs Campaign across social media. Several opponents suggest that the students who are struggling to receive food and housing should be looking for work to cover the differences.

Mount is one of the many students struggling to make ends meet with giving up a lot of free time to study, go to school and work. Despite what several opponents believe, it is not always possible to do everything and be able to afford to live.

“I work full time, I go to school full time, I study to keep my scholarships and I cannot afford food all the time,” Mount said. “I had to miss work for a week because I got so sick for not eating. I don’t have health insurance. The university provides basic care but they won’t cover the cost of my medicine.

“I came to college to get out of the poverty that I came from,” Mount said. “I came to college to rise above that. It’s a constant cycle that keeps putting me down because it’s difficult to afford.”

Mount said she’s still having to justify the cost of groceries, but she’s worked herself “up to one meal a day,” but she can’t convince herself “that food is an expense worth the money it costs.”

“I want to get out and be successful but I can’t take an unpaid internship at all,” Mount said.

“I’d love to, but the system keeps me and people like us out of the running for success.”

KENTUCKY DREAM

Joe B. Hall looks at his dog Penny, a golden doodle, in his home in Lexington, Kentucky, on Feb. 17, 2019.

JOE B. HALL’S KENTUCKY DREAM The first game that Joe B. Hall ever coached was not played on a basketball court. It was on a football field.

A few years out of college, he had just been hired as a coach at Shepherdsville High School. He was told he’d be the head basketball and baseball coach, as well as assistant football coach.

One week before the first game of the season, he found out he was actually head coach of football, too.

So on opening night, he and his 18 players took the field against Elizabethtown, which dressed 108 players. They got beat.

“Well, we got our revenge in basketball,” Hall said. “We beat them twice that year.”

Though Hall has played and coached several sports, he said he “gravitated toward basketball.”

He didn’t have to gravitate toward Kentucky, though; Kentucky was always “in his makeup.”

Born in Cynthiana in 1928, Hall grew up following Kentucky basketball and dreaming of playing there— and he got to.

“I had the opportunity to go onto the floor with Kentucky on my chest, come out of the portal in the old Alumni Gym, with the band playing ‘On On U of K,’” he said. “Kentucky was deep in my heart.”

Hall did leave the Commonwealth for a while— the first time to play basketball at Sewanee; the second to coach at Regis College, then at Central Missouri.

Then Kentucky Head Coach Adolph Rupp called with an offer to come home. The first time, Hall said no.

Rupp had offered Hall a job as his recruiter, but Hall wanted to be a floor coach.

Later on, Hall and Rupp were at the same clinic. Rupp invited Hall to his room and offered him an on-the-

floor assistant coaching job. This time, Hall took it.

“To be back here as an assistant was a dream,” he said.

Only one more time did he almost leave Kentucky. Rupp’s retirement was approaching, and Hall wasn’t getting the support he wanted to succeed Rupp as head coach. So he took a head coaching job at St. Louis, but Rupp begged him to stay.

“I got to have you,” Hall said Rupp told him.

So Hall went back to St. Louis with an attorney to try to get out of his contract. He did.

“So I came back to Kentucky,” Hall said.

He’s really never left.

Though Hall retired from coaching Kentucky in 1985, he hasn’t lost his status as a central part of the program.

He attends up to three of UK’s practices a week. He sits courtside

PHOTO STORY BY MICHAEL CLUBB COPY BY BAILEY VANDIVER

at games in Rupp Arena— and his statue permanently sits in front of Wildcat Lodge, where the men’s basketball players live. His mural keeps watch over his hometown of Cynthiana.

He has a good relationship with current head coach John Calipari and has been the ‘Y’ at basketball games probably more times than anyone else.

He’s recognized and greeted by fans all the time— whether at Immanuel Baptist Church, where he eats lunch with his friends nicknamed “The Lunch Bunch,” or while grabbing a piece of pie at Biancke’s in Cynthiana.

It all goes back to the Kentucky basketball program.

“I had such a dream existence in Kentucky basketball,” he said.

