ChronicleThe

at WVU Parkersburg

November 21, 2013 Volume #44 No. 6

Inside this Issue

by Allison Hilber The WVU Parkersburg Board of Governors approved an adjust-ment to the distributed learning fee for online courses. Online courses will cost less for students beginning with the 2014 summer term. Prior to the fall of 2009, a $25 per course fee was imple-mented for Web CT courses. The fee offset the cost of eCampus. Starting July 1, 2009 the fee changed to $25 per credit hour. The increased fee goes toward distributed learning, which tracks technical support for online classes. As of fall 2013, students are additionally charged a $100 or $135 Open Class fee depend-ing on the course and what it requires. The purpose for Open Class, which is through Pearson, is to save students money by also providing online textbooks. With an Open Class fee, it was

voted that the distributed learn-ing fee be moved back to $25 per course rather than per credit hour, saving students additional charges. Due to the fact that reg-istration has already begun for Spring 2014, the fee change will not go into effect until Summer 2014. With around 3,000 students, it would create a large challenge to go back and change every online class for the fee implementation at this point. Students who are 100% enrolled in online classes will not have to pay the Computer Lab Replace-ment Fee of $7 per credit hour. Some support has been re-ceived in using Open Class, but currently no grants have been provided by Pearson. WVU Parkersburg began working with Pearson on Open Class from its pilot stages. It is moving into the production stage, but a few bumps still need to be worked out. “It’s not working the way it

is being presented,” said Matt Santer, professor of psychology. Santer’s concern is that a lot of work has already been put into online classes, which will have to be redone for Open Class. “There is work involved in producing a quality product,” said Rhonda Tracy, senior vice president of Academic Affairs. “Anytime you participate in a pilot program or new endeavor there are two sides,” explained Tracy. “On one side you get to add input and have a voice. The other side, yes, there are bumps that have to be worked out.” Pearson gives feedback on courses, where as Blackboard did not and still came at a cost. Open Class will be revaluated in a year to see if it operating the way it is intended, Tracey told the board members at the Nov. 18 meeting. Even with the Open Class and distributed learning fees, WVU Parkersburg has lower online course fees compared with other

institutes. “It is extremely important to the student body and institution as a whole that we continue to keep our online classes at a rea-sonable rate,” said Tyler Ohrn, Student Government Associa-tion president. “I am encouraged by this vote that we will further develop strategies for decreasing our on-line fee structure while ensuring that we continue to pro-vide quality education.”

“It's not working the way it's being presented.”

~Matt SanterBOG representative

Fees for Online Learning Reducing for Summer 14

Art Awards: 3

Table Tennis: 4

Vet Luncheon: 8

OpenClass: 6 & 7

Moe's Review: 11

The Chronicle at WVU Parkersburg November 21, 2013Page 2

ChronicleThe

at WVU Parkersburg

News Editor: Jeremy HarrisonAsst. News Editor: Justina MorrisNews Reporting/Photography Staff: Kyle NicholsCora TiddShelby ThomasKathy McPeekElizabeth StovallDaniel JacksonJason RossCorrissa WilliamsThaddeus Randolph

Layout Editor: Corrissa WilliamsLayout Staff: Shelby ThomasJeremy Harrison Jessica ThompsonTessa McAteeMacie LynchHannah DuffieldCandice HoalcraftCarle StewartMegan Valentine

chronicle@wvup.eduand find us on Facebook & Twitter

@wvupchronicle

Advisor: Torie Jackson

Megan NewlandAllison HilberKristiana HuntAustin WeifordJason RossKyle NicholsJustina MorrisCora TiddJason Walker

Carle StewartCandice HoalcraftHannah DuffieldTia GoodrichMegan ValentineAllison HilberMegan Newland

Volume 44Produced by students of WVU Parkersburg

ATTENTION STUDENTS! The Jackson County Center has an opening for the position of Vice-President for Student Government Association beginning Spring, 2014 semester. This position also includes being on the Executive Cabi-net of WVUP’s Student Government Association. The representative will work closely with the Jackson County Center’s Director of Student Services, Violet Mosser. The position does not require traveling to the Parkersburg campus for all the SGA meetings. The JCC representative will attend meetings by the video conferencing unit. The requirements for this position are:Be a full-time student enrolled at West Virginia University at ParkersburgHave and maintain a minimum cumulative average GPA of 3.00Be in good standing with the collegeEnrolled for at least one class at the Jackson County Center for the semesters you are vice-president Please contact Violet Mosser by email at Violet.Mosser@wvup.edu or stop by the administrative office at JCC and make an appointment.

by Pete Orn

This December, I will graduate with a BSBA in public relations. I will also get my Associates degree in journalism. It was a long road and I have plenty of people to thank. One of the people who deserves the highest thanks is Torie Jackson. I started taking classes at WVU Parkersburg in the fall of 2006. To say I wasn’t the best student would be a massive understatement. After a suspension (or two) I finally landed in Media Writing; a class taught by Torie. I had an interest in writing at the time, and Torie made the class fun and interesting. After taking that class, I focused my studies on journalism. After a semester of journalism, I wanted more from the de-partment (and from myself), so I enrolled in the bachelor’s program. If it weren’t for Torie, I honestly don’t know where I’d be right now. I wouldn’t have met some great friends in the journalism department, I wouldn’t have won an award for an article I wrote for the publica-tion you’re reading now, and in all likelihood, I wouldn’t be graduating. Torie changed my entire life. Anyone who has had a class with me and Torie knows I like to tease her and joke around. This, how-ever, isn’t a joke. I can’t thank Torie enough for everything she’s done. She helped me achieve something that I wasn’t sure I could, she believed in me when I didn’t, and she taught me more than she may realize. Not only do I consider Torie the best teacher I’ve had, but I’m lucky enough to consider her a great friend. Thanks again Torie…for everything. I’ll miss you, but at least I won’t be messing with your white board anymore.

SUGGESTED DONATIONS:SHOEBOXES, Tan T-shirts, flip-flops, white or army green socks, hats, gloves and blankets, body lotion, toothbrush,

tooth paste, contact lens saline solution, band aids, surgical tape, gauze, Tylenol, tums, allergy/cold medicine, gold bond

foot powder, Lotriman ultra, baby wipes, sun block, chap stick, deodorant, eye drops, Bengay, icy hot, q-tips, toothache medicine, earache medicine, feminine hygiene products, beef

jerky, dried fruit, pop-tarts, hard candy, mixd nuts, granola bars, fruit roll-ups, Ramen noodles, tuna in a pouch, gum,

mints, bottled water drink mix, cookies, hand warmers, AA and AAA batteries, board games, handheld games, console games, puzzle books, puzzles, CD’s, DVD’s, pens, paper,

deck of cards, duct tape, electrical tape, super glue, cards that are blank (for them to fill out and send to their families), or

cards and letters telling them THANK YOU!!

PLEASE NO GLASS, SHARP OBJECTS OR RAZORS!

The Criminal Justice Organization will be gathering donations to send overseas to soldiers from our area.

