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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 Stamps
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
Hello, Hilltoppers!
I hope everyone’s semester has gotten off to a great start. I want to welcome each one of you to a new era of the Herald’s print edition. Since our print edition became a magazine, we’ve centered each issue around a theme. This semester, we’re removing themes, with the hope of giving you the best news stories from our campus, community and beyond.
In our most significant story in this issue, “What happened to WKU’s 3 newest dorms,” News Editor Anthony Clauson explores the mishaps that led to the permanent closure of Hilltopper Hall, and the temporary closure of Normal and Regents halls.
In this issue, we also report on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the effect it has had on a Kentucky detention center’s overcrowding; how House Bill 4 has affected WKU; and a WKU professor who was featured in The New York Times.
While having a theme for our magazine opened the door for us to cover important issues like mental health and the First Amendment, eliminating themes gives us the ability to tell four of the most important stories, no matter the topics.
Our team has worked hard to bring you the best and most impactful stories in this issue. We will continue to do so in our following magazines, on WKUHerald.com, in our daily email newsletters and on social media platforms.
Sincerely,
Jake McMahon Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Carrie Pratt
ICE detainees housed in county jails amplify overcrowding
Story by Natalie Freidhof
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement
incarcerated Gladis Yolanda Chavez Pineda, a Chicago mother and organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations, the Kentucky jail that held her could barely make room.
ICE arrested Chavez Pineda for her asylum-seeking status and transported her to Grayson County Detention Center on June 11. She recalled people sleeping on concrete floors with just one mattress for a group of 20 people, and a single bathroom for 20 or more detainees with no privacy partitions, according to information her daughter provided to CBS News.
Kentucky Revised Statute 441.055 establishes minimum standards for jails that house state prisoners. The statute requires one
toilet, sink and drinking fountain per 10 inmates, and one shower per 20 inmates. The statute also requires 40 square feet and one bunk for every detainee.
Chavez Pineda isn’t alone in her detention experience. Kentucky inmates are being housed in increasingly overcrowded conditions as county jails contract with ICE to hold its detainees.
President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” on Jan. 20. The order added Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies, like county jails, and assist in ICE operations.
Grayson County Detention Center entered an agreement with ICE
in March. The facility’s contract guaranteed five beds to be used for ICE detainees. As of April 13, 2025, the detention center housed 98 ICE detainees, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghousev.
The Kentucky Department of Corrections’ (KDOC) weekly jail count sheet from Sept. 4 reported the facility as 136% overcrowded with 729 inmates to 536 beds. Grayson County’s jail has the third-largest inmate population in Kentucky, following Fayette (Lexington) and Jefferson (Louisville) counties.
The sheet categorized 32 jails as over capacity and two jails at exact capacity out of 120 total detention facilities in Kentucky as of Sept. 4. Kentucky legislation heightened penalties and lengthenedv sentences for criminal charges, creating more inmates. These laws include the 1974
Photos by Cayden Duncan
Kyle Ellison, 77, a veteran and former Probation & Parole Officer for the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC), speaks at the town hall meeting put on by the Kentucky Citizens for Democracy (KCfD) group in Leitchfield, Ky. as a guest speaker. Ellison shared a presentation with information about the Grayson County Detention Center and its connections with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Penal Code, the “Three Strikes Law” and the “Safer Kentucky Act.” When state prisons fill up, state prisoners overflow into county jails.
The state implemented per diems, a daily payment to county jails to cover the cost of incarceration for housing state prisoners.
Citizens and activists are concerned that jails contracted with ICE have an incentive to overcrowd to receive more revenue in per diems, leading to worsening conditions for immigrant detainees.
The Kentucky Citizens for Democracy in Grayson County hosted a town hall meeting on Sept. 4 to address “the profit incentive behind Grayson County’s overcrowding of their detention center with ICE detainees,” according to its website.
Michael Slider founded the group with his wife in February after Trump began his second term. They hosted the first meeting in their basement in Oldham County. Now, after growing their membership, the group meets in a church and added a Grayson County chapter.
“We know these are hard conversations to have,” Grayson County Chapter Leader Beth Mattingly said. “We know that even acknowledging the facts makes people uncomfortable, but we also know that we have the moral obligation to speak out.”
Kyle Ellison, a former KDOC pro-
Michael Slider, 56, executive director of the Kentucky Citizens for Democracy (KCFD) group based in Oldham County, answers questions after the town hall meeting in Leitchfield, Ky., meant to discuss the current and past affairs and conditions of the Grayson County Detention Center, as well as Immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) activity in the state.
bation and parole officer and longtime prison rights advocate, said this was the most engagement he’d seen.
