The Murray State News

The Murray State News September 12, 2014

Vol. 89, No. 5

TheNews.org

Protesters confront racist social media comments Ben Manhanke || Staff writer bmanhanke@murraystate.edu

In response to recent comments posted on the social messaging app Yik Yak, students and faculty gathered again Tuesday outside of Waterfield Library in one of several scheduled events targeted at creating a campus-wide discussion on racism.

Following Sept. 4’s peaceful protest against the shooting of Michael Brown, anonymous posters from around Murray took to Yik Yak posting racist comments regarding the gathering, some suggesting possible violent retaliation.

In addition to signs regarding the recent events in Ferguson, Mo., newly-made signs with “stop racism” and

“end racism” written on them were held by protesters Tuesday.

Arlene Johnson, senior from Sikeston, Mo., said she was shocked by some of the comments written after the first protest.

Johnson made headlines as a freshman in 2010 when she spoke out against one of her professors, Mark Wattier.

According to Johnson, Wattier said that her tardiness to a class compared to the actions of slaves.

“And (Wattier) said the slaves never showed up on time, so their owners often lashed them for it,” Johnson told the Murray Ledger & Times in 2010.

“It just hurts so bad to see that this still exists,” she said.

Kesia Casey, junior from Hartford, Ky., like Johnson, attended both protests. She said no one should ever feel comfortable posting comments such as those on Yik Yak, even if they’re anonymous.

“A lot of people think the solution to this problem is to keep quiet and it

see PROTEST, 2A

Regent accepts new staff position Staff Report

Photo illustration by Fumi Nakamura/The News

New statistics on sexual assault, rape and sexual violence were recently released by the Center for Disease Control.

BREAKING THE SILENCE Rebecca Walter || News Editor rwalter@murraystate.edu

On Sept. 3 a caller from Hester Residential College told Public Safety and Emergency Management about a Murray State student sexually assaulted off campus.

Murray State Police notified the Mayfield Police Department, which is investigating.

It was the second time this semester Public Safety officers responded to a call about an off-campus sexual assault of a student.

Last month, a caller from Franklin College alerted officers to a sexual assault, according to the police logs.

The call stemmed from an incident last spring in which the student declined to press charges, Robert Bringhurst, captain of operations for Public Safety and Emergency

Management said.

“Somebody else overheard (the student) talking about what happened,” he said. “She had reported to us in April. She did not want to follow up with any other law enforcement.”

Even though the incidents happened off campus and are out of Public Safety’s jurisdiction, Murray State officers provided the students with counseling information, as well as contact information for the University’s Title IX coordinator, which is responsible for assisting with sexual assault education and awareness.

Murray State officials, like leaders of other campuses, are seeking to raise awareness about sexual assault and ways to prevent it.

This fall, the University is asking students to take online training

about harassment, discrimination and sexual assault. President Bob Davies, at his first Board of Regents meeting last month, pledged the University would have a “zero tolerance policy for sexual violence.”

HOW IT’S HANDLED Where an attack happens determines how it is handled next.

Abigail French, director of the Women’s Center, said incidents of sexual assault occurring off campus are referred to either the Murray Police Department or the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office.

The Women’s Center, Counseling Servies, Health Services, Public Safety, Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Access, the Title IX Coordinator and the Student Affairs Judicial Board can assist students who are victims of or have ques-

tions about sexual assault.

“It is important for students to know there are options available to them if they are a victim of sexual assault or know someone who is,” French said. “We want students to know we are here for them and that they are able to come to us about these issues.”

Murray State can take action against a student or University employee who is found guilty of the assault.

The University’s student handbook’s section on Policies on Sexual Misconduct, Unwanted Pursuit and Relationship Violence, says the sanctions for these events can include “expulsion, suspension, disciplinary probation, recommended counseling, and/or other educa-

see SILENCE, 2A

Fraternities welcome new members Mary Bradley || Assistant News Editor mbradley9@murraystate.edu

Brothers old and new filled Murray State’s Quad with shouts and cheers, and welcomed more than 100 new members to Greek Life Monday afternoon.

A mix of incoming freshmen, upperclassmen and transfer students received bids to the nine Interfraternity Council, or IFC, chapters, with a high level of student interest in this year’s recruitment week.

The numbers ranged for each fraternity, reaching as high as 29 new members for Pi Kappa Alpha and Alpha Sigma Phi and as low as five new members for Phi Kappa Tau. Senior Brandon Johnson, internal vice president for the IFC, said there is not a minimum requirement to how many new members are required for recruitment week.

Thomas Williams, junior from Belleville, Ill., was one of the 14 new members for Sigma Pi after developing a relationship with broth-

ers in the fraternity during the two years prior to recruitment week.

“I wanted to be Greek for a while,” Williams said. “I knew a lot of the people who were already Sigma Pi, so I just decided to go for it.”

But for Jeremy Triggs, freshman from Memphis, Tenn., he decided to drop from recruitment week because of the financial requirements.

“My aunt didn’t want me to get a job my first semester,” he said. “But for me to pledge, I would need a job in order to put in the funds to support my brotherhood.”

Triggs said since he could not get a job, he thought it best not to put himself in a financial bind. Triggs said if it weren’t for his inability to get a job, he would have this fall, but hopes to go through recruitment in the future.

He said all of the men were great, and despite not becoming a new member, he still

see FRATERNITIES, 2A

Faculty Regent Renee Fister is stepping down from the Board of Regents after accepting the position of Senior Presidential Advisor of Strategic Initiatives.

The position is in replace of the President’s Chief of Staff, but Fister said the position comes with a different job requirements.

She said her position is to assist PresiFister dent Davies with situations as they arise.

The Senior Presidential Advisor of Strategic Initiatives is a full time job.

She is retaining her professor status at the University. Fister said she will continue to teach the class schedule she has.

A new Faculty Regent will be elected prior to the Dec. Board of Regents meeting.

In an e-mail to Murray State faculty, Fister said, “I have enjoyed serving in this capacity as your faculty representative and working with you to enhance the mission and goals of this University.”

Fister was selected to serve as Faculty Regent in April 2013.

She has taught at Murray State for 17 years and is a tenured professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Before Fister, Jack Rose was Murray State’s faculty regent. He resigned after the board voted 7-4 not to renew former President Randy Dunn’s contract.

He is now running for mayor in the City of Murray against Bill Wells.

WHAT’S ON THENEWS.ORG VIDEO Watch the last on-campus protest and what people had to say about it.

POLL Do you think sexual assault is an issue at Murray State?

LETTERS Letters to the Editor are available at TheNews.org that didn’t make it into the print edition.

Haley Hays/The News

Alpha Sigma Phi cheers and welcomes new members at fraternity bid day Monday.

FOLLOW US @MurrayStateNews and @MSUSportsNews

WHAT’S

OUR VIEW

MCDONALDS OPENS

LOUISVILLE DEFEAT

SUICIDE PREVENTION

INSIDE

Resources should on-campus resources, 4A

Students wait in line for Big Macs, fries, 6A

Murray State falls to the Cardinals, 1B

Organizations promote education, awareness, 5B

The News

News

2A

September 12, 2014

FRATERNITIES

PROTEST

From Page 1

From Page 1

developed strong relationships with the brothers and enjoyed the experience.

