WKU College Heights Herald - Oct. 24-Nov. 27, 2022

Print edition published three times each semester by WKU Student Publications at Western Kentucky University. First copy: free | Additional copies: $5

EDITORIAL BOARD

Debra Murray

Co-Editor-in-Chief Jake Moore Co-Editor-in-Chief

Tucker Covey Photo Editor

Carol Coronado Social Media Manager Megan Fisher Design Editor

Joseph Thompson Sports Editor Grace Stephens Video Producer

Alexandria Anderson Content Editor

Jack Ezell Newsletter Editor

OTHER LEADERS AND ADVISERS

Cristina Betz Cherry Creative Director Carrie Pratt Herald Adviser

Alaina Scott Advertising Manager

Chuck Clark Student Publications Director

POLICIES

Opinions expressed in the College Heights Herald are those of student editors and journalists and do not necessarily represent the views of WKU. Student editors determine all news and editorial content, and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions.

CONTACT US

REPORT AN ERROR: herald.editor@wku.edu 270-745-5044

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: herald.opinion@wku.edu

ON CAMPUS:

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Mariia Novoselia, a Ukrainian WKU student, can’t go home–but she has found a temporary home in Kentucky. Story on pages 24-28.

COVER

BY TUCKER COVEY

downtown Hilligans

Alley Pub and Pizza

422 E Main Ave.

Nestled down the alley beside the Capitol Arts Building, Alley Pub features some of Bowling Green’s favorite pizza, a full bar with renowned service from veteran bartenders and one of the most charming patios around!

Alora Aesthetics

941 College St.

Alora Aesthetics offers neuromodulators (Botox and Dysport), dermal fillers, microneedling, hair restoration with PRP, B12 injections and skincare.

Located at 941 College Street in downtown Bowling Green, our goal is for you to feel beautiful in your skin in a welcoming environment. Call to schedule a complimentary consultation at 270-906-9349.

Awaken Bakery

314 E Main Ave.

Owned by Tiana Post, Awaken Bakery is a gluten-free bakery offering a variety of sweet treats, full espresso bar, breakfast and lunch! Just off the square at 314 E. Main Ave., those with gluten intolerances have a safe place to eat. WKU Students can use Big Red Dollars.

Cafe Kindness

937 College St.

A cafe designed to treat your body kindly! We offer cold pressed juices, smoothies, gourmet toasts and nourish bowls!

1265 College St.

Check out our twitter @hilligansbg for our Homecoming Spirit Week specials and make sure to join us Friday from 2-6 p.m. for our Homecoming Parade watch party. We will open at 10 a.m. Saturday to kick off this year’s Homecoming festivities!

Neon Cowgirl Boutique

Dublin’s Irish Pub

904 State St.

Stop by Hilltoppers’ favorite Irish Pub! Now owned and operated by WKU Alumni. Open Sunday –Thursday 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. and Friday-Saturday 4 p.m. – 2 a.m. Serving beer, cocktails, and hot boozy drinks, even to-go Fridays and Saturdays to enjoy Fountain Row. Karaoke Wednesday-Thursday and live music every Friday-Saturday night!

923 College St.

Neon Cowgirl is a new locally owned boutique in historic Downtown. We strive to bring the iconic Nashville style, that we all know and love, to our hometown of Bowling Green.

The Social Salon

300 E Main Ave.

Fountain Row

Fountain Row is an all-new entertainment district downtown, where patrons can buy alcoholic drinks in approved to-go cups from participating licensed business within the district. Fountain Row visits encourage exploring more of downtown’s historic streets and parks, window shopping, and discovering new experiences while boosting local hospitality and tourism businesses.

The Social Salon, owned by Carli Gabbard, is historic and special to the Bowling Green community. 300 E. Main has housed many businesses from an Army Recruiting Office in the early 1900s to Kennedy Jewelers in the 1970s. Our salon home is a place where everyone is welcomed and loved.

Vette City Vintage

939 College St.

Stop and get nostalgic with us! Vette City Vintage is full of vintage T-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, hats and just about any wearable item from decades past. Our specialty is ‘90s and 2000s streetwear, but we also carry items from the ‘60s and ‘70s! You’ll find something you can’t live without.

Park Row

E 10th Ave.

College St.

Center St. State St.

E Main Ave.

Spring Alley

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

Frank Aryee shakes hands with Debbie Watt after she helped him register to vote in the US inside the Muhammed Ali Center in downtown Louisville on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

The Registry is a student community with the amenities of a fine luxury apartment, paired with the convenience of on campus housing. Your new apartment is only steps away from class and is situated closer than most of the university dorms. At The Registry, we hav e a passion to bring you the greatest living experience possible and a culture that values excellence, service, innovation, and being the best.

