Nov. 19, 2019

Nov. 19, 2019

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ADULTING 101 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019

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VOLUME 95, ISSUE 13

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

WKU deals offer chances to study in China

BY JEREMY CHISENHALL HERALD.EDITOR@WKU.EDU

WKU’s preliminary agreement with Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU) will

include opportunities for student and faculty exchanges, according to the agreement signed by WKU President Timothy Caboni and SNNU President You Xuqun.

The memorandum of understanding, which was signed by both university presidents on Oct. 30 during Caboni’s

trip to China, features “collaborative degree programs” that will give students the opportunity to study psychology and journalism at both schools.

WKU students who take part in these programs can study abroad for two-tofour weeks, one full semester or one full

year, according to John Sunnygard, associate provost for global learning and international affairs.

The agreement also states the two schools are working to create a joint

SEE CHINA • PAGE A2

SPORTS • B4

BACK ON TOP Volleyball reclaims conference title

GABI BROEKEMA • HERALD

WKU senior Sophia Cerino (23) celebrates after WKU’s senior day game against UAB in Diddle Arena on Saturday. WKU swept UAB 3-0 to finish the regular season with a record of 28 wins and one loss.

How DACA rulings could affect WKU students WKU basketball

BY MICHAEL J. COLLINS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Immigrant students and refugees who are benefitting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) could face deportation and/or cancellation of scholarships following President Donald Trump’s administration’s attempt to cancel the protections.

The United States Supreme Court began hearing the administration’s arguments on the cancellation on Nov. 12.

The university does not track the number of students who are in the U.S. as part of the DACA program, which covers U.S. residents who immigrated while under 16 years old.

The Trump administration declared an end to DACA protections in 2017, a decision that was challenged by a federal appeals court and sent to the Supreme Court where proceedings began this week.

Christina Tomás, president of WKU’s Amnesty International branch, is beginning a push for a non-binding act that declares support for the resettlement of refugees in the local community, called the “Refugees Welcome Resolution.”

“Education is a basic human right, and so protecting the education of un-

documented migrants is huge,” Tomás said. “I saw the effects of DACA in high school, and [even with the program] it was really challenging for them.”

Tomás said DACA recipients should begin laying plans for what they will do if the act is officially repealed.

“Know what your rights are as an undoc-

or planning to account for the rapid change in protections which would impact over 700,000 undocumented workers and students nationwide, according to a 2017 report from Pew Research.

Last week’s Supreme Court hearing showed five conservative judges were willing to uphold the Trump adminis-

records request heads to incamera review

BY MATT STAHL HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

CHRISTINA TOMÁS

tration’s decision to end the program.

“This is a serious decision,” Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said

Following WKU’s denial of an open records request regarding former WKU basketball players and former head coach Ray Harper, the Kentucky attorney general’s office has called for an in-camera review of the documents in question.

During an in-camera review, the attorney general’s office reviews the records privately to determine if the documents can be made public. In this case, the attorney general’s office would look to determine if the records can be exempted from the Open Records Act. On Oct. 11, the Herald requested all records or correspondence from WKU Athletics, WKU’s Title IX Office, the Office of Student Conduct or the WKU Police Department that referenced former

SEE DACA • PAGE A3

SEE OPEN RECORDS • PAGE A2

President of WKU’s Amnesty International branch

Education is a basic human right, and so protecting the education of undocumented migrants is huge.

umented student and where you can go to seek help,” Tomás said. “You don’t want to be unprepared if the worst does happen.”

The appeals court argued the order did not consider proper caution

A2 NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

CHINA

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

doctorate of education program.

Students studying abroad at SNNU can also spend multiple years abroad, as the agreement allows psychology students to spend two years at each school, and journalism students can spend up to three years at one school, while completing one year of their degree at the other.

Chinese students coming to WKU can also participate in these programs.

Because of differences in curriculum requirements, Chinese students will have more course options when they come to WKU. WKU students will have fewer options when they go to SNNU. In order to complete their degree in these programs, students will need to fulfill the degree requirements for their home institution, Sunnygard said. The courses taken outside a student’s home institution must be approved by their home institution.

The curriculum at one university might not meet up with the curriculum at the other, but that isn’t a requirement of the program, Sunnygard said.

“We are seeking to develop high-quality, affordable international opportunities for WKU students that will enhance their future career prospects,” Sunnygard said in an email. “As a result of these partnerships, study abroad opportunities for WKU students will be significantly expanded.

“WKU students will be able to take WKU courses in China from WKU and possibly Chinese instructors in English.”

“Chinese students are very interested in studying in the United States,” Sunnygard said. “[T]he most respected and lucrative opportunities are often those available be-

OPEN RECORDS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

WKU basketball players Marlon Hunter, Chris McNeal or Fredrick Edmond, or former head coach Ray Harper.

The request was made following a lawsuit filing in Alabama that accused Hunter of sexual assault at Jacksonville State University and also alleges that Hunter had been removed from WKU due to a “sexual assault incident.”

On Oct. 16, WKU General Counsel Deborah Wilkins denied the request, claiming all records responsive to the request were exempt from the Kentucky Open Records Act. “I examined the records and determined the documents constitute student

tween a Chinese university and an American university. It also recognizes that Chinese universities seek and respect the academic mission of US universities.”

Sunnygard said the goal is to make this study abroad experience just as affordable — if not more affordable — as the cost of that at WKU. “The Chinese partner universities, because we now have an agreement, are able to make scholarships available to WKU students,” he said.

These agreements also make it pos-

dent exchanges.

“If Chinese students want to come here, and they want to take journalism courses, let them come,” McKerral said.

“They have in the past. If our journalism students, our School of Media students, want to go to China and take courses, they can have at it.”

McKerral has raised concerns about faculty exchanges for journalism courses due to China’s lack of press freedom.

China ranked 177th out of 180 countries in press freedom this year, according to

MAC MCKERRAL

Journalism professor in the School of Media

I’m just not wanting our School of Media signed onto something in writing with China when it comes to journalism.

sible for faculty to teach abroad. These teaching assignments would be shortterm, Sunnygard said, and no one would be required to participate.

“We will be working with WKU’s academic departments to explore opportunities that best fit their goals,” he said. “No one is obligated to participate, but these agreements open the door to engaging with the largest market on the planet.”

Mac McKerral, a journalism professor in the School of Media, has shown opposition to the potential trade-off of faculty, though he has no issue with stu-

Reporters Without Borders.

McKerral addressed his concerns in an email to Robert Dietle, the interim director of the School of Media, as well as all faculty in the school.

