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TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012 • College Heights Herald • Vol. 87, No. 29 • Western Kentucky University
WKU raises more than $67K for St. Jude By KAYLA SWANSON news@wkuherald.com
SHELBY MACK/HERALD
Bike4Alz is biking from International Falls, Minn., to Key West, Fla., over the course of two months this summer in order to raise money for Alzheimer’s.The group members pictured are (front from left) Josh Amos, John WIlliam Owen, (back from left) Austin Lanter, Ben Harris, Dylan Ward and Will Garcia. They have ridden bikes all their lives, but it wasn’t until they decided to go on this trip that any of them purchased road bikes or began training for a long-distance trip.
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Fraternity brothers raise money for Alzheimer’s By MONICA SPEES diversions@wkuherald.com
Louisville sophomore Will Owens had more on his mind than going to class and hanging out with newfound friends when he came to college. “I wanted to leave college a better person than when I came in,” Owens said. When he became a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, or FIJI, he found an opportunity to do just that. From May to July 2010, several FIJI brothers rode their bikes from California to Virginia in “FIJIs Across America,” a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. The group raised $56,000, half of which went to local Alzheimer’s chapters, the other half going to national Al-
zheimer’s research. Owens and his fraternity have decided they want to revive the charitable ride for this summer. From May 25 to about July 20, a group of FIJIs will bike from International Falls, Minn., to Key West, Fla., hitting 13 major metropolitan areas along the way and dedicating each day to someone who the disease has affected. This year’s ride is called Bike4Alz. Owens, who is in charge of media relations, said they decided to take the fraternity’s name out of the title in order to dissuade people from being hesitant to give or thinking only FIJIs could participate. He said tacking a name onto the title was not the important element of the ride.
Bowling Green mother Kim Cunningham knows firsthand that cancer never sleeps. Cunningham’s son, Robert, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 12 and spent 13 months at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., to receive treatment. When first arriving at the hospital, Cunningham was immediately struck by the “magnitude” of the facility. “It’s not an ordinary hospital,” she said. One of the first treatments Robert underwent was a bone marrow transplant. His bone marrow donor was his younger sister and Cunningham’s daughter, Emily, who was two years old at the time of the transplant. Robert lost his battle with cancer on July 26, 2010. “She was his angel, and now he is hers,” Cunningham said. Cunningham told her son’s story to students who attended the Up ’til Dawn finale on Friday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. at the Preston Center. Up ’til Dawn is a collegiate fundraiser for St. Jude. Students had to write 25 letters to friends and family urging them to support the hospital during a letterwriting campaign in order to participate in the finale. SEE DAWN, PAGE 3
WKU looking to ease possible budget cuts By CAMERON KOCH news@wkuherald.com
A so-far-unchanged budget cut to post-secondary education has WKU exploring all options to ensure a stable transition going into the new biennium, which begins in July. Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposed state budget includes a 6.4 percent cut to all of post-secondary education, stripping WKU of about $5 million. The budget has passed the House and is currently in the Senate. President Gary Ransdell said WKU is looking at increasing revenue while at the same time cutting costs. “By the time we finish this up in May, it will be a combination of both,” Ransdell said. “We are beginning to determine what each division of the university will have to absorb.” Ann Mead, vice president for Finance and Administration, said WKU is optimistic that the budget will be implemented with minimal impact on students and instruction.
SEE MONEY, PAGE 2
SEE BUDGET, PAGE 2
WKU student stars in television fashion show By ZIRCONIA ALLEYNE diversions@wkuherald.com
Strobe lights beaming, cameras rolling and the crowd roaring were all a dream to Louisville senior Joia Talbott two years ago. But on Feb. 29, she stood backstage at the Hammerstein Ballroom in the Manhattan Center realizing her dream was now reality. Draped in a chained, black and gold swimsuit from the Selita E. Banks collection, Talbott was ready to strut in Black Entertainment Television or BET’s nationally-televised fashion show, “Rip the Runway.” “I just couldn’t wait to get on the stage,” she said. “Once I was on, I didn’t want to get off.” The beat dropped, and hiphop star Meek Mill rapped one of his latest tracks as the models took the stage. Talbott sashayed down the catwalk in Louboutin stilettos.
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However, this wasn’t the first ballroom where she’d modeled — she was in WKU’s Rip the Runway, produced by the Black Student Alliance. The show was held in the Garrett Ballroom. Henderson senior Raemia Higgins said she saw Talbott in the show on campus and was captivated. “When she hits the stage, she has your attention,” she said. “It’s not that you want to take your eyes off of her — it’s that you can’t.” Higgins, a design, merchandising and textiles major, had Talbott walk in her fashion show for Alpha Kappa Psi, a business fraternity. “I knew she’d be great for the show because I’d seen her versatility in her pictures,” she said. “She transforms into a high-profile, high-fashion model.” Talbott said she became interested in modeling in the fifth grade. SEE MODEL, PAGE 7
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CONTACT: NEWS 270.745.6011
ELIZABETH FRANTZ/HERALD
Louisville senior Joia Talbott has been modeling since the fourth grade. Her biggest break so far is an appearance on the show Rip the Runway, which airs Wednesday on BET. “With hopefully more to come,” Talbott said.
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