C M Y K 50 INCH
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
House
Continued from Page 1 associate professor of political science, said there will be plenty of chances for the bill to be amended though. She also said if this bill doesn’t pass, then a similar one could be reintroduced in a special session. “I think it’s highly likely that we’ll actually end up having a special session to deal with redistricting because it is such a big deal,” Beller said. One organization supporting the bill is the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the largest business advocacy organization in the state that works for economic development and job creation in West Virginia. President of West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Steve Roberts said he supports the bill because he thinks it would bring voters “closer to their representatives” and potentially create more incentives for voting. This, in turn, could lead to better governance and possible economic development, results that are in line with the chamber’s mission. “Breaking up some of the largest districts would make an awful lot of sense,” Roberts said. “For instance, there is a district with seven legislators, there is a district with five legislators in several places and there are districts with four legislators. That’s an awful lot of legislators for voters to really
Barriers
Continued from Page 3 with me in my backyard. Some of them came to my junior high school games. They were remarkably generous with their time. Almost 50 years later, I remember many of their names. Will Johns, Waite Bellamy, John Savage, Maurice McHartley, who always played with a toothpick in his mouth. These players were regulars in my home and they told me stories about their basketball careers and stories about growing up black in America. Bellamy, a fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Hawks who grew up in Florida, told me about the restaurants in his hometown that barred him from entering and the white-only restrooms that he couldn’t use. I remember asking him why he wasn’t mad all of the time, and he told me he saw progress and that progress gave him hope. And he said people like my father made him feel welcome in communities
get to know, and we don’t have a tradition of having very high voter turnout in West Virginia.” Jordan Richardson, senior political science major from Nitro, W.Va., adds that, because so many candidates compete against each other in multimember districts, a candidate can easily end up with a majority in a three-way or fourway race. “Often times, the person who wins is not actually the person everyone wants to win; it’s just the person who got the most votes. So splitting it [West Virginia] up into single-member districts will make it much easier to ensure representation based upon citizens having a clear majority,” Richardson said. Beller believes, however, that the bill would not necessarily result in more equal representation but rather would just provide clarity for constituents in terms of knowing whom to contact. She also believes the bill would affect not only constituents but also multimember representatives and interest groups. “It would immediately hurt legislators in multimember districts who pull their resources to campaign. It’s going to hurt them because now they have to campaign, raise their own money and fund everything,” Beller said. As for interest groups, she said the bill would affect them because it is easier for such groups to target candidates from single-member
districts. “If you think about it—if you can elect three, five or six people in a district—it’s harder for an interest group to specifically just go after one because the constituents can divide their votes. So if you’re having only one person elected, an interest group can simply ball that candidate with negative ads.” Roberts pointed out that, as far as he is aware, the chamber did not help to draft the legislation in the bill and that HB2367 may not be the only bill the chamber ends up supporting. Richardson said that while he thinks there will be protest among delegates from multimember districts, the bill ultimately has hope. Chad Minnick, junior political science major from Buckhannon, W.Va., and also a supporter of the bill, doesn’t think HB2367 will necessarily make it through however. “I think the closer that we get to even representation is a good step to be making,” Minnick said. “However, reflecting on state history and how we came to have our current system, it’s going to meet a lot of opposition to change something of the sort. So it’s a great idea, but I don’t see in this political climate how it’ll pass and become law.” The House Judiciary Committee is currently reviewing the bill. Delegates Linda Sumner, John Ellem and Troy Andes were contacted but unavailable for comment. Anna Swift can be contacted at fahrmann3@marshall.edu.
that once were unwelcoming. My favorite Bomber was a player named Cleveland “Swish” McKinney, one of the league’s legendary shooters. Swish spent hours helping me—unsuccessfully—with my jumper. He shot a jumper that moved through the air without rotation, like a knuckleball. I never learned the trick. As his name suggests, Swish was a player without a conscience and he sometimes would confront me after my games and tell me to shoot more. I would look around to make sure my coach wasn’t listening. He also told me about his days in the Army and the names he used to be called. He told me he was a shooter, not a fighter, and he would try as hard as he could to ignore the taunts. Playing basketball was a way to escape for him. Because it was a weekend league, players, even for home games, stayed at local motels. We’d meet them for breakfast on Sundays, and often the players would be the only black people in the restaurants. Basketball broke down barriers. Even though these players
became friends, I never talked with black kids my age until I started hooping with them. In the summers in the mid- and-late-1960s, when American cities were torn because of race, buildings were burning and the rage was intense, we played basketball together, black and white, without incident. The courts were an oasis from the anger, the game was our common ground. Basketball removed all the stigmas, all the stereotypes, all the suspicions. It’s too simple to say there was no tension. Of course there was. But when the games began, race was never an issue. I’ve always loved the game and still believe there is no sweeter sound than the swish of a jump shot soft as down. But I’m also grateful to the game. It freed me from my white-bread world. It opened my eyes and my mind and my world. It taught me that there were no differences between black and white. And, all these years later, it still has that magical power to bring all of us together.
Campus religious organizations Revolution Mondays 7 p.m. Marco’s
Crusade for Christ Thursdays 9:09 p.m. Marco’s
BCM Wednesdays 9:10 p.m. Campus Christian Center
Flood Tuesdays 9 p.m. Marco’s
fourteen21 Mondays 9 p.m. Marco’s
When does your campus group meet? Let us know at parthenon@marshall.edu.
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Students
Belknap stressed how important it was for Continued from Page 1 students to feel a sense open to the idea of look- of connection to caming into scheduling pus. Compared to new some sort of acclimation students in the fall, program for students new students in the starting in the spring. spring have more of a Even though there is responsibility to seek currently no program resources they need, for these students to ac- she said. climate, there are plenty In addition to the of resources around cam- Student Resource Cenpus for students to find ter, Hensley suggests help. Hensley suggested that if new students students to ask the Stu- are struggling, then dent Resource Center for they should get to know help. their adviser, seek out Sara Belknap, re- their Resident Advissource specialist at the ers and talk to the dean Student Resource Cen- of students. She also ter, explained that they pointed out that there are always ready to help is a counseling service students who are having in Prichard Hall that difficulties. is available to students “We help them play who are in need. catch up and gain a conMaribeth Smith can be nection to the campus,” contacted at smith1526@ Belknap said. marshall.edu.
Maintenance
used as a reference for the housekeeping and Continued from Page 2 maintenance staff. “Residents have to fill “Being online makes in every box and actually it easier for us to be type out the problem, organized and more efthat way we can get the ficient,” Ross said. most detailed requests Even though the and the housekeeping system has only been and maintenance staff available since the seknows exactly what they mester started, the will have to do,” Glover residence department said. has already been receivThe service is available ing positive feedback. to all campus residence “We’ve heard a lot of hall. Students living in good things about it althe First-Year Residence ready”, Glover said. “The Halls still have to go key is getting awaretheir residence portal to ness out about it so the request assistance. students know that it is An advantage of go- there for them to use.” ing online is that the Dalton Hammonds can be requests can be tracked contacted at hammonds9@ in a database that can be marshall.edu.
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