“People are interested because they totally understand that these people are not criminals,” Ellison said.
Ellison and Slider spoke at the town hall. Ellison came prepared with a data-packed slideshow full of resources, news articles and court cases.
“I have been following corrections issues for more than 50 years,” Ellison said at the town hall. “Even after I quit in 1988, I stayed mad.”
Slider asked moral questions, recited emotionally charged court cases and discussed his own religious and personal values.
“The problem is, an immoral and unjust system poisons everything that it touches,” Slider said. “So let’s call these detention centers, and let’s start calling them out for what they’re doing. It must become a badge of shame.”
Added per diem revenue given to jails holding state prisoners detracts from the amount jails need from county taxpayers.
The cost to incarcerate a state inmate is $89.02 per day, while the cost to incarcerate for county jails with state inmates is $56.51 per day, according to a KDOC report for the 2025 fiscal year. County jails without state inmates pay $46.51 daily. Per diems from the state help cover these costs.
The KDOC per diem to the jail is $36, while the federal per diem is $65.
“The state inmate count is down, which is a good thing for (the) state of Kentucky and the citizens in it… but it also means far less revenue for the jail,” Hopkins County Jailer Mike Lewis said in a May 8 WKMS article.
“So how do jails pay for all this?” Ellison said. “Well, one way to do this is you overcrowd your jail.”
On Aug. 21, at 142% capacity, Grayson’s detention center brought in $43,836 from per diems. The jail received $27,778 while at 100% capacity on June 20, 2021, according to KDOC. These amounts do not account for inflation or change in per diems over time.
Federal authorities negotiate per diem amounts with each jail individually, so amounts may vary, Ellison said.
The number of state and federal prisoners held in Grayson County increased from 477 on June 20, 2021, to 686 on Aug. 21, 2025. Less than 100 inmates held for local police and courts populated the jail on both dates.
Ellison said state prisoners should be in state facilities because prisons are built for long-term incarceration and have more space for separation of prisoners and education opportunities.
“The parole board wants to see that the inmate took programs and tried to improve himself,” Ellison said. “Well, those programs aren’t available in a
Beds vs. Inmates at Grayson County Detention Center
jail. The likelihood of making parole is better if you’re in prison.”
Warren County Regional Jail does not have any contracts with ICE, but does hold state and federal prisoners. The jail is also overcrowded. A KDOC inspection report from June 16 found the jail overcrowded in 15 dorms, one cell and one dayroom.
The inspection listed 469 inmates, but only 410 beds. Some beds were also left empty, leaving 87 inmates to sleep on the floor, according to the report’s breakdown of each cell, dorm and dayroom.
The order of corrective action from the department required the jail to submit a “plan to correct non-compliant item” and a “time frame within which the item will be in compliance.”
Warren County Jailer Stephen Harmon’s written plan to the Division of Local Facilities included neither.
“We are overcrowded and have been for several years,” Harmon stated. “The corrective action is to continue monitoring cells and housing units and to adjust cell designations as much as practical, however, this is mostly out of our control.”
“The plan reflects a good-faith effort to comply with the standards and has been accepted as submitted,” the division stated in its reply to Harmon. “Thank you for your continued cooperation.”
Citizens asked Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower if his department participated in the 287(g) Program.
“Here in Warren County, we stay so incredibly busy just with day-to-day operations that we really don’t have the additional manpower,” Hightower told the Herald.
The sheriff’s department is not contracted with ICE, but Hightower still reached out to ICE’s regional supervisor to establish a line of communication following the arrest of Ernesto Manuel-Andres, a Bowling Green teenager.
ICE detained Manuel-Andres at Grayson County Detention Center following his arrest on June 4 in Warren County.
At the time of his arrest, his residence in the U.S. was protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and his special status as an immigrant juvenile for survived
abandonment or abuse.
Reports of his arrest spread through the Bowling Green community, inciting public outcry, protests and vigils.
Manuel-Andres was transported three times in five days. He was released on June 24 from a detention facility in Monroe, Louisiana, and was met with celebration upon his return home.
“There wasn’t really a communication between them and us,” Hightower said.
Hightower said he and local citizens share concerns surrounding ICE operations. Hightower said that knowing the whos, whys and whens surrounding detainments would ensure those making the arrests have the appropriate federal credentials and quell uncertainty.