And since he first started as a player in 1948, Hall has never really woken up from that dream.

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KENTUCKY DREAM

ABOVE: Joe B. Hall looks up at his mural located in downtown Cynthiana, Kentucky, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Hall said he “couldn’t have asked for a better childhood” in Cynthiana. “The people are Cynthiana are extremely proud of him,” said Hall’s lifelong friend Mary Lu. In addition to the mural, Hall has a bridge and a court named after him.

RIGHT: Joe B. Hall walks into Windy Corner Market to have breakfast with his son Steve Hall, as well as friends David Drake and Joe Gentry in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Hall has been eating breakfast with these friends every Sunday morning for five or six years. They talk a lot about basketball.

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Joe B. Hall laughs with Immanuel Baptist Church’s lead pastor Ray Green at Immanuel Baptist Church on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. Hall goes to Immanuel Baptist Church about four times a week to have lunch with his friends, nicknamed “The Lunch Bunch.” He often goes to Kentucky basketball practice from there.

Biancke’s Restaurant waitress, Tara Burns, greets Joe B. Hall as he walks in to buy some pie in Cynthiana, Kentucky, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Biancke’s is the most famous restaurant in Cynthiana, according to Hall. Hall’s visit to Biancke’s that day earned him a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page and inspired a giveaway of a coconut pie, which is his favorite.

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KENTUCKY DREAM

ABOVE: Joe B. Hall watches seventh grader Cayden Boyers’s shot at the Cynthiana Harrison County Sports Center in Cynthiana, Kentucky, on Monday, March 11, 2019.

Hall couldn’t resist giving Boyers a few pointers, such as a tip to “tuck that elbow.”

Boyers, who is UK commit Dontaie Allen’s cousin, is in seventh grade and wears a size 16 shoe. “It’s such a joy working with young kids,” Hall said. Hall said coaching is what he was meant to do. “I never worked a day in my life,” he said.

RIGHT: Joe B. Hall talks with current head coach John Calipari during UK basketball practice at the Joe Craft Center in Memorial Coliseum on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. Hall, who sometimes attends up to three UK basketball practices a week, said he really likes Calipari’s practices because “he is coaching every minute that the practice goes on.” Hall said he and Calipari have a very good relationship, and that he backs him “100 percent.”

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KENTUCKY DREAM

Joe B. Hall leaves his house for the UK basketball game with his son, while Hall’s golden doodle, Penny, watches from the living room on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Penny’s full name is Luckypenny, which is “ironic,” Hall said, because Coach Adolph Rupp was always looking for a lucky penny.

Penny will be there, waiting in that spot, when he returns. “She is so much comfort you wouldn’t believe it,” he said. “Just to have someone there when you walk in the door.”

Fans stop and take photos of Joe B. Hall in the lobby of Rupp Arena before UK’s basketball game against Auburn on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. As Hall exited Rupp Arena that day, Calipari was winning a basketball game that put him one win higher than Hall as head coach of Kentucky.

“Aw, he can have it,” Hall said of that record.

At every game he attends, Hall is greeted and photographed by fans, which, as his age and health have slowed him down, increasingly tires him out. But every single fan who asks “What’d you think about the game, Coach?” gets some sort of positive commentary in reply from the legendary coach.

Joe B. Hall shakes hands with UK’s mascot, Scratch, during UK’s basketball game against Auburn in Rupp Arena on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Monday, April 15, 2019

lifestyle

Ten members of various faiths from the UK and Lexington communities took part in a prayer during the event held in solidarity with UK’s Jewish community on Jan. 25, 2018, at the Jacobs Science Building in Lexington, Kentucky, after the vandalism of the Jewish Student Xenter’s sign. Photo by Arden Barnes | Staff

Coexisting is key: Religions on UK’s campus help unite students

By Emily Baehner lifestyle@kykernel.com

On a campus with over 500 student organizations, the University of Kentucky has 23 organizations with a religious or spiritual self-designation that are registered with the Office of Student Organizations and Activities. Though many of these religious organizations, more than 15, are demonstrative of mainstream Christian religions, there are student organizations that are representative of the other diverse student religious factions on campus.

