The Yellow Jacket

the Staff

Jesse Jenkins is a senior communications major with a focus on business and advertising. When he is not at school, he works full-time as a man-ager at Books-A-Million. In his spare time he enjoys reading, making films and watching them.

Lena Lambert is a sophomore majoring in social work. She lives in Nitro with her husband and three sons and is involved with the Social Work Organization.

Tabatha Paluso is a senior professional writing major. She is a member of the GSA and the English Club. She hopes to graduate in May and go on to get her MA in Journalism at UCSB.

Cody Cummings is a communications major with an avid interest in video games. He hopes to work in video game productions after gradua-tion.

Alexander Naylor is a professional writing major. He is currently a senior and hopes to graduate in the fall. A few of his interests are playing the electric bass guitar and golf. He likes to cok and often finds himself trying out new concoctions.

TheYellow Jacket is published by West Virginia State University students throughout the fall and spring semesters as part of an on-going learning lab. The Yellow Jacket is dedicated to being a trusted source of news, entertainment and discussion for the students of West Virginia State University. © 2014 The Yellow Jacket. Content may not be reproduced without permis-sion. Faculty advisor: Dr. Jessica Barnes-Pietruszynski.

Marta Tankersley, named WVSU journalism student of the Year 2013, is a communications major. She writes for the Charleston Gazette, WV Executive magazine and works with PRSSA and Tower Communications. Marta is engaged to WVSU graduate CR Hays.

Jessica Clark-Jenkins is the assistant edtior of The Yellow Jacket. She is seeking a degree in English. With her degree, she hopes to go on to teach English as a second language. Jessica is also a member of the English Club and an editor on the Kanawha Review.

Bianca Prince is the editor-in-chief of The Yellow Jacket. She is an English major seeking a minor in Journalism. Additionally, she is an editor on the Kanawha Review and president of the English Club.

Outstanding Teacher Award Accepting Nominations..................4

Chicken Stu Tweets Urban Agriculture Conference..................4

Earth Day Celebrations...........................................5

Meet the Student Government Candidates...........................6

Pepper Projects Get Hot..........................................9

Annual Career and Employment Expo Returns.......................10

Editorial: Fox News Flaunts Sexism with ‘Mom Jeans’ Comment.....11Editorial: Fox News Flaunts Sexism with ‘Mom Jeans’ Comment.....11

Game Review: “Smite”............................................12

Table of Contents

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By Tabatha Paluso The Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching is current-ly accepting nominations for its annual Outstanding Teacher Award. All students, professor, faculty and staff are encour-aged to nominate the professor they feel embodies what it means to be an outstanding teacher. Those eligible for nomination include any faculty member who has taught at least two semesters and have been a member of WVSU for three years (this excludes any fac-ulty member or professor who has won within the past five years). Professors and/or faculty members who accept their nomi-nation must then submit a teaching portfolio for review by

the FACET committee. If chosen, the winner will receive WVSU's Crystal Apple, a symbol of imparted knowledge between a teacher and his or her students, and a teaching sti-pend. Anyone wishing to nominate a professor or faculty member must fill out a form, as well as attach a two page nomination letter. Forms for nomination are posted on the WVSU website, or you can email Dr. Jeff Pietruszynski (jpietrus@wvstateu.edu). To learn more about the Outstand-ing Teacher Award, and about FACET visit http://www.wvstateu.edu/Faculty-Staff/FACET.aspx.

FACET’s 2014 Outstanding Teacher Award

Follow Stu’s Clucks on TwitterBy Candice Holliday A certain special chicken will be visiting West Virginia State University on April 11 and 12. Chicken Stu is his name and he is coming to visit for the very first West Virginia State Urban Agriculture Conference. Being a land grant school our growing inter-est in Agriculture is no surprise. WVSU Exten-sion Service joined with the WVU Extension Service and Northeast SARE to develop the conference in attempt to meet the community’s desire for more information and further growth. The event will include workshops like bee keeping, raising chickens, farmer’s market man-agement, rain water harvesting and more. Along with the workshops there will also be a local foods dinner, vendor exhibits and a session led by Sean Hayes of the Oberlin College and Con-servatory out of Oberlin, Ohio. Fresh food is very important for any commu-nity, but many people know little about grow-ing, what to buy and where to buy it. Being a

land grant school, WVSU is expected to focus on Agriculture. This conference can only mean growth and good things for our university. If you want to stay informed about the conference, as well as Urban Agriculture in West Virginia you can start following Chicken Stu , @StuUrbanAgWV, on Twitter. He will be tweeting up to and during the conference.