“We built these lines of communication, there’s been feedback and there should be a little more clarity,” Hightower said.
News Reporter Natalie Freidhof can be reached at natalie.freidhof407@ topper.wku.edu.
What happened to WKU’s 3 newest dorms?
Story by Anthony Clauson
Over $88 million spent and 1,035 beds empty, WKU’s three newest dorms are uninhabitable.
Engineering reports reviewed by the College Heights Herald revealed the buildings have significant engineering, construction, material and workmanship flaws, which cause them to fail to meet Kentucky building codes.
The biggest and most expensive of the three, the 400-bed Hilltopper Hall, which opened in 2018 and closed in 2024, spans the area of campus known as the Valley. In May 2025, the Student Life Founda -
vageable. Both were shut down in May, after just four years of occupancy, and await estimates for repairs.
Through it all, Britt said WKU never gave her a full explanation of what happened to her freshman-year home.
“We kind of really just had to go off of rumors,” she said.
So, how did this happen?
WKU established the nonprofit SLF in 1999 to own and operate student housing for the university, renovate existing dorms and construct new ones.
The group is in a lawsuit filed May 17, 2024, with the architect and construction company that worked on
gust interview that questions regarding dorms should be directed to the SLF.
Caboni was not present for the decision to remove residents from Hilltopper Hall, according to SLF meeting minutes.
Since the start of Caboni’s presidency in 2017 to Sept. 3, the SLF has held 44 meetings. Caboni has attended nine, six of which have occurred within the past two years.
While the foundation provided documents to the Herald via requests through the Kentucky Open Records Act, those documents don’t fully answer key questions raised by the situation:
• Why were problems not
design and engineering of the projects?
• Was there less oversight on these projects because they were being built by a nonprofit corporation created by WKU rather than the university itself?
• What, exactly, is WKU’s role in the Student Life Foundation?
S.E. Engineering
S.E. Engineering, owned by Stoneburg, was the engineering firm for Hilltopper Hall, but is not named in the lawsuit the SLF is in with the architecture firm Sewell & Sewell and contractors Scott, Murphy & Daniel. The Herald has reached out several times to
Photos by Jack Cheasty and River Byrn
burg over the phone and on Facebook, but has not gotten a reply.
S.E. Engineering is not listed in the lawsuit with SLF because the two are in a “tolling agreement,” Pardue said.
Jill Dutmers, a Florida-based attorney specializing in construction-based litigation, said a tolling agreement is a formal agreement that gives both parties more time to enter a potential lawsuit.
The SLF is currently exploring a potential lawsuit over Normal and Regents halls, according to Pardue. SLF hired Sewell & Sewell, S.E. Engineering and Builders by Design for the construction of Normal and Regents halls.
Pardue said Normal and Regents were inspected
S.E. Engineering also has a 2008 contract with the SLF for “Construction Management Services.”
Hilltopper, Normal and Regents halls all underwent state inspections. However, Kentucky state inspectors do not inspect the structural integrity of buildings.
“Under state law, the HBC (Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction) does not perform structural analysis,” Ricki Gardenhire, a now-retired state information officer, said in an email to the Herald.
“At the conclusion of construction, the Department receives a final statement of special inspections from the design professional that documents the special inspections and structural tests that require expertise outside of the HBC.”
The Herald filed an open
returned to the Herald with documentation that said, “After a diligent search, the Department was unable to locate responsive records.”
When asked about structural analyses, Pardue said the only structural inspections conducted at the request of the SLF were the inspections that led to the closure of each building.
“I cannot speak to any analyses that might have been done during construction, but those that led to the recent closure of the buildings have been the only structural inspections done at the request of the Student Life Foundation,” Pardue said in an email.
Under the “Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Construction Manager” contract agreed to between the SLF and S.E. Engineering, struc-
Herald, said in an email. “So this squarely puts any liability for structural tests, inspections and reports on the Owner.”
S.E. Engineering, serving as the construction manager, was responsible for overseeing the architect and contractors for the SLF, according to the contract.
“The Construction Manager shall expeditiously review design documents during their development and advise on proposed site use and improvements, selections of materials, building systems and equipment, and methods of Project delivery,” states the American Institute of Architects “Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Construction Manager” contract.
The Reports
Photo by Jack Cheasty
• Missing galvanized backing steel.
• Missing joists.
• Concrete slab installed on irregular surfaces under pedestals.
• Drain system installation concerns.
