“As a freshman and sophomore, I remember going and seeing the shows and thinking of these people that were pretty much just my peers as sort of celebrities,” Slayden said. “Then once I noticed that I had a decent body of work that I could show off and was proud of, I just kind of decided that I would love to do a show and sort of start getting my name out there more.”

It was this feeling that led to the creation of the “IN THE EYE OF” exhibit, which features Slayden’s art as well as the work of Ethan Justice, Lance Burdette and Kyra Embra. The walls and three podiums in the gallery are filled with Slayden’s art. Comments left on notecards by both the artists and observers also line the gallery’s walls.

The exhibit boasts a variety of types of art including a charcoal piece of a cow skull, several collages, a human figure made of tape, a head sculpt, a welded sculpture, pottery and more. 

“All the pieces vaguely revolve around identity and how your physical body and self interacts with the conceptual self that you have in your mind,” Slayden said. “ All of the people in the show have an understanding and appreciation for work that isn’t solely graceful traditional art.”

“IN THE EYE OF,” the name of the exhibit, comes from the phrase, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Slayden said.

“I just kind of cut out the parts that made it a phrase that made sense. It was interesting because not all the work is necessarily beautiful in a traditional sense,” Slayden said. “Also I draw eyes a lot, so there’s a lot of eyes in the work. It was a play on that too.”

Burdette’s piece “Abstract” features a textured and impressionistic man holding his chest that appears to be bleeding. The note next to it reads the lyrics of “Abstract (Psychopomp)” by Hozier.

“The texture is divine I can feel the heart bleeding,” reads a comment left next to the painting.

The interactive element is one many people have chosen to participate in. The notecards are scattered across the walls filled with thoughts of observers. “The Divine Transsexual” by Embry has two notes left floating adjacent to the pieces. “Beautiful,” reads one note. “Love this,” reads another.

“Mimesis” is the exhibition’s largest piece, hanging in the center of the largest wall of the gallery. It is a collage made by Slayden about the “creation and deconstruction of oneself.” Of Slayden’s work in the gallery, “Mimesis” is the most meaningful to him.

“I started with an oil painting, a self-portrait,” Slayden said. “Then immediately, once it was done, I cut it into pieces. Then I put it on a new thing and took more of my old artwork combined with different magazines and comic books and destroyed them and put them into different pieces. And then, once again, put them back together to create a new piece and then added more back on top of that.”

Slayden said he hoped those who visit the gallery interact with the work he and the other artists created. 

“I just want people to interact with art,” Slayden said. “I like to think, hopefully, people come away thinking. Just thinking about whatever. Thinking about themselves, about other people, or just thinking about coming back to more shows.” 

“IN THE EYE OF” is on display in the Cube Gallery, found at FAC 436, for the remainder of the week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

News Reporter Malone Farmer can be reached at james.farmer674@topper.wku.edu.

In the second installment of the WKU Presidential Speaker Series, Genova was invited to speak on campus to the public. Genova’s keynote speech, “How We Remember and Why We Forget”, expounded on her life’s research into human’s ability to remember, to forget and what can be done to protect memories, according to a WKU press release.

Genova said her goal was to show that forgetting things, like the location of phones or glasses that get placed down, is “actually a part of being human.”

“Memory is fascinating,” Genova said. “It’s essential to so much of who we are and what we do; from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, and even then, the mechanisms behind memory are fast at work.”

After receiving her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University, Genova became a bestselling author in both nonfiction and fiction. She was the pen behind novels “Still Alice,” “Left Neglected,” “Love Anthony,” “Inside the O’Briens” and “Every Note Played.” “Still Alice,” Genova’s first book, was adapted into a film in 2014 starring Julianne Moore, who won the 2015 Best Actress Oscar for her role in the film.

Genova said she didn’t start writing “Still Alice” until she was almost 34 years old.

“Prior to that, I’d never written any creative writing,” Genova said. “I took one English class my freshman year in college.”

Genova points her draw to fiction storytelling to her grandmother.

“My grandmother had Alzheimer’s,” Genova said, “And as the neuroscientist in my family, I did everything I could to understand it.”

Genova said she did everything she could to understand the condition, from reading research papers by scientists, clinicians and social workers. All of these viewpoints, she said, were from the outside looking in.

