Through Our Eyes – 02/07/17

Kathy Masulis and Yohannes Armstrong exchange “I love you”s at Nashville’s vigil and rally in response to Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Kathy is a friend of Johannes’ mom, Patricia Armstrong, who explained that “we stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters.” Johannes was adopted from Ethiopia, and although is immigration status in America is different than those affected by the ban, he is still a refugee.|Lydia Schweickart

Fashion portrait of Rafey Wahlah, February 5, 2017. |Alyse Young

Bat researcher Chris Clark records information about one of the 63 Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) at Bat Cave during a count to monitor the population. Bat Cave boasted Little Brown populations up to 311 in the early 1990’s and have significantly dropped since the finding of White-Nose Syndrome in Mammoth Cave National Park in 2012, now at a maximum of 20% it’s recorded height. |Justin Gilliland

Community members hold candles at the Bowling Green Massacre Remembrance Gathering Feb. 3, 2016. Organizer Justin Swindle, 27, said it all began as a joke with friends. “It somehow got super popular,” Swindle said,” so we tried to make it matter by collecting donations.” Donations will be given to the International Center of Kentucky. |Abby Potter

Through Our Eyes – 1/24/17 – Winter Edition

Western Kentucky running back Anthony Wales (20) dives for a touchdown during the C-USA championship game against LA Tech on Saturday Dec. 3, 2016 at L. T. Smith Stadium.

Western Kentucky running back Anthony Wales (20) dives for a touchdown during the C-USA championship game against LA Tech on Saturday Dec. 3, 2016 at L. T. Smith Stadium. |Shaban Athuman

ii Larry Gordy recalls how it feels to raise a family on what he calls a Native American prisoner of war camp. Living on poisoned land has killed his family members and affected his livestock, but he cannot imagine leaving the land of his people.

Larry Gordy recalls how it feels to raise a family on what he calls a Native American prisoner of war camp. Living on poisoned land has killed his family members and affected his livestock, but he cannot imagine leaving the land of his people.|Gabriel Scarlett

Larry Gordy looks for his cattle's tracks on an abandoned uranium mine near his home in Cameron, Arizona that has not been reclaimed or cleaned up. As a child on the impoverished Navajo Nation Reservation, he remembers his excitement when he would camp out at the site, oblivious to the deadly radiation that maxes out most geiger counters.

Larry Gordy looks for his cattle’s tracks on an abandoned uranium mine near his home in Cameron, Arizona that has not been reclaimed or cleaned up. As a child on the impoverished Navajo Nation Reservation, he remembers his excitement when he would camp out at the site, oblivious to the deadly radiation that maxes out most geiger counters.|Gabriel Scarlett

Larry Gordy walks among the testing pits and waste mounds on his grazing lands on the Navajo Nation near Cameron, Arizona. He remembers trail riding with his father, a Navajo uranium miner across this poisoned land before his death.

Larry Gordy walks among the testing pits and waste mounds on his grazing lands on the Navajo Nation near Cameron, Arizona. He remembers trail riding with his father, a Navajo uranium miner across this poisoned land before his death.|Gabriel Scarlett

Monument Valley, land of John Wayne Westerns and home to the Navajo.

Monument Valley, land of John Wayne Westerns and home to the Navajo. |Gabriel Scarlett

David Neztsosie at the gravesite to his two daughters who died of their exposure to uranium that he brought back from his job in the mines. He is now sick and dying, surviving off of medication and bottled oxygen.

David Neztsosie at the gravesite to his two daughters who died of their exposure to uranium that he brought back from his job in the mines. He is now sick and dying, surviving off of medication and bottled oxygen. |Gabriel Scarlett

Will Hudgins raises his voice and his snack during the ANSWER Coalition inaugural protest in Washington D.C. Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Hudgins travelled from Seguin, Texas with his wife Daisy Luviano and their 13-month-old daughter Azelia to protest Donald Trump’s policies on education and immigration. “I fell in love with a Hispanic woman,” he said, “and our child should not have to suffer for that heritage.”

