October 10, 2013 College Heights Herald

LIFE

SPORTS

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Basketball team has first practice

Shenanigans raises record amount

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 • WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY • WKUHERALD.COM • VOLUME 89 NO. 13

KEEP MARCHING ON

AT&T service rerouted as repairs are made

BY MICHAEL MCKAY NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

Bowling Green senior Tanner Hall runs down University Boulevard while working out with WKU's ROTC Battalion at the Diddle Auxiliary Gym on Oct. 8. Despite the government shutdown, the cadets continued to train on their regular schedule, as very few ROTC employees at WKU were furloughed. "It affects us a little," Cadre Chris Bradley said. "But we'll overcome it."

SHELBY MACK/HERALD

WKU functioning despite government shutdown

BY KAELY HOLLOWAY AND JACOB PARKER NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM As of Oct. 1, the United States government entered a shutdown. With government offices closed, websites offline and government employees jobless and without pay, effects have trickled down to state universities.

A dispute on a spending bill between the House of Representatives and the Senate caused the government to be sent into the first shut-

down experienced in 17 years.

According to the Constitution, Congress is not allowed to spend money unless a spending bill is agreed upon by both chambers. The House, controlled by Republicans, passed a spending bill that included steady spending levels for the fiscal year, but did not allow funding for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Upon reaching the Senate, however, the bill was killed and sent back to the House. This disagreement, met with a close to the end of their fiscal

year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept.

30, led to the shutdown. This will not end until an agreement can be reached, and the president signs an approved spending bill.

WKU has not been immune to the effects of the shutdown, with various departments left unable to complete research because of insufficient federal resources.

In an email sent out the same day as the shutdown, Gordon Baylis, vice president of research, said the univerSEE SHUTDOWN PAGE A2

Yesterday's cellular outage for AT&T customers caused WKU a lot of grief.

One tweet, from @Whatsthe_ Mata said "Hi @ATT all of Kentucky, specifically 42101, doesn't have service so FYI the students of WKU hate u rn (sic.) ok fix it."

That tweet received a response from the official AT&T twitter account, which asked for her patience as they worked to investigate the issue.

Bob Owen, vice president for Information Technology, sent out emails throughout the day about his conversations with AT&T representatives.

In an email sent to faculty and staff, Owen said it was reported to him that 15 cell towers that ran from the Bowling Green area down to northern Nashville weren't working.

Representatives told Owen that service would be restored on Friday.

Service was brought back up at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday.

Owen said later Tuesday that he was glad the information AT&T gave him was incorrect and that service came back sooner.

"This is one time that I'm glad that the information that they gave me originally was wrong," Owen said.

Cathy Lewandowski, senior PR manager of Corporate Communications for AT&T Tenessee/Kentucky, said in an email Wednesday morning that wireless service had been restored to the Western Kentucky area.

Lewandoski blamed the interruption of service on a severed cable.

"Technicians rerouted wireless traffic and service is currently running normally," she said. "We know customers count on their wireless services, and we apologize for this inconvenience."

Group looks to help former incarcerated persons get on their feet

BY QUICHE MATCHEN NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM Incarceration rates are steadily increasing in America, but a new WKU organization is hoping to erase the negative stigma that is associated with those who were once incarcerated.

The regional group, We Stay Free, has its origins at a maximum security prison in the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville. Sociology professor Kate King teaches a class at the prison as part of the “Inside Out” program, where students and incarcerated persons take classes together within a prison setting.

BUDGET

SGA FINALIZES BUDGET AT $125,000 PAGE A3

King created a work group called "Think Tank" that brainstorms ways to give back to society. It was from Think Tank that idea of We Stay Free was born.

Maysville junior Whitney Allen is the president of WKU’s We Stay Free, and said the organization came out of the experiences at the prison.

“They spend time with inmates there and talk about resources, how to reenter into society and with that came the chapter,” Allen said. “We’re still able to help them here on campus, anybody that’s recently gotten out of prison or jail, to help them be an active citizen.”

Allen said one of the organization's SEE FREE PAGE A2

BUZZFEED

WKU ALUM WORKING AT BUZZFEED AS LGBT EDITOR PAGE B1

CARTOONIST

COURIER-JOURNAL CARTOONIST TO SPEAK TONIGHT AT BARNES & NOBLE PAGE B4

Louisville senior Amanda Shaw talks with an inmate during their weekly victimology class at the DeBerry Special Needs Prison in Nashville on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2011. LUKE SHARRETT/ HERALD

WKUHERALD.com

WKUHERALD UNDERGROUND VISIT WKUHERALD. COM TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE ANTHOLOGIES PERFORMING

THU 77°/46° FRI 77°/48° SAT 79°/54° SUN 79°/55°

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OCTOBER 10, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

Stock ticker to give Grise Hall a ‘business school feel’

BY JACKSON FRENCH NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM Students traveling through Grise Hall will be able to stay up to date with the latest stock information by the end of the month.

Michelle Trawick, associate dean for faculty and administration in the Gordon Ford College of Business, said a stock ticker will be installed on the first floor of the building and have a 40-foot display.

The ticker will cost around $58,000, which come from private donors, Trawick said.

“We placed this at the far side of the lobby where you would enter the stairwell to go up to the rest of the college of business,” she said.

She said the display will also include three other screens placed below the ticker.

“We’re also installing three large television displays where we will be able to have announcements for the college,

information for students and current events,” she said.

Trawick said the installation process is supposed to begin next week and is scheduled to be completed

by Oct. 26.

“We wanted to renovate Grise Hall and give it more of a business school feel and a stock ticker is representative of business,” Trawick said.

She also said she wants the ticker to stimulate conversation among business students, but she does not expect it to be widely used for classes.

“It certainly, we hope, will contribute to conversation within classes, but I’m not sure I can say it will be used for specific assignments,” she said.

Trawick said classes would not need to directly use the stock ticker because the information it displays will also be available on the Internet.

Chris Brown, chair of the finance department, said the new ticker is being brought

Corrections Due to a Herald error, an online photo gallery teaser in Tuesday's paper said the last WKU football game was on a Saturday. It was actually on a Thursday.

in to replace a smaller one on the third floor that is no longer in use.

He said the information displayed on the stock ticker comes from a company called Telemet Orion on a subscription basis, adding that he believes the larger stock ticker will be more sustainable.

“For a ticker that small, it’s very expensive,” he said. “It’s the same subscription you would have with the forty-footer that they’re putting downstairs.”

Brown also said the ticker is being installed to give the school a more business-like feel that will help draw new business students and professors to WKU. “I think if you look at business colleges around the country, you’ll see that a lot of them have new buildings,” he said.

“We want to attract quality faculty and quality students to our university and our major.”

Brown said he thinks making

Crime reports

The College Heights Herald corrects all confirmed errors that are brought to reporters’ or editors’ attention. Please call 745-6011 or 7455044 to report a correction, or email us at editor@wkuherald.com

• Lexington freshman Justin L. Chlebowy reported a black and white Nike jacket and a pair of brown Sperry top-siders had been taken from his room in Barnes over fall break on Oct. 7. The estimated value of the stolen items is $100.

sity is closely monitoring the effects of the shutdown, but it shouldn’t affect financial assistance for students.

“Federal aid programs, such as grants and loans, are already appropriated,” Baylis said. “It is anticipated to have limited impact to the federal student aid application process, delivery of federal student aid and to the federal student loan repayment functions.”

However, if a student is in the middle of the verification process, there could be a delay.

“Shut down of the IRS could impact students currently in the verification process,” he said.

The shutdown is also beginning to affect classrooms, as several government websites are either shutdown, or no longer contain up-to-date information.

Catherine Carey, chair of the economics department, was preparing for a presentation when the shutdown hit.

Carey will be traveling to the annual Kentucky Economics Association conference in Frankfort this week. She will be joining a panel that will discuss the economic condition of the state. Due to the shutdown, however, she has been forced to leave out information from her presentation, as it was unattainable.

FREE

CONTINUED FROM FRONT goals is to establish transitional living, a place for previously incarcerated people to stay and get back on their feet after reentering society.

To do that, however, the group needs money.

The chapter will be having a fundraiser yard sale on Oct.12 and a bake sale on Halloween in Grise Hall. The fundraisers will primarily help to purchase more phones for a hotline that serves as a resource for people leaving prison to find information about jobs, food and housing in their area.

that know they’re majoring in business, but don’t know where they’re going yet, it’s nice to be able to show them some updated technology and give them more of a feel that they’re in a college of business,” he said.

