the shepherd university picket issue 54

Ashley hudson

[email protected]

Construction delays pre-vent the Route 480 under-pass from being completed and opened before students return to Shepherd this fall.

The project faced chal-lenges over the summer, putting it behind schedule. Shepherd initially expected the underpass to be open to pedestrians in August with the final stages of construc-tion and clean up being in October. The university now estimates that the un-derpass will be operational and construction will be complete in November.

Students will only be able to use the crosswalk on High Street to travel be-tween east and west cam-pus until the completion of the underpass. Shepherd will provide assistance to make the crosswalk safer for pedestrians.

Mahaley Beaty, a sopho-more elementary education major, said she frequently crosses the road at High Street, except at night.

Beaty said, “I am not look-ing forward to that. Also, there are not call boxes on that route, so it makes me a little nervous.”

Justin Horn, a junior busi-ness major, hopes the road will have increased light-ing and possibly guards to increase the safety. He does not believe the new route will affect the time it takes him to get to class, though.

Horn said, “I can see a lot of people being rather mad that they now have to take a longer road to reach some of their class or dining hall. I can see this being a prob-lem for some Shepherd stu-dents, and I hope that they know about this and pre-pare for the worst in case this happens.”

Required plan revisions and approvals pushed back the start date for the con-struction. Other issues in-cluded complications with utility relocations and the heavy rainfall experienced in the spring and early summer.

The project also required blasting, which was not originally expected. The community was appre-hensive about the blasting due to past experiences. Shepherd wanted to be re-spectful of their fears and concerns, which is why the university wanted to have a dialogue with the com-munity.

The dialogue covered how the noise of the blasts com-pared to that of everyday maintenance sounds such as lawnmowers and hand drills, explained Drons-field. It also discussed how blasting was safer for both the workers and the com-munity since blasting was last used on campus and that hammers now result-ed in a higher risk of injury than blasting.

Construction completed so far includes overhead util-ity relocations, about 85 percent of the underground

utility relocations, and by-pass and detour construc-tion. The road closed after the detour and bypass were completed and opened.

Horn feels glad that Shep-herd is trying to improve pedestrian safety on cam-pus.

Horn said, “Ever since someone got badly injured last semester or later, I felt like some higher protection was needed before another innocent pedestrian was in-jured. Hopefully things will be much more safer now, but there could be little problems here and there. Someone watching over the underpass can makes

things even safer.”

Dronsfield wanted to reit-erate the safeness of the underpass. She explained that students will be able to see through to the other side of the tunnel from a -distance away. The inside of the underpass will be white, and lighting will en-hance the brightness even more. Call boxes will also be stationed on each side of the tunnel.

Dronsfield said, “It’s a great enhancement first and fore-most to pedestrian safety, but it is also expected to improve the connection be-tween east and west cam-puses and provide a better

entrance into the stadium.”

Shepherd secured some funding for the project with a federal appropriation of approximately $400,000 through the efforts of Rep-resentative Shelley Moore Capito, according to Shelli Dronsfield, the university’s chief of staff. She explained that Shepherd was origi-nally to pay the balance of the $5.65 million project budget approved by the university’s board of gov-ernors. The university and the West Virginia Depart-ment of Transportation now equally share the bal-ance, however.

2 the shepherd Picket Wednesday, august 22, 2012

Page_____ C M Y K 2

NeWs

The ram statue overlooking construction. The completion of the underpass will be delayed until November. PHOTO BY ALEX SEVERSON

he general location where the underpass will be located. Students will have to use the High Street crosswalk until the construction is complete. PHOTO BY ALEX SEVERSON

Both Cars and Students Detoured Until Completion

3 the shepherd Picket Wednesday, august, 22 2012

Page_____ C M Y K 3

NeWs

Ashley [email protected] class can cost Shepherd students more than missing notes, under a new federal requirement on attendance. The new government re-quirement applies to all stu-dents who receive financial aid, and it requires Shep-herd University to confirm students attend each class for which they are enrolled. Students who do not attend each class at least once dur-ing the review period are at risk of losing part or all of their financial aid, and will be required to pay back the entire resulting balance im-mediately. Sandra Oerly-Bennett, di-rector of financial aid, said, “This encourages active en-gagement in class, which in turn may promote greater success within the class and progression towards graduation.”The new requirement ap-plies to all forms of finan-cial aid, including grants and scholarships. The gov-ernment created the new requirement to increase accountability and reduce potential abuse of funds, explained Oerly-Bennett.All schools that receive and process financial aid now include this requirement. Some institutions will only be checking attendance for the first few weeks. Shep-herd students have through midterms to attend classes each semester. The longer period of time allows stu-dents more time and op-portunity to attend classes, explained Oerly-Bennett.Students’ midterm grades and last date of attendance reported by faculty provide the basis for determining

financial aid eligibility. A grade of A, B, C, D or F, then they have attended class at least once. Grades of IF or W without a report-ed last date of attendance will potentially affect a stu-dent’s financial aid package if it alters their enrollment load. A student’s financial aid may be revoked either par-tially or in full based on their resulting enrollment load: full time, three-quar-ter time, half time, or less than half time. The result-ing amount due by the stu-dent must be paid to the university immediately.There may be a student, for example, who receives financial aid to attend 12 credit hours, full-time status. If the student can only be confirmed for at-tendance of 6 credit hours at midterms, the Office of Financial Aid will have to recalculate the student’s fi-nancial aid package based on half-time instead of full-time.The requirement affects a majority of students, as 80 percent of the student body receives some form of finan-cial aid. Students reduce the risk of losing their aid if they attend their classes on a regular basis and engage in the class requirement, such as papers, test, and presentations.Each professor determines what regular attendance for his or her class will be. Attendance policies for each class are provided via the syllabus. Oerly-Bennett said, “Pro-fessors still have a choice as to whether they require/take attendance. A stu-dent’s attendance can/will be documented through

quizzes, tests, papers, pre-sentations, etc. without the requirement of the profes-sor calling role each class meeting.”Many schools have chosen not to release refund checks until weeks into the se-mester after attendance in classes can be documented. However, the administra-tion at Shepherd plans to release refund checks as usual prior to the beginning of the semester to prevent “undue financial hardship” for students as they imple-ment this change, accord-ing to Oerly-Bennett.Brent Francis, a senior political science and his-tory double major, receives a grant to help pay for his textbooks. He said he rare-ly skips, and does not wor-ry about this requirement having a direct impact on him.Francis believes the new requirement will have a positive effect on campus.Francis said, “I think that this requirement will be a useful deterrent to those students that think because they don’t have to pay to go to class they can do what-ever they want, which I feel will improve the overall feeling and quality of the classes at Shepherd.”Oerly-Bennett said, “In my opinion, this expecta-tion that students attend class, meet their professors, obtain and review the syl-labus, engage in class re-quirements is minimal. The expectation is not that you attend every class, every meeting time, but at least regularly. To me, it sounds like something students should be doing anyways.”

