March 31, 2021

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 | VOL. 124 NO. 77 | MARSHALL UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER | marshallparthenon.com | SINGLE COPY FREE

Parks/Griffiths

Donahue/Doherty

SGA election voting March 31 & April 1 PHOTOS COURTESY OF CANDIDATES

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY BRITTANY HIVELY | HAYES100@MARSHALL.EDU

HD-447684

2

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

Theatre combines stage and film technique for Shakespeare

By MIRANDA VALLES

REPORTER Despite the setbacks and challenges brought on by the pandemic, the Marshall Theatre department continues to offer new and exciting performances.

The next stage production, which will be offered virtually, is one of Shakespeare’s early pieces, “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” is an early Shakespearean comedy that follows four young men — a king and his companions, as they all fall in love against their will.

Jack Cirillo, a professor of the theatre department and the production’s director, said that even though there are numerous interpretations of Shakespeare’s work, this interpretation of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” is unique in its own way.

“An old friend of mine from graduate school, Scott Kaiser, is a true scholar of Shakespeare and his works,” Cirillo said. “Over the years, he had developed a number of Shakespeare-related plays and acting texts. This edition of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” was created to be performed for

young audiences to get them interested in Shakespeare,” Cirillo said.

Because this version of the play has a reduced runtime, Cirillo felt it was an appropriate production option. It allows students to explore Shakespearean theatre and language while reducing the amount of time students are gathered.

Gage Snodgrass, who plays one of the lead roles, as Ferdinand, King of Navarre, said that being in this production was both a challenging and exciting experience.

“It’s actually my first lead in a show. It was a huge challenge with both Covid going on and having never performed Shakespeare before,” Snodgrass said. “But the support system my cast and crew provide makes it easy and fun to do my job.”

Cirillo said that while they are taking the necessary precautions to finish the production safely, the changes they have been forced to make because of the pandemic haven’t

been all bad.

“The streaming of productions not only allows us to share our work with an audience but also introduces film and video work to our students as well,” Cirillo said. “Camera angles, close-ups, fade-aways, all of these concepts are not typically part of theatre education, and it has been an interesting and beneficial sidebar to the Covid adventure.”

Cirillo also said that he understands a lot of people avoid Shakespeare because it is so different from the entertainment we see today; however, by seeing the production, he hopes that people will realize Shakespeare can be both relevant and enjoyable.

Miranda Valles can be contacted at valles1@live. marshall.edu.

Holi celebrated on campus - despite changes

By MADISON PERDUE

REPORTER Marshall University staff and students commemorated Holi, the South Asian celebration of spring, color and triumph over evil, on Monday with music, free cookies and tie-dye in the Memorial Student Center Plaza.

Two student volunteers with Intercultural Affairs guided other students participating in the celebration. Adebukola Adegoke, a senior health infor matics student at MU, said she has worked events like this before as MU’s Pan-African Student Association coordinator. Adegoke said COVID-19 has made it difficult to host in-person events, and she hopes there can be more events like Herd Holi in the future.

“We’ve found a way to hold programs online and engage with students despite the COVID outbreak,” Adegoke said. “I’m really excited that students came out today because this is our first major event of the semester. I’m glad students are coming back on campus now so that more events like this can take place and encourage student interaction again.”

Mwuese Titoraddingi, an MU student pursuing a master’s degree in social work, said she has been working with Intercultural Affairs for two months now. She’s glad to see campus life slowly return to nor mal.

“I’m enjoying myself here,” Titoraddingi said. “It’s really interesting to learn about so many different countries and learn about their influence in the world and at Marshall. I feel like I was shortchanged, coming from Africa and then being hit

by COVID, but I am looking forward to more events like this. There is so much to do, learn and see.”

Jim Clagg, the coordinator for International Student Affairs, said international students who come to the states enjoy sharing their culture with domestic students and being able to connect to their culture while away from home.

“They love that little taste of home,” Clagg said, “so even though they’re on a campus on the opposite side of the world, they can still celebrate things that they’re used to.”

Clagg said in previous “Herd Holis,” students would throw colored powder at each other to follow traditional Holi practices. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this was replaced with a tie-dying activity so students could still celebrate the role of color in the holiday.

Clagg said Intercultural Affairs is currently working on another in-person event this spring. Clagg said on April 15, Intercultural Affairs will celebrate Songkran, the Thai New Year and water festival, with a campus water fight on East Hall field.

“We’d love anyone to come,” Clagg said. “It’s a nice way to get students together and back outside while still practicing safe social distancing.”

