WKU Herald - April 25-May 5, 2022

Volume 97, Issue 8

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

April 25-May 5, 2022

COLLEGE HEIGHTS

HERALD

Exploring modern relationships on the Hill

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

03-07

April 25-May 5, 2022

RELATIONSHIPS

WKU students showcase rainbow of relationships

08-09

PHOTO

10-11

NEWS

12

The long-awaited Commons at Helm Library officially opened to students on Monday, April 18, challenging what a library can be

‘If we want something now, we can get something now’: How hookup culture impacts college relationships

WKU 4/20/22 Sudoku

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To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

4

3 3 7 9 5

8 1

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8 6 7 2 5 6 7

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3 7 5 8 4 3

2 1

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13 14

COMMENTARY

OPINION: The expectation to find ‘your person’ in college

LETTER FROM EIC

Debra Murray and Jake Moore, future co-editorsin-chief of the Herald, are excited to annouce the publication’s new print format

15 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW The best work from the Herald staff from the 2021-2022 academic year

16 Cover photo by Tucker Covey

SPORTS

From Houchens-Smith Stadium to the NFL: The story of Devon and Kirsten

Sudoku Solution 4 8 1 7 2 5 9 3 6

9 3 5 4 1 6 2 7 8

2 7 6 9 3 8 1 5 4

1 9 2 6 4 7 5 8 3

7 4 3 8 5 2 6 1 9

6 5 8 1 9 3 7 4 2

3 6 9 5 8 1 4 2 7

5 2 7 3 6 4 8 9 1

8 1 4 2 7 9 3 6 5

NEWS 3

April 25- May 5, 2022

WKU students showcase rainbow of relationships

By Michael Crimmins

As the world progresses through the 21st century, relationships have morphed, changed and even been challenged. WKU students are no strangers to pushing back against established relationship norms.

Same-sex relationships, heterosexual relationships and even relationships that thrive in the between area can be found in abundance around the Hill.

Hilltoppers all around the campus community are proving that relationships are not one-size-fits-all. You may find that classmates, peers and friends are constantly challenging the norms.

Tessa Duncan (She/Her) & Hailey Robertson (She/Her)

Tessa Duncan is a junior at WKU majoring in Nursing, and her partner

is Hailey Robertson, another junior who studies theater.

They met each other in an all-girls Catholic high school in the Louisville area.

“We actually started talking in religion class,” Duncan said. “We started talking one day in class and then she came to my car after school, before I had practice, and we talked from 2 o’clock till 7, before I had to go to practice, and have been together ever since [...] I hate to call it a courtship, but that’s kind of how it felt because I

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was so forward in my intentions.”

As of January, Tessa and Hailey have been together for three years.

Duncan said coming out was difficult for her.

“My dad’s brother is gay so he did a lot of the work for me, which I appreciate, in that side of the family so they’re much more accepting,” Duncan said. “My mom would ask me if we were going to break up often. She would always ask me if I’m keeping my options open.”

Robertson said her family is “super accepting” and loves Duncan.

Duncan has “mixed feelings” about putting herself into any one category.

“I think I stick with queer,” Duncan said. “I would say that I’m bisexual but I don’t foresee where I’m not with [Robertson]. I think queer is the best label for me right now.”

However, Robertson is more com-

fortable applying a label to herself.

When she first came out she “strictly” identified as bisexual, but over time she began to more closely identify as lesbian.

Being out in public as a couple, the two said they are not very “vocal” about their relationship.

“I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable [being openly affectionate] in any other area other than downtown Louisville,” Duncan said.

Robertson said she and Duncan were verbally assaulted at a gas station last year when she gave Duncan a kiss before going to pump their gas.

Men began shouting “did you just kiss her?” to Robertson who, out of fear, got back into the car and drove away without getting gas.

“That set us back from being any sort of touchy in public,” Robertson said.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 All-in-all, they came to the conclusion that being open and out comes down to individual comfort levels.

Mitch (He/They) & Jordan (He/ Him)

Mitch and Jordan are another couple who met each other in their Catholic high school days.

The couple requested that their last names not be included in this story due to the fact that one of them is not out to their family yet.

Mitch is a WKU student from Lebano, Kentucky. Jordan, his partner, does not attend WKU, but goes to school in eastern Kentucky.

Mitch and Jordan met because they had friends that were in the same circles.

“We sort of knew each other through mutual friends but then we both got into the same class together and that’s where we went from knowing each other to being friends,” Jordan said. “It sort of developed into a crush on both ends.”

During their junior year of high school, the two attended a party together and Mitch asked Jordan the status of his attraction. Jordan said that’s when he realized he loved Mitch.

Since then, Mitch and Jordan have been in a three-year long committed relationship.

Jordan said being in a pseudo-long distance relationship has not affected their bond, because after high school and going through a pandemic, they are accustomed to having little oneon-one alone time. Even when they are apart, they keep in contact with each other.

“We keep communicating every single day, day in and day out,” Jordan said. “I am able, thankfully, [to] make the three-hour drive down to Bowling Green. It’s worth it every single time.”

