Gov. Steve Beshear announced a plan on Jan. 10 to allow Kentucky universities to issue agency bonds to fund campus improvement proj-ects with university funds. This plan could lead to WKU getting an Hon-ors College and International Cen-ter.

President Gary Ransdell said be-cause WKU is a state university, they need state approval before they ac-quire debt, even though they will be paying for it. WKU has used agency bonds to fund renovation projects such as Van Meter Hall, College High Hall and Diddle Arena.

“A lot of our renovation projects have been done with university funds,” he said.

The $22 million project is one of 11 from six different universities in-cluded in one agency bond package, Ransdell said. He said he expects the General Assembly to approve all the projects at once in the spring.

“It was a prudent strategy for us to all agree on our priority projects and submit one proposal for one ap-proval rather than each of us work-ing independently…this is the fi rst time that that’s occurred, so that’s a good sign that higher education is working well together,” he said.

Robbin Taylor, vice president of

Looking back over her years of struggling with depres-sion, Elyssa Carmony said the spring of 2012 was defi nitely the worst.

Between her extra-curricular activities and the pressure of keeping up with her classwork, the 19-year-old honors stu-dent from Independence, Ky., said she was starting to feel the strain.

“I have to be involved in ev-erything and the best at every-thing I’m involved in,” Carmo-ny said.

The stress of it all made her feel as if she didn’t have any friends, despite her strong connection with her sorority sisters of Alpha Gamma Delta and others. She isolated her-self by spending a lot of time alone in her room.

For Carmony, it’s harder for her to deal with stress than oth-ers because she has borderline personality disorder. People affected by this illness often deal with feelings of abandon-ment, depression and struggle with self-harm.

Carmony said people deal-ing with borderline personali-ty disorder are often described as the “third-degree burn pa-tients” of psychology. She said people with this disorder can make strides toward recovery, but the illness is never com-pletely gone.

“That’s really hard to get a grip on if you don’t come at it head strong and don’t come at it with support,” Carmony said.

Carmony has attempted sui-cide three times and thought about it countless others. She said her attempts were never

premeditated; they came on when she was feeling really low.

“There were days when ev-erything felt so wrong,” she said.

Lately, Carmony said she has been feeling better. She said she owes this to her friends, her sorority sisters and her faith in God.

“Every day is a struggle, I think. And you have to choose that day whether you’re going to rise above it or if you’re go-ing to let it get to you,” she said.

She’s tried medications and has seen counselors, but she said that being able to call upon her friends has been one of the most benefi cial things.

One of Carmony’s sorority sisters, Henderson junior Ari-ana DeLong, has also fought depression and thoughts of

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2013 • WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY • WKUHERALD.COM • VOLUME 88 NO. 27

OPINION STUDENTS' TAKE ON THE PETRINO HIRE PAGE 4

NEWSMISS KENTUCKY CROWNED AT WKUPAGE 10

SPORTSWOMEN'S BASKETBALL OFF TO FAST STARTPAGE 14

WKU students open dialogue about suicide, depressionANNA ANDERSONDIVERSIONS@WKUHERALD.COM

SEE DIALOGUE PAGE 3

Independence sophomore Elyssa Carmony has struggled withdepression since her freshman year of high school and reachedan all-time low last spring when she attempted to take her own life. Carmony began taking medication in June and this past fall found solace in her Alpha Gamma Delta sisters after telling themabout her on-going battle with depression and attempted sui-cide. Currently, she is working toward living her life with a more positive outlook. KATIE MCLEAN/HERALD

Patrons wave fl ags at the National Mall as President Barack Obama was introduced at his ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. on Monday. JABIN BOTSFORD/HERALD

Percy Yeung, 17, of Jacksonville, Fla. falls asleep while waiting for the inauguration ceremony of President Obama to begin on Mon-day in Washington D.C. DOROTHY EDWARDS/HERALD

Being in Bowling Green didn’t stop a group of more than 40 students, professors and members of the community to board a charter bus and make the 14-hour drive to Alexandria, Va., to see President Barack Obama be inaugurat-ed into offi ce this past

weekend.Alexandria, a town

only a metro ride away from D.C., was where the group stayed for their three-day trip to D.C.

The trip was orga-nized and led by Po-litical Science Depart-ment Head Saundra Ardrey.

Ardrey has led a trip to the presidential

JOANNA WILLIAMSNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

wku goes to washington

TAYLOR HARRISONNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

SEE HONORS PAGE 2

Plans for

new Honors

College and

International

Center begin

Students attend inauguration

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BG ICE RINK?STUDENTS ANTICIPATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A BOWLING GREEN ICE RINK.PAGE 9

A WINTER FOR

HUMANITYEIGHT STUDENTS WENT SOUTH FOR THE HOLIDAYS TO HELP FAMILY IN NEED.PAGE 11

WKUHERALD.com MLK DAY AT WKUTHE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. PLANNING COMMITEE HOSTS EVENTS TO MARK MLK DAY.PAGE 10

SEE WKU PAGE 2

sportsFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

With a week-long break loom-ing, the Lady Toppers halted a two-game losing streak Wednesday eve-ning by steamrolling Troy 98-80.

The season-high point total was a collective effort from WKU (16-5, 9-3 Sun Belt Conference), a far cry from the uncharacteristic low scor-ing performance of Sunday’s Mid-dle Tennessee State matchup.

At MTSU, sophomore forward Chastity Gooch and sophomore guard Alexis Govan accounted for 46 of the teams’ total 57 points.

Coach Michelle Clark-Heard said she asked her players to step up and help Govan and Gooch against Troy.