Operation Shoebox for

Soldiers

Donation Deadline: December 5th

Donations can be given to any C.J.O. member or Rhett

Wharton, Social Sciences & Languages Division

No More Whiteboard Shenanigans

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgNovember 21, 2013 Page 3

by Cora Tidd The WVU Parkersburg art col-lection just got a little bigger. Since 1986, WVU Parkersburg and its Foundation have worked together to establish and con-tinually build a permanent art collection. Today the collection consists of nearly 50 pieces com-prised from student art work. “We have a lot of skilled art students,” said Dina Braniff, pro-gram assistant of the Foundation, “Talent like this would be remiss if we didn’t do something to rec-ognize it.” Each year the WVU at Park-ersburg Foundation purchases two pieces of art from student artists. These pieces are then donated to the college and dis-played throughout the campus. The winners of the art awards not only receive a $500 gift for their creations, they also have the opportunity to be featured in the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Art Collection Guide. The guide is assembled as a catalogue for the collection and includes the title of each piece, the name of the artist and the year it was purchased for the permanent collection. The winners of the 2013 WVU at Parkersburg Foundation Art Awards were Eryn Gray and Ste-phen Lemon. “Melancholy and Goethe” was

Gray accepting award.

Eryn Gray and Stephen Lemon with their artwork Lemon receiving award

Student Artists ReceiveFoundation Awards

Students Gain Valuable Work Experience Through

Criminal Justice Organizationby Daniel Jackson

Many people believe that hands on experience is the best experience. The Criminal Justice Organization on campus is no exception. Students are the life blood of the organization and learn by interacting with local law enforcement, serving the com-munity and creating valuable contacts for future careers. President Rob Tate Jr., Vice President Jennifer Davis, Trea-surer Tonya Marks and Secretary Cheyanna Powell create the gov-erning body of the organization. Tate joined the CJO to bet-ter serve the community. As a full-time member of law en-forcement, he is willing to teach students what he knows while working on his degree. After being an active member of CJO for three years, Marks was voted into the position of secretary last year. Her duties include managing the monetary aspects of the organization and assisting in planning its different functions. Powell joined after hearing about it from other criminal jus-tice students. She attended one meeting and filled out her appli-cation to join the next day. Community service is one of the main pi l lars of the organization. Members of the or-ganization put in countless hours to improve the community and to create relationships with local law enforcement. As of print, the CJO members have put in more than 3000 com-munity service hours since June 2013. At the end of the year, the projects and hours accrued by the organization are presented to the administration. The hours often lead to additional grant funding for the college and the organiza-tion. In keeping with its dedica-tion to the community, the

organization supports the Crimi-nal Justice Youth Academy. The purpose of the organization is to foster an interest in criminal jus-tice at a young age. The Youth Academy takes place in August and is a week long event for youths between 14 and 18 years old. It includes citizenship activities and com-petitions. Preparations for its activities are currently underway. The CJO has other activities planned for this year. Tomorrow, a Law Enforce-ment Appreciation Dinner will take place to honor men and women in uniform at the First Lutheran Church. If this dinner makes a large enough impact in the community, the CJO will make it an annual event. The CJO is also helping raise awareness about domestic vio-lence by doing a program called Shop with a Cop. Three children from the Do-mestic Violence Shelter are selected to receive $100 each and a shopping trip with a local cop. The Shoebox for Soldiers program is also in full swing as the organization collects various regulation clothing, health and hygiene products, entertainment items and non-perishable food items. The donations are shipped overseas to local soldiers. Those wishing to donate can drop off donations to CJO of-ficers, Instructors Rhett Wharton and Jaqueline Barron or in the Social Science & Language Division located in the banana wing. The Criminal Justice Organi-zation meetings are open to any students who wish to know more about it or criminal justice in general. For more information about the CJO, or would like to attend a meeting, they can go to the Social Sciences and Languages Division office.

the title of Eryn Grays featured work of art. Gray used oil on canvas as her medium. The piece consisted of two separate paint-ings that hang together based on the color-theory of Goethe. According to Gray, art has been an ongoing and important part of her life since she was very small, a talent encouraged by family and various teachers. Gray’s artwork can also be found hanging in the permanent collection at West Virginia’s State Capital building and it has even got her recommended for West Virginia’s Governor’s School for the Arts. Today Gray is a nontraditional student in pursuit of a Multi-Disciplinary Studies degree and hopes to pursue a career in art therapy. “Over the years, my artwork has become my voice and I hope that someday it will speak to oth-ers and encourage them in their lives,” said Gray. The title of Stephen Lemon’s artwork was called “Crispasau-rus”. The name of the piece was in honor of Ed Crisp, a retired WVU Parkersburg professor. The medium used in Lemon’s work was found metal. Found metal comes from any kind of scrap materials that can be welded to-gether. Lemon has enjoyed a life-long

love of art in all of its forms. At a young age, Lemon started draw-ing and taught himself how to paint. After graduating from high school in 1983, Lemon began attending WVU Parkersburg. He later had to quit the college due to financial circumstances. In time Lemon got a career as an artisan at Fenton Glass. His job was to paint on glass at the factory and his pieces can now be found in collections all over the world. Recently, Lemon's miniature paintings have also became a global hit. The paintings are as little as 2 ½ inches x 3 ½ inches. They can be found in collections located in New York, California, Canada, Thailand and Australia. After 30 years, Lemon is now back attending WVU Parkers-burg and on his way to earning a degree. The annual WVU at Parkers-burg Foundation Art Awards is a great opportunity for art students to be recognized for their artistic talent. The winners receive a cash award and are also given the opportunity to have their works of art live on through the college. For more information about the WVU at Parkersburg Foun-dation Art Collection, please call 304-424-8340 or visit www.wvup.edu/foundation/art.

The Chronicle at WVU Parkersburg November 21, 2013Page 4

by Shelby Thomas Adventure, forbidden love and witches “Beautiful Creatures” was written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This book was a New York Times Best Seller. Ethan Wate a high school student at Stonewall Jackson High School, is a great character. He is an athlete and is popular amongst his peers. They have a code and how to do everything as a team and how to stay cool. All he thought about was keeping up appearances, until he met the new girl. A n o t h e r a m a z i n g m a i n character is Lena Duchannes, a new student at Stonewall Jackson High School and the niece of the Old Man Ravenwood, the town shut in. No one has seen Old Man Ravenwood come out of his

house in decades and it scares the town, because he is not like the other people in Gatlin. This causes Lena to be judged quite openly by members of the community. Personally I feel Lena is the strongest character in this book. In addition to bearing the animosity of the townsfolk, Lena bears the family curse that has ravaged her family for generations. Unless she can stop the curse, everything will change for her on her 16th birthday. Ethan gets a glimpse of Lena and he feels drawn to her like fish to water. He knows something about her feels like home to him. Suddenly, everything starts to make sense to the both of them. This book was written by two different authors. Margaret Stohl is a graduate