“China is a totalitarian regime with a state-run news media that persecutes journalists and others in the creative arts such as film, who do not walk the party line,” McKerral said in the email.

“That persecution takes the form of imprisonment and worse.

“The Chinese government has no respect for any of the five tenets of the

educational records, including records of student discipline,” Wilkins said in her denial. “Which are excluded from public inspection by operation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.” In accordance with the Open Records Act, the Herald filed an appeal to the attorney general. On Oct. 29, the office of the attorney general responded with two letters, one said to expect a decision on or before Jan. 8, 2020, and another requested a supplement to WKU’s initial denial and an in-camera review of the documents in question.

“Understand that this office cannot compel compliance a request for an in camera review,” the letter said. “However, WKU has the burden of proof, per KRS 61.880(2)(c), and may not be able to prevail without the requested information.”

WKU has been previously asked to submit records of sexual misconduct investigations for an in-camera review and refused to do so, contributing to the legal battle the Herald, WKU and the attorney general are currently involved in.

WKU had previously turned down a request for similar information in 2016, when the three players were kicked out of school and Harper was forced to resign. The Herald did not appeal the denial at that time.

On Wednesday, Wilkins provided the supplement to the denial, specifying the documents that were in WKU’s possession, including 82 pages of student athletic records. The Title IX office and the Office of Student Conduct also have documents in their possession, totaling approximately 350 pages.

first Amendment on which the SoM journalism curriculum is based and on which its accreditation hinges.”

McKerral suggested that WKU form partnerships with countries that rank high in press freedom. McKerral’s suggestions included Norway, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, New Zealand, Costa Rica and Ireland.

He hopes once these preliminary agreements become more concrete, they won’t involve faculty, and will stick to just student exchanges.

“I’m hoping that when they start to formalize, that they’ll leave us out of the equation,” McKerral said. “...I’m just not wanting our School of Media signed onto something in writing with China when it comes to journalism.”

Bob Skipper, WKU’s director of media relations, said that this agreement is not about teaching United States journalists on how to operate like the Chinese media.

“It’s not necessarily to train U.S. journalists on how China runs its media,” Skipper said. “It’s to provide them with an understanding of how China approaches its media.” “[These agreements] are designed to give us a better understanding of China given that they are such an economic powerhouse and such a major player on the world stage,” he added.

In addition to signing an agreement with SNNU, Caboni also celebrated a previously signed agreement with Jilin Agricultural University that will allow students to spend two years studying abroad for an animal science program, Sunnygard said.

Editor-In-Chief Jeremy Chisenhall can be reached at herald.editor@wku.edu.

Follow him on Twitter @JSChisenhall.

Wilkins said those records include correspondence between the student parties and the Office of Judicial Affairs, which pertain to “the complaint, the judicial process and/or the disciplinary process,” transcribed statements and documentary evidence submitted.

“The University’s position is that production of the requested records would violate the personal privacy and federal law exemptions to the Open Records Act,” Wilkins said in the supplementary denial.

Sports Columnist and News Editor Matt Stahl can be reached at matthew. stahl551@topper.wku.edu. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattstahl97.

THANKSGIVING DINNER at

Thursday, November 21 st 4:30pm – 8:30pm Donations are encouraged.

All donations will be given to

Hotel Inc.

NEWS A3

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

5 questions with Dean Larry Snyder HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

declining enrollment for WKU and the budget reallocations, “but it’s manageable, and everybody’s doing their job and working through it,” Snyder said.

Larry Snyder, dean of Potter College of Arts and Letters, sat down to talk about how things are going for Potter College and what’s coming up for the college.

Snyder has been the dean of Potter College since fall 2015, where he started as the interim and later became the official dean in spring 2016. Last year, Snyder was briefly forced to resign from

What’s the biggest challenge Potter College has faced so far this year?

The biggest challenge is getting ready for the future.

“The university is appropriately ‘right-sizing,’ that’s the phrase we’re using around here these days,” Snyder said. “We’re right-sizing.”

This means figuring out what enroll-

BY LILY BURRIS

LARRY SNYDER

Dean of Potter College of Arts and Letters

We’re having growth in the arts, which is an extremely good sign for us.

the position under former Provost Terry Ballman. He was brought back to the position when acting Provost Cheryl Stevens came into her current position and asked him to return.

How’s the year gone for Potter College so far?

Despite all the events of last year, Snyder said the year has gone well for Potter College thus far. There is a good attitude among the faculty and students. People are anxious about the

ment number is right for WKU to fit consistently with its mission and place.

Departments and programs also have to find the right fit within the university’s mission and place.

“That’s a challenge, and so trying to figure out what’s the best way to get there with the least disruption,” Snyder said. Potter College also has to be careful with its resources and plan for growth at the same time.

What are the goals for Potter Col-

lege for the rest of this year?

One goal for Potter College is to put in place the recommendations from the Comprehensive Academic Program Evaluation. Recommendations were made across the college, and programs designated for transformation made reports to the dean’s office by the end of October, Snyder said. From there, the process will continue to university review and implementation.

“Number two is ensuring our fiscal health,” Snyder said. Potter College had $1.2 million in budget reallocation from the last budget cycle. Potter College is working toward that goal and shrinking.

“We’re managing that and not simply letting it happen to us,” Snyder said.

Where have you seen the most growth in Potter College this year?

There has been growth in different areas, Snyder said. Potter College had its largest incoming class of dancers ever, which Snyder said surprises people because they normally hear about growth in STEM and business fields.

“We’re having growth in the arts, which is an extremely good sign for us,” Snyder said. The criminology major is in growing and is now the largest in the college.

There’s also growth in communications majors like public relations and advertising.

“We have sort of pockets here and there, where we are seeing growth across the college,” Snyder said. “The idea for us, the trick for us is to figure out how to again manage that growth, sustain it and build upon it so we can expand that growth to other areas.”

How do you feel your students are doing this year?

Snyder said the faculty and depart-

MHARI SHAW• HERALD

ment heads would know because they have more immediate contact with students on an everyday basis.

“At least the reports I’m getting is that students are thriving and seem excited to be here and progressing,” Snyder said. “They’re certainly doing good work, I know that.” If he had been asked when he was a regular faculty member, he would know.

“I hope they’re well, and if they’re not well, I’d like to know about it,” Snyder said.

Bonus Question: Would you rather fight 100 white squirrel-sized Big Reds or one Big Red-sized white squirrel?

“Since I hate squirrels, I guess it’s gonna be Big Red,” Snyder said with a laugh.

News reporter Lily Burris can be reached at 270-745-6011 and lily.burris203@topper.wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @lily_burris.