Madison Perdue can be contacted at perdue118@marshall.edu.

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY TYLER SPENCE| SPENCE83@MARSHALL.EDU

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

3

SGA Election Candidates lay out Platforms in Presidential Debate B y T Y L E R SPE N CE OP INI O N EDI TOR

CANDIDATES CAMERON DONOHUE AND MARY DOHERTY The first and only debate between Student Government President and Vice President took place on March 29. The debate was live-streamed and broadcasted on WMUL radio and allowed the campaigns to lay out their platforms directly.

Cameron Donohue for President and Mary Doherty for Vice President — Alyssa Parks for President and Isabella Griffiths for Vice President — make up the two tickets running.

The Parks campaign sees its experience working in the current Williams and Powers administration as a critical factor in their preparedness for the positions as well as their ability to create a team with a wide net of experience and representation across campus.

“We can’t represent every organization on campus; there are

300+ organizations on campus, it would be impossible to do that. So we created this team to represent this diverse range of organizations on campus,” Parks said.

Parks said later on that the act of reaching out to these different organizations has helped various groups of students feel heard, in line with their slogan “BeHerd.”

Donohue views his experiences with Greek life (as IFC President) and his position as an SGA Senator as a way he has kept his ear to the ground on the issues that matter most to students. In an interview with The Parthenon last week, Donohue said: “ We don’t have tens of thousands of students, we aren’t WVU or Ohio State, we have roughly 10,000… that’s still a lot of people, but it’s much more manageable.”

Even though Doherty has not

had any previous experience in student government, both Donahue and Doherty view their experience as involved students as an advantage for preparing them for their respective positions.

Doherty said her experience trying to get into student government was “daunting” at first, but she hopes to create a more transparent environment for student government and students who are not involved or wish to be more involved.

At times, the debate went back and forth on why each ticket is more passionate about the university — without discussing any policy initiatives. However, after the format change over halfway through, each ticket had the opportunity to go into specific policy proposals. Doherty suggested expanding the meal exchange program and providing reusable water bottles to students — to be more sustainable — as some ideas apart of their overall platform goals.

In the second half of the debate, each ticket took the role of moderators, asking questions — in an effort to poke holes in the platforms of their opponents.

Parks questioned some aspects of the Doherty platform, specifically their desire to change to ecofriendly grass across campus and the cost associated with achieving this goal.

Donohue asked Parks and

Griffiths about their specific plans to increase communication between students, organizations and SGA. Griffiths spoke about her initiative to do community service projects during the pandemic.

Griffiths said it’s as simple as communicating directly with students and organizations effectively. Parks mentioned her

discussing our platform,” Parks said after the debate.

“We believe the communication between our ticket and the Parks/Griffiths ticket was productive with good points on both sides. There is no doubt in our minds that Marshall will be in good hands no matter who wins the election,” Doherty said.

Except for Doherty, each can-

CANDIDATES ALYSSA PARKS AND ISABELLA GRIFFITHS desire to see a community service database where projects could be better marketed.

“I think that and the fact that we know our platform inside and out really helped us calm our nerves and feel confident in our ability to answer any question.

Our goal is for the student body to know we are listening and are passionate about bettering Marshall University, and we felt that we were able to get that point across through our answers and

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY ABBY AYES| AYES@MARSHALL.EDU

didate is running for a senate seat in their respective college. Parks and Griffiths hope to be the second all-female ticket in Marshall SGA history.

Voting begins on March 31 and continues through April 1.

Tyler Spence can be contacted at spence83@marshall. edu

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

4

West Virginia House passes bill to ban transgender student-athletes

By ISABELLA ROBINSON

NEWS EDITOR The West Virginia House of Delegates voted 78-20 to ban transgender middle and high school students from participating in school sports that match their gender identity on March 25.

“It is hypocritical for us to say, ‘Mountaineers are always free’ when we are placing a minority group to be bullied and we are being bullies with this piece of legislation,” Del. Danielle Walker said. “I was elected to represent the state of West Virginia — I was not elected to bully children.”

Debate on the bill lasted over an hour, and it will now be sent to the state Senate.

Wood County Republican Del. Roger Conley, who supported the bill, said, “it’s only fair that if you’re born a male, that you compete in male sports.”

Most of the delegates who spoke about the bill were Democrats, and some called the bill discriminatory.

Logan County Republican Del. Margitta Mazzocchi, who supported the bill, said when her daughter was 12 and 13, she played soccer with boys who were much bigger than her. “We need to protect our little girls,” Mazzocchi said.

Del. Walker said the floor speeches during the bill’s debate were “heartbreaking.”

