The Dream and the War

[iframe id=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/128497219″ align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no” maxwidth=”954″]

Vito Tisdale, formerly “Big V” of the two-time Grammy nominated hip-hop group Nappy Roots, navigates life after fame. Vito works to be a stable father figure to his daughter, Meadow, but often struggles to find a balance between family and music. Be sure to visit the web site here.
By Kreable Young and Katie McLean

Hear Through the Holler

[iframe id=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/127688273″ align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no” maxwidth=”954″]
Hear Through the Holler is a collaborative web-based project created by journalists Tyler Essary and Luke Franke in the spring of 2015. With a tip from a friend and fellow journalist Emily Kask the pair set out in late February with their sights set on Christiana, Tenn., roughly a 30 minute drive south of Murfreesboro.
After shooting countless hours of video the team presents what you see here now on this site. The video, along with all other content, exists to document Hippie Hill and its’ people. Often looked down upon by outside media Hear Through the Holler is the first true glimpse of what Tom Maddox, his wife Jeanie, and Hippie Hill itself mean to so many people in Tennessee and all over the United States.
We would like to thank Hippie Hill, the residents, and all who helped make this project come to light. May it allow a better glimpse into the lives of the people that live there and the true intentions of the Hill.

Through Our Eyes – Week 43

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm in Lab 118.

IMG_9367Members of the Western Kentucky University dance company rehearse for their spring performance, Evening of Dance, on Sunday, April 26, 2015. BROOK JOYNER

DSC_1896Physique competitors wait for their divisions to hit the stage during the annual NPC Kentucky Derby Festival Championships on April 25, 2015 at the Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. Hundreds of body builders, physique, figure, and bikini competitors from across the country competed in the festival. HARRISON HILL

04242015_GreekTug_JBrown_1285_editChi Omega junior Alyssa Bush, from Franklin, looks back at her team as she pulls for the Tug competition on Friday April 24, 2015 at the Ag Farm.  WKU fraternities and sororities compete in Tug for Greek Week at Ag Farm on Friday April 24, 2015.  AGD won Tug for the sorority team and AGR won for the fraternity.  JEFF BROWN

ToBeSorted-4-28-2015-027T_1Participants run through Iriquois Park as part of the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville, April 25, 2015. JUSTIN GILLILAND

Through Our Eyes – Week 42

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm in Lab 118.

04_17_2015_wkolb_riptherunway_1144_toeA model stops to strike a pose at Rip the Runway, a fashion show hosted by the WKU Black Student Alliance. The show was held at the J. B. Preston Health & Activities Center on Friday, April 17, 2015. WILLIAM KOLB

AaaaaHippie Hill residents Destiny, left, and Zombie, right, share an intimate moment before a kiss in their camper on Hippie Hill in Christiana, Tenn. Hippie Hill is a home and a haven for transients in rural Tennessee. EMILY KASK

Averill Recycling Fire retoned1Community members move closer to the fire as the Flint fire department contains a large blaze on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at Averill Recycling in Flint. The fire started at about 5:45 p.m., and continued to burn more than five hours later, as crews could not get close enough to the flames because of debris and junk. Flint Fire Chief David Cox Jr. said crews created a fire stop, which will hold the fire from spreading, and will allow it to burn itself out.  BRITTANY GREESON

DSC_9024Gabriela Alvarez, 4 of Northfield, Minn., isn’t impressed with the lone candle atop her birthday cake during her birthday party on Sunday, April 19, 2015.  NICK WAGNER

Free RunningAdam Hudson, 22, of Dayton, Ohio, performs a flip in the middle of the Grand Fountain on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the Riverbank Park in downtown Flint. Hudson and other free running enthusiast gathered at the fountain to practice various runs and tricks as part of the Tempest Freerunning sponsored event. BRITTANY GREESON

Flint Symphony Orchestra13Laura Bird, of Ypsilanti, sits in the auditorium during a rehearsal for the Flint Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 17, 2015 at The Whiting in Flint. BRITTANY GREESON

Through Our Eyes – Week 41

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm in Lab 118.

