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The Murray State News TheNews.org

Feb. 21, 2014

Vol. 88, No. 22

Students display confusion over presidential search Farm Bill promotes hemp growth Lexy Gross || Editor-in-Chief cgross2@murraystate.edu

The fate of the presidential position at Murray State is now in the hands of the Board of Regents.

But many students are confused about the final stages of the process – when will they know the names of the final three candidates? When will the board decide which of those candidates

will be president?

Jill Hunt, secretary in the Office of the President, said the Board of Regents will meet March 11 and 12, and the times are still subject to change.

Hunt said there will be an open forum around those dates, but the schedule isn’t official and hasn’t been released to the board yet.

Hunt said a date hasn’t been set for when the board will make its decision.

“(The board) will discuss and interview all of the candidates,” Hunt said.

According to Hunt, Constantine Curris, chair of the Board of Regents, said a decision would be made as quickly as possible after the interviews.

The candidates will be on campus March 9-12.

Hunt said the candidates will meet with the different constituency groups on campus in between their

interviews with the board.

According to the Presidential Search Committee process laid out on Murray State’s website, “a process will be structured by which feedback from these meetings will be received by the board.”

Cory Sharpe, senior from Whiteville, Tenn., said he wishes students were

see SEARCH, 2A

‘Drunk or dying?’

Kentucky law addresses alcohol abuse, student safety Meghann Anderson || News Editor manderson22@murraystate.edu

“Drunk or dying? You make the call”; that’s the slogan for Aware. Awake. Alive., a nonprofit organization that educates people about the dangers of alcohol and the medical Amnesty law.

More than 15 states have a Medical Amnesty law that grants a limited legal immunity to intoxicated minors who seek medical attention for themselves or another person.

Robert Bringhurst, captain of operations for Public Safety and Emergency Management, said in Kentucky the Good Samaritan law relates to civil liability.

“That’s why when they passed this law they called it Medical Amnesty, not Good Samaritan, because it doesn’t negate any civil responsibilities,” Bringhurst said.

“Each state determines what it uses for definition as far as civil and criminal laws.

Kentucky only recognizes Good Samaritan policies in cases where there is a possible civil liability.

“As far as the Kentucky law goes, it’s basically if you stop along the roadway to help an injured person you won’t be held civically liable if that person still dies unless you do something negligent.”

Serah Waweru, junior from Florissant, Mo., said she thinks Medical Amnesty is an important law to have, especially on a college campus.

Photo illustration by Kate Russell

Students are encouraged to use Kentucky’s Medical Amnesty law if they think someone has alcohol poisoning.

“I don't advocate for underage drinking,” Waweru said. “With that being said, this is important and helpful for underage drinkers to know. If I didn't know this and my friend was in trouble, my first thought would ben ‘crap, we'll get in trouble.’”

Waweru said she thinks the knowledge of the law would prevent overdose, alcohol poisoning and death.

David DeVoss, chief of the Murray State Police, said there is a difference between Good Samaritan and Medical Amnesty that students need to know about.

“If there is a wreck and you help them out

see AMNESTY, 2A

Ben Manhanke Assistant News Editor bmanhanke@murraystate.edu

Industrial hemp could be another growing source of revenue in Kentucky.

Alongside four other universities, Murray State has been selected by the Department of Agriculture to pilot projects concerning the product.

On Feb. 14, President Barack Obama signed the Farm Bill, which contained Kentucky Republican senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul’s amendment to allow states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law to do so.

Prior to this signing, Kentucky joined 32 other states last April by passing prohemp legislation, legalizing hemp production in the Commonwealth.

Since that time, senators McConnell and Paul have pushed federal legislation by petitioning the Drug Enforcement Administration to allow Kentucky to grow hemp.

Growing the crop, although removed of its psychoactive agent, is still considered a federal crime.

Now, Murray State, Kentucky State University, the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University have been charged with examining, testing and planting test hemp crops to study their ability to remove environmental toxins, as renewable energy and in medical research among other uses.

Kate Russell/The News

see HEMP, 2A

Mr. J’s Bar and Grill is a common drinking spot for students.

Dunn takes SIU Yearbook missed by students, faculty president position Rebecca Walter || Staff writer rwalter@murraystate.edu

Staff Report Former president Randy Dunn will take over the presidential position of the Southern Illinois University system, leaving Youngstown State University after seven months.

The Board of Trustees at Southern Illinois announced the unanimous decis i o n Monday afternoon.

His fouryear contract at the Dunn university system will earn Dunn $430,000 a year.

Dunn began at Youngstown State in Ohio in July of 2013.

According to Youngstown’s The Vindicator, Dunn failed to attend a recruitment event at the university Monday.

University officials were surprised at the possibility of losing their new president.

Not only will Dunn be leaving Youngstown State, but the provost and the vice president for academic affairs have announced they are leaving as well.

The Vindicator also reported that Dunn told trustees Monday he will resign Aug. 16 unless a replacement is chosen before then.

Chris Koechner, senior from Marion, Ill., was recently accepted into the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.

“It’s definitely odd that I’m attending two universities that have had the same president,” Koechner said. “I believe Dunn is a great president and will do a good job (at Southern Illinois).”

According to Inside Higher Ed., R. William Funk & Associates was the search firm used by Southern Illinois.

William Funk, head of the firm, told Inside Higher Ed that he’s never “plucked away such a new president.”

Dunn told The Vindicator that he didn’t “apply per se.”

Send us a tweet @MurrayStateNews.

It embodied the photographs, stories and memories of the lives at Murray State each year.

The Shield was the University’s yearbook from 1925-2008, until the publication stopped due to financial reasons.

The yearbook included articles and photos of students, faculty and staff, campus events, athletics, student organizations and academics.

Elaine Dillard, Murray State alumna, worked at The Shield as a student from 2005-07. She said it was a fun experience and allowed her and fellow students to capture memories.

“We were really thoughtful about what memories were worth preserving for many years,” Dillard said.

Interim President Tim Miller said he is not sure if students are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of not having a yearbook since it has not been around during their time at Murray State.

Paige Werner, senior from Louisville, Ky., said a yearbook is something she wished the University still had.

“My mom attended school at Murray State when there was a yearbook and I think it was a great way to preserve memories and remember classmates,” Werner said.

She said she feels that social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram have replaced the purpose a yearbook served.

Miller said he enjoyed The Shield because it could be used to look back at graduates to see what they were involved in.

Dillard said she is sad to see The Shield is no longer in existence, but is not surprised due to the lack of popularity the publication had during her time at Murray State.

According to Dillard, there was trouble

Jenny Rohl/The News

Kyna Finley, freshman from Clover Port, Ky., looks through old editions of The Shield. getting students to show up to get portraits made and difficulty getting students to order the yearbooks.

Bob Lochte, professor and chair of the department of journalism and mass communications, said during The Shield’s last year of publication, only about 500 out of approximately 10,000 students purchased a copy.

“I think (a yearbook) is one of those things that does not seem important to students at the time, but then you look back later and wish you had those memories,” Dillard said.

Ann Landini, former professor in the department of journalism and mass communications and adviser for The Shield, said that without the publication, the ability to capture the history for each year is lost.

“Short term, students may not realize

that they do not have a yearbook, but when they get older it will be harder to look back and have a frame of reference and see what campus was like,” Landini said.

A year before the publication ended, The Shield was one of 15 finalists in the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Competition, which recognizes quality journalism.

There is a complete collection of yearbooks located in Pogue Library. Included in the collection are yearbooks from when the University was Murray State Normal School, Murray State Teachers College and Murray State College, according to Pogue Library’s website.

Said Werner: “A yearbook is something that helps you to look back and remember and is something I wish the University still had.”

WHAT’S

FINAL MONTH

OUR VIEW

‘BREDS DOMINATE

TV OPTIONS

INSIDE

President Miller discusses last month as president, 3A

Medical Amnesty should encourage students to call, 4A

Murray State routs Mid Continent 17-1 at home, 1B

Students discuss streaming vs. cable preferences, 5B

News

2A

SEARCH From Page 1 given background information on the candidates ahead of time.

“I guess I would really just like to know who they are,” Sharpe said. “Not necessarily their names, but at least some kind of credentials. Information about their educational background would be nice.”

Chris Koechner, senior from Marion, Ill., is a senate member of the Student Government Association. Koechner said members of SGA have been continuously discussing the presidential search.

Koechner said Jeremiah Johnson, SGA president and student regent, discussed potential questions and issues to ask the three candidates about during their visits to campus at the SGA meeting Wednesday night.

Although he wishes the search was open, Koechner thinks the board will have the interests of students in mind when making the final decision in March.

“Jeremiah will definitely carry over opinions from the student body,” he said. “I think his voice is strong on the Board of Regents.

The News

“With that, the board can make a competent decision.”

Koechner said students in SGA and others he has talked to primarily want a president who can communicate efficiently.

“Dr. Miller is a great president; I wish he could stay,” Koechner said. “He’s always on your level of communication. He’s not always formal but is when he needs to be.”

Chris Patel, senior from Russellville, Ky., said he hopes the new Murray State president listens to what students want, while also staying realistic to what’s best for the University.

Patel said he would like information on what the search committee already found in the candidates, why they are finalists and what improvements they would like to institute at Murray State.

He thinks that information could help students decide who they think would be the best candidate before the decision is made.

“I’m sure the administration and officials at the University know what’s going on,” Patel said. “But as for students, I mean I know there has to be confidentiality on the process up to a certain point, but soon we would like to have some insight.”

February 21, 2014

HEMP From Page 1 Murray State specifically will oversee the study of the hemp fiber.

Tony Brannon, Dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture, said he is pleased Murray State was selected to be involved in the pilot hemp research trials in Kentucky.

He said since discussion of allowing the cultivation of hemp in Kentucky’s institutions of higher learning and state departments began, he and Murray State had been in contact with the KDA and Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer.

Brannon said pioneering pilot hemp research is in line with the Hutson School of Agriculture’s mission.

He said he also recognizes the school’s important mission to enhance the agricultural, educational and economic opportunities for the farmers and people of the service region.

“As part of our West Kentucky AgBioworks initiative, one of our objectives is to identify, study and conduct initial trials of alternative niche crops that capitalize on Kentucky’s unique capabili-

Ted Warren/AP Photo

Maija Szmanowski works at a stand in Seattle that sells products made with industrial hemp grown in Canada. A recent farm bill could help bring the industry to Kentucky. ties for growing and handling specialized crops,” he said.

