jan. 28 edition
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The Jan. 28 Friday Edition of The ParthenonTRANSCRIPT
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Friday, January 28, 2011Marshall University’s Student Newspaper marshallparthenon.com
Onlinemarshallparthenon.com
Inside
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Volume 114 I No.72
News .......................... 2Sports ........................ 3Opinion ....................... 4Cartoon...................... 5
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TODAYON TV
If someone looks
past the spectale
and pageantry of
the event, then the
dialog defi nes the
American epxerience
and connects citizens
with their elected
representatives.
Page 4
Students react to
President Obama’s
State of the Union
speech.
Page 2
Marshall University
was cited in a recent
article as having one of
the worst free speech
codes for students.
What do you think? Let
us know on Facebook.
Women’s basketball
takes on conference rival
Memphis at the Cam
Henderson Center.
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THE PARTHENON Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin spoke at
the West Virginia Press Association break-fast Thursday at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charleston, W. Va.
Tomblin said that education is one of the top priorities for the state and plans numer-ous proposals to aid all education levels.
“We must begin our focus on the K through 12 education level, here we can pre-vent dropouts by seeing the warning signs and taking action early,” Tomblin said. “I realize that not every student is not on the path to a 4 year or 2 year university degree, that is where our community and technical colleges are key to maintaining a ready to work workforce.”
Tomblin is proposing a bill that would allow math and science majors to teach at schools and the county board to pay off their student loans.
“This would be a huge benefit to those students and also benefit math and science
teachers in a much needed area of our state,” Tomblin said. “Our graduates also need jobs, to help our graduates to find jobs the government needs to come up with an attractive business climate.”
Tomblin said that focusing on education will benefit West Virginia’s future.
“West Virginia’s future is of the upmost importance, and that future resides with our children’s education,” Tomblin said. “We need an education system where people can complete their studies and find the work that they want.”
Tomblin spoke briefly about the state’s healthy budget, but the unemployment and workers compensation fund is an issue that will be addressed quickly.
“We are financially sound, we are one of the few states that are not relying on federal aid to balance our budget,” Tomblin said. “A proactive step will let the business commu-nity know their taxes are not going up.”
Tomblin says education a priority
Professor’s research to be featured in international journalBY COREY OXLEYTHE PARTHENON
Marshall University’s research on stem cells will soon be recognized all over the world. The “Journal of Cellular Physiology” published by John Wiley and sons, is set to publish the research online in the upcoming days and be available in print a month after. The author of the article, Dr. Nadja Spitzer, Marshall Uni-versity professor of biology, along with Dr. Elmer, Price Marshall University professor of biology, and Dr. Larry Grover began their re-search in 2007.
Their research found that adult stem cells, which are extracted from the blood, could be turned into neurons and then sent back into the body to fight dis-eases and injuries.
Neurons are special-ized cells that transmit information throughout the body. There are dif-ferent types of neurons that are responsible for multiple tasks in the body.
“This is very unique because it’s patient spe-cific stem cells,” Price said. “We can take stem cells directly from that patient, turn them into neurons- and send it right back into that patient.”
Price said that pa-tients would not have to wait for a donor be-cause they will be able to take blood directly from the patient who is diagnosed.
“We are very far from human trials,” Price said. “The fact that we can take blood from a patient and eventu-ally turn their stem cells into neurons is a
GIVING BACK
Create Huntington celebrates 2010 successes
JOHN YEINGST | THE PARTHENON
Volunteers with Create Huntington attend a weekly Chat ‘n’ Chew on Thursday. The nonprofi t community action group celebrated 2010’s successful projects and presented a bouquet of fl owers to Mayor Kim Wolfe to symbolize the group’s achievements.
BY ASHLEY MANNONTHE PARTHENON
Goals are important, but so are the small victories that occur along the way.
This sentiment has been put into action by Create Huntington, a non-profit community develop-ment organization. The group’s weekly meeting, called Chat ‘n’ Chew, was put aside this week to celebrate the projects that began and flourished in 2010.
This was the second annual awards reception for Create Hun-tington to recognize community members who have had success-ful projects come from the Chat ‘n’ Chew meetings. Regular attendees of the weekly meetings nominated
others who they thought deserved recognition for their work in the community.
Board of Directors member Fran-ces Hensley said the ceremony is a way to not only recognize the people who have spearheaded activities in 2010, but also the ac-tivities themselves.
“We want to recognize those who have invested time, energy and re-sources in making our community a better place,” Hensley said.
Some of the many projects rec-ognized for their success in 2010 were: Google Fiber Project Café Huntington Huntington Culture Center Downtown Neighborhood
Association
Heritage Station Revitaliza-tion Project Welcome Fest 30/50 Project Huntington Music and Art
FestivalAlso in attendance Thursday
was Vaughn Grisham, director of the George McLean Institute for Community Development in Oxford, Miss. It was noted at the event that Grisham was the inspi-ration for the founders of Create Huntington, Thomas and Stacy McChesney, to begin the commu-nity development group.