 

_MG_3484On any given 9-5 workday, Clarence Allen, 55, a mechanic at Phelps & Son Detail Shop and Small Auto Engine Repair in Bowling Green, Ky., can be found covered in sweat and grease under anything from a lawn mower to a 1951 Packard classic car. WESTON KENNEY

NHL 2015: Predators vs. Wild APR 9Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) skates over to his teammates to celebrate the game-winning goal in the third period of Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. NICK WAGNER

motelLooking out from his room at the Economy Inn in Bowling Green, Ky., Danny Shelton, 42, looks toward the 31W Bypass. Shelton lost his left leg five years ago after doctors failed to detect a clotting issue in his limb. Having not worked a day since his amputation, Shelton relies on a $1,289 disability check to live. He’s an everyday face at the Salvation Army’s free lunch and he currently spends $800 of his monthly check on rent for his motel room. NICK WAGNER

Sandi Rutter 01Sandi Rutter, of Flushing Township, sits in Paige’s Playroom, a room named in honor of her deceased daughter Paige Rutter, on Friday, April 3, 2015 at Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint. Paige was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the central nervous system in July 2003. She passed away shortly after her third birthday on June 30, 2004. The playroom opened two years later and has since functioned as a room where sick children can briefly escape their hospital bed. Today, Sandi is a registered nurse at Hurley alongside her Husband Andy Rutter who is a physician in the trauma department. BRITTANY GREESON

steepleLindsey Wilson junior Greg Smithson exits the water ditch during the Hilltopper Relays’ 3000-meter steeplechase event in Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, April 11, 2015. NICK WAGNER

On April 11-12, 2015, Western Kentucky University hosted the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association Tournament. 26 teams competed over this two day tournament from all over the U.S. Central Michigan University and Grand Valley State competed in the championship game, the latter winning the title 2-0 for the third year in a row.Brad Porter, a freshman at Saginaw Valley State University, waits for the second half of his game to start. The game would determine which teams would compete in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association Championship. Having lost the first half, Porter understands the significance of the rest of the game. “I like dodgeball because it’s fun. Even though on the court it looks like we are trying to kill each other, off the court we are all best friends,” Porter says. ABBEY TANNER

Through Our Eyes – Week 40

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm in Lab 118.

AUniversity of Kentucky fans lit t-shirts on fire to swing around while chanting “fuck Wisconsin” on State Street in Lexington, Ky., after UK lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four NCAA basketball tournament on April 4, 2015. EMILY KASK

Johnson_L_Portrait_3_02Jessie Anderson, 20, of Benton, Ky., is a mechanical engineering major at WKU. She has been swimming for about five and a half years and competed for her high school. “I always swam and loved being outside all summer. I loved it so so much and some people get really burnt out and I didn’t get tired of it at all…It puts you somewhere else. It’s super relaxing and it’s a very good sort of tired,” Anderson said. LEAH JOHNSON

ToBeSorted-4-6-2015-215TChase Gilliland prepares to swim in the flash flood that caused cancellation of Jefferson County Public Schools, April 3, 2015. JUSTIN GILLILAND

C (1)A man squats over a fire of burning t-shirts on State Street in Lexington, Ky., after University of Kentucky lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four NCAA basketball tournament on April 4, 2015. EMILY KASK

tanner_abbey_takeaswimTaylor Blair, a 19 year old custodian at the Preston Center, works the night shift in order to support her 3 year old daughter, Kaylee. Here she does her nightly job of polishing the floors, among other things. Blair says it’s often hard but, “she [her daughter] is the reason I do what I do here.” ABBEY TANNER

Johnson_L_Portrait_3_03Morgan Moore, 19, of Louisville, Ky., is a dance and psychology major at WKU. She started dancing six years ago. “I knew when I came to college that I loved dancing and I didn’t want to stop yet. I used to be really really shy and dancing helped me open up. I don’t have to talk but I can still express myself,” Moore said. LEAH JOHNSON

