February 16, 2017

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STUDENT GROUP TRAVELS TO FRANKFORT FOR IMMIGRANT DAY

LIFE, PAGE B1

NEWS, PAGE A3

TTHURSDAY HURSDAY FFEBRUARY EBRUARY 116, 6, 2017 2017 > W WESTERN ESTERN KENTUCKY KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY > VOLUME VOLUME 92, 92, ISSUE ISSUE 34 34

Bowling Green City Commissioner sues WKU

BY HERALD STAFF

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Bowling Green City Commissioner and former WKU employee Sue Parrigin has filed a lawsuit against WKU for discrimination and wrongful termination.

According to the lawsuit, Parrigin was wrongfully terminated by WKU after university actions “so intolerable that any reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign,” including a pattern of alleged unlawful age and sex discrimination resulting in a hostile work environment.

The suit alleges Parrigin was not

given equal opportunity for a position offered to a younger male employee with less qualifications and experience. The suit also identifies remarks from Parrigin’s former supervisors including statements such as it was time for Parrigin to retire despite her lack of intentions to do so.

The complaint also contends Parrigin was sexually harassed and threatened by several male colleagues during her employment.

Parrigin was listed as program manager for WKU’s Workforce Training Center on her staff profile on

SEE LAWSUIT PAGE A2

Students rally for higher education

BY JAMIE WILLIAMS

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Students from colleges and universities across Kentucky gathered in the Capitol rotunda in Frankfort on Monday to show their support for higher education funding.

The Board of Student Body Presidents of Kentucky organized the rally, which featured both student and governmental speakers. Students decked out in the school colors brought signs and filled the rotunda to hear the speakers. Even school mascots, including Murray State’s Racer One and Northern Kentucky University’s Norse, showed up to show their support.

The rally implored lawmakers to keep the “Powerball Promise” — a promise that guarantees lottery funds are used only for higher education.

“We are students and active citizens who care about higher education in Kentucky, and we believe our legislators and governor should too,” said Jay Todd Richey, president of the WKU Student Government Association and chair of the Board of Student Body Presidents.

Lottery funds are used for state literacy programs, Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarships (KEES), College Access Program (CAP) grants and Kentucky Tuition Grants (KTG). While KEES money is merit-based, CAP and KTG are needbased scholarships.

According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, CAP and KTG funds received almost $30 million less than it should have originally received in 2015. Gov. Matt Bevin has diverted funding from need-based scholarships in favor of funding the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. These scholarships go to students who work in “high demand” fields such as healthcare and business services.

“If not now, when will you fulfill

SEE HIGHER ED PAGE A2

Graphic by CRAIG OSTERTAG/HERALD

State legislation moves through General Assembly

BY EMMA AUSTIN

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

A

mong the legislation currently moving through the Kentucky General Assembly are three bills with specific relevance to public universities, covering policies related to government influence on educational boards, vaccination requirements and student First Amendment rights, Each bill is currently being processed for consideration at different stages in the General Assembly.

Senate Bill 107 Senate Bill 107 would allow the governor to remove and replace previously appointed board members to ensure compliance with statutory proportional representation requirements including political party affiliation and race. The bill would also allow the governor to remove and replace entire boards.

The bill was discussed as an information only item in the Senate State and Local Government committee and follows the University of Louisville’s placement on accreditation probation after Gov. Matt Bev-

in attempted to abolish the university board he called dysfunctional and appoint new members, an effort blocked by the Franklin Circuit Court.

SB 107 states the governor may “remove all appointed members of the board or council and replace the

“It’s so unnecessary,” Richey said.

“If there’s undue burden from the political sector of our society, we can’t efficiently educate our students without being threatened by the government. Essentially, if you disagree with the governor you’ll be removed.”

If there’s undue burden from the political sector of our society, we can’t efficiently educate our students without being threatened by the government.”

SGA President J Todd Richey entire appointed membership” upon the governor’s finding that the board “is no longer functioning according to its statutory mandate.”

SGA President and Student Regent Jay Todd Richey said he strongly opposes the passage of this bill and the governmental influence it would impose on university boards.

House Bill 147 House Bill 147 would require all incoming freshmen beginning in fall 2017 to provide documentation of vaccination against diseases in accordance with recommendations from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in-

SEE BILLS PAGE A2

Art project turns attention to construction projects

BY REBEKAH ALVEY

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Bright, neon flags of construction tape mark a small cluster of trees behind the Fine Arts Center near the top of the Hill, raising questions among passersby of their purpose.

With the various renovations and construction projects happening around campus, it is easy to assume these trees are soon to be cut down.

However, they are a part of an art project done by a student.

The installation was done by senior Michael Wheatley, a sculpture major from Dayton, Ohio. He came to WKU after running his own landscaping business, which he said partially inspired his work.

“I have a soft spot for campus landscapes,” Wheatley said. The intention of the project was to start a conversation about the disappearing landscapes and increased construc-

tion on WKU’s campus.

“Green spaces are a break from concrete walls and a place to destress after class,” Wheatley said. “I hate to see them take it all away.”

Wheatley said he isn’t trying to start an uprising with the project but just wants people to be aware of what’s going on.

This was the first installation project for Wheatley, who said he usually works with formal art like wood and metal sculpting.

“It’s a different way of creating,” Wheatley said.

Kristina Arnold, associate professor of art, teaches the installation art class in the spring. For the assignment, she had students make public art using string.

“Public art are pieces in spaces people aren’t used to seeing them,” Arnold said.

Arnold said the assignment was

SEE TREES PAGE A2

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

A2

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Students campaign for women’s education

BY MONICA KAST

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Students from Americans for Informed Democracy, or AID, wrote and collected letters to deliver to Senator Rand Paul, encouraging increased funding for women’s education globally.

Members of AID tabled in Minton Hall, asking students to sign or write letters placing an emphasis on increasing funding for women’s education. Template letters were available, or students could write their own letters. The tabling events are part of the

TREES

Continued from Front intended to help students learn the concept of space and asked students to think outside their original perception of art using space rather than objects.

Several of the pieces have gained attention, but the tree installation is so noticeable and visually large that it has drawn the most attention and been the most discussed, Arnold said.

“I’m trying to give them new opportunities with enough limitations to not freak everyone out,” Arnold said. “String is a good, cheap and simple material we are all familiar with.”

Another purpose of the project and class is to teach about audience.

In FAC, art students are constantly

BILLS

Continued from Front cluding measles, rubella, mumps, meningococcal disease and any caccinations required by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

The bill would allow exemption based on sworn objection to the vaccination based on religious grounds and does not apply to students enrolled in online courses only.

Currently, the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University are the only public universities in the state with vaccination requirements for incoming freshmen.