All 10 of the Lady Toppers in the lineup got on the fl oor, with eight of them contributing points in the victory over the Lady Trojans.

Govan, Gooch and junior guard Bianca McGee posted a total of 68 points, led by McGee’s 24 — a ca-reer-high.

After the game, Heard said she was proud of the adjustments her team made.

“I liked that we were passing the ball and really good things as far as getting the ball to the right person at the right time,” she said. “Bianca McGee, Alexis — just everybody showed up today.”

Junior guard Chaney Means led the team with eight assists.

“I hope you all could see the un-selfi shness of our team. I think that’s what’s going to get us far,” Means said of her job as a role player. “That’s how we won a lot of games in the beginning, and that’s what we had to get back to.”

The Toppers now have a week-

long stretch without a game — they will travel to North Texas Feb. 7 to face another strong scoring offense.

The short break is good timing for the Lady Toppers to work on the defensive side of the ball. WKU had 23 turnovers Wednesday night, which Heard said is “still a problem for us.”

“It’s a chance for them to rest some, and then mentally,” Heard said. “We just started school back. So when you start school back, there’s adjustments with classes and teachers and everything else. So I’m really glad we were able to get this one under our belt, and then they’ll get a chance to get back and adjusted with classes and stuff.”

Heard also noted that sophomore

guard Ileana Johnson came back from Christmas break as a playershe hadn’t seen since spring work-outs.

Johnson says the team’s break will be essential in future Sun Belt play.

“North Texas is going to be a chal-lenge,” she said. “We’ve got to get a couple days of rest and then go hard these next couple days to pre-pare for NT.”

The Mean Green (8-13, 7-5 Sun Belt play) are on a fi ve-game win streak, led in scoring by freshman forward Alexis Hyder with 13 points per game.

Heard said her team will take the time until 5 p.m. tipoff in Denton to work and prepare, and said her players are “just excited each and every day to have the opportunity to play.”

LAURA BERANEKSPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

Sophomore guard Ileana Johnson is fouled by Troy junior guard Britney Mc-Cloud as she goes up for a shot in the fi rst half at Diddle Arena on Wednes-day, Jan. 30. CHRISTIAN RANDOLPH/HERALD

First year coaches producing diff erent results

TRANSITIONSRay Harper, coach of the

WKU men’s basketball team, and Michelle Clark-Heard, coach of the women’s basket-ball team, both know the value of rebounding.

While their names won’t ap-pear on any stat sheet, both have been responsible for a major rebound in the WKU basketball programs this year.

On Feb. 1, 2012, the Lady Toppers had a dismal 6-15 re-cord on the year and were on their way to a 9-21 record, the worst in more than 30 years for the traditionally strong WKU women’s basketball program. Mary Taylor Cowles, who had coached the team for 10 sea-sons, was let go at the end of the year.

The men’s basketball team was in an even worse state of disarray at the time. Sitting at 7-15 with an uncertain future ahead of the team, WKU was struggling in the wake of for-mer coach Ken McDonald’s midseason dismissal.

One year later, both programs have risen to new heights un-der the direction of new coach-es.

Heard has had more suc-cess on paper this season than Harper, but that’s no insult — she’s in the middle of one of the biggest turn-around jobs in the NCAA this year.

The Lady Toppers currently sit at 16-5, good for No. 3 in the Sun Belt Conference, and look

LUCAS AULBACHSPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

like they could compete for a conference crown and NCAA Tournament berth. They are averaging 70.3 points per game — a far cry from last season’s average of 56.3 per game.

The numbers speak for them-selves, athletics director Todd Stewart said.

“I don’t know if you could honestly choose a word that would overstate the job that coach Heard has done,” Stew-art said.

The way the Lady Toppers are winning is just as notable as their record. Expectations were low when Heard took over. She inherited a roster without a player over 6-foot-1 and has had to make due with a guard-centric lineup with little post presence outside of sopho-more forward Chastity Gooch.

The average age of the ros-ter also makes the midseason record more impressive. The Lady Topper roster is fi lled with underclassmen — junior guard Chaney Means is the only play-er that’s been with the team for more than two years.

SEE COACHES PAGE 7PHOTOS BY JEFF BROWNILLUSTRATIONS BY CAMERON LOVE

Lady Toppers get chance to rechargeWOMEN'S BASKETBALLUPON FURTHER REVIEW

Super Bowl ring is a good fi t for WKU's Rainey

There’s one reason I’m pulling for the Bal-timore Ravens Sunday in Super Bowl XLVII.

It’s not because I prefer Ravens coach John Harbaugh to his brother, San Fran-cisco 49ers coach Jim (which I do).

It’s not because the 49ers bludgeoned my Green Bay Packers in the Divisional round.

It’s not because of some deep-seeded rebellion against my Cleveland Browns-loving and Art Modell-hating father.

It’s defi nitely not be-cause I want to see Ray “Look at me” Lewis fi n-ish his career with a Su-per Bowl ring.

Actually, the reason I’m cheering for the Ravens Sunday won’t even be playing in the game.

He’s an undrafted rookie who, after a pro-

ductive preseason, spent most of the regu-lar season either on the practice squad or injured reserve.

He won’t be throwing any passes, calling any plays, making any tackles or kicking any fi eld goals. Instead, he’ll be standing on the Baltimore sidelines with his team-mates, soaking up the moment of what should be his second straight bowl game.

