The Murray State News TheNews.org
Nov. 22, 2013
Graduate school: should you attend?
Vol. 88, No. 15
WHAT WE LOST
Rebecca Walter || Staff writer rwalter@murraystate.edu
For some students, education can go beyond four years and a bachelor’s degree, and many students consider graduate programs as an option to further their education. Murray State offers 37 master’s degrees with more than 30 concentrations of study, nine graduate certificates, three specialist degrees and one doctorate degree for students to go deeper into their fields of study. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 778,000 master’s degrees and 177,000 doctorate degrees are estimated to be awarded in the 2013-14 academic year. Jennifer Ratajczyk, senior from Sesser, Ill., said she is hoping to further experience in her field by going to graduate school. “With today’s economy and job market, it is almost hard to find a job without (a master’s degree),” she said. “It is something I feel is needed in today’s society.” According to the latest U.S. Census report, from 2002 to 2012, the population with a doctorate grew by around 45 percent, and those with a master’s degree grew by approximately 43 percent. Courtney Noland, coordinator of domestic graduate recruitment, said graduate degrees can provide different avenues for students. “A graduate degree may be necessary in (a student’s) professional field and may improve (a student’s) current career by offering advancement,” Noland said. “(A graduate degree) may also provide a solid foundation for a career transition to a different field and will help make (students) more marketable in today’s competitive workforce.” The median earnings for young adults with at least a master’s degree was $59,200 in 2011, according to the NCES. This is compared to $45,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree and $37,000 for those with an associate’s. Murray State offers financial assistance for students interested in enrolling in graduate programs and are still eligible for financial aid. Noland said Murray State also offers graduate assistantships as an op-
see GRADUATE, 2A
Photo contributed by Adam Tignor
Anna Tignor, senior from Washington, Ill., came home to her neighborhood devastated by a recent string of tornados that hit the Midwest.
Death, destruction affect students hours away Meghann Anderson News Editor manderson22@murraystate.edu Students anxiously followed Sunday night’s storms that tore through the region, leaving several dead and many without homes – concerned for friends and family members. Hundreds of homes were destroyed from the storms that ravaged the Midwest Sunday night, including Anna Tignor’s, senior from Washington, Ill. She was driving back to Murray after her grandmother’s funeral when she got a phone call from her mother.
Stitches, ER visits plague intramural games
“She called me crying saying a storm had hit Washington and she didn’t know if our house was still standing,” Tignor said. “There was about a three-hour time period where I didn’t know if my house was still standing or not.” Tignor said when her parents were able to get to the city she got another phone call from her mother informing her that her house was gone except for a few walls. Tignor said at 6 p.m. Sunday after the storm had passed through Murray, she drove to Peoria, Ill., to stay the night to help with cleanup efforts the next day. She said police were not letting anyone in the
Kate Russell || Staff writer krussell13@murraystate.edu The nine stitches above Madie Pelletier’s right eye were a striking reminder of what can happen during an intramural flag football game. Pelletier, sophomore from Hopkinsville, Ky., plays intramural sports for Alpha Gamma Delta. During a flag football game approximately one month ago, Pelletier and a teammate collided while attempting to pull the opposing quarterback’s flag. Their heads hit above their eyes, causing deep cuts for both women. Pelletier said the officials stopped the game because of
city, so she and her family had to park on the highway and walk a mile to get there. “Some of the houses on my street were barely touched, and some houses were completely gone,” Tignor said. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado in Washington was rated an EF-4 and winds reached 190 mph and the tornado covered more than 46 miles through several counties. “During the cleanup, we started going through each room to see what was damaged beyond repair and what was okay,” Tignor
see DESTRUCTION, 6A
bleeding from the injuries. After receiving ice packs from the officials, Pelletier said one of her sorority sisters drove her and her teammate to the emergency room. She received nine stitches above her eye, while her teammate received 13. She said the injury did not keep her from competing, however, as she played in Alpha Gam’s next flag football game. “We’re really competitive, so whenever we play, we play hard,” she said. “And we were playing a rival sorority so it was really intense anyway.” Pelletier said this is not the first Alpha Gam intramural injury this
semester. She said she has had sisters injured in both softball and flag football – some of which have required surgery. These injuries in intramural sports are becoming part of a pattern that the director of Campus Recreation, Steve Leitch, is not pleased with. Leitch, in his third year as Campus Recreation director, said there has been an increase in injuries this flag football season. He said the increase is predominantly in the women’s division. “There’s been an uncomfortable trend in the women’s games – par-
see INJURIES, 2A
MAKING THE CUT $122.5 million
$157 million
$3 million
$48 million Lori Allen/The News
HERE COME THE MUMMIES: Mummy Cass and Java Mummy rock the stage performing songs from their new album “Cryptic.” Here Come the Mummies is composed of eight members dressed head to toe in mummy attire.
Lexy Gross || Editor-in-Chief cgross2@murraystate.edu
In the midst of releasing potential University budget changes, Interim President Tim Miller assured students he does not want cuts to affect them. But increased parking tag prices, a new fee for Health Services and additional tuition for students taking an overloaded semester are a few of the preliminary recommendations that could hit students where it hurts. “Anything I recommend (to the Board of Regents) hopefully is not going to hurt enrollment or student services,” Miller said. The recommendations were emailed to all students, faculty and staff last week as an effort by the President’s Office to remain as transparent as possible. The list was developed by a subcommittee charged with examining older recommendations eliminated by the board and finding new areas where the Univer-
see CUTS, 2A
Graphic by Evan Watson
WHAT’S
POLICE BEAT
OUR VIEW
INSIDE
Public safety releases week of parking problems, 3A
Transparency is essential in any Football team has one game to budget changes, 4A earn .500, 1B
LAST CHANCE
MUMMIES REVIEW Clothed corpses bring karisma to Lovett, 5B