Will Hudgins raises his voice and his snack during the ANSWER Coalition inaugural protest in Washington D.C. Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Hudgins travelled from Seguin, Texas with his wife Daisy Luviano and their 13-month-old daughter Azelia to protest Donald Trump’s policies on education and immigration. “I fell in love with a Hispanic woman,” he said, “and our child should not have to suffer for that heritage.” |Abby Potter

Terry Perry, an anti-Trump protestor from Pa., dances to a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” during the ANSWER Coalition’s protest of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Terry Perry, an anti-Trump protestor from Pa., dances to a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” during the ANSWER Coalition’s protest of Donald Trump’s inauguration. |Abby Potter

A protestor points to the word “Fascist” on his sign while a Trump supporter fakes tears in response from inside a restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue. Demonstrators shouted and pressed signs against this window while those inside sipped champagne and watched. This continued until a woman got up and closed the blinds.

A protestor points to the word “Fascist” on his sign while a Trump supporter fakes tears in response from inside a restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue. Demonstrators shouted and pressed signs against this window while those inside sipped champagne and watched. This continued until a woman got up and closed the blinds. |Abby Potter

|Video by Shaban Athuman

Through Our Eyes – 11/15/16

Freshman Kain Youman, of Frankfort, Kentucky, attempts to tell a friend to call his mother through the glass of a Warren County Sheriff's car window after the anti-Trump protest on campus on November 10, 2016. Youman was charged with failure to disperse.

Freshman Kain Youman, of Frankfort, Kentucky, attempts to tell a friend to call his mother through the glass of a Warren County Sheriff’s car window after the anti-Trump protest on campus on November 10, 2016. Youman was charged with failure to disperse. |Justin Gilliland

JT Graves shows off his puppy Rambo while his sister Alisha watches from close by at their home in Bowling Green, Ky. on Nov. 6, 2016.

JT Graves shows off his puppy Rambo while his sister Alisha watches from close by at their home in Bowling Green, Ky. on Nov. 6, 2016. |Gabriel Scarlett

Margaret Tabor has worked at voting stations in Bowling Green, Ky. for the last 42 years as a voting clerk and a ballot judge. At 80, she thinks it might finally be time to retire. Unabashedly supporting Donald Trump and toting her elephant necklace, she says, "I just don't think Hillary would stand behind this flag if we elected her."

Margaret Tabor has worked at voting stations in Bowling Green, Ky. for the last 42 years as a voting clerk and a ballot judge. At 80, she thinks it might finally be time to retire. Unabashedly supporting Donald Trump and toting her elephant necklace, she says, “I just don’t think Hillary would stand behind this flag if we elected her.” |Gabriel Scarlett

A man is helped by emergency workers after being hit by a car on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, at on Highway 31W in Bowling Green, Ky. Campaigners lined the corners of the intersection where the man was hit. "I didn't see him" said the driver while talking to police. The man that was hit moved onto the street as people were campaigning on a nearby sidewalk.

A man is helped by emergency workers after being hit by a car on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, at on Highway 31W in Bowling Green, Ky. Campaigners lined the corners of the intersection where the man was hit. “I didn’t see him” said the driver while talking to police. The man that was hit moved onto the street as people were campaigning on a nearby sidewalk. |Michael Noble Jr.

Boys scouts and members of the military bring out a flag before the national anthem in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Bowling Green, Ky.

Boys scouts and members of the military bring out a flag before the national anthem in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Bowling Green, Ky. |Michael Noble Jr.

Through Our Eyes – 11/1/16

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“You gotta be careful, my man, I got girlfriends looking for me,” Jason joked. Released from prison in 2006, he is ineligible to vote in the upcoming election. “I just can’t concern myself with that anymore.” Kentucky is one of just three states that permanently ban convicted felons from voting.

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Carolyn Caplinger, 53, feels abandoned by her party this election. A registered Republican, she is disgusted with the allegations of sexual assault against Donald Trump, the GOP candidate, and “all his trash about women and these teenage girls.” Hundreds of Republican officials and legislators have left pulled their support for Trump in recent months, but he and the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton are very close in the polls.

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“I didn’t see girls with my type of hair growing up,” said WKU senior, Indygo Ray, who believes that natural hair is not seen as professional in society. “Learning about my hair just made me feel at one with myself and free and beautiful,” said Ray.

