The festival featured a variety of activities including a “Chili Cook Off,” pumpkin painting, candy apple decorating and corn hole. 

Keyonna Whaley, educational leadership graduate and Campus Activities Board advisor, said networking is one of the “most important things” for students who come to events like the Fall Festival. Whaley said it was important for students to attend these events to network with different people on campus.

“I would say just to bring awareness to each other, give thanks, have fun, paint, get to know each other, network,” Whaley said. “Just have fun.”

Gabrielle Winston, sophomore clinical psychology major and Campus Activities Board operations director, said this was her first time planning this event. Winston said they thought of the Chili Cook Off because it made sense with the cold, fall season.

The event was an “opportunity to make new friends,” according to Winston. She said candy apple decorating was her favorite activity at the event.

The “Chili Cook Off” consisted of three contestants who each prepared their own chili for students to taste. 

Desean Tyrus, senior business management major, received the most votes in the cook off. His prize was a goodie bag with WKU spirit items inside.

Tyrus told the Herald the Campus Activities Board reached out to him and a few friends to participate in the competition. The Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC) hosted the “Chili Cook Off” according to Tyrus, which is an organization he’s participated with previously.

When asked why students should attend these events, Tyrus said that Campus Activities Board events “always have a good turnout” and “interesting ideas and concepts” to gain students’ attention on campus. 

“It’s a good time for everybody to come together and get to know one another outside the class,” Tyrus said.

Miratia Coyle, junior criminology and psychology double major, said she attended the Fall Festival to get more involved on campus before she graduates.

“I’m trying to get more involved with stuff because I’m a junior, so I don’t have much time left,” Coyle said. “And I really did want to paint a pumpkin.”

Jayme Thompson, freshman Chinese flagship major and attendee of the event, said that she would recommend this event as a fun way to celebrate Halloween away from home.

“When you’re in college, when it comes to getting caught up in classes and things, you don’t really stop and celebrate how you normally would with your family,” Thompson said. “This is like a fun way to fit that in.”

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

“Hammer-In” is a free, family-friendly event full of a variety of activities including forge and basic forge skills demonstrations, tinsmithing demonstrations and an aluminum pour demonstration where attendees could pay to make their own pour.

There were also several vendors at “Hammer-In” who sold swords, knives and other hand-crafted metalwork from their organizations. Big T’s Bar-B-Cue Food Truck also had items for attendants to purchase.

Brent Bjorkman, the director of the Kentucky Museum and the Kentucky Folklife Program, began by introducing Camille Acosta, a folklife specialist, who presented the “Narrative Stage” portion of the event. Metalworking specialists and demonstrators answered several questions from Acosta in front of an audience to help others better understand their stories and experiences in metalworking.

The featured demonstrator of the event, Rob Robinson of Sand and Steel, President of the Appalachian Area Chapter of Blacksmiths, specializes in 18th century and historical ironworking. Robinson said that he had been blacksmithing for over 30 years and showed the audience how to make the Kentucky Double Bit Ax during his demonstration.

Acosta asked collaborators why they believed events like “Hammer-In” are important to have in the community.

“It’s a way to share what you’ve learned and to try to inspire other people to either pick up what you do or to inspire them to go find their own means of expression, whether it’s through ironwork, or fiber arts or clay,” Robinson said. “It’s just kind of giving back some of what you’ve learned and what you’ve been taught over the years.”

Acosta asked the panel what advice they would give to those just starting metalworking.

Eleanor Davidson, a member of the Kentucky Forge Council since 2017, is an artist and fabricator based in Bowling Green. Davidson told Acosta failing is the best way to learn.

“A lot of trying involves failing, and that’s the best way to learn,” Davidson said. “Just do things over and over, and make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.”

After Acosta finished asking her questions, she let the audience ask the panel any questions they had. One audience member asked what “endgame” or goal these professionals had through pursuing metalworking.