“I heard hypocrites, and I heard bigotry in those statements. This savior mentality that we have in the state needs to stop because it brings on ignorance,” Walker said. “This is transphobia, this is homophobia, and it needs to stop because the fear of what could be should not be the legislation that we are pushing in in this legislative session in the middle of a pandemic and facing an epidemic.”

Walker said this piece of legislation wastes West Virginian taxpayer dollars. Cabell County delegates that supported the legislation include Republicans Daniel Linville, John Mandt Jr., Matthew Rohrbach, and Evan Worrell.

Sean Hornbuckle, a Cabell County Democrat, said that “legally, we’re asking for a battle. We’re not going to be lawmakers; we’re going to be lawbreakers.”

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational programs or activities that receive federal funding.

Currently, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, which oversees sports in public schools and many

private schools, has no policy specifying transgender studentathletes. “[Title IX] has nondiscrimination language that we support,” Bernie Dolan, the WVSSAC executive director, said.

Dolan said the WVSSAC is unaware of openly transgender students participating in scholastic sports currently or in the past.

The bill states, “If an original birth certificate was not provided or if the birth certificate provided does not indicate the pupil’s sex at the time of birth, a signed physician’s statement indicating the pupil’s sex-based solely on the pupil’s unaltered internal and external reproductive anatomy must be submitted prior to a pupil’s participation in single-sex secondary school interscholastic athletic events.”

A study released in January 2017 from the Williams Institute estimated that West Virginia has, out of all 50 states, the highest percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who would identify as transgender.

see TRANSGENDER on pg. 10

Local coffeeshop continues tradition

By CATHERINE BLANKENSHIP

REPORTER The Old Village Roaster specializes in tradition and originality.

Husband-and-wife Pete and Vicky Cooper take pride in the business they have created.

The coffee shop business took off in 1995, but it started at fairs and ballgames with roasted peanuts. Pete and Vicky Cooper sold roasted peanuts at events across the state of West Virginia, when Pete Cooper began to experiment with antique roasters.

“The story of our shop began with my husband’s love of antique machinery. Our antique roasters date back to the late 1800s,” Vicky Cooper said. “Pete began to experiment with coffee in the roasters, and now we are here, approaching the 26th anniversary of our business in May.” The Old Village Roaster is known for roasting their own coffee, as well as having their coffee beans imported from various countries.

“All of our coffees come to us green from about ten different countries,” Pete Cooper said. “We actually have a 20-pound box that just arrived from Hawaii. Our importer comes from New York, and we let them know what selection we are in need of.”

“We roast our own coffee, which is very rare to see in West Virginia nowadays,” Vicky Cooper said. “Once the coffees arrive, we flavor them ourselves as well as package them. A few local Huntington restaurants actually use our coffee at their businesses, such as Bahnhof, Black Sheep, and Backyard.”

Although Old Village Roaster may seem like it is strictly coffee, they offer so much more. The shop sells various snacks — chocolates, nuts, assorted teas, cookies, and caramel corn made by the Coopers.

“Normally, we sell our coffee and snacks at the Huntington Italian Festival,” Vicky Cooper said. “With the pandemic, we are unsure if that will happen this year.”

The shop prices range by size. Coffees are available in 12 ounces ($1.75) or 16 ounces ($2). Assorted gourmet espresso drinks such as Café Mocha, Cafe Latte, and other various items vary in pricing.

The Old Village Roaster is located at 919 4th Ave., Huntington.

Catherine Blankenship can be contacted at blankensh403@marshall.edu.

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY ZACHARY HISER | HISER1@MARSHALL.EDU

CATHERINE BLANKENSHIP | REPORTER

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2020 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

5

Marshall offers vaccine availability to all students

By BRITTANY HIVELY EXECUTIVE EDITOR Marshall University has announced vaccine availability for students. The university is working with the Tri-State Transit Authority to help ensure all students have access to the vaccination clinics.

A route has been worked out with the TTA and Green Machine to help get students to the vaccine clinic located in the old Sears building of the Huntington Mall.

“If students need transportation, that will be provided using the TTA system,” Michelle Biggs, assistant dean of advocacy and support, said. “Using the Green Machine to get down to the Fifth Avenue clinic, and they can also use another route to take them to [the old] Sears.”

Biggs said students need to take a valid ID and should bring their student ID, too.

“They do need their student IDs to ride the TTA,” Biggs said. “They just show that to the TTA driver, and then they tell the TTA driver they are going to the vaccination clinic.”