I’ll be cheering for the Ravens Sunday

BRAD STEPHENSSPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

BRAD STEPHENSColumnist

SEE RAINEY PAGE 7

FEBRUARY 12, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM FEBRUARY 12, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COMPAGE PAGE8 9

With hopes to broaden their horizons, learn another culture and research the natural wildlife of the Amazon River area, fi ve students and two faculty went abroad over winter term to Iquitos, Peru. There, they not only studied and developed in their coursework, but they also gained personal experiences that left them want-ing to return for more. Jane Olmsted, professor and director of the Women’s Studies Program; Kay Gandy, professor in the School of Teacher Educa-tion; Christian Ryan-Downing, Sustain-ability coordinator; Nate Phelps, Honors professor; Brittany Sowacke, Daniel Guy and Chad Green all came together to com-plete a course designed to fi t the educa-tional needs and interests of the group. Three courses were compiled for this 14-day trip: a doctoral leadership study, a graduate study course and a gender and women’s study. The students attending took each of their courses and completed research for their separate projects. Green, the graduate student, focused his research on a more environmental issue. His topic concerned oil investments and exploration in the area and how it harms the environment and culture of Iquitos and surrounding communities. “The Amazon in general is fi lled with im-mense amounts of oil reserves and natural resources. I wanted to fi nd out how that was effecting the people that live there now, and in the future, environmentally and socially,” Green said. “I interviewed people who worked for those companies, a professor of ecology from the main uni-versity in Iquitos who works with clean-up efforts and talked to representatives of the president of an indigenous organization. There’s not much representation for these people in the government.” Green said the trip benefi tted him by al-lowing him a fi rst chance to do a hands-on research project and wants to go back for a service project. Olmsted said the students’ projects var-ied. “Their research projects are very differ-ent and refl ect whatever it is they’re work-ing on,” Olmsted said. Olmsted had been to Iquitos twice before venturing with this group of students. The fi rst time, she traveled with honors pro-fessors for a national honors faculty insti-tute. The second, she began setting up this course to take students along. “I love this place, and I loved it the fi rst time I went,” Olmsted said. “I don’t have any desires to take students anywhere but this place. I loved the place, I loved the peo-ple and I just felt a real affi nity to go back.”

Olmsted’s curiosity is what originally drew her there, and it’s what draws others in as well. The Amazon, according to her, is something that looms largely in the collec-tive imaginations of many. Olmsted and Gandy had the students map out the areas they were in, whether it was Iquitos or other small communities they visited along the Amazon. They were divided into groups and were sent to learn patterns and the culture which they were to bring back to share. They also had fi rst impression journals, where students would document their fi rst impressions and, following experiences in places, would read aloud to the group. Gandy has also been abroad many times, visiting countries from Chile to China. She works to help develop international expe-riences for students and faculty. “You can learn so much from the people and the culture, food and language,” Gan-dy said. Gandy recalls one person in particular the group encountered on their trip. While in communities along the Amazon, they met an Ursuline nun that the locals called “Sister Mary of Snows.” She had moved to that location from Canada 42 years ago. “We spent quite a bit of time talking to her about the people and what she thought of this place, and she said she wouldn’t go anywhere else, she was so in love with the country and the people,” she said. Meetings are beginning in the coming weeks to cement this course for another winter term. The new course will hopefully include a service-learning project. Not enough students participated for a suc-cessful service project for this trip. Meetings will also be held to see if this could become a bi-term course. WKU also sent other students overseas in other faculty-led study abroad programs this past winter term. Students and faculty traveled and studied in Mexico, Kenya, Yu-catan, France, Ecuador, Cuba, Costa Rica and Belize, along with the group in Peru. Jerry Barnaby, director of the Study Away program, said 114 students selected and participated in these study abroad courses for credit, and a number of them also par-ticipated without earning credit. “(Studying abroad) provides an oppor-tunity to take what you learn on campus and look at it from a different perspective,” Barnaby said. “Suddenly, you’re in a differ-ent place and learning to develop skills be-yond that, learning how to deal with things that aren’t familiar. You’re not on your own turf, and there are different ways of doing things and different languages." Barnaby encourages all to study abroad, but also said that those interested should plan ahead early enough to work out being able to attend. Abroad courses considered

should also ideally fi t with academic plans. “It’s helpful beyond the classroom and compliments what you learn on campus. It’s a great opportunity to see things from a different way,” he said. “It’s not about a vacation or tour; it’s a class you’re taking on in a different location. It can be rigor-ous based on their guidelines. It can be de-manding, but it’s also very enriching.” Next year’s winter abroad programs are already being planned out. “If I were to have my wish, every stu-dent would be required to study abroad,” Gandy said. “There’s such a wide world out there.” Yelba, right, and Amoudi Gabriel, left, siblings in Yanashi, Peru, dry rice in the sun for their family. Their father has a rice fi eld down river, and the rice must be dried in the sun for two to three days

after picking to ensure it does not rot or sprout.

Children in Santo Tomas, Peru, play tag in the evening sun while their fathers play soccer. Women and children take advantage of the free time to socialize and sell small food items to the men. In close-knit towns like this, everyone stands on equal ground and even “Termiante Goberna,” or Town President, Antonia Garcia del Aguria, was on a team.

President of Project Amazonas, a non-profi t that “serves the people of the Amazon and [works to] conserve the rainforest,” Devon Graham, measures “Lucy,” the fi rst female of a previously un-documented species of tree, a Retrophyllum, with Nathan Phelps. “Lucy” has not offi cially been categorized as a new species because Graham’s partner, botanist Rodolfo Vasquez, has been un-able to fully describe the tree as is required in a scientifi c paper to be peer-reviewed.

Shauna Stoeger, a student from Florida Gulf Coast University, who accompanied the WKU trip as a translator, unloads toys for children in the small villageof Comandancia, in the jungle state of Loreto, Peru. Stoeger had come to the same region last year and looked forward to seeing familiar faces.