Students can pay back library fines in a new way

BY CASSADY LAMB HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Readers who have overdue book fines at WKU Libraries are able to take advantage of a program allowing them to pay their debts with food instead of money.

The Food for Fines program is a food

drive sponsored by WKU Libraries.

The program gives students and faculty the opportunity to pay back their library debt with food and toiletry items.

One item will equal one dollar.

Several years ago, WKU Libraries’ patrons account specialist, Paula Bowles, wanted to lighten library fines while giving food to a cause, said Jennifer Wilson, communications director for WKU Libraries.

“So we began the Fine Forgiveness Food Drive,” she said. “We have donated to local church food pantries and for the past few years, we’ve been donating to the WKU food pantry.”

WKU has joined the ranks of university libraries as well as city libraries that give fine amnesty in return for certain donated goods.

“Any type of food that is non-per-

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We encourage people to bring donations while we’re open ... if they’re comfortable people can leave the donations on the front porch.

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them to us during the office hours, if they’re comfortable people can leave the donations on the front porch.”

For the past decade WKU Libraries has donated non-perishable food items to both the campus as well as the surrounding community.

All WKU students, faculty and staff are eligible to use the food pantry. One will have to complete a confidential

ishable such as canned goods, pasta, beans, peanut butter, nuts, crackers,” Wilson said. “Toiletries are also welcome such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.”

Participants are forgiven a dollar per toiletry or food item and are able to donate up to $20 worth of items.

“If they would like to give more, we can work with them on an individual basis,” Wilson said.

The Food for Fines food drive has been accepting donations for the past two weeks and will halt donations on Friday, but the food pantry operates and takes donations all year long.

The drive is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to Cara Walters, a sustainability graduate assistant.

“We have been kind of in a transition phase right now because we have been under renovation,” Walters said. “We encourage people to bring donations while we’re open, but if they can’t get

digital form before getting access to the items stored in the pantry.

“The digital form is basically just for keeping track of our records, a statistics type of thing,” Walters said. “It’s showing that we are a valuable resource on campus. It’s not used to keep track of anyone, we don’t ask for 800 numbers anymore. It just shows how many people use the pantry each semester.”

This semester, more students have taken use of the pantry compared to recent previous semesters, where more staff used the pantry, according to the pantry’s records.

The food pantry is located in the sustainability house on 503 Regents Ave. Items will be collected on the fourth floor of Raymond Cravens Library until Nov. 22.

DACA

refuse to cooperate in ICE operations that may involve students and promise to protect the privacy of students attending under DACA protections.

The University Senate voted in favor of making WKU a sanctuary campus in February 2017, but former WKU President Gary Ransdell declined the resolution.

“While I am supportive of the spirit behind the Senate Resolution, I cannot support WKU declaring itself a sanctuary campus,” said Ransdell in his written response to the Senate. “Such a declaration would potentially put WKU at risk with both the state and federal governments and could also endanger financial aid and/or grant funding.”

CONTINUED FROM FRONT during the hearing. “We all agree with that. [For the Administration] to say in writing ‘even if it’s lawful, I nonetheless am going to exercise my discretion,’ I assume that was a very considered decision.”

It is unlikely that a decision will be made until the spring of 2020, several months before the presidential election. As it stands, it’s unclear whether the decision will have an effect on voters, be it a boost or hindrance to Trump’s reelection momentum.

Since the administration’s attempts to end DACA in 2017, many universities across the country chose to label themselves “sanctuary campuses.” According to the American Association of University Professors, these campuses

News reporter Cassady Lamb can be reached at cassady.lamb667@topper.wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @ lambp0p.

News reporter Michael J. Collins can be reached at michael.collins527@topper.wku.edu.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 , 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

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OPINION

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

A5

ILLUSTRATION BY MADALYN STACK • HERALD

PENALIZING THE PRESS Journalism deal with a Chinese university raises concerns

BY HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

Issue: Two weeks ago, WKU came to an agreement with an institution of higher education in China, Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU), that will allow WKU and SNNU students to transfer between universities and complete degrees in psychology, education and/ or journalism.

Our stance: Higher education in China — along with many other Chinese institutions — is overseen by an authoritarian communist regime, and because of this WKU should not share the same values on psychology, education and journalism with a program under China’s control.

The joint memo detailing WKU and SNNU’s agreement reads the two universities will offer programs “deemed mutually desirable and reasonable for the development of cooperative activities between the two institutions,” and “specific programs shall be subject to mutual consent,” meaning WKU sees an overlap in the criteria it and SNNU wants to meet.

This notion is abhorrent, especially in terms of agreeing on principles of journalism, as China regularly limits its media and practices prior restraint (when the government intervenes to prevent a story’s publication.) Banning prior restraint is fundamental to freedom of the press in the United States, and this alone should stop WKU from reaching an agreement with SNNU on how to teach journalism.

On top of this, China is ranked 177 in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, third from last in front of only North Korea and Eritrea, according to Reporters Without Borders. It is not uncommon for the Chinese Communist Party to hire writers to work under a pseudonym and praise the government in print media in order to sneakily give readers propaganda, according to The China Quarterly.

How can WKU partner to teach journalism with a university hosted by a country that doesn’t even share its basic beliefs on what journalism should be? What skills could a WKU student studying journalism learn from studying abroad in a country which actively suppresses its media?

This partnering with China could not

come at a worse time, as the country has been on the world stage actively trying to take away Hong Kong’s democracy and implement communist law.

In the past, Chinese citizens have sought protection in Hong Kong after violating mainland China’s media laws, and this ongoing fight for the city has jeopardized this safety net for citizens’ voices.

The Chinese government also has an estimated 1.5 million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps — known in mainland China as re-education camps — in which Chinese officials force the Uyghurs to conform to the Chinese Communist ideology, according to Reuters.

These concentration camps have been in place since 2014 partially in order to fight separatism, crushing multiculturalism and diversity by ripping families apart for no reason other than their religion.

WKU President Timothy Caboni has repeatedly spoken about WKU’s need for diversity, and John Sunnygard, WKU’s associate provost for Global Learning and International Affairs, even said in an email to the Herald that diversity was a factor in this

WKU Herald

agreement.

If this is the case, why does WKU not reach an agreement with another institution that shares its supposed desire for diversity?

Surely WKU could find a university which actually shares its beliefs on how psychology, education and journalism should be taught. It also should not be difficult to find a university which holds these values and is located in a country whose government is not committing atrocities upon its own people — unlike the one with which WKU just reached an agreement.