Create Huntington Connec-tor Phoebe Patton-Randolph said Grisham has been involved with
See RESEARCH I 5See SUCCESS I 5
MARCUS CONSTANTINO | THE PARTHENON
Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin speaks to members of the West Virginia Press Association on Thursday. Tomblin cited education as one of the top priorities of his adminstration.
Friday, January 28, 20112 marshallparthenon.com
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Meghann Ferguson
President Barack Obama took a new smoother approach during Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Encour-agement of unity was proclaimed to a mixed room.
The 2011 State of the Union address was not a laundry list of proposals, yet it was more of a push for unity than expected. He mentioned his successes in office including “don’t ask don’t tell,” the reform of health care and a grow-ing economy. Obama did that to show what he has done this year and that he is working hard in office. Biparti-sanship was recognized and all were encouraged to pull together to bring not only stronger communities but also a stronger government.
The economy is growing again, and Obama stressed that under the work of both Republicans and Democrats it will only continue to grow. “America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world,” Obama says. He recognizes that jobs aren’t as easy to come by as they once were because of the change of technology and the change in the type of jobs that are needed. The president says that it is innovation and education that will bring American citizens up to par.
Innovation in the way of clean energy was, as predicted, a main topic of discus-sion for Obama. There was plenty to say on how clean energy was the future and the changes that will be made accord-ingly to make our nation one that will win the future. He proposed to eliminate the billions given to oil companies from tax payers’ money and invest it in clean energy efforts. With seeing the promise in renewable energy Obama challenges the best minds of our time to step up to the plate and help advance the market to create new jobs for Americans.
Education was addressed, but instead of talking about finances of college ed-ucation for the masses, Obama focused more on reform of public schools and taking responsibility for the education of America’s youth. Teachers were used as examples of how we should value the education system. Obama made a plea to “any young person wanting to make a difference in the life of our nation, to become a teacher”. To com-pete in today’s economy colleges were pin pointed for needing revamping. By raising the bar on the education sys-tem Obama hopes it will lead to more educated American college graduates.
Obama spoke strongly about illegal im-migration in the fact that there are many people today that pledge allegiance to our flag, but fear deportation. And there are many colleges that educate students from abroad, but as soon as they are done with school are “sent back home to compete against us”. Obama wants to take on the issue of immigration, to protect America’s borders, enforce laws and address the mil-lions of people that are undocumented and living in our country.
Health Care was brought up as a work in progress, Obama wanted everyone to know that improvements can always be made, but he said what he isn’t will-ing to do is go back to when insurance companies could deny coverage to a pre-existing condition.
The deficit spending is something we have lived with for almost a de-cade, but now that the recession is over Obama proposes to freeze an-nual domestic spending for the next five years. This proposal would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. The president is, “bringing discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower as President”.
One of Obama’s most prominent cam-paign promises addressed bringing the troops home from the War on Terror, which we did not see in 2010. Troops
from Afghanistan and the remain-ing troops in Iraq now have a new timetable for returning home, July 2011. He thanks troops for their he-roicness, and says, “that there will be tough fighting ahead but we are strengthening the Afghan people and building partnerships”.
Overall, the 2011 State of the Union address was delivered in a way that hasn’t been done before. Obama made sure to ad-dress the most important things without listing them like presi-dents before him have done. Even having republicans and democrats sitting next to each other seemed to make a difference in the way the state of the union speech was re-ceived. Although some things were taken differently, as anyone can see with officials speaking out in the media, not everyone will be jump-ing for joy after a speech like that. Obama did his best to acknowledge his successes as well as stressing unity within the government while still focusing on main issues like clean energy and the national deficit. It is encouraging to hear all that was said, but it will be no doubt an interesting year ahead seeing if change unfolds.
Kristen Hainkel
Unity and innovation were the overtones in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday.
The tragedy in Tucson started off the ad-dress. Obama used this event to illustrate a point of unity. I predicted he would use it as an example of how politicians need to work together. Differing views should not mat-ter. We are all Americans and human, and there’s no sense to physically hurt someone because they don’t wear the same glasses another does.
He also referred to debate in American politics. President Obama said the debates have been contentious. We have fought fiercely for our beliefs and that’s a good thing. Yes, Mr. President, it is a good thing. But opposing views can’t be so wrapped up in attacking the other side that no actual laws get passed.
In relation to this concept, he praised the Congress for passing a tax cut bill in De-cember. Occasions like that should happen more often. It’s nice to see the parties work-ing together for the benefit of the American people. But it shouldn’t be such a shocking rarity. Isn’t the government’s purpose to serve its people, not the other way around?
Finally, Obama alluded to “don’t ask, don’t tell” to round out this concept near the end of the speech. While he didn’t name the law, he stated the gist of what it means. It’s a huge victory for equality. It is unfair to have someone hide how they are simply be-cause someone else has a stigma attached.
