West Virginia Univeristy Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

WVU Students, Community Members March In Support Of Palestine

Student protests in support of Palestine have emerged on college campuses across the country in the past few weeks Students at West Virginia University joined their voices to the movement.

Student protests in support of Palestine have emerged on college campuses across the country in the past few weeks Students at West Virginia University added their voices to the movement.

Protesters congregated in front of the Mountainlair, WVU’s student union Sunday evening. The group of about 75 people was made up of students as well as community members, many of whom had their young children in tow.

Gabe Jones is a senior at the university, and he hoped the demonstration shows WVU their determination.

“I would hope that just us being here helps to show WVU how many people here support a free Palestine, and how many people would support us divesting from supporting Israel,” he said.

Divestment from Israeli interests has been a consistent demand at protests on college campuses since encampments were established at Columbia University April 17.

Jones and others at Sunday’s action mentioned the sale of Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Sabra hummus as potential targets of divestment for the university.

“There are active ties here between WVU and both universities and companies that do support the current occupation,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of ways that the university is actively supporting and funding, in part this genocide and everyone here supports the idea that that should actively stop.”

South Africa accused Israel of committing a genocide in the United Nations International Court of Justice, claims which are currently being adjudicated.

Nada Mikky is the secretary of the Muslim Student Association at WVU and helped the group organize the protest. She said the demonstrators hope to show solidarity with Palestinians, as well as with students on other campuses. Locally, Mikky says the action hopes to push three goals on campus.

“First is for WVU to divest from any sending money to Israel, or anything that is supporting genocide,” she said. “Second is for the university to hopefully call for a ceasefire. And third is for them to at least be aware of what’s happening and hear our voices.”

Mikky said the turnout was a surprise given the short notice, as well as WVU entering its finals week. She also noted broad-based support from other religious groups.

“We did not expect this turnout, and gladly people, not even only from the MSA but also the Christian community, the Jewish community,” she said. “People that are from other communities, I think from the Jewish, they brought snacks and water for the protesters.”

Omar Ibraheem, president of the Muslim Student Association at WVU, said it is frustrating to know Israeli citizens can go to college for free.

“A lot of universities are actually investing in a foreign country, in a foreign military, and that money could be used to aid students,” he said. “Most students are in debt and all people in Israel get access to free education and free health care, whereas Americans don’t even have that.”

Ibraheem also expressed concern about First Amendment violations stemming from protests on other campuses.

“We’re watching students across campuses getting their First Amendment rights, something that is so embedded in America, we’re watching that getting stripped away,” he said. “Students are being arrested, suspended for their access of free speech on designated areas for free speech and protests.”

The group marched down to the Monongalia County Courthouse in downtown Morgantown and back to campus peacefully. A presence from the Morgantown Police Department served primarily to block intersections and ensure safe crossings for the march.

Students vow to take more action in the coming days.

University Board Of Governors Makes Way For Concealed Carry On Campus

Updated: April 16, 9:45 a.m.

West Virginia’s colleges and universities will be required by a new law to allow students to carry concealed deadly weapons on campus starting July 1.

In March, Gov. Jim Justice signed the Campus Self-Defense Act into law. It allows, with some exceptions, anyone with a permit to concealed carry on the campus of any public institution of higher education.

On April 12, WVU’s Board of Governors approved a rule initiated by the law. Handheld guns like revolvers and pistols will be allowed on campus and must be concealed and carried by a person licensed to do so.

Concealed Carry will still not be allowed at many places on campus including most university stadiums or arenas, daycares, some health care facilities, and anywhere on campus where possession of a firearm is prohibited by state law.

For non-employees, handheld firearms will still be banned from dorms but will be allowed in common areas.

The law will take effect on July 1. A webinar is scheduled for Thursday to update students, faculty and staff on the implementation of this rule.

Updated to reflect that it requires a concealed carry permit to carry on campus.

How Baltimore Port Closure Affects Coal Producers In W.Va.

For now, the companies that produce the coal will have to find a way to other ports, mainly Norfolk or the Gulf Coast.

The closure of the Port of Baltimore to most shipping has a ripple effect for coal producers in northern West Virginia.

Baltimore exported 28 million tons of coal last year, about half of it from the Mountain State.

After a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key highway bridge last week, collapsing the structure, Baltimore Harbor’s coal piers have been cut off from the rest of the world.

For now, the companies that produce the coal will have to find a way to other ports, mainly Norfolk or the Gulf Coast. If not, customers in India, China, Japan and South Korea, among others, may have to turn to alternative sources.

John Saldanha, a professor of global supply chain management at West Virginia University (WVU), said Baltimore is the second largest U.S. export port for coal behind Norfolk, accounting for about a fifth of U.S. coal exports.

He said even if Norfolk and other ports have the capacity to absorb coal shipments that would otherwise come through Baltimore, it will raise shipping costs. That includes more train crews, more railcars and locomotives and more space to store the coal on the ground at another port.

“In the short run immediately, clearly, there’s going to be an increase in transportation costs. And depending upon what capacity the rail carriers can find, and how much diversion capacity, the rail carriers find both on the transportation networks as well as at the ocean piers, that is going to tell whether the coal producers will actually have to throttle back on their production in the short run,” he said. “Because if they continue producing at current rates, and there is no way to load that coal onto railcars, and for those railcars to go to the port, and there is no capacity at the port, then clearly that will require the coal producers to throttle back on production.”