‘A NEW LEAF’

WK LIQUORS REBUILDS AFTER TORNADO

By Damon Stone

Almost a full year after devastating tornadoes ripped through communities, homes and businesses in Bowling Green, a local friendly face is making headway on the road to recovery.

Reconstruction on WK Liquors, owned and operated by Manojkumar Patel, is well on its way, thanks primarily to outreach from the community.

Patel received a photo of what was left of his store at 3:13 a.m. the morning of Dec. 11 from one of his salesmen. Broken shelves and jagged bottles sat littered in the rubble.

“It came as a total shock,” Patel told the Herald in January. “It was kind of difficult to accept that everything is gone.”

Following that dark day, WKU alumna Natalie Kelley started a GoFundMe for Patel to help with the loss of his liquor store. Kelley describes Patel as “a pillar of the community,” and ultimately over $15,000 was raised for Patel.

“The outreach has been tremendous,” Patel said. “... [The students have] come to assist me in my time of need, and it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Patel hired a clean-up crew from Nashville to help with debris removal and the reconstruction is being run by Brian Miller Contracting based out of Scottsville. Most of the funding for the rebuilding has largely come from insurance payouts. Patel was able to use the insurance payouts as his primary source of income.

“They’ve been exceptional, and they’ve understood the actual [breadth] of what’s required to build, and they’re actually getting it done,” Patel said.

In the time after the tornado, Patel has worked tirelessly to begin the rebuilding process, including designing the new layout of the store – one that will prominently feature treasured memories.

Manojkumar Patel, owner of WK Liquors, leans out of where the drive thru window will be when his store reopens while discussing the future of the store in Bowling Green on Oct. 3, 2022. The window will be higher than it was previously so a ramp will be built for cars to reach it.

PHOTO BY ALLIE SCHALLERT

Patel was able to salvage many of the photos that were gifted to him by WKU students from the wreckage.

“The photos are still going to go up on the wall because it is just going to be remembered as part of the tornado,” Patel said. “How can I delete memorabilia that has impacted me personally? So I went back and made sure I tried to get back as much as I could.”

Patel has kept a selection of memorabilia from the original store, including a mirror given to him from several WKU students.

“When I opened the store, there was a group of I think four or five young ladies that came and saw that the bathroom didn’t have a mirror, and they all signed their names on the back of the mirror,” Patel said.

One addition to the new store is a digital sign, which Patel plans to use to announce upcoming events on campus like holidays, home games, graduations and even 21st birthday celebrations.

Patel said WK Liquors will have a grand reopening in collaboration with students, primarily from Greek Life, because of their continued support. He said it is expected to happen sometime in December, with an official date to come in the near future.

For now, the work continues.

“The hardest part of reopening is actually getting the work done in a timely way,” Patel said. “There’s constraints with the supply chain, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier […] It’s basically turning over a new leaf; you put the past behind you and you carry on.”

ReporterDamonStonecanbereachedatdamon.stone314@ topper.wku.edu

Manojkumar Patel, owner of WK Liquors, stands in his store that’s being rebuilt after the original building was damaged by a tornado in December 2021. Patel received a lot of community support that made it possible to build an entirely new store on the same lot. “It’s been a lot of pain,” Patel said. “But it’s coming through. It’s coming through.”

PHOTO BY ALLIE SCHALLERT

By Bailey Reed

WKU’s Student Government Association has seen decades of change since its inception as the “Associated Students of Western Kentucky University” in 1966.

“While the structure may have changed throughout the years, the fundamental principle for SGA to be a voice for the students has remained unphased,” Donald Smith, former SGA president from 1993-94 and president of the College Heights Foundation, said.

It is also clear that SGA’s continued growth contributes to the climate of the university at large.

“If SGA is improving over time, then the WKU experience is improving as well,” Smith said.

Charley Pride, director of student activities, has witnessed 30 different SGA presidents in his time at WKU. Pride said that each president will face

THE MAKING OF AN SGA PRESIDENT

different challenges, but most of them have played to their strengths to overcome them.

“Each year is different. Each president and group has a different focus and faces different challenges,” Pride said. “Most [presidents] play to their strengths, whether it be the personality, the organizer, the mediator or the idea person.”

Both Pride and Smith agree that it is important for a leader to be in the moment.

“I don’t think you can be focused or worried about a legacy and still continue to lead the organization or make the necessary decisions you have to on a daily basis,” Smith said.

Pride does not see this as an issue for current SGA President Cole Bornefeld.

“Cole is a steady influence who is hands-on and present,” Pride said. “I mean that. I see him in the office, on

campus and out representing SGA.”

Bornefeld is currently a senior on the Hill. Before his time as president, Bornefeld served as a senator-at-large, nominated by former SGA President Matthew Wininger.

Bornefeld transferred from Volunteer State Community College to WKU during his junior year, and immediately emailed Wininger as he knew he wanted to partake in student government.

