Feb. 4, 2020

NEWS • PAGE A3

LIFE • PAGE B1

Academic calendar change could mean shorter winter break

A WKU graduate’s life before death and how she lives on

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 95, ISSUE 16

TOO CLOSE TO HOME WKU halts travel to China due to coronavirus

BY REBEKAH ALVEY HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Amid global concerns about the spreading coronavirus, WKU has halted travel to China.

At the Jan. 31 Board of Regents meeting, regents asked if WKU students were currently studying in China while the outbreak was happening. Bob Skipper, director of media relations, later said three WKU Chinese Flagship students are studying in China for an internship. The students are returning to the United States on Feb. 4 because of the break.

Skipper said the Institute for International Education is responsible for

the students’ travel along with any other U.S. students in the Chinese Flagship Program. He added all students returning from China have completed their classwork and are not required to return to WKU campus.

The virus, named after its crown-like appearance, began in Wuhan, China, in the Hubei province in December, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early cases suggested the virus was transmitted animal-person in a seafood and live animal market.

Symptoms are similar to those of a flu or cold, and the severity of the virus is not fully understood, according to the CDC. Still, it was labeled a “very serious public health threat.”

Those traveling from the Hubei

province where the virus originated have been placed on mandatory quarantine for up to two weeks, as reported

by CBS. Skipper said the students were not in that area and are not subject to a mandatory quarantine. They will be checked when entering the U.S. and may be asked to self-monitor their symptoms over the next two weeks.

Currently, Skipper said there is a level four travel warning from the federal government for travel to China. He said WKU policy is to not send students to any country with a level three or four travel warning.

The Emergency Management Group is monitoring the situation with Global Learning and other entities. Skipper said there has been a provision for dealing with outbreaks in place since the SARS outbreak in 2002.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX COX

“Exactly what steps we’ll take will be determined by the situation, but we are monitoring it and prepared to take action if needed,” Skipper said.

Anyone who enters the U.S with flulike symptoms and says they have been to China or have been in contact with someone who recently traveled there will be sent to the health department for extended testing to determine if they have the coronavirus. From there, Skipper said the health department takes over to make sure the virus does not spread and people are made aware.

While the health department has more control over situations like virus outbreaks and prevention, Skipper said WKU can promote health precautions

SEE CORONAVIRUS • PAGE A2

The end of curbside recycling pickup in Warren Co.

BY CASSADY LAMB HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Southern Recycling, Bowling Green’s primary curbside recycling pickup service, has announced it will halt curbside pickup services by March 31.

Residents of Warren County who receive curbside pickup currently pay $2.65 per month for the service. However, to fill operational costs and fully fund the service, customers would need to pay $18 per month.

Southern Recycling is losing an estimated $30,000 per month due to the lower costs residents of Warren County pay for curbside recycling.

WKU works with WestRock Recycling, an Atlanta-based recycling company that offers many post-consumer product services. WKU’s recycling

gets transported to a WestRock Recycling facility in Louisville.

The university’s recycling processes and collection will not be affected by the recycling pickup stoppage in Warren County. Any residents of the county are welcome to take their recyclable items to the Service and Supply lot, where there are bins reserved for the surrounding community.

Recyclable items such as plastic cups, bottles and paper products are dropped into one container. Larger cardboard is sifted out of the bins, and all recyclables are sorted and officially recycled off campus, according to WKU’s recycling webpage.

“We encourage faculty and staff to reduce and reuse first,” said Courtney Martin, Assistant Coordinator of Resource Conservation at WKU. “The best and biggest impact is to first reduce waste and reuse it as they can.”

Bowling Green is among many oth-

SAM MALLON • HERALD

A recycling truck rolls through a Bowling Green neighborhood on the morning of Monday, Feb. 3, 2020.

The city of Bowling Green prepares to stop accepting any recycling in early March; as the process is far more expensive than any revenue that the company, Southern Recycling, is able to make.

er cities around the country that have stopped recycling services due to decreased funding.

More than 60 curbside recycling services across the country have been deferred or stopped completely, according to Waste Dive, an analytic news source

focusing on recycling and sustainability.

In May 2019, Lexington stopped accepting mixed paper in curbside pickup programs, citing “changes in the global marketplace.”

SEE RECYCLING • PAGE A2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

A2 NEWS RECYCLING

CONTINUED FROM FRONT In January 2018, China implemented the National Sword policy, which cuts down on certain recyclable imports coming into the country. In 2019,

CORONAVIRUS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT and preventative habits like hand washing and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

“Everyone can take the same precautions and prevent the spread of several things including coronavirus, flu and other viruses,” Skipper said.

Last week, Steve Ray, director of Campus Recreation and Wellness, sent an email addressing the outbreak in China and the concern some may have

a year after the regulation passed, China’s plastic imports dropped by 99.1% and paper imports decreased by 39%.

These changes mean many recyclables are not being purchased; therefore recycling centers around the U.S. are in similar trouble because they have fewer customers.

“Although a lot of these issues have sprung from China not taking our recycling, we should feel empowered to build up domestically,” Martin said.

Southern Recycling, owned by local Houchen Industries, is not getting as many product buyers as before the National Sword policy came into play.

at WKU. Partnered with WKU Health Services, WKU developed a website with basic questions and information relating to the virus and prevention.

In an interview, Ray said there were no reported cases in Kentucky or the surrounding region, and the website was developed as a precautionary measure. Over time, he said the website will be kept alive. If the situation rises to a new level, he said they will keep the campus updated.

As of Sunday, Feb. 2, there were 17,205 confirmed cases of coronavirus

in China and 361 deaths, according to The New York Times. The virus has spread to 27 countries including the U.S. where there are 11 confirmed cases in five states. The closest state with a confirmed case is Illinois, according to the CDC. On Jan. 31, the U.S. suspended entry to any immigrant and nonimmigrant who travelled to China 14 days before attempting entry, according to a White House document. Additionally, increased entry screening was implemented at five U.S. airports where the majority of Wuhan travelers arrive.

This lack of consumers is the main reason that the recycling agency cannot fill operational costs.

News reporter Cassidy Lamb can be reached at cassady.lamb667@topper. wku.edu.

During fiscal year 2019, more than 14,000 people came to the United States from China daily, according to the document.

Editor-In-Chief Rebekah Alvey can be reached at Rebekah.alvey660@topper.wku.edu.

Endowments made to ISEC, Student Publications

BY JACK DOBBS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Julie Harris Hinson, a member of the WKU Board of Regents, has pledged endowments of $30,000 each to WKU Student Publications and the Cynthia and George Nichols III Intercultural Student Engagement Center, part of a gift of $110,000 over five years to WKU. In an email, Hinson said she decided to give to the two programs because she has seen what financial assistance can do for students.