Thanks to the transition from high school to college, Jordan said he has found an environment that is more complex and diverse.

Mitch said going to a Catholic high school subjected them to some discriminatory situations, but he agrees coming to college was an “eye opening

experience.”

“There’s a very good community out here of people who will support you and love you for who you are,” Mitch said. “It’s very nice to be talking with people and [be able to say] ‘yes, I am in a relationship’.”

Mitch said he is not visibly out while on campus, but that does not mean he is shy about telling those who ask.

“If somebody asks, I’m gonna tell the truth,” Mitch said. “It’s not a secret. It’s nothing to hide. It’s just a fact about me. [It’s] nothing different than my interests. It’s just a part of my identity. Like I’m 5-foot-5, and I’m also bisexual.”

Even though one of them is not out to their family, that does not negate the positive aspects of their relationship.

Jordan said being with Mitch has made the past three years “very good.”

Jordan and Mitch both agreed that college has given them the freedom to express their relationship in ways not fully possible in their home lives.

Grace Salloum (She/Her) &

Logan “Loey” Rice (She/They)

Much like Mitch and Jordan, Grace Salloum agrees being in college has given her a degree of freedom in her relationship.

“I may be flashy about it here, but honestly it’s just because I’m finally happy that I can say things about my sexuality without having to put a joke behind it,” Salloum said. “It is much better here [than at home]. I can surround myself with people who do want to celebrate that part of myself.”

Salloum, a junior at WKU, studies psychological sciences and criminology with a minor in the Arabic language.

Salloum said she has settled into using queer as her preferred label.

“I know there are a lot of people who have baggage with [queer] being used towards them in a derogatory way,” Salloum said. “I find it to be a very open label for myself.”

Coming from a small “village” north of Columbus, Ohio, Salloum said home was “quite difficult” for her. She said the f-slur was used regularly towards

her.

“A lot of people [back home] just had a lot of horribly derogatory things to say about me or my partner,” Salloum said. “I had desensitized myself to those names because I had already gotten the racial slurs pretty early on so I was like, ‘what’s one more?’ It was very disheartening to me [...] It didn’t make me feel safe to say almost anything at all.”

Salloum downloaded Tinder as a way to see if anyone she knew from her hometown had come out since she had left for college.

“When I went home for the summer I had Tinder, mostly not to date, because I knew a long distance relationship would be complicated,” Salloum said. “My now-girlfriend was a popular user and, at random, I super-liked them and we ended up matching.”

That user’s name was Logan “Loey” Rice. Salloum and Rice have been in a committed long distance relationship for roughly eight months.

Currently, Salloum said, her parents are unaware she is dating Rice.

NEWS 5

April 25- May 5, 2022

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 “They don’t know that I’m in the relationship that I’m in because my mom issued a challenge; she said that I can’t both be excelling in school and also focusing on a relationship,” Salloum said.

“So I’m going to try to end this year with straight A’s again and go back home and tell her that I did it in a relationship.”

Rice is currently not a WKU student, Salloum said. They are not a student anywhere as they are focusing on their family.

Rice comes to visit Salloum quite frequently to get the “college experience” on campus, but Rice is needed more at their home than at school. Rice comes to visit Salloum on campus roughly once a month. Rice does not drive, instead taking a bus down to Bowling Green.

“I often feel bad about how long the bus ride is and how bad the conditions [are],” Salloum said. “So, I do not ask as often. If it were up to her, she’d come down every single weekend, but I couldn’t do that to her.”

Salloum said not having her partner nearby all the time is actually beneficial to her and her education, even though it is unfortunate to only see Rice through remote means or in person very sparingly.

“I do think there are a lot more benefits than people would think with a long distance relationship,” Salloum said. “I feel like I can more justifiably equivalate my time between school, friends, myself and a partner. If I had a partner who was a two-minute walk away from me, or was constantly with me, I have a very strong fear that I would skew my priorities and spend a little bit too much time on one.”

Salloum and Rice’s first date was going to be at the Columbus Zoo back in August of last year, but due to complications in their schedules, the date ended up not working out.

In December, when Salloum went back home for winter break, the two of them tried to set up another date.

“I asked if she wanted to go to the zoo lights because that’s a really big thing as well,” Salloum said. “We were able to get the tickets to finally be able to see each other at the zoo lights.”

Due to Salloum’s apprehension about going on a date for the first time in a while, both Salloum and Rice brought a friend with them.

“We had kind of hung out in a group but also separate as well, just so that we could be able to adjust to speaking to each other in person,” Salloum said. “It is, honestly, one of the happiest moments I have experienced thus far.”

She said it is “ecstatic” to go from feeling self conscious to knowing the person you like wants to be with you too.

In her ramblings and even in silence, Salloum is comfortable with Rice.

Salloum said she is “extremely” out while on campus. Salloum enjoys being out in college because she had to be “embarrassed” about her identity high school and back at home.

it easier for her to come out to her family.

