February 26, 2019

NEWS • PAGE A2

SPORTS • PAGE B6

WKU gives update on mold in Minton Hall

How Kentucky’s top prep scorer leads WKU with selflessness

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 94, ISSUE 19

A LIFE OF SERVICE Student served as aide to George H.W. Bush

BY LAUREL DEPPEN HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

O

n the evening of Nov. 30, 2018, former President George H. W. Bush laid in bed surrounded by his family as Ronan Tynan, a member of The Irish Tenors, sang him “Silent Night.”

The president loved Christmas carols, and as Tynan sang by his bedside, he mouthed the lyrics with him.

“You can’t help but maybe take a step back and kind of look at this from a historical perspective—but he wasn’t just a patient,” said Evan Sisley, Bush’s personal aide for the last four years of his life. “He was a mentor.”

About four hours later, Bush died.

“I didn’t stop as much to think about my place in it, because my place was to provide direct care,” Sisley said. “I was doing what I was supposed to do.”

Behind a lens Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the only things Sisley, an aspiring photojournalist, could cover without press credentials were protests.

On Jan. 20, 2005, during former President George W. Bush’s inauguration, a group of anarchists attempted to storm through an entrance intended for the Secret Service. Sisley, a high-schooler at the time, had been following the group, known as the “black bloc,” around all day, taking photos of what ensued.

Sisley got kicked and pepper-sprayed when the police apprehended the group. He called the Associated Press and offered his images from the incident—the first time he sold his photos.

Sisley continued freelancing for Reuters and the Associated Press while in high school. Following high school, he started working for SIPA Press, now called SIPA USA, covering the White House and Congress. He was just 18.

SIPA told Sisley he needed to go back to school. He looked for photojournalism programs. Sisley came to WKU because of the program’s success in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, founded in 1960. The WKU School of Journalism & Broadcasting’s photojournalism program has won first place in

PHOTO BY EVAN SISLEY

Evan Sisley (left) served as President George H. W. Bush’s personal aide for the last four years of Bush’s life.

PHOTO BY EVAN SISLEY

George H. W. Bush’s yellow lab service dog, Sully, lies in front of Bush’s casket during the former president’s funeral services on Dec. 2, 2018.

the Hearst photo competition 24 of the past 29 years.

In April 2007, Sisley contracted for Time Magazine through SIPA to photograph the Virginia Tech University shooting, the deadliest school shooting in American history.

Freelancing for Time made Sisley feel like he’d been drafted into the major leagues, he said.

However, Sisley said after three days of photographing girls crying over the deaths of their sorority sisters, he walked into a bar, put his cameras down and realized he couldn’t do this kind of work for a living.

“I didn’t know it before, but I knew it afterwards that I wasn’t really cut out to do spot news like that,” Sisley said.

On the drive back to Bowling Green, Sisley decided he wanted to look into medicine instead. He said he thought it would offer a more direct way of helping people.

SEE SISLEY • PAGE A6

Kentucky’s student loan debt continues to climb

BY NICOLE ZIEGE HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Kentucky is continuing to face decade-long challenges to its higher education, including an increase in average student loan debt and a decrease in state funding per student.

These challenges resemble a national trend in increasing student loan debt.

The average student loan debt of stu-

dents from Kentucky’s public and private universities increased by nearly 100 percent from $14,250 in 2004 to $28,447 in 2017.

In 2017, 64 percent of students also graduated with debt compared to 52 percent in 2004, according to information provided by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky CPE, said more than a decade of budget cuts to Kentucky’s higher education in favor of funding

Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion and pensions has placed a strain on the state’s budget.

“This trend has become the most concerning to us,” Thompson said.

“We’re at a breaking point now. If we don’t get more funding into higher education in Kentucky, it will start hurting the quality of education for our students.”

Nigel Taylor, a senior from Winnetka, Illinois, is one of many college students at WKU who has taken out

student loans. Taylor, who is a finance, international business and Arabic major, said he has had to take out between $28,000 and $32,000 in student loans.

Although his student loans have not impacted him yet, Taylor said he knows he will need to think about them later when making other financial decisions. He said Kentucky’s increasing amount of student loan debt makes sense because tuition has increased, SEE STUDENT DEBT • PAGE A7

A2 NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Mold update: No date set on Minton renovations

BY EMILY DELETTER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Renovations on Minton Hall are continuing through the spring semester with a current focus on air circulation patterns for individual rooms and an air-balancing test for the building as a whole.

Minton was closed in November due to mold found in the mechani-

construction would continue during the spring.

President Timothy Caboni said the university first learned of the issue a day before students were notified and made the decision for Minton to remain closed.

Lexington freshman MacKenzie Varble said she felt both surprised and unsurprised when she learned in January that Minton would not be open for the spring semester as had been previously promised by WKU.

While she has not personally noticed any mold in her new residence hall, Varble said she had friends from Minton who complained of mold in their new buildings. “I don’t know if it’s as big of a problem in the other buildings,� she said. “None of them have had to close like Minton had.�

According to an email sent to Minton residents on Jan. 7 from HRL, ceiling tiles had been replaced with a PVC-based tile that does not hold moisture, venting tiles had been installed in each room, which allows increased passive circulation, new air filters were in the process of being installed and cleaning crews were working through the building.

That was the last update sent to students on Minton’s renovations before the January announcement the building would not reopen.

the maintenance staff as a “relatively seamless process.� “They still report to a supervisor within HRL whose sole responsibility is the maintenance and cleanliness of the WKU Residence Halls,�

Reagle said. “Aligning our program up with the University program has simply allowed us to be more efficient and effective in our response to issues within the halls. It will also allow us in the long run to be more proactive in our treatment of all HRL facilities.�

Justin Geilear, a freshman from Versailles, said he was upset with HRL after learning, like Varble, he would not be returning to Minton for the spring. “The fact that they gave the announcement so last minute really angered me,� he said. “I stayed in Bemis, but my old roommate had re-

“I was expecting it to take longer than the 10 weeks they said construction would last.�

WKU freshman MACKENZIE VARBLE

JOSEPH BARKOFF • HERALD

Mike Reagle, assistant vice president for student aairs said the mold in Minton is still being monitored and they have yet to set a completion date.

cal spaces within the building. The 348 residents living in the hall were moved to other dorms across campus and were initially told the building would reopen for the Spring 2019 semester.

Less than a week before the semester began, former Minton residents were sent an email notifying them the building would not be ready, and

“If the mold was as bad as they said it was, then they [HRL] had a lot of work to do,� Varble said. “I was expecting it to take longer than the 10 weeks they said construction would last.�

Varble moved with some other displaced Minton residents to Zacharias Hall, where she still lives. She said she was able to request a roommate, a friend in the same department.

Mike Reagle, assistant vice president for student affairs, said in an email WKU is continuing to monitor Minton and the air quality in the building. “Since the building is closed for the spring we have not set any ‘completion date’ for these additional projects but we want to ensure that when the building reopens in the fall we are comfortable with the operation of the entire HVAC system,�

Reagle said.

The process of responding to maintenance requests shifted from going through the Department of Housing and Residence Life to the Department of Facilities Management. Caboni said this change was implemented at the end of the Fall 2018 semester.

Reagle described the transition for

quested a new one, and I found myself room- and roommate-less for a day until we were able to sort it out.�

Geilear currently lives in Bemis Lawrence Hall after moving out of Minton last fall. While Bemis is not where he wanted to be, he said he is trying to make the best of his situation. “I’m a firm believer that home is where you make it,� Geilear said. “There’s a different group of people [in Bemis] for sure, but if you make an effort to meet new people, you can make the best of it.�

Assistant News Editor Emily DeLetter can be reached at 270-745-6011 or emily.deletter304@topper.wku. edu. Follow her on Twitter at @emilydeletter.

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NEWS A3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Students work with playwright in new production

BY ABBIGAIL NUTTER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU During a WKU Department of Theatre and Dance production, students were able to closely work with the playwright to adapt it for the university.

“Aglaonike’s Tiger” began its sixday run with a show Thursday, Feb. 21.

The show, written by Claudia Barnett, takes on concepts of gender in ancient Greece, superstition and science.

The play surrounds the story of the ancient Greek astronomer Aglaonike and her studies of moon patterns. In a twist on the historical basis of the play, “Aglaonike’s Tiger” included magical elements added to a realistic ancient Greek setting.

Director Carol Jordan said playwright Barnett was closely involved in WKU’s production of the play and was welcome to the liberties the department took with the play.

One such change was the expansion of the cast size to 15 from the original six characters written. Jordan said the play features original music composed by student Hilarie Spangler, who served as the assistant director, composer and musical director for the production.

Jordan said one of her reasons for choosing “Aglaonike’s Tiger” was the potential of bringing Barnett in to work on the show.

“I think that that’s a really import-

said.