CRIME MAP

• Goshen freshman Miles Batson was cited and released for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his room, Barnes-Campbell Hall Room 214, on Oct. 9.

• Khafji freshman Abdullah Essa Alenezi was cited for possession of marijuana on the eighth floor of Barnes on Oct. 8.

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Grise Hall “look and feel more like a college of business as opposed to a general teaching building” might give WKU a competitive edge in attracting prospective students.

“As you compete to get students from other universities

Reports

Due to a Herald error a story about The Capital One Mascot Challenge incorrectly spelled Capital as “Capitol.”

SHUTDOWN

General contractors Greg Phelps, Lucas Manning and Ryan West inspect Grise Hall's first floor ceiling and prepare to install a stock ticker, a running report that projects the prices and trading patterns of the various stock exchanges. JEFF BROWN/HERALD

Go to wkuherald.com for an interactive crime map

“Fortunately, I had a lot of data prior to it shutting down, but I can’t really supplement it,” she said. “There will be times when I’ll have to say the data is not current because I was not able to access it before the shutdown. It’s frustrating because there are other little pieces out there I know I can’t get.”

Carey predicts that, should the shutdown continue, federal economics workers will have to estimate back to obtain facts and figures to avoid holes in national data. Currently, there are not workers out surveying to obtain the current unemployment rate, Consumer Price Index numbers and more.

“In macroeconomics, I pull up data and charts practically every day, and I can still get that data because the reserve provides a lot of it, and they haven’t shut down their sites, but it’s not being updated,” Carey said. “In a few months, I won’t be able to talk about what the unemployment rate is, what the CPI is, latest GDP figures – those things come out monthly.”

National museums and parks, such as Mammoth Cave National Park, are closed as a result of the shutdown. Campers on the grounds of the park at the beginning of the shutdown were given two days to leave and all other visitation was barred and will remain so until the shutdown ends. Staff-

ing at national parks has been cut to the minimum necessary, enough for general upkeep and security purposes.

This greatly affects the geography and geology department, who take groups of students on research projects to Mammoth Cave throughout the semester.

Chris Groves, university distinguished professor of hydrogeology in the geography and geology department, said a number of students attend WKU because there’s cave research here.

“The fact that Mammoth Cave is the biggest cave in the world and still being explored is an incentive,” he said. “Most semesters there’s several of us that take students to Mammoth Cave for a geography class.”

Groves, who has taken part in the program for several semesters, said any future trips are on hold until the shutdown ends.

“Right now, we can’t make any plans on it, there’s no one there,” he said.

Another effect the shutdown has had on the department is the immediate cease of a project the department was working on, provided for by a grant.

“There is several of us working on a grant from the national park service in several departments across campus,” he said. “It’s a grant to do a natural resource assessment

for the national park.”

After completing paperwork, the project start date was set for Oct. 1, which Groves now finds ironic.

“We had everything in place and we got an email around ten that morning, of October 1st, saying, ‘Well, you must cease work on this project,’ and we had been going for like an hour,” he said.

While they are not federally funded, WKU’s Police Department is also facing issues caused by the shutdown.

Under the Clery Act, students have a right to access campus crime information and statistics for their school and any other school in the country. This information is stored on a section of the Department of Education’s website.

Since the shutdown, the website has been closed, causing WKUPD to be unable to update the website on campus crime statistics. Daily reports, as well as a required annual report, are unable to be submitted until the shutdown ends.

“Now I’m just kind of twiddling my thumbs, waiting to hit the enter button, and I can’t do that until the website opens back up,” Dominic Ossello, chief communication officer

at WKUPD, said.

Annual reports containing campus crime statistics are supposed to be submitted and filed with the Department of Education by Oct. 16. Due to the shutdown, however, the website schools use to submit this information is unavailable.

Bonnieville junior Bryon Thompson, 200 level cadet, said he is a member of both ROTC and the National Guard.

“ROTC has been carrying on as usual,” he said. “We've still been doing PC and labs on same days, but no discernible effects. National Guard has had to cancel a couple of drills due to lack of funding.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R - Ohio) and President Barack Obama are currently at a stalemate regarding negotiations to end the shutdown, both having stated terms and grounds on which they will negotiate.

If resolutions are not made

by Oct. 17, the country nears the risk of defaulting on it’s debt. This would result in the value of U.S. currency falling dramatically, a loss in reserve currency status and potentially lead to a several-year long world recession.

Obama announced yesterday that he will begin meeting with lawmakers representing both parties to discuss the shutdown, the looming debt crisis and the stalemate.

Three phones will be purchased, with two to be used to talk to formerly incarcerated persons.

Through the fundraiser, the chapter hopes to curtail growing re-incarceration rates.

“After someone gets out, three years later they go back,” Allen said. “We’re trying to do something about that.”

Graduate students of the chapter who participated in the think tank went to Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco over fall break to learn how their model works and how We Stay Free could learn from the organization in order to be a successful group.

The Delancey Street Founda-

tion, one of the nation’s leading residential self-help organizations, aids substance abusers, ex-convicts, the homeless and others, according to group's official website.

Bowling Green graduate student Cecelia Satterly, graduate advisor of We Stay Free, was among those who made the trip.

Satterly said Delancey only has three rules: no drugs or alcohol, no physical violence and no threat of physical violence. The rest are guidelines, she said.

“They’re not a rehab program, they’re peer-led and they (residents) run Delancey Street,” she said.“ It’s different than what we think a rehabili-

tation program should be.”

Satterly said to get into Delancey you have to want to be there. They have to write a letter and be interviewed to get into the program.

“People are pleading for that opportunity,” she said.

“It’s like 330 people under one roof and they all watch out for one another. It’s kind of like A teaches B and they both get better. It’s a total different way of thinking.”

Satterly said these people have been shut out in America and it’s hard for felons to get jobs.

Russellville alumni Karli Rutherford, a founding member of the chapter, said she went to the think tank and

helped form the ideas for the chapter.

“I hope students develop a sense of awareness for the individuals that are incarcerated and students develop a sense of community,” Rutherford said. “And social awareness that everything is connected, and when one of us suffers we all suffer.”

Rutherford said the chapter’s mission is important because it affects so many people’s lives.

“We incarcerate more than 2 million people in this country,” she said. “We have the highest incarceration rate in the world, and we’re supposed to be the land of the free.”

For more photos of the shutdown, turn to page A6

OCTOBER 10, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

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Business Accelerator aids student entrepreneurs

BY KAELY HOLLOWAY NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM The Student Business Accelerator, or Innoplexx, housed in the Center for Research and Development, has mentored, assisted and advanced several student businesses since its opening almost two years ago.

Innoplexx has helped in the creation of 22 student businesses, allowing the students to experience the successes and failures of owning and running a business in the real world, without all of the risks that come with it.

“What do you know about people who are successful in business?” Gordon Baylis, vice president of research said.

“Often, they’ve failed at something, and they’ve succeeded as well.

“So why not give you guys the opportunity to fail or succeed in business while you’re in college. It’s the best time to either fail or succeed because you don’t have a mortgage, a family, so you can take risks.”

The accelerator works to build business ideas by providing start up funding of at least $500, space to work in, internet and business mentoring.

They also assist in the formation of the company and help student entrepreneurs fill out the proper paperwork and information.

Douglas Rohrer is the associate vice president for research and development and one of the business mentors involved with Innoplexx.

“We help companies with formation, help (them) find vendors, support them and

Gordon Baylis, VP of research

[College] is the best time to either fail or succeed in business because... you can take risks.” help with funding,” Rohrer said. “It’s easy now to start a company, and we show you how to do everything.”

Business successes vary, with some failing, some breaking even and some succeeding and advancing. JRAQ Marketing, LLC is one of the businesses that has grown and succeeded with help from the accelerator.

“We really wouldn’t be where we are today without Innoplexx,” Justin Raque, stu-

dent and cofounder of JRAQ Marketing, said.

Raque partnered with his dad to create his business, which has become one of the more successful businesses to be assisted by Innoplexx.

“It’s an umbrella company,” Raque said. “What that entails is there’s an ITEX franchise underneath it, along with a business called sensibleliving.us.”

