Marshall transfer student makes 'Best. Decision. Ever.'

As she traveled to her new home Bethany McFerrin saw a billboard that stood high above the interstate on the side of the road. The sign was kelly green with a M in the middle, representing Marshall University,  the new home she was traveling to. The billboard only had three sentences, ‘Best. Decision. Ever.’  but was as powerful as any other.

This billboard created a question in McFerrin’s mind, which she tweeted about later; will this be my best decision ever?

McFerrin will be a sophomore at Marshall after transferring to the university for the fall of 2014 semester.  McFerrin applied at Marshall after a former teacher encouraged her to in high school. She applied at Marshall but  later decided to attend a school in her community first as a way to take basic requirement college classes before taking the plunge into journalism.

While several students might still be having a hard time knowing what they want to study in college, McFerrin has already narrowed what she wants to study down.

“I am interested in writing and editing,” she said. “I would like to be a voice for the people who are unable or afraid to speak up for themselves.”

It is not just people McFerrin wants to be the voice for. Originally, she wanted to study to become a veterinarian, but soon realized she would not be able to do most the physical work the field requires. 

However, that has not stopped her from helping animals in need.

McFerrin has volunteered at her local animal shelter, by showing the animals love and compassion until they find their forever homes. However, Mcferrin’s mother, Sarah McFerrin, said McFerrin wanted to adopt all the dogs herself.

She said she hopes to focus her studies on online journalism and to write for the student newspaper, the Parthenon, covering stories about science or animals, a job which would prepare her for a career after graduation.

"I am most excited to learn how to present myself in a professional manner," she said.

McFerrin she said she wanted to get to know her peers, professors and school before the fall semester starts. She was given this opportunity through the Marshall University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication High School Workshop, a program which she will complete Wednesday.

Courtney Sealey can be contacted at Sealey3@Marshall.edu

Is Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA costing more than its bringing in?

To:	Burnis Morris
From:	Courtney Sealey
Re:	Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA
Date:	March 10, 2014

______________________________________________________________________________
 

Subject:	Is Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA costing more than its bringing in?
Need:	Citizens of the tri-state area need to know if they’re donating to an incompetent or failing charity organization.
Scope:	Goodwill KYOWVA had a total of -$2,489 in revenue after expenditures were deducted in the 2012 tax year. This is compared to the $396,915 in 2011. It appears that the company lost almost $200,000 in contribution and grants in the 2012 year and brought in almost $300,000 less in program service revenue. Since the revenue was down, Goodwill did cut back on their expenses, but it was not enough.   This piece will investigate that issue as well was why the total number of company assets went up nearly $150,000 when the company was not bringing in enough revenue to afford the expenditures.
Methods:	I will investigate through researching online and through interviews with the IRS and employees of Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA. If necessary I will interview outside Goodwill Industries as well.
Sources:	IRS.gov, Guidestar.com, SOS.wv.gov, local newspaper and television publications. I will also  use Goodwill employees as sources as well.
Presentation:	This will be a onetime hard news article.
Follow-up:	If the story gets enough feedback there might be need for a follow-up hard news or editorial article as well.

Assignment #15

I went over the Huntington City Council agenda for March 10, 2014 and noticed that the meeting there was going to be three confirmation of appointment for KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission. All appointments were for 1^st term appointment. This company is a transportation company that services Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. My question is, If this company services five counties in the tri state area, why is Huntington the city to appoint them? Another thing I would like to know is why three positions came open at the same time. The meeting notes do not say which position the three will be filling and I would like to know that information as well.