Kendall Harris, interim coordinator of Greek Life and Leadership Programs, said the overall experience was amazing, with excitement from all participants.

“The PNM’s (potential new members) had a blast and were very excited to participate in fall rush, and the active brothers within each fraternity left a good and lasting impression on the PNM’s,” Harris said.

However, this year’s recruitment experienced a few changes, such as the bid day celebrations happening on the steps of Lovett as opposed to inside, where it has been held in previous years.

James Andrew Urquhart of Sigma Pi, senior from Lexington, Ky., said an outside event makes a definite difference.

“It get’s hot and cramped inside so being out there you have better access and a better turnout, I think,” he said.

The fraternities also held recruitment a week later than usual, and Johnson said the decision came from the overall agreement by chapter representatives and the IFC executive board.

He said the fraternities were able to post fliers around campus and promote registration on social media.

“It gave us more time to recruit and get

will go away,” Cacey said. “The solution, I believe, is to talk about it and become comfortable talking about it because it’s not going away.”

A number of events are being planned to do just that – create rhetoric between students, faculty, staff and the administration about racism on campus.

These events include a forum about racism and the state of black students on campus presented by The Black Student Council, activities during International Education Week and a “teach-in” organized by select faculty.

David Pizzo, associate professor of Humanities and Fine Arts, attended the rally this week and said that while the protest isn’t going to make an immediate impact, it is key to generating momentum and to keep the discussion on racism going.

“We don’t think we’re going to end racism by holding signs,” Pizzo said. “But people are noticing and stopping. One thing

SILENCE From Page 1 tional sanctions deemed appropriate by the hearing body. In cases where the perpetrator is an employee of the University, sanctions range from a reprimand to termination.”

Roy Dunaway, interim chief of Public Safety and Emergency Management, said the Murray State Police Department recognizes the serious effects of a sexual assault.

“Officers use their skills and experience to assist victims of sexual assault and to conduct criminal investigations of these offenses.

Officers will also direct victims of sexual assault to the appropriate support services available to students,” he said.

Dunaway said the role of Public Safety is to ensure that investigative procedures of sexual offenses are thorough and consistent for successful investigations to ensure consid-

Haley Hays/The News

Members of Pi Kappa Alpha welcome the men who accepted their bids Monday at Lovett Auditorium. who accepted a bid in a group together and it was one and done. I do like it this way, but for some reason it’s going a lot slower.”

With the introduction of new procedures, received positively and negatively in the fraternity community, Harris said the Greek Life office is still committed to developing a supportive community.

“I am so thrilled and very excited for this year in Greek Life,” Harris said. “Remember, it’s not just for four years, it’s for life.”

guys to come out and give it a chance,” Johnson said.

Johnson said IFC aimed for the potential new members to be recognized with their fraternities, as opposed to being accepted in one group.

Corey Tucker of Sigma Phi Epsilon, senior from Hardinsville, Ky., said he thought the new process made the Bid Day slower.

“I like the fact that it’s outside but it doesn’t seem to be well organized,” Tucker said. “Last year they put everyone

eration for victims.

He said the University takes all the appropriate steps to investigate and respond in a manner consistent with a student’s confidentiality request and will notify the student if the University cannot ensure confidentially.

to occur in September, October and November on Friday and Saturday nights between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

The study also found most victims of physically forced or incapacitated sexual assault were assaulted by someone they knew.

A NATIONAL PROBLEM Five percent of women on American college campuses are raped every year, according to oneinfourusa.org.

In a national survey, 37.4 percent of female rape victims said they were first attacked between ages 18 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s Violence Prevention.

Women are not the only ones who are at risk for sexual assault. According to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, 3 percent of college men report surviving rape or attempted rape as a child or an adult.

The Campus Sexual Assault Study by the National Institute of Justice found sexual assaults are most likely

REPORTING ASSAULT If a student requests confidentially and decides not to press charges in a sexual violence case, an anonymous report of the incident must be made in order to comply with campus crime reporting.

If the safety of others in the community could be at risk, the good of the community may outweigh a student’s confidentially request, according to the Addressing Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence pamphlet.

The Murray State Police Department will also contact the University’s Title IX Coordinator, Camisha Duffy, at the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equality and Access.

The Title IX Coordinator is re-

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sponsible for the University’s Administrative Investigation of all reported sexual assaults.

Don Robertson, vice president of Student Affairs, said the campus has recently looked at codes and policies to make sure the University is up to date with Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act. This year’s new online training about sexual harassment and assault is required for faculty and staff. It’s available on MyGate. Students are strongly encouraged to look at the modules as well. Those who take the quiz must score 100 percent to pass.

They are quizzed on policies, Title IX and different procedures one might come across regarding sexual assault. The module has to be completed by Oct. 3. “(The University) has always worked hard to have prevention and awareness be a part of the campus discussion,” Robertson said. “Our goal is to have this campus to be as safe and secure as possible. There can always be more education and discussion.”

I can promise you is if people don’t do this, it’s just going to disappear.”

Since the initial posts on Yik Yak, Murray State administration has responded by forwarding screenshots of the offending posts to the University attorney, director of Equal Opportunity and the University chief of police.

SG Carthell, director of Multicultural Affairs, said his office is focused on finding out where “gaps” with tolerance and acceptance are at Murray State.

He said the comments on Yik Yak aren’t necessarily caused by a gap in institution policies or how the University is run, but caused by the environments that people come from and are exposed to.

“Some of it comes from misinformation, some of it comes from just direct negative influences and biases,” Carthell said.

He said administration, including himself, has an obligation to be seen at these types of protests and events on campus.

“We have a responsibility to be here to show that, number one, (students) know that they’re safe, but two, that they know we’re hearing them and we listen to them,” Carthell said.

WHERE TO TURN Women’s Center

809-3140 – 103C Oakley Applied Science

University Counseling 809-6851 – 104C Oakley Applied Science

Health Services 809-3809 – 136 Wells Hall

Public Safety and Emergency Management 809-2222 – Corner of Chestnut and 16th Street

Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Access 809-3155 – 103 Wells Hall

Title IX Coordinator 809-3155 – 103 Wells Hall

Student Affairs Judicial Board 809-6832 – 425 Wells Hall

Murray Police Department 753-1621 – 407 Poplar St.

Calloway County Sheriff’s Office 753-3151 – 701 Olive St.

Purchase Area Sexual Assault Center hotline 1-800-928-7273

National Domestic Violence hotline 1-800-799-7233

The News

News

September 12, 2014 News Editor: Rebecca Walter Assistant Editor: Mary Bradley Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews

POLICE BEAT Sept. 4 1:00 p.m. A caller reported being stuck in an elevator in Faculty Hall. Officers and Facilities Management were notified and a report was taken.

10:36 p.m A caller reported a U-Haul Trailer with the door left open at Roy Stewart Stadium. Officer were notified and the scene appeared normal upon arrival.

Sept. 5 9:36 a.m. A caller requested Emergency Medical Services at the Curris Center. Officers and Murray Ambulance Services were notified. The patient was transported and a medical report was taken.

