When people wake me up.

When people wake me up, every single time, something bad has happened. When my uncle died, when my cat was hit by a car and died, when I had a seizure, and most recently when Kobe died. It was the middle of the day and I was trying to get a nap before a long night at work when my dad came bursting in my room.

“Connor! Wake up! Kobe died!”

What the fuck are you talking about?

“He died in a helicopter crash, they think his daughter was with him too. It’s horrible.”

My dad came running into my room to wake me up because he knew that Kobe was my favorite athlete. Ever. Born in Philly and his father is a Sixers legend. The only other form of organized basketball in America that Bryant played outside of a Lakers jersey, was for Lower Merion and Team USA. Kobe Bryant: big Eagles guy.

Kobe was in his prime when I was growing up and dismantling the Celtics, who I hate. I still remember the 2010 Finals Game 7 to this day as vividly as I remember this morning. My favorite t-shirt of all time was a white Nike tee with a Black Mamba and all five of his Lakers rings wrapped around the tail. I wore it until there were fucking holes in it.

The important thing that can’t be forgotten when writing about the Kobe Bryant tragedy is the loss of his daughter, Gigi, and the other passengers on board. Including a couple and their daughter who leave two additional children orphaned.

It’s the biggest death of an athlete in my lifetime and probably of any celebrity, because, fuck Michael Jackson.

Bryant was also leading a new life off the court, diving into film and childhood education, while also coaching up young NBA players and empowering athletes in the WNBA.

While Kobe’s death has impacted people globally, the tragedy hurts one person the most and that’s Vanessa Bryant. Who lost a husband and a daughter who was becoming a dominant player and person in her own right.

I am sixteen years younger than Kobe is at the time of his death. I fully believed that the human version of Ironman was going to outlive me. It makes sense that a freak accident that could be written like a Greek tragedy was the only thing possible to take him and his daughter.

The NBA should retire No. 8 and No. 24. Rest peacefully champ.

Connor B. Schlegel

Top 5 Current American Actors

1. Brad Pitt. Absolutely undisputed, refer to my last blog for any clarification that you may need.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio. Gatsby. Titanic. Django. The Aviator. Catch Me if You Can. Once Upon A Time.
3. Tom Hanks. Forrest Gump. Mr. Rodgers. Bridge of Spies. The Terminal. Castaway. Fucking Sully.
4. Robert De Niro. Raging Bull. Taxi Driver. Casino. The Irishman. Meet The Fockers.
5. Bradley Cooper. (Personal bias). Silver Linings Playboook. A Star is Born. Hangover Trilogy. Limitless. Wet Hot American Summer. Wedding Crashers.

 

*Honorable mention: Johnnie Depp but he physically assaults women, null & void.

An Ode to Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves is a national treasure.

The Texan songstress put out, in my opinion, the best country album of the last three years and obviously won the Grammy for album of the year for Golden Hour. The work is a flawless masterpiece from top to bottom, filled with charm & soul & depth.

To follow that up, Musgraves wrote and sang an entire Christmas album with her band. It featured talented artists like Leon Bridges, Camila Cabello, Lana Del Rey, Zooey Deschanel, and a funny cameo and rendition of Silent Night by Fred Armisen. To top it all off, she got one of the funniest actors in the country right now, Dan Levy, to host. It was shot in front of a live studio audience and received rave reviews.

The woman is a new era Dolly Parton. She’s one of the most talented women in Nashville and the same will probably said soon in Hollywood because of how her charisma translates to screen.

Connor B. Schlegel

 

Brad Pitt is the goat.

The best movie of the year

Undoubtedly, the best movie of the year is Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. I’m a cinema snob and I take joy in watching a movie combine plot, dialogue, an incredible ensemble cast, and very well shot film. Not to mention that you have standout performances like Brad Pitt (Academy Award/SAG Award), DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Margaret Qualley. Even Emile Hirsch provided a career revival with his role. But Pitt is phenomenal. He plays a cool, unattached, and unhinged version of himself. Troy. Oceans. BENJAMIN BUTTON. Fight Club. Meet Joe Black. Moneyball. He produced and starred in 12 years a slave. He produced THE DEPARTED. He’s produced more black films than any white guy in California. He’s the greatest American actor of this generation and I will take absolutely no comments.