Non-profit tax exemption proposal

To:	Burnis Morris
From:	Courtney Sealey
Re:	Pi Kappa Psi Investigation
Date:	March 6, 2014

______________________________________________________________________________
 

Subject:	Psi Kappa Psi (ZETA PI) breaking West Virginia laws.
Need:	Marshall University students and regional citizens need to know that donating money to this organization will not be tax-deductible even though they are told otherwise. If these donors are claiming these donations as tax-exemptions they are committing tax fraud and they might not even know it.
Scope:	I will inform the public of the West Virginia laws of what is required to operate as a non-profit in the state. I have already found that to operate as a non-profit in W.Va. you must obtain a 501(c) tax exempt status from the IRS. Upon investigation I found that ZETA PI lost the tax exempt status in Nov. of 2010, but according to their Facebook group, they are operating as a Non-profit.  ZETA PI often asks for donations and I would like to know if they are offering tax write-offs to their donors, which is not legal.   I would also like to investigate on whether Greek organizations on campus find it necessary to be non-profit organizations. Maybe more importantly, do Greek organizations even know what laws require they do to advertise as a non-profit organization.
Methods:	I will investigate through researching online and through interviews with ZETA PI members.
Sources:	IRS.gov, Guidestar.com, SOS.wv.gov, local newspaper and television publications. I will also conduct interviews with the ZETA PI members, tax experts and, if needed, other fraternities on the Marshall University campus which have 501(c) tax exemption.
Presentation:	I will compare and contrast my work with Brittanee Barton who is investigating other Greek organizations on campus. This will be an article written in a hard news style for the Parthenon.
Follow-up:	I expect to get major feedback from this story. Follow-up hard news, reaction stories and editorials are expected as a follow-up to the story. I will use social media as a way to promote my article before and after, as well.

Article Summary - Non-profit

This article talks about the importance of journalists covering non-profits and now to do it properly. There are four main reasons for covering a non-profit, which are money, impact, influence and social contract. Campbell, the article writer, said that Guidestar is a strong reference point to ruse for your research. He also said many issues with non-profits can be found with those making below $25,000 which makes them exempt from filing a 990.

In “Connect the dots” by Robert Anglen showed how you use social media and other methods to see which charities interact with each other. As an example, Anglen showed how 22 charities were tied to the televised ministry, Don Stewart Association. The organization had received more than $29 million over 3 years and a lot of the of it was funneled through other charities to pay the salaries and other expenses.  Anglen used this information to come up with several story ideas.  He wondered are charities allowed to do business without disclosing the relationship to donors? He also found that the IRS only audits 1% of all charities. Anglen’s focus on this helped lead several authorities launch investigations into charities.

“Solid Foundation” by Lew Kamb showed some other ways a journalist can use 990 forms. He used an example of the Boy Scouts of America and a housing complex. Kamb was able to research and uncover stories without the help of any source.  

Finally, in the last article, Tisha Thompson showed a inquisitive side to journalism by investigating “planet Aid” boxes around her neighborhood. She used 990 forms to uncover the charity was connected to a very shady organization called Tvind from Denmark. Once again, she had no human sources and only used a 990 to find this information.

P. 175 charities assignment

I researched the Southwestern Community Action Council and I was going through their grant support, revenue and expenses. I was confused as to why their budget was exactly equal to their actual money column . In every column they spent exactly as much as they budgeted for down to the penny and I find that suspicious.

Jails Assignment

1.      Smith – 637
Johnson -387
Adkins – 348
Davis – 340
Miller – 323

 

2.      34 is the average age

 

3.      White = 40,514    87%
Black=    5,056     10%
Other=        133    <1%
Asian            58    <1%
NAA             27   <1%
ORI                 2   <1%

 

4.      WV Census
White= 94%
Black=3.5%
NAA= 0.2%
Asian=0.7%
Hispanic= 1.3%

 

5.      Charleston=   2,563
Huntington=  2,174
Martinsburg= 2,052
Monongalia= 909
While the average inmate number in whites is lower than the overall average, the blacks goes up tremendously. Asians also seem to be well behaved based on their arrest record compared to their percentage.

 

6.      The average inmate is a middle-aged white male.

 

7.      Huntington = 2174
Marshall PD = 30

Monongalia = 909
WVU PD = not received.

It seems that Huntington has more arrests than the county of Monongalia, but WVU PD arrested were not mad available, which I find strange.