Cassie Rebman, instructor of Sculpture and a studio technician at WKU, said her goal of becoming a collegiate instructor “stems from wanting to foster the type of empowerment” that she feels when working with these processes. She also said she wanted to help others facilitate their own empowerment in those processes as well.

“Even if someone doesn’t go into the trade, the life experience that they get of being able to build something can do so much for their sense of self-actualization and the way they interact with the world because, you know, there’s a whole world around us that we should be actively engaging in.”

“Hammer-In” was presented in partnership with the Kentucky Folklife Program and WKU’s League of Sculptors, sanctioned by the Appalachian Area Chapter of Blacksmiths, according to WKU News. 

Kristina Arnold, head professor of the WKU Department of Art and Design and advisor of WKU’s League of Sculptors, discussed in an interview with the Herald her involvement as a member of the Kentucky Forge Council, the area chapter of Blacksmiths founded in 2016. Arnold said her husband was one of the founders of the organization.

“They’re [The Kentucky Forge Council] really interested in making sure the next generation learns and are excited about talking with their hands and knowing how to make the things we use every day,” Arnold said.

Maria Boggess, sophomore sculpture major and League of Sculptors member, helped run a booth at the “Hammer-In” event where participants carved designs into sand blocks and took home their creations after aluminum was poured into them. Attendants had the choice of different priced molds, including two halves of a heart mold for best friends, a bowl-shaped mold and a regular rectangular mold.

“The idea is you’re scratching your design like a mirror to what your final will be into blocks of sand,” Boggess said. “We plan to be here next year and do a bunch of events throughout the year with the Kentucky College Council. We do things like this at our club meetings too, so there’s multiple opportunities throughout the year to do stuff like this.”

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

Photos: ‘Hammer-In’ metalworking celebration held at Kentucky Museum

Hispanic Heritage Month, which occurs annually from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, is a way for many Americans with Central American roots to celebrate their home nations’ independence days.

Multiple HOLAS members told the Herald that Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates many diverse cultures, reiterating the idea that Latin American students can embrace multiple Hispanic cultural identities. 

Valery Garcia, senior president of HOLAS and social work and Spanish double-major, said Hispanic Heritage Month is a good way for people in the Hispanic community to connect back to the country their family was from and celebrate their heritage. 

Garcia is from the Dominican Republic and said the month was a good way to “celebrate her roots” since she is away from home.

As for those outside the Hispanic community, Garcia believes this month gives them the opportunity to learn something new and expand their knowledge.

“It’s a good way for them to learn about the Hispanic community because most of the people think that just because you know Spanish that you’re Mexican, but it’s good for them to know there’s more than just Mexico,” Garcia said. “There’s a whole bunch of different countries.”

Garcia said her favorite events during the month are the “All Around the World” event  and “Lotería Night.” When asked how Hispanic Heritage Month made her feel, Garcia had only positive things to say.

“It makes me feel happy, because I really enjoy seeing everyone celebrating, and I also enjoy celebrating my own heritage,” Garcia said.

Athziry Zetina, senior vice president of HOLAS and criminology and psychology double-major, said that Hispanic Heritage Month means “happiness and memories” to her. Zetina said she is “proudly” from Mexico.

“I think it is important for people to learn about other cultures in general and be able to educate themselves about other cultures that exist in the world,” Zetina said. “I think it made us more mindful, and it made us see more of what’s outside the box.”

Zetina said her favorite event during Hispanic Heritage Month is “Lotería Night.”

“My favorite event of Hispanic Heritage Month is ‘Lotería Night’ from HOLAS because it reminds me of my childhood when I would sit at a big table with all my aunts and cousins playing Lotería together having fun and laughing,” Zetina said. “Being able to share those memories with other people holding this event makes me very happy.”

Zetina said she loves to show off her culture all the time by speaking her language, wearing Mexico’s soccer jersey, wearing Mexican earrings and more.