“Sometimes our students just need a little extra help,” Hinson stated. “A small monetary bridge may make the difference in a student’s ability to stay in school for a semester or buy grocer-

JACK DOBBS • HERALD Julie Harris Hinson, a member of the WKU Board of Regents, has pledged $30,000 each to WKU Student Publications and the Intercultural Student Engagement Center. These endowments are part of a larger $110,000 gift Hinson is making to WKU.

ies for the month.”

Chuck Clark, student publications director, said the endowment will provide financial help to students when needed — from paying to attend conferences to helping students with supplies for class.

Clark said the money will likely be used for “microscholarships and microgrants.”

“This is the first time we’ve had a fund set up to provide money specifically for this purpose,” Clark said. “The really wonderful thing about this is this is money that will be there in perpetuity — it will be there every year.”

Clark said the endowment will generate revenue in the coming years. He expects a return of 3 to 4%.

“We will have a source of money every year that will allow us to help people a little bit along the way,” Clark said.

Rebekah Alvey, Herald editor-in-chief, released a statement about her thoughts on the endowment.

“Student Publications is a place to cultivate strong student journalism,” Alvey said. “It’s also a place to build connections and instill skills which create a stronger workforce. This endowment makes sure anyone who wants an opportunity to grow can have one and ensures Student Publications will continue to be a space open to all students.”

In addition to her gift to Student Publications, Hinson is pledging a donation to WKU’s Intercultural Student Engage-

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ment Center. ISEC provides educational services for students of color and LGBTQ students at WKU. Martha Sales, ISEC executive director, said this is not the first time Hinson has donated to ISEC. “Anytime a student needs something or [is] short on something I can call Julie, and she will send me a check or get it here quicker than right now,” Sales said.

Hinson said she admires the leadership of both Student Publications and ISEC. “I respect the leadership styles of Chuck and Martha and how they work with students,” Harris said. “When they

shared stories about their students’ needs, it drove my desire to help by supporting both their programs.”

Hinson, who was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2016, is a graduate of WKU from Owensboro and is president and CEO of Advanced Lifeline Respiratory Services, a healthcare provider in Louisville. She is a former president of the WKU National AlumniAssociation board of directors and a founding member of the WKU Sisterhood.

Reporter Jack Dobbs jack.dobbs469@ topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @jackrdobbs.

CORRECTION •

•

A story which ran on the front page of last week’s edition incorrectly stated two of the instructors came from the geology department instead of geography. It also incorrectly stated Fred Siewers is the Geology and Geography Department chair instead of the Geography and Geology Department chair. The article has been corrected online, and the Herald regrets these errors.

A photo caption which ran on page B1 incorrectly stated 62% of women have nipple piercings rather than piercings in general. The online story has been corrected and the Herald regrets this error.

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NEWS A3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Beshear’s budget address emphasizes ‘education first’

BY BRODY REXING HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Gov. Andy Beshear’s budget address on Jan. 28 saw unprecedented increases in funding and decreases in what the governor called “bone-deep” cuts. Among the many new directions taken in Beshear’s proposal was the decision to champion and extensively fund public education.

Kentucky sits at 20th in WalletHub’s list of public school systems in the United States. Public education is at the top of what Beshear said he believes should be Kentuckians’ core values.

Beshear said he hopes his proposal is one that crosses party lines by solving issues that are important to all Kentuckians, creating what he calls a “better today for our family and a better tomorrow for our children.”

Beshear’s detailed plan for education in the coming fiscal years included a total of $86.5 million being used to support Kentucky’s school systems statewide. This investment will break down largely into purchasing updated textbooks and school supplies for schools with outdated equipment. His proposal would see security systems proposed by last year’s School Safety and Resiliency Act paid in full and installed in schools across Kentucky.

Beshear added investment in teachers was just as important as the schools

Bevin, who was criticized in 2018 for proposed cuts to scholarship funding.

Scholarship funding was not Beshear’s sole budgeting focus. He announced the proposed budget would allow the University of Louisville to follow through with a $35 million hospital acquisition. U of L announced intentions to purchase Jewish Hospital in Louisville late last year. U of L President Neeli Bendapudi said this move was made to ensure continuation of “high-quality medical care” provided by the hospital and its constituents.

This supports Beshear’s goal to reform healthcare for Kentuckians.

The priorities of Kentucky universities don’t stop at hospital acquisitions.

WKU President Timothy Caboni, in an interview with the Herald editorial board, said WKU faculty and its sister institutions have worked these priorities down to two.

Caboni said he wants more funds set aside for state universities through the state’s performance funding model.

This model hopes to raise education attainment in Kentucky from 45% to 60%, incentivizing the plan by promising additional appropriation for participating universities. Caboni hopes this appropriation will reach 6% by the first fiscal year of the decade (2020-21) and 8% by the second (2021-22).

Caboni’s second “ask” of state government is a $400 million asset preservation tool for universities as a collective. The asset prevention tool would

TIMOTHY CABONI

President of WKU

We could invest $50 million in infrastructure today, and you wouldn’t see one change on campus

themselves and said he hopes to work toward a standard salary raise for Kentucky teachers. He went on to propose the reinstatement of both teacher loan forgiveness and teacher scholarship programs in the coming years.

The governor also announced big plans to invest in improving infrastructure in Kentucky colleges. His proposal would make a $200 million bond fund available to Kentucky’s universities, with the intention of streamlining infrastructure improvement in those schools.

Beshear supplemented his support for schools by announcing the proposal’s planned use for lottery revenue. He said the newly acquired lottery revenue through his proposal could be used to create nearly 60,000 scholarships for Kentucky college students. This is in stark contrast to the former Gov. Matt

be funded through a state board issue, according to Caboni, and that money would be divided up among schools.

WKU’s portion of this tool is equal to approximately $37 million.

The $37 million goal is one Caboni hopes to reach by having the state match $2 for every $1 the university puts into “asset preservation.” Caboni said achieving this number relies on the university’s ability to put up the cash. Preserved assets in this plan include “instructional spaces, infrastructure and other support systems as well.”

“We could invest $50 million in infrastructure today, and you wouldn’t see one change on campus,” Caboni said.

Caboni added there’s a whole host of projects that keep WKU pushing on, but not many can be considered, in his own words, “sexy.”

FAHAD ALOTAIBI • HERALD

Among the many new directions taken in Beshear’s budget address was the decision to champion and extensively fund public education.

“For me, it’s a combination of addressing those immediate needs that keep the place operational for the long term and at the same time investing in spaces that are instructional,” Caboni said.