from Amherst College, and won the Knox Prize while attending the school. Stohl earned her master’s degree in English at Stanford University. She also completed coursework for a doctorate in American Studies at Yale University. S t o h l a l s o a t t e n d e d a creative writing program at the University of East Anglia, where she was mentored by a Scottish Poet George MacBeth. Stohl lives in Santa Monica, Cali, with her husband, two daughters and their two beagles, and she enjoys traveling with her family. Kami Garc ia was ra ised outside of Washington D.C. where she spent hours writing poems in her notebook. She has always been fascinated by the paranormal and she believes in a lot of things “normal” people do not believe in. In her free

time, Garcia enjoys watching disaster movies, listening to Soundgarden, or drinking a Diet Coke. Garcia was a 2012 recipient of the Bold Ink Award. She has also participated in the LA Times Festival of Books. This magnificent story will have readers on the edge of their seats, turning pages after pages in suspense to what will happen next. What else is there to love more than forbidden love and mystery? Cassandra Claire author of “City of Bones” calls the novel a “hauntingly delicious dark fantasy.” T h e s t o r y c o n t i n u e s o n i n “ B e a u t i f u l D a r k n e s s , ” “Beautiful Chaos” and “Beautiful Redemption.” It is a must read, so pick it up and have an adventure.

~Beautiful Creatures~ Makes for a Great Read

by Mattia Goodrich Nothing is impossible with hard work. That is the theme of WVU Parkersburg’s table tennis team, expressed by Dr. Phil McClung, the team’s coach. “This came about because we have always surprised people with our results at tournaments.” According to McClung, the Riverhawks table tennis team has started out promising this season. “On Saturday, one of our players took a set from a former state champion who is rated much higher than he is.” McClung stated, “Another player won several matches against players with much more experience and higher ratings.” The table tennis team has goals for the upcoming season that they would like to accom-

plish, starting with the National Tournament. “Our goal is to make another great showing at the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association Tournament. Ohio State is a heavy favorite, but we want to represent WVU Parkersburg and our state at the highest level we can attain,” Mc-Clung said. The NCTTA tournament will be held on Nov. 23 at Akron University. “They are taking an A and B team into the tournament, in which they have had great suc-cess in the past,” said McClung. The WVU Parkersburg Riv-erhawks tournament record for the past two years consists of 12 wins with just three losses. “This year’s field of ten universities promises to be the strongest com-petition yet,” claimed McClung. The Riverhawks team is hop-

ing to come out swinging with the MVP from the past two years, Michael Swisher. Swisher is joined by Jorge Meneses, Jason Workman, and Zach Ed-man. Other players for the table tennis team include: Anthony Hess, Drew Carpenter, Mike Lu-cas, Zach Blair, Samantha Auth, Casey Williams, Matt Roberts, Kodi Sells, and Tyler Ohrn. “We have more players on the team than ever before... I think the team will get better and better leading up to Nationals in Febru-ary,” said McClung. “This is a very hard-working team that often practices over 12 hours a week,” said McClung. Anyone who is interested in joining the table tennis team can contact McClung at pmcclung@wvup.edu or Tom Yencha at tom.yencha@wvup.edu .

The Riverhawks Table Tennis Team Hopes to Come Out Swinging

The Chronicle at WVU Parkersburg Page 5November 21, 2013

by Hannah Duffield If one would ask Bob Coo-per if he is award worthy, he’d likely say “No.” If one would ask Cooper if his facilities and maintenance de-partment at WVU Parkersburg is award worthy, he'd definitely say “Yes.” As the physical plant manager for the college, Cooper is quick to give his team all the credit for successful projects. At the recent WVCCA (West Virginia Community College Associat ion) and WVADE (West Virginia Association for Development Education) joint conference, Cooper received the honor of being named the 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award. “I started work here [WVU P a r k e r s b u r g ] N o v e m b e r 1 , 2000 , ” s t a t ed Coope r. Prior to working at WVU Park-ersburg, Cooper worked as a certified contractor. “Right out of high school, I went straight into construction and worked construction right up until the day I started here,” stated Coo-per. Cooper’s duties at the college are very widespread; he man-

by Candice Hoalcraft With aspirations in the medical field, WVU Parkersburg student Joey Lantz decided to complete his degree and pre-med classes at this institution. Lantz has been accepted into a few medical schools but plans on attending at West Virginia School of Os-teopathic Medicine (WVSOM). Through a few memorable teach-ers, Lantz received the tools to further his pursuit in the medical field. The decision to pursue a medical career takes dedication due to the long grueling years of schooling and clinical work. With family members who are nurse practitioners, orthopedic surgeons and neurologists, Lantz had several positive influences to guide his career decisions. After

ages the day to day activities of the maintenance, grounds, and custodial departments, ensuring that everything is being done to maintain the structure and the appearance of the school, as well as keeping the facilities safe, and the temperatures comfort-able. “From the grounds, as you first pull off of the highway, we like to keep things looking good," Cooper continued "... it starts with keeping the grounds groomed and the landscaping tidied up, to keeping the trash picked up out of the parking lot,” said Cooper. “Once you get in the doors it’s pretty much the same thing we like to keep things looking nice and we have a great custo-dial crew that does a great job for us, same way with the grounds crew.” T h e d i f f e r e n t a r e a s o f maintenance that Cooper super-vises includes: HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and eleva-tor and fire alarm systems. “It’s pretty much everything from top to bottom, and, of course, we couldn’t do that without good people working here for us,” ex-

plained Cooper. Cooper and his crews have worked on many projects over the years, but one of the most memorable was, “the new nurs-ing labs … a lot of time and effort went into that,” stated Coo-per. Another memorable project that Cooper worked on was re-modeling the president’s office. "When I started [the office] was pretty much just block walls ... we got ... that block all covered up and dressed up nice the way it should have been,” described Cooper. Currently, Cooper is oversee-ing the renovations of the new Veteran’s Center. He explained that the project will be complete “sometime early to mid-Decem-ber.” Explaining his favorite part of the job, Cooper said, “It is work-ing with the people we have on staff. We do have a lot of good people here on staff. It wouldn’t be near as enjoyable if we didn’t have the skilled people that we do.” Cooper’s supervisor, Dave White, director of facilities and grounds, said, “Bob Cooper …

is dependable, honest, dedicated, extremely knowledgeable in carpentry, plumbing, electrical and grounds, but I think Bob’s biggest asset to the facilities de-partment is he is a true leader. I could not ask for a better second in command for our area. He is caring and always has time to lis-ten to complaints and concerns, and he is very much respected by our team.” Over the years Cooper has been awarded employee of the month twice and employee of the year once at WVU Parkersburg. The most recent award is the statewide 2013 Outstanding Con-tributor Award on Oct. 24, 2013, at the WVCCA WVADE joint community college conference in Bridgeport, W.Va. “I got notified that I needed to be in Bridgeport for that evening. At that point I knew what it was for. They had a dinner and then they made the announcements and the president [Gnage] got up and said a few very kind words,” recalled Cooper. Cooper was nominated for the Outstanding Contributor Award by WVU Parkersburg Presi-dent Dr. Marie Foster Gnage.