Brannon also cited Murray State’s recent endeavors through the BioEnergy Demonstration Center researching new crop opportunities on the University farms such as energy beets, sweet sorghum, energy sorghum,

miscanthus, switch grass and kenaf, as precedent for their involvement in this project.

He said there is much more planning to be done before the research program can begin and he expects the KDA to begin holding meetings with all partners in the next month to finalize all the de-

‘Experiential learning’ theme of program AMNESTY Ben Manhanke Assistant News Editor bmanhanke@murraystate.edu

Murray State kicked off its new Quality Enhancement Plan, Bring Learning to Life, Thursday in the Curris Center Ballroom.

This allowed students the opportunity to attend the Real World Market and gather information on topics such as studying abroad and applying for internships.

The theme of the University’s second QEP is experiential learning - learning that takes place outside of the classroom to better prepare students for life after college and gives them real world ex-

perience. This new push follows Murray State’s previous QEP, Do the Write Thing, and will also be instated over the course of five years.

Adam Murray, one of the QEP’s two directors along with Bob Irvine, said the idea to stress experiential learning at Murray State was not one they came up with on their own, but rather was developed over the past two years from input gathered via surveys from faculty, staff, students, alumni and employers in the service area.

As part of the new QEP the University by requiring every degree program to develop an approved Experience-Rich Activity - an activity facilitated through a third part outside of

the traditional faculty-student interaction.

“The goal is that every student, no matter what their major, will have an opportunity to experience experiential learning,” he said.

The Real World Market, the first of approximately 10 activities of varying scales planned for the QEP’s several years, was hosted by organizations on campus already conducive to providing this type of learning to students.

Next week, Murray State will present its QEP to the visiting Southern Association of Colleges accreditation commission.

Jay Morgan, provost and vice president of Academic Af-

fairs, said he expects the QEP will be approved by SACs who will look at the feasibility of Murray State implementing the plan, if it’s structured correctly, what they believe the end result will be and if it is transformative, that is, if it will transform the campus.

Morgan said by focusing students on experiential learning it makes them more marketable to employers after they graduate.

He said giving students resources for life after college is the single most important things a college can do for its students and this QEP is aligned perfectly with what Murray State is about: giving students opportunity.

From Page 1 of the car before it burns but they sue you because you hurt their neck getting them out of the car, in good faith you acted to try to help them,” DeVoss said. “That’s Good Samaritan.”

Bringhurst said the purpose of Medical Amnesty is to reduce caller hesitation caused by fear of legal action.

“If someone needs to seek medical attention for a person who is suffering from alcohol poisoning we hope they would call us,” Bringhurst said.

Medical Amnesty only has a single level of protection.

The call must be for medical assistance due to alcohol con-

tails by the end of March.

All universities are scheduled to begin their given projects on March 31.

This pilot project will be the state’s first legal hemp production in more than 50 years.

Each project will be paid for through private contributions, according to the bill.

sumption and the victim or caller is only immune from criminal prosecution for certain alcohol-related crimes.

The individual could still face University sanctions and civil liabilities.

Bringhurst said Murray State students usually have called for assistance to a person suffering from alcohol poisoning.

He also said he thinks students who have been drinking alcohol would have the tendency to lose their instinctive fear of the police.

“They develop a fear of University or parental sanctions if they are caught,” he said.

Bringhurst said the priority of Public Safety has always been to provide medical assistance to a person over criminal enforcement.

The News

News

February 21, 2014

3A

News Editor: Meghann Anderson Assistant Editor: Ben Manhanke Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews

Police Beat Feb. 13

Feb. 17

4 : 4 0 a. m. A caller from Hart Residential College reported an alcohol-related incident. Officers were notified and a report was taken.

10 : 0 1 a.m . An officer conducted a traffic stop outside of Woods Hall. A verbal warning was issued for disregarding a stop sign.

12 : 1 5 p. m . A caller reported being stuck in an elevator in Faculty Hall between the second and third floors. Officers and Central Heating and Cooling Plant were notified. The information report was referred to another jurisdiction.

8: 3 3 a. m. A caller reported being stuck in an elevator in Faculty. Officers and Central Heating and Cooling Plant were notified. The report was referred to another jurisdiction.

10 :02 a.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at the corner of Farmer and 16th streets. A citation was issued for failure to wear a seat belt.

11:59 p.m. A caller at the William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center reported a medical emergency. Officers and the Murray Ambulance Service were notified. A report was taken.

Feb. 14

Feb. 18

4 : 55 a.m . A caller reported a medical emergency at Franklin Residential College. Officers and the Murray Ambulance Service were notified. A report was taken.

7: 4 1 p.m . A caller in the 500 block of College Courts reported suspicous activity occurring outside of their apartment. Officers were notified and an information report was taken.

9 : 35 p. m. A caller in Franklin reported being harassed. Officers were notified and a harassment report was taken.

9: 59 a.m . A caller reported an animal complaint near The Olive’s parking lot. Officers and the animal’s owner were notified. A report was taken.

1 1 :2 0 p. m. A caller in Franklin reported being harassed. Officers were notified and a harrassment report was taken.

8: 22 p.m. A fire alarm was activated in Richmond. Officers, the fire marshall and the Murray Fire Department were notified. A report was taken.

Feb. 15

Feb. 19

1 0 : 1 9 a. m. A caller in Hart reported a car’s alarm going off and its lights on in the parking lot. Officers were notified, but the report was unfounded.

1 1 : 5 6 a.m . A caller in Hart reported that students were stuck on an elevator. Officers and Central Heating and Cooling Plant were notified. The information report was referred to another jurisdiction.

3:39 p.m. A caller in Springer Residential College reported a verbal altercation between two students. Officers were notified and an information report was taken.

1 2 : 23 a. m. A caller in Hart reported a sexual offense. Officers were notified and a report was taken for sexual abuse.

1 2 : 52 a. m . A caller in Franklin reported a sexual offense. Officers were notified and a report was taken.

1 0 : 59 p.m . A caler in Franklin reported a medical emergency.

Officers and the Murray Ambulance Service were notified.

A report was taken.

Feb. 16 1 : 0 3 p.m . A caller reported a disabled vehicle parked in Regents Residential College’s parking lot. Officers were notified and an information report was taken.

1 1 : 0 3 p. m. A caller reported a hit and run in the Richmond Residential College parking lot.

Officers were notified and the report was referred to another jurisdiction.

3: 5 8 p.m . A caller in the 100 block of College Courts reported suspicious activity occurring outisde of their apartment. Officers were notified and a report was taken for criminal mischief.

Call of Fame

Lori Allen/The News

Interim President Tim Miller sits in his office in Wells Hall looking over paperwork. Miller, who has one month left in the president’s seat, has been with the University for more than 40 years as a student, professor and president.

Miller’s final days Interim President Tim Miller will soon leave the president’s office in Wells Hall, handing the position over to a new president in March.

Editor-in-Chief Lexy Gross sat down with Miller and discussed his past, present and future at Murray State.

Lexy Gross: What do you think you’ll be focusing on during the last portion of your term as president?

Tim M il l e r: I’m looking right now at the legislative session because that’s where we get an important piece of our revenue from – through state appropriations. So the president has to be up there, probably twice a week because they have committee meetings they call on us to give reports to their committees and make our case.

Right now we have a 2.5 percent cut and we’re having to pay half of our pension costs. That’s big. It’s over $2 million and we really can’t afford to do that. So I’ve got to spend all my time really trying to convince them that it’s going to hurt higher education and it’s forcing us to raise tuition on students and we don’t want to do that.

LG: What will you do after you leave Murray State?

TM: I’ll always be interested in Murray State. I’ve been here for 47 consecutive years. I’m going to be sad to leave and I’ll always keep up with Murray State. My wife and I will travel some I’m sure; I’ve got grandchildren we’ll be more involved with. I don’t know.

I’m not sure yet, I haven’t really decided what I’ll do.

LG: Do you have any long-term dreams for Murray State?

TM: I want it to be the premier public institution. It’s not going to be the University of Kentucky or the University of Louisville, because of funding, but I want us to be the premier institution in this region; I think we’re really close to that.

LG: What has been one of your favorite experiences at Murray State?

TM: I’ve had so many. But what I’m most proud of is to see graduates of Murray State, especially those I’ve taught, go on be successful at high-level positions. I love to see our graduates become successful and contribute to society.

LG: What will you miss the most about Murray State?

TM: I’ll miss teaching and interacting with students. I may just go down to the street corner and start teaching accounting to anyone who will listen.

LG: What quality do you think is important for our new president to have?

TM: The new president needs to be a people-person because you have to create good will and it starts at the top. He’s got to be interested in students and their success, and their job employments.

He’ll meet with parents and donors – that’s really important. Fundraising is extremely important.

He’s got to be able to go to Frankfort and make a clear statement of the needs of Murray State.

He needs to love students and be someone who hopefully will develop a good relationship concerning Murray State University. They need to be proud to be here at Murray State and realize what a great institution it is.

Freezin’ for a reason

Check out TheNews.org for Gross’s full interview with Miller.

Feb 18 - 1:52 p.m. An officer reported a portable toilet had been knocked over near Hamilton Field. The company responsible was notified. An information report was taken.

Motorists assists – 2 Racer escorts – 6 Arrests – 0

Ben Manhanke, Assistant News Editor, compiles Police Beat with materials provided by Public Safety and Emergency Management. Not all dispatched calls are listed.

Photos by Lori Allen and Jenny Rohl/The News

Polar Plunge : (Left) Alpha Sig ma Alpha member Katie Schmitt reacts to the cold water at Saturday’s Polar Plung e. (Above) participants of the 5th annual Western Kentucky Polar Plunge jump into Kentucky Lake Saturday.

Now Hiring!

The Murray State News is now accepting applications for editorial staff positions!

Editor-in-Chief News Editor Sports Editor Chief Copy Editor Photography Editor

Features Editor Opinion Editor Online Editor Advertising Manager Advertising Production

THE NEWS .ORG

4A

February 21, 2014

The News

Opinion

Opinion Editor: Carly Besser Phone: 270-809-5873

Our View

Medical amnesty should alleviate police fear The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.

