Palmetto Report

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – The Winthrop University esports team continues to compete, despite not having a full-time coach to work closely with students, after former head coach Josh Sides stepped down from his position in December last year. Chuck Rey, Winthrop's interim athletic director and head volleyball coach, has stepped in to help oversee the team, which players say has been helpful. Matthew Hoshauer, a freshman computer science major who leads the Super Smash Brothers subdivision of Winthrop’s esports team, joined the Palmetto Report to discuss the challenges the team has faced without a coach.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Winthrop University says it's making preparations to become a "laptop campus" by August, which would require every student to have a laptop for the 2022-23 school year. The school says it's making upgrades to its Wi-Fi system in residence halls and academic buildings and the Winthrop Bookstore will begin selling laptops, which meet the university's specifications. The move comes after the school's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make the transition from campus-wide desktop computers to laptops, at a quarterly meeting Oct. 29. Andrew Besmer, an associate professor of computer science, and Michael Rego, a computer science major, joined the Palmetto Report to discuss the transition.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Winthrop University is hosting its annual senior exhibition, which features the work of senior students who are completing their degree requirements in the Department of Fine Arts. The exhibit entitled “Menagerie,” which opened April 4, will be on display until May 6 in the Rutledge Gallery and Lewandowski Student Gallery. Winthrop seniors Grayce Kellam and Griffin Cordell joined the Palmetto Report to discuss their experiences in the art department and their contributions to the exhibit.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The Winthrop University music department has allowed many students to strengthen and share their musical talents, both in and outside of the classroom. For James Amaker II, a freshman music education major, the program has enabled him to create and experiment with his craft. “I've been able to connect and create with so many students,” he said. Amaker II, who has been creating music since he was 16 years old, said he feels his musical talents have only grown since arriving at Winthrop.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The Nurse-Family Partnership is a program that works with low-income, first-time mothers to help them to improve their lives and create a better future for themselves and their babies. The program pairs women with specially trained nurses who regularly visit the young, soon-to-be moms early in their pregnancy until the child’s second birthday, in order to provide training, guidance and support. The Palmetto Report's Keha McKinney speaks with South Carolina nurse Nancy Cannada about the program.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- A group of Winthrop University students is working to raise awareness of accessibility issues on campus, including elevators that don't work, broken blue light emergency phones or a lack of ramps and street crossing signs. WU Students for Change, a campus advocacy group, has started to draw attention to the issues with elevators, staircases, ramps and audible beaconing crosswalk signals, which have broken in the last few months. The Palmetto Report's Gabe Corbin speaks with Ainsley McCarthy, a sophomore mass communication major and leader of WU Students for Change who has cerebral palsy and requires a wheelchair for movement, about the accessibility challenges on campus.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Developing muscle and getting stronger and faster is something that can be challenging for many Winthrop University athletes who are trying to compete at the division one level. Winthrop head strength coach Ben Abbott says he understands the challenges athletes face and takes it upon himself to give them the best chance to develop and compete at a high level. The Palmetto Report's Joey Tepper, who is a member of the Winthrop baseball team, spoke with Abbott about training student athletes.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Rock Hill’s Miracle Park baseball league, which invites people of all abilities and ages to play, opened play Oct. 9. The Palmetto Report's JaKayla Cornish speaks with Terry Hagen, programmer for Miracle Park, about the opening of the park and its baseball league.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Winthrop University hosted the 23rd annual U.S. Disc Golf Championship (USDGC) Oct. 6-9, which is one of the most prestigious events in the sport. Jacob Cullum speaks with USDGC tournament director Jonathan Poole about the event.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Winthrop University’s campus programming board, the DiGiorgio Student Union (DSU), celebrated Hispanic Heritage month -- Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 -- by hosting two back-to-back events highlighting Hispanic culture. Hispanic students make up about 5% of the student body at Winthrop, but in recent years, some students have said they've felt underrepresented on campus. The Palmetto Report's Abigail Helm speaks with Willie Bush, Winthrop’s assistant for campus programming, about what the university is doing to promote Hispanic heritage.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The annual ghost tours of Tillman Hall on the Winthrop University campus are planned for Oct. 22-23 from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. However, Tillman isn’t the only building on campus that is reportedly haunted. Margret Nance, Johnson Hall and the Little Chapel are also said to be haunted, according to many current and former students, staff and alumni. Why do ghost stories arise and what do they mean? The Palmetto Report’s Christian Smith speaks with Sean McCloud, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, to learn more about the evolution of ghost stories.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – During the height of the pandemic in August 2020, the Mercantile, located on in Rock Hill, came up with a way to help those in need by starting the "Rock Hill Community Fridge." The fridge is available 24 hours a day for individuals to pick up, but also drop off food items, as needed. The Palmetto Report's Kevin Seabrook speaks with Brittany Kelly, owner of The Mercantile, about the project.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Jeuel Bannister Esmacher was a junior at Winthrop University -- known then as Winthrop College -- in 1943 when the military took over Bancroft Hall to set up classes and living space for the Army Air Corps Cadet Training Program. It was at that time, during the height of World War II, when Esmacher, now 97, was first introduced to cryptology. Esmacher -- who currently lives in Anderson, but grew up in Starr, S.C. -- was one of 10,000 women who worked for the Army and Navy as codebreakers during World War II. Her story was unknown, until it was featured in the 2017 award-winning and New York Times best-selling book, "Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II," which interviewed several women about their secret work during the war. The Palmetto Report's Audrey Burriss speaks with Esmacher about her experience as a codebreaker.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Winthrop University's first in-person commencement ceremony since December 2019 is set to take place with five separate ceremonies that will span three days from May 6-8. Each ceremony will have a capacity of about 1,400 people in the Winthrop Coliseum, with an allotment of four guests per graduate. The Palmetto Report's Kristal Herrin speaks with Tim Drueke -- assistant provost for curriculum and program support at Winthrop and chair of the commencement committee -- about the plans for the ceremonies and his role in leading their execution.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The Winthrop University Office of Student Activities held its annual leadership conference, which is intended to educate students on leadership skills, provide networking opportunities and create self-awareness. The LIFT Conference -- short for Leadership Institute for First-Timers -- is a student led, one-day professional development seminar held every spring semester for undergraduate and graduate students. The Palmetto Report's Da’Vette Peoples speaks with Calvin Joyner, assistant director for student organizations and leadership at Winthrop, about the conference.