Last spring, the WKU Student Government Association passed a resolution to require incoming freshmen living on campus to provide proof of vaccination against the meningococcal disease, which is a cause of bacterial meningitis, a highly contagious deadly disease known for outbreaks in community-style living settings.

The resolution was denied by WKU Administration.

In a letter to the SGA explaining the administrative decision against the resolution, President Gary Rans-

HIGHER ED

Continued from Front

CAP and KTG at statutory levels?” questioned speaker Zach Sippy, a student at Henry Clay High School.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Kentucky is one of eight states to cut higher education by over 30 percent since 2008.

Kentucky is also one of three states to cut higher education funding for the past two years in a row. Since 2008, state funding per post-secondary student has dropped by 32 percent.

“I am more than my financial status or social class that may define me,” speaker Hannah Edelen, a student at NKU, said. “When Kentucky increasingly cuts our funds for higher education, we are digging ourselves a hole that leads to stagnation.”

Attorney General Andy Beshear stressed higher education is not a partisan issue, and while many young people may not want to attend college, everyone should at least have the opportunity. Beshear noted Kentucky students who graduated in 2016 had, on average, $32,000 in student loan debt. The U.S. Department of Education reports Kentucky has the third-highest student loan de-

LAWSUIT

Continued from Front WKU’s website. She worked 22 years at the university and with the Division of Extended Learning and Out-

The Gordon Ford College of Business is AACSB accredited - making your degree worth more.

ONE campaign, Poverty is Sexist.

Louisville sophomore Andi Dahmer is a co-president for AID. She said it was the organization’s goal to collect 35 to 50 letters while tabling the first night last week. On March 1, the letters will be delivered to Rand Paul’s office by members of AID, as part of International Women’s Day which is March 8.

According to the ONE website, 130 million girls are not in school.

“All children deserve a good education, but in the poorest countries girls are denied it more often the boys,” the campaign site reads. “Education is vital for moving out of pov-

erty.”

Amanda Collins, internal correspondence chair for AID, said the group hopes to promote advocacy and educate the WKU community about women’s poverty and education.

“A lot of people don’t know,” Collins said. “They don’t know the facts.”

Dahmer said AID will continue tabling around campus until spring break for this campaign. Before spring break, they group will receive another initiative, and focus on that campaign for the rest of the semester. Additionally, Dahmer said that at the end of February, members of

AID will be attending a conference in Washington, D.C., meeting with U.S. senators and discussing the organization’s initiatives.

Dahmer said the initiatives and campaigns for AID are chosen by ONE. Previously, Dahmer said AID had worked on initiatives focused on ending AIDS and AIDS prevention.

“We partnered with them because of issues like these,” Dahmer said of ONE.

Reporter Monica Kast can be reached at (270) 745-0655 or monica. kast187@topper.wku.edu.

surrounded by fellow art students.

“I want them to think about expanding audience,” Arnold said.

Wheatley’s project has gotten nonart students talking about art because it uses a language people understand, Arnold said.

Wheatley said several students have been stopping to read the artist statement.

Sophomore Sarah Root said the project caught her eye, but she thought they were recently planted trees.

The project first went up Feb. 2. Usually projects stay up for two weeks, however due to the popularity of the installation, it will stay up longer, Arnold said.

Reporter Rebekah Alvey can be reached at 270-745-6011 and rebekah.alvey660@topper.wku.edu.

The art installation located outside FAC was produced by Michael Wheatley as away to raise awareness for the environment. EMILY MOSES/HERALD

dell said the resolution speaks primarily to students who arrive at WKU from out of state or through a private school, since Kentucky requires students at public schools to be vaccinated.

In his letter, Ransdell also addressed the difficulties some students may have in paying for the vaccinations. The bill states it would not require the university to provide or pay for the vaccinations, meaning students would be required to pay to receive the vaccinations unless they are covered by insurance.

Sophomore Andi Dahmer, the SGA senator who authored the resolution, said she believes more universities should implement legislation similar to the bill she wrote.

“I think the requirement is necessary,” Dahmer told a Herald reporter last semester. “If one person doesn’t get vaccinated then that can have detrimental effects on the entire community.”

Although Kentucky currently doesn’t require public universities to collect student proof of vaccination, it does require education on certain diseases and available vaccinations.

Tracy Kielman, director of the Ken-

tucky Immunization Coalition, said education is key to promoting immunization given current legislation.

“I think requirements are more effective, obviously, than education,” Kielman said. “However, education, in my opinion, is better than nothing at all.”

Kathryn Steward, assistant director of health education at WKU, told a Herald reporter last semester part of the reason WKU does not require immunizations for admission is because it could be seen as a barrier.

“If there was a law that was passed, it would make this a lot easier, because you don’t have to worry about that factor, is someone going to see this as a barrier,” Steward said. “If other schools are not requiring it and you are, you’re then creating a potential barrier for enrollment.”

HB 147 passed the House Health and Family Services committee and now goes to the House floor for consideration.

Senate Bill 17 Senate Bill 17 addresses protection of students’ First Amendment rights on campus. The bill would require students to be permitted to voluntarily express religious or political

viewpoints in school assignments free from discrimination or penalty based on expressed viewpoints.

The bill would also require public postsecondary educational boards to ensure students’ right to freedom of speech, restricting alteration before delivery without the student’s consent.

Richey said this bill is “completely unnecessary” because the rights of students to express and practice religious views are already protected by the First Amendment.

“This legislation is just going to add confusion because we already have these rights,” Richey said. “It appears to preempt existing campus code of conduct and diversity policies.”

Richey said he has often seen freedom of religion arguments being used to cloak discrimination and sees this bill as a way of prioritizing one religion over another.

SB 17 was passed by the Senate and received in the House of Representatives for consideration Feb. 10.

fault rate in the country.

“I want to see Kentucky thrive, and there is no question that the key to making Kentucky thrive is education — especially higher education,”

“The further you travel down into a structure, the stronger its members are to hold everything else up above it,” Bird said. “We, all of us students here today, must outweigh the top.”

Several speakers, including WKU freshman Helen Vickrey, mentioned that higher education is not a private commodity but a public good.

Vickrey said legislators have been presented with the very opportunities they are taking away from today’s youth.

“Higher education isn’t a market, and whoever sees it that way is corrupt in my opinion,” Vickrey said.

“Higher education is a public good for all people, always.”

Carter Hearne, president of the Residential College Association at Murray State University, said there were no words to describe his anger and feelings of betrayal at the higher education cuts. He said if students sit idly by, they are saying they’re okay with their dream programs being cut, their favorite professors being let go and their opportunities being taken away.

“We stand together to secure the blessings of a future for all generations — not just our own,” Hearne said. “This moment will become a movement.”

When Kentuky increasingly cuts our funds for higher education, we are digging ourselves a hole that leads to stagnation.”