“While I learned a lot, what I didn’t learn was, ‘What does it feel like from the perspective of the person with it?’” Genova asked. “What does it feel like to be my grandmother?”

Genova said she realized fiction was a place where “you can walk in someone else’s shoes and experience what it’s like to be someone else.”

“In the absence of a cure, this is really what all of us want with our loved ones with Alzheimer’s: is to stay emotionally connected,” Genova said. 

Genova said writing “Still Alice” was terrifying and exciting. 

“That book, more than any other, has made an impact on the world and how people are able to understand and relate to a very scary neurological disease, and it’s helped make it a little less scary,” Genova said, “It’s also the book that then gave me permission to be a writer and to pursue a career that will continue to tell stories about people who tend to be ignored, feared and misunderstood for what’s going on inside their brains.”

Making neurological diseases like memory loss less scary was an emphasis for her keynote on campus, Genova said.

“The biggest takeaway I want folks to go home with tonight is that forgetting is a normal part of being human,” Genova said. “When they bump up against these moments in their day to day life, ‘Oh my god, I went to the grocery store to pick up milk, and I bought a bunch of things and I came up with no milk,’ or, ‘Oh my god, what’s wrong with me?’ There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Genova said she wants people to understand the clear distinction between everyday, normal forgetting and what might be something to be concerned about.

Though her keynote focused on, and her initial story pulled from, memory loss illnesses like Alzheimer’s, Genova’s other books dive into other mental conditions.

Her newest book, “More or Less Maddy,” is set to hit bookstores early 2025, and centers around a young woman with bipolar disorder.

“I hope that this book, like all of mine, become(s) a vehicle for open conversation and understanding, and that helps destigmatize and humanize this condition,” Genova said.

News Reporter Cameron Shaw can be reached at cameron.shaw555@topper.wku.edu.

O’Connell, a Louisville native, is best known for his stunt double roles as Heavy Mandalorian and Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” franchise.

As stated on its website, Kentucky to the World is a non-profit organization that displays Kentucky’s cultural and intellectual wealth to the world. 

O’Connell told stories of his life from his childhood in Kentucky to moving to Los Angeles and sharing the screen with Obi-Wan Kenobi. O’Connell said he used his life experience as a guide for success.

“I would say, be curious about new opportunities,” O’Connell said. Be curious about new ideas. Be curious about new things you might be able to learn in life.” 

He explained if he never had curiosity, he wouldn’t have taken his first stuntman role. O’Connell also explained certain morals he tries to take into his work. 

“I always say there’s three kinds of things that I always like to take with me into every job, and that’s work hard, be humble, and be kind,” O’Connell said.

He said these principles are rich in Kentucky, and his childhood in Louisville is where they were first instilled. O’Connell said if he never held those values, he would have never been called on for the role of Darth Vader.

O’Connell was first working his way into the stunt industry at the time of filming for “Bullet to the Head” starring Sylvester Stallone and Jason Momoa. Even though he doesn’t look like  Momoa, O’Connell said he was called to be a stand-in while mapping out a fight scene between Stallone’s and Momoa’s characters.

“At the time, they just needed somebody tall, and because I was tall and I had athletic ability, and they had worked with me before, and they liked me enough to keep me around,” O’Connell said.

The stunt-man who stood in for Stallone was hired to the early stages of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” ten years later. The actor for Darth Vader needed to be someone tall and with stunt experience. 

“There’s only so many tall people in the stunt industry, there’s five to 10 maybe,” O’Connell said.

Of those few tall stuntmen, O’Connell said he stood out because of the connection and positive work experience he had made with members of the Kenobi team. Thanks to those positive connections, O’Connell was able to bring Darth Vader to life, he said.

News Reporter Anthony Clauson can be reached at anthony.clauson994@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. 

The 2024 WKU Film Festival will start on Thursday, April 25 and end on Saturday, April 27. Tickets are $5 per night and can be purchased at https://alumni.wku.edu/wkufilm24. 

According to Sara Thomason, WKU film coordinator and assistant professor, the film festival gives students the opportunity to have their films showcased in a professional setting, and lets students connect with alumni and community members who support the arts in Bowling Green. 

“These films represent the hard work of over 100 film students across our two programs and it’s a great way to celebrate their achievements,” Thomason said. 