WKU’s decision is equally, if not more, shortsighted than its previous one with the Confucius Institute. This agreement is entirely different than the Chinese Flagship Program, which is a program meant to enrich students about China’s vibrant culture and treasured history dating back thousands of years.

However, this agreement is a form of WKU complying with the Chinese government, which is the very power that keeps Chinese citizens oppressed.

WKU should not endorse programs backed by an authoritarian government; it’s that simple.

WKU Herald

Are you concerned about WKU entering into a journalism partnership with a Chinese university?

Do you think Gov. Matt Bevin’s call for recanvass is legitimate?

Yes

23%

Yes, China doesn’t encourage press freedom

No

66%

No, the experience will be good

I want to see the results Vote

11%

Final results from last week’s poll

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A6

TUESDAY, NOVMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

ON ICE

Winter is back in Bowling Green

Patrons skate during the opening weekend at the SoKY Ice Rink on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. The SoKY Ice Rink is open from Nov. 15 to Jan 5.

PHOTOS & COPY BY REED MATTISON

HERALD.PHOTO@WKU.EDU

T

he Fourth Annual SoKY Ice Rink opened for the holiday season on Friday. Located at the SoKY Marketplace Pavilion, the 6,000 square foot ice rink is open

Adam Millay, 34, unlaces his skates after a skate session at the SoKY Ice rink on Nov. 16, 2019.

Millay has been skating for about five years and enjoys coming to the SoKY ice rink.

from Nov. 15 until Jan. 5 on weekends. The rink gives patrons an opportunity to skate closer to Bowling Green. Rink regular Adam Millay enjoys having ice close to home. “It saves a two hour round trip to Owensboro, which is the next closest ice rink,” Millay said.

Ismael Acosta, 21, and Maholy Leiva, 20, hold hands as they regain their balance on the ice at the SoKY Ice rink on Nov. 16, 2019. The two went ice skating with their friend Jackeline Herrera on Sunday night Nov. 17.

SoKY Ice Rink opened for the holiday season on Nov. 15. The temporary ice rink costs $10 for WKU students.

B1

LIFE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

CRAZY CREDITS

Folklore class explores everything spooky

BY KELLEY HOLLAND HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

KEILEN FRAZIER • HERALD

Herald writer Julie Sisler introduces herself during warmups with the Happy Gas Improv Troupe at Gordon Wilson Hall on Nov. 12, 2019.

TRUST YOUR GUT

How improv helped me do the unexpected

BY JULIE SISLER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU I open my mouth prepared to deliver the line I’ve been formulating in my head for the last 45 seconds. But by the time I’ve worked up the courage to speak, my opportunity is gone, and it’s back to the mental drawing board.

I’m lying on the floor of a darkened room in Gordon Wilson Hall around 7 p.m. on a Tuesday night inches away from people acting as a DJ named Frank and a disgruntled engaged couple. Though we can’t see the audience or each other, we are acting out a scene in a nightclub using only our voices.

This wasn’t quite what I expected for the evening, but isn’t that the point of improv? To be unexpected.

Why is your gas happy?

Despite being a theatre kid in high school, my experience with group improvisational acting reached only as far as me sitting in awe of the improv team at my school. The notion of throwing myself into the unknown and hoping my brain came up with something not only intelligible but also funny was both scary and intriguing. Hesitantly, I decided to put this to the test and spend an evening with the Happy Gas Improv Troupe.

While some would consider improvisational acting a fun and artistic hobby, for the members of Happy Gas, improv is a lifestyle. Comprised of WKU students, Happy Gas is the longest-running improv troupe in Kentucky.

If, like me, you’re wondering where the name came from and why the group’s gas is happier than other gases, you’re out of luck. The story behind “happy gas,” as I learned, is a well-kept secret among members.

The group practices twice a week by meeting and running through vocal and physical warmup exercises, then playing improv games which will eventually be played at shows. Essentially, members run scenes they will never run again, as each round is improvised and therefore has a different outcome.

Who spiked your coffee? (And where can I get some?)

Climbing the stairs to the third floor of Gordon Wilson, my stomach was in knots. Admittedly, I get a little nervous before any interaction for a Herald article. But this was a whole new level. I was preparing to walk into a room full of strangers and make a fool of myself. And people do this as a hobby.

When I walked into the room, I was greeted warmly and introduced to everyone. Immediately, I was pulled into a warmup activity as if I had been part of the group all along. If anyone was hesitant to let my clueless self in on practicing, they didn’t show it.

We kicked things off with an energizer game, which involved yelling whatever came to mind loudly and quickly. After messing up a few times, I found myself

Let’s play some mind games I settled into a chair facing the chalkboard away from the group and put earbuds in, turning on “chateau” by blackbear and cranking the volume high for the game “Headphones.”

My instructions were simple: Sit in the chair, keep my music’s volume up high enough so I couldn’t hear what was happening behind me, and shout out the first thing that came to mind anytime my shoulder was tapped.

Behind me, two actors would begin a scene based on a prompt given by the audience and would tap my shoulder, incorporating whatever I said into the scene. Simple enough, so why was I so nervous?

At the first shoulder tap, I tripped over my words as I called out, “Where’s my alligator?” I was so surprised with

JULIE SISLER

Herald features reporter

This wasn’t quite what I expected for the evening, but isn’t that the point of improv?

To be unexpected. getting relaxed at the thought of being so loud and speaking without thinking.

Even though I was feeding off of everyone’s energy, I was still shocked at the sheer amount of it they had. As I looked around at the group of students jumping this way and that while shouting the most random things, I couldn’t help but wonder who spiked their coffee? Furthermore, where could I get some?

They seemed completely unaffected by the dreary, cold weather outside or even the fact it was just a Tuesday evening.

Next came improv games. That’s when it hit me what feeling was causing my stomach to do somersaults: panic.

We’ve all heard tales about vampires, ghosts, aliens and other monsters. But did you know WKU offers a class exploring these supernatural creatures?

FLK 275, or supernatural folklore, gives students the opportunity to learn about society’s beliefs in the supernatural and why these beliefs have persisted over time. Besides monsters, the class also dedicates time to learning about superstition, witchcraft and other religious beliefs.

The course fulfills a requirement for the explorations category of the Colonnade program and counts toward the folklore minor as well. It teaches students how superstitious beliefs and practices are important to people despite the ridiculous way they are traditionally portrayed.

Kate Horigan, an assistant professor of folk studies, has taught the course in the past and will teach it again next semester. She believes approaching the concept of superstitions in a scholarly way helps students make sense of a part of the human experience that is often dismissed or stigmatized.