Northern Kentucky University Student Hannah Edelen Beshear said.

In addition to college affordability, Beshear and other speakers at the rally discussed the University of Louisville’s one-year probation following Bevin’s interference with its board members. Chris Bird, a junior at UofL, used his engineering background to describe the higher education system: the structure may be designed from the top down, but the bottom must be strong enough support the top.

Bird added while lawmakers have been short on providing answers about UofL’s accreditation, students are still working hard toward a degree that may or may not be valuable depending on the probation’s outcome.

“We keep doing our job,” Bird said.

“We keep being students. We refuse to halt our own academic growth.”

Bird went on to ask lawmakers to do their jobs in return. Cheers erupted from the crowd and filled the spacious rotunda.

reach (DELO) since its creation, according the university website.

According to the suit, Parrigin’s termination was the result of a breach of contract in response to her reporting of discrimination.

Parrigin resigned from her position on Jan. 9, according to a university official.

Other than a denial of the allegations, WKU currently has no comment on the litigation.

Reporter Emma Austin can be reached at (270)745-0655 and emma. austin177@topper.wku.edu.

Reporter Jamie Williams can be reached at 270-745-6011 and jamie. williams539@topper.wku.edu.

Stay updated on this story as information becomes available with the online version at www.wkuherald. com.

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FEBRUARY 16, 2017

A3

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Student group traveling to capitol for Refugee, Immigration Day

BY KACIE BROCKMAN

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

The fourth annual Refugee and Immigrant Day will be held at the state’s Capitol this afternoon.

The event is held to advocate on behalf of refugee and immigrant rights, sponsored by Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services, Americana World Community Center, International Center of Kentucky and Kentucky Refugee Ministries, according to the Kentucky Refugee Ministries website.

Refugee and Immigrant Day will commence in Frankfort at 9 a.m. on Feb. 16, with legislator meetings, which continues to the general gathering scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m.

There will be a variety of speakers, including refugees.

A WKU organization, No Lost Generation, is planning to attend the rally. According to the group’s official Facebook page, No Lost Generation is “a part of a national student initiative supported by the Department of State in order to raise awareness about the challenges faced by young refugees.”

No Lost Generation promotes refugee aid groups, raises awareness and supports Bowling Green refugees

among the city. It is the first chapter to be established in Kentucky of the 48 established nationwide on college campuses.

Maggie Sullivan, executive director of No Lost Generation, said the group’s main focus is on advocacy efforts, fundraising attempts, and volunteering at the International Center. A tour is arranged for this

said Sullivan.

Membership can fluctuate with roughly 10 to 15 active members currently involved. On campus, the group can be found on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. at the Honors College and International Center in room 2010 for a weekly meeting.

A member of the WKU chapter of No Lost Generation, Rachel Blair, will

One of the positive things, I think, about the recent executive order being signed is that there was a huge amount of support afterwards for the refugee and immigrant population.”

Executive director of No Lost Generation Maggie Sullivan spring semester for students from the University of Louisville to come visit WKU and learn about the organization.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the collaboration between refugees and community members and students, basically all of Kentucky coming together to pledge support for the refugees and immigrant population,”

attend the event for the first time this year.

“I think it’s especially pretty important to attend this year’s one, specifically due to all the things that are going around with our administration, I guess both at the state and national level,” Blair said.

A petition, Keep Kentucky Welcoming, is to be presented to state

legislatures at the Capitol during the Refugee and Immigrant Day in hopes to #KeepKYGlobal. With a goal of 10,000 signatures, the impetus behind it is to “send a clear message to your elected officials that refugees and immigrants will always be welcome in our Old Kentucky Home,” according to the Facebook page for the event.

Despite the executive order being passed by President Donald Trump’s administration to ban entrance to the United Stated from seven Muslim-majority countries, Sullivan said there has been a beneficial outcome from it.

“One of the positive things, I think, about the recent executive order being signed is that there was a huge amount of support afterwards for the refugee and immigrant population,” said Sullivan.

No Lost Generation will visit the state’s Capitol for the first time this year after their founding last fall at WKU. Their goal is to prevent the 21.3 million young refugees, according to the United Nations, from getting “lost” from the displacement of today’s society.

Reporter Kacie Brockman can be reached at (270)745-0655 and kacie. brockman271@topper.wku.edu.

College awaits approval of new specialist degree

BY EMMA AUSTIN

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU WKU currently offers a Master of Arts in Education in gifted and talented education and development and has plans to move forward by offering a specialist degree available to students who already have a master’s.

The program was approved by the Board of Regents last month and is awaiting approval by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Julia Roberts, Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies, said she initiated the idea to offer the specialist degree and anticipates it assisting people who already have a master’s degree but wish to further their qualifications in gifted and talented education and development.

“Many different people would find

the specialist degree in gifted education and talent development useful,” Roberts said, listing educators, policy makers and workers in nonprofit organizations as people who could find a background in talent development.

Roberts has worked at WKU for more than 35 years, during which time she began the Center for Gifted Studies, which “provides exciting educational opportunities for gifted young people, rigorous professional development for teachers, and support for parents of gifted young people,” according to its website.

“WKU has a lot of resources for this particular specialty,” Roberts said.

“We have a long history of offering programming for gifted students.”

Roberts is also the executive director of the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, the school offered through WKU to high school students pursu-

ing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM fields.

“The success of Gatton Academy has been pretty remarkable,” Roberts said. “We have a lot of opportunities here at WKU, and we specialize in the area of gifted education and talent development.”

WKU is the international headquarters to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, as well as the headquarters for the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education.

“We’re mighty proud to be offering as much programming and graduate work as we do at WKU,” Roberts said.

“This is truly an outstanding course of study for us to offer.”

Sam Evans, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, said the program would benefit individuals who may not work in an educational setting but have an interest

in the area of gifted education and talent development.

“It’s designed for individuals who . . . also have an interest in furthering the work we do as a society in providing appropriate experiences for individuals who have been identified as having exceptionalities in academic ability,” Evans said.

Evans said WKU has been a leader in Kentucky for a number of years in providing programs for students seeking to work with children identified as gifted.

“This is a very appropriate step for WKU in terms of academic degree programs because of the importance of providing appropriate education experiences for all students in our public schools,” Evans said.

Reporter Emma Austin can be reached at (270)745-0655 and emma. austin177@topper.wku.edu.

