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Print edition published three times each semester by WKU Student Publications at Western Kentucky University. First copy: free | Additional copies: $5
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jake McMahon
Editor-in-Chief
Anthony Clauson
News Editor
Von Smith
Visuals Editor
Nathan Mueller
Sports Editor
Emmy Libke
Multimedia Editor
Shelbi Bale Design Editor
Kane Smith
Assistant News Editor
Hallie Stafford
Assistant Visuals Editor
Michael Givner Jr.
Assistant Sports Editor
OTHER LEADERS AND ADVISERS
Sarah Thompson
Cherry Creative Director
Carrie Pratt
Herald Adviser Avari Weis
Advertising Adviser and Sales Manager
Olivia Games Co-Advertising Manager
Harrison Rogers Co-Advertising Manager
Chuck Clark Student Publications Director
POLICIES
Opinions expressed in the College Heights Herald are those of student editors and journalists and do not necessarily represent the views of WKU. Student editors determine all news and editorial content, and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions.
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This edition is the Herald’s second-ever themeless magazine. Our award-winning first magazine of the semester explored the most important issues on campus, the community and beyond, and I’m happy to say we’ve done the same thing in this magazine. This magazine contains four deeply-reported stories on the most paramount topics and people in our community. Reporter Bradlee Reed-Whalen’s cover story, “Passing the lighter,” addresses the use of nicotine products on a college campus, answered through a mix of outside reporting and investigative journalism.
Reporter Brendan Culler took on the national issue of the release of SNAP benefits and gave an inspiring local angle on how our community has supported those in need. The story “Bowling Green community rallies to feed its neighbors” gives a voice to those who know the importance of SNAP benefits, and the people who have worked tirelessly to lend a hand.
Natalie Freidhof and Kayden Mulrooney reported the recent campus news that the Stonewall Suites LLC will not be offered after this academic year, and used the news to present first-hand accounts of what the suites mean to many LGBTQ+ students on the Hill. The duo also tackled the topic of House Bill 4, and its correlation to Stonewall’s shutdown.
Last, but certainly not least, Sports Reporter Peyton Reid profiled one of the most prolific figures to ever walk the Hill: Volleyball Head Coach Travis Hudson. Reid dove into Hudson’s history and legacy as one of the most successful volleyball coaches in Division I volleyball history.
This is our last magazine of our semester, and it has been an honor to serve you the news you deserve — but we aren’t done. Make sure to stay updated with our daily email newsletter, website and social media as we inch closer to winter break!
Sincerely,
Jake McMahon Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Carrie Pratt
NEW STUDENT APARTMENTS COMING FALL 2026
HRL walls off LGBTQ+ LLC
Story by Kayden Mulrooney and Natalie Freidhof
Stonewall Suites Living Learning Community, the housing in Meredith Hall reserved for LGBTQ+ students, is the reason Jay Byrd found the love of his life.
Byrd, a transgender person and former resident of the LLC, said he enjoyed the environment so much that he stayed in Stonewall for his sophomore year. Stonewall gave him an opportunity to explore his gender identity away from his hometown of Custer, Kentucky.
He said without Stonewall Suites, he would never have gotten the opportunity to come out as transgender. But more importantly, he would never have met his wife, Cassandra.
Like others who were affected by the LLC, Byrd said he was “very upset” to hear that Stonewall Suites is slated to shut down at the end of this academic year.
“That’s the reason I felt happy and
safe coming to Western,” Byrd said. “I wouldn’t have met the love of my life without it.”
WKU officials said that the decision was made to comply with House Bill 4, the state’s new anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law, though the text does not explicitly refer to sexual orientation or gender.
Housing and Residence Life Executive Director Catherine LaRoche said in an Oct. 13 email to the Herald that all LLCs will be limited to academic cohorts starting fall 2026. The Intercultural Student Engagement Center LLC created to house students of color will also no longer be offered.
University officials, including LaRoche and Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications for HRL Katie Corbin, issued the same statement when asked for comment.
with state expectations, while continuing to support student success,” Corbin said.
Both faculty fellows for the LLC, English professors Jessica Folk and Dawn Winters, declined to comment and deferred the Herald’s requests to University Spokesperson Jace Lux.
HRL has not made a f0rmal announcement regarding the closures. The first mention of LLCs being limited to academic cohorts comes from an HB4 Compliance Report sent by the university president’s office to the state Committee on Education in August. The university removed Stonewall Suites as a 2026-27 LLC option from its webpage.
State Rep. Jennifer Decker sponsored HB4 and introduced it to the Kentucky House of Representatives in February. The bill passed in the Kentucky House and Senate following a governor’s veto in March 2025.
Photos by River Byrn
Jay Byrd, a transgender person, stands in the front of a transgender flag at Downing Student Union. Byrd was part of the Stonewall LLC, a living-learning community that supported LGBTQ+ students on campus.
HB4 prevents preferential treatment based on religion, race, sex, color or national origin in post secondary education. “Sexual orientation,” “queer,” “gay,” “gender” or “LGBTQ+” are not included in the bill.