Celebrate Earth

Day

at State!By Marta Tankersley West Virginia State University has been designated as a Tree Campus USA just in time for the celebration of the 2nd Annual WVSU Earth Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, April 21. Tree Campus USA is an Arbor Day Founda-tion program that recognizes campuses where students are engaged in sustaining healthy trees, conservation and education. WVSU is the first university in the state to be honored by this designation due largely to the efforts of Brad Cochran of the University's Gus R. Dou-glass Land-Grant Institute and West Virginia State University Extension Service. Festivities will begin with a performance of For the Beauty of the Earth by the WVSU Con-cert Choir at a tree planting ceremony in the green space between the Cole and Dawson buildings. President Brian O. Hemphill will plant a “large, stately” European Copper Beech tree donated by co-coordinator and Professor of Health and Human Performance Steven Rich-ards. He also donated an ornamental Japanese Snowbell tree that will be planted at later date. “West Virginia has one of the most diverse areas of native trees,” co-coordinator and Pro-fessor of Education Brenda Wilson said. “It’s really important to me that university students love the earth and protect it.” Exhibitors, offering education about conser-vation and energy efficiency will set up at the James C. Wilson University Union, include

Appalachian Power Company’s Residential energy Efficiency Program, Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority's Recycle Smart-Do Your Part educational campaign, WV 350 and West Vir-ginia Citizen Action Group who will present information regarding reversing climate change, and the Ohio Valley Environmental Co-alition. There will also be a poster contest for middle and high school students in an effort to promote environmental protection to youth and “engender an interest in WVSU in the schools,” Wilson said. “Small cash prizes will be awarded,” she said. The WVSU family and public is invited to attend.

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Boar of Governors Candidate

Scotty WhiteSenior in Communications

I have two years experience on the Board. I have a great relationship with both the board and the adminis-tration that I use to the students advantage. I have also worked with the Student Advisory Council to the Higher Education Policy Commission which connect WVSU to other campuses around the state. I have worked hard for my fellow Yellow Jackets and I would like to continue helping them in the future.like to continue helping them in the future.

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Meet the Student Gove

Presidential Candidate

Mushay Simms-DavisSenior in Communications

As SGA President, I plan to accomplish improving the campus life by having more social events for all students, improving campus safety, and other student orientated events. e reason why I’m running for SGA President is because I believe I have the leadership skills, experience, and qualities of being the president. Another reason I’m running is because of the encouragement and support that I have been given from my friends and fellow classmates who believe that I will be a good SGA President for West Virginia State University. I possess all the qualities in being SGA President, in which I have an admi-rable character, I’m personable, I have good ethics, honesty and am knowledgeableknowledgeable of West Virginia State University. I, too, feel that I will be the SGA President who is a leader exemplifying what a true motivator of my fellow peers, who wants to advance student life by being the voice for the students. I will also LEAD them to new and better things within them and to new and better things within the SGA.