“I emailed [Wininger] the first week I was here on the Hill. I asked him if there was an appointment or way I could get involved, and he told me that he’d meet with me,” Bornefeld said.

“He ended up appointing me in that first meeting, and that’s how I got in volved. I really just fell in love with it.”

Bornefeld transferred to WKU because his community college only offered an associate’s degree. Bornefeld also knew the school a bit before transferring thanks to his brother.

Western Kentucky University Student Government Association President and Student Regent Cole Bornefeld poses for portraits in the SGA chambers in Downing Student Union on Oct. 5, 2022. Bornefeld, 22, is a senior double-major in public relations and political science who hails from Hendersonville, Tenn.

PHOTO BY ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE

“My brother graduated from WKU in 2020, so I was familiar with the campus from the football and basketball games I had attended,” Bornefeld said.

At first, Bornefeld had not planned on running for president. However, with encouragement from his SGA peers, he agreed to file to run.

“I had several students and senators reaching out saying ‘will you please run,’” Bornefeld said. “We formed a ticket the week of the filing deadline and ran with it, and I never anticipated that we would win just because I had come in as a transfer student and didn’t know as many people as the competition.”

Bornefeld ran on platforms he supported as a senator, such as the “Share-A-Swipe” program he helped implement so students could donate extra meal swipes to fight food insecu rity on campus.

Additionally, he ran on increasing WKU’s scholarship budget, which is something he has actively been able to do.

“This year we increased our schol-

arship budget by $3,500, and we are hopefully going to be able to increase that even more with partnerships through alumni,” Bornefeld said.

Since Bornefeld did not anticipate winning the presidency, it was an even more exciting moment for him when his name was called on election night.

“It was really just something special that we were able to win,” Bornefeld said.

Despite being a recent transfer student, Bornefeld said he never faced any criticism for it.

“I don’t think being a transfer student is a question that anyone has ever brought up, it’s about who is going to put the most passion and hard work into the role,” Bornefeld said.

Going from senator-at-large to president so quickly, Bornefeld experienced a bit of a learning curve.

“People kept asking, ‘how are you doing?’ and I'm like, ‘I'm doing great but it feels like I’m drinking out of a fire hose,’” Bornefeld said. “I’ve really been able to rely on former student body presidents. I seek their advice weekly.”

In his role as SGA president, Bornefeld believes he has grown as a leader as he has adjusted to the presidency.

“This is definitely the largest re sponsibility and leadership role I've ever held. It’s been a lot of learning so far, but I also feel like I've been able to grow as well as a person,” Bornefeld said. “In this position, it’s a lot of trial and error, but it’s helpful to have a strong team around you.”

When asked what advice he would give to students who want to make a change in their community and the world, Bornefeld encouraged students to try to get involved the most they can.

“A lot of times, it’s just sending that email, just trying to get involved,” Bornefeld said. “It might be intimidating, and you may think ‘oh, I’m not going to be able to make a change’, but you never know if you don’t try.”

SGAreporterBaileyReedcanbe reachedatbailey.reed704@topper.wku. edu.

‘In this position, it’s a lot of trial and error, but it’s helpful to have a strong team around you.’

-SGA President Cole Bornefeld

PHOTO BY ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE

Fountain Row creates a new atmosphere downtown

Fountain Row is a new destination in downtown Bowling Green where on Fridays and Saturdays, people can purchase alcoholic drinks in a designated cup and bounce between businesses in the downtown area from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

This district has been established by the City of Bowling Green. Following the steps of cities all over Kentucky and the country, this effort is being launched to grow local business and improve quality of life.

One of the businesses included in Fountain Row is the Bowling Green Ballpark, home to the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Eric C. Leach is the team’s general manager and chief operating officer.

“I gladly pushed behind the scenes for years for something like this to be established.

Fountain Row is a part of why someone would want to live downtown,” Leach said. “This creates the nucleus of downtown.”

Usually when people think of the Hot Rods, they think of baseball. However, each year the stadium hosts over 250 special events, ranging from sorority dances to charity walks and even a 24-hour ultra marathon, Leach said.

Blue signage placed around downtown Bowling Green shows patrons where Fountain Row district boundaries begin and end. boundaries begin

The Bowling Green water tower overlooks Fountain Square Park. The businesses included in Fountain Row are Gerard’s 1907 Tavern, Mellow Mushroom, Tidball’s, Dublin’s Irish Pub, Micki’s, 440 Main, Alley Pub & Pizza, Cliffs of Moher Irish Pub, Spencer’s Coffee, The Derby Restaurant & Piano Bar, The Kentucky Grand Restaurant, Hickory & Oak, Bowling Green Ballpark, SoKY Marketplace, S&D Soul Food and La Gala.

“With the development of Fountain Row, if a fan wants to leave the ballpark and meet up with some friends, they’re able to stop at the front gates, pour their drink into the Fountain Row cup, and exit the ballpark to do something else,” Leach said.