According to the WVU Park-ersburg website an excerpt of the nomination letter explained, “Knowing that efficiency is key when it comes to running a smooth operation, Bob always ensures projects are completed on time, on budget and in a high-quality manner. On top of his many attributes, perhaps most noteworthy is Bob’s creative side. He has used his woodwork-ing skills to build several custom pieces for college use, including cabinets and curios to display art pieces and exhibits.” “The president nominated me for that,” Cooper explained. “I was very honored. She had some very kind words to say about me, and I appreciated that… I don’t need the pat on the back, but it was nice to know that the work that we do down here in this de-partment does not go unnoticed.” Ever humble, Cooper credits other for his success. “I am honored that she nomi-nated me, but I don’t feel right taking the credit for these things because it has been an effort by the whole facilities department... to get the whole campus looking nice.”

shadowing several medical pro-fessionals, he realized he had an “interest in helping others suffer-ing from disease and promoting health and wellness,” Lantz ex-plained. As far as education is con-cerned, Lantz is no stranger to intense schooling. After graduat-ing Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Manage-ment from WVU Parkersburg, he completed the Marietta College Masters of Science Physician As-sistant program with the highest GPA award. After earning his master’s degree, he came back to WVUP to take four prerequisite classes for medical school. He currently works as a Physician Assistant in Family Medicine at Rivervalley Health and Wellness and Coplin

Cooper Nominated for 2013 Outstanding Contributor

WVU Parkersburg: A Stepping Stone for SuccessClinic. During his experience at WVU Parkersburg, Lantz came in contact with a few teachers who helped him in his career pursuits. One man in particular stood out. “Dr. Paul Cheng is an outstand-ing resource for the University,” he said. “He provided me with an outstanding preparation for the organic chemistry section of the MCAT [exam], which I believe was second to none.” Craig Rabatin, the Professor of Engineering, was of great help as well. “Mr. Rabatin was always willing to take the extra time to explain things in more detail outside of classes when I needed assistance.” A professor who helped him transition smoothly into the workforce was Pamela Braden,

professor of management and marketing. “Braden always taught her classes with a cut-ting edge approach to learning,” Lantz sa id . “She prepares graduates well for real world business.” According to Lantz, the most rewarding aspects involve helping people overcome their illnesses. “I enjoy being able to make a measurable difference in people’s lives and to counsel on preventive health care and proce-dures.” Completing classes at this in-stitution to prepare for medical school is an option and Lantz proves the plan to be effective. “WVUP provides an excellent opportunity for an academically sound and economical educa-tion.”

Joe's Advice for Success:

*Start preparing for MCAT at least six months in advance

*Apply for medical school at least 12 months before you plan on starting

*Apply broadly to many schools

*Start shadowing early to show you have a true interest in the medical field

*Sit down and make sure you are prepared for the time commit-ment medical school will take

Looks vs. Function: Pearson Struggles to Meet Expec-

The Chronicle at WVU Parkersburg November 21, 2013Page 6

by Corrissa Williams WVU Parkersburg is making the transition from West Virginia University’s eCampus to Open-Class in its attempt to separate from the University. OpenClass is a new product from Pearson that was created to make learning easier for students and instruc-tors. Faculty members and students at WVU Parkersburg do not all have nice things to say about OpenClass. Some feel that the program was implemented too quickly, and faculty members were not given enough time to learn the ways of the new learn-ing program. OpenClass is in its early stages, and Pearson has not had the time and feedback to work out the kinks. OpenClass was designed on the basis that students learn and communicate best by social media and modern technolo-gies. The new learning program incorporates features from Face-book and even gives students the ability to Skype. An OpenClass app is available on any electronic device, an advertisement of convenience by the publishing company. The folks at Pearson claim it works great for educators, mak-ing it easy to get started. The goal of OpenClass is to make creating courses and exams easy. Giving feedback, assigning grades and seeing student prog-ress are some of the main focuses of OpenClass. OpenClass helps go beyond the traditional classroom, to a more social way of learning. If students get stuck on a home-work problem, they can post a conversation in OpenClass us-ing chat, skype, or a discussion thread.

T h i s a l l o w s students to work together to learn the answers. Another benefit of OpenClass is the eBooks pro-vided within the courses. Once a student gets start-ed in OpenClass, the eBooks will be immediately accessible, but students still have the ability to get a hard copy. This will help students who are waiting on financial aid to buy their books. WVU Parkers -burg is currently working on get-ting this implemented. There are currently about 20 faculty with a course each practicing and testing the new system. “There are challenges that come with any new system, but nothing that I would say is necessarily a showstopper,” said Jessamine Wass, the administra-tor for the learning management system. Wass is currently working on coordinating the efforts in get-ting the faculty trained and the courses set up in the system. “I’m excited to be taking on the challenge of a new system,” said Wass. “I know with the faculty support and students working through this that this system will be in a great place.” Wass said she prefers OpenClass because of its tie with social media and availability on mobile devices. Although OpenClass appeals to some, it is a hard adjustment for some faculty. Rebecca Phil-

lips, an English instructor at WVU Parkersburg, is not so sure of the learning program. “The biggest benefit of Ecampus is that we’re familiar with it,” said Phillips, “I’ve been learning my way around it.” Phillips explained that her big-gest issue with OpenClass is that it’s a Pearson product. “I don’t approve of anything getting that big. It seems to me that if you have a company attempting to swallow the known world, we should be resisting that rather than working with it.” Although, one benefit that Phillips sees in OpenClass is the help desk that is available to students 24/7, as well as Smarthinking, a 24/7 tutoring service that is embedded within OpenClass. Phillips has heard of students having trouble contact-ing the help desk. “If it’s there, that’s a real plus, because we don’t have the per-sonnel to do that for people,”

said Phillips. O p e n -Class may also save money for students. For a flat $135 fee, stu-dents have access to OpenClass and all its amenities, including an EB-ook. This would eliminate the cost of a hard copy book for students, but unfortunately, i t has to be a Pearson book. “ I f I wanted students to use another book, they would have to pay for t h a t o v e r a n d above the cost of

the Pearson system,” explained Phillips. The cost per student for OpenClass without a Pearson book is $100, plus the price of textbook. Phillips explained that it is to her understanding that in future semesters there will be a dis-counted price for students who are not using a Pearson EBook, but it’s likely that students would still be spending more than the original $135 fee. “What that really does for faculty, who don’t like their students having to spend lots of extra cash, is that’s pushing us to choose books from a particular provider even if we don’t like working with that provider, and I have a real philosophical issue with that.” Phillips was also unhappy with the way OpenClass was imple-mented. Phillips feels that instructors were not given enough time

to learn the system before fall semester began. It would have been beneficial for students, as well, if instructors were given more notice about the transition to OpenClass. Instructors were also not informed that they would be beta testers for the new system. “I don't really feel tech savvy enough to be a good beta tester,” explained Phillips. “Students have been really good natured and really willing to work with it.” Overall, Phillips believes that the system has the potential to be good for students once faculty members adjust to the transition from eCampus. Phillip’s main concern is the institution’s support of the Pear-son company. Another faculty member in-volved with OpenClass, Phil McClung, shared similar views about Pearson. McClung also stated, “Comparing OpenClass to eCampus is like comparing a six year old to an eighteen year old. OpenClass is in its infancy, and it has great promise for the future, but now there’s just no compari-son.” McClung believes that Open-Class will get better, but right now it’s in its trial run. Faculty members are currently testing out OpenClass and are giving feedback in hopes that Pearson will come out with a new and im-proved OpenClass, when it starts full force at WVU Parkersburg in January 2014. Students should begin pre-paring for the transition from eCampus to OpenClass. For more information about the OpenClass program, go to www.openclass.com, where screen-shots and tutorials are available.