Before clearing more than an acre of land for the town of Coman-dancia to utilize as farm land for the small school, Manuel Basquelz poses for a photo. With a total population of about 200, the mem-bers of the town expect at least one member from each household to partake in community events because they benefi t everyone.

Dena, 9, gives her little brother Zen a drink of water in Santo Tomas, Peru. Each morning, their parents — along with the rest of the village’s older members — go to their fi elds towork. The oldest children are expected to take care of the younger ones, but Dena said she likes watching after her brother.

A winterABROADPHOTOS BY BRITTANY SOWACKE

KAELY HOLLOWAYNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

sportsTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

Former WKU basketball coach Dennis Felton hugs President Gary Ransdell after being recognized as a member of the All-Diddle Arena team during the halftime of the men’s basketball gameagainst Arkansas State. Felton led the Toppers to three consecutive Sun Belt titles between 2001-03. PEYTON HOBSON/HERALD

Former center Jim McDaniels receives a standing ovation at half-time of Saturday’s game against ASU. PEYTON HOBSON/HERALD

Former WKU players on the All-Diddle Arena Team that made the ceremony are honored at halftime with athletics director Todd Stewart and president Gary Ransdell. PEYTON HOBSON/HERALD

The past met the present at Diddle Arena Saturday night.

To honor 50 years of basketball in Diddle Arena, WKU recognized mem-bers of the 50th anniversary “All-Diddle Arena Team” at halftime of both games during the men’s and women’s basket-ball double-header.

Topper fans had the opportunity last year to vote online for their favorite players from the past 50 years, and 10 former players were chosen for each team. The resulting rosters were an-nounced on Jan. 3 and were recognized Saturday in front of season-high crowds at both games.

The results featured an interesting mix of past and recent WKU greats.

The parity in time between some of the players showed in the two top vote-getters on each roster.

Former WKU guard and current Bos-ton Celtic Courtney Lee, who received the most votes of anyone on the men’s team, played at WKU from 2005-08.

On the other hand, the former Lady

Topper who received the most votes, guard Clemette Haskins, played at Did-dle Arena from 1984-87.

Scheduling confl icts and professional basketball schedules prevented some former WKU players from returning to be recognized.

Former center Jim McDaniels, for-ward Clarence Glover and forward Wayne Chapman were the only mem-bers of the men’s team who could make it, while seven former Lady Toppers — guard Brenda Chapman, forward Dominique Duck, forward ShaRae Mansfi eld, forward Lillie Mason, guard Tiffany Porter-Talbert, guard Natalie Powers and guard Kami Thomas — were recognized.

Mansfi eld had to excuse herself from the locker room at halftime to be recog-nized — she currently serves as an as-sistant coach for the Lady Toppers.

She said she hopes this recognition will inspire the Lady Toppers to im-prove.

“I’ve walked in their shoes, and I feel like I have a lot of knowledge to help the girls with,” Mansfi eld said. “They

LUCAS AULBACHSPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

Junior guard Chaney Means (2) attempts to run past Arkansas State guard Quini-sha McDowell (13) during their game Saturday. SETH FISCHER/HERALD

Lady Toppers head to Florida for road swing

Two conference road wins down south could be just what the Lady Top-pers need as the Sun Belt Conference season winds down. They’ll try to ac-complish that goal this week.

WKU (17-6, 10-4 SBC) will face Flor-ida Atlantic (11-12, 8-7 SBC) Wednes-day, then travel an hour south to take on Florida International (15-9, 9-6 SBC) on Saturday.

The team has beaten both teams so far this season at Diddle Arena — FAU fell 86-68 on Jan. 12 and WKU topped FIU 62-56 on Nov. 19.

The Lady Toppers lost to Arkansas State their last time out and will use this week’s road trip as a way to get back to winning.

Coach Michelle Clark-Heard says that

this week’s Florida trip is an important road swing for the Lady Toppers.

“I think all the rest of these games is all about us working on the things we need to, to get ready for conference,” Heard said.

Heard was referring to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament that is be-ginning to loom on the Lady Toppers’ schedule.

The tournament begins March 8 and the Lady Toppers have just six more games as they prepare to make a run.

WKU has proven to be a gritty group on the road this year — they are 8-3 on opponent’s home fl oors this season — and Heard expects that trend to con-tinue.

“What I’ve found out about this group is that we’ve been very resilient on the road, and we’ve fi gured out how to

TYLER LASHBROOKSPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

diddle50 years of

SEE DIDDLE PAGE 14

WKU legends honored at Saturday's games

SEE FLORIDA PAGE 14

MinutePlay FestivalStudents show plays in WKU festival

HOUSING GUIDEFIND THE PERFECT PLACE TO LIVE NEXT SEMESTER

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FEBRUARY 19, 2013

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Somerset senior Keifer Adkins, Owensboro junior Joshua Sam Miguel and Nashville sophomore Caleb Pless face the audience during the production of “Hangman, Sing Me a Song” by Nathan Gjerstad. KATIE MCLEAN/HERALD

Owensboro freshman Elliott Talkington performs as “Boy” during Lyne Hutcheson’s “Falling” at WKU’s 10-minute fi lm festival on Saturday. PEYTON HOBSON/HERALD

WKU’s Gordon Wilson Lab Theatre was busy with people this weekend for the 10 Min-ute Play Festival on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Students and theater sup-porters came out to see plays written by WKU students and read by fellow students and a few volunteers.

Michelle Dvoskin, an assis-tant professor in the depart-ment of theatre and dance, organized the event.

