February 9, 2017

STUDENTS PREPARE FOR FIGHT NIGHT

READ THE WALKTHROUGH FOR MORE ON #BREAKUPBROHM SPORTS, PAGE B4

PHOTO, PAGE A6

TTHURSDAY, HURSDAY, FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 99,, 22017 017 > W WESTERN ESTERN KKENTUCKY ENTUCKY UUNIVERSITY NIVERSITY > VVOLUME OLUME 992, 2, IISSUE SSUE 3322

Ransdell accepts new presidency position

BY HERALD STAFF HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU President Gary Ransdell was announced Wednesday afternoon as the next president and CEO of the Semester at Sea study abroad program,

according to a press release from the Institute for Shipboard Education, ISE. Ransdell has served on the Board of Trustees for the Semester at Sea, otherwise known as SAS, program for the past four years. His new duties as the Semester at Sea president will

begin on Jan. 1, 2018, according to an email sent to WKU faculty and staff announcing the selection.

“The timeline is important because it allows me to stay with my plans for 2017,” Ransdell said in the email. “The important message to our campus community is that I am

very much ‘all in’ as the WKU President until June 30. There will be no distractions, or any reason to divide my attention.”

Ransdell will be taking up the position from retiring president and CEO

SEE RANSDELL PAGE A2

SGA cuts Safe Ride for Thursdays

BY JAMIE WILLIAMS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Stacey Goad, Office Manager for Sen. Rand Paul, comes out to greet constituents on Wednesday at the senator’s office in Bowling Green. Around 20 citizens gathered to deliver over 500 individual letters from around Kentucky asking Paul to vote ‘no’ to the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Some of the letters were written by hand, but most were submitted via an online campaign by Daily Kos. The campaign collected over 77,000 letters nationwide opposing Sessions’s appointment.

ABBY POTTER/HERALD

Citizens protest Attorney General nomination

BY EMMA AUSTIN HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU *NOTE: Senator Jeff Sessions recieved confirmation as Attorney General of the United States Wednesday.

B

owling Green resident Denise Anderson woke up Wednesday morning, checked her Facebook and saw the news Sen. Elizabeth Warren had been prevented from speaking against Sen. Jeff Session’s nomination as Attorney General the night before. Anderson immediately threw on a pair of jeans and hastily wrote a sign expressing her protest before heading downtown to join nearly 20 Bowling Green citizens in delivering around 600 letters to Sen. Rand Paul’s office urging him to vote against the appointment.

Anderson, 61, said she was “appalled” by the way Sen. Warren was prevented from speaking on the nomination Tuesday night after she read a letter written

by Coretta Scott King in 1986, which expressed King’s opposition to the confirmation of Sessions as a federal

Mary Grayson Batts, 21, leads a group of Bowling Green residents to Sen. Rand Paul’s office Wednesday morning.

ABBY POTTER/HERALD

SEE SESSIONS PAGE A2

The Student Government Association will be terminating its Safe Ride service on Thursdays, meaning the buses will now only run on Fridays and Saturdays.

Safe Ride, also known as the Purple Line, previously ran Thursday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. However, low ridership on Thursdays has led the SGA to cease offering the service on that day. Safe Ride will continue to run normally on Fridays and Saturdays until the SGA can find a more successful replacement service.

“We are not going to discontinue the service entirely without a replacement,” SGA President Jay Todd Richey said. He later continued, “If we repeal it — meaning discontinue — we will replace it with something, but we’re going to make sure we have something for you guys.”

Since the beginning of the spring semester, Safe Ride has averaged one rider per hour on Thursdays, compared to 20 riders per hour on Saturdays. In addition, total ridership has dropped from about 5,000 in fall 2015 to almost 1,500 in fall 2016. Richey said he believes this large drop in ridership is likely due to ride services such as Uber becoming available in Bowling Green.

The SGA will be reimbursed for the money saved by discontinuing Thursday service and will be working on providing ride service alternatives for Safe Ride in the near future.

The Senate also approved one new senator, Sara Saeed, at Tuesday’s meeting. Saeed is a senior at the Gatton Academy, meaning she will be the only senator to directly represent Gatton students. Normally, a Gatton Academy senator is elected to the SGA during the fall semester, but this

SEE SGA PAGE A2

Downtown post office looking for place to relocate

BY SRIJITA CHATTOPADHYAY HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU The U.S. Postal Service recently announced its plans to relocate the downtown post office, holding a public meeting last week to inform Bowling Green residents of the upcoming change and to hear any recommendations for a new location.

The meeting was presented by Philip Doyle, the Asset Manager of USPS, who has been handling the Bowling Green downtown Postal Services relocation project since January 2016.

“The transition will be performed overnight,” he said. “So, if the customer has to do service at the count-

er, they have to be able to do it any day they want.”

Doyle said the reason for the relocation is a need for more space. The post office is currently located on a 3,600 square-foot area of land occupied by the USPS retail and carrier service. Once the move is finalized, the retail operation will move to a 4,000 square-foot property and the carrier service will be moved to the Scottsville road U.S. Postal Services facility.

Some post office regulars expressed concern about the disruption of convenience the relocation might create. The post office is currently located at a spot which is readily accessible to residents living near

the area.

As pointed out by Bowling Green resident David Coverdale, the current location of the service is not only convenient but also falls on the bus route. Coverdale is among the residents who attended the meeting Tuesday night and implored the Asset Manger to ensure the post office remains in close proximity to the original location.

“A post office to us is more than just a place to buy stamps,” he said.

Former Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker also attended the meeting.

“The downtown post office is important to the communication of people and businesses,” she said.

“Moreover, every time I go there, it is packed. That means there is value to the place.”

Near the end of the meeting, Officer in charge Timothy Piercy, the temporary Postmaster of the facility, assured the attendees the relocation of the post office will not disrupt the delivery of their mail and packages.

The date for the relocation has still not been decided because the Postal Services has yet to find a property that fit their space criteria, nor has the buyer of the current property agreed to take over the lease.

Reporter Srijita Chattopadhyay can be reached at (270)745-2655 and srijita.chattopadhyay524@topper.wku. edu.

A2

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Organization event to educate, recruit members

BY ERIAN BRADLEY

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

The Black Leadership and Academic Conference, or BLAC, is a WKU student organization based on a similar program Texas A&M University has conducted for 29 years, the South-Western Black Student Leadership Conference, which is open to many colleges around the world. WKU was one of the schools that attended this conference and eventually decided to make a replica conference for students at WKU. Josclynn Brandon, coordinator at the Student Activities Center, said the program started when the former vice president of student affairs Howard Bailey and other staff members decided to replicate the conference at WKU. Brandon said BLAC is a complete-

SESSIONS

Continued from Front

district court judge.

In the letter, King wrote Sessions had “used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters.”

After being prevented from finishing the letter, Warren tweeted she “will not be silent about a nominee for AG who has made derogatory & racist comments” and she “will not be silent while the Republicans rubber stamp an AG who will never stand up to the @POTUS when he breaks the law.”

Anderson said she often participates in political activism; her husband worked for Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement.

Apart from Sessions’ reputation as a racist, Anderson said she also worries about his climate change denial.

Anderson said she wants to tell Sen. Paul he should think about representing the people of his hometown

SGA

Continued from Front year one was not.

“I felt it was important there was a Gatton student to bridge that gap and advocate for and represent the Academy,” Saeed said.

Two committee chairs were also appointed during the meeting. Hizareth Lineras will be the new chair

RANSDELL

Continued from Front Loren W. Crabtree who has been in the leadership position at SAS since June of 2015. During Crabtree’s term as president, SAS moved its headquarters to the Fort Collins Colorado State University campus and began a partnership with the institution, according to ISE’s website.

Semester at Sea is a study abroad

ly student-run conference that promotes professional development and leadership for students of color at WKU. Brandon said there is a decrease of enrollment of minority students at WKU for various reasons.

She thinks many students decide to leave WKU after struggling academically; maybe they decide it isn’t for them, or they have other issues keeping them from graduating.

“We wanted this conference to take place for students to want to connect with other students of color, to connect with faculty and staff that look like them, and to improve on their leadership and professional and personal development,” Brandon said.