ToBeSorted-4-6-2015-979TA UK student flashes herself on State Street in Lexington, Kentucky, after the UK basketball team lost to Wisconsin in the NCAA Final Four, April 4, 2015. JUSTIN GILLILAND

young_final_project3_01

Cecile Garmon has travelled to almost every continent on earth and has worn the same pair of round red glasses since 1985. She has been a Fulbright scholar and is the director of the Center for Leadership Excellence at Western Kentucky University. “I like cheerful things,” Garmon said talking about the bright clothes she wears. She sees the places she travels in colors as well. “Argentina is very orange and red,” she said. She has a deep desire for students to travel. She wants them to open there eyes and see a bigger world. “We limit ourselves so much with our tunnel vision,” she said. “Don’t ever close in. Open up instead, open your vision.” ALYSE YOUNG

ZIMG_4522The morning light pours through a stained glass window as a young boy looks toward the pulpit during a resurrection day service at State Street Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Sunday, April 5, 2015. ALYSSA POINTER

Through Our Eyes – Week 39

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm in Lab 127.

Lafser_E_Bosstick_20150331_0033Chuck and Betty Ann Bosstick lay in bed and tell each other how much they love one another. Betty Ann has alzheimer’s, so she is in bed basically all day every day while Chuck will keep her company and hold her hand. “She’s my life. She’s my life. Without her, I don’t want to live, but as long as she’s alive, I want to be alive with her,” said Chuck. The couple have know each other since they were ten years old and have been married for almost 68 years. 1938 was their first date and first kiss. “[Marrying him] was the best thing I ever did,” said Betty Ann. ERICA LASFER

CCarson Myers, 11, left, son of the head coach, shushes Cruz Dougherty, 4, right, son of the assistant coach, after a baseball game at the Hot Rod Stadium in Bowling Green on March 24, 2015 between WKU and UK. WKU won with a final score of 12-3. EMILY KASK

6aSydney LaDonna Farrar, known as “Donna”, a resident of Hippie Hill, a haven for transient and homeless people in Christiana, Tenn., holds 10 month-old Lennon Joiner in a mobile home on Hippie Hill where Lennon and his mother, Stacey, are currently residing. Farrar has two biological children herself, but does not have custody of either of them. She helps take care of a few of the children who live on the Hill. “I’m made to be a mother, I love taking care of other people, much more than I can take care of myself” said Farrar. EMILY KASK

_MG_9453Caylie Hadden of the Bowling Green Thunder collides into teammates Chas Brassell and Jackson Lindsey of the Bowling Green Flames in the third period during an inline hockey game at Basil Griffin Park on March 23, 2015. HARRISON HILL

Maggie_179Maggie Kruger sits in her greenhouse at her home in Adair County, Ky. Maggie is a mental health advocate and is currently fighting for her son, Paul, who is in the juvenile justice system and not receiving the help he needs for his mental illness. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Through Our Eyes – Week 38

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:00pm in Lab 127.

 

_MG_6914A muslim woman prays at the Islamic Center of Bowling Green, Ky. on March 20, 2015. DOROTHY EDWARDS

_MG_6995Buddhist youth are led in prayer at a Buddhist temple in Bowling Green, Ky.. The temple is run inside the home of Ashin Cando Bhasacara, a buddhist monk. DOROTHY EDWARDS

a_potter_portrait__0178Scott Harkins, 50, poses for a portrait in the back of his work truck. Harkins, who moves between Bowling Green and Louisville to find work, is in his  31st year as a drywall finisher and has developed arthritis from the work. “Finishing drywall is a young man’s game,” Harkins said. ABBY POTTER

west_intothewoods_01Marilyn Johnson, 17, a senior at Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Ky., gets ready for the final dress rehearsal of her school’s musical presentation of “Into The Woods.” WESTON KENNEY

[vimeo id=”123119757″]

DANIEL VORLET