“I think the development of new work is a really exciting thing for people to be a part of,” she said. “Whether it’s as directors, actors, the writers…and audience members.”

Dvoskin said participants came from all over WKU even though the theatre and dance department sponsored the

festival. “We invited any student at

WKU, regardless of their de-partment, to submit a 10 min-ute play for consideration for the festival,” she said. “Those were due over winter break.”

Dvoskin said that after all the submissions were re-ceived, the authors of the plays were made anonymous and were then selected by a committee from the depart-ment of theatre and dance.

“We read all of the submis-sions and chose six,” Dvoskin said.

Topics of the plays ranged from a traitor communicating with his soon-to-be execu-tioner on a military base, to a father struggling to cope with the death of his daughter, to two sisters reminiscing over their relationship with their deceased grandmother after a

TREY CRUMBIEDIVERSIONS@WKUHERALD.COM

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3010TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 • WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY • WKUHERALD.COM • VOLUME 88 NO. 35

Gatton Academy says new dropout age won't solve teens' problems

Mountaintop

removal sees

opposition

Students in Kentucky who want to drop out of high school might even-tually have to wait until they’re 18.

Legislation passed in the state House on Feb. 14 to support moving the age to drop out of high school from 16-17 to 18 years old over a pe-riod of a few years, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

This legislation will now go to the state Senate. Students and faculty from the Gatton Academy of Math-ematics and Science have varying opinions on this proposed change.

Tim Gott, director of the Gatton Academy, said he has worked with high school students for 28 years and doesn’t think there’s anything for a 16-year-old to do if they drop out of high school.

“There’s really no reason to let a student go until they’re 18,” he said.

People from all around Kentucky spent their Valentine’s Day in Frank-fort showing their love for moun-tains.

“I’ve been coming here to I Love Mountains Day for a long time, since early high school,” said Lou-isville junior Molly Kaviar. “It’s really great to see all these people out and to get the excitement going around mountaintop removal.”

Demonstrators marched from Frankfort’s Kentucky River Bridge to the State Capitol building, hold-ing signs against mountaintop min-ing and chanting along the way. The group Kentuckians for the Com-monwealth organized the march.

Mountaintop removal, also called mountaintop mining, involves “re-moval of mountaintops to expose coal seams, and disposing of the

TAYLOR HARRISONNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

MITCHELL GROGGNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

SEE DROP PAGE 3

SEE MOUNTAIN PAGE 3

SEE FESTIVAL PAGE 3

D i v e r s i o n sD i v e r s i o n sTUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COM

Students create living canvas with tattoos

Q: In the age of Pinterest and Tumblr, people are bom-barded with images of skinny people, and recipes for low-fat food, and work out regiments to get thin. Is this a good thing or is it damaging? A: “I think health-wise it could be a good thing. But as between yourself and the way you feel about yourself it can be a bit discouraging because it’s like society thinks, ‘Maybe we all have a problem.’ "You know — that obesity is a scary thing, but I think that curves are just gorgeous. I think it can be very swaying and it can shift your thoughts a lot. I think it could be a good thing, but in my eyes, I don’t want to see it on my timeline.” Q: How would you describe your style? What do you tend to gravitate towards? A: “My style is a bit urban-ized, but I try to keep it retro. I love color, and I think less is more so I try to keep the clothes simple and really fi x it up with the hair. "And I have crazy nails and nose rings and stuff like that. I like to keep my clothes simple but everything else makes a statement. Like tattoos — I have a lot of tattoos and those are clearly going to stay with me forever.” Q: Are there any favorite items in your closet right now? A: “I have a camo jacket that I got from the Goodwill that I actually wore in the photo shoot. It is my absolute favor-ite. It’s so old, but you can’t tell. I spent a total of three dollars on that jacket — less is more — and what else do I have? "I have a stunning pair of shoes. They’re a six inch red suede, European sandal. They are just to die for. Like, they take you back to the 60s with the platforms and stuff like that. Every time I put them on, it makes me love my tattoo on my foot and my legs just look great.”

Q: In the past few years, we’ve been starting to see more curvy women in fashion. Why do you think that’s happen-ing?A: “I think more people are starting to open up to the fact that there’s more than one type of body — there’s more than one type of shape. There’s different ways of look-ing pretty. I feel like ‘traditional pretty’ is not in anymore. Your blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl, they’re gorgeous. "But I think nowadays, since we have a generation of cre-ativity, you see a lot of people just stepping out of their box. People are looking for the uniqueness in a person and they fi nd beauty in the differ-ence — what separates you from every one else.” Q: So, it’s defi nitely changed. But what do you think still needs to happen in the fashion industry for it to be more open and more accepting? A: “I think when we’re look-ing for girls to do spreads, the criteria shouldn’t be so strict. If I wanted to go do a plus-size modeling ad, do I have to be 5’7” or up? Or do I have to have a certain length of hair? Does my tattoo really matter when I’m taking a picture? You know, small things like that. "Sometimes I feel like, when you’re in the fashion world, you’re not as free to be your-self. You have to take into con-sideration other people with every decision that you make — all the way down to your fi ngertips. It bothers me.” Q: What would you say to someone who is struggling with how they view their body? A: “… To me, you look this way for a reason. You know, I’m very religious. I believe God has a purpose for everyone — you look this way for a reason. So just learn to love yourself. Even if you have to look at yourself and tell yourself that

Denise Smith is an active member of WKU‛s fashion community, participating in events like Black Student Alliance‛s Rip the Runway and Omega Psi Phi fraternity's Miss Omega

Pageant. The 21-year-old Louisville junior is proud of her body and is committed to helping others be proud of theirs too.

