October 30, 2013 Online Edition

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INSIDE: NEWS, 2 | SPORTS, 3 | OPINION, 4 | LIFE!, 6

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013 | VOL. 117 NO. 42 | MARSHALL UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER | marshallparthenon.com

Marshall leads in West Virginia Business Plan Competition

Visual Arts Center opening on schedule

By TANYA ABBETT

THE PARTHENON Business students at Marshall University have submitted the most entries in this year’s West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition. The competition is sponsored by the BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at West Virginia University. The annual competition demonstrates the urge to start businesses in West Virginia while giving college students the opportunity to win $10,000 worth of goods and services intended to help transform their business ideas into reality. The second round of the competition will take place at Marshall’s Huntington campus Nov. 22. Marshall students submitted 107 out of 235 entries received from 11 state universities and colleges competing. Elizabeth Reusch, assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship in Marshall’s College of Business, said she is impressed with the enthusiasm of the students who submitted their ideas. “Given the size of Marshall University, 107 is an impressive number,” Reusch said. “I think everybody should be wowed by the fact that so many of our students are willing to take a chance on their ideas. Entering a fledgling idea into a competition like this takes a lot of guts. In West Virginia, approximately 97 percent of our economy is based around thriving small businesses. If we want to help ensure the future success of West Virginia, we need to encourage our students to think like entrepreneurs. I am superbly proud of our students.” Reusch said two years ago, Marshall had five plans in the competition. Last year, 70 students took the plunge, with two plans making it to the semi-final round. “We know most successful entrepreneurs fail spectacularly with their first few ideas,” Reusch said. “I’d like to see our students get that out of the way, learn that sometimes great ideas aren’t profitable and that business plans are beneficial to helping determine what ideas will and wont work.” The business plan competition has three rounds. Round one requires a threepage summary of a business idea, which is scored by a panel of judges who use a scoring rubric. In each category, up to 10 teams will be selected to advance to round two. This semi-final round has three levels: a feasibility study, a two-minute elevator pitch and a series of interviews. The top five teams in each category will advance form the semi-finals to the final round, which will take place at WVU.

See BUSINESS | Page 5

PHOTOS BY ANDREA STEELE | THE PARTHENON

College of Arts and Media dean Donald Van Horn tours construction progress while workers, below, gather around exposed walls inside the visual arts center Tuesday in downtown Huntington.

Former Third Avenue department store nearing May 2014 completion By ALISON WICKLINE

THE PARTHENON Marshall University is on track for a May 2014 completion of a state-of-the-art visual arts center in downtown Huntington. The former Stone and Thomas building sits on Third Avenue across from Huntington’s Pullman Square. When renovations are complete, the center will house art studios, classrooms, and retail and gallery space on the ground floor designed to draw tourists and local shoppers to the center. Ron May, director of facilities planning and management for Marshall, said the building will likely be in use by next fall. “We’re on schedule to finish probably about mid-May of next year, so we probably wouldn’t move from Smith until the fall semester which works out well,” May said. The new visual arts center sits in a prime spot in downtown Huntington and is designed to increase foot traffic to downtown Huntington. Marshall President Stephen J. Kopp said the building was purchased by a partnership between the city and the university to bridge the gap between Marshall and the community.

“It’s a great opportunity for the university, in collaboration with the city, to establish a real showpiece downtown where the visual arts could be showcased both for the benefits of our students and faculty and our community,” Kopp said. The building is expected to hold 400 to 500 students, plus faculty--a benefit for Marshall’s visual arts program. Currently, the program is limited because of space issues on campus. All of the School of Art and Design programs will be transferred downtown, except for ceramics and sculpture. Donald Van Horn, College of Fine Arts dean, said the new facility is an exciting chance for the School of Art and Design to grow. “This affords the School of Art and Design the opportunity to bring in more students, but more importantly, it gives them the chance to create new programs and have the space to do that,” Van Horn said. “The facility gives them room to grow and expand.” While the exterior only required minor aesthetic renovations, the interior is being completely redone to bring the 111-year-old department

store building up to current fire and safety regulations. Another major area of construction was erecting a dividing wall between parts of the building, because the university only purchased part of the building. The rest belongs to a different owner. The historical building is a seven-story structure, including the basement. The first floor is designed to serve two purposes. One, it will serve as a gallery for students to present, and possibly sell, their artwork. The floor will also serve as an area for retail store development, which would provide revenue for Marshall. The rest of the floors are designed as instructional spaces. A traditional lecture classroom and two smaller seminar spaces will exist for typical classroom use. The design plans allot for about 12 major studio spaces, some being multipurpose and some being specialized. Open common areas will be on each floor to serve many different purposes. They can be used as critique spaces or exhibition spaces for students and faculty. But they also provide an opportunity for growth if the College of

Arts and Media programs expand. Each instructional floor will have two to three faculty offices and studios that will be organized based on programs. The offices will be designed as interactive spaces, with rolling doors between the faculty office and studio to the classroom studio. The basement has not been designed for any particular purpose at this time. It will serves as a shell space that can evolve into whatever it needs to be depending on program development. Marshall bought the building

THE PARTHENON Pi Kappa Phi will raise awareness for those with disabilities Thursday with Precision Without Vision on the plaza of the Memorial Student Center. The event will be from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Participates will gain a better understand of what the visually impaired go through by wearing goggles to obscure their vision. They will be asked to perform tasks such as hitting a golf ball, throwing a basketball into a basket or throwing a football from a distance.

The event is a test of your senses true abilities and the purpose is to show how hard it is to do these seemingly simple activities without certain senses, as well as bring awareness to those with disabilities that must live like this every day. “It’s part of the education that goes along with it,” Zachary Morris, senior public relations major and member of Pi Kappa Phi, said. “We will be discussing with students the abilities of people with disabilities.”

Morris said if the participates do get a hole in one, make a basket or a goal, they will be able to see that those with disabilities can do it as well. The main purpose of the event is to bring awareness for Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropy, Push America, an organization dedicated to raising funds for those with disabilities. There is no cost to participate, but donations are accepted and all proceeds will go directly toward Push America.

THE PARTHENON The Marshall University Department of Residence Life is sponsoring a Trickor-Treat in the residence halls Wednesday to celebrate the Halloween season. Children in the community are invited to come into the dorms and receive candy from residences dressed in costumes. The trick-or-treat will take place in all halls from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Pi Kappa Phi to experience sensory deprivation for disability awareness

271706 MARSHALL CAREER SERVICES

in August 2010 for $750,000. The project is slated to cost roughly $13 million. Edward Tucker Architects Inc., a local firm, is leading the renovation project, and Neighborgall Construction is handling the actual renovations. Plans for parking and city and campus security are in the development stages at this time. Marshall and College of Arts and Media administrators said they are working to determine the best way to handle these issues. Alison Wickline can be contacted at wickline19@ live.marshall.edu.

Residence Life welcomes children for trick-or-treat Britt Frye, residence director for Twin Towers West, said this event would focus on celebrating Halloween with younger children in the community. “It’s something that housing and residence life has done for a number of years to reach out to the community members,” Frye said. “And it’s for the faculty and staff to bring their children on campus for trick-or-treating.”


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