The clinic will be available for all graduate and undergraduate students at no cost.

“The vaccine is free, so they don’t need to

take that [insurance card],” Biggs said. “Any Marshall student is eligible for the vaccine.”

Biggs said students who are hesitant about riding the busses should not worry.

“The TTA is great about kind of helping students, if they get confused, about the busses. Because sometimes they’ve never ridden them before, [it] can be a little daunting,” Biggs said. “So the Green Machine will take them on the loop from campus down to Fifth Avenue, and then it makes a loop to come back.”

Regarding the upcoming fall semester, nothing has changed.

“Nothing has changed about masks. We’re still planning on [starting] the fall semester with masks.” ,” Leah Payne, director of communications, said.

Even those who are vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on campus if the state and university still mandate it.

“If we’re still saying that masks are mandatory, then they would be in violation of the university policy,” Payne said.

Brittany Hively can be contacted at hayes100@marshall.edu.

MARSHALLSTUDENT VACCINE CLINICS St. Mary’s Education Center (tents in parking lot on the east end of the center), 2853 5th Ave., Huntington When: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until the daily vaccine supply runs out COVID-19 Vaccine Center (former Sears location on the south end of the Huntington Mall), 500 Mall Rd. & I-64, Barboursville When: Tuesdays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or until the daily vaccine supply runs out

ZACHARY HISER | PHOTO EDITOR PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY ISABELLA ROBINSON | ROBINSON436@MARSHALL.EDU

6

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

Herd Softball to open C-USA play this weekend with WKU

By NOAH HICKMAN

REPORTER Fresh off a series win against the Bellarmine Knights, the Marshall softball team is preparing to begin Conference USA play at home this weekend against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

Marshall comes into the four-game series with an 11-4 record, while Western

Kentucky comes into Huntington with a 15-4 record.

Marshall head coach Megan Smith Lyon said that the team has shown flashes of its full potential, but the best is yet to come.

“We haven’t had the normal non-conference season that we’re used to,” Smith Lyon said. “We’re still figuring some things out, but I think we have shown moments

where we are solid in all aspects.”

Freshman right fielder Kay Kay Kenney, who hit her first home run Sunday against Bellarmine, said that she is looking forward to going against WKU and other Conference USA teams and that there is a big picture up ahead.

“Our ultimate goal is to win a conference championship,” Kenney said. “I think the conference schedule is going to be really fun, and it’s going to prove how talented this team is.”

Selected to finish second in the east division to WKU in the preseason poll, Marshall will not be easing into conference play.

The Hilltoppers are on a fivegame winning streak and took down the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats in its last matchup, winning the game 2-1 in nine innings.

“

Senior second baseman Madison Whitaker, a transfer from Wright State, said she looks forward to a challenging matchup against the WKU Hilltoppers.

State with 86 hits, 43 runs, 16 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 53 RBIs. It is unclear whether or not Marshall redshirt senior shortstop Sierra Huerta will be cleared to play after she was inactive in game three against Bellarmine due to an undisclosed injury suffered in game two.

Whitaker stepped in for her, taking the field as the starting shortstop. If Huerta is inactive, Whitaker could assume the starting shortstop spot again.

Game one will begin Thursday at 1 p.m. Games two and three will be on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and on Saturday before Easter Sunday, the series will wrap up at 12 p.m. The Thursday and Saturday games will air on ESPN+.

Noah Hickman can be contacted at hickman76@ marshall.edu.

I think we can accomplish big things here at Marshall.”

— Madison Whitaker, senior infielder

ZACHARY HISER | PHOTO EDITOR

Redshirt senior Blakely Burch commands her team’s attention in a huddle against Bellarmine Saturday, March 27.

“I’m really excited to see some really good competition and excited to see how we work together as a team,” Whitaker said.

“I think we can accomplish big things here at Marshall.”

Whitaker, similar to Kenney, hit her first home run as a member of the Thundering Herd in game three against Bellarmine; it was her ninth home run in her collegiate career. She finished her career at Wright

Herd volleyball to face UTEP in first round of C-USA tournament

By GRANT GOODRICH

SPORTS EDITOR Heading into the Confernce USA tournament as the east divison No. 3 seed, the Marshall Thundering volleyball team will face the west division No. 2 seed UTEP in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Marshall finished the regular season with a 10-4 record overall and an 8-4 record in C-USA. UTEP (9-6, 8-4) is coming off four

straight sweeps agaisnt Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss.

Although Marshall has not swept its past four matches, the Herd is on a four-game win streak of its own, sweeping the last two matches against Old Dominion.