Jordan described Barnett as marvelous to work with and said she was able to email Barnett about casting, adjust-

BRITTANY MORRISON • HERALD

Actors prepare back stage during the last dress rehearsal on February 21, 2019, for Aglaonike’s Tiger.

ant opportunity for students to actually work with a living playwright who’s there and part of the process,” Jordan

BRITTANY MORRISON • HERALD

Aglaonike’s Tiger will be performed at Gordon Wilson Hall Lab Theatre Feb. 21 - 25.

ments in staging and that the two of them would go back and forth in dialogue.

“We were looking for a new play,”

WKUHERALD.COM

Jordan said. “We wanted to not just do the classics but also introduce new works and give our students a chance to work with pieces that are more experimental and cutting edge.”

Jordan said the play made her excited, because the play and its production were not constrained by a requirement to be realistic.

“There’s all kinds of movement, characters evolve into other characters on stage, things appear and disappear, and it creates a lot of freedom,” Jordan said. “It allows us to push our actors to types of acting that they don’t do in traditional play.”

Jordan said the show took on the concepts of gender in ancient Greece and pushed the boundaries that lie between superstition and science.

“Because she was female, she had to sell herself as a witch and a sorceress to be taken seriously,” Jordan said.

“What Claudia Barnett has done is taken that concept and created this sort of fantastical world that holds the historical realities but also some magical elements as well.”

Louisville junior Natalie Thompson served as stage manager for the play and discussed her own experience working closely with the production.

Thompson said the show was the fastest she has put together. With six weeks in total to prepare, preliminary rehearsals spanned the two weeks during the fall semester between Thanksgiving break and finals.

“When we got back to school, we had only a month before we opened,” she said. “We had about three weeks of

CONNECT WITH US ONLINE

regular rehearsals, and then we had a week of tech before we started the show.”

Thompson said one of the biggest challenges of the show was putting it together in such a short amount of time

”Because she was female, she had to sell herself as a witch and a sorceress to be taken seriously.”

Play director CAROL JORDAN

and literally making magic on stage.

Magical effects in the show included making things appear and disappear.

She said one of the most rewarding parts of her experience with “Aglaonike’s Tiger” was forming connections with actors with whom she had not previously worked and watching them grow throughout the performance.

“It’s been really challenging and rewarding,” Thompson said. “And I think it turned out beautifully, especially given the time crunch that we were under.”

News reporter Abbigail Nutter can be reached at 270-745-6011 and abbigail. nutter168@topper.wku.edu.Follow her on Twitter at @abbeynutter.

CORRECTION

@WKUHERALD

•

A story titled “Regents question ‘dead space’ in WKU buildings” which ran in the Feb. 19 issue of the Herald incorrectly said the WKU Foundation is a part of the WKU Alumni Association. The WKU Foundation is located in the Alumni Center. The Herald regrets this error.

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OPINION

A4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

ILLUSTRATION BY MADALYN STACK • HERALD

HISTORY LEAVES ITS MARK

Confederate marker is information, not a celebration

BY HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

Issue: WKU’s Student Government Association is creating a resolution to remove a Civil War marker located in front of the Kentucky Museum which recognizes Bowling Green was the Confederate State’s capital of Kentucky.

Our Stance: The Civil War marker does not honor the Confederacy but instead simply acknowledges a dark part of Kentucky’s history that both WKU students and Bowling Green citizens should be aware of.

The controversy surrounding the removal of Confederate monuments in southern states has been a hot-button issue recently, as many people have made the case rebel soldiers who fought to keep people of color enslaved should not be dignified with a statue.

Last week, WKU SGA senators Conner Hounshell, Symone Whalin and Kara Lowry announced they will begin an attempt to remove the marker in front of the Kentucky Museum that states Bowling Green was the Confederate capital of Kentucky at one point during the Civil War. Herein lies the problem: the marker is not a monument, but a sign.

This marker does nothing to celebrate the Confederacy in any way. It only displays an objective fact which everyone living in Bowling Green should be aware of.

While Confederate statues may evoke a

sense of reverence and praise, this sign informs people of an abhorrent time in American history which is too often either glorified or concealed.

Germany has multiple monuments across its country dedicated to the Holocaust, but none of them are a celebration of what happened during World War II. These monuments remind people of atrocities that occurred and the victims they impacted. Any Civil War marker involving the Confederacy should do the same.

Bowling Green may have only been the Confederate State’s capital of Kentucky for less than five months due to the United States Army later taking control of the area in February 1962, but this still means there was a plethora of Confederate sympathizers in the city.

This culture did not just evaporate once the Union gained control of Bowling Green, and racial problems across America show this is an obstacle other states must deal with too.

Bowling Green was home to many African Americans following the Civil War, as well. The Shake Rag district began developing in the early 1800s, and after the war, it became a viable area to live for hundreds of African Americans, according to the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website.

Jonesville—a black community formed in Bowling Green after the Emancipation Proclamation—was formed by freed slaves and existed for nearly 100 years in area that is now the bottom of WKU’s campus, according to the Kentucky Historical Society’s website.

The property of Jonesville was bought by the state government in the 1960s after it decided the area needed an urban renewal. This gentri-

This week’s poll:

fication led to the displacement of hundreds of African Americans who had formed a well-functioning community amid people who did not view them as true Americans because of the color of their skin.

Jonesville had to be formed because there were people who lived in Bowling Green who believed people of color shouldn’t be able to live their lives as they saw fit. Confederate sympathizers in Kentucky did not want African Americans to be freed from chains, nevertheless to be their neighbor.

Kentucky’s racial issues certainly have not stopped since the gentrification of Jonesville, either.

In Louisville in October 2018, Gregory Bush attempted to break into a black baptist church only to fail and then proceed to kill two African Americans in their late 60s (both of whom were grandparents) at a nearby Kroger supermarket. Before leaving the scene, Bush told a white male, “Whites don’t kill whites.”

In 2017, the FBI stated hate crimes reported in Kentucky had risen 83.5 percent.

It is not only easy but also comforting to believe America has moved past the horrors of racism. But the easy, comforting thing to believe is rarely the truth.

Instead of as a sign of hate, the Civil War marker in front of the Kentucky Museum should serve as a reminder to everyone who passes it that America is still dealing with the fallout of deplorable events which took place hundreds of years ago, and that, as a nation, we still must work together to try and heal those wounds.

Last week’s poll:

WKU Herald

Do you think the Confederate Civil War marker should be removed from #WKU’s campus?

WKU Herald

What do you use your phone for the most?

Yes, it offends me

Calling/texting

22%

Yes, it offends others

Music/podcasts

No, it’s part of history

Social media/internet Camera

7% 69% 2%

I’m indifferent

155 Votes

Vote

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FUN A5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

FUN PAGE Across

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A6

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SISLEY

CONTINUED FROM FRONT A new path

Sisley enrolled in a WKU Emergency Management Training course but later dropped out and began working on an ambulance for the Medical Center Emergency Management Services in Bowling Green. Through that job, Sisley learned he was capable of dealing with blood and being decisive in high-pressure situations.

In 2009, Sisley became concerned the war in Afghanistan might end without him serving his country.

“I wanted to make a point of getting out there and doing my part,” Sisley said.

He enlisted in the Navy as a corpsman, serving with the Marine Corps.

Sisley said some go into the military for the wrong reasons—whether it be to travel or for the benefits that come with the “GI Bill,” which pays for college.

Not him.

“If you’re not doing it for a purely—I don’t know—altruistic reason, then you’re going to be let down,” Sisley said. “But no matter what, if it’s just to serve your country, you’re going to do that in the process.”

Sisley quoted former President George H. W. Bush, a decorated Navy

George H.W. Bush funeral services on December 3, 2018. Photo by Paul Morse

When it came time for Bush to receive medical care in his home, Sisley said Bush and his wife, former First Lady Barbara Bush, originally rejected the idea. However, around this time, Bush’s chief of staff, Jean Becker, found a news article about veterans coming out of war in Iraq and Afghanistan having problems getting jobs.

Becker brought this to the president and first lady and said, “There’s a problem. We need to help.”

The Bushes then decided to hire

self.

Bush’s grade-school nickname, Sisley said, was “Have Half,” because if he had something, he would always offer the other half to anyone around him.

Bush’s family didn’t suffer during the Great Depression, but his family taught him that “to much is given, much is expected,” Sisley said. This mindset is what drove Bush to public service in the first place.

“He was the type of person who would reach out to you and tell you it’s going to be OK and he’s thinking about you when you’re having the worst day of your life,” Sisley said.

That quality, Sisley said, is something lost today.

“You can’t help but want to become a better version of yourself, which is just inspired by the legacy of public service, their commitment to this country that you’ve seen through their entire life,” Sisley said.

In the blink of an eye

PHOTO BY EVAN SISLEY

Former first lady Barbara Bush kisses George H. W. Bush on their 70th wedding anniversary. The couple was married 73 years before Barbara’s death in 2018.

pilot, and said his enlisting was more of a “red, white and blue thing.”