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Evansville senior, Jessica Jackson hardly remembers a time in her life where she did not chemically alter her hair. When Jackson was a sophomore at WKU she decided to give natural hair a try, “when I went home, I just cut it all off,” said Jackson. “I felt so good at the moment, this is my hair,” said Jackson, “I wanna wear the hair that grows out of my head.”

 

Through Our Eyes – 10/25/16

Sister Lucy Bonifas, 78, prepares a bouquet of flowers grown in her backyard before delivering them to the chapel of Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, where she worked from 1969 until April 2016. Though she recently retired, Sister Lucy, a member of Sisters of Saint Francis, still visits the hospital every week to deliver fresh flowers and talk to patients. ÒGod speaks to me through flowers,Ó says Sister Lucy. ÒHe suprises me with his gifts, with the beauty and love he brings.Ó

Sister Lucy Bonifas, 78, prepares a bouquet of flowers grown in her backyard before delivering them to the chapel of Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, where she worked from 1969 until April 2016. Though she recently retired, Sister Lucy, a member of Sisters of Saint Francis, still visits the hospital every week to deliver fresh flowers and talk to patients. “God speaks to me through flowers,” says Sister Lucy. “He suprises me with his gifts, with the beauty and love he brings.” |Skyler Ballard

Hobo, a shetland sheepdog up for adoption at the McCracken County Humane Society, introduces himself to Coy Stalions.

Hobo, a shetland sheepdog up for adoption at the McCracken County Humane Society, introduces himself to Coy Stalions. |Skyler Ballard

Jamey Ward, 45, in his trailer in Paducah, Ky. on Oct. 22, 2016. A retiree of the river barges, Ward is now an alcoholic who spends most time at home surrounded by beer cans. Fights often break out between himself and his friends as they search for money to buy beers.

Jamey Ward, 45, in his trailer in Paducah, Ky. on Oct. 22, 2016. A retiree of the river barges, Ward is now an alcoholic who spends most time at home surrounded by beer cans. Fights often break out between himself and his friends as they search for money to buy beers.| Gabriel Scarlett

Justin Griffith, 27,  kisses his youngest son, Lucas, in his front yard in Farley, an area of Paducah, Ky. nicknamed "Farlem" for its low income demographic. Justin is a young father taking bible classes through the mail to become a pastor. Two of his boys are his fiancŽe's sons. "It's one of the great feelings in this world when they started calling me dad," he explains. "Not something I made them do so when they first called me that, my heart just melted."

Justin Griffith, 27, kisses his youngest son, Lucas, in his front yard in Farley, an area of Paducah, Ky. nicknamed “Farlem” for its low income demographic. Justin is a young father taking bible classes through the mail to become a pastor. Two of his boys are his fiancŽe’s sons. “It’s one of the great feelings in this world when they started calling me dad,” he explains. “Not something I made them do so when they first called me that, my heart just melted.”| Gabriel Scarlett

|By Ashley Cooper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plVVgBdrhMo

|By Lex Selig

|By Josh Newell

|By Jeffrey Brown

Through Our Eyes – 10/11/16

A man cries on the altar of St. Joseph's Church as Spanish-speaking members of the congregation lay hands on and pray for him during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. | Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

A man cries on the altar of St. Joseph’s Church as Spanish-speaking members of the congregation lay hands on and pray for him during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. | Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

St. Joseph's Catholic Church is reflected on the hood of a black Cadillac on Oct. 10, 2016. | Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is reflected on the hood of a black Cadillac on Oct. 10, 2016. | Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

ÒI got all kinds, and all colors. I got charcoal, green, rust, I got colors I canÕt even name. Anytime I put on a suit the shoes match.Ó Thomas Brown, 62, of Vinegrove, said outside State Street Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Ky. Brown regularly drives over an hour from Vinegrove to worship at State Street Baptist Church. | Photo by Michael Noble Jr.

“I got all kinds, and all colors. I got charcoal, green, rust, I got colors I can’t even name. Anytime I put on a suit the shoes match.” Thomas Brown, 62, of Vinegrove, said outside State Street Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Ky. Brown regularly drives over an hour from Vinegrove to worship at State Street Baptist Church. | Photo by Michael Noble Jr.

