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Police usage of pepper

spray questionable.

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Yeager Scholar takes

advantage of her time at

Marshall.

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BY JOANIE BORDERSTHE PARTHENON

 Overlooking all the extracurricular

activities Marshall has to o� er is an easy thing to do when the homework piles up and exams start, but one Mar-shall student said that is what makes college worthwhile.

Kati Bailey, senior nursing student from Huntington, W.Va., has spent the better part of her four years at Marshall getting involved in social justice events on Marshall’s campus and raising awareness to the Marshall community about the global water crisis, Darfur, poverty and the importance of com-passion and kindness.

As a nursing student, Bailey is no stranger to huge papers, long exams and a heavy course load; however, she said that so much of what she learned at Marshall took place outside of the classroom.

“Get involved,” Bailey said. “See what’s going on around campus and actually take advantage of it. If you lit-erally just go to class your four years at Marshall, you are completely getting scammed. � ere’s just so much more to o� er. So much of what I learned at Marshall was not in the classroom. It was at events. It was at guest lectures. It was at projects. It was at things I saw on � iers and just went to. Not only will you be changed but you’ll meet peo-ple and you’ll have actual meaningful relationships.”

Among the many extracurricular activities that Bailey is referring to, Be Hope to Her is one of the big ones. Be Hope to Her is an event hosted by NURU to raise awareness of the global water crisis and help raise money to build wells in Africa. Bailey said it was

by sheer chance that she came across the event.

“Another girl was contacted by NURU to do it and she was very nervous about the idea of putting on a big event,” Bailey said. “She knew I was involved in Darfur stu� so she just called me and asked if I would do it. I really en-joy doing social justice and activism and it sounded like a pretty cool event because it was interactive rather than throwing money in an envelope — but I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, in a good way,” said Bailey.

For the last two years Bailey has brought BH2O+ to Marshall’s campus

raising awareness and o� ering stu-dents a way to make a di� erence.

“It really is life changing,” Bai-ley said. “If you’ve never heard about the Global Water Crisis or traveled to

another country to see how di� cult something as simple as gathering wa-ter can be in the developing world, it really can rock your world and change your lens of the world too. You just ex-pand your worldview in a matter of 30 minutes. You don’t have to sit through a class all semester, you just come to an event, you can feel what others feel and

Marshall University senior makes her mark outside the classroom

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATI BAILEY

Kati Bailey, senior nursing student from Huntington, takes a photo with a child in Africa. Bailey has taken several trips to Swaziland in the past two years.

“Visiting Africachanges so much of how I advocate and how passionate I am about it. I don’t know numbers anymore, I know people who I’m fi ghting for.”Kati Bailey, senior nursing student

BY CHERIE DAVISTHE PARTHENON

The Japanese club and Circle K hosted the event Art for Ja-pan to raise money for Japan in the Memorial Student Center.

“We sold rice balls, cookies and various sweets,” said Kayla Turner, member of the Japa-nese club and a senior Japanese major from Huntington. “Also, we had art donated by various artists.”

The Japanese club made all the baked items that were sold, and Circle K was responsible for all the art items donated.

Marshall students, faculty and members of the com-munity donated art to raise Japanese relief funds.

Beverly McKinney, music department member, donated a piece of her artwork, which recently won an award. She said the art could have sold for around $200, but she donated it and it was only sold for $50.

“We’ve had really generous people donating their art,” Turner said.

“Due to the events going on in Japan, we’ve tried to do as many things as possible to help raise money for relief,” said James Kiger, junior Japanese major from Wheeling, W.Va.

All money raised will go di-rectly to Red Cross: Japan and some of that money will be sent to also help a local friend of Marshall.

“There’s someone named Hiro Ishii, who was a graduate student here who already grad-uated from Marshall,” Kiger said. “He is a teacher where the tsunami and earthquake took place. Due to the tsunami, he’s lost loved ones.” “He’s been staying at the middle school where he teaches at,” Turner said. “So we wanted to send some money to his commu-nity. I’m not sure if he’s still taking refuge there or not.”