WKU’s 2016-2017 Cultural Enhancement Series presents

Student Research Conference | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Space Archeologist, National Geographic Fellow, Professor of Anthropology at UAB, and 2016 TED Prize winner

Call for Abstracts oral papers | posters | exhibits displays | demonstrations performances | videos

Deadline:

Friday, February 17

Submit at:

wku.edu/studentresearch

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 Van Meter Hall, 7:30 pm CST Free Admission / Open to campus and community Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis

wku.edu/go/ces / Follow @wkuces on Facebook and Twitter Contact cultural.enhancement@wku.edu or call 270-745-4375

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

WKUHERALD.COM CARTOON

OPINION

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@PhiMuWKU: Thank you @WKU_ AlphaXi for the gift basket, @WKU_ SAE for the roses, @WKUSigKap for the candy, and @WKUBCM for the suckers! — 6:21 PM - 14 Feb 2017 @Nellanz: I’m convinced the first time Henry Hardin Cherry said “life more life” it was a grammatical mistake and now WKU is just running with it. — 7:04 PM - 14 Feb 2017 @Emma_Not_Emily: If I really love Izzy’s quesadillas does that make a #HeartsOnTheHill love story??? — 4:16 PM - 14 Feb 2017 @uhKenneth: Cage the elephant went to wku, that’s tight — 6:21 PM - 14 Feb 2017 @cannibal_queen: #WKU loves their international student population! Proud to be a #Hilltopper! #ToImmigrantsWithLove #ImmigrantsWelcome #HilltopperNation — 5:10 PM - 14 Feb 2017

Illustration by Wesley Slaughter

@jacobmudd: Accounting proff : “Today’s assignment is just for ‘funzies’.” What? I don’t pay $5,000 a semester for “funzies.” ?? #WKU — 2:58 PM - 14 Feb 2017

KALYN’S CORNER

Don’t delegate black accomplishments to one month

BY KALYN JOHNSON HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU Black history month is not a month that should pass without recognition. It is a month where we recognize the ones who came before us, overcame adversities in the face of imprisonment, beatings and murders.

This month we look back on the past, but also forward to the future of what it meant to be a person of African ancestry in the U.S. Currently, Black Lives Matter is the movement that speaks the loudest on behalf of the black community. Not only did the movement start out of injustice of the murder of an unarmed black teenag-

er Trayvon Martin, but has continued to gain momentum though the injustices members of the black community face on what seems to be a daily basis, in a society meant to help us all.

The movement focuses on very specific issues faced in the black community such as senseless killings, the lack of quality education in inner-city communities, commitment to fostering connections within the LGBTQIA communities, fighting against ageism and encouraging diversity of all forms, race, gender, sexuality and otherwise.

An entire month to recognize black achievement and black excellence. Without many black innovators the

U.S., as we know it today, would not exist.

For example, we keep our homes safe with an idea for a home security system that was patented in 1969 by Marie Van Brittan Brown. But if security systems mean nothing to you, think about your health. Need blood?

Does the hospital happen to be short of O-positive or O-negative blood types?

Charles Richard Drew is credited for creating the idea of blood banks. During World War II, Drew was able to discover a way to preserve plasma for later use.

However, for some reason, we talk about the invention of the cotton gin to make slave workers lives easier, but

we don’t talk about how the inventor got the idea from an African slave. It’s important to give credit where credit is due, not just when it’s a benefit to ourselves.

It has been less than 200 years since slavery was abolished in the U.S., following the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and some Americans are already of the mind set that Black History Month isn’t needed. That it somehow isn’t important that black people have their own month to recognize their accomplishments. Yet the other 11 months out of the year are essentially white history months.

Consider when black or African-American accomplish-

ments are brought up in casual conversation or taught in the classroom. It doesn’t happen unless we’re in an African-American based classes such as African American Experience or African-American Literature. We must recognize there is a need to pay attention to those who have been disenfranchised for hundreds of years, and pay attention to the things they’ve accomplished in the time they’ve been freed.

For me, the month is needed to recognize how America would not be America without black ancestors. It’s about recognizing where the U.S. came from inside and outside of the framework of a slave narrative.

COMMENTARY

Opportunities abound but do you see them?

BY NOLAN HOVELL

HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU Walking around the same place every day can cause one to become jaded to their surroundings.

I remember my first time walking through WKU’s campus. It all seemed so big and beautiful. Our wonderful little community on the hill. The buses circling and cutting through campus while students of every shape, size and color go about filling their days with education, exercise, relationships and food.

Once you become familiar with all the pathways, parking lots and buildings on campus you can plan your route to classes through campus flawlessly. Walking the same path every day can make you enjoy less all those things that you see along the way, or you might miss something altogether.

It is not uncommon to see everyone on their phone with headphones in texting, tweeting, playing music, playing games or whatever is the most popular thing to be socially engaged in. But what

do we miss when our heads are down?

Or, when we become so accustomed to our environment we stop looking for new information and opportunities.

In a society where every TV and radio show is asking you to like them on Facebook and every commercial is a joint advertisement funded by industries with a set agenda, we must choose wisely where to focus our attention. Being engaged with your surroundings on campus is a wonderful way to turn your walk to class into a journey through campus.

After all, the advertisements and posters dispersed over our campus are directed towards and for the sole benefit of students. Walking to Cherry Hall the other day, a red poster sticking out of the ground caught my attention.

It was about a cultural enhancement seminar taking place in Van Meter Hall. I plan on attending because that kind of thing interests me; however, had I disregarded it like I do so many other billboards and posters I would have missed the opportunity.

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Posters are a great ways to advertise to students the different and upcoming clubs, speeches, events and resources that are scattered throughout campus. Bulletin boards can be found in almost any academic building on campus with relevant news and information about the subjects studied in that particular building or floor.

Last year, as I was leaving my Comm 145 class in the Ivan Wilson Center for Fine Arts, I passed a poster. It read “HAPPY GAS OPEN AUDITIONS.” My excitement grew and was quickly crushed when I realized the three day audition period had ended the day before I found it. Upset, I made the decision that I would make more of an effort to be aware of the things and opportunities around me.

It seems almost everything these days is doing its best to grab onto and hold our attention. As often as I try to avoid watching TV these days, as a personal preference, when I do I’ve noticed that many commercials begin loudly often with unnecessary EDM music and sometimes overly sexual situations.

Julie Hubbell Marketing Director Micayla Kelly Ad Creative Director Will Hoagland Advertising adviser Carrie Pratt Herald adviser Chuck Clark

These ads don’t make you think about a product rationally, but instead target your emotions and desires in order to get you to subconsciously make a positive association with whatever they are trying to sell. We must make a conscious effort to decide the most beneficial use of our time.

A natural curiosity about things can lead to a world of new possibilities. For the extent of your life you will never stop learning, this means new information is everywhere just waiting to be discovered and understood.

Posters placed throughout campus are a gold mine of relevant and beneficial information spanning from health and wellness tips to clubs, sports and events on campus. Paying attention to these flyers and posters can lead you to new and interesting opportunities.

What you’ll find is that more possibilities or growth and experience present themselves and you’ll have more in common with your fellow students who might be noticing the same things you are.