The News 2609 University Station Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 msu.thenews@murraystate.edu Fax: 270-809-3175

TheNews.org Lexy Gross Editor-in-Chief • 270-809-6877 cgross2@murraystate.edu Me g h a n n A n d e rs o n News Editor • 270-809-4468 manderson22@murraystate.edu Ca r l y B e s s e r Opinion Editor • 270-809-5873 cbesser@murraystate.edu H u n ter H arrell Features Editor • 270-809-5871 hharrell@murraystate.edu R y a n R i c h a rd s o n Sports Editor • 270-809-4481 mrichardson5@murraystate.edu K a y la Ma c A ll is te r Chief Copy Editor • 270-809-5876 kmacallister@murraystate.edu Jared Jeseo Online Editor • 270-809-5877 jjeseo@murraystate.edu J a n i e S t e n b e rg Advertising Manager • 270-809-4478 jstenberg1@murraystate.edu

Carly Besser/The News

In a college town, the scenario of a student binge drinking to the point of danger is not unheard of.

Sometimes students are forced to make a difficult decision - whether or not to call for help in that situation.

Medical amnesty, a Kentucky Revised Statute that provides immunity from prosecution to students who call police for medical assistance, should have us all making the decision to call police faster in times of emergency.

When a student is overdosing on alcohol, time is critical.

The more quickly we ask, the better the chances are that the individual will be safe and out of harm’s way. However, fear of police and punishment from parental sanctions have us hesitating to make the call.

Murray’s public opinion on alcohol faced a dramatic shift in the past calendar year.

Our overwhelming support of legalized packaged liquor sales make alcohol-related emergencies a reality - especially for the students at this University.

Alcohol-related crime in Murray has quintupled since the decision to legalize packaged liquor in 2012.

This statistic should require us to be more cautious and educated about the laws that protect us.

Despite medical amnesty favoring the rights of students, it only provides reprieve from alcohol-related charges.

The law’s intention is to prioritize safety, so it should provide amnesty in all emergencies where we try to save ourselves or someone else no matter what.

The fact that this law doesn’t protect students who have been taking dangerous quantities of illegal drugs is alarming because illegal drug abuse is also a prominent issue on college campuses.

We should also be thinking about the safety of drug users despite the deviance of their criminal behavior.

Our system is either in denial that drug use is a problem, or it is reluctant because including illegal drugs to the law would seem to encourage illegal drug use.

Either way, drug users should also have their safety prioritized over the decision of whether or not to arrest.

The role of police officers is not only to arrest and convict every student they encounter.

Officers are employees of the community and their span of responsibility goes far beyond arresting, detaining and writing traffic tickets - it is also their job to protect us.

Officers are forced to make the best decision in a short amount of time because both crimes and emergencies refuse to wait.

If a student’s life is in danger, an officer’s primary duty is to make sure all parties are protected and safe. Prosecution, if necessary, will eventually follow.

Even if charges were involved in a situation where someone needed medical help, students should stop putting themselves before the safety of others.

Despite the law’s passing, students can still face punishment from the University, such as alcohol-safety courses and public service. Is not calling police to get out of a small punishment worth risking the life of someone else?

Similar to the officer responding to the call, we have discretion and we should use it to make the best decision possible.

The name ‘Public Safety’ should remind us that our safety will always be put first.

We should make it a personal responsibility to call police when a fellow student is in danger.

Captain’s Log Sarah B eitel -Stark s Advertising Production • 270-809-5874 sbeitel@murraystate.edu Ka te Ru sse ll Photography Editor • 270-809-5878 krussell13@murraystate.edu J o e H e d ge s Adviser • 270-809-3937 jhedges@murraystate.edu

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Garrison: Let’s talk about Flex, baby On-campus students basically live off Flex. The idea of “free” money to buy food on campus instead of actually having to spend cash is an extremely welcome thought to a lot of students.

The thing is, Flex is not actually free.

Zac Garrison Someone has alJunior from ready paid for all the Franklin, Ky. Flex on your student ID and you are simply spending pre-loaded money.

It is essentially a gift card for food at Murray State.

The biggest thing that bothers me is that when it comes to Flex, the student is always going to lose.

As much as Murray State is a public University, it still has to operate as a business that is going to try and generate a profit off of its food services.

Once you buy your Flex plan, Murray State already has your money tied up, so you are forced to spend money on food or whatever household items you can find at the Thoroughbred Room, Thoroughbrewed and Fast Track.

Murray State does this so all of the money you spend with Flex can only be funneled straight back into the University.

What are the advantages of purchasing a Flex plan?

According to Murray State’s website, you receive a 6 percent discount on every transaction with Flex.

Once you remember that Kentucky sales tax is also 6 percent, it evens back out to the sticker price that is advertised for the dis-

counted product.

The convenience factor of Flex is extremely attractive for several people because you don’t have to carry around a wad of cash or worry about about making charges on a debit card.

Another benefit is that the conversion rate of Flex/cash is not 1:1. Depending on how much Flex you buy the ratios could be anywhere from 1.03:1 to 1.06:1.

This is a double-edged sword once you step back and look at the numbers and not the ratios.

If I pay $1,014 for a $1,075 flex plan, the additional flex seems kind of small for the amount of capital invested.

That means $1,014 of your money is already in the hands of Murray State, and you are on a race to spend it all before the end of the semester.

Of course, it doesn’t roll over and you want to get your money’s worth.

So, Flex is essentially a gift card with an expiration date.

None of this would really bother me a whole lot, but if you haven’t checked there are a very limited amount of places you can spend your Flex on Murray State’s campus.

Most students aren’t able to spend their whole Flex plan in a semester because there is just a lack of outlets to spend it at.

What incentive does Murray State have to open new places that accept Flex when our money is already in their hands?

It is most profitable for Murray State when you don’t spend your Flex because that is money that does not have to factor in costs of goods sold.

It is your responsibility to find a way and spend all of your Flex, or you lose it - plain and simple.

Now, before we grab our pitchforks, this isn’t something we can necessarily blame

Murray State for.

As flawed as the Flex system may seem, it is absolutely crucial to Murray State.

By having students purchase Flex, all of the money is able to be invested back into Murray State to give us students a better educational experience.

Flex is actually a genius plan, even if students may seem to come out on bottom.

This is an amazing thing because Murray State is able to keep tuition lower in comparison to other Kentucky colleges, yet still be able to fund projects for the University through systems like the Flex and dedicated meal plans.

I think the University could work on making it more attractive to the students, especially those who live off campus.

I would say there need to be more outlets that accept Flex.

Murray has already taken note of this and purchased the Pony Express.

Also, offer more incentives for turning your cash into Flex.

Maybe they should better advertise the 6 percent discount. A lot of students don’t know about it. They could even offer better ratios to get more Flex money for every dollar you spend.

I, like most students, always think that systems can be tweaked and altered to benefit everybody better.

In this situation we need to keep Flex a profitable exchange for Dining Services, but also not to have students feeling like they are being taken advantage of for more University profit.

By hearing a member of the student body’s opinion on the situation, maybe Murray State could take some more proactive steps to alter this balance between profitable business and higher education.

Oh, and as always, go Racers!

The News

Opinion

February 21, 2014

5A Did she really say that?

Letters to the Editor If you are an American, the place to begin a discussion about race is to clearly acknowledge how bad the American version of racism was and why. The short answer is slavery and the fact that it was based almost entirely on race.

It took almost a century and a Civil War for the new nation to eliminate slavery itself.

Then another century of apartheid before we even began the job of removing that very strong American racism. To succeed in that endeavor would also take very strong measures.

How strong would the measures have to be?

Well, our rights and privileges as Americans are among the things that we hold dear.

We guard them jealously. However, by the 60s we were so committed to eliminating racism that we gave up some of those rights by separating the battle against racism from the criminal justice system when we created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Consequently, although an accusation of racism within an institution is at least as serious as many crimes, the accused does not have many of those basic rights that are part of the criminal procedures that are specified in

the constitution.

This is so that a victim of racism can be heard even against an entire institution. A formal complaint which brings the entire process into motion can be made by a single individual.

That is one edge of that sword.

There is no preliminary review by an expert, a parallel of an indictment by a grand jury, to determine if the evidence meets even a modicum of credibility. The process is conducted in secret by someone who chooses whom to call to testify and whom to leave out.

The invitation to testify may go to far more adversaries than friends of the accused. Negative evidence may be presented against the accused by someone who had a disagreement with him at any time in the past.

The accused will receive a copy of and be allowed to respond to the original complaint. However, there is no right to confront witnesses, or even the accuser.

The structure also forbids any retaliation against someone who makes a claim. Because our racism has been so powerful, I think the inclusion of each of these provisions is at least arguably justified.

Why do I list them here? Because they are part of the evidence of how

The Olympics make us arrogant committed our country became 50 years ago to ridding our country of this racism.

I believe that in the overwhelming majority of racism, the accuser has some basis for his belief. In what follows I am not talking about that person, even if his claim was rejected because there was not quite sufficient evidence for his belief.

I am talking about the person who, with no evidence at all, exploits the structure that was built to protect him from racism and turns that structure into a political weapon.

The process is there for a lofty purpose, but it can be abused.

The other edge of that sword is that a formal complaint - charging racism - which brings the entire process into motion can be made on the whim of a single individual.

A malicious person can use the structure to attack someone he considers to be an enemy. A paranoid person could use the structure to go after someone he thought looked at him wrong one day.

But the possibility of abuse doesn’t require an assumption of malice or paranoia on the part of the accuser.

Suppose the Equal Opportunity Officer determines that, in each and every one of accuser’s claims, there is no

basis for a charge of racism? What happens then?

Nothing. No matter how frivolous the claims, no matter how mean the motives, one can file the complaint and do it in full confidence that when the process is over, no one will call him to account.

The structure does not include consequences for filing false charges.

The filer has a license to smear.

Surely there is a modification of this system that would maintain the basic protections needed for minorities and give the EEOC Office the authority to deal with inappropriate attacks. Perhaps his options should include a summary dismissal analogous to a judge’s dismissal of a frivolous lawsuit.

That option could be of great value to the country itself because it is not just the target that suffers.

Frivolous complaints weaken the public’s confidence in the EEOC and its procedures and undermine our nation’s vital struggle to put racism behind us.

Wayne C. Bell Former professor of mathematics

I’ve Got a Story for You

Valentine: A guide on how to student A few weeks ago I suggested to a young man that he might consider taking some written notes while staring at me in class.

“Why?” quoth he.

The answer to the question: “Because that’s what students do when they come to college: they take notes read texts, rewrite notes and busily try Robert Valentine to understand what’s going on in the universe. It ain’t Senior lecturer easy; it takes time; it takes in advertising a lot of work.”

So, just as a player plays (as opposed to a “puh-LAY-uh,” who apparently does something else entirely) and a swimmer swims, a student students.

“Studenting” is not the same as “studying.”