“If there was going to be an opportunity for me to be able to go overseas with the Marine Corps and help some of those guys who became injured and help them get home in one piece, that was going to be what I wanted to do,” Sisley said.

Sisley was deployed twice, serving a total of three years in active duty. In between deployments, he became a paramedic and received his associate’s degree from WKU. During Sisley’s time in the military, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” policy was in effect. It allowed LGBTQ people to serve as long as they did not admit it openly. It was discontinued while he served with the Marine infantry in Afghanistan.

Following that, Sisley decided he’d never go back in the closet with his sexuality, especially going forward as he took jobs.

Sisley began working for the Center for Translational Injury Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. It was there that Sisley became acquainted with a group of people who provided medical treatment to Bush.

PHOTO BY PAUL MORSE

student veterans, believing they would have little to do around the house and would need to fill their days with studying.

After Sisley was hired, Becker said she started sleeping better at night because she knew he had Bush’s back.

Sisley, she said, was the right person the staff needed at the time.

Sisley worked as a medic for Bush until about a year later when he was promoted to the president’s personal aide.

“I do believe this from the bottom of my heart,” Becker said. “I believe that George Herbert Walker Bush probably was on this earth two to three years longer than he would have been because of Evan’s excellent medical care.”

Others always came first Bush led by example in almost everything, Sisley said.

“There wasn’t a lot of advice he would give,” Sisley said. “I think when you’re in your 90s, you’re kind of out of the advice-giving business. But what I will say—if you’re paying attention—there are plenty of things to pick up.”

A lesson Sisley learned while watching Bush was to put others ahead of

Bush faced death at 20 years old while serving in World War II when his plane was shot down. He told biographer Jon Meacham that at that moment, he thought he was done. He eventually made it to safety, going on to live a full life, serving in multiple political offices and raising six children.

“You never know when somebody is going to die,” Sisley said. “You can kind of come up with some ideas, but you never know. There’s no way to predict.”

The morning of Nov. 30, 2018, the former president had a large breakfast

er and his wife checked on him almost every day.

As they spoke over breakfast shortly before Bush died, Bush looked up at Baker.

“Bake,” he said. “Where we going?”

“We’re going to heaven,” Baker replied.

“Well, that’s good,” Bush said. “Because that’s where I want to be.”

Sisley said he believes he comes from a generation where people don’t know a lot about Bush aside from Saturday Night Live skits and the news.

He said it was an honor to serve Bush and his family and learn about who they were personally, not just how they were represented on the news.

“The amount of respect and how gracious they were towards me and my husband — they believe in loyalty up and loyalty down, and I think that’s something that they definitely taught me,” Sisley said.

The next steps

Now, Sisley spends his days closing Bush’s office and making sure his estate is in order. Sisley is taking online courses from WKU. He is set to graduate in August with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a health emphasis.

But, Sisley said his heart is still in photography.

“Thinking that I could use photography to, you know, help this country or, you know, inspire some sort of social change from people was why I went into photojournalism in the first place,” Sisley said.

The only time he had that moment was in his job working for Bush. Sisley captured a photo of Sully, Bush’s yellow lab service dog, lying in front of Bush’s casket. The image would become one of the most memorable photos from the funeral.

Sisley said he plans on attending medical school, something Bush referred to as a “good resume builder.”

At the time, Sisley was surprised Bush had said that. But, Sisley said, he was the one who didn’t quite understand what Bush meant.

“Eight years of serving as the vice president of the United States was a resume builder,” Sisley said. “CIA director was a resume builder. Ambassador of the United Nations—chief liaison to China. All these things were resume builders. He didn’t achieve the ultimate prize in American politics until

“You can’t help but want to become a better version of yourself, which is just inspired by the legacy of public service, their commitment to this country that you’ve seen through their entire life.”

Goerge H.W. Bush’s aide EVAN SISLEY next to long-time friend, former Secretary of State James Baker.

Baker also managed several of Bush’s campaigns, but their relationship was originally forged on the tennis courts of Houston.

“They had a very personal connection,” Sisley said. “[Baker] was capable of advising President Bush in a very honest way. That’s fairly rare in American politics, but they had such an intense friendship that went back so far that he could advise him when it was tough. He could tell him things he didn’t want to hear.”

Toward the end of Bush’s life, Bak-

he was in his 70s.”

The idea of capping out and not continuing to grow, Sisley said, was a foreign concept to Bush.

“You don’t ever stop,” Sisley said.

“You keep on going down the road.

You keep on growing. You always are looking onward and upward—always moving forward. Never stopping.”

Features editor Laurel Deppen can be reached at 270-745-6291 and laurel. deppen774@topper.wku.edu. Follow on her on Twitter at @laureldeppenwku.

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TUESDAY, FEB 26.

DOWNING STUDENT UNION Get your questions answered with representatives from Bowling Green apartment complexes.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

STUDENT DEBT

CONTINUED FROM FRONT but he said living expenses are overlooked when people think of the uses of student loans.

“It’s complicated, because I’m not sure what they could do more to fix the situation,” Taylor said, referring to Kentucky’s student loan debt. “I feel like it’s about on par with other states.”

Lillian Smith, a senior from New Albany, Indiana, said she has taken out student loans to pay for college even though WKU was the most affordable university option for her.

Although her parents have helped her pay for half of her schooling, Smith said she has still taken out about $45,000 in subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans to pay for WKU. A first-generation college student, Smith said she has to work full time on top of attending classes in order to pay for college. Smith described living with student loans as having “constant pressure” on her to pass her classes and graduate on time, which she said has caused her to lose sleep.

“It really puts it into perspective as a student when you have to take out loans and you haven’t really decided what you want to do with your life,” Smith said. “It puts a lot of pressure in various parts of your life.”

Kentucky is not the only state facing an increase in student loan debt.

PROVIDED BY KENTUCKY CPE

Data on campus-based aid presented by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. The presentation was about college affordability and student debt.

There has been a $487 million decrease in the amount of state funding per student at Kentucky’s public colleges over the past decade. In 2007-08, state funding per student totaled $9,233, and the amount de-

ability.

“It concerns me, because I can either live at home and pay them off while living with my parents, or I could go off on my own, pay for an apartment and work on paying them

vestment for your education, but student loans can also become a weight around your neck for the rest of your life.”

Ann Mead, WKU’s vice president for finance and administration, said

“I’m not looking forward to paying all that back after I graduate, but getting an education is worth it.”

WKU student ALISHA MAYBERRY

LYDIA SCHWEICKART • HERALD

Nigel Taylor is a WKU senior, and has had to take out between $28,000 & $32,000 in student loans.

Nationally, in 2017, about 65 percent of college seniors who graduated from public and private colleges had student loan debt, borrowing an average of about $29,000, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.

Kentucky is one of just five states in the country that cut higher education funding in the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to the Courier-Journal.

As Kentucky’s student loan debt

creased to $5,941 per student in 2017-18.

For WKU, state appropriations to its operating budgets have decreased about 9.5 percent within the past decade. In the 2018-19 operating budget, state appropriations made up only 19 percent, or $74.4 million. In 2008-09, state appropriations made up about 25 percent of the budget, or $82.3 million, according to WKU’s 2008-09 executive budget summary.

“It really puts into perspective as a student when you have to take out loans and you haven’t really decided what you want to do with your life.”

WKU student LILLIAN SMITH

has increased, students have also become more responsible for paying for Kentucky’s colleges than the state. In 1998-99, state funding made up 67 percent of Kentucky’s college budgets, and tuition and fees made up just 33 percent.

In 2016-17, state funding made up 33 percent of Kentucky’s college budgets, and tuition and fees made up 67 percent, a 50 percent increase.

If changes are not made, the responsibility of paying for Kentucky’s colleges is expected to fall further on students and their tuition and fees. In 2021-22, student tuition and fees are expected to make up 73 percent of Kentucky’s college budgets compared to just 27 percent for state funding, according to the Kentucky CPE.

LYDIA SCHWEICHKART • HERALD

Cassie Crabtree is a WKU sophomore, and has had to take out between $15,000 & $20,000 in student loans.

Kentucky’s out-of-pocket costs are also trending higher. For universities like WKU, Eastern Kentucky University and Northern Kentucky University, in 2016-17, the average price of a first-time, full-time in-state undergraduate student totaled $11,246 compared to $9,790 in 2010-11, a nearly 15 percent increase The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have seen a 45 percent increase between 2010-11 and 2016-17, according to the Kentucky CPE. In an effort toward affordability, Kentucky’s state-funded student financial aid programs are higher per capita. In 2016-17, the total grant dollars per undergraduate student enrollment was $1,317, the fifth highest in the nation.

New Athens, Illinois, sophomore Cassie Crabtree attended WKU because she loved the campus, and she was eligible to receive nearly half of the out-of-state tuition rate as part of WKU’s Tuition Incentive Program. Crabtree, a nursing major, has taken out between $15,000 and $20,000 in student loans to attend WKU, and her parents also help her pay for college.