“My older sister is also bi, and she’s nine years older than me, so I kind of knew it would be okay to come out,” Snyder said. “Everyone was fine with her coming out, so I knew it would be safe for me too.”

In terms of labels, Snyder and Roth say they are most closely aligned with being bisexuals.

Save for a few instances, Snyder and Roth haven’t had any major issues

because of their relationship.

“A lady, from her car behind us, saw us holding hands and she glared at us,” Roth said. “There’s this one time we were in Blaze Pizza and we were talking about the eulogy that we’d give for each other if we died…and I was like ‘I’d tell everyone that you were the best girlfriend.’ The person behind us gave us this glare like ‘I cannot believe they talk about dating in public.’”

Roth said she knows of certain people that would not be positive if she

Michaela Snyder (She/Her) & Elizabeth Roth (She/Her)

Unlike Duncan and Robertson and Mitch and Jordan, who met before coming to WKU, Michaela Snyder and Elizabeth Roth met each other at the H4 Honors Retreat the summer before their freshman year.

Snyder is a junior studying computer science and linguistics. She is from Louisville, Kentucky.

Her partner, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Roth, is a junior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee studying creative writing with a minor in communications.

Despite first meeting at H4 all those years ago, Snyder and Roth have only been together for roughly a year and a half due to misinterpretations on both of their parts.

“We had a crush on each other for basically a year before we started dating and we were just too afraid to tell each other,” Roth said.

“So we spent an entire year just flirting with each other and sending compliments to each other,” Snyder said.

Both of their families know Snyder and Roth are together, but Roth’s extended family and grandparents do not.

Mostly, Roth said, it is her own anxiety that makes her scared to come out to them.

Snyder has an older sister who is married to a woman. She said this made

ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE Western Kentucky University students Elizabeth Roth (right) and Michaela Snyder (left) pose for couple portraits near campus’s iconic “Kissing Bridge” behind Cherry Hall on Friday, April 15.

6 NEWS

April 25- May 5, 2022

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 was to come out to them.

Because of this, Roth has told people that she has a boyfriend named “Michael” because having a girlfriend in that “highly Christian” part of Tennessee is “out of the realm of possibility.”

“So Michaela is Michael to them,” Roth said.

Roth said she is not a“huge fan of public displays of affection in any relationship, but they will occasionally hold hands while walking through campus.

They both say they feel safe at WKU and have surrounded themselves with accepting people.

Ashley Austin (She/Her) & Rachael Prewitt (She/Her)

In contrast to Roth and Synder, Ashley Austin and Rachael Prewitt are very PDA-friendly in their relationship, holding hands for the duration of their interview.

“We hold hands and kiss each other’s foreheads in public,” Prewitt said.

Prewitt is a senior at WKU majoring in performing arts with a concentration

Student Discount every

in theater design and technology with a minor in arts administration.

For the past year she has been in a relationship with Austin, a sophomore, pursuing a bachelor’s in performing arts and in Spanish.

Austin, from the Nashville area, and Prewitt, from Lexington, have a long-distance relationship over breaks, but they say it isn’t so bad. They’ve made a plan to work through the problem.

“We trade off on visiting each other,” Prewitt said. “I would go there or she would come here. It just depends on our schedules. It still sucks [though].”

Austin said she has plans to move to Bowling Green over the coming summer to remedy this.

Austin identifies as asexual, but that does not mean she is anti-sex.

“That doesn’t mean you’re sex-repulsed,” Austin said. “For asexual people, sex is like cake. If you get it, cool.

If you don’t get it, it’s not the end of the world.”

Austin identifies as homoromantic, meaning she experiences romantic attraction to the same-sex.

Prewitt said she identifies as a lesbian. Austin said she was very up front at the start of their relationship that she was asexual, a fact that Prewitt readily accepted.

“At the beginning of our relationship I was pretty open with [Prewitt] about the fact that I don’t know if I’ll ever want to have sex,” Austin said. “It’s not something I’ve completely ruled out, [but] it’s just something I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable with or not. She was lik, ‘it’s okay, we’ll take it as we go. That’s not a problem for me.’”

The pair met in a Zoom call in September 2020, Austin’s freshman year, that was held by the dance and theater department.

“The theater and dance department did these Zoom plays, and all the rehearsals were done through Zoom,” Austin said. “So, that’s where we found out about each other because

I was an actor in one of the shows she staged-managed.”

Since it was the COVID-19 semester, it was not until the following January that they first met in person. They got to know each other through Snapchat before Prewitt drove to Nashville to meet Austin.

“I was insanely nervous because I just genuinely had never liked a person this much [and] like so quickly,” Austin said. “She got there and I was like ‘Oh my god, you’re real. And we hung out all day.”

Fortunately, for Austin and Prewitt, they said their coming out experiences went well with their families.

Austin’s family has been very supportive. Especially her mother, who is a devout Christian. Austin is very grateful for that as it has taught a valuable lesson about Christianity.