Studying is generally defined by all the people I talked to as, “Reading stuff that you don’t like so you can pass the test and then forget it since you won’t ever need it again anyway.”

So, in the minds of the faculty, it may be said that there are two kinds of people who are called “students.” One group is the actual students who aggressively go after the job of studenting with long hours spent acquiring the information they need, not only for tests, but also to do work, make money and spend time wisely and happily.

The other group of students should properly be called “enrollees.”

They are here, but it may be said they have a different focus. When I was an undergrad, many

Cheers and Jeers Cheers & Je e rs i s w ri tte n by t he O p i ni o n Ed itor.

Questions, concerns or comments should be addressed to cbesser@murraystate.edu.

Comics

young men were in college simply because it seemed a better option than the Army – and it was, too. Enrollees seem to have more fun when not in class – which is often during the scheduled class meeting, believe it or not.

Some will graduate and a few will become millionaires if they aren’t already.

Faculty can usually tell the students from the enrollees after a few shared moments.

One group is the actual students who aggressively go after the job of studenting with long hours spent acquiring the information they need.

- Robert Valentine, senior lecturer in advertising In case you decide to take up the trade, here are a couple of phrases and practices you’ll want to avoid so you might more easily be mistaken for an actual student.

1. When you pass your teacher in the Quad after having blown off the class that morning, don’t ask, “Did we do anything in class?”

The poor professor has been laboring for multiple decades to prepare material that will change your life, and asking if he or she actually turned up to earn the pay is probably more than just a little insulting.

Try this: “My heart is broken that a cruel twist of fate kept me from your class today, but my diligent reading and a close consultation with my fellow students will surely bring me as close as man may come to the wonder of your lecture. Please pray for me.”

2. Try to avoid opening your text or email message to the teacher with, “Hey dude,” (even with proper capitalization and punctuation), or, “Yo, tEacH!!! hahaha.”

3. If – and this is big – your instructor sees you gawking out the window whilst he or she is explaining the meaning of life and asks, “Why aren’t you taking notes?” try not to answer what is in your soul at the moment, to wit: “I ain’t got no pencil.” Say instead: “I dare not try to commit your wisdom to common paper; these words are meant for the enlightenment of the spirit and cannot be rendered suitably by mere mortals.”

4. If you should eventually turn up in a class, don’t bother with any inventive stories to cover your week-long absence.

If you were that creative, you would already be a novelist or a congressman.

Truth is not a good idea, either, especially if you are thinking about a version of the truth that sounds like this: “Whoa! Doc! What a Thursday, hey? I kinda got sorta’ carried away at a mixer and spent the next coupla’ days calling for Ralph at the porcelain throne, y’know? Does tequila have any medicinal value at all? Ha!” It would be better simply to say, “Nice to be back.”

Well, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it like a student with an improbable excuse. I swear, the dog ate my alarm clock and my paper. And my printer. I swear. Big dog. Totally big.

Cheers to ... Kentucky’s passed medical amnesty law.

It makes us feel better to know that we won’t be penalized for trying to save someone’s life if they have drunk to the point of danger. Safety should always be first and prosecution should take a backseat.

Jeers to ... Hot Pockets making a national recall.

After finding out that Hot Pockets contained meat processed in unsanitary conditions, a national recall was made to remove them from shelves.

College students may actually have to learn how to cook now.

Jeers to ... Randy Dunn fleeing Youngstown University without notice.

We understand that anyone would take a job for a pay raise, but not showing up to events without notice, deleting your Facebook profile and keeping everyone in the dark? That seems a little shady.

Cheers to ... Ellen Page’s coming out.

After announcing that she was a lesbian at the Equal Rights campaign, many LGBT members were inspired to embrace who they are. It’s nice to see celebrities support equal rights.

Go Ellen!

Every single Olympics signifies a new sense of secular competition, patriotism and a slew of heavily biased media coverage.

It’s common for Olympics coverage to tell Carly Besser a political backOpinion Editor story to explain rivalries between countries through the simplicity of sport.

Every two years, the Games seem to bring out the absolute best and worst of people.

We promote stories of athletes who managed to compete despite a multitude of different hardships.

Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic sprinter who has no legs? I could tell you everything about him.

There were a million of documentaries and features about how he overcame his disability to run just as fast as his opponents.

Alongside the touching profiles of certain athletes, our media coverage of the Olympics brings out the absolute worst in people.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with patriotism.

Being proud of our country and coming together to cheer it on creates a strong bond.

It’s what make sports fandoms as cohesive as they are.

Studies show that the subculture of sports fans is a positive social enforcement. People see someone else wearing the sports jersey of their favorite team and they feel connected to that person.

It simply brings people together.

However, our sense of nationalism has its times where it makes us sound downright arrogant.

The 1980 hockey game between the U.S. and Russia carried with it a political rivalry.

Capitalism vs. Communism movies were made, people were angry and the concept of playing a game of hockey was long gone.

Winning the game not only meant another gold medal for America, but it was an indirect “victory” for our political norms.

In Sochi, Russia, this pattern of boasting our superiority is still quite prevalent.

A great example is how the media covered team Germany’s decision to wear bright, rainbow uniforms to the games. A recent article in the Huffington Post implied team Germany’s decision to wear rainbow was a statement against Russia’s strict anti-gay laws.

I hate to be the bearer of boring news, but Germany chose the uniforms as a throwback from the uniforms they used two decades ago.

We have a strong impulse to dig for conflict, even when there are mountains of evidence that there is none outside the realm of sports.

I’m sure a few of you have seen the pictures of Sochi’s living conditions shared virally by big-name, American journalists.

Tweeted updates were given on the sub-par accommodations provided to them.

Athletes and reporters were greeted by dilapidated hotel buildings, dirty rooms and unsafe drinking water. We snicker at these things, but it is more than just a joke. It was never news that Russia’s economy is in a depression.

I love being an American, and the Olympics remind me that we have it well here. However, there are multiple ways we can express the love of our country without indirectly scoffing other countries. cbesser@murraystate.edu

A dose of reality

By Katie Wilborn

The News

News

6A

February 21, 2014

Bull Blowout bucking success

Photos by Shannon Wood and Jenny Rohl/The News

Bull Blowout: The semi-annual Bull Blowout was held in the William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center Feb. 14 - 15. Events included bull riding, barrel racing and mutton busting.

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February 21, 2014

The News

’Breds rout Cougars in opener Nick Dolan Assistant Sports Editor ndolan@murraystate.edu

It took three innings for the ’Breds to warm up but when they did, the visiting Cougars could not slow them down.

Murray State (2-1) put up nine runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after being held hitless through the first three by NAIA opponent Mid-Continent (3-2).

The ’Breds added three runs in the fifth, one in the seventh and four more in the eighth on their way to a lopsided 17-1 win.

Even though they won handily, Head Coach Rob McDonald said the team needs to put up runs more consistently moving forward.

“We always like crooked numbers,” McDonald said about the team’s offensive outburst in the fourth. “We talk about crooked numbers and to win baseball games off of them you have to have an inning or two where you score a few.”

He said it was good to score, but it was too inconsistent.

“What did disappoint me is we had a couple big innings but then we

7

# of gold medals won so far by U.S. in Winter Olympics (5 silver, 11 bronze)

Sports

Sports Editor: Ryan Richardson Assistant Editor: Nick Dolan Phone: 270-809-4481 Twitter: MSUSportsNews

Section B

Team brings home title in surprise tournament Mallory Tucker || Staff writer mtucker11@murraystate.edu

Lori Allen/The News

see ROUT, 2B

Sophomore Taylor Mathews hits a double to score two runs in the ’Breds home opener against Mid Continent.

Fields, team prepare for final home game Jonathan Ferris || Staff writer jferris2@murraystate.edu

Lori Allen/The News

Senior Dexter Fields only has one home game left as a Racer.

Seven games into the season, the Murray State Racers were 2-5. As whispers about a rebuilding year began to circulate, fans feared this would be the year that ended the program’s streak of 25 consecutive winning seasons.

Less than two months later, Head Coach Steve Prohm and senior guard Dexter Fields have seemingly righted the ship, guiding an inexperienced Murray State team to an 11-2 conference record and an OVC West Championship.

“It started off a little bumpy,” Fields said. “We couldn’t win a road game. We were under .500 for a little bit, but I knew we were young. We had a vision from this summer and we knew we were going to be here.”

The team’s 72-60 victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday night clinched the top spot in the division and guaranteed the Racers a double-bye into the semifinal round of the OVC Tournament in March.

Eastern Illinois led only once for a span of 24 seconds in the first half. Sophomore guard Jeffery Moss’ 18 points led the Racers, who built up a lead before halftime and pulled away at the end of the game for the 12-point win.

“I thought we guarded and communicated and competed really well throughout the game,” Prohm said.

Fields and Prohm both said Saturday night was one of the team’s most complete defensive performances of the season.

Now, with OVC Tournament victories as the only thing in the way of an NCAA Tournament berth, the Racers still say they have a lot to play for heading into the postseason.

“It’s a good thing to clinch the western side of the division,” said junior guard T.J. Sapp. “But at the end of the day our ultimate goal is to send (Fields) out as a champion.”

Coming into the season, Fields was the only player on the roster who had started a game for

see HOME, 2B

A last minute change in plans didn’t faze the Racer softball team when its original tournament at Kennesaw State was canceled Feb. 14-15. The team noticed an opening in the Alabama State Hornet Invitational after another team’s flight was canceled.

Head Coach Kara Amundson quickly took advantage of the opportunity to play, and her team headed to Montgomery, Ala., Friday to win the tournament with a 3-0 record.

“I was just trying to get us somewhere where we could play,” she said. “You practice all fall and all January and February, and all they want to do is play at this point, so it was just really trying to find somewhere we could go to get a couple games in.”

Junior CheyAnne Gaskey said the team knew it would be playing somewhere, even if it was a surprise. The coach told them she was working on finding a tournament to enter, so Gaskey said the team decided to treat practice as if it was in preparation for Kennesaw State.

“We just wanted to play,” Gaskey said.

“We didn’t really know where we were going, but still, you put that jersey on and you just play.”

The first win of the tournament against Gardner-Webb is attributed to Gaskey, with one run allowed on five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts during her six innings pitched.

“That was something I had worked on in practice – getting ahead in the counts and staying ahead – which definitely contributed to my no walks this weekend,” she said. “I don’t necessarily worry about strikeouts, I just want to get outs.”