What is happening? Why would I lose my aid?

A new government issued requirement to check the attendance of students who receive financial aid. This includes grants and scholarships.

Why does this exist? This infring-es on my rights, damn it!

It is to prevent students from abusing available funds (i.e. buying a kayak with a refund check and then dropping classes to go white water rafting all day.) It will help protect people who really need the aid.

How long will students be under review?

Students will be under review until midterms. Shepherd is waiting until midterms in order to give students more time to attend classes.

How do they determine who loses their aid?

Financial aid will look at midterm grades and last date attended for each class you are reg-istered for. If a student drops a class or never bothers to attend one, it may raise a red flag.

Who is at risk of losing finan-cial aid?

You may be under review if: you drop a class and it changes your enrollment load (for example, going from full time at 12 credit hours to part time at 9 credit hours), and if you do not attend one of your classes.

How to I avoid losing my financial aid?

Attending each class at least once will help keep you in the clear. If you only have 12 credit hours but really need to drop a class, wait until after midterms so that your enrollment load is not af-fected. Participating in class requirements, at least enough to get a decent grade, will probably keep students off of the radar as well (going to class is part of the reason students are here, af-ter all).

What will happen to me if I lose my aid? Obviously, you will lose your financial aid. How many hours you are attending determines how much aid you will lose. Then you will have to pay back what-ever the remaining balance is. Goodbye, kayak.

Use It or

Lose ItStudents Chance Losing Financial Aid for Poor Attendance

How to Keep Your Financial Aid

Wednesday, august 22, 2012 the shepherd Picket 4

Page_____ C M Y K 4

NeWs

Ashley [email protected]

Shepherd Univer-sity hired Joseph Dagg for director of IT position but also searches for a new director of admis-sions and vice presi-dent of academic af-fairs this fall.Shepherd held two searches for a new director of IT servic-es. The first search did not result in a r e c o m m e n d a t i o n for hire. The search committee, there-fore, entered into a second search pro-cess. The search committee formed after the vacancy reviewed resumes, complet-ed phone interviews, and made recommendations for campus interviews.The second search resulted in the hiring of new direc-tor, Joseph Dagg. Dagg takes over the position from Robert Spiker, who Shep-herd let go last fall.Former director Spiker said, “I was fired. I don’t think it was warranted. I had two years of excellent reviews from Ed Magee [former Vice President of Administration and Fi-nance]. After he left, I had one poor review and after that, I was let go.”Spiker said he was in the middle of creating a strate-gic plan for the IT depart-ment and had just returned from a conference focusing on developing strategic plans the week before he was let go. Shepherd in-formed him that one he was being let go was his inabil-ity to make a strategic plan.He said, “I’m disappointed. I planned to spend a lot of time there. I spent 11 years at my previous institution. Over that time, I did a lot to help their department. I had a lot planned for Shep-herd, and I’m upset I didn’t get to do any of that.”Spiker felt that Shepherd’s IT department was under-staffed and underfunded. The department had half as much funding and staff members as the universi-ty’s peers, he explained. He added however, that the de-partment was very impor-tant to him while he was at Shepherd University.Spiker said, “I thought the people in IT services were wonderful. I turned down two other positions to take the job.”Spiker now works for a De-partment of Labor contrac-tor and has already been promoted after spending five months there.

“I’m not looking back, only looking forward” Spiker said. “I’ve taken my talents elsewhere.”He wishes Shepherd’s new IT director well.The search process for the new IT director involved approximately 20 phone in-terviews with candidates. The committee extended invitations for campus in-terviews with a total of nine candidates.Kimberly Scranage, vice president for enrollment and a member of the search committee, said, “All cam-pus constituents were in-vited to attend the open sessions for the on-campus interviews and provide evaluations on each candi-date.”The committee looked at candidates with a bach-elor’s or master’s degree in computer science, engi-neering, or a related field required. Other qualifica-tions included five years of recent experience as a senior leader in the infor-mation technology field and three-five years of manage-ment experience.Scranage said, “The uni-versity was looking for someone with an array of technology experience. We needed a solid collabora-tor and someone who can bridge the differences in language that sometimes exists between technical and non-technical people. We were looking for some-one who has experience managing a budget.”Dagg began his new role at Shepherd on July 25th. He arrived in Shepherd-stown from Lubbock, Texas, where he spent the last six years. He is originally from Bossier City, La. He has never been to West Virginia prior to his new position at ShepherdDagg said, “I am extremely thankful that there is such a strong, dedicated IT team established here at Shep-

herd. I look forward to be-ing able to share my expe-riences and insights to help implement IT and enter-prise projects, define pro-cesses, and remedy issues.”Dagg received his bach-elor’s degree in finance from Louisiana Tech Uni-versity in 1993. He later received his master’s with honors in IT management from Webster University in 2006, where he specialized in computer resources and information management.He previously worked as the IT Director for Trinity Church and Trinity Chris-tian School in Lubbock, Texas before coming to Shepherd. He also worked in the past as the senior IT business consultant for Ve-rizon and Alltel Wireless in Little Rock, Ariz.Dagg and his wife have six children. The couple decid-ed to make the 1700-mile move to the Shepherdstown area because they felt the commitment was strong here.He said, “Everyone has been so polite and hospita-ble, a truly welcoming expe-rience. Being in West Texas for six years, you take for granted what green grass looks like, and trees and water, not to mention hills and mountains. My fam-ily and I are truly enjoying the area surrounding Shep-herd.”Other offices aside from the department of IT found them in need of a search committee this summer. Dr. Richard Helldobler an-nounced his decision to step down from his position as vice president of academic affairs last April, and Ran-dall Friend left Shepherd and his position as director of admissions in late June. Helldobler returned to the faculty as a tenured pro-fessor of theater for the upcoming fall semester. Friend took a position as a solutions consultant at Hobson’s, a business that