“Often the Christan community is a place of fear for a lot of the LGBT people, so having her as a pillar of strength and reassurance that those two can

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April 25- May 5, 2022

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 coincide,” Austin said. “You can be Christian and be gay, which has been really important for me.”

As a couple on WKU’s campus, the two agree they feel comfortable and supported.

They’ve never felt afraid and no one has ever come up to them and said something offensive, but they said from time to time they feel awkward and people may give them weird glances.

“It’s just weird vibes sometimes,” Austin said.

Ray Saul (She/They) & Cameron Caskey (They/Them)

Another couple who met on social media was Ray Saul and Cameron Caskey.

Saul is a WKU student from the Louisville area majoring in criminology and psychology. She is the current education and public outreach director at the Queer Student Union.

Saul is in a relationship with Cameron Caskey, another WKU student majoring in psychology and political science Saul identifies as pansexual, meaning she does not choose dating partners based on gender, biological sex or identity. Saul also identifies as genderfluid. Caskey goes without defining themselves under any one term.

“I really don’t put any labels on myself because I don’t know what fits best,” Caskey said. “In high school, everything was super pressed, it was like trying to be masculine for the sake of fitting in. I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m being perceived as just a man, and I don’t like whenever people use terms strongly associated with masculinity towards me, because it just doesn’t feel like me.”

Despite their non-normative identities, Saul said she and Caskey are often mistaken for a heterosexual couple in public.

“A lot of the people who don’t know Cameron very well will use he/him pronouns for them, but I try to slide it [into] conversation like, ‘yeah my partner’. That kind of establishes that they are not my boyfriend,” Saul said. “I’ve had problems with people being like, ‘I don’t get why they don’t use boyfriend’ or ‘what’s the reason behind ‘partner’?’

TUCKER COVEY WKU sophomores Ray Saul (left) and Cameron Caskey (right) on the staircase in Cherry Hall, an important place in their relationship. Saul identifies as pansexual and genderfluid, while Caskey does not define themselves under any one label.

Well, they’re not male. It’s complicated.”

Saul tells her parents she is bisexual because she “doesn’t feel like trying to explain pansexuality to them.”

While at home, Saul said she has to misgender Caskey because her parents don’t understand that aspect of gender nonconformity, “I accidently said they/them when addressing Cameron to my parents and my mother went off on this whole tangent,” Saul said.

Saul and Caskey met on the dating app Bumble, where Saul was originally just looking for friends.

“I matched with their ex-girlfriend first before I matched with them,” Saul said. “Actually I was dating someone else [at the time], but we started seeing each other more when my ex and I broke up last fall, and then we officially put a label on [the relationship] this past February.”

Saul said the pair has the “privilege” of passing as a straight couple when in public, which allows them to feel safe.

Saul was also a member of a sorority before leaving for a variety of reasons.

“When I was involved with Greek life, even though I would openly talk about my partner, I would use they/them [pronouns], but they would still say ‘he’ or ‘your boyfriend’. I don’t think [they] were quite getting it,” Saul said.

Both Saul and Caskey said they spend a lot of their time at The Pride Center, a place that Caskey said offers a safe place for everyone.

“Anyone who goes to the Pride Center has a story to tell for themselves,” Caskey said. “They’re all comfortable expressing themselves in the Pride Center. It’s really nice.”

As an editorial member of the QSU, Saul has helped provide students a safe space to feel open and accepted.

“People are a lot more open in

relationships and also able to talk about it,” Saul said. “It’s all about being able to present and act like a couple, and not just introduce them as a friend and worry about people judging them.”

In the end, Patrick Collins, faculty adviser for QSU, summed up non-heteronomative relationships best.

“Each is very different, having their own rules and layers to the inner workings of the relationship,” Collins said in an email. “Not one is really any different from our heterosexual counterparts, dates, hanging out and personal interactions. Mostly, the students just want to have someone that loves and cares about them. Many lacked that from families that disowned them or peers that outcasted them.”

News Reporter Michael Crimmins can be reached at michael.crimmins416@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter @michael_crimm.

PHOTO

Anything but Common Words by Debra Murray The long-awaited Commons at Helm Library officially opened to students on Monday, April 18 following a year and a half of delays.

The building was originally the Health and Physical Education building. In 1964, it was christened Helm Library in honor of librarian Margie Helm, and remained as it was until 2019 when the doors were shut for its massive renovation.

Photos by Herald Photo Staff

The building has preserved some of its original history by keeping its skylights, large stairwells and the WKU Basketball jump circle.

The “intellectual hub” provides students with both collaborative and individual study spaces as well as new dining options. The Commons will be home to Rising Roll, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Panda Express, Bene Pizzeria, Spencer’s Coffee

President Timothy Caboni addresses the media on Thursday, April 14 ahead of the Commons’ opening on Monday. (Brittany Fisher)

and a variety of rotating local vendors.

“What you have today, we would argue, is a national model for the library,” President Timothy Caboni said. “Libraries are no longer book repositories, or places where folks come to copy materials — they are gathering spaces, they are intellectual hubs.”