“We haven’t heard much news from him,” Kiger said. “Last we heard, he was a refu-gee in the middle school and was helping out. I was good friends with him when he was teaching at Cabell-Midland and getting his graduate de-gree. I had the privilege of helping with his class.”

“We try to do an event each month; but with everything going on, we’ve had several meetings and events planned and being planned,” Kiger said.

This Friday, the Japanese club will be co-hosting the Eat Around the World event, where Asian food will be fea-tured and donations can be given to help Japanese relief.

Anyone who would like to donate to the Japanese relief can do so at the American Red Cross or look for other events hosted by the Japanese club.

Cherie Davis can be contacted at davis542@marshall.edu.

Japanese club raises money for tsunami relief

BY DAVID BRACKENMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERSMCT

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina o� cials reported Sunday that 22 peo-ple died as a result of the severe storms that swept across the state during a six-hour stretch Saturday.

North Carolina Emergency Man-agement said the deaths occurred in Bertie, Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Johnston, Lee and Wake counties.

Half of the deaths occurred in Bertie, a rural county in the northeast corner of the state with more than 700 square miles of land and just 21,000 residents.

� e storm cut a wide swath across the county, � attening houses and tossing around farm equipment and vehicles, said Zee Lamb, Bertie’s county manager.

“We had several fatalities at the same location but they weren’t all at the same location. � ey were spread out over several miles,” he said. “A lot of them were in their homes. ... � ere are homes that are just totally leveled. Anybody who was in those homes could not have survived.”

� e fatalities included several elderly residents of an assisted living facility that was in the path of the storm, Lamb said.

Across the state, more than 80 people have been transported to local hospi-tals, some with severe injuries. Gov. Bev Perdue declared a state of emer-gency for all of North Carolina on Saturday evening.

� e declaration is a prerequisite for asking for federal disaster assistance. More than a dozen North Carolina counties have also declared local states of emergency, including Wake, Cum-berland and Bertie counties. Initial damage estimates say 60 homes have been completely destroyed and more than 400 others sustained damage across the state.

In Raleigh, downed trees and a lack of power continue to plague the neigh-borhoods most damaged by Saturday a« ernoon’s severe storms.

� e city of Raleigh identi¬ ed ¬ ve areas that were hit hardest by the storms: South Saunders Street near Western Boulevard; Stony Brook mobile home park in north-east Raleigh, where three people died; the neighborhoods surrounding Shaw Uni-versity in Southeast Raleigh; and Bu� aloe Road and New Hope Road area; and the Yonkers Road area.

Raleigh has roughly 30 teams made up of members of the Parks and Recre-ation, Public Utilities and Public Works departments working to clear away de-bris, the city reported in a press release.

20 dead, 88 injured after storm strikes N.C.

CHRIS SEWARD | RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER | MCT

Nationwide Insurance appraiser Bill Stimac, center, surveys the damage to Stone City Kitchens with business owners Hugo Gao, right, and Andy Gao, left, on Sunday after a strong storm swept through Raleigh, N.C.

See BAILEY I 3

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Two recent incidents involving pepper-spray should be examined

by the court of public opinion. Police officers in Lakewood, Colo. used pepper-spray on an 8-year-old student attending the second grade. The incident oc-curred during school where a special-needs student reportedly be-came agitated, removed a piece of wall-trim

(equivalent to a sharpened pencil) and threatened his teacher.

Two police officers were dispatched to the scene where they pepper-sprayed and handcuffed the child prior to the arrival of his parent. The police of-ficers and their administration have steadfastly maintained that they made the right decision. A police spokesman was quick to point out that no one was injured that day. Some media reports noted that the officers did not attempt to deescalate the situation or otherwise try to resolve the problem before using pepper-spray.