Connor Schlegel

Near Death

Yesterday, I had the first near death experience of my life. The first real one, where I was truly afraid that I wasn’t going to see another sunrise. I take certain medications for a heart problem and other health issues, and when not taken consistently, it can lead to the possibility of seizures. I’ve been on these medications for nearly a year and never had an issue until I slipped up and missed two days worth of doses. I went to work completely unaware of my forgetfulness. I worked for about four hours. I was walking across the bar and talking to a coworker when bam, everything went straight to black. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor with an EMT shining a flashlight in my eyes and a stretcher being wheeled out towards me. I called a few family members during the ambulance ride over to the hospital, all of which I can barely recall. My mother and sister were the first people there, with my lovely girlfriend and her mom arriving shortly after. The ER doctor told me that the seizure could’ve been from a number of things, ranging from forgetting my medication to a malignant brain tumor. I’m still putting together the pieces and trying to get a correct diagnosis, but regardless of the future, I learned a lot about myself and the people in my life last night. I got late night phone calls and text messages from anyone from family members to friends to family friends. The event scared the living shit out of me, I’m still a bit rattled as I write this. And it’s wildly corny and a complete cliche, but it did leave me with a new lease on life. Hopefully I’ll be able to follow my own advice and wake up every single day like it’s the last one that I see. That you have to show the important people in your life just how important they are to you. And to never hesitate from doing something because of the fear of failure.

I’ve spent some time away from writing but that’s changed. I’ve spent the last six months writing and editing a novel which will hopefully be finished this summer. I’ll be posting my latest pieces on multiple platforms and at http://www.cbschlegel.wordpress.com which I would greatly appreciate anyone to read.

Connor B. Schlegel

2017 Resume Reel

WVU student government representative pursues progressive leave of absence policy

By Connor Schlegel

Serious personal illness is difficult for anyone attempting to deal with it. But for a college student with daily attendance obligations to fulfill, serious illness can derail their entire college career.

Brandon Waters, a senior accounting student at West Virginia University, learned that first hand during his freshman year.

Waters, who was taking the anti-depressant Cymbalta at the time, starting experiencing adverse symptoms like a highly elevated heart rate and severe cramping in his extremities. Luckily, Waters was currently working in the emergency department at the Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown and was immediately checked out by a medical professional. The doctor informed Waters that she believed he was suffering from serotonin syndrome, which leads to increased excessive nerve cell activity due to high levels of serotonin in the body.

However, due to the rarity of serotonin syndrome occurrences, Waters personal psychologist was doubtful and denied the doctor’s diagnosis. Waters would land in the emergency room two more times due to the adverse side effects from continued consumption of manufactured serotonin in his medication.

That extended hospital time forced Waters to miss numerous lectures and classes during the course of his undergraduate education.
“I said, I really don’t know what to do with school,” Waters explained. “I’m so behind in everything. I missed like two tests in every single class that I have. I don’t know how to get caught back up.”
Waters’ college advisor told him to withdraw from his classes in order to avoid outright failing them. That forced Waters to lose his financial aid for the semester and to also pick up several summer classes in order to stay on a path to graduation.

Now serving as a senator in WVU’s Student Government Association, Waters is using his platform to pursue a progressive medical leave of absence policy. A medical leave of absence policy allows a student to withdraw from all of their classes without losing financial aid or having several dropped classes on their academic record.

Currently, WVU’s policy only allows a student to file for medical leave of absence prior to the start of a semester. The problem is that most students can’t foresee when a medical emergency will occur.

“You can’t really schedule to take a medical leave of absence for the semester that your cancer comes back or the semester that you’re in a car wreck. It’s all things that are out of your control,” Waters said. “So to get penalized by the university for it… I think its absolutely pitiful.”