“Students are really excited by the subject matter,” Horigan said. “Often by the end of the semester, they leave with a new understanding of a personal experience with the supernatural or a transformed view of popular culture that deals with supernatural themes.”

Jennifer Roberts, a senior majoring in cultural anthropology, took the class with Horigan last semester.

She said she enjoyed how diverse the course material was, giving her insight into subjects she normally wouldn’t investigate on her own.

“It made class fun,” Roberts said. “I always liked to end my day with that class, because it wasn’t the usual class I’d take.”

While the course material is often entertaining for its unusual nature, the class also covers in-depth topics such as what kind of evidence is used to reach conclusions about the world around us and what it means to be human.

Students may expect to get handson experience in collecting and interpreting supernatural folklore using the methods of folk studies.

Horigan said she hopes students leave the class with an appreciation for the cultural context of supernatural phenomena.

myself, unsure of where that line even came from. But before I could really dig for the answer, my shoulder was tapped again, and I called out something about a peach emoji.

Unable to hear what was happening around me meant I didn’t even have warning on when I would be called on for another random line. In an effort to stay truly improvisational, I tried to focus solely on the music blaring in my ears. So how did blackbear’s album lead to lines about Hannah Montana and peach emojis? I’m still trying to figure it out.

As we ran through more games, I became acutely aware of how strenuous improv is both mentally and emotion-

“It is an important piece of understanding historical and contemporary contexts where supernatural beliefs have played a central role, such as the persecution of witches,” Horigan said.

Folk studies professor Erika Brady is teaching the class this semester and has taught it over the course of about 30 years.

SEE IMPROV • PAGE B2

SEE CRAZY CREDITS • PAGE B2

ILLUSTRATION BY MADALYN STACK • HERALD

Study abroad experience creates culture champion

BY ELEANOR TOLBERT HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

When Kerby Gilstrap came to WKU, she knew it would lead her to new and exciting places. What she didn’t know was one of those places would be Morocco.

Gilstrap, a Bowling Green sophomore, is a double major in international affairs and Arabic who studied abroad for two months last summer in Rabat, Morocco. This was her first time leaving the United States, and although she felt prepared, she couldn’t expect everything that would happen.

“The first day was difficult,” Gilstrap said.

“My very first flight was delayed, which pushed everything back seven hours. I was stressed and hadn’t slept, but I was so relieved when I met my host mom.”

Gilstrap said she expected to feel stranger than she did in a new country.

There were times when she felt like an outsider, but mostly she felt comfort-

able with her host family. She said she believes this is because of the emphasis Moroccans put on open and intentional relationships.

“I expected to feel more lost and unable to ask difficult questions,” Gilstrap said. “One thing about Moroccans in particular is their willingness to share their culture with anyone.”

Trying to understand the traditions within Islamic culture was very important to Gilstrap. She said she always tried to have in-depth conversations with her host siblings and ask questions about prayer and hijabs, a veil worn traditionally by women who practice Islam. She practiced her Arabic during taxi rides, which she took every day on her way to school.

Though her relationship with her host family was at first a little troublesome due to difficulties she experienced in expressing her needs with strangers, things started changing

when she got closer to her host sister, Ansam. Gilstrap said Ansam often spent time with her and made sure she was comfortable at home and within Moroccan culture.

Her host mom, Zohor, could speak four languages, but English wasn’t one of them. This made communicating with her difficult but interesting, Gilstrap said. By using body language and the Arabic she was learning, Gilstrap found a way to talk with Zohor.

Despite the barrier, her host mom was still her go-to person.

“One big lesson I learned was that you don’t have to be a master at a language to connect with someone,” Gilstrap said.

One of her favorite memories from the trip was getting to witness and even participate in the Muslim holiday Ramadan, which consists of fasting from sunrise to sunset. Once the sun sets, it’s traditional for families to celebrate with a big feast.

REED MATTISON • HERALD

Kerby Gilstrap, 20, spent two months studying Arabic in Morocco.

SEE KERBY GILSTRAP • PAGE B2

B2 LIFE IMPROV

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 ally. In order to keep up with everyone else, you have to be mentally sharp and on top of the situation. But given the situation’s ability to change direction with one line or movement from another person, you also have to be able to go with the flow.

On top of it all, everyone around me seemed to have no trouble with the biggest mind game of all: making a situation as funny as possible without reacting to the humor. Granted, I’ve never been good at keeping a straight face — just ask my parents — but I was majorly struggling to keep from laughing, both at their jokes and my own.

Laughter bubbled in my stomach, replacing nervous knots with suppressed giggles.

Did I say that?

Along with realizing the mental capacity improvisational acting takes, I also learned a very important lesson: It’s incredibly difficult to get out of your own head, but once you do, it’s incredible.

I spent the better part of the evening second guessing every word I thought, every movement my body made, both voluntary and involuntary. Was that witty enough? Did I add on quick enough? Was I pushing myself and the story enough?

It took multiple mini pep talks with myself before I threw care out the window and began saying whatever came to mind. I found myself speaking first and asking, “Did I say that?” after.

Once I accepted that the only way I could answer those self-doubting questions was to try, I let myself give in to the quick pace of each game and truly have fun with it.

Riding an adrenaline high, we began our last game of the night, “Asssscat,” which was a series of scenes building on each other. This led us to a scene with two people sitting in the snow, covering themselves with hot cocoa and marshmallows as they sunbathed.

Before I could entirely understand what I was doing or where I planned to go with it, I found myself squaring my shoulders, sticking my stomach out in

CRAZY CREDITS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B2 “I think it’s important to understand how culture, community and personal experience may shape knowledge and beliefs that are perfectly healthy and plausible,” Brady said.

Brady said supernatural folklore is one of the classes her students tend to remember most vividly. She has kept

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY front of me and waddling into the scene.

I threw my shoulders back, put my hands on my hips and opened my mouth.

Yes, yes I did …

“Elves!” I bellowed. “What have I told you about sunbathing when we have so much work to do?”

Before it completely registered with myself what I was doing, I had delivered a monologue about needing the elves to work 16-hour days to produce enough hoverboards and light-up shoes for the children of the world.

I had no idea where it came from, but I took the idea and ran. As I stood there in a power stance, my blood pumping with adrenaline as I pretended to be Father Christmas himself, I realized exactly why this was a hobby.

Some people get their jollies — Santa pun intended — from sports or death-defying stunts. But for improv actors, nothing’s better than the split second between delivering a line and reading the reaction from your fellow actors and the audience.

That seemingly long second where you wait to see if everyone else thinks you’re as clever as you do.