The level of force was not commen-surate with the threat. It is difficult to imagine that two trained police officers could not successfully thwart the ac-tions of a misbehaving second grader. The situation is especially troubling because the student expressed regret during an interview on NBC’s Today Show and said the school makes him feel “really uncomfortable.” His mother said, “I think there is a problem but it’s with school.”

A separate incident occurred at a middle school in Mesquite, Texas. A police officer used pepper-spray to foil an allegedly dangerous baby squirrel. Students videotaped the incident and the video has been widely viewed on YouTube. Students are heard pleading for the officer to stop spraying the squir-rel. The officer insisted that the animal could have been rabid and he was pro-tecting the students. However, he did not make an attempt to coax the squir-rel away nor did he tell the students to vacate the area for their own safety. Media reports indicate that the squirrel was later treated by animal control per-sonnel and released into the wild.

Although the police officers in both cases have been cleared of any official wrongdoing, the court of public opinion should cast a clear vote. Police officers should never intentionally escalate a problem and they should not use exces-sive force especially when other options are clearly available. Police officers who demonstrate poor judgment should not be allowed to protect and serve.

Contact Michael Adkins at adkins172@marshall.edu.

EDITORIAL

Recent uses of pepper-spray are questionable

How excited are you for the end of the semester?

EDITORIAL CARTOON I JIMMY MARGULIES I THE RECORD

■ I can’t wait■ I’m going to miss my friends■ Indifferent

OpinionMonday, April 18, 2011marshallparthenon.com

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Pell Grant cuts threaten college affordability

MICHAEL ADKINSLEXICON OF REASON

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MICHAEL ADKINSCOLUMNIST

JASON MILLERKANSAS STATE COLLEGIANKANSAS STATE UNIVERISTYUWIRE

Army’s hesitation to grant emergency leave unjustifi ed

As you read this column, U.S. Army Spec. Nick Owen should have arrived at his Garden City home to be with his fiancee and bury her 1-year-old son.

While the Army reversed their original decision and al-lowed Owen to come home, it did so for the wrong reasons. The Army clearly reacted to the publicity this story received by the media and was not guided or influenced by basic human morals.

Owen had been a father to Kaylien since the day of his birth. Owen joined the military to financially support his fian-cee, Megan Gonzales and their young son. The same place he turned to help him take care of his budding family attempted to keep them apart in a time when they need each other most. In a profession driven on respect, there is no reason in this case the military cannot allow this soldier time home to pay his respects.

As a veteran, this disgusts me. Let’s get something clear. Owen is currently serving in Kuwait. While he’s receiving a small amount of combat pay and enjoys the benefits of tax-free pay because he’s in a “war zone,” he is far from danger.

I don’t mean to suggest Owen isn’t performing his duties admirably. I respect and ap-preciate the sacrifices of all my brothers and sisters in arms. But to glorify the peaceful mis-sions of soldiers in wartime allows military units to argue why soldiers in these types of situations shouldn’t return stateside. It is not unpatriotic to acknowledge our military has flaws; however, it is dishonor-able to withhold basic human decency under false pretense.

Despite finally being able to go home, Owen was handed a more traumatic experience through this ordeal than what he will see serving in Kuwait. If the Army hopes to recruit and retrain good soldiers, the lead-ers need to change ignorant practices like these.

BY DAILY IOWN EDITORIAL BOARDTHE DAILY IOWANUNIVERSITY OF IOWA UWIRE

Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan is causing a bit of a furor in the higher-education circuit.

The budget plan, a recent ver-sion of which bears the title “Path to Prosperity,” aims to moderate what some see as a catastrophic government debt by cutting nu-merous government programs, reducing spending and redesigning

Medicare. Regardless of partisan divides and opinions about the na-tional debt (and defi cit), ideological adversaries should agree on one thing: Any proposed cuts should not occur in programs that buoy people who are struggling.

Pell Grants, which provide fi -nancial assistance to low-income students, are one such program. The federal grants provide up to $5,500 per year, on a sliding scale based on need, to college students nationwide. Pell Grants are not the singular cause of our fi scal

problems, and cutting them is not the solution; the Editorial Board hopes that our U.S. representatives will resist the pressure from fevered peers to be “fi scally responsible” long enough to avoid slashing sen-sitive programs.

