Shepherdstown, West Virginia – 89.7 WSHC is excited to enter into a new chapter in Knutti Hall with the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer. Shepherd University alumna and former WSHC Operations Director Jenna Taylor-Tennant has been named to the role, effective July 1, 2025. She will succeed Mike Hurst, who is stepping away from the station to pursue external opportunities.
Taylor-Tennant brings four years of radio experience to the position, having started at WSHC as a student. She continued her radio journey with award-winning WVRC Media stations: WDZN, WDYK, WKLP, WCMD, WQZK, and WDYK in Cumberland, and WLTF in Martinsburg. After graduating from Shepherd University in 2024, she returned to assist Dr. Kevin Williams with the Radio Practicum course and continued contributing to WSHC’s mission.
“I’m looking forward to student involvement growing as we reach out to our fellow Rams and our community members,” Taylor-Tennant said. “I am very fortunate to have a passionate team of students working hard to improve the station and bring WSHC to a new generation.”
For any questions relating to the radio station, please reach out to Jenna Taylor-Tennant at JTAYL03@shepherd.edu.
A Student Government Association meeting took place on March 25. SGA applications ended on April 4. Shepherd Students had the chance to vote on Rampulse. Nobody applied for the Junior and Sophomore Class President position or the Student Life Council position. Those spots will be appointed by the President and Vice President. The applications for the SGA Executive Board will remain open until April 7.
As fellow reporter Courtney Blank writes, “In April, the Rude Mechanicals are performing four plays. One is Hrothsvita’s The Conversation of Thaïs. The other three were written by Shepherd students from Dr. Carrie Messenger’s Creative Writing: Drama Class. Rachel Carroll wrote Earth Boys are Easy. Caitlin Carson wrote The Galathea Effect. Hannah Tinsman wrote Blood and Garlic. There will be performances on April 4 and 5, as well as April 9 through the 12 at 7:30 pm. There will be a performance on April 6 and April 14 at 3:00 pm.”
A recent string of hot dog-themed vandalism has taken place in parking lots across campus. Users have been posting to location-based, anonymous site, YikYak, photos of their cars, hotdogs skewered on antennas. One user even posted where The Mystery Meat Marauder had taken a bite out of the sausage before placing it on the user’s car. Rain or shine, parking lot to parking lot, hot dogs continue to appear on people’s personal vehicles. Contact the Shepherd Picket Newspaper with tips.
Author Denise Giardina will be talking about her novel, “Saints and Villains,” on Tuesday, April 8 from 7 to 8:30 pm in the Robert Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education Auditorium.
Hannah Williams-McNamee, director of Student Support and Transfer Pathways, announced on April 2 that the next selection for the Shepherd University Common Reading Program is Black Bear Creek: Stories by Shepherd English alumnus Dr. Joshua Cross. Cross is the first Shepherd graduate whose book will serve as a common reading selection at the University.
Set in the fictionalized town of Black Bear Creek in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley, the book explores a community that has been ravaged by the declining mining industry. The characters in Cross’ debut story collection struggle to survive against poverty and environmental degradation; ultimately, they find ways to have hope and resistance.
Sutton, who graduated from Shepherd in 2019, is now a contemporary adult fiction writer based in Colorado. She published her debut novel, “Running Out of Air,” in November 2024 through HarperCollins Publishers.
Wicked will be screening at the Shepherdstown Opera House on Thursday, April 3. The Opera House is located on 131 West German Street. Admission is free for the first 50 Shepherd Students. Non-Students can get in for $13.
The Bookstore is reopening in the Student Center on Monday, April 7. In the meantime, scantrons and Greenbooks will be available in Ram’s Den at the information center.
Scheduling for the Fall 2025 semester starts on April 7th.
On Saturday, April 12, the Relay For Life event will be taking place in the Wellness Center Parking lot. Parking will be available in H-Lot for participants.
Friday, April 4, the Stubblefield Institute will host their annual Civility Ball in the Storer Ballroom from 7p-9p