You’re taking this leap into the unknown, but you aren’t doing it alone.

There’s a certain sense of rapport established with the others on stage. Everyone is in it together whether the scene is successful or not.

While I emerged from that unknown having reinvented myself as many times as a bit demanded, I realized my normal self had experienced change too. I probably still won’t say every snarky thing that comes to mind whenever the moment fits, but I did learn to take chances with what I say and to commit to it fully.

After all, it can be pretty fun to do the unexpected.

Features reporter Julie Sisler can be reached at julie.sisler389@topper.wku. edu. Follow Julie on social media at @ julie_sisler. in contact with students who took the class as far back as 1992.

“I love the chance to connect with students on matters that are important to them,” Brady said. “Even lighthearted things like their own superstitions that they know are silly. We laugh a lot in class.”

Features reporter Kelley Holland can be reached at kelley.holland872@topper.wku.edu.

KERBY GILSTRAP

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

At first, Gilstrap just watched as her host family celebrated, but she eventually decided to join. She recalled her first day fasting, which she decided to not discuss with any of her host family until nighttime. She said everyone was so pleased and proud to find out she participated that they let her take the first bite of that night’s meal.

“I’m not particularly religious, but being surrounded by people who are intensely spiritual enhanced my spirituality in a way,” Gilstrap said. “I admire the founding principles of Islam like being kind and showing generosity to everyone you meet.”

Lhousseine Guerwane, an Arabic instructor who has taught Gilstrap, said he has seen how her experience abroad has increased not only her language proficiency but also her passion. He said she never stops asking questions and comes to his office frequently to practice Arabic and talk about her experience in Morocco, which is Guerwane’s home country.

“She doesn’t study to get an A,” Guerwane said. “She studies for her

own benefit.”

Coming back from Morocco, Gilstrap tested out of Arabic 201 and 202 courses and became the president of the Arabic club. Guerwane said she has become much more confident in her language abilities since returning.

Gilstrap said she wants to do everything she can to be a champion for Morocco and the Middle East now that she is back in the U.S. She wants to combat stereotypes and spread awareness about the kindness and openness of Moroccan culture, as she said studying abroad gifted her a newfound love of seeing places and meeting people who are different from her.

“I am hoping to study abroad again this summer, but I haven’t decided where yet,” Gilstrap said. “Regardless, I will definitely make a trip to Morocco, because that place means the world to me.”

Features reporter Eleanor Tolbert can be reached at eleanor.tolbert618@ topper.wku.edu. Follow her on social media at @ellietolbert.

SPORTS B3

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

COACHES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B4 Darrin Horn Then: WKU men’s basketball head coach (2004–2008) Now: Northern Kentucky men’s basketball head coach (2019–present) Notes: Departed WKU for South Carolina, where he was fired on March 13, 2012, after posting a 60-63 overall record from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

Spent four years as an assistant at Texas.

Ken McDonald Then: WKU men’s basketball head coach (2009–2012) Now: Unemployed men’s basketball assistant coach Notes: Spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Tulsa.

Ray Harper Then: WKU men’s basketball head coach (2012–2016) Now: Jacksonville State men’s basketball head coach (2016–present) Notes: Mentioned in a lawsuit alongside former WKU and JSU men’s basketball player Marlon Hunter on Oct. 11. Alleges Hunter was expelled from WKU over “sexual misconduct,” and that JSU covered up a sexual assault committed by Hunter. Neither of them have been charged with a crime relating to these allegations, and Harper and Hunter aren’t defendants in the lawsuit.

Mary Taylor Cowles Then: WKU women’s basketball head coach (2003–2012) Now: Head girls’ basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Ensworth School in Nashville (2015– present) Notes: Won the Division II Class AA State Girls’ Basketball Tournament in 2017 and 2019.

Michelle Clark-Heard Then: WKU women’s basketball head coach (2013–2018) Now: Cincinnati women’s basketball head coach (2018–present) Notes: Left WKU for Cincinnati, posting a 24-11 record in her first season with the Bearcats.

VOLLEYBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B4

eyes on this championship, just to get it back in our hands.”

Following the regular season, the Lady Toppers will look to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the C-USA Tournament, which is set for Nov. 22-24 in Houston.

The 2019 C-USA Tournament will be hosted by No. 21 Rice (24-2, 13-1 C-USA), meaning it will be held in Tudor Fieldhouse, the site of WKU’s first win over a ranked team since 2017.

ILLUSTRATION BY DRAKE KIZER • HERALD

Top: David Elson, Michelle Clark-Heard, Jeff Brohm, Chris Finwood, Ken McDonald, Rachel Lawson Middle: Mike Sanford Jr., Matt Myers, Tyra Perry, Bruce Marchionda, Dennis Felton, Joel Murrie Bottom: Darrin Horn, Willie Taggart, Bobby Petrino, Ray Harper, Mary Taylor Cowles

Joel Murrie Then: WKU baseball head coach (1980–2005) Now: Scout for the Los Angeles Angels (2006–present) Notes: Retired from WKU in 2005 after posting an 815-656-4 record in 26 seasons as baseball head coach.

Has held various scouting positions for the Angels and signed Matt Shoemaker.

Chris Finwood Then: WKU baseball head coach (2006–2011) Now: Old Dominion baseball head coach (2012–present) Notes: Departed WKU for ODU and has produced 14 MLB Draft selections, three All-Americans, six Freshman All-Americans, 19 all-conference selections and a 231-216 overall record there.

Matt Myers Then: WKU baseball head coach (2012–2015) Now: UNC-Wilmington baseball

pitching coach (2019–present) Notes: Led Bowling Green High School to a 45-25 record as head coach in 2017 and 2018.

Rachel Lawson Then: WKU softball head coach (2005–2007) Now: Kentucky softball head coach (2008–current) Notes: Left WKU and became the winningest head coach in program history at UK. She’s led the Wildcats to their first-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series, numerous appearances in the NCAA Super Regionals and a program-best 50 wins in 2014.

Tyra Perry Then: WKU softball head coach (2008–2013) Now: Illinois softball head coach (2016–present) Notes: Departed WKU for Ball State, where the Cardinals posted a combined 67 wins in two seasons. Hired by the Fighting Illini in June 2015 and

First-seeded WKU will meet eighth-seeded Middle Tennessee State (13-16, 6-8 C-USA) for the third time in 2019 this weekend. WKU is 2-0 against MTSU this season, dropping just one set.

The Lady Toppers will take on the Blue Raiders in the quarterfinals on Friday at noon. All seven games of the C-USA Tournament will be streamed live for ESPN+ subscribers.