rnment Candidates

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WVSU is

Dressfor

Successat the

Career andEmploymentExpoExpo

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By Jessica Jenkins West Virginia State University will be hosting the Annual Career and Employment Expo in the Wilson Student Union on Thursday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is open to students and graduates, as well as the general public. “Job seekers have the opportunity to search the pool of local businesses for full-time, part-time, summer and intern-ship positions,” says Sandy Maharaj, director of the WVSU Office of Career Services and Co-operative Education. “Whether you’re a recent graduate who’s entering the job market or a mid-career professional seeking new challenges, our Career Fair and Expo will offer you a tremendous net-working opportunity.” There will be around 70 recruiters from 40 different busi-nesses in attendance. They will be representing many fields of study including government, finance, human services, law enforcement, communications, technology, sales/marketing, retail/merchandising, operations and health care. The U.S. Secret Service, IBEX Global, Nationwide Children’s Hospi-tal, the FDIC, City National Bank and EnerVest Operating LLC are all scheduled to attend. “The career expo gives university students the opportu-nity to learn about the different jobs in their field,” says junior communications major Kayla Ferrell. “It also gives the student a chance to talk to individuals who have experi-ence in the career field.” Students are encouraged to attend and dress in profession-al attire. Students should also bring several copies of their resume to give out to the businesses. This is an opportunity to for students to begin networking. “I would say that for me a primary benefit would be just the opportunity to get your foot in the door and meet people that I wouldn't otherwise be able to meet,” says alumni Ran-dolph Marcum. “Building a network is the most important thing a recent graduate can do, and a positive first impres-sion can go further than any schooling. Education is impor-tant in that it gives you an opportunity to get a job, but no degree will excuse you from the interview process.” For more information, contact the WVSU Office of Career Services and Co-operative Education at (304) 766-3250.

Fox News flaunts republican sexism with "mom jeans" commentBy John Cantees Republicans have proven that there are no rules when it comes to attacking the president anymore. Whether it is taking economic issues out of context that our previous pres-ident was responsible for or just completely making stuff up about the Affordable Care Act, they have shown that any-thing and everything is fair game to them. Given the past five years of completely irrational hogwash spewing out of the republican stratosphere, I don't think it should be a sur-prise to anybody with even a sparse understanding of Ameri-can politics that their newest outrage is based on nothing more than his jeans: to use their own words, his "mom jeans.” Yes, you read that right. While our country struggles to re-cover from an undeniably abysmal eight years under Bush, while Egypt, Syria, and Lybia are in turmoil, and while we still toil and tussle with 47 million Americans being below the poverty line, the republican stratosphere has decided that the style of jeans that Obama wears while not at work is worthy of national discussion. Now, it’s important to keep in mindmind that the Grand Old Party has said some pretty ridicu-lous things lately. It wasn't too long ago when Michelle Bachmann brought up the idea that government vaccines may cause autism--a disorder that has never been acquired but rather is either present at birth or not present at all, but this new one is truly a doosey. This started on Fox News (shocking, I know) when Sarah Palin went on Sean Hannity's show to talk about the various "failures" of Obama's leadership when it comes to current issues concerning Russia and the Ukraine. I can ignore what a flawed concept this is. I can even ignore how Palin and Hannity complaining about Obama's failures is like Vanilla Ice and Soulja Boy getting together to talk about the musical inadequaciesinadequacies of The Beatles. After all, this kind of stuff is Fox's bread and butter right? This is what they do. However, there was a part of this predictable onslaught of nonsense that stuck out to me: the fact that they went to Obama's "mom jeans" as a focal point. Her overall point was that "people look at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil... they look at our president as one who wears mom jeans."jeans." This reasoning seems to say more about how superfi-cial and ridiculous her world view is than anything, but Sarah was just as adamant about saying it as Sean Hannity was compliant in backing it up. The comment took a life of its own as pundit after pundit repeated it on the network.

Yes, this is the same crowd that burst into flames with anger when anybody publically criticized Bush’s foreign policy decisions while his administration took us to war with two countries that now thinks it just fine and dandy to attempt to publically humiliate the current president for avoiding that same mistake. Putting aside for a moment how incredibly absurd it is to cite a president's style of jeans as a reason for their failings, I'd like to know what exactly it is about mom jeans that makes them bad. The only real difference between mom jeans and non-mom jeans is that mom jeans are intended for moms, right? Is there is anything about the fabric or the dye in these jeans that makes the wearer a fundamentally weaker humanhuman being? Maybe the republican stratosphere didn't fall in love with the "mom jeans" talking point because they ac-tually believe mom jeans make a person weak. It looks more like they fell in love with it because it implies that moms are weaker than non-moms. It implies that women are weaker than men. Do you think that it's a coincidence that over half of Fox's viewers are old white republican men who grew up in an era where that kind of talk was commonplace? Fox News knows its viewers very well and they know when they have a buzzword or phrase that their viewers will like. That is why they said it and that is why they shamelessly repeated it for days. Don't look for any republican representatives to denounce the comment either, as they benefit when their more radical base is thoroughly juiced up with sexist nonsense. The "mom jeans" comment is a dog whistle that resonates with

