Through Our Eyes-04/11/17

Michelle Calnan, 52 of Knoxville, Tennessee sits in her bed after getting little sleep the night before due to symptoms of Benzo withdrawal. “I don’t want to be in this body. I’m tired of seeing the same trees out of the same window feeling the same way,” said Calnan while she wept in her bed. Calnan was prescribed Klonopin ,an anti-anxiety drug for over 20 years that is designed to be used for a maximum of four weeks. She is currently attempting to taper off the medication which is a lengthy process taking anywhere from three to six years.|Michael Noble Jr.

Rosalino Santiago Garcia and his wife, Sabina Garcia Pacheco, wait to have a lasso placed on their shoulders by their sponsors during the couple’s wedding ceremony in Santa Ana, Oaxaca, Mexico on March 25, 2017. The lasso is a staple of Hispanic weddings and symbolizes the couple’s everlasting union. The two were officially married five years prior in a civil union, but it wasn’t until March that they could afford to throw a proper celebration after they saved enough of the money that Rosalino earned as a migrant worker in the tobacco fields of Kentucky.|Nick Wagner

Siena Heights University Asia Gardner sprints to the finish line as she anchors in the second heat of the 4×100 meter race during the Hilltopper Relays on Saturday April 8, 2017 at Charles M Reuters Track and Field Complex.|Shaban Athuman

Indiana Tech’s Jordan Partee falls into the sand pit after jumping 6.64 meters during the Hilltopper Relays on Saturday April 8, 2017 at Charles M Reuters Track and Field Complex. Partee would finish in 8th overall with a 6.74 meters.|Shaban Athuman

**This past Tuesday, WKU students skyped with members of RIT’s NPPA student chapter and exchanged photos for a joint critique session. WKU students discussed and selected the best photos from RIT. They did the same with us. Check out what RIT selected as their top photos from this past week! A big thanks to RIT for making the collaboration happen!

Through Our Eyes-03/28/17

Rafey Wahlah of Lahore Bunjab, Pakistan has been in the United States for four years. Wahlah is currently the President of the Pakistani Student Association at Western Kentucky. This association was founded three years ago by students of this nationality. Wahlah stated, “When I first came here there were only four Pakistani students, a year later there were about 30; as I graduate this year, I fear we won’t have many Pakistani students attending this University to continue the PSA organization.”|Ebony Cox

Mariam Athuman, 5, is bathed in the afternoon light at her home in Roanoke, Virginia. Her family moved to the United States from a refugee camp in Tanzania in 2008. She is now a citizen.|Shaban Athuman

Much hangs in the balance for Rafey Wahlah, a senior at Western Kentucky University. Wahlah, the current president of the Pakistani Student Association at WKU, will graduate this spring with a degree in Political Science and hopes to return home to Lahore, Pakistan where his family resides but has also begun to seek out work in the United States while he is still eligible under the OTP student visa work program that allows foreign college students enrolled in US schools to begin their careers in the US for a short time in hopes of being selected for an H1-B visa, the first step in the green card process.|Alyse Young

Through Our Eyes-02/14/17

Sumner Franklin (on left), from the University of Kentucky, takes a punch to the face from Miguel Brarzey, from WKU, at the Sigma Chi Fraternity Fight Night in the Sloan Convention Center on Friday, Feb 10, 2017. Franklin won the match.|Silas Walker

London Alford, 4, and older sister Quinlann Alford, 6, from Bowling Green react to the cowgirl trick riders performing their stunts at the Lone Star Rodeo. Quinlann enjoys the rodeo for the animals. “When I grow up I want to be a vet,” said Quinlann. | Michelle Hanks

Jill Matthews, a Freshman from Louisville, stands with her clarinet in Minton Hall on February 14, 2017. Matthews is a music major and has played the clarinet for 9 years. “I love playing music,” Matthews said. “It teaches me something new about myself every day.”|Morgan Hornsby

Sigma Chi fighter Justin Williams walks into the ring before his bout during Sigma Chi fight nigh on Thursday Feb. 9, 2017 at the Sloan Convention Center.|Shaban Athuman

Kenowa Hills’ Megan Titus reacts with her teammates after it was announced that Kenowa Hills won the Knight Invite at Kenowa Hills High School on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017.|Mike Clark

A rodeo contestant competes in the steer wrestling competition at the Lone Star Rodeo in Bowling Green, Ky. on February 10, 2017|Kendall Warner

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

|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