• Irregular base material and absence of tile grouting, which allowed water to collect under the tile.
The SLF allocated $267,412 to address the issues, in addition to another $250,000 that was allocated in December 2022 to fix issues with the “Hilltopper Hall Patio Failure.”
The meeting minutes also reference shifting in the facade of Hilltopper Hall, which presented “a severe safety risk of falling stone.”
In a Jan. 17, 2024, meeting, SLF approved shutting down Hilltopper Hall just days into the spring 2024 semester, with a deadline to move out of just weeks later on Feb. 4, 2024. The move out was announced the next day.
Britt said she was never aware of any issues with Hilltopper Hall until the closure was announced.
“I’m sure they had to know about it way before they told us,” Britt said. “And it’s like, kind of wor -
rying that I was living in those conditions, and I had no clue.”
For months, officials considered repairs of the building, but eventually determined it would be more cost-efficient to demolish Hilltopper Hall.
The demolition was announced in a May 16 news release from the SLF. Pardue, the SLF legal counsel, told the Herald he expects demolition to start sometime next summer.
Brown+Kubican Structural Engineers, a Kentucky-based firm, submitted its official report on Jan. 19, 2024. B+K found that structural errors resulted in the six-story Hilltopper Hall having as much as a 19-inch sway potential on the top floor in high winds.
The allowable drift for Hilltopper Hall was 2.8 inches.
Inspections conducted by Jackson Kelly PLLC, Larry Schwering Architect PPLC, Brown+Kubican Structural Engineers (B+K) and Rick Hawkins of Hawkins Construction found Hilltopper Hall was not up to Kentucky building codes.
“When subjected to the code-mandated load cases and various load combina -
tions, many of the structural steel elements (beams and columns) fail to have the required strength,” B+K’s report said.
The problems didn’t stop there.
Normal Hall and Regents Hall opened in 2021 to create the new First Year Village.
On Jan. 29, 2025, the SLF hired B+K to inspect Normal and Regents halls for a “cost of which shall not exceed $400,000,” according to SLF meeting minutes.
On March 28, the SLF allocated over $3.7 million for potential repairs, according to meeting minutes.
On May 16, the SLF announced the closure of Normal and Regents halls in a press release. The dorms were inspected by B+K, JRA Architects, UL Solutions and KFI Engineers and were found not to be up to code, with major issues in the steel beam framing.
The steel beams in Normal and Regents halls were found to be undersized “for strength, deflection, or both” by B+K.
The ceiling material used in both buildings was also found not to be compliant with fire codes, according to the report.
A memorandum to B+K
from KFI, included in the reports, stated that they were also unable to locate up-to-code fire dampers in the ductwork during a visual assessment of Normal and Regents halls.
The reports of Normal and Regents Hall included a variety of “miscellaneous strengthening” suggestions.
• Weld steel reinforcement to the column splices at the fourth floor.
• Revise the connection details and add adhesive anchors at steel connections to concrete walls, including at all stair shafts.
• Apply new coatings and/or architectural wrapping of exterior steel framing to prevent corrosion that could weaken the steel.
What is the SLF?
Hilltopper, Normal and Regents halls were all built at the request of the WKU Student Life Foundation. The SLF also built the WKU Apartments on Kentucky Street, which have not been inspected for structural issues despite the problems in Hilltopper, Normal and Regents halls.
Pardue said he was uncertain as to why the WKU Apartments had not been inspected, but suspected they hadn’t shown a need for
SLF board discuss issues with Hilltopper Hall, allocates $267,412
SLF board allocates $250,000 to address shifting patio at Hilltopper Hall
Brown+Kubican send its inspection report of Hilltopper to SLF board
SLF board approves Hilltopper Hall move out
Hilltopper Hall
Normal and
Photo by Jack Cheasty
Photo by River Byrn
inspection. The apartments appear in the gallery on S.E. Engineering’s website.
The SLF is a nonprofit organization created under the administration of former WKU President Gary Ransdell in 1999. It was incorporated on May 21 that year under the name WKU Residential Life Foundation, which was soon changed to the current name, according to records filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office.
Ransdell said that when he became president of WKU in 1997, there were several dorms in need of renovations. Traditionally, dorm renovations had to be approved and funded through the state, Ransdell said.
“At that time, we needed to do something rather pervasive and unusual in order to improve our residential community across the board,” Ransdell said.
Ransdell also said the SLF worked to take the debt of dorm maintenance and construction off WKU and the state’s books and onto the books of a separate entity. This gave WKU a larger bond capacity to take on debt for other properties, like academic buildings.