The list of necessities keeping campus operational is a long one. Chief Facilities Officer Bryan Russell said top priorities are AC maintenance, stormwater and steamline repair, IT maintenance and indoor air quality control — with air quality control being particularly important to not only university operation but quality of student education as well. Air quality control has seen focus from Russell and his team over the past few years, as officials work to make classroom and dorm room air its cleanest.

Air quality is dictated mostly by the upkeep of buildings’ primary air-handling units. Work on Grise Hall’s AHU was finished last summer, and Jones-Jagger Hall’s AHU is currently seeing similar attention. The Fine Arts Center is set to receive its treatment after the previous two, and all three run a cost range of approximately $300500,000 each.

This is added to the approximate $300-400,000 required for average steamline repairs and the $6 million it cost WKU to upgrade the entire campus to a high-voltage electric system.

Also included in maintenance duties is the upkeep of campus’s “building envelopes.” Building envelopes are exactly what the name implies: the physical seal between a building’s interior and exterior that keeps a building’s contents dry and safe from nature. Keeping constructions like envelopes, retaining walls, and roofs at top-notch performance is what primarily constitutes the “asset preservation” portion of Caboni’s $400 million request.

Asset preservation on campus, despite necessity, typically only sees $1.4 million per year. It is important that allocation of these funds is timely and efficient, but similarly forward-thinking.

Failure to preserve assets in the pres-

ent and near-future would mean work for facility maintenance and a hefty bill for the university in the distant future.

A 2007 Facility Condition Assessment & Space Study Project, commissioned by the state and conducted by VFA (now known as Accruent Capital Planning), reported a planned $537 million worth of “deferred maintenance.” This was confirmed by a second university study from the same company in 2017, informing the university that it had properly deferred, or postponed, maintenance jobs on rundown assets and hence saved money.

The university can’t be prepared for everything, however, nor can it anticipate the cost of buildings themselves succumbing to nature.

“There’s things that just get worn out,” Russell said.

Repairing the roof leak in Diddle Arena, for example, costs the university more than they receive yearly in asset prevention. This, Russell says, necessitates budgeting within the university where money can be set aside every year to fix pressing issues that can no longer be deferred.

Situations like these would benefit greatly from fund-matching at the state level, but the state is still out on the decision. They will first need to verify how Beshear’s budget could make such an expenditure.

Beshear will rely mostly on “four buckets” to fund these endeavors: tax revenue, fund transfers, resource maximization and the new revenue proposal. The only taxes increased in Beshear’s proposal are sin taxes — sports betting and cigarette taxes both see a rise. This includes the introduction of a vaping tax. He made no mention of plans to increase income tax.

“There are finally dollars to start reinvesting in our families,” Beshear said. “[And we] are showing that, in Kentucky, education comes first.”

News reporter Brody Rexing can be reached at brody.rexing586@topper.wku. edu. Follow him on Twitter @BrodyRexing.

Academic calendar to include shorter winter break

BY LEO BERTUCCI HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

WKU’s upcoming winter term is receiving a substantial redesign that would narrow the gap between the fall and spring semesters.

A 2020-21 academic calendar approved by the academic calendar committee, the council of academic deans and WKU President Timothy Caboni’s cabinet states that the 2020-21 winter term would begin on Dec. 14, the Monday following finals week. A holiday break follows five days of class.

Students would resume their class schedule from Jan. 4 until Jan. 14, and final exams would take place on Jan. 15.

Spring semester classes would begin on Jan. 19, so winter break would be reduced to a five-week period for students who are not enrolled in winter term classes.

Liz McClain, a sophomore from Murray, took two online courses during the recent winter term. She wanted to study during the winter term because she recently switched majors. In addition to catching up with required coursework, McClain hoped taking winter term courses would help raise her GPA. “These courses required an extensive amount of work in only a short period of time,” McClain said. “The professors were very helpful in helping the students formulate a path to success.”

McClain said she supports the winter term changes listed in the new academic calendar.

“I honestly think that be a nicer way to do it rather than have a crammed course at the end,” McClain said. “I think the break is nice to have between finals and the winter term; however it would be just as accommodating to

have it begin after finals with breaks for the holidays.”

Caboni said he believes a new academic calendar will create an easier back-to-school transition for first generation and low-income students.

“They’re here, they’ve learned things that they haven’t — you all learn things you would never been exposed to before,” Caboni said. “Some of them may begin to speak differently, and then all of a sudden they go back to the culture from which they came and how painful that can be.”

From 2018 to 2019, total enrollment in the winter term decreased by 2.6%, according to the 2019 WKU Winter

Term Annual Report. This marked the second consecutive year that winter term enrollment declined.

The 2019 winter term report compared WKU’s tuition rates to five other universities in the state: Eastern Kentucky, University of Kentucky, Morehead State, Murray State and Northern Kentucky. Each school’s winter begins and ends earlier than WKU’s.

During the 2018-19 winter term, WKU’s online tuition rate for undergraduate students was $530 per credit hour, according to the 2019 report.

Murray State ($378.50), EKU ($405) and NKU ($437) had cheaper under-

graduate online tuition rates in 201819, according to the report.

As for students living on campus during the winter term, the tuition rate for WKU undergraduate students was $442 per credit hour, according to the report. UK ($490 for Lower Division students and $503 for Upper Division students) was the only university listed in the report that had higher tuition rates for undergraduate residents.

News reporter Leo Bertucci can be reached at leo.bertucci665@topper. wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter @leober2chee.

KEILEN FRAZIER • HERALD

WKU is adjusting the academic calendar to include a shorter winter break.

OPINION

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

A STE C

Bowling Green recycling issues reflect global waste crisis

ILLUSTRATION BY MADALYN STACKE • HERALD

HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

Issue: The recycling and waste industries have suffered major economic losses following a recent Chinese policy that has had local effects.

Our Stance: The recycling industry has long term systemic issues, and it needs reform to create a sustainable future.

Subway, Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Steak ‘n Shake and every other fast food chain restaurant on WKU’s campus hands out single-use plastic containers, most of which end up in the trash because people either don’t know or don’t care that the world is facing a waste management crisis.

The issue is no longer avoidable.

Warren County’s contracted recycling company, Southern Recycling, will stop picking up curbside recycling

by March 31. The company’s contract with Bowling Green will end July 31, so residents who want to recycle will have to drop their waste off at the facility on 63 N. Graham St. Warren County is currently seeking another company to contract, according to WBKO. This comes as a surprise because recycling, a roughly $200 billion worldwide industry, was booming just a few years ago, especially in the local area.

In October 2017, Southern Recycling invested $7.5 million in a new facility and another $6 million on new equip-

ment for metal recycling, according to the Bowling Green Daily News.

But in December 2017, the world’s largest buyer of recyclables, China, announced it was cutting back on importing materials due to environmental concerns. The policy, known as “National Sword,” banned 24 types of solid waste and will only accept materials with less than 0.5% contamination rate, according to Public Radio International.