Marshall junior libero Sarah Schank, who was named to the CUSA All-Academic Team Tuesday, leads the Herd in digs, with 263.

Leading the way in kills, senior

Ciara DeBell has 189, but not too far behind is junior Macy McElhaney, who has 142 on the season.

No other Marshall player has over 100 kills, although senior Destiny Leon has 91.

The match with the Miners will air on ESPN+, as will all the games in the C-USA volleyball tournament.

Grant Goodrich can be contcted at goodrich24@marshall.edu.

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY GRANT GOODRICH | GOODRICH24@MARSHALL.EDU

The Marshall volleyball team gathers inbetween sets against Western Kentucky. The Thundering Herd and Hilltoppers matched up in Huntington for two matches on Feb. 28 and March 1. The nationallyranked Hilltoppers won both matches.

ZACHARY HISER | PHOTO EDITOR

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

7

SPORTS COLUMN

Farewell

Jarrod West

ZACHARY HISER | PHOTO EDITOR

Jarrod West brings the ball up the court against North Texas Friday, Feb. 26 in one of his final appearances in the Cam Henderson Center. West injured his ankle in the contest, missing the following day’s game - the only missed game of his career.

By GRANT GOODRICH

SPORTS EDITOR Announcing his decision Wednesday afternoon — Jarrod West will be moving on from Marshall to play his final year of eligibility at one of three schools: Louisville, Ohio State or Pittsburgh. Wherever he plays during his fifth year, West will forever remain a legendary son of Marshall.

As Marshall’s all-time steals leader, West’s accomplishments on the court easily support the above claim, but for me, West’s story at Marshall extends beyond statistics.

He is the epitome of a team

player and leader. His effort and mentality garner respect from those around him, even his competitors.

As a freshman, he quickly gained that respect from head coach Dan D’Antoni and veteran players such as Jon Elmore and CJ Burks, starting 35 games and playing the third-most minutes per game behind only Elmore and Burks. That team camaraderie resulted in Marshall winning the 2018 Conference USA championship and upsetting Wichita State in the NCAA tournament.

see WEST on pg. 11

ALL THE LATEST HERD NEWS IN YOUR INBOX Breaking news, highlights and stories emailed to you from the Other Available Newsletters:

heralddispatch.com 1. Click on news tab in green bar

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY GRANT GOODRICH | GOODRICH24@MARSHALL.EDU

2. Click on sign up for our email newsletters

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

8

The Parthenon, Marshall University’s student newspaper, is published by students Wednesdays during the regular semester and every other week during the summer.

The editorial staff is responsible for news and editorial content.

CONTACT The Parthenon: 109 Communications Bldg Marshall University|One John Marshall Drive Huntington, West Virginia 25755|parthenon@marshall.edu @MUParthenon

BRITTANY HIVELY

ISABELLA ROBINSON

EXECUTIVE EDITOR hayes100@marshall.edu

NEWS EDITOR robinson436@marshall.edu

SPORTS EDITOR

OPINIONS EDITOR

goodrich24@marshall.edu

spence83@marshall.edu

EMMA BERRY

DENISE JACKSON

COPY EDITOR

SOCIAL MEDIA and PODCAST EDITOR jackson463@marshall.edu

berry180@marshall.edu

XENA BUNTON

ZACHARY HISER

FEATURES EDITOR

PHOTO AND GRAPHICS EDITOR

bunton2@marshall.edu

hiser1@marshall.edu

SANDY YORK FACULTY ADVISER sandy.york@marshall.edu

EXECUTIVE STAFF GRACE HEWITT hewitt23@marshall.edu ABBY AYES ayes@marshall.edu CARTER TRUMAN truman18@marshall.edu

THE PARTHENON’S CORRECTIONS POLICY “Factual errors appearing in The Parthenon should be reported to the editor immediately following publication. Corrections the editor deems necessary will be printed as soon as possible following the error.”

THE FIRST AMENDMENT

The Constitution of the United States of America

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble; and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Studying public relations in a pandemic

By Sydney Wyer

TYLER SPENCE

GRANT GOODRICH

OPINION

MARSHALL UNIVERSITY SENIOR RIPLEY, WV Now that we are well into 2021, we have a better understanding of our new virtual learning and work environments. As a public relations student at Marshall University, it has been fascinating to watch the unique and creative ways that everyone has worked through the challenges of a global pandemic. Almost everyone, including those with limited experience with technology, have figured out how to make the virtual shift work for them and their organizations. We have all gotten a glimpse into the lives of our peers and coworkers outside of the typical work or school environment. I have met my classmates’ siblings and pets, and I have seen them roll out of bed and join our virtual class meetings without their usual professional appearances. I personally love getting more comfortable with one another and recognizing the imperfect human characteristics that we all have.