The organization hopes to recruit more minority students at a Black History Month Trivia Night on Feb. 15.

Jade Haywood, co-chair of entertainment in BLAC, said the turnout

last year for the trivia night was a success. Haywood said she thinks students are more aware of the event because of better marketing reasons and more will come to show support.

The organization has made the trivia night a swipeable event, so students will come to receive credit for class.

Students will receive prizes for being more informed of black history at WKU. “Students are always drawn to food and good prizes,” Haywood said.

The BLAC organization conducted their first conference last semester. Students had been planning the conference since 2013, but the conference was delayed due to students graduating and transitioning to different places.

Senior Jessica Jackson said she thinks the organization will thrive this year.

“I am so proud of being a part of an

organization that matters,” Jackson said. “I can’t wait for Trivia Night and many other events that will follow.”

Brandon said this is a time for students of color to learn about WKU’s black history. She mentioned a book published in 2006 that talks about WKU’s first black cheerleader, first black homecoming queen and other achievements. Brandon said the book is being used to promote the event but also to show students of color that these people did it and so can you.

“The ultimate goal is to invite students across this region to this conference, and invite them to build on their professional development and grow as leaders,” Brandon said.

The trivia night will take place Feb. 15 in Downing Student Union room 2123 at 7 p.m.

and state when making his voting decision on Sessions.

Mary Grayson Batts, age 21, said she was able to use social media to reach out to local groups to rally citizens Wednesday morning to deliver the letters.

“There’s a whole lot of progressive

can to help people take political action.

“Within a few hours we had folks that cared a lot about this,” Batts said.

Shortly after 8:30 Wednesday morning, an employee from Paul’s office came out to receive the letters from the crowd on the sidewalk.

tors, carrying signs reading, “Know justice, no Sessions.” Some passersby honked and waved at the group; one car driver slowed to give a thumbsdown sign as he drove past.

Bowling Green resident Claudia Hanes said she takes every opportunity for political activism to do what she can as a voice for justice.

“My personal feeling is if Jeff Sessions gets to be the Attorney General, there’s going to be no justice,” Hanes said. “It’s going to allow the Trump administration to do whatever they want, when they want and how they want.”

Hanes said one of her goals as an activist is to encourage people to spend more time thinking about what’s going on and learn what’s at stake.

“It feels like the conservative movement has completely lost its soul when it comes to justice issues,” Hanes said.

My personal feeling is if Jeff Sessions gets to be the Attorney General, there’s going to be no justice.”

Bowling Green resident Claudia Hanes

Reporter Erian Bradley can be reached at (270)745-0655 and erian.

energy here,” Batts said. “There’s a lot of folks that are excited and ready to do something and don’t always know what to do.”

Batts has spent the past few years working on political campaigns and said she wants to do whatever she

Members of the crowd walked up one by one, repeating “ask him to reject Jeff Sessions,” as they made their deliveries.

After the letters were delivered, Anderson continued walking downtown with some of the other protes-

of the SAVES (Standing Against Violence and for Ending Self-harm) committee, and Stephen Mayer will be the new chair of the Academic Affairs committee. Lineras, a psychology major, wants to use her position to help those with mental illnesses.

“I’m very passionate about helping raise awareness about mental illness and also eliminating the stigma that’s there,” Lineras said.

Lineras hopes to use the SAVES committee to give Greek organizations presentations on rape culture and sexual assault, to organize mental health awareness events, and to partner with Hope Harbor and the National Institute of Mental Health.

On Monday, SGA members plan to attend the KY Rally for Higher Education at the Kentucky State Capitol.

The rally, which will feature attend-

ees from Kentucky’s public universities and special guest speakers, aims to show students’ support for affordable post-secondary education. Specifically, the rally will support allocating lottery funds toward need-based scholarships, as they have been in the past.

program operated by the ISE taking students around the world on a ship, visiting countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Academic, administrative and student recruiting support for the program are provided from CSU. After announcing his retirement in February of 2016, Ransdell hasn’t spent the last several months of his term planning for vacation. The 20-year-term president of WKU has

been at the forefront of a partnership with the University of Kentucky School of Medicine and side-lined plan for an indoor practice and sports medicine facility.

Ransdell has also been personally involved with welcoming Tim Caboni, WKU’s next university president, to the campus and community of Bowling Green.

In his email statement Monday, Ransdell said he is not ready to fully

retire and would like to have the opportunity to “write one more chapter” in his higher education career.

“This opportunity will allow me to remain fully engaged with students and faculty from some of America’s leading colleges and universities,” Ransdell said in his issued statement regarding the selection. “It also brings my passion for global learning into full focus.”

Correction

• In the story “WKU loses top linebacker McCollum to Purdue” in the Tuesday, Feb. 7, edition, the Herald reported in the headline that former WKU football player TJ McCollum would be transferring to Purdue. As reported in the story itself, but was contradicted in the headline, McCollum has yet to decide where he is going to transfer to for his final year of eligibility. The Herald regrets the error and encourages readers to report errors in an effort to remain accurate and responsible.

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.

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FEBRUARY 9, 2017 COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD A3 Letter writing events show support for int’l students

BY REBEKAH ALVEY HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU In response to recent national and state policy changes, a WKU staff member is planning an event to discuss immigration and refugee rights and write letters to legislators.

2K Letters KY is a movement around the state coming to Bowling Green today at the main branch of the Warren County Public Library from 6-8 p.m. The purpose of the events is to write 2,000 letters in two weeks to federal and state lawmakers regarding immigration and refugees.

The event was brought to Bowling Green by WKU staff member Aeryn Darst. Darst, program support specialist for the Center for Citizenship & Social Justice, received an invitation to the state-wide letter writing event in Frankfort. After seeing how many cities were participating she decided to organize one in Bowling Green.

Darst has been involved in social rights and specifically immigrant and refugee rights for a while. Recently, she participated in the post card writing party for the Women’s March in the Washington D.C., which she also

ol Jordan, an instructor and department adviser in the department of theatre and dance, who helped organize the postcard event.

“It is very important to make sure in Kentucky especially that our voices are

a Kentuckian that people are concerned about human rights.”

Before coming to WKU, Jordan was a K-12 teacher and had several international and refugee students. which she said motivated

It is very important to make sure in Kentucky especially that our voices are heard.”

Instructor and advisor in Department of Theatre and Dance Carol Jordan attended.

“It was powerful to see people come together to campaign for women’s rights,” Darst said. “It’s obvious people care.”

To put on the 2K Letters KY, Darst reached out to Car-

heard,” Jordan said. “It’s not just an East Coast or blue state issue.”

Jordan attended the Women’s March in Lexington. She stayed in Kentucky rather than go to D.C because she believes, “it is important as

her to become involved with rights advocacy.

“They are amazing people,” Jordan said. “Opening doors is important to all Americans.”

Jordan said the event is an opportunity to come togeth-

er to draw attention to problems and issues while also planning future advocacy events.

“Education is really important at this point,” Darst said.

With several new policy changes going on, they are hoping to create a comprehensive list of every current change relating to international and refugee rights.

Jordan said donations will be collected at the event for the International Center of Kentucky, which is located in Bowling Green and helps with refugee resettlement.

During the event, Darst and Jordan plan to encourage people to go to Frankfort on Feb. 16 in a state-wide 2K Letters KY. “It’s important to strengthen and engage with the international community,” Jordan said.

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

Donation from Fruit of the Loom creates scholarship fund

BY MONICA KAST HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Dependents of Fruit of the Loom employees will be able to apply for new scholarships for the fall 2017 semester after a $1 million donation was made to WKU, according to Fruit of the Loom.

Warren Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Fruit of the Loom’s parent company. After Rick Medlin, CEO of Fruit of the Loom, died last year, Buffett donated $1 million to WKU to be used for scholarships, according to Fruit of the Loom.

“We are so grateful for Mr. Buffett’s generosity in honoring Rick [Medlin] and his passion for education,” Melissa Burgess Taylor, Fruit of

the Loom CEO, said in a press release. “The scholarship will have a lasting impact on employees and their families for years to come.”