Yet, student religion at the University of Kentucky is anything but a competitive numbers game. Regardless of the number of student members in each organization, campus religious groups provide an opportunity for fellowships and connection between students of similar religious beliefs. Involved students report growing alongside other believers while they grow in their own religious faith.

“It’s (being involved in

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the Muslim Student Association) given me the perspective to understand how the Islamic faith is wholly an individual relationship between the Muslim and God, and that this relationship has very real implications in the community in which you live,” said Hina Iqbal, a senior neuroscience major and the current Halaqa Chair on the board for the Muslim Student Association.

“I’ve had the opportunity in my time as an MSA student to learn and grow, inspired by a faith I hold very close to my heart.”

Halaqa, according to Iqbal, translates to “a gathering to talk and learn more about Islam and the Quran.” During these gatherings, Iqbal said that students explore Islam’s encouragement of community service and engagement, the purpose of intentional goal setting for the year ahead and what a relationship with the Quran looks like.

Founded at UK in 1971, and with 30 to 40 active committee members and more students who attend

MSA sponsored events, the Muslim Student Association serves as a space of belonging for Muslim students, encouraging self-exploration and self-development. They offer monthly general body meetings and halaqas, social events and Islamic Awareness Week.

“MSA ultimately strives to be a space to bolster individual strength through self-education and involvement and, in doing this, share this strength with the people around us,” Iqbal said.

Another popular religion among the UK student population is Judaism.

The Jewish Student Center, supported by Chabad, the largest Jewish organization in the world, services nearly 200 students each semester. The center, established in the fall of 2015, hosts Sabbath and Holiday meals, and is the only source on campus for Kosher food, religious observances and Jewish education.

Chabad, which has been doing programs at UK for over 35 years, has chapters in over 100 countries, all

50 U.S. states and hundreds of universities.

“Based on the philosophy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a leader of world Jewry, Chabad spreads a message of love for every single Jew,” said Shlomo Litvin, the rabbi at the Jewish Student Center.

While it is the center’s goal to extend this love to their involved students, it is the Jewish Student Center that received an outpouring of love from other student groups on campus when their building was vandalized in January of 2018. Nearly 200 people met at the Jacobs Science Building to discuss prejudice against the Jewish community.

“While there was no official response from the university, we were very touched by the response from various student groups who reached out and expressed support, as well as the students who came out for our unity event the following week,” Litvin said.

Litvin said that even

though anti-Semitism is a growing problem in America and at UK, the majority of the campus community seems to be fair-minded and supportive.

Moments like the unity event help to eliminate hate against religious groups on campus and attempt to foster unity between students of various backgrounds. Coexisting is key, and Litvin said that it is possible, no matter one’s religious affiliation.

“Regardless of our backgrounds or faiths, all of us have much more that unites us than that which divides us,” he said.

Iqbal agreed that recognizing our similarities, not our differences, is what makes a difference.

“Remembering is an active process, and so we need to more actively and intentionally remember, on individual levels, as well as organizational levels, that we are more alike than we are different. And that those uncomfortable spaces that scare you at first suddenly aren’t as discomforting once you’re there,” she said.

Iqbal said she believes that religious identities may differentiate students from others, causing each to flock to their own communities, many of which will be subjected to unjust stereotyping. This, she said, is the result of ignorance. The positive of that? Ignorance can help you grow.

“Take ignorance as a positive opportunity to learn and lean into discomfort. Attend events of faith communities you don’t belong to if that’s something you can do or ask about a friend’s experience if they did go to an MSA or other community event. Use your time in undergrad to surround yourself with people who will bring you out to events you otherwise wouldn’t have gone to,” Iqbal said.