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgNovember 21, 2013 Page 7

by Carlē Stewart Online classes. Yes they seem to make college easy; no waking up early in the morning and sit-ting in a classroom for hours at a time. Most people may rather sit at home doing school work in-dependently rather than being surrounded by several different people. Taking online courses is easy, but which site makes taking these courses easier? Anyone who takes online classes at WVU Parkersburg knows that the sites used for their classes are either eCampus or OpenClass, but next semester only one of these sites will be available to students. While the opinion of Open-Class may vary among students, student William Bell shares his opinion on using OpenClass for his English 102 class. Bell explained that he likes using OpenClass. “The website is very easy to navigate,” Bell states. “Everything is right there at your fingertips from assign-ment details, to e-texts.”

Another quality Bell said he likes about the site is a respect for privacy. “The site doesn’t allow for e-mail addresses to be seen, which in a way, I kinda like. I appreciate privacy.” Other than the site crashing from time to time, Bell men-tioned that he has had no further problems with the OpenClass website. “The site crashed once prior to an assignment deadline. Fortunately, my instructor was very considerate of the malfunc-tion.” Bell said. Though Bell explains that while he has not used eCampus recently, he has seen a friend use the site and, in comparison to OpenClass, Bell said eCampus looked more confusing. “I would prefer OpenClass for any future courses I take,” Bell said. Bell added that aside from the technical issues with the Open-Class website, there is nothing he would like to see changed. “... but considering the site is new,” Bell noted technical issues will be worked out. “I’m sure it will be corrected soon”.

by Candice Hoalcraft This semester, a new program for online classes was avail-able for courses. Instructors had the option of choosing to use Open Class for their method of online teaching. Because all online classes will be switching over to this new program beginning in the spring se-mester, some felt that it was beneficial to try it out. Although it was useful to learn about the mechanics of the course beforehand, I came across several issues with it. With a compli-cated setup, Open Class is a far cry from the simplicity of eCampus. Starting out the semester, I had never taken an online course. I am cur-rently enrolled in two: one with Open Class and one with eCampus. From the first day classes started, I had a problem figuring out how to get to the page I was supposed to be on. My instructor so kindly sent out an email explaining how to get there, but I had problems finding it at first. In order to reach the

site, students had to sign in to their school email. Once I finally reached the site, I wasn’t sure what to look at first. It seemed to be set up more like a so-cial networking site than a college course. On the homepage, each discussion is posted and looks similar to a ‘news feed.’ I noticed that there is a place to upload a picture for a profile. Although it’s nice to see the faces of your fellow classmates, it’s too similar to a social page. The instruction portion of the program is the aspect that I dislike the most. With eCampus, each student purchases their textbook from the bookstore, providing the opportunity to learn with a book in their lap. Open Class has what are called ‘e-textbooks.’ Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to have an actual book in my hands. If for some reason your internet stops working, you have no access to your textbook. The course is split up weekly with a presentation, discussion, assignment and quiz. The presentations include a series of slides that include the information from the section. I personally don’t learn much just from reading words on a page. Due to the weekly setup, something is due practically every day. The course description said that each student should devote about six hours per week to the course. Combined with other classes, it’s hard to keep up. I also had issues with submission. In several cases, I wasn’t sure whether my file submitted or not. As opposed to eCampus, it never showed which assignments were submitted. By far the biggest issue I have is with the assignments. I found out in the middle of the semester that Pearson creates the assignments, not the instructor. I choose my instructors for a reason. I know that they are good at what they do and I know they will teach me what I need to know for the course. It’s difficult to ask for help when the instructor isn’t the one who created the assignment in the first place. It would be okay if the assignments were actually beneficial, but I didn’t learn much of anything from them. They were more busy-work than anything else. If the college needed to change the online class program, it should have been designed with similar characteristics to eCampus to prohibit confusion and more headache for the students. Each Open Class students recently received a survey in their school e-mail account. Use it. Share your experiences. Feed-back, whether it be positive or negative, is necessary for the college to move forward with this decision.

A Bad Taste in her Mouth

Steven Conn is a professor and director of public history at Ohio State University, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 15, 2013 -

"It did not occur to the IT gang that many of us don't have the time to be taught the idiosyncrasies of pointing and clicking through this particular

website. Or that we wouldn't want to. They were crestfallen when someone pointed this out to them. But it isn't their fault. The DIY university has

become an ingrained idea: Not only should we do everything ourselves; we should all be happy to do so. Whistle while you work because that work isn't

going to get done all by itself, is it?"

Student Finds Qualities in

Online Campus

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgPage 8 November 21, 2013

by Tessa McAtee "To the families who have loved ones that have to deal the face the fear of failure should be able to experience the true meaning of being happy..." said Veterans Advocate Shawn Healy. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the My Freedom Wish luncheon took place at the WVU Parkersburg multipurpose room. My Freedom Wish luncheon was a fund-raiser for the cause. The spaghetti lunch was sponsored by the Health and Wellness club, SGA and Veteran's advocate, Shawn Healy. My Freedom Wish is an en-dowment program to help grant the wish of a disabled child in a military family. The Veterans Af-fairs Office at WVU Parkersburg is hoping to find a veteran that at-tends WVU Parkersburg to grant the wish to. During the course of the lunch, guest speaker Randall Bare, re-tired 1st sergeant USMC, spoke about his time in service. He discussed the Vietnam War, Bei-rut, Lebanon, and his adventures in today's world in Washington D.C. fighting for veterans rights and benefits. It was there that I learned what war was all about. Vietnam was nothing compared to Beirut. You could shake hands with the person that was trying to take your life, trying to kill you,” said Bare when discussing Beirut. Positioned at the front of the room was a special table set up for fallen soldiers. The table was

set a specific way, with every ar-ticle having a meaning. The table was round to show everlasting concern for those missing and fallen comrades. The tablecloth was white which symbolized the purity of their motives when the call to duty and the Purity of America. A single red rose in a vase to re-member the blood given, and the loved ones and friends who miss them daily. The vase is tied with a red ribbon to symbolize contin-ued determination to remember our fallen and display the Patrio-tism that America values. A slice of lemon on the bread plate to remember the bitter fate of those who will never return. A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by the families of those who have fall or who have not re-turned. The Bible represents the strength gained through the faith to sustain those lost and to find peace. The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope, which lives on in one’s heart, the light of America will always be the light in a world of darkness. The glass is inverted to symbolize their inability to share the evening’s toast. The chair is empty because they are missing and not with us. The luncheon raised $1,800 for My Freedom Wish. This program will continue on each semester at WVU Parkersburg and hopes to grow citywide and potentially state wide.