The second theme of the address was in-novation and developing new technology to restore America’s superiority.
“We need to out innovate, out educate, and build the best of the world,” Obama said.
Obama tied this in with job creation. While I said he would talk about how to create jobs, I did not expectit to be in this fashion. Still, it was interesting to hear his proposals. He said something had to be done to keep from businesses from ship-ping jobs overseas.
One way to keep jobs on the home front is to strengthen the economy. Obama alluded to the deficit and how to lower it. He pro-posed a freeze in domestic spending. It’s a good idea to set a limit so the deficit doesn’t get any worse. He also addressed the “pork-barrel” legislation a lot of congressmen try to pass. While President Obama admon-ished he would veto it, I doubt congressmen will deviate from their agendas.
Finally, he talked about increasing taxes for the richest two percent of Americans. This will increase revenue but it may not
be the only solution. Obama touched on the war on Iraq. It
was a section of an overall view on foreign policy and it seemed like an afterthought with the emphasis on restoring American supremacy in the world and learning to work together.
“One hundred thousand of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. Violence has come down where American combat patrols have ended and a new government has been formed,” he said.
In 2009, Obama set a timeline for the withdrawal from Iraq and it’s becoming apparent his promise has been kept. Re-gardless of mixed emotions of how the war started, it is reassuring to see the govern-ment follow through on a big promise it made. It shows some semblance that serv-ing the people is the government’s priority instead of seizing all the power for itself.
Overall, the president performed well. He looked self-assured and made the words on the page believable. He commanded the respect of the dignitaries in the room and it was given.
Stephen Schelling
The somber opening tone of Presi-dent Barack Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address Tuesday was an indicative precursor to a speech seri-ous about its challenge to American people and its government: a more unified America.
“What sets us apart as a nation,” be-came Obama’s rally as he outlined just how Americans can continue to be set apart through innovation, education and infrastructure.
These changes are possible because of our current economic status. Two years out of recession, America still has the most prosperous economy in the world, Obama said, and it is growing. He encouraged innovation in business, engineering, biomedical research, information technology and in particular, clean energy technol-ogy. Obama compared the promise of renewable energy to our generation’s Sputnik moment.
Advances in these fields will create new jobs and distinguish America as a leader in thinking.
The second proponent to Obama’s charge for a more unified and distinct America was Education, its need for reform and teachers and the fact that higher education has become a neces-sity for our generation to succeed both locally and globally. He highlighted the Race to the Top competition that is the first step in replacing No Child Left Behind. Obama said Race to the Top will improve teacher quality and stu-dent achievement, as it is a program
that rewards ingenuity, hard work and discipline.
Obama stressed that higher education in both colleges and community colleges need to be more accessible. Congress has made changes in taxpayer subsi-dies to help more students afford college. Obama even encouraged Congress to go further by implementing a permanent tuition tax credit worth $10,000 for four years of college. Obama said we are go-ing to revitalize community colleges, implying that people of all ages still have opportunities to grow.
To achieve his goal of America hav-ing the highest proportion of college graduates at the end of the decade, Obama said we need to raise every child’s expectations coupled with the best chance to an education.
Rebuilding America through in-frastructure was the third main component of the address. This time the emphasis was on transportation technology in railroads and the re-pairing of roads and bridges across the country. Obama’s goal is to make a high-speed rail accessible to most of the nation in the next 25 years.
Infrastructure also referred to high-speed Internet and the need for it to be obtainable to all of America because of its importance to business.
Obama said these three invest-ments—innovation, education and infrastructure—would create job and improve America as a business center for the world. But there are barriers, such as the national debt, the results of years of government’s deficit spend-ing. He charged Congress to lower the amount of annual domestic spending over the next five years by cutting un-necessary spending in all sectors.
Obama said the individual tax code needs to be simplified, that America can’t afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 per-cent of Americans. There also need to be reductions in health care costs, par-ticularly in programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Obama also said that if he receives a bill with earmarks in it, he will veto it.
Obama addressed our activity in the Middle East, highlighting the removal of combat troops from Iraq, and the proposed deadline for troop removal in Afghanistan in July. He also stressed the importance of strengthening current foreign rela-tions and the continual need to forge new alliances.
To accent how we are set apart as a more unified nation, Obama spoke about his realized promise to repeal the don’t ask don’t tell policy in the military and the fact that American Muslims are a part of our American family. “We do big things,” Obama said, but the important thing is we do them together.
Students react to Barack Obama’s State of the Union address
BY JORDAN BEANTHE PARTHENON
The Marshall University chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA is cur-rently raising funds to build a water reservoir in the Simwatachela Village
in Zambia, Africa.Engineers Without Borders is an in-
ternational organization of engineering students and professionals who travel around the world to improve the lives of those in need by providing clean water, power and sanitation through their en-gineering experience.