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FEBRUARY 16, 2017

A5

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

THE FUN PAGE CLASSIFIEDS Classified Advertising Manager: Will Hoagland

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To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

History Firsts ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com

1. Where did George Washington take his oath of office? (a) Mt Vernon, Va (b) Independence Hall, Pa (c) Federal Hall, NY 2. Who was the first to rush over 2000 yards in one NFL season? (a) Jim Brown (b) O J Simpson (c) Red Grange 3. In what year was the Euro established as a form of currency? (a) 1995 (b) 2002 (c) 1999 4. What singer won the first Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal? (a) Ella Fitzgerald (b) Judy Garland (c) Barbra Streisand 5. What was the first state to use red and green traffic lights? (a) Minnesota (b) Ohio (c) Idaho 6. What was the name of the first man-made object to reach a celestrial body? (a) Lunar 2 (b) Surveyor 1 (c) Vostok 4 7. What was the first state to use an all-electronic vote in a presidential election? (a) Nebraska (b) Florida (c) Delaware 8. In what year did the American flag first fly with 50 stars? (a) 1964 (b) 1960 (c) 1957 9. In 1953, the transistor radio was invented by what company? (a) Texas Instruments (b) Toshiba (c) Phillips 10. What was the first state admitted to the union in the 20th century? (a) North Dakota (b) Washington (c) Oklahoma 1.c 2.b 3.c 4.a 5.b

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FEBRUARY 16, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Ellie Nole, 11, of Bowling Green, watches as her sister Abby, 14, climbs the rock wall.

“I like how hard it is and what you can accomplish,” Ellie said. Abby has been climbing for almost two weeks since Vertical Excape opened. “I like being good at stuff,” Abby said. “Gives me something to do after school.” TYGER WILLIAMS/HERALD

N

athan Holmes, owner of Vertical Excape, opened up the second location of their indoor climbing and training facility on Feb. 1.

The facility offers bouldering, top-roping, sport and auto-belay systems. Vertical Excape welcomes everyone from experienced climbers to beginners. The new facility offers memberships that can include: unlimited climbing during business hours, proshop discounts, guest discounts and other benefits. People of all ages are welcome to climb. Vertical Excape is open year round, week days starting at 12 p.m. to 10 p.m and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

-Tyger Williams

Freshman Alan Weiseman, Louisville, climbs the auto belay section in the newly opened Vertical Excape on Tuesday. Weiseman has been climbing for 11 years. “It’s like doing yoga on a wall and my mind can’t go anywhere else, “ Weiseman said. “ I am just focused on the next move and accomplishing my goal of getting to the top.” The climbing gym is open to the public and includes bouldering, auto belay, top rope and lead arch climbing disciplines. MATT LUNSFORD/HERALD

Get A Grip

WKUHERALD.COM

PHOTO

Noah Brandt, 15, of Bowling Green, works his way through one of the bouldering courses at Vertical Excape. “It’s good exercise and a good challenge, It’s fun on working on something and getting better at it,” Brandt said. Nate Morris, 22, Kansas City, Missouri, guides him through to reach the top of the course. TYGER WILLIAMS/HERALD

Gordon Gameson, 31, Bowling Green, Is an experienced climber of four years and is seen climbing on one of many top rope courses at Vertical Excape on Tuesday.

“I get to see a lot of things many people cant see,” Gameson said. “I like the fitness aspect of it and seeing what I’m capable of doing.”

TYGER WILLIAMS/HERALD

@wkuherald

Stephen Locke, assistant professor in the department of economics, watches experienced and beginner climbers at Vertical Excape on Tuesday. “It’s a fun way to get exercise and get a good work out,” Locke said.

TYGER WILLIAMS/HERALD

WKUHERALD.COM

LIFE

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY » Cultural Enhancement Series: Look forward to our coverage of Black Violin happening Tuesday at Van Meter Auditorium

Drew Rogers tests the maturity of a wine in his home in Smiths Grove, where he and his wife, Jessica, are fermenting wines for their business Bluegrass Vineyard. “I lived in France for a semester in high school and got an appreciation for it,” Drew said. GRACE PRITCHETT/HERAtLD

through the

grapevine Local winery prepares to take on the spring season

BY KALEE CHISM

HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU A local winery is preparing to sell alcohol for their first spring season. Bluegrass Vineyard is a family-run vineyard settled in Smiths Grove. Drew Rogers and his wife, Jessica, created the up-andrunning vineyard themselves.

“I designed the vineyard, researched the exact grape varieties I wanted to plant, ones that offered the best flavor and best disease resistance, we dug all the holes, planted the vines with help from our neighbors, our neighbors are amazing, and now I tend to the vines,” Rogers said. “It is a lot of work maintaining a proper vineyard, but it is also relaxing. Walking the vineyard is really enjoyable as the sun sets, and it’s also fun to taste the grape berries as they ripen throughout the season.”

Rogers said he decided to open the vineyard after studying abroad in France. As a Captain in the Army Reserve, the couple waited until they moved into a better climate to fulfill the dream.

“I lived in France for a semester in high school and began to appreciate good wines from local vineyards. The drinking age was 16 over there,” Rogers said. “When I got married, my wife and I owned some acreage and she jokingly said we should start a vineyard one day. When we moved from El Paso, where it is difficult to grow grass, let alone grape vines, to Kentucky, we knew we wanted to start a family vineyard.”

The climate in Smiths Grove allows for grape vines to grow, and the soil and landscape provide support.

“Smiths Grove is a great location for a vineyard,” Rogers said. “Our limestone soil provides great nu-

trients for the vines, and the hilly landscape prevents standing water, which grape vines do not like. We also love Smiths Grove because of the people here. There are a lot of neat things happening in Smiths Grove, and we are proud to be a part of that transformation.”

Even with a helpful climate and friends, keeping a vineyard up and running isn’t always the easiest task.

“Some of the more difficult parts of owning a vineyard is the regular upkeep of the vines; it is not hard work but it takes a lot of time,” Rogers said.”We have to spray fungicides routinely in the spring, remove weeds between the vines, and ward off Japanese beetles. If our business is successful I would like to hire someone to tend to the vines either full-time or part-time.”

SEE WINERY PAGE B2

A Q&A with poet and educator Clint Smith

BY OLIVIA MOHR

HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Poet and educator Clint Smith will speak at WKU in honor of Black History Month tonight in Downing Student Union. Currently on a book tour, Smith is a third-year Ph.D. student at Harvard University. He is from New Orleans and recently relocated from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. Smith has taught in prisons in the Massachusetts Department of Correction and taught high school English in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

He was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award for his book “Counting Descent,” a collection of poems.

His writing has been featured in “The New Yorker,” “The American Poetry Review,” “The Guardian” and “Boston Review.” Smith has presented two TED talks, “The Danger of Silence” and “How to Raise a Black Son in America.”