April 25-May 5, 2022

Upper Right: Students inspect the new food options during the lunch rush on the bottom floor of the Commons on its opening day on Apr. 18. The only food options open in the spring semester are Moe’s Southwest Grill, Panda Express, Rising Rolls, and Spencer’s. (Allie Hendricks) Bottom Right: Students talk in the lobby of the Commons on its opening day on Apr. 18. The Commons has seating on all three floors for students to eat and study. (Allie Hendricks)

Upper Left: A group of students talk while on the third floor of the Commons on its opening day on Apr. 18. There are desks and tables for students to use as well as private study rooms in the Commons. (Allie Hendricks) Bottom Left: Students walk into the Commons on its opening day on Apr. 18. A few workers continued progress on the outside elements of the Commons even through the time it officially opened to students. (Allie Hendricks)

10 NEWS

April 25-May 5, 2022

‘If we want something now, we can get something now’: How hookup culture impacts college relationships

By Alexandria Anderson

“Hookup culture,” a term used to describe casual sexual encounters and the way people percieve them, has become part of what people view as the “college experience.”

While not everyone wants to participate in hookup culture, everyone should know how to be as safe as possible.

“My first reaction when I hear hookup culture in our society today is that we all have a very short attention span,” Avery Nordgren, graduate assistant for WKU Health Education and Promotion, said.

“We have seen this with all of our social media platforms. We've just seen a decrease with our attention span. I think hookup culture in our society today has come from that, about how we want things quickly, and once we are dissatisfied with something we're on to the next.”

Nordgren explained that the

quick gratification we see from dating apps, often used to find potential casual partners, has impacted the prevalence of hookup culture. According to the Pew Research Center, 48% of 18 to 29 year-olds said they have used a dating app at one time.

“It's just a different era that we are seeing, with our Tinder, Bumble, Hinge,” Nordgren said. “Our timespan is if we want something now, we can get something now.

It's very easy.”

The Health Education and Promotion Office works to offer free resources and events to educate students about every aspect of sex, including how to safely experience hookup culture.

“It's just learning about what safe sex is, what consent is, what all of these encompassing definitions mean, what sex can entail and what the repercussions can be from that,” Nordgren said. “Education is really a big component of it.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN FISHER

Having access to different types of barrier methods also helps.”

Free resources include male and female condoms, lubricant, pregnancy tests and dental dams.

The office also provides free menstrual products and hosts monthly HIV testing services.

“Getting that word out that we are a free resource on campus is really important,” Nordgren said.

“Educating people when they come into our office, or getting face to face, or doing our tabling events, just all the different programs and aspects around sex, [we’re] educating people and making it fun and showing that sex is not some taboo topic anymore.”

She explained that as hookup culture increases on college campuses, it is vital that students see how casual hookups could affect the construction of more long-term relationships.

“College campuses are seeing an increase [in hookup culture],” Nordgren said. “It's important to know what you're getting yourself into to make sure that you are being safe. Make sure that there's mutual respect between partners and make sure that there is consent within all those aspects.

Hookup culture in any college student, anyone experiencing that, can have mental health effects as well. When we're trying to build a community, relationships or partnerships, hookup culture can be very detrimental to that.”

One example of hookup culture’s negative impact is difficulty communicating with a partner if their needs have changed or what they want has changed, Nordgren said. Consent is also key to a safe

GRAPHIC BY DEBRA MURRAY

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

hookup; it is necessary to continually get consent and never assume consent simply from nonverbal cues.

"College campuses are seeing an increase [in hookup culture]. It’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into to make sure that you are being safe.

Make sure that there’s mutual respect between partners and make sure that there is consent within all those aspects."

- Avery Nordgren “It can bring a lot of misinformation on what [partners] are — if there's a consensual partnership or not knowing where you stand in a relationship,” Nordgren said.

“It is important that if you are going through hookup culture to be upfront and honest. If you are hooking up with someone and then want a relationship, then you should be upfront and honest with them, because everyone deserves to be heard on what they want and what they need in order to be happy and healthy.”

Kristen Brewer, an assistant professor in the masters of public health program and undergraduate instructor of human sexuality, said as college students experience adulthood, they often seek exploration — a quality that sometimes emerges through hookup culture.

“I think we live in a culture that tends to advertise and taboo sexual exploration. It doesn't seem to be talked about very much, unless it's within the confines of heterosexual, cisgender relationships,” Brewer said. “I think [hookup culture] also allows a time for people to

figure out what they like, what they don't like, what they're comfortable with, what they're not comfortable with, to really kind of feel out what they like.”

Brewer said that typical sex education puts little emphasis on pleasure and how to communicate one’s needs, but hookup culture offers participants the opportunity to explore what they like and dislike — so long as it is done safely. Learning from and teaching partners in a safe setting has its benefits.