Crabtree said without her student loans, she would not have been able to attend WKU because of afford-

off that way,” Crabtree said. “They make me consider, ‘How do I want to start off after I graduate?’”

The average amount of student financial aid has also increased in Kentucky’s public colleges over the past decade for Pell and federal grants, state grants and campus-funded grants and scholarships given to a full-time student.

Since 2008, the Kentucky CPE’s tuition and fee policy has set caps on tuition increases to keep them under control. College boards then self-select tuition increases that fall under the caps. In determining rates, the Kentucky CPE takes several factors into account such as faculty salaries, pensions and benefits, building maintenance and student services.

Before these tuition ceilings, the average annual growth rate of tuition across Kentucky’s public colleges was 11.7 percent from 2002-03 to 2008-09. Some significant tuition percent increases in Kentucky’s public colleges between those years included a 15.4 percent in 2003-04 and a 16 percent increase in 200405, according to the Kentucky CPE. After the policy’s implementation, the average annual tuition growth rate from 2009-10 to 2018-19 was 4.5 percent.

Thompson recommended Kentucky colleges continue to be transparent in the costs involved with getting a degree and work on cost-effective measures.

“There’s nothing wrong with borrowing money,” Thompson said.

“Student loans are a long-term in-

MINOR IN Department of Diversity & Community Studies www.wku.dcs

she thought the Kentucky CPE’s information delivered the message that funding postsecondary education is a shared responsibility between students and the state.

“For a variety of reasons, the Commonwealth of Kentucky hasn’t upheld its commitment to shared funding,” Mead said in an email.

“Financial pressures such as the unfunded liability for pension obligations make it extremely difficult to fund postsecondary education adequately. We will continue to do all we can to control costs and increased institutional financial aid.”

Bowling Green junior Alisha Mayberry said she has taken out some student loans, although she did not know how much. Mayberry, a music major, said she probably would not have been able to afford college if she could not have taken out student loans.

“It’s not surprising,” Mayberry said, referring to Kentucky’s increased student loan debt. “I figured it was going to happen eventually.”

Mayberry said she believes the increased rates of tuition, housing and other fees play a role in the increased amount of student loan debt.

“I’m not looking forward to paying all that back after I graduate, but getting an education is worth it,” Mayberry said.

News reporter Nicole Ziege can be reached at 270-745-6011 and nicole. ziege825@topper.wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @NicoleZiege.

African American Studies

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

The WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy held its Physics Olympics on Saturday where high school students in Bowling Green competed in a pentathlon of challenging problem-solving activities.

Medals and $600 in WKU scholarships were presented to the top finishers.

SCIENTIFIC SIEGE

Local highschoolers combine science and competition PHOTOS AND COPY BY CHRIS KOHLEY HERALD.PHOTO@WKU.EDU

A lecture room in Snell Hall was transformed into a physics playground on Saturday as high schoolers from Bowling Green prepared their contraptions to compete in the WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy Physics Olympics competition. Nine teams sent homemade cars down

a track and fired catapults at tiny villages made of toilet paper rolls and construction paper. Students watched with anticipation to see if their creations would fail or succeed on the big stage. Medals and $600 in WKU scholarships were presented to the top finishers.

Bowling Green High School chemistry teacher Cristen Olson celebrates a successful run from a BGHS gravity vehicle at the WKU Physics Olympics on Saturday. In addition to BGHS, students from Warren Central and Greenwood High School were also in attendance.

Warren County sophomore Thy Phung loads a hackysack into a trebuchet (medieval catapult) built by her and her team, TechTronix 2.0. The goal of the event is to bombard defensive positions in front of the enemy wall until they have destroyed them.

A team placesits gravity vehicle on the starting line at the WKU Physics Olympics on Saturday. Teams were required to build a vehicle that would travel down a track through the power of momentum.

Warren Central junior Ahmed Kamaluldeen (right) watches his gravity vehicle travel toward the target at the WKU Physics Olympics on Saturday. Kamaluldeen and his team engineered the gravity vehicle in the days leading up to the olympics.

LIFE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Organization provides voice to Caribbean students

BY JULIE SISLER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

Bailey would always favor them when he stepped into student affairs, even if those students were in the wrong.

Many white students, faculty and staff, Ruble said, also thought Bailey would give a preference to students of color, but that was not the case.

“He treated all students the same,” Ruble said. “He did not see color.”

Lynne Holland worked under Bailey for more than 10 years before he

Junior Briana “Bree” Robertson knows how to make an entrance.

She often comes in talking before the door has even closed behind her, and it isn’t long until the space she enters is filled with her infectious laughter or the wise advice she gives to anyone who asks.

“I would describe Bree as a sassy, chatty, hilarious and sweet friend,” Shante Smith, a friend of Bree’s, said.

“She’s the type of person that would do anything for a friend while setting you straight and making you laugh at the same time.”

While those around her said her vibrant personality makes her stand out, many noted it is also her fierce dedication to her culture that makes her so unique.

“Her heritage is a big part of her everyday life,” her friend Jordan Saunders said. “She will make sure one of the first things you know is she is from Jamaica.

Being Caribbean is something she is so proud of and loves—that’s what makes her who she is.”

Robertson’s friends said everyone who knows her realizes how important her origins are to her.

“Bree’s culture and heritage is everything to her,” Smith said.

Robertson was born in Negril, Westmoreland, before moving to St. Catherine, Jamaica. Robertson relocated to Louisville in 2012. Her mother still lives in Jamaica, and Robertson was able to return to Jamaica to visit her in 2015.

Throughout her life, Robertson said she has felt strong ties to Jamaica and its culture. Because of this, she enjoys discussing her culture and showing those around her what it means to her.

“What I love about Bree is that she is willing to share the many stories of her family traditions to others,” Robertson’s mentor, Torchia Rogers, said.

“She understands the importance of sharing her cultural experience to offer a different perspective to others.”

Saunders said Robertson has multiple ways of showing her culture through her everyday actions.

“You will always see Bree with her Jamaican flag in her room and most of her pictures she takes,” Saunders said.

“One of her favorite things to do is to put her name in your phone as ‘Bree the Jamaican’ with the Jamaican flag emoji.”

But to Saunders, the best way Robertson shares her heritage is through her cooking of Carribean and Jamaican meals.

Robertson shares her culture with WKU’s campus through her work as the president of the Caribbean Student

SEE BAILEY • PAGE B2

SEE BREE • PAGE B2

TYGER WILLIAMS • HERALD

Howard Bailey, of Middlesboro, Ky., has been retired for four years and had worked 45 years at WKU in a variety of positions. “Working with people is all I like,” Bailey said. “Get to know as many people as possible that are different from you, and get involved with as many activities that your GPA will suffice.” Bailey keeps busy even after retirement by being involved in teaching classes, mentoring black male groups and advising for the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

UNLIMITED

Howard Bailey, a pillar of WKU history

BY KATELYN LATTURE HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

Imagine being followed down the street as you walk to city hall or being intentionally made uncomfortable every time you walked into a restaurant.

All because of the color of your skin.

Howard Bailey experienced this when he was a WKU student in the late 1960s. He later went on to work as an administrator at WKU, and he retired from his job as the vice president of student affairs in December 2015.

Bailey grew up in an eastern Kentucky coal-mining area, he said. Despite living with seemingly lesser means, Bailey said his parents made sure he and his sister had outside influences.

He said he remembered when his family first bought a television. Only two channels came in, and the family always watched the news. His family read the Courier-Journal and a local newspaper, as well, and Bailey’s father would discuss the news at dinner with his family, Bailey said.

Bailey was a third-generation college student, but he was the first one in his family to go to a predominantly white institution. He said Bowling Green was very racist, but “be aware that Western was ahead of a lot of institutions by letting us in.”

Gail Ruble worked with Bailey from 1992 until Bailey retired in 2015. Upon retiring in July 2017, she had served as administrative assistant in the office of

student affairs at WKU. Ruble said she worked closely with Bailey, and the two developed a friendship. She said she still works with him on projects, even in retirement.

“He approaches everything and gives it 110 percent,” Ruble said. “He’s had to work hard for everything he’s ever accomplished.”

In his time as a student and administrator, Bailey brought a lot of change to WKU. As a student, he was a co-founder of one of the first African-American fraternities on WKU’s campus, Kappa

with that,” Ruble said.

Bailey was a student when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, saying it was a day of “strange reflection” for him. Two administrators called to ask him how he thought African-American students might react, he said.

They saw him as a student leader even though he said he had not previously seen himself as one.

“I wonder why in the hell they called me,” he said with a laugh.

Ruble said some African-American and international students suspected

“For a long time, he was the only AfricanAmerican administrator, and a lot of people didn’t know what to do with that.”