Smith discussed his writing style and inspiration and what he hopes students at WKU will gain from hearing him speak.

Q: What do you hope students will gain from your speech at WKU? Smith: I hope students will come in and be open to having their presumptions and preconceived notions about race and American history challenged, and I hope that they will begin to crit-

ically interrogate the world around them and hopefully better understand how the world and specifically how inequality has come to exist as it has as a result of different decisions that have been made that make certain communities look one way and certain communities look another way.

Q: What got you interested in writing about black history and black culture, and when did you start writing?

Smith: I’ve been writing seriously since about 2008. I came in originally as a spoken word poet and then I sort of began writing across mediums and across genres since then and sort of recently have been contributing to places like “The New Yorker.” My first book came out in September. I write because I hope to tell the truth, I hope to be honest, and make people whose experiences are similar to mine feel seen, and for those who might have a differing experience, maybe illuminate some things that they may have otherwise not considered.

Q: What poets have influenced your writing style and themes?

Smith: So many. Nikki Giovanni, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Adrienne Rich, Claudia Rankine - we’ll go with those.

Q: How would you describe your writing style and content?

Smith: It’s certainly narrative. I like to tell stories, and I like to tell stories

Clint Smith will speak on Thursday in DSU Auditorium. In a TED talk he gave in July 2014, Smith talks about dangers of not speaking up, “I will not let silence wrap itself around my indecision... sometimes all people want is to be human,” Smith said.

(Courtesy of Josclynn Brandon) both historical and contemporary and try to put those stories in conversation with one another. I don’t really believe in the idea of writing a poem that no one can understand. It’s been up to me to write poems that reflect the real lives of people that I know and see every day.

Q: What do you hope readers will gain from reading your writing?

Smith: I think when a writer puts a book out into the world or puts art out into the world and writing out into the world, it’s not really in their control how people respond to it, so all I can do is try to be as truthful as I can as a writer and try to write the type of book that I think needs to be written for me.

You really can’t control what other

SEE Q&A PAGE B2

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

B2

WINERY

Continued from b1 As much as possible of the grapes, goods and resources are locally sourced, and Bluegrass Vineyard is hoping to branch out into local farmer’s markets.

“Nearly all of our grapes are locally grown, our wine labels are printed in Bowling Green, and we even plan to offer chocolates with our wine sampling with chocolates made from a local chocolatier,” Rogers said. “We are actively looking for someone to sell wine and offer wine samples at the farmer’s market on Saturdays.”

Recently, the vineyard got ap-

Q&A

Continued from b1 people think, so you hope that it’s received well but you have to prepare for it not to be. Lots of people, I imagine, received the book in different ways, and that’s really out of my hands.

Q: How has your personal history shaped what you write about?

Smith: I think it is inexplicably linked. It is foundational to how I see the world, and everything about the people that I’ve met and the way I was

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

proved to sell alcohol at the winery, a turning point in the business. This has prompted the Rogers to build a “proper winery” to offer these new services. Some of these services include special events, weddings, anniversaries and birthdays.

The winery will initially only be open on weekends but plans to sell its products regularly at farmers markets in Bowling Green and Glasgow. Rogers said the business is currently looking for part-time employees to sell their products at farmers markets.

The Rogers are hoping to expand their services, working with other

nearby wineries and offering a quiet place to get away from the stress of life.

“In the near future we hope to build a separate building to serve as our winery, and plant an additional ten acres of grape vines,” Rogers said. “We envision our vineyard [and] winery as a quiet retreat from the hustles of the work week.

If successful, we plan to hire people to work in our vineyard and winery either full or part-time. We also want to start a wine trail with other local wineries, such as Reid’s Livery and Cave Valley.”

One of the new events Bluegrass

Winery hopes to offer is a harvest party, where participants can even help smash the grapes themselves.

“We will start a sign-up sheet for people in the community who want to help us pick grapes and stomp grapes, in exchange for a free lunch and t-shirt,” Rogers said. “Those who help us stomp grapes will also get a certificate that states ‘I helped stomp grapes at Bluegrass Vineyard,’ and they can put their purple footprints on the certificate.”

raised and the places I’ve lived and the friends that I have inevitably shape my worldview and thus shape the art that I create, so they are inexplicably linked in every single sense of the word.

Q: Why do you feel it is important for readers and students to learn about Black history and culture?

Smith: Because I think in this country we fundamentally misunderstand the nature of what has happened to black people and the way that we condition the black community has

come to exist as they are because we misunderstand them, because we ignore it. We attribute that often to cultural pathology that simply aren’t true, black stereotypes that reflect fears that people have, rather than historical and empirical evidence we know to be true.

Q: How does your experience writing poetry and giving speeches affect your teaching style?

Smith: I think any time you go give a lecture or speech or present work and then you have conversations with the

listeners and the readers at the end, it’s a learning experience for me as well, and it shapes how I understand my work and think about my work, so I think the process of writing and teaching and reading and listening are all fundamentally tied together, and I can’t imagine doing one without doing the rest of them as well.

Reporter Kalee Chism can be reached at 270-745-2655 and kalee. chism704@topper.wku.edu

Reporter Olivia Mohr can be reached at 270-745-6288 and olivia.mohr564@ topper.wku.edu

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270-793-0425 Student Research Conference Student Workshop Series

Research Experiences And Creative Heights Tuesday, February 7 5:00 p.m. | HCIC 2007 How to Write an Abstract Leila Watkins

Friday, February 17 11:30 a.m. | GH 236 How to Visualize Research Data Leyla Zhuhadar Monday, February 27 4:00 p.m. | HCIC 2007 How to Make a Poster Rodney King

wku.edu/studentresearch

Tuesday, March 21 11:30 a.m. | HCIC 3005 How to Give a Talk Lance Hahn

B3

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Hilltoppers open season against Valpo at home

BY TYLER MANSFIELD HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

WALKTHROUGH Continued from SPORTS and new players in a top-heavy field of competition.

A team that was expected to win, however, was the one led by women’s basketball head coach Michelle ClarkHeard. The Lady Tops were picked to win the conference in the preseason, and for the most part they’ve lived up to the hype.

One year removed from being 19-4 and contending for the C-USA regular season championship, Clark-Heard’s 2016-2017 squad is up to par again.

Despite taking four losses before conference play, the Lady Tops (18-6, 10-2 C-USA) have battled back, winning 13 of their last 15 games setting up a winner-claims-first-place affair today in Murfreesboro.

The additions of Kyvin Goodin-Rogers, Jaycee Coe and Whitney Creech have boosted Clark-Heard’s rotation. The Lady Tops returned every significant piece from a season ago, and they’ve relied on their depth

RIVALRY Continued from SPORTS opportunity at winning a game that could be the first step to righting the ship heading into post season play.

