March 6, 2018

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Student uses speech to call for health care reparations

WHERE

CRIME

BY AMBRIEHL CRUTCHFIELD HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

HAPPENS Thefts, drug-related crimes most common at WKU

Visit our website to see the interactive map GRAPHIC BY CRAIG OSTERTAG • HERALD

BY SPENCER HARSH HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

A

WKU employee has illustrated crime statistics from WKU’s Police Department from 2017 by using Google maps.

The map reveals common locations for specific crimes, allowing for a better understanding of crime at WKU. Kara Glenn, agency manager for Imagewest, said she spent close to eight hours working on the Google map layout after she attended a Google for Journalists lab session on Feb. 17.

Glenn said the way the crime data was presented beforehand didn’t really explain as much as it should. By using information given by WKUPD, Glenn said she color-categorized each crime, organized the crimes by month and placed an individual pin for each reported crime at WKU. “Most of the crimes are thefts,” Glenn said. “Most of the cases are pending and will never close.”

There were 94 counts of reported thefts at WKU in 2017, according to the data she obtained.

Tim Gray, public information officer for WKUPD, said the thefts at WKU are mostly crimes of opportunity. He said people will see unattended items

left around on campus or try unlocked doors and use those as opportunities for theft.

Gray said thefts are very difficult to solve because they usually don’t have a description of who committed the theft.

“Situational awareness and teaching people safety tips is a good preventative tool,” Gray said.

Glenn said the data showed that thefts tend to happen in high-traffic

for class and students calling campus home.”

The map showed the second most common crime was drug-related arrests. She said almost all of the arrests were marijuana-related and commonly happened in residence halls. She said they accounted for nearly a quarter of the crime reports with 64 reported cases.

“If you removed marijuana, crime would drop drastically,” Glenn said.

“Situational awareness and teaching people saftey tips is a good preventative tool.”

WKUPD public information officer TIM GRAY

areas on campus, such as the Preston Center or residence halls.

Daniel Rosner, assistant director for student behavior and conduct, said WKU Housing and Residence Life has programs to encourage securing living spaces to prevent thefts.

“I would say that crime at WKU is fairly comparable to other universities with similar populations,” Rosner said in an email. “Because we have a large number of students living on campus, we see a variety of crime that encompasses students just coming to campus

VOLUME 93, ISSUE 33

Gray said WKUPD is not seeing very many expensive or “harder drugs” on campus. He said marijuana is like the cheap beer of the drug environment because it is cheap and has become popular among students. Although it is common, Gray said marijuana can still be dangerous.

“To people who are in the drug game, it’s a business,” Gray said. “Drugs, money and weapons often go hand in hand.”

SEE CRIMES MAP • PAGE A2

Freshman Symone Whalin wrote her after-dinner speech for the Black Excellence Expo about a topic she is passionate about: black health care reparations.

Her passion stems from her mom’s fight against breast cancer she said.

Whalin said she felt her mom didn’t receive the same treatment as her white counterparts. She said researching the topic for her speech was heartbreaking as well because of the disparities African-Americans face.

“We are in a political climate and a social climate that we need to be more aware of issues that affect African-Americans,” Whalin said. “I think it’s important that white people understand this and know what we are going through.”

Whalin’s speech was part of the Black Excellence Exposition hosted by WKU’s Forensics Team. The event was designed to create awareness about social injustices African-Americans face daily.

Members of the debate team selected topics on current issues such as the imprisonment of African Americans, physical acts of protests and black health care reparations.

Whalin’s speech was more than a commentary about black health care reparations. She called on the state government to file for section 1115 demonstration, which expands Medicaid to better cover low-income and vulnerable individuals and families.

Whalin said this would expand coverage to more black families.

Whalin said when she has gone to the doctor with her white father, she felt like the doctor instantly trusted accounts of health issues instead of questioning her on matters she felt were irrelevant as had happened in past experiences.

Although Whalin is biracial, she describes herself as being cautious of who she is around. She said she is always aware of what she is doing in “white spaces.”

Senior Lyric Davis said although she hopes people were entertained throughout the event, she also hopes they left feeling more informed on matters that impact black culture.

“I think that in order to sympathize on what black people deal with you have to know, we have to keep telling them and showing them, and hopefully we can erase white fragility, and we can make a change,” Davis said.

News reporter Ambriehl Crutchfield can be reached at 270-745-6011 and ambriehl.crutchfield629@topper.wku. edu.

Parking and transportation uses new RFID vans

BY MATT STAHL HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

WKU’s Department of Parking and Transportation has a new parking enforcement device this semester.

Their new radio-frequency identification, or RFID, system reads parking permits to make sure cars are parked in the correct lot, Jennifer Tougas, director of parking and transportation

said. The tracking device is placed in a parking and transportation van, which is then driven through lots to check for violations. It allows parking enforcement officials to cover the needed ground, even with a reduced workforce.

“It’s kind of been in beta-testing mode, but it’s a project we initiated last summer,” Tougas said. “So, we’ve been testing it throughout the fall and really started using it more extensively this spring.”

Tougas said the RFID system has greatly increased the effectiveness of parking enforcement and made enforcement officers’ jobs easier.

“We’re able to cover a greater area and then repeat that coverage more often,” she said.

Tougas said changes in parking enforcement personnel and the university-wide budget problems increased the need for the RFID system.

“We had a retirement in December,” Tougas said. “So we are currently down

one enforcement officer, and with the hiring freeze, we have not requested to fill that position, so we’re trying to cover the same area with less people.”

According to statistics provided by Tougas in an email, ticketing has fallen this semester compared to spring of 2017.

In the first six weeks of spring 2017, the last semester without the RFID system, Parking and Transportation Ser-

SEE RFID • PAGE A2

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

A2 NEWS

Professor returns from sustainability speaking tour issues - climate change, population growth, rampant capitalism that creates problems, consumerism, plastic use around the world - every place has got a challenge.”

For the United States, Keeling believes climate change is the greatest challenge and will affect every person in the country.

“When you think about all of the things that changing climates impact - whether it’s changing agricultural zones, excessive flooding, rain events that are not typical historically, the increased intensity of hurricanes that we saw last year with [Hurricane] Harvey and what came through the carribean, sea level rise - that ultimately won’t affect us in our lifetimes,” Keeling said.

“But 50 or 60 or 80 or 100 years down the road, will Florida exist? Will New Orleans be underwater?”

Despite the enormity of climate change, Keeling said individuals can have a positive impact.

“There are lots and lots and lots of things that students can do in the local community that can have an impact on their own health and on the health of the environment and the community,” Keeling said. “Those are the same themes that I talk about to these groups when I go on these expeditions. It does take a village, and it does take one person to get others involved.”

Keeling advised students to become aware of sustainable practices, such as reducing plastic, changing water consumption patterns, using public transportation and buying locally produced food.

“Positive change doesn’t require a lot of money,” Keeling said. “Positive change requires a lot of effort.”

BY OLIVIA EILER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

A WKU geography professor returned earlier this semester from leading a 30,000-mile educational expedition where he spoke about sustainability.

Over the course of three weeks, David Keeling, distinguished professor of geography, spoke on sustainability issues in Japan, the Maldives, Rwanda, Morocco, Brazil and the Galapagos Islands. This journey was not Keeling’s first time traveling all around the world. As of October 2017, the Cheltenham, England, native has traveled over 3.1 million miles to over 185 countries, according to his website.

This most recent trip was through TCS World Travel, a luxury travel company where he works as an enrichment specialist on political and economic social geography. He led a group of clients on the trip where he spoke to them about demographic challenges in Japan, ecotourism in Maldives, reduced plastic consumption in Rwanda, culture in Morocco, urban development in Brazil and ecology in the Galapagos Islands.

“When we go to the Maldives for example, in the Indian Ocean, the highest point on average is 3 feet above sea level,” Keeling said. “If the average sea level rise over the next 50 years is going to be 5 feet, well, you can see there’s a problem.”

Although Keeling has observed sustainable policy development in several countries, he said challenges remain.

“There are a lot of really good examples of sustainable management practices,” Keeling said. “Scandinavian countries that we visit that have really done well in addressing issues like alternative energy. But when you balance that out against the bigger

CRIMES MAP CONTINUED FROM FRONT Rosner said marijuana-related crime is not exclusive to WKU and is a trend nationally.

“After speaking with colleagues

RFID CONTINUED FROM FRONT

vices gave out 904 citations. They have given out 688 citations this semester, as of Feb. 22, a drop of 24 percent.

Tougas said she attributed this drop to several factors. She said one may be that students know about the RFID system and are more careful about where they park their cars.

“If we’re enforcing more frequently, and people know there’s a greater risk of getting a citation, then our compliance goes up, so we issue less tickets,” Tougas said.

Another factor that might affect the drop in the number of tickets given was the opening of the third parking structure on campus Tougas said. This new structure has 750 more spots and is used as overflow parking, according

TYGER WILLIAMS • HERALD

David J. Keeling is a distinguished professor of geography and has been on about 30 expeditions in the past 25 years with WKU. “Everything around us is geography,” Keeling said. “Understanding the why of where, the way you are and the resources you have, the climate, the culture all of those things have an impact on the local community. Geographers can do anything.” Keeling’s next expeditions is in June where he will be visiting countries such as Siberia, Baltic states, Iceland and Greenland to understand climate change in those areas.

News reporter Olivia Eiler can be reached at 270-745-6011 and olivia.eiler789@topper.wku.edu. Follow Olivia on Twitter at @oliviaeiler16.

across the country who are in similar positions to mine, this is a national trend,” Rosner said. “I think it is important that students know regardless of your feelings on the issue of marijuana, it is still illegal in Kentucky and WKU’s policies reflect that.”

Glenn said her analysis has shown

if the crime trends change or remain the same in the future.

her campus isn’t as dangerous as she initially thought. She said she expected the crimes to be much worse.