Donald Smith, president of the College Heights Foundation, said the $1 million donation will distribute approximately $100,000 per year over a 10 year period.

Smith said that will create “approximately 10 full scholarships each year for a 10 year period.”

Smith said the scholarships will cover the full amount of tuition, not including room and board.

“We don’t really know what the applicant pool will look like in the coming year but I would anticipate that we might have 50 to 100 ap-

plicants in any given year, and then they’ll be selected by the university scholarship committee,” Smith said.

Students eligible for the scholarship can apply through TOPDollar. According to a press release from Fruit of the Loom, “recipients may reapply each year if a GPA of 3.0 or higher is maintained.” Students will be able to apply these scholarships to the fall 2017 semester.

Smith said the scholarship fund will be open to dependents of any U.S. Fruit of the Loom employee, not just employees working at Fruit of the Loom in Bowling Green.

He also said it could be used for any full-time student, through “traditional enrollment, or on-demand, online

enrollment.”

“We felt like it was a winwin for everybody involved,” Smith said. “It helps Fruit of the Loom employees create retention efforts and provide scholarship opportunities for their students, and it allows us to attract and retain those students as well.”

Smith said donations to scholarship funds are becoming increasingly important at universities.

“Scholarship support is extremely critical to the institution right now to allow us to attract and retain the best and brightest students, not just in Bowling Green but across the Commonwealth, across the nation and the globe,” Smith said. “Any gift that goes into scholarships is

allowing us do that.”

Smith said although Medlin graduated from Clemson University, education remained important to him throughout his life.

Through his connection to Bowling Green and Fruit of the Loom, the donation was given to WKU. Smith said donations like these help make college education more accessible.

“These contributions from generous donors like Mr. Buffett allow the dream of an education to be possible for deserving students,” Smith said.

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

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OPINION

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Have an opinion? Tweet us @wkuherald or find us on Facebook at WKUHerald as well. Let us know your thoughts about the editorial, or write us with what is on your mind.

illustration by Wesley Slaughter

CARTOON

Evangelical organizations target international students

BY ERICK MURRER HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

When Phuong Le, a Vietnamesestudent, came to WKU to study accounting and finance, little did she know that an American college experience would entail religious proselytization.

Situated as one of the prime centers of educational excellence, the U.S. attracts the largest share of international students standing at over 975,000.

Of that immense group, over 1,300 unique international students from 70 countries have entrusted WKU with the responsibility of delivering a quality-filled, bias-free education. Not only do universities recognize the financial returns of enrolling international students, but university evangelical organizations have also tapped into this “abundant harvest.”

A 2002 New York Times article explored the Great Commission of the Christian faith applied to a campus setting, citing one campus ministry worker who asked, “If we are willing to go abroad and share our faith in God with foreigners in their lands, then why don’t we tell them about Christ here, when the whole world is coming to our doorstep?”

Following this call, more than 20

Christian campus ministries contribute to an active Christian presence at WKU. We see it everywhere: campus ministry lawn signs, Christian chalk art, Bible study flyers by water fountains, church groups giving out granola bars, even Bible study group members handing out pamphlets moments before Bible studies start in Downing Student Union. No matter where you go, you can’t escape it.

So with their bright smiling, cheery faces, WKU campus ministry members are particularly excited to share the “Good News” with international students. Of course they would be!

Having no family, friends or support, the first experiences of international students can be bewildering and overwhelming. As we all know, establishing community and friendship is essential for college success.

When Phuong recalls her first week at WKU she remembers being invited to a Baptist Campus Ministry “pizza night.” A friend had told her that there would be free food, and it could be a chance to make American friends and have fun. Phuong was struck by their kindness.

Phuong was also invited to attend a Bridges International meeting, recalling that one question her group dis-

cussed was, “What is your motivation to be good and moral?”

Phuong, who is non-religious but comes from the predominately Buddhist northern Vietnam, responded that her motivation to be good, “Just comes from myself. All decisions are made by me.” Phuong was met with responses claiming that God was responsible for morality. In the end, Phuong felt like, “They tried to knock me down.”

While seemingly disguised as goodwill, these groups prey on international students, who represent a slew of diverse backgrounds, religions, races, ethnicity and ideologies, by presenting a reductive, combative form of Christianity.

Oftentimes, international students feel neglected compared to their American counterparts, not participating in native-integrated activities.

These campus ministries attempt to fill this void, but in the process, sleight the identities of the students they intend to befriend (“Christ-washing”, if you will). Phuong said it was a cultural shock to be approached in this way.

“They tell it [Christianity] like it was the truth. They assumed everything.

They did not ask what religion I followed,” she said.

As a symptom of the intertwined American and Christian hegemonic dynamic, some Christians on campus have come across to some international students as non-receptive. When language exchanges are hosted by WKU campus ministries like Bridges International, faith is a common topic - but conversation is a two-way street.

Phuong said she feels like some of her interactions with campus ministry organizations are not “natural” and that she feels “ … that they want to convert me, and that they want to hang out with me other than to be friends.”

This is not to say that discussions of faith or religion are off-limits with international students. Phuong affirmed she would be open to learning if they weren’t as aggressive. After all, college is all about expanding our frameworks of understanding through the interactions of diverse experiences.

So what can be done to address this targeting of international students to be “ministered” to by campus ministry groups?

“Don’t be ignorant. The international student community is diverse. We have different beliefs and mindsets.

You cannot apply your own thinking to others,” Phuong said.

COMMENTARY

General Assembly back in business, it’s time to protest

BY ANDREW HENDERSON HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU On Tuesday, the Kentucky General Assembly turned around that “Closed” sign they put up in the Capitol rotunda and opened back up for business after a short break.

Following an eventful first week of the 2017 legislative session where controversial right-to-work legislation and legislation surrounding access to abortion were passed by the General Assembly and signed into law, it’s time to see what we can get ourselves into this go around.

The 2017 General Assembly marks the first time in nearly 100 years Republicans have complete control of Congress, which they achieved when they won the House of Representatives in the last election.

With a Republican controlled Congress and Republican governor at the helm, Gov. Matt Bevin has few obstacles in his path as far as setting the policy agenda. This can be promising for people who agree with conservative policies, but worrying for the other side of the aisle as it’s increasingly harder to rally opposition. That, and Kentucky

Democrats are a fickle bunch.

So, what can we expect to see now that the boys are back in town? The Lexington Herald-Leader has already wrangled up seven bills to look out for in the Kentucky Senate this week.

Senate Bill 1 would “establish a new process for reviewing classroom academic standards and intervening in low-performing schools.” Senate Bill 7 would allow Kentucky to carry concealed guns without a permit. Senate Bill 8 would prohibit the giving of money from local or state governments from going to organizations “that provides abortions, refers women to places that provide abortions or gives women “information that encourages or promotes abortion”.”

Schools, guns and abortion: nothing gets more Kentucky than that. Nothing also comes closer to mirroring the title of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s book “God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy.”

With the legislative session underway it also means demonstrations and protests are back in fashion. On Tuesday, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth held a “Stand for Kentucky” rally where people lined the hallways of

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the Capitol and Capitol Annex to voice their “support for issues like workers’ rights, raising the minimum wage, immigrants and the right to clean air and water, just to name a few,” according to the State Journal.

Next week provides even more opportunities for concerned Kentuckians to take to Frankfort and express their discontent as there are quite a few rallies scheduled.

Next Monday, there is a Rally for Higher Education from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Capitol rotunda. Some of the speakers include Secretary of State Alison Grimes, Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, Attorney General Andy Beshear and student speakers from across the state.

Members of WKU Student Government Association plan to attend the rally. There is also an online petition created by SGA President Jay Todd Richey people can sign to signal support.

“The rally and petition are to serve one purpose and that is to demonstrate to legislators that students care about these issues, and that we are listening, and we vote,” Richey said to a Herald reporter.

On Wednesday, there will be a Fair-

ness Rally beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Capitol rotunda. The rally is centered around garnering support for a statewide fairness law in the form of Senate Bill 63 and in opposition to House Bill 105, HB 106 and HB 141.