China is no longer willing to be the

American recycling has always been more about exporting and turning a profit than it has been about sustainability, especially in the case of plastics, which are often more expensive to recycle than to just produce more plastic.

This is a problem because of the 8.3 billion tons of plastic produced since 1950, about 80% now sits in landfills or in the natural environment, according to a Science Advances research article.

American recycling has always been more about exporting and turning a profit than it has been about sustainability, especially in the case of plastics, which are often more expensive to recycle than to just produce more plastic.

world’s garbage dump, and they have developed their own recycling infrastructure so they no longer rely on foreign imports of plastics and paper, which they were using to manufacture a variety of products.

Other countries, like Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia began importing at much higher rates, but they quickly pivoted and are now cutting back because they cannot handle the amount of trash flowing into their countries.

If trends continue, plastic in the ocean is expected to triple in the coming decade. And by 2050, it is estimated that the weight of plastic debris in the ocean will be greater than that of all the fish, according to a World Economic Forum report.

This will have impacts on the fishing industry and possibly even human health as microplastics continue to accumulate in our bodies. Though the effects of plastic in our body have yet to

be seen, it’s probably not good for us.

So as the recycling industry goes through turbulence, a good portion of the plastic people recycle just ends up in landfills, where it can potentially contaminate groundwater and produces methane — roughly 30 times more efficient at trapping greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide.

Fortunately, there is a trend towards sustainability in the business industry. Markets will eventually realize that it makes more economical sense to create products that can be reused in some fashion.

For example, making soda cans from recycled aluminum requires 95% less energy than mining and using raw ore. In 2019, Pepsi pledged to no longer use virgin plastic in its products, according to Bloomberg.

It would be wise for consumers to not forget the tremendous power of their purse. When people stop buying single-use plastics in volume, companies will be forced to design more eco-friendly products.

Next time you go to blame governments, companies and the recycling industry for our current waste dilemma, remember that you have a hand in it as well.

So, the problem is much larger than whether or not to recycle. It is about the cycle of business as usual. Humans have always harvested natural resources to make the products we use and then throw away. But as populations grow and waste piles up, it will be vital for our global environment and personal health to turn our waste into energy.

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FUN A5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 04 , 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

IN HER HONOR

Megan and Randy’s 8-year-old son Drew whispers to his dad. After Randy’s weekly visit to the cemetery, he spends Sundays at Megan’s parents’ house with Drew. “He’s closer to me now than ever,” Davidson said.

PHOTOS BY EMMA STEELE HERALD.PHOTO@WKU.EDU

A

fter the unexpected passing of his wife Megan, Randall Davidson has been left to raise their 8-year-old son, Drew, while living with the grief of losing the love of his life. Randall plans to raise Drew the way she would have wanted by instilling her values of kindness and compassion in their home. Since Megan’s passing, the two have relied on one another more than ever.

More photos can be viewed online at wkuherald.com

LEFT: Randy embraces Megan’s friend, Missy Cunningham, prior to the 5K race in downtown Bowling Green dedicated to raising money for Megan’s Mobile Grocery. Runners wore shirts with Megan’s favorite quote, “We can do hard things.”

ABOVE: Megan met her husband, Randy, while they were both working in the emergency room. The two got married in Jamaica in 2008 to have their own private wedding ceremony.

Drew takes a break from his video game to look at pictures of him and his mom. “Every time Megan was on the couch trying to relax, Drew would always jump up on her and try to get her attention. He loves his mom,” Davidson said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, FIND MEGAN’S MOBILE GROCERY ON FACEBOOK

LIFE

B1

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

‘WE CAN DO HARD THINGS’ A WKU graduate’s life before death

EMMA STEELE• HERALD

BY KATELYN LATTURE HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Eight-year-old Drew Davidson may not physically have his mom with him, but she left behind a plethora of notes, photographs and people to remind her son of how loved he is. In a photo album she made for him, Megan Davidson wrote, “To my son. Never forget that I love you. Life is filled with hard times and good times. Learn from everything you can. Be the man I know you can be. Mom.” Megan did not know she would die when she did. She didn’t have a terminal illness or an exceptionally rough life. She passed away in a car accident that no one saw coming. She loved people more than well enough, and people who knew Megan will never be left wondering whether they were loved.

“You’ll never get over it,” Randall Davidson said. “You don’t want to. It changes you.”

Davidson, an emergency medicine physician at Tristar Greenview Regional Hospital, lost his wife, Megan, in a fatal car accident on July 27, 2019.

Megan was a pillar in Bowling Green.

She graduated from WKU with a nursing degree in 2007 but would care for the city in more than just medicine.

While working long hours at the hospital, she made a deal with herself and God that if she could get a daytime position or job then she would start attending church again.

According to Megan’s friend and former nurse co-worker, Bethany Kinney, God answered Megan’s prayer. She and Megan began attending Broadway

“You’ll never get over it, ” Davidson said. “you don’t want to,It changes you.”

United Methodist Church.

After Megan started attending Broadway United, she began volunteering with the church’s consignment sale, Lil Angel’s Attic, which gives its profits to local charities.

“Once she started it, it was like an avalanche of ‘we can do this’ and ‘we can do that,’” Deanna Hanson, Megan’s former nursing professor and friend, said.

According to Hanson and some of Megan’s other friends, she always wanted to get involved, not just donate money or watch from afar.

“She didn’t love at a distance,” Laura Vincent, Megan’s friend and a pastor at Broadway United Methodist Church, said.

One comment left on Megan’s online obituary read, “I didn’t know Megan, but the outpouring of love shows she

EMMA STEELE• HERALD

The Broadway United community celebrating the money raised for Megan’s Mobile Grocery. “I was never a church go-er until she pushed me in that direction, but I wish I would have gotten involved sooner,” Davidson said.

Prior to her passing, Megan helped start Bowling Green’s first mobile grocery, which delivers fresh groceries to food deserts in the city. On Oct. 16, 2019, members of Broadway United gathered to rename the bus to Megan’s Mobile Grocery. It would have been her 35th birthday.

was loved and will be missed by everyone’s life she touched.”

She spent time ministering to students at the Foundry, helped at Phoenix Rising, co-founded and hosted the Embrace women’s conference at her church and did countless other things to better serve the community.

“She was the spark that ignited it all,” Vincent said. “Once she had an idea, she’d ask you about it, but you couldn’t really tell her no.”

Megan also served as chaplain to Hotel Inc., which assists the less fortunate in finding housing, job opportunities, food and community in Bowling Green.

Vincent said Megan spent hours counseling the people there, and she never forgot a single person she met.