Leach said the goal of Fountain Row is to create a connection between downtown businesses and the community so that groups of friends will get together and say “Let’s see what’s going on downtown.”

“To be able to walk into a restaurant and walk out with a drink to see who might be playing on a Friday night or catching a ball game, that’s what it’s about. It’s about entertainment and creating a destination,” Leach said.

Another hope with Fountain Row is to create a hub of activity that students will want to continue to be around post graduation.

“It’s about the quality of life,” Leach said. “It is so much more than walking around with a drink, it’s selling Bowling Green as a great place to live.”

Another business included in Fountain Row is Tidballs. Brian Jarvis has been part owner of Tidballs for almost 21 years.

Tidballs began as one of only a few college bars when Jarvis realized Bowling Green had a need for a live music venue.

“With the way the music scene was

evolving and the outreach and support we were getting, we thought we were onto something,” Jarvis said. “It slowly morphed into a live music venue which has been in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Realist and all local newspapers.”

Over the years, Tidballs has hosted many great artists and become a staple in the Bowling Green community.

“We had a band called Perfect Confusion come to us asking to play, and we took them under our wing. That band ended up being Cage the Elephant,” Jarvis said.

One of the most important aspects of running a business like Tidballs is building up the community and making them feel at home, Jarvis said.

“We were like Bowling Green’s living room; there’s just something about those walls,” he said.

Fountain Row will benefit downtown as a whole because it will bring in more people to businesses that they might not even know existed while making Bowling Green a destination, Jarvis said.

“Fountain Row will continue to get bigger and bigger as long as we continue to nurture it,” Jarvis said. “Bowling Green is a really special place. I love this community and the people here, and I believe in it.

Information on the boundaries and rules for Fountain Row can be found at bgky.org/fountainrow.

Renovated apartments offer home-like feel

1909 Campus Flats has undergone extensive renovations that are geared to heighten college students’ off-campus living experience. Their property holds 288 four-bedroom units created with students in mind.

The owners are WKU alumni, and they wanted to create a safe, comfortable environment for students living off campus, said Tracie Marksberry, the operations manager at Campus Flats.

“They’re proud to give back to the community, especially where they graduated from,” Marksberry said.

Marksberry has been the operations manager for three years and has been involved in the renovations that began in January 2021. Campus Flats has put in all new flooring, carpeting, appliances, furniture, and washers and dryers.

“We have a very home-like feel and try to be as compassionate as possible,” Marksberry said. “Some of these students are here for the first time by themselves and might have a hard time adjusting.”

Claire Thomas, a senior from Crestwood, moved into a Campus Flats apartment before the start of this semester.

“The set-up of the apartment is nice,” Thomas said. “There are two bedrooms that connect to a bathroom and the other two bedrooms share the other bathroom. The appliances come with the apartment and are in-unit so you don’t have to lug your laundry to the first floor of the building.”

Thomas, who graduates in December, and her roommates, were able to sign a 5-month lease with no extra fees, and she said that made them feel accommodated by Campus Flats.

Thomas said there are opportunities to connect with other residents at the pool or clubhouse, but Campus Flats is also a great place for those who value their privacy.

Creating opportunities for community has been part of the renovation, Marksberry said.

“We have added a game room with Mrs. Pacman and a pool table and we’re trying to add a bunch of Western memorabilia,” Marksberry said.

Marksberry also said that the renovation has improved security at the apartments with a gated entrance that requires residents to enter a password and updated locks that let residents enter with either their phone or a key fob.

Jason Dishon, the property manager, is a former police officer. He said the renovation

1909 Campus Flats is a student apartment complex located less than a mile from Western Kentucky University. The owners of the complex are WKU alumni.

has included installing 82 security cameras, which he can monitor from a single location. That security system provided Thomas and her roommates with some peace of mind.

“When we went to meet with Jason, the manager of the property, he showed us what it looked like which helped make us feel more safe,” Thomas said.

Dishon said providing safety for residents is one goal of Campus Flats. “We are tenant driven and geared towards tenant satisfaction,” he said.

Dishon said they have also implemented a tow truck to patrol the parking lots at night and have constant security sweeps.

The location close to campus was a major selling point for Thomas.

“From where we are to campus is only an eight minute walk, and a bus stop is outside Campus Flats which is great if you have classes farther up the Hill.” Thomas said. “For example, I am a tour guide so I don’t have to walk 1.3 miles to the alumni center anymore. I can use the bus, and it will take me over there.”

Campus Flats also has new landscaping, and they are building a new clubhouse with an extended sundeck to encourage community among residents.

“Aesthetically, they have invested a lot in making the property prettier, so I enjoy walking home every day,” Thomas said.

Units include four bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and living room. Each unit is fully furnished.

