FAIRMONT – It was somewhat threatening – and definitely complimentary – at the same time.
The wording on the protest sign spied at a teacher rally in Colorado back in 2018, that is.
“Don’t make me go West Virginia on you,” the sign read.
It was in reference to the Mountain State educators who launched a nine-day work stoppage earlier that year over benefits and pay – a move that reminded the nation of the contentious labor history of the 35th state in the union.
The West Virginia walkout inspired the one that followed in Colorado.
Fairmont State University’s debate team plans on stirring up the echoes of that history, along with a relevant look at the standing of working people in society at present.
“Work, Rights and a Power: A Public Debate on Labor Policy” is the name of the forum that will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center on the Locust Avenue campus.
The public debate will examine the country’s contemporary labor rights issues – including worker protections, collective bargaining, wages, the role of government in the workplace and any reforms that could ensue by such intellectual discourse.
“This isn’t just an ‘exercise,’” said Samantha Godbey, the debate team’s coach and adviser who also directs Fairmont State’s Civics Institute.
“It really is a forum. It’s a chance for our team to showcase its research while opening the community to dialogue.”
With a second gathering at the folklife center, the team will bridge Mothman with Mother Jones, as it were.
Last fall for Halloween, the center hosted the team in a debate that took on the existence of cryptids – those creatures that defy biology and rationality.
West Virginia is fertile ground for cryptids. There’s the aforementioned Mothman, and the lesser-known Braxton County Monster and Veggie Man, to name a few.
“That one was for fun,” Godbey said. “And now we get to be serious.”
MORGANTOWN WEATHER
We love hearing from you! Check out what we’re asking for.