(Blacksburg, S.C.) -- The Kings Mountain National Military Park is conducting a series of controlled burns this spring, which are intended to reduce the risk of wildfires and improve the habit of wildlife. The Palmetto Report's Kevin Seabrook speaks with Jennifer Schafer, an assistant professor of biology at Winthrop University, about the importance of prescribed fires to maintain a healthy environment.

(York County, S.C.) -- Many groups throughout York County are working together to combat homelessness, by implementing programs, such as rent assistance and providing temporary housing, to help the homeless in the county. The Palmetto Report’s Savannah Scott speaks with Leslie Starnes, executive director of Family Promise of York County, about the group's efforts to help families and end generational homelessness.

(Fort Mill, S.C.) -- As LaJoyce Jones was nearing graduation from Winthrop University in 2018, with a master of business administration degree, things seemed to be going well, as she had just found a job and moved into a new apartment. However, Jones was struggling mentally and emotionally and her closest family was three hours away in her hometown of Charleston, S.C. The Palmetto Report’s Shardai Figgures speaks with Jones about Always and Forever, a group she launched in 2019 that helps connect college students with mental health resources.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, pet adoption rates have soared across the country, as many adoption centers have reported an increase in people wanting some form of companionship, due to an increased amount of isolation that people have been experiencing. The Palmetto Report's Alex Romano speaks with Katie Harrelson, manager of the Mac Tabby Cat Café in Charlotte, N.C., about how the pandemic has impacted the number of adoptions at the café.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has started a virtual class for viewers globally with its ongoing paleontology series "Old News: What’s New in Paleontology." The series began in January of 2019 and goes live on YouTube once a month. The Palmetto Report's Taylor James speaks with outreach specialist Laura Beth Speer and Christian Kammerer, research curator of paleontology, from the Museum of Natural Sciences, about the web series.