“You have to love people really hard and really well,” Kinney said as she sat in her office, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She said this was one of the lessons she learned from Megan and wanted to implement in her own life to honor her friend.

They spoke on the phone nearly every day after work at 4:30 p.m. Kinney said Megan would always be munching on chips of some kind — usually a healthier option like tortilla chips — or drinking coffee. Not having those daily conversations with Megan has been the most difficult part for Kinney.

“Her running partners knew her tenacity,” Davidson said. “Her mom friends knew her motherly side. Her close friends knew a side of Megan that most didn’t. I may be wrong, but I like to think I knew all of them.”

Megan met her husband while they were both working in the ER. “On our first date we just drove around and talked,” Davidson said. “I fell for her so hard.”

They got married in Jamaica in 2008 and had their son, Drew, in 2011.

“She loved being Drew’s mom,” Davidson said.

SEE MEGAN • PAGE B2

Top Crops gives opportunities to those with disabilities

BY OLIVIA MARSHALL

HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Even on a dreary Friday afternoon, nothing could dampen the spirits at the Top Crops garden on WKU’s farm.

Laughter and warm smiles traveling from the garden seemingly made the day a little bit brighter.

Created to give an opportunity for adults with disabilities, Top Crops was founded in 2012 by local residents Bill and Carol Greer with their three children Tucker, John and Ginna. The Greer’s daughter, Ginna, suffers from visual impairments, developmental delays and a seizure disorder. Ginna was about to graduate high school when they realized the lack of programs post-high school for those with disabilities.

“We’ve been around a lot of individuals who have disabilities and Ginna was getting ready to graduate high school,” Carol Greer said.

The driving factor for Carol Greer was seeing an opportunity for learning and growing to be provided to the community.

The lack of social, educational and vocational programs available for adults with disabilities was concerning to her and her family. The family worked together, creating what is now known as Top Crops.

Carol Greer said that they thought the garden would offer an opportunity to participate in a social, educational and vocational program through gardening, learning about healthy foods and selling produce at the Community Farmer’s Market.

The Greer family created a business proposal for the College Heights Foundation and soon after were given a plot of land at the farm.

“Jack Rudolph was over at the farm at that time and he agreed to let us have the land within the fence right on Nashville Road, and we jumped on that,” Greer said.

The organization broke ground on the garden in July 2013. Since then, Top Crops has partnered with WKU’s Maurin Honors College to find interns to help with the garden.

Elaine Losekamp, a senior majoring in agriculture, has interned with Top Crops for almost two years. Before coming to the garden, she had no previous experience working with adults with disabilities.

“I honestly had never had experience with working with special needs individuals before my interview for this position,” Losekamp said.

Losekamp believes Top Crops is a great opportunity for those who also haven’t had much exposure to adults with disabilities.

“I think there are a lot of negative stereotypes that people have of people with special needs that they don’t mean to have,” Losekamp said. “There’s not a whole lot of education about people with special needs, and they are really not that different from anyone else, so I think it is really good for people to come out and volunteer and talk to the gardeners and just realize that they’re just like anyone else.”

Along with interns and other participants, a core group of gardeners can be seen rain or shine. These individuals include Ginna, Alex Embry and John Michael Huffman, who have been with the garden since the beginning. Even after years of working on the project, their dedication and passion for the program doesn’t seem to be faltering anytime soon.

The trio said that their favorite parts of the garden are the tomatoes and the

friends they’ve made. Friendship is a big part of the atmosphere at Top Crops, and everyone knows it.

“Half of what we do, we do pick so we can take to market, but 90% of it is chatting and talking,” Carol Greer said. “It’s just nice to be doing something productive and spending time with people you enjoy spending time with. It’s more about the gardeners than the garden itself.”

Something the gardeners say they especially love is when groups of volunteers come to the garden to help out.

The gardeners will find a group and tag along with them, and they all are always looking to make new friends.

Organizations from fraternities and sororities to Best Buddies and even businesses have come out to volunteer at the garden. Top Crops is also a participant in the United Way Day of Caring.

“It’s a great place to come to have fun with great people and do good work,” Carol Greer said. “There’s something about getting your hands dirty and nails dirty and growing something start to finish. Seed to table basically.”

Features reporter Olivia Marshall can be reached at 270-745-6291 and olivia.marshall688@topper.wku.edu. Follow Olivia on social media at @marshallolivia_.

ADDISON LEBOUTILLIER • HERALD

Top Crops began in 2013 with the goal of helping people with specials needs. “I’ve been incredibly impressed with how supportive our community is here,” Carol Greer said. “We are just one of many programs to help people who have special needs along with outreach programs like the Buddy Program and The Hive. They get so much out of it, whether that means having a purpose, having friends or just having that sense of community. I think that it’s something very special.”

B2 LIFE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

4 things to think about before graduation

BY KELLEY HOLLAND

HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU People attend college for various reasons, whether it’s your own drive or that of your parents, but we all have one goal: graduating. It’s something to look forward to — not just because you’ll likely never have to take a test again but because you’ve accomplished something great.

Stepping off campus and into the real world isn’t as easy as it may sound. There are plenty of things students should think about before they graduate, and some of them often go overlooked.

Housing and finances This is arguably the most important thing to think about, especially if you are currently living on campus in a residence hall.

Once you graduate, that room is no longer yours. Many students cannot return home to their parents for a variety of personal reasons. Others simply want a place of their own.

Finding an apartment, especially an inexpensive one, won’t be easy. It is a good idea to start looking into housing options and formulating a plan well in advance. If you plan to live independently, it might be in your best interest to find a roommate to help cover costs.

Kayla Shepperson, graduating May 2020, says she advises that students plan as far ahead as they can.

“Naturally I have a lot of concerns,” Shepperson said in an email. “My plan is

MEGAN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 Megan’s husband and son were at the center of her life. She stopped working as a nurse once Drew was born and later began volunteering at her church.

“She eventually began doing more than that because she was Megan,” Vincent said with a laugh. She missed Megan’s laugh, her conviction and their shared love of cupcakes. Even though Megan was a healthy eater, she and Vincent would always pick up a treat from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Nashville when they travelled there for church business.

Megan’s death affected the lives of all 2,000 people who showed up to her funeral service. Megan was a wife, mother, nurse, church minister and athlete and was loved by everyone she met.

to go to graduate school, so I’ve been trying to find programs and such as well as means to pay for it. Financing everything is really stressful.” Planning to move back home? Keep in mind household rules.

Will your parent or guardian enforce a curfew? Will they expect you to pay rent or your own bills? Are you covered by health insurance? These are things you

“Students should understand that their first job isn’t necessarily going to be their forever job,” Tinker said in an email.

“Each job teaches transferable skills that make students more marketable.”