Through Our Eyes – 1/31/17

When President Donald J. Trump announced an executive order, banning legal visitors from 7 Muslim majority countries, Elnaz Jalali was faced with the decision to sacrifice her dream or to be separated from her family living in Iran. “After 5 years staying in the U.S., investing my money, my time, my energy and my knowledge over here, if I wake up one day and someone says: ‘what you did over here is done and you should go back home.’” Jalali said. Jalali is in her final semester studying for a masters in chemistry but hoped to pursue a doctorate post graduation. “I’m terrified it doesn’t end here. Imagine for five years I won’t be able to go back home to visit my parents and my parents won’t be able to come here. I can’t live without my parents,” Jalali said. |Alyse Young

Brandon Scurlock opens the piercing pliers for Gary Fralick during a bighorn sheep wrangle near Big Piney Jan. 25, 2017. Wyoming Game & Fish Department are putting radio collars on bighorn sheep to track where they stay for the winter. |Ashley Cooper

On his senior night in high school Pancake Thomas jumped up and cut open his arm on the backboard. Since then Thomas went on to play two seasons at the University of New Mexico then transferring to the University of Hartford and playing one season there. Thomas has averaged 13.5 points a game since joining the Hilltoppers earlier this year. |Shaban Athuman

Through Our Eyes – 10/4/16

 

From left to right, Hayley Hoback, Izzy Rager, Morgan Goetz and Rachel Shipp lean on one another at a vigil to memorialize their Alpha Gamma Delta sister, Stephanie Campbell, on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the AGD sorority house. Campbell passed away Sunday, Sept. 25 as a result of a single-car accident on the Western Kentucky Parkway. "She has tattooed on her foot 'You can breathe,'" remembered Hayley Hoback at the vigil. "And that's what I can say to her. 'You can breathe now.' She's in a better place now.Ó | Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

From left to right, Hayley Hoback, Izzy Rager, Morgan Goetz and Rachel Shipp lean on one another at a vigil to memorialize their Alpha Gamma Delta sister, Stephanie Campbell, on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the AGD sorority house. Campbell passed away Sunday, Sept. 25 as a result of a single-car accident on the Western Kentucky Parkway. “She has tattooed on her foot ‘You can breathe,'” remembered Hayley Hoback at the vigil. “And that’s what I can say to her. ‘You can breathe now.’ She’s in a better place now.” | Gabriel Scarlett

Members of the Western Kentucky Big Red Marching Band practice before an NCAA college football game with Western Kentucky University taking on Houston Baptist University, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, in Bowling Green, Ky.  | Photo by Michael Noble Jr.

Members of the Western Kentucky Big Red Marching Band practice before an NCAA college football game with Western Kentucky University taking on Houston Baptist University, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, in Bowling Green, Ky. | Michael Noble Jr.

Lydia Billion, a WKU alumnus, quietly kneels during the "National Anthem" as a form of peaceful protests of the current treatment of African-Americans in the United States. Last weekend when students and members of the Major Redz knelt during the song, fellow fans attempted to shout them down. The protests were also spurred on by two recent incidents of racism on Western Kentucky University's campus. | Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

Lydia Billion, a WKU alumnus, quietly kneels during the “National Anthem” as a form of peaceful protests of the current treatment of African-Americans in the United States. Last weekend when students and members of the Major Redz knelt during the song, fellow fans attempted to shout them down. The protests were also spurred on by two recent incidents of racism on Western Kentucky University’s campus. | Gabriel Scarlett

After spotting the new moon members of Bethel Fellowship Ministries blow shofars in celebration of the Feast of Trumpets. It is a biblically commanded celebration and is observed after sighting the new moon which starts the first day of the seventh biblical lunar month.

After spotting the new moon members of Bethel Fellowship Ministries blow shofars in celebration of the Feast of Trumpets. It is a biblically commanded celebration and is observed after sighting the new moon which starts the first day of the seventh biblical lunar month. | Ashley Cooper

 

| Video by Alyse Young

Through Our Eyes – 9/27/16

Members of the Major Redz file out of the DSU before Western Kentucky University took on rivals Vanderbilt on Saturday, September 24, 2016.

Members of the Major Redz file out of the DSU before Western Kentucky University took on rivals Vanderbilt on Saturday, September 24, 2016. |Gabriel Scarlett

Vanderbilt outside linebacker Caleb Peart, 9, celebrates after a win over rivals Western Kentucky University on Saturday, September 24, 2016.

