Through Our Eyes Week 2

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Below are some of our favorite photos from this week’s Through Our Eyes. Each week the selections are chosen by WKUPJ students. Stay tuned for more to come!

First Place

Tennessee Titans defensive back Dane Cruikshank #29 of dives into the crowd after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter vs the Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 16. | Silas Walker

Second Place

My mom puts on my little sister’s veil a few minutes before she walks down the aisle. I’ve seen her fix my sisters hair hundreds of times: tight braids in the summer, ponytails with cheerleading bows, updos for dances and prom. In this exchange, I see how my sister will resume the duties with her own daughter, how she’ll brush and pull and spray until she is ready to be married. That is the cycle in these hills, a comfortable rotation of give and take. | Morgan Hornsby

Honorable Mention

Tennessee Titans mascot flexes and encourages the crowd to get on their feet before the kickoff of the opening season home game on Sunday, Sept. 16 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. | Silas Walker

Tennessee Titans quarterback Blaine Gabbert #7 of the to tight end Jonnu Smith #81 is blocked by linebacker Brennan Scarlett #57 of the Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 16. Gabbert recovered the blocked pass after Scarlett blocked it and was able to make a first down. | Silas Walker

Posted in: Through Our Eyes

Through Our Eyes Week 1

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Below are some of our favorite photos from this week’s Through Our Eyes. Each week the selections are chosen by WKUPJ students. Stay tuned for more to come!

First Place

Jennifer and Cameron share ice cubes and a few kisses on a hot evening in Tevistion, California. Both their parents emigrated from Oklahoma with the rest of the “Black Okies” in mid-twentieth century to work the fields of the Central Valley. Jennifer moved to the cities briefly but has been forced to return to her family’s crumbling home to raise her two children, Naynay and Jordan. | Gabe Scarlett

Second Place

Aderemi Ogunleye, formerly a resident of Nigeria, West Africa, poses for a portrait after Oath of Allegiance to become a naturalized citizen of the United States at Central Library on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. | Ebony Cox

Honorable Mention

More than a week after the arrest of her father Jose (who is a green card holder), Natalie Garcia tries to console her daughter Marley outside their home in Arleta, California from which Jose was taken. He had been watering his lawn and preparing for a shift driving for Uber, one of his three jobs, when ICE officials detained him for deportation for a charge from two decades ago. Since his arrest, Marley has slept in his bed and lays out his clothes each day to pretend that he is there. “I put his perfume on sometimes,” Marley explains. “I close my eyes. I cry.” | Gabe Scarlett

Isla mujeres. | Fahad Alotaibi

My sister Gabrielle carries our brother on her hip after we swam in our backyard pool. In the 6 months I spent away, she turned 15, started high school. She has long legs and a boyfriend who drives his truck to our house to visit her on the porch. I am grateful, though, when she asks me to braid her hair, to make her macaroni and cheese or drive to the Dollar Store for finger nail polish and candy bars. She tells me this is temporary, she will have a license and her own car soon enough. I wish this away, selfishly clinging to her girlhood, hoping to keep her with me on the porch. | Morgan Hornsby

Jadon came from Texas with his family to swim in the waters off Santa Monica Beach. June, 2018. | Gabe Scarlett

For 16 years, Ally VanHook has been practicing and performing in dance. Her childhood consisted of constant training and showcases while growing up in Somerset, KY. Now a sophomore at WKU, she plans to use her double major in Dance and Marketing. | Bailey Cooke

Jimmy Hurt throws his 15-month-old in the air to get her to smile at the Field of Flags at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens on Monday, July 2, 2018. | Ebony Cox

Anthony, would not give his last name, 45, grew up as a Eight Tray Crip but now lives life with a drug addiction. “I am to old to be throwing up my gang set, but my life now is great, I’m a crackhead and I love every moment of it, until I get the next one,” Anthony said. | Michael Blackshire

A Cal Firefighter walks back to a safe zone after the smoke from the Holy Fire causes major him to evacuate the given area in Lake Elsinore, California. The Holy Fire blaze burned 23,136 acres across across Orange and Riverside Counties. | Michael Blackshire

Major Brett Ringger sets up to examine Isaac Dunn, 9, of Morgan County while his sister Mercedes Dunn, 3, watches at the Lee County High School on Monday. The eye examination is one of the health services offered as part of Operation Bobcat, a military training mission to practice medical set up for times of emergency, conflict or disaster. | Silas Walker

