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BY LEAH [email protected]

Last semester, the Student Govern-ment Association passed a resolution that encouraged President Gary Rans-dell to consider reducing his salary for the current fi scal year.

To lessen the impact of recent budget cuts, the resolution called for Ransdell to take a salary reduction.

Ransdell’s current salary is $427,824, which is a $4,236, or 1 percent increase, from the previous fi scal year, accord-ing to the Budgeted Salary Report for the 2014 to 2015 fi scal year.

Ransdell responded to the resolu-tion by giving up his 1 percent salary increase for the rest of his presidency starting this fi scal year.

Ransdell agreed to round up the 1 percent to $5,000 from his base salary to donate to the WKU Foundation an-nually.

“I’m paid well and I do need to be making signifi cant charitable gifts to this university,” Ransdell said.

The money will be divided and dis-tributed among campus to places such as the undergraduate colleges, the Kentucky Museum and a scholar-ship fund.

“I’m just giving it back as a charitable gift to the campus,” Ransdell said.

SGA President Nicki Taylor said she is glad Ransdell responded to SGA, as well as the University Senate, who also wrote a resolution regarding Ransdell’s salary.

Taylor said the writer of SGA’s res-olution, Mark Reeves, was happy with Ransdell’s decision because the

BY LASHANA [email protected]

The MajorRedz dance to a different beat here at WKU.

The MajorRedz is a student-formed variation of a majorette dance team, drawing infl uence from multiple music genres.

Lexington sophomore MarShaye Grif-fi n described it as a “mixture of ballet and jazz.”

Nashville senior Mariah Tibbs, team captain and coach, said in September 2010, she and a few of her friends began a team out of their passion for dancing. The Topperettes, the offi cial WKU dance team, and the WKU cheerleading team didn’t fi t their style.

Tibbs said starting a separate, differ-ent style of dance team on campus was a way to add diversity.

“We were trying to fi gure out where we belong, to feel more at home,” she said.

Louisville junior and MajorRedz danc-er Jade Wilson said the dance style of MajorRedz is usually found on the cam-puses of historically black colleges and universities.

“It’s like a genre in itself,” Wilson said.Evansville sophomore Jessica Jack-

son said this unique style of dance was new to several members of the team who come from different dancing back-grounds.

“I come from a cheerleading back-

SEE RANSDELL PAGE A2

SEE DANCE PAGE A3

Ransdell donating salary increase

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The last time Jimmy Feix stood on a football fi eld was just over a year ago, against a doctor’s orders. It was the 40th anniversary of the 1973 WKU football team that went 12-1 with an Ohio Valley Conference championship. More than 50 members of the

team were honored at halftime of the WKU-Morgan State game.Feix, confi ned to a wheelchair because of his battle with Parkinson’s disease, rode in a golf

cart near midfi eld. Then, to the amazement of everyone in attendance, Feix stood up and walked to meet his former players on the fi eld that donned his name.

“That sent cold chills all up and down our spines,” Leo Peckenpaugh, a quarterback for Feix from 1970 to 1973, said. “He wasn’t going to be in a wheelchair that day.”

Feix, the winningest football coach in WKU history, passed away Sunday afternoon.

Uniqueness defi nes MajorRedz

BRIA GRANVILLE/HERALDNashville senior Ashlee Robinson, center, helps lead the MajorRedz dancers.

BY ELLIOTT [email protected]

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY > VOLUME 90, ISSUE 12

ABOVE: Jimmy Feix off ers thanks for a face mask penalty against East Tennessee State University in 1977. Feix was part of the football coaching staff for 24 years, serving 15 years as head coach. JIM BURTON/TALISMAN FILE PHOTO

J I M M Y F E I X | 1 9 3 1 - 2 0 1 4

SEE FEIX PAGE A2

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE READING TODAY


Although Downing Student Union’s renovation is wrapping up, another building on campus is still in the pro-cess of being erected.

Construction is underway for the $22 million, three-story Honors College and International Center.

The money for the project was bor-rowed by the university through an agency bond.

A&K Construction, from Paducah, is contracted for the project. The com-pany had previously worked on other construction projects on campus such as Topper Café and Gary Ransdell Hall.

Kerra Ogden, project manager of

Capital Construction, said the univer-sity started talking about the project in 2007. The design phase started two years ago and construction began in January.

Much progress has been made since then.

“We already started going vertical, so it won’t be long before the building starts to shape,” she said.

Ogden said there have been no con-struction delays.

Bryan Russell, chief facilities offi cer, said the lot where the building is be-ing constructed was once home to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, Chi Omega sorority house and Hillcrest apartments.

JAKE POPE/HERALDConstruction continues on the new three-story Honors College and International Center. The building will house Honors College faculty and staff , as well as KIIS, Study Abroad and Global Learning and the Offi ce of Scholar Development.