Students interested in learning more about the students’ religious organizations on campus may visit https://uky.campuslabs.com/engage/ or meet with advisers in the Office of Student Organizations and Activities.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Debate duo join UK’s running list of national champions

By Akhira Umar

lifestyle@kykernel.com

The 2018-2019 school year not only saw the end of UK’s 31game losing streak against Florida in football; it more recently has seen the end of the 33 years since UK’s last National Debate Tournament championship.

On March 25, two UK students brought the title back to the university for the first time since 1986. Dan Bannister and Anthony Trufanov are now one of only two UK debate teams to be called NDT champions.

So what is it like being a national champion?

“It’s been kind of surreal,” Trufanov said.

He originally came to UK specifically for its debate team, having been a successful debater back in high school. Now as a junior political science and Russian studies major in the Lewis Honors College, Trufanov has come a long way and is finally getting to see the fruits of his labor.

The same can be said for Bannister, also a junior political science major, who joined the team on scholarship during his senior year of high school. After procuring the NDT trophy, that scholarship has proven to be well deserved.

Lincoln Garrett, the debate team’s head coach, said the two were ranked fifth in regular season last year, raising the expectation for their performance, to which they no doubt exceeded.

The pair can credit their success to both their work ethic and their chemistry.

“Debating with Anthony is really fun. We’ve been partners

for all three years of our time on the team, and it’s really nice to be debating with someone who, in my mind, is actually better than me at debate. It pushes and challenges me to be my best,” Bannister said.

Trufanoy said he and Bannister complement each other well.

comradery, they also understand the importance of finding a balance in their work, something which Trufanov said can be challenging. Debate tournaments are typically three- to four-day events that require hours of research to form strategic arguments. For the NDT alone, the

“Outside of debate, I’m pretty much like any other student. I go to class, do homework, go to the gym, hang out with friends.

Sometimes it’s hard to balance debate and having a social life, but you’ve got to make sacrifices if you want to win.”

And winning, as any com-

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LINCOLN GARRETT The University Intercollegiate Debate team won the 2019 National Debate Tournament championship, making them only the second team to do so in history.

“He’s a much better speaker than I am and great at thinking on his feet, while I am better at working out game plans and doing research to make them come together,” Trufanov said. “We’ve also become good friends and were roommates this year. He’s the best partner anyone could ask for.”

Along with their sense of

team had to forfeit spring break just to prepare for the competition.

“Being on a debate team is just like any other college sports organization or activity– there’s a division of responsibilities, daily practice and research involved, and a bunch of people working together towards a common goal,” Bannister said.

petitor will say, is always nice, especially when it’s earned. After ranking consistently well for years, this team definitely plans on enjoying their victory.

For Bannister, it was about the payoff.

“It feels really fulfilling to win the championship, knowing that all our efforts to this point have finally paid off...” Bannis-

ter said. “I’m a super competitive person, I hate losing, and winning it all reflects the culmination of a lot of people’s hard work and dedication but also lets me finally relax and go easier on myself with the knowledge that all the time spent practicing and researching wasn’t in vain.”

And for Trufanov, it was about fulfilling a dream. Winning the NDT had been his goal for as long as he has been debating, he said.

“The goal was especially important to me because debaters from my alma mater had appeared in the final round of the national championship four times out of the past five championships but had lost each time,” he said. “I really wanted to break the finals curse, and I’m incredibly happy that this wish came true and that I got what I came for.”

But their win was not for themselves alone. The win is also for their team, one filled with “incredibly supportive and wonderful people to spend time with, not just fierce competitors,” as Trufanov put it. It’s a group that both champions are happy to be a part of. And Garrett feels the same, especially after this year’s results.

“This season has involved the team reaching heights of competitive success the UK debate team has not reached since the years 1985 to 1995,” Garrett said. “The UK debate team did a great deal of preparation throughout the whole season and leading up to the NDT to put ourselves in a position to make such a run. The amount of endurance and dedication it takes can’t be lauded enough.”

spring 2019 | 13

Monday, April 15, 2019

opinions

Social media can cause Transfer students, we anxiety, self-doubt. have to do better.