BASKETBALL

Reporter Kaden Gaylord can be reached at kaden.gaylord559@topper. wku.edu. Follow Kaden on Twitter at @_KLG3.

GABI BROEKEMA • HERALD

WKU senior Emma Kowalkowski (3) celebrates with her teammates after the WKU volleyball team’s senior day game against Alabama-Birmingham in Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. WKU swept UAB 3-0 to finish the regular season with a record of 28-1 and 14-0 in Conference USA play.

has posted a 145-86 overall record.

Bruce Marchionda Then: WKU swimming head coach (2005–2015) Now: TAC Titans swim team head coach at Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, North Carolina (2016–present) Notes: Position was eliminated by the university after the WKU men’s and women’s swimming and diving program was suspended for five years on April 14, 2015. The Bowling Green Police Department and WKU’s Title IX Office investigated hazing, sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations surrounding the program, and a Title IX report obtained through an open records request found that Marchionda knew about the violations since spring 2012.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at clinton.kizer287@topper. wku.edu. Follow Drake on Twitter at @ drakekizer_.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B4 end was a preview of what the team might have in store.

Coming into the year, Stansbury said he believed this could be the deepest team he’s had during his four-year tenure at WKU. “It’s the deepest and most experienced team, for sure,” Stansbury said. “The last half of the [2018-19] season, we got pretty thin over there on the bench. Sometimes you play guys out of necessity — well, I don’t feel that way right now. We’ve got to avoid major injuries. You have some guys sitting on the bench and you feel really comfortable with.

“Like I said, there’s about eight guys on this team you feel comfortable saying, ‘Hey, they could be starters.’”

Junior guard Taveion Hollingsworth and sophomore center Charles Bassey ran into foul trouble early in the first half against EKU, while redshirt senior wing Jared Savage exited the contest late in the first half with an ankle injury and didn’t return, meaning others had to step up.

With WKU missing three starters for parts of the first half and one for the entire second half, freshman guard Jordan Rawls and junior guard Josh Anderson both answered the bell.

The duo gave the Hilltoppers a huge boost after checking into the contest. Rawls led the Hilltopper bench with 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field, while Anderson scored 11 points, made nine free throws and tied his career-high with five steals.

The Hilltoppers are ranked 12th in the country in field goal percentage at 53.5%, shooting 50% or better in each of their first three games this season.

Although he has been a rotational player so far, Rawls has still made major contributions to the WKU offense, leading the Hilltoppers in field goal percentage at 71.4%.

Rawls has shot 10-of-14 from the field so far this season, so the fourstar prospect wasn’t surprised to be one of the first ones thrown into the fray against EKU. “I feel like I’m getting adjusted to the college game,” Rawls said. “I’ve kind of gotten my feet wet, so I’m feeling pretty good going into the next game.”

While the WKU offense is running on all cylinders to start the season — scoring 84 points per game and only trailing for a total of three minutes and 21 seconds so far — the Hilltoppers are still looking to get Hollingsworth more comfortable playing point guard.

Hollingsworth started 72 games while logging a school-record 2,563 minutes during his first two seasons as a Hilltopper, but he has had his most success when playing shooting

GABI BROEKEMA • HERALD

WKU guard Jordan Rawls (3) signals for a screen during the Hilltoppers’ game against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. The Hilltoppers defeated the Golden Eagles 76-64.

guard.

This year, the Hilltoppers are relying on Hollingsworth to run the point until the program receives an official decision from the NCAA regarding the eligibility of senior point guard Kenny Cooper, who transferred to the Hill from Lipscomb in April and submitted a waiver to play immediately.

This is not uncommon for the Hilltoppers, as Hollingsworth took on some of the responsibility at the point while former Hilltopper Lamonte Bearden was ineligible last fall.

Hollingsworth also played point guard at times as a freshman.

Stansbury said Rawls has provided Hollingsworth with some much-needed relief at the point guard position, especially in the absence of Cooper.

“We need someone else who can play that point, and Rawls is someone we have great confidence in,” Stansbury said. “The mistakes he makes is because he’s a freshman and there’s a learning curve with all of that. But I’ve said all fall, I love his abilities. I think he can put that ball where it needs to go. I think he can shoot it.”

Following its first road win of the season, WKU will return home to host host NAIA program Campbellsville (4-3) in Diddle Arena on Monday night at 7 p.m.

The meeting with Stansbury’s alma mater was a late addition to the Hilltoppers’ schedule, but it counts as a campus-site game of this week’s U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament.

The in-state matchup between WKU and Campbellsville — which hadn’t gone final at press time — is the Hilltoppers’ final game before their road trip to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where WKU will play three neutral-site games on Friday, Sunday and Monday.

Reporter Elliott Wells can be reached at douglas.wells357@topper. wku.edu. Follow Elliott on Twitter at @ewells5.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

B4

GABI BROEKEMA • HERALD

WKU sophomore Katie Isenbarger (20) celebrates after a play with her teammates during the WKU volleyball team’s Senior Day game against Alabama-Birmingham in Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. WKU swept UAB 3-0 to finish the regular season with a record of 28-1 and 14-0 in Conference USA play.

BETTER THAN EVER

No. 19 WKU erases disappointing 2018 with C-USA crown

BY KADEN GAYLORD HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

The WKU volleyball team didn’t vacate the Conference USA throne for long.

Just over one year ago, the second-seeded Lady Toppers fell in the opening round of the C-USA Tournament to seventh-seeded Southern Mississippi after blowing a 2-0 lead and allowing the Golden Eagles to steal a five-set quarterfinal match win on Nov. 16, 2018.

The Lady Toppers finished the 2018 campaign with a 20-10 record, the program’s 19th 20-win season in a row. But a first-round exit in the conference tournament, which hadn’t happened since 2013, made head coach Travis Hudson and his players eager for a shot at redemption.

Exactly one year after suffering heartbreak, the Lady Toppers (28-1, 14-0 C-USA) clinched the 2019 C-USA regular season title outright on Saturday, and the WKU volleyball team added yet another trophy to its extensive collection with a Senior Day victory.

Hudson said he takes “tremendous pride” in his program’s most recent championship because the team “owned” a 2018 season that “felt like rock bottom” and worked to change its fate.

“We decided we were going to lean on each other and we were going to get dedicated to the things that had always made this place special,” Hudson said. “That was a process that truly, literally started back in late January, and to see it come full circle now is a lesson for me.