“They are a good team, and they are able to score multiple ways,” Stansbury said. “They are able to throw it up in the paint. They are able to drive it to the paint, and they have enough shooters, so they are very difficult to defend.”

A key for the team to come out on top is for two of the leading scorers to have a solid offensive output on the same night. Stansbury mentioned if they can get senior guard Que Johnson

and Thomas going on the same night they are a tough team to beat.

“I think it’s really important,” Thomas said. “We never really had a game like that yet so to get me, [Que] and with what Justin [Johnson] is doing right now, to get us all scoring in one night we would be really hard to beat.”

The first 1,000 fans will receive a red shirt in spirit of a red-out fan promotion. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with tip-off set for 8 p.m. in Diddle Arena.

Reporter Matthew Stewart can be reached at 859-797-3140 and matthew. stewart015@topper.wku.edu Follow him on Twitter at @MES_WKU22.

Reporter Sam Porter can be reached at 270-799-8247 and sam.porter270@ gmail.com Follow him on Twitter at @ SammyP14.

Shyamrock

LIQUORS

and balance to get them back toward the top of the conference at a pivotal time.

With under 10 games remaining in the regular season for both teams, beating quality opponents carries a bigger emphasis.

Both WKU basketball teams will play a game against Middle Tennessee tonight. Stansbury and company will try to win one game against C-USA-leading Middle Tennessee in Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers will not have a winning record when the sun comes up tomorrow, regardless of the outcome. On the road, the Lady Tops have a chance to inch one win closer to a fifth consecutive 20-win season as well as move into first place in their conference.

Looking at both teams at the same time feels like staring into a reverse mirror.

Reporter Evan Heichelbech can be reached at 502-415-1817 and evan. heichelbech059@topper.wku.edu.

Follow him on Twitter at @evanheich.

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Johnson who is a load on the inside.

She’s physically strong and can finish around the basket and rebound. As other people look at our roster they point out Kendall, Tashia and Ivy, and that’s the way we look at them.”

In the first matchup, Johnson and Petty were held to 14 and 11 points, respectively. The Lady Tops held MTSU to a season low 15 first-half points as WKU’s press wreaked havoc on Petty and the Lady Blue Raider’s backcourt. WKU ended up outscoring MTSU 22-8 in points off turnovers in the 15 point victory.

“It’s what we always want to hang our hat on,” Clark-Heard said about her team’s defense. “I was really proud

guards are both competing for C-USA Player of the Year.

The Lady Tops and Lady Blue Raiders are set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. at Monte Hale Arena inside the Murphy Center. The game can also be streamed on

ONLY $11.99

JIM BEAM

Continued from SPORTS

of what we’ve been able to do with our zone press and man press. It’s important to be able to use both because it keeps our opponent on their toes. I want our program to have the staple of ‘We’re going to play hard, compete, and force you to turn the ball over.’

After we cause chaos on the defensive end, we want to be able to come back on the offensive end and do some good things, but it starts with our defense.”

Unlike MTSU on that night, WKU has been the most efficient team in C-USA in terms of taking care of the basketball. Noble and fellow redshirt senior guard Micah Jones rank first and second in assist-to-turnover ratio individually, and WKU ranks first as a team. Noble and Petty will be the matchup to watch as the two senior

CALICO JACK

TOP-NOTCH

Outfielder Grant Malott hits the ball during the Hilltoppers 3-1 loss to Louisiana Tech on April 10, 2016 at WKU Softball Complex. Malott was at bat twice and had one hit. SHABAN ATHUMAN/HERALD new guys, but by the end of the fall staff, it’s always going to be that you’re ing 25-straight on the road. they don’t really seem like new guys only going to be as good as you pitch.”

“One of the great things – and I’m Valpo, who was picked to finish very thankful for the administration anymore. By then we’re all part of it,” senior infielder Thomas Peter said. fourth in its conference by a vote of allowing us to do it – is being able to “You grind every day in the fall and you the league’s head coaches, brings back play on the AstroTurf that we put in second-team all-Horizon League first this past summer,” Pawlowski addkind of just become a family.”

On the opposite side of the roster, baseman Nate Palace an all-freshman ed. “As you see the schedule, the first Pawlowski’s club also returns many ex- honorees Chase Dawson and Sam four non-conference weekends are at perienced players, such as redshirt ju- Shaikin. home this year, which was by design so Among the trio, they combined for we can play as many games as we can nior Thomas Peter, senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Sowell, redshirt an overall batting average of .258 to go at the yard before we get into Confersenior infielder Leiff Clarkson, redshirt along with 123 hits, 83 runs, 67 RBI and ence USA play.” senior outfielder Paul Murray and se- 6 home-runs with a slugging percentFollowing Friday’s tilt, the Hilltopage of .346. nior catcher Hunter Wood. pers and Valparaiso meet at 1 p.m. on WKU has the opportunity to start both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

“When you look at our team, there’s a couple of that are going to be very im- out strong in front of its home fans, as portant,” Pawlowski said. “Offensively, it hosts 18 of its first 22 games on its all- Reporter Tyler Mansfield can be I feel like we have some moving pieces new AstroTurf playing surface at Nick reached at 270-935-0007 and tyler. and weapons that we didn’t have in the Denes Field. The Crusaders, on the wkuherald@gmail.com. Follow him on past, so I like our offense. Our pitching other hand, open their season by play- Twitter at @RealTMansfield.

NATURAL LIGHT (30 PACK)

The WKU baseball team begins its 2017 season this weekend against Valparaiso at Nick Denes Field, with Opening Day slated for Friday with a 3 p.m. first pitch.

The Hilltoppers, who enter year two under Head Coach John Pawlowski, are coming off an up-and-down 2016 campaign, as they finished the year with a 24-30 overall mark and a 10-20 showing in Conference USA contention en route to missing the league’s postseason tournament for a second-straight season.

WKU is looking to get off on the right foot this go-around.

“It’s an exciting time of the year for all of college baseball,” Pawlowski said in his preseason press conference.

“With the season right around the corner, our guys have worked extremely hard.”

The Toppers will open their season at home for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. In those last eight opening series at home, WKU has posted a 14-8 record and won five of those series after taking a 2-1 set victory over Youngstown State last February to begin the season.

Valparaiso University, a member of the Horizon League, comes into 2017 following a 30-28, 17-12 showing on last season’s schedule. The Crusaders opened 2016 on the road at Jacksonville State, a place in which it won just one of the series’ contests, dropping the three-game set 2-1.

“I’m excited about 2017,” Pawlowski said. “We’re looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. When you look up and down our roster, you’re going to see 19 new faces on our team.

We’re certainly excited about how hard our guys have worked.”

