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Editorial

How cleaning up acid mine drainage became profitable

If you feel like you’re hearing the words “rare earth elements” (REEs) or “rare earth metals” with increasing frequency, there’s a reason for it. REEs are essential to building electronics, making them more precious than gold in our tech-fueled society. And they can be found in the acid mine drainage that has long polluted West Virginia’s waterways.  REEs are a family of elements that are key components in DVDs, cell phones, catalytic converters, magnets and fluorescent lighting, among other things, according to Geoscience News and Information. They are also an ...

Editorial Encore: 247 years of trying to deliver on ideals

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today’s editorial has been adapted from one that was originally published July 4, 2021. “Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” — James Bryce, British ambassador to the United States (1907-13) and historian.   Today we celebrate our independence from England. (The irony of opening with a quote from a British diplomat is not lost on us). Two hundred and forty-seven ...

Legislature gets ‘F’ in state funding for higher education

The $45 million shortfall West Virginia University faces is still some of the biggest news around town. In the past week, we’ve discussed the issue in terms of what the university could have done and should do (or not do) in the future. But there are multiple factors at play, which is why, today, we’re looking at how the West Virginia Legislature contributed to the crisis. According to the think tank West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, “if West Virginia lawmakers had simply kept higher education funding at the same levels as a decade ago, West Virginia University would ...

Can WVU avoid the austerity spiral?

As West Virginia University faces a $45 million shortfall — and a potential $75 million deficit over the next several years — its top leadership has approved a “reduction in force” and has already started combining programs and colleges to cut costs.  We understand the need for some belt-tightening, but the university’s proposed actions seem to be trimming from the wrong areas. We’re afraid that WVU will be starting a higher-education version of an “austerity spiral”: cost-cutting measures meant to reduce deficit but that ultimately hinder growth and make the ...

The factor WVU should’ve foreseen

The situation at West Virginia University is a complicated one, with a confluence of complex factors culminating in a jaw-dropping budget deficit and plans to cut back staff, faculty and programs. This will be the first of a series of editorials about WVU’s budget shortfall and the university’s proposed responses.  In announcing its budget shortfall of $45 million, WVU cited decreased student enrollment as a significant contributing factor. However, that’s one of the few factors the university should have been able to see coming.  When E. Gordon Gee took the reins as ...

Editorial encore: Juneteenth: A different kind of Independence Day

EDITOR'S NOTE: This editorial has been adapted from one that was originally published June 19, 2022. Juneteenth commemorates the day Gen. Gordan Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, technically freeing the last of the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years before, but the lack of Union soldiers’ presence had made Texas a safe haven for slaveholders.  However, on June 19, 1865, about two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Granger read aloud General Order No. 3 in the town square, declaring: “The people of Texas are informed that ...