Iowa’s Rep. David Loebsack, himself a recipient of Pell Grants, took a much stronger stance. He said, “I worked hard for my educa-tion, but I also had a lot of help with fi nancial aid.”

Recipients of the grants, accord-ing to a 2009 study, are almost

twice as likely to be fi nancially independent and have their own dependents than students who don’t receive grants, even if they are about equally likely to hold full-time jobs. The vast majority of Pell Grant recipients in the 2009-10 school year made less than $30,000 per year. 70 percent of students who receive grants qualify for the com-plete award.

Attacks on Pell Grants hit home for many University of Iowa stu-dents. Approximately 20 percent of UI students receive federal fi nancial

aid through the Pell Grant program, which prevents them from having to take out costly loans. With student debt skyrocketing, rising tuition, and a shaky economy awaiting new graduates, Pell Grants are more im-portant than ever.

There’s no word yet on the de-tails of the budget deal considered by Congress this week, although Obama has said the Pell Grants are maintained at their current maximum value; students will have to wait to see if the 2012 budget makes any reductions in eligibility.

Do you feel safe on campus?■ Yes, absolutely ....................................................61%■ Sometimes ............................................................ 26%■ No ......................................................................... 13%

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3rd seedMarshall’s tennis program’s slated spot for the Conference-USA tournament in Florida this week.

Marshall baseball falls 10-7 to HoustonHERDZONE

Rhett Stafford went a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish and Victor Gomez launched a two-run homer, however three unearned runs in the top of the eighth for the University of Houston proved to be the difference as the Cou-gars captured the series finale 10-7 on Sunday at Power Park. Houston took two-of-three in the series after split-ting a doubleheader on Friday.

Marshall (14-20, 2-7 C-USA) re-corded nine hits as a team as Victor Ramos joined R.Stafford with a multi-hit performance with two doubles and a RBI. R.Stafford also waked twice, scored twice and knocked in a run as he reached base five times in five plate appearances.

Chase Jensen, M.P. Cokinos and Matt Creel combined for seven of the Cougars 11 hits and knocked in eight of the 10 runs as Houston improved to an even 19-19 overall and 6-3 in

league play.The game featured a scoreless

first prior to a two-run inning from Houston in the top of the second. John Cannon drew a free pass from Herd starter Arik Sikula in front of Creel. The Cougars designated hit-ter attempted to put down a bunt on consecutive pitches but missed both. Creel worked the count full before launching a two-run bomb to hold an early lead.

Ramos put the Herd on the score-board when he laced a RBI double to right plating Justin Maynard in the third. The two-hole hitter Isaac Ballou, hit a cue shot to third for an infield single, bringing home the tying run in Kenny Socorro.

Sikula blanked the Cougars in the top of the fourth with the score still knotted at 2-all. R.Stafford began the bottom half of the inning by drawing a walk. Next to the dish was MU slug-ger V.Gomez as he hit a colossal bomb,

his second of the year, to straight away center.

Houston would retake the lead by scoring five runs over the next three innings, highlighted by RBI doubles form Cokinos and Creel, while Can-non successfully executed a suicide squeeze.

Down 7-4, the Herd would not go down without a fight in the bottom of the seventh. Ramos and Ballou reached base thanks to a double and walk and both moved up 90 feet on stolen bases. On the steal attempt, the Houston catcher airmailed a throw to third, allowing Ramos to scamper home with the Herd’s fifth run. Later in the inning, R.Stafford hit a bouncer back through the box easily scoring Ballou, slicing the deficit to a run at 7-6. The Gomez brothers (Victor and Nathan) drew consecutive walks to load the bases for Thor Meeks. The catcher hit a hard sinking ball to left field that appeared to give the Herd

the lead, but Houston outfielder Joel Ansley was able to haul in the catch to end the frame.