Chauncey Adams, 7, takes shelter from the sun under the play structure at Castlewood Park on Thursday, July 11. According to the National Weather Service, on Thursday, the heat index reached 103º F. Near by in Louisville the heat index on Thursday reached 107º F. | Silas Walker

Molly Richardson, 5, of New Jersey jumps onto CJ Visser, 10, of Lexington during the Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday evening. | Silas Walker

A member of the congregation waits in the entryway of First Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1960, Pastor Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in this building, gathering over 1,500 Oklahomans to hear his message. | Morgan Hornsby

A portrait of Mackenzie on a weekend visit with her mother, Alyssa Yarnell, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Alyssa lost custody of Mackenzie while facing drug addiction, but recently graduated from a local rehabilitation program called Women in Recovery. Alyssa is now sober with a job and apartment and is fighting for legal custody of her daughter. | Morgan Hornsby

Alicia Forbit swims in the Arkansas River after visiting her husband Chris in Dick Conner Correctional Center. Since they were married in the visiting room of the facility two years ago, Alicia has spent every Saturday with him. Chris has been incarcerated for 8 years. “The hardest thing about all of this is the things that we miss out on doing together, and always feeling like a piece of me is missing. We continue to live life, go to the river and swim, to the water park, on picnics, all the things that everyone else does, but in the middle of the fun, there is always a flash of “Chris would be doing this if he was here,” Alicia said. | Morgan Hornsby

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Through Our Eyes Week 3

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“I think it’s incredible to see how people live from up here,” says Tom Vernon as he looks out the window of his small plane. Vernon has been in the sky for the past thirty years, working as a “taxi” service for missionaries in Africa, as a UPS pilot, and flying on his own for fun. | Skyler Ballard

WKU Forward Dwight Coleby (22) goes up for two as he is defended by ODU Forward Trey Porter (15) during the Hilltoppers 88-66 win over on Saturday Feb. 24, 2018 at E.A Diddle Arena. | Shaban Athuman

Joe Reed, 21, from Buffalo, NY listens to music on his cellphone before his match at the first annual Louisville Select Boxing Championship. Reed would go on to win the match. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. I had a great time in Louisville, drove down here with my team and Coach Nick treated us right, stayed in a nice hotel and the event was crazy. Winning was a part of the fight,” Reed said. | Michael Blackshire

Patrick McGee Sr., 53, was once a convicted felon who served in a Illinois State Prison. Recently incarcerated, he now is reconnecting with his family in Louisville, Ky to commemorate the loss of his son Louis McGee Jr., who was murdered March 28, 2017. “Getting that call, a call I never wanted to hear. I just knew that call was coming. I’m staying in Louisville with my wife trying to make this thing work. We have two other children still alive. I want my family to know I’m wanting to get better. I’m doing my best to stay here until the 28th to remember my son. It’s hard, but I’m doing my best not to catch that bus back to Illinois,” McGee Sr. said. | Michael Blackshire

Deacon Tyrone D. Booker Sr. holds the obituary of his son Tyrone D. Booker Jr., who was murdered in 2015 from gun violence in the back of a gas station. Tyrone D. Booker Jr. was apart of the misidentified four, who were a group of four young black males who were falsely accused of assault which lead to a 1.5 million dollar settlement. “My son had a target on his back after that settlement deal. Him and the three other young man became Louisville Legends. I told my son not everyone is your friend. People out there know who you are. I asked God why did you take my son. Why after seeing him being falsely imprisoned did you take him from this world, and he told me he needed to go home because he was in trouble in this world,” Deacon Booker said. | Michael Blackshire

WKU Forward Justin Johnson (23) walks off the court following the Hilltoppers 67-66 loss in the championship game of the Conference USA tournament against Marshall University on Saturday March 10, 2018 at The Star in Frisco, Tx. | Shaban Athuman

WKU Forward Tashia Brown (10) look to make a free throw during the Lady Toppers 78-50 win in first game of the Conference USA tournament against University of Texas at San Antonio on Thursday March 8, 2018 at The Star in Frisco, Tx. | Shaban Athuman

Hilltoppers’ Ben Morrison pitches during a winning game against Belmont at the Nick Denes Field, February 20th. The Hilltoppers defeated the Belmont 4-1. | Fahad Alotaibi