Jacklyn Travis, a graduate student planning to graduate in 2021, said her priority after graduation is to find a fulltime job related to her sociology degree.

BECKY TINKER

Associate director at the Advising and Career Development Center

Students should understand that their first job isn’t necessarily going to be their forever job. should look into before you graduate.

Career After college, everyone takes a different route. By now, you’ve probably got a good idea of what career you want to have. It’s safe to say that you most likely won’t land your dream job right away, and that’s okay.

Becky Tinker, associate director at the Advising and Career Development Center at WKU, said this is something many students struggle with.

“I miss the way she loved me,” Vincent said. “Not everyone has someone to love them as deeply as Megan loved people.”

According to Kinney, watching Drew grieve has been one of the hardest things since Megan’s passing.

“He gets frustrated at times because he is missing his mom, but there is no replacement,” Davidson said.

PROVIDED PHOTO

“Finding a job that I am not overqualified for that pays well in comparison to my school debt is very important,” Travis said in an email.

Whether you plan on entering the workforce, going to graduate school or participating in some form of military service, you’ll need a plan.

If you’re unsure of what to do, you can stop by the Career Studio in DSU 2001.

The staff can help with job searching, resumes, cover letters and more.

Ever since the death of his mother, Drew has become anxious when he doesn’t know where his dad is.

“He’s latched onto me now more than ever,” Davidson said. “At 8 years old, you don’t see beyond your next birthday.”

Davidson promised Megan he would raise Drew the way she wanted and tries to keep the same traditions in the house that Megan set in place.

“There’s a part of me that hasn’t accepted it,” Davidson said.

Davidson has experienced signs that Megan is still with him.

“When I came home last night there was a single curly hair on my bathroom sink that wasn’t there before,” Davidson said.

Davidson has been left to raise their 8-year-old son while still living with

Don’t make comparisons This seems to be a constant cycle we are in: comparing ourselves to others.

Remember that everyone is on their own track in life, and just because something may have had a negative outcome for a friend it doesn’t mean the same will happen to you.

“The job search and graduate school application process are very individual,” Tinker said. “Stay focused on your own goals and work towards achieving them.”

It’s probably easier said than done, but stop comparing yourself and your journey to that of your peers. Set your own goals, and see where life takes you.

Make connections Every semester you meet new people.

There are so many opportunities around you, especially if you get involved in clubs or organizations on campus. This is a great time to network and make lasting connections that will help you after graduation. This means reaching out to peers as well as faculty and staff that may be able to provide you with information or connections that will be useful later.

“Network and make connections with a diverse range of people,” Travis said. “Most of all, never ever turn an opportunity down just because you are scared. It could be the only opportunity to land that dream job.”

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

the grief of losing the love of his life.

“He’s the reason I’m still breathing,” said Davidson.

On Nov. 16, the Bowling Green community raised $20,000 for Megan’s Mobile Grocery through a 5K race downtown. Runners wore shirts with Megan’s favorite quote, “We can do hard things.”

“There was a point where Drew got tired during the race and wanted to quit, and I asked him, ‘What does your shirt say?’” Davidson recalled. “‘It says, ‘We can do hard things.’ ‘Now pick up and keep going.’”

Emma Steele contributed reporting to this story. Features reporter Katelyn Latture can be reached at 270-7456291 and katelyn.latture423@topper. wku.edu. Follow Katelyn Latture on social media at @katelatture_duv.

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SPORTS B3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Lady Toppers utilize ‘championship’ mentality in home wins

BY MATT GADD HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Although the WKU women’s basketball team (14-6, 6-3 C-USA) welcomed Conference USA bottom feeders Florida Atlantic (9-12, 3-7 C-USA) and Florida International (5-16, 2-8 C-USA) to Diddle Arena over the weekend, the Lady Toppers retained sharp, winning focus by treating each of their contests against the lowly Owls and Panthers like “a championship ball game.”

“You’ve got to have that mindset that there’s not a night off,” head coach Greg Collins said. “If you’re going to have a shot at the bye or this conference, you’ve got to show up every night, and you’ve got to have that mindset regardless of what that opponent’s conference record is.”

The Lady Topper program held an 18-2 advantage against FAU and a 30-9 lead over FIU in its respective all-time series with the two Florida schools, but wins in prior seasons didn’t help WKU uphold the unblemished home mark its posted during the 2019-20 campaign.

Instead, the Lady Toppers improved to a perfect 8-0 record in Bowling Green and maintained their status as one of under 30 teams in the nation with a sterling home record this season by controlling the glass on both ends of the floor and playing stellar defense.

“I think in this conference, anybody can beat anybody on any given night,” senior point guard Whitney Creech said. “Anybody can come in and knock down some shots and stuff like that.

We just can’t overlook them. We have to prepare like we’re playing any other team in the country and just come out

and play hard and rebound.”

Across two victories, WKU outrebounded FAU and FIU by a combined 86-49 margin. The Lady Toppers allowed nine offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points in their 68-59 win over the Owls on Thursday, and the team followed that up by allowing just four offensive rebounds and three second-chance points in Saturday’s 71-51 win over the Panthers.

“The credit goes to the whole team,” Collins said. “I felt like we kept applying defensive pressure and doing a good job on the defensive boards.”

Junior forward Raneem Elgedawy was also dominant on the glass, as she has been all season for the Lady Toppers. The Alexandria, Egypt, native is averaging 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, and she notched her ninth and 10th double-doubles of the year over the weekend.

Elgedawy picked up her second-and third-straight double-doubles against the pair of opponents from Florida, and Collins said Elgedawy is “the anchor for just about everything” the Lady Toppers want to do in the middle of their offensive sets.

“I don’t think it matters whether a team is from Florida or Texas or Tennessee,” Collins said. “I think when she gets locked in from the beginning of the game, she’s pretty good for the whole game.”

While the Lady Toppers were great defensively over the weekend, their shooting from behind the three-point line was abysmal — WKU shot a mere 14% from deep against FAU and improved to a less-than-stellar 29% clip from beyond the arc against FIU. The Lady Toppers are currently ranked No. 9 among C-USA schools in threepoint field goal percentage with a 29%

GEORGIA MALLETT • HERALD

Raneem Elgedawy high-fives her teammates coming off the court after WKU’s game against Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Jan. 30. The Toppers won 68-59 in Diddle Arena.

mark from deep this season, but Collins said the team’s shooting woes will pass as conference play continues to unfold.

“I can promise you they are shooting lights out in practice and shootaround,” Collins said. “Every day we have practice and shootaround I think, ‘Alright, today’s the day.’ And then we get into the game — I think the facility must be changing the rims when we leave that shootaround because that rim must be small. We got too many experienced young ladies that can shoot the ball for

this to go on indefinitely. But if it does, we are just going to keep rebounding.”