Former Administrative Assistant of Student Affairs GAIL RUBLE

Alpha Psi, he worked as WKU’s first African-American resident assistant, and he advised administrators on how to work and interact with students of color. As an administrator, he defended the rights of students and fought to bring minority faculty, staff and students to WKU and to recognize them.

He helped establish the first disability office, too.

“For a long time, he was the only African-American administrator, and a lot of people didn’t know what to do

Preserving heritage: one museum’s mission

BY GRIFFIN FLETCHER HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

With a history known by few and preserved by fewer, the legacies of once bustling African-American communities in Bowling Green have faded with time. These communities are none other than Jonesville and Shake Rag, which remained Bowling Green staples from the early and mid-1800s, respectively, until around the end of the 1960s.

As the city expanded during this time, these communities slowly vanished, remembered primarily by those who called them home. In an effort to continue the legacies of both, an organization named the New Era Planning Association formed in Bowling Green in 2001 “to preserve the small number of historic buildings that are left standing in the [Shake Rag] neighborhood,” an NEPA brochure stated.

In 2011, the NEPA helped establish the African American Museum in Bowling Green as a nonprofit, originally located on State Street.

Due to a lack of space, though,

the museum was moved to a WKUowned location on Chestnut Street by the roundabout known as the Erskine House and officially reopened in 2017. The museum rents the space for a modest sum and has received donations from various local entities such as the Bowling Green City Commission.

Nearly two decades since the arrival of the NEPA, the organization’s initial mission is now entrusted to the museum. Packed with remnants of Bowling Green’s African-American history, including medals from Bowling Green African Americans who served in the United States military, copies of yearbook photos from some of the city’s long-closed segregated high schools and artwork from WKU’s first African-American prom queen, the museum breathes life into a largely overlooked narrative.

John Hardin, former assistant dean of Potter College, Assistant to the Provost for Diversity Enhancement and WKU history professor, serves as chairman on the museum’s board of directors. He said the museum offers a look into the history of African Americans in Bowling

JOELEEN HUBBARD • HERALD

John Hardin, a former WKU professor, is chairman on the African American Museum in Bowling Green’s board of directors. “I think we all need to continue learning about African-American history, because there is still racism in our society today,” Hardin said.

Green, which it hopes to share with anyone interested in learning more.

“We want the public to come to give some sense of the Afri-

can-American contributions to the community,” Hardin said.

Hardin elaborated on these contributions by mentioning the Shake Rag area’s influence on ragtime music and its status as a social hub throughout the 20th century. He also noted the importance of religious and educational institutions during this time period, such as the State Street Baptist Church and State Street High School, with the latter featuring graduates who later went on to become some of WKU’s earliest African-American students.

Though WKU, then known as Western Kentucky State College, began accepting African-American students during the 1950s and 1960s, Hardin said this was not without its challenges.

“There were instances of segregation, there were instances of discrimination,” Hardin said. “But the African-American community and its members made the best of a difficult time and were able to succeed despite, not because of, racism.”

He said he believes a fact like that is worthy of keeping in mind. WithSEE MUSEUM • PAGE B3

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TUESDAY, MONTH XX, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Local store promotes self-confidence through fashion

BY KELLEY HOLLAND HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU The sounds of R&B flow throughout a store on the Bypass as customers come and go. Colorful T-shirts and hats cover the walls inside, making the small store feel bigger than it really is.

Hip Hop Fashions offers a wide variety of men’s and boy’s clothing, hats, cologne and even some CDs. The store has been in Bowling Green since 2004, but its origins go back even further.

In 1999, Hip Hop Fashions owner Brad Kirk opened “Brad’s Car Audio,” a car audio and T-shirt shop in Owensboro. When he noticed T-shirts were

”I’ve been here long enough where now I’m selling to my customers’ kids.”

Hip Hop Fashions owner BRAD KIRK more popular among customers, he made the switch to a clothing store.

Kirk opened a store inside a mall in Evansville, Indiana, soon after where he remained for about six years before moving to the Greenwood Mall in Bowling Green for a short time. Due to mall rent being too expensive, Kirk said he moved his store to the Bypass and has been there ever since.

“I’ve always wanted to have my own store,” Kirk said. “I always liked fash-

BAILEY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 retired, and she currently works as the assistant vice president, dean of students and chief diversity officer.

She laughed when recalling working with Bailey and said he was and is full of a formal education in addition to wisdom and knowledge out-

BREE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 Association.

“Bree has taken initiative in the Caribbean Student Association serving as their president. She has shared traditional dishes, welcomed diverse speakers and initiated topic discussions,” Rogers said.

Robertson said the organization’s motto, “divided by water, united by culture,” describes it well. Robertson said she jumped on the opportunity to get involved with a group that shares the same values and passion as her.

“This organization is very important to me because it’s about the Caribbean culture, which I’m very passionate about, and us trying our best to teach the campus and community about it,” Robertson said.

CSA gets involved on campus through a variety of events such as its “Black Box” event every fall semester.

Through this, students are given the opportunity to pre-order and enjoy a variety of Carribean foods made by the members of the organization. CSA also hosts a “Dance Hall Zumba” event every semester. On top of these events, Robertson said it has a great deal of plans for the future of CSA. Robertson also celebrates her heritage through her actions during Black History Month and beyond. She said she believes Black History Month is about more than just the past, but the future.

“It means representation of all the people in history that helped to paved

ion. My father was always an entrepreneur his whole life, so I watched that my whole life. I knew I wanted to work for myself.”

Besides the clothing store, Kirk owns the entire building the store’s part of.

This includes the auto mart next door and the salon near the building’s end, which his wife operates.

There have been many pros and cons to owning a business, but Kirk said he’s been able to navigate them all and learn what works best for him and his store.

In order to thrive in a place like Bowling Green, he said he needed to stay on top of trends and figure out what items sell best. However, he said the most important aspect of operating a business was finding something he liked.

“Just like going to a bad job, you wouldn’t want to go to something you didn’t enjoy,” Kirk said.

Kirk said one of the most enjoyable parts of owning the store is watching fashion trends change over time. He said keeping up with trends can be a challenge, as well, since they change so often. Additionally, he gets to pick everything sold in the store. Every three months or so, Kirk meets with sales reps from different clothing lines and chooses inventory.

The brands sold in Hip Hop Fashions change often, but right now some of the notable ones sold are Outrank, Diamond Supply and Rich & Rugged. A glance at Hip Hop Fashion’s Facebook page shows Migos, a highly popular rap trio, wearing some of the brands the store sells. Kirk said he tries to keep a variety of clothing in his store from cheaper-end to middle-level brands.

Besides his love for fashion, one of side the institution.

“If Howard had not been here, the advances we have made would not be here,” Holland said.

Holland said she and many other faculty, staff and administrators would not be in the positions they are if Bailey and other predecessors had not paved the way and been fearless in confronting big issues, as well. She also said she believes it was the way for black greatness,” Robertson said. “It means motivation for young black people and inspiration for black children to see someone that looks like them to make a change.”

Robertson has celebrated Black History Month by posting about inspirational people on social media, which she said she is learning a lot from.

Robertson said she is eager to share her culture as a Jamaican, Caribbean and black woman.

“To be a black woman, to me, means being strong, being patient, being a support system, being proud, being hardworking,” Robertson said. “It’s to understand who you are, how you are perceived and using that as your fuel for greatness.”

Smith said she believes this is a description Robertson embodies with grace.

“Bree is definitely a strong black woman. She has her own mind, no one can influence her to do something that she doesn’t want to do,” Smith said.

“She carries herself with grace and is not afraid to be herself around people.

She knows she is beautiful, and she knows her worth.”

When Robertson walks into the room, anyone can see she brings with her a strong presence. But if one takes the time to ask, they will also see she maintains a passion for her heritage unequaled.

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

TYGER WILLIAMS • HERALD

Briana Robertson, junior civil engineering student and president of the Caribbean Student Association, discusses collaborations and events such as bake sales and socials for the year.

BRITTANY MORRISON • HERALD

In 1999, Hip Hop Fashions owner Brad Kirk made the decision to start selling T-shirts after owning “Brad’s Car Audio”.

the things Kirk finds most rewarding about owning Hip Hop Fashions is his customers.

“I’ve been here long enough where now I’m selling to my customers’ kids,” Kirk said. “Now I’ve got the father and the son that I’m able to sell to.”

Ericson Reynolds, the manager at Hip Hop Fashions, has watched the business blossom over the years.

“Seeing someone you have been friends with start something from nothing and build it into a thriving business that has been around this long and outlast giant corporations in this area is amazing,” Reynolds said in a text.

Reynolds also said Kirk does not forget about those who have helped make his business a success. In fact, Kirk volunteers his time and donates sad it took so long for someone to be “the first.”

Holland and Ruble both talked about Bailey’s importance to black history in Bowling Green and at WKU. They spoke even more about his importance as a person, his kindness and his empathy.

“I think it is important to know your history, because we tend to repeat it,” Bailey said of Black History

resources to charitable organizations throughout the state.