After the win against Gardner-Webb, the Racers defeated host team Alabama State 6-2 as freshman pitcher Mason Robinson earned the first win of her college career.

On Sunday, Murray State shut out Alabama A&M 8-0 in six innings during their final game of the round robin tournament.

Sophomore J.J. Francis pitched her first complete shutout game on the way to the victory. The Racers’ spring season record is now 5-2, the best start in the program’s five-year history.

Murray State has two games today, two Saturday and one during the Blues City Classic in Southaven, Miss.

Men earn Rifle beats Ole Miss in last season match first win in tennis Nick Dolan

Assistant Sports Editor ndolan@murraystate.edu

Tom Via || Staff writer tvia@murraystate.edu

After weather postponed a match last week, men’s tennis returned to the court and earned its first victory of the season against Bethel.

The Racers finally faced similarly skilled competition where the players showed what they have learned from playing ranked opponents. Head Coach Mel Purcell believed the experience gained in team’s three losses was shown on the court.

“We played a really tough schedule at the beginning year and wins are tough to come by,” Purcell said. “I was really glad to see the team competing and it always feels much better when you have a W in your column.”

Taking advantage of sunny weather, Murray State played outdoors on its own courts on campus to face off against the Wildcats.

After freshmen Davis Hess and Mateo Barroetavena won on No. 3 doubles, the attention turned to senior Adam Taylor and junior Max McLean.

The Racers fell behind early in the

see WIN, 2B

Despite coming off a second-place finish at the OVC Championships, the rifle team was still not where Head Coach Alan Lollar wanted it to be.

Luckily for Lollar and the Racers, Ole Miss gave them another chance to get ready for this weekend’s NCAA Regional Qualifier at the team’s own Pat Spurgin Rifle Range.

Murray State took advantage of the chance, downing the visiting Rebels 4,649-4,610.

“I think (our team) did a good job,” Lollar said. “The good stuff that I took away from last weekend’s match against Ole Miss is that there weren’t any major problems. The score was pretty solid, pretty close to our better scores of the year.”

Lollar said the biggest thing he saw was nobody dropped points or had a bad string, as they all were consistent in their shooting.

Junior Kelsey Emme has been the model of consistency for the Racers this season and she kept up her leading ways, finishing tied for first overall in smallbore with 576 and taking third overall in air rifle.

Emme said competing with Ole Miss in between the OVC Championships and NCAA Qualifier served the team well.

“I think it was a good match for us

Kate Russell/The News

Sophomore Tessa Howald and senior Mike Burzynski practice shooting in the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range earlier this week. to get calmed down and get set, just kind of get all our problems figured out,” she said.

Senior Bill Harvey tied Emme for first in smallbore and finished 10th overall in air rifle.

Sophomore Tessa Howald was the best shooter in air rifle, while also shooting 574 in small bore, good enough for fourth overall.

While the Racers closed out the

regular season with a win, Emme said the team is ready for the next big challenge.

“I think as long as we can just keep our heads up and stay positive and know that we can do it this weekend, that’ll help a lot,” she said. “I’m pretty excited (to host the NCAA Qualifier and Championships) because we’ll get to have everyone here and get to watch the competition.”

Next up for Murray State is the NCAA Qualifier Feb. 22-23, and Lollar knows the team has not yet peaked this season.

“Last week was not the time that we need to be our best,” he said. “It was a good tune up and it did a good job at settling down some nerves.

They have done a good job at training this week and I’m looking forward to good things this weekend.”

WHAT’S

STILL ALIVE

PLAYER PROFILE

NICKEL CREEK

COLORFUL DIY

INSIDE

Women’s basketball holds on to postseason hopes, 3B

Cameron Finch to lead ’Breds as senior pitcher, 4B

Murray State alum prepares for 25-year reunion tour, 6B

Melted crayon art brings life to rooms, apartments, 7B

The News

Sports

2B

HOME

February 21, 2014

Pratt sets school record

From Page 1

Ryan Richardson

Murray State. Fields started every game last season, but took a backseat to the five seniors on that year’s team.

This season was different, however, as Fields quickly became the team’s unquestioned leader.

“I just try to lead these guys in the right direction and teach them more than just the basketball aspect of the game,” Fields said. “I try to teach them things they can take with them later in life.”

Fields said they are willing to take advice and go apply it on the court and in their lives.

“You can see they’re growing as players and as individuals and we’re growing as a team,” he said. “I’m just fortunate and blessed to have such great guys on my team.”

As the team’s leader prepares to play his final home game on senior night at the CFSB Center Saturday, he admitted it will be an emotional night.

“It’s finally starting to hit me that it’s almost over,” Fields said. “I’m just going into this game with the same mindset I always do though, and that’s just to go out there and play as hard as I can.”

There won’t be much time for emotion and ceremony, however, as the Morehead State Eagles will attempt to spoil Fields’ senior night and extend a five-game winning streak.

Murray State and Morehead State tip off Saturday at 7 p.m. at the CFSB Center.

OVC Standings East Belmont Morehead State Eastern Kentucky Tennessee Tech Jacksonville State Tennessee State

11-2 10-3 8-5 6-6 4-9 2-11

Sports Editor mrichardson5@murraystate.edu

With her record-setting indoor weight throw, junior Tonia Pratt led the way for her team in another successful track meet.

Pratt’s toss of 18.92 at the Grand Vallye State Big Meet meters broke the school record by 1.5 inches, and she now holds the Murray State record in the indoor weight throw and shot put, as well as the outdoor discus and hammer throw.

Pratt said she still isn’t satisfied.

“It just means it’s another number I’ve got to break,” she said. “I can’t just leave it at that.”

Pratt said she always wants to beat her own records, and she focuses on that in her competitions.

“I just go in and do my best,” she said. “I don’t think about winning or scoring or anything. I just want to go in there and do better than I ever have. “ Pratt wasn’t the only Racer to set a personal record at the meet. Senior Carolyne Tanui broke 18 minutes in the 5,000-meter run, while sophomores Leah Krause and Alicyn Hester also set personal bests in the event. Nearly all the runners competing in the meet finished with the best times in their careers.

Head Coach Jenny Severns said despite competing with more than 2,400 athletes from almost 100 schools in the same meet, the team continued to show improvement.

“I think we’re doing better at running and throwing and jumping under pressure” she said. “When circumstances aren’t necessarily perfect, getting in there and doing what we need to do. They’re getting

ROUT

West Murray State SIUE Eastern Illinois Austin Peay Southeast Missouri UT Martin

11-2 7-6 6-8 5-8 4-8 3-9

*As of 3 p.m. Feb. 20

From Page 1 had a lot of innings where we had zeroes, and that’s something that we need to work on and that’s something we talk about a lot,” he said.

“We need at least one every inning.”

Juniors Anthony Bayus, Kollin Dowdy and Michael Hargrove joined redshirt sophomore Luke Daugherty’s as the first players to put runs on the board for the team.

Jenny Rohl/The News

Junior Tonia Pratt practices at the track in Roy Stewart Stadium earlier this spring. better at setting everything aside and just competing.”

With the last indoor meet before the OVC Championships behind them, the team can turn its focus to the conference competition. Severns said practices should not change, though.

“I don’t think it’s any different,” she said. “Every meet everybody goes in trying to get better. They try to place themselves in a better position going into OVC.” Pratt said at this point she is more focused on the small aspects of her technique than trying to change anything major.

“I went in thinking I had to do everything I did in practice,” Pratt said. “I try to take what I’ve learned

and apply it to competition, so that’s what I think about.”

Severns said as coaches, their job for the OVC meet is to make sure the athletes are rested, recovered and confident.

“If everybody goes and gives it their all and does the best they possibly can, then big things will happen,” she said. “If everybody just focuses on the big things, sometimes it’s really easy to get caught up in that and forget about what got you there. The little things, that’s what’s important.”

Murray State has one more week to prepare for the indoor OVC Championships, hosted by Tennessee State Feb. 27-March 1 in Nashville, Tenn.

A double from sophomore Taylor Mathews brought everyone still on base to the plate to score.

Mathews had two runs batted in during the frame, ending his day with three runs, three RBIs and a hit short of the cycle.

“Taylor is getting better and better,” McDonald said. “He’s going to be another guy who is like so many guys that we have who come in and they’ve just gotten better and better and better. ” The Cougars scratched a run across in the top of the fifth but

were unable to keep the ’Breds from adding to their advantage.

McDonald used five pitchers that combined for nine strikeouts, four hits, one earned run and three walks.

“For the most part I was really pleased that they threw strikes,” McDonald said. “They competed well and they controlled what they are supposed to control.”

Now the team will have a tougher test against a Bowling Green team that swept Murray State last year.

The Falcons come to Reagan Field for a three-game set Feb. 21-23.

WIN From Page 1

match and trailed 4-1, but the duo settled down and rallied for with a 9-7 victory to earn the doubles point for Murray State.

“If we had been the (first one to six format) that we had been playing in our previous matches, we would have been in trouble,” Purcell said. “In doubles I don’t say much to the team, you just try to keep their spirits up.”

After the win, Murray State carried the doubles momentum into the singles competition. Coming off the doubles victory, Taylor played a close No. 1 singles match, earning the win in straight sets.

“Winning that doubles point was huge,” Purcell said. “It took the pressure off Adam and it let him play relaxed, which earned him the victory.”

While Taylor earned his 10th victory in his Murray State career, Hess earned his first. Hess got the victory with a 6-1, 6-0 performance.

“It was great to see David take earn that first victory at that spot,” Purcell said. “The OVC matches will be more difficult, but it gave him much needed confidence.”

After losing in doubles, brothers Aleks and Nicholas Mitric rebounded in their singles competition.

Playing at No. 3 singles, junior Aleks won the first set 6-0 before taking a close second set 6-4.

Sophomore Nicholas, like his brother, won in two sets.

“I was really excited to see them both bounce back after the way they played in doubles,” Purcell said.

Purcell said the match was great for his team as it gave the players much-needed confidence.

“We had a tough year last year and early this year but it feels great for the team to get that win,” Purcell said. “We are all walking around with a pep in our step.”

Murray State now turns its attention to conference play that begins next month. The Racers were picked to finish No. 10 in the preseason OVC poll. Purcell shared the poll with his team and said the Racers aren’t worried by it.

“It doesn’t mean anything to us because the bottom line is who is playing in Paducah for the OVC championship,” Purcell said.

The Racers’ next scheduled match is against Tennessee Tech March 15 in Cookeville, Tenn.