Waters has been in contact with the office of the President of WVU, who’ve asked him to seek additional information to eventually provide a presentation on progressive medical leave of absence policies.

But as an accounting student, Waters understands that the university may have to protect their financial interests.

“Everything is a business and everything revolves around the bottom line,” he said. “And I don’t know that the university, especially in a time of budget cuts and our own budget crisis, I’m not sure if they’d be to willing to implement a policy that revolves around giving back to students in such a major way.”

 

Monongahela Riverfront Revitalization

 

By Connor Schlegel 

Two local government organizations recently came together in the hopes of a collaborative effort to revitalize the Monongahela Riverfront. 

On Wednesday, October 12th, the Monongalia County Commission held their weekly meeting to discuss various topics. One item on the agenda was the approval of an intergovernmental agreement between the County Commission and the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners.

These two organizations will collaborate with West Virginia University in the hopes of increasing activity along the waterfront, which in turn, will help increase commerce.

County Commission President Eldon Callen says that this is a “key step” in the city’s plan to rejuvenate the waterfront and Commissioner Callen is hopeful for continued revitalization along the river.

“Its an additional opportunity to have another group of people join in that vision of what we should be doing with our most valuable natural resource, the Monongahela River,” Callen said.

Callen hopes that in years to come, the city will be able to plan several commerce-increasing initiatives like a gondola to take visitors from the Star City Waterfront the Monogalia County Ballpark, a walking bridge to take residents from Westover to the rail-trail, and a water taxi that would take travelers up and down the Monongahela.

However, the first initiative planned by BOPARC and the Commission will require working with WVU. BOPARC Executive Director Melissa Burch said her office would like to work with WVU’s College of Creative Arts to hold cultural events at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park, located in downtown Morgantown. While there are no plans in place yet, the outdoor amphitheater at Ruby McQuain Park is likely to be used.

“I think that Shakespeare in the park has been thrown around a little bit, that would be pretty exciting. But really we want [the CAC] to come to us and have some input as well.”

Burch says the riverside park has been underutilized recently due to underfunding, but that this collaboration with the County Commission will help to change that.

“It’s programming [based] and hopefully there will be some revenue sharing or cost sharing involved,” Burch said.

BOPARC typically plans their summer event schedule in the November and December months prior to that year. Burch says that the coming months will be important in scheduling those events for the summer of 2017.

“The first thing that we need to do is have our first meeting. So there will be a representative from BOPARC, from WVU, and from the County Commission. We’ll get together, talk about the calendar and what we have in place so far for this coming summer,” Burch said.

How West Virginia’s officials are voting in November

By Connor Schlegel 

There are only 24 days left until the 2016 general election and many elected officials have already made their stances clear on the candidates running for president.

However, since recordings leaked last week of Republican candidate Donald Trump making lewd and derogatory comments toward women in 2005, many Republican members of the United States Congress have pulled their endorsements.

Shelley Moore Capito, the Republican senator for the State of West Virginia, recently announced on Twitter that Trump should “reexamine his candidacy.” But on Wednesday, Capito told the WV Gazette-Mail that she would continue to support the Republican ticket and vote for Trump in the presidential election.

Joe Manchin, the Democratic Senator of West Virginia, declared his thoughts early on in the election cycle. He told WV MetroNews that he was endorsing democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in April of 2015.

As democratic governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s tenure in West Virginia comes to a close, he also endorsed Clinton through a press release in April.

Tomblin said that despite the fact that he’s “concerned about some of Secretary Clinton’s positions on fossil fuels, I believe she is the best choice to unite the Democratic Party and, after being elected president in November, our country”.

The two candidates in the 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial race have both been complimentary of Trump.

Republican candidate Bill Cole has formally endorsed Trump despite criticizing his comments from last week.

Democratic nominee Jim Justice, a coal-scion, has not formally endorsed either candidate.

He has condemned the comments Clinton made during a CNN Town Hall in March where she said she would “put coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Clinton has since backtracked on those remarks, but Justice is unlikely to endorse a candidate before the general election.