Seniors and graduate students in the spring 2021 capstone course in the public relations academic program at Marshall University have researched, planned, and are now executing (entirely online — in both asynchronous and synchronous formats) a strategic communications campaign to create additional awareness designed to increase the membership of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)-Marshall University Chapter. The campaign centers on building PRSSA-MU, an organization established in 1978, back into a thriving organization on campus and in the broader community. PRSSA-MU is one of the oldest chapters in the United States, and we are aiming to uphold the organization’s mission – to provide exceptional service to our members by enhancing their education, broadening their professional network, and helping launch their careers after graduation.

The members of the student PR agency that is running the campaign have come together as a team, building strong connections completely through a virtual platform.

None of us could have predicted that our last semester of college- especially our capstone class that ties everything

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY TYLER SPENCE | SPENCE83@MARSHALL.EDU

we have learned together, allowing us to put into action a real-world strategic communications campaign - would have been virtual. We have, however, successfully pushed through the difficult learning curve to keep up with the ever-changing trends and expectations of the discipline, nation, and world.

Each day brings a new lesson for journalism, media, public relations, and advertising students, including everything from political communications, maintaining customer trust, and how to stay relevant on social media with an influx of content coming in every second. My classmates and I often discuss how crucial it is that we pay attention, 24/7/365, to the communications we see outside of the classroom and the office. According to Anne Gregory in her study titled “Powerful PR: a force for the future,” up to 80 percent of the news media are influenced by public relations efforts.

Given this amount of influence, it has been beneficial to us as soon-to-be professionals. We have been able to watch as current professionals in the field handle this new style of communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. As result, I think it has been the most beneficial period of my education. We will keep watching, keep studying and keep practicing until we are professionals ready to take on the massive challenges of the future.

Public relations efforts are everywhere, and our group is paying attention. The mutually beneficial relationships that companies and organizations build with their audiencesthrough earned, owned, shared and paid media shape our world. We are actively studying how relationships are being built and maintained as the world is putting itself back together. The ethical standards of honesty, reliability and transparency are what my peers and I are striving to showcase in our work this semester. It is our hope that these same tenants of the Public Relations Student Society of America (parent organization of PRSSA) code of ethics become a part of the work of all professional communicators. If so, it becomes a better community, state, nation and world in which we work and live.

Have a comment on something in The Parthenon? Respond with a letter to the editor at pathenon@marshall.edu.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

9

OPINION

Dear Parthenon:

By Xena Bunton FEATURES EDITOR

By Carter Truman EXECUTIVE STAFF

Dear Parthenon is an advice column where editors, Xena Bunton and Carter Truman, answer anonymous questions about life, college, and discuss opinions or pop culture from a girl and guy perspective.

Q: Is this all just a simulation?

X: Short answer? Yes. Long answer? Yes. C: It depends on what you mean by simulation. I believe the universe was created, but “simulation” seems to imply the created thing being less real than its creator as if his reality is somehow more genuine than our own.

I would argue against this. To create is to summon all previous experience and put them forth into creation; in essence, you make art from an abstraction of yourself.

The art is the artist. So, how could the art be any less real than the artist? Yes, I think the universe was created, and you may call that a “simulation,” but it is not simulating some truer reality; rather, it is an extension of that reality and just as true.

Q: I really want to hang out with my friends, but I want to still follow COVID guidelines. What should I do?

X: I think the best way to meet with someone or a group of friends is to be fully on the same page. Find out what they are comfortable with and what you are comfortable with too. Before meeting, bring up conversations about masks, if they have had a vaccine, and their most recent COVID testing. These answers should determine what you could do or if you should even go

out. Zoom dates are always fun and easy, but if you really want to go out, you can always have a picnic at a distance or go to a local museum/event.

C: If you’d like to hang out with your friends, get your covid vaccinations, then hang out with as many of your friends as you want. The next thing you must do is take some personal responsibility. I understand that the natural impulse in times of stress and uncertainty is to be led by those we think are better suited to the job than we are; in this case, that’s supposedly science. Still, science wasn’t meant to tell you what kind of life you should live and why you should live it, and I think the best person to make those decisions for yourself is you. What scientists are going to say is we should wear a mask until the Earth is engulfed by the Sun, and that’s fair; life would be much safer if we all wore masks until we died or lived alone in a bunker, so we never sneezed on anyone, but that’s unrealistic. You must realize that to live is to be in danger, and you can’t let the non-stop fearmongering you hear make you so afraid that you stop living. So, when YOU feel good to do it, go see your friends, go to a movie theater, and have fun, because as Henry David Thoreau noted, you don’t want to come to the end of your life and realize you haven’t lived.

