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FOR COMPLETE FOOTBALL COVERAGE SEE WKUHERALD.COM
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012 • WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY • WKUHERALD.COM • VOLUME 88 NO. 13
SPORTS WKU HOSTS FIRST KENNY PERRY INVITATIONAL PAGE 8 CHH POLITICS US CHINA RELATIONS PAGE 5 NEWS BATTLE OF THE BANDS ROCK WKU TONIGHT PAGE 2 A TO Z: FUN PAGE CROSSWORD, SUDOKU AND TWEETS FROM THE HILL PAGE 4 STUDENT BUILDS
CLIENTELE WITH CUSTOM DESIGNS PAGE 6
Drag's new home
HILLTOPPER HYSTERIA TIPS OFF TONIGHT SPORTS PAGE 8
After three years of performing as drag king Sammie Luvv, Nashville senior Simone Lampkin talks about the recent closing of Ellis Place, where she and the drag community performed. “I miss it right now,” Lampkin said. “Ellis Place is where Sammie was born. If it wasn’t for Ellis Place I wouldn’t have been able to grow.” MEGAN TAN/HERALD
CHIC CHICKS: DAD'S FLANNEL HOLDS SPECIAL MEANING PAGE 5
ARE YOU A WKU ULTIMATE FAN? FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 6
Student questions future of Cabaret MACIENA JUSTICE DIVERSIONS@WKUHERALD.COM
Once a month, people in the community gathered at Ellis Place for Cabaret La Cage, formerly known as “Bowling Green’s home for premier female and male impersonation.” However, last June, the building was purchased by Vino’s Restaurant, which left local drag queens and kings without a stage. “I feel like a part of me has died,” Simone Lampkin said. Lampkin is a Nashville senior majoring in sociology who enjoyed performing in the drag shows as her male alter ego, Sammie. Lampkin said she was blindsided when she heard the news. She didn't know it would be her last show. The theme was Bowling Green Pride, and the group performed “Freedom” by George Michael. Lampkin learned the brand-new number to perform with the drag
queens. “Everyone loved it,” she said. “It was a joint effort, and it was fun.” She was most proud that everyone joined in and put on a good show. “We were together, working together,” she said. “Queens never do songs together.” Not only did the performers rally together, but the crowd was also in tune. Lampkin said it was the atmosphere that made the performance so great. However, she said the previous owner didn’t announce to the public that the Cabaret La Cage would have to find a new home. “We’d have found a new place sooner,” she said. In a way, she feels that not having a place to perform is good because she can focus on her studies. But she said she’s bummed out that Sammie doesn’t have a home anymore. To make matters worse, Lampkin
Purr-suit of a cure
FRI. 69˚/ 48˚ SAT. 81˚/ 65˚ SUN. 73˚/ 57˚ MON. 73˚/ 48˚
When the statue in front of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house was painted pink as an act of vandalism, the brothers embraced it in support of breast cancer awareness. "Honestly it was kind of funny," said SAE president, Cody Murphy of Morgantown. "Whoever did it, we thank them because it lead to a philanthropic cause." SETH FISCHER/HERALD
was in a car accident coming back from an audition for a drag show in Smyrna, Tenn. She totaled her car and lost her drag show bag, which held flashy clothing and tools needed to transform into Sammie. She hit a puddle of water and hydroplaned across four lanes of traffic. “It took about 10 minutes before I realized I wasn’t dead,” she said. Lampkin said her drag bag was run over by an 18-wheeler. “I miss it,” she said. “But drag will always be there.” The closest place to go see a show is in Nashville at Play or in Louisville at Connections. However, Lampkin still wants to perform in Bowling Green. “I don’t feel that everybody is making enough effort to look,” she said. “The people I meet, I try to network and talk about it to get it brought up SEE DRAG PAGE 2
Sen. Paul to speak at WKU Monday Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is coming to WKU on Monday to address students. Paul will speak in Grise Hall Auditorium at 11:30 a.m. Paul plans to talk to students about issues in the upcoming election year, according to an email from the political science department. Paul last spoke at WKU in September, addressing high school students interested in the military at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center. His last speaking engagement on the main campus was in November of last year, when he talked about the debt situation in Europe. The political science and economics departments are sponsoring the visit. -Michael McKay