8:57 p.m. An officer advised of a vehicle in the Regents Residential College parking lot with the headlights left on. Contact with the owner could not be made. An information report was taken.

Sept. 6 1:23 p.m. An officer conducted parking enforcement duties at the Stewart Stadium parking lot. Nine citations were issued.

1:53 p.m. An officer conducted parking enforcement duties at the James H. Richmond Residential College parking lot. Five citations were issued.

Sept. 7 12:39 a.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at the Lincoln View Apartments and Lowes Drive. A citation was issued for driving without a license.

11:33 a.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at Hart Residential College.

A warning was issued for disregarding a stop sign.

Sept. 8 12:15 a.m. A caller reported the smell of marijuana in Hart. Officers were notified.

7:37 a.m. Murray Police Department advised of a gas leak near Oakhurst. Officers were notified and an officer checked the area.

No gas leak was detected.

Sept. 9 12:12 a.m. A caller reported a possible break in at Regents. Officers were notified and a report was taken.

5:21 p.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at the 1100 block of College Courts. A warning citation was issued to the driver for disregarding a stop sign.

Sept. 10 2:47 p.m. A caller reported possible marijuana use in the 1000 block of College Courts. Officers were notified and a citation was issued for possession of marijuana.

6:12 p.m. Parking enforcement reported harassment at the Curris Center parking lot. Officers were notified and a report was taken for terroristic threatening.

Call of Fame Sept. 7, 8:08 p.m. - An officer was flagged down by a person at the Five Points parking lot for a hit and run accident. A report was taken.

Motorists assists – 6 Racer escorts – 3 Arrests – 0 Mary Bradley, Assistant News Editor, compiles Police Beat with materials provided by Public Safety and Emergency Management. Not all dispatched calls are listed.

3A

Leadership workshop panel guides women Amanda Grau || Staff writer agrau1@murraystate.edu

Women, including students, faculty and staff, of Murray State’s campus met at the Heritage Center Sept. 5 for a workshop geared toward female empowerment in the workforce.

The program, held by Leadership Women, a nonprofit organization, is meant to educate women in order to improve the status of females professionally and personally.

Leadership Women is a traveling program with different types of seminars open to women in the U.S. and abroad.

Candace O’Keefe Mathis, CEO of Leadership Women, said the goal of the program was meant to help women gather advice on becoming powerhouses in their professions and help them understand how to be effective leaders in the workplace.

“Women need to learn more to lead well,” she said.

“We need to leave a positive lasting legacy.”

Carolyn Flynn, Murray native, and Trisha Cunningham and Lana Porter, Murray State alumnae, served as panelists for the event.

Both Cunningham and Flynn serve on the board of directors for Leadership Women, and brought the program to campus.

The panelists’ resumes complemented the message of female empowerment in the workplace the program tried to convey.

Cunningham, Flynn and Porter but were only a portion of the event.

O’Keefe Mathis said the first step toward becoming a strong leader and leaving that legacy of being a powerhouse is to build relationships with other women.

O’Keefe Mathis, who has 26 years of experience with Leadership Women, said the biggest change over time has been the women themselves.

Mari-Alice Jasper Staff writer mjasper1@murraystate.edu

Kylie Townsend/The News

Leadership Launch encourages women to become life-long leaders based on personal goals.

“When we started, women coming to the classes were fairly similar in background,” O’Keefe Mathis said. “Now, there is a big change in diversity, in ages and ethnicity.”

O’Keefe Mathis particularly enjoys working with Generation Y, the generation about to enter the job market.

The biggest generation in history has the potential to do big things, she said.

While building relationships between women is important, it is also important to not exclude men, O’Keefe Mathis said.

Identifying herself as a feminist, she pointed out the importance of equality between the sexes, not the domination of one over the other.

Pamela Benson Owens, the programming consultant for Leadership Women, led a seminar on owning the strengths women have, instead of living in the weaknesses women see in themselves.

“Women will go to lunch with their girlfriends and talk

about how they’re not qualified,” Owens said. “A man has already started moving into the office, printing out his business cards and started networking before (women) have even decided (they) are qualified.”

Owens stressed the importance of women knowing their strengths but not overly focusing on them, while also keeping their weaknesses in context.

When a woman knows she has a weakness, she should not be afraid to admit it as a weakness. Instead of doing a poor job, get help, she said.

Leadership skills are important and useful everywhere, Owens said, but added women have a tendency to take on too much.

“Women wear busy like a badge of honor,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid of taking a break. We should see another woman working herself hard and tell her honey, you need to take a nap. We have to have each others’ backs.”

Four-year graduation rates below 30 percent Ben Manhanke || Staff writer bmanhanke@murraystate.edu

Of the approximately 1,500 firsttime freshmen beginning their fourth week of classes at Murray State this week, less than one third of them will graduate within four years.

Across the U.S., at both private and public universities, several students have taken an additional one or two years of college to graduate.

According to a study performed by the Department of Education, more than 40 percent of students won’t complete their Bachelor’s degrees by their sixth year.

Aaron Troup, a fifth-year senior from Paducah, Ky., said he is predicted to graduate in the fall of 2016. He said he mostly has himself to blame for not graduating on time.

“A lot of it comes down to me,” Troup said. “I only took 12 credit hours per semester for the past two or three years and I had to drop a few classes from time to time because I didn’t keep up with the homework.”

Lowell Stevens, a fifth-year senior from Murray, said he contributes not graduating on time to a combination of indecisiveness, switching his major multiple times and poor academic advising.

“As a freshman, my advisers told me to take classes in my major early on so when I switched majors I lost a lot of hours,” Stevens said. “There are a lot of fantastic advisers at Murray State, but mine were kind of lazy and I was left on my own.”

A 2014 report by the Council on Postsecondary Education that followed a six-year cohort of students found that Murray State’s four-year graduation rate for 2013 was 28.5 percent, up 8 percent from 2009.

The University’s five-year graduation rate was reported as 47.6 percent and its six-year graduation rate was 53.2 percent.

Jay Morgan, vice president of Academic Affairs, said while a 53 percent graduation rate may seem low, compared to other public regional universities such as Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State University and Kentucky State University, Murray State’s rate is well ahead.

Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State

and Kentucky State boast six-year graduation rates of 39, 44 and 17 percent respectively.

Murray State’s Office of Retention reported that in the spring 2014 semester, of the 215 student withdrawals, the top reasons for not finishing college were for personal reasons, financial difficulty, family problems, health problems and work conflict.

Morgan said many of these issues, especially financial difficulty, work conflict and academic difficulties factor greatly into public universities’ graduation rates and are issues not typically faced by private institutions.

“We have a lot of students here who are on financial aid,” he said.

“A lot of students either flunk out or who can’t afford to continue on.

If you go and look at Vanderbilt, a top-tier school, their graduation rate will probably be closer to 90 percent because they’re attracting the bestof-the-best and those students don’t typically drop out.”

Morgan said the University is working on increasing its six-year graduation rate to 58 percent, a change which he said which may take the next eight years to accomplish.

One of the main tools of aiding students in graduating, either on time or at all, is the MAP-Works program, he said. Launched in the fall of 2012, the MAP-Works program is designed to help identify “at-risk students” quickly and provide them with support.