The Lady Toppers will now head to Ruston, Louisiana, to face Louisiana Tech (10-10, 2-7 C-USA) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for a tilt against Southern Mississippi (11-9, 3-6 C-USA) on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Reporter Matt Gadd can be reached at matthew.gadd474@topper.wku.edu. Follow Matt on Twitter at @themattgadd.

MENS BASKETBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B4 you ask from them?” Stansbury said.

“As a coach, I’m proud of the effort.

Guys showed some dog down that stretch on the road. Trust me, we were tired.”

Before heading for warmer weather, the red-hot Hilltoppers were riding a five-game winning streak and held down the No. 2 spot in C-USA with a 7-1 conference record. WKU trailed only No. 1 North Texas (14-9, 8-2 C-USA), a squad the Hilltoppers defeated 93-84 on Jan. 2.

After a weekend spent on island time, WKU now trails both North Texas and Louisiana Tech (17-5, 8-2 C-USA) — the latter of which is coming to Diddle Arena for the home debut of the team’s new black Nike uniforms in a nationally-televised blackout game on Thursday night.

“For those guys to play the amount of minutes they did, get down and fight, I’ll take the positives from that,” Stansbury said. “We got an L from it, but we’ll build on that effort and toughness these guys played with. I’m proud of that.”

Reporter Elliott Wells can be reached at douglas.wells357@topper.wku.edu.

Follow Elliott on Twitter at @ewells5.

MATT GADD • HERALD

Jordan Rawls (3) is helped up during the game against Old Dominion in Diddle Arena on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. WKU won 71-69.

NEIDELL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B4 whom we lured away from the highly-successful women’s program at the University of Tulsa after he had concluded a fantastic professional soccer career upon his graduation from Yale, is the ultimate player’s coach and one of the nation’s best recruiters.”

Selig felt comfortable enough with Neidell that he gave him a chance to build a DI women’s soccer program at a young age, which “was pretty attractive” at the time.

“I’m pretty wowed by the whole process and experience,” Neidell said. “At the time, I didn’t feel overwhelmed

because I felt like that’s what I’m supposed to do. But now I look back on it and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, that kid should have felt really overwhelmed.’”

A rocky start Neidell then spent the winter of 2000 and spring of 2001 filling his first-ever roster, eventually collecting 20 freshmen and two walk-ons who were already on campus.

The inaugural WKU women’s soccer team started with several disadvantages, including a lack of collegiate experience since no players were transfers from another institution.

Neidell wanted his initial group to get a good feel for winning early on, so he devised “a creative schedule” that featured multiple games against non-

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DI opponents in 2001.

After a three-game exhibition slate and the program’s first-ever regular season match at Morehead State, the 2001 Lady Toppers were scheduled to meet Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne in their home opener at the WKU Soccer Complex on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2001.

Although the game was originally slated to begin at 2 p.m., the match was delayed for almost 40 minutes after then-IPFW head coach Terry Stefankiewicz approached Neidell with an issue.

“We were warming up and their coach came over and said, ‘We’re not going to play on your field. We’re not going to play the game.’”

A baffled Neidell asked Stefankiewicz what the issue was, and the IPFW coach said the goals at the WKU Soccer Complex didn’t meet NCAA regulations because they were too tall.

After originally telling Neidell that WKU would have to forfeit the game, Stefankiewicz agreed to play despite one proper goal and one goal that was “an inch off regulation.” About 500 fans witnessed the Lady Toppers go on to defeat the Mastodons, 8-2.

“We felt pretty good about dropping eight goals in that day,” Neidell said with a laugh.

Commitment to excellence WKU posted a 14-5 overall record in the opening season of women’s soccer on the Hill, but its most memorable win that year was a 1-0 overtime victory over defending Sun Belt Conference champion Florida International on Sept. 30, 2001.

Eighteen meetings later, Neidell and the Lady Toppers defeated the Panthers 3-1 in FIU Soccer Stadium for Neidell’s and the program’s 200th alltime victory on Oct. 13, 2019.

Despite the obvious connection between the two major wins, Neidell said he viewed win No. 200 as a huge step for the WKU women’s soccer program, not his own coaching career.

“It means I’m old,” Neidell said about reaching the benchmark. “I never thought of it as a milestone. I’m just

coaching. What’s the difference between 199 and 200?”

More importantly to Neidell, the Ivy League graduate has helped the Lady Topper soccer team become a premier academic program, most recently posting a 3.66 fall semester GPA as a team, including 12 Lady Toppers who earned a 4.0 GPA during the 2019 season.

“They’re here to play soccer, but they’re here to get an education,” Neidell said. “I’m probably a disciplinarian when it comes to academics.”

Neidell said “working with 18- to 22-year-olds” is both the best and worst part of his job, but it’s kept him young and allowed him to have an impact in the lives of many young women.

“My biggest accomplishment that gives me the most satisfaction is seeing our alumni bring their families back,” Neidell said. “Seeing what small part we played in their lives, their careers, who they are now and then coming back to the program, meeting their kids.”

Neidell has been at WKU longer than any place he’s ever lived, and he said a debt of gratitude is owed to the athletic administration and each player that’s “invested” into the program.

Although Neidell could’ve used the Hill as a stepping stone to another head coaching job at another university, he chose to stay. He’s led the WKU women’s soccer team during every season since its inception in 2001, an opportunity he feels “fortunate” to have received.

“I think it’s a rarity to be 20 years in a coaching job in any college sport, at any level,” Neidell said. “But this is home for me now, and I have a huge sentimental attachment to the program because I started it.

“There are very few people that get to say they’ve started their own soccer program,” Neidell continued. “It’s been a pretty cool and fun process.”

Reporter Elliott Wells can be reached at douglas.wells357@topper.wku.edu.

Follow Elliott on Twitter at @ewells5.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SPORTS

B4

FROM SCRATCH Jason Neidell and WKU women’s soccer

BY ELLIOTT WELLS HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Jason Neidell was named the he first-ever head coach of the WKU U women’s soccer program on Oct. 16, 2000, and the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native began his duties on Nov. 6 of that same e year.

Getting to work immediately tely was a requirement, not an option,, because Neidell needed to build an entire roster from scratch before the e program opened play in August 2001.

Although time was of the essence ssence for the first-time head coach, his resources were severely limited in those early days — shortly after Neidell began working at WKU on a full-time basis in the winter of 2000, he realized he didn’t n’t have an on-campus office to call his own.

That quickly became an issue, especially during December when most spaces on the Hill are shut down for winter break. Neidell, who was just 28 at the time, had to get creative. ve.

Diddle Arena is usually bright and loud, filled to the brim with h raucous fans cheering on the Hilltoppers oppers or Lady Toppers. But all of the lights ights were turned off when Neidell did his work.