Patti Minter, legal historian and WKU history professor, said that citing HB4 for the changes to campus is not the full story. She said the university is likely following directives from the U.S. Department of Education in addition to HB4.
The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights presented a “Dear Colleague Letter” on Feb. 4 announcing its enforcement of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky’s Jan. 9 ruling on Title IX.
DOE sent Dear Colleague Letters to K-12 schools and universities to advise them on interpreting changes in administrative law.
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. The 2024 Title IX provisions expanded the definition of “sex” to include gender identity and allowed students to access programs based on their self-identified gender. The 2020 rule did not provide an explicit definition for the term.
The court ruled the 2024 version unlawful, and reverted to the 2020 rule.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor cited Executive Order 14168 signed by President Donald Trump in the Dear Colleague Letter, saying the DOE “must enforce Title IX consistent with President Trump’s Order.”
Trump signed Executive Order 14168: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” on Jan. 20 shortly after his inauguration.
The order recognizes and defines only two unchangeable sexes. It defines terms like “sex,” “woman” and “man” to avoid varying interpretations of them. The order says “gender identity” cannot be used as a substitute for “sex.”
HB4’s mentions of “sex” align with federal law’s interpretation of the term, which now does not include self-identified gender.
Section 2, clause 1e specifically restricts making student housing assignments based on religion, sex, race, color or national origin, with an exception for separate living facilities for people of a single sex assigned at birth. Stonewall Suites provided gen -
der-neutral housing and permitted students to room with members of the opposite sex assigned at birth.
Lindsey Carter, WKU assistant general counsel, said her team worked “through a careful, objective legal analysis” to figure out the implications of HB4 on university operations. The General Counsel for each Kentucky public university collaborated to interpret HB4 to provide consistency in their policies, Carter said.
“We worked collaboratively with campus leadership to ensure that our policies and practices remain compliant with the law while continuing to support our academic mission and values,” Carter said in an email.
In October, the University of Kentucky quietly eliminated gender-inclusive housing on its campus, citing HB4 for the changes.
Ethan Barbour, a sophomore film production major who resided in the Stonewall Suites last year, said WKU may lose a large portion of incoming LGBTQ+ students by doing the same. He said a deciding factor for many students choosing a college is the accommodations and programs the campus provides.
Barbour said it was “a pretty easy call” to register for the LLC. The
Jay Byrd gently kisses the hand of his wife, Cassandra Byrd at a table in the Meredith Hall study area, where they first met through the Stonewall LLC.
gender-inclusive housing appealed to him. Traditional on-campus housing pairs roommates by sex assigned at birth. Barbour said the practice was “ostracizing” for gender-nonconforming individuals.
HRL reassigned Barbour to Center Hall for the 2025-2026 academic year, though he registered to live in Stonewall Suites. Director of Housing Operations Lana Kunkel followed up with Barbour about roommate assignments in Center Hall after his randomly assigned roommate dropped out.
“I see that you have a requested roommate… but they are in the Stonewall LLC, and not of the same biological sex,” Kunkel said in an email. “So I can’t offer them the space at Center Hall.”
Barbour requested a transgender
woman as his preferred roommate. Kunkel and Barbour set up a phone call, and he and his preferred roommate were offered a room in Southwest Hall.
“I think it’s very important to have a gender-inclusive housing option,” Barbour said. “You find the most respect when you’re surrounded by people who’ve had similar experiences to you.”
Cassandra Byrd, former Queer Student Union president, was legally homeless before coming to college. She received grants from the Hilltopper Pride Network and the Topper Pride Alumni Chapter through Stonewall Suites to pay for an extended-living residence hall over winter break. She said she would have had to couch surf for a place to live otherwise.
Queer advocacy group The Trevor Project found that 16% of
college-aged LGBTQ+ youth have experienced houselessness, per a 2025 research study.
Meredith Hall is now an extended-living residence hall that stays open for university breaks. Cassandra Byrd said the removal of Stonewall would be very “detrimental to at-risk students.”
Meredith residents pay $7,190 for the 2025-2026 academic year, or $3,595 per semester.
“If I’m going to pay a lot of money to be here, I’d like to be comfortable,” Barbour said.
The Board of Regents passed a resolution confirming the university’s compliance with HB4 on June 6, three weeks before the bill officially took effect. The Pride Center lost its university funding and physical office in the Downing Student Union in October.
Cassandra Byrd said that as HB4 takes away DEI resources, students should be taking advantage of those still available.
“Find the community that’s there,” Cassandra Byrd said. “It just might take a little extra effort this time around.”
LGBTQ+ students can still rely on resources that are not funded through the university, which are fundraised by private, faith-based, alumni and staff organizations. Resources include:
• The Faculty/Staff LGBTQIA Ally List
• The Safezone Program
• Gender neutral bathrooms
• HIV testing
• LGBTQIA+ Health and Education Promotion
• Matthew 25 clinics
• The Unitarian Universalist Church
• First Christian Church College Ministry Group
“Since middle school, I’ve really found community within my fellow queer people,” Barbour said. “One of my biggest worries going into college was that I wouldn’t find that same community.”