Q: Since the pandemic started, I have been procrastinating in all my classes and I don’t know what to do. Am I the only one? Help?!

X: Nope, you are definitely not the only one. It makes sense. This school year has been extremely hard. The only thing I can say to help out in the moment is to give yourself breaks. Whether that is a few hours or just 15 PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY TYLER SPENCE | SPENCE83@MARSHALL.EDU

minutes to get off of the computer. I am on my computer when I get up to when I am going to sleep. Heck, most of my “breaks” are me just going to my phone. It is exhausting. I don’t want to burn myself out, so I am only limiting myself to a part-time internship this summer and not working full-time. I just need that break, but I know that not everyone has that opportunity. I am also spending my summer in a new environment with beautiful weather and clear water. If it is possible for you, try out a new location and relax! You deserve it.

C: Well, first, you’re certainly not alone. It’s been hard on everyone these last few semesters to be as productive as we were before. I find myself less engaged with class material, and with classes mostly virtual, it’s hard to resist falling asleep during a lecture. I think the best thing you can do to solve this is to think in the future, look past the blandness of zoom classes today, and instead focus on that moment when you finally get that degree. Keeping a goal in mind, something that you can strive toward a little every day will help you feel more motivated to do all of the boring things you have to do right now. It doesn’t have to be a far-off goal, just something that you genuinely want, and when you finally get there, re-adjust, find another goal and continue the process over again. With a goal constantly on the horizon, you’ll be surprised what kind of stormy weather you can sail through to make it there.

You can send questions to Dear Parthenon through social media or email at Parthenon@marshall.edu.

10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

TRANSGENDER cont. from 4 Del. Walker said she received feedback from her constituents opposing the bill and encourages them to continue voicing their concerns.

“Use your voices. Understand that we work for you, you do not work for us, and with all the emails that I have received, this is not something that was wanted by the people of West Virginia,” Walker said. “ I hope that the same folks who contacted me and

called and emailed do the same thing to our senators and let them know that these votes have consequences just like the elections did.”

Walker said she is working to continue her own education and to educate her community on how to advocate for minorities and fight transphobia.

“To the trans youth and families that live within the state of West Virginia: I

appreciate you, I see you, and I respect you,” Walker said. “I want to apologize to you for my colleagues, and I can only imagine the trauma and the hurt that this Bill and other bills have brought to your family. I stand with you — we are one. One love.”

On March 19, the ACLU of West Virginia tweeted, “HB 3293, the trans athlete ban, just passed the House Judiciary Committee. Its next stop is

the full House of Delegates. If this bill becomes law, we will sue, and we will win.”

Isabella Robinson can be contacted at robinson436@ marshall.edu.

Weekend sports roundup

ZACHARY HISER| PHOTO EDITOR PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY BRITTANY HIVELY | HAYES100@MARSHALL.EDU

11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

WEST cont. from 7 Successfully stepping into that role does not come naturally to most college basketball players, but for West, his approach to the game allowed him to do just that.

That approach is centered around something he likes to call the “bulldog mentality,” which is a term that any devoted Marshall basketball fan should know by now.

Undoubtedly, that “bulldog mentality” is the basis as to why some of the best basketball programs in the country have given him looks and offers to be a part of their 2021-2022 teams.

In the 2020-2021 season, West’s playing style resulted in him leading C-USA in assists and steals per game, along with him earning a spot on the C-USA all-second team and all-defensive team. These accomplishments lend to his status as an all-time Marshall basketball great.

Personally, West will always be the first player I picture when I think of Marshall basketball because our respective experiences at Marshall spanned the same

timeline, with us both arriving in the fall of 2017 and leaving in the spring of 2021.

During that time, West and I crossed paths a couple of times away from athletics. We met in an accounting class, and in that class, West exhibited why he is on the All-Conference USA All-Academic Team.

Near the end of the semester, a select few in the class were exempt from the final exam because they had achieved a high enough grade point average. Not only was he one of those few, but he also had the highest grade in the class. Perhaps the professor should not have said that, but he did.

That is just one of the countless examples of who Jarrod West is as a person. He is the model student-athlete, and more than anything else, he is one of the most cordial, respectful and sincere dudes you will ever meet.