Films made by 2nd year BFA students will be shown in the Jody Richards Hall Auditorium on April 25 at 6 p.m. Films made by 2nd and 3rd year BA and BFA students will also be shown at the JRH Auditorium on April 26 at 6 p.m.

Senior thesis films will be shown in downtown Bowling Green at The Capitol on April 27. Red carpet photos for senior film students will start at 6:30 p.m. and the film showing will begin at 7 p.m.

Senior BFA student, Christian McCormick, is looking forward to showing his senior thesis film “Lifeblood” to his friends and family at the end of the month.

For over a year, McCormick has dedicated himself to writing and directing his project, intent on telling the story in the right way. 

McCormick describes his film as a “queer thriller,” centered around a transgender boy in high school who deals with bullying as other students find out about his identity. 

McCormick, who came out as transgender in middle school, said that some of the personal tribulations he faced in his journey are presented in this film.

“A lot of the fear of the unknown and this question of safety that I go around with in my everyday life was kind of the inception of the film,” McCormick said. 

In his film, McCormick wanted to give his protagonist an “unrealistic power,” to hopefully let other transgender people feel seen and empowered in their own lives. 

“If I can give a fictional person a little more agency, then maybe other trans kids can feel agency and a little more safety,” McCormick said. 

Boston Enderle, Haley Vaughn, Ella David and Spencer Nunn worked alongside McCormick in the pre-production and post-production process. 

“This year’s film festival should have something for everyone,” Thomason said. “We have comedies, horrors, thrillers, dramas…anything you could want to see, we’ve probably got it.”

Overall, the festival is an opportunity for students to show off their hard work and gain professional experience. 

“There’s a lot of value in storytelling and in experiencing stories from other perspectives,” Thomason said. “I hope the WKU campus community and the larger Bowling Green community come out to support our filmmakers and see the films they’ve created.”

News Reporter Madison Carter can be reached at madison.carter312@topper.wku.edu.

Audience members can come to witness a performance with over 70 cast, crew and faculty members. The fun comedy follows the journey of Nick and Nigel Bottom as they make desperate attempts to become successful playwrights and compete with the likes of William Shakespeare.

The students have been running five hour rehearsals on weekdays ever since the beginning of the 2024 spring semester.

WKU students Elijah Milburn, playing Nick Bottom, and Ashleigh Chapman, playing Portia are co-leads for the performances.

Milburn, a senior BFA performing arts and musical theatre major, noted that a musical with so many different contributors could never have been done without camaraderie. 

“All of the ensemble, [and] every cast member genuinely loves each other. We all have the goal, we all have the vision, we all have the drive to make the show amazing.” Milburn said, “I’m most proud of the people I’ve met and talked to, and I’m proud of the dedication we all share.”

David Young is the director of the musical and department chair of theatre & dance. To him, the performance will please a large span of audiences.

“If you love musicals you’ll love [this] because it references other musicals… If you don’t like musicals you’ll also love it because it makes fun of musicals in a very hilarious way,” Young said.

The April 5 and 6 showings will be this coming Friday and Saturday beginning at 7:30 p.m.. Sunday’s April 7th performance will take place at 2:00 p.m.. 

The performance is recommended for viewers ages 13 and up. Content contains some profanity and adult humor.

Adults can purchase tickets for $20 while students and seniors (aged 62 and over) can get in for $16. Tickets are available by visiting wku.showare.com or by calling (270) 745-3121.

News Reporter Larkin Ivory can be reached at larkin.ivory045@topper.wku.edu.

Harney graduated from WKU and the MHC in 2015. When he was a prospective high-school senior from Lexington, Kentucky, he spoke with Craig Cobane, executive director of the MHC, when he was asked, “what’s your big dream?” 

Harney responded that he wanted to be a professional magician. After seeing his grandfather perform a card trick he learned at a poker game as a child, Harney realized this was what he wanted to do. 

Cobane was able to set up a meeting for Harney to perform for Gary Ransdell, WKU president at the time, which allowed him to begin building his brand as a magician. 

Throughout his time at WKU, Harney was a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ and performed shows for the WKU chapter of Phi Sigma Pi.

Harney eventually went viral on YouTube with a video he filmed in Minton Hall performing his magic tricks.

After meeting Jim Munroe, a famous magician based in Texas, after a show Munroe performed at Van Meter Hall, Harney was told to call him when he was a senior.

The day after Harney graduated, he moved to Dallas to pursue his dream.