Ransdell said that trans -
ferring the dorms to a separate nonprofit organization allowed for a faster process because WKU’s dorms were no longer competing with other state-owned facilities that may need renovation or construction.
“It’s hard to do things expeditiously when you’re under the state umbrella because it’s a big, complex capital project approval process with the state,” Ransdell said.
Ransdell said he appointed the first SLF board, and when new members were added, he would “approve” or “endorse” the members he wanted on the board.
The SLF spent the first years of its existence renovating existing dorms. The WKU Apartments, which opened in 2014, were the SLF’s first new construction project.
The current SLF board consists of Brad Howard, the chairman, who is Warren County president and loan officer for Independence Bank; Mike Simpson, owner of Simpson Property Management and a member of the College Heights Foundation board; Brian Kuster, former vice president of enrollment and student experience; Savan -
MARCH 28, 2025
SLF board allocates $3,765,000 for potential repairs to Normal and Regents halls
JAN 29, 2025
FEB 4, 2024
Hilltopper Hall empty SLF hires Brown+Kubican to inspect Normal and Regents halls
na Kurtz, the vice president of WKU’s Student Government Association; Bowling Green resident Gerald Stephens; attorney Hamp Moore; Kristen Bale, a former member of the WKU Board of Regents and the wife of current Regent Phillip Bale; and Sandy Boussard, the former Bowling Green mayor, according to Pardue.
Catherine LaRoche, WKU’s assistant vice president for Housing and Residence Life, is also the executive director of the SLF, but not a member of its board. Martha Sales, WKU vice president for student experience, is a non-voting member of the board.
Caboni said he was a non-voting member of the SLF board during the meeting with the Herald Editorial Board on Aug. 15, 2025.
Jace Lux, WKU spokesperson, said in an email on Sept. 9, 2025, that after speaking with Pardue, he confirmed Caboni was not a member of the SLF board.
“Based on my conversation this morning with Tad Pardue, the university president is not a member of the SLF board, and if the president stated otherwise, he misspoke,” Lux said. Lux
was present at the interview where Caboni referenced his role with the SLF.
When asked about Hilltopper Hall’s closure at a meeting with the Herald Editorial Board, Caboni said, “You’d have to talk to the Student Life Foundation about that.”
“I appreciate what the Student Life Foundation has done for the university,” Caboni said. “They have constructed now three halls that are offline. And so from my perspective, that relationship between the university and the foundation is going to have to evolve.”
The Kentucky Supreme Court found in 2007 that WKU and the SLF were “alter egos” in a ruling on an unrelated lawsuit.
“... SLF acts as an alter ego of WKU for purposes of holding title to the dormitory properties and obtaining funding to refurbish them,” the Kentucky Supreme Court said in court documents.
“Every other operational function related to the dormitories has been ceded back to WKU through the Management Agreement.”
When addressing the decision to tear down Hilltop-
MAY 16, 2025
MAY 14, 2025
SLF decides to shut down Normal and Regents and demolish Hilltopper
MAY 9, 2025
B+K send its report to SLF for Normal and Regents halls
SLF announces closure of Regents and Normal, demolition of Hilltopper, opening of Center Hall
Photo by Anthony Clauson
per Hall, Caboni said making the choice was “not our responsibility. It’s actually their (the SLF’s) responsibility.”
“I think that clarity in that description of the relationship is important, because these are not university choices,” Caboni said.
Long-term plan
Caboni announced at a Board of Regents meeting on June 6, 2025, that WKU and the SLF are working with a Washington, D.C., consulting firm, Brailsford & Dunlavey (B&D), to craft a plan, a “5-10 year plan” for WKU’s dorms.
B&D are currently under a contract with the SLF that until December of 2025 which will pay a total of $280,000.
B&D will enlist a third-party partner to create a public-private dorm model. In a June 6 interview, Caboni said he has looked at public-private dorm models at LSU, his alma mater, and Eastern Michigan University.
Julian Sagatume of B&D said he hopes to have a potential partner picked by the end of September. The private partner, once chosen, will begin work on a three-step plan to overhaul WKU’s older dorms:
• First, repairing and reopening Normal and Regents halls and
tearing down Hilltopper Hall.
• Replacing Douglas Keen and Hugh Poland halls with 1,000 beds in new buildings on that site to complete the First Year Village.
