TWEETS FROM THE HILL PAGE 5 Your reactions to the first #WKU victory AUSTIN PEAY SPORTS PAGE 10
SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 • WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY • WKUHERALD.COM • VOLUME 88 NO. 3
SPORTS VOLLEYBALL BATTLES CINCINATTI TUESDAY PAGE 10 DIVERSIONS STUDENT CREATES DESIGNER HANDBAGS PAGE 7 CASH CONSCIOUS PLANNING FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS PAGE 8 FRATERNITY VOTE FOR THE NAME FOR THE STUDENT SECTION AT WKUHERALD.COM
RUSH WRAPS UP PAGE 3
THE Spirit is alive
DONAHUE TO SPEAK TO FRESHMEN SPORTS PAGE 10
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NOW WHEN I tell people I’m going home, I’m talking About Bowling Green.
—Claire Donahue
AUSTIN ANTHONY/HERALD Doug Hix, left, and Dwayne Alvey, Scott's Waste employees of Bowling Green, cook hot dogs and burgers on their grill before the WKU game against Austin Peay Saturday. The Toppers went on to win 49-10 in front of a crowd of 16,237.
MEREDITH HALL RETURNS TO ALL-GREEK PAGE 8
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Fans tailgate throughout the Hill ANNA ANDERSON DIVERSIONS@WKUHERALD.COM WKU fans flocked to campus Saturday to cheer on the Toppers in their first game of the season against Austin Peay State University. Despite the construction and the heat — and then the torrential rain — tailgaters clad in red and white still pitched their tents, fired up their grills and hunkered down until game time at 6 p.m. “This is our school,” said Fred Meyer of Kenway Concrete in Bowling Green. Meyer, a season ticket holder who camps out near Gilbert Hall, has tailgated at WKU football games since he was a student from 1990 to 1993. Since the WKU football team became Football Bowl Subdivision members., Meyer said the Tops have been playing bigger
schools with loyal followers who travel with their teams. WKU students and alumni should have a strong presence, too. For the past eight years, Meyer said he has been tailgating with the same group of friends and their children. “It’s a meeting place where all the kids can come together,” Meyer said. But tailgating doesn’t just bring together Meyer and his friends. The whole lawn becomes a community. Meyer attributes this closeness to WKU’s policy requiring tailgaters in premium sections to purchase specific parking spots. For him, being around the same people from week to week helped him meet more WKU supporters. “Everybody is really nice,” said Heather Wade, a 2001 graduate of WKU. SEE TAILGATING A2
WKU reveals goals, proposed tuition hikes for next six years
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Weather TUE. 90˚/ 72˚ WED. 90˚/ 72˚ 72˚ 70˚ TUE. 90˚/ THUR. 91˚/ 68˚ FRI. 88˚/ 69˚
SHELBY ROGERS NEWS@WKUHERALD.COM The next six years at WKU have been outlined in a new action plan, a plan that includes raising tuition each year. The plan, “Challenging the Spirit,” focuses on four goals: enhancing academics, contributing to a diverse community, enhancing the quality of life in the region and continuing to preserve the institution. It was publicly released at the Aug. 24 faculty and staff convocation and can be accessed on the university website. President Gary Ransdell said this action plan was a return to structure from the financial instability that shaped the university’s strategic planning for the past four years. “I believe strongly in a strategic planning process that is simple, measurable and structured in such a way that you can clearly identify
Source: numbers calculated based on WKU's strategic plan
and report progress… instead of a list of ‘want to be’ or ‘want to do’ things,” Ransdell said. Students can look forward to “improved academic quality, improved campus infrastructure and a greater campus diversity,” over the next
six years, Ransdell said. The plan also reveals that each objective will be funded by a steady 5 percent tuition increase each year over the six-year period. SEE ACTION PLAN A2