Vanderbilt outside linebacker Caleb Peart, 9, celebrates after a win over rivals Western Kentucky University on Saturday, September 24, 2016. |Gabriel Scarelett

Arthur Woodsen, 74, becomes aggravated on the topic of civil rights in the living room of his home in Bardstown, KY. Woodsen grew up in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. "My race of people were looked at as not even being human," said Woodsen. "And that same segregation is still around today. God's blessed me to live seventy four years, and I've seen this country get worse instead of better."

Arthur Woodsen, 74, becomes aggravated on the topic of civil rights in the living room of his home in Bardstown, KY. Woodsen grew up in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. “My race of people were looked at as not even being human,” said Woodsen. “And that same segregation is still around today. God’s blessed me to live seventy four years, and I’ve seen this country get worse instead of better.” |Skylar Ballard

Western Kentucky University wide receiver Nacarius Fant (1) makes a 61 yard catches for a touchdown during the second quarter of the Western Kentucky University-Vanderbilt University game on Saturday Sept. 24, 2016 at L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.

Western Kentucky University wide receiver Nacarius Fant (1) makes a 61 yard catches for a touchdown during the second quarter of the Western Kentucky University-Vanderbilt University game on Saturday Sept. 24, 2016 at L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green. |Shaban Athuman

|Video by Michaela Miller and Katie Roberts |Edited by Alyse Young

Through Our Eyes – 9/20/16

Derek Harris, the bass player for The Misty Mountain String Band, fixes his tie backstage before the start of the first Live Lost River Music Session at the Capitol Arts Center on Thursday, September 15th, 2016. This Lost River Music Session hosted a variety of folk-genres for a packed crowd, such as Bluegrass and Americana. || Photo by Weston Kenney

Derek Harris, the bass player for The Misty Mountain String Band, fixes his tie backstage before the start of the first Live Lost River Music Session at the Capitol Arts Center on Thursday, September 15th, 2016. This Lost River Music Session hosted a variety of folk-genres for a packed crowd, such as Bluegrass and Americana. |Weston Kenney

Skeeter Depp carries his new son, Treyson Depp, out of the c-section surgery room. Tryson is a "rainbow baby," a healthy child born after a series of miscarriages. || Photo by Abigail Potter

Skeeter Depp carries his new son, Treyson Depp, out of the c-section surgery room. Tryson is a “rainbow baby,” a healthy child born after a series of miscarriages. |Abigail Potter

William Kirby, 71, recalls difficult memories from the tumultuous 1960s in America. As a teenager in Alabama, he remembers the rape of an African-American girl by a group of white boys. After weeks of recovery, the girl and her friends went out to a movie that he was at with his friends. "They snatch this particular girl from the crowd and they hung her right out in the courthouse yard," Kirby explains, his voice breaking with emotion. "There wasn't about five of us, and all these white people around, we wasn't going to try to save her. We runned for our lives too." Three years later, he volunteered for the U.S. Army to fight for a country that did not yet guarantee him his human rights. During the recruiting process, he witnessed the riots in Montgomery from the third floor of a hotel but was ordered by his commanding officers to not take part, talk about it, or to take sides. "I watched them spray them with a hose, letting them dogs loose on people...It's in the history books, but what I saw made those history books real." || Photo by Gabriel Scarlett

William Kirby, 71, recalls difficult memories from the tumultuous 1960s in America. As a teenager in Alabama, he remembers the rape of an African-American girl by a group of white boys. After weeks of recovery, the girl and her friends went out to a movie that he was at with his friends. “They snatch this particular girl from the crowd and they hung her right out in the courthouse yard,” Kirby explains, his voice breaking with emotion. “There wasn’t about five of us, and all these white people around, we wasn’t going to try to save her. We runned for our lives too.” Three years later, he volunteered for the U.S. Army to fight for a country that did not yet guarantee him his human rights. During the recruiting process, he witnessed the riots in Montgomery from the third floor of a hotel but was ordered by his commanding officers to not take part, talk about it, or to take sides. “I watched them spray them with a hose, letting them dogs loose on people…It’s in the history books, but what I saw made those history books real.” | Gabriel Scarlett