The News

Sports

February 21, 2014

3B

Women rally, hold to postseason hopes Tom Via || Staff writer tvia@murraystate.edu

As the final seconds ticked down, women’s basketball saw its postseason aspirations remain alive with a 66-53 victory over Southeast Missouri State Wednesday night.

While the Racers have dealt with injuries this season that have caused the team issues down the stretch, one player has been taking advantage of the extra playing time.

Junior center Netayna Jackson’s career highs coming into this week were nine points against UT Martin and eight rebounds against Austin Peay.

This week Jackson earned the OVC Newcomer of the Week for her play against Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Jackson scored a career-high 11 points against the Panthers and followed up the performance with nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds against SIUE. Head Coach Rob Cross said he had seen improvement but it finally showed on the court this week.

Jackson’s progress relates to change she has made during the season.

“I stopped being negative when things stopped going well,” Jackson said. “I also had to stop being passive and start cutting to the basket to score.”

With Jackson’s game performances continuing to show improvement, Cross believes it will continue to grow.

“Right now she has an opportunity to get some minutes and a chance to build on something,” Cross said.

The Racers kept their postseason hopes alive due to a second half effort in a the matchup with SEMO. “It feels great to stay alive and we have been pushing and staying posi-

Lori Allen/The News

Junior Netayna Jackson puts up a shot in the win against Southeast Missouri State. tive to the end,” senior forward Jessica Winfrey said.

Freshman Taylor Porter scored five points in the first two minutes to give the Racers the early 7-4 lead.

The Racers countered an aggressive attack by the Redhawks by forcing the ball inside to get their opponents into foul trouble. Murray State drew 13 first half fouls against SEMO and took ad-

vantage on the free throw line.

The Redhawks pushed out to a sixpoint lead with 11 minutes left, but the Racers answered three minutes later with free throws by Winfrey to tie the game. Tied at 22, the Redhawks scored a 3-pointer late in the half to take a 27-24 lead into the locker room.

Porter hit four of the team’s six shots to lead the Racers with 10 points

at intermission.

“It felt great to (get into a rhythm),” Porter said. “It felt like everything I was throwing up went in.”

Murray State turned to the long ball in the opening minutes of the second half as Porter and freshman guard Janssen Starks scored back-to-back 3’s to give the Racers the lead. SEMO answered and retook the lead midway through the second half.

The Redhawks got within one point with seven minutes left but an 11-2 run gave the Racers a comfortable lead to the finish.

After trailing by nine rebounds at halftime, Murray State out rebounded the Redhawks by 11 in the decisive half.

“I think the rebounding is what helped us,” Jackson said. “When we went to the glass it slowed the game down and let us play our style.”

Porter led the Racers with a careerhigh 25 points and Jessica Winfrey hauled in her eighth double-double of the season with an 18-point,13-rebound performance.

Jackson kept her impressive performances going as she scored nine points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

“I’ve been needing to be more physical and dominating,” Jackson said. “My teammates are depending on me and I’m trying my best.”

The Racers now turn their attention to UT Martin, who clinched both the divisional and conference championship last weekend.

“Martin is a tough place to play and we will have to have the same focus as we did tonight,” Cross said. “We have to go into the game and just continue to play hard.”

Murray State returns to action at UT Martin at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Women’s OVC Basketball Standings East Belmont Eastern Kentucky Tennessee State Tennessee Tech Jacksonville State Morehead State

9-4 8-4 7-6 7-6 7-7 5-8

West UT Martin Eastern Illinois Austin Peay SIUE Southeast Missouri Murray State

12-1 6-7 6-8 5-9 4-9 3-10

*As of 3 p.m. Feb. 20

Patton wins, team splits in women’s tennis matches Tom Via || Staff writer tvia@murraystate.edu

Despite an undefeated weekend by sophomore Erin Patton, women’s tennis split its matches against Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois.

Patton went 4-0 in her doubles matches, competing in doubles and at No. 6 in singles competition.

“It was exciting to win both my doubles and singles matches,” Patton said.

Typically matches can rest on the shoulders of the individual at the No. 6 spot which means Patton is relied on in some of the most stressful situations.

“It is probably the toughest spot to play,” Head Coach Olga Elkin said. “Especially in the situations where there are only four courts and it could be 3-3.”

Playing at the final spot, Patton has had to change her style to win matches against opponents that don’t suit her speed.

“It is just a different game because typically a player isn’t that strong and wants to play a slower game,” Patton said. “I like to be the aggressive one and the player that dictates how the match is played.”

This season Patton has been one of the most consistent players for Murray State, sporting a 10-5 record in singles matches.

Along with the singles record, Patton and junior Andrea Eskauriatza are 8-1 when paired together for doubles matches.

In her match against Central Arkansas, Patton found herself tied after two sets.

She gained an early advantage in the tiebreaker and faced two match points but couldn’t convert, leaving the match tied at 9-9.

“She had a really good serve and I had to focus on each point one by one,” Patton said. “It was tied but I settled down and was able to close her out with the final two points.”

Murray State controlled the match, winning the doubles point with all three teams earning victories.

“The doubles point is very important because you have to start strong,” Elkin said. “We have talked a lot about starting strong, getting that first point, and we did that and need to continue to do that.”

With the Racers earning the 6-1 victory against Central Arkansas, Elkin said being the only loss can be difficult for some players.

Sophomore Megan Blue lost against Central Arkansas in a close three-set match.

“It was a tough loss for Megan and we talked with her on how to fix it,” Elkin said.

Blue rebounded the next day at SIU and grinded out a 7-5, 7-5.

Against SIU, Elkins said the Racers faced adversity for the first time this season and fell in a close 4-3 match.

“We faced some things that we hadn’t all year,” Elkin said. “With such a young team it was great to see them come together.”

In the doubles match the Racers and Salukis were tied at 1-1 and relied on the freshmen Tchakarova sisters to win the point. In the first game of the match Verginie suffered an injury close to the net.

“She kept her composure and I was really proud of her for that,” Elkin said. “A lot of people there would have been in tears.”

The duo fell behind early in the match and rallied late, but ultimately lost 8-6.

While the Racers lost the overall match and fell to 3-3 on the season, Elkin said this loss could help the team later in the season.

“We gained more from this loss than we possibly could (not playing),” Elkin said. “Something clicked, which is what we have been waiting for.”

Patton said the team became closer despite the loss to SIU. “As a team we learned how to build each other up and support each other,” Patton said.

The Racers return to the court against Evansville at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Kate Russell/The News

Sophomore Erin Patton gets ready to receive serve during a tennis match earlier this week.

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The News

Sports

4B

February 21, 2014

Finch to serve as ace for underdog ’Breds Jonathan Ferris || Staff writer jferris2@murraystate.edu

Lori Allen/The News

Pitcher Cameron Finch enters his senior season hoping to lead the ‘Breds back to the OVC tournament.

The underdog mentality is all too familiar to the Murray State Thoroughbreds.

After a disappointing 21-33 season and a 10th place finish in the OVC, the ’Breds are already underdogs coming into a new season.

Perhaps it’s fitting then, for senior pitcher Cameron Finch to anchor Murray State’s pitching staff. Finch has also been labeled an underdog nearly all his life, and enters the season as the ’Breds No. 1 starter.

Finch, a Collierville, Tenn., native, played second base and shortstop throughout his early baseball career. When it was time to look into college baseball, however, Finch was told he lacked the offensive skills to hit at the next level.

Those words didn’t stop Finch from pursuing his dream of playing college baseball. He took up pitching, despite standing at an even 6 feet tall.

Throughout his junior year at Collierville High School, Finch gradually transitioned from the batters’ box to the pitching mound. At the end of the season, Finch made his first few starts at the state tournament, and prepared to pitch full time in his senior season.

After his junior season, Finch spent the summer perfecting his pitches – a time he said propelled him into his eventual career at Murray State. “That following summer was when I really took off,�

Finch said. “That’s when I started pitching as a starter and then I had a really good senior year and became the team’s No. 1 starter.�

Collierville High School’s ace went 9-1 and posted a 1.19 ERA while tossing eight complete games and two no-hitters. He led the Dragons to a 37-8 record and a third-place finish in the state.

Despite the eye-popping numbers, Finch received little interest out of high school. “I had good numbers but I didn’t get a ton of looks out of high school because I didn’t throw hard and I wasn’t really big,� Finch said. “I just kind of flew under the radar.�

Murray State Head Coach Rob McDonald took notice,

however, after speaking with Finch’s high school coach.

Despite being undersized and admitting his skills might not be the best on the team, Finch said he knew he had the opportunity to prove himself yet again. “When people see me throw, they don’t think I really have anything special,� Finch said. “I take pride in the fact that I might not have the best stuff but I can still compete really well and I can get people out. I don’t just blow the ball by guys, I actually have to pitch.�

After making several bullpen appearances and a handful of starts as an underclassmen, Finch took a big step last season as a junior.

He began the season as the team’s No. 2 starter, but transitioned into the top spot and posted a 5-4 record and a 4.32 ERA. The highlight of the season came March 22 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Finch cemented his place in Murray State baseball history by throwing the program’s first ever nine-inning no-hitter.

The game was moved up because of rain, so the team left that morning for the game and arrived several hours before warmups were scheduled to start.

The team had to sit on the bus, which Finch said interfered with his normal routine.

Once the game began, however, Finch was locked in, striking out five batters en route to the 1-0 victory. “I really wasn’t doing anything special,� Finch said. “I was just getting a lot of ground ball outs at the beginning of the game, which is pretty normal. I knew the whole time I hadn’t given up a hit, but after the sixth inning was when I really started realizing I could actually do this. It was fun. It definitely ranks as the top moment of my career.�

Finch now enters 2014 looking to lead the ’Breds to their first OVC Tournament berth since 2010.

Despite the low expectations – the team was picked to finish 10th of 11 teams – from preseason voters, Finch and the ’Breds know what it’s like to be considered underdogs, and they’re not buying it. “As a team we want to get back to the tournament,�

Finch said. “I want to give my team a chance to win every single time I go out there to take the mound.�

A i r J e s u s h a n d s o u t d e fe a t Mallory Tucker || Staff writer mtucker11@murraystate.edu

Steve Harrell’s was handed its first intramural basketball loss of the season against Air Jesus Tuesday night after starting off the game a man down.

When the fifth player arrived 10 minutes into the first half, Steve Harrell’s struggled to adjust before finding its rhythm and draining a 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds left in the half. “There really aren’t any excuses, but I mean it was challenging,� said Steve Harrell’s player Morris White, who is Murray State athletics director of marketing and promotions. “It’s a little bit difficult to match up and cover more ground. We held our own in the beginning, but after a while it takes its toll on you.�

Steve Harrell’s is an independent intramural team made up of staff members and coaches from the University’s athletic department.