• Then, tearing down Gilbert, McCormack and Rodes Harlin halls in the Valley and building a 1,400-bed “upperclassman village” in the Valley and possibly other nearby locations.
Caboni said the university would eventually address its largest dorm, 55-year-old Pearce-Ford Tower, a 27-story hall housing 857 beds.
In the press release announcing the closure of Normal
PhotobyRiverByrn
and Regents halls, it was also announced that the SLF would convert the Hyatt Place hotel into a dorm and name it Center Hall.
WKU Student Life Foundation will pay $125,000 to HPBG Investments LLC, and $25,000 to Prime Hospitality Management LLC per month for up to three years, according to lease documents obtained by the College Heights Herald.
The lease also has an $18 million purchase option that the SLF may take within the first two years of renting.
News Reporter Anthony Clauson can be reached at anthony.clauson994@ topper.wku.edu
VISUALS
Sabina Torres Lopez, a member of the traditional Danza Azteca Quetzalli dance group, performs to traditional Aztec music at the BG Fiestaval on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025 in Bowling Green, Ky.
Danza Azteca originated during the Spanish colonial era, though it draws from pre-colonial indigenous Mexico.
Gabriel Milby, Staff Photographer
WKU adjusts to anti-DEI legislation
Story by Libby Simpson
In compliance with House Bill 4, a bill eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in Kentucky’s public universities, WKU has been tasked with flagging programs, scholarships and classes within the university that may not meet the bill’s requirements.
Vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear, and then overridden by the Kentucky House and Senate via the Republican majority on March 27, HB 4 prohibits Kentucky colleges and universities from considering race, religion, sex and national origin when funding scholarships and making admission decisions. The bill also prohibits funding toward DEI-related programs and organizations, and DEI training and statements.
WKU, along with all other public universities in Kentucky, was required to submit an audit of the university’s HB 4 compliance efforts to the Kentucky Interim Joint Com -
HB 4
Prohibits KY colleges and universities from considering:
• Race
• Religion
• Sex
• National Origin
Prohibits any funding towards DEI - related:
• Programs
• Organizations
• Training
• Statements
mittee on Education.
“At its most basic, all universities are prohibited from providing preferential treatment or benefits, or promoting discriminatory concepts based on race, color, national origin, sex and religion,” Andrea Anderson, WKU general counsel, said during the Board of Regents retreat on Aug. 7. “We have evaluated almost every aspect of the university.”
As part of WKU’s compliance efforts, a committee composed of Anderson, Lindsey Carter from WKU’s General Counsel, and a representative from each academic college was tasked with reviewing course syllabi and materials that may not meet HB 4 requirements.
“The provost formed a committee to take a look at some courses that were identified as having potentially a discriminatory concepts,” Anderson said in the Board of Regents meeting.
Anderson said in an email to the Herald that the committee identified 50 courses offered in 2023-2024 that may not comply with HB 4, including classes about the American Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Health and African American Literature.
Ryan Dearbone, assistant professor of broadcasting, is in his first year teaching Media Diversity, one of the classes flagged in the university’s audit.
Dearbone said that the class
sity) not meant to make anybody feel shameful or bad about who they are, but more or less to educate people about how the media has shown things and how we see other groups based off of what the media tells us,” Dearbone said.
Dearbone said classes like Media Diversity make students think about new perspectives and more critically.
“There’s a responsibility in understanding your audience, understanding who’s out there, and understanding points of views and perspectives that may not be your own,” Dearbone said.
Dearbone said it is his understanding that classes flagged in the audit passed review, but that has not been confirmed.
On March 28, WKU released a statement online addressing the new legislation.
“As an institution that relies heavily on state and federal funding, we must ensure compliance with any new laws and regulations to protect the resources that sustain our mission,” the statement said. “Failure to do so could lead to significant reductions in our operating budget and limit our ability to provide essential financial aid, including Pell Grants. We have a responsibility to thoughtfully navigate new regulations while continuing to serve our students and community.”
WKU’s statement said the bill’s requirements would not diminish the university’s dedication to student success.
“WKU has always been – and will always be – dedicated to ensuring that every student – regardless of background – feels supported and has access to the resources they need to thrive,” the statement said.
Anderson said during the Board of Regents retreat that WKU President Timothy Caboni appointed a committee to review non-academic programs to ensure the university is providing resources to all at-risk students.
University programs like WKU’s Cynthia and George Nichols III Inter -
cultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC), which provides students with support, community and educational resources, have also been flagged under the bill. The bill required the university to make necessary adjustments to ensure ISEC’s goals, resources and opportunities align with the new legislation.