“I feel safer after this,” Glenn said.

“Most of the crimes are petty for a campus of this size.”

Glenn said she will hopefully make another map at the end of 2018 to see

Copy desk chief Spencer Harsh can be reached at 270-745-6011 and spencer.harsh755@topper.wku.edu.

to the Parking and Transportation Services webpage.

Tougas said the RFID system is occasionally used in the parking garages, but most of the use is focused on large, ungated lots.

Some students, such as Louisville sophomore Ryan Flora, had mixed feelings about the new RFID system.

“Most of the time the meters don’t even work,” Flora said. “I’ve put money in the meters, and they just don’t work, so I’m nervous I’m going to get a ticket when that happens.”

Flora said he was not previously aware of the RFID system, but he would be more careful where he parked going forward.

TYGER WILLIAMS • HERALD

News reporter Matt Stahl can be reached at 270-745-6011 and matthew. stahl551@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @MattStahl97.

Parking and Transportations has a van specifically for scanning parking passes throughout campus.

Christian Chambers, 24, is the driver of the van and started working around the time the van was finished last fall semester. According to Chambers, the van is efficient and fast compared to the past when everything was done by physically walking up to every car. “It takes me about 5 minutes or less to do the Creason and Adams lot,” Chambers said.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

NEWS A3

Topper Corner permanently closes its doors

BY NATASHA BREU HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU WKU boutique Topper Corner permanently closed Monday, Feb. 26, according to its Facebook page.

It was located in a building leased and operated by WKU near the Bowling Green Hot Rods stadium. It opened in late September 2016 and was an “art gallery and gift boutique featuring lo- Brad cal art, gifts, and logo Wheeler apparel,” according to Business its Facebook page.

Brad Wheeler, assis- services tant vice president for assistant vice president business services, said Topper Corner did not shut down due to recent budget cuts. it closed because there wasn’t enough

business.

“I’m proud of the staff and employees that worked to create the space, but there was not enough downtown traffic,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler is still optimistic about how Topper Corner’s legacy will affect The WKU Store located on campus. He said what worked well for Topper Corner will hopefully appeal to students in the future.

“We’re going to replicate some of what we did downtown on campus come fall 2018,” he said.

Sarah Sears, marketing coordinator for The WKU Store, said Topper Corner most likely closed due to a collaborative decision that came down to the amount of sales.

Sears said The WKU Store is not directly affiliated with Topper Corner, although both are owned by the university. Due to Topper Corner closing, she said there might be a possibility of revenue trickling down to The WKU Store.

“Customers who avoided WKU park-

MADDY NAVIN • HERALD

The WKU owned store Topper Corner permanently closed it’s doors on Feb. 26th, according to it’s Facebook page. The shop, opened in Sept.

2016, was an apparel shop where patrons could buy local art and WKU apparel.

ing may be subject to coming to The WKU Store now,” Sears said.

Destiny Fountain, a freshman from Florence, expressed concern over Top-

per Corner closing.

“I thought they had really cute stuff for their prices and were in a great location, especially being connected to Starbucks,” Fountain said. “I thought their closing was really unexpected since they didn’t mention anything about it, and I’m kind of sad since it was such a cute little boutique.”

In its most recent Facebook post, Topper Corner encouraged customers to continue shopping for WKU merchandise at The WKU Store.

“Remember shopping there directly impacts WKU and the community,” the post read.

The WKU Store has several locations. The main store is on the ground floor of the Downing Student Union.

There are also stores at the Glasgow and Owensboro regional campuses.

News reporter Natasha Breu can be reached at natasha.breu597@topper. wku.edu.

Students create Holocaust murals in Bowling Green

BY OLIVIA EILER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Holocaust murals created by students who attended a WKU summer program for gifted students are on display at the National Corvette Museum through March 15.

The “Never Forget” exhibit features 18 murals.

Students in Ron Skillern’s Nazi Germany and the Holocaust class painted the murals. He said students put more than 20 hours of work into filling the 6-foot by 9-foot canvases. The project is student-directed.

“There’s normally a substantial amount of debate and discussion,” Skillern said. “Sometimes even a little bit of conflict, which is good because we use that as an example of talking about ‘How do you resolve conflict?’ and ‘How do you go about making sure that you can disagree with someone and come to a good resolution?’”

Students in the class have painted the murals for the past 26 years, according to a press release from The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU. The class focuses on the rise and fall

of Nazi Germany and the danger of remaining a spectator during similar events, according to the press release.

Students in Skillern’s course engage in three active learning projects: the mural, a play based on Anne Frank and a mock trial for Adolf Hitler.

In addition to enhancing students’ communication and interpersonal relationship skills, Skillern said he helps place current events in context.

“There are some things that are going on, not only in the United States but also worldwide, that are very troubling right now,” Skillern said. “Right after we had this fabulous class this summer, that stuff went on in Charlottesville, Virginia. There was one scene of 300 white, young men underneath a statue of Thomas Jefferson chanting, ‘Jews will not replace us. Blood and soil,’ the same chants the Nazis did.

My father fought in World War II, and to be honest, I’m kind of dumbfounded about when being a Nazi became cool in one’s mind.”

Skillern said he teaches students to understand the historical context of current issues. He believes that failing to acknowledge the past is foolish.

“It’s how human beings are,” Skillern said. “We tend to want to

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deny. For example, in teaching United States history at the high school level, you start discussing slavery. For some kids, it’s like, ‘I never did own slaves, and I didn’t have anything to do with it, so get out of my face with that type of deal.’ But the deal is we still live in this country with a legacy of slavery and of racism. You can’t just scoff at or dismiss your history. You have to be willing to thoughtfully take a look at it.”

Skillern said he believes students who complete the three week course leave with a greater sense of morality.

“I don’t think any of the kids that go through this class would ever let themselves be seduced by intolerance or prejudice or hatred because they know what the price is,” Skillern said.

He said he hopes students can convey this message to others through their murals.

“Almost every history teacher has a sign up in their classroom: those who do not learn the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them,” Skillern said. “That’s one of the things that we

try to emphasize. Get humanity on the canvas, and move people to the point where they recognize hate and intolerance are an awful path for a human being to go down.”

The students who painted the mural were participants in WKU’s summer program for Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth. Students in grades seven through 10 with qualifying SAT or ACT scores are eligible to attend the program, which is offered

by WKU’s Center for Gifted Studies.

The program lasts three weeks, and students select one course to attend for seven hours each day.

The exhibit will be open daily from Mar. 1 to Mar. 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the press release. Admission is included in the purchase of the museum’s $10 ticket.

News reporter Olivia Eiler can be reached at 270-745-6011 and olivia.eiler789@topper.wku.edu. Follow Olivia on Twitter at @oliviaeiler16.

A4

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

OPINION

FROM THE EDITOR

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY One year and counting since WKU sued the Herald

BY ANDREW HENDERSON HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

“WKU sues Herald over access to records” was the above-the-fold news story that graced kiosks around WKU just over one year ago, it was on Feb. 28, 2017 to be exact. From then on it was official-WKU was suing the College Heights Herald.

We knew the lawsuit was coming down the pipeline by the beginning of February 2017. WKU told us as much. The attorney general had ruled the month prior that by not releasing records, redacted or otherwise, of Title IX investigations completed by WKU, the university had violated Kentucky’s Open Records Act. Simply put, they had broken the law.

The Herald requested access on Nov. 1, 2016 to all Title IX investigative records into WKU faculty and staff sexual misconduct allegations occurring in the last five years. These records include documents of six university employee resignations since 2013 after the results of Title IX investigations found violations of university policy.

WKU, per university policy, defines sexual misconduct/assault as “actual or attempted sexual contact with another person without that person’s consent.”

This includes, but isn’t limited to intentional and unwelcome touching, sexual contact when the victim isn’t able to consent and rape.

The justifications the university has given over the past year for suing us and not releasing the records don’t hold up in my eyes. Their justifications are also continuing to not hold up in the eyes of the attorney general who recently filed a motion for summary judgment and has argued that the university willfully violated the state’s open records act.

WKU claims they can’t release the records because it would be a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

However, the Houston Chronicle, a newspaper that requested Title IX records from some of the largest universities in Texas in 2016, was able to protect the identities of victims and serve justice to the offending faculty members.

Unless something has changed recent-

ly, and Texas has seceded from the United States, Texas is still beholden to federal law, and yyet theyy released this information and suf-

d fered li no penalties. n’t cite Even more to the point, WKU didn’t FERPA in its initial denial, and it wasn’t ted to until the attorney general requested see the records did they decide to blanket lanket ption; these records with the federal exemption; ut, are records, which should be pointed out, teacher disciplinary records and not ot student disciplinary records.

WKU has also cited several statues tatues from the state’s open records act saying the records should be exempted. Yet, no other public university in the state,, save for WKU and Kentucky State University, ersity, had any qualms about releasing their evels Title IX records. All had varying levels of redacted information, of course,, but most importantly all student identifying fying information was redacted. Equally important, these universities managed to not break the law, something WKU is still struggling with.

What it has always come down tto ffor WKU administrators, this was true for former President Gary Ransdell and remains so for President Timothy Caboni, is they value student “privacy” over student safety and are more than willing to conflate the two. More or less, this has become the official stance of WKU. They won’t drop the lawsuit, and yes, I’ve asked a few times before, because they value student privacy above all else.

If only the attorney general gave WKU the option for the records to be viewed in private before they were released to the public to maximize the chances that victims are protected. Oh, wait, the attorney general did do that. And if only the Herald also agreed with wanting to protect victims and not release their names. Oh,

wait, we do.

“We will fight tooth and nail to protect student privacy, particularly when it com comes to the issues of sexual assault,” Cab Caboni said during a meeting with the edit editorial board after I asked him if WKU wou would consider dropping the lawsuit. will not have a student’s name even “I w pos possibly made public around one of the mo most damaging and painful experiences of tthat student’s life.”