The complex has various amenities for residents including a game room with a pool table, Pac-Man arcade game and a television. Residents have access to the game room every day until 1 a.m.

‘WHAT I’M MOST PROUD OF’ KAPPA ALPHA PSI SPONSOR COMES HOME AFTER 53 YEARS

By La’Quan Richardson

The year is 1967. Craig Taylor, a 28-year-old member of staff in WKU’s criminology and sociology department, is about to take a chance that will lay the groundwork for Black Greek Letter Organizations on campus for years to come.

A few things were taking place behind the scenes in an effort to bring more “Divine Nine” fraternities and sororities – Greek organizations that came to fruition at Historically Black Colleges

and Universities – to campus.

At that point, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated was the only Divine Nine organization that had been established on the Hill.

In the spring of 1967, a group of students came together to form the “Kappa Q Club” that represented the interests of Divine Nine organizations Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi. The students were told they had to have a probationary club for one year before they could charter a fraternity on campus.

In order to do that, they needed a sponsor; enter Taylor, a white professor on a predominantly white teaching staff.

“In the late 1960s, the band was still playing ‘Dixie’ at ballgames and there were still a lot of Confederate flags around. It was a different world,” Taylor said.

Howard Bailey was a member of the Kappa Q Club. When the students got to the part of the fraternity application that required a faculty advisor, Taylor immediately came to mind.

Professor emeritus Craig Taylor poses for a portrait on WKU’s campus in Bowling Green on Oct. 7, 2022. Taylor was approached by a student, Howard Bailey, in 1967 to be the advisor for the Kappa Q Club, which in helped form the first two black fraternities at WKU, Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi. “I’ve done a lot of things in my time here,” Taylor said. “But this is the thing I’m most proud of.”

PHOTO BY ALLIE SCHALLERT

CONTINUED ON

Kappa Q members pose for a photo in 1969. Top row, left to right: William Davis, Ronnie Lyons, Ian Harry, Marshall White. Bottom row, left to right: Jason Williams, James Brown, Howard Bailey, Ralph Cooke, Craig Taylor. WESTERN KENTUCKY ARCHIVES

Craig Taylor and Howard Bailey shown together after Taylor offically joined Kappa Alpha Psi in the spring of 2022, 53 years after the chapter was established on the Hill. PROVIDED BY HOWARD BAILEY

Craig Taylor started teaching sociology at WKU in 1967 and talked about current events in the Civil Rights Movement during his classes. When he told his wife about sponsoring a black fraternity, he thought she’d tell him not in case people higher up at the school disagreed. “She said it was the right thing to do,” Taylor said.

PHOTO BY ALLIE SCHALLERT

“I said, ‘Well, there's Dr. Taylor in sociology’, and we already noticed that the faculty in the sociology department were much more receptive and conscious of race, which you would expect,” Bailey said. “So we decided, ‘let's see, Dr. Taylor – I'll ask him.”

Bailey had previously been a student of both Taylor and his wife, Pat, and had already built somewhat of a relationship with them through pure coincidence. After Bailey brought the idea to Taylor’s attention, he asked Pat what she thought.

Pat, a faculty member in WKU’s English department, was very supportive of the notion.

“She could have said ‘no’ for a lot of reasons, but she said it's the right thing to do,” Taylor said.

With Pat’s endorsement, Taylor signed off as the sponsor of the club, paving the way for the two fraternities to join campus in 1969. Bailey was on

the First line of Kappa Alpha Psi, also known as the “Nasty 19”, and Taylor served as an advisor for the chapter for a while.

“If Craig Taylor hadn't said ‘yes’, I don't know where history would have taken us,” Bailey said. “After we got chartered, we went to Murray State and helped them get a chapter; we went to Morehead, we went to five or six schools […] if Craig Taylor hadn’t made that decision, all of that may not have happened.”

Taylor grew close with many members of the fraternity and would even have thoughts of joining the organization himself, but had to sideline the idea due to other circumstances in his life.

Bailey said there were multiple times Taylor told him he thought he would join, but the birth of a child, the strenuous tenure process and Pat’s passing prevented him from achieving

the dream.

“He had those kinds of setbacks going on, but was always interested in becoming a member of Kappa Alpha Psi,” Bailey said.

Finally, in the spring of 2022 at the age of 81, Taylor officially pledged Kap pa Alpha Psi and became a member just 53 years afterthe chapter was founded.

“I've told Howard [Bailey] and everybody else that’ll listen, that of all the things that I've accomplished in my fifty-some years here, this is what I'm most proud of,” Taylor said. “[...] I'm glad that Howard asked me and I was glad I was able to help. I've really enjoyed watching the organization, watching it grow.”

NewsreporterLa’QuanRichardson canbereachedatlaquan.richardson86@gmail.com.