Houston would push across three unearned runs in the top of the ninth, with the back-breaking hit coming on a two-run triple from Jensen to cen-ter. Houston would take a 10-6 to the ninth. Gomez roped a RBI double in the bottom alf and the Herd brought the tying run to the plate, but Chase Wellbrock induced a fly out to center to end the game.

Chase Dempsay (1-2) got the win working 1.1 innings for the Cou-gars, while Jesse Fernandez (2-2) was tagged with the loss not recording an out in the sixth.

Sikula pitched five innings for Mar-shall, allowing three earned runs on four hits. The righty walked three and struck out five in his non-decision.

Marshall will play Eastern Kentucky at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at the Kennedy Center.

Herd softball suffers sweep vs. Central FloridaHERDZONE

The Marshall University softball team dropped to 15-27 overall and 1-13 in Conference USA with Sunday’s 10-6 loss to the University of Cen-tral Florida at the UCF Softball Complex.

Marshall’s explosive five-run showing in the third inning was not enough as the Thundering Herd fell 10-6 in the matchup and to the three-game series sweep.

Rebecca Gamby had three hits on the day while Jazmine Valle connected 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI and one run scored. Natalee Pulver took the loss for the Herd, dropping her to 7-14 on the year as UCF’s Lacey Dinney improves to 10-7 with the victory.

University of Central Florida (18-24, 8-7 C-USA) got things popping in the first with a sacrifice fly by Marissa Menendez to score Al-lie Jest and give the Knights the first lead of the game, 1-0.

A Herd misplay in the second put pressure on the Herd defense with Knights runners in

scoring position at second and third with no outs. Starting pitcher Erika Bennett was able to get assistance in the situation with a fly out to center but one walk later jammed Marshall in a bases loaded situation.

An RBI from Jest plated Kellie Todd but before the Herd could get out of the frame another er-ror was capitalized on to allow two more runs to come home as Central Florida went up 4-0 after two innings.

Marshall was feisty in the third though in a two-out rally that converted five runs, on four hits and four Florida errors. A RBI-single from Alysia Hively jump started the offensive spark, plating pinch runner Melissa Loesing, who was on base courtesy of Alianna Telles reaching on a Central Florida error.

Valle made it a 4-3 ballgame with a double to left that scored Gamby and pinch runner Morgan Cottrell, who was on by virtue of a Hively single to left. Marshall then tied the game when Mela-nie Stoehr’s RBI-single brought around Valle and claimed the 5-4 lead after Bri Anna Hope crossed

home safely during a defensive rundown play on Stoehr between first and second base.

Momentum found its way into the Univerity of Central Florida dugout as the Knights were able to tally two runs, unearned, in the bottom of the fourth on one Marshall error and one hit.

The Herd would not stay down long however as another RBI-single from Hively plated Ashley Gue and tied it up at 6-6 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The lead swayed in favor of Central Florida in the bottom of the frame, 10-6, after Patrice Fee scored during a Jest at-bat. Marshall faced an-other bases loaded situation and brought in Andi Williamson to replace Pulver, who entered the circle in the fourth.

Three runs ensued as back-to-back RBI-sin-gles from Menendez and Tiffany Lane combined for a 10-6 cushion. The Knights would hold on through two more frames to pick up its eighth conference victory.

Marshall hosts Morehead State on Tuesday in a doubleheader that is slated for a 3 p.m. start.

You’ve got to be excited for the Marshall University tennis team this season. A 7-0 sweep over Pittsburgh to close out the regular season and solid pros-

pects looking toward the Conference USA tourna-ment at the University of Central Florida this week, things are looking

bright for our women in green and white.

I’d first like to commend se-niors Catherine Kellner and Michaela Kissell for wrapping up their final home matches as Marshall athletes with victories in the route of Pittsburgh Fri-day afternoon. For Kellner, it’s hard to keep track but I believe that these two wins bring her up to 132 for her career. And Kissell now sits with 109 career wins. Both are equally amazing achievements in and of them-selves, as they put both girls in the top-20 tier for all-time ca-reer victories here at Marshall.