Truly, I understan T a d what he means. understand I d don’t want a student’s name ou ut there either, I don’t want out a to anyone have to relieve a painful

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY VOGLER

experience like sexual assault.

But, privacy and safety can coexist.

The Herald proved that last year when reporting on Title IX records from other universities and how sexual misconduct was handled, or failed to be handled. Victims were protected, wrongdoing was laid out in the light.

Yet, WKU seems all too willing to award privacy to sexual predators and forfeit the safety of students here and students elsewhere. When those six employees were allowed to resign before a Title IX investigation ended, what do you think happens?

For starters, there’s no paper trail that follows the employee to their next job be-

cause the university never took the final action of concluding the investigation.

This means WKU can tell other employers, likely other universities, that the person is ineligible for rehire at WKU but not because they were found to have violated the university’s sexual misconduct policy.

Thus, the cycle of misconduct is potentially able to repeat itself somewhere else. But, hey, on the bright side, WKU can wi wipe its hands clean and continue on merry way. its me And what sort of climate do you think that ccreates here at WKU? Why worry about the consequences of your actions when you can be given the option to resign and everything will be just fine.

There There’s no justice in that, only danger gross irresponsibility. and gr WKU WKU’s actions and policies don’t aggressi gressively protect students from predaand would-be predators on the facultors an ty or sstaff because the university allows aggressor to resign, resulting in WKU the ag dropp dropping the case before its “conclusion.” A climate such as this is not meant protect students. It’s meant to protect to pro WKU. WKU What do you think WKU gains from Wh this? F From the secrecy and the lawsuit?

Their holy claims of “privacy” and gross inaction? Nothing, nothing but power. ina Power to keep this information hidden, under lock and key. Power to maintain their message and keep the university on brand. Power to do it, because they can.

This lawsuit will more than likely • HERALD outlive my time as editor-in-chief, and maybe even the next three or four or 10 editors after me. What will also outlive me is the Herald’s dedication to maintain a responsible line between privacy and safety. We respect the rights of victims and will always protect their identities in these truly harrowing instances, and we realize we also have an obligation to this university, and others, to bring misconduct to light.

There’s no doubt in my mind WKU will end up on the wrong side of history for hiding these records, for protecting predators, for valuing image above all else.

Here’s to one year of the lawsuit.

Cheers to possibly many more to come.

MUSIC

An analysis of “Amen” and why it is important

BY SPENCER HARSH

HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

You may have heard of him on Vine.

You may have seen the music video for “Dat $tick.” Maybe you’ve seen me mention his name a few times in my “Sparsh’s Pick” columns.

To fully understand the album “Amen” by Rich Brian, you need some of his backstory. You should also know that this album made Rich Brian the first Asian in history to earn the number one spot on iTunes Hip-Hop charts.

Brian Imanuel, an 18-year-old from Jakarta, Indonesia, is taking the music industry by surprise. Imanuel, who used to perform by the stage name “Rich Chigga,” now performs by “Rich Brian” under the 88rising record label. Imanuel changed his stage name earlier last January, knowing that several people criticized him for being insensitive in his name choice.

“Yes I now go by ‘Brian.’ Imanuel

CONTACT US

said in a tweet, I have been planning to do this forever and I’m so happy to finally do it. I was naive and I made a mistake. new year, new beginning, happy new years”.

Since the spring of 2017, several of his music videos have collected millions of views and he’s dropped a series of single tracks. He’s produced or was featured with several singles in the hip-hop and rap scene with artists like 21 Savage, Keith Ape and Kris Wu. One might think that the series of singles Rich Brian put out has led to his most recent accomplishment.

On Feb. 2, 2018, Rich Brian dropped his first album, “Amen.” As his first full-length project, Rich Brian brings out a great mix of solo tracks and features with artists like Offset, Joji and NIKI. “Amen” starts off with a track of the same name in which Rich Brian spits one big verse to introduce his new album. Rich Brian said that he wrote this track without music first, focusing on a rhyming structure and lyrics initially. After he had enough written, he re-

corded a beat around the lyrics.

This writing style represents a different approach to the hip-hop scene because many tracks are written vice versa; beat or track first and then lyrics. Because of this writing style, this first track does a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the album.

“Cold,” “Occupied” and “Enemies” fully introduce Rich Brian’s new style.

He’s able to produce mellow tracks that showcase his own style, but doesn’t stray away from the hip-hop genre.

“Trespass,” “Flight” and “See Me” are really cool tracks in the sense that they are Rich Brian’s way of telling his current story. Each one is a neat little self-reflection that Rich Brian has, with topics ranging from traveling to self-reliance.

“Attention” featuring Offset is the flagship track of the album. It features a catchy verse structure accompanied by a chill trap-style beat. Rich Brian teased the track on YouTube under the 88rising YouTube channel in the days before the full album was released. If

there is one track to try out on the album if you’re unfamiliar with Rich Brian, it’s this one.

“Introvert,” “Little Prince” and “Arizona” are the other tracks on the album that have great features from other artists. They all show a really neat range of collaboration. “Arizona” is the outro track that does a great job of wrapping up the whole project. Fun fact-it ends with Rich Brian talking about an incorrect ending of “The Office” in which Michael Scott dies.

“Chaos” and “Glow Like Dat” are callback tracks. Rich Brian released both as singles earlier in 2017. Both are great tracks as they can help show his progression from his earlier tracks.

Both also have music videos with millions of views each.

Rich Brian, having accomplished this much in nearly a year, will probably continue to make great projects and tracks for the music industry.

Keep your ears open at the next party you go to. You’ll probably hear one of his tracks at some point.

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FUN A5

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2017 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

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1. On what date did the great fire of Rome start while Nero was emperor? (a) July 18 64 A.D. (b) March 15, 55 A.D. (c) April 12, 50 A.D. 2. What year did the French Revolution begin? (a) 1778 (b) 1796 (c) 1789 3. When did the Allied and Japanese forces begin fighting in the Battle of Guadalcanal? (a) June 10, 1943 (b) August 7, 1942 (c) February 15, 1942 4. Abraham Lincoln was shot on what date? (a) April 5, 1865 (b) April 21, 1865 (c) April 14, 1865 5. What year was the electric light bulb patented? (a) 1841 (b) 1866 (c) 1832 6. The first American presidential term under the Constitution began in what year? (a) 1780 (b) 1777 (c) 1789 7. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on what date in 1945? (a) May 21 (b) April 30 (c) July 17 8. Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in what year? (a) 1886 (b) 1880 (c) 1892 9. The Aztec empire was conquered when? (a) 1555 (b) 1606 (c) 1521 10. What year did the battle at the Alamo take place? (a) 1851 (b) 1836 (c) 1842

Solution 1.a 2.c 3.b 4.c 5.a

6.c 7.b 8.a 9.c 10.b

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61 60 29 Last of a series 32 Prelude to a duel 63 64 35 Born 36 Witchy doings 67 66 37 Little shaver Copyright ©2018 PuzzleJunction.com 38 Rabble-rouse 40 Authorize 65 Route for Ben-Hur 10 One of the 41 Father of the 66 Some beans and Aleutians Titans sauces 11 Pro or con 43 Merino mother 67 “You betcha!”

13 Broncs 44 Siberian river 68 Kind of club 14 Emulates Eminem 45 Gritty one 20 Hyperbola part 46 Cantankerous Down 23 Venom carrier 48 Stockpile 25 Make do 50 Smelled awful 1 Friend in a 27 Luau souvenir 54 Wind down sombrero 28 Pan beginning 56 Transfer from a 2 Canon competitor 30 Hidden valley computer 3 Newton or Stern 31 Wirehair of film 59 Pilot’s problem 4 ___ Quentin 32 Wallop 60 Graphic ___ 5 Type of order 33 Pasternak heroine 61 Antler point 6 Advance amount 34 Unshakably 62 Spanish flower 7 North wind 36 Cheapest accom63 Sandwich shop 8 “Totally cool!” modations on a 64 Smooth transition 9 Bar billiards passenger ship

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Copyright ©2018 PuzzleJunction.com

Previous Solution

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

A6

PHOTO

Haley Braxton, Fiona Wasson and Maggie Chaplin are all members of WKU’s women’s rugby team. Each beginning their rugby careers at different times, they have all found a home on the team. “It’s a really inclusive sport and I feel strong being a part of this team because it’s really encouraging,” Braxton said. “Being empowered by rugby is like having a place for every type of woman,” Chaplin said. “There’s always a stereotype of, you know, you need to be strong or this type of woman, but really there’s everybody.”

STRONGER THAN STEREOTYPES Women find strength and empowerment through athletics

Hayley Robb is a student trainer a WKU who has developed her own brand and ideas of body positivity when it comes to working out.

She pushes the message “strong not skinny” to her clients, friends and social media followers. “To me, ‘strong not skinny’ is so much more than physical strength,” Robb said. “My mission statement is just to find strength in everything that I do and to be confident no matter my gender or anything, just to be confident in my own skin.”

BY KATHRYN ZIESIG PHOTOS BY KATHRYN ZIESIG Overcoming stereotypes, body ideals and stigmas is no easy task, but the women who challenge social norms of beauty and strength are some of the strongest.

“She looks like a man.”

“She’s too small to play that sport.”

“She’s too heavy. How is she an athlete?”

“Girls shouldn’t be aggressive.”

These are all common things athletic women hear throughout their lives.

Whether the comments are directed at them or not, these words have a lasting impression on women of all shapes, sizes and ages. They affect how women perceive themselves and others.

Hayley Robb, a personal trainer and student at WKU, motivates herself and others by embracing imperfection and promoting the saying “strong not skinny.”

“My mission statement is just to find strength in everything that I do and to be confident in my own skin,” Robb said.

Some women find their strength among other women, like Haley Braxton, who is a member of the WKU women’s rugby team.

“It’s a really inclusive sport and I feel strong being a part of this team, because it’s really encouraging,” Braxton said.