When Howard Bailey attended WKU in the mid 1960s, he went through “rush” with a few fraternities on campus. “It was pretty obvious that the present Greek organizations weren’t interested in having Black brothers in their chapter,” Bailey said. “So we decided we’d start our own.”

PHOTO BY ALLIE SCHALLERT

CONTINUED

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

WKU student Mariia Novoselia poses for a portrait in Jody Richards Hall draped in her Ukrainian flag and dressed in traditional Ukrainian attire.

‘IT’S NOT JUST US’ LIFE CONTINUES FOR UKRAINIAN STUDENT IN THE BLUEGRASS

By B Turner

When Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine in February of this year, Mariia Novoselia, a Ukrainian studying abroad at WKU, was in the middle of her spring semester.

Novoselia has been in the United States ever since.

She remains in contact with her family, who live in Odesa, a port city in the southwest of Ukraine. She speaks to her parents on the phone three times a day. They keep her updated on what is happening in Odesa and she lets them know what is happening in her life state-side.

“They’re okay. As okay as they can be,” Novoselia said. “They’re at home.

When the alarm goes on, they go to the basement. When it goes off, they walk out again, into the flat.”

She also keeps up with her friend Viktoriia Grishenko, who is also back in Odesa. Grishenko said her fear and perspective on the war has shifted as citizens have adjusted to a wartime way of life.

“It was very scary in the first few days because everyone didn’t know what to do,” Grishenko said. “And we didn’t know what happened, what we shall do, and what will be the next of our life. But after a few months [the fear] became not so strong [...] We know if we hear some scary sounds or explosions, we know what it is.”

Novoselia knows the consequences

of war just like her friends and family. She is not able to return home, and is not sure when she will be able to do so.

But she hasn’t let the war derail her work ethic in her temporary Kentucky home.

Since she could not return to Odesa during the break between semesters, Novoselia, a journalism major, worked at the Bowling Green Daily News as a summer news intern.

“She did a wonderful job,” Wes Swietek, the managing editor of the Bowling Green Daily News, said. “Obviously we know she was in a tough situation, and we appreciate what she did for us and hopefully we gave her a little bit of something to do over the summer.”

Mariia Novoselia plays a traditional Ukrainian game with other WKU students in the Honors College and International Center on on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

Swietek said he knows she is going to do great things.

Novoselia also spent time traveling around the United States. She has been to Tennessee, New York, New Jersey and various other places in Kentucky. She got the chance to visit Louisville, which brought up a few memories from home.

“By the river there was this one small street which looked so similar to a street in Odesa,” Novoselia said.

She said multiple people have told her that out of all the cities in Kentucky, Louisville would be the one most similar to her hometown. One large difference she noted is that Louisville had “many more towers'' than Odesa.

Novoselia shared she misses Odesa and thinks it’s a wonderful place to live.

“I am biased, but it’s a very – I was going to say the best city in the world,” Novoselia said. “It’s one of the best.”

Novoselia said she understands people’s desire to make connections

between Ukraine and Kentucky. She said weather-wise the two places are very similar, even if Kentucky’s forecasts may be a little more volatile.

She also understands why people ask her so many questions about what’s going on in Ukraine, and said she doesn’t mind them. People will often ask how her parents are doing, or how she feels about the war. They also ask about the city she’s from and how close the war is to her home.

“I think it's important to talk about [the war in Ukraine] because I feel like the moment people stop talking about it, the moment things stop – It’s not like it all depends on people talking about it, but a large part of it is the world knowing about it,” Novoselia said. “Because if no one’s talking about it then it’s like no one cares.”

Novoselia also emphasized that the war is not just about Ukraine.

“People should care, because it’s not just us. It’s a whole big, big, big story,”

she said. “With its consequences and complications and implications and everything. So it’s not just us.”

Novoselia said that her fellow Ukrainians are as “united as ever, and we know what is at stake and what will happen if we do not keep fighting and protecting our present and our future.”

“I also think that what helps us keep going strong is our sense of humor and the support that our heroes get from within the country and outside of it,” Novoselia said.

No one may know how the war will end, but Ukraine’s fight is evident in the perseverance of its citizens like Novoselia.

NewsreporterBTurnercanbe reachedatabigail.turner870@topper. wku.edu.

Mariia Novoselia works in the WKU Global Agora, located in the Honors College and International Center, to help advise students on study abroad programs offered by WKU. Photo taken on Oct. 11, 2022.

PHOTO BY SEAN MCINNIS

Mariia Novoselia points to her home city of Odesa, Ukraine, on a map in the Global Agora in the Honors College and International Center on Oct. 7, 2022.

PHOTO BY SEAN MCINNIS

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FAMILY

5,730 MILES IN THE MAKING

By Michael J. Collins

His naturalization ceremony was held atop the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, overlooking miles and miles of what is now his home.