Barbour said he would have continued to live at Stonewall Suites in his sophomore year if he could. Now, the opportunity is gone.
News Reporter Natalie Freidhof can be reached at natalie.freidhof407@ topper.wku.edu.
Contributing writer Kayden Mulrooney can be reached at kayden. mulrooney908@topper.wku.edu
Sophomore film production major Ethan Barbour stands in front of the entrance to Meredith Hall, a central space on campus where students gather for study, community events, and programs like the Stonewall LLC.
VISUALS
Sam Huffman, Staff Photographer
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
The Hilltoppers moved to 7-2 on the year heading into their second bye week, which comes before the toughest stretch of their season. Coming out of the bye, they’ll face rival MTSU before going on the road to LSU and Jacksonville State.
Givner Jr., Assistant Sports Editor
WKU remains in third place in the Conference USA. With the Blue Raiders and Gamecocks left on the CUSA schedule in, WKU controls its own destiny to make the conference championship game.
Michael
PASSING THE LIGHTER
Nicotine’s place on the Hill
Story by Bradlee Reed-Whalen
Photos by Von Smith
Out of 15 vape and tobacco stores within a five-mile radius of WKU’s campus, nine did not check for ID prior to asking for payment, and all 15 offered non-FDA-authorized flavored vape
visited 15 different smoke shops in Bowling Green to see how many checked for identification. They walked into the store, continued as if they were to purchase a nicotine product and proceeded to the checkout.
completed in the process.
to uncover the accessibility for underage people to buy products considering its long-standing history of being marketed to younger generations. This was seen in campaigns such as the Joe Camel cartoon that was shut down in 1997 and the common practice of placing advertisements in magazines with a high youth readership up until 1998 when the Master Settlement Agreement was signed.
her, and she started going herself — even buying for her friends.
Why do students pick up nicotine?
The Herald surveyed students on their nicotine usage over the course of 12 days. The survey, distributed through QR codes around campus and through a Herald Instagram story, totaled 44 responses. The survey offered respondents anonymity to speak about their experience with nicotine. Respondents who use nicotine products said they started because of stress, accessibility and a desire to
Shelby Reardon, a junior graphic design and printmaking major at WKU, has been using nicotine since
She started vaping because of her brother. He
“I thought he was cool, so I wanted to be cool,” Reardon said.
Nicotine provides Reardon with temporary relief from stress, she said. It also acts as a tool in social situations, such as asking what flavor somebody has or going to the bathroom with someone to use their vape.
Reardon said if she could go back, she never would have picked up a vape.
Reardon described nicotine as “inconvenient,” having to spend money on a regular basis to afford it. She said people she knows who vape sometimes deal with bad breath and pervasive coughing.
“It might seem like it’s fun, but $20 every two weeks for a new vape and always making sure you have it on you, it’s not worth it,” Reardon said.
Reardon attempted to cut nicotine during her sophomore year of high school. She went cold turkey and completely removed nicotine from her lifestyle.
She felt angry and irritable while trying to quit, experiencing daily mood
swings. She ultimately picked nicotine back up and believes that if she were to try and quit again, she would wean herself off slowly, removing it from parts of her daily life one at a time.
“If you haven’t already started, there’s no point,” Reardon said.
Max Davis, a freshman history, social studies and Chinese triple major, said he doesn’t use nicotine to avoid disapointing himself or his parents.
“I really want to go into education and be able to learn things, and I know for a fact that if I go into this, it’s gonna prevent me from making that dream possible,” Davis said.
Davis has friends who use nicotine and has seen how it impacts their lives.
“I noticed a lot of self-deprecating habits, not just cigarettes themselves, but skipping classes a lot, or even divulging in other addictive drugs like alcohol or getting into weed,” Davis said.
Nicotine usage on campus
WKU became a tobacco-free campus in 2020. The policy prohibits the use of any “tobacco product” on WKU property, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products, cigars and pipes. It also bans the advertisement, distribution and sale of tobacco products on campus.
The University of Kentucky set similar rules in 2009, with the University of Louisville and Northern Kentucky University following in 2010 and 2014, respectively.
Angel Shoemake, pedagogical assistant professor of public health at WKU, said that one in five college students still use nicotine on campus. She cited this information from a 2019 National Institute of Drug Abuse sur-
vey on young adult nicotine and cannabis use, and said that WKU’s numbers align with this study.
“While most students respect the policy, you still have it,” Shoemake said. “Especially in cars, in campus housing or social events.”
The survey regarding stu dents’ nicotine usage found that 21 of the 44 respondents said they use nicotine, nine of whom are underage. Forty-three of the 44 re spondents said they knew someone who used nicotine, 36 of whom said the person used nicotine frequently.
“I think a lot of students think that vaping is safer than cigarette usage, not realizing how addictive nico tine is,” Shoemake said.