Michelle Bundis, a Bowling Green resident and new mother, has used CrossFit for the past few years to help her become the woman and mother she has always wanted to be. “I started doing CrossFit because I wanted to get healthy,” Bundis said. “I was about 315 pounds at one point and I knew if I wanted to be my potential I needed to get healthy.” After losing over 150 pounds with CrossFit, Bundis got pregnant with her son Kobe and continued to work out throughout the pregnancy. “What’s really great about CrossFit and what it’s done for me personally is that it has shifted the focus from what I look like and what other people expect me to look like to finding beauty in strength,” Bundis said. “It no doubt helped my pregnancy, but what its done for me as a woman is just remarkable.”

Junior Maddie Turner has been a part of the WKU dance team since her freshman year. She has faced difficulties during her dance career centered around “issues” with her body. “I’m a very full-figured woman and dancers are supposed to be tall, stick people, really thin, long legs,” Turner said. “I have been told about three times in my dance career that I’m too big to be on teams.”

During her junior year of high school she was told she couldn’t be on her dance team due to her body type. Turner went on to compete as a solo dancer and won first at nationals. “I feel like it pushed me more to be better because I don’t have the look, but if I have the talent then someone would want me on their team,” Turner said.

Brittany Vaughn is a redshirt senior on the WKU softball team. She said she always known she has a different body type than other women and struggled with looking “too muscular” throughout her high school years, but has learned how to embrace it and love her body and what it is capable of. “Whenever I was in high school people used to use that against me and it really used to effect me until I realized ‘Hey, love the skin that you’re in,’” Vaughn said. “At the end of the day it’s how you think about yourself.”

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

B1

SPORTS Lady Toppers focus on C-USA Tournament

BY ALEC JESSIE HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

doing some of the things I’m doing right now. But I put it all in God’s hands, and he’s taken care of it.”

Although Hollingsworth may have surprised himself by his stellar freshman season, Stansbury and teammates aren’t

The dust has settled on a frantic Conference USA regular season schedule, and the Lady Toppers have dropped out of the top spot in the conference after back-to-back losses at the end of the year.

WKU finished the regular season with a 21-8 overall record and a 12-4 conference record, and will still be the second seed in the C-USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas.

“I think everybody’s locked in and ready to go, and I just think everybody’s more focused now knowing what’s at stake,” redshirt sophomore Dee Givens said last week after practice. “Going into conference I think our level of focus will go up even more, just knowing like what’s at stake.”

WKU won its last two games at home against Marshall University and UNC Charlotte, giving the Lady Toppers the number one spot in the conference. Those two wins allowed WKU to control its own fate heading into the final week of the regular season. But the Lady Toppers dropped their last two road games at eighth-seeded University of Southern Mississippi and at ninth-seeded University of Texas-El Paso. Those results lifted University of AlabamaBirmingham to the top, and the Lady Toppers settled for second place.

WKU will still have a first round bye and will take on the winner of No. 7 Florida Atlantic University vs. No. 10 University of Texas-San Antonio at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. WKU dominated UTSA Jan. 18 by a score of 73-38.

The Lady Toppers also took care of business against FAU Feb. 3, beating the Owls 82-63.

UAB (1), Louisiana Tech University (3) and Middle Tennessee State University (4) also have first round byes.

If the seeds hold going into the semifinals and finals, the Lady Toppers’ road to a conference championship would include a game against Louisiana Tech University at 8 p.m. Friday and against UAB in the finals at 4:30 p.m.

WKU defeated Louisiana Tech in

SEE HOLLINGSWORTH • PAGE B2

SEE WBB • PAGE B2

SILAS WALKER • HERALD

Freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth wipes his face during a game against Florida Atlantic University on Feb. 8. Hollingsworth put up 20 points that night, helping the Hilltoppers to a 75-63 win.

TOUGH TAVEION

Hollingsworth becomes star as freshman

BY SAM PORTER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Around this time last year, WKU basketball fans were excited. They weren’t excited about the present, but about the future. Head coach Rick Stansbury had received commitments from five-star prospect Mitchell Robinson and four-star prospect Josh Anderson, the two highest-rated players to ever commit to WKU. Robinson never played a minute in a Hilltopper uniform, and while Anderson has been impressive at times this season, he hasn’t been the most impressive freshman in what is one of the best recruiting classes in WKU basketball history.

The best freshman in an impressive class has been Kentucky-native Taveion Hollingsworth.

Hollingsworth committed to WKU as a three-star recruit after leading Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School to a Kentucky state championship as a junior.

a lot of people, including himself.

“Not really,” Hollingsworth said when asked if he expected to have the success he’s having. “I really didn’t expect to be

“I really didn’t expect to be doing the things I’m doing right now. But I put it all in God’s hands, and he’s taken care of it.”

TAVEION HOLLINGSWORTH

He went on to win Mr. Basketball honors as a senior and is one of three players to start all 31 games this season. His 13.3 points per game ranks third on the roster and has earned him Conference USA freshman of the week multiple times. Hollingsworth’s success came a little faster than expected and surprised

Hilltoppers must win three straight for tournament

BY SAM PORTER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Heading into the final two-game slate of the 2017-18 season, the WKU men’s basketball team stood in prime position to claim the number one seed in the Conference USA tournament.

The Hilltoppers needed to defeat Middle Tennessee State University and University of AlabamaBirmingham. They also needed Marshall University to defeat MTSU to claim the outright regular season C-USA Championship. Marshall took care of business by upsetting MTSU in the two teams’ final game.

However, WKU did not take care

of business, losing by a combined 46 points in the final two games to conclude the season with a 22-9 (144 C-USA) record.

“If someone told me before the year that we’d be 14-4 in conference, we would’ve taken that any day of the week,” senior forward Justin Johnson said. “What’s frustrating is we know we’re better than 14-4. The last two outings have been disappointing.

Those guys in the locker room have a chip on their shoulder. If we don’t show up for the next one, the season’s over.”

Had they taken care of business, the Hilltoppers would’ve been crowned outright C-USA regular season champions, earned the No. 1 seed in the C-USA tournament and made a strong case as an at-large

team in the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, it’s now time to win or go home. The Hilltoppers will need to win three games in three days to achieve their goal of being crowned C-USA champs and play in the NCAA Tournament.

MTSU, Old Dominion University, WKU and Marshall (in that order) earned the top four seeds and will receive a first round bye. WKU will play the winner of UAB/Florida Atlantic University in the second round. The Hilltoppers defeated FAU 75-63 and UAB 77-69 in Diddle Arena earlier this season. But UAB blew out the Hilltoppers 101-73 in the final game of the season.

The Blazers were picked to finish second in C-USA behind MTSU in the preseason, but they lost three

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games over a month’s span to set them back in the C-USA standings.

UAB finished the season with wins over Marshall and WKU, defeating both by an average of 21 points each.

WKU finished with two losses by an average of 23 points. If UAB avoids an early upset to FAU, the Hilltoppers will have a chance to avenge their 28-point beatdown suffered at the hands of the Blazers.

“There’s no magical dust or pills.

It’s about taking a deep look in that mirror and deciding how much longer you want to play,” head coach Rick Stansbury said. “Because every game is your last one from now on.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SPORTS B2 HOLLINGSWORTH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 surprised by his success after seeing how hard he worked in pre-season conditioning. Stansbury mentioned Hollingsworth showed up to camp in better shape than expected and was even leading his teammates who were in their fourth and fifth years of playing college basketball. Stansbury said he’s never had a freshman show up out of high school and lead conditioning the way Hollingsworth did before the season.

“He’s got one of the greatest abilities you can have, toughness,” Stansbury said of Hollingsworth. “Toughness overcomes a lot of things. That’s what makes him special and that’s why his game will keep improving, because of his toughness.”

The true freshman’s toughness was put to the ultimate test midway through C-USA play. Just two days after hitting five 3-pointers in the second half in a comeback victory over University of Texas-El Paso, Hollingsworth suffered the first broken bone of his life. With less than a minute to play in WKU’s 74-63 loss to University of Texas-San Antonio,

Hollingsworth took a shot to the face by a UTSA player’s hip while going for a loose ball, leaving him face-down on the court for a short period of time.

“At first I didn’t think it was serious,” Hollingsworth said.

”He’s got one of the greatest abilities you can have, toughness.”

Head Coach RICK STANSBURY

“I closed my eyes and just laid there for a bit, but once I opened my eyes and saw blood under me I thought I might have broken my nose. I did something similar in high school and it wasn’t broken so I was hoping it was the same situation.”

Sure enough, Hollingsworth’s nose

was broken, and the Dunbar product was in danger of missing his first game of his college career. Stansbury ordered a face mask to protect the broken nose which would allow Hollingsworth to be cleared to play. Luckily for WKU, the mask came in the night before WKU’s home game against Florida Atlantic University.

Hollingsworth said he got some shots up the night before with the mask and even tried sleeping with it to try to get used to wearing it. Despite that, it was still in question whether or not he would play against FAU. Hollingsworth didn’t just end up playing, but he shined with the mask on, leading WKU with 20 points in a 7563 victory to ignite a six-game winning streak and put the Hilltoppers back in the C-USA regular season title hunt.

“Most guys would give you an excuse on why they couldn’t make shots, why they couldn’t defend, why I can’t do some things,” Stansbury said. “But there was zero from him. He’s made some huge plays and never made an excuse. He never said, ‘Coach, I don’t know if I can do this, this is hard, this is tough.’ I never heard any of that. He never blinked.”

At the conclusion of the regular season, Hollingsworth currently sits

fourth all-time in WKU history in points in a season by a true freshman. He needs just two points to pass Derrick Gordon for third all-time and 51 points to pass Hilltopper great Courtney Lee for first all-time.