“I enjoy every single thing about this month,” Zetina said. “I am a person who is very proud of her heritage, and I love to show my culture to other people, but I personally show my culture any time, any minute outside of Hispanic Heritage Month.”

Michelle Ramos, junior secretary of HOLAS and nursing major, said she has participated in the organization’s Hispanic Heritage Month activities since her freshman year when she joined the organization. Ramos’ family is from Mexico, but she is a natural-born citizen of the United States.

“Since I’ve been here, every year they [HOLAS] either added onto the events they already had from past years or created new ones,” Ramos said. “Last year we did a cookout collab with FIJI [Phi Gamma Delta], and this year we started off with the ‘All Around the World’ event. It’s one of my favorites.”

Ramos said the “All Around the World” event was something that many people went to and one of her favorite things during the event was the line dancing.

“To me, it’s just a way to express our culture,” Ramos said. She said that each Latinx country has its own individual culture with different traditional dances, foods and activities they like to do.

“With HOLAS it’s a way to have it [Hispanic culture] exposed to the students, and to also the Bowling Green community,” Ramos said. “I want people to know that everyone is different, and just because one comes from a certain place doesn’t just mean they’re just from there. Yeah, some people, they can be from multiple countries from their parents’ sides, and there’s various cultures and languages that are involved with who they are.”

Ramos said Hispanic Heritage Month is a very “joyous” and “colorful” event that is “festive, bright and cheery” and inclusive to anyone who wants to come to celebrate and support.

Anastacia Álvarez, sophomore outreach coordinator of HOLAS and family consumer sciences and education double-major, said that Hispanic Heritage Month was important in preserving cultural identity. 

“I think it’s important just because I feel like sometimes with certain cultures, they get kind of erased, or like left behind or forgotten,” Álvarez said. “And so, I think having a whole month dedicated to the culture is a good way to kind of remind people and be like hey we’re here.”

Álvarez’s father, Fabián Álvarez, is the current advisor of HOLAS and helped start the organization a little over a decade ago. Álvarez said the organization used to go under a different name but had died out, and so her father brought it back with HOLAS.

When asked about what Hispanic Heritage Month meant to her, Álvarez said she was proud to get to show off her heritage, especially since she is multiracial.

“To me, it’s just being proud of who I am, and my culture and getting to show off because I don’t always get to display that part of me, especially since I’m very white-passing,” Álvarez said.

Calee Carroll, junior member of HOLAS and political science and legal studies major, said that having a community to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with has been a great part of her college experience. Carroll is Guatemalan and said before coming to Western, while she knew about Hispanic Heritage Month, she did not celebrate it on such a wide scale as she does now.

“I think over the past two years, it’s been really great to be a part of HOLAS and have it [Hispanic Heritage Month] just so widely celebrated, and especially because the university is generous enough to give us funding and to help us put on these celebrations,” Carroll said. “And I think as well, it just means a lot more now because where I’m from, I was one of the only Hispanic people in my graduating class in high school, and so now I have a community and have all these new people to celebrate with and kind of get to it on a more cultural level instead of just observation level.”

Carroll said she believed it was important for people to learn and participate in HOLAS’ Hispanic Heritage Month activities because a big part of Hispanic culture is emphasized in sharing.

“I think that we see that [sharing] through the languages, the food, letters of writing and of Scripture and all these different things,” Carroll said. “So, I mean, sharing our culture and sharing our community is something that I mean a lot of us really, really value, especially in a place like a college campus when there’s just so many more opportunities to let people get involved.”

HOLAS will conclude their Hispanic Heritage Month festivities with a celebration during the MSTU volleyball game against WKU. Hilltoppers can stay up-to-date on HOLAS events through the organization’s Instagram account.

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

Markham has published two books with her third to be published in February 2025. Her most recent book, “A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belongings,” was published in February and explores issues surrounding migration, borders and social justice. 