works with education pro-fessionals by providing technology and marketing solutions. Shelli Dronsfield, chief of staff, believes many stu-dents have not heard of these changes yet, since most were off-campus when the announcements oc-curred.Shepherd does not typi-cally make announcements about when positions are vacated on the website, ac-cording to Dronsfield. The university sends announce-ments to the employees. Dronsfield explains that the vacancies are no secret as position openings are advertised on the human resources page. The VPAA position has not been ad-vertised, because a commit-tee has not been selected yet.Helldobler and Friend left their positions before search committees had been created to start look-ing for replacements.Dr. Dow Benedict, dean of the school of arts and hu-manities, said, “That is fairly standard. The fund-ing at Shepherd is at such a minimal level that it is often the case that someone has to depart before we can search for their replace-ment.”He explained that the cam-pus includes heavy faculty involvement in searches for positions like these, which can be a challenge during summer months. Benedict said, “I personally believe it is always better to wait until all the faculty return, allow them to select their representatives, and then move forward. While this obviously delays the selection of the new person, I believe it is better to be patient and make sure we have full campus participa-tion.”Dronsfield does not believe it is cause for alarm that the university has had three positions such as VPAA, di-

rector of admissions, and director of IT va-cated within the last year.Dronsfield said, “I think that’s part of the dynamics of a growing institu-tion. Making con-tributions, being recognized for those efforts, and individu-ally given other op-portunities as a re-sult – it’s an honor for the institution.”Benedict worked well with Helldobler and believes they ac-complished a num-ber of good things working together.

Benedict said, “The issues faced, in particular revising every curriculum on cam-pus, lowering the gradu-ation hours, doing every-thing necessary to prepare for the reaccreditation pro-cess, were difficult but nec-essary.”Scranage said all person-nel are confidential. She had been Randall Friend’s supervisor before he left Shepherd, however, and spoke about Friend’s depar-ture.Scranage said, “Randy was a ten year employee and dedicated alum. After more than a decade of service to his alma mater, both as a student and employee, Randy was presented with a wonderful professional opportunity with Hobson’s to advance his career.”Scranage outlined the pro-cess for the interim direc-tor as well as the search for a new director when announcing Friend’s de-parture from campus. Scranage put in place a plan for management of the office between Friend’s de-parture and the selection of a new director.Scranage holds the position of interim director of ad-missions during the search process along with her usu-al position as vice president of enrollment management. Dr. Diane Melby, vice presi-dent of advancement, be-came the interim VPAA.She said, “I am always grateful for the time an administrator gives to the University. Their contribu-tions are appreciated and are part of the Shepherd story. With that being said, it is always exciting to wel-come new employees into the Shepherd family. These individuals will bring new perspectives that will also be invaluable to the future of Shepherd.”

Former Director of Admissions Randall Friend (left), Former Vice President of Academic Affairs and current theater pro-fessor Richard Helldobler (center), and Former I.T. Director Robert Spiker (right). All photos courtesy of the Shepherd University website.

Shepherd Undergoes Administrative Changes


Page_____ C M Y K 5

COMMeNtaRY

Voting GuideDeadline to register to vote in general election: October 16

Deadline to submit an application for absentee voting: Must be recieved 6 days

prior to the general election (for other West Virginia counties see your county

clerk’s website if you live out of state for deadlines

Deadline to submit an absentee ballot: In West Virginia, absentee ballots must be

postmarked by the election date

General election date: November 6

Letters Policy Letters to the editor must be signed. Let-ters are subject to editing. Columnists’ opinions, Letters to the Editor, commen-tary articles, and advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Picket or its editors.

GovernorGov. Earl Ray Tombline, Democrat Office of the Govenor State Capitol 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East Charleston, West Virginia 25305

office Telephone: 304-558-2000Governor’s MAnsion: 304-558-3588

senATe Joe Manchin, Democrat

304-342-5855, 202-224-3954

Jay Rockefeller, Democrat

304-347-5372, 202-224-6472

house of deleGATes Eric L. Householder, Republican, Jefferson

County

Step 1: Have proof of residencyRequirements may different where you live, but some form of government ID works. These include:• A Photo ID with your address on it• A current utility bill• A bank statement• A paycheck• A government checkCheck your local county clerk’s website to make sure you have the right materi-als.

Do you want to register to vote with your campus address?If you live on campus, you can claim your dorm as your place of residence. You must send residence life a request in writing that you need proof of resi-dency. Contact Ellisa Woodbrey at [email protected] for this letter.

Step 3: Voting!If you are able to physically visit your precinct voting area (this location will be listed on your voter registration card) on election day, then all you have to do is show up to vote. Remember to bring your: • Registration card

• A government ID with you if you registered by mail.

Step 2: Actually RegisteringThere are a number of places where you can go to physically register to vote, in-cluding:• The county clerk’s office • Office of the secretary of state• DMV offices• Military recruiting officesYou can also mail in your application. The easiest way to do this is fill out the questionnaire at www.rockthevote.org, print off the application, and mail it in to the address that they provide.• Want to register in a new county?• If you have registered before in a different state or county, but would like to register here (or any other place), all you have to do is check where is says “name/address change” and give the last address where you registered to vote.If you register in person, you will re-ceive your voter’s registration card im-mediately. If you register by mail, you will receive your card in eight to 10 days.

If you are not physically able to visit your voting location (If you are an out-of-state student for example), then you

will need an absentee ballot.

Step 3 (alternative): Absentee BallotsIf you are not able to able to physically go to your voting location, then you will need to vote via absentee ballot. • You must first request an absentee ballot application, which can be found on www.longdistancevoter.org. If you have not voted in West Virginia before, you will have to include a copy of your government ID. • You will be sent an absentee ballot, which you must complete, sign where indicated, and mail back to your county clerk (the long distance voter website will provide the address for you). Don’t forget to bring your voter registra-tion card and valid government ID with you.The General Election date is November 6th.

www.rockthevote.org is one of the best (and easiest) resources out there for young voters. Use it for all of your elec-tion needs and voting questions!