A 2011 survey by The Schapiro Group found that 60 percent of Kentuckians agree that LGBT folks should “be protected from anti-gay and gender identity workplace discrimination.”

And on Thursday, is Refugee and Immigrant Day. The general gathering will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., but other sessions and meetings with legislators are scheduled throughout the day.

According to a July 2014 report by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, immigrants account for 3 percent of the state’s population but this increased drastically by 70 percent between 2000 and 2012. And a 2015 Washington Post story found Kentucky is in the top 20 percent of states when it comes to accepting refugees.

Here are just a few opportunities you can take to go out there and speak up for your beliefs, or stay at home and continue making Facebook posts in the hope something changes, it’s really your call.

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HELP WANTED City of Bowling Green now accepting applications for the following positions Full-Time Positions •Public Works Technician: Application deadline: February 17, 2017 Part-Time Positions •Camp Counselors •Police Cadet •Laborers •Recreation Staff •Greenskeeper Assistant II - PBCC •Landscape Helper •Aerobics Instructor •Summer Aquatic •Fitness Instructor Positions •Scorekeepers •Golf Shop •School Crossing Attendants Guard •Recreation Staff •Referee/Umpire Assistant II-BGCC Interested applicants can apply online at bgky.org/hr/jobs or at the computers at the Human Resources Department in City Hall, 1001 College Street, Bowling Green. The City of Bowling Green is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug-Free Workplace.

1 Get ready, for short 5 Mimicking 10 Village green 14 Alleviate 15 Ham’s need 16 African flower 17 Off yonder 18 Visually impaired person 19 Disturb 20 Building material 22 Belly 24 Acoustic 27 Tree trunk 28 Bit of Gothic architecture 31 Respect 35 Mitch Miller’s instrument 36 Furry pinnipeds 37 Toni Morrison’s “___ Baby” 38 Call to Bo-peep 39 Before now 41 Stars and Stripes land 42 Bibliophile’s suffix 43 It’s the law 44 Type of poem 46 Order in the court 47 Pretend 49 Statement 50 Labor 51 Survey choice 53 Rubicund 56 Unrefined 60 Canal of song 61 Sound 64 Opposed 65 Educator Horace 66 Civil rights org.

67 Defeat decisively

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©2017 PuzzleJunction.com

1. Iguaza Falls rest on the border of what two South American nations? (a) Peru & Equador (b) Venezuela & Columbia (c) Brazil & Argentina 2. What is the name of the island in South Africa's Table Bay? (a) Robben (b) Marion (c) Dassen 3. In what desert can you surf down dunes in Swakopmund? (a) Gobi (b) Namib (c) Kalahari 4. In what country would you find a temple devoted to bats? (a) India (b) Vietnam (c) Thailand 5. What New Zealand river was once home to the World's highest bungee platform? (a) Manawatu (b) Nevis (c) Clarence 6. Hell's Gate is a geothermal park located on what island nation? (a) New Zealand (b) Haiti (c) Sri Lanka 7. What two countries are separated by the Khyber Pass? (a) Italy & Switzerland (b) Spain & France (c) Pakistan & Afghanistan 8. What country exports over half the World's cork? (a) India (b) South Africa (c) Portugal 9. What Alaskan city was once the capital of a Russian territory? (a) Sitka (b) Fairbanks (c) Stewart 10. Where is the Staircase to the Moon located? (a) Australia (b) Canada (c) Ireland

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68 “Hey there!”

69 Peruvian peaks 70 Concludes Down 1 Stew ingredients 2 Huck Finn’s conveyance 3 Brother of Jacob 4 Losely woven cotton fabric 5 Knight’s protection 6 Wages 7 Chapel vow 8 Australasian palm 9 German propaganda minister of WWII 10 Jailbird’s wish

Wholesome Stage part Razor-sharp Pool tool Fins, collectively Gather on the surface, chemically “Malcolm X” director Spoil Primitive calculators Bo’suns, in full Spigot ___ Major (southern constellation) Muse with a lyre Argus-eyed

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46 Military action 48 English Channel strait 49 Mermaid’s home 52 Basketball game 53 Rope fiber 54 Baseball stats 55 Chinese dollar 57 Knowing, as a secret 58 Formal accessory 59 Strikes 62 Little League coach, often 63 Rocks, to a bartender

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

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3 5 8 1 4 3 9 5 3

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

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Note to Readers: The College Heights Herald screens ads for misleading or false claims but cannot guarantee any ad or claim. Please use caution when answering ads, especially when asked to send money or provide credit card information. The College Heights Herald is not responsible for the content or validity of these paid classified ads.

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WKUHERALD.COM

PHOTO

Lindsey Wilson College freshman Spencer Johnson, 18, will be competing in Fight Night for his brother Blake Johnson, a senior and member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. “Every time I come to Bowling Green those guys ... always take me in, treat me like one of them, and so I just want to beat someone up for them,” Johnson said. KATHRYN ZIESIG/HERALD

T

he annual Fight Night event hosted by the Sigma Chi fraternity will be held at the Sloan Convention Center this Thursday and Friday.

Competitors have spent weeks training for these fights and for some, it is their first time boxing. Tyler Kilgus, a junior in Sigma Chi Zeta Mu and firsttime competitor, has been training for about five months in preparation for his first fight. Kilgus said he would watch boxing videos and talk to boxers he knew for advice. Other competitors trained together like Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity members, Tyler Irick and Luke Skaggs. Irick said the two would run, hit the bags and spar together to prepare. “We put in the work, we’re ready to get it done,” Irick said.

“We’re just ready to get in the ring and do it.” There will be about 30 people competing in Fight Night and all the ticket sales will benefit the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Special thanks to BGKY Boxing for the use of their facilities.

-Kathryn Ziesig

Evansville junior Tyler Irick, 22, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, will be competing in Fight Night for the first time on Thursday. “Win, lose, or draw, there’s a bigger reason why we’re doing this,” Irick said. “It’s not just for us, it’s for this charity to raise money for them.” KATHRYN ZIESIG/HERALD

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Nashville sophomore Justin Williams, 20, will represent Sigma Chi on Thursday.

“I enjoy competing in solo sports that rely on yourself, which is kind of what drew me to boxing,” Williams said. “I wrestled back in high school and solo sports like these mean to me self-control, self-motivation and self-reliance.

Things that are important to me and that should be important to everyone else.” EBONY COX/HERALD

READYSET

FIGHT

Freshman Alex Ogaz, of Carona, California, 18, will represent the Sigma Nu fraternity on Thursday. “I love fighting; it’s fun getting hit and hitting others,” Ogaza said. “I take out my aggression while fighting as I am an aggressive person.”EBONY COX/HERALD

WKUHERALD.COM

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

LIFE

» Little Fox: Read about Bowling Green’s newest bakery.

Chocolate festival to celebrate 30 years of sweetness

BY ANDREW CRITCHELOW HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

“dependency.” When students split into their respective groups, Martha Sales explained to the audience that focusing too much on one area had consequences.

“If you’re only connected by one of these four, you are breeding unhealthy relationships,” Martha Sales said. “And based on what I hear you say, swinging through our office or talking to some of the older students who are in here, there are a whole lot of unhealthy relationships on college campus. That’s why we’re in Chapter One, welcome to Loving While Black.”

After the audience returned to their seats, Martha and Shawn Sales began discussing some of the difficulties of finding love. Shawn Sales said many

Chocolate and charity will come together Sunday at the Chocolate Festival hosted by Hospice of Southern Kentucky. Now in its 30th year, the event will take place at the Sloan Convention Center and will feature over 50 dessert and specialty vendors from businesses, organizations and non-profits around the community.

Jennifer Brashear, Marketing Director at Hospice of Southern Kentucky, said she predicts the attendance of the event to be from 1,200 to 1,400 people throughout the day. The event will begin at 2 p.m. and conclude at 5 p.m.

“Everybody loves to give back and wants to give back,” Brashear said.

“And then, of course, you get to indulge. Who doesn’t love chocolate?”

Whether it’s a little or a lot.”