Shoemake spoke on its negative impacts on memory function, sleep patterns and overall mood. College-age students are also still under going brain development, which Shoemake said is a major concern. Respiratory and cardiovascular prob lems, as well as headaches, are also issues that can result from secondhand exposure to tobacco products that emit smoke or vapor, Shoemake said.
“You can only control yourself, and you can only educate and teach people so much,” Shoemake said. “They have to make that decision for themselves.”
House Bill 11
In 2024, the Kentucky legislature passed House Bill 11, which made the sale of any non-FDA-authorized or non-safe harbour certified nicotine product illegal. The Secretary of State created a list of tobacco retailers allowed in the state, along with a tobacco noncompliance list and reporting system for stores violating the law. This banned all flavors
of e-cigarettes except menthol
1 in
5 college students use nicotine on campus
and tobacco in Kentucky.
Shops that don’t comply with HB11 are subject to fines. They have 60 days to pay the fines, or they could risk losing the ability to sell nicotine products. The prohibition of sales only lasts until the fines are paid, according to the bill.
The Geek Bar e-cigarette was the most popular product mentioned in the Herald survey, with 13 of 44 respondents pointing out its prevalence on campus. Other brands include Mr. Fog, Elf, Kado Bars, NEXA and Foger, all illegal to sell according to HB11.
Respondents also noted the prevalence of cigarettes and nicotine pouches, like Zyn, on campus, which are legal to sell according to HB11.
Higdon, gives Alcohol and Beverage Control Department investigators the authority to inspect licensed nicotine retailers without first obtaining a search warrant. It also enforces that all retailers have a license to sell and further outlines the violations of selling unauthorized vapor products and selling to minors.
What is out there?
Cigarettes had a history of being endorsed by doctors and “physician-approved” marketing in the 1930s. Their growth in popularity finally came to an end with the 1964 Surgeon General’s report, which published all of the health risks that come with smoking. Cigarettes have been in a consistent decline in consumption since 1966. The e-cigarette was
Peak of youth cigarette smoking
Low of youth cigarette smoking
invented in 2003 by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik as a means for himself and others to quit smoking. It eventually made its way to the United States markets in 2006. The first-ever import ruling of a “nicotine inhaler” in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website database was recorded on Aug. 22, 2006.
Vaping quickly hit the nicotine market as a means to quit smoking cigarettes. Alternative nicotine products grew in popularity, such as nicotine pouches.
The percentage of adult smokers fell consistently from 42.6% in 1965 to 11.6% in 2022, while youth smoking peaked at 36.4% in 1997 and fell to 3.8% in 2022, according to the American Lung Association.
Adult vaping saw an increase from 4.5% in 2019 to 6.5% in 2023, according to the Center for Disease Control. However, youth vaping saw a decrease by a third in 2024 from its peak of 5 million youth vapers in 2019, a 2024 CDC press release said.
Marketing
The marketing of nicotine products has a long history, often unfolding inside the walls of a courtroom. United States v. Philip Morris held major tobacco companies liable for the violation
of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 2006. This began with a 1999 lawsuit brought by the United States government against the major tobacco companies for their “lengthy, unlawful conspiracy to deceive the American public.” The conspiracy regarded the health impacts of cigarettes, the marketing to sustain nicotine addiction and the marketing towards children.
The case resulted in a 1,683-page final opinion, along with a final judgment and remedial order, issued by Judge Gladys Kessler. Along with the remedies, defendants found guilty of violating the RICO Act had to publish corrective statements about what they had falsified in the past. Post-trials and remedies continued until 2023 for the case; no new actions regarding the case have been made since.
This all also followed a 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, where 52 state and territory attorneys general signed with the four largest tobacco companies in the United States to settle multiple state lawsuits. The lawsuits sought financial compensation for the billions of dollars in health care costs at the hands of smoking.
Both United States v.
Phillip Morris and the Master Settlement Agreement set a precedent of transparency for the tobacco industry. It gave support to future legislation like the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products and created a framework for ethical marketing.
Shoemake said that e-cigarettes are now more prevalent in younger generations than cigarettes. She believes that the marketing pushes this younger usage.
“Marketing plays a huge role in students wanting to try it out,” Shoemake said. “They have flavors, they have cool designs, they have social media advertising. It makes it look harmless and trendy.”
Reardon described the flavors as “enticing.”
Thirty-four of the 44 respondents to the Herald’s survey felt that nicotine was being marketed towards college-age students. Respondents said they often see young adults as the main subjects of nicotine advertisements.
There are even some vapes on the market that offer phone connectivity and the ability to play video games, like the Craftbox V-Play 20k Disposable Vape or the AirFuze Vape Smart 30k that can be found on online
stores like “Vapezilla.” Companies like Zyn even have rewards programs that incentivise the sale of their product. Rewards include concert tickets, Dyson products and Lulu Lemon merchandise.
Jordan Moffett, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Kentucky, reached out to her students about their thoughts on nicotine pouches and nicotine being used in scientific communities, as well as the marketing of nicotine pouches.