Harney is now a Dallas-based magician, illusionist and mentalist. He began his career on a four-year international tour. 

According to his website, he later pursued a solo career where he has performed for “some of the most recognizable organizations and churches in the U.S.”

The show in DSU included a total of eight main acts using cards, interaction with the audience and some comedy. The event was open to all honors students, faculty and staff.

Harney ended his show with an act that impressed many in the audience where the entire auditorium erupted in applause. 

The act included a random set of numbers from the audience that were added and multiplied in a random order. The final result of this equation was 22,324,819, which coordinated to the exact date and time at the moment, Feb. 23, 2024, at 8:19 p.m.

Will Randolph, who has been employed at WKU for a year and a half as a specialist for nationally competitive scholarship opportunities, said his favorite part of the show was the concluding act. 

“I didn’t know what to expect when I was coming and I had never been to a magic show before. But, I think people should watch it, it was pretty cool,” Randolph said.

Luke Phelps, freshman civil engineering major, said his favorite part was the ending as well. 

“Everything was really cool, but the ending was one of the best parts. Putting random numbers into the calculator and adding it up in the end [was cool],” Phelps said. 

Phelps added that those interested should see Harney’s show as soon as they can and that it is worth the trip. 

Cobane was also in attendance and mentioned that the entertainment can show guests, faculty and staff a thank you for all that they do.

“This is what an honors college does,” Cobane said. “It mentors young people in the right message, it says thank you as a culture of gratitude, thank you, faculty, thank you, staff. Students, this is why you’re in an honors college, to have these experiences, and we’re doing it all in one night.” 

News Reporter Kaylee Hawkins can be reached at kaylee.hawkins407@topper.wku.edu

“The Dance Project is an adjudicated performance of student choreographic work,” Associate Professor in Theatre & Dance Anna Patsfall said. “The dancers conceptualize a piece, go through a proposal process, run rehearsals with fellow dancers, present their work to faculty to be formally adjudicated, and finally see their choreography realized with full production.”

Patsfall said she enjoys watching the student’s work come to life through choreography and enjoys watching the piece progress and evolve as the student receives feedback. 

Cordelia Newton, student director, student choreographer and dancer for the project enjoys the opportunity that “The Dance Project” provides, which allows students to become choreographers. 

“Once we graduate, getting a chance to choreograph with talented dancers with the addition of a mentor is not a common occurrence,” Newton said. 

Newton has assisted with creating social media promotional posts and has served as a bridge between professors and students. As a choreographer, Newton has helped with picking out costumes, picking out lighting and coordinating rehearsals. She also attends practice every Friday as a dancer to prepare her for the performance. 

The Dance Project has been in the works since last semester. 

“Students started the proposal process back in September, and once accepted they started their rehearsal process shortly after that,” Patsfall said. “Many of the choreographers have been working and reworking their pieces for months.”

Tickets will be $7 general admission and can be purchased through the Fine Arts Box Office. “The Dance Project” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. 

“It is really a concert that showcases the variety of voices and viewpoints that the WKU dance students work to develop in their time in the program,” Patsfall said. “There really is something for everyone in this concert.”

News Reporter Maggie Phelps can be reached at margaret.phelps370@topper.wku.edu

The band has chosen to perform Kentucky marches, including “My Old Kentucky Home” and the WKU fight song. 

The band was specifically hand-picked by Beshear to perform, according to Director of Bands Gary Schallert. He said the band and faculty could not be more excited to participate. 

“I’m excited, it’s a huge honor to be singled out by the governor […] it shows how much of an impact we have on the entire state,” Will Klueh, freshman band member said.

The BRMB consists of 250 members and is now recognized as the largest and most diverse marching band in the entire state, according to assistant director of athletic bands, Scott Harris.

It is a well-respected organization and one that has impacted communities all across the Commonwealth. 

“I personally could not be prouder of our students and the tireless hours they put into the BRMB […] the organization truly represents the spirit of WKU,” Harris said. 

The band will be brought back to campus on Dec. 12 to officially travel to Frankfort for the parade. 

“Anytime we can represent our great university and community at a prestigious event such as the Governor’s Inaugural Parade, it is a tremendous honor for us,” Schallert said.

News Reporter Kaylee Hawkins can be reached at kaylee.hawkins407@topper.wku.edu