The Chocolate Festival raises about $25,000 for Hospice of Southern Kentucky each year. Since the organization was founded in 1981, it has assisted over 10,000 families affected by terminal illness in Southern Kentucky, according to the organization’s website.

Some of the vendors that will participate in the Chocolate Festival include Chaney’s Dairy Barn, BG Cakes and Gigi’s Cupcakes. Susan Appling, manager at Gigi’s Cupcakes Bowling Green, said the business has taken part in the event for four years.

“We are honored to be a small part of this community event,” Appling said. “We enjoy getting to connect with other businesses and people of the Bowling Green community.”

Brashear said she is grateful for the vendors who have repeatedly returned for the annual event.

“I hope that we give them so much publicity, and we’re just so grateful and thankful,” Brashear said. “This is a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of generosity on our vendor’s part.”

In addition to the various vendors, the event will also include the Local Celebrity Cookie Eating Contest, with eight local celebrities participating.

Some of the participants in this year’s contest include Victoria Devon, host of the Morning Show on WNKY, Latenight Lyle from WGGC and Paul Taylor, Account Executive of the Bowling Green Hot Rods.

SEE LOVE PAGE B3

SEE CHOCOLATE PAGE B3

Martha Sales talks to attendees of the first chapter of her presentation series titled “Loving While Black” on Tuesday in Downing Student Union. “Just because you’ve been a victim, doesn’t mean you have to stay one.” said Sales. The series will discuss the importance of real love and what it takes to have healthy relationships. JACK ATKERSON/HERALD

TALKING ABOUT LOVE Students talk about love at ISEC event

BY ANDREW CRITCHELOW HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

With Valentine’s Day drawing close, WKU students discussed all things love Tuesday, taking part in the first chapter of Loving While Black, an event organized by the Intercultural Student Engagement Center. Held in the Downing Student Union, this first presentation in the series was titled Chapter I: Foundations of Black Love.

The presenters of this event were Martha Sales, Executive Director of ISEC and WKU Trio Programs, and her husband, Rev. Shawn Sales. The couple discussed their ideas of what love is during the presentation and encouraged audience participation and viewpoints.

“You already know how to put each other down,” Martha Sales said near the beginning of the event, addressing the crowd. “You already know how trifling guys are. You already know how trifling females are. That’s not why we’re here. We’re for solution-oriented conversation.”

The event was part of a list of Black History Month events hosted by ISEC that will occur throughout February including WKU Black Trivia, Black Violin and Distinguished Minority Fellows Workshop.

The event started with an activity in which attendees were asked to leave their seats and split into groups that represented what they believed was most important in love. The four groups were “cash,” “force,” flesh” and

Valentine’s Day at WKU includes ‘mystery dates’ with books

BY OLIVIA MOHR HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU For Valentine’s Day, the Leisure Books area of the Commons at Cravens features a shelf of many mysterious books wrapped in simple brown craft paper for students to choose as “mystery dates.”

Phrases are written on the paper wrapping to give hints about the books’ contents, including hints like “coming of age,” “spaceships,” “this town is on fire” and “murder, intrigue and double-crossing.”

The WKU Libraries Display Committee chooses and creates displays for most cases in the Main Libraries. The committee put on the Mystery Date with a Book promotion, and this is the third time it has done so.

The committee put on the promotion in 2014 and 2015 and brought the promotion back this year, and it has captured students’ attention.The promotion will continue until the end of February.

Students check out the mystery books before unwrapping them and taking them home to read. Rate

Your Date questionnaires are placed in each book so students can rate their experiences with their “dates.”

Once students fill out the questionnaires, they can take them to a drop box at the circulation desk in the Commons at Cravens marked “Mystery Date with a Book” to enter a drawing for the chance to win one of three prizes.

Three random winners will be drawn randomly on March 7.

Winners drawn from the box will be notified by phone or email.

Katie King, Senior Acquisitions Assistant, processes and orders book requests for the library. She serves on several of the libraries’ committees including the Libraries Display Committee. King hopes students explore new book genres and broaden their horizons.

“We’re hoping that students will take home a book that they normally wouldn’t and give it a try,” King said. “Maybe they’ll discover a new author or genre that they really enjoy.”

King hopes through this promotion, “Maybe [students

Senior Yilin Wang (left) and junior Yanzhou Huang (right) Study in the library next to the Mystery Date with a Book, bookshelf. Katie King, Senior Acquisition Assistant, and Allison Sircy, Senior Periodicals Assistant, at WKU Libraries helped to create the “Mystery Date with a Book” now on display at Helm-Cravens Library. GRACE PRITCHETT/HERALD will] discover a new author or genre that they really enjoy despite what they previously thought about it. Maybe they usually only read fiction and

picked up a non-fiction book and enjoyed it more than they expected. Maybe they won’t judge a book by its author, genre or cover.”

Senior Reference and Periodicals Assistant Allison Sircy’s main job in the library is to co-manage and supervise

SEE BOOKS PAGE B3

B2

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Bakery brings a new edition to Bowling Green food scene

Allison Taylor, mother of a 3-year-old son, poses in Bowling Green’s Fountain Square Park. Allison is currently raising funds through a Go-Fund-Me profile to start a food truck for her Little Fox Bakery. Allison worked at Spencer’s Coffee as their baker for three years, and has now decided that it’s time to go out on her own. Allison wants to “broaden the horizons of the Bowling Green food scene,” through her unique and innovative recipes. Allison noted there aren’t many food trucks out and about currently. “Bowling Green has been changing rapidly and I think it needs that,” she explained. LYDIA SCHWEICKART/HERALD

BY KALEE CHISM HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Little Fox Bakery is working toward bringing a new food truck to downtown Bowling Green. Allison Taylor, the owner of Little Fox Bakery, began baking when she was a teenager as a way to combat insomnia and later decided that it was the career path for her.

“Originally, I actually started baking when I was like 15 or 16 because I had really bad insomnia, and my parents would just let me get up and play around in the kitchen when I couldn’t sleep and that was when I first kind of realized that it was something I was in to ,” Taylor said. “It was probably when I was about 19 or so that I decided that this was really what I wanted to do as a career as well.”

Little Fox Bakery started out in collaboration with Spencer’s Coffee in downtown Bowling Green, but now Taylor is ready to branch out and start her own business.

“I’m just at the point now

where I’m really ready to jump out and not be affiliated with another business and do my own thing,” Taylor said.

“As much as I would love to have a physical storefront, a food truck seems like the next logical step, like an easy transition into that.”

Taylor thinks the idea of a food truck will help to bring a new spin to Bowling Green’s rapidly changing food scene.

“I think it’s really good for Bowling Green to have things like this,” Taylor said. “Right now we don’t have many food trucks that actually are out and about, you know, they set up at the bars at night and I think it would be great for it to become more of an actual installment and I think it changes the scene downtown a lot, and I think Bowling Green has been changing rapidly and needs that.”

Taylor hopes the food truck will not only have a permanent spot but also be able to travel to events to bring the sweet snacks around town.

“There are a lot of things

I’m excited about with it,” Taylor said. “I like that I can go to people. If there’s going to be an event happening on campus, or if there’s a ballgame, I can be right there in the thick of it.”

Taylor wants to bring new and exciting flavors and foods to Bowling Green, straying away from the traditional styles usually seen.

“So with the baked goods itself, I want to sort of broaden the horizons of Bowling Green’s food scene because there’s some really amazing food in Bowing Green, but there’s not really creative or interesting baked goods in Bowling Green though,” Taylor said. “We have Riley’s, and we have things like that but they do very traditional and old-school baking, but you can get so creative with food and with cake and with pastries, and I want to bring that exciting, that different, and the new flavors, and the different takes on things into that here.”

Taylor’s primary sweet snack is cupcakes, but once

the food truck begins she hopes to add more savory flavors.

“Cupcakes are my specialty and it’s definitely where I have the most fun when playing around with flavors and whatnot, but I want to do a variety of things as well. I want to do cookies and macaroons,” Taylor said. “I’d like to have a few savory things as well for people who aren’t so into sweets, like croissants and maybe croissants that are stuffed with like ham and cheese, and spinach, and pesto, and tomatoes too, so that people can grab a quick lunch or something if they’re walking by.”