Raque said that ITEX is an economy within an economy, acting as a trade and barter market place. The ITEX portion of his business has expanded its markets to Owensboro and Nashville, growing from the original market in Bowling Green. SensibleLiving is a website, providing coupons, information and values from local businesses, such as Griff’s Deli and Puerto Vallarta.

“My business mainly applies to small and medium sized businesses,” he said. “For a business that can’t really afford an advertising budget, they could use ITEX or sensibleliving.us, and it’s a very cheap way of advertising.”

The business as a whole is something Raque, as of now, is interested in continuing after college. Currently, his business is working on expanding to three markets by creating two new ones, in Owensboro and in Nashville in addition to Bowling Green. He wants it to continue expanding, building the website up and reaching more cities with ITEX. “It’s a family business right now with me and my dad, so anything is possible with that,” he said.

Student Government Association budget finalized SGA’s 2013-2014 fiscal year budget Discretionary $12,000 Organizational Aid $30,000

Society of Distinguished Graduates Banquet $1,000

Discretionary $5,9000

Spent $1,068.38*

Safe Ride Service

$15,000 Spent $15,000

Football Game Adv. and Tabling $2,100

Spent $2,100 Public Relations $3,000

Student Affairs Schol. $6,000

Spent $39.97

Legislative Budget

Stipends $10,7000

Executive Budget

Other

Spent $10,500 Transcript Vouchers $300

Spent $300

Academic Affairs Scholarships/Grants $26,000 * Estimated amount, pending billing

BY KAELY HOLLOWAY NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM Despite not receiving a planned budget increase, the Student Government Association recently finalized their budget for the 2013-14 school year.

This year, SGA has a budget of $125,000 to be spent and allotted as seen fit by the organization, with the money coming from student tuition.

Laura Harper, director of public relations, said this amount equates to $6.25 per student.

Administrative Vice President Nicki Seay is in charge of forming the budget and allotting certain amounts to the branches, programs, supplies and discretionary areas.

“Discretionary is basically anything extra we do that isn’t set in our budget,” she said.

“The senate discretionary has to be approved by a majority of the senate to be spent, and the executive discretionary has to be approved by a majority of the executive committee to be spent.”

All money listed in the bud-

get is accurate except for the executive discretionary fund, which is a ballpark estimate.

The fund has a $5,900 budget, with an estimated $1,068.38 spent.

SGA President Keyana Boka and Executive Vice President Mark Reeves recently took a trip to Washington, D.C., lobbying for higher education with other SGA leaders from across the commonwealth.

“Our expenses haven’t come through on what all was about that trip, but I do have a roundabout estimate of what that is,” Seay said.

The amount spent from the executive discretionary fund is a slight overestimate, but it is one Seay, Boka and Reeves agreed on before the latter two took their trip to DC. “An overestimate is better than underestimate in my opinion,” she said.

SGA’s organizational aid committee has been allotted $30,000 this fiscal year. Oncampus organizations can apply to receive money from the committee for events, conferences and other activities re-

Student Office Worker $12,000

Office Supplies $1,000

Spent $12,000

Spent $560.04

quiring funding.

“We can grant them up to $500 for those expenses,” Seay said.

Applications are available on SGA’s website, on the student activities’ website and available in hard copy in the SGA office. Applications will be reviewed by the committee, potential candidates will be interviewed and the money will be given as seen fit by the committee members.

“Anything but food we will do, and we can do food if it is in conjunction with a trip, sort of on a reimbursement basis,” she said. “Travel is reimbursement only.”

Sarah Hazelip, SGA’s director of information technology, said during the Tuesday meeting that she is working on making a copy of the budget available online.

Seay also said that SGA is set to get an increase in funding every few years. Their next increase was projected to be for the current school year. However, budget cuts resulting in a lower than expected tuition increase led to the SGA budget

increase being cut.

“We’re not facing any less money than last year, but we just didn’t get a scheduled increase,” she said. “We knew well before the last fiscal year ended, so we were able to budget a lot off of last year.”

Last semester, SGA experienced a surplus of money leftover in the budget. This money was quickly re-allotted toward other needs as seen fit by last year’s SGA, funding ventures for the next year, such as promotional materials and Preston Center guest vouchers, and allotting more money for summer scholarships.

“A huge chunk of it last year went in to summer scholarships because the summer scholarship program was just started last year and we only budgeted enough for about three scholarships, maybe,” Seay said.

The scholarships were designed to assist in payment of on-campus summer courses.

A recipient of the scholarship received financial help from SGA to cover the cost of one summer course.

“Last year, most of our extra money went to that scholarship because we had over 300 people apply,” she said.

In moving forward with the budget, Seay said she is trying to be as financially responsible as possible with the money, minimizing budgets in areas that last year had much leftover.

Money for transcript vouchers is one of the areas undergoing this minimizing change.

Last year, much of the money allotted for the purchase of these vouchers went unused, an issue Seay does not wish to repeat.

“We’re only starting out with $300. Last year I think it started out at 5 or 6 (hundred dollars), but all of that wasn't used,” she said.

A pay-as-you-go policy has been initiated for the program, taking more money from the legislative discretionary or senate discretionary as needed. “(It’s) just to kind of make sure we are being good stewards of our money,” she said.

OPINION

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

WKUHERALD.COM

@WKUHERALD

COMMON GROUND

The kitchen table beckons

BY NICK BRATCHER OPINION@WKUHERALD.COM

cooperation or desperation it shows.

And, at least from their point of view, the action seemed necessary, We’ve been living without the gov- unlike bitterly flooding a field to avoid ernment for 10 days now. a loss, which by no account is necesI’ll save my banter about how few of sary. us have noticed this phenomenon for a That casts Republicans in the light of different time and place. just plain sore losers. Most of them may Instead, I’d like to consider why it is not be less than that depiction, but I’m that we’re in this mess in the first place. equally sure that at least some of them Basically, on Oct. 1, Repubare more than that depiction. licans in the House of RepreInstead, I’d like to offer a more sentatives refused to fund accurate analogy. any part of the government in What happened Oct. 1 is more a last-ditch effort to defund like a household budget issue left a new round of implementaunresolved. tion of the Affordable Care Imagine you’re sitting at your Act. kitchen table paying bills. You’re 35 Evan Ford, a columnist for years old and have left the days of Bratcher the University of Tennesbeer pong and body shots on frat Opinion Editor row firmly behind you. see student newspaper, made an observation of Your current debt is greater the situation that likened House Re- than your equitable assets. publicans to a baseball team flooding In other words, if you gave everythe field in the ninth inning to avoid thing you and your spouse made in losing. income this year to pay off your house Two of the biggest flaws in this line loan, car loans and credit card debt — of thinking are that it doesn’t take into ignoring expenses like retirement savaccount why the Republicans did what ings, groceries and fuel — you would they did nor does it accept the legality not have enough cash to pay off your of what they did. debt.

I don’t want to definitively say that Then, as you are trying to make either side is right, but what the Re- sense of this financial mess, your son, publicans did was certainly within daughter and spouse all come to you to the parameters of the game — regard- ask if they can buy something with your less of the apparent lack of bipartisan credit card.

Without a word, you just get up from the table and walk out of your house —demanding that your family reconsider their desires before you come back to pay even the necessary bills.

That’s really the situation we’re in as a nation, except it’s a lot worse because in my scenario, you might have the option of selling your assets like your car or house or retirement savings to pay down your debt, whereas the United States does not. It just has income, so to speak.

In fact, that “income” in this story is the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, all the goods created and services provided in a given year, and it totaled nearly $15 trillion in 2012. The debt is currently $17 trillion.

The lion’s share of that cash is being spent on Defense, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. It’s that simple.

They amount to about 60 percent of U.S. spending every year.

I’m not a Republican by any means, and I still don’t endorse the actions of the House Republicans for simply walking away from the kitchen table.

But what choice did they have as the Affordable Care Act came demanding more money than it’s already borrowing to pay for those four big-ticket items?

And better yet, what choice do you have?

Tops & Bottoms TOPS to the football game being on TV.

BOTTOMS to the weird Tuesday game time.

TOPS to Willie Taggart for winning his first game at South Florida.

BOTTOMS to it taking five games.

LINDS LETS LOOSE

TWEETS FROM THE HILL

Not supporting feminism equals not supporting women

BY LINDSAY KRIZ OPINION@WKUHERALD.COM

inism did that make it okay for men to be against feminism?