Air Jesus is an unofficial team for the Baptist Campus Ministry, which also includes a chemistry professor, Kevin Revell, on its roster. After the results of their matchup, each team has one loss to its name. “It’s not that tough to keep up,� White said. “I think it’s good exercise, and that’s the main reason we’re doing it – to kind of stay in the little shape we do have, as elder statesmen. But it gives us a pretty good workout.�

After a halftime deficit of 32-17, Steve Harrell’s netted a 12-point comeback with no response from

its opponent for the first five minutes of the second half. “After a while we settled down – once we realized we had a fifth and final player – we were able to kind of settle down and get in the groove a little bit and start making some shots,� White said.

Air Jesus team captain, senior biology major Andrew Reece, expected a good game from his opponent, and with a final score of 62-45, he said his expectations were met. “I was expecting them to be extremely tough and a much more mature game than what I play, at least,� Reece said. “It’s actually a lot of fun to play against non-students. I was definitely expecting a high-quality game. I had seen them play earlier in the season, so I knew they were really tough, but I also knew that we play with a lot more heart than most teams so I was really looking forward to just a good battle.�

Before going into the playoffs next week, Steve Harrell’s hopes to recover and regroup from its first loss. “We obviously have to bounce back to figure out why we lost tonight. It was our first loss of the season so it was a little bit devastating for us, but we’ll be able to bounce back on Thursday and try to perform a little bit better,� White said.

Steve Harrell’s will face an undefeated Mighty Ducks team Thursday before heading into the intramural playoffs.

As Air Jesus looks ahead, the team hopes to rack up a few more wins against Junior Varsity and Blue Ballers Thursday to better its playoff seed.

Kate Russell/The News

Jamie Revell drives to the basket past Carlos Alvarado in Air Jesus’ win over Steve Harrell’s.

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February 21, 2014

5B

The News

Features

Features Editor: Hunter Harrell Assistant Features Editor: Breanna Sill Phone: 270-809-5871 Twitter: MSUNewsFeatures

Students explore TV options Katrina Yarbrough Staff writer kyarbrough2@murraystate.edu

Being at home with a blank schedule can give students plenty of time to catch up on social activities, to read a book or spend countless hours binge watching television shows or having movie nights.

Having multiple options when it comes to watching shows and movies, it can get confusing when it comes time to choose a service to use.

These days, there is Netflix, Amazon Prime and basic cable provided on campus in the residential halls. Although those are only a few options, they seem to be among the most popular.

Netflix is a website that offers the opportunity to watch top-rated television shows and movies.

For $8 a month, videos, movies and TV shows can be accessed from a computer, mobile device and gaming system at any time.

“Netflix offers a lot of different shows,” said Cassidy Gatlin, sophomore from Oswego, Ill. “I like how they find similar shows and movies to

Fumi Nakamura/The News

Jason Robertson, junior from St. Louis, Mo., browses Netflix for something to watch. recommend based on the shows and movies that you’ve recently watched.”

To make things easier, devices have been created with the Netflix application already installed that hook into

televisions to give access to those without the previously mentioned devices.

For an extra dollar, users can have some movies that are not available on the streaming site delivered to their houses

without a due date.

The selections are updated periodically in order to best serve customers.

Television shows are normally updated once the show’s previous season has

ended and the new season has begun on regular cable or satellite. The movies range from popular titles such as “Olympus Has Fallen” to lesser-known titles such as the documentary “Bully.”

Similar to Netflix, Amazon has added a video streaming feature to its Prime accounts.

If students don’t have an Amazon Prime account to view movies and television shows, they must purchase or rent them individually. The prices vary depending on the release dates.

Typically, if a person decides to rent the video, they will have the ability to watch it for up to two or more days before it removes itself from their account.

“I love how Amazon Prime differs from Netflix,” said Reagan Meredith, sophomore from Murray. “They get the newer television episodes much quicker so I can watch them and not have to wait.

The titles are more recent compared to the older variety Netflix offers.”

Instead of waiting for an entire season to be added to

see TV, 6B

F aces&Places

Famous alumnus prepares for cross-country tour Hunter Harrell || Features Editor hharrell@murraystate.edu

The faces that pass along the sidewalks of Murray State are destined to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, business people - the normal cliches.

As cliche as it may sound, there is truth in the commencement-like statement.

A prime example of this is the success of a former student turned musician, Chris Thile.

Chris is best known as a member of the popular bluegrass band Nickel Creek and as the front man for the progressive bluegrass band The Punch Brothers.

Chris is the son of Scott Thile, instrument technician for the music department on campus. Scott said Chris’ interest in music started at a young age and developed throughout the years.

“A teacher of Chris’ played in a band called ‘Bluegrass ect.’ and my wife and I discovered this place to go see music on Saturday nights and it was a fine place to bring kids,” Scott said. “With him growing up seeing them play, he started to take an interest in the music.

(Chris) ended up taking lessons from his teacher. He was invited up on stage every now and then at 6 or 7 years old.”

Learning from experiences on stage with Bluegrass ect., Chris was chosen by a bluegrass promoter who was putting together a festival.

The promoter wanted a band which involved children, therefore Chris, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins formed Nickel Creek in 1989.

The group began traveling and play-

ing shows across the country. Because Chris traveled to play shows with the band, he was home schooled. Likewise, he was able to enroll in classes at Murray State at age 16.

“Chris was interested in coursework here,” Scott said. “He started by taking just a couple classes - a German class and enrolled shortly after that in the music program.”

Though Chris completed courses in violin performance, music theory, formal training and composition, he took the weekends off with his father and other members of the band to play shows across America.

The traveling caused chaos in both Scott and Chris’ schedules.

“We were working all over the country with Nickel Creek,” Scott said. “I was working (at Murray State) during the week and flying out on the weekends to go to play bass for Nickel Creek and it was exhausting. So I decided I couldn’t do that anymore.”

Despite Scott’s decision to quit playing with Nickel Creek, 18-year-old Chris decided to quit school to travel with the band as it continued to prosper.

In the late ‘90s, Nickel Creek received two Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Instrumental. During the Country Music Awards, it was nominated for Best Vocal Group of the Year.

Following the success of Nickel Creek, Chris began working on solo albums and collaborations with artists outside his genre such as Yo-Yo Ma, Dolly Parton, John Paul Jones and Edgar Meyer.

Photo courtesy of Associated Press

Chris Thile has been playing the mandolin since he was 5 years old.

He also released a full album of Bach compositions played entirely on the mandolin.

In November 2007, Nickel Creek played its last show together at the Ryman in Nashville, Tenn., before taking a hiatus.

Also, in October 2013 Chris was one of two musicians to receive the MacArthur Foundation genius grant.

The grant included a $100,000 award

annually for five years.

Now, 25 years after the founding of Nickel Creek, the band has decided to tour together again. Eight of the 27 shows scheduled for the spring tour have already sold out.

“Chris is really excited and they have a pretty busy tour,” Scott said. “Now that they have had other experiences with their other projects, it will be exciting to see what they do together.”

Racer Life Revolution continues Brandon Cash Staff writer bcash1@murraystate.edu

Mindfulness was the key topic of this week’s Racer Life Revolution presentation.

The first session described mindfulness as paying attention to the present moment with acceptance.

During the class the students were taught about being grounded in thoughts of the present. The students learned to become mindful by using new skills.

Some of the skills the session covered included how to approach situations using one’s senses. It also taught students that there are greater ways to focus instead of being worried about the future and the past.

Deep breathing exercises were cited as being useful for focusing on the moment.

Another key discussion the group had recognized was on the different states of mind, such as an emotional and reasonable state of mind. It also covered how to combine the two into live mind, which is the mixture of logic and emotion.

“Mindfulness is about awareness and awareness is the key to change, because if we’re not aware of a problem we can’t fix it,” said Allyson Taylor, counselor at Murray State.

“The first session we talked about what mindfulness is and about anchoring the mind.”

Taylor said when someone gets caught in a thought stream it is what some people call the ‘monkey mind,’ where their thoughts swing from one tree to the next, and it is important to find a way to anchor their thoughts in the present moment.

“Sometimes we are feeling something we don’t even know what it is, once we are connected to our bodies we can figure out what’s going on,” Taylor said. “By recognizing that thoughts, feelings and experiences are impermanent, that person will find that feeling upset one moment doesn’t mean that later down the road they are going to be upset.”

The second session was about staying emotionally grounded while using lessons from past sessions.

During this session the group practiced coping skills.

Some of these skills included labeling emotions, understanding examples of situations which lead to those emotions and whether those behaviors are helpful or unhelpful toward creating a coping skill.

Each week students are equipped with opportunities to better manage their lives.

Chess club offers students, community members free classes to improve skills Brandon Cash || Staff writer bcash1@murraystate.edu

Fumi Nakamura/The News

Wayne Bell, chess club adviser, teaches Murray youth a strategy game related to chess called “The Peasant’s Revolt.”

Unlike other chess clubs, the MurrayCalloway chess club strives to show students and other members of the community that chess can be an interesting game for anyone.

The chess club holds classes Mondays from 5-7 p.m. The classes are split into three difficulty levels: introductory, intermediate and competitive.

“The lowest level is a two hour session, the classes themselves usually last near 20 to 30 minutes and then students play practice games,” Wayne Bell, chess club adviser, said. “One of the things we do for the beginning class is have some games that you might call pre-chess games.”

For a beginner it can be hard to keep track of other players’ moves so as part

of the class students participate in smaller games with different objectives.

Bell said one of the simplest learning methods is to put the kings or pawns on the board in the original position and see who can get to the other side of the board fastest. This helps the student grasp the idea behind how the pieces work.

The intermediate level teaches students how to make legal moves.

Bell said these classes teach players some regular things that an aspiring chess player would want to learn, such as to check mate with a king and queen.

The third level is catered toward those who have surpassed the lower level classes. That class has five students in it and all five of them have played in tournaments in the state championship cycle.

Saturday, Murray State will host the

Calloway County Chess Tournament on the third floor of the Curris Center.

It will also be the Murray State championship and the highest finishing student will be the 2014 champion.

On Wednesday nights the chess club meets for any Murray State student interested in learning to play chess.

Right now the club is trying to build its membership.

There are chess clubs at Murray State, Murray High School and middle school but there are no chess clubs in the county school system.