University Spokesperson Jace Lux said ISEC’s funding and staff will now be listed underneath the Dean of Students.
“This transition allows the center to serve a wider range of students, without limiting support to identity-based criteria,” Lux said in an email to the Herald.
Conversations about whether to discontinue or reframe WKU programs are currently underway, Lux said.
Jar’Miyah Carneal, a junior psychology major, currently serves as a peer coordinator for ISEC. Now the vice president of WKU’s Black Stu -
dent Alliance and the vice president of the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Carneal said that ISEC laid the foundation for her time at WKU.
Carneal said that ISEC offers students skills and resources and connects them with WKU alumni and organizations.
Carneal said ISEC provides additional advising and networking opportunities and is open to any and all students. ISEC also offers additional orientation activities to incoming freshmen during WKU’s Master Plan week before each fall semester, like campus tours and financial aid support.
“It’s just that extra support that students need, especially as intercultural students,” Carneal said. “That representation we don’t get on campus, ISEC makes sure we get that, then we’re always seen and heard.”
The center’s webpage is currently under construction, and images showing students of color and resources connecting students to ISEC have been removed. The webpage’s tagline, which once read “Where education, students, and culture connect!” has been changed to “Where scholars are made!”
The program’s description previously included phrases such as “culturally inclusive campus environment,” “cultural awareness and competence,” “inter-group dialogue,” “engagement and intercultural interaction…” The program is currently described as a way to “support students who may encounter challenges in their pursuit of higher education.”
Other digital changes include alterations to WKU Pride’s webpage. Links to resources outside of WKU for “Trans POC (person of color)” students have been removed, as well as a picture of a graduation stole with rainbow colors.
Anderson said in the Board of Regents meeting on Aug. 8 that the university’s IT department had conducted an audit on university websites.
“We looked at our strategic communication plan and concepts and events that we are promoting through social media and other channels,” Anderson said.
The university has tasked the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning to produce new training for
faculty and staff to help them engage in the classroom while having difficult conversations.
The university was also required to change the way it responds to complaints of discrimination.
“We also amended the way that we respond to complaints of bias incidents or complaints of discrimination harassment, so that process has to be reviewed by my office before investigation,” Anderson said. “That’s a requirement of the new laws.”
WKU-affiliate organizations have also been flagged as non-compliant with HB4.
The WKU Sisterhood, an all-women member group that has raised more than $900,000 for university organizations since 2009, was told Aug. 18 in an email from Assistant Director of Donor Experience Aarika Gunn that it must “diversify” its membership or “disaffiliate” from WKU.
Diversifying means the Sisterhood would have to open its membership to anyone interested, change its name and award funding for reasons other than “ race, religion, sex, color or national origin of the beneficiaries,”
according to the email.
If the Sisterhood were to disaffiliate from the university, the email states it would “operate without … (WKU Alumni Association)/WKU resources and clearly state that they are not affiliated with WKU.”
The WKU Sisterhood webpage now leads to a 404 page not found error.
Lux said that, along with the Sisterhood, Topper Pride and the Society of African American Alumni have also been flagged as non-compliant alumni groups.
“Both groups are in the process of finalizing their decisions and will share those with the Alumni Association later this month,” he said.
Lux said the university noted in its mandatory report to the Kentucky Interim Joint Committee that the university no longer offers scholarships based on race, religion, sex, color or national origin.
Lux said the class of 2028 will be the last to receive the Cornelius Martin Scholarship for underrepresented minority students. The scholarship’s award amount ranges from $2,000 to $3,000 annually, depending on the
student’s GPA.
The College Heights Foundation, which handles WKU’s student scholarships, is currently reviewing over 1,500 scholarships to determine which are affected by the new legislation, President of the College Heights Foundation Donald Smith said in an email.
The College Heights Foundation will communicate with individual scholarship donors about potential revisions as the College Heights Foundation reviews the scholarships, Smith said.
Carneal said that for students like her, opportunities and programs like ISEC serve as a way to make sure everyone’s voices are heard.
“Western Kentucky gives me support, but ISEC gives me that cushion that I need,” Carneal said. “Without ISEC, I feel like a lot of our intercultural students would be very, very lost and unseen, unheard, and unacknowledged in ways that they need.”
