March 24, 2016

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LADY TOPPERS MOVE ON TO FINAL 16 OF WNIT

TEQUILA CRUSHERS: THE FACES BEHIND MEXICO'S TOP NEW DRINK PHOTO, PAGE A6

SPORTS, PAGE B4

TTHURSDAY, HURSDAY, MARCH MARCH 224, 4, 22016 016 > W WESTERN ESTERN KKENTUCKY ENTUCKY UUNIVERSITY NIVERSITY > VVOLUME OLUME 991,1, IISSUE SSUE 1155

WKU mourns over loss of Kathryn Costello BY HANNAH SHAFFER

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Centertown graduate student Leslie Ford recently received a 40,000 dollar grant to continue her studies on water systems management in the Netherlands. Ford is currently sponsored by the Rotary Club in Bowling Green and received the grant money from the national Rotary Foundation. JOSH NEWELL/HERALD

WAter, Water Everywhere

Rotary scholarship sends WKU grad student to Netherlands BY CARLY MATHEWS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Graduate student Leslie Ford has been awarded the Rotary Foundation Global Scholarship to study water services management at the UNESCOIHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands and, in the process, gain her second master's degree. The institute is the world’s largest international water training institute with students from over 162 different

countries, according to a spokesperson from the institute. Ford will be in a classroom with huge diversity, which to her is “pretty cool.” “I’ll be able to learn about a lot of different water systems, and I’ll be able to share about ours with students while I’m there,” Ford said. Water Services Management programs teach students how to examine different areas and understand what their water needs are. Three weeks of the program will be

spent in Spain and Portugal as participants look at how water is supplied to different areas with varying supply needs. Ford is no stranger to traveling, especially traveling to study water systems; she has done field work in both India and Tanzania. “I wanted to apply for the Rotary scholarship, and I knew I needed to make myself competitive,” Ford said, “so to do that, I decided to conduct a

SEE FORD PAGE A2

Kentucky House approves cuts to state judicial system BY MONICA KAST

support, and functioning of the Judicial Brand of the government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and its various officers, boards, commissions, subdivisions, and other state-supported activities,” according to the bill. House Bill 306 passed with a 51-to-48 vote on March 16 and outlines the budget and funding for the judicial branch for fiscal years 2016 through 2018. According to the bill, which

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU The Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill on March 16 that cuts significant funding from Kentucky’s judicial branch and could have negative effects on the state’s judicial workers, according to the Supreme Court of Kentucky. House Bill 306 is an act “making appropriations for the operations, maintenance,

contains the judicial branch budgets for fiscal years 2014 through 2016, the total judicial branch budget for 2014-2015 was $386.9 million. The total judicial branch budget for 2015-2016 was $390.7 million. House Bill 306 lists the total judicial branch budget for 2016-2017 as $388.2 million and for 2017-2018 as $384.9 million. “This means we’re facing a $76.9 million shortfall for

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A former WKU administrator known for her positivity and passion for the university died Sunday of complications from lung cancer. Kathryn Costello, the former vice president for development and alumni relations, retired from the position in December 2015. During her time in this position, Costello impacted many of those she worked with and left a lasting impression on the WKU community. “I think that a number of circumstances in my life came together, and this was the time,” Costello told the Herald in its April 28, 2015, issue about her impending retirement. “I’ve had some health issues which I have to put into consideration, and I’ve got things I want to do which I haven’t had the chance to do. It gives me a chance to chart a different course.” After hearing of Costello’s death, former Herald reporter Shelby Rogers reflected on the moments she shared

SEE COSTELLO PAGE A2

Reagan-era economist Art Laffer to speak at WKU BY EMMA COLLINS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Today, WKU will host a presentation featuring economist Arthur Laffer, who was a member of former President Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board. Cathy Carey, the head of the economics department, said Laffer’s presentation will give students a chance to hear from a leading economist. “I think this is a great opportunity for students to hear [Laffer] and just be able to directly relate it to something they talked about in their macroeconomics class,” Carey said. Laffer rose to prominence when he served on Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board from 1981 to 1989. Referred to as “the father of supply-side economics,” he is most famous for the Laffer curve, a theory that focuses on the relationship between tax rates and tax revenue. The curve suggests that increasing tax rates after a certain point will only decrease the amount of tax revenue the government receives. It has been used to support tax cuts, which were especially common during the Reagan administration. Carey said the curve shows lower tax rates can lead to an increase in tax revenue. Lower taxes encourage people to spend more money because they know they will not lose a significant amount of money to taxes. People are also more apt to work because they want to earn more money to spend. The Laffer curve — and Laffer himself — have sparked criticism among some economists. Portrayed as a staunch conservative and libertarian, Laffer’s theory has been denied by a number of economists, notably those who tend to be more liberal. Joe Glaser, professor emeritus of

SEE ART LAFFER PAGE A2


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