by Corrissa Williams "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." (Ray Bradbury) Dr. H.G. Young knew what he wanted when he signed up for the Big Read, and that was to spread a love for reading. “I think it did all the things I want-ed it to,” said Young. For those who have not heard about the Big Read, it is a program sponsored by the Na-tional Endowment for the Arts. The goal is to, “revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.” Young started by selecting “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Brad-bury to be distributed for free across the Mid-Ohio Valley. 750 books given away, and Young hopes the books affected the lives of many. The book, published in 1953, is set at a time in the future when all books are banned. Instead of fighting fire, the job of firemen is to instead search for and burn any books that are found. To put the story into a real life scenario, the library at WVU Parkersburg held banned book week. During this week, books that had at one time been banned were on display in the library for students to read. Some of these books included Fahrenheit 451, the Harry Potter series, and even the Bible. Several events included with the Big Read were book discus-sions and a play presented by the Aquila Theatre at WVU Parkers-burg. The play was performed on Oct 1 and a discussion followed. Over 300 people and 30 students attended the play and discussion. The actors and actresses from the Aquila Theatre had an acting workshop for students as well. It was a great opportunity for students to learn about acting and to interact with the performers of the Aquila Theatre. Overall , Young was very happy with the results of the Big Read. “I'm just proud that we did it,” said Young.

by Elizabeth Stovall WVU Parkersburg’s Career Fair was held Oct. 30 in the multipurpose room. The event boasted over 40 vendors and many opportunities for the 300 plus students who attend-ed. Jennifer Randolph, coordinator of career services and coopera-tive Education, reported that one student in particular found the fair to be very rewarding. “Mary Shaffer, WVU Park-ersburg student in the nursing program, had two job offers as a result of the career fair,” said Randolph. “She chose a posi-tion at Heavenly In Home Care as a CNA. She will continue to pursue her degree to achieve her goal of becoming an RN.” Many other students also found the career fair to be a posi-tive experience. When students were asked to rate the career fair overall, 86% selected good or ex-cellent. All of the vendors in at-

Funds raised for my freedom wish at Veteran's Luncheon

Career Fair Offers Opportunitiestendance, which included 40 employers, four resource agen-cies, and two graduate colleges, claimed the career fair was ben-eficial. “We are so thrilled to hear of the positive results from the fair. If anyone else has similar news to share, I would love to hear about it,” said Randolph about the successful event. Career services also reported that 94% of students felt the ca-reer fair was beneficial and 97% of students would suggest the fair to their friends. Although the career fair is wrapped up and the semester is winding down, career services is still in full swing providing opportunities and assistance to students. Help is available for resume writing, as well as job seeking. Jennifer Randolph is avail-a b l e i n r o o m 1 2 0 7 o r a t jenni fer. s . randolph@wvup.edu. She can also be reached by phone at (304) 424-8000 ext 467.

Over 40 vendors were readily available for students’ questions.

Big Read Wraps Up

Shawn Healy welcomes luncheon attendees and guest speaker Randall Bare.

Table set for fallen soldiers last supper.

A student discusses career opportunities with a United Bank representative.

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgNovember 21, 2013 Page 9

by Candice Hoalcraft “Some people have lives; some people have music.” These words of wisdom from John Green describe perfectly the dedication of lives in the pursuit of music. WVU Parkersburg student Alex Cumps ton ded ica tes much to our community with his music endeavors. He ac-tively participates in the college Chorale among other musical activities. Coming from a strong musical background, Cumpston enjoys having music in his life.

by Corrissa Williams Mary Onyekwere-Eke is liv-ing her dream. Mary, born and raised in Nige-ria, decided she wanted to study outside of her country. Parkersburg, W.Va. seemed appealing to Mary due to it’s rural and relaxed setting. So in August 2013, when she turned 18, Mary moved to Parkersburg. Currently, she is attending WVU Parkersburg where she is working towards a degree in pre med. Mary is staying with Peggy Clifford, who teaches interpersonal communications at the college. She is planning to transfer to medical school and eventually become a doctor, but she is still undecided as to what school she will attend. When Mary first came to Parkersburg, the first thing she noticed was the temperature. The weather is much hotter in Nigeria. “It’s so cold here,” she said. “I came here around August and that’s when it started being cold for me.”

The way families eat out in America was also surprising to Mary. In Nigeria, families cook every day and only eat out on special occasions. “It’s really kind of nice though,” she said, “I understand that people may not have the time.” Nigeria does not have as many fast food restaurants as America. “I was so excited when I saw KFC,” she laughed. That was the only fast food restaurant that Mary had been to in Nigeria. In Parkersburg, Mary's favorite place to eat is Steak and Shake, but she still enjoys cooking at home and goes shopping at inter-national stores when she gets the chance. “It’s not that I don’t like going out, I just don’t see it as a necessity.” Some of the lady’s fashion was also a culture shock to Mary. “I’ve seen American movies,” she explained, “Now I’m see-ing it’s true that some of the girls feel so comfortable in the short dresses and short shorts. If you would wear that in Nigeria, people would be staring at you.

It’s not normal there.” She even sees differences in the way Americans discipline their children. In Nigeria, the “go to your room,” punishment just does not cut it. Mary talked about how in Nigeria, children are pun-ished worse and spankings are common. In America, our language is English, but Nigeria has over 500 languages. Although Mary speaks Igbo, she explained it’s not uncommon to talk to some-one who speaks Igbo and not be able to understand them. “It’s Igbo, but it’s not the same Igbo,” she explained. “It’s easier here because everyone speaks English.” In Nigeria, English is taught right from the start, so it was not too difficult for Mary to adapt to the English language. Outside of her school work, Mary enjoys activities such as playing the keyboard, reading novels, writing, and playing bas-ketball. Mary is hoping to play basketball for WVU Parkersburg in the future once she gets settled in.

Such passion sparked the op-portunities that involve working with professional individuals and the music he loves. Beginning in 5 th grade , Cumpston went from elemen-tary school band to a member of the high school marching and symphonic bands. He was also involved with the Chamber Choir and Madrigal singers of Parkersburg South. “I don’t re-gret anything in music that I’ve done,” Cumpston said. S ing ing became pa r t o f Cumpston’s life starting in 9th

grade when he started the choir program in high school. In col-lege, he decided to continue his choir experience. “I heard it was a lot of fun and I love to sing. It’s a big part of my life,” Cumpston explained. His involvement with the Chorale gave him the op-portunity to sing with the West Virginia Symphony. Each year the Chorale works with different college choirs around the state for a perfor-mance at the Charleston Civic Center. “Orchestra has always fascinated me,” Cumpston said.