In my thought process, I rememRecently on Twitter, an account that bered from a women's studies course claims to tweet taboo ideas decided I took that feminism is often painted to tweet what the user considered a in a negative light and that is why it frowned upon but true statement: “it's has become such a dirty word in our not sexist to be anti-feminist.” society.

My first reaction was disgust, and I And, like Carrie Bradshaw, I immediately replied with, “Um…yes it couldn’t help but wonder — has is.” feminism become the new "F" But then I decided to have word, a word so dirty that even a moment of revelation, where today, I feel nervous using it I sat and thought about that around certain people? statement.

In our course, we learned Can one truly be against about the usual offensive stereofeminism and not be considtype that accompanies the word ered sexist? feminism: usually a hairy, butch According to the Twitlesbian who hates any man on KRIZ ter user, “not all women are this Earth.

Columnist feminists and as feminists We learned about Pat Robertaren’t a separate gender, it can’t be son, who said that “feminism is a sosexist.” cialist, anti-family political movement Unfortunately, the account nev- that encourages women to leave their er tweeted me back to clarify, but I husbands, kill their children, practice continued in my moment with this witchcraft, destroy capitalism and benewfound perspective. come lesbians.”

Yes, I knew women could be against That’s when I realized that Robertfeminism, but does that make sexism son’s hate-filled, obviously inaccurate obsolete because women could equally quote is, in the end, about fear. be against their own kind?

Now that I have painted an inaccuAnd if women could be against fem- rate, sexist and homophobic image of

feminism, I’m going to clarify what the Internet says about feminism.

According to Merriam-Webster, feminism is defined as “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.”

What people fail to understand about feminism is that it is meant to be a movement for equality, regardless of gender, living equally, and one group not being elevated above another.

So at the end of my moment I reached an epiphany: yes, it is sexist to be against feminism. Because it is possible for women to be against their own and against feminism, and it is still sexist.

I realized that by someone being against feminism, they were against equality between men and women.

To be against that means seeing men as superior to women, which is indeed sexist, because it calls women inferior.

I tried to analyze the problem, and see the other person’s perspective, but in the end, I came up with the same conclusion that I had when I first saw the tweet: you might be trying to be taboo, but in the end, you’re just sexist.

CARTOON STRIP

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Restriction tape dissects walking paths at Mammoth Cave National Park in Mammoth Cave on Oct. 8. National parks remain closed due to the federal government's shutdown, which began Monday, Oct. 1.

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The parking lot at Mammoth Cave remains empty due to the shutdown of the federal government at Mammoth Cave National Park in Mammoth Cave on Oct. 8.

Deer roam in the closed camping areas at Mammoth Cave National Park in Mammoth Cave on Oct. 8. The national park remained closed due to the federal government shutdown. Because of the lack of visitors and traffic, the deer have ventured into areas normally occupied by people.

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Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Alpha Omicron Pi sorority perform at Kappa Delta sorority's 2013 Shenanigans event at Van Meter Hall on Oct. 8. Proceeds went to Prevent Child Abuse America and the local Family Enrichment Center. DEMETRIUS FREEMAN/HERALD

GREEKS GET

DOWN

Kappa Delta's Shenanigans breaks fundraising record

BY MACKENZIE MATHEWS LIFE@WKUHERALD.COM

Owensboro freshman Nick Nunley, of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and Louisville senior Lizzie Ramsay, of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, wait on the stairs after performing at Kappa Delta sorority's 2013 Shenanigans event at Van Meter Hall on Oct. 8. DEMETRIUS FREEMAN/HERALD

in Shenanigans’ history.

The sororities and fraternities competing had the rest of their members supporting them from the audience. Each sorority was prepared with a cheer as their sisters took to the stage.

Twenty percent of the proceeds will go to KD’s philanthropy, Prevent Child Abuse America, and 80 percent toward Bowling Green’s Family Enrichment Center. The evening began with a brief presentation of statistics on child abuse.

Koppel said Greek organizations often aren’t recognized for their charity efforts. “I think philanthropy is one SEE SHENANIGANS PAGE B2

Van Meter Hall was standing room only for Kappa Delta sorority’s 23rd annual philanthropy event, Shenanigans.

This year’s theme for the dance competition was “Battle of the Greek Gods� and amongst the eight competing performances, Chi Omega sorority and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity came out on top.

Last year, the event raised $6,000.

Louisville junior Natalie Koppel, vice president of KD’s Community Service, said the goal was more than reached with $8,546 — the most raised

Alumnus finds success as Buzzfeed LGBT editor

BY KRISTINA BURTON LIFE@WKUHERALD.COM It’s increasingly difficult to scroll through Facebook or Twitter feeds without stumbling on a link from Buzzfeed. com.

Saeed Jones, a 2008 alumnus, is currently the editor of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered section of Buzzfeed.

“I was on the speech team all four years,� Jones said. “That was a big deal because I was constantly writing speeches, performing, traveling and doing research. So much of preparing for competition in forensics is interacting with human stories and learning about what people are going through.�

Jones said his experiences

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with the forensics team inspired him to start writing on his own, which he hadn’t been doing when he first started at WKU. “I did some slam poetry in Bowling Green and really loved that because it was another aspect of performing and telling stories and using words to express myself,� Jones said. Saeed Jones is an LGBT editor at Buzzfeed. Photo submitted SEE BUZZFEED PAGE B2 by Saeed Jones

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OCTOBER 10, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

New organization pushes for smarter drug policy

BY KAYLA BOYD LIFE@WKUHERALD.COM There’s a new organization on campus that deals with and discusses one of the more controversial issues facing this generation: drug use.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy is a nationwide political lobbying organization.

Leitchfield junior Kelly Cannon discovered the organization last year and decided to start a chapter at WKU. SSDP advocates for increased education about drugs and legal rights and for policy change in the government and on college campuses.

Cannon said she wants to focus on the education aspect, specifically in Fourth Amendment rights.

“A lot of people get drug violations because their rights have been violated,” Cannon said. “We want to explain stuff like what you do and don’t have to show to a cop.”

Bowling Green junior Parker Hanna has been helping Cannon in the planning process for SSDP. He said the organization would like to implement an annual speaker series. This would bring professionals to campus to give students the most up-to-date and accurate information about drugs, how they affect the body and drug abuse.

“We have to admit that many people will experiment with drugs in college, whether they're illegal or not,” Hanna said. “This speaker series will

help give those students good information rather than unreliable information they received from peers, internet or commercials, so that they can make safe and informed decisions.”

The organization would also like to help put into place several other policies.

Hanna said SSDP wants to implement 911 Good Samaritan Policies, or a medical amnesty policy.

“It seeks to eliminate repercussions when emergency help is called in response to a drug overdose,” he said. “So if someone were to overdose on alcohol or another drug, they could call 911 for help and not fear any retribution from the university or the state legal system.”

A policy to end Zero Toler-

ance is also something the organization is interested in.

“Right now, if you’re caught with any type of drug, you’re supposed to be kicked out of the dorm,” Cannon said. “Getting caught with $10 of marijuana shouldn’t get you kicked out.”

Cannon said the purpose of SSDP isn’t to condone or condemn drugs.

“It focuses on facts and not anti-drug, made-up scare tactics,” Cannon said.

She said the goal is to realize the war on drugs is a collective failure and to do something about that.

“There’s a little clause in the Higher Education Act that says if college students get in trouble with drugs, they’re ineligible for loans and financial

aid for life,” Cannon said. “But convicted murderers are eligible for both of those things.”

An article on stopthedrugwar.org states that at the end of 2011, drug offenders accounted for 48 percent of all federal inmates, which was about 94,600 inmates. Only 7.6 percent of federal inmates are doing time for violent crimes.

“It isn’t a club about drugs,” Cannon said. “I tell people about it and they ask me what my favorite drug is. That isn’t what it’s about at all.”

She said the drug policies we have don’t make sense, and SSDP wants to change that.

The first SSDP meeting will be tonight on the ninth floor of Cravens Library at 6 p.m. SSDP can also be found on Facebook.

THE REEL

Top 10 favorite movies for Halloween the only other film of its kind to come close.

“Halloween” No list would be complete without this perennial favorite from WKU’s own John Carpenter. After 35 years, “Halloween” still stands the test of time as a post-“Psycho” affirmation of the slasher genre and one of the scariest of its kind for its silent, brooding antagonist and haunting musical score from Carpenter himself.

“The Conjuring” This recent chiller from “Insidious” director James Wan is destined to become the next horror classic. Fine performances, a strong story and slow-burning thrills are punctuated by a spooky, slam-bang climax that rivals “The Exorcist.” Homage is paid to that and several other old-school

favorites, including “Poltergeist” and “Child’s Play.”

“The Exorcist” This film is an engrossing story about two priests enlisted to save the soul of a young girl after she is possessed by the devil. The infamous pea soup scene is just one of several spine-tingling moments that have earned “The Exorcist” the title of “scariest movies ever made” by top critics.

“The Evil Dead” To this day, Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic is still considered one of the most graphic, gut-wrenching pictures ever made despite its use of practical visual effects over CGI. The film has a dark sense of humor that soars on the wings of Bruce Campbell’s over-thetop performance. Such humor

She said it was SHENANIGANS Shenanigans. valuable time spent with her sisters and fellow Greek participants.

“Our great community came together to raise money for charity,” Baker said.

Nashville junior Alicia Brooks, of Omega Phi Alpha sorority, said it was great for all Greek organizations to come together for a good cause.

“A lot of times sororities and fraternities are misconstrued in public life,” Brooks said. “Tonight, they came together to raise money for a great cause.”

Brooks choreographed OPA’s performance, and said it was time to show everyone

what OPA is all about because they're becoming more involved in Greek life now. This was their first year participating in Shenanigans.

Second place of the night went to Phi Mu sorority, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and Kappa Alpha fraternity. Third place was awarded to Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Sigma Nu fraternity.

Kappa Delta donated the $200 prize typically awarded to the organization with highest participation to Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. The fraternity lost a brother last month and left a spot open during their performances in honor of their pledge.

Jones is responsible for finding stories that speak to the LGBT community.

“There’s quite a mix of content, so we do a little bit of everything,” he said.

Jones said he has recently edited stories about anti-marriage equality laws in Singapore, Coming Out Week and a character on Glee coming out.

“My job is to make sure that we’re putting out great content no matter what it is,” Jones said. “It’s a real blend.”

Jones said the journey from WKU to Buzzfeed was quite an adventure.

Jones attended graduate school at Rutgers University, where he studied creative writing. After graduating, Jones started teaching 9th and 10th grade English at a charter school.

“It was the most challenging experience of my life,” Jones said. “Teaching is an all-consuming job. You’re not

dealing in abstract — you’re dealing with children, so you feel responsible for their happiness, growth and success.”

At the end of the first school year, Jones’ mother passed away, which left him shaken.

“I took a year off work to write freelance and travel,” he said.

Twitter became an important part in helping Jones deal with his mother’s death.

“Mom passing away was my first really big loss and I was overwhelmed and grief stricken—there’s no road map for how to grieve,” Jones said.

“I started tweeting about my experiences with grief and people responded and shared their own stories.

I saw over and over the ability on social media to make genuine connections with people, which goes against what people often think.”

Jones then made the decision to try and travel full time,

BY BEN CONNIFF OPINION@WKUHERALD.COM It’s that time of year again.

Here are some of my favorite movies to watch during the Halloween season. Be sure to check them out for a few good screams.

“Psycho” What is widely considered Alfred Hitchcock’s most shocking film, “Psycho” is the slasher that defined a genre and set the benchmark for modern horror movies. “Halloween” is

CONTINUED FROM LIFE

of the most important parts of Greek life…but it often goes unnoticed,” she said.

She said bringing the Greek community together is a great way to support a cause.

And each was more than willing to share their time and enthusiasm. Some groups had started preparing their performances more than a month ago, practicing multiple days a week.

Glasgow junior Katelyn Baker, of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, said practicing was one of her favorite aspects of

BUZZFEED

CONTINUED FROM LIFE “Then, I decided to take some creative writing classes to get better at it.”

Tom Hunley, an associate professor in the English department, served as Jones’ thesis adviser and was a huge influence on his decision to pursue creative writing.

Hunley shared a story about a trip to Atlanta for a conference that Jones attended.

“There was a book fair and Saeed was the ultimate salesman,” Hunley said. “He would strike up conversation with people walking by, and before you knew it they were handing him money. He’s done a good job networking as a poet, and the combination of his talent as a writer and him being outgoing and knowing how to talk to people is a formula of success for him.”

Or order online at fiveguys.com, or on our mobile app!

was sorely missed in this year’s remake.

“The Blair Witch Project” You have the creative team of Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez to thank for popularizing the found footage horror genre with this cult favorite.

Made on a shoestring budget in the late ‘90s, “Blair Witch” is still one of the most realistic thrillers you’re likely to see.

“Paranormal Activity 3” Rewinding the found-footage franchise back to the VHS days of the late 1980s, this prequel hints at how and why the “activity” began. The scares start early and don’t let up, culminating in the series’ most shocking ending.

“The Cabin in the Woods” This entertaining film from the creative duo of Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire

Slayer”) and Drew Goddard (“Cloverfield”) turns horror movie clichés on their heads with a classic setup but a completely atypical payoff.

“Zombieland” I enjoy the wacky sense of humor with which director Ruben Fleischer and scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick approach this romp while packing on satisfying zombie action. Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin make for endearing leads.

“Donnie Darko” Though not technically billed as a horror film, “Donnie Darko” is a season staple for its intricate plot, bizarre imagery and Halloween-time setting. A young Jake Gyllenhaal affirms his A-list status with an arresting performance.

Owensboro senior Samuel Knott and his Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers hype themselves up before taking the stage with the sisters of Chi Omega sorority at Kappa Delta sorority's 2013 Shenanigans event in Van Meter Hall on Oct. 8. DEMETRIUS FREE-

MAN/HERALD

which he wrote about for Ebony magazine and tweeted about often.

“A friend I’d made on Twitter, who was a really great journalist … had been hired by Buzzfeed not too long before,” Jones said. “He direct messaged me with a job listing at Buzzfeed, but at the time I was on the other side of the world.

I kept traveling for a month and then decided it was a great idea and opportunity.”

Jones started his 40-hour journey back to the states just over a year ago and started the interview process soon after.

He’ll have been with Buzzfeed for a year at the end of January 2014.

Jones said he couldn’t have imagined when he was checking out of Southwest Hall and finishing graduation at WKU in 2008 that he'd be where he is today.

When he started as editor of Buzzfeed LGBT, it was only

Jones and one other reporter. He said that number has grown to five-six different editors and reporters in less than a year.

“This reflects how advances have been made and the fact that there are so many things to cover,” Jones said.

Jones also has high hopes for his future as a writer outside of Buzzfeed.

“I have a poetry collection coming out in a few years, and I’m working on a memoir right now that the narrative should end somewhere around my time at WKU,” Jones said. “I want to keep writing and telling stories and keep dreaming big.”

Jones said this is all really exciting, but he’s still only 27-years-old.

“I see no reason to get comfortable or think this is it and play it easy,” Jones said. “I clearly have to keep growing and trying as hard as possible.

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OCTOBER 10, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

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Forensics team takes awards in for tournaments this weekend

BY ANNA LAWSON LIFE@WKUHERALD.COM

The WKU Forensics Team has started this season at full force.

Over the past weekend, the team competed in four competitions in Illinois and Pennsylvania. They were dominant in each of their competitions, bringing home a slew of awards.

Competitions were held against five team members who each had 10 minutes to give their performance. Judges then ranked the competitors, and the top six speakers from each event advanced.

At the Illinois competitions the team took home the title of Sweepstakes Champions.

However, the success the team has found does not come easy.

Davie, Fla. junior Kristina Medero spends three hours a day practicing for her speeches. The team practices in front of coaches, fellow teammates and on their own.

Members also have to make sure they are prepared for all three presentation genres: interpretation, public announcement, and limited preparation, Medero said.

While she acknowledges that it can be stressful, Medero said she makes time because she is passionate.

“Tournaments in general are incredible. It’s an experience I’ve only been able to understand in speech,” she said. “A group of passionate young people that want to get their arguments listened to in a place that gives that opportunity is simply amazing. There’s

no other place like it.”

Jace Lux, director of Forensics, said he has a real passion for the Forensics team. He feels that students benefit in many ways, especially within academics.

“I think the forensics team is important academically because it teaches students to be stronger researchers, writers, persuaders and critical thinkers, and it gives them the confidence to verbally present their ideas and arguments in an effective way,” he said.

However, the participants also finds a sense of family with the team.

“The forensics team is a family away from home. I love them,” Medero said. “It’s a group of some of the most talented people in the country that care about their community on both a local and global

scale. We advocate for change.

We talk about the problems plaguing the world and new innovations to amend those problems.”

The team plans to keep their winning streak.

“For the future, I want this team to continue to be a bright spot at the university. I want to make WKU proud,” Lux said. “As I tell our team all throughout the year, our ultimate goal is to win the national championship in April.”

Lux wants to help keep the team grounded and remember it is a community and a way to benefit academically rather than win every competition.

“There’s a big difference between having winning as the ultimate goal and winning being the only thing you care about,” he said. “When win-

ning is the only thing you care about, you’ll do whatever it takes, even if it’s not completely above board.

“I want our students to win, but I want them to do so ethically and with dignity, knowing they gave their best.”

Medero said that hard work and support are important.

“You support your team no matter the outcome and you give your best because the team is relying on you,” she said.

Speech gives competitors like Medero a chance to express their ideas and compete for something they are truly passionate about.

“When it is over, I’ll miss the amazing people, I’ll miss the competitive atmosphere, but I’ll mostly miss the ability to truly speak my mind,” she said.

Sports Illustrated photographer to give lecture tonight

BY CASEY DOWNEY LIFE@WKUHERALD.COM Gary Bogdon said photojournalism is like getting paid to go on adventures.

“You get to walk in other people’s shoes,” Bogdon said.

“I’ve met Pope John Paul (II) ... every president since Jimmy Carter. But it’s not just celebrities. I like meeting a regular person with an interesting story or interesting life.”

The award-winning Sports Illustrated photojournalist will speak at WKU tonight at 8 p.m. in the Mass Media and Technology Hall auditorium about his experiences behind the camera.

Bogdon currently works as a contributing photographer for Sports Illustrated and ESPN, utilizing still and video media.

He has received awards from organizations such as World Press Photo, Society of Newspaper Design and National Press Photographers Association.

Bogdon discovered his love of photojournalism while attending high school in the ‘70s. He pursued his passion through an internship with

Gary Bogdon, Photojournalist

I like meeting a regular person with an interesting story or interesting life.”

The Courier-Journal in Louisville.

“I had a couple of good mentors growing up at Courier,” Bodgon said. “It was the heartbeat of photojournalism at that time in the country.”

Since his days at The Courier-Journal, Bogdon has developed relationships with journalists from across the nation.

Bogdon first crossed paths with Tim Broekema, professor of photojournalism and new media, 25 years ago. Pulitzer Prize-winner Broekema has taught at WKU since 2001.

While they were setting up at the Kentucky Derby a few years back, Bodgon expressed interest in talking to WKU students.

“Gary invited himself, and I gladly accepted,” Broekema said.

This year, Bogdon will be the guest speaker for Broekema’s annual photojournalism course at Keeneland Racecourse. The fall outing in Lexington is a remote-camera workshop, which teaches students how to set up gear at sporting events.

“We’ve had the director of remote cameras for Nikon and Canon (as guest speakers),” Broekema said. “People who have worked the remote cameras for NASA have come. Sometimes I don’t get a guest, but this year it’s Gary.”

Bogdon hopes he will inspire students when he visits WKU. “Whatever it is you love to do, if you can find that early on, that’s the key,” he said.

“Because if you have a pas- Gary Bogdon has had several photos on the cover of Sports sion for it, it will never seem Illustrated, including this photo of Tim Tebow on the July 2009 issue. © Gary Bogdon 2014. like work.”

THE REMOTE

No Brody, no problem for ‘Homeland’

BY RYAN PAIT OPINION@WKUHERALD.COM

intervenes. It can often re-invigorate a show.

It’s no wonder that Alex Killing off characters has Gansa, show-runner of Showbecome almost standard prac- time’s “Homeland,” has considered killing off one of the tice for TV today.

Some of TV’s most popular main characters.

Gansa has expressed series are regularly wipin multiple interviews ing their slates clean by that he and his writing sending characters to team have often conmeet their makers. sidered putting Nicho“Game of Thrones” las Brody (Damian has slaughtered numerous important Lewis) on the chopping characters over the block.

Brody, while integral years.

RYAN PAIT to the first season of the “Downton Abbey” Columnist show, became less of exterminated two very popular lead characters just a driving force in the second season of “Homeland.” last year.

The show is now two epiEven newer shows, such as “House of Cards,” have no sodes into its third season, and trouble killing off characters Brody hasn’t made an appearafter they serve their purpose. ance.

It’s a brutal practice, but He’ll return in episode sometimes it’s necessary. three.

Rather than stringing char“Homeland” is essentially acters and viewers along, fate operating with one of its two

lead characters missing — but it’s totally working.

The other lead character is Carrie Mathison, portrayed by Claire Danes. Danes has won two consecutive Emmys for her portrayal of Carrie.

Danes and her character are the true vim and vigor behind “Homeland.”There hasn’t been a character like Carrie on TV in quite some time.

While Carrie and Brody’s messed-up relationship has been the driving force of some of the show’s drama, it’s far from being the most important part.

This has never been clearer than in the first two episodes of the third season.

Both episodes have strongly focused on Carrie and her struggles after the bombshell finale of season two.

It’s a smart move — it’s always intriguing to watch Carrie’s ever-shifting mental state

play out on screen.

Other characters have also stepped up to fill the Brodysized hole in the show.

Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is more present than ever, and season two guest star Rupert Friend has been upped to a regular this season.

New characters have also been added to the mix and the show has paid less attention to Brody’s family.

And if this is what the show would look like without Brody, I’m fine with it.

Brody’s been put through the ringer story-wise on “Homeland,” and some of the turns his story took in season two were preposterous.

Keeping this in mind, it wouldn’t really be so huge of a blow for Brody to bite the bullet. He’s a character that has largely run his course.

No more Brody would also mean the absence of his fam-

ily — a problem that’s plagued the show for a while now.

While there was some mildly interesting material in the first season for Brody’s erstwhile wife, Jessica (Morena Baccarin), and daughter Dana (Morgan Saylor), much of that dropped off in the second season.

The depiction of Brody’s family life never quite clicks tonally with the rest of the show.

It’s always a disappointment to have to sit through a scene with Brody’s family after watching some intense bit of espionage or government intrigue.

Gansa and his team may be on the right track.

Killing Brody and writing out his family could potentially re-energize “Homeland.”

Such a move could get it back to the highs of season one rather than the dire lows of season two.

So off with his head, I say.

WKUHERALD.com

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OCTOBER 10, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

Volleyball team faces Louisiana foes this weekend

BY AUSTIN LANTER SPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

The WKU volleyball team will split time at home and on the road this weekend as it faces both of the Sun Belt Conference’s Louisiana teams.

The Lady Toppers will take on Louisiana-Monroe at home Friday at 7 p.m. before hitting the road for a Sunday match at Louisiana-Lafayette.

WKU (15-4, 5-0 Sun Belt Conference) is on a ninematch winning streak and has only dropped two sets during that span — neither of which were to Sun Belt teams.

Together with the Arkansas-Little Rock, the Lady Toppers sit atop the conference standings as the only undefeated team in confer-

ence play.

ULM, on the other hand, has only one win in five conference games this season and is 5-15 overall. ULL has a winning record so far this season of 12-7, but is 2-3 in conference play.

Usually, WKU plays the two Louisiana teams as a road swing. In the last 12 games against Sun Belt teams, the Lady Toppers have not dropped a single set. Last year, WKU swept both Louisiana schools 3-0 on its way to a perfect 15-0 regular season in the conference.

Coach Travis Hudson said it will be interesting to play one match at home and the other away this year.

“It’s going to be really strange playing both the Louisiana schools, one here and one 10 hours away,” Hudson said. “Lafayette has

Travis Hudon Volleyball Coach

It’s going to be really strange playing both the Louisiana schools, one here and one 10 hours away.” always been one of my least favorite places to play. I think it’s a hard place to go play and win.”

Senior defensive specialist Ashley Potts echoed Hudson and said that the two Louisiana teams are just like every other team in the conference.

“We have to come ready to play and not take any team for granted,” Potts said.

First up for WKU will be ULM. Despite the losing record for the Warhawks, senior setter Melanie Stutsman said the team will have

to go into the game focused.

“I do know that Monroe is at the bottom part of the conference, so we have to be very prepared because we’re going to see some different things that we haven’t seen,” Stutsman said. “It’s more about us this weekend and about how we execute and play than it is about them.”

For Hudson, the youth of the Monroe team is something that he thinks they have been struggling with.

Currently, there are five underclassmen and only one senior on the Lady Warhawk

roster. Hudson believes the younger players are a bit overwhelmed on game day, much like the two freshmen on the WKU squad.

“Monroe has a new coaching staff in there that has them playing a much better brand of volleyball,” he said. “They’re very, very young. He’s (ULM coach Patrick Hiltz) got a ton of young kids playing significantly for them. They’re still trying to find themselves a little bit.”

The match between WKU and ULM will also be the teams annual “Dig 4 Pink” game to support Breast Cancer Awareness month. All fans wearing pink to the game will get in free while the first 250 fans will receive a free pink rally towel.

The Lady Toppers then hit the road for a Sunday match with ULL at noon.

Courier-Journal cartoonist coming to Barnes and Noble today

BY KAELY HOLLOWAY NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM Editorial cartoonist Marc Murphy will visit Bowling Green as part of the fall portion of WKU Libraries Kentucky Live lecture series.

Murphy, a cartoonist for the Courier-Journal in Louisville, will be at Barnes & Noble on Campbell Lane at 7 p.m. today.

“I’ll be talking about the process really of creating and drawing an editorial cartoon, and including a little bit of history,” Murphy said. “There is a role editorial cartoons have played in American history in particular.”

He’ll also bring and display some of his cartoons, one of which caused backlash for Murphy and the Courier-Journal.

“It was about a real tragedy,” Murphy said.

Earlier this year, a girl was accidentally shot by her younger brother in a south-

ern Kentucky county. The gun used was a small Crickett rifle, a model designed for kids.

“I saw two things from an editorial point of view: how in the world was a company allowed to sell guns like this for children, and what kind of culture do we have where we think it’s a tragedy that a girl was killed, but don’t talk about the culture where it’s okay for little kids to have guns,” Murphy said.

The cartoon depicted an autopsy, with an image of a small girl with a gun wound.

The cause of death, however, was listed as political issues, such as ignorance, instead of the actual cause of death.

“It was not intended to condemn the parents, because it’s a tragedy and I’m sorry for them,” Murphy said.

“It was more calling out the state. The newspaper and I were completely blasted over that.”

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Marc Murphy Editorial Cartoonist People can write columns and editorials and discuss issues and become very aggravated, and yet for some reason, I guess it’s how our brains are wired, seeing an image is always something that stirs people’s emotions more."

The cartoon was removed from the newspaper’s website days later.

“People can write columns and editorials and discuss issues and become very aggravated, and yet for some reason, I guess it’s how our brains are wired, seeing an image is always something that stirs people’s emotions more,” Murphy said.

Murphy’s cartoons are published five times a week, adding to the thousands he’s had published since the beginning of his career. They are also sent out across the country to other papers, as the Courier-Journal is a Gannett owned newspaper.

“He's the most celebrated

political cartoonist in Kentucky,” Brian Coutts, head of the Department of Library Public Services, said.

His cartoons have evolved with technology. Many newer cartoons have made the jump from print to online, made available in a 3-D color format, creating a new way to spark comment and discussion.

“It’s a longer process, but it isn’t that much longer,” he said. “I draw all of my cartoons on an iPad, and the program allows me to create separate layers.”

If a portion of the cartoon is to be animated, Murphy will draw it in several layers, and then have it animated by an animator at the newspaper.

“They’re brief and simplistic, and it complicates the process, but it makes it more fun,” he said.

Murphy will join a long list of famed Kentuckians who have lectured in this series since its start in 2002.

Coutts said this series was started after he and others involved were approached about creating a Kentucky lecture series to partner with the Far Away Places series. The latter series hosts speakers doing work in foreign countries.

“We took the idea to heart,” he said.

New speakers are brought in one Thursday a month during the fall, and follow the same pattern in the spring. All lectures are free and open to the public.

“I’ve gotten lots of calls from people about this particular speaker, making sure we have enough chairs,” Coutts said. “I’ll make sure you have a chair.”

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OCTOBER 10, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

PAGE

B5

HALFWAY HUDDLE A look at WKU halfway through the season

FOOTBALL

2012

2013

5-1

Record

4-2

Offense

30 196.1 209.6 655

Points per game Rush yards per game Pass yards per game A. Andrews rushing yards

Defense

22 188.5 116.1 A. Jackson, 50

Points allowed per game Rush yards per game Pass yards per game Tackles Leader

31.2 214.3 259.3 882

23.8 167.5 183.5 X. Boyd, 63

SOCCER

Soccer team looks to maintain Sun Belt lead

BY JONAH PHILLIPS SPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

The Lady Toppers will hit the halfway point of their conference season Friday during a home game against Troy before traveling to Mobile, Ala., to face South Alabama on Sunday.

WKU (5-3-4) currently sits in first place in the Sun Belt Conference, and is the only remaining team without a conference loss. The Lady Toppers have shut out all three of their Sun Belt opponents and have netted five goals in 290 minutes.

BASKETBALL

CONTINUED FROM SPORTS

at a time.

The team went from working on its press defense to running through a number of different offensive sets. This time, the focus was on how to set screens and how to space the floor accordingly.

The Toppers finished up practice with a few sprints from the baseline, and Price nailed a pair of free throws to effectively end practice.

While welcoming seven new faces, the Toppers retained players that accounted for 73.8 percent of the team’s scoring and 68.7 percent of its rebound force. Two of those players, Fant and Price, hold back-to-back Sun Belt tournament MVP titles.

Harper said it’s nice to have a mix of athletes that know his system to blend with the slew of new players.

This came into play at prac-

Senior goalkeeper Nora Abolins and the back line haven’t allowed a goal in 398 minutes.

Coach Jason Neidell said he is happy his team is in sole possession of first place, but the Lady Toppers can be even better. He cited Sunday’s 1-0 two-overtime win at Texas State as an example.

“We just need to perform better in practice,” Neidell said. “We didn’t have a very good week of practice (before Texas State) and it showed. We played the way we practiced.”

The Lady Trojans are tied for third in the conference standings, holding a 2-1 record. They

lost their conference opener at home against Texas State but rebounded with a pair of wins against Arkansas State and Arkansas-Little Rock.

Troy (6-7-0) has allowed two goals to WKU’s zero and scored three goals to the Lady Toppers’ five since conference play began.

Freshman forward Iris Dunn has played an important role in WKU’s first three conference games. Dunn has accounted for 40 percent of the goals scored by WKU since the beginning of conference play, with the other goals belonging to senior defender Torrie

tice when players were broken into two sides — red, which predominantly represented returning Toppers, and grey, which was comprised mostly of new players.

Returning player Nigel Snipes said this setup helped the team bond through friendly competition.

The sophomore forward missed the 2012-13 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

He said Monday’s practice was the first time he had run drills without the knee brace on.

Snipes said that the new teammates were working hard to adjust to the WKU program.

“Since we’ve been here during the summer, we’ve already kind of gained chemistry playing pick up together,” Snipes said.

One of the new recruits, junior forward Aaron Adeoye, spent most of practice assisting the red team.

Adeoye, a 6-foot-7-inch

WKU basketball coach Ray Harper oversees play progression during a drill at the Toppers first practice of the season in Diddle Arena on Oct. 7. BRIAN POWERS/HERALD transfer from John A. Logan practice competitive. bring it, night in and night Community College, said the “You can’t just come in and out,” Adeoye said. “And I think depth on the team makes have an off day. You’ve got to that’ll translate to the game.”

NOTEBOOK

CONTINUED FROM SPORTS

Akamune finishes strong Senior forward O’Karo Akamune rolled to the basket after setting a screen in the opening minutes of the team’s four-onfour drill.

A pass was dumped off to the streaking Akamune who grabbed the ball, jumped off two feet and rose with two hands on the ball.

He was drilled in mid-air by two recovering defenders but still finished the basket above the rim.

He fell hard to the ground and laid there for a few minutes.

Teammates cheered for Akamune’s play, but for a moment it looked like he may have gotten hurt. The forward bounced up and returned to practice after catching his breath, though.

Akamune was one of two WKU players to appear in all 36 games last season, along with Harris. He averaged 2.9 points and 2.7 rebounds for the Toppers.

Akamune will split time at power forward with Adeoye and junior George Fant.

Lange, freshman midfielder Caitlin Hesse and senior forward Andrea Curry.

Neidell said he believes his team has what it takes to compete at the highest level against all their conference opponents this year.

“We really just have to bring better intensity and better work ethic to our training sessions,” he said.

The back line will have to deal with a Lady Trojan charge led by midfielder Necee Jennings, who has fired eleven shots against conference foes this season.

“We just need to practice re-

ally hard this week, get after it and make each other better,” senior defender Torrie Lange said. “We have a lot of players that can play defense on the back line and midfield as well — interchangeable parts — but it’s important that we don’t get too comfortable with one another and stay focused throughout the game. Communication and organization is key.”

First touch for Friday’s game is set for 1 p.m. at the WKU Soccer Complex. Sunday’s game at South Alabama (9-3-2) is set to start at 1 p.m. as well.

The WKU swim team practices Wednesday afternoon at Bill Powell Natatorium in the Preston Health and Activities Center. KA-

Top Returning Players

15.2 6.6 2.4

Points per game: T.J. Price Rebounds per game: George Fant Assists per game: T.J. Price

TIE MCLEAN/ HERALD

Walk-on brings energy The intensity picked up after 5-foot-9-inch walk-on point guard Brandon Price hustled back to tip an errant pass out of bounds at one point toward the beginning of practice.

Players from both the red and grey squads cheered Price’s hustle.

“That’s what we need!” Harper yelled.

Walk-ons have played important roles for WKU in the past.

Walk-on guard Percy Blade started five games as a freshman last season when the Toppers were struggling with injuries.

SWIMMING

CONTINUED FROM SPORTS second last year and won Co-Swimmer of the Year in C-USA. Coach Bruce Marchionda said that junior Allie Duff is ready to have a great year, as she fell just short of qualifying for a National Championship berth last year.

The new season is set

to start Saturday in Cleveland, Miss., where both the men’s and women’s teams will face Delta State at 1 p.m.

Saturday will be the first of many meets for the swimming and diving teams this weekend. While the Topper squads will spend much of the season on the road, WKU will host a meet later this month as well as meets in November and January. The Confer-

ence USA Championships will take place in Atlanta in February.

With all this talent, Marchionda said he has high expectations for this year.

“Our primary goal is to win both the Men’s and Women’s Conference USA championship,” Marchionda said. “Beyond that, we want to send a number of swimmers from both teams to the National Championship.”

SPORTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

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MENS BASKETBALL

MENS BASKETBALL

Notebook: New guys get comfortable at WKU

BY TYLER LASHBROOK SPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

Senior guard Brandon Harris, second from right, covers junior guard Trency Jackson during a drill at the Hilltoppers' first practice of the season at Diddle Arena on Oct. 7. BRIAN POWERS/HERALD

October MADNESS

Toppers hit court for first time since March

BY TYLER LASHBROOK SPRORTS@WKUHERALD.COM The WKU men’s basketball team returned to Diddle Arena with seven new faces for the first practice of the year Monday.

“Depth” — that’s what coach Ray Harper said his new slate of players brings to the table.

“It’s good to see 10 bodies out there,” he said. “You can do a lot of different things and not have to worry about wearing people out.”

Harper said that the new additions would help to curb the pitfalls of physical strain.

This goal comes after the Toppers added two football players to last year’s team mid-season after injuries lightened the

roster.

“The most important thing is that we have multiple guys who can play multiple positions, and that’s always a good thing,” Harper said.

The team spent the first part of Monday’s practice working on a half-court, four-on-four pick-and-roll drill where Harper emphasized playing physical defense.

The defensive players were mostly given freedom to trap the ball handlers out of the screen, and offensive players were coached to keep their heads up, working with what the defense gave them.

From there, the team moved on to work on their offense sets without any defenders in front of them.

Five players — senior guard

Brandon Harris, junior guard T.J. Price, senior guard Caden Dickerson, junior forward George Fant and sophomore center Aleksej Rostov — took the floor first and ran through the motion offense. Other players were then rotated in to run the drills.

“You’re going to have some freedom in this offense,” Harper said to his players.

The third-year coach also emphasized spacing the floor and moving in unison.

After teaching the basic offensive principles, Harper sent his players into a drill where the team worked on rotating in its full-court pressure defense.

Once the basic defensive principles were set, Harper allowed the team to scrimmage for approximately one minute SEE BASKETBALL PAGE B5

While the Toppers will begin this season missing a few players who helped them reach the NCAA Tournament last season, WKU will also trot out seven new players at Diddle Arena this season.

Jamal Crook, last season’s point guard, has graduated, while forwards Stephon Drane and Kene Anyigbo also left the program in the offseason.

The will be replaced by seven new players on the roster. Four transfer athletes — junior guard Trency Jackson, redshirt freshman point guard Chris Harrison-Docks, junior forward Aaron Adeoye and sophomore forward Daouda Soumaoro — have joined the team, along with three freshmen in guards Brandon Price and Payton Hulsey and forward Ben Lawson.

Redshirt sophomore forward Nigel Snipes missed last season with an anterior cruciate ligament tear but participated in his first practice without a knee brace Monday. He said the newcomers looked good in the first practice.

“I think they’re adjusting great,” he said. “They’re doing good.

They’re really picking up on new things well.”

Husley stands out

One of the Toppers that stood out in practice was freshman guard Payton Hulsey.

Hulsey, a Memphis native, was the youngest player to play with the red team.

At 6’5”, he has a rare combination of size and athleticism for Sun Belt Conference guards. The freshman helped guide Southwind High School to the Tennessee Class AAA state championship last year in his senior season.

Coach Ray Harper said he thinks Hulsey could see time running the point early in the season.

Senior Brandon Harris and junior Kevin Kaspar played point guard for the Toppers at times last season, while new point guard Harrison-Docks will be eligible to play in December.

“We think he’s got a chance to play right away,” Harper said.

“We’re looking at him at the point guard and off the ball on the wing.” SEE NOTEBOOK PAGE B5

SWIMMING

Swimming into a new conference

BY BILLY RUTLEDGE SPORTS@WKUHERALD. COM

After taking the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Championship, the WKU women’s swimming and diving team will start the 2013-14 season in Conference USA. And after winning their fourth Sun Belt title since 2008, the Lady Toppers will join the men’s swimming and diving team in C-USA. The men’s team finished second in the C-USA championship last year — its first season in the conference — falling short to Southern Methodist. With the encouraging start in a new conference, the swimmers are excited for the upcoming year.

“We have a better feel for the atmosphere in Conference USA,” sophomore swimmer Russ Bryant said.

“We have a great group of freshman coming in, and I really feel like we’re already to where we were last year, so we have a good shot.”

The WKU rosters are

stacked with several veterans as well as a fresh group of new faces. The men’s squad has 10 freshmen on the roster, while there are 10 freshmen swimmers on the women’s roster as well.

The youth outnumbers the teams’ experience — the Topper men will be led by five seniors while six seniors anchor the women’s team.

The women will look to build off the momentum they gained after winning their ninth Sun Belt title last year.

The Lady Toppers broke seven school records last season in the Sun Belt Swimming and Diving Championships, sent 10 swimmers and divers to the All-Sun Belt Conference team, including six to the first team.

“Starting the season off strong is important for us because we need to gain our confidence and build momentum going into the rest of the year,” senior swimmer Courtney Marx said. “We face much tougher opponents this year like Rice and

Freshman swimmer Aubrey Grensing glides into the wall after completing a breath control set in practice on Wednesday afternoon. KATIE MCLEAN/HERALD Houston, so it’s even more important than in other years.”

With the season on the horizon, many returning

swimmers anchor the teams and their chances for a CUSA championship.

Senior captain Heitor Rodrigues is expected to play

an important role on the men’s side. He just missed qualifying for a NCAA National Championship berth by one one-hundredth of a SEE SWIMMING PAGE B5