Markham’s work most often concerns issues related to youth, migration, the environment and her home state of California, according to Markham’s website. She has reported from places all around the world including Latin American countries, states in the U.S. and other countries like Greece and Thailand.

Markham said in her conversation with Andrews that there were two main narrative threads of the book. 

“One is the story of the largest refugee camp in Europe, which burned down,” said Markham. “It was built to house 2500 people, and at its height, had over 20,000 people living in it. It was on the Greek island of Lesbos, and it burned down in 2020, in September of 2020, and within a few days, six young Afghans or Afgan refugees who’d been living there were figured for the crime. In spite of almost no evidence, no evidence against them, no credible evidence against them, they were locked up and tried in a kangaroo court and were put into prison.”

The second thread concerned Markham personally and her story as a journalist.

“And then there’s another main narrative thread, which is sort of me as a reporter, reckoning with what it means to tell these stories about migration and how to report on these stories,” Markham said. “And I’m also thinking of my own heritage, my own Greek American heritage, and sort of how my own family narrates this sense of belonging to this place that, until 2019, I’d never been to.”

In discussion with Markam, Andrews asked the author how she got to a place where she could be vulnerable enough to write about her family and heritage in a way that is “honest and theorized, but still with so much love.”

“I think that part of one of the mythologies of many that this book is probing is this kind of linear ascension narrative, kind of like the American Dream narrative,” Markham said. 

“There’s also an interesting dynamic here within my own family’s stories … But I have tenderness toward this desire to believe in the simple story, the desire for my family to believe that there is this far away place, Greece. That even though we don’t speak the language and even though we’ve never been there, we somehow are afforded something long and fair, and we get to claim that as an origin story. I have tenderness toward that, because I believe there is a human desire to belong somewhere and let go of their past.”

An audience member asked Markham if she believed there was a lesson to take from Bowling Green’s success in being a resettlement center for refugees for several decades. Markham said she believed there was.

“This is all getting to the point of this notion of newcomers as drains isn’t just a morally problematic idea. It’s just false. It’s just wrong,” Markham said. “It’s not empirically true because places like Bowling Green could demonstrate this was a place that was doing fine, and then new people came and we’re also still doing fine.”

“This is a book that’s really trying to expose, on a granular level, the injustice and violence of borders and also their absurdity,” Markham continued.

Markham said in an interview with the Herald that she got a lot of feedback from people of European ancestry after her book was published.

“I’ve had a lot of people contact me about the ways this book helped them reflect on their desire to be from another place, and just seemingly being excited by the kind of ideas that this book is lifting up,” Markham said. 

Markham said that one of the things this book challenges is the impact and purpose of journalism, and if it affects change. She concluded that journalism could make a direct change, but that change is typically “incremental,” and that journalism usually is only a small part of a bigger cause.

Understanding and interpreting dialect was also an “interesting challenge” for Markham while writing her book. She said she came to understand her thinking patterns better and how she approached certain situations in different countries.

“There have been many, a number of moments in reporting and writing this book where I find that the very systems that I am sort of critiquing and holding accountable have also kind of infected my brain, and thinking and default thinking,” Markham said. 

It is her love of learning and the joy she finds in telling the stories of others that drives Markham in her work.

“I feel like that is such a thrilling feeling to be like I have a profession where I’m constantly learning things, and then my job is to take what I’ve learned and try to narrate it to others so that other people can learn it,” Markham said. “The best stories we write are the stories we really care about.”

Destiny Cater, a sophomore journalism major and attendee, asked Markham during the event about how she navigated her career as a journalist after deciding it as a career later in life. Cater chose journalism as a major this semester.

“Though she didn’t say it, she was basically implying when writing or trying to write a book to stay at your own pace,” Cater said. “That really kind of affected me for someone that, again, kind of chose journalism later.”

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu. 

Caden Lucas, sophomore Vice President of the Pre-Law Student Association, has been working behind the scenes with Julie Shadoan, Professional Legal Studies program coordinator, organization advisor and professor at WKU, to ensure the event runs smoothly.