The three Republican Congressmen representing West Virginia in the House of Representatives are all critical of Trump’s comments, despite their continued endorsements of the Republican nominee for president.

David McKinley, representing West Virginia’s 1st District, endorsed Trump in comments to The Wheeling News Register in May because of Clinton’s position on coal.

Representative Alex Mooney, the former state chairman of Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign, has endorsed Trump since the republican candidate won his party’s nomination in May.

In May, representative of West Virginia’s 3rd District Evan Jenkins told WV MetroNews that he was endorsing Trump for president.

To check your West Virginia polling location, visit services.sos.wv.gov/Elections/Voter/FindMyPollingPlace

This article appeared in an October publishing of the Daily Athenaeum. 

 

Students discuss upcoming Yiannopolous visit in new SGA meeting format

By Connor Schlegel

Student Body Vice President Mac McIntyre introduced the very first Open Student Forum discussion topic at Wednesday night’s Student Government Association meeting.

Designating a specific topic of discussion for the Open Student Forum portions of SGA meetings was an idea initiated by Professor Hillar Klandorf, SGA faculty advisor. Student Body President Julie Merow highly endorsed the initiative, seeing it as a possible way to increase student involvement in SGA, a problem her administration has been tackling since they took office in March.

The inaugural forum topic focused on controversial Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos’ upcoming campus event on Nov. 2 at the Gluck Theater.

The visit is part of Yiannopoulos’ college tour, which has him scheduled to visit approximately 40 college campuses from all around the nation by January.

Yiannopoulos, who is commonly dubbed as a member of the ever-growing “alt-right” side of politics, is well known for his controversial remarks on hot button issues like feminism, race and sexual assault, among other things.

Earlier this spring, Yiannopoulous embarked on a similar college tour that incited dozens of protests on college campuses across the nation.

Yiannopoulous was invited to speak on campus by the WVU College Republicans a couple weeks ago, and not long after the University released a statement defending the appearance, but acknowledging the discontent held by some students.

“We value everyone’s right to free speech,” the statement reads, “even when that speech is unpopular.”

At SGA’s discussion, several students voiced their opinions on Yiannopoulos’ upcoming visit to campus to speak, both opposed to and in favor of the appearance.

SGA Events Director Isaac Obioma said a controversial speaker like Yiannopoulos should be allowed to speak on campus, but should not be invited by a student organization.

“As a minority, I was kind of alarmed by some of the stuff that he had to say. Especially dismissing rape and the things he said about members of the LGBTQ community,” Obioma said.

Marcus Campbell, director of the College Republican’s legislative affairs, felt differently about Yiannopoulos’ scheduled speech.

“I think it’s quite ridiculous that the College of Business and Economics refused to let Milo speak in its building,” Campbell said. “As a taxpayer-funded University, until this becomes a private university, that should not be allowed.”

Also on Wednesday, the Board of Senators approved several grants, all passed via unanimous consent:

– The Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association was granted $156.23 to purchase science experiment equipment for outreach events at local schools.

– The Organization for Native American Interests was granted $500 to reserve a bus for a trip to the Native American Museum in Washington, D.C. The event is open to the entire University.

– The Student Society for Landscape Architects was granted $1,350 for lodging at a nationally recognized conference from March 23 to the 25 at the University of Maryland.

– The Student Therapy Music Association was granted $1,590 for lodging for the National Music Therapy Conference in Sandusky, Ohio.

– The Circus Arts Club was granted $450 to cover the cost of purchasing new circus equipment.

– Men’s Club Baseball and Women’s Club Lacrosse were granted $530 and $520 respectively to purchase new equipment.

– The Chinese Club was granted $475 for Chen Dynasty costumes and four new sets of Chinese chess and checkers.

– The Student Nurse Association was granted $1,600 for lodging at a national conference in Dallas from April 5 to the 9.

The Board of Senators also unanimously approved the appointment of Julia Durbin as the Director of the Diversity Committee.