304-340-3274 [email protected]

John Doyle, Democrat, Jefferson County


Tiffany Elizabeth Lawrence, Democrat, Jef-

ferson County


conGress Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, Republican R-2nd 3 300 Foxcroft Ave., Suite 102, Martinsburg, WV 2501 304-264-8810 Submit a comment to www.capitohouse.gov

Contact Your Elected Officials


Page_____ C M Y K 6

COMMeNtaRY

Students and visitor are forced to use the dimly lit High St crosswalk to cross WV Route 480 as construction on an underpass falls behind schedule and over budget for Shepherd University. In 2008 a study done by the West Virginia Dept. of Transportation showed on average 7,250 vehicles passed through this area daily. PHOTO BY DON ZUMBACH

donAld [email protected] multiple accidents and close-calls, Shepherd University decided last year to do away with the dangerous crosswalk in favor of an underpass that would run under Route 480. With the proj-ect well underway, a major con-cern has come up about whether the underpass be completed in time before students return to campus. The answer is looking like a huge “no.”Since construction started earli-er this year, the timeline for the underpass’ completion looks to have changed and is now behind schedule. The project has been set back for a number of rea-sons. According to the Shepherd website, construction on the un-derpass was delayed because of a number of issues including utility relocations, the need for additional blasting, and heavy rainfall. The structure for the underpass was supposed to be completed and ready for student use by July, but now the structure won’t

be completed until the end of August. The date for the comple-tion of the entire underpass proj-ect has also been moved back. It will now be finished by Novem-ber 15th, instead of its October completion date.With the underpass not being done when students come back to school, there are huge po-tential problems arising. At the very least, the construction will be an inconvenience to students who commute or have to travel across campus to get to classes. Rush hour in Shepherdstown has been suicide-inducing since the invention of the horse and buggy; the construction will only aggravate the situation as stu-dents struggle to get where they need to be on time. Even pedes-trians may have to take round-about routes to get between east and west campus. Students will have to take this into consider-ation when planning how to get around.There is a larger and more dan-gerous concern at hand, though. The other crosswalk at High Street will see increased traffic from people crossing. This could

back up traffic up to the four-way stop in the middle of town or could lead to a higher possibil-ity of an accident occurring. The crossing guard will be pres-ent, and the new 4-way stop by High Street can decrease the number of speeders at what was once a dangerous speed trap; however, that may not be enough to protect students at night, or if a careless driver blows through the stop signs. Prioritizing stu-dent safety is why Shepherd is building the underpass in the first place. Although the incon-venience will be temporary, it still feels like a step backwards from where we should be.With a lot of money on the line ($5.65 million according to Shep-herd’s site), the underpass needs to get back on schedule and get done. The potential dangers as-sociated with this lack of a safe way for crossing from east cam-pus to west campus is concern-ing at the very least. It begs the question of whether this was the best use of Shepherd’s time and money. In the meantime, all stu-dents can do is try to stay safe until the underpass is complete.

Underpass? What underpass?The route 480 underpass is behind schedule

The computer literacy require-ment at Shepherd University is an outdated and un-needed requisite that students are forced to endure. The thought of having to take a computer litera-cy class invokes thoughts about a stiff librarian de-manding that you eject your floppy drive and tell-ing you to make sure that your dial up connec-tion is plugged in and ready to con-nect to your tele-phone line. The inherent problem with forcing stu-dents into taking a course about basic computer knowledge is that technology is moving forward at a pace that the school cannot keep up with. The course re-quires students to understand the fundamentals of how basic com-puter program work such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Ex-cel, email, and even the terrify-ing series of tubes known as the World Wide Web or the Internet for the layman. The average stu-dent understands how to navigate the Internet more successfully than being able to find their way in the real world with-out a GPS, and the school needs to take note of the trend. The current genera-tion of incoming students were raised in the In-ternet, molded in it, and have be-come quite adept in understanding its functions. Students do not need help in un-derstanding how to open word, check their email, or how to type in www.facebook.com into their browser. Shep-herd needs to understand that its incoming stu-dents are looking for strategies and techniques that will help them overcome obsta-cles such as find-ing a new career, and that forcing them to double click the Internet Explorer icon will not benefit them in this competi-tive market. T e c h n o l o g y moves at such an astronomi-cal rate that the computer literacy requirement will be an artifact ev-ery 2 to 5 years, a timeline that Shepherd has no chance of keep-ing pace with. Shepherd would be more efficient

in trying to teach its students how to manage so-cial and busi-ness decisions for the future through social media monsters such as Twitter or Facebook. The future lies in ap-plications such as these, and Shep-herd must under-stand that there is more needed from a computer literacy require-ment than know-ing how to turn a PC on or how to indent a para-graph in Word.

Not only is it faulty to try and keep up with the ever-increasing rate of technologi-cal advances; it is flawed to believe that students are the only ones that need classes in computer or technology un-derstanding. The assessors of com-puter literacy, the faculty or profes-sors, while often times brilliant intellectuals, suf-fer at times from even the most mundane and simple tasks on their desktop PC. God help us all if professors are given the chance to try and un-derstand Macs or are forced to upgrade from Windows XP to try and figure out Windows 7. Far too often does a professor not un-derstand how to make a document available on the atrocity known as Sakai, or even more common and painful is when students must watch when a professor with a PHD and years of scholarly experi-ence cannot com-prehend how the projector works in the classrooms. Assessing com-puter literacy is a huge task that Shepherd is not prepared to re-quire of its stu-dents. The con-cept of computer literacy is too vague and mov-ing too fast for the school to com-prehend. Time would be better spent requiring students to take a grammar course, as you’ll most likely see after reading through this editorial. The Picket urges its Shepherd stu-dents to consult your student gov-ernment in an effort to rid the classroom of the requirement, at least until Shep-herd has a better understanding of how to educate its students for the future Jet-sons-like world.

donAld [email protected]