James Mantooth, director of the Office of Retention, said the program helps faculty and staff become more alert to students struggling academically, personally or financially, so they can receive the one-on-one attention they need.

“There is no ‘magic bullet’ for retention so it’s important that we strive to understand our students and what their individual factors are that influence their ability and desire to persist,” Mantooth said. “The success of our office is measured by whether or not our students persist from one semester to the next, and ultimately to graduation.”

Murray State is one of many Kentucky universities collaborating with the CPE’s “15 to Finish” campaign which launched last January.

The idea of the campaign pushes

Gala, auction held at Hutson Arboretum

partnering colleges and their advis-

and do what they tell you to do, you

BY THE

NUMBERS Four-Year bachelor’s degree graduation rate for Murray State students 2008-09 20.5 percent

2011-12

27.0 percent 25.7 percent 27.9 percent

2012-13

28.5 percent

2009-10 2010-11

Provided by 2014 Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education Comprehensive Database ers to stress taking 15 credit hours of classes a semester or 30 hours in an academic year so students can graduate in four years.

Don Robertson, vice president of Student Affairs, said of the many resources available to students to help them graduate, including the Office of Retention and the Center of Academic Success, a help center for students with undeclared majors, the most important tool available to students is their adviser.

“If students utilize their adviser

should be able to graduate in four years,” Robertson said. “Sometimes students will ignore their adviser and not take the classes they need to or in the right sequence and miss the opportunity to take a class and get off track which ends up delaying their graduation.”

Helping students to graduate in four years shouldn’t be a university’s priority just because it will help their reputation and make them more attractive, but because it’s the right thing to do, Robertson said.

The new “mountain” and pond exhibit in the Hutson School of Agriculture Arboretum at Murray State was revealed during the Hutson Harvest Gala Sept. 4.

The Harvest Gala featured a auction, including more than 45 donated items.

“Lots of good, local artists donated (to the silent auction),” said Candace Clark-Collins, Murray native. She is a member of The Arboretum and said that she and her husband walk at the park every night.

“I think they have done a wonderful job,” she said.

The Hutson School of Agriculture hosted the Gala to raise funds for The Arboretum.

Abby Hensley, director of development for the Hutson School of Agriculture Special University Projects, said she was thrilled at the turnout for the event. Tickets were sold at the gates of The Arboretum and 175 were sold before the event.

The Hutson School of Agriculture began construction on The Arboretum in 2009.

“We wanted to take The Arboretum to the next level,” Hensley said.

Landscape Materials Designs and Swift Environmental were both involved in the creation of the new exhibit.

“The Board and its dedication to The Arboretum is what feeds its success,” Hensley said.

Samantha Anderson, senior from Winchester, Ky., said she has seen The Arboretum grow over the years.

“It’s a great asset to Murray State,” she said. “I wish more students knew about it.”

Jackie Reed, graduate student from Cave-In-Rock, Ill., said she had been at The Arboretum since 6:30 a.m. the morning of the event with fellow students to prepare for the event.

“The mountain brought the crowd,” Reed said. She said it felt like the foot traffic and the “Friends of The Arboretum” memberships had doubled in the past year.

While snacking on their appetizers, attendees enjoyed live music from The Drunken Poets and stand-up comedy from Bob McGaughey and Bob Valentine.

A musician from The Drunken Poets, David Dick, is a Murray State alumnus from the horticulture department. As a student, he was involved in the development of The Arboretum.

“It was nothing but corn,” Dick said. “We had a small department and we had to do a lot of work.”

Dick said that horticulture is a crucial study.

Stanley Pullen and his wife, Mabel Pullen, donated the land The Arboretum was built on.

“The Pullens donating this land to the University is a huge advantage,” Clark-Collins said.

Stanley was the first full-time teacher and chairman of the agriculture department at Murray State Normal School, which was the University’s original name.

The Arboretum includes a two-mile walking park accessible to the public.

Trees and plants native to this area have been planted in The Arboretum. It is a horticultural display that, “will become one of largest and most diverse collections of plants in western Kentucky,” according to The Arboretum’s website.

The Hutson School of Agriculture also hires student workers to maintain the grounds at The Arboretum and classes are occasionally held for more hands-on experience.

Robin Davidson from Benton, Ky., attended the Gala and said she enjoyed her first experience at The Arboretum.

“If you need a place to get away from everything else, this is great,” she said.

She said it was her first time at The Arboretum, but that she would probably be back when the weather cooled off.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Davisson said.

4A

September 12, 2014

The News

Opinion

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

­

Our View

Sexual assault victims can reach out 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 murraystatenews@icloud.com Fax: 270-809-3175

TheNews.org Lexy Gross

Editor-in-Chief • 270-809-6877 cgross2@murraystate.edu Rebecca Walter News Editor • 270-809-4468 rwalter@murraystate.edu Carly Besser Opinion Editor • 270-809-5873 cbesser@murraystate.edu Hunter Harrell Features Editor • 270-809-5871 hharrell@murraystate.edu Mallory Tucker Sports Editor • 270-809-4481 mtucker11@murraystate.edu Kayla MacAllister Chief Copy Editor • 270-809-5876 kmacallister@murraystate.edu Elizabeth Leggett Online Editor • 270-809-5877 eleggett@murraystate.edu Allison Borthwick Advertising Manager • 270-809-4478 aborthwick@murraystate.edu Sarah Beitel-Starks Advertising Production • 270-809-5874 sbeitel@murraystate.edu Fumi Nakamura Photography Editor • 270-809-5878 fnakamura1@murraystate.edu

Katie Wilborn/The News

The looming reality of sexual assault, especially on college campuses, has been a national discussion after reports of schools ineffectively handling cases surfaced.

We are not naive enough to believe that this isn’t a possibility at Murray State, and fortunately, there are multiple outlets and protections available for people who have been a victim of sexual assault.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, one in six American women have been the victim of some sort of sexual assault in their lifetimes and the most vulnerable age for someone to be assaulted is between ages 12 and 34.

Assault victims of any gender have psychological resources such as the Women’s Center, which provides counseling services and educates people on issues like domestic violence and

The News strives to be the University community’s source for information. Our goal is to present that information in a fair and unbiased manner and provide a free and open forum for expression and debate.

The News is a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The paper offers a hands-on learning environment for students interested in journalism. The campus press should be free from censorship and advance approval of copy, and its editors should develop their editorial and news policies.

The News is prepared and edited by students and is an official publication of Murray State University. The first copy is free. Additional copies are available for 25 cents at 111 Wilson Hall.

know about them so we are better prepared.

We should not be ashamed to reach out for help, whether it is for ourselves or for a friend.

Victims of sexual harassment may be left feeling isolated, ashamed or to blame. We should take advantage of educational seminars about sexual harassment, such as the rape, sexual assault and violence risk reduction seminar held Monday.

It’s not too late. More seminars are scheduled and they aren’t just for women.

The “Be A Man” seminar is scheduled for Oct. 20, 22 and 23, and it teaches how to express personal integrity, responsibility and accountability.

Encourage friends, sexual partners, classmates and those close to to you to educate themselves so we can all potentially prevent these crimes from happening. It’s time to step up and do something.