Jarrod, we will miss you here at Marshall, but you can count on me and thousands of Herd faithful pulling for you wherever your next stop is.

Grant Goodrich can be contacted at goodrich24@ marshall.edu.

ZACHARY HISER | PHOTO EDITOR

Jarrod West takes the ball strong to the rim against North Texas defender Thomas Bell during Friday, Feb. 26’s contest with the Mean Green.

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY GRANT GOODRICH | GOODRICH24@MARSHALL.EDU

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2020 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

12

Mountain Mama’s Sustainable Climb

By Xena Bunton FEATURES EDITOR

Editor’s note: This article is edited to fit the page. Find the full article at marshallparthenon.com.

Marshall University has made some notable sustainable decisions in the past two years — regarding plastic consumption and recycling in the Mountain State. As the third most forested state, these improvements have also highlighted the dangerous lack of resources in the state.

On January 25, 2021, Marshall announced that the university’s president, Jerome Gilbert, signed the ‘Break Free from Plastic Campus Pledge’ making Marshall the first university in the Appalachian region to sign.

The pledge, created by the Post-Landfill Action network (PLAN), works to guide campuses towards a long-term elimination of single-use disposable plastics and work towards waste elimination.

cess to the county facility.

Cabell county is not the only county like this, and it only gets worse around the Mountain State.

On March 5, 2021, Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority’s Clint Hogbin announced they are not collecting plastic at any of their drop-off locations because of market issues. Hogbin said Berkeley County residents were filling “tractor trailers full of plastics and paper” faster than they could get them emptied at times.

“Plastic containers continue to be a topic where we’re having trouble finding affordable markets. It’s not just Berkeley County. It’s happening all over the country,” Hogbin told the Panhandle News Network.

As Hogbin states that this is happening all over the county, it is essential to recognize this problem is also happening all over West Virginia.

After contacting all 55 counties in West Virginia, 67.2% of the counties have some sort of free recycling program in 2021, whether that is cardboard, paper or only collecting tires. Only 41.8% of the counties include plastic in that deal.

25.4% of West Virginia counties include no recycling program at all.

The responses from West Virginia counties about no program varied — COVID-19 reasons, lack of finances, no location for a facility or the need of proper management.

Plastic-reduction in the state has been a conversation in the West Virginia Capitol Building for over a decade.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AUSTIN O’CONNOR (@OCO_PHOTO)

Art exhibit highlights forgotten history of American wests featured at the Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery at Marshall Visual Arts Center.

Xena Bunton | Feautures Editor

Marshall hasn’t only been busy with the plastic pledge in the past two years, but the sustainability department has also successfully organized the first compost facility in West Virginia and will be the second largest on the east coast.

“I credit Amy Parsons-White for her leadership and vision in putting Marshall at the forefront of sustainability in West Virginia,” Gilbert said. “…This will be a game-changer for Marshall and the Huntington community.”

Once the facility is operational, Marshall will be 70% waste free as they will take all of Marshall’s food waste, lawn waste, white office paper and cardboard that will go into a grinder.

With the goal of opening the facility by the end of the spring semester, the facility will also have worm castings.

Although Marshall is making sustainable changes, Cabell county is still struggling to allow residents to recycle.

“Not everybody who stops at a recycling bin has good intentions,” Mark Buchanan, Cabell County Solid Waste Authority, said.

Due to the lack of waste knowledge and mixing the wrong products in recycling bins, Cabell County residents who wish to recycle must pay a yearly fee for proper containers and ac-

Xena Bunton | Feautures Editor

There are four additional counties that recycle plastic but include a city fee that push West Virginia plastic-recycling counties up to 49% of plastic recycling overall.

PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY XENA BUNTON | BUNTON2@MARSHALL.EDU

The House Bill 2500, that was introduced on February 15, 2021, was passed by the West Virginia House to disallow municipalities from banning certain plastics and to-go containers.

The bill was passed 79 to 19 and will move to senate to continue the discussion of regulating, prohibiting or imposing a fee of plastic grocery bags, to-go food containers and plastic silverware.

This is not the first time that West Virginia lawmakers have introduced a possible bill to ban plastic shopping statewide. In 2008, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Delegates that they predicted would ultimately phase out the use of plastic bags by 2011. Obviously, this did not happen. The state is still discussing this plastic problem in 2021 when 50.8% of West Virginia counties either have a recycling program that does not recycle plastic, or the county does not have a recycling program at all.

With the help of Marshall students and staff, this might just be the decade to see a sustainable climb in the Mountain State.

Xena Bunton can be contacted at Bunton2@marshall.