The lengthy list of newcomers includes freshmen Wyatt Featherson, Michael Hicks and Ray Zuberer as well as juniors Paul Kirkpatrick and Tyler Robertson.

“When you start the fall you get 19

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FEBRUARY 16, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

WKUHERALD.COM

SPORTS

» Baseball: Hilltopper baseball opens season at home on Saturday against Valparaiso

THE WALKTHROUGH

A trend report from both sides of Diddle

BY EVAN HEICHELBECH HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Junior forward Tashia Brown (10) fights for ball control during the Lady Toppers’ 79-53 win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday Feb. 4, 2016 in Diddle Arena. EVAN BOGGS/HERALD

Top-Notch Affair Blue Raiders seek revenge on WKU with first place on the line

BY SAM PORTER

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

With just six games remaining in conference play, arguably the most critical game on WKU’s Conference USA schedule has arrived. The Lady Tops will take their 18-6 (10-2 C-USA) record into Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a showdown against their archrival Middle Tennessee State today.

The Lady Blue Raiders boast a 16-8 (11-2 C-USA) record, meaning the winner of tonight’s matchup will take over sole possession of first place in C-USA. Earlier this season, the Lady Tops outran MTSU by a score of 66-51 in a game in which they led as many as 33 points on three separate occasions in the second half.

Redshirt senior guard Kendall Noble led all scorers in that game with 18 points as junior forwards Ivy Brown

(14 points) and Tashia Brown (13 points) also broke double figures. Despite handling MTSU so easily in the first matchup, Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard doesn’t expect tonight’s game to resemble the first meeting of the conference powers.

“We definitely don’t expect to duplicate the first game, not on their home court,” Clark-Heard said on her radio show Monday. “When you go back and watch film from the first game, our press was working very well in the first half and we came out and made some big shots after halftime. However, I told my team this: they missed a lot of shots that they usually make. We got a little complacent and did some things that we weren’t continuing to do that got us that big lead. But I was proud of our effort and energy. It’s always a battle whenever we go to their home since

I’ve been here.”

Since that loss to WKU, MTSU has won seven of its last eight games with an average margin of victory of just over 20 points. Those seven victims include Charlotte and Texas San-Antonio who are the lone two C-USA teams to defeat the Lady Toppers this season.

The Lady Blue Raiders are led by two of the top five scorers in C-USA. Sophomore forward Alex Johnson ranks second in the conference at 20.5 points per game while senior guard Ty Petty sits at fifth, scoring with 17.6 points per game. Petty also leads the conference in assists with 5.3 per contest.

“Petty is the key for them,” ClarkHeard continued. “She has raised her game to another level this year and is the leader of that team. They also have

SEE TOP-NOTCH PAGE B3

On Thursday night, one WKU basketball team will look to gain sole possession of first place in its conference while the other will try desperately to even its win/loss record. At the most crucial time of the season, WKU’s two basketball teams are trending in completely opposite directions.

Entering the 2016-2017 season, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams on the Hill had moderately high expectations surrounding them.

A little less than 11 months ago, Rick Stansbury came to Bowling Green with a mission to re-establish a winning pedigree at WKU. The work for Stansbury to achieve that mission right away was well cut out for him.

For a brief period of time, he had no scholarship guards to run full practices with and the need to fill his roster was urgent. But as time progressed throughout the summer and into the fall, the excitement and anticipation for the Stansbury Era to begin was mounting quickly. Stansbury filled the roster with graduate transfers from Power-5 programs like Providence and Washington State, and two Tennessee transfers would become eligible by the start of conference play. He nearly convinced former elite-level recruits Malik Newman (Kansas) and Andrew White (Syracuse) to come to the Hill.

The Hilltoppers started off sluggish — as any team with dramatic roster turnover likely would — barely escaping exhibition play without a loss.

Fast forward to the latter part of January and things weren’t much better. Sophomore forward Willie Carmichael was dismissed from the team and two other players left, limiting Stansbury’s rotation yet again.

But even before then, the Hilltoppers (12-13, 6-6 in Conference USA) never seemed to truly understand how to play as one unit. Shining performances seem to occur in just about every game, the most recent of which came from junior forward Justin Johnson who eclipsed 1,000 career points on Saturday during his current five game double-double streak, but the team never seems able to play cohesively, and definitely not consistently.

Even though Stansbury was able to fill the roster with about as much quality as he could’ve at the time, it was unreasonable to believe that WKU would be a lock to win the C-USA or anything of that nature. It’s a new head coach with a mix of old

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100 Miles of Hate rivalry returns to Diddle

BY MATTHEW STEWART

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU Five days after dropping below .500 on the season, WKU will face two tall tests on their home court.

Tonight, the Hilltoppers play host to Conference USA frontrunner and longtime rival, Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders are sitting alone atop the conference standings with at 12-1 record in league play and 22-4 on the year.

“We have a lot of respect for them. We know they’re a really good team,” senior guard Pancake Thomas said. “They’re the best team in the conference, so we will go in to this game, and we will be looking to get off to a really good start.”

Earlier this season on Jan. 14, the Tops squared off with the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in front of a sea of blue. WKU got off to a slow start in the contest and headed in to halftime down 14. The Blue Raiders would go on to hold off the Hilltopper charge and take the game 91-76.

“We know that we can play with them for 20 minutes, we just got to be able to put it to-

gether for 40,” Thomas said.

This Middle Tennessee squad is having a special season. After knocking off Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year, they have picked up right where they left off. MTSU has wins over Ole Miss, Murray State, Vanderbilt and Belmont.

After the loss to Marshall this past Saturday, the Tops are ready to get back out on the floor and take care of business.

“Like I’ve said, you’d always rather be at home,” head coach Rick Stansbury said.

“We found out against Marshall that being at home don’t guarantee anything by any means. We just came off a very difficult game … it’s obvious you want to get off to better starts.”

A matchup to look for in the game that could have an impact on the outcome is whoever Stansbury decides to put on MTSU redshirt senior and Arkansas transfer JaCorey Williams. The talented big man is averaging 17.1 points per game while grabbing 7.5 boards and shooting 53 percent from the field.

Redshirt senior guard Pancake Thomas (12) puts up a shot as Marshall University forward Ryan Taylor (25) goes to block the ball away during the Topper’s 84-79 loss against Marshall University on Saturday in Diddle Arena. EVAN BOGGS/HERALD Senior Reggie Upshaw presents some problems as well.

He’s a big man that can spread the floor well and knock down a shot from just about anywhere on the floor. Upshaw

boasts averages of 14.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

“They’ve got great experience with Upshaw and Williams,” Stansbury said. “They function well together at both

ends. They’ve got a good system, they’ve got good depth.”

If the Tops can contain one or both of Upshaw and Williams, they will have an

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