Garrison: Classic hamartia

The News welcomes commentaries and letters to the editor. Letters should be 400 words or less. Contributors should include phone numbers for verification.

Please include hometown, classification and title or relationship to the University. Commentaries should be between 600 to 800 words. The News reserves the right to edit for style, length and content. No anonymous contributions will be accepted. All contributions should be turned in by noon on Tuesday of each week via email at letters@thenews.org. Contributions to The News are the opinion of the author and not that of The Murray State News.

Access. A few of the focuses include educating students, faculty and staff about their rights and responsibilities with respect to harassment and discrimination.

Staff at IDEA can investigate, process and assist in resolving illegal discrimination and harassment complaints.

Claims made by one student against another student should be made to the vice president of Student Affairs or a formal report can be made at Public Safety and Emergency Management.

Reporting incidents is as important as seeking medical or psychological help because it could prevent someone else from also becoming a victim.

Murray State recognizes the seriousness and reality of sexual harassment, which is why the University provides multiple avenues for educating, investigating and preventing these crimes. It is our responsibility as students to

The Captain’s Log

Joe Hedges Adviser • 270-809-3937 jhedges@murraystate.edu

Write to us!

suicide awareness.

Other than psychological well-being, physical health is a real risk in cases of sexual assault.

Health Services provides valuable services in this area.

Health Services can provide assessment to physical injuries as well as provide laboratory services for pregnancy tests and sexually transmitted diseases.

Health Services is available for free to enrolled students and fulltime faculty and staff. All information from checkups is required to remain confidential.

Checking up on one’s personal condition should be the first step for someone who is a victim of sexual assault, but it is also important to reach out to authorities or investigators. To report an incident of sexual assault or file a complaint or grievance against any school employee, students can go to the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and

If I were to ask your everyday 7 to 10 year old what he or she thought a hero was, I’d get a plethora of interesting definitions.

I’m sure I would get several explanations of crime-fighting vigilantes in tight neon suits, but what actually makes a hero?

The word hero Zac Garrison has several definiSenior from tions (one denoting the sandwich, Franklin, Ky. which is my personal favorite) and is used in several different contexts.

Most people, when they hear the word hero, think of grown men in capes and defined jawlines, but I think they are selling this word a little bit short. The word hero means so much more than just fictional characters who save the damsel or defeat the monster.

This word provides one of the strongest non-fictional messages. This word stands for an icon. For someone who people look up to and who they can trust.

So does this have to be Batman or Spider-Man? Why those names? How about Jim or

Shannon instead? Those sound funny as hero names, right? I think those are perfect names.

Men that swing by spider silk they magically conjure out of their wrist don’t exist. Single mothers that work nine to five and then five to 11 do. What makes this spider guy such a hero?

The fact that you saw him save someone with some string in a fictional movie? Why is that mother not considered a hero?

That mother is the woman whose feet hurt and back aches, but still carries around her baby girl when her legs get tired. This is the woman who works 14 hours a day and eats canned kidney beans for dinner, so she can afford diapers and food for her child. She’s the woman whose heart is probably is in a million pieces after that baby’s father walked out to get milk and decided to never come back.

She still keeps it together, sings her baby to sleep and drifts off in that little twin bed they both share.

How is this woman viewed? You don’t see little girls dressing up like her for Halloween or getting her action figure wrapped in red and white ribbon on Christmas morning. This woman is looked at like just another face in the bustling sea of the city.

I’m pretty sure that whatever paths each of us choose, they will never intersect. Think of that child though. That child’s mother is her rock. She is her overseer and her protector and would do almost anything to make sure that child is safe. That sounds like a hero to me.

We all do it every day. We look over the real heroes and look up to people who only live to

please themselves and please their pockets.We idolize people who use our love for profit and conveniently are out of love to give back.

Think about how much hate police get.

These men and women fight crime every day but receive more hate than most people I know. They don’t even get a neon suit. These men and women wake up every morning, kiss their spouse and children and go to work protecting us all.

Personally, it bothers me when people ruthlessly bash the police but would never put themselves in the line of danger that most police officers do. People begin to forget that police officers are people too.

They think of the police as an entity of control and they are ridiculed for doing their job.

When these men and women get off work, they go home, kick off their shoes, grab a beer and do things that most of us normally do.

We need an overhaul on the word “hero.”

We need to remember that costumes and powers aren’t the character traits that make up a hero. When I think of a hero I think sacrifice and selflessness.

Our definition of a true hero is clouded by our desire to experience things out of our reach. We all have our own heroes – someone who we would actually never call a hero, but you know they are the reason you are the person you are today.

Acknowledge them. Tell them they are your hero. Give them the recognition they deserve.

When it’s all said and done, who’s actually going to save you?

The News

Opinion

September 12, 2014

5A Did she really say that?

Letter to the Editor While on the surface multiple ACT subject scores below the mark of 11 may seem absurdly below the academic standards of the University, consider, for a moment, exactly what should occur in the College Readiness Program (CRP).

Students with scores this low in one subject are likely to have one or more issues. Among these issues: test anxiety, low self-esteem and poor high school instruction.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve second-guessed myself out of the right answer and ended up getting an exam problem wrong.

A person with test anxiety would likely be dealing with this issue numerous times on each question. We could put these things listed above aside and count all of these students in the group that your article puts them in and then deftly hides.

In short, the semantic value of your opinion implies that these students are too stupid for college.

“Go away kid, you’re bothering me,” is the black-and-white cartoon caricature I have in mind after read-

ing how these students are “not prepared.” I expect that this is the thing the CRP is supposed to counter: the perception of stupidity.

In reaching your opinion, did you even consider a measure for success of the CRP, let alone evaluate the CRP on that measure?

It takes a special instructor to work with students that are “not prepared” for college. It would take an instructor that isn’t willing to give up the fight for a student that the system says is a lost cause.

The teacher of these students must be willing to ignore the comments about stupidity regarding their students in order to lift them up.

Instructors in the CRP must not only teach these students, but advocate for them, cheer for them and make them understand that they are greater than a number on a piece of paper produced by some arrogant, egotistical, socialite examiner that doesn’t know one iota of the confrontations faced by these students and social groups on a daily basis.

And even after graduation, stu-

9/11 and sacrificing rights in fear

dents from the CRP have been implied stupid by educational elitists for so long, they may never get over it. For students in the CRP that read this article, I ask on behalf of these editors: “Forgive them, they know not what they do.” Show them how wrong they are!

All the best in all you do while staying true,

We still want to hear from you.

Are you concerned about a certain issue on campus or just want to share your opinion? The News is always accepting Letters to the Editor. For a chance to get your letter published in print or on TheNews. org, email your submission to letters@thenews.org.

Stanley Jointer Assistant professor of computer science

Issues, observations and sometimes rants

Qualls: The week of the undead No, this column is not about zombies. Many of us may resemble zombies during the last week of class but that’s not what this column is about.

Rather, it is about a myth that has been repeated so often and with such solemnity that it has taken on the patina of policy.

It goes something like this: during the last week of classes, Kevin Qualls professors are not Professor of to give exams or mass communications make projects due.