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NEW GATTON DIRECTOR HAS DIVERSE TEACHING BACKGROUNDNEWS, PAGE A3

GAME DAY ON CAMPUSPHOTO, PAGE A6

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY > VOLUME 90, ISSUE 03

BRANDON CARTER/HERALD

BY BRITTANY [email protected]

WKU’s newest batch of freshmen is slated to be very different from classes of the past.

The freshman class of 2014 is one of the largest classes that WKU has seen in past years, said Brian Meredith, chief enrollment and graduation of-fi cer.

Meredith said the diverse class in-cludes students from the United States and other countries.

The overall ACT score of the class is 23.5, up from 22.8 last fall. The class’ college readiness needs aren’t as large as some needs have been in the past, Meredith said. In terms of recruiting this class of students, Student Affairs has had a very deliberate communication plan,

SEE FRESHMEN PAGE A3

Freshmen bring in higher ACT test scores

New university building construction underway

SEE BUILDING PAGE A3

WKU 59 | BGSU 31

STatement made

Junior wide receiver Jared Dangerfi eld (21) catches a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter of WKU's Aug. 29 game against Bowling Green State. Dangerfi eld fi nished the game with 10 re-ceptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in WKU's 59-31 victory over the Falcons. For coverage

and analysis of the game, fl ip to the Sports section on B6.

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WHAT YOU SHOULD BE READING TODAY » LIFE: Former soldier brings fresh perspective to forensics team B2

Sports writers Talking tops

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY > VOLUME 90, ISSUE 25

NICK WAGNER/HERALDRedshirt senior quarterback Brandon Doughty signals upward following WKU's 67-66 overtime win over No. 19 Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia. Doughty threw for 491 yards and eight touchdowns to fi ve diff erent receiv-ers in the upset victory. The Hilltoppers' win spoiled the Thundering Herd's bid for an undefeated season.

BY JESSICA [email protected]

Most students entered their fresh-man year of college coming from a world where their greatest concerns were who to ask to prom or moving away from home.

For veterans who entered school af-ter years of service in the military, try-ing to adapt and fi t in can be a chal-lenge.

Portland, Tennessee freshman Chris Parker started school this fall, 30 days after serving active duty in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Parker said it was challenging to make the transition to the college life-style.

“It’s diffi cult to go from that and into this role of being a civilian where you’re dealing with people that are younger and not experienced in a pro-fessional way of life,” he said.


The Student Government Association will vote on a reso-lution Tuesday in its last meeting of the year that would sup-port on-campus restaurants adding a new type of item to their menus.

Resolution 13-14-F, Resolution to Support amending the University’s Alcohol Policy and Student Code of Conduct, will support amending WKU’s alcohol policy and the code of conduct to include allowing students age 21 or older to purchase and possess alcohol on-campus.

The current alcohol policy states that it is against the Stu-dent Code of Conduct for students to drive under the infl u-ence, to be publicly intoxicated, to consume alcohol while underage, to possess alcohol in on-campus housing, to use

SEE VETERAN PAGE A3

SEE ALCOHOL PAGE A3

Veteran students adjust to college life

Tops’ two-point conversion shocks previously unbeaten Marshall in OT, 67-66

On Friday, the Hilltoppers accomplished the unthinkable. WKU (7-5, 4-4 Conference USA) entered the most hostile environment it’s

played in all season and miraculously spoiled then-No. 19 Marshall’s (11-1, 7-1 C-USA) chance at its fi rst undefeated season in 15 years.

The Hilltoppers captured the historic victory in overtime, nonetheless. Trailing 66-59 in the extra period — WKU’s only defi cit of the game — redshirt senior quarterback Brandon Doughty fi red an almost uncatchable ball to the back of the end zone to set up junior receiver Jared Dangerfi eld’s tip-toe touchdown that brought WKU within a point.

Instead of sending on the kicking unit, Head Coach Jeff Brohm opted to go for the two-point conversion due to an injury sustained by junior kicker Garrett Schwettman. But as fans witnessed throughout the game and throughout the Hilltoppers’ four-game win streak, there was no doubt.

SGA resolution supports amending alcohol policy

BRIA GRANVILLE/HERALDStudents eat at WKU's sports-themed restau-rant, RedZone. A Student Govern-ment Association resolution would support the sell-ing of alcoholic drinks in on-cam-pus restaurants if passed.

BY KYLE [email protected]


The current dean of the College of Health and Human Services, John Bo-naguro, is stepping down.

Bonaguro worked as the dean for 12 years. He was the founding dean of the college and has watched it grow into the largest college at WKU. He said ap-proximately one out of four students has a major in the college.

The search committee for the new dean, appointed by Gordon Emslie, provost and vice president for Aca-demic Affairs, is nearing the end of the search.

