Expert Pitches

As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to end Internet neutrality, Internet service providers will become gatekeepers with the power to block or slow online content—or to offer preferred services to certain websites, according to a West Virginia University expert. ISPs may not take advantage of their new-found power quickly, but the development of tiered Internet plans, meaning websites would have to pay more for better service, could be on the horizon, she said.

In the month since actress Amber Anderson accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, a flood of accusations against the producer has opened the door for a deluge of allegations against other high-profile men, including Dustin Hoffman and Kevin Spacey. Accusations of sexual assault/harassment aren’t new, but the proliferation of women and men who have spoken up about their own experiences is. A West Virginia University expert explains why a victim may take a long time to come forward.

As the gap in U.S. incomes grows wider, and, according to West Virginia University experts, the federal government fails to address the inequality, it becomes more incumbent on states to enact policies that challenge “today’s massive gap between the rich and the poor.”

Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and his associate Richard Gates were indicted Monday morning (Oct. 30) as part of a federal investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. According to one West Virginia University expert, the 12-count indictments “emphasize how foreign entities attempt to influence American politics.”

The shifting political landscape has created seismic changes for those on the ground teaching history and political science. Two West Virginia University professors will explore “Teaching Politics and History in the Trump Era” Wednesday (Nov. 1) in the Mountainlair Rhododendron Room.

West Virginia University experts are available to talk about President Donald Trump’s announcement to declare the opioid epidemic a public health emergency.

Fats Domino rose to international fame, not through showmanship or flashy piano solos, but through vocal interpretations that revealed the emotional complexity of well-known songs, according to a West Virginia University expert.

Open Enrollment for health plans on the ACA Marketplaces is shorter than it has been in previous years, six weeks from Nov. 1-Dec. 15. Free in-person enrollment help is available from four certified Navigators with the West Virginia Healthy Start Navigator Project at West Virginia University.

A West Virginia University expert says that eliminating the Clean Power Plan will have little effect on bringing back coal jobs because market forces, not regulations have undermined the coal industry’s future. To tell coal miners otherwise is “cruel,” according to WVU law professor James Van Nostrand, who accused EPA administrator Scott Pruitt of engaging in “demagoguery at its worst” and “playing on the hopes and fortunes” of people in coal dependent states who deserve better from their leaders.

West Virginia’s rural communities often suffer from a shortage of behavioral health care providers, a deficiency being addressed by West Virginia University’s School of Social Work, which has implemented the Rural Integrated Behavioral Health Training program. The program trains Masters of Social Work students to work in these communities, and has received its third cycle of funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration.