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Football players involved in fight at Pike house

BY JACOB DICK HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU Members of the WKU football team were allegedly involved in a fight and break-in at the Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) fraternity house on Center Street late Sunday night, according to the Bowling Green Police Department.

In the report, witnesses told police men were seen in the alley around

the back gate of the house and a fight broke out after residents of the house confronted them.

Brian Kuster, vice president for student affairs, said one student has been hospitalized and the office is aware of nine or 10 students involved in the incident.

Kuster also confirmed some involved were members of the WKU football team.

“Anyone involved with criminal activity will be prosecuted by Bowl-

ing Green police,” he said.

The identities of the suspects were redacted in the report, but the reporting officer did name one person as a member of WKU’s football team.

Witnesses claimed seeing a firearm but no weapon was found besides a boxcutter placed in a styrofoam box in the alley behind the Pike house by one of the suspects, according to the report.

A Pike member told police he witnessed one of the suspects tackle a

Pike alum into a fence. The alum told police he was at the house after being contacted about several football players being there and tried to prevent a fight. It was reported the alum was kicked and punched several times before other fraternity members joined to help.

The responding officer was told about a suspicious car in a parking lot where two of the suspects fled to after the fight. The officer found

SEE FIGHT PAGE A2

University faces revenue shortfall

BY EMMA AUSTIN HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

WKU freshman Megan Devore accepts a prize for being one of the top fundraisers during the closing ceremonies of the St. Jude fundraiser Up ‘til Dawn in Downing Student Union on Saturday.

UP ‘TIL DAWN

From dusk until dawn, WKU students raised money for the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Downing Student Union. Partaking in fun games, meeting new friends and also watching videos of survivors and current fighters to help them stay awake and focused, students stayed awake for almost nine hours. This year, students have raised $23,765 and counting. There is nothing like staying “Up ‘til Dawn” with friends for a great cause. Although there were tired faces, there were no tired hearts.

Photos by EVAN MATTINGLY/HERALD

WKU senior biology major, Amy Moers, and senior dance major, Ciara Sherrod, lay down while others play a game, “We’re exhausted but it’s worth it. The snacks also help,” Moers said during the closing ceremonies of the St. Jude fundraiser Up ‘til Dawn, in Downing Student Union on Saturday.

Approximately $6.5 million is needed to balance the university budget by the fiscal year end, according to an email President Gary Ransdell sent to WKU faculty and staff Friday afternoon. “…We are able to zero in on the degree to which we will need to reallocate funds to cover the tuition revenue shortfall,” Ransdell wrote in the email. “Our fall collections were approximately three percent short of the budget estimate. Spring numbers project to be about five percent short of the budget estimate.”

Nearly $163 million is budgeted for expected revenue from fall and spring tuition, according to WKU’s operating budget. However, Ann Mead, vice president of finance and administration, said actual tuition revenue from the year is expected to cover only 96 percent of this budgeted amount, leaving a shortfall of 4 percent, or $6.5 million.

In his email, Ransdell mentioned 1,000 students who collectively owe the university $2.9 million. This amount is not included in the $6.5 million; the $2.9 million has been billed to students for university fees not including tuition. The $6.5 million shortfall is not a result of students failing to pay bills but of the billed amount not meeting the budget.

“There is a lot of uncertainty when

SEE BUDGET PAGE A2

Therapeutic garden relieves stress, brings bounty

BY REBEKAH ALVEY HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU WKU students and Bowling Green community members of all ages gathered with shovels and gloves on Sunday to garden for a greater cause.

Hope Harbor serves five Kentucky counties as a sexual trauma recovery center. Despite being located off a major road, the center has an enclosed community garden for clients.

Over the weekend, people gathered to plant potatoes, shallots, raspberries, blackberries and herbs.

Alayna Milby, Hope Harbor crisis intervention specialist, said Hope Harbor is the only center in Bowling Green to provide assistance to sexual assault victims aside from WKU. She said it’s important to have one of these places in the community to not only serve the community but also for an extra layer of confidentiality for any student that may not feel comfortable seeking help on campus.

“People blame themselves, and others blame victims as well, so we provide support to victims of rape,” Milby said.

The Hope Harvest garden was created in June from a grant sponsored through the Barren River Health Department. A fence already separated

the lawn from the road, but the enclosed area was previously just grass.

Milby said it wasn’t being utilized, so she started “planting the seed” for a community garden with her supervisor.

WKU senior Brendan Bird, a criminology major and intern at Hope Harbor, said the garden is a place for clients to be comfortable, relieve stress and have privacy. The harvest also goes back to clients and their families for free.

Milby remembered a regular client family whose garden was eaten up by bugs. Through Hope Harbor’s garden, the kids were able to participate and take home herbs and vegetables.

The garden is chemical free and uses natural fertilizers. Milby said it provides something to clients that may not have the money or resources for local and natural ingredients.

The form of gardening is unique; the gardeners employ a method called permaculture, which involves growing all the crops together and acts as a natural form of pest control.

The garden is also a hybrid version of Hugelkultur, a gardening method involving raised beds, which Bowling Green resident Timothy Kercheville said is a sustainable, efficient form of gardening.

Kercheville, who created the hybrid method used at Hope Harbor,

Melissa Whitley, executive director at Hope Harbor, and Alayna Milky, the crisis intervention specialist, apply hay to the potato plants at Hope Harvest. “I love the joy the produce and working outdoors has brought to clients of all ages. It has given us a new way to engage with volunteers and the community that I never expected,” Whitley said. EMILY MOSES/HERALD said the garden never needs to be watered and is a way to grow multiple crops.

Kercheville began working with community gardens in a project called Breaking Ground through the Barren County Detention Center.

WKU Glasgow sociology students and female inmates were able to re-

design grounds into a garden where the crops could be used by the jail.

From the project, the SOKY community garden grant was created.

Kercheville became a mentor to design gardens and train the organizers at different nonprofit groups.

Kercheville described the different

SEE HOPE HARBOR PAGE A2

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MARCH 7, 2017

HOPE HARBOR Continued from front

projects as a cross-pollination of perspectives.

“If you organize people in small community groups, they learn from each other and share ideas,” he said.

The garden is so productive enough to produce a surplus of crops. Whatever Hope Harbor does not need is sometimes given to its neighbors at White Squirrel Brewery.

In return, the restaurant has had fundraisers to raise money and awareness for Hope Harbor. Kercheville said this creates a stronger community in Bowling Green.

Many students came out to show support for the project on Sunday.

FIGHT

Continued from front

the car and said a member of the football team told him he had came to the Pike house with other team members, according to the report.

The member whose name was redacted from the report said he wasn’t involved in a fight but told the officer some of the teammates had been jumped at a Pike party on a differ-

BUDGET

Continued from front you’re trying to project human behavior, and that’s what we’re doing,” Mead said. “We’re projecting whether students will return, we’re projecting whether they’ll enroll, whether they’ll be full time, part time; you know, there’s a lot of variables in this.”

While there was an increase in total WKU enrollment this year, that increase came from high school dual credit enrollment. There was a decrease in students not enrolled in dual credit, causing a decrease in revenue.

Fall 2016 enrollment increased by 209 students since the Fall 2015 semester. However, this increase came from dual credit enrollment, which does not produce revenue, as Ransdell pointed out in his email. According to a report from WKU Enrollment, dual credit enrollment increased by nearly 500, and the number of students not enrolled in dual credit de-

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Junior Taylor Nardon got involved with Hope Harbor last year and she enjoys gardening and working with nonprofits.

Nardon said she likes Hope Harbor’s gardening project because of the sense of community with people who have the same goals and because they can make a difference.

“It says that our generation looks for more purpose-driven things already, and it’s impactful for people to see how the garden turns out and see it as a group project,” Kercheville said.

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

Hope Harbor hosted their first Hope Harvest, a therapeutic garden workshop, of 2017 on Sunday. The fruits, vegetables and herbs planted by volunteers will be given to the community of clients involved with the center.

EMILY MOSES/HERALD

ent day. The officer found a black ski mask in one of the suspects pocket, according to the report.

Police responded to the call in reference to a subject with a gun. No gun was found on the suspects or in the dorm room searched by police, according to the report. The officer said one of the suspects told him there were grass stains on his athletic shorts from tackling a Pike member.

Officer Ronnie Ward said no ar-

rests have been made so far and it is not known how many football players were involved at this time.

Kyle Neaves, associate athletics director and communications person for the football team, said WKU Athletics was aware of the accusations but had no additional information at this time.

“We are aware of the allegations involving a few members of our football team,” Neaves said. “We are co-

operating fully with the authorities.

However, at this time, we have not received a police report and cannot provide further comment.”

The incident also receiving attention on national news sites such as TMZ Sports and the Bleacher Report.

creased by 280.

In the email, Ransdell wrote WKU’s “historic practice of building the coming year’s budget based on the current year’s enrollment is no longer a stable budgeting practice.”

Mead said this year’s budget shortfall percentage is the largest it has been in recent years. Last year, the budget was 1.6 percent short; the previous year saw a budget 0.5 percent short.

Ransdell said in his email that the Administrative Council has been advised to withhold spending of carry forward funds, which are unspent amounts from individual budgets that have typically been returned to the university divisions from which they came, in compliance with WKU’s carry forward policy.

In an email to the Herald, Ransdell said one-time funds captured from carry forward amounts by year end will accrue centrally to balance the revenue shortfall.

To cover the shortfall, Mead said she is currently in the process of identifying one-time funds that may be applied to the shortfall.

“To give you an example of a onetime source, I’m looking to see if all our institutional scholarships that we budgeted were in fact allocated,” Mead said. “If they weren’t allocated then there’s some one-time money we might be able to use.”

In the email to faculty and staff, Ransdell also addressed the uncertainty surrounding next year’s tuition increase, set by the Council on Postsecondary Education.

“We are projecting a 3 percent resident undergraduate increase in order to manage our fixed costs increases,” he wrote. “We will know this key variable of the budget process by late March.”

Ransdell ended the email “on a more positive note,” saying much has been done this year to improve student retention and that “efforts to en-

gage the entire campus are ongoing.”

Ransdell also referred to the new Performance Funding Model currently moving through the Kentucky General Assembly, which would cause state appropriation for higher education to be distributed based on measured performance.

In his email to the Herald, Ransdell said his “reason for optimism is that WKU performs well within the agreed upon metrics,” meaning WKU’s percentage of higher education appropriation “will increase modestly” when the model goes into effect.

Ransdell said he is working with the Administrative Council to offset the shortfall and should be able to finalize the “budget balancing plan” by the end of this month.

Jacob Dick can be reached at 270745-6011 and jacob.dick@wku.edu.

Follow him on Twitter at @jdickjournalism.

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

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MARCH 7, 2017

A3

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Students volunteer to help refugees in Kentucky

BY JAMIE WILLIAMS

HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU

Members of the Council of International Students and the Student Government Association volunteered to help refugees on Friday while connecting international and domestic students.

Students from both groups filled a room in the International Center of Kentucky that was piled high with clothing donations for refugees. Over the course of three hours, the group organized the items by size to get the donations ready for refugees to pick up.

“It just seemed like the perfect way to give back, especially since we are promoting sort of an international flair on campus and trying to be a school with international reach,” SGA Senator Andi Dahmer said.

Dahmer is chair of the SGA MyCampusToo Committee, which encourages diversity on WKU’s campus.

Dahmer planned the volunteer event along with fellow SGA Senator Hizareth Linares, who chairs SGA Standing Against Violence and for Ending Self-Harm Committee and is president of the Council of International Student Organizations.

Dahmer said MyCampusToo had been looking for different initiatives and several students approached her with an interest in volunteering for the International Center of Kentucky.

Dahmer said giving these students the opportunity to volunteer together let American and international

students interact while being able to help the refugee community in Kentucky.

“I think we’ve learned from this experience that volunteer activities are great not only for the community but also as a way to get to know each other better,” Dahmer said. “I’ve made some really good friends today, and I’m hopeful we can continue to do things like this in the future.”

The International Center of Kentucky takes volunteers one or two Saturdays per month to sort through the donation room for a few hours.

The International Center accepts donations of clothing, blankets and other household items almost daily.

While the student group from WKU sorted through most of one room, there are two others like it, along with a warehouse.

“I would absolutely love more volunteers,” Americorps Volunteer Coordinator Kaycee Gibson said. Gibson mentors the volunteers and interns at the International Center.

Several times a month, refugees are allowed to take as many items as they need from the donation room. Since the refugees are all brought into the room at the same time, sometimes a mess is left behind; Gibson said she’s working on gathering volunteers to help on pick-up days and putting up signs to show how clothing sizes are organized.

While the International Center routinely receives donations, there are still some items in short supply.

“Right now my focus is on cleaning

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WKU students volunteer at the International Center of Kentucky on Friday by sorting and folding clothing for refugees. WKU graduate Kaycee Gibson, the volunteer coordinator, said it receives “tons of clothing donations almost every day...we just don’t have the hands to do it.” GRACE PRITCHETT/HERALD supplies,” Gibson said. “We are in dire need of cleaning products, shoes and baby stuff.”

In addition to providing refugees with clothing and basic household items, the International Center offers English as a second language classes, a daycare and training on how to use GO BG Transit services. The International Center accepts volunteers who can apply for solo or group volunteering via its website.

“It makes me really happy when people who have never volunteered before come here and are just in love with it, just to hang up some clothes,” Gibson said. “It’s great to watch that

person have that initial spark of volunteering.”

For SGA Executive Vice President Kate Hart, Friday’s volunteer event was the first time she had been involved at the International Center.

Though Hart had wanted to volunteer in the past, she had trouble knowing how to get involved and finding time to do it.

“Hopefully, this will be the start of a lot of work here because I’ve always wanted to work here,” Hart said.

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

MARCH 7, 2017> WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

WKUHERALD.COM EDITORIAL

OPINION

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

SYNTHESIS

WKU puts students on back burner

BY DAVID HORMELL HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU

voting viewpoints SGA should move up spring elections

THE ISSUE: Kentucky universities are preparing or have already finished their elections for Student Government Association.

OUR STANCE: Here at WKU, SGA elections will not take place for another month. We believe moving the elections up and having the voting period open for longer would be beneficial for everyone.

E

ver since the 2016 election, it feels weird to even mention the word “election” so soon. Yet, here we are talking about elections once again.

This time, however, we’re talking about SGA elections. That’s right, come later this semester students will have the opportunity to cast a ballot for SGA positions such as senator and president.

Of course, we’re running under the assumption current SGA President Jay Todd Richey doesn’t stage a coup d’etat. You can never tell what he’s going to do. Unless it’s about whether to conduct an open or closed search for WKU’s next president; we know what he’ll do there.

SGA elections won’t take place here until April 17 and 18, and the fi-

nal deadline to file to run for an office isn’t until April 4. When it comes to this electoral timeline, our SGA falls behind several other schools in the state.

Four Kentucky universities will have completed their SGA elections before candidates here are required to file for their candidacy.

We see major benefits to holding elections earlier in the semester. One, the election of a new SGA president means the election of a new student regent to the Board of Regents as well.

Having a well-trained voice on the board representing students is crucial, and gains more importance as public universities continually place the burden of payment on students.

A benefit to earlier elections is a more prolonged transition period, especially for incoming executive members. By the time elections are held we’ll be approaching the end of the semester. This doesn’t seem like an adequate amount of time to get a person acquainted with his or her new responsibilities.

Additionally, as the semester continues, the attention, and really motivation, of students tends to wane. We can all taste the end of the semester and SGA elections will likely be the farthest thing from student’s minds.

We also want to advocate for having a longer voting window. Right now,

students are allotted two days to cast a vote.

This two-day voting period is actually normal for most Kentucky universities. In fact, of several universities only the University of Louisville deviates from the two-day window. In their elections, polls are open for four days and this includes the event they need to hold a run-off election.

With a longer voting period, the hope would be that more students vote, thereby increasing voter turnout.

Less than 10 percent of the student body voted in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 spring SGA elections. Even Richey’s win last year would fall under the 10 percent line.

Furthermore, there’s no real reason as to why the SGA elections are held so late. We knew the spring 2015 results

by April 2, so clearly there’s some leeway. These decisions are made by the Judicial Council.

We implore the Judicial Council to consider moving up the elections, and a modest test run.

Move the final filing date to March 28 and then open the voting window from 12 a.m. of April 10 to 12:01 a.m. of April 13. This allows for roughly the same amount of time already given to as things stand now.

After all, what’s democracy without shaking some things up now and then?

In the wake of perennial financial fallout, I expect WKU to shift the brunt of the fiscal burden on the backs of students once more.

My snarky cynicism is not without reason. It stems from tradition, and WKU loves tradition. And towels.

Let’s look to history, since history has a bad habit of repeating itself.

In an email blast for faculty and staff from April 2013, a crestfallen President Gary Ransdell wrote: “The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), unfortunately, did not approve our request for a 5 percent tuition increase… we will likely, however, still recommend to our Board of Regents a 5 percent increase for graduate students, non-resident students, and online learners.”

Ransdell will shoulder the blame for the financial fallout regardless, a given considering his job description.

However, it is without question that Ransdell’s approach to the budget gap is one-dimensional at best. Even after anticipated departmental cuts across the board, his plans disproportionately affect students. The ballooning cost of tuition steadily increased every year for seventeen consecutive years.

The rising cost of tuition is due, in part, to the swelling debt of construction. WKU has had growing pains, and Ransdell & Co. haven’t always navigated those pains gracefully.

Tuition hikes are also due to the shrinking pool of funds allocated by the state. Under Gov. Matt Bevin, attitudes towards higher education spending have soured. Last year, Bevin executed a startling 4.5 percent budget cut executively, even though it was later ruled as an overreach of power in the fall. Nevertheless, he persisted.

Higher education institutions are relegated to the back burner, and now, so are students.

It would be easy for students to ignore what probably feels like the new normal. However, subscribing to apathy isn’t a neutral vote of indifference; it’s an endorsement of fiscal irresponsibility. Being quiet is reckless at best.

Instead, make your voice be heard.

Write respectful letters to our state’s servants and our campus leadership describing how increases in tuition directly affect you and your friends. Create conversations about tuition hikes and don’t let it go gentle into that good night.

There is an unquestionable strength in numbers. Don’t ever forget that.

COMMENTARY

Preparing to spin “The Wheel of Cuts,” yet again

BY ANDREW HENDERSON HERALD.OPINION@WKU.EDU Ladies, gentlemen, friends, adversaries and anyone out there with a basic cable subscription, welcome to another exciting round of “The Wheel of Cuts.”

That’s right, folks, here at WKU we’re about to play another round of everyone’s favorite late-night game, “The Wheel of Cuts,” where everything is reduced and the administrative salaries do matter and are safely tucked away.

Once again, WKU is facing the horrors of a budget reduction. In an email to faculty and staff, President Gary Ransdell said approximately $6.5 billion is needed to balance the university budget before the end of 2017 fiscal year.

According to Ransdell, this year’s shortfall is a result of two main issues.

One being students who owe the uni-

versity tuition dues; approximately 1,000 students collectively owe the university $2.9 million. The other reason has to do with decreases in enrollment.

“We have not fully offset losses in traditional part-time students and international enrollments, with growth in out-of-state domestic and online enrollments,” Ransdell wrote in the email.

Now, the state of higher education funding in Kentucky is dismal, in no small part thanks to Gov. Matt Bevin.

Of course, state funding for universities has been incremental or nonexistent the past few years, but Bevin’s actions certainly exacerbated the wound which had been pestering for so long.

We played “The Wheel of Cuts” this time last year as well, seems like it was just yesterday.

To ease the storms then, we had a tuition increase, approved by the Council on Postsecondary Education, administrative “reorganization,” which is more or less a fancy term for

cutting either departments or jobs and shifts in university funding.

In this last round of our game, everything was very fast paced. Ransdell sent out the mass email and everyone in the Herald newsroom entered defcon five. There was a press conference just within a few hours of the announcement.

Just a few days later, an open forum was held on campus regarding the reductions. I still remember the sheer irony of being in the room with concerned students, faculty and staff as they were now permitted to ask questions which affected their futures. They were permitted after the fact, not before.

That forum was an absolute disgrace.

One student asked about a class she needed to take in order to graduate on time, which had been suddenly canceled. Provost David Lee began to solicit ideas from her about what she thinks they should do on that issue. Lynne Holland, chief diversity officer, plead-

ed with students to trust the administration, but said the forum was not the appropriate time to voice the kinds of concerns that were being raised.

Last year, I asked “when is the appropriate time,” to ask such questions, and it’s clear the answer is now. Ransdell said the Administrative Council should be finalizing the plan to balance the budget by the end of the month.

If the administration is at all serious about considering the interests of its constituents then forums are required, and they are required now. Hearing from students, faculty and staff should be a requirement not an option for the administration to do when balancing this budget.

Decisions like these cannot continue to be made at the top without consideration and at the expense of others. And if they are, maybe we all have even less shared governance at this university than we thought.

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MARCH 7, 2017

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Below Sea Level ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com

1. The Dead Sea, approximately 1400 feet below sea level, is between what two countries? (a) Israel & Jordan (b) India & Pakistan (c) Kuwait & Iraq 2. What city known as the 'City of Palm Trees' lies 846 feet below sea level? (a) Damascus (b) Baghdad (c) Jericho 3. What large inland body of water lies 92 feet below sea level? (a) Aral Sea (b) Caspian Sea (c) Lake Lucerne 4. Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet is found in what National Park? (a) Great Basin (b) Everglades (c) Death Valley 5. What country's lowest point is 23 feet below sea level? (a) Netherlands (b) Denmark (c) Belgium 6. What Australian lake is the country's lowest point at 49 feet below sea level? (a) Lake Barlee (b) Lake Eyre (c) Lake Urana 7. In Africa, what salty lake is 509 feet below sea level? (a) Lake Assal (b) Lake Victoria (c) Lake Turkana 8. What capital in South America is seven feet below sea level? (a) Bogata, Columbia (b) Sucre, Bolivia (c) Georgetown, Guyana 9. What marshy region is the lowest point in the UK? (a) Lake Windermere (b) Holme Fen (c) Lowestoft 10. What Dominican Republic lake is 151 feet below sea level? (a) Lake Enriquillo (b) Lake Cabritos (c) Lake Saumatre

1 5 9 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 24 26 29 30 31 32 33 34 36 39 42 43 47 48 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 59 62 63 64 65 66 67

1

2

3

4

7

8

9

10

8 4

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

Previous Solution

6

11

12

13

15 16 14 Cried Swain 19 17 18 In a fog 21 22 23 20 Super berry Legal claim 24 25 26 27 28 Varnish resin Medley 30 31 29 Yellowstone 33 34 35 32 creature Curling surface 36 37 38 Diminutive Asian capital 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Marks in Spanish 48 49 50 47 class Buffeting 53 51 52 Went nowhere Pakistani material 54 55 56 Likewise 59 60 61 57 58 Barker Jellied delicacy 63 64 62 Diner Attentiveness 66 67 65 San ___, Tex. Copyright ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com Can you dig it?

Down Photos 40 Born 13 Pass on Cambodian coin 41 Rodents 18 Overdue 1 Forest denizens Illuminated 44 Hoosier State 23 City south of 2 Conservationist’s Burgundy grape 45 Companions Salem concern Portly 46 Straphanger 25 Look closely 3 Kneecap Religious mystic 49 Perfume sampler 26 Withdraw 4 Restaurant Begins to heat up 27 Neighbor of 50 Short shot calculation Deli sandwich Swed.

52 Ballroom dance 5 Music genre Accelerator bit 28 Nation, in Hebrew 53 Towhead 6 Leprechaun’s Dagger mark 30 Hula hoop?

55 Fiber source land Fortune predictor 33 Self-interest 57 Sapporo sash 7 ___ Lingus Anatomical sac 35 Lukewarm 58 Insolent term of 8 Concord Exuberance address for a boy 37 Dalmatian coast 9 Frenzied, out of Initial stake or man almost extinct control “Peer Gynt” 60 Black and tan language 10 For all to hear dramatist ingredient 38 Duchamp 11 Water softener Split apart 61 Subway contemporary 12 German river Despicable alternative 39 Havana residue

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

5

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MARCH 7, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

WKUHERALD.COM

PHOTO

‘WING WARS’

Members of Delta Zeta sorority bring wings to the competitors tables to prepare for the individual competition on Saturday in Centennial Mall.

SILAS WALKER/HERALD

Sorority hosts wing competition for philanthrophy

Tommy Almarode of Sigma Phi Epsilon takes a shot of milk after the final round of the group bracket. As the event proceeded, the wings became hotter, ending with wings covered in Buffalo Wild Wings’ “Blazing” sauce, leaving contestants clamoring for a quick sip of milk. JACK ATKERSON/HERALD

W

KU’s Delta Zeta sorority hosted a wing eating competition, Wing Wars, on Saturday in Centennial Mall to raise money for the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which provides hearing aids to those who can’t afford them. Team and individual competitors devoured many messy wings for charity. The event raised well over $1,000.

Photos by Silas Walker and jack ATKERSON

Senior Sarah Stankiewicz bites into a spicy wing in the finale of the individual competition of Delta Zeta’s Wing Wars on Saturday, in Centennial Mall. SILAS WALKER/ HERALD

Kane Reyes washes down some wings during the final stage of the individual competition. Reyes placed second overall in the individual bracket.

The final stage consisted of a mixture of mild, hot and blazing wings, adding a degree of difficulty as contestants were not sure which type they would bite into next.

JACK ATKERSON/HERALD

A crowd gathers to watch the first round of the Wing Wars, a wing eating competition held by Delta Zeta on Saturday. Two tournaments were held, one for individuals and one for groups. The event raised over $1,000 for the Starkey Hearing Foundation. JACK ATKERSON/HERALD

WKUHERALD.COM

LIFE

MARCH 7, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY » Topic: Check out our profile on basket weaver Beth Hester

Dodgeball Club sets sights on nationals

BY ELISABETH MOORE HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU

Throughout WKU there are many different clubs and activities that students can participate in. Whether it be in a club related to your major or a fraternity or sorority, students at WKU have many choices of what to participate in.

One of these clubs is the WKU Dodgeball Club, a co-ed sports club that meets three days a week for practices. Originally founded in 2006, the Dodgeball Club promotes the sport of dodgeball to the WKU community while having a competitive nature in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association.

Outside of the WKU community, the club goes against other collegiate clubs like the University of Kentucky Dodgeball Club. Although a majority of these clubs are housed in Michigan and Ohio, there are around 40 colleges total that the WKU Dodgeball Club can compete against.

“I think my ultimate goal for our league and club is to get this sport into a NCAA recognized sport,” James Fisher, president of the WKU Dodgeball Club, said. “There has to be over 100 active club teams before the NCAA will begin to look into the sport, but the league is always expanding and has grown exponentially in the past ten years alone.”

The WKU Dodgeball Club consists of around 20 people, both male and female students. Since it is a club sport, anyone who is currently enrolled in three hours is able to participate in the club.

“I would love to see more members for the team,” James Johnson, captain of the WKU Dodgeball Club, said. “Our roster has been hurting on numbers lately. We are just not a known sport. Everyone loves playing dodgeball, but they just don’t know we exist.”

Being a part of the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association means the WKU Dodgeball Club will be visiting Nationals this year, which will be held at UK on April 8 and 9. Due to the club not being a sanctioned sport, they have set up a GoFundMe to help cover the nationals fee and other expenses.

Though the GoFundMe is roughly halfway to its $500 goal, the club still needs more money to help cover the

SEE DODGEBALL PAGE B2

Frederic Ndayirukiye, 19, a student at GEO International High School from Tanzania. Ndayirukiye has been in the U.S. for eight years now. He is a part of a club called Share Your Voices (SYV). The club is meant for students to share a their story to the school and speak in front of other larger groups. TYGER WILLIAMS/HERALD

Speaking Up

Intl’ students join public speaking club

BY ANDREW CRITCHELOW HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Every Wednesday within the circular walls of GEO International High School, students from many corners of the world gather together in the name of public speaking.

These students are part of the Share Your Voice club, which consists of students who speak several different languages, yet all come together in the universal art of storytelling.

The Share Your Voice club was formed as a way for GIHS students to hone their communication skills, tell their stories and become involved in the community. The club meets every week to prepare for speeches, competitions and field trips, and currently consists of 22 members.

The Share Your Voice club takes part in GEO Integrity Talks, which are speeches given by students every other week. The speeches are given to the whole school, as students gather around the speaker in a circle and listen as they share their message behind a podium.

Some of the speeches given so

far have been entitled “Taking Opportunities,” “Why I Love My Public School,” and “Self-Confidence.”

Several of the speeches are available to be streamed on the GEO Integrity Talks YouTube channel.

Michele LeNoir, co-sponsor of the GEO Integrity Talks and teacher of English, communications, creative writing and college readiness at GIHS, said encouraging students to pursue public speaking is beneficial to their future.

“To speak well prepares you for life and every aspect of your life,” LeNoir said. “You need to be articulate.”

The GEO Integrity Talks were inspired by TED Talks, which are speeches broadcast on the web in which speakers are given an 18-minute timeframe to present their ideas in innovative ways. LeNoir said the idea for the GEO Integrity Talks came about after she showed her communication class a clip of one of the TED Talk speeches.

Founded in 2016, Geo International High School is the first international high school in Kentucky and in the southeastern region of the United States. The school currently

teaches over 250 students, with students from 24 different countries.

The school focuses heavily on teaching English to the student body, which is comprised of speakers of over twenty different languages.

LeNoir, who has been teaching for 27 years, said her experience teaching at GIHS has been unlike any other educational experience she’s had.

“As far as how to teach the students best, it’s a very different experience here because it’s all project-based learning,” LeNoir said. “It’s all students working groups with different strategies and support so that they start speaking in English very, very quickly.”

Over half of the students at GIHS were previously in refugee camps.

Lenoir said largely because of this, students at the school have a strong appreciation for education.

“These are the most appreciative students I’ve ever taught,” LeNoir said. “They really care about their education, they don’t take it for granted, and they’re working very diligently.”

SEE GEOTALK PAGE B2

Puppies pass a smile for mental health

BY MHARI SHAW HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU Students gathered at Minton Lawn on Friday for a chance to play with puppies and raise awareness for mental health at an event hosted by senior public relations majors for their Capstone project.

The event offered students an opportunity to sign a pledge for mental health, take a selfie with a sign reading “pass a smile” and play with dogs up for adoption at the humane society.

For the project, the class partnered with Change Direction, a campaign focused on changing the culture of mental health in America, according to its website.

Kaitlyn Doehring, one of the senior students working on the project, talked about how the group has adopted the five signs of emotional pain of the Change Direction campaign in order to spread awareness to the students at WKU. The five signs include personality change, agitation, withdrawal, poor self-care and hopelessness.

“Any one can suffer from [the five signs], and it’s important to recognize it and reduce the negative stigma around mental health,” Doehring said.

Within the Capstone class, there are four teams completing the project. Doehring’s team is focusing on having fun events for people to in-

crease and improve their own mental health while also educating people on the five signs. The teams differentiate by focusing on different outcomes.

Doehring and her team have adopted the phrase “pass a smile” as their campaign motto and are implementing the pledge so that students can sign, acknowledging they have learned and understand the five signs. The goal is to get 50 signatures of students and ten of faculty.

Vicki Bagwell, pubic relations associate professor, is in charge of handing the assignment out to the senior Capstone class. Bagwell talks about each team’s perspective and individual goal at the end of it.

“We want students to not only plan, but implement and gather their success, see how the subject has changed,” Bagwell said.

The teams are entered into the Bateman competition, which is sponsored by Public Relations Student Society of America, where they are given the task to develop their own campaign plan that matches with Change Direction’s viewpoint.

Doehring said students start out the year by developing their campaign plan, which includes events and their end goal.

Alexus Richardson, senior public relations major and member of the team, talks about the importance of the project not just for the people in-

Samantha Tabor holds up a dog from the Humane Society at the “Pass A Smile” campaign on campus to change the culture of mental and emotional health in America.

Students were invited to pet the dogs and sign a pledge to look out for signs that someone is struggling mentally or emotionally. LYDIA SCHWEIKART/HERALD volved but for the students at WKU. “It’s important to educate students on the signs of suffering if they see someone having these habits or changes of moods, have them find help,” Richardson said.

Reporter Mhari Shaw can be reached at (270) 745-0655 and mhari. shaw531@topper.wku.edu.

B2

MARCH 7, 2017

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Basket weaver Beth Hester discusses her craft

BY OLIVIA MOHR

HERALD.FEATURES@WKU.EDU When Beth Hester and her husband Scott Gilbert got married about 37 years ago, they found a passion and purpose as they built their lives together: basket weaving.

Hester was born in Logan County and she grew up in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Her love of handwork began when she was about six or seven years old. Her grandmother lived with her as a child. Her mother and grandmother both sewed, which got Heston interested in sewing.

“I’ve always loved sewing, and I’ve always loved handwork and Scott, my husband, says I was born with a needle in my hand,” Hester said.

Hester and Gilbert moved to Allen County when they got married. When they began looking for their calling, Gilbert inherited a basket from his grandmother.

As Hester and Gilbert learned more about basketry, they discovered the basket was made by members of a Cherokee Native American tribe.

When Gilbert began crafting baskets, his first baskets were similar, and he began splitting white oak.

Hester and Gilbert met Ollie and Lestel Childress, who were fourth and fifth- generation basket makers.

The Childresses are now deceased.

Intrigued by basket making, Gilbert asked Lestel if he would teach

GEOTALK Continued from B1

Desy Nu, a member of the Share Your Voice club, said LeNoir has been a role model for everyone in the group.

“She’s a friend to us, she’s a mother to us, and she will help from every corner as much as she can.” Nu said.

In addition to preparing for speeches, the club also takes part in field trips. Some of these group outings include visits to WKU, South-

DODGEBALL Continued from B1

costs of team uniforms, apparel and other fees that come with going to nationals. Though the club has not

him how to make baskets. Lestel agreed to teach him everything he knew if Scott promised if Lestel’s grandchildren ever wanted to learn how to make baskets, Gilbert would teach them.

As fate would have it, because the Kentucky Museum has a basket exhibit called “Standing the Test of Time: Kentucky’s White Oak Basket Tradition,” Heston and Gilbert met one of Lestel’s grandsons at the Kentucky Museum’s annual Celebration of the Arts exhibit this year, where Hester won the The World’s Greatest Studio Tour Merit Award for a fiber arts piece she entered into the show.

Lestel’s grandson wants Gilbert to teach him how to make baskets using white oak.

“This is a connection that has been made after all of these years, and we are really, really thrilled about it,” Hester said.

In the last 10 years or so, Hester has started working with new materials. She studied with Alfred Schneider, the retired director of a basketry school in Lichtenfels, Germany about 15 years ago. She visited Lambesc, France for willow workshops taught

by Eva Seidenfaden and Ane Lyngsgaard, Danish weavers who lead workshops in France, Denmark and the United States.

“It’s through willow that I feel I have found a material that really works with me, and I work well with it, and I can express myself as an art-

ist … in a new and exciting direction for me,” Hester said.

Hester submitted a piece into the Celebration of the Arts exhibit last year, and won first place in fiber arts last year with a piece called “Willow’s Rhythm.” She called this year’s piece, “Untitled.”

“Untitled” utilizes willow bark in a way that is flat and has an unexpected blend of textures and shapes. Hester has not decided what the piece depicts, but she has somewhat of an interpretation.

“The spruce root that encircles part of it – I think of that as an embrace,” she said.

Jane-Allen McKinney, associate professor of sculpture at Tennessee State University in Nashville, and she judged many of the pieces at Celebration of the Arts this year. She enjoyed Hester’s piece.

“She used that technique for a whole other way of working, which was very clever, and what I really enjoyed about it,” McKinney said.

She interpreted Hester’s piece as a portrait of a person’s face.

“That was very exciting, and the presentation was beautiful,” she said.

McKinney encouraged Hester to display her work in other exhibits, including those in Nashville and across the country.

Hester and Gilbert own The Basket Maker’s Catalog in Scottsville with their partner Michael Sims. They started the business about 35 years

ago, which offers workshops and materials.

Hester received a degree in elementary education from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in folk studies at WKU. For over two years, she has served on the Board of Directors of the National Basketry Organization. The biennial conference will occur this July in Tacoma, Washington.

Hester’s “Untitled” was inspired by the many visits she and Gilbert have taken to southeastern Utah, where they hike, enjoy the solitude and look for rock art and old Native American habitation sites.

“I’ve wondered over the past few years … if there would ever be a way that something that I would make would reflect the meaning that I find in being in those places and the feelings that I have, and when I finished that piece, I felt that I had reflected somewhat that southeastern Utah experience, and it pleased me,” she said.

Though Hester did not begin working on her piece with a particular goal in mind, she knew she wanted to create a flat, woven piece of art, and it emerged as she worked on it.

“That was a really satisfying experience also, not to know where I was going but to end up in a place that was meaningful to me,” she said.

central Kentucky Community & Technical College and BlueCotton, who produced the club’s shirts.

“We also just have fun together,” LeNoir said. “This is a fun outlet, and some of the students haven’t ventured out into the community as much because they’re not familiar with our community.”

Club-member Ronaldo Escobar said the club hopes to include more members in the future by appealing to younger students.

“We want to build their self-confi-

dence,” Escobar said.

Esteffany Hernandez, who did a speech on self-confidence, said the GIHS staff and her colleagues helped her work up the courage to pursue public speaking.

“I don’t like to talk in front of people, and I almost dropped out of class,” Hernandez said. “But Mr. Hatcher, the principle, Ms. Lenoir and Ronaldo encouraged me to believe in myself. It was a big opportunity for me.”

Though the group is new, LeNoir

said the skills learned from public speaking and the positive relationships created between the students will be long-lasting.

“It’s given them not only confidence, but the realization that they have a lot to offer. They have a lot to say and they need to share who they are with the rest of the community,” LeNoir said.

done well at nationals in the past, Fisher said he has good faith that WKU will do great this year.

“We have some guys that deserve to go and show off their talents at na-

tionals,” Johnson said. “These guys have given everything they got for this team, and we just need a little help to make that dream happen for them.”

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

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

Reporter Elisabeth Moore can be reached at 270-745-6288 and Elisabeth.moore938@topper.wku.edu.

Follow her on Twitter at @emoore938.

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MARCH 7, 2017

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Lamp, Taylor impress scouts at NFL Combine

BY JOHN REECER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU Former senior wide receiver Taywan Taylor and senior offensive lineman Forrest Lamp participated in the annual NFL Combine last weekend in Indianapolis.

In what was potentially their biggest job interview of their lives, neither Taylor nor Lamp disappointed scouts.

Coming into the event, both players were regarded as valuable prospects by several scouting services. Lamp was mostly projected as a second round pick while Taylor was tabbed to go anywhere between the third and fourth round.

Lamp in particular had an incredibly impressive combine as he finished fourth among all offensive linemen

TOP TIER Continued from SPORTS tournament, the longest of any team in the Conference.

“I think we are playing our best ball right now,” Clark-Heard continued. “I think we’re to the point where we’re very comfortable with what we’re doing and everyone is comfortable on the floor. What I love is how different people are stepping up at different times. That’s what great teams do and it helped us clinch this championship.”

The Lady Tops defeated both North Texas and the host UAB by a combined

MARCH MADNESS Continued from SPORTS the tournament and they are sporting a 27-4 record. All eyes are on the Blue Raiders in Birmingham. Head Coach Kermit Davis and his team are the favorite to win the tourney.

The Tops have fallen to MTSU twice

BASEBALL Continued from SPORTS save of the season.

Game three was nearly identical to game two, as WKU pitched well but still lost 3-0.

Freshman Michael Hicks got his first career start for WKU on Sunday, and

with a 5.00-second 40-yard dash, third among linemen with a broad jump of 111 inches, and fifth overall in the three-cone drill (7.55 seconds).

The Venice, Florida, native also completed 34 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press, which was the second-highest total among all offensive linemen at the combine.

After his dominant performance, Will Binson from CBSsorts.com said, “It’s hard to see him falling out of the first round at this point.”

Lamp also managed to catch the attention of Mike Mayock, one of the lead scouts for NFL.com. Maycock currently has Lamp ranked as the top interior lineman in the draft.

“He’s crossing off every single box and trust me, the teams around the league are very aware of him,” Mayock

said. “The more I see him — I love his tape, especially against Alabama — the more I’ve seen this kid and how he responded at the Senior Bowl and then here, I think he’s going to be a firstround draft pick.”

If Lamp is drafted in the first round, he will be the highest player ever drafted out of WKU by a very wide margin.

Taylor also managed to impress scouts as the wide receiver and former Pleasure Ridge Park High School product ran the 40-yard dash in 4.50 seconds which the 19th-fastest time for receivers.

Taylor also managed to record a 33.5-inch vertical leap, and an 11-foot broad jump while also recording the 18th most reps on bench reps of his position group. His impressive broad jump was seventh-best out of all re-

ceivers at the combine.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said Taylor has a “high floor with the potential to be an above-average slot receiver in an offense that recognizes his flexibility.”

Currently, Zierlein says the Taylor’s game is comparable to Minnesota Viking wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who recorded 84 receptions for 903 yards last season.

The 2017 NFL Draft will start on April 27 and will end on April 29. Both Lamp and Taylor are currently projected to be selected within the first two days of the event.

32 points in the regular season. However, the Lady Tops know they can’t overlook any opponent. Last season, WKU’s season was surprisingly cut short after being upset by sixth seeded Marshall in the second round after sweeping the Thundering Herd by 35 combined points in the regular season.

“We still have a bad taste in our mouth,” redshirt senior guard Kendall Noble said about the Marshall loss last year. “We don’t want that to happen again. I think we’ll be ready and we’ll be prepared. We know we can’t take any lightly.”

With a victory, the Lady Tops will

most likely play the winner of Louisiana Tech and North Carolina Charlotte if Charlotte were to win their first round game. The Lady Tops defeated Louisiana Tech 67-58 in the regular season at Diddle Arena. However, the Lady Tops split the regular season against Charlotte. The Lady 49ers defeated WKU 89-85 in an overtime thriller. The Lady Tops found revenge two weeks ago by a score of 75-74 in another thriller.

With two wins, WKU will likely play second seeded and rival Middle Tennesse State for the championship. The Lady Tops swept MTSU in the regular season. University of Texas-San Anto-

nio, the only C-USA team WKU didn’t defeat in the regular season, is seeded seventh and wouldn’t play WKU until the championship if both teams were to win all their games.

The C-USA tournament starts Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. when North Texas and UAB face off. The Lady Tops will play the winner Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The championship game will be played Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

this season and will be hungry for a third chance if they can advance past the first round of the tournament.

“We’re gonna go down there, play our game, do what we do and the rest will take care of itself,” Justin Johnson said.

The team knows they are the underdog and will be playing with momen-

tum and a chip on their shoulder when playing for a spot in the illustrious NCAA tournament.

“Now we gotta play every game like it’s our last. We gotta play every game like it’s a championship game cause we want that ring,” Waters said. “We gotta go out there and play for each other, our program and for our fans out there

that’s watching. We gotta bring a ring back for our hometown now, it’s for them.”

went 3.1 innings, giving up just one run on five hits and four walks.

“Michael’s done a good job, he deserves an opportunity, and it was just the right time, right situation,” Pawlowski said of starting Hicks. “He pitched well, he just got himself in trouble. He walked a couple guys but other than that he’s going to be a good

one for us.”

Ohio scored two runs in the fifth on senior reliever Kevin Elder to give the Bobcats a 3-0 lead, and the Toppers never answered. That score held through the remainder of the game.

The Toppers will play Belmont at home on Tuesday and Eastern Kentucky University on the road on

Wednesday before coming back to Nick Denes Field for a three-game series against Illinois State over the weekend.

Reporter John Reecer can be reached at 270-427-8320 and john.reecer104@ topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @Reece_12_Falcon.

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

Reporter Matthew Stewart can be reached at 859-797-3140 and matthew.stewart015@topper.wku.edu Follow him on Twitter at @MES_ WKU22.

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

MARCH 7, 2017 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

SPORTS

WKUHERALD.COM

» Football: Former Hilltoppers open eyes at NFL Draft Combine.

WKU Lady Toppers guard Ima Akpan (20) walks to join her teammates for the national anthem before the before the Lady Toppers’ 73-57 win over Marshall University on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2016 at E.A. Diddle arena. The Lady Toppers lead the conference with a 16-2.

SHABAN ATHUMAN/HERALD

March Madness: Hilltopper Edition

BY MATTHEW STEWART

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

top tier Lady Tops enter C-USA Tournament as favorites

BY SAM PORTER

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU March is upon us, which means that postseason basketball is in full swing.

From this point on, it’s win or the season is finished.

The WKU Women’s basketball team enters the Conference USA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after clinching the regular season championship outright this past weekend.

The Lady Toppers defeated North Texas 75-55 last Thursday to clinch the No. 1 overall seed. Two days later,

the Lady Tops defeated Rice 80-75 to spoil the Owls’ senior day and clinch the regular season title outright for the second time in three seasons. The Lady Tops arrived at back in Bowling Green Sunday morning and were welcomed by fans to celebrate.

“Being able to stand up in front of my team and talk about how we accomplished one of our goals is when it hit me,” Head Coach Michelle ClarkHeard said about winning the championship outright. “It was great to have people waiting on you to celebrate. As a coach, that’s what you dream of for

your team.”

WKU, Middle Tennessee State, Southern Mississippi and Louisiana Tech will all receive first round byes in the 12 team tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. The tournament begins tomorrow night where four teams will be eliminated to cut the field to eight teams.

The Lady Tops will face off against the winner between eighth seeded North Texas and ninth seeded UAB on Thursday night. WKU is currently riding a nine-game win streak into the

SEE TOP TIER PAGE B3

After a long regular season full of high expectations and unknowns, WKU is finally headed to Birmingham, Alabama to put up a fight in the Conference USA Tournament.

The team was able to build some momentum this past week in conference play as they prepare for the postseason.

Thursday the Toppers got a win over the Mean Green of University of North Texas (8-22) by a final score of 74-63.

Senior guard Pancake Thomas willed the Tops to a victory with a game-high 23 points. Senior forward Anton Waters had a career night with 15 points, and he also scored the first eight points of the night for WKU. Saturday night was senior night for the Hilltoppers. The team hosted the Rice University Owls (21-10) in Diddle Arena.

Four WKU players finished in double figures. Junior forward Justin Johnson led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds. The second team C-USA performer also finished with four assists, one block and one steal.

Waters matched his career high with 15 points, grabbed five boards and one steal. Seniors Que Johnson and Thomas each finished with 11 points.

WKU led by as many as 15 points in the second half. This performance against a team that has 20 wins to their name is a good look for the Toppers headed to the postseason.

After leading by eight at the half the Tops finished their opponent. They held on despite the Owls making a run late in the game. At the end of the night the Tops were victorious taking down Rice 79-72 in front of 4,823 fans.

“We had a great crowd today. We appreciate the fans, they helped us down the stretch when we needed it,” Head Coach Rick Stansbury said.

Now the task is totally different. The Tops don’t have to be the best team for a full season. They have to be the best team for four days. For the Toppers to reach the NCAA tournament they have to win four games in four days.

“Now no longer do we have to be the best team for 30 games. It’s a brand new season now. We just gotta find a way to be the best team for four days,” Stansbury said.

First up for the Tops is the eight vs nine seed matchup on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. WKU is the eight seed and will face off against the Road Runners of the University of Texas San Antonio.

If the Tops can take down UTSA they will have a date with the C-USA front-runner Middle Tennessee State University.

MTSU, ranked 25th in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, is the one seed in

SEE MARCH MADNESS PAGE B3

Pitching dominates as WKU loses series to Ohio

BY JEREMY CHISENHALL HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU WKU baseball lost its three-game series against Ohio over the weekend, two games to one, in what ended up being a dominant pitching display for both teams.

Ryan Thurston struck out 11 batters in his start, and Ohio’s Butch Baird and Michael Klein both shut WKU out in their starts. Ohio’s Jake Roehn also recorded back-to-back saves on Saturday and Sunday.

“This weekend I thought we threw the ball well, the guys made pitches when they needed to,” Head Coach John Pawlowski said. “Unfortunately, we just weren’t able to get anything going. Give them credit, they pitched extremely well also and found a way to win the series.”

The series started off with a close 5-4 win for WKU on Friday. Thurston had a commanding performance, going 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and striking out 11 batters.

The Hilltoppers grabbed a lead in the first inning when senior Thomas

Peter grounded out and scored junior Steven Kraft. Senior Paul Murray added on later in the inning, doubling to right-center field to score junior Grayson Ivey and give WKU a 2-0 lead.

After later getting out to a 5-1 lead, Ohio put up three runs in the eighth, but Jackson Sowell came in to shut the door for his second save of the year.

“We get up 5-1 and we have an opportunity, and we just really couldn’t put them away,” Pawlowski said of the game staying close. “Ryan Thurston was outstanding, I mean what a stellar performance from him.”

WKU’s offense didn’t have the same success in game two, despite the fact that the pitching was just as good in a 3-0 loss.

Junior Paul Kirkpatrick started the game for the Toppers, going 8.1 innings and giving up just three runs on eight hits. Unfortunately for Kirkpatrick, Ohio’s Baird was even more dominant, shutting WKU out through 6.2 innings.

Ohio started off the scoring in the third inning with a solo home run from

Redshirt Junior Ryan Thurston (20) pitches the ball during the 5-4 win against Ohio University on Friday at Nick Denes Field. EVAN BOGGS/HERALD Tyler Finkler. Ty Black added another run with a single to center field that scored Evan Bourn and they added the last run in the seventh when Spencer Ibarra singled and scored Conner Call-

ery.

Roehn came in after Baird and shut the door on WKU to record his first

SEE BASEBALL PAGE B3