The 2012 Presidential Election is shaping up to be one of the more crucial elections in re-cent years, and one is-sue that will surely be the talk of the election is the health care de-bate. In 2010, President Obama signed the Pa-tient Protection and Af-fordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which was a way to help citizens who don’t have health insurance and reduce the costs of health care. Provisions in the bill included a shared responsibility requirement (which re-quires people who are not covered by insur-ance to purchase insur-

ance or pay a penalty) and those who are in the lower income brack-et will receive federal aid. Opponents of Obam-acare, including Mitt Romney, found the bill to be unconstitutional as it gives the govern-ment too much power; however, the Supreme Court disagreed on that back in June.While traditional col-lege students may not feel fully affected by Obamacare yet, there were a few interest-ing tidbits students should pay attention to. First off, there’s a section of the law that allows college students to live off their parents’ health insurance until the student is 26. Stu-

dents were able to do this before, depending on their parents’ insur-ance plans; however, many students found themselves dropped af-ter reaching legal adult-hood.Recent college gradu-ates can benefit from this since they don’t have to worry about purchasing insurance at the same time having to worry about gaining employment in this tur-bulent job market. One of the big draw-backs is that students whose parents don’t have any health care would have to depend on the university’s health insurance to help them out. The pro-visions of the bill, spe-cifically the mandate of

no pre-existing condi-tions, may potentially render school insurance plans to become prohib-itively expensive; many schools are actually dropping their insur-ance programs entirely because of the cost it could pose to the stu-dent and university.Shepherd University does not offer any health insurance through the university, which may make all of this a moot point; however, this means that the option of insurance offered by Shepherd may never ac-tually exist, which could prevent students whose parents’ are not insured from having any hope of coverage. It’s great that students can stay on their par-ents’ health insurance longer (if they have it), but it could hurt a stu-dent’s pocket if they have to pay through the university to get insurance. In the case of Shepherd, students with uninsured parents are left to deal with a confusing new system if they want to be insured while attending school. It’s understandable that Shepherd would poten-tially have to drive up tuition costs to match the low rates laid out by the health care law, and in the long run, it may ultimately be better to face the new system than deal with more student debt in order to be healthy.

Obamacare & You

Barack Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

EDITORIAL


Page_____ C M Y K 7

facebook.com/thepicket

Heather Greenfield - Editor in Chief

Alex Severson - Managing Editor

Ashley Hudson - News Editor

Donald Lambert - Commentary Editor

Johnna Leary- Arts & Style Editor

Brian Skinnell - Sports Editor

Ryan Franklin - Photo Editor

Don Zumbach - Business Manager

Jim Lewin - Faculty Adviser

Newsroom- (304) 876-5377

Business/Advertising- (304) 876-5687

Fax- (304) 876-5100

Email- [email protected]

Letters to the Editor and other submissions may

be sent by email

or mailed to:

PO Box 5000

Shepherdstown, WV 25443

Pr in ted by :The Mar t insburg Journa l

“The press is not only free, it is powerful. That power is ours. It is the proudest that man can enjoy.” -Benjamin Disraeli

Facebook.com/ThePicket

gaMesWelcome Back!

2

14

4

8

1

17

7

10

5

11

12

9

3

6

13

15 16

Across1 You may find yourself

locked out of your residence hall without one of these (2 Words)

4 where to go to fend off the "Freshmen 15" (2 Words)

6 Broke college student food staple

12 President of Shepherd University

14 Shepherd's medieval and renaissance acting troupe (2 Words)

16 Student-run government body on campus

17 This year's movie on the midway (2 Words)

Down2 This doesn't exist in many

freshmen dorms (2 Words) 3 Climbing the stairs in this

building feels like scaling Everest

5 An object worn primarily by freshmen, usually with their keys and Rambler

7 A place to stuff your face on campus (2 Words)

8 There aren't any of these on campus by mid-morning (2 Words)

9 Where students can sit in front of McMurran Hall; also, a Pink Floyd album (2 Words)

10 A delayed construction project that backs up traffic

11 "Missing" coffee shop on German Street (2 Words)

13 Shepherd University's mascot 15 Late Night in the ______

Welcome Back!

Across1. You may find yourself locked out of your residence hall with-out one of these (2 Words)4. Where to go to fend off the “Freshmen 15” (2 Words)6. Broke college student food staple12. President of shepherd uni-versity14. shepherd’s medieval and renaissance acting troupe (2 Words)16. student-run government body on campus17. This year’s movie on the mid-

way (2 Words)

Down2. this doesn’t exist in many

freshmen dorms (2 Words)3. Climbing the stairs in this building feels like scaling everest5. an object worn primarily by freshmen, usually with their keys and Rambler7. a place to stuff your face on campus (2 Words)8. there aren’t any of these on campus by mid-morning (2 Words)9. Where students can sit in front of McMurran Hall; also, a Pink Floyd album (2 Words)10. a delayed construction project that backs up traffic11. “Missing” coffee shop on german street (2 Words)13. shepherd university’s mascot15. Late Night in the ______

5

1

37

8

7

792

1

38

6

1

41

389

52

2

7

84

2

451

3

7

19

8

4

Puzzle by websudoku.com

Sudoku

College Freshman

The Picket takes submissions!

Contact The Picket

Today!


Page_____ C M Y K 8

aRts & stYLe

Shepherdstown Men’s Club

Design & Cosign

Apparel in Motion

Shepherdstown Paint & Art

The Herb Lady

Betty’s Restaurant

Village Florist

Tony’s Pizzeria/Stonewall Pub

Mecklenburg Inn

Wild About Nature

Lost Dog Coffee Shop

Visitor’s Center

Azed’s Rug Emporium

D’accord Boutique

Lullaby Lu’s

The Design Center

One Two Kangaroo

The Good Shop

Kazu Cuisine

Four Seasons Books

Stone Soup Bistro

Steppin’ Out Shoes

She-Town Divas

Sweetshop Bakery

Princess Street

Was

hing

ton

Stre

etW

ashi

ngto

n St

reet

Was

hing

ton

Stre

et

King Street

Shepherdstown Library

Guide ToBest Places To Eat

Church Street

Blue Moon Cafe200 E. High StreetThe Blue Moon Cafe is a uniquely “Shepherdstown” restau-rant directly across the street from White Hall visit. The food is largely organic and offers a vegetarian menu with over one hundred food choices and home-made ice cream. The restaurant frequently features live music and performance acts, and is the perfect place to relax and hang out with friends. However, if you are on a tight schedule, this may not be the best place to stop; they are not a fast-food restaurant and some meals may have longer preparation times than others

.China Kitchen101 W. German StreetA speedy and tasty Chinese restaurant located directly across the street from Reynolds Hall. Serving the fare common to Chinese restaurants, you can expect complimentary appetizers of egg noodles and Wonton soup before receiving any of the delicious meal choices, including egg rolls, orange chicken, or stir-fry, just to name a few.