Fashion obviously plays a role in most of our lives, and Hip Hop Fashions is committed to making residents of Bowling Green feel good about what they’re wearing.

“When you look good, you feel good,” Reynolds said. “And when you leave Hip Hop Fashions, you are guaranteed to feel good.”

Kirk plans to expand the boy’s section of his store as well as the big and tall section, he said. He also plans on getting a website up and running for the store to keep up with online shopping trends.

Features reporter Kelley Holland can be reached at 270-745-6291 and kelley.holland872@topper.wku.edu.

Month.

Bailey, along with countless others who have trailblazed in civil rights, is an important part of our community’s history. As Ruble said, “I feel very fortunate to have known him, worked with him and befriended him.”

Features reporter Katelyn Latture can be reached at 270-745-6291 and katelyn.latture423@topper.wku.edu.

Ways to love your heart: Exercise Stop Smoking Manage Your Stress Eat a Balanced Diet Schedule an appointment with a GGC physician for an annual physical

1681 Normal Drive | Bowling Green, KY 42101 Phone: (270) 745-CARE [2273]

LIFE B3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

MUSEUM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 out the knowledge of both the struggles and successes African-Americans encountered in Bowling Green during a time in which communities like Shake Rag and Jonesville were effectively wiped away in the name of citywide expansion, Hardin said it’s vital to recall the past in ensuring the future may be better. “We have to remind people of where we’ve been so we don’t go down that ugly path again,� Hardin said. “That’s why places like this are important.�

Hardin added he believes it’s the

“If you just go and sit and talk with any of the board directors, they will tell you amazing stories.�

WKU student SARAH STARKEY place of historical institutions like museums to serve not only a function of preservation but also one of instruction. “Museums are necessarily educational institutions but without classrooms and without tests,� Hardin said. “They’re meant to educate the public.�

Though the museum does its best to do just that, Hardin said almost all of its staff members are volunteers, including the museum’s seven board members, which often makes business difficult. With this, Hardin said one of the museum’s largest obstacles currently is branding itself sufficiently. “Some of us on our board are learning the whole business now of dealing with all of this,� Hardin said. “It’s not easy.�

Due to this, the museum recently began collaborating with WKU-affiliated advertising and public relations agency Imagewest for rebranding services, including a minimal logo redesign and help with the museum’s online presence. Hardin said he believes these changes are neces-

sary to keeping with modern expectations. “The challenge is we have to sort of keep in touch with what delivers,�

Hardin said.

WKU Bardstown, Kentucky, junior Sarah Starkey, who works as a leading account executive and writer at Imagewest, said Imagewest has collaborated with Hardin and the museum since a week before the beginning of the semester.

Starkey said the agency is currently creating a website for the museum with a GoFundMe page to help increase revenue and make future renovations to the museum’s exhibits more manageable. She added the agency is creating promotional materials such as posters, flyers and a virtual tour animation for the museum’s website along with rebranding the museum’s logo, too.

After speaking with one of the museum’s volunteers, Wathetta Buford, who grew up in Shake Rag, about how she misses the restaurants and sights that once belonged to her childhood neighborhood, Starkey said she was moved. “If you just go and sit and talk with any of the board directors, they will tell you amazing stories,� Starkey said, going on to recall her specific interaction with Buford. “Just listening to her testimonial about all that was heartbreaking.�

Starkey said she believes it’s unfortunate so little remains of Shake Rag and Jonesville’s vibrant histories but is happy to work with those who remember the communities for all they were. However, she said she knows the museum will need support beyond Imagewest if it is to succeed. “They had some amazing contributions but nothing really to memorialize them,� Starkey said about the city’s historic districts.“It’s definitely nice to be able to bring them back to the light, but at the same time, it’s hard to do that without a lot of support from the community.�

If nothing else, Starkey said she believes a visit to the museum is rewarding in ways one might not expect. She said she encourages anyone interested in African-Americans’ impact on the city to stop in and meet those who can explain it best. “I definitely think it’s worth it to go up there and talk to them,� Starkey

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KENDALL WARNER • HERALD

The African American Museum in Bowling Green has been in operation at its current location on Chestnut Street since 2017. It houses numerous donated items relating to the city’s African-American history and may be toured by appointment.

said. “That’s something that I think is very important.�

As the museum is one of few similarly focused heritage centers throughout Kentucky, Hardin said he believes the history of African-Americans specifically in Bowling Green is a story still worth preserving. Now located only three or so blocks away from where Jonesville once thrived, Hardin said, he believes the museum will serve a profound purpose in keeping alive Bowling Green’s rich African-American culture for all those who care to know. “It has its own series of stories and heritages that have to be addressed,�

Hardin said about the city. “Our goal is to, first of all, recover, document, preserve and present the history and culture of African-Americans in the Bowling Green area.�

To this point, the museum has attracted various local groups and public schools. With plans to soon lead some WKU classes on tours of the museum, as well, Hardin said it looks to continue expanding its reach, which it will attempt to do in

June alongside the Aviation Heritage Park in Bowling Green when it honors Glasgow native Willa Brown, the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a pilot and commercial license, according to a gallery on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum website.

Tours may be set by appointment through contacting the museum at its phone number. Tours are free of charge, as well, and the museum is open to donations of all kinds.

Despite more than 50 years between today and Jonesville and Shake Rag’s prime, Hardin said he believes Bowling Green maintains a special connection to its African-American roots. “It’s one of cohesiveness, working together, community, people,� Hardin said. “There is a sense that there is a need now more than ever for the community to work together to address issues.�

Reporter Griffin Fletcher can be reached at 270-745-2655 and griffin. fletcher398@topper.wku.edu.

NOW HIRING The City of Bowling Green is accepting applications for the following positions: • Summer Aquatic Positions • Camp Counselor • Laborers • Greenskeepers • Landscape Helper

• Sub-Fitness Instructor • Softball Scorekeepers • Umpires • Tennis Instructors • School Crossing Guards

• Golf Shop Attendants • Police Cadet • Aerobics Instructor • Recreational Staff Assistant I- BGCC

Interested applicants can apply online www.bgky.org/hr/jobs or at the computers in 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.

B4 SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

GIVENS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B5 17.9 points per game, stepping out from under the dark cloud that had plagued her last several outings was a much bigger task.

C-USA’s third-leading scorer answered the bell in a big way, joining

”Well, first off I noticed I wasn’t getting denied. I was like, OK, this is going to be a good game.”

Junior forward DEE GIVENS

CHRIS KOHLEY • HERALD

The WKU Lady Toppers welcomed the North Texas Mean Green to Diddle Arena on Saturday. WKU was defeated 76-67 for their second consecutive loss.

RECALIBRATION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B5 Both of these key stats had been previous strengths that have been turned into weaknesses for WKU. The Hilltoppers must improve upon these statistics if they want to close out the season strong.

Stansbury had been happy with his team’s rebounding and free throw shooting prior to the last few games.

“Those are two areas for the most

the 1,000-point club on a 3-pointer early in the second quarter. Givens kept pushing and eventually tallied her second career double-double with 23 points and a career-best 13 rebounds.

“Well, first off I noticed I wasn’t getting denied,” Givens said. “I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be a good

Head coach RICK STANSBURY

court out here very much getting beat rebounding or getting beat in that free throw differential. But the last two games we haven’t done that, we need to get that back.”

The next opportunity to get things right will be on Thursday night when the Hilltoppers will look for revenge against UAB on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

part we’ve been pretty good at,” Stansbury said before Saturday’s matchup. “Haven’t walked off that

Reporter Alec Jessie can be reached at 270-745-6291 and alec.jessie226@ topper.wku.edu. Follow Alec on Twitter at @Alec_Jessie.

”You can’t get yourself behind at halftime.

You leave too many things to chance down the stretch.”

QUIT STHAL-ING CONTINUED FROM PAGE B5 and Marshall. The entire team looked strong, especially sophomore Raneem Elgedawy, senior Dee Givens and freshman Meral Abdelgawad.

Lately, however, the Lady Toppers’ weaknesses have caught up with them. Head coach Greg Collins makes no bones about the fact they can’t defend anyone and can’t rebound the basketball.

“We’re not getting enough stops at the other end,” Alexis Brewer said before the Lady Toppers’ last game.

“We’re scoring enough points that we’re in the game, but we’re not getting stops.”

The Lady Toppers did look solid on the road in their win against Marshall, a performance fans should hope is indicative of what’s to come during the tournament.

On the men’s side, things are even more confusing for a team with more talent than any other squad in the conference.

“We’re starting to trust each oth-

FAHAD ALOTAIBI • HERALD

Freshman center, Charles Bassey makes his way down the court during WKU’s game against MTSU on Feb. 14.

season, it was one person trying to finish the game by themselves. You can’t do that. You got to play togeth-

“Early in the season, it was one person trying to finish the game by themselves. You can’t do that.

You got to play together.”