Everyone seemed to make a day of it for Marshall, as the Herd swept all of its doubles matches, and singles play gar-nered similar results. All is good, and all is dandy.

But now we’ve got a C-USA tournament on our hands, and the competition won’t be com-ing in the form of a struggling Pittsburgh program.

Currently it looks as though Marshall will have earned the third seed in the bracket for the tourney, and also will get a first round bye - a great posi-tion to start this tournament in. However, we need to look at the other players in this showdown.

East Carolina sits atop the 2011 standings as of this morn-ing, with Houston close behind and Marshall sitting third above Memphis. Following them (in order) is Rice, Southern Meth-odist University, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Uni-versity of Central Florida (who is host the tournament) and the University of Texas El Paso.

Alright so, Houston and ECU. The good news? In Mar-shall’s last match-up with ECU back on April 8th, the Herd got itself a solid 6-1 victory.

Matter of fact, that win set up Marshall for a three duel win streak - culminating in that wonderful 7-0 sweep heading into this last weekend.

The bad news? Well, not really any kind of bad news other than what we’d expect to see from the top two seeds in a tourna-ment, both Houston and ECU have wrapped up their final seasons with strong victories. East Carolina will now enjoy a 17-8 record looking back on the regular season, heading into a tournament they are used to being a part of. And Houston, boasting a 16-7 record, will be more than comfortable playing in some southern heat.

Ideally, it would be great for either ECU or Houston to find themselves knocked out after a second round upset - as Mar-shall would have no problem winning the matches it knows it should win. But on the likely chance that doesn’t happen, we as fans have the satisfaction of knowing that Marshall will be entering the Conference USA tournament this year with one of the best rosters we’ve ever had - and we should hope - nay - expect to see some great performances by our Lady Thundering Herd in Florida.

BRANDON ANCICH

Quick pitcH

Tennis rolling into Florida

you can do something about it that’s the coolest part.”

In 2009, the first year Bailey worked with NURU to hold BH2O+ with over 50 participants, Marshall had the more participation than any other school in the country. Among the many lessons that her social justice programs have taught her, Bailey said that first year holding BH2O+ taught her that peo-ple really will show up.

“When you do an event that really involves peo-ple in a whole different way participation wise, it brings a new perspective to the table,” Bailey said. “Be Hope to Her just offered a totally different ball-game. People could literally participate, they could experience something themselves they didn’t have to read about it, they didn’t have to listen to it they could just walk a mile and completely be changed in a different way.”

Finishing up her last year at Marshall and her third year hosting BH2O+, Bailey said she is excited for this year’s event.

“This year, we are pushing more fundraising,” Bailey said. “In past years, we’ve had private donors who’ve basically given us money for participation, and this year we don’t have that.

“This year, I’m finding the independence to be kind of cool,” Bailey said. “We have such a strong group of people who plan BH2O+, it’s definitely not just me, there’s a whole group of people,” said Bailey.

Be Hope to Her is held each year outside the Me-morial Student Center at the fountain. This year, the event will be held on Thursday, April 28 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Students are asked to carry a bucket of water on their head and walk a mile around campus to symbolize the walk that many women in Africa make every day. The walk will last roughly 30 minutes, according to Bai-ley, followed my music and speakers in the plaza.

Along with BH2O+, Bai-ley’s heart is very much in the work and trips she has taken to Swaziland the last two years.

“You know, I have a shirt that says ‘I need Africa more than Africa needs me,’” Bailey said. “I feel like that’s so true.

A lot of the time people will say ‘Oh, it’s just a sac-rifice for you to go there’ and I can’t help but just laugh because it’s not a sacrifice at all. In fact it’s so refreshing.”

According to Bailey, the community is ravished by AIDS, hunger and numerous problems that are unfathomable to deal with, she said it’s just awesome to be there and experience life in a more natural way — like washing her own clothes, fetching water and not eating all kinds of processed food.