Saldanha said in ordinary times, northern Appalachian coal from West Virginia and Pennsylvania is closer to the Port of Baltimore. Now that, that’s been disrupted, even temporarily, producers may take a look at whether they need to consider an alternative,

“Given that Baltimore and its proximity to the northern Appalachian coal basin might have been attractive from a transportation cost standpoint. But putting all your eggs in one basket, shipping everything else with the port Baltimore, of course, such Black Swan events nobody can anticipate, but then you always want to hedge,” he said. “And if you have all of your eggs in one basket, and you’re exporting everything to one single export port, then if anything happens either to the transportation links to that port within the port or coming out of that port that is going to that’s going to disable your operation, or at least hobble your operation in the short run.”

The Longer Way Around

Also ordinarily, Mid-Atlantic ports are closer to markets in Asia through the Suez Canal. But recent turmoil in the Middle East has caused the diversion of oceangoing vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. Saldhana said that gives Gulf Coast ports an advantage.

“So normally, coming from the Port of Baltimore, it would have been a lot easier to go into the Suez Canal,” he said. “But now because of the Red Sea, and the Houthi rebels affecting shipping over there, all the ships, so going down from the Gulf of Mexico to the cape, that might actually even be a little bit more competitive compared to coming out of the East Coast, given that all the ships of several shipping companies are opting to route their ships down around the cape.”

Even if Asian customers may need to consider sourcing coal from elsewhere – Australia, for example – Saldhana said they still prefer northern Appalachian coal because of its quality.

“So I think in the long run, the northern Appalachian Basin coal provides a superior product to the other coal sources,” he said, “but in the short run, there are definitely substitutes that are available that, while not of the same quality, would definitely fill the need.”

Federal, state and local officials have said their first priority is to reopen the Port of Baltimore. But they will have to remove all the pieces of the fallen bridge from the water, and that’s not a small task. Saldanha said the port may not reopen for weeks, if not months.

Program Seeks To Attract Teachers To The State

Teachers Ascend into West Virginia, a first-of-its-kind national program based at West Virginia University, and designed to attract teachers to the Mountain State, is now accepting applications.

WVU, the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and the West Virginia Department of Education invite K-12 educators to apply.

The Teachers Ascend program is modeled after Ascend West Virginia and other nationwide rural teacher initiatives. The two-year relocation program calls on teachers from across the country to move to West Virginia and teach in select K-12 schools. The program says it offers work-life balance through shared community and outdoor adventure.

Qualifying candidates must complete a college degree by summer 2024, be hired by select West Virginia county school systems, and hold the required teaching certifications prior to the 2024-25 school year.

Those who qualify for the program will receive a $6,000 stipend and can obtain up to $4,050 in tuition assistance for continued educational opportunities.

WVU Extends Certain Financial Application Deadlines

West Virginia University is extending multiple key deadlines for incoming students following delays at the federal level.

West Virginia University is extending multiple key deadlines for incoming students following delays at the federal level for the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA.

WVU’s deadline for the financial aid FAFSA priority consideration is now April 1, moved back from March 1.

The U.S. Department of Education has been working to create a simplified version of the form, which unlocks both federal and state financial aid for students, for three years after bipartisan legislation was passed in 2021.

The new FAFSA was published at the end of last year on Dec. 31, 2023. However, the FAFSA is normally published in early October, and the new release was almost three months later than normal.

Other state colleges and universities across the country, including both the California and Pennsylvania state university systems, have also extended their deadlines for applicants.

Deaths Outnumbered Births In State In 2023, Offsetting New Residents

More than 8,600 people died than were born, leaving the state with a net loss of almost 4,000.

According to U.S. Census data released this week, West Virginia has narrowed its population loss of recent years and actually gained residents.

The state added about 4,700 residents in the year that ended July 1, 2023. But that was offset by the number of people who died in those 12 months.

More than 8,600 more people died than were born, leaving the state with a net loss of almost 4,000.

That’s not good, says Brad Humphreys, an economics professor at West Virginia University.

“There are a ton of economic implications for that,” he said. “We’ve got a very unhealthy, aging population in the state. Those people place a lot more economic pressure on publicly provided services than young healthy people.”

While it is true that the most out-migration took place in higher-tax states such as California and New York, Humphreys says other factors drive people to move, including weather and housing affordability.

“I don’t think there’s much evidence supporting the idea that state taxes drive migration decisions,” he said. “The general trends in the United States over the last many decades, probably since the ’80s, is that people want to move to states where the weather is good.”

When you subtract the in-migration, West Virginia had the worst natural change in its population – births minus deaths – than any state but Pennsylvania. Florida, with its elderly population, is just behind West Virginia.

The census also shows that West Virginia has lost a total of 23,642 people since 2020, almost the population of Wheeling.

“You can’t outlaw death, right?” Humphreys said. “That’s not easily addressable by any sort of policy.”

Humphreys says county level data that will be available in the spring should show where in the state the population loss and growth is occurring.

It would also be helpful, he says, to know the age of the people who are moving here, and the age of the people who are dying.