Sophomore JOSH ANDERSON

er as players and teammates,” junior Jared Savage said before the Middle Tennessee State game. “Early in the

er.”

The biggest inconsistency for the Hilltoppers is shooting. Savage

WKUHERALD.COM CONNECT WITH US ONLINE @WKUHERALD

at times looks otherworldly from 3-point range but at other times goes colder than anyone else on the team.

Sophomore Josh Anderson has been the team’s key to getting on the Sportscenter Top 10 with his dunks but also makes incredibly dumb plays at times and isn’t a great shooter.

The real inconsistency has been at guard. At the point, freshman Dalano Banton performed fairly well during senior Lamonte Bearden’s academic ineligibility but has since become a liability offensively and has seen his minutes cut.

game.’ So, I just took advantage of the opportunity of them not denying me.”

After picking up a key conference victory, the Lady Toppers have only two regular-season games remaining. WKU will wrap up its four-game road swing this week against North Texas (14-12, 7-7 C-USA).

The Mean Green met the Lady Toppers on Feb. 9 in Diddle Arena with North Texas using a third-quarter rally to defeat WKU 76-67. WKU’s game in the Super Pit will give the Lady Toppers a chance to build more momentum in their last road tilt of the year.

“I think just winning helps them,” Collins said. “But really, winning and winning the rebound battle and knowing that they can guard and get stops against a team that really is a pretty strong offensive team—Marshall—I think that gives them some confidence going into next week and going down to Dallas.”

WKU will look to avenge its loss to North Texas Saturday at 5 p.m. in Denton, Texas.

Women’s basketball reporter Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-7452653 and clinton.kizer287@topper. wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ drakekizer_.

SILAS WALKER • HERALD

WKU head coach Rick Stansbury gives instructions to his team during their game vs. MTSU on Saturday Jan. 20, 2018 in E.A. Diddle Arena.

Bearden has been a bright spot lately. There’s certainly turnovers that are just going to happen with him on the court, but he also can cut to the basket like none other, has the best handles on the team and leads the team in assists.

“Regardless, whether I’m starting or coming off the bench,” Bearden said after the team’s victory over Texas-San Antonio. “I’m just trying to give the same energy when I come out there.”

As a team, WKU never seems to show up and look the same. It has the talent to crush every team it plays, and it’s shown it with several victories against Power Five schools, but against weaker teams such as FIU, it’s demonstrated a frustrating tendency to play down to its opponents.

That tendency will be incredibly hurtful come C-USA tournament time, when the Hilltoppers will be expected to string together some wins to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. They’ve shown the ability to beat any team on any night, but they’ve also made it very clear they can’t look past any team on the schedule.

Maybe the men’s and women’s teams will both manage to get hot at the right time and bring the best versions of themselves to Texas. If they can’t, it’ll be a short trip and a crushing disappointment for rosters with so much promise.

Sports Editor Matt Stahl can be reached at 270-745-6291 and matthew.stahl551@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.

SPORTS B5

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Hilltoppers need to recalibrate following loss

BY ALEC JESSIE HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

The WKU men’s basketball team is back in a slump after its second straight loss on Saturday against the leaders of Conference USA, Old Dominion.

It has been up and down during conference play for the Hilltoppers.

WKU began the C-USA slate horribly, losing three of its first four games even though it had at least a 15-point lead in each defeat.

The tide suddenly turned in favor of the Hilltoppers, as they won eight of their next nine contests. WKU won in a variety of ways, including a shootout against Texas-San Antonio and putting the defensive clamps on North Texas.

However, Alabama-Birmingham put an end to the Hilltoppers’ five-game winning streak with a 68-60 win in Diddle Arena last Saturday. The losing continued in Norfolk, Virginia, when the top two teams in the conference took the court.

“You gotta be really good for 40 minutes on the road,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said after Saturday’s loss to ODU. “You can’t get yourself behind at halftime. You leave too many things to chance down the stretch.”

In the midst of the most important stretch of the season, WKU is struggling once again. While many things have hurt the Hilltoppers this season in their defeats, two stats especially stick out.

First, WKU has lost the rebounding margin in three straight games and four out of the last five games. The warning signs were there against Middle Tennessee State. Even in a Hilltopper victory, the Blue Raiders beat WKU on the boards 46-40.

The trend continued in losses to UAB and ODU, where the Hilltoppers were outrebounded by nine and four in the defeats.

Director of basketball operations Talvis Franklin said the Hilltoppers have to give more energy on the boards.

“There’s no secret to rebounding,” Franklin said after the loss to UAB. “That’s effort. We’ve gotta have more people going to that basketball and go

QUIT STAHL-ING

Basketball teams have more questions than answers

BY MATT STAHL HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

We should all know what to expect from WKU’s basketball teams at this point in the season. The men’s team is in bonus play and the women are nearing the end of their season with the Conference USA tournament only a few weeks away.

Instead, both the Hilltoppers and the Lady Toppers are the most confusing things on campus, beating out both the inability of freshman to navigate the roundabout and why the campus Chili’s is unable to make a burger and fries in less than an hour and a half.

“You know, our kids, they played hard, they’re trying,” women’s head coach Greg Collins said after the team lost to Alabama-Birmingham.

“We’re just not as good as some of these teams that we’re playing right now. But we’re going to fix it.”

The Lady Toppers really seemed to be on track earlier in the year. They started out slow, playing a terrifying non-conference schedule, which included a trip to South Bend, Indiana, to face the defending national champion, Notre Dame, a matchup that went about as expected.

However, at the start of C-USA play, they looked strong, rattling off a string of dominating victories against the likes of Old Dominion SEE QUIT STAHL-ING • PAGE B4

JOSEPH BARKOFF • HERALD

WKU’s Lamonte Bearden (1) sends the ball over UTSA’s Nick Allen (25) from just above the top of the box at E.A. Diddle Arena Jan. 31 in Bowling Green.

Bearden scored 22 in the 96-88 OT win.

“Sometimes you won’t shoot the ball very well.

Nobody misses shots on purpose. But you can’t get beat in the rebounding wars and beat on the free throw wars.”

Head coach RICK STANSBURY to that rim to rebound the basketball.”

In some of WKU’s biggest wins in conference play, it held a major advantage in the rebounding margin.

In a win against Marshall, the Hilltoppers outrebounded the Thundering Herd 47-28. In an overtime thriller against UTSA, WKU won the margin 48-33.

Secondly, WKU has settled for more jump shots than normal in the past few games. Against UAB, the Hilltoppers struggled shooting the ball.

But instead of looking to attack the

Blazers from the inside, WKU shot a bunch of 3-pointers. The Hilltoppers made only 6-of-27 from behind the arc in defeat.

Free throw attempts are a good indicator of whether or not the Hilltoppers are doing a good job of getting the ball inside. For the season, WKU averages about 15 free throw attempts per game and shoots 72 percent from the charity stripe. WKU has not met that average in its recent losses. Against UAB, WKU attempted only nine. Even with only 10-of-55 shot attempts com-

ing from behind the arc at ODU, the Hilltoppers could only muster 12 free throw attempts. This also popped up against Middle Tennessee State with the Hilltoppers shooting just 11 free throws in that contest.

WKU consistently is over its average of 15 free throw attempts per game in victories. The Hilltoppers shot 29 in a win over Texas-El Paso. The team also got 17 attempts in against North Texas.

Stansbury acknowledged the Hilltoppers can’t be successful without improvement in these two areas.

“Those are two bad stats you cannot have,” Stansbury said prior to the contest with ODU. “Sometimes you won’t shoot the ball very well. Nobody misses shots on purpose. But you can’t get beat in the rebounding wars and beat on the free throw wars.”

SEE RECALIBRATION • PAGE B4

Dee Givens joins exclusive company, helps Lady Toppers get back on track

BY DRAKE KIZER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

The WKU women’s basketball team headed to Huntington, West Virginia, for its third of four straight Conference USA road games last week mired in a four-game losing skid.

The Lady Toppers, tied for fifth place in C-USA standings, were aware that a season sweep over Marshall (15-12, 9-5 C-USA) would give them a tiebreaker for fourth place and allow them to inch closer to clinching a first-round bye in the C-USA tournament.

“Since we got back into practice on Tuesday, we’ve said this is a championship ballgame because this’ll define whether we’re going to get a shot at a bye,” head coach Greg Collins said. “We still have two more games—two more tough games—after this one, but if we don’t take care of business in this one, it puts us in a lot different situation than if we win.”

WKU (15-13, 9-5 C-USA) separated itself from the pack, as the Lady Toppers snapped their losing streak and lifted themselves into a tie with Marshall for fourth place.

Though both squads are 9-5 in C-USA play, the Lady Toppers now own the head-to-head tiebreaker after previously defeating Marshall 85-55 on Jan. 12 in Diddle Arena.