“As we continue to have sex with the same partner, we learn these nonverbal cues and things that they like and don't like. We tend to fall into a pattern that's sort of what we base our actions on,” Brewer said. “But if you are changing partners, reading those nonverbal cues can be not so great, because there may be misreading of some signals which could lead to even unintentional sexual assault. I think it's really important to not just rely on those visual cues when participating in a hookup but to really ask. “ She explained that verbal interaction is valuable for new partners, and that it also creates a foundation for this practice within all relationships. Hookup culture often perpetuates peer pressure toward casual sex and dating, which can lead to sexual assaulters to take advantage of what they view as unspoken consent.

“While you're hooking up, I would just ask your partner, and I think it's good practice, ‘what do you like, what are you comfortable with, what feels good?,” Brewer said.

Hannah Hudson, a senior anthropology major, is involved with the Bowling Green Survivor's Collective, a support network for victims of sexual assault and abuse

that began in June 2021.

“Hookup culture doesn’t cause rape or sexual assault, the people that are responsible for that violence are the abusers,” Hudson said.

Hudson said that college campuses often become a breeding ground for exploitation and assault as young adults are often not given the knowledge needed to protect themselves.

“The system that we have in place and the cultures that are present can create those unsafe situations, and predators are drawn to those environments,” Hudson said. “I think it’s important to not let those things be ways that we justify the ways abuse can happen.”

She stressed that even experiencing hookups the “right” way still doesn’t fix the unsafe environment that abusers ultimately take advantage of.

“There’s all of these safety tips that go into preparing yourself for that kind of environment, but sometimes people can do everything ‘right’ and something can still happen to them, and it's not their fault — it’s people that take advantage,” Hudson said.

The core of understanding hookup culture is understanding how it affects you, which then allows for a more complete view of every sexual decision you make.

“We want people to be safe about it,” Nordgren said. “And also just be educated enough to make their own decisions when it comes to sex as well.”

News reporter Alexandria Anderson can be reached at alexandria.anderson337@topper.wku. edu.

GRAPHIC BY DEBRA MURRAY

Fun Page

WKU 4/20/22 Trivia Puzzle 3

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WKU 4/20/22 Crossword

COMMENTARY 13

April 25-May 5, 2022

OPINION: The expectation to find ‘your person’ in college

By Rose Donnelly Print edition published monthly

by WKU Student Publications at Western Kentucky University.

First copy: free | Additional copies: $1

EDITORIAL BOARD Michael J. Collins Editor-in-Chief Debra Murray Content Editor Jake Moore Content Editor Jacob Latimer Visuals Editor Brittany Fisher Visuals Editor Grace Stephens Video Producer

Rose Donnelly Commentary Editor Robin Robinson Social Media Manager Megan Fisher Design Editor Wyatt Sparkman Sports Editor Hannah Claussen Copy Desk Chief

OTHER LEADERS AND ADVISERS Ashlyn Crawford Cherry Creative Director Carrie Pratt Herald Adviser

Alaina Scott 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.

The expectation to find a partner is placed on us when we are merely in middle school. When attempting to navigate the social sphere, having a significant other is considered social currency in our society. If you are alone, you are deemed to have something wrong with you or you must simply wait longer than the rest of your peers.

Coming into your teen years, the social norms say that if you don’t find a long lasting relationship in high school, your time to shine will be in college. Why do we have this expectation to always be in a relationship? It seems to stem from an overall notion that if you are alone, you must be lonely… right? Wrong.

Contrary to popular belief, this notion of not being whole without a partner is utterly false. While it might be nice to have that relationship, you can still obtain the same mutual respect in a friendship. Your worth isn’t dependent on being in a relationship.

It’s difficult to meet people and

date in college. If you are here as a stepping stone to graduate school, medical school or even law school the pressure to achieve great things academically comes with a cost: your time. Time is the most valuable thing in college; the time to finish homework, eat, study and interact with your peers is precious.

So, how do you interact with people your age and attempt to navigate the labyrinth of the dating world? Dating apps. But due to how we have contextualized Tinder, Bumble, Grindr and Hinge they are deemed as tools to solely initiate hookups. The whole system is rigged against you.

According to the Pew Research Center, 48% of 18-29 year olds in the U.S. have used a dating app, with 17% being in a long term relationship or married. The consensus being that most of your peers use dating apps.

Let’s take a step back and think about the growth you will experience in your early 20’s. You are becoming a fully functioning adult, learning how you will adapt to new responsibilities and commitments. According to

CONTACT US

REPORT AN ERROR: herald.editor@wku.edu 270-745-5044 NEWSROOM: herald.news@wku.edu 270-745-2653 or 270-745-5044 ADVERTISING: herald.advertising@wku.edu 270-745-6285 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: herald.opinion@wku.edu ON CAMPUS: Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center, 1660 Normal St. ONLINE: WKUHerald.com NEWSLETTER: WKUHerald.com/newsletter SOCIAL MEDIA: • Twitter: @wkuherald, @wkuheraldsports • Facebook, Instagram: WKUHerald • YouTube: wkuheraldvideo • Tiktok: wkuherald

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN FISHER

the University of Rochester Medical Center, the rational part of your brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25.