Taylor says the clientele of Bowling Green is one of her favorite parts of her job.

“It’s really fun to get to experiment and to get to have a new flavor idea and to bring that out, but I’ve also honestly really enjoyed getting to know the people around Bowling Green, the people are nicer here,” Taylor said.

“I really enjoy the customers around Bowing Green;

they’re fantastic.”

The hardest part of making this dream a reality has been finding the time to juggle her personal life and career, according to Taylor.

“It’s a lot of work, finding the time for it,” Taylor said.

“I’m also a single mom too, so finding the time to do all of this and finding the time to take care of a kid and all of that, it can be exhausting sometimes, but it’s well worth it,” Taylor said.

Taylor aims to have the food truck done by this summer and has a Kickstarter campaign to help collect the funds to bring the Little Fox Bakery food truck to Bowling Green’s food scene.

“I do have the Kickstarter right now that I’m working on, so if this is something people are excited about and they want to see it happen sooner rather than later, that’s the way they can help.”

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

IT’S TIME TO PUT THE

PUB BACK IN

Beer and Wine sales will end at 7:30 from Monday - Thursday and at 3:30 on Friday

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

B3

LOVE

Continued from Life students have trouble finding love because they haven’t been exposed to healthy relationships.

“I came from a broken home,” Shawn Sales said. “If somebody would have asked me when I was your age ‘what does healthy love look like,’ I couldn’t have raised my hand either.”

The presenters then went on to ask the audience about their ideas of what love is. Students responded with answers such as “compromise,”

BOOKS

Continued from Life the periodicals unit and helps out in Reference when needed. She is also involved with the Libraries Display Committee.

“We hope that [the program] will encourage students to visit WKU Libraries, as well as show the other facets of the libraries,” Sircy said. “While

CHOCOLATE Continued from LIFE

“It’s a fun two minutes to see people stuff their faces for a good cause,” Brashear said.

The festival will host a silent auction with items including an autographed baseball from the Bowling Green Hotrods, gift baskets from local businesses and gift certificates from local restaurants. The event will also include activities for children such as face paintings, a candy store, a photo booth and the opportunity to take pictures with various mascots.

Brashear said the Sloan Convention Center makes it possible to host an event with a large number of vendors and attendees.

“They’re fantastic in terms of their offering and their support, but also the space,” Brashear said. “1,400 people is a huge crowd, and they host it, and it flows beautifully.”

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

“patience” and “commitment.” The presenters and audience members exchanged ideas about what love means to them.

The event concluded with the presenter’s idea of what the first chapter of the Loving While Black series is about, elaborating that self-love is essential.

“It’s going to be hard for you to love anybody else if you don’t love yourself,” Martha Sales said. “If you don’t know how to treat yourself, it’s going to be hard to be ask somebody else to give you that.”

Teran Sundy, graduate student at

WKU, said attending the event was helpful for students to understand and discuss the topic of love in an open forum.

“I think it was very important that people got to understand self-love,” Sundy said. “I’m 25, and I’m still on this journey of self-love and trying to accept myself in order for someone else to love me. I feel like at this age it’s one of those things where a lot of people might miss out on that.”

Before the attendants left the event, Martha Sales requested the audience exercise self-love before attending the next installment of Loving While

Black.

“I want you to think about what you have done lately to show yourself that you love yourself,” Martha Sales said. “…Next week is Valentine’s Day. Send yourself a Valentine’s card. If you want a rose, send yourself a rose. If there’s something you desire in someone else, invest in yourself. I know that sounds crazy but how can you recognize what love looks like if you don’t even love yourself?”

providing research assistance and materials is a large part of our purpose, we are also here as a place of community for WKU and to Bowling Green in general.”

“This program is geared towards fun and leisure,” Sircy said. “With that in mind, we hope that it encourages students and others to read for the fun [of it] and to try a new book, genre, or author. We decided to do Mystery Date

with a Book mainly because it’s fun for the WKU community and for the committee as well.”

The Mystery Date with a book program is a way to encourage students to read and get interested in new genres and authors, and the staff encourages students to read for fun in addition to reading academic texts.

“Hopefully, by providing a little mystery on exactly what the books are, we

will entice students to try something new that they might not otherwise,” Sircy said. “There is a great deal of academic reading that is involved with going to college, and hopefully with this display, we are encouraging the notion that you can still read for fun.”

Reporter Andrew Critchelow can be reached at 270-745-6288 and andrew. critchelow121@topper.wku.edu.

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

In addition to the Chocolate Festival, Hospice of Southern Kentucky also hosts charity events such as Race on the River Fest, Light Up the Night and various donation drives.

Brashear said the Chocolate Festival has grown into a recognizable event for the Bowling Green community over its 30 years of existence.

“What I hear a lot when I’m doing publicity for this event is that it’s such a staple for the community,” Brashear said. “We have people that look forward to this every single year.”

Tickets for the Chocolate Festival are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 270-782-3402, visiting their website at www.hospicesoky.org or by picking them up at Hospice of Southern Kentucky, located at 5872 Scottsville Rd.

Reporter Andrew Critchelow can be reached at 270-745-6288 and andrew. critchelow121@topper.wku.edu.

FRESH FR RE WAYS TO SAY

I yloouve

Ann-Riley Cox, 13, waits for visitors at the Kids Candy Store booth at the Chocolate Festival on Feb. 21, 2016 at the Sloan Convention Center. Proceeds from the ticket sales benefit the Hospice of Southern Kentucky. LEANORA BENKATO/HERALD

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FEBRUARY 9, 2017

B4

SOFTBALL

THE WALKTHROUGH

Continued from SPORTS

Head Coach Jeff Brohm during the Red and White Spring Game on April 19, 2014, at Smith Stadium. MIKE HERALD/HERALD

Breaking up with Brohm BYEVAN HEICHELBECH HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU In the wake of WKU redshirt junior linebacker T.J. McCollum’s recent decision to spend his final year of eligibility elsewhere and transfer from the program, former head coach Jeff Brohm is the one to blame.

At least that’s what some Hilltopper fans believe.

Rumors of McCollum’s decision to transfer began circulating eight days ago, and he was officially granted his request to transfer from the school exactly one week ago. It didn’t take long for WKU fans on the Twittersphere to react to the news, and for those who voiced their opinions, they were lessthan accepting of the news.

In response to a tweet by WBKO’s Chad Bishop that reported McCollum could be following former WKU head coach Jeff Brohm to Purdue, one fan with the username “@pawzprint� went so far as to suggest that Bishop “#breakupwithBrohm�, suggesting that Bishop “do a report critical of Brohm�. But the irony in that so-called fan’s plea is that he, along with a seemingly substantial amount of Hilltopper fans appear to be breaking up with Brohm themselves.

The key word in Bishop’s original report is “could�, because nothing is official yet as far as where the former Hilltopper will play in his final year of eligibility. The only hint that carries actual substance is a tweet from McCollum’s former Clay-Chalkville High assistant coach Sean Talsma congratulating him on his transfer to Purdue.

That tweet has since been deleted.

But some tweets that have not been deleted and seem to gain an increasing amount of pent-up anger as McCollum’s decision continues to loom are tweets critical of the WKU program’s former conductor.

Some of the tweets are mild and lack an overall sense of logic like the one from user “@tim_fruit� who criticized Brohm, a.k.a. “JB� saying, “@MrChadBishop graduate transfers are not kids any more, it is not transfer as much as waiting till the last moment, shame JBtoo.�

Others are a bit more direct, like the one from “@WKUFan518â€? who claimed that “it’s not the kids fault, blame prior coaching staff, this is getting ridiculous ‌â€?

Then there’s the burn-every-bridge

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

approach like the one “@MHuffCUBS� took, responding to the reports with aspirations that Brohm “falls on his face� and that the “big10 fields are smeared with black and gold where #Purdue gets ran over.�

Regardless of whether or not the pushback is blunt criticism of Brohm or if it’s carried by an undertone of annoyance, none of it is warranted.