The Devonshire Arms Café and Pub107 South Princess StreetA little-known gem just off of German Street, the Devonshire is a small pub offering authentic English foods for low prices. And like any good pub, Devonshire offers several alcoholic beverages for those readers who are of age.

Maria’s Taqueria111 W. German StreetMaria’s is the perfect place to stop for a quick snack in be-tween classes. They offer a great selection of Mexican food at very low prices. You can grab an enchilada, burrito or one of their delicious soft tacos to go or try a unique salsa or sauce created by the friendly staff.

Best Places to Shop

D’Accord Boutique134 W. German StreetThis small store offers all types of French merchandise, ranging from French soaps to figurines to recipe books and candies. Guys, this is a great store very close to campus to find a last minute gift for your girlfriends.

O’Hurley’s General Store205 E. Washington StreetO’Hurley’s is an authentic old-fashioned general store. With merchandise ranging from peppermint sticks to corn cob pipes, from home made wood work furniture to paper dolls. Additionally, every Thursday night at 7:30, there is live music performed by local bands and artists.

Grapes and Grains110 E. German StreetThis is the perfect store to check out for inexpensive great wines and beers. Grapes and Grains has an amazing selec-tion of over 1600 types of wines, including local wines. They also offer wine tastings every Saturday from 1:00 to 7:00 PM. This is a great store to pick up last minute drinks to give as a gift or before a party.

Ger

man

Str

eet

Ger

man

Str

eet

PHOTO BY ALEX SEVERSON


Page_____ C M Y K 9 Page_____ C M Y K 9

aRts & stYLe

German Street

Princess Street

High Street

King Street

Best Places to Shop

Church Street

Germ

an StreetG

erman Street

High Street

High Street

Sky’s the Limit 107 E. German StreetSky’s the Limit is a clothing store located right next to “The Wall” in front of McMurran. They also sell hand-crafted jewelry, hair accessories, purses and much more. Though the items are high quality and normally locally made, some items can be a little expensive.

Plum108 E. German StreetThis jewelry store is uniquely a Shepherdstown location, be-cause all of the jewelry and items are hand-crafted by local Shepherdstown artists. The staff also takes custom orders. The shop features photography by local artists and “Plum finds”, which are discounts on select items of jewelry.

Best Places to Hang out

The WallLocated directly in front of McMurran Hall, the wall is prob-ably the most popular Shepherd student hang out. No mat-ter what time of day or time of year, you can always find a group or several different groups of students hanging out and sitting on the wall, playing guitar, studying and doing various other relaxing activities. Once a month, “The Really, Really Free Market” event takes place at the wall; you can bring old items you would like to donate and drop them off for others to take, or take items you would like for free.

Shepherdstown Opera House131 W German StreetAn authentic old-fashioned movie theater, the Opera House is a fantastic place to hang out and watch movies with your friends. The building, built in 1909, used to be a vaude-ville movie house and was the first theater in West Virginia to feature “talkie” movies with sound. It has since been converted into a movie theater complete with a snack and drink bar. Tickets are inexpensive for Shepherd students. Quite frequently on Tuesday nights, the Opera House staff screens contemporary films and documentaries for Shep-herd students for free.

Tony’s Pizza and Stonewall’s Pub126 E. German StreetA very popular hang-out for Shepherd students is Tony’s, a very casual and inexpensive pizza place complete with a downstairs bar and outside patio area. Themed parties are offered every Thursday night with discounts on admission for Shepherd students.

The Mecklenburg Inn128 E. German StreetAnother popular hang out, the Meck is a great bar located right in the middle of German Street next to Tony’s. With a full bar selection, the Meck is the perfect place to go on the weekends. They have several different rooms and seating areas, and also have an outdoor patio and garden area in the back. You must be 21 with valid ID to enter.

Shaharazade’s Tea Room

On The Wings of Dreams

Plum

Shepherdstown Opera House

The Press Room

The Skin Care Shop

Khyber Boutique

Mellow Moods

Pedal & Paddle

Maria’s Taqueria

Coffee & Candlery

China Kitchen

McMurran Hall

Sky’s The Limit

Grapes & Grains Gourmet

Piccadilly Posh

3 Onions

Dickenson & Wait

Blue River

Historic Museum

Entler Hotel



Page_____ C M Y K 10 Page_____ C M Y K 10

sPORts

facebook.com/thepicket

briAn [email protected] season was an up-and-down season for the Ram’s women’s volley-ball team. They finished their 2011 campaign with a 19-15 overall re-cord and a 9-5 record in the WVIAC. The women were excellent on their home floor going 10-3. In the WVIAC champi-onship tournament, the ladies defeated West Lib-erty and West Virginia Wesleyan to move all the way to the semi-finals. The Ram’s then fell to Wheeling Jesuit 3-0. Following the WVIAC tournament, two Rams were named to the All-Tournament team. Se-nior setter Lauren Je-schenik and sophomore right side/middle hit-ter Melani Lewis both gained All-Tournament honors for their perfor-mances. Three Rams were named to the All-WVIAC team following the season. Sophomore middle hitter Meg Kenny was a first team selection. Sopho-more right side/middle hitter Melani Lewis was named to the second team and junior outside hitter Lauren Gardner was an honorable men-tion. The Ram’s graduated just one girl, Lauren Je-schenik, from last year’s team. They return all

three All-WVIAC per-formers and many of their top performers. The Ram’s will be re-turning their top three in kills from last season. Meg Kenny led the team in that category with 280. The Ram’s also re-turn one of their top de-fenders in Lauren Gard-ner who had 327 digs. The Rams were an ag-gressive team this past season as they had more kills than their oppo-nents by nearly 200. They also had a higher attack percentage with 19%. The Rams good serving as they out-aced their opponents 244-167. Defensively, the Rams were out-digged by their opponents by over 200. One place defensively where they were better than their opponents was at the net as they had 27 more blocks than their opponents. The Rams open up their schedule with two tour-naments. One will begin on August 31st and will take place in Fairmont, West Virginia and the other will begin Sep-tember 1st and will take place in Clarion, Penn-sylvania. They don’t play at home until Septem-ber 14th when they take on Slippery Rock in the WVIAC-PSAC Cross-over. They won’t begin WVIAC play until Sep-tember 21st when they take on West Virginia Wesleyan.