Moffett noticed that some students had a very strong stance on the ethical role of marketing when it comes to nicotine pouches. Outside of that, students took a very neutral position on the impact of nicotine pouches and nicotine within scientific research as a whole. Moffett also noticed there were no longer any “barriers” to nicotine according to what her students told her, whether social, psychological, financial or physical.
“If you look at it from a purely business standpoint, I mean, they’ve normalized a product, shifted social norms around it,” Moffett said.
News Reporter Bradlee Reed-Whalen can be reached at bradlee.reedwhalen539@topper.wku.edu
NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARDS
AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Since winning its first Pacemaker Award in 1978 with the Talisman and in 1981 for the College Heights Herald, WKU has built one of the most successful student media groups in the country. WKU Student Publications has far more Pacemaker Awards — the premier honor for student media — than any other collegiate program in Kentucky and is considered among the best programs in the nation. Congratulations to our student staff members throughout the years and today for this remarkable achievement. GROWING EXCELLENCE
Hall of Fame
Bowling Green community rallies to feed its neighbors
Story by Brendan Culler
Editor’s Note: This article was sent to be printed Tuesday, Nov. 11. We attempted to keep as up-to-date as possible, but given the nature of the story, details will continue to evolve. This story will be updated on WKUHerald.com.
For the families of people like sophomore nursing major Salmo Omar, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is essential.
Omar and her family moved from Kenya to Bowling Green in March 2016. After five years living and working in the United States, her parents secured citizenship for the whole family.
“SNAP was the one thing that could really ease the pressure, by making sure we at least have food covered,”
Omar said. “These programs are really like a safety net for families from a low-income bracket like mine, and without them, even community help is not enough.”
Omar’s mother was pregnant when her family arrived in Bowling Green, making the family eligible for benefits from the federal Women, Infants and Children program, which provides nutritional education and support based on need, not immigration status.
SNAP has been key to affording food for Omar and her family of nine, she said.
“Me and my siblings, when we were young, we would come home, we would always ask our parents, ‘Do we have food?’” Omar said. “We don’t really have to do that anymore, all we had to do is just focus on school, because we always knew that food was going to be
Photos by Cayden Duncan
at home.”
More than 41 million Americans on average have benefited from SNAP each month in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program.
SNAP benefits lapsed Nov. 1 for the first time in the program’s more than 64-year history, one month after the start of the longest government shutdown in American history.
For six weeks, Congress, the White House, federal judges and state leadership jockeyed for the funding and release of SNAP benefits.
SNAP serves more than one in eight Kentuckians, upwards of 645,000 people, including 8,000 households in Warren County, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared
Standing outside Christ Episcopal Church, (Left to right) Barry Brown, Jennifer Brown and Cody Pruitt wait for the next car at the Warren County Democratic Party’s food drive drop-off on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
a state of emergency via an executive order Oct. 31, issuing $5 million to go to local food banks to help mitigate the impact of missed SNAP payments. Food banks across the country have been strained by increased demand, and in May, the Trump administration canceled $500 million in food deliveries, totaling 94 million pounds not in food banks.
One of the main reasons Democrats held out through the federal shutdown was to extend federal Affordable Care Act subsidies that make healthcare more affordable for more than 22 million Americans. The benefits are set to expire at the end of the year.
The USDA released a “Lapse of Funding Plan” Sept. 30, detailing the agency’s plan for operations in the abscence of appropriated funds. This plan listed SNAP as one of the “core programs of the nutrition safety net,” which would continue to operate during a lapse.
The USDA website added a prominent message to the top of its homepage Oct. 27, which stated the SNAP “well has run dry,” and blamed Senate Democrats for the lapse.
Federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled in two separate cases Oct. 31 that the Trump administration was obliged to make payments to SNAP-eligible families in whole by Nov. 3, or in part by Nov. 5.
“The thing that’s ridiculous is that the money for SNAP has been allocated by Congress,” said Patti Minter, WKU professor of history. “As a legal historian, it’s my professional opinion that a big part of what the problem is, in the last nine months, is that the President has been taking the power of the purse away from Congress.”
U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell, who delivered the ruling in Rhode Island, noted there was a $5.25 billion emergency fund Congress had allocated to the USDA for SNAP.
The Trump administration announced Nov. 3 it would distribute SNAP benefits, but only about half the amount families had received in the past.
Trump made a post on Truth Social Nov. 4, saying SNAP funds would go out “only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
Later that day, the Trump administration said that it would comply with the court orders, but that it would “take
SNAP was the one thing that could really ease the pressure.”
- Salmo Omar
some time.”
McConnell later cited Trump’s post as an admission of his “intent to defy” the prior order, when he ruled Nov. 6 that the USDA must pay for SNAP benefits in full by the next day.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who oversees McConnell’s judicial district, granted a request by the Trump administration for a 48hour stay order on the full distribution of payments Nov. 7.