Yes, this is the same crowd that burst into flames with anger when anybody publically criticized Bush’s foreign policy decisions while his administration took us to war with two countries that now thinks it just fine and dandy to attempt to publically humiliate the current president for avoiding that same mistake. Putting aside for a moment how incredibly absurd it is to cite a president's style of jeans as a reason for their failings, I'd like to know what exactly it is about mom jeans that makes them bad. The only real difference between mom jeans and non-mom jeans is that mom jeans are intended for moms, right? Is there is anything about the fabric or the dye in these jeans that makes the wearer a fundamentally weaker humanhuman being? Maybe the republican stratosphere didn't fall in love with the "mom jeans" talking point because they ac-tually believe mom jeans make a person weak. It looks more like they fell in love with it because it implies that moms are weaker than non-moms. It implies that women are weaker than men. Do you think that it's a coincidence that over half of Fox's viewers are old white republican men who grew up in an era where that kind of talk was commonplace? Fox News knows its viewers very well and they know when they have a buzzword or phrase that their viewers will like. That is why they said it and that is why they shamelessly repeated it for days. Don't look for any republican representatives to denounce the comment either, as they benefit when their more radical base is thoroughly juiced up with sexist nonsense. The "mom jeans" comment is a dog whistle that resonates with

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GODS WILL “SMITE”By Cody Cummings Throughout history, civilizations across the world have worshiped different gods. Some of these gods have been worshiped for different things. Some gods are worshiped for elements while others for fate, or even life or death. In mythology, gods have clashed with mighty beasts and even other gods. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be one of these powerful gods or, better yet, pit gods against gods to see who is the strongest? Then prepare to strike down your opponents in “Smite”! “Smite” is a massive online battle arena (MOBA) devel-oped by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows. “Smite” was released for the United States on March 24, but was out in Europe before being sent to North America. This free-to-play game takes a third-person perspective rather than the over-the-top traditional view like in other MOBAs such as “League of Legends.” If you’ve played other MOBAsMOBAs like “League of Legends,” you’ll easily be able to pick up “Smite” with no issues. There are noticeable dif-ferences besides the view in “Smite” from the other MOBAs as well. In “Smite,” you play with actual gods that have been based in real mythology and religions. Most of the gods are from pantheons: Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Roman, Mayan and Norse. Each god is impressively de-tailed with actual weapons and abilities unique to them from their lore, which is included to read when looking them over. Each god has a “class” with them like any other gamegame with tanks, assassins, mages, rangers and supports. Something unique that is a nice touch for new and pro players is that you can set the purchase in-arena items and skills automatically. You can set up how to purchase or pick these items for builds you found that suits you. The graphics for “Smite” are pretty impressive for a

free-to-play online game. The 3D animation of the gods and the scenery of the arenas are quite breathtaking. Many of the gods that are familiar to most players, like Zeus or Thor, have their own unique design that makes them pop out from the crowd. There are also different skins you can purchase for these gods that range from simple color swaps to others having an insanely different skin all to-gether.gether. Sadly, due to the game being relatively new, there is quite a lack of these unique skins unlike “League of Leg-ends” where every champion has at least three to five. “Smite” has a few more game modes than other MOBAs on the market. “Smite” includes conquest, joust, arena, assault, boy vs. girl and tournament modes. Con-quest is like every other MOBA where teams of 5 must defend three lanes against the opposite team. Joust can be one-on-one or three-on-three team battles in one lane. Arena is pure five-on-five god battles with lack of lanes. AssaultAssault is one pure lane of five-on-five random gods se-lected for the players. The other modes are still unbal-anced; there is no point to bring them up and the queue to get into a game can take a while to start up, usually up to two minutes. The controls in “Smite” take some getting used to as well. Unlike the other MOBAs where you click on the left mouse button to move and use only four keys to use skills, with “Smite” you use the W-A-S-D key layout. The skills are mapped to 1-2-3-4 buttons, which makes the player sometimes click the wrong skill or easily mess up a combo attack. The length of these games can be surprisingly long player-to-playerplayer-to-player wise. One match I experienced was over one hour and 30 minutes long while another match I played took only half that time. In “League of Legends,” you can play against computer AI-opponents which can provide a decent challenge to