Cheryl Stevens, search committee member and dean of the Ogden Col-lege of Science & Engineering, said the search for the new dean resumed this summer after the initial search failed

SEE DEAN PAGE A3

CHHS dean search to conclude

MAYBERRY ONMUSHROOMSTracing the emergence of the Bowling Green music scene

For an interactive online presentation go to

Special section on Page C1

MAYBERRYONMUSHROOMS.WKUHERALDPROJECTS.COM

W-k-upset

SEE FOOTBALL PAGE A2

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AUGUST 26, 2014 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY > VOLUME 90, ISSUE 01

A fter two years of watching and waiting, Downing Student Union finally opened Monday.The $49 million renovations on DSU began as a Student Government Association initia-tive in 2011 to update the food services, meeting spaces and plumbing, electrical and

mechanical utilities.In preparation for how DSU would look, several students and faculty embarked on a three-day

trip to tour university student centers at about seven different universities, including Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and Ohio University before renovations began.

Bryan Russell, chief facilities officer, said the trip yielded useful information.“When we came back we all presented collages of what we liked best,” he said. “We asked what

the students wanted and then that’s what we tried to create.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE READING TODAY » Rush: 530 girls go through fall sorority recruitment. B1

» Check out a timeline of the privatization of WKU Health Services to Graves-Gilbert Clinic. A3

» ICYMI: A rundown of what happened at WKU while you were on summer break.A3

WHAT'S ONLINE AT

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Video of president ransdell's ice bucket challenge

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A NEW KIND OF

ANIMALDSU opens to students, welcomes new additions

The opening of DSU has been long awaited and everyone from students to administrators have been affected.

Russell said students, faculty and staff have been overwhelmed by the 44-year-old building’s transformation.

“We’ve even had some walk in and start crying,” Russell said.

Kathryn Costello, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, said alumni have been very impressed that the renovated building will mostly serve students.

“It is a very grand building,” Costello said.

Brandon Faller, a Smiths Grove senior, just saw the fi nished renovation for the fi rst time.

“It’s really more open, more vibrant feeling. It’s defi nitely an improvement being able to walk all over the building, to see the changes they have made,” Faller said.

Shawnee, Kansas senior Jake Thomp-son said the building looked “immacu-late” and was happy to fi nally see the constant construction on the building come to an end.

“It did make things a little bit more dif-fi cult, getting around and stuff,” he said. “Especially when like half of the build-ing was closed at a time.”

The inside of the building is not the only thing that has changed. A little more than a year ago, students still

BY LASHANA HARNEY AND TREY [email protected]

SEE DSU PAGE A2

BRIA GRANVILLE/HERALDABOVE: The new main lobby area of the Downing Student Union features an atrium.

JAKE POPE/HERALDTOP: Upon completion of renovations, the Centennial Mall side of DSU is now open.

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columns

TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015 > WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY > VOLUME 90, ISSUE 38

BY JESSICA [email protected]

Fresh vegetables and herbs stood on display outside Fresh Food Company Monday afternoon, and students en-joyed a menu consisting of products from five local farms in celebration of WKU's initiation into the Kentucky Proud Farm to Campus program.

The Kentucky Commissioner of Ag-riculture, James Comer presented the acceptance award to President Gary Ransdell at the ceremony in Downing Student Union.

The program partners the univer-sity with local farms to purchase their products for use at dining locations on campus.

Comer said the program will posi-tively affect both WKU and the local community.

"This initiative and the steps that WKU, the dining services and Aramark

have made today to make a commit-ment to buy more local food from local family famers is a win-win situation," Comer said. "It's a win for family farm-ers… it's a win for the local economy… and it's a win for the student body here at Western."

Christian Ryan, WKU sustainability coordinator, said the Farm-to-Campus

SEE FARM PAGE A2

Campus, local police utilize numerous methods to deter crime

About 4,660 students live on campus according to a document provided by Housing and Resi-dence Life. The WKU Police Department has several resources at their disposal to inform stu-dents if crime occurs on or near campus.

Messages through email, text, television and social media are some of the options at WKUPD’s dis-posal.

Capt. Dominic Ossello of WKUPD said the decision to send out warnings are taken on a case-by-case basis.

"We generally base it on the risk to students," Ossello said. "If it's an armed robbery, if there's a weapon involved, things like that, to where it's a threat to our student community, then we send out a text alert."

Several supervisors of WKUPD have the authority to send out messages to students about potential dangers, as well as Bob Skipper, director of media relations, and the department of Environmental Health and Safety.

WKU joins Kentucky Proud Farm-to-Campus program

The Offi ce of Sustainability is located at 503 Regents Ave. and provides students with a variety of programs to promote a culture of sustainability, including Big Red Bikes, a program off ering refurbished bikes, free to rent, for students on campus. HARRISON HILL/HERALD

BY TREY [email protected]

James Comer, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture

It's a win for family farmers...it's a win for the local economy...and it's a win for the student body here at Western.”

LiabilityTheLines

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SEE POLICE PAGE A2

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