Why should someone be pushed to find a partner when their brain is still developing? The “ring before spring” culture needs to stop. Stop telling people that they will find “their person” in college. Parents, grandparents and extended family need to stop asking “are you seeing anyone?” at every family event.

College is a time to figure out who you are, and not necessarily who you are going to be with. Enjoy this time, indulge in your academic pursuits.

You deserve happiness and to be in an environment that supports you to better yourself, and not constantly push you to find your life partner.

If you want to try going on dates, don’t let the stigma of dating apps deter you from exploring all of your options.

Commentary Editor Rose Donnelly can be reached at rose.donnelly430@ topper.wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter @ RoseDonnelly_

14 LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

April 25-May 5, 2022

Dear readers: Herald to change print format

By Debra Murray and Jake Moore

It’s no secret that the College Heights Herald has undergone significant changes in the past two years.

The publication surprised its peers by switching to a monthly print edition for the fall of 2021, producing eight editions throughout the 2021-22 academic year and allowing us to put more focus on our daily email newsletter and live stories on WKUHerald.com.

Despite producing fewer print issues, the content inside these editions remained as high-quality as ever, and in most cases the new publishing cycle allowed us to pursue longer, more in-

depth pieces.

As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Herald still earned a national Pacemaker Award, the top honor for student-run media and its 19th since 1981.

Reporters and editors were still given the chance to learn the ins and outs of the production process and the paper remained at the forefront for students’ voices.

Additionally, the switch to monthly editions provided ample time for staff to adjust to the ever-evolving digital future of journalism by maintaining daily digital output for the Herald’s newsletter.

That being said, the switch to month-

ly editions was not without issue.

More than once, printing delays prevented the Herald from arriving on campus on time. Additionally, the physical material on which the Herald was printed – called newsprint – put limitations on how photos can be toned and showcased, effectively sticking photography and design staff in a box.

Because of this, the Herald is shaking things up once more.

Starting this fall, the Herald will be packaged as a sleek, bright and eye-catching newsmagazine and distributed three times per semester. The copy you hold in your hands is the last edition of the Herald in its newsprint format.

Don’t worry - the Herald will stay in its lane, remaining a news source first and foremost without infringing on the identities of our Student Publications siblings, Talisman magazine and Cherry Creative branded content studio.

The new format will provide designers and photographers unique creative freedoms that will take the publication to heights not possible with standard newsprint.

The Herald staff welcomes this new format with enthusiasm. Reporters, editors and photographers were swayed as soon as they opened up a mock example, many of them drawing immediate inspiration from the stylish format.

Speaking of the Herald staff, for the first time since spring 2000, the publication will be helmed by a pair of coeditor-in-chiefs. Debra Murray and Jake Moore, your current content editors, are excited to step into the position and tackle whatever it throws our way.

The pair of us have spent the spring semester working in tandem to provide the WKU community with exciting news content and we can’t wait to continue in the fall.

All of this is to say, we’re ready for this change.

Content Editor Debra Murray can be reached at debra.murray940@topper. wku.edu. Follow her on Twitter @debramurrayy.

Content Editor Jake Moore can be reached at charles.moore275@topper. wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter @ Charles_JMoore.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TUCKER COVEY

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BEST OF 15

April 25-May 5, 2022

OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

SEPTEMBER

20 years on: WKU Football alumni recall program’s response to tragedy The WKU football team traveled up to West Point, New York, to face the Army Black Knights on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Former Sports Editor Jake Moore caught up with members of the 2001 roster to find out how the tragedy affected the program and what the matchup with Army meant to them.

Blacked out: Redacted sexual misconduct files obscure nearly a decade of university Title IX actions

OCTOBER NOVEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY

MARCH APRIL

After a four-year legal battle and a Supreme Court decision in a similar case, WKU released nearly a decade’s worth of redacted sexual misconduct records in the summer of 2021 in response to a Herald open records request filed in 2016 and 2021. Former Editor-in-Chief Lily Burris and Content Editor Debra Murray sorted through the documents to bring the university’s actions to light.

One woman finds sexual liberation through social media activism Social media has helped WKU student Maggie Smith heal her trauma and challenge her perspective about herself as a sexual being. Sharing her sexual assault through an Instagram post, she began a journey to sexual liberation through vulnerability and knowledge. Commentary writer Rose Donnelly spoke with Smith about her journey of healing.

‘He had the biggest heart’: Candlelight vigil honors WKU student Logan McKnight A candlelit vigil was held to honor WKU student Logan McKnight on Nov. 29, 2021, at the Guthrie Bell Tower. McKnight passed away on Nov. 24 following a car accident the previous night. His closest friends and family reached out to host a vigil to celebrate his life. News Reporter Alexandria Anderson covered the event.

‘Did this just happen to me?’: WKU community members lose everything, escape with their lives At 1:27 a.m., the screeching sound of alarms shook the Basham family awake. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Bowling Green – and the family’s lives were about to be uprooted. News Reporter Michael Dylan Payne spoke with the family to construct the narrative of what happened to Bowling Green on that fateful December night.