Lucas said that over 15 legal professionals will be at the event. Light refreshments will also be provided for attendees.

“The Pre-Law Student Association has never done anything explicitly like this, especially in partnership with the Department of Political Science,” Lucas said. “So, we’re really excited for this partnership and to be able to offer this opportunity to students.”

Students will have the capability to come to this event to “network and engage” in conversation with attorneys, paralegals, judges and other legal professionals, according to Lucas. These professionals will speak about their work in the legal field and the journey they took to get to where they are today.

Lucas said the event is a great opportunity for students to figure out what the legal field is all about. Students will gain a better understanding of what certain legal careers look like; especially careers they may not have considered before.

Students will have the “exclusive opportunity” to discuss with professionals one-on-one about what a legal profession looks like, and what students should do to get there, according to Lucas.

Lucas said this event is a great way to expose students both within and outside the department to the broad variety of opportunities the Pre-Law Student Association and the Political Science Department have to offer.

The event will be held on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Mahurin Honors College multipurpose room, room 1011.

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

The Healthy Days event is a student wellness fair where organizations from the WKU and Bowling Green communities come together to promote health and wellness for students. The theme of the event this year was “Waves for Healthier Days.”

Attendees were given a punch card to take with them to each booth present. Participants received a free T-shirt after five punches and could enter a raffle of their choosing after 10 punches. Some of the raffle prizes included a snow cone maker, a Bluetooth speaker, free meal vouchers and gift cards.

Attendees could participate in various activities at each booth, including making mocktails, free vaccine immunizations and STD/STI testing, entering raffles to win prizes, and dance fitness. 

Lydia Crisp, sophomore international affairs major, who gave out T-shirts to volunteers, said this was her first time volunteering at Healthy Days. Crisp became involved in the fair to gain volunteer hours for her sorority.

“I’m just excited about seeing people,” Crisp said. 

Amber O’Callaghan, the Nutrition Coordinator at WKU and representative for the Hilltopper Nutrition booth, said mocktails were chosen for the event as an alternative option for alcoholic drinks. Students could make strawberry basil or blueberry mint mocktails, and could take recipe cards home to try later.

Sydney Schneider, graduate student and assistant for the Office of Student Activities, helped run the Student Activities booth where they wove plastic bags into mats to give to different areas in Bowling Green, such as homeless shelters and pet shelters.

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be reached at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which occurs annually from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, started as a week-long celebration in 1968 under President Johnson and was expanded to a month by President Reagan in 1988, according to the National Museum of the American Latino. During this month, many Americans with Central American roots celebrate their home nations’ independence days. 

“Hispanic Heritage Month is important because it provides an opportunity to celebrate the integral part the Hispanic/Latino community has had in growing and strengthening our democracy,”  the National Museum of the American Latino stated on its website. 

All Around the World provided a variety of activities for attendants to engage in, such as various information and craft booths, tasting food from around the world, entering raffles and watching Raíces de mi Tierra, a Nashville dance group, perform. Que Pasa Tacos distributed free food to the first 100 attendees. 

Valeria Garcia, HOLAS President and senior social work and Spanish double major, was the main speaker at the event. This is Garcia’s third year as a member in HOLAS. 

Garcia said in an interview with the Herald that HOLAS is not just for Hispanic students, but for everybody on campus. Meetings are held in English, and there are a lot of opportunities for members to get involved.

“This is a good event for them [HOLAS members] to connect back home and show off because sometimes you feel like you’re lonely here,” Garcia said. 

Those in the WKU community could realize they can “find home everywhere” by attending the “All Around the World” event, according to Garcia.

Emily Torres, WKU alumni and former HOLAS member, represented her country, the Dominican Republic, at the event. The “All Around the World” event began during Torres’ freshman year on the Hill. 

Torres said that everyone was welcome to come to the “All Around the World” event, even if it was just to get food and learn something new.