“Before that place was renovated, novated, it was like a haunted arena,” Neidell eidell said.

“I was up there in the arenaa in somebody else’s office making phone hone calls, writing letters and doing all kinds of stuff basically in the dark ark during Christmas when nobody else e was here that first year.”

Nineteen seasons, 202 wins and 16 winning seasons later, the WKU women’s soccer program has offices spanning an entire floor in HouchensSmith Stadium, including a lounge area for the team’s current players layers and a dedicated space for Neidell ell to conduct his daily business.

While sitting in his office,, which is decorated with photos of past teams and shelves filled with memorabilia emorabilia from a long tenure at WKU, Neidell reflected on how the game he picked up as an infant has given him a career he never envisioned for himself. f.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Neidell eidell said about being the first and only WKU women’s soccer head coach. ch. “A lot of credit goes to the playerss that I’ve coached and who have believed ved in us, believed in the program and nd trusted the process.”

How it all began Neidell spent four seasons ns playing for the men’s soccer program am at Yale University, but the 1994 graduate thought he’d likely follow in n his parents’ footsteps by becoming g an educator.

A three-year professional soccer career delayed those plans, but ut Neidell said he knew a backup careerr would be necessary even before an injury njury officially ended his playing dayss in 1996.

“I always joked that I played yed center midfield, center back, left side and

then left out,” Neidell said while cracking a smile.

Even though he’d never previously thought about coaching as a career path, Neidell picked up a graduate assistant spot at the University of Tulsa in 1996.

Still, he wasn’t convinced that being a full-time Division I head coach was in his future. A lot of soccer coaches in the 1990s worked on a part-time basis, often doubling as teachers, and Neidell said he worried about being a “Yale-educated guy” going down such an uncertain road.

“My brother is one of my best friends, and I remember a conversation we had,” Neidell said. “He said, ‘Do you love doing it?’ I said, ‘Yes, I love doing it.’ He was like, ‘What does it matter what other people think? If that’s what you want to do, then do it.’”

Golden opportunity Neidell said that conversation with his brother, David, helped him decide coaching was something he had a deep passion for pursuing. But his relationship with legendary women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum is what helped the budding coach secure a career in 2000.

Waldrum, who once recruited Neidell to Tulsa as a player, made sure Neidell was mentioned as a candidate to lead the new women’s soccer program that former WKU athletic director Wood Selig was looking to field beginning with the 2001 season.

Neidell was always “very passionate about the sport,” and Waldrum said it was easy for him to tell that Neidell “had the leadership qualities to become a coach someday.” So, when an opportunity arose to help Neidell get a job, Waldrum was “happy to help support” him.

“However much or little that I helped with that job, the credit goes to Jason,” Waldrum, now the head coach of the women’s soccer team at the University of Pittsburgh, said.

“He is the one that impressed the administration and made them believe in his vision for the women’s program.

“It was an easy recommendation to make on my part,” Waldrum continued. “Jason has a tremendous work ethic, he’s very intelligent, he has high standards and expectations — all of which help mold a

program into the one he has today.”

Selig sent letters to the head coach of each Top 25 program, including Waldrum, asking for recommendations on who to hire, but Selig knew he’d found the coach he was looking for after Neidell flew to Bowling Green for his interview.

“Last November, we hired one of the best young coaches in America to start and direct our program,” Selig said in a June 2001 Q&A session. “Jason Neidell, SEE NEIDELL • PAGE B3

EMMA STEELE • HERALD

Jason Neidell is entering his 20th season as the head coach of the women’s soccer team at WKU. Neidell transitioned from playing soccer growing up to teaching the game. “I had goals and dreams of being a professional player when I was growing up in elementary school, high school, but I never thought about coaching,” Neidell said.

WKU starting 5 racks up minutes in Florida

BY ELLIOTT WELLS HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

The WKU men’s basketball team (14-8, 7-3 C-USA) traveled south to play a twogame road set against Florida Atlantic (14-9, 6-4 C-USA) and Florida International (15-8, 6-4 C-USA) for the first time since the 2016-17 season last weekend.

No current WKU players had ever made the trip to Boca Raton, Florida, or Miami, and after the 2019-20 Hilltoppers lost graduate guard Camron Justice for an extended period and posted an 0-2 record in their brief trip to the Sunshine State, the program likely won’t be too eager for future visits to FAU’s RoofClaim.com Arena or FIU’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

“There’s no moral victories at all,” head coach Rick Stansbury said. “We’re all disappointed that we lost, but I can walk into that locker room, look those guys in the eyes and they can look each other in the eyes and know they gave every ounce of energy they had.”

Stansbury signed Justice with the expectation he would provide leadership and depth to the squad, but recently

the graduate transfer has been forced to lead from the sideline.

Justice started all of WKU’s first 14 games, averaging 12.8 points per game, but he hasn’t returned to the starting lineup since injuring his back lifting weights in early January.

The 6-foot-3-inch guard tried playing hurt against Alabama-Birmingham

much-needed depth by playing 20 minutes off the bench. He continued coming off the bench in the team’s next two games before re-injuring himself after just 11 minutes against the Owls.

Stansbury said he believes Justice will be unavailable for the foreseeable future.

“We’ll be without Cam is what it looks like now,” Stansbury said. “I think he’ll

RICK STANSBURY

Men’s basketball head coach

For those guys to play the amount of minutes they did, get down and fight, I’ll take the positives from that. on Jan. 9, but he was limited to just eight minutes and missed each of the next two contests.

Justice made his return against Charlotte on Jan. 18, giving Stansbury some

get an epidural put in [Sunday], so I’m sure we’ll be without him for the next few games.”

If Justice misses another long stretch of games, the Hilltopper starting five

will be burdened with carrying a load similar to the one the unit toted in a pair of heartbreaking losses in Florida.

With Justice relegated to street clothes for essentially the entire weekend, the WKU bench failed to record a single point, which in turn forced the team’s starters to account for 100% of the offensive output produced by the Hilltoppers against the Owls and Panthers.

Beyond being asked to score an exorbitant amount of points, the starters were also tasked with overcoming the extreme level of physical fatigue that comes with playing nearly two wire-towire games in a very short timeframe.

Stansbury relied on his starting five for the entire second half in a 69-65 loss at FAU on Thursday, causing four of his five starters to log 36 or more minutes.

The script played out in much the same way during a 81-76 loss at FIU on Saturday, as four Hilltoppers were tasked with having to play 36 minutes or more, including redshirt senior wing Jared Savage, who played the entire 40-minute contest for WKU. “Those five guys that played, you look at that stat line, what more could SEE MEN’S BASKETBALL • PAGE B3