ISABEL PHILLIPS

Contributing columnist

I still remember when I first started using social media. I downloaded Instagram during my freshman year of high school because I felt left out that I was the only one of my friends who didn’t have it yet.

At first it was this new, exciting platform that allowed me to see what my friends and favorite celebrities were up to. I didn’t care about how many followers or likes I had and the pressure to present myself a certain way did not exist. This all changed pretty quickly, though.

It soon became clear that the popular kids in school had more followers than me, and I started to obsess over this and compare myself to everyone I followed on social media. I wondered what was

wrong with me and why other girls my age were getting so many more likes on their pictures than I was. This lasted for all of high school and it wasn’t until college that I gained enough confidence to not care what other people think about me, especially when it comes to social media. I post pictures that I like and try not to care about the number of likes I get or the number of followers I have compared to my friends.

Reflecting on how negatively social media affected me has really made me think about the impact it is having on others, especially as kids are getting involved with social media at a younger and younger age. It was hard enough for me to navigate the difficulties of social media as a teenager, so I can’t imagine having to deal with those same struggles as a young child. The anxiety and self-doubt that social media can bring is too much

for a kid to experience, in my opinion. Instagram, specifically, causes you to compare yourself to others in a very unhealthy way, and exposing the impressionable minds of children to this toxic environment may be very damaging.

I do realize that social media has many positive aspects to it, but it can also be very harmful.

For me personally, social media has contributed to many of my own insecurities and anxieties. I can only imagine the damaging consequences it is having on children who have not found an inner confidence that is strong enough to deal with the negative effects that social media brings. I know that it is becoming more and more common for kids to have some form of social media, but I think it is extremely important that we, as a society, educate young people on how to navigate this very confusing, and sometimes very scary, environment.

kentuckykernel

WORK FOR US! Email editor@kykernel.com if you are interested in a position or want to learn more about the Kentucky Kernel.

14 | kentucky kernel

SARAH LADD Opinions Editor

When I first became opinions editor at the Kernel, I set out with a goal to write columns advocating for transfer students. I saw a lack of support and networking for people like myself when I got to UK, and I wanted so desperately to change it.

I came in to UK as a junior, with an associates degree in journalism from West Kentucky Community and Technical College.

When I arrived, I wrote that UK didn’t have enough resources for transfer students, that K Week seriously lacked support for us, that faculty didn’t know how to handle us and that graduation honors discriminated against us. I’d like to add to this now.

Yes, UK can do better for its transfer students. But we aren’t doing our best either.

After writing the columns and receiving warm feedback, I met with some dedicated faculty and staff who work behind the scenes to make sure things like K Week are a success for transfer students. I became an officer in a club on campus dedicated to

transfer and international student success. I saw a lot of work going into transfer student success at UK, and I jumped in to try to make a difference.

Unfortunately, I was massively disappointed.

While I saw UK personnel working to make people coming from other schools feel welcome here, I saw transfer students unwilling and unable to come out of their shells. I saw painfully low attendance at events geared towards community. I saw apathy. And it has grieved me.

As transfer students, we face a unique set of challenges. If you’re like me and others who came in after finishing community college, you’re thrust into a new environment halfway through your college career and you struggle to re-adjust, make new friends and figure out your new role in a new place and possible a new city. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s twice as hard the second time around to make a name for yourself.

It’s easier to just sit back and reflect on your successes at a previous school and not invest the time necessary to have them at UK. I know firsthand how hard these challenges are. I also know that it’s incredibly worth the extra effort to get involved and find

your people. Yes, it’s hard to come in as a junior or a non-freshman and be a first-year-at-UK student but have college experience. It can be polarizing by nature.

But there are resources for us. We need to be proactive and seek them out.

It’s not all on us, of course. I still say there’s much to be done in-house to make transfer students feel more welcome here at UK. My argument that graduation honors discriminate holds true. As for K Week and other events, there have been efforts in the past to make space for transfer students, and they were met with no attendance.

We cannot demand acceptance and then refuse to receive it.