“Engineers Without Borders is a hu-manitarian organization similar to Doctors Without Borders, however we help people by solving engineering problems,” Jese Vance, president of the Marshall chapter of EWB said. “EWB focuses on water improvement projects, but also builds schools, small bridges, and pretty much anything to make life easier for the less fortunate.”
According to the EWB website, the
country of Zambia is one of the poorest in southern Africa. Only 20 percent of its population has access to electricity and only 45 percent live in a sanitary environment. 72 percent of Zambia’s poor live in villages and rural commu-nities, where the situation is the most serious. Disease is a huge problem in these communities because of a lack of clean food and water and a yearlong drought that has dried up villages’ land and crops. This makes the need for por-table water dire.
“We help chapters identify a need in a community, the first need in this partic-ular community is portable water,” Scott Hammond, Great Lakes and Southeast Regions chapter relations manager for EWB-USA said. “The chapter will travel
to the community to assess the situa-tion and determine what would be the best solution.”
An extensive assessment must take place in order for EWB to begin construction.
“They, as a chapter, went on our website and applied for this program opportunity and began the project as-sessment. They will decide the best way to implement help,” Hammond said.
This project is still in development until the appropriate funds have been collected. To donate or for more informa-tion about EWB-USA and the Marshall chapter’s cause please contact EWB president Jese Vance at [email protected].
Jordan Bean can be contacted at [email protected].
OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT
President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address to Congress on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Engineers Without Borders working to improve lives in Africa
Friday, January 28, 2011marshallparthenon.com
C-USA Overall W L W LHouston 6 0 15 4Tulane 5 1 16 3UCF 4 2 11 8SMU 3 2 10 8UTEP 3 3 11 7Memphis 4 3 15 6
C-USA Overall W L W LRice 3 3 11 9Southern Miss 3 3 8 11ECU 1 4 7 11Tulsa 1 4 5 8Marshall 1 5 5 14UAB 1 5 9 10
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BY DREW SHARPDETROIT FREE PRESS(MCT)
DETROIT — The his-toric launching of the University of Texas’ own 24-hour sports cable network is as much an affirmation of enormous ego as it is commerce. Texas wanted to be the first athletic conglomer-ate on the block with its own channel.
But it’s also another indication of the con-tinuing devaluation of conference affiliation.
We knew The Longhorn Network was coming soon. It’s why Texas re-jected a formal offer to join an expanded Pac-10 last year and wouldn’t seriously consider joining the Big Ten. Those confer-ences wouldn’t permit the richest athletic depart-ment in the land a grossly disproportionate slice of the vast and still expand-ing national television revenue pie.
Texas officially became an “independent” with this exclusive network deal. The Big 12 is nothing more than a convenient scheduling partner for the Longhorns now.
How long before the Big Ten gets caught in the ripple effects? How long before Ohio State, the second-biggest rev-enue producer in all college sports, envisions its own exclusive “Buck-eye Network” and seeks a spinoff from the Big Ten Network?
The NCAA must look closely at an exclusive 24-hour channel tied to one institution. It’s basically a paid commercial for the school. Texas already enjoyed a tremendous re-cruiting advantage over its closest neighbors, es-pecially in football and basketball. But does 24 hours of “Hook ‘Em Horns” constitute an unfair re-cruiting advantage?
It further tips the com-petitive scales in the favor of those with the deepest pockets. But Texas’ atti-tude is “If you can’t beat us, tough. Try to join us.”
The Longhorns’ 20-year, $300-million deal with ESPN, which will nation-ally distribute the network, reportedly dwarfs Notre Dame’s exclusive contract with NBC by about $6 mil-lion annually.
It’ll be hard for the other big boys — or at least those who kid them-selves into believing that they’re one of the big boys — to ignore.
For instance, ESPN’s agreement with the SEC allows for individual uni-versities to develop their own exclusive channels. How does Gator TV sound in Florida or The SIGN (Saban Is God Network) in Alabama? Auburn’s network could create its own version of the game show “The Price Is Right” starring the fathers of prospective football recruits.
Texas Longhorns set bad precedent with TV deal
BY JAVIER SERNAMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS(MCT)
RALEIGH, N.C. — The All-Star Weekend
will offer a chance to see many of the candidates for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the top rookie each season.
Carolina Hurricanes fans have already gotten a good look at Canes cen-ter Jeff Skinner, who leads league rookies in points and assists this season.
Skinner is one of 12 rookies chosen to par-ticipate along with the All-Stars in the Super-Skills competition, which will take place at the RBC Center on Saturday.
San Jose Sharks cen-ter Logan Couture is also considered a top con-tender. He’s second in points among rookies.
Couture is excited to meet the other rookies.
“We’ve got a lot in com-mon, breaking into the league this year,” Cou-ture said, reached by phone. “It’ll be nice to get to know them.”
Couture admitted that
the Calder Trophy is on his mind. He is taking the stance that if he’s in the running for it; he’s prob-ably helping the Sharks in a big way.