News Reporter Libby Simpson can be reached at elizabeth.simpson736@ topper.wku.edu
The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs invites the campus community to submit
Nominations for Recipients of Honorary Degrees
Nominations should be directed, in letter form or email, to Academic Affairs (academic.affairs@wku.edu).
Nominations may be made by students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, or friends of the University.
Review Academic Affairs Policy 1.4143: Honorary Degrees for guidelines
Nomination Deadline is Monday, November 3rd.
Quoted on caves: New York Times calls on WKU professor
travelled internationally to study karst landscapes for decades, with China being a particularly active area for him. He has visited China 43 times and been awarded the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, the country’s highest award available for foreign scientists.
Sitting in his bright blue and muddied yellow caving gear, topped with a headlight and helmet, WKU Hydrogeology Professor Chris Groves posed for his portrait among photos of rocky caverns and watery walkways.
The New York Times published “A Miles-Long Cave in Kentucky Was a Smelly Disaster. Now It’s Spectacular.” Aug. 20 as part of its 50 States, 50 Fixes series. Reporter Hiroko Tabuchi and photographer Jason Gulley reported the transformation of Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave, Kentucky, from sewage-filled to tourist-attracting. Groves contributed hydrogeology and cave exploring expertise as the news story’s first quoted source.
Groves first experienced Hidden River Cave as a WKU student in 1983, before the 1987 cleanup project that rerouted wastewater from the groundwater systems.
“It was in the middle of summer, and summer’s even worse, because it’s hot and humid, stinky,” Groves said. “That was very visceral.”
He worked as a research assistant collecting water samples. While collecting samples from a well, he was approached by the mayor, who asked him for solutions.
Groves didn’t have any answers then, and soon left to pursue a PhD at the University of Virginia. He returned to Kentucky in 1991 as a new WKU professor and cave explorer. Hidden River Cave was largely unexplored, with only a half-mile stretch open to public tours before its closure.
Groves has since conducted fluorescent dye tracing experiments in the cave with his students and the Crawford Hydrology Laboratory, which he directs.
Small mesh receptor bags filled with charcoal are placed in groundwater streams. Groves and his colleagues inject fluorescent dye upstream, which is visible and easy to follow. Dye that manages to flow underground sticks to the charcoal, revealing how the waterways are connected.
Groves also visits Hidden River Cave with students on educational field trips and classes.
Crews dedicated to decontaminating the cave made a significant difference in the town and in the cave. Sewage smells no longer dominate downtown. Organisms like cave crayfish and cavefish reappeared in the ecosystem, marking the cave’s return to its natural state.
“It’s such a poster child for understanding groundwater. How it gets contaminated, how it could get
Now more than ever, environmental solutions may seem out of reach. But they’re happening all over the country.”
- 50 States, 50 Fixes
Story by Natalie Freidhof
Photos by Jacob Sebastian
Chris Groves, hydrogeology professor and director of the Crawford Hydrology Laboratory, poses for a portrait at Lost River Cave. Groves has
cleaned up,” Groves said.
Gulley noticed the successful turnaround in Horse Cave and pitched it to The New York Times, according to Groves. The 50 States, 50 Fixes series searches for one positive environmental story per state.
Gulley suggested Groves not just as an expert source in the field, but as a friend. Gulley and Groves explored caves together when they were in school.
“The cave science and cave exploring community is not that big,” Groves said. “So a lot of people know one another.”
Tabuchi interviewed Groves over Zoom before both she and Gulley visited Horse Cave the following week.
Groves spent a nine-hour day inside the cave with the reporters and guides “talking nonstop.”
“You can imagine that taking cave photos, especially in big rooms, takes a special skill set,” Groves said. “Jason (Gulley) is a master.”
The Sunset Dome, a large open area within the cave, was featured in the article. The dome photo alone took several hours to shoot. Groves stars as one of two figures in the photo with his blue and yellow clothing.
“We were having to talk with walkie-talkies cause it was so hard to hear each other cause the room is so
large,” Groves said.
Despite the long day in the cave, Groves described the experience as “really, really fun in every way.”
Gulley’s picture of Sunset Dome included two ant-sized figures standing under the tall ceiling. Seen in the same vibrant outfit as in his portrait,
Groves explored not just a cave, but the geological formations that have always interested him.
News Reporter Natalie Freidhof can be reached at natalie.freidhof407@ topper.wku.edu.
Chris Groves works during his office hours in the Environmental Science and Technology building. Books on hydrology, geomorphology, and karst landscapes decorate Chris Groves’s office.
Chris Groves in his 34th year as a WKU professor.
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