“When I was there, it just felt so right,” Bailey said. “My heart just broke for the injustices that I heard about while I was here in the comfort of my own home and as I worked hard to advocate for the in-justices in Africa, Darfur and the Global Water Crisis I just felt this need to actu-ally go and not just send stuff, not just send resources but go myself, have my feet in the soil, look the people in the eye and see what I’m fighting for and see who I’m fighting for and see who I’m speaking up for. It’s not a statistic or a number it’s a person.

“It’s so different when somebody talks about HIV and AIDS and they just blab on about statistics for me because I think of two of my dear friends who died from HIV in Africa and I think of their faces and I think of their families,” Bailey said. “When you know someone who is afflicted by something, it changes your attitude, your perspective and your

passion — for me, that’s what Africa does. I don’t know numbers anymore, I know people who I’m fighting for.”

“Being friends with Kati makes me a better per-son,” said Kelly Armstrong, fellow nursing students and friend of Bailey’s. “Kati really, really loves peo-ple,” Armstrong said. “She makes me want to be passionate about what she is passionate about.”Joanie Borders can be contacted at borders9@marshall.edu.

BaileyContinued from Page 1

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BY CRYSTAL MYERSTHE PARTHENON

Her vivid red hair is not the only thing that makes Laci Browning stand out in a crowd.

Student, Yeager scholar, dancer, future law student and Pi Sigma Alpha mem-ber are just a few of the titles listed on Browning’s ever-growing resume.

Browning is a senior political science major from Pineville, W.Va., who chose to attend Marshall University after she was offered a Yeager scholarship, which covers the price of tuition among other things.

Browning said the Yeager program is one she both loves and hates.

“The Yeager program is meant to be challenging, and it is,” Browning said. “The seminars I had to take were no less than extremely stressful, and I am cur-rently ripping my hair out over the senior project I have to do; however, I am a much better writer, presenter, and analyzer be-cause of those seminars. “

The Yeager Scholar Program includes a core of four seminars for the first two years, the development of a proficiency in a modern language, leading to a senior project, and other tasks while maintain-ing a 3.5 accumulative GPA.

“Although it’s challenging, it’s worth it,” Browning said. “I am going to school for free, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The most important experience I have had in life so far was being able to go to the University of Oxford, and the Society of Yeager Scholars made that happen. For that alone, I will be forever grateful.”

A few years ago, Browning was given the opportunity to study abroad in Eng-land for three weeks during the summer. She and two close friends spent the weeks traveling and exploring the cities of Lon-don, Paris, Venice and other parts of Europe.

“The coolest part was that we saw the end of the Tour de France by chance,” Browning said. “That was a once in a life-time opportunity if I’ve ever had one.”

Although Browning said she would like to visit everywhere in the world, the country at the top of her list is Australia.

“Their culture seems so free-spirited and laid back, and I would love to travel, eat, sightsee and meet people there,” Browning said.

Along with Australians, Browning said if she was given the chance to meet any person living or dead it would be Abra-ham Lincoln.

“It takes a strong-willed and incredibly gifted politician to make decisions during a time where the country is literally split in half; I would ask him why he made the decisions he did, and what he thinks of the country today,” Browning said.

At 21 years old, Browning has taken on tasks outside of the realm of most college students.

She is the founder and president of A Marshall University Student Ensemble of Dance. Browning said she created AMUSED because dancing is one of her biggest passions.

“It is my passion and I will continue to

dance as long as I am physically capable,” Browning said. “There is a feeling I get from dance that I don’t get anywhere else – it’s the feeling of escaping. I become someone else when I dance, whoever that character may be and I am a vessel for the audience to escape the chaos of life, even for an hour or so.

Jessica Fox, instructor at Jeslyn Per-forming Arts Center, met Browning four years ago when she first taught her in a dance class. Fox said her first impression of Browning was that she had a beautiful energy.