“It’s tough not to,” he said. “It’s in the back of my mind. It’s not the very first thing I think about, when I think about hockey. But obviously I want my team to do well. With this team’s success, individual success comes as well. I do think about it, but not a lot.”
Edmonton forward Taylor Hall, the first pick in last year’s draft, is third in goals and fourth in points.
Hall, reached by phone, said he’s trying not to pay too close attention to his stats or those of the other rookies in the league.
“Especially at this stage of my career,” Hall said. “I just want to focus on the process of being a bet-ter player.”
Other rookies compet-ing this weekend who are likely to be in Calder con-tention include New York Rangers center Derek Stepan, Anaheim Ducks
Rookies get exposure in the SuperSkills competition this week
Professional Hockey Writers Association, so there’s still nearly half a season left for others to play their way into the discussion.
Boston center Tyler Seguin, the second pick of last year’s draft and one of the rookies participat-ing this weekend, said the trophy isn’t on his mind.
Right now, he’s just try-ing to learn.
“There’s a lot of adapt-ing and learning curve
to go through, especially this being my rookie year,” Seguin said after the Bruins’ Jan. 18 game at the RBC Center. “I’m learning a ton.”
defenseman Cam Fowler, Colorado Avalanche defen-seman Kevin Shattenkirk and Edmonton Oilers for-ward Jordan Eberle.
Boston Bruins defense-man John Carlson and Montreal Canadiezns de-fenseman P.K. Subban have also been mentioned as contenders, but neither was invited to participate this weekend.
Voting for the award is conducted at the end of the season by the
JULIAN H. GONZALEZ | DETROIT FREE PRESS | MCT
Detroit Red Wings’ goalie Jimmy Howard, left, makes a save against the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp during the second period at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
JOHN YEINGST | THE PARTHENON
Alaya Mitch (5), Dorina Barrett (13), Veronica Ruiz (23), and Tynikki Crook (4) get ready for Thursday night’s game against the Memphis Tigers.
JOHN YEINGST | THE PARTHENON
Junior guard Alaya Mitchell takes the ball down court against Memphis University in Thursday night’s loss to Memphis.
Losing streak increases to fi ve games as Herd falls to Memphis
BY AARON PAYNETHE PARTHENON
Memphis outscored the Herd 46-21 in the second half to take a 69-44 vic-tory and give Marshall its fifth straight loss.
Marshall (5-14, 1-5 C-USA) played its best defensive half in recent games, holding Mem-phis (15-6, 4-3 C-USA) to 9-31 from the field and 0-6 beyond the three-point line in the first half.
The Herd’s offense hung around with the Tigers offensively due to the play of the only two upperclassman in its starting lineup. Senior forward Tynikki Crook and junior guard Alaya Mitchell combined for 12 of Marshall’s 23 first half points.
“I thought Tynikki Crook and Alaya Mith-cell did a great job of providing leadership by example,” head coach Royce Chadwick said.
The second half was all Memphis as they made adjustments and turned every negative from the first half into a positive. The Tigers would scored 24 points off of 16 Marshall turn-overs in the second half after only scoring five points off of 16 Mar-shall turnovers in the first half.
The Memphis offense was led by junior for-ward Jasmine Lee, who finished with a team-leading 19 points, and made 17 of its 29 shots in the second half to finish with a 43.3 field-goal percentage.
Memphis’ press also got the better of a de-pleted Herd team as
guards Mitchell and freshman Dorina Bar-rett combined for 17 turnovers.
“We’re a little thin in numbers and handled 40 minutes of pressure,” Chadwick said.
Depth has been the issue for Marshall Wom-en’s Basketball Team over the last few games, losing players because of everything from inju-ries to bad weather. The Herd only had seven scholarship players and one walk-on in last night’s contest.
Sophomore guard/forward Veronica Ruiz would foul out early in the second half leav-ing Marshall with only six scholarship players. However, according to Crook, The Herd stayed positive.
“I think we all came out with a pretty good mind-set, but we just couldn’t put it together,” Crook said.
After the game, Chad-wick had some positive news for Herd fans.
“Hopefully, we’ll be get-ting back some injured players soon and we’ll be able to use our bench a little more,” Chadwick said. Marshall is ex-pecting transfer junior guard Latiedra Elliot back from an injury for The Herd’s next game on Sunday. The week after, Marshall is expecting junior guard Rashedah Henriques to be back from an injury.
Marshall will travel to Alabama for their next game to take on UAB. Marshall has won its last four against the Blazers.
Aaron Payne can be contacted at [email protected].
EDITORIAL
Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is proposing a bill that would al-low math and science graduates to teach at schools while county boards of education pay off their student loans.
“This would be a huge benefi t for math and science teachers in a much-needed area of our state,” Tomblin said. “The govern-ment needs to come up with an
attractive business climate to help our graduates fi nd jobs.”