Lee led WKU to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament as a junior. If Hollingsworth wants to put his name in front of one of the bigger names in WKU basketball history, he will likely have to help lead the Hilltoppers to the big dance as a true freshman. Hollingsworth and company will begin their path to a C-USA title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night when they play the winner of University of Alabama-Birmingham and FAU in the second round of the C-USA tournament.

Regardless of how his freshman season ends, the inner-state product has quickly become a fan favorite and his freshman season will go down as one of the best ever in school history.

Reporter Sam Porter can be reached at 270-745-6291 and sam.porter270@ gmail.com Follow him on Twitter at @SammyP14.

MBB

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 bus.”

With a win over UAB, WKU will likely play No. 2 ODU in the conference semifinal. The Hilltoppers swept the Monarchs in the regular season, including a 22-point victory in the home finale.

MTSU, the No. 1 seed, will play the winner of Florida International University and University of Southern Mississippi, who they defeated in the regular season. With a win in that game, the Blue Raiders will likely play Marshall in the conference semifinal. MTSU finished 16-2 in C-USA play and both losses came to the hands of Marshall.

The first round of the C-USA Tournament begins on Wednesday.

WKU will play in round two on Thursday at 9 p.m. That game will be streamed on Facebook. The last two rounds will be aired on the CBS Sports Network. All games will take place in the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.

Reporter Sam Porter can be reached at 270-745-6291 and sam.porter270@ gmail.com Follow him on Twitter at @SammyP14.

CHRIS KOHLEY • HERALD

WKU guard Lamonte Bearden (1) goes for a layup against Middle Tennessee guard Giddy Potts (20). Bearden tied a career high 24 points in the 82-64 loss in the Murphy Center on March 1.

WBB

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

TYGER WILLIAMS • HERALD

Senior forward Tashia Brown (10) fights for the ball against Charlotte 49ers junior guard Laia Raventós (4) during the WKU Lady Toppers senior night on Feb. 23 in Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers won 83 to 61.

January 74-64, but lost at UAB in embarrassing fashion, 79-61.

The Lady Toppers must shake off this week’s losses and get back to playing the aggressive, intense defense they played during the home stand.

After the Lady Toppers’ last win against Charlotte, head coach Michelle Clark-Heard said she was very happy with where her team was.

“I think tonight showed us that we’re getting better and gelling,” Clark-Heard said. “We’re learning how to follow a scouting report and really follow it so we’re getting out of it what we need to.”

Prior to the team’s setback on the road, the Lady Toppers had hit their stride. Star senior forwards Ivy and

Tashia Brown have both tied or set new career highs in scoring in one of the last three games, and WKU posted a 9-1 record in its last 10 before its back-to-back losses.

While WKU may not be the odds-on favorite, the Lady Toppers certainly have the personnel to bring a C-USA Championship back to Bowling Green.

All of the first and second-round action for the C-USA Women’s Tournament will be streamed on Facebook Live. The third round will be streamed on Stadium, and the Championship will be live on the CBS Sports Network.

Sports reporter Alec Jessie can be reached at 502-648-7190 and alec. jessie226@topper.wku.edu. Follow Alec on Twitter at @Alec_Jessie.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SPORTS B3

Hilltoppers swept despite strong offense

BY MATT STAHL

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU Coming off a disappointing loss to seventh-ranked University of Kentucky, the Hilltoppers were swept in their weekend series against West Virginia University despite moments of strong offense.

The series was WKU and WVU’s first ever set of games against each other and saw WKU head coach John Pawlowski coaching against his old college teammate and roommate, WVU head coach Randy Maazy.

“We go back a long ways,” Pawlowski said. “Obviously in college some great memories and we’ve got a great friendship.

And you know when the game starts everybody’s competing, everybody wants to have an opportunity to win and I thought, you know, certainly they outplayed us this weekend and we got a lot of work to do.”

In the first game of the series, WKU carried a 4-2 lead into the eighth inning before the Mountaineers scored four runs in the inning, including a three-run home run by WVU’s Ivan Gonzalez off of WKU’s senior pitcher Conner Boyd.

The Hilltoppers added another run in the bottom of the eighth but were unable to completely close the gap and fell 7-5 after WVU scored another run in the ninth.

Junior center fielder Jacob Rhinesmith went 3 for 5 in the first game, beginning what was an excellent series for him individually.

“He’s been outstanding,” Pawlowski said of Rhinesmith. “You know that’s what we need. We need those guys to step up and we knew he was a very exciting player when we recruited him and he’s certainly living up to the expectations we had hoped and envisioned for him.”

On Saturday the Hilltoppers started slow, as Colby Taylor allowed WVU to take a 5-0 lead going in to the bottom of the fourth inning. After WKU loaded the bases, Rhinesmith hit a grand slam to pull within one run.

Rhinesmith’s big home run was the first Hilltopper grand slam since April 25, 2017, when Kaleb Duckworth hit one at Austin Peay University. It was the first grand slam at home since February 25, 2017, when Hunter Wood did it against Jacksonville State University.

“He gave me a change-up and [I] was out in front of it,” Rhinesmith said. “Happy it was foul, rolled over foul, but then he just hung me a curveball and it was a pretty good swing on it.”

WKU was unable to maintain the momentum, as the next inning senior pitcher Michael Martin surrendered two home runs to WVU to make the score 8-4 before being pulled for sophomore reliever Michael Darrell-Hicks.

After WKU scored a run in the fifth, Rhinesmith came back up in the sixth inning and hit a solo home run to again bring the Hilltoppers within two. In the seventh, junior infielder Sam McElreath added a solo home run of his own, and junior catcher Colin Butkiewicz singled in sophomore infielder Ray Zuberer III to tie the game.

The Mountaineers added another run in the top of the ninth, but Tyler Robertson scored Zuberer on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at nine and send it to extra innings.

The Hilltoppers surrendered two runs in extras to lose 11-9. The game was the first back for WKU’s senior utility infielder Steven Kraft, who had been out for a family emergency.

“It’s great to have him back in the lineup,” Pawlowski said. “You know he has worked extremely hard to enter into his

HANNAH LEBOEUF • HERALD

Freshman Maddex Richardson, pitches during the game against West Virginia Sunday, March 4 at Nick Denes Field. The Toppers lost with a final score of 7-1.

senior year, and you know we look for good things from him and he can be a great boost to our team.”

In Sunday’s game, the Hilltoppers again stumbled out of the gate, giving up four runs through five innings to start the game, eventually falling 7-1, with senior pitcher Paul Kirkpatrick taking his first loss of the season.

The Hilltoppers were without junior right fielder Dillon Nelson on Sunday as he was under concussion protocol after hitting the outfield wall during Saturday’s game, giving freshman Luke Brown the opportunity to make his first start.

“We’re excited for Luke Brown,” Pawlowski said. “Luke Brown is very talented.

We knew that when we recruited him. Local player who loves WKU and he’s going

to be a very good player for us.”

With the losses, the Hilltoppers fell to 5-7 for the season.

WKU will play at Belmont University Tuesday before coming home for a weekend series against Bowling Green State University.

“We got to get back and get some mojo going again,” Pawlowski said. “You know when you play good teams and you don’t come up with a big hit or big pitch, you know you have to remain confident. Our guys have to remain confident in what we’re doing as we move forward.”

Reporter Matt Stahl can be reached at 270745-6291 and matthew.stahl551@topper. wku.edu Follow him on Twitter at @mattstahl97

One-hitter highlights Spring Fling Tournament

WITTNEY HARDIN • HERALD

Freshman catcher Kendall Smith catches a pitch during the March 2 game against Austin Peay. Smith is a three-time All-State selection.

Reporter Casey McCarthy can be reached at 270-745-6291 and casey.mccarthy573@ topper.wku.edu.

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pers gave up nine hits in the game, falling behind 3-0 in the second inning. They never found their way back.

Nunn drew her third straight start on the weekend, pitching the first 3.0 innings, with three runs allowed and four strikeouts.

Aikey pitched 2.0 innings in relief, striking out three on two earned runs before redshirt freshman Cassidy Blackford came in to pitch the final inning in her second appearance on the year.

In WKU’s final game of the weekend, a 1-0 walk-off decision against Dayton, Morgan McElroy had two of the team’s three hits, including the walk-off to help earn the victory. McElroy, who didn’t play Saturday due to illness, used her time out to her advantage, Tudor said.

“She was in the dugout with the flu but she was watching, paying attention to details,” Tudor said. “She’s a smart player, and that really worked out to her advantage today. That was a big moment for her.”

In the bottom of the seventh, freshman Kendall Smith found her way on base by means of a double, before sophomore Rebekah Engelhardt advanced Smith to third on a mishandled hit down the left side. With Smith on third, McElroy popped her second hit of the day over the first baseman to bring in the winning run.

With early season tournament play wrapped up, the Hilltoppers will host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at 5 p.m. Wednesday. It’s the first of six midweek non-conference games coming up.

WKU opens Conference USA play with a stint in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, this weekend against University of Southern Mississippi.

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The Hilltoppers’ bats cooled off at times this weekend, but WKU still finished the Spring Fling Tournament 3-2 with a big performance from sophomore pitcher Kelsey Aikey.

Aikey pitched her second complete game shutout on the year to cap off the weekend Sunday afternoon in a 1-0 walk-off win against University of Dayton. The Lady Toppers moved to 14-6 on the year.

Aikey carried a no-hit bid into the top of the fifth inning Sunday before Dayton managed an infield single, the sole hit allowed in the game. Aikey now has a no-hitter and a one-hitter in the first month of the 2018

man Shelby Nunn picked up her second of the season in a 1-0 victory against Dayton Friday. Nunn, a Bowling Green native, is now 8-3 in her freshman season.

WKU dropped its opening game on the weekend, losing to Austin Peay 5-0, only the second game this season in which WKU has been held scoreless. Freshman Maddie Bowlds registered three of the team’s six hits, going 3 for 4 in her fifth multi-hit performance on the year.

Towers pitched the first 5.0 innings, with three strikeouts and four runs allowed.