New lawsuit alleges WKU, Greek organizations failed to protect student from being forced to drink, raped in residence hall On Feb. 7, 2022, a student filed a lawsuit against Western Kentucky University, Kappa Delta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and 17 other defendants. The court documents allege she was forced to drink at a fraternity event and was later raped in McCormack Hall. Investigative Reporter Michael Crimmins broke down the contents of the suit.

‘Bringing back Coed’s first title was something really special for me’ – WKU Cheer earns respect after historic day The WKU Coed Cheer team earned first place in the Small Coed D1A National Championship on Jan. 16, 2022. After hard work and a strenuous routine, they are national champions for the first time ever.

Sports Reporter Piper McCoun spoke with the team following their triumph.

‘We are one strong nation’: Russian invasion weighs heavily on Ukrainians at WKU When Russia sent troops into Ukraine earlier this year, Ukrainians at WKU were flooded with uncertainty. Editor-in-Chief Michael J. Collins spoke to several members of the community about their families facing invasion and their hopes for future peace.

‘Some of the old, blended in with the new’: Commons opens to students The Commons at Helm Library officially opened to students on April 18 following a year and a half of delays. The long-awaited “intellectual hub” will provide visitors the space to study, collaborate and share a meal. Content editors Debra Murray and Jake Moore broke down what the new facility offers to the WKU community.

16 SPORTS

April 25-May 5, 2022

From Houchens-Smith Stadium to the NFL: The story of Devon and Kirsten

By Lynda Eernisse

WKU Football alumnus Devon Key and his partner Kristen Dadisman have been together since the start of their college journeys in 2017. The two have been through a lot. Dadisman became pregnant, the pair welcomed their son Drace into the world, they graduated from the Hill and moved across the country to Kansas City, Missouri, after Key was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The couple met through Instagram when Key directly messaged Dadisman one day in September 2016. Key was a freshman at WKU while Dadisman was a sophomore studying at the University of Kentucky.

After talking for a few weeks through social media, the two decided to meet in person. Dadisman made the trip down to Bowling Green.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTEN DADISMAN

Not too long after this encounter, the pair made things official in February 2017. They entered a long-distance relationship for about a year before moving in together in the summer of 2018.

“At first I was actually living in Louisville, so we would switch off weekends,” Dadisman said. “We did long distance for about a year, and then I transferred to Western.”

Besides wanting to be closer to her boyfriend, Dadisman was drawn to the Hill for educational reasons.

“I wanted to be a teacher at the time and Western had a really good education program too, so that’s what kind of pushed me as well,” Dadisman said.

Another opportunity Dadisman had when she transferred to WKU was to join the co-ed cheerleading team.

Between classes, practices, workouts, treatments and other demands, Dadisman and Key struggled to find time for each other even as they were living together, but were eventually able to find a routine that worked.

“After about a year or so, it made it a little bit easier because I knew what to expect,” Key said.

One highlight from this stressful period was Dadisman cheering on the sidelines for a couple of Key’s football games. Dadisman continues to cheer for Key today, but now she supports him from the bleachers of the Chief’s Arrowhead Stadium.

The road to Key’s pro football career was far from smooth. The couple found out in November 2019 that they were expecting – at this point, the two were still in school and had been together for just three years.

“We weren’t ready because we were still in school and had other

things we wanted to accomplish,” Dadisman said. “It was really shocking and we just couldn’t believe it.

Regardless, they decided to stick it out and stay on course. Dadisman worked towards finishing school and getting her degree and Key continued his efforts on the field and graduated in spring 2020.

“At that point, I was so close to being done,” Dadisman said. “I was like, ‘if I don’t do it now, I feel like I’ll never get it done.’”

On Aug. 13, 2020, the duo welcomed Drace Key to the world.

From there, they were Drace’s primary caretakers save for the occasional help of one another's parents. For the most part, they did it all on their own.

A few months later, the trio received more life-changing news.

Key was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, prompting the family to relocate to Kansas City and leave behind friends and family.

“It wasn’t too bad, just knowing we were out there for a reason, a good reason,” Key said.

Looking back on when they first met, Dadisman and Key would have never guessed that this is what their lives would look like today. They wouldn’t change a thing.

“Who would’ve known this would be our life right now, it just feels so crazy,” Dadisman said.

“I wouldn’t change anything because then we wouldn’t have Drace,” Key said.

The pair offered solid advice to anyone, especially in college, that may find themselves in a similar dynamic.

“Dating an athlete is very hard because there's a lot that can affect your relationship, you have to be more understanding and know they

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTEN DADISMAN

go through a lot,” Dadisman said.

Devon touched on the fact that athletes shouldn’t let their performance determine their mood.

“Separate as much as possible,” Key said. “Seperate the relationship from your sport, and don’t let it drag you down.”

The Key family currently lives happily in Kansas City as they prepare for the 2022 season. Their journey can be followed through their respective instagrams @_kdad and @famousdev2_.

Sports Reporter Lynda Eernisse can be reached at lynda.eernisse984@topper.wku.edu.