We believe this bill is very at-tractive and benefi cial to science and math majors. It covers two issues students worry about on graduation day − a job and student loans. This bill would guarantee having a job after graduation, which releases the stress of put-ting in multiple applications and
gives students the chance of earn-ing a job as soon as they graduate. Also, what’s a better incentive than not having to pay off any student loans? One less bill to pay is anoth-er weight lifted off our shoulders.
This proposal would not only be a great benefi t for college stu-dents, but also for the education system in West Virginia.
“West Virginia’s future is of
the upmost importance, and that future resides in our children’s education,” Tomblin said.
How true is that statement? We should strive to make things bet-ter for the future by teaching the future generations.
Tomblin said West Virginia needs an education system where people can complete their studies and fi nd the work they want.
Nearly 30 percent of the state’s teachers are eligible for retire-ment, which means this proposal is not entirely bizarre. If this bill were to pass, then math and science students at Marshall Uni-versity could consider going into education after college.
This decision would not only benefi t them, but the entire state.
Taco Bell lawsuit draws attention to a major food issue
EDITORIAL CARTOON I BRIAN DUFFY I THE DES MOINES REGISTER
OpinionFriday, January 28, 2011marshallparthenon.com
“West Virginia is indeed experiencinghistorical times. We all must continue to put West Virginia fi rst.”Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, discussing education in West Virginia.
4
Proposal to benefi t math, science graduates
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THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICACongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble; and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The First Amendment
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters can be e-mailed to The Parthenon with word length of 350 to 450 words. Writers must give contact information and edi tors will contact them to verify information and identity before anything is published.
What do you enjoy most about the snow?
If the gubernatorial election were held today who would you vote for?
■ Possibility of classes getting canceled■ Being able to play with it■ I don’t like the snow at all
■ Rick Thompson .....................................................33%■ Earl Ray Tomblin .................................................... 33%■ John Perdue .......................................................... 33%
RESULTS
Online poll
Possibility of classes getting canceled
marshallparthenon.com
President Barack Obama gave his second state of the union address before Congress. Mak-ing the speech in person continues a tradition that dates back to Woodrow Wilson. Obama ad-dressed the condition and strength of our nation’s union, calling for coopera-
tion as he tried to explain his vision. He was speaking not only to the members of Congress, but directly to Americans.
If someone looks past the spectacle of the event, the dialog defines the American experience and connects citizens with their elected representatives. The conversation continues in every community and is an integral part of government. Hopefully this column can continue that conversation on this campus and allow an opportunity for myself to speak to you.
Last semester started with a record-breaking freshman class and a historic start to connect downtown Huntington with Marshall University. The first Student Government Association-sponsored “WelcomeFest” was a success. Businesses and organizations par-ticipated and many students attended. Connections with grassroots economic organization Create Huntington and the Huntington Conventions and Visitors Bureau as sponsors, strengthened ties.
On-campus initiatives surrounded a debate concerning the proposed academic calendar. Student input provided by Stu-dent Government representatives helped ensure an academic calendar that was fair and reasonable for the student body. A debate with the Rec. Center started a con-versation on campus that highlights issues students have with the center. Specific proposals have now been provided by the Rec. Center.
Homecoming was a busy and ex-citing time for us. The homecoming parade had more participants than any other parade in recent history. Activities provided by a strengthened cooperation between the Student Activi-ties Programming Board and Student Government ensured that students had fun activities to do during the week. Two weeks after Homecoming, I was honored to be a part of the 40th Annual Memorial of the 1970 Marshall Univer-sity Football Team. It remains one of my proudest moments at Marshall.
This semester is going to be another pro-ductive semester. Proposals like community gardens near Career Services, a compost-ing system implemented in our cafeterias, issues with club sports and residence halls and discount cards for members of student organizations are all on the list. I hope this column will lead to ideas that help im-prove campus life. Coming from New York, I have found a second home here. No issue is too small and no student too insignificant to matter.
I am here to listen and help you. The Student Government offices are on the second floor of the Memorial Student Center across from the Office of Stu-dent Affairs. The Student Senate meets every Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Student Government offices and is open to the public. I hope to see you.
Contact columnist Patrick Murphy at [email protected].
PATRICK MURPHYCOLUMNIST
PATRICK MURPHYPRESIDENT’S CORNER
Starting a conversation with you
EDDIE KIMTHE DAILY TROJANUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAVIA UWIRE
Why is Taco Bell’s food so cheap? Because its meat fill-ing is only 36 percent beef and full of oat products.
The Alabama law firm Bea-sley Allen P.C. is pursuing a class-action lawsuit against Taco Bell for falsely advertis-ing its “beef” filling as beef when, according to the firm, it’s mostly fillers and random flavoring, most notably, “iso-lated oat product” and oats.
Although there’s always been the running gag about myste-rious fast-food meat products, I doubt anyone would have guessed that the meat in their Taco Bell burrito was only one-third real meat.
If the accusation is true, Taco Bell’s filling, by USDA stan-dards, can’t be called “beef.”
