(Rock Hill, S.C.) – The Winthrop University softball team is one of countless collegiate sports teams across the country that saw their seasons end early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCAA announced the cancelation of all spring championships on March 12, but with the fate of regular season games and conference championships in the hands of conference commissioners, many athletes still hoped their seasons were not completely over.

Ashley Westbrooks, a senior on Winthrop’s softball team, said she and her teammates tried to remain positive when they first heard the news.

“The whole time we were sitting there (telling ourselves) ‘We’re going to come back – they’re just going to let this week happen or however long it is and then you’re going to come back soon,’” said Westbrooks, who appeared on the Palmetto Report podcast. “It just never happened.”

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- A shooting in February at Clinton College, which is roughly two miles from Winthrop University, has drawn attention to the issues of campus safety and school violence.

Feb. 16, two male teenagers, one who was 17 and the other who was 18, were shot at the Clinton College gym in Rock Hill around 1 a.m. WSOC-TV reported the gym was rented for a birthday party by a group that was not affiliated with the school.

Neither victim was a student at Clinton College and both were expected to be okay. There were no fatalities and no Clinton College students, faculty or staff were hurt during the shooting, the school said.

At Winthrop, the incident generated a discussion about campus safety and school violence.

“Continuing to educate students staff on being vigilant of your surroundings, listen to your gut if it’s telling you something doesn’t feel right, and how do you get help if there is a concern,” said Melissa Reeves, associate professor of psychology at Winthrop, who was a guest on the Palmetto Report podcast.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Managing personal health among many students can be difficult due to the stress of classes, homework and maintaining relationships and a social life during their time at college.

Dr. Shelley Hamill, a master certified health education specialist and professor of health education at Winthrop University, appeared on the Palmetto Report podcast to give her insights on the skills students need in order to preserve their health while in college.

She said there are eight basic standards of health education.

“The first standard is about content, but every other standard is skill. We teach (students) things like goal-setting, decision-making, making sure that the resources that you’re looking at for information are valid and reliable, communication and being able to stand up for yourself, all of these standards are built around skills,” said Hamill.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- A report conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found approximately 1 out of 9 Americans (11.1 percent) were food insecure in 2018 and according to experts it's a "huge problem" in Rock Hill and York County.

One group working to combat the problem is Pilgrim’s Inn, a nonprofit organization founded in 1984, which also strives to help and empower the homeless, families in need and those struggling with food and financial insecurity.

According to Juanita Lester, the executive director of Pilgrim’s Inn, food insecurity can be defined in multiple ways depending on every individual’s situation.

“In some cases, food insecurity may be defined as not having access to food. In others, it’s not having access to healthy or adequate food. Or it could be not being able to determine what types of food are best for you because of health issues or other types of issues that mandate you eat a certain type of diet,” said Lester.

Statistics collected by Pilgrim’s Inn show the food pantry provided food to 3,702 people in 2019. officials said the elderly and disabled are often the most impacted by food insecurity.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Former Winthrop University President Dan Mahony resigned from his position, effective March 1 after five years of service, in order to become president of the Southern Illinois University system. On Dec. 3, students, faculty and staff received an email from the university's board of trustees informing them about the change in leadership.

Mahony -- who spoke exclusively to the Palmetto Report, during a podcast, to discuss his departure and reflect on his time at Winthrop -- said it was difficult for him to leave the school.

“I was in the last year of my contract, I didn't expect it to be extended so that obviously had an impact on my decision to look at other opportunities,” said Mahony. "Frankly I was little concerned that people would think I was abandoning them or leaving for reasons that I was unhappy with them at Winthrop, the people, the faculty, staff and students. That was obviously not the case."

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The world of sports, and the role of female athletes, has certainly evolved since the days of the peach basket hoop and the moleskin football helmet.

Nevertheless, while men’s sports have excelled in drawing fan attention and generating revenue, women continue to struggle to garner similar opportunities. Title IX was passed in 1972 to ensure that no individuals, on the basis of sex, could be discriminated against in programs or activities.

Lauren McCoy, program director for Winthrop University's Sports and Fitness Administration program and an assistant professor of sport management, is a sports lawyer who has researched the role of women in sports. She was a guest on the Palmetto Report podcast to discuss the issue.

McCoy has examined cases associated with Title IX and Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination, which has allowed her to gain a unique perspective on the issues women face in sports.

“I would say that the general status, when it comes to women and girls in sport, is we’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” McCoy said.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Rock Hill is working to build one of the very first all-inclusive parks in the nation.  City leaders officially broke ground in December for Miracle Park, a 15-acre, $8 million project that has been in the making since 2017. The park is expected to have five ball fields total, with two of them being "miracle fields" designed for anyone to be able to play on, while the rest will be multipurpose.

The York County Disabilities Foundation is one of the many groups working on construction of the park. Alice Davis, a member of the group, was a guest on the Palmetto Report podcast to share more information about the park. Davis said that the inspiration for Miracle Park came about after spending a lot of time thinking about a project the foundation could work on using money they had raised.

“My brother actually has a nephew in a wheelchair that plays in Greenville on a miracle league and he was telling us about it. We said we wanted to have a miracle league in Rock Hill. We dreamed big and we decided to push forward with our big, big plan instead of just a field,” said Davis.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- With South Carolina’s primary out of the way and the November presidential election quickly approaching, politics has been a hot topic lately in many households.

Whether it was one of Tom Steyer’s numerous online ads prior to the primary or an uncle that brings it up the election in passing, it’s nearly impossible to escape the conversation of politics.

These discussions can be especially hard for students, considering college is a time when people are figuring out their political beliefs, which can mean turning away from the belief system one was brought up in.

“I think the stereotype is that a lot of people come to college and become more liberal,” said Dr. John Holder, political science professor at Winthrop University, who appeared on the Palmetto Report podcast. “What we’re trying to teach you to do in college is not to be more liberal, but to be more open-minded. We’re exposing you to things you haven’t heard before and ideas you haven’t heard about before.”

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Research by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that over a million children were undercounted during the last census in 2010 and minorities and homeless populations were at a greater risk of being miscounted.

The 2020 census begins nationwide this month and the U.S. Census Bureau is working to get an accurate count of every person in local communities, especially those from diverse backgrounds.

An accurate count is essential as the resulting data determines congressional representation, federal funding and the locations of new hospitals, roads and schools.

“The census is important for multiple reasons, the first being that it’s mandated in the U.S. Constitution that we conduct a census or a count of our population every 10 years,” said Lindy Studds, a media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau who was a guest on the Palmetto Report. “The real importance I think boils down to two things which is political power and money.”

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Winthrop University students in the Department of Mass Communication recently were given the opportunity to hear from a media professional who visited the school, as part of an exchange program that connects educators with media organizations. 

As part of the program, Tasha Stewart, a senior manager of engagement at WCPO, visited Winthrop to discuss how technology, including social media, is changing the way news is delivered. 

“It’s been really fun,” said Stewart. “I’m really surprised by how interested people are in what I do. You kind of get used to doing it and you forget that there are people who want to know about it and that’s been personally fulfilling for me.”

Stewart, who graduated from Howard University, began working at the Cincinnati ABC-affiliate in April 2015, after stints at The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Detroit News.

Stewart shared a number of stories related to her job managing digital storytelling, social media and streaming content for the station.