Aikey pitched the final 2.0 innings, striking out two and allowing one run.

In the second game, WKU got a 1-0 victory over Dayton thanks in large part to the team’s defense behind Nunn’s performance inside the circle. Freshman Jordan Thomas hit WKU’s eighth triple of the year in the bottom of the third inning to bring junior Jordan Vorbrink home for the decisive run.

Nunn allowed just four hits in the contest and tallied three strikeouts. She has gone the distance in seven of her eight starts in her freshman campaign so far.

The Lady Toppers’ bats looked like they might be heating up for the weekend in the team’s first matchup Saturday, a 3-1 victory over Evansville. WKU notched two runs in the first inning on an attempted sacrifice bunt by Bowlds that ended with Bowlds coming all the way around to score after a series a fielding errors. Freshman Tommi Stowers added the final run in the second off a double from Vorbrink.

Nunn pitched the first 5.0 innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out five. Aikey came in for relief, pitching the final 2.0 frames and allowing one hit while recording two strikeouts.

WKU fell in the second matchup Saturday, 6-1, against Austin Peay. The Lady Top-

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HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

season. Head coach Amy Tudor said Aikey has made strides to get more innings in the circle.

“Aikey knows when she misses, and I think becoming a smarter pitcher is what’s been helping her,” Tudor said. “She likes throwing hard, but her off-speed was working for her today and that’s something we’ve been focusing on for the last year now.”

Aikey, who typically pitches in more of a relief role, said she was excited to get the start.

“When I start, I just think about getting three outs right away,” Aikey said. “Most of my innings come in relief but I was definitely excited to get the start today, and I couldn’t have done this without the defense behind me.”

Aikey wasn’t the only WKU pitcher to throw a shutout on the weekend, as fresh-

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

B4

SPORTS

KATHRYN ZIESIG • HERALD

Graduate student Ryan Thurston (20) pitches during the first of three games against West Virginia University on March 2 at Nick Denes Field. The Toppers lost 5-7 to WVU.

SLUGGER SERIES

WKU swept by West Virginia in series full of home runs

BY JEREMY CHISENHALL HERALDSPORTS@WKU.EDU

W

KU baseball hosted West Virginia University for a three-game series at Nick Denes Field last weekend. It turned out to be a series of two high-pow-

ered offenses. Despite impressive performances and a couple close games, WKU was swept by the Mountaineers.

Junior outfielder Jacob Rhinesmith shined in the series, going 7 for 14 at the plate, hitting two home runs and racking up five RBIs. Both of his home runs came in the same game, and one of them was WKU’s first grand

slam of the season. The Hilltoppers hit four home runs in the series and recorded 15 RBIs. It’s the second weekend in a row WKU has knocked in 15 runs or more. WVU hit seven home runs and drove in 21 runs to best the Hilltoppers in all three games.

The Hilltoppers now have a 5-7 record. They’ll resume play against Belmont University on Tuesday.

KATHRYN ZIESIG • HERALD

Redshirt senior infielder Tyler Robertson (6) drops his bat as he runs toward first base during the first of three games against West Virginia University on March 2 at Nick Denes Field.

KATHRYN ZIESIG • HERALD

Junior infielder Nick Brunson (7) congratulates redshirt senior Tyler Robertson (6) after getting the third out of the inning on March 2 at Nick Denes Field.

KATHRYN ZIESIG • HERALD

Junior outfielder Jacob Rhinesmith (2) and junior outfielder Dillon Nelson (5) wait in the outfield during one of the games against West Virginia University on March 2 at Nick Denes Field.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

C1 LIFE

ART POWER

MHARI SHAW • HERALD

Senior Perri Kostecki has been doing art for eight years. For the past year she has been focusing on art installations and performances. “I am intrigued by the avant-garde thinking and limitless materials at my disposal, including the body,” Kostecki said.

Christina Scott, a fifth-year senior and art major, is a 2-D artist.

Scott knew she wanted to pursue art as a major during high school, when she found that she was interested in focusing on figure art, with a focus on the female body. “It goes beyond just the individualistic aspect. It is more of a whole connecting to a certain community,” Scott said. “You want to do something that makes you happy. You don’t want to be miserable for the rest of your life.”

Coleton Wood is a freshman and has been doing theatrical lighting design for six years. “Its interesting how much show can change just from the lighting and how it is able to bring a show together and evoke emotion from the audience,” Wood said.

Student artists talk about their passion for art

BY JULIE SISLER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

For many WKU students, art is more than a future profession or even just a hobby. Art can be an emotional, mental and spiritual release.

Student art can be found in various forms across campus. Everything from traditional sketching to unconventional design helps students find fulfillment and explore parts of themselves they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

“Art is a means of expression for me, as it is for most people,” senior Christina Scott said. “When I was younger, it served for simply expressive purposes,

and as I progressed, became more of an exploratory questioning.”

Scott does figurative art and portraits in the form of drawings and canvas paintings. She said for her art began as a form of self-expression but developed into a way for exploratory questioning. She said she recognizes art isn’t the most financially stable field and that’s why most people shy away from it as a profession, but she believes art is about passion.

“If art is something that you are passionate about and it is something that drives you, then by all means dive in head first,” Scott said.

Freshman Coleton Wood said his art is less conventional than what can be put on a canvas. Wood’s passion is

theatrical lighting design and he works behind the scenes at performances and creates the lighting displays. This means working with different shades and textures to find the best design.

Wood said that this is a way for him to explore new aspects of theatre, something he’s participated in since middle school.

“I get a really strong sense of pride from this art,” Wood said. “The set is designed and the costumes are designed and the actors are ready. And then we use the lights to tie the composition of the show together.”

Wood believes his art form is unique and a beautiful form of self-expression.

Senior Perri Kostecki said she has

found enjoyment in all traditional forms of art, such as painting, drawing and sculpture, and installation art has become her new challenge and passion. She said for her, art has been about finding a sense of self from creating something.

“There is an authenticity that is demanded from any type of creation or destruction,” Kostecki said. “It’s a choice, and it inevitably affects who we are afterwards. I create because I have to; it is a type of spiritual purging.”

Freshman Madison Rose said she takes a different approach to her art.

While she does painting for theatrical purposes, she is also an avid sketcher.

SEE ART • PAGE C2

Freshman creates watercolor art

Local potter creates business in Bowling Green

BY NOAH MOORE HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

BY DRAKE KIZER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

Freshman Emmalee Lawrence has been taking watercolor lessons since she was 9 years old.

Lawrence is a studio art major with a minor in psychology who plans to pursue a career in art therapy.

“I have been creating artwork for as long as I can remember,” Lawrence said. “Early on, my parents and teachers noticed I had a knack for art, and they’ve been encouraging me ever since.”

As Lawrence began to develop as an artist, she said she was introduced to various new mediums, such as charcoal, weaving and mixed media. In high school, she began painting sets for the theatre program and pushing her abilities to a larger scale. She took multiple advanced placement art classes in high school, which she said expanded her body of work and helped her to create a portfolio for college.

“I’ve always known that Emmalee would be an artist,” Kelly Lawrence, her mother, said. “She has always exhibited very advanced skills from an early

Bowling Green resident Mitchell Rickman, 57, has been a professional potter for over 30 years, and he owns Rickman Pottery, a pottery store in Bowling Green.

He has crafted countless items, and his dedication to producing quality products has never wavered.

Rickman was born in Murray, Kentucky, while both of his parents were attending college at Murray State University. He said his family moved to Bowling Green when he was 4 years old and he has been a fixture in the community ever since.

Though Rickman’s parents were not artists, he said his mother and father could do anything with their hands. Before his sophomore year

SEE WATERCOLOR • PAGE C2

at Bowling Green High School, Rickman had never done pottery of any kind, and had it not been for a random chance, he may have never gotten the opportunity.

“I was a sophomore sitting in a standard art class, but I had gotten wind of the cool stuff going on in the clay class,” Rickman said. “After Christmas, it turned out that no one had signed up for Mr. Chris Grinstead’s ceramics class. He came down and wanted to know if anybody would like to join him, so I gave my paints to the girl next to me and followed him upstairs.”

Rickman immediately fell in love with pottery, and he credits Grinstead with teaching him a lot early on. He continued to make pots throughout his high school career and enrolled at WKU after graduating in 1978. During his time at WKU, Rickman found a close group of friends that further

fueled his passion to create and helped him nurture his passion for the arts.

“I wasn’t an art major, but you could fill your electives with pretty much anything you wanted to,” Rickman said. “So, I took every ceramic class they offered at WKU. There was a bunch of us that hung out together and played music, and one of those friends from back then was actually the first person who ever bought a piece of pottery from me.”

Teresa Christmas, the owner of Art Matters Community Studio and Gallery, a community art studio and gallery in Bowling Green, has known Rickman since she was 19 years old. She said they became part of the same friend group due to their like-mindedness, and the bond the two shared has remained strong ever since.

SEE RICKMAN • PAGE C3

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

C2 LIFE

New Works Festival performers share their stories

BY NOAH MOORE HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

One of the events that is part of WKU’s theatre and dance program is the New Works Festival, which took place March 1-4 and featured students with stories to tell.

The New Works Festival is cited as “connection, collaboration and creative chaos,” according to the Fine Arts Box Office. Within this program, students are given the opportunity to write, direct, choreograph, produce and act in completely new productions written by students. This festival is a culmination of the theatre and dance department’s expanding projects beyond mainstage productions.

One of these productions was entitled “Bada Bing Bada Boom Burlesque,” an anthem to feminism and female empowerment. It was directed, choreographed and partially performed by Reagan Stovenour, Bernadette Turnage and Sabrina Sieg. Many people were involved in this production, including freshman Nelmarie Mohon, who goes by Hope.

Mohon is a musical theatre major with a wide experience that brought her to WKU. She started acting in a second grade community play and since then has done about 35 shows.