There is absolutely nothing for Hilltopper fans to be upset at Jeff Brohm about. He just led one of the most successful three-year spans in program history and re-established WKU football as an exciting brand on a national stage. The New England Patriots literally ran one of WKU’s plays in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Also, this isn’t a Jeff Brohm issue.

This is something that happens in college sports. Players follow the coaches they trust. They follow the coaches they committed to as high school recruits; the coaches that have helped develop them and mentor them during their formative years as a student-athlete.

Consider the situation from McCollum’s perspective. He started at Alabama-Birmingham in 2013. He played in 10 games in the 2014 season after redshirting his freshman season. Immediately after that season, the UAB football program was shut down. Who was one of the coaches that gave him a chance to continue his football career? Jeff Brohm. Now, Brohm is the head coach at a Power-5 school. To go from starting at a school that didn’t have enough funding to continue its football program after your second year to playing in a conference that includes the highest level of competition in the country is not a chance many players will ever get. It’s certainly not a chance that many players will ever pass up.

At this point, McCollum’s future playing destination is still solely speculation. The public does not definitively know where he’s going, why he’s going, when it will be known where he’s going, or if the idea to transfer was all one of his own. But what the public does know — or at least they should – is that no matter where McCollum ends up, it does not give fans the license to criticize anyone.

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

Follow him on Twitter at @evanheich.

Tudor also noted Downing’s two knee surgeries which have forced her to “adapt� to a bit of a new role. “It’s a little different than last year,�

Downing said of her role change. “Last year I kind of did it all: pitched, hit and played first base. I think the most important role I can play is bringing my experience. That’s invaluable, and we’ve got some freshmen that are going to have to grow up really quick. Being that constant, consistent leader is really important as well as bringing my game in the circle.�

Downing also spoke of assistant coach and former WKU baseball player, Matt Wilhite. “Oh, he’s awesome,� Downing said. “I told him today, I think that if there were more coaches like him ... he’s what makes me believe there’s still good in the world.�

Wilhite brings a lot of knowledge to the team, on top of his great character, according to Downing. “He’s an awesome person, first and foremost, and he brings so much to the table,�Downing said. “I mean he played as close as you can get to the pros, so bringing his knowledge

and his wisdom, and on top of that being a great person, we are so lucky to have him.�

This year, the Hilltoppers will play three teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Preseason Poll with matches against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 23 Florida Atlantic. There will be plenty of tests for a young team that has 10 new faces.

The Hilltoppers have just two returning seniors, but they’ll play two of the most important positions, as Downing will pitch and Taylor Proctor will play catcher. WKU will also be looking for significant contributions from their best returning hitter, Jordan Mauch, a utility player who had a .324 batting average last season.

The Hilltoppers will start off their season with the Bulldog Kickoff in Starkville, Mississippi on Friday.

Their first game will be against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, followed by a matchup with Georgia State later in the day. Following the Bulldog Classic, WKU will host two tournaments at home.

Reporter Jeremy Chisenhall can be reached at 859-760-0198 and jeremy. chisenhall921@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @JSChisenhall.

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WKU’s 2016-2017 Cultural Enhancement Series presents Space Archeologist, National Geographic Fellow, Professor of Anthropology at UAB, and 2016 TED Prize winner

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

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

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

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

B5

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Conference race heating up as Lady Tops travel to Marshall

BY SAM PORTER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU The phrase “take it one game at a time” is a sentiment coaches across the country use to keep their teams from overlooking weaker opponents.

As the end of the regular season draws nearer and nearer, that statement especially holds true for three women’s basketball teams in Conference USA. WKU, Charlotte and Middle Tennessee State all boast 9-2 records in the conference with seven games left in the regular season.

The Lady Tops will look for revenge against Charlotte at home on February 23 after an 89-85 overtime loss to the 49ers earlier this season.

The Lady Tops will also look to sweep MTSU after thumping the Lady Raiders 66-51 at home earlier this season.

However, head coach Michelle Clark-Heard is a firm believer in taking it one game at a time, and this week is no different.

“I think every game in the conference is a big win just because they are hard to come by in this tough conference,” Clark-Heard said after a victory earlier this season.

Before they try to knock MTSU out of the three-way tie, the Lady Tops will travel to Huntington, West Virginia this Saturday for a matchup against Marshall -- the team that ended WKU’s NCAA Tournament hopes in the C-USA tournament last March.

The Lady Tops already avenged their loss once earlier this season, defeating the Thundering Herd 73-57 in Bowling Green on Jan. 21.

“You know, it’s always in the back of your head,” junior forward Ivy Brown said

BASEBALL

Continued froM SPORTS Sowell said the Tops aren’t focused on what other people say about the team. Instead, he said the team had used it as motivation to fuel the flame.

“It just adds motivation. We don’t really pay attention to much,” Sowell said. “We have a lot of other things we’re trying to pay attention to right now. That’s our goal right now.

We don’t really pay attention to that at all.”

The Tops won’t just be starting the season with a newlook team, but a new-look playing surface as well.

During the offseason, Nick Denes Field underwent a

PETER, SOWELL

Continued from SPORTS

last season, Peter was one of the Toppers’ best swingers through the first month of the campaign’s slate before his torn hamstring occurred. In the opening 16 games, Peter, playing first base for the first

Lady Toppers head coach Michelle Clark-Heard calls a play during the Lady Toppers’ 79-53 win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday in Diddle Arena. EVAN BOGGS/HERALD after avenging their loss from the year before. “But it’s just another chance to put us in a good spot in the conference standings and another chance for ourselves to get better.”

Similar to WKU, the Thundering Herd are led by a trio of scorers. Shayna Gore (17.4 points per game), Kiana Evans (12.5) and forward Talequia Hamilton (11.7) all put up scoring numbers that resemble WKU’s scoring trio of Kendall Noble, Ivy Brown and Tashia Brown.

In the team’s first meeting, the Lady Tops held Gore to

just two first-half points before she scored 13 in the second half, ending the game with a team-high 15. However, by the time Gore got the bulk of her points, WKU had already gone on a 22-6 run and built a comfortable lead that proved to be too large for the Herd to overcome.

Part of the reason WKU jumped out to such a big lead was that of Noble and Ivy Brown. Noble, the two time defending Defensive Player of the Year in C-USA, was the one largely responsible for limiting Gore, and she still

managed to add 17 points of her own on top of six rebounds and six assists.

Ivy Brown led WKU with 22 points and seven rebounds in the runaway victory. Also, the Lady Toppers full-court press forced 17 Marshall turnovers compared to just five for WKU. The one statistical category Marshall bested the Lady Tops in that opening meeting was in the battle on the boards. The Thundering Herd out rebounded WKU 37-32 in the game while Hamilton recorded the game’s only double with 10 points and 10

rebounds.

The Lady Tops will likely show signs of a pressure defense again to try and disrupt an inexperienced Marshall team that has just four upperclassmen listed on their roster.

Tipoff between the Lady Tops and Marshall is set for 12 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia.

facelift as the grass playing surface was removed and replaced with turf. Both the players and coaching staff have given raving reviews of the new turf. The new surface will not only affect the Tops strategy on the field during games but in preparing for inclement weather as well.

Pawlowski is especially excited about not having to worry about preparing for a rainy day anymore.

“When I talked to people about putting that in, they said it will change your life, and it certainly has,” Pawlowski said. “I don’t have to sit there and watch a TV screen and watch a big green blob go across, wondering when

I have to put the tarp on or not. We don’t have to worry so much. Our players love it.

When they don’t have to get that 7 a.m. wake-up call wondering, ‘Hey, we got to put the tarp on?’ It’s so convenient.”

Redshirt senior infielder Thomas Peter was confident the new playing surface wouldn’t affect the way the Tops approach in game strategy. Most players are already accustomed to turf fields from high school and summer baseball.

“We’ve all played on turf before so it’s really nothing new to all of us, but we love it,” Peter said. “We don’t have to rake after BP [batting practice] anymore. We don’t have

to do all that stuff. It’s pretty awesome. We’re really lucky to have it.”