Louisville junior Denise Smith plans to participate in several fashion events at WKU this spring. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT/HERALD

" I F E E L L I K E ' T R A D I T I O N A L P R E T T Y ' I S N O T I N A N Y M O R E . "

Louisville senior Jeff Toy has about 30 tattoos spread across his body. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT/HERALD

Tattoos come in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles. Many view them as a staple of rebel-lion, making it one of their fi rst big decisions on their own after turning 18. Some afi cionados have taken that further, trans-forming their bodies into living canvases for the tattoo artist. They’ve taken large portions of their body and adorned them with pieces paying tribute to loved ones, displaying original artwork of the artist or more common designs that are fl o-ral and skeletal, among other things. Central City senior Walter Pe-tit has a range of 20 to 30 tat-toos covering his chest, legs and slowly his arms. “Once you get to a certain amount, people who get tattoos stop really counting,” Petit said. Petit views himself as a tattoo collector, saying most of his tat-toos were not really his choices, but were drawings of pieces he saw in tattoo shops.

His favorite, a lantern done bylocal tattoo artist Atom Comp-ton, was hanging on the wall ofthe shop. Petit saw it and imme-diately decided to get it. “It’s like an art gallery almost.It’s an honor for me to wearsome of these pieces,” he said. Petit started on tattoos byviewing it as a form of rebellion.He got his fi rst one, a logo forthe band Coheed and Cambria,at age 18, but it’s since been cov-ered over. Louisville senior Jeff Toy hasbeen getting tattoos equally aslong. He had been surroundedby an environment and familythat had many tattoos, makinghis fi rst tattoo less rebelliousthan Petit’s. His fi rst tattoo wasof Pac Man. “I turned 18 and it was $13 tat-too day, so I got it,” he said. “A lotof family members had tattooswhen I was growing up, andmy uncles were in bands, so itwas kind of that cool, punk rockthing I wanted to do.” Toy’s left arm is almost acomplete

KAELY HOLLOWAYNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

SEE IMAGE PAGE 5

STORY BY ANNA ANDERSON

SEE TATTOO PAGE 4

MARCH 5, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COMPAGE 6

As college students, it seems we’re constantly chang-ing our minds about what we want to do in life. There are so many options that it’s hard to choose what we feel we’re destined to do.

This is not the case for Gloria Akakpo, an 18-year-old freshman originally from Togo who spent most of her life in Louisville.

Akakpo feels that she is destined to be a high-fash-ion model. She even recently auditioned for the tele-vision show, “America’s Next Top Model” in Detroit.

“It was very nerve-wracking, but at the same time, one of the most exciting and unbelievably interesting experiences I’ve ever gone through,” Akakpo said. “I saw lots of people with the same dreams as mine, and started thinking, ‘Am I going to make it? Am I good enough to be here? Should I just go back?’ I’m from Kentucky and most of the other girls were from De-troit, so I was an outsider just trying to be accepted

into something I had always wanted to do.”Despite recently fi nding out she didn’t make the

cut, Akakpo isn’t going to let that stop her dreams.“I just felt like it was God saying it wasn’t my time to

do this,” Akakpo said. “I’m kind of thankful because I would have had to stop this semester and it gives me time to refl ect, work on myself and make my inner-self a better person.”

Akakpo is remaining strong and feels that this is just one step closer to what she wants to achieve.

“If I have everything handed to me, then what does that make me?” Akakpo said. “I have to go get it. It’s not going to come get me.”

McKenna Means, an 18-year-old Florence fresh-man and friend of Akakpo’s, sees the perseverance that Akakpo has.

“She’s the type of person that is really passionate about everything she does and if she wants some-thing she’s going to get it,” Means said. “You can tell that she’s going to go far.”

When it comes to body image, Akakpo feels that ev-

ery woman is insecure in some way.“It’s insane to me that we judge each other based

on what society and others put out there and want,” Akakpo said. “We should all just embrace our beauty and accept ourselves because, at the end of the day, no one on this Earth can judge you. We’re all on the same level. No one’s above the other.”

Akakpo also hopes to combat some of the negative connotations that are associated with today’s models.

“I don’t want any girl, teenager or woman to think, ‘I wish I was her,’” Akakpo said. “I don’t want to be a model to make others feel bad. It’s all about self-em-powerment and feeling good about yourself. You can’t expect to have the same life as someone else.”

Akakpo does indeed have a drive for this and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. She has hopes of creating an empire, which includes expanding into fashion, acting and maybe even having a talk show or writing a book one day.

“I know I’m no one right now, but I’m defi nitely go-ing to be someone tomorrow.”

S T U D E N T H A S

“I KNOW I’M NO ONE RIGHT NOW, BUT I’M

DEFINITELY GOING TO BE SOMEONE TOMORROW.”

COUTURE DREAMSCOUTURE DREAMS

KRISTINA BURTONDIVERSIONS@WKUHERALD.COM

Spring break encourages students to get in shape

There are a lot of people who make sure they have a good spring break body before going to the beach for the week, and two WKU students are no ex-ception.

Nashville senior Sinclair Dotson has been working out and tanning to pre-pare for her spring break trip to Pana-ma City Beach, where she has gone for the last fi ve years.

Her roommate, Tiken, Ill., junior Macy Manning is also prepping for break.

Dotson said she is looking forward to warmer weather.

“I’m looking forward to that and just spending time with friends without work and without school; just having a good break,” she said.

Dotson said she has recently been working out a lot to plan for spring break.