“We just want more people to keep coming here, so as always, you can invite friends, family, anybody that you really want just to come,” Torres said.

Carlos Altamirano, HOLAS member and sophomore , has been in the organization since his freshman year. Altamirano represented his country, Venezuela, at the event and gave out cupcakes with the country’s flags.

Altamirano said that he believes that it is important to share Hispanic cultures with people because it helps steer away from “the stigma that everyone here is Mexican or has Mexican culture.”

“Latin America is a whole bunch of different cultures,” Altamirano said. “The language is even different.” 

Bosco Tuyisenge, attendee of the event and senior finance major, said he came because he heard music outside while taking a study break. Tuyisenge participated in one of the line dances during the event.

“I really liked experiencing all the different Latino cultures and trying some of their food,” Tuyisenge said. “I really liked the tamales.”

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be reached at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu 

Photos: HOLAS All Around the World

Alcott, a third-generation graduate of WKU, was elected mayor in 2020 and, according to his campaign website, has brought a “wealth of leadership and global perspectives to his local government role.”

He said that, if re-elected, he would solve downtown parking, implement more roundabouts, open a mental health facility with Lifeskills and create an ADA-accessible park. Alcott said he wants the park to include whitewater rapids for patrons to canoe, kayak and tube on.

Paul endorsed Alcott during his speech, saying that Bowling Green is “in the midst of an enormous, successful story.” 

“Todd was a great leader to have,” Paul said. “I think he’s a friend of business, a friend of progress and I’m proud to endorse Todd Alcott.”

Alcott referred to the mayoral election as “the most partisan race” he had ever witnessed in Bowling Green during his speech.

“They’re trying to take away the freedoms that we have constitutionally, the freedoms that we have for all sexes […],” Alcott said. “You ask me, as the mayor, who I treat fairly. We treat everybody fairly.”

Alcott said the city government needed to focus on police, fires, roads, recreation and public works in city parks rather than “getting involved in the national government or the constitution.” 

In an interview, Alcott told the Herald that homelessness is growing nationwide. He said he does not believe this defines Bowling Green’s culture, but he does want to address the issue.

The “first collaborative non-profit center” for homeless people in Bowling Green opened earlier Thursday, according to Alcott. The center has showers, laundry and six collaborative offices that can house up to 18 to 24 different non-profits, all working under the same roof, he said. According to Alcott, there are currently five non-profit organizations apart of the center, including Goodwill, Salvation Army, Room in the Inn, HOTEL INC and Lifeskills.

Alcott also endorsed Sue Parrigin, Melinda Hill and John Adams as city commissioners, encouraging attendees to vote for the candidates on Election Day.

“Bowling Green needs them,” Alcott said. 

Amanda Klineline, a campaign volunteer for Alcott, told the Herald she knows the Alcott family personally and believes they are wonderful people. 

“I think that they [voters] should look at the things that Mayor Alcott has done so far and his service to Bowling Green,” Klineline said. “I think that if they look at those things, they’re going to see that he has accomplished a lot and that he has done a lot more.”

Semir Nailovic, an event attendee, said he believes Alcott’s values may align with his own values about the Bosnian community. Nailovic said he wanted to get the Bosnian community more involved in volunteering in politics to understand more about themselves. 

Bosnian communities in different cities always speak of how welcoming Bowling Green is when they visit, according to Nailovic. 

Nailovic said he believes Alcott deserves the credit for making Bowling Green such a welcoming city for the Bosnian community, even if Alcott does not take that credit himself. 

“Bowling Green has been the most welcoming city now in America,” Nailovic said. “Now it’s our job to do our part as the younger generation and support him.”

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be contacted at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

The Red Cross is facing an emergency blood shortage. Over the past 20 years, the number of people donating blood through the Red Cross has decreased by about 40%, according to the official website of the American Red Cross.