William Edmonds and Chloe Henderson from ONYX model management. | Emily Moses

Chloe Henderson, ONYX model from Huntsville, Alabama. | Emily Moses

Harlem Globetrotter’s guard “Flip” swings off the hoop after climbing on top to block the Washington General’s shots during their performance on Monday, Mar. 12, 2018 in E.A. Diddle Arena. | Silas Walker

Posted in: Through Our Eyes

WKUPJs Place in Hearst Multimedia III Enterprise Reporting

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Congratulations to Casper H. Christensen and Abby Potter for placing in the Multimedia III Enterprise Reporting Competition of the 2017-2018 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Casper was awarded fourth place and a $1,000 scholarship for his multimedia project “The Road Not Taken.” Abby was awarded fifth place and a $1,000 scholarship for her multimedia project, “When I’m Healed.” Western Kentucky University placed first in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points from three of the four multimedia competitions.

Casper H. Christensen’s project, “The Road Not Taken.”

Abby Potter’s project, “When I’m Healed.”

Posted in: Through Our Eyes

Through Our Eyes Week 2

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Ole Miss sprinter Alvin Westbrook competes in the 400 meter dash during Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge on Saturday Feb. 10, 2018 at Vanderbilt Rec. Center and Indoor Track Facility in Nashville, Tennessee. | Shaban Athuman

When we were younger, I knew him as Didier. We sat next to each other in the one-room schoolhouse in Tanzania for three years, watching the dirt from the floor blow through the room. It was a rainy day in third grade when he told me goodbye and he moved across the ocean with his family. The next time I saw him was in the living room of his parents home in Louisville, Kentucky. He introduced himself as Jimmy. He didn’t have a foreign sounding name or an accent, like I do. Fifteen years after sitting beside him in the one-room schoolhouse 7,851 miles away, we now go to the same college. We still remember the close knit family feeling of the refugee camp. | Shaban Athuman

A cowboy prepares to ride out into the arena of the Agricultural Exposition Center on Sunday during the Lone Star Rodeo. The rodeo featured more then 6 events including bareback bronc riding and bull riding. | Silas Walker

WKU cheerleaders run on the court before the Hilltopper 83-76 win on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at E.A. Diddle Arena, in Bowling Green, Ky. | Evan Mattingly

Florida International University guard Josh Stamps (0) dunks during the Panthers 83-76 loss to to Western Kentucky University at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. | Shaban Athuman

Head Coach Rick Stansbury listens as the team is introduced before taking on Florida International University on Saturday Feb. 10, 2018 at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green. | Shaban Athuman

Posted in: Through Our Eyes

Through Our Eyes Week 1

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Julian Rodriguez plays with his son Christopher at their home on Pueblo’s East Side. Julian’s decades long struggle with addiction brought him intimately close to the gang operations as he often bought from and sold for the gangs in order to support his own addiction. With his son, Christopher on the way, he achieved sobriety and had his facial skeleton tattooed to remember his commitment to his son and to commemorate his brother “Bone Head” who was killed in a shootout with the police. “Everything that I desire and want in this life is for that boy.” Christopher will grow up on the East Side, in Duke territory, but Julian hopes that a loving relationship with his father can keep him from that lifestyle. | Gabriel Scarlett

Stephen Logsdon, 33, is attending second year at the Vette City Con and plans to keep coming to them as long as they keep having them. Logsdon dressed up as Harley Quinn and had handmade almost everything from the bat to the hammer. Vette City Con will be held for their second year of performances and event venues at the National Corvette Museum on Saturday Jan. 27, 2018 and Sunday Jan. 28, 2018. | Shaban Athuman

Stephen Logsdon, 33, is attending his second year at the Vette City Con and plans to attend more as long as they keep having them. Logsdon dressed up as Harley Quinn and had handmade almost everything from the bat to the hammer. | Tyger Williams

A young gang banger, age 14, visits the memorial site for one of his fallen brothers, another of the Los Carnales East Side Dukes. He has embraced this dangerous lifestyle and says that he wants to ‘bang’ for the rest of his life, just like his family members. “Ya know, you just gotta be out here and follow orders and do what you’re told,” he said. “That’s how I’mma make a name for myself.” | Gabriel Scarlett