He could not see his birthplace of Accra, Ghana, around 5,730 miles away. But Frank Aryee’s gaze drifted toward the back of the room, where well-dressed families hushed restless children in a dozen languages.

Among them, Jenni Aryee watched her husband, the father of her two children, with a bright smile and teary eyes.

Jenni was born in Bowling Green, around 115 miles away, but she had shared in Frank’s struggle at every step.

That night, back in their Bowling Green home, it began to set in — after a decade of bureaucratic hoops and barriers, fears and uncertainties, they could finally begin a new chapter.

The pressure of naturalization had become normal for them. But now, falling asleep beside each other, they felt weightless.

“I’m not a very good sleeper, but I slept good that night,” Frank said.

Kentucky Girl, Ghanaian Boy

Jenni grew up in Bowling Green. She began studying at WKU in 2000 at the age of 17.

She “had no business being there,” she said — “really.”

“It was just kind of something you do, you go to college whether you want to go or not, so here I was,” she said. “I was going to do photojournalism, and I was like, ‘wow, that's really what I want to do!’”

“Then I quit college,” she laughed.

She found a variety of odd jobs throughout the next few years. Her resume included camp counseling, ranching and even working at a ski resort.

Frank, then a stranger to Jenni, was

pursuing his undergraduate degree in geographic information systems in Ghana and working with a land surveying company.

His first experience in the U.S. came when he studied in Florida in 2005. Homesickness made it a difficult few months, but when he got back to Ghana, he knew he would return to the states soon.

“In Ghana, it was very difficult for me to switch fields of study [to GIS] based on my background in psychology and sociology,” Frank said. “So my only option was to look elsewhere to the United States.”

If you had asked him then who Henry Hardin Cherry was, what alcohol Kentucky was known for or the name of that big horse race in Louisville, Frank wouldn’t have had a clue.

That didn’t stop him from accepting the offer to study at WKU in 2008. Financially, it made sense for him, but it had more than that to offer.

Frank Aryee sits in his spot and awaits the end of the naturalization ceremony at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville that will end his 11-year journey to U.S. citizenship on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

“It's a beautiful place compared to where I came from, I like the infrastructure here, and I liked the fact that there are a lot of opportunities to meet friends and other people,” Frank said. “I knew that I had a bigger opportunity when it came to going back to the US.”

At that point, Jenni had returned to WKU for the third and final time and was nearing a degree in cultural anthropology.

One typical day, Frank and another student from Ghana stopped at Subway in the now-demolished Garrett Conference Center.

“He said ‘oh, let me call Katie and Jenni to come to eat something,’” Frank said. “That was the first time we ever met, behind Cherry Hall.”

The pair began talking strictly as friends since they were each in relationships of their own.

Frank said Jenni was funny, witty — just someone everyone could get along with. Jenni, on the other hand, said Frank was “so proper.”

“He’d wear khakis and a button-up polo,” she said, holding back laughter. “I was just like ‘aw, look at him.’”

They enjoyed each other's company and hung out from time to time, but lost touch as they progressed through college. Jenni graduated in 2009 while Frank continued to pursue his master’s degree.

A Quick Cup of Coffee

Four years later, Jenni was work ing as a barista at Spencer’s Coffee in downtown Bowling Green.

Frank was in the process of defending his thesis at WKU and working with Connected Nations, a non-profit aimed at expanding broadband access. His office was less than a block away from Spencer’s.

One day, Frank stopped in for a coffee, only to find a familiar face at the counter.

“I was really excited to see him,” Jenni said. “I always thought he was cool, but I was like, ‘I totally thought

you left, I just thought you moved on,’ and I never really thought about [it].”

One coffee became another, and Frank began visiting Spencer's for lunch more often.

Lunch became dinner, and within a few weeks Jenni was helping Frank paint his new apartment — or at least, giving him a hard time while he painted, she said.

They dated for six months before they were met with surprising news: Jenni was pregnant with their son, Nilai. While unexpected, neither of them were exceptionally worried. They were both in their thirties and had stable jobs to support themselves.

“We just knew it's going to be okay. I didn't think he was going to run away and cause problems, we just were like, ‘this is cool, we want to be parents,’” Jenni said. “We knew we would be good individuals, even if something were to happen — which I'm glad it never did, because we're better together than apart.”

Frank Aryee hugs his wife Jenni Aryee at the conclusion of the naturalization ceremony inside the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

RSVP Program Coordinator for the Louisville City Government Christopher Clements wears patriotic and welcoming accessories while he mills around the Muhammad Ali Center taking selfies with those receiving their citizenship in downtown Louisville on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

They were still learning how to “function” with each other, Jenni said, but they were in a stable place and happy to share a life.

Frank received his master’s in geoscience in 2014, and a year later welcomed a baby girl, Naaki, to the family.

They weren’t yet married, but in many ways, Frank and Jenni began to resemble the long-fabled “American dream.”