“Being able to sing with an orchestra is just beyond any-thing that life has given me.” Cumpston has also been given the opportunity to participate in the All-State chorus. Along with the WV Symphony performance, the Chorale pres-ents two concerts per year, one in the fall and the other in the spring. The date has not yet been announced, but anyone interested in attending can contact Dr. H.G. Young at hg.young@wvup.edu. Outside of school, Cumpston is actively involved in playing

music for his congregation at Grace Gospel Church. Along with participating in the church choir, he started out playing for the children’s Cantata which prompted him to take organ les-sons. As of now, Cumpston is the full-time pianist. “At first I was upset because I was forced into playing piano because of differ-ent circumstances, but now I feel honored to be a full time pianist at the church,” Cumpston said. “This opportunity has given me the chance to broaden my piano playing and music ability.”

Onyekwere-Eke moving into her new West Virginia residence.

International Student Adjusts to American Life

Continues His Lifelong Interest into CollegeStudent Living Through Music

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgPage 10 November 21, 2013

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner is often a stressful responsibility. However, having quick and easy recipes on hand is one way to lighten the load. Here is a quick way to make homemade Cinnamon Apple Cranberry sauce. Recipe by Aaron McCargo Jr. 2009. With so much to do, having a quick homemade sauce will make sure guest are happy.

Ingredients2 cups cranberry juice1 (6-ounce) bag sweetened dried cranberries1 cinnamon stick, broken in half1 cup sugar2 Gala apples, peeled, cored and diced2 teaspoons corn starch

Directions In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the cranberry juice, cranberries, cinnamon and sugar. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have softened and apples are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove 8 ounces of the liquid to a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch. Slowly add the cornstarch-juice mixture to the cranberry mixture, stirring constantly. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl. Refrigerate un t i l t h i ckened , abou t 30 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and serve. Here is a side for the family on Thanksgiving, Ina Garten’s Caramelized Butternut Squash. 1999, “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.” Ingredients2 medium butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total)6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off and discard the ends of each butternut squash. Peel the squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize. While roasting, turn the squash a few times with a spatula, to be sure it browns evenly. Taste for seasonings and serve hot. For a dessert that will take about 45 minutes to make, try Sunny Anderson’s quick Pear Tart Recipe. Ingredients1/4 cup raw sugar2 teaspoons ground cinnamon1 sheet puff pastry, thawed1/2 stick butter, melted2 (15 1/4-ounce) cans pear ha lves , keep ing s t em end attached, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together. Lay puff pastry sheet on a work surface brush with melted butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar. Cut into 6 even pieces. Fan the pear slices over the puff pastry, using 1/2 a pear for each puff pastry square. Sprinkle tops of pear tarts with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake until pastry is golden and cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove ta r t f rom oven, sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts, 5 minutes more. For more tips go to http://www.foodnetwork.com.

by Allison Hilber Go-Mart is gone. The remains of an empty building are all that stands on the corner of Swisher Lane and Route 47. The property is still currently owned by Go-Mart, with the ap-proval of WVU Parkersburg to purchase the property. WVU Parkersburg became in-terested in the available property in order to protect control of the “gateway to the college,” accord-ing to Katie Wootton, director of marketing and communications. When the Go-Mart property was first becoming available on the market, talks surfaced of the property becoming a truck stop. A truck stop raised red flags for safety issues at the entrance, as well as bringing increased occu-pants in the nearby area. Originally, WVU at Park-ersburg Foundation director approached Go-Mart about a complete donation of the prop-

erty to the college according to Wootton. While Go-Mart re-jected the original offer, they did agree to sell the property to the college at a greatly reduced price. While the property has a value of $480,000, Go-Mart has agreed to the purchase price of $28,000. Terms also state that Go-Mart must remove all environmental hazards from the property prior to the college’s purchase. Currently, the gas tanks, pumps and canopy have all been removed from the property. The college is still waiting on official clearance from the Environmen-tal Protection Agency before the

property is officially purchased. Once the property is officially purchased by the college, there are no current plans as to what will go on the property. The college also does not have a timeline as to when something would be put there. Potential ideas for the property would include putting a college or foundation alumni office, a book store or general classroom space. “It’s a lot of exciting things that are happening … and evaluating what the needs of the college and best use of the prop-erty are,” Wootton said.

Property Acquisition by College Nearly Holiday HelpingsSecure, Proposed Use to be Decided

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgNovember 21, 2013 Page 11

by Candice Hoalcraft With the powerful guitar riffs of Led Zeppelin playing on the speakers combined with Mexican food and friendly people, Moe’s Southwest Grill is a deliciously modern and fun eating establish-ment. Until now, Parkersburg had yet to experience what their web-site describes as “made-to-order southwest fare." Similar to a Chipotle restaurant, Moe’s offers over 20 different fresh ingredi-ents for customers to compose the perfect burrito, quesadilla or nachos. After walking through the front doors, a large counter similar to a buffet runs along the side of the restaurant. Numerous workers stand over a line of fresh ingredients. The ordering process is simple; each customer has the

by Kyle Nichols Going from bad to worse is the story of "Bad Grandpa," a vulgar movie that does not try to hide its identity. “Bad Grandpa” is basically a movie that tries to exploit the reactions of everyday people when placed into not so every-day situations. Johnny Knoxville from the infamous jackass series plays an 86-year-old grandpa. He is accompanied by his daughter's emotionally numb child when she is sent to jail, and his goal is to deliver his nephew to his daughter's husband. Of course, chaos ensues. “Bad Grandpa” is not exactly a movie in some senses of the word. Sure, they attempt to add

filler content where they try to set up the story, but mostly it is just Johnny Knoxville yet again putting himself in danger and freaking out everyone else around him. The stunts appeared to be in one time frame by the way they set them up, but there is little strength to this approach. Still, at least it does not pretend to be about the story. It was clearly from the beginning just a movie installment of the show but with more sequence. Content wise, this film is about as crude as it can possibly get. Nudity, sexual themes, drugs, alcohol, and any other vulgar possibility are literally the con-centration of this movie. This is

not surprising from the previews or the precedents set up from jackass, and there was no sugar coating it at all. Obviously, “Bad Grandpa” is aimed at the teenage to young adult crowds because this kind of humor is not exactly designed for its level of maturity. The strongest aspect of the movie is the reactions. Johnny Knoxville has this way of mak-ing people turn into these crazy spastic people with whatever he does. At one point, he starts mak-ing margaritas right in the middle of a bingo hall. The mixed reac-tions of the bingo players show the true goal of the film. One of the funniest moments though was at the end when the cast told all the victims that they were actu-

ally being filmed. “ B a d G r a n d p a ” o v e r a l l achieved exactly what it set out to do. It provided cheap laughs through its insane vulgarity as well as through the humiliation of those around to witness the crazy acts. This movie is definitely not for everyone, and that was pretty clear just from the fact that it is a movie version of the show. “Bad Grandpa” is not a poorly done movie in any sense of the word. In fact, they achieved every sin-gle dirty stunt with an accuracy that I had never actually seen. If you are one day looking for a way of easy laughs through very disturbing means, maybe “Bad Grandpa” is for you.