Once a prison yard shot caller with fifty men under his command, Johnny has since chosen a path away from the Los Carnales gang and into a welding job in Denver. He drives two hours each day to work. Finding employment as a convict took him years, but he feels that he owes it to the next felon to work hard and not burn those who have given him a chance. “I am proof that it is possible.” | Gabriel Scarlett

DaeQuan Smith, 24, holds a locally made t-shirt of his brother, Kentrail Robbins, who was murdered in 2012 in a still unresolved case. “My older brother was a handsome young man. Plenty females. Always dressed nice. Someone I could look up to. He never fronted on me either; he always looked out for me and my sister. We have the same parents you know. Grew up in the same house and wore the same clothes. Last time I saw him was in the mall and I told him to buy me some new shoes and he was with his friends and he tried to front and say he wouldn’t buy me some new shoes but I knew he would. Last time I saw him. It seems I loose at least two friends a year. Every time I go back to school I loose a friend and that takes a hold of me when the semester starts,” Smith said. | Michael Blackshire

Aspire Academy forward T.J. Smith (1) reaches for a rebound during the ‘Hooping on the Hill’ tournament at Bowling Green High School. Aspire Academy won 70-45 vs. Bella Vista. | Silas Walker

Tyreon Clark lines up his Boys to Men Leadership students before they go to class at Parker Bennet Curry Elementary School. Clark gives each of his kids a handshake or high-five. “It’s up to people like me to be responsible for the development of programs like this” Clark said about the leadership programs he is involved with. | Silas Walker

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WKUPJ Student Gabriel Scarlett receives Alexia Award of Excellence

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Congratulations to WKUPJ student Gabriel Scarlett on receiving an Award of Excellence for the Alexia 2018 Student Grant! His project, “Flock of Doves,” reexamines the reality of one city’s gang culture, with emphasis on the fragile nature of youth and longing for acceptance.

“This essay is for those who searched for brotherhood on the streets, but instead found blue jumpsuits, stray bullets, and roadside memorials. They are the doves.”

View the project here: http://www.alexiafoundation.org/stories/flock-of-doves-gabriel-scarlett

Julian Rodriguez plays with his son Christopher at their home on Pueblo’s East Side. Julian’s decades long struggle with addiction brought him intimately close to the gang operations as he often bought from and sold for the gangs in order to support his own addiction. With his son, Christopher on the way, he achieved sobriety and had his facial skeleton tattooed to remember his commitment to his son and to commemorate his brother “Bone Head” who was killed in a shootout with the police. “Everything that I desire and want in this life is for that boy.” Christopher will grow up on the East Side, in Duke territory, but Julian hopes that a loving relationship with his father can keep him from that lifestyle. | Gabriel Scarlett

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Through Our Eyes – 11/29/17

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Best of the best:

Public Information Officer Timothy Gray of the WKU Police Department grew up in the south side of Nashville, TN. Gray has lived in Bowling Green since 2004, and after previously working on a joint terrorism task force with the FBI, described his current position as unexpected. WKUPD needed someone who was connected and aimed to move in a new community-based direction. Gray’s passions lie in race relations and breaking down the barriers of race. “People fear what they don’t understand,” Gray said. “We wanted to create an atmosphere that was transparent and honest.” Gray values the power of respecting people, and getting to know the community he serves. He acknowledges that there is a level of distrust with the Police Department and certain minority groups in the community. “There are some folks wearing this uniform that shouldn’t be, but those are the few,” Gray said. “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” He is passionate about asking tough questions and seeing what the Police Department can be doing better. “We are servants. That’s who we are, that’s what we do.”|Lydia Schweickart

Honorable mention:

Kicker Ryan Nuss #37 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers celebrates after scoring the game-winning field goal against Middle Tennessee at L.T. Smith Stadium on November 17, 2017, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.|Shaban Athuman

Jerry Ayers, 75, relaxes outside of Teresa’s Restaurant in Bowling Green, KY on the back of his 1987 Ford Wrangler. “My first car I bought was a 1957 Ford. I kept that car until her wheels fell off. After three engines and thirteen thousand dollars later I had to let her go. I’ve had this sweetie Wrangler here for fifteen years and she still has her original engine. She breaks down, but this Ford Wrangler is a easy fix.” Ayers said.|Michael Blackshire

WKU volleyball team beats North Texas to win the C-USA Volleyball Championship in E.A. Diddle Arena on Sunday, Nov 19, 2017.|Silas Walker

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