“I’ve grown up doing theatre with several older friends who also came through the program and I’ve always heard good things,” she said. “I love the artistic environment, professors and the constant encouragement to create and perform WKU offers.”

Some of her favorite roles include Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” and Wendy in “Peter Pan,” but she was particularly excited about her role in the New Works Festival this year. She played the role of “Mona S. Trojan,” a role that featured her scantily clad and singing and dancing to anthems of feminism and female empowerment.

Sophomore Austin Higgins also took part in the New Works Festival. He said

HANNAH LEBOEUF • HERALD

Hope Mohon, a freshman musical theatre major, plays the roll of Mona S .Trojan in the play “Bada Bing Bada Boom Burlesque.” This is one of many plays performed at the New Works Festival on March 1-4 in the Gordon Wilson Hall Lab Theatre. “Not only has this project been fun and liberating, but it also lets others know that the way women dress, dance, or act doesn’t make them a stereotype,” Mohon said. “We’re all individuals and deserve to be treated with respect.”

he’s always loved theatre, but he really began pursuing it as an art form in eighth grade. Since, he has been in

shows at his middle and high schools and at WKU, where he is a musical theatre major. He was seen last semester

WATERCOLOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C1 age. I recall in kindergarten her teacher pulled me aside to show me her art and I was just amazed at the amount of detail. From that point on I did everything I could to encourage her.”

Lawrence has since been enrolled in Painting 360, Painting 260 and art history classes for her major, and has created a many paintings inspired by various things such as the Colonnades outside of the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center.

Among Lawrence’s favorites include “Smiles,” a portrait of an older man drawn by attaching charcoal to a stick, “Race Day,’”a piece featuring horses in watercolor inspired by the Derby and “Tiny Dancer,” a watercolor painting inspired by the African Children’s Choir’s vibrant personalities and colors.

“My favorite part about being an artist is having an outlet through the creating process,” she said. “There are so many endless possibilities on a blank canvas and it’s therapeutic to just be able to sit down and create. This gift that I have been given is

ART

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C1 However, her sketches are for herself and herself only.

“It’s so much more than just a pen

ABIGAIL DOLLINS • HERALD

Freshman Emmalee Lawrence majors in studio art and hopes to help others through art therapy.

“In [art therapy] you can work in a hospital, prison or psychiatric ward and help those people cope with what they’re going through and express themselves through art,” Lawrence said. “For me, [art] is a therapeutic thing. When I create, even if it’s something I’m doing for someone else, it’s still very calming, and I think I can help someone else with that as well.”

as Kurt in “Heathers” as part of the Revusicals in November, which was a student presentation of musicals in short-form.

Higgins came to WKU for many reasons, but the theatre program is one of the factors that made him pick it.

“What I loved most about WKU is the beautiful campus, as well as all the theatre and dance professors,” he said.

“They just really want the best for us and support us.”

The support offered by the professors is what fuels the campus theatre projects such as Plays in a Day, a 24hour play writing and producing festival, along with student-directed children’s shows and the Revusicals.

Higgins was also seen this past weekend in “Bada Bing Bada Boom,” where he placed gender roles on their head by portraying feminism in a new light through the male gender. He also played a role in “What We Tell Ourselves,” written by Gabriel Pless and directed by Darian Doom-DeVoto.

Along with Mohon and Higgins, sophomore performer Natalie Thompson, finds herself drawn to WKU theatre for many reasons. Thompson began doing theatre her freshman year of high school where she worked on the tech side. She then moved into performing her sophomore year of high school, where she got to play such roles as Alice in “The Addams Family” and Baroness Bomburst in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” This past weekend, she played Ruby Static in “Bada Bing Bada Boom.”

Thompson said she was drawn to the community within the theatre department and campus.

“I chose WKU because of the community,” Thompson said. “I love that the department gives me the chance to form my own interpretation of roles.

The process of bringing a show from page to stage is fun and a challenge I enjoy. But I also love being able to be involved in other ways.”

Features reporter Noah Moore can be reached at 270-745-6291 and noah. moore786@topper.wku.edu.

Follow him on Twitter at @noah_moore18.

is as a person.

“Well there are two things that make me truly proud of her,” she said. “The first thing is that Emmalee has made it a habit of using her art to help others.

She definitely tries to pay it forward.

The second thing that makes me proud is that Emmalee is truly a humble individual. She is exceptionally talented but one would never know it. She’s never been a boastful or prideful person.”

As for Lawrence’s future in art, her mother said she has an affection for Disney and would love to work there, but could see her working at her own studio or in a classroom. Emmalee herself still plans on pursuing music therapy, but has advice for those considering pursuing art in the future.

“My advice is to keep practicing because it takes time and patience to improve,” Lawrence said. “Take all the lessons, classes, and opportunities you can to enhance your work. Believe in yourself and have confidence because there is truly nothing you cannot do. If you have a passion and drive, go for it.”

meant to be shared. I truly want to use this to encourage others and give them that same opportunity.”Her mother is hopeful that her skills will carry her to

success, watching her grow as an artist from childhood to now. Her mother is proud of the artistic growth, but what she is most proud of is who Lawrence

Features reporter Noah Moore can be reached at 270-745-6291 and noah. moore786@topper.wku.edu.

Follow him on Twitter at @noah_moore18.

and paper,” Rose said.

Rose said the art she shares and what she keeps to herself is a form of self-discovery and expression. Rose says that of course art is considered self-expression, but to many artists, it holds so much more meaning.

“My sketches … those are all mine,” Rose said. “I sketch because it helps me work through things mentally and emotionally. It’s also how I remember things. Instead of writing down dreams or parts of memories, I draw them.”

Features reporter Julie Sisler can be reached at 270-745-6291 and julie.sisler389@topper.wku.edu. Follow Julie on Twitter or Instagram at @julie_sisler.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

LIFE C3

Kentucky natives form band Twang and Round

BY LAUREL DEPPEN HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

By taking elements of several different genres of music, Kentucky natives Brad “Lil Round” Davis and Vernon “Kuntry Twang” Roach have created their own genre which they call Ameriflow.

Davis and Roach are more commonly known as Twang and Round, a musical duo based out of Kentucky that has gained popularity over the last seven years. Twang and Round’s sound is something that is not commonly heard.

“I don’t know what to call our music,” Davis said. “I don’t really like country-rap because people feel like they’ve heard it before … Ameriflow lets people go into it with an open mind.”

Twang and Round combines what Roach calls the “best parts” of genres such as country, bluegrass, rap and hip-hop. Davis and Roach said that their new genre “bridges the gap.”

Before they were Twang and Round, Davis and Roach were in a band together named The Blue Collar Boys in the early 2000’s. Around the same time, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour featuring comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy gained popularity.

RICKMAN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE C1 “Even back in college he was making pots and I still have one from way back then,” Christmas said. “It is a really beautiful vase and I insisted on paying him for his work.”

Christmas said she was the first person to ever purchase Rickman Pottery.

“We are supportive of each other, and I always speak highly of Mitchell,” she said. “He’s made a name for himself as a really good person and artist.”

Rickman received his sociology degree from WKU in 1983. After attending 18 months of graduate school, he decided to drop out and blaze a new trail. He did landscaping work for a short period of time, but it was not long before pottery came calling his name once again.

“A friend of mine had gone to work for a gentleman in Nashville named Roy Overcast,” Rickman said. “I needed a job, and they needed someone to make pots, so I moved down to Nashville and became a production potter in 1986. It wasn’t the largest studio, but at that time every Cracker Barrel location in the United States carried Overcast Pottery.”

In 1990, Rickman moved his family back to Bowling Green and began working for himself. Rickman Pottery started out in Mitchell’s home garage, but he built a workshop on 14th Avenue and has been there ever since construction was completed in 1998.

“I needed more room and it needed to be accessible to the public,” Rickman said about his company’s expansion. “People can walk in off the street and buy stuff out of here. I’m not real high traffic, so some weeks I might not have three or four people come through. There are also days where

Davis recalled having a difficult time booking gigs because everyone was expecting the comedy tour.

After the Blue Collar Boys broke up, Roach went on to join a southern rock group named Minimum Wage, and Davis opened Bluegrass Cheddar Studios in Bowling Green. It wasn’t until 2011 that they released three albums together as Twang and Round.

could have a song released in three hours.

“The emotions and the energy that are there in the creation process—we capture that lightning in a bottle,” Roach said.

Davis and Roach commented on making transitions in a changing music industry. Now their focus is on releasing a new single or music video

“When you listen to a song and you hear somebody’s emotion in that song, you have a deeper connection with it. I feel that that’s the difference between music that’s a fad and music that’s timeless.”

Country musicians VERNON ROACH

Roach compared his musical partnership with Davis to the yin yang, and both of them agreed that their writing process was “magical.” Davis said that he creates beats without any lyrics in mind and presents them to Roach for him to add his lyrics to.

Davis said that their song-writing process happens so quickly that they

every six weeks.

Despite their rise in popularity, Davis and Roach said they focus on remaining humble. Roach credits this to being ingrained in the community.

This humility is at the heart of their genre Ameriflow.

“We’re very humble people,” Roach said. “I come from humble begin-

five or six people stop by, so you really never know.”

Though his physical store has varying traffic, Rickman said he has managed to stay busy doing various other projects. At one time, he participated in many arts and crafts shows across the region, but an increase in custom orders from both small and large clients has significantly slowed his travels.

“I’ve done as many as 20 shows in a year,” Rickman said. “Last year I only did three shows, but fortunately I do large projects for PBS and WKYU three or four times a year. I also deal with many clients individually, and generally I don’t make something unless someone has ordered it and I think I

Rickman does not have a website, and while there is a Facebook page for Rickman Pottery, his wife operates it, not him. He is mainly worried about fulfilling orders for his various clients in a timely manner, but he takes special care not to get caught up in the day-to-day workings of his business.