As of Nov. 7, at least eight states confirmed they had distributed SNAP benefits from their own funds. However, late Nov. 8, the USDA directed states to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
The administration on Nov. 10 issued an emergency appeal to the full Supreme Court, which Nov. 11 granted its renewed request to extend the stay order through Nov. 13.
After 40 days of a record-length shutdown, the Senate voted 60-40 to pass a continuing resolution Nov. 9 that would reopen the federal government, assuming the House of Representatives passes the bill when it returns to session Nov. 12.
The bill did not include an extension for the ACA tax credits Democrats held out for, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune committed to allow a vote on the extension in December.
The bill will fund the government until Jan. 30, 2026, and allocate guaranteed funds for SNAP through
Sept. 30, 2026. Americans who qualify are expected to see the funds deposited over the coming days and weeks, though the exact timeline is yet unclear.
“Hearing about the possibility that there will be changes or cuts has made us very anxious,” Omar said. “Sometimes it feels unfair that something so essential can be taken away, especially for families who are already struggling.”
Though Omar’s parents received some education, they are both without diplomas, limiting their employment options. Omar’s father is a truck driver, but she said it’s hard for him to go on the road for long periods, and her mother has mostly had to stay at home to take care of her siblings, as childcare would have been too expensive.
Omar said there are a number of compounding stressors that impact families like hers, including growing threats to immigrants and minority populations, on top of financial strains that exist for families of all backgrounds.
“I’ve noticed a lot of shared concerns and anxiety,” Omar said. “All we can do is support each other, and people look out for each other, share resources and try to stay positive despite the challenges, but it’s a mix of worry and hope.”
This lapse has sparked fear for many and outrage for others, but has also inspired unity and action for many more on WKU’s campus and throughout Bowling Green.
The WKU Office of Sustainability operates a food pantry to provide
Sophomore nursing major Salmo Omar sits in the WKU ampitheater on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. Omar worried about the future of SNAP and how it may affect herself and her family.
shelf-stable goods as well as other essentials, like toiletries and feminine hygiene products. Leslie North has been director of the office since 2019 and has overseen substantial growth to the food pantry’s provisions.
When North took over, she said the pantry consisted of a single shelving unit, with mostly canned goods. Now, the WKU Office of Sustainability maintains a significant rotating stock, with enough food and other necessities to allow members of the WKU community to take what they need, when they need.
“If you’re hungry, you’re not probably thinking as well, you’re not going to perform as well in your classes, or you’re extra stressed about whatever burdens you might be facing,” North said. “Nobody wants to see any of our students or staff or any whomever else in need.”
The pantry allows visitors to pick items from the available stock and fill designated bags to meet their needs. North said that giving individuals the freedom to pick what they get offers a level of dignity, normalcy and agency they might not otherwise get.
“They just burst into tears because they’re overwhelmed with, ‘Wait, I can get the things I need?’” North said.
North said that normally, the pantry draws an average of 6-8 people per day. As the expiration of SNAP funding loomed, there were more than 10 per day, with as many as 19 one day.
“We used to try to restock as much as possible, but due to having too many people come in, we can’t keep up,” said Brian Cordero, a junior environmental sustainability major who works in the WKU Office of Sustainability. “We just try to help out as many people as we can with what we got.”
North said that alongside an increased number of visitors, the WKU food pantry has also seen visitors take an increased volume of goods.
“We are certainly seeing more full bags that are leaving the office,” North said.
North said that, fortunately, with an increase in need for their patrons, they have seen an increase in the number and size of both item and monetary donations, as well as an increase in funding from the university.
“We have a very generous and very thoughtful campus community, I genuinely cannot thank them enough for everything,” North said. “We couldn’t
TOP: Western Kentucky University’s Office of Sustainability sits freshly restocked on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, as some still wonder if they will be receiving their SNAP benefits for the next month.
BOTTOM: Retired WKU public health professor Dr. Cecilia Watkins helps to bring donations into the lobby of Christ Episcopal Church during the Warren County Democratic Party’s food drive on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
do what we do without the support of donations, we would never have enough funding to be able to have enough food products just on purchasing them ourselves.”
One recent donation to the food pantry came through WKU’s Student Government Association.
On Senator-at-large Amelia Tucker’s birthday, Sept. 30, she got a bill passed to help make and distribute “birthday boxes,” shelf-stable birthday kits, for students “who otherwise wouldn’t be able to have a celebration.”
When she went to the WKU food pantry to drop off the birthday boxes, Tucker asked what else SGA could do to help. She was told they were out of granola bars, which the pantry likes to provide as snacks for patrons while they wait to get their food.
Tucker said that request sparked her Nov. 4 bill, a request for $123, the cost of “the max amount of boxes of granola bars and trail mix that you could put in a Walmart cart online.”
When Tucker introduced the bill, she passed out 24 pieces of paper, representing the average class size at WKU, to demonstrate the prevalence of food insecurity. She told everyone with a piece of paper to stand up, and told the two students whose papers were marked with a circle to raise their hand, representing the roughly one-in-12 Americans who experience hunger.