“Laci is a perfectionist who is very di-rect, in charge, confident and full of life,” Fox said. “She was extremely open to new perspectives, experiences and has a will-ingness to learn and embrace change.”

When Fox first met Browning, she said Browning was looking for a place to con-tinue her training during college and was searching Huntington for a dance facility to call home. Since, Fox has asked Brown-ing to join her dance company as an apprentice, and Browning now includes Fox on her list of heroes.

“My mother is the first, because she raised me as a single parent and would drop anything for me,” Browning said. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without her.”

“Second are all of my dance instruc-tors: Toneta Akers-Toler, Jessica Fox, Jerry Rose and his daughter, Heather Rose-Zickefoose. All four of these people taught me so much about dance, how my body works and moves and who I am as a dancer. However, they are my heroes because they are keeping dance and the performing arts alive in West Virginia and giving others the opportunities that I had/have.”

After four years, Fox said she still feels the same as she did about Browning when they first crossed paths, but their rela-tionship has developed from professional to a supportive friendship.

“Now, I just feel like she’s really em-bracing herself on the journey through life, making it her own and becoming the person she has set out to be,” Fox said.

With graduation quickly approach-ing, what is Browning’s next step will be attending the University of Kentucky College of Law starting in August.

Political science professor Cheryl Brown has thought Browning in several classes.

“She is a great student and really a de-lightful person,” Brown said. “I know that she intends to go on to law school. I be-lieve that she will do very well there.”

However, while still an undergrad at Marshall, Browning spends her spare time doing a few other things besides dance. She works part-time as a brand rep at Pac Sun, a clothing store located in the Barboursville Mall. She said she also spends as much time as possible with close friends.

“My favorite part about college is be-ing able to study what I enjoy while living somewhat on my own and growing closer to old friends while meeting new friends on a daily basis,” Browning said.

Crystal Myers can be contacted at My-ers132@marshall.edu.

Yeager scholar experiences college through danceJOHN YEINGST | THE PARTHENON

Laci Browning, senior political science major from Pineville, W.Va., is a Yeager scholar who founded AMUSED, an dance ensemble for Marshall students.

BY JARED ROACHTHE PARTHENON

� is week, Marshall’s Birke Art Gallery will give senior art students a chance to show what they’ve learned.

Senior art students from multiple disciplines will present their work at a reception Tuesday as part of the art department’s Capstone Se-ries. � ese shows are designed to feature the students’ work and determine if the student is ready to graduate.

Ellen Weed, senior sculpture major from Huntington, is one of the four students featured in the exhibit. Weed said while sculpture is her focus, she’s also including drawings in the show. She said like many art students, her interests cross over into other creative areas.

“For this show, I’m creating things, but I’m also using found objects and found materials,” Weed said. “� ey serve as a base for my carv-ings, which di¡ ers from the other work in the show.”

� e title of the exhibit is “Go Figure,” which references the collective theme of the artists fea-tured in it. Each of the four artists’ works deal with ¢ gurative elements of the human body.

Sassa Nibert, senior sculpture major from Barboursville, W.Va., is already an accom-plished artist. She is currently working on a large scale steel sculpture for the riverfront park in Huntington. Nibert said the show will be a culmination of what students have done for the past four years, but what she’s doing now is completely new for her.

While Nibert said each of the artists’ work is unique in its own way, Shayne Sigmon, senior printmaking major from Chapmanville, W.Va., said his work is more personal in nature.

“My body of work is about my own life and my spiritual journey through life,” Sigmon said. “I wanted to illustrate certain points in my life that have changed me as a person.”

� e show will be on display in the Birke Art Gallery Monday through � ursday. � e recep-tion will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m Tuesday.

“I just want to say that the COFA program here at Marshall is amazing, and the faculty really cares about giving the students the best education,” Sigmon said. “For me to have shared the skills and knowledge of all my pro-fessors has been a privilege and an honor.”

Jared Roach can be contacted at roach47@marshall.edu.

Marshall art students ‘cap off’ their education