Chris Massaro, MTSU director of athletics and longtime blood donor, launched the annual blood drive competition in 2010, the Cannon Courier states. The name “100 Miles of Hope” derives from the 100 miles of distance between the universities. This friendly rivalry has helped raise over 12,000 units of blood for the American Red Cross since its inception, according to MTSU’s Cannon Courier.

Grace Lartey, WKU public health professor and one of the event’s organizers, has helped organize the blood drive since 2021 after COVID-19 halted the competition in 2020. Lartey explained how donating blood “gives hope” and “saves lives” for many. 

“We wanted people to really see the impacts of effort,” Lartey said. “We do this to bring hope and joy to families.” 

Lartey said organizing, conducting and participating in this drive is a team effort. The blood drive is made possible through all the support from faculty, staff, students and the WKU community. WKU has won the competition five times since it started in 2010, according to Lartey.

The highest amount of blood WKU has raised was 606 units in 2012. WKU’s goal is to reach 675 units this year. Individuals who donate can win prizes and a free T-shirt. The winner of the 100 Miles of Hope Blood Drive will be announced at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, during the half-time show at the WKU vs. MTSU football game on Sept. 14. The American Red Cross will present a trophy to the winning school, according to WKU Athletics. 

Campus and community members are encouraged to schedule an appointment to donate toward the competition and cause. Appointments are available between 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. All blood types are needed. A blood donor card, driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals in good health who are at least 16 years old with parental consent and weigh at least 110 pounds are eligible to donate. Walk-in appointments are welcomed, but scheduled appointments are encouraged. Parking and donation details can be found online on the WKU Blood Drive page.

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be reached at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.

The AFSP started the Out of the Darkness movement in 2004 to foster a culture that encourages open discussion about mental health and suicide prevention. There are over 400 events across all 50 states. AFSP’s primary goal is to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide, according to the AFSP mission statement.

“These events give people courage to open up about their own connections to the cause, and a platform to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. Friends, family members, neighbors and coworkers walk side-by-side, supporting each other and in memory of those we’ve lost,” the AFSP website states. 

There will be food trucks, merchandise tents, photo booths and resource tables at the event. A “Bead Ceremony,” where participants wear different colored beads symbolizing their connection to the cause, will take place. Individuals will have a chance to share personal stories based on those beads. A hope and healing activity will also be available for individuals to share messages of hope and remembrance.

Katelyn Simpson, a Bowling Green Out of the Darkness walk organizer, became involved in the walks after losing her brother in 2005. She first attended a walk in Louisville, which led to her increased involvement in the cause. The Bowling Green community has now held Out of the Darkness walks for over a decade.

Simpson said these walks “bring hope to people” and provide comfort by showing participants they are “not alone” among like minded people.

“The first step is getting there,” Simpson said. She explained how this step is often the hardest for people, but it’s worthwhile. 

On-site registration starts at 1 p.m and the program begins at 2 p.m. No registration fee is required, but people are strongly encouraged to set a $150 fundraising goal to help support AFSP’s work. Individuals who raise $150 receive an official Out of the Darkness T-shirt. 

Individuals can get involved by joining or creating a team, gathering donations, promoting the walk, or by volunteering to help with the walk. WKU organizations Delta Zeta and WKU Psychology have donated toward the cause, according to the Bowling Green Out of the Darkness website. Donations are accepted until Dec. 31. Dogs leashed are welcome.

Simpson expressed gratitude for Cheetah Clean Auto Wash, Bowling Green’s walk sponsor for over three years. The company is a top supporter of the cause, raising $345 in donations so far. Other key volunteers behind the walk include Amy Combs, Rebecca Simpson and Chris Booker.

Katelyn Simpson or Tracy Morrison can be contacted for any additional questions about the event. Their contact information and a registration link can be found through the Bowling Green Out of the Darkness website.

News Reporter Abigail Vickers can be reached at abigail.vickers153@topper.wku.edu.