5 things to read this morning
February 18, 2014
1. Administrators grapple with student death
Six WKU students died last semester, and while fellow students, faculty, family and friends mourned loved ones, the WKU administration had to move past its grief to perform a larger duty.
But campus officials also have procedures to follow upon hearing the news of a death and have to think about how best to handle the situation as it related to the family, students and the university.
Howard Bailey, vice president for Student Affairs, said WKU doesn’t have a particular policy dealing with student deaths, but there are certain procedures the university follows. WKU does not notify other students on campus about the death through an announcement or email.
2. Phi Delta Theta returning to campus
The fraternity plans to recolonize their chapter, Kentucky Eta, at WKU by this fall.
Ryan Schell, expansion leadership consultant, will be in DSU until March 24 conducting interviews with men interested in rebuilding the fraternity.
He and another consultant have already met with an estimated 150 men.
3. WKU Store experiences major turnover
The WKU Store finds itself with three vacant positions as the semester reaches the quarter mark.
Shawna Turner, former director of the WKU Store; Jim Sears, former assistant director of retail operations for the WKU Store; and Lacey Jackson, former marketer at the WKU Store, no longer hold their positions.
4. WKU basketball drops ball against Jaguars
WKU’s recent home loss against South Alabama was unlike any of its other nine losses.
“It looked like (South Alabama) wanted to win the basketball game more than we did,” Coach Ray Harper said.
Senior guard Brandon Harris said “it was terrible” that the Jaguars wanted it more.
5. Minimum wage increase to affect servers
It’s an issue that hasn’t been addressed in the past 23 years. And to waitress and WKU graduate Jessica Ford, it won’t help the way everyone thinks it will.
The issue at hand is minimum wage for servers and waiters. The national minimum wage for servers sits uncomfortably low at $2.13 per hour.
Waitresses are forced to live entirely off tips, as their paycheck goes directly to taxes.
“Most servers have to pay in at the end of the year because that $2.13 doesn’t cover all of their taxes,” Ford said. “We have to pay up to $500 at the end of the year.”