The Lady Toppers dominated inside against the Thundering Herd, claiming victory by crashing the boards and pounding the paint. Redshirt junior forward Dee Givens aided WKU’s attack with a record-breaking day that seemingly erased her recent slump.

“Honestly, scoring isn’t really our problem,” redshirt junior Alex-

CHRIS KOHLEY • HERALD

Redshirt junior, Dee Givens pushes through defenders as she charges to the hoop during WKU’s game against MTSU on Feb. 14, 2019. WKU was handed its third straight loss after dropping the game 81-69.

is Brewer said after practice on Friday. “I think it’s defensively, because we’re not getting stops on the other end. We’re scoring enough points that we’re in the game, but we’re not getting stops, and I think that’s the biggest part right now. I think everyone’s contributing on the offensive end. Now, everyone just has to contribute on the defensive end too.”

The Lady Toppers did just that, out-rebounding the Thundering Herd 45-32 and winning the inside-scoring battle 38-22. Four quarters was not enough to decide a winner, but WKU eventually notched a tough 69-66 overtime win in the Cam Henderson Center.

“We were really doing a better job of keeping the ball in front of us,” Collins said. “It’s just that simple: keep

the ball in front of you, don’t let them get to the rim, box out when the shot goes up, and you got a chance.”

Collins said his team is no longer playing like five players on the floor taking turns with the ball, which has resulted in both tangible and intangible changes.

“The rebounding is the statistical change that you see in the team,” Collins said. “But the bigger change is really the togetherness of the team and how they’ve come together.”

Givens entered the contest against Marshall needing only eight points to become the 40th member of WKU’s 1,000-point club.

Though eight points was not a tall order for Givens, who is averaging

SEE GIVENS • PAGE B4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SPORTS

B6

JOSEPH BARKOFF • HERALD

Junior guard Whitney Creech looks for a shot during the Lady Toppers’ victory over Old Dominion on Jan. 5 in Diddle Arena.

A STAR IN HER ROLE

KHSAA’s all-time scorer has become WKU’s selfless leader

BY DRAKE KIZER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

One particularly cold winter day several years ago, residents in the tiny city of Jenkins were snowed in. Jenkins Independent Schools were forced to close, which meant a free day off for most students.

While the rest of the town’s residents were sleeping late and dreaming of how they were going to waste their waking hours away, Whitney Creech was up and texting her head basketball coach Ashley Addington, who knew exactly what those messages meant: her star player wanted extra practice.

“Anytime I wanted to be in the gym, she would open the gym,” Creech said. “I live on a hill, and she had a Jeep. So, I’d walk down my hill, and she’d meet me at the bottom of the hill and take me to the gym—even on a snow day—so I could get in.”

That dedication helped the 5-foot-8inch guard play in a high school varsity game as a fifth grader.

Eventually, it helped her become Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer.

“I’m always trying to get extra shots up,” Creech said. “You know, working on my shot, so when I shoot it, I’m confident that it’s going to go in.”

“Swish” became a familiar sound for Creech, who led the nation in scoring in each of her final two seasons at Jenkins High School. Creech totaled 5,527 points across her entire prep career, the most ever by a male or female in the Bluegrass State.

That distinction made her a star who turned heads far outside “A City Built on Coal,” a nickname Jenkins acquired for its history with the resource.

Former President Barack Obama wrote her a congratulatory letter, “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” featured her scoring record in a syndicated comic strip and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame requested one of her game-worn Jenkins jerseys for display.

But once Creech stepped foot onto a college basketball court, everything changed.

“It’s a lot different coming from high school basketball to college basketball,” Creech said. “You know, the game is a lot faster, people are just as tall as you and more athletic.”

Diddle Arena, which averages 1,710 fans during WKU women’s basketball games this year, is a far cry from the venue where Creech played during her prep career. Jenkins’ gym housed about 1,500

people at maximum capacity and did not have automated retracting seats until 2015.

When Creech, wearing her signature black headband, brings the ball up the court for the Lady Toppers, the crowd size is not the only difference.

Collegiate defenders are a lot tougher, which forced Creech to rethink her game.

“In high school, I was able to attack the rim and finish and get to the foul line,” Creech said. “I still feel like I can do that at this level. I just had to adjust the way that I score around the rim.”

Creech worked to translate her style of play to Division I basketball, but after

“She’d do anything she can,” Addington said. “Just as long as it’s for the team to get the win, she doesn’t care. If it’s being the biggest cheerleader on the bench and it helps the team, she’d do it.”

First-year WKU head coach Greg Collins, who developed Creech for two years under former head coach Michelle ClarkHeard, said Creech stands out because she’s all heart.

“Whit is a competitor first and foremost, and she’s a team player,” Collins said. “The best thing about Whit isn’t that she can score, it’s that she’ll do whatever the team needs to win.”

Everything seemed to be going right

“Just as long as it’s for the team to get the win, she doesn’t care. If it’s being the biggest cheerleader on the bench and it helps the team, she’d do it.”

Former Jenkins head coach ASHLEY ADDINGTON

nearly three years, she has not made the same impact at WKU as she did in high school. While Creech scored 50 points or more 17 times in just her senior season at Jenkins, after almost three seasons as a Lady Topper, she’s notched double-digit points only 12 times.

No longer a scoring machine, Creech’s tenacity and character, however, have remained intact.

Basketball may have defined her in high school, but in college, her maturity has proven she is far more than a name on a stat sheet.

Addington’s voice fills with pride when she talks about Creech. Addington said she remembers the days when she and her assistant coaches would create highlight videos filled with what they dubbed “the Whitney moves” and then send them out to college coaches, hoping to get Creech recruited.

When Creech decided to sign with WKU, Addington said everyone, including her star player, knew the scoring numbers would dip. But Creech had “absolutely no problem” with trading her points for a Division I basketball scholarship, because she was a team player at heart.

As much as basketball had defined her since she was a child, Creech said she knew who she was off the court and in life. She had enough inner confidence to value winning over self-promotion.

That attitude has not been lost on Addington, who watched Creech grow for seven seasons.

early in Creech’s sophomore year at WKU, as the first-year starter tallied a career-high 25 points on the road at Indiana in the fourth game of the season.

It seemed like the Lady Toppers needed Creech to score points just as she had done at such a high clip at Jenkins. But after an early-season road trip to Atlanta, Collins sat down with Creech in the women’s basketball offices and told her that was not going to be the case.

Collins informed Creech that although she was fully capable of scoring, the team needed its starting point guard to get assists and distribute the ball effectively.

Collins assured her the transition would not make her less of a player. In fact, she would become even better.

If it was a downgrade or demotion, Creech did not take it that way. She knew deep down it wouldn’t make her less, she said.

“He really helped me learn that it’s not all about scoring—that there’s other ways you can make your impact on the game,” Creech said.

By accepting the challenge, Creech said she learned a lesson. Not about basketball. About life. She would not be defined by her successes but rather by her adaptability.

ESPN rated Creech a three-star prospect in the class of 2016. While many players of her caliber would have transferred after being asked to take on a new role, Creech chose to stay.

“Coming from a small town in Eastern Kentucky, a lot of people will kind of say,

you know, ‘You’re not going to be able to play college basketball because you played for this small school, you’re not going to be able to make it,’” Creech said.

“But Coach Collins and Coach Heard, at the time, were there. They always believed in me, and they thought I could play at this level and be successful.”

And Creech has been. Except now the glowing statistic is her assist-to-turnover ratio, not points.

Through 28 games this season, Creech has dished out 82 assists and given up only 37 turnovers. Her 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second among all qualified players in Conference USA. Creech has 26 more assists than anyone else on WKU’s roster. Her 37 turnovers are also the lowest by any Lady Topper who averages at least 20 minutes per contest.

As Creech shifts the defense and sets up shots for her teammates, her feet move confidently inside a black and white pair of Nike Zoom LeBron Soldier XII TB basketball shoes. They are more than just a stylistic choice. They are part of her motivation.

“I love socks, and I love to match,” Creech said. “Last year, me and coach Collins had a little bet. He said, ‘You have to wear mismatched socks if you have more turnovers than assists.’ So, ever since last year, I always look at assists.”

That is the competitive instinct Collins hopes her teammates will emulate.

When Creech’s time at WKU is done, she may not be a scoring leader. But she will emerge as a leader nonetheless.

Creech, whom Collins described as a “workhorse,” has not lost the spirit that urged her to get out of bed on a snow day and beg to be let inside a tiny gym years ago. The same spirit that created an opportunity and took her far from home and far in life.

Creech said she knows outsiders likely expected her to continue scoring in college. Some may even remember her outrageous statistics and think she has failed. But as Creech plans for life after basketball, she said she views her college career much differently.

“I think, for me, that’s kind of helped me grow as a person and as a player, because once I’ve got here, I’ve learned that scoring doesn’t necessarily mean that you played a good game.”

Creech smiled and continued: “You could have a great game and have zero points.”

Sports reporter Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-745-2653 and clinton.kizer287@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @drakekizer_.