The club does not have enough members to have someone teach at every school in the county, so the county chess could be the starting point.

The club maintains a website which includes contact information and meeting times.

The News

Features

6B

February 21, 2014

Movie Review

THE

“Entertainment news sure to spice up your lunch conversation”

‘Winter’s Tale’ inspires belief in miracles Madison Wepfer || Staff writer mwepfer@murraystate.edu

WATER COOLER Information and photos from The Associated Press Compiled by Breanna Sill

TIMBERLAKE POSTPONES CONCERT DUE TO ILLNESS

“Magic is everywhere around us.

We just have to look … closely.”

When I first sat down in the theater, notepad and pen in hand, I expected “Winter’s Tale” to be a hokey love story about magic and everlasting love.

However, I was mistaken.

The film is about miracles, destiny and doing something for the good of others rather than for yourself.

Peter Lake is an orphan who made his living dancing and singing in the streets for coins and pickpocketing.

One day, a man named Pearly recognizes his talent for stealing and hires him as a jewel thief, but when something goes wrong, Pearly puts a price on Peter’s head.

On one particular mission, Peter breaks into the home of a wealthy family. He finds the safe and begins to break it when he realizes that he’s not

Singer Justin Timberlake was forced to postpone the first of two concerts at Madison Square Garden on his current world tour.

The show scheduled for Wednesday was rescheduled for today with the Thursday show still on schedule. Timberlake posted the news on his Twitter feed citing the reason as a health issue.

F

the movie a work of art rather than a portrayal of a fictional story.

The movie also had reoccurring symbolism, especially the emphasis on light and stars.

Although most of the scenes were based on love and passion, it was not all mushy-gushy.

The constant battle between good and evil gave the film an edge. The “demons” led by Pearly and Lucifer try to thwart Peter’s miracle throughout the entire film. Therefore, the drama balances with the action of the fighting and conflict.

Overall, the film inspired me and made me want to bawl my eyes out, but I won’t tell you why because no one likes a spoiler.

I would recommend this movie to men and women of all ages.

Whether you need some inspiration to go find your purpose in life or you just need a good cry, this movie will appeal to everyone.

Compiled by Madison Wepfer

lashback riday

1. Fergie

OSCAR BUZZ FLIES AROUND LEONARDO DICAPRIO

alone. He spots a woman, Beverley Penn, and immediately falls in love.

Now Peter must decide to either leave town to escape from Pearly or stay with Beverley.

Peter comes to find that inside everyone is a miracle. Each miracle is meant for one person. Once you become that miracle and fulfill your destiny, you die and become a star to be with the ones you love.

The premise of this film is chillingly beautiful. It left me feeling hopeful (and crying in the back of the theater by myself). It is full of passion and love.

I will say that the film started out a little shaky. It took me a while to figure out what was going on and where the story was heading.

Some scenes were choppy and the dialogue didn’t feel natural, but the characters worked well together.

On the other hand, the cinematography was stunning. The director accentuated the light in every scene, making

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5. Cascada

Academy Award buzz is swirling that Leonardo DiCaprio could finally be taking home that golden Oscar statue this year.

After years of nominations experts say this this will be the year DiCaprio finally takes home the coveted award. He is nominated for his role prouducing and acting in "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Soundbyte “To think, there's going to be a kid out there asking their parents to stay up to watch me, it just means a lot to me.”

- Jimmy Fallon on Monday’s first episode of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”

d Tweets e r u Feat of the week A compilation of Tweets that made us laugh, cry or scratch our heads.

This week’s topic: Olympics

TV From Page 5B

Flashback to 2006! It was the year the infamous Bird Flu spread across Europe and Asia, Google joined forces with YouTube for $1.6 billion, iTunes sold its onebillionth song and MySpace was among the top websites in the world. It was a milemarker for the new age of online sharing, and of course, timeless pop music.

3. My Chemical Romance

Photo courtesy of fandango.com

Winter’s Tale was released Feb. 15.

the video stream, customers can purchase individual episodes from Amazon Prime almost as soon as they air on television.

This option can cost more than buying the entire season in a DVD box set, but it comes in handy for those who just can’t wait.

Internet streaming is popular for students on a budget and with free time for movie nights, but the University also provides students with access to free local cable.

Although students are limited to what the channel programs are, it can prove to be much more simple to just turn on the TV and flip to a liked channel rather than scroll through a list of hundreds of movies.

“It’s really convenient,” said Spencer Moran, sophomore from Louisville, Ky. “It’s provided to the residential halls with no extra cost like Netflix and Amazon Prime. I do wish there were more channels to choose from. Especially sports channels. But it’s a cheap alternative when trying to stay on a budget but still get good TV.” Whether it’s the price of watching a movie or television show or just the simplicity of choosing, each student has contrasting TV needs.

Available options are increasing with the developing trend of video streaming on the Internet. However, going with the basic cable can be just as reliable.

A little research and a friend’s opinion could make or break a wallet and a lonely Friday night.

Homer J. Simpson

Chris Kaman

@HomerJSimpson Today I won Gold in my own personal Winter Olympics event-- faking a heart attack to get out of shoveling snow. #Olympics2014 12:15 p.m. 16 Feb 14

@ChrisKaman HHHHAAARRRRDDD!!! HHHAARRDDD!! #Curling #Olympics 6 :52 p.m. 12 Feb 14

Aaron Parsley

Eric Stangel

@FreshParsley Is this figure skating or American Horror Story? #Olympics2014 9:02 a.m. 13 Feb 14

@EricStangel When does Michael Phelps swim? #Olympics 9:23 a.m. 12 Feb 14

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The News

Features

February 21, 2014

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’?

TODAY • 7:30 p.m.

Cinema International & Celebrate Black History Month Committee present “12 Years A Slave,” Curris Center Theater

S A T U R D A Y

• 9 a.m.

BCM Frostbite 5K, Carr Health • 7:30 p.m.

Cinema International presents “Spirit of the Beehive,” Curris Center Theater

SUNDAY • 2 p.m.

“Chicago: The Musical,” Carson Center, Paducah, Ky. • 7 p.m.

Monty Python's “Spamalot,” Playhouse in the Park

MONDAY • 11 a.m.

Life Size Exhibit, Curris Center • 7 p.m.

Women's basketball vs. Morehead State, CFSB Center

7B Celebrity Encounters

If you would like an event to appear here or on TheNews.org, email us at features@thenews.org. Please submit events by noon Wednesday for consideration.

T •Life11 a.m.

Exhibit, U CurrisSizeCenter E •20146 p.m.Darwin Day S Seminar: "Does Really MatD Size ter?" Jessie D. A Jones Hall, Y room 1213

W E D N E S D A Y

• 2 p.m.

Baseball vs.

Mid-Continent, Reagan Field

THURSDAY • 4 p.m.

2014 Social Work Lecture Series on Religious Diversity, Freed Curd Auditorium • 7:30 p.m.

Cinema International: “5 Broken Cameras,” Curris Center Theater

Do-It-Yourself

Breanna Sill/The News

Melted crayon art is an inexpensive way to add color to a dull room, without the permanence of paint. It is also a great way to recycle old, broken crayons.

Childhood favorite turned work of art Hunter Harrell || Features Editor hharrell@murraystate.edu

Splashes of color add life and character to any room. One way students are able to add character to their rooms or apartments involves a flashback to childhood.

Melted-crayon art is one do-it-yourself project that can go a million directions.

Those who create a melted crayon canvas will have a unique piece, filled with different colors and patterns.

There is no right or wrong way to create a melted-crayon canvas.

Materials required for this DIY project include a canvas or thick poster, enough crayons to cover the top of the canvas, a hair dryer and a hot glue gun or tape, depending on whether you would like to keep the crayons on the canvas.

Steps:

melting wax depends on the hair dryer’s temperature and aim.

1. Pick out the colors of crayons and place them in a pattern of your liking. The larger the canvas, the more crayons you will need. An average size canvas uses a few more than 50 crayons. Depending on if you want to keep the crayons on the canvas, use a hot glue gun or tape and attach the crayons to the top of the canvas.

4. Once the wax is melted to your liking, stop applying heat to the crayons. Optional: Add glitter to the wax while it is still drying. Once the wax is completely dry, you may paint words over the melted wax or remove the silhouette.

5. Let the canvas dry. The decoration is finished.

2. Once the crayons are in place, decide whether you want to place a piece of cardboard on the canvas to create a blank silhouette or if you will paint over the melted crayon later.

3. Start melting the crayons with a hairdryer, starting at the tip of the crayon and working up as the wax melts. Move the hair dryer up and down over the crayons. Controlling direction of the

Though this project is simple, the process may get a little messy. For that reason, it is recommended that garbage bags, newspapers or towels are placed behind the canvas before melting the crayons.

Enjoy the process as well as the outcome. No two melted-crayon masterpieces are the same. Also, remember you will have a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork to hang in your room or apartment.

Camera woes Seven years ago, my mother and I started our annual tradition of road tripping to Nashville, Tenn., for the CMA Music Festival held every June. While Breanna Sill you’re there the Assistant Features number of conEditor certs, autograph signings and exhibits you can attend are endless.

While we normally spend a full week in the city, the actual festival only lasts four days. Every night of the festival huge concerts are held at LP Field with the biggest names in country music.

By being a regular at the festival you learn little tips and tricks on how to seek out your favorite celebrities before the nightly shows. My friends and I have a special spot near the stadium where we know we are always going to have good luck before and after the show.

One thing about scouting celebrities is you never know what might happen. In the summer of 2012, my friends and I were standing outside the stadium one night when Jake Owen was playing. We flagged him down to come over to talk and take some pictures with us.

We all wanted to take a big group picture together and Jake was so excited about it he jumped over the fence we were standing behind to take the picture, but when he did he ended up kicking my brand new camera out of my hand and completely destroying it.

Of course, Jake was sweet as pie about the situation and apologized over and over again. He even offered to give me the money to replace it, but of course I said no.

The next year, in 2013, I ran into Jake Owen once again at LP Field and before I could even get out the question of whether or not he remembered me from the past year he said, “I know, I know! I remember, the girl with the camera last year! I’m so sorry again!”

Let’s just say he owes me one. bsill@murraystate.edu

See It

Rent It

Hear It

Read It

Play It

“Pompeii”

“THOR: The Dark World”

“Helios” The Fray

“The Chase” by Janet Evanovich

“Thief”

Photos courtesy of amazon.com

Out This Week

8B

Features

The News February 21, 2014