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players. However, the computer opponents in “Smite” are lacking. They are usually mindless and often stand still in their turret range when damaged. This is all fine but they do this even when they are attacked by players or when the towers are being attacked. Even the minions that spawn endlessly from each base are more of a challenge than these AI-bots. The voice acting isn’t on the level of “League of Leg-ends,” but it is still better than other games I have played. You can send out commands in game with a default an-nouncer voice but you can also purchase voices to overlap that. The “real-money” is called gems, which surprisingly cost quite a bit. Favor is the “in-game money,” but earning enough takes quite a long time to afford the 5,500 price tag for the gods. It’s only 200 gems to get gods but there is a special going on for this month to purchase all the gods and future gods for only $30 dollars-- it’s hard to pass up. All in all, for a relatively new MOBA, it’s quite impres-sive. It’s strangely addictive once you start playing. Seeing all the gods in mythology is both interesting and educating. Once you get the controls down and find a god you like, you’ll be having a blast. Bots are only good to learn new gods but don’t have much value past that. Most of the gods are quite expensive and gaining favor for them takes time. Still,Still, “Smite” is a great game to at least try for people that are just curious. For me, I’ll be playing this for quite a while, finding myself having fun smiting down other gods with a stroke of a key.

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people who already believe that women are weaker than men but can go under the radar of people who don't. This is no different than when Sarah Palin chose the words "palling around with terrorists" when she described a meeting Obama attended to play on post-9/11 fears of voters during the 2008 election and no different than Newt Gingrich call-ing Obama's world-view "Kenyan" in nature to resonate withwith those who think he might not have been born in Ameri-ca. I won't act like republicans are alone in using this tactic, but I also won't shy away from the fact that they are the over-whelming masters of using it. Regardless, it seems Fox News has yet again succeeded in feeding the always-hungry monster that is their audience a meal of subtle sexism while spiteful republican leaders have succeeded in allowing a vile anti-woman message to get to their radical base over the headsheads of the average folks who just happen to be republi-cans. I just hope next time the republican monarchy do it this blatantly with a notion this preposterous more people will notice it, remember it, and take those memories with them to the voting booth.

HAVE A RESPONSE?SOMETHING ELSE TO SAY?

SEND YOUR EDITORIALS TOBPRINCE@WVSTATEU.EDUSubmissions must be no more than 800 words. Include your name and a phone number Submissions must be no more than 800 words. Include your name and a phone number when submitting. Phone numbers are for verification and will not be published. The opin-ions, values and beliefs expressed in opinion editorials and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect those of the Yellow Jacket or West Virginia State University. Pieces

will be published at the editor’s discretion.

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The Austin Grill food truck will be open Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for breakfast and from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch. Accepts cash, credit cards, flex dollars and commuter food plan as payment.

Books and Lyrics by HOWARD ASHMANMusic by ALAN MENKEN

DAVIS FINE ARTS THEATREInstitute, WV

APRIL 16-19, 2014 – 8PMTICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOORGENERAL ADMISSION–$10

ALL STUDENTS–FREEINFORMATION: 304-766-5110 or minnerly@wvstateu.edu

Based on the fi lm by Roger Corman, Screenplay by Charles Griffi thOriginally produced by the WPA Theatre (Kyle Renick, Producing Director)

Originally Produced at the Orpheum Theatre, New York City by the WPA Theatre, David Geff en, Cameron MacIntosh and the Shubert Organization

Don’t feed

Don’t feed

the plant!

the plant!