Volleyball Gears Up for 2012 Season

Joey [email protected] were hardly any “dog days of summer” for the Shepherd University Athletic department and Shepherd Football team during this summer vaca-tion. While students were off on summer break re-laxing and enjoying their time away from school, the Athletic department was full of activity and accom-plishments. The Shepherd University Athletic Hall of Fame will induct four of its new-est members later this fall. The new inductees are football star Joe Reel ( ’72), men’s baseball and basketball player Vic Hol-mes (’74), football player Greg Stup (’96) and wom-en’s basketball coach Jodie Runner. The 27th class will be inducted at the an-nual induction banquet Friday, November 9 at the Clarion Hotel and Confer-

ence center here in Shep-herdstown. Joe Reel was a four year defensive tackle for the Shepherd Football team. He not only helped the team complete a 7-1-2 overall season as a senior team captain in 1971 but was also scouted by sev-eral NFL teams. Vic Holmes was a stand-out athlete in baseball and basketball for the Rams and he lettered in both sports every year from 1970 – 1974. In addition, Holmes was a two time All-Conference player for basketball and was the leading hitter for the base-ball team in three of the four seasons he played. From 1992 – 1996, Greg Stup was a standout play-er for the football team and in 1996 he was hon-ored with the WVIAC De-fensive Player of the Year award. During that year he recorded 13 sacks to

help lead the rams to a 7-3 record. His 33.5 career sacks are the most in the history of the Shepherd football program. Finally, Jodie Runner served as an assistant and head coach of the Shepherd women’s basketball team from 1997 – 2009 where she helped lead the team to two WVIAC titles in 1999 and 2008. She gained coach of the year honors in 2007-2008 for leading the Rams to a record-setting 24-7 mark and to the East Regional title game.These inductees, dubbed the “fabulous four”, will bring the Shepherd Ath-letic Hall of Fame to 129 members’ total. In addition to the annual induction banquet at the Clarion Ho-tel, the inductees will also be honored at the Shep-herd-Fairmont State foot-ball game on November 10th, as part of the Hall of Fame induction weekend festivities.

Shepherd Adds Four to Hall of Fame

seAn o’[email protected] a majority of freshman and sopho-mores on the roster, there are plenty of players on the Shepherd Rams Women’s team looking to make their mark this up-coming season and plenty of opportunities to build off last season and go further in the playoffs.Women’s soccer is a very young team, with only seven upper classmen and the lone senior being goalkeeper Tessa Jones. The loss of Briana Hines is hope to be offset with the sophomore sensation Kelsey J. Smith as well as junior forward Morgan Gabriel, the two leading scorers from last season. On the other side of the ball, Kelsey Ea-gan, who is coming off a season where she

was second team All -WVIAC is looked at to play a pivotal role, as well as fellow sec-ond teamer Kelsey N. Smith. Other young players hoping to contribute include mid-fielders Kasey Canterbury and Lexi Von-drak. The Shepherd Rams women’s team is com-ing off a 2011 season where they went 8-8-2, and 5-2-2 in the WVIAC. They lost 4-0 against Charleston in the opening round of the WVIAC playoffs. They are lead by Head coach Jonathan Thayil and assis-tant head coach Dustin Robbins. Thayil had coached the men’s team at Shepherd since 2007, with this being his first season as the women’s coach. Shepherd opens their regular season on August 31 when they host Ursuline Col-lege at 3 p.m.

Shepherd Women’s Soccer Preview

UPCOMING SPORTS SCHEDULE Aug 22, 2012 Men's Soccer

SHIPPENSBURG (Scrimmage)

Shepherdstown, WV

1:00 PM

Aug 22, 2012 Women's Soccer FROSTBURG STATE (scrimmage)

Shepherdstown, WV

4:00 PM

Aug 30, 2012 Men's Soccer LOCK

HAVEN Shepherdstown, WV

3:00 PM

Aug 31, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs. Edinboro @ Fairmont Tourney

Fairmont, WV 9:00 AM

Aug 31, 2012 Women's Soccer URSULINE COLLEGE

Shepherdstown, WV

3:00 PM

Aug 31, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs. Notre Dame (OH) @ Fairmont Tourney

Fairmont, WV 3:00 PM

Sep 1, 2012 Football @ Shippensburg Shippensburg, PA 1:00 PM Sep 1, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs.

Ursuline @ Fairmont Tourney


Sep 1, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs. Point Park @ Fairmont Tourney


Sep 2, 2012 Men's Soccer @ California

(Pa.) California, PA 6:00 PM

Sep 3, 2012 Men's Golf @ Senator

Classic Morgantown, WV - Lakeview Golf Resort

Sep 4, 2012 Men's Golf @ Senator Classic

Morgantown, WV - Lakeview Golf Resort

Sep 5, 2012 Men's Soccer WEST CHESTER

Shepherdstown, WV

4:30 PM

Sep 7, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs.

Clarion @ Clarion Tournament

Clarion, PA 12:30 PM

Sep 7, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs.