Next, Tucker told the six students whose papers were marked with a star to raise their hand, representing the one-in-four young people, ages 18-26, who experience food insecurity at some point during any given year.
“Any room you’re walking into, anything you’re part of, that’s statistically what it looks like for people who are experiencing food insecurity,” Tucker said. “It’s not a faraway thing, it’s a here thing.”
Other students presented multiple “friendly” amendments, which don’t need to be voted on, to raise the donation amount to an eventual $750.
“$750 won’t fund the food pantry forever, and won’t buy an infinite amount of food,” Tucker said. “But it will feed Hilltoppers on our hill, it will feed people, and that’s worth it.”
Tucker said her concern for the issue was deeply rooted, having grown up helping with school food drives and delivering Thanksgiving food baskets
SNAP Supports:
8,000 households in Warren County 1 in 8 Kentuckians
with her grandmother every year through their church.
“I don’t have the right answer, or know what everything looks like, but I know that people don’t need to be hungry,” Tucker said.
Tucker’s grandmother died in 2020, and she said she was “thinking about her in all of this.”
Individuals, groups and businesses throughout the greater Bowling Green community have also taken initiative to help their neighbors.
Norton Children’s Bowling Green health office opened a food pantry in late October to provide healthy nutrition for children in need. When Molotov Skate Shop held its annual Molotov Fest Saturday, Nov. 1, it added a food drive to the festivities, the same day the USDA had announced SNAP benefits would not go out.
Bricks & Minifigs Bowling Green, which sells LEGO sets and pieces, announced Oct. 27 that it would hold a food drive through the month of November. As of Nov. 11, customers had donated 178 non-perishable food items, and the owners said they plan to match with 100 more of their own.
The Warren County Democratic Party held a food drive Nov. 8, to which locals brought donations of food and other necessities. Minter, who is chair of WCDP, said the total donations filled eight SUVs packed tightly from floorboard to ceiling.
“The community showed up for the people who need food today, and I’m moved by that,” Minter said.
Minter said people brought bags with ingredients for complete meals, like pasta and sauce, as well as spices, along with simple shelf-stable foods.
“I’m a history professor, right? Spices have always been a luxury,” Minter said. “It’s one of the things that makes food taste good and makes it interesting, and it gives dignity to people.”
Minter also said donors had given things like cake mix and pudding mix, and that offering sweets to people in need offers its own sort of dignity.
“So many people are saying that if you’re poor, you don’t deserve to have treats or special things,” Patty Ziegler, 53, said. “My kids used to get the biggest kick out of, ‘We get to choose candy bars?’ That was a big treat for them.”
Ziegler said that she and her family relied on food pantries when her children were young. Childcare was too expensive, so she would stay home to raise their four kids herself, while her husband had to work two or three jobs to support them.
“By the time I was 24, I had four kids. What were my choices? Not a lot. Until they got older, doors started opening, and I started kicking some of the doors down,” Ziegler said. “We’re all about moving upward and forward and still being grounded, remembering where we came from.”
Ziegler said her own experiences with poverty and food insecurity contributed to her desire to support others, now that she and her husband are financially stable.
“I believe that everybody has a chance to get out of whatever situation they’re in if they’re given the resources. Some people just need resources,” Ziegler said. “We have to encourage each other, stop trying to break each other down.”
Minter said she found the community response heartwarming, but that she believes the present circumstances amount to a “manufactured crisis.”
“Don’t eat over the weekend is not an acceptable answer,” Minter said. “That’s not right. We can do better, and we should do better. We must do better.”
News Reporter Brendan Culler can be reached at brendan.culler074@ topper.wku.edu
‘A TRUE HILLTOPPER’
31 years of success
Story by Peyton Reid
Photos by Jonah Savage
WKU Volleyball had one of the biggest program turnarounds in collegiate sports, led by Head Coach Travis Hudson.
The Hilltoppers had just seven winning seasons from 1981-95 under three head coaches. WKU’s best season before Hudson was 1990, when the Hilltoppers went 32-9.
Hudson took the keys to the program in 1995 after spending three years as an assistant — two years under Mark Hardaway and one year under Jeff Hulsmeyer. Hardaway left Hudson with a program ranked 308 out of 326 Division I volleyball teams.
The Hilltoppers went 34-65 through Hudson’s first three seasons as head coach; since then, they have gone 768-174 as of Nov 11. Despite the early struggles, Hudson said he “would nev-
er want it to have unfolded any other way.”
Hudson said “immersing” himself in the coaching process early in his tenure amid the team’s struggles helped him appreciate his later career success.
“I realize how hard coaches work, even when the success is not evident on the court,” Hudson said. “I have great respect for that.”
Hudson has tallied 800 wins, 34 conference championships and 17 NCAA tournament appearances, spending his entire career on the Hill. He is only the third active head coach with 800 career wins, and one of the most decorated coaches in NCAA volleyball.