Attendance should be optional and the final exam previewed. It’s also a week that any late assignments may be turned in for at least some credit.

Maybe they could catch their breath before diving deep into study. But these rationalities are not reality. There is no such thing as “dead week” at Murray State.

This proposition may sound familiar. It is also fantasy. It is an imagined mercy wherein hard work is put on hiatus so that students may better prepare for final exams.

They’ll also get to the above mentioned late as-

Cheers and Jeers Cheers & Jeers is written by the Opinion Editor.

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

Comics

signments, too.

Some student groups and residential colleges may put the brakes on during this week, but the classroom is still the classroom. There is important subject matter that still must be covered.

There’s a lot to be taught and learned in the course of a semester. Still, there is that persistent plea to let up a little bit toward the end, to have a little rest, to have a week that’s dead.

It is true that being well rested is important while taking an exam. Last minute exam crams are the occasions of little sleep, much anxiety and multiple pizza deliveries. None of them promote good health.

“

But these rationalities are not reality. There is no such thing as ‘dead week’ at Murray State.

”

- Kevin Qualls, Professor of mass communications

Rest is essential. But that does not mean that a dead week is warranted. Rather, it is probably a good idea to budget time. Contrary to the belief of many, the night before an assignment is due is not the best time to start it. It’s OK to start working on those assignments now.

Students who don’t will have a lot more to do during the supposedly “dead week.” They calcu-

Cheers to ... Bid Week We’re glad to see more than 100 men join the multiple fraternities on campus. We hope you enjoy your brotherhoods and form lifelong bonds. Also, nobody fell while running down the steps of Lovett.

Great job, guys.

Jeers to ... Getting too antsy for holidays Walmart is already putting out Halloween costumes and decorations. We’re seeing commercials for Thanksgiving. What is this? It’s the middle of September.

late the lowest possible score they can get on the final and still pass a course, check MyGate to discover it is too late to withdraw from a class, stock up on coffee and energy drinks, look at course syllabi for the first time, experiment with font sizes and margins to see how they can turn an 8 page paper into a 10 page paper, inquire about “extra credit” possibilities, cry, resolve to study hard just as soon as they get through watching everything on their Netflix queue, complain and finally, decide the best thing to do is get some more sleep.

But they don’t.

That’s when the zombies show up.

Don’t be a zombie.

Here’s another idea: What if “dead week” was replaced with “peak week?” In the same manner in which runners condition their bodies to operate a peak performance for a race or marathon, students could so condition their academic performance to peak at the end of the semester.

Conditioned by regular study, exam preparation and completed assignments these students could end the semester in a mighty way. Rather than a time of weeping and gnashing of zombie teeth, it could be the time to shine, a time to come alive.

Anxiety would be overcome by preparation.

Trepidation would be replaced with confidence.

Caffeine consumption would plummet.

So, gentle reader, let’s kill “dead week.” Whenever the mythical “dead week” is mentioned let’s respond with “peak week.”

Get conditioned. Be prepared. Sketch out your game plan. There is Canvas waiting for you.

Dec 1-5 is peak week. Pass it on.

Jeers to ... more Yik Yak abuse We first saw racist Yaks regarding the protests on campus. Now, it’s Greek organizations talking poorly about one another. This anonymous animosity has got to stop.

We’re better than this.

Cheers to ... McDonald’s re-opening We missed our go-to midnight stop. Some of us actually had to cook or buy groceries when the renovations began ... How horrifying. Go get a Big Mac for old time’s sake.

It’s amazing what people will do as a reaction to fear.

I was in my third grade classroom when news broke about hijacked planes flying into the World Trade Center.

I was Carly Besser confused and Opinion Editor unable to process why our hysterical teacher was pointing to Afghanistan on the giant world map.

What I thought would go away after a couple of days began a barrage of post-terror reports that I will probably never forget.

I used to fall asleep to local radio, but I didn’t sleep much after hearing the talkshow hosts predicting that other cities, buildings and people would become targets next and that we should all lie low. Because I was so gullible, I played sick the next day.

I was afraid that terrorists would bomb my Catholic elementary school because this was the impression left on young, impressionable people.

Seems rational, right?

It wasn’t any more rational than the way the media handled the crisis.

I remembered my mom picking up a newspaper and I saw the bloody, mutilated face of someone who was crushed under a falling elevator in the World Trade Center on the front page. The following issue showed a man plummeting to his death after falling out of a windown. I couldn’t imagine my future children being exposed to something so horrific.

While it was a common reaction to be scared, confused and angry about the attacks of Sept. 11 at the time, the media sensationalized events to boost our already intense fear, which later affected American policy. We still face the consequences today.

Our fear that was boosted by the media is the reason we almost unanimously agreed that airline security needed a dramatic overhaul. It’s why you have to throw away your shampoo, your medications and aerosol spray cans every time you go on vacation. It’s why you will probably be detained if you speak another language, wear a traditional headdress or have an outdated passport.

We’re in the midst of deciding what is within the power of the federal government. We felt violated when former National Security Association contractor Edward Snowden confirmed that our phone calls, emails, social media posts and other communications were being monitored. We seem to forget that we practically consented to this “violation” because of our fear during 9/11. The Patriot Act was signed one month after the attacks, which allowed for enhanced surveillance and wiretapping of phones.

It seems that because we were so devastated and afraid, we lost our sense of freedom and rationality. We gave up freedoms that we sorely miss today because we felt that it would protect us.

We abandoned our ethics after publishing pictures that mothers would never want their children to remember for years.

Sept. 11 was a tragedy, and I will never downplay the pain that Americans suffered as a unit, but if we ever see ourselves in a situation similar to the attacks, I hope we remember our freedoms. If we sacrifice them out of fear, we may never get them back. cbesser@murraystate.edu

Test Timeline

By Katie Wilborn

The News

News

6A

September 12, 2014

OPEN FOR BUSINESS Students spend hours in line waiting for the grand re-opening of McDonald’s and the possibility of Big Macs for a year

Kate Russell || Staff writer krussell13@murraystate.edu

Hundreds of people spent hours sitting on the curb outside McDonald’s Tuesday night in anticipation of the opening of the restaurant and free Big Macs.

Murray’s new McDonald’s opened for business at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, and offered a year’s worth of Big Macs to the first 100 customers and gave away prizes every hour for the first day of being open.

Shayna Busche, senior from Waterloo, Ill., got in line at 8 p.m. with a friend. The two of them were approximately 20th in line, but it wasn’t only the reward of free burgers that inspired them to wait.

Busche said she wanted to be able to cross this experience off her

bucket list.

“I can die knowing I won Big Macs for a year,” she said.

Busche said she was excited to have McDonald’s back in Murray.

“I really did miss McDonald’s,” she said. “The thing I honestly missed the most was the sweet tea. No one makes sweet tea like McDonald’s.”

Murray residents have been without McDonald’s since the 40-year-old building was demolished in mid-July.

The new facilities are larger and include two drive-thru lanes and more than double the car capacity.

Cathy Elliott, marketing director for the nine McDonald’s in the franchise, said the new McDonald’s in Murray is the largest store out of the 750 in the franchise.

She said the McDonald’s team is glad to be back open in Murray.