option of either ordering a spe-cific item or choosing to make their own creation. The employ-ees make the food right there with your choice of fixings. The cashier is conveniently placed at the end of the bar, which keeps the line moving at a decent pace. It is nearly impossible to be dis-satisfied with your meal. Artwork along the walls also makes a restaurant memorable. Moe’s proudly displays works of art equipped with the artist’s name. Those pieces honor vari-ous “Rock N’ Roll” legends like Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. A vibrant color scheme with reds and yellows gives the space life and personal-ity. A combination of the artwork and colors makes the atmosphere ideal. Mexican food, or “southwest”

in this case, can be tricky to make the correct way. Moe’s does it perfectly. I ordered the chicken club quesadilla. Fully equipped with grilled chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato and a zesty chipotle sauce, the que-sadilla was an explosion of fresh and spicy flavors. Each meal comes with fresh tortilla chips along with the option of adding a side of queso dip. The salsa bar provides a wide variety of dif-ferent spices and tastes with no added cost. Although Moe’s is great for taste buds, it’s not the best op-tion for your wallet. With my quesadilla, a side of queso and a drink, my total reached around $12. That is fairly outrageous for lunch. The food is of a higher quality than fast food, but it does seem priced a bit steeply. Anoth-

er small downfall is the amount of customers. Naturally, a new restaurant in a small town at-tracts a lot of curiosity, however, the ordering process is efficient

which makes the wait not so bad. Conveniently located on Grand Central past the mall, Moe’s is a great option for a quick and satis-fying meal.

MOE'S BRINGS A NEW TASTE TO THE VALLEY

“BAD GRANDPA” LIVES UP TO BAD REVIEWS

The Chronicle at WVU Parkersburg November 21, 2013Page 12

by Jessica Thompson West Virginia’s Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, along with two representatives from the Brazil-ian company Odebrecht, arrived at WVU Parkersburg with an announcement that will affect the entire state of West Virginia. The announcement was kept a secret until the morning of its de-livery. It was a scene that could hardly go unnoticed and had many students wondering what the buzz was about. News crews from all over the state, govern-ment vehicles, busses, and even a helicopter, flooded the campus. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin arrived via helicopter to deliver the big news that could possibly change the lives of many West Virginia residents. Gov. Tomblin announced plans for the develop-ment of an ethane cracker plant. Odebrecht, a company based out of Brazil bid on a purchase for the property in Wood County.

The proposed development of a new petrochemical complex would include an ethane cracker plant, three polyethylene plant and an associated infrastructure for water treatment and energy co-generation. The new complex will be called “Ascent,” standing for Appalachian Shale Cracker En-terprise. Gov. Tomblin said this project is “a game changer for the state of West Virginia.” When asked the reasons that Odebrecht chose West Virginia, they stated that it was due to the state’s low tax rate, the stable environment, the quality of life and the location. West Virginia is one of four states that sit above the Marcellus Shale Natural Gas region, also making it a prime spot for the company. What exactly is an “ethane cracker plant”? An ethane crack-er plant produces thermoplastic resins. A cracker breaks down

large molecules from oil and natural gas into smaller ones. An ethylene cracker produces base petrochemical “building blocks,” which are the first stage in the chemicals manufacturing chain. Derivatives are the chemicals that are made during processing stages, using products from the cracker. Polyethylene is a derivative of

ethylene. Ethylene is a base in the chemical and plastics indus-tries. On the morning of the gov-ernor’s announcement SABIC Innovative Plastics, out of Washington, W.Va. made an announcement that it would be closing its doors by the year 2015. Odebrecht has looked at the property and made a purchas-

ing bid on it. Gov. Tomblin stated “We realize much work remains to be done, but Project Ascent is tremendous news for our state. This announcement is a defining moment in the economic devel-opment in the Mountain State. The project is expected to bring jobs and economic growth to the state.

an opinionby. Tessa McAtee

Americans smoke 139,000 cigarettes every 15 seconds ac-cording to Atlantic Cites recent research.. A large uproar occurred over the campus wide tobacco ban. The smokers on campus have

taken the ban as a personal at-tack., despite the fact that similar policies have been implemented across the country in community and technical colleges. “I feel that it is a violation of my personal rights. I have absolutely no problem with smoking in designated areas…”

said student Angela Sayre Profitt. Where in fact this does not have to do with smokers that follow the rules as much as it does to the smokers who chose to dis-obey the giant sign that says NO SMOKING IN THIS AREA. On Earth Day, 15 students from the Health and Wellness Club took 45 minutes to pick up trash around the school as part of a beautification project. With in those 45 minutes the 15 students gathers over 10,000 cigarette butts just around the school. What about the rights of the nonsmokers? They have to step cigarette butts outside, walk through smoke when walking in the building and then smell the Marlboro Light all class. What about those peoples rights? Everyone knows that smoking is a bad habit, but recent stud-ies show that smoking increases stress and changes brain chem-istry. Contrary to popular belief, smoking does not relieve stress. Studies have shown that on aver-age, smokers have higher levels of stress than non-smokers. The feelings of relaxation that smok-

ers experience while they are smoking, is actually a return to the normal unstressed state that non-smokers experience all of the time according to tobacco free kids. And who can forget that dread-ful cough that is caused by an increase of mucus production. Tobacco smoke paralyzes these hairs, allowing mucus to col-lect in the lungs of the smoker. Cigarette smoke also promotes goblet cell growth resulting in an increase in mucus. More mucus is made with each breath of ir-ritating tobacco and the smoker cannot easily clear the increased mucus according to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. What about when i t de-creases physical abilities, or increases blood pressure which leads to medications that causes more risks and side effects if you chose to smoke according to CDC (Center for Disease Control)? Don’t forget about the direct link to cancer factor either. We all know tobacco is bad for us but have you ever actually listened to the real side effects

Odebrecht Representative Fernando Santos-Reis (l) and WVU Parkersburg President Marie Gnage.

Governor Tomblin (center) and representatives from Odebrecht.

Governor Announces Potential Cracker Plant in Area

Continual Puffing: Whose Rights are Really being Violated?or science behind why so many people promote no tobacco? The la tes t fad swarming around has been e-cigarettes. These have been advertised as a great way to quit smoking when in reality it is just the opposite. One puff off an e-cigarette con-tains 24 mg. of nicotine; one puff off a traditional cigarette contains 1.8mg of nicotine. The concoctions that makes up the liquid nicotine contains all sorts of chemicals such as methanol, used in rocket fuel, cadmium , found in batteries, arsenic, no need to explain, diethylene gly-col, they meant antifreeze, their bad according to the CDC. But the tobacco companies have made the e-cigarettes so convenient and shiny, they even mask death and disease in dif-ferent flavors such as strawberry, orange, mint, you name it! Moral of the story is the to-bacco ban is not a personal attack on smokers it is a coalition on better health for ALL students and persons stepping foot on the beautiful campus of WVU Park-ersburg.

Inset: A collage made of 139,000 cigarettes. Above, a close-up view of the collage creation.