With so much optimism coming from within the program, the Tops are ready to exceed expectations. Last season, WKU won three games against SEC opponents. This season, the Tops have four benchmark games against strong out-of-conference competition. National powerhouses Louisville and Vanderbilt will test the new look Tops and Pawlowski’s squad has two games scheduled against instate rival Kentucky.

Peter understands the challenges the team faces heading into the season.

“It’s a big season,” Peter said.

“I’ve had a lot of bad luck in the past. At the end of last year, I had a lot of talks … with a lot of the older guys ... We knew we were going to come back for one more year and give this thing a shot. Wherever coach needs me, whatever I need to do, I’m going to do whatever I can to get this team a win.”

The Tops will break in their new turf on Feb. 17 during a three-game homestand against Valparaiso.

time, boasted a .310 batting average, .354 on-base percentage and a .493 slugging percentage on 22 hits, 15 runs, five doubles, two home runs and a team-high 21 RBI at the time.

For his production throughout that time, Peter was named the Conference USA

Hitter of the Week on Feb. 29.

Peter said he would like to get off to the same start in 2017, minus an injury.

“It’s a big season for me,” Peter said. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck in the past, but at the end of last year I had talks with Jackson [Sowell] and the other older guys. We knew

we were going to come back for one more year and give this thing a shot. So wherever coach [John Pawlowski] needs me, I’m going to do whatever I can to help this team win.”

WKU begins its season Friday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. against Valparaiso at home. The Hill-

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

Reporter Kenton Hornbeck can be reached at 859-4457702 and kenton.hornbeck159@topper.wku.edu.

Follow him on Twitter at @ KentonHornbeck.

toppers will host 18 of their first 22 games on the new AstroTurf playing field at Nick Denes Field.

Reporter Tyler Mansfield can be reached at 270-935-0007 and tyler.wkuherald@gmail. com. Follow him on Twitter at @RealTMansfield.

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FEBRUARY 9, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SPORTS

» The Walk Through: Are WKU fans ready to break up with Brohm?

WKU Softball built on youth as season approaches

BY JEREMY CHISENHALL HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Softball season is quickly approaching on the Hill and WKU will trot out almost an entirely new team in its opening doubleheader tomorrow.

“We are excited for the 2017 season,” head coach Amy Tudor said.

“We have a lot of new faces on the team, including members of my staff. As far as the players on the team, we have 10 new players – eight freshmen and two junior transfers.”

With just six returning players from last year’s team, Tudor is excited for the opportunity to work with a group of young talent.

“I think you are going to see a young team that may not be very experienced, but we are hungry,” Tudor said. “I would say that everything that has been asked of this team, they’ve done. The fall was smooth sailing, and that was great to see with this many newcomers. And that credit goes to a lot of our upperclassmen leadership; while there are only six of them, they’ve done a great job of doing that. This group is a fun group to coach. They’re good kids, and I am just excited to see them perform on the field and off the field academically.”

Coming off a 17-30 campaign in 2016, Tudor has two returning seniors on the 2017 team including her first four-year player, pitcher Kat Downing. Entering her fourth season as head coach, Tudor has had Downing by her side every step of the way at WKU. “This is very unique for me, just because you move schools and you have coaching turnover, so Kat’s my first [four-year player],” Tudor said.

“So I think I’ll be really sad, not only from a player, obviously you replace players physically, but not personally. So I think it’s going to be hard. I think senior day will be hard for me.”

Downing is coming off a season in which she posted a 6-4 record in 19 appearances while recording a 2.76 earned-run average.

“I think Kat is a special person, obviously because she’s played for me for four years but also because of who she is as a person,” Tudor said of Downing. “What she brings to the table off the field, holding the team accountable and on the field ... We have a good relationship. I would like nothing more than to send her out in style this season.”

SEE SOFTBALL PAGE B4

Second year head coach John Pawlowski speaks during the media day on Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena. “I’m excited about 2017 and looking for the challenges that lie ahead. When you look up and down our roster, you’re going to see 19 new faces on our team.” Pawlowski said. MATT LUNSFORD/HERALD

chip off the

old turf WKU Baseball enters 2017 season with added motivation

BY KENTON HORNBECK

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Last season, newly hired WKU Baseball head coach, John Pawlowski entered media day eager to elevate the baseball program to perennial Conference USA contenders. This season, Pawlowski and the Tops entered media day with a chip on their shoulder.

Fresh off a 24-30 season and missing the conference tournament for a second straight season, the Tops will look to continue to build on their trying 2016 season.

One goal coach Pawlowski stressed during media day on Tuesday was the importance of continuing to the conference tournament. It’s a milestone the program has failed to reach since

moving from the Sun Belt to C-USA. “In the two years in the conference, we haven’t earned any stripes yet,” Pawlowski said. “We need to make some headway in the conference. It’s a challenge. It’s a balancing act. We definitely want to win now.”

To return to the postseason, the Tops must rely on many new faces. WKU has 19 new roster additions since the end of last season. Many junior college players will be looked upon to fill the voids left by graduating seniors.

“When you look up and down our roster, you’re going to see, I believe it’s 19 new faces on our team,” Pawlowski said. “You know, anytime you take over a program, you know there’s going to be changes and things as we try to move the program forward. But I’m certainly excited about how hard our

guys have worked.”

With so much roster turnover, inter squad competition has been a direct focus of the coaching staff during the off-season. Players have worked tirelessly for open spots in the starting nine.

Roster turnover and injuries can plague teams at the start of each spring, but Pawlowski sang a more positive tune during media day. The Tops’ focus is to find all the right pieces in building a winning team so they can continually compete for conference titles. After being picked to finish last in the conference in multiple preseason polls, the Tops are anxious to get this season underway to prove doubters wrong.

Redshirt senior pitcher Jackson

SEE BASEBALL PAGE B5

Peter, Sowell ‘excited’ for final seasons as Hilltoppers

BY TYLER MANSFIELD HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU WKU baseball’s Thomas Peter and Jackson Sowell have been Hilltoppers for quite a while.

The two redshirt seniors both joined the WKU program back in 2013 and have been key contributors to WKU’s success throughout the last four seasons.

On Tuesday, the veteran athletes met with the media to preview their final runs as Hilltoppers – and it’s safe to say that they are ready for one last ride.

“We’re excited,” Sowell said.

“It’s always a good time to get close and get the edge to get out there. We’re fired up. We’ve been getting after it in the weight room and on the field so we’re ready.”

Peter echoed the sentiments of his longtime teammate.

“It’s the best time of year,” he said. “I mean, the fall is a grind each and every day in the weight room and on the field, and we play for this moment. So, we’ve got 10 more

days [until opening day], and we’re just excited to get out there.”

Sowell, a Bowling Green native, has been one of WKU’s go-to pitchers during his time on the Hill. The right-handed thrower thrived as the team’s primary closer in 2016, posting a team-best 2.36 earnedrun average and eight saves.

His eight saves were the fifthmost in a single season by a Hilltopper as he worked 26.2 innings in 21 total appearances out of the bullpen.

Sowell also recorded 35 strikeouts in 2016, which came out to 11.81 strikeouts per nine innings average.

Despite a rough four-game stretch that caused Sowell’s earned-run average to balloon to seven for the 2016 season, he recorded 17 appearances in which he didn’t allow a single earned run.

“Coming back and talking to all the older guys, we haven’t finished the way we wanted in the past,” Sowell said.

“But I’m just looking forward to enjoying each and every day. It’s one day at a time, one game at a time, and we’re

WKU Junior infielder Thomas Peter (7) turns a double over Middle Tennessee infielder Austin Dennis (1) during the Hilltoppers 3-1 win against Middle Tennessee on Friday March 25, 2016 at Nick Danes Field in Bowling Green. SHABAN ATHUMAN/HERALD looking forward to it. We have a good group of seniors, and it’s all about molding the program going forward.”

Peter has been one of WKU’s best hitters through-

out his time with the program but has had no luck when it comes to injuries. In his four seasons as a Hilltopper, Peter has suffered three key setbacks, including a wrist inju-

ry, hand injury and torn hamstring. Each time, he’s battled back.

In his redshirt junior year

SEE PETER, SOWELL PAGE B5