“I used to run every day and then kind of fell out of it over Christmas break, but then, was getting back into it, work-ing out every other day,” she said. “But now, it’s like — it’s every day. Lots of car-dio, lots of weight lifting.”

Dotson has also been tanning more than she usually does. She usually tans once or twice a week, but in a recent week, she tanned every day because of

a discount at a local tanning salon.She has been working a lot lately at

Total Fitness Connection to save mon-ey for her trip.

When she exercises, Dotson said she works with weight machines and free weights, and does lunge jumps, squats and cardio. She likes to mix it up in-stead of just doing one thing at a time.

“I have a spin bike in my room,” she said. “I feel like if I’m watching TV, I can be doing something on it instead of just sitting…especially because of spring break.”

She said she genuinely loves working out. Dotson also doesn’t drink soda and has cut back on fast food.

Last year, she hardly worked out be-fore spring break. But previously, she has tried a no-carb diet and weight loss pills. She said she didn’t like the weight loss pills because they made her jittery.

“I’m like, anti-weight loss pills now,” she said. “It’s not the way to go. And es-pecially if you take it, and then you stop taking it, you gain all of it back.”

Now, she said she just does what she enjoys.

“I enjoy working out, I enjoy eating what I want, so therefore, I do that in-stead of weight loss pills and dieting and all that stuff,” she said.

Manning is also currently prepping for spring break by going to the gym,

although not as much as Dotson, and tanning three to four times a week.

She tried a no-carb diet, but it only lasted about two weeks. She said it was like a crash diet and unhealthy.

“It was absolutely awful,” she said. “I was like, dreaming about bread, so I just gave up and started eating it again.”

She has also been working with her friend who is a personal trainer.

“We went to the gym and we’ve been focusing on our arms lately and like, lifting, which is different for me be-cause I haven’t really ever done that before,” she said. “I was so sore, like last week I couldn’t even lift my arms above my head.”

Like Dotson, Manning said she is most looking forward to being with her friends over the break.

TAYLOR HARRISONNEWS@WKUHERALD.COM

Nashville senior Sinclair Dotson prepares to go to Panama City Beach, Fla., for spring break2013. KREABLE YOUNG/HERALD

PHOTOS BY BRITTANY SOWACKE/HERALD

Freshman center Aleksejs Rostov hugs teammate sophomore guard Kevin Kaspar while the rest of their team celebrates their win over Florida International in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship. IAN MAULE/HERALD

All season, Ray Harper warned people that once the Toppers got healthy, they would be a tough out in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

As it turns out, he was right. WKU won four games in four days to win its second consecutive Sun Belt crown and second under coach Harper.

The Toppers aren’t fi nished yet, though — the conference title win earned them a berth in the NCAA Tournament. No. 16 seed WKU will face No. 1 seed Kansas in the fi rst round Friday in Kansas City, with the winner of that facing the winner between North Carolina and Villanova.

Junior guard Brandon Harris said WKU is ready to move on to the big dance.

“The job ain’t over yet. We’ve still got to go to the NCAA Tournament and try to penetrate there,” Harris said. “This was like the semi-formal, now we’re on our way to the prom, baby. Now, we’re on our way to the prom.”

The future didn’t always seem so bright for the Toppers.

As recent as Feb. 20, WKU (20-15) sat at 13-14 with four regular-season games to go.

It was less than a month ago, but that seems like years ago now. The Toppers proceeded to go 3-1 in their last four games before running the table in the conference tournament.

Harper said the way his team played through the hard times — which were brought on by injuries to senior guard Jamal Crook, junior guard Caden Dickerson, sophomore guard T.J. Price and sophomore guard Kevin Kas-par — helped WKU dur-ing its tournament run.

“We had some guys playing major minutes that we had not planned on playing major minutes,” he said. “The one thing they did was they continued to listen, they continued to allow us to coach them, and once we got guys back, everyone thought,

‘Well, they’re going to be fi ne,’ but it’s not that easy. It takes some practices and timing, and you could slowly see it coming back.”

The road to the conference title was not an easy one.

WKU, the No. 6 seed, earned its only blowout win of the weekend Friday against No. 11 seed Louisi-ana-Monroe in a 74-60 win.

The Toppers overcame No. 3 seed South Alabama and SBC Player of the Year, Augustine Rubit, the next night 62-59. Trailing 59-58 with 18 seconds to go, Crook and Harris recorded two crucial steals in the closing moments to help WKU move on.

The Toppers beat No. 2 seed Arkansas State, a team that beat WKU twice in the regular season, 58-56 Sunday night. Price was the hero against the Red Wolves — he dropped 24 points on ASU and had a steal and lay-up with 19 seconds left to give WKU the lead for good.

No. 4 seed Florida-International, fresh off of a surprise win over No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee the night before, awaited the Toppers in the fi -nals. WKU rode sophomore forward George Fant, who fi nished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, to the Sun Belt title win.

Harper said that once they got health-ier as a team, the Toppers were built

to win four games in four days.“If you watched four consecu-

tive days of our practices, you would understand why they can probably get through four days of

games,” he said after the FIU win.Price was named the SBC Tournament’s Most Outstand-

ing Player after averaging 18 points and 4.25 rebounds per game.

He said the Toppers aren’t planning on coming home after the fi rst weekend like last season.

“This year is going to be different,” Price said. “We’re not just going to be glad be-cause we made the tourna-

ment. This year we’re going to the tournament and planning

on winning a couple of games and getting as deep as we possibly can.”