As I prepare to graduate in May, I choose to end my print columns with this call to action: transfer students, be proactive. You’ll have to work harder, but it’s worth it. Yes, UK can do more.

But so can we. We have to show up, seek out resources and be 100 percent present in our new school. It will be harder than if you were at UK for all four years, but it’s worth seeking out community here. It will take all transfer students working together to influence change on campus. We can do better, and we must.

www.kykernel.com

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spring 2019 | 15

Monday, April 15, 2019

sports

Abbey Cheek continuing successful senior season

By Madison Dennis sports@kykernel.com

Standout senior infielder Abbey Cheek has had lot of success this season— and, because of it, is on pace to be the UK softball program’s fourth All-American.

Being athlete of the week recently is just one of her many achievements, as she also holds the record in many categories, including career home runs, career RBI and career slugging percentage.

Most recently, Cheek broke the record for most home runs scored back in March against Missouri, beating Brittany Cervantes (2009-12). She is also close to taking both the record for career scored runs and career total bases. Both records are currently held by Molly (Johnson) Belcher.

Humbly, Cheek wants to be remembered for the person she was and not her broken records.

“Just as a good teammate and just a good role model to the younger kids because I know when I was a younger kid I looked up to really good players,” Cheek said.

With all of these achievements, Cheek is focusing on the little things.

“I think I’m really just trying to focus on just having good at-bats and just playing this game. Just living every moment, like every minute, because it’s my last season,” Cheek said.

The senior never thought she would earn all of these records, but throughout the years she

16 | kentucky kernel

Remebering JKru through his photos JORDAN PRATHER Photo Editor

JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF Kentucky senior Abbey Cheek looks up into the stands during the game against Miami University on March 12, 2019, at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

said she has focused instead on what she was recruited for during her seasons at Kentucky.

“I just knew that when Coach Lawson recruited me that I was a big RBI hitter and she wanted me to score runs, so I think I’ve just focused on that and good things have happened for me,” Cheek said.

“The fact that she’s been able to not only accomplish her home runs but also do it while she’s been just outstanding in terms of getting on base and leading the team. It’s just been an awesome accomplishment for her,” UK head coach Rachel Lawson said in an interview with WKYT. Cheek and her fellow senior teammates remain

focused on playing for each other and striving toward a common goal. She knows she’s not done yet and has high hopes for the future.

“For our senior class, we have worked so hard and we have been everywhere,” Cheek said.

“We’ve been to regionals and a super a couple times, so I think we just need to push through. We are so close to the World Series and I think our senior class deserves to go. I think we just need to keep working on the little things and I think it’s going to be good for us.”

Cheek still has a few months to live out her softball dreams until her record season comes to an end.

During my first couple weeks as photo editor, I took a little time to go through our photo archives.

I was looking to see what images Kernel photo editors of the past had captured to get an idea of what my next year would be like.

Jonathan Krueger’s archive was one of them that stood out the most to me. I joined the Kernel because of my

love for sports photography, and it was obvious that Krueger had a very similar interest. The majority of his 2,300+ photo archive is filled with sports images, and after a year and a half of working at the Kernel, mine is much of the same.

One thing about Krueger’s photos that made me excited was his set of photos from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. In 2015, UK made it all the way to the Final Four, and Krueger got to follow the team there. One of the photos that stood out to me the most was from the Elite Eight game between UK and Notre

Dame. The game had just ended and UK won, 68-66.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the rest of the players from the bench to run onto the court and celebrate the regional championship with their teammates.

I looked forward to capturing a similar moment all year. I got the opportunity to travel to the Elite Eight and capture a moment, but it was one of sadness as Kentucky players sat in the locker room after coming up short to Auburn. The experience was amazing, however, and I can only imagine what it was like for Krueger covering the Final Four.

JONATHAN KRUEGER The Kentucky bench is led by Karl-Anthony Towns onto the court after beating Notre Dame in the Elite Eight of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday, March 28, 2015, in Cleveland , Ohio. Kentucky won 68-66.