In fact, it can’t even be called “meat taco filling,” which is the label used by the USDA for taco fillings that contain at least 40 percent fresh meat.
Unbelievably, Taco Bell fails to meet this very low bar.
But why would Taco Bell do such a thing? Why would it take a nice pile of ground beef and thin it out with water, oats and beef flavoring? What purpose does that serve?
When it comes to corporate food manipulation, the an-swer is simple,profit.
Taco Bell could use more fresh meat in its filling, perhaps rais-ing the price of a foodstuff from 80 cents to a dollar. But why would they do that?
The president of Taco Bell re-leased a press statement that the company starts with “100 percent USDA-inspected beef,” and that it is proud of the qual-ity of its beef, identifying all seasonings and spices on its website.
It’s hard to know whether or not the claims about Taco Bell’s meat filling are true. But it is important to note that the lawsuit does not ask for money, but a correction.It’s unthinkable than the idea that Taco Bell’s meat isn’t mostly meat.
There’s nothing wrong with Taco Bell’s filling. True, it’s kind of a grotesque, creation, but meat and oats
The problem here is that if the claims are true, Taco Bell has been flaunting food ser-vice legalities to prevent its customers from dealing with unappetizing descriptions of its food.
What sounds better to you, “a crunchy, corn taco shell filled with seasoned ground beef,” or “a crunchy, corn taco shell filled with meat taco filling?”
Friday, January 28, 2011 5marshallparthenon.com
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BY KELLEY BUGLERTHE PARTHENON
Marshall women’s studies program announces a “call for papers” for its Stand for Women regional conference.
The inaugural conference will ac-cept papers, panels, creative work and poster presentations as entries from undergraduates, graduates, faculty, ad-ministration or community activists.
“I have not received any submis-sions yet but have received inquiries from faculty from a number of different universities,” said Wendy Williams, di-rector of women’s studies.
Williams said submissions should be academic in nature. She said entries
must be an academic inquiry of an issue relevant to women’s studies.
“We began working on this event last summer,” said Leslee Browning, gen-eral psychology graduate student from Gilbert, W. Va. “The process for the call for papers has taken time because we are inviting students from West Vir-ginia, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.”
Browning is a graduate assistant for the women’s studies program. She said the conference theme centers on wom-en’s activism, but it’s a pretty broad subject that can cover many areas of study.
“Instead of focusing on one area of
women’s studies, we wanted the con-ference to represent a broad range of interests that reflected activism,” Browning said.
“Kat Williams, history professor, was the former director of women’s studies and put on several conferences for local students and faculty to present their work and to network,” Wendy Williams said.“I’m picking up on the legacy that she started and expanding it to be a larger regional conference.”
Wendy Williams took over as direc-tor of women’s studies last fall. She has planned the conference and found speakers for the women’s studies col-loquium series and Women Connect series.
“We started a book club last semester and are continuing it,” Wendy Williams said. “We are reading ‘Alias Grace’ by Margaret Atwood and will discuss the book at the end of March.”
Browning said she is looking forward to seeing undergraduate and profes-sional presentations.
“I am sure there will be a variety of concentrations, ranging from the arts to the philosophy of women’s studies,” Browning said.
The Stand for Women conference will be at the Pullman Plaza Hotel and key-note speakers include Marie Manilla and Zohreh Sullivan.
Kelley Bugler can be contacted at [email protected].
Women’s studies program calls for conference papers
By RUSSELL ADKINSTHE PARTHENON
Capstone projects can be expensive, but the Research Scholars Award may offer undergraduate students a great advantage in paying for the completion of their capstone projects.
The spring deadline for the annual Research Schol-ars Award is Feb. 4. Many students may benefit from the award this semester.
“The Research Scholars Award grant is intended to support seniors who may need financial aid in complet-ing their capstone projects which can be an expensive process,” said Vicky Stroeher, professor of musical the-ory and history at Marshall University.
The grant, which awards up to $125 to seniors each semester, is open to any Marshall University student working on their capstone project. This will mark the seventh academic year that the grant has been offered to students and it looks like the grant may be returning this fall for another year if it is again authorized by the provost’s office.
“I think this is really a great idea. This grant can really take the sting out of the work of assembling the culmination of a college career, but I wish I had known about this grant when I had my last capstone class,” said Jonathen Richmond, senior digital forensics major of Hamlin, W. Va.
Along with the application students must also pres-ent a written proposal and a letter of support from the student’s capstone mentor mentioning the projected benefit to both the student and the institution. All of this must be submitted to the Faculty Senate office, located in room BW14 in the Memorial Student Cen-ter. The funds that are awarded on a competitive basis are largely unrestricted, however, they must directly support the student’s capstone project or they will not be awarded. These are things such as travel expenses, materials or equipment.
There is a limited number of people who can be accepted and the application process is competitive so applicants are advised to send their paperwork as soon as possible. However, at this time, it is still unknown whether or not the grant will be returning for another year this fall.