But that dream would not be achieved without great difficulty. The same year of Naaki’s birth, Frank was let go from Connected Nations after grant funding came to an end.

He applied to GIS jobs across the country with no success. For the next four years, Frank worked numerous factory jobs to make ends meet. He often worked night shifts, making it hard to spend time as a family.

“He would sleep through the day and work through the night, and we never saw him,” Jenni said. “But he had to work to take care of all of us, and that’s all he could do for money at that time.”

Frank and Jenni agreed it was the most difficult point in their lives togeth er. Jenni said at times she felt like a single parent, though she didn’t resent Frank for the work.

“I liked the guy,” she said, “I just wanted to be with him more.”

Frank knew he wanted to become a citizen when he left for WKU, but it wouldn’t come quickly. The path to citizenship is long and strenuous, involving numerous fees, forms and interviews.

A foreign-born person must first reside in the U.S. for five years before applying for U.S. citizenship. Many applicants turn to agencies and lawyers to guide them through the process — at a price.

Immigration lawyers were expensive, totaling thousands of dollars between consultations, fees, transportation and child care, but sped the process up considerably.

Once Frank passed his residency threshold, a lawyer he consulted with advised him to wait several years before

applying.

During his first application in 2018, Frank wrote that he had two children with Jenni and that they were not yet married.

However, he failed to disclose that he had been married once before. Frank and his partner had separated a year before he began dating Jenni.

His application was denied on the grounds of “moral character” and he was told to wait three years before reapplying. All of the time and money had seemingly been in vain.

“I was frustrated for sure. I felt I was very qualified to be a citizen, and I was very responsible,” Frank said. “People think, ‘oh, you check a box and you’re a citizen,’ but it’s never like that.”

For years, Jenni had a lot of unanswered questions: Could Frank be sent back to Ghana? Could they relocate their family with him? How do they go about reapplying?

“You can’t really even talk to people about it,” Jenni said. “Nobody around you is going through this process;

Meanwhile, we’re going through this sadness, and […] it was just a really difficult time.”

The family faced immense financial pressure, but in 2019, things seemed to take a turn for the better.

Frank received a call from his former employer, Connected Nations. With newly acquired funding, they asked Frank to return to the organization, an offer he happily accepted.

Putting Down Roots

By 2020, the Aryees felt as though they had finally weathered the storm.

Frank and Jenni, who by now had lived together with their children for over five years, saw marriage as a bit of a formality.

“We are not your typical traditional people, we don’t like to do things the way everyone does it,” Frank said. “I’ll call it rebellious.”

Nevertheless, they figured it was time to make things official. They bought their first house and were married on Feb. 29, 2020 — a leap day.

“We got married in our house, in our living room,” Jenni said. “It was just us and the kids. My dad officiated, my mom was there, we had a photographer and a

friend was a witness.”

Looking back, they said they wouldn’t have changed a thing. They planned to honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, but COVID-19 put those plans to rest.

Other than the cancellation, the family navigated the pandemic as best as they could. Frank found himself with an influx of business as at-home school and work created a rush of broadband demand.

“Things have been good ever since,” Frank said.

After his naturalization in April, Frank said life hasn’t changed much. He looks forward to voting, but otherwise just enjoys knowing that he’s now a citizen.

It’s a personal feeling, a “feeling of being part of the society around you,” he said.

“And now, you know, if I decide to be the mayor…” Frank said, chuckling.

“Or a congressman,” Jenni added.

Jenni said she now feels a sense of security she couldn’t imagine before. For the first time ever, she is undoubted ly sure that the man she loves, the father of her children, will stay in the U.S.

With Frank’s citizenship secure, they can think about his family in Ghana,

who Jenni has yet to meet face-to-face. They can now sponsor relatives through the immigration process, making it significantly more forgiving.

They can also focus on Nilai, now 9, and Naaki, now 7.

“We want our kids to enjoy the world, to see the world as it is and embrace it, to enjoy it with an open mind,” Frank said.

The Aryees come home each night to the American dream, which often demands more work than one could possibly imagine. For them, it’s a labor of love.

Crayons and drawings sit strewn across the dining room table. Toys and rubber balls wait out of place for Nilai and Naaki to return from school.

In the backyard, hay covers the lawn and a sprinkler wets the earth in tall arcs. Shoots of young grass rise in patches around the straw.

Frank has been trying to reseed the backyard for a while, but it still has a long way to go. Jenni says she likes giv ing him a hard time about it, touches his arm and smiles at him.

CityreporterMichaelJ.Collinscan bereachedatmichael.collins527@top per.wku.edu.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Officer David Spencer hands Frank Aryee his green card after the naturalization ceremony inside the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY

Frank Aryee shakes hands with Debbie Watt after she helped him register to vote in the US inside the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

PHOTO BY TUCKER COVEY