Jordan Rawls steps up at point guard spot for WKU

“It’s reinforcement to me as a coach, but I think it’s a lesson for these kids that life isn’t about results. It’s about doing things the right way day in, day out and all of a sudden things start falling in your favor a little bit.”

WKU is ranked No. 19 in the latest AVCA Division I Coaches Poll, but the Lady Toppers are also ranked No. 1 out of 335 Division I volleyball programs in wins with 28, winning percentage at .966, consecutive wins with 24 and clean 3-0 sweeps with 20.

Hudson and the Lady Toppers didn’t regain national prominence by chance — they started off their redemption tour with the additions of junior Logan Kael from West Florida and junior Nadia Dieudonne from Xavier, two key transfers who were expected to make a massive impact.

Dieudonne made her mark instantly, posting 54 assists in her first game.

The Louisville native continued to rack up impressive performances all season, and she’s now ranked second in C-USA and 26th in the nation for assists per set and total assists.

Kael doesn’t have flashy stats in the record book, but the defensive specialist is an anchor for WKU. She leads the team in digs and is ranked 14th in C-USA with 3.25 digs per set.

Freshman Paige Briggs was added to the 2019 roster just days before the 2018 season ended, and the Ortonville, Michigan, native has added a well-balanced attack in her debut campaign.

Briggs was second on the team in kills, second in digs and led WKU in double-doubles with 14.

The new additions joined a team that had multiple key returners, including

sophomore Lauren Matthews, sophomore Katie Isenbarger, junior Hallie Shelton and junior Kayland Jackson.

Matthews missed a month of her

GABI BROEKEMA • HERALD

WKU sophomore Lauren Matthews (5) celebrates after a play against the UAB Blazers during the WKU volleyball team’s Senior Day game against Alabama-Birmingham in Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. WKU swept UAB 3-0 to finish the regular season with a record of 28-1 and 14-0 in Conference USA play.

freshman year due to injury, but she broke out during her sophomore campaign by leading the team in kills, leading the entire nation with a .454 hitting percentage and bringing her signature intensity whenever the team needed it most.

Isenbarger posted 142 kills and Shel-

ton ranked fourth in C-USA with 35 aces, while Jackson hs bounced back from a hand injury and posted 161 kills with a .240 hitting percentage.

But the turnaround wouldn’t have been complete without the experience and leadership provided by seniors Emma Kowalkowski and Sophia Cerino throughout the season.

Kowalkowski has been through many ups and downs throughout her four-year career, and she showcased her durability by playing in all 99 sets for the Lady Toppers this season. The Lake Orion, Michigan, native is also just 11 digs shy of 1,000 total digs for her career.

“The thing I’m most proud of is our comeback from last year,” Kowalkowski said. “Sophia and I, as well as the entire team, put in a lot of work in the spring and the offseason trying to go back to our culture and go back to who we are as a team and I’m really proud of us personally, and of the entire team, for regaining that status.”

Cerino has been an all-around threat for WKU this season — she’s third on the team in kills and has been the best player in the country at the service line this year. She set the single-season school record for aces with 73, surpassing the 64 aces posted by Cindy Bradley in 1991.

“This is what we’ve been working for since the spring and since the end of last season,” Cerino said. “It just kind of left a bad taste in all of our mouths.

This group really came together and in the spring we worked really hard on our culture, we worked really hard just to get better every day and to set our SEE VOLLEYBALL • PAGE B3

Former WKU head coaches land across the map

BY DRAKE KIZER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

As the years have gone by on the Hill, the faces at the helm of WKU’s athletic programs have seldom stayed

BY ELLIOTT WELLS the same.

HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Travis Hudson and Jason Neidell — the head coaches of the WKU volleyball and women’s soccer teams, The WKU men’s basketball team is respectively — are outliers in the Divi3-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 sion I coaching ranks.

Hudson has built the Lady Topper season, and the Hilltoppers — one of volleyball program into a perennial just 81 unbeaten teams nationally — contender on the national stage since now have their sights set on starting the year 4-0 for the first time since the he took over in 1995, while Neidell has been the strategist behind over 2006-07 campaign.

200 WKU victories on the pitch since The 2007-08 Hilltoppers finished the university established its women’s with a 29-7 record and advanced soccer program in 2001. to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA TourWhile Hudson and Neidell have nament, while the 2006-07 squad continued to reap what they’ve sown finished 22-11 and ended its season by over the years at WKU, other head dropping its second contest in the Sun coaches on the Hill have come and gone. Some coaches have been lured Belt Conference Tournament. away by other universities after showThe fate of the 2019-20 Hilltoppers ing promise at WKU. Others have is far from sealed after an undefeated start to November, but the depth head resigned or been fired.

Years later, former Hilltopper and coach Rick Stansbury’s squad showLady Topper head coaches have cased during its 79-71 road victory landed all over the country and taken over Eastern Kentucky (2-2) last week- on all sorts of different roles. Here SEE BASKETBALL • PAGE B3 are updates on what many ex-WKU

coaches have been up to since their respective tenures in Bowling Green came to an end.

David Elson Then: WKU football head coach (2003–2009) Now: Ball State football defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach (2017– present) Notes: Has coached in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision and Kentucky High School Athletic Association since being fired from WKU on Nov. 9, 2009.

Willie Taggart Then: WKU football head coach (2010–2012) Now: Unemployed college football head coach Notes: Posted a combined 40-42 mark at South Florida, Oregon and Florida State since leaving WKU. He was fired by FSU on Nov. 3 after a 9-12 start, but he’s still owed nearly $20 million.

Bobby Petrino Then: WKU football head coach (2013) Now: Unemployed college football head coach Notes: Left WKU after one season for a second tenure at Louisville, where he improved his record as head coach of the Cardinals to 77-35 before

being fired on Nov. 11, 2018.

Jeff Brohm Then: WKU football head coach (2014–2016) Now: Purdue football head coach (2017–present) Notes: Departed WKU for Purdue and has posted a 17–19 record. He’s scheduled to make $6.6 million in total pay this year — eighth among FBS head coaches.

Mike Sanford Jr. Then: WKU football head coach (2017–2018) Now: Utah State football offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (2019–present) Notes: “One of college football’s brightest offensive minds,” according to his Aggies bio page, but WKU was ranked 118th in points and 103rd in total offense per game in 2018.

Dennis Felton Then: WKU men’s basketball head coach (1999–2003) Now: Fordham men’s basketball assistant coach (2019–present) Notes: Left WKU for Georgia, where he compiled an 84-91 record. Fired by Cleveland State on July 12 after posting a combined 22-44 record during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons there.

SEE COACHES • PAGE B3