B A C K O N

TOPLUCAS AULBACHSPORTS@WKUHERALD.COM

TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COMNCAA EXTRA

r regular-season games to go.was less than a month ago, but that seems like rs ago now. The Toppers proceeded to go 3-1 in ir last four games before running the table in the

nference tournament.arper said the way his team played through the d times — which were brought on by

uries to senior guard Jamal Crook, ior guard Caden Dickerson, homore guard T.J. Price and homore guard Kevin Kas-— helped WKU dur-

its tournament .

We had some s playing major

nutes that we had planned on playing

or minutes,” he said. he one thing they did was y continued to listen, they

ntinued to allow us to coach m, and once we got guys k, everyone thought,

ier as a team, the Toppers were bto win four games in four days.

“If you watched four consetive days of our practices, would understand why they probably get through four day

games,” he said after the FIU winPrice was named the Tournament’s Most Outsta

ing Player after averaginpoints and 4.25 rebouper game.

He said the Toppers arplanning on coming hoafter the fi rst weekend last season.

“This year is going todifferent,” Price said. “Wnot just going to be gladcause we made the tour

ment. This year we’re goto the tournament and plann

on winning a couple of gamesgetting as deep as we possibly can.”

SELECTION SUNDAY

TOPPERS PLAYING IN KANSAS CITYPAGE 2

SELESUND

TOPIK

MARCH 19, 2013 • COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • WKUHERALD.COMPAGE 2

road to the topNumber 6 seed WKU kicked off the tournament

against Louisiana-Monroe, the lowest-seeded team in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The Toppers, who beat ULM twice in the regu-lar season, took care of the Warhawks on opening night, cruising to a Friday night 74-60 win.

Sophomore guard T.J. Price and sophomore for-ward George Fant owned the game in a sign of things to come. Price fi nished with a game-high 18 points while Fant scored 12 on six-of-six shooting from the fi eld.

Junior guard Caden Dickerson also played a big role in the win. Dickerson, who averaged 1.9 points per game coming into the tournament, fi nished with nine points on three-of-four shooting from 3-point range.

Outside shooting was key for WKU — the Top-pers connected on 11 of 22 shots from outside the three-point arc in their fi rst-round game.

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The second game of the weekend was a much closer aff air than the fi rst, with WKU scoring a last-minute 63-59 win over No. 3 seed South Alabama.

The outlook was bleak for the Toppers coming down the stretch. WKU trailed 59-58 with 20 sec-onds to go before senior guard Jamal Crook record-ed a steal from USA guard Barrington Stevens III and scored what would be the game-winning layup.

Junior guard Brandon Harris stole the ball from

USA forward and Sun Belt Player of the Year Au-gustine Rubit on the next possession to give the ball back to WKU. Price was fouled on the next play and hit two clinching free throws.

WKU sealed the win on defense as two 3-point shots from Stevens and Rubit in the closing sec-onds were off the mark.

Fant and Price were again the diff erence —  Price had 22 points while Fant fi nished with 18 points and nine rebounds.G

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Summit Arena was packed with WKU and Arkansas State fans Sunday night as the Toppers beat the Red Wolves 58-56 to earn a spot in the championship game.

Sunday’s game also came down to late heroics.With WKU trailing 56-53, senior guard Jamal Crook

scored his only bucket of the night with less than a minute to go to cut the ASU lead to one.

A steal and layup by Price with 22 seconds to go gave WKU the lead.

Crook hit a free throw after ASU couldn’t score on the ensuing possession to bring the fi nal score to 58-56.

While Crook (three points, one assist) and Fant (fi ve points, three rebounds, zero-of-six from the fi eld) suff ered through off -nights, Price and Harris picked up the slack.

Price fi nished with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Harris had 11 points and an additional seven boards. They combined for 35 points while the rest of the team scored a total of 23.G

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A game between the No. 4 seed and No. 6 seed wasn’t one most people predicted — Mon-day’s Sun Belt Championship was a battle between two un-derdogs.

Fourth-seeded Florida Inter-national earned a spot in the ti-tle game by beating No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee State the night before.

The Golden Panthers, in their fi rst season under coach Rich-ard Pitino, were 18-13 coming into the game after going 8-22 the season before and were playing for their fi rst NCAA Tournament berth since 1995.

FIU relied on a late run to make the fi nal defi cit two points. WKU led for the entire second half and were able to seal the win with two free throws by Crook with 24 seconds to go.

After a no-show performance the night before, Fant was the dominant force in the game Monday. He fi nished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 37 minutes of play.

Crook also had his best night

of the weekend, dropping 17 points on FIU and recording three steals. Harris had a stand-out performance as well, with 12 points and six rebounds on four-of-seven 3-point shooting.

Shutdown defense also

helped propel WKU to its fourth win in four days. The Toppers held FIU to a 38.7-percent shooting percentage, including 25.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Three WKU players earned

tournament honors for their performances over the four days —  Harris and Fant were each named to the all-SBC Tour-nament team while Price was named the SBC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

GAME 4 VS. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL, MARCH 11

STORIES BY LUCAS AULBACH

Junior guard  Caden Dickerson passes around a Lousiana-Monroe defender during the second half of their Sun Belt Conference tournament game in Hot Springs, Ark. IAN MAULE/HERALD

Sophomore forward George Fant attempts a shot over South Alabama junior forward Augustine Rubit during the quarterfi nal of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. IAN MAULE/HERALD

Coach Ray Harper talks with junior guard Brandon Harris about mistakes of the previous play in the second half of their Sun Belt Conference game. JAKE POPE/SPECIAL TO THE HERALD

President Gary Ransdell and assistant men's basketball coach David Boyden celebrate WKU's victory of Florida International in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship game to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament. IAN MAULE/HERALD