Through it all, Hudson said the most important wins are the Hilltoppers’ 22 in 2025, as of Nov. 11. WKU has won at least 20 games in each of the last 26 seasons, the longest streak
in DI volleyball.
WKU athletics announced during the 2024 season that Hudson would be honored with a statue outside Diddle Arena as tribute to his commitment to Hilltopper volleyball.
“It’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest. I don’t know how you react or respond to that kind of accolade, but obviously, I’m really honored,” Hudson said. “I hope people understand it’s a sign of the fact that I’ve been a true Hilltopper through and through and love everything about Western Kentucky.”
It has been a lifetime of WKU for Hudson, beginning his career on the Hill in 1988 as a student.
“This is a place that has given me way more than I’ve given it through the course of time, and certainly a place that we call home,” Hudson said. “When I came
here, I realized that the people in this community were very, very special. They care a lot about what goes on in the community.”
The compassion Hudson has poured into WKU has made him a staple not only for athletics but WKU as a whole, said alumni Paige Romine, an outside hitter for the Hilltoppers from 2019-2023.
WKU volleyball players and alumni believe it was “about time” for Hudson to be honored.
“I think it is something so deserved, what he has done for volleyball in the community,” senior libero Callahan Wiegandt said. “It was little to nothing not that long ago, and now we have two clubs (local youth teams) in the Bowling Green area. It is really cool to see everyone rallied around Western volleyball.”
Hudson’s love for WKU
WKU Volleyball Head Coach Travis Hudson speaks at the unveiling event for his own statue, just outside of gate 2 at E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Last year, Hudson was inducted into the WKU Athletics Hall of Fame.
does not just reside on the Hill. He also cares deeply about the Bowling Green community. Romine remembers doing events with her teammates for Habitat for Humanity, an organization that provides housing for people in need, and Stuff the Bus, which helps students get the proper start in school.
“He really does touch a lot of people,” Romine said. “I’m shocked by how he knows everyone’s name.”
Many coaches with Hudson’s success would look to coach other universities in power conferences. However, all of the love Hudson has for WKU keeps him here.
“Coaches with his talent and abilities, usually use Western as a stepping
stone to go to larger universities,” said alumni Russ Faxon, who made Hudson’s statue. “But he truly loves Western, and he loves the students that are there, and that’s why he stays.”
Hudson challenges the Bowling Green community to come out and just see one game. Hudson said if you come out just one time, you will see people who pride themselves on wearing WKU across their chest.
Romine is one of those players who played with pride when wearing the red and white. She credited Hudson for breaking her out of her shell in a career that earned her threetime American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American and Con -
ference USA Player of the Year honors.
“This program has changed my life,” Romine said. “I was a completely different person before I came to Western and before I played for Travis.”
Success on and off the floor has been a passion for Hudson since he was named head coach, which drew many players to come play under him and his staff.
“He really wants to make us better human beings for after volleyball,” Romine said.
Senior setter Callie Bauer said Hudson pushes her to be her best every day, and knows he is always there for her outside of volleyball.
“Most importantly off the court, I know I can come to him for anything,”
Bauer said. “I know he loves me like family, and he is a great, great mentor in life.”
Hudson sees volleyball as his tool to help players grow outside of the game. WKU Volleyball has a 100% graduation rate.
“Volleyball is who they’re known as, but not necessarily why they’re here. It’s just their vehicle to help them get their college degree,” Hudson said.
For Hudson, it is not just about winning games.
“The true reward is helping young kids navigate those college years, which are really difficult,” Hudson said. “They come here as kids, and they leave as young adults.”
Wiegandt has shared a
Senior volleyball players Callie Bauer (left) and Callahan Wiegandt (right) remove the covering from the statue at the unveiling of the Travis Hudson statue outside of E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
similar conversation with Hudson about volleyball not being everything in the world. Wiegandt said that through volleyball, Hudson teaches skills for the real world. As a senior, Wiegandt realizes her collegiate career is coming to a close.
“At the end of the day, the ball is going to stop bouncing at some point,” Wiegandt said.
Having the connection with the players off the court translates to on the court performance and strengthens the skills they already possess.
“He’s helped me so much, skill wise and work ethic wise,” junior middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele said. “Just learning the skills every single day. That’s the most important thing I’ve learned.”
Regardless of all of the success Hudson continues to see season-to-season,
he recognizes there are daily victories throughout the community.
“There are teachers that are getting up and they’re winning every day when they go in that classroom with those kids,” Hudson said. “There are bankers that are getting up and winning every day leading a team in their bank.”
Near the unveiling of Hudson’s statue, WKU Athletic Director Todd Stewart not only made Hudson’s legacy permanent with the monument, but cemented him as one of the great sports figures to walk the Hill.
“Travis Hudson now has a distinction, the equivalent of being on the Mount Rushmore of WKU Athletics,” Stewart said.
Sports Reporter Peyton Reid can be reached at peyton.reid502@topper. wku.edu.
The WKU volleyball team poses for a group photo at the unveiling of head coach Travis Hudson’s statue outside of E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
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