On Monday afternoon McDonald’s hosted a VIP Party prior to the ribbon cutting for the new building Monday afternoon.

Angel Clements, general manager for the Murray McDonald’s, said the party was for other McDonald’s owners or operators as well as local dignitaries.

Clements took over as manager Aug. 1 after the previous manager was promoted to a higher position.

She said the re-opening process has been crazy and hectic, but a lot of fun.

“We have a good team here, and it took everyone to get it ready,” Clements said.

Clements has a returning crew of about 70 people, and she said an additional 50 have been hired.

David Villers, an employee of Mc-

Donald’s, has worked at the Murray McDonald’s for two years and was in charge of giving tours of the new facility during the VIP party. He showed off the new restaurant and explained the process of the beverage and dessert as production, or BDAP, station.

The BDAP station is new to every McDonald’s in the district, and it is a section of the restaurant that is strictly for making drinks and desserts.

Villers said he’s excited about everything being new, and he’s happy to be back at work in Murray.

“What I’m most excited about is getting back to work and serving the customers here in my hometown,” he said.

Emily Davis, junior from Hazel, Ky., has gone to the McDonald’s in

Murray since she was 2 years old. She started the line for the re-opening at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

She passed the hours keeping a running count of the people in line behind her.

Davis missed McDonald’s during the months it was being rebuilt, but she said she wasn’t only in line for herself.

Davis said she wanted to do something for her father, who has leukemia, and she thought of the free Big Macs.

The Ronald McDonald House Charity presented Murray-Calloway Parks with a contribution of $3,025 at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Tab Brockman, parks director, said the money will be used to build a new fence around the playground at Central Park.

Jenny Rohl/The News

Students find a table in the busy restaurant and sit down to enjoy the McDonald’s food they have been without all summer.

“

I can die knowing I won Big Macs for a year.

- Shayna Busche, senior from Waterloo, Ill.

Photos by Jenny Rohl/The News

Emily Davis, junior from Hazel, Ky., and her father were the first in line to receive free Big Macs for a year. Davis said she was getting the free Big Macs for her father. She is holding art done by Karl Flood, who hoped McDonald’s would hang up his artwork inside of the restaurant.

September 12, 2014

Sports Editor: Mallory Tucker Phone: 809-4481 Twitter: MSUSportsNews

Section B

The News

Sports ­­

Racers face Louisville, fight to win second half Mallory Tucker || Sports Editor mtucker11@murraystate.edu

The Racers were not taken aback by their 66-21 loss to the Louisville Cardinals September 6.

With the Cardinals ranked No. 25 before jumping to their current spot at No. 21, Head Coach Chris Hatcher knew the Racers were facing a challenge.

“It is what it is,” Hatcher said. “We played a superior opponent that had us outmanned at certain positions. And a very good opponent at that. They took care of business like they should have.”

The players were just as mentally prepared as Hatcher was and they stressed the importance of not getting caught up in playing an upper-level opponent.

“We just went out there and played football,” redshirt sophomore K.D. Humphries said. We didn’t play Louisville, we just went out here and played football.”

Junior Janawski Davis said Louisville is a great team with obvious talent.

“It was something to look forward to – coming out and playing tonight,” he said.

“They play like we play, they put their pants on like we put ours on, so I mean we just come out to play.”

After trading off three punts with the Racers to start the game, the Cardinals scored just three plays into their second possession of the game. After intercepting a pass by quarterback C.J. Bennett during the Racers’ next possession, the Cardinals scored again quickly.

Although Murray State was down by two touchdowns, Hatcher and his team weren’t ready to give up just yet. On a third down with 8 yards to go, the offense lined up in a polecat formation, throwing off the Cardinals’ defense and allowing Janawski Davis to receive Bennett’s pass and run the ball for a 57-yard touchdown.

“We kind of tricked them a little bit on the polecat formation, and caught them there early to cut the lead 14-7,” Hatcher said. “I think that just made them mad.

We could have just shut it down right there, down fourteen to nothing, but we kept fighting. (Janawski) played good, I thought Harness played good, Jesse finally kind of broke out and had some good plays.”

After that play, Louisville picked up again and continued to dominate the Racers.

However, Hatcher was pleased with Murray State’s effort with just a few minutes left to play.

An offensive drive ended on a missed fourth-down conversion, but the defense was able to hold Louisville to a field goal, ending the half down 45-7.

With the game out of hand, the Racers took the field during the third quarter with a new goal in mind, which Hatcher said they achieved with Humphries taking the field to replace Bennett.

“The second half, we held our own,” Hatcher said. “Offensively we got in a groove, I thought K.D. played well. I was proud of our effort, I was proud of the way we played there in the second half. Our goal at halftime was to win the second half. That was kind of our mantra coming out of the break. Our guys really balled into it.”

The Racers’ next touchdown of the game came from Humphries’ second possession of the game. A first-and-goal pass gave Davis his second touchdown of the night, adding more accolades to his touchdown punt return against Union College on August 28.

“It’s a pretty good season start, but I’m not the only one out here doing it,” Davis said. “I’ve got the help of my teammates.”

Humphries added another touchdown to the Racers’ score early in the last quarter with a 16-yard touchdown pass to junior Jeremy Harness. This cemented the final score of the game at 66-21.

Humphries’ performance in the second half has many Murray State fans curious as to the future of the quarterback spot.

“We evaluate each week,” Hatcher said. “I thought C.J. played well, it was a different type of game when K.D. came in. At that point, the game was out of hand and sometimes that calms the nerves a little bit more. But yeah, he got in a groove.”

Hatcher said whoever practices the best during the week gets the start in the next game. Hatcher noted that he was really pleased with Humphries’ performance, but that Bennett also had some quality plays.

With the goal of winning the second half in mind, Humphries and the team worked to put effort into every play.

see , 2A

LOUISVILLE

Kory Savage/The News

Quarterback C.J. Bennett looks to pass over two University of Louisville players Sept. 6 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.

Women’s golf places second after sudden death playoff Mallory Tucker || Sports Editor mtucker11@murraystate.edu

Kylie Townsend/The News

Sophomore Sydney Trimble finishes a swing Monday at Drake Creek Golf Course in Ledbetter, Ky.

WHAT’S

INSIDE

There was no lack of excitement during the first women’s golf tournament of the semester. The Racers were led by junior Abbi Stamper into a sudden death playoff, eventually won by Southern Illinois, at the Jan Weaver MSU Invitational at Drake Creek Golf Club in Ledbetter, Ky., on Tuesday.

Stamper, who co-medaled with Lipscomb’s Samantha Griffith., carded a score of 218 over the three rounds, becoming the second Racer in program history to medal at Drake Creek. Stamper joined the ranks with Delaney Howson’s performance last year.

“I was very happy for Abbi,” Head Coach Velvet Milkman said. “She’s worked extremely hard, and to win a college tournament is very difficult – not many people win college tournaments. She needs a little more confidence in herself, and I think this was a good way to build it up.”

After an NCAA tournament run last season led by senior Howson, the team is not looking to replace her, but rather to grow as a unit.