“There are a number of artists and potters, but there’s not a whole lot of what I term ‘working artists’ out there,” Rickman said. “Anyone who is a ‘working artist’ sometimes loses track of what they’re actually doing because it gets to be routine and everything is a money grab. I try not to lose track of the fact that inevitably, somebody is going to be holding that piece I made

“There are a number of artists and potters, but there’s not a whole lot of what I term ‘working artists’ out there.”

Bowling Green artist MITCHELL RICKMAN

can sell it to them.”

Rickman classifies himself as a functional potter, which means he mainly creates functional pieces like bowls, plates and cups. His pottery is designed to be used on a consistent basis, and that fact is what drives Rickman to maintain such high standards.

“I try to take pride in each and every piece, but I know that some of them are better than others,” Rickman said.

“As a whole, I may have a beautiful batch, but when someone gets their piece home, they’re only going to have one of them. It’s easy to lose sight of that when you’re creating a lot, but I am intimately acquainted with all of my work.”

in their hands.”

Hands have been important to Rickman ever since he noticed customers consistently grabbed multiple coffee mugs and tested them out before they decided which one to purchase. Rickman said he was always baffled by the practice since all of the mugs he makes are the same in theory, but he eventually figured out why people did it.

“I’ll never forget years and years ago when I was at an art show with a rack of mugs, I had a lady up there checking each one,” Rickman said. “I said, ‘Ma’am, just curious, what are you looking for there?’ and she says, ‘I’m looking for one that fits.’ Now when I see them doing that I realize that

nings. There’s not a strand in my DNA that will make me think that I’m better than anybody else, it’s just not that way. I’m a man of the people and I always will be.”

Davis and Roach pride themselves on creating music that surpasses fads and leaves a legacy.

“When you listen to a song and you hear somebody’s emotion in that song, you have a deeper connection with it,” Roach said. “I feel that that’s the difference between music that’s a fad and music that’s timeless.”

Like their genre, Twang and Round’s music bridges the generational gap in music listening. Through their music, Roach commented on wanting to leave a legacy that his children would be proud of.

Roach said that he compares the legacy his music is leaving behind to Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” “[Van Gogh] didn’t realize — all those years ago over in Europe when he painted it that it was going to be on some hillbilly’s wall in Kentucky,” Roach said. “That’s what art is. Art will be here long after we’re gone, and we want to make timeless music that people can enjoy.”

Features reporter Laurel Deppen can be reached at 270-745-6291 and laurel.deppen774@topper.wku.edu.

they’re looking for something that feels good in their hand.”

Bob Love, the owner of Love Art Gallery in Bowling Green, is one of the numerous merchants across Kentucky that buy Rickman Pottery and sell it in their stores. Love said Rickman’s coffee mugs are the only ones that he sells in his shop, and customers cannot get enough of them.

“The two designs I carry in my gallery have a map of Kentucky or a running horse,” Love said. “They always move pretty well. People can be kind of particular about the way [mugs] fit in their hand and the way the lip is to drink out of, and he’s got that shape and size down to an art.”

Rickman is a Kentucky Crafted Artist, and he said he has been juried by the Kentucky Arts Council. According to the Kentucky Arts Council website, “Kentucky Crafted is an adjudicated program that provides assistance to Kentucky visual and craft artists through marketing and networking, promotional opportunities and arts business training.”

However, despite all of his personal accolades and successes, Rickman said that making each one of his customers happy has always been what matters most to him.

“I’ve been a professional potter for almost my entire adult life, and it’s still humbling when someone is willing to lay down their hard-earned money for something that I’ve made,” Rickman said. “I’ve been fortunate through my life that this is what pays my bills. I’m not getting rich by any means, but I’m okay. I get up and I make pots for a living, so I’m not complaining.”

Features reporter Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-745-2653 and clinton. kizer287@topper.wku.edu.

Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

C4 LIFE

Film student curates film series honoring women

BY JULIE SISLER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

Many movies feature predominantly young casts, particularly when it comes to women.

In order to confront this issue, freshman Cameron Fontes decided to curate a film series entitled “Golden Girls,” which focuses on films with female protagonists over the age of 50.

“A big issue is ageism, especially for women, in film,” Fontes said. “Women over the age of 50 just aren’t being portrayed in the industry.”

The series kicked off Feb. 23, with “Hello My Name Is Doris,” a comedy starring Sally Fields, and “Make Way for Tomorrow” was shown March 2. Each film will be shown on Friday nights in the Jody Richards Hall auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. “Marjorie Prime” will show on April 6 and “The Lady in the Van” will show on April 20.

Fontes, a film and French major, decided to put on the film series in order to gain some experience in curating

and programming, something he’s interested in as a career.

Fontes said the he believes the issue of ageism is important for more reasons than simply discrimination against older actresses.

“When you only see movies with younger actresses, you’re missing out on a lot of the social commentary that movies with older protagonists can provide,” Fontes said. “‘Make Way for Tomorrow,’ for example, gives commentary about things like social security and other issues that you don’t hear about in films centered around younger characters.”

Another issue Fontes finds with ageism in Hollywood is he believes Hollywood discredits older individuals and doesn’t respect their age and wisdom.

“We live in a society with a lot of value in youth and we tend to cast off a lot of older people, but they’ve lived the longest and they know more about living than the rest of us,” Fontes said.

He hopes those in attendance will gain a better understanding of those over the age of 50 and will be encouraged to listen to older individuals in-

“We live in a society with a lot of value in youth and we tend to cast off a lot of older people, but they’ve lived the longest and they know more about living than the rest of us,” WKU freshman CAMERON FONTES

stead of casting them aside. His goal is for students in particular to gain greater respect for elders and take advantage of their knowledge instead of ignoring it.

“They have good things to say, and we can and should learn a lot from that,” Fontes said.

Assistant professor Sara Corkern, who introduced the first movie of the series, believes the films chosen are also more interesting to view because of their fresh perspective, as opposed to the typical films from Hollywood.

“I think it’s a refreshing look at a fe-

male protagonist over 50 and honestly over 22,” Corkern said.

Corkern said she hopes students walked away with a new perspective.

“I hope that students walked away from the film with a greater appreciation for seldom-seen types of protagonists and hopefully the desire to highlight those types of protagonists in their own work,” she said.

Fontes views film as a unique form of art. Because so much goes into a movie, he sees it as a large, collaborative piece of art. Therefore, he sees how impactful it can be and how film can and should be used to not only entertain, but also inform, its viewers.

He hopes he can both entertain and inform his viewers through the series, leaving a lasting impression about the importance of the older generations both in the film industry and in life in general.

Features reporter Julie Sisler can be reached at 270-745-6291 and julie.sisler389@topper.wku.edu. Follow Julie on Twitter at @julie_sisler.

Bowling Green mural artist promotes expression

BY LAUREL DEPPEN HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

In WKU’s Center for Citizenship and Social Justice office, a bold and colorful mural surrounds the lobby. Each image in the mural represents a single word that artist Andee Rudloff picturized.

The mural is one of many that Bowling Green native Andee Rudloff has made. Rudloff became attracted to public art after realizing that it was a medium that was accessible to everyone. She called the public’s relationship with street art a “heart connection.”

Rudloff said that she prides herself on creating art that breaks the rules.

She said that her art once followed a linear pattern, but now her focus isn’t on being “perfect” but instead is on exploring people’s stories.

“Instead of art mimicking life, art is life,” she said.

Rudloff’s connection to her work goes beyond her paintbrush. She said that she was drawn to projects that focus on giving people a voice. Two of her murals on WKU’s campus, one located in the CCSJ office and the other is outside the Gender and Women’s studies office, tell the stories of groups that often go unheard. Giving people a voice is how she said she defines social justice.

“So many people when they hear that they think combative or argumentative,” Rudloff said. “I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as giving voice to everyone’s story. I think it’s so important.”

In her mural on the walls of the CCSJ office, Rudloff explained it depicts 60 different ideas but still answers an overarching question. On the left-hand side, a person stands holding an American flag. Rudloff recalled her conversation with the person the painting was based on.

“This person talked about becoming an American citizen and the freedom that they felt when that happened and the connection that they felt to other people,” she said.

Julia Roberts, the executive director for the Center of Gifted Studies and The Gatton Academy, has worked with Rudloff on several projects.

“Rudloff is an outstanding professional,” Roberts said. “I always enjoy her creativity, thoughtfulness and energy.”

Rudloff channels that energy in all of her pieces. She said that she “absolutely” found her own voice through art.

“Art allows you to take big risks and it allows you to try something new and feel excited about what it could be,” Rudloff said.

Rudloff is currently partnered with SKyPAC and the Scholastic Art Exhibition. The exhibition focuses on showcasing young artists’ work. Rudloff said

MICHAEL BLACKSHIRE • HERALD

Andee Rudloff, a muralist from Bowling Green, has painted several murals on the WKU campus and around the community. Her mural behind the Gender and Women’s Studies Office, pictured here, has adorned the campus for the past 12 years.

she felt close to the exhibition because she was once a participant.

“It made a big impact on my life because it was the first time anyone outside of my direct circle had acknowledged me as an artist,” Rudloff said.

“As I started meeting the students who won the awards in the exhibition it’s been really emotional for them too because they feel like they’ve been heard.

It’s just so important.”

Rudloff is also part of VSA of Kentucky, an organization dedicated to

providing arts education to people of all ages with disabilities. She is currently working on turning her murals into three-dimensional pieces for the visually impaired.

Rudloff tied each aspect of art back to providing a voice to people and commented on using it as a form of expression.

Features reporter Laurel Deppen can be reached at 270-745-6291 and laurel.deppen774@topper.wku.edu.

Featured local band: Sugadaisy

MICHAEL BLACKSHIRE • HERALD

Local band Sugadaisy formed in the summer of 2017 and is made up of a group of friends who wanted to bring their vision to music. Their EP, “Sugadaisy” was released last year and can be found on Spotify.