Slippery Rock @ Clarion Tournament

Clarion, PA 5:30 PM

Sep 8, 2012 AMERICAN

INTERNATIONAL (Ram Gridiron Club Day)

Shepherdstown, WV

12:00 PM

Sep 8, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs. Clarion, PA 11:00 AM

American International @ Clarion Tournament

Sep 8, 2012 Women's Volleyball vs. Roberts Wesleyan @ Clarion Tournament

Clarion, PA 5:30 PM

Sep 8, 2012 Men's Soccer @ Gannon Erie, PA 3:30 PM Sep 8, 2012 Women's Soccer @

Gannon Erie, PA 1:00 PM

Sep 8, 2012 Women's Tennis vs. Bluefield State (at WV Wesleyan)

Buckhannon, WV 10:00 AM

Sep 8, 2012 Women's Tennis @ WV

Wesleyan Buckhannon, WV 2:00 PM

Sep 9, 2012 Men's Golf @ Hal Hansen

Invitational Clarion, PA - Clarion Oaks

Sep 9, 2012 Women's Tennis @ Davis & Elkins

Elkins, WV 11:00 AM

Sep 9, 2012 Women's Tennis @ Alderson-Broaddus

Philippi, WV 2:00 PM

Sep 10, 2012 Men's Golf @ Hal Hansen Invitational

Clarion, PA - Clarion Oaks

Sep 11, 2012 Men's Soccer @ Bloomsburg

Bloomsburg, PA 7:00 PM

Schedule of Shepherd Sports Events

August-September

Wednesday, august 22, 2012 the shepherd Picket 11

Page_____ C M Y K 11

sPORts

MATThew [email protected] most institutions re-spective football programs who compete in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVI-AC), a season comprising nine wins and two losses would be considered a suc-cess. However, after a season that ended with-out making the Division II post-season, the Shepherd University Rams seem to be primed for another WVIAC crown as well as a deep run into the Division II playoffs.During the 2011 season, the Rams were unflappable inside Ram Stadium, post-ing a record of 6-0 at home. On the road, Shepherd fin-ished 3-2, winning their first road game of the sea-son against St. Joseph’s in Indiana; however, they lost their next two away games to Concord and West Vir-ginia Wesleyan. The Rams will play both Concord and Wesleyan in Shepherd-stown this year, while St. Joseph’s will be replaced on the 2012 schedule by Amer-ican International College in Massachusetts.Graduation hits all ath-letic programs, some years harder than others. Shep-herd is losing many key players on offense for the upcoming season, but will be losing few on defense in comparison. Key losses on offense include running

back Thomas Addison, full-back Tommy Whalen, wide receivers Nikkolai Norrell and Neal Hardie, and of-fensive lineman Carl Mc-Intyre, Joshua Spring, and Steven Jackson. The de-fense will miss cornerback Elijah Davis and defensive end Jon Heavner. Despite the many losses, a program like Shepherd looks to reload, not rebuild. The Rams are bringing in a very solid recruiting class, including Suitland High defensive end Shaneil Jen-kins and Charles Brown, a

fullback from Dunbar High in Baltimore. According to espn.com Brown is the na-tion’s twelfth best fullback for the Class of 2012.Junior defensive end How-ard Jones of Freedom High School and senior Tight End John Frick have been named to the Beyond Sports College Network preseason All-American teams, with Jones being a first team selection and Frick being named to the Honorable Mention squad. Both players will serve key roles in the Rams attempt

to regain the WVIAC title.Another big story leading up to the football season is the new official equipment supplier of the Shepherd University football pro-gram. The new outfitter of the program is Baltimore based Under Armour, who also sponsors Division I powers such as Auburn University and the Univer-sity of South Carolina. Under Amour is making Shepherd the first institu-tion it sponsors at the Divi-sion II level. Some schools,

such as rivals Shippens-burg, wear Under Armour, but the institution pays for its uniforms. The Charm City based business will be outfitting the Rams.Shepherd University should be expecting big things from its football pro-gram during the 2012 fall season. After a campaign that held such promise end-ed in an unexpected fash-ion, the coaching staff as well as the players will be determined to let the WVI-AC know that the top spot in the conference is theirs.

briAn [email protected] season, the Shepherd Men’s soccer team faltered to a final re-cord of 6-10-1 overall and 3-6 in the WVIAC conference. They nev-er could figure out a way to string wins together as they would win a few games and then lose a few. The Rams are returning three all-conference players. Forward Shane Lowry, defender Griffin Frazier, and midfielder Kevin Doyle were all All-WVIAC selections. Lowry was even an NSCAA All-Region team for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region. Expect Lowry, Doyle, and Frazier to be the three leaders of the team. Lowry will be a senior this fall and Doyle and Frazier will be juniors.

These three were the top three in the team statistical categories of shots and game winning goals. Lowry led the team in goals (8), shots (37), shots on goal (19), and points (18). Lowry also scored two game winning goals. One returning player to keep an eye on is sophomore defender Mike Cella. He was a very productive member of the team this past sea-son and led the team in assists with three. Another player that comes into this season under the radar (although last season he was very produc-tive), is junior midfielder Kyle Ran-som. Ransom was in the top five in nearly every team category and even scored two goals with an as-

sist and five points. One of the biggest question marks for the Rams this season will be in goal. Last season goaltender, Edgar Lopez Zuniga, was an All-WVIAC selection but he has since gradu-ated and left. He was an excellent goalie with a save percentage of 74% and also had four shutouts. This season, the job will be left for junior goal keeper David Leonard. In two games last season, Leonard gave up two goals, but also stopped two more. He had a 1-0 record. On place where the Rams will have to improve are goals per game. While they have solid goaltend-ing, they need to help out their goal keepers by scoring a few goals. Shepherd only averaged just over

one goal per game while their op-ponent averaged nearly two per game. Their lack of scoring cer-tainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort. They took nearly 30 more shots on goal than their opponents and 14 shots on goal per game. Looking ahead at the schedule, Shepherd will have a few weeks to figure things out before the start the all-important conference play. In the last two weeks of August, Shepherd will have scrimmages against Millersville and Shippens-burg. Their first game of the season will be on August 30th against Lock Ha-ven and that will be at home. The Rams won’t start conference play until week five when the men trav-el to Concord.

Men’s Soccer Poised for Breakout Season




Shepherd Football: In Perspective



Page_____ C M Y K 12

adVeRtIseMeNt

the shepherd university picket issue 54

Documents

crosswalk safer

shepherd students

justin horn

longer road

high street

detour construction

pedestrian safety

blasts com