“Good teams don’t rebuild, they just keep moving on,” Milkman said. “We can’t rely on one person to step up and fill that void. Everybody’s got to get better. It’s a team effort and you know, we have to be better than we were last year. And we can do that – yes, absolutely – but it’s going to take a lot of hard work.”

In Milkman’s 22 seasons coaching at Murray State, the playoff at Drake Creek was the first time her team has entered extra golf. It also marked the longest team playoff in course history and the first for this event. Beginning on the par-4 18th hole and continuing on three straight par-4 holes, No. 10, 11

and 12 decided the fate of the tournament on a par putt by SIU’s Mattie Lindner.

“It was really exciting,” Milkman said. “Obviously it’s something that doesn’t happen a lot. It may never happen again in their college career, so to be a part of that was exciting. They handled the play very well.”

The playoff team included Stamper, freshmen Moa Folke, Anna Moore and Summer Simmons, and sophomore Leah Judd. Folke carded rounds of 75-75-71 to total 221 for a fourth place finish, accompanying Stamper on the all-tournament team.

The Racers navy team also participated in the event, taking fifth place behind Western Kentucky and the University of the Cumberlands. This team included sophomores Sydney Trimble and Jacklyn Van Meter, who placed ninth and 12th, respectively, in addition to junior Sophie Hillier, sophomore Minta Yin and senior Gina Nuzzo.

Belmont, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay State, SIU-Edwardsville, Northern Kentucky and Tennessee State rounded out the field of 12 teams, and provided the Racers with a preview of conference competition.

The Racers tee off next Monday at the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Cup at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Ky. As they prepare for the tournament with a short turnaround time, Milkman said that the team will be working on their short game, specifically low putts, in order to help them adjust to Louisville’s greens.

Milkman said: “I’m really excited about this season. I think we’re deeper than we’ve ever been. The talent is there. We still have to get better – there’s no doubt about that – but this is the best thing that could have happened to us to start the season on a positive note.”

INTRAMURALS RETURN

VOLLEYBALL TITLE

FACES PROFILE

GENDER EQUALITY

Softball season kicks off, students get active, 3B

Racers go undefeated at Liberty Invite, 3B

Alumnus shares his successes, life experiences, 6B

LGBT community hosts conversation, dessert, 5B

Sports

2B

The News

September 12, 2014

LOUISVILLE From Page 1B “Coach just said go out there and give effort, keep giving effort every play,” senior linebacker Travis Taylor said. “And that’s what we did. We just need to fill some holes. We’ve got a lot of practice to do. We’re going to make up for it.”

A few injuries riddled the game, also somewhat expected as the Racers face a team much larger than their usual rivals. Sophomore runningback Roman Clay was helped off the field with a leg injury and senior linebacker Perry Cooper was also taken out early on with an injury to his hand.

“I don’t think anybody was seriously injured,” Hatcher said. “We’re beat up a little bit – like playing that brick wall back there in the back in our lines.”

The Racers have a bye this weekend as they prepare for their next game against Western Michigan, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be working just as hard as usual.

“We’re coming to practice next week like we’ve got a game on Saturday,” Davis said. “We’re going to come, take our break, get healed up, come back against Western Michigan, and we’re going to come hard.”

The Racers kick off at 6 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sept. 20.

Kory Savage/The News

Redshirt freshman D’Montre Wade walks towards his team in between plays in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. An official attendance of 50,179 fans Sept. 6. filled the stadium with a sea of red.

Volleyball takes champion title at Liberty Invite Logan Burnett || Contributing writer lburnett1@murraystate.edu

Lexy Gross || Editor-in-Chief cgross2@murraystate.edu

Lori Allen/The News

Taylor Olden spikes the ball during a home game last season against Morehead State.

Racer volleyball continued its successful start to the season last weekend at the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg, Va. The team took the tournament after defeating University of South Carolina Upstate and Howard University.

Head Coach David Schwepker said although the women took the champion title in the tournament, there are improvements to be made.

In game one of the invitational, Murray defeated USC Upstate 3-0.

The first set was a back and forth affair between the two sides, after the Spartans took an initial 6-4 lead. It took an ace from Racer sophomore Scottie Ingram, an outside hitter, to take the lead 23-22 and ultimately win the set.

The Racers took an early lead in the second set, and despite a comeback attempt from the Spartans, took the match 25-19. The final match was quickly won by the Racers after securing and early lead. They won the final set 25-11.

In the final game of the invitational, the Racers played Howard University. Though they ultimately won the first set, it started close until the Racers gained a 16-9 lead.

Murray State won the first set 25-18. The second set was equally cagey, with the two teams exchanging points until the Racers were able to close it 25-21.

The third set started closer with Howard taking a 14-13 lead. However, Murray took the next 9 points and the lead, closing the set at 25-17.

Schwepker said he was happy with the team’s performance and that they did a great job adapting to the opposition’s game.

The team enjoyed some success on the individual level as well.

Taylor Olden, junior outside hitter, was named Tournament MVP. “I’m smart as a hitter, I’m not your average six-foot outside hitter,” Olden said.

At 5 feet 7 inches tall, Olden is an exception to the usual size of collegiate outside hitter.

Additionally, both Scottie Ingram and Kristen Besselsen were named to the All-Tournament team.

The Racers are travelling to Chattanooga today for its second to last invitational before regular season play.

When asked who the biggest opposition is this weekend Schwepker named Chattanooga, but also stated that every team has equal chance in the tournament.

“We play Mississippi Valley State first,” Schwepker said, “All we’re concerned about is Mississippi Valley State.”

Regular season play begins Sept. 26 against Southeast Missouri and Schwepker said he wants to treat it as another game of the season.

“We’re really trying not to think about that any differently,” Coach Scwepker said, “It’s no more important than this Friday night.”

After this weekend at the Chattanooga Classic, the Racers have one final tournament at Valparaiso University before kicking off OVC play.

The News

Sports

September 12, 2014

3B

Intramurals are back: Softball kicks off season Kelsey Randolph || Contributing writer krandolph3@murraystate.edu

Intramural softball season: a time for students to take a break from classes, step on the field and play for their favorite organization.

Students kicked off the first intramural sport of the year with games starting last week.

Quintin Bergman, junior from Festus, Mo. and member of Sigma Chi fraternity, said one of his favorite things about the season is the sense of camaraderie.

“The competition is a great part of intramurals,” Bergman said. “It’s a great way to be involved within your organization. It’s nice to see everyone supporting one another.”

The major sports for the 2014-15 school year are slow-pitch softball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, flag football, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee and inner tube water polo.

Jacob Payne, freshman from Hardinsburg, Ky., said he likes the different skill levels and the laid-back feeling of intramural sports.

“I am excited to play with people I don’t necessarily know,” Payne said. “Since I’m not on a varsity team this gives me the opportunity to make friends, stay active and not feel the pressure of being a student athlete.”

With residential college, independent, fraternity and sorority teams all ready to play slow-pitch softball, students are lining the bleachers with signs, music, competition and spirit.

“Even though I don’t play the sport I still enjoy coming out to watch,” said Aida De La Fuente, senior from Louisville, Ky., “I always think about playing more intramurals, but for right now I’ll just come out and support the people I care about.”

Though not every student goes to watch or plