FIND OUT IF YOU SHOULD ‘SHAKE UP’ YOUR MEAL AT TOP OF THE HILL NUTRITION OPINION, PAGE A4
READ ABOUT ACE WALES’ FUTURE GOALS SPORTS, PAGE B4
TTHURSDAY, HURSDAY, MARCH MARCH 330, 0, 22017 017 > W WESTERN ESTERN KKENTUCKY ENTUCKY UUNIVERSITY NIVERSITY > VVOLUME OLUME 992, 2, IISSUE SSUE 4433
University signs letter of intent with Aramark BY EMMA AUSTIN HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU WKU has signed a letter of intent for a 20-year contract with Aramark Food Service for dining and catering services at WKU. Both sides will continue to negotiate details of the contract until it begins on July 1. The contract is expected to be worth $20 million a year, according to a press release. Under the new contract, all fulltime students not already on a meal plan will be required to pay $75 per semester, which may be deducted from the cost if they choose to purchase a meal plan later. Brian Kuster, vice president of student affairs, said this applies only to “face-to-face” students who take 12 hours or more at Bowling Green’s main campus. “They’re most likely already eating a meal a week or so, you know, in one of the facilities,” Kuster said. “It just supplements issues we know students already have as far as making healthy choices, having those options.” The contract includes a “significant renovation” worth $35 million for Garrett Conference Center, to begin in the summer of 2018. “Quite frankly, [the $75 fee] is part of that financial model to generate the $35 million to renovate Garrett Conference Center,” Kuster said. Louisville sophomore Lauren Goldener said she wasn’t happy to hear about the new fee. “I just think it doesn’t make sense if you don’t live on campus,” Goldener said. “I think if you live on campus, it’s fine to require it, but if you don’t live on campus, it seems unfair.” Goldener lives on campus now without a meal plan and is planning to move off campus next semester. With the new contract are plans for new food options and spaces in Downing Student Union and PearceFord Tower Food Court as well as “a new 24-hour food operation” in Hilltopper Hall, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in the 2018 Fall semester. “It will most likely be more like a smaller version of Fresh Food,” Kuster said about the 24-hour operation. “We’re still working through what exactly that will be.” Kuster said details about other
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Jessica Pliley speaks to students in the Gary Ransdell Hall auditorium about sex trafficking in the early twentieth century. Pliley was invited to speak as a part of the Boyd-Lubker visiting scholars program, which is designed to share expertise from a wide range of disciplines with the WKU community. NIC HUEY/HERALD
Revealed
Visiting scholar educates students on sex trafficking BY REBEKAH ALVEY HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
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tudents and faculty gathered in Gary Ransdell Hall Tuesday night for the annual Boyd-Lubker Visiting Scholars Program. This year, the featured scholar was Jessica Pliley, associate professor of women’s and gender history at Texas State University, who specializes in the study of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century. Pliley has an extensive resume as an author, speaker, teacher and scholar. She has spoken at other institutions including Yale and Harvard University and has shared her
research in countries like Germany, Switzerland and England. Sophomore Andi Dahmer introduced Pliley on Tuesday and said she was incredibly inspired by her accomplishments and immense knowledge on the subject. Pliley’s presentation, “Sex Trafficking and the FBI,” explained the history behind sex trafficking, how the justice and criminal system has handled it and how it has influenced modern issues. Pliley explained the difficulty of teaching sex trafficking because many people already have concrete perceptions on the issue from dramatic media, like the movie “Taken.” She said this trend was also present
in the 1900s, when stories of immorality and sexual trafficking were the most read and films depicting these cases were the most popular. “Those stories were melodramatic, superficial and largely inaccurate,” Pliley said. Pliley said her studies involve extremely complicated topics, asking complex questions like “What is women’s consent?” and challenging these preconceived ideas. She recalled how in her classes, students are often challenged on their beliefs and left without concrete answers because of the complexity of the topic.
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Senate considers new legislation in final weeks of semester BY JAMIE WILLIAMS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU The Student Government Association had seven pieces of legislation on the agenda during its Tuesday meeting, including one that will have implications for organizations seeking SGA funding and one for those seeking to join SGA. The SGA also approved a resolution in response to controversy with the Major Redz dance group during the Fall football season. The group protested at the football game against Vanderbilt University on Sept. 24 by kneeling during the national anthem.
Bill 20-17-S: Statement of Non-Discrimination … Bill 20-17-S requires student organizations to reaffirm a statement of non-discrimination before receiving funding from SGA. The bill was proposed in response to Kentucky Senate Bill 17, which would protect students’ rights to freely express religious or political opinions, allowing student groups to deny a student membership if they don’t agree with the individual’s political or religious views. Some groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign and American Civil Liberties Union, have expressed concern that the bill could result in
discrimination against marginalized groups. Since the bill is on the state level, it could take precedence over WKU’s statement of non-discrimination. The SGA’s bill would require student organizations to reaffirm a version of this statement before they are considered for organizational aid. The SGA’s version of the statement would also include protections for students’ gender identity, which is a clause not included in WKU’s version. “It’s very simple,” SGA President Jay Todd Richey said. “SGA is not going to subsidize discrimination.” Senator Zach Jones disagreed with the bill and said it would hinder the
free expression of different ideologies on campus. “Tolerance is something that we all strive for on a college campus. I would say another thing we all strive for is diversity of opinion,” Jones said. “I think [the bill] hampers tolerance and diversity of opinion to a degree.” Senator Lily Nellans, one author of the bill, clarified student organizations who discriminate in their internal affairs may still exist, but they would have to seek funding somewhere besides SGA. Nellans said providing funding for discriminatory groups goes directly against the SGA constitution. “While SGA is supportive of a di-
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