Russell Adkins can be reached at [email protected].
Grant pays for capstone projects
By RAJA ABDULRAHIMLOS ANGELES TIMES(MCT)
LOS ANGELES _ The Muslim population in the United States is projected to more than double over the next 20 years from 2.6 million to 6.2 million, ac-cording to a report by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.
The estimated increase is based on expectations of continued immigration and high fertility rates, the re-searchers said. The report predicted that Muslims would go from 0.8 percent of the U.S. population to 1.7 percent.
The report, released Thursday, puts the world’s Muslim population in 2030 at 2.2 billion, about a 35 percent increase. The report predicts Muslims will make up more than a quarter of the world’s popula-tion, slightly higher than the current percentage.
The Pew researchers noted the projected trend rep-resented both a “growing and slowing.” The Muslim population growth in the following 20 years will occur more slowly than before, mostly because of declin-ing fertility rates as more women obtain secondary
education and as living standards rise and more coun-tries urbanize.
In the U.S., the population increase will be coupled with a change in the makeup of the community, both in age and national origin.
Children constitute a relatively small portion of Muslims here, with just 13.1 percent under the age of 15; most Muslims in the U.S. are newer immigrants who arrived as adults, according to the report. But as these immigrants and second-generation American Muslims start families, the number of children is pro-jected to more than triple to 1.8 million.
The increase in the number of younger Muslims will gradually change the American-Muslim community from a majority of first-generation immigrants to a more equal balance with second- and third-generation Americans. Immigrants now make up two-thirds of the community, but in the next 20 years, that percent-age is expected to go down to a little more than half.
“That changes the character from being a new immi-grant minority to where the parents are here, and the children are here, and now maybe the grandchildren are here,” said Brian Grim, a Pew senior researcher.
Report: US Muslim population to double
Create Huntington for several years. She referred to him as a community development expert and said he had been very influ-ential to the members of Create Huntington.
“We’re really excited to have him here,” Patton-Randolph said.
Grisham also spoke highly of the Huntington community. He recognized the vast amount of im-provements he has witnessed since first visiting Huntington at the age of 22.
He talked about the architecture
in Huntington and how the same things could not be built in this day and age. Grisham noted the impor-tance of preserving these assets and creating a place for the middle class to live and work in order to maintain the community.
“I don’t know of a more impressive story in terms of this celebration here tonight, “ Grisham said. “I tell your story everywhere I go. This is a good looking city.”
Hensley said Create Huntington is one of the best ways for people to get involved in the community and the Chat ‘n’ Chews are a good place to start. The weekly meetings are open to the public and anyone can
present an idea for a project. The meetings are helpful for finding others interested in similar proj-ects and creating a group to work with.
“The nice thing about Chat ‘n’ Chew is if you have an idea, but you’re just one person, you can meet others who want to help,” Hensley said. “We’re trying to put people and resources together to better the community.”
Chat ‘n’ Chew meetings are ev-ery Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Frederick building on 4th Avenue.
Ashley Mannon can be contacted at [email protected].
SuccessContinued from Page 1
tremendous advancement.” The research was done on pigs because pigs closely resemble the human body.
Price said we wouldn’t have to worry about moral or ethical reasons because they are not em-bryonic stem cells and adult stem cells may be much safer.
Price said hopefully other scien-tists across the world will see what we did and take the next step and advance the research.
“Neurons are normally from the blood,” Price said. “Based on the conditions we have chosen to grow these type of cells, we have gen-erated a very unique type of cells that we can turn into neurons.”
Heather Butts from Grafton, W.Va., graduated in 2008 with a biomedical science degree and
starting working on the project in 2007 as an undergraduate.
Greg Sammons from Matewan, W.Va., graduated in 2009 with a biology degree also worked with Butts on the research.
“I started working with re-search as a freshman,” Butts said. “I applied for the SURE (Summer Undergraduate Re-search Experience) program and received a offer from Dr. Price to work on the project.”
“We extracted stem cells from the blood and injected them with proteins and enzymes to get them to be like brain cells,” Butts said. “With the right conditions, we could turn those stem cells into neurons.” Butts said Sammons and her collected a lot of data and Spitzer wrote the report.
Price said in most neurological disorders, like a spinal cord in-jury or Parkinson’s disease, the neurons just die. He said stem
cell therapy will allow us to re-place those dead neurons.
Butts said working with stem cells was interesting to her and that’s why she chose to work with Price. She said it was a lot of hard work but she learned more than she ever dreamed about.
“I had a really good time doing research,” Butts said. “The re-search project taught me how to think critically and really under-stand what I am doing.”
Butts said Price and Spitzer were very approachable and easy to work with. She said they gave her the opportunity to do a lot of hands-on research in the lab.
“Spitzer emailed me a few months ago about our research being publicized and I was really surprised,” Butts said. “It made me realize how fortunate I was to work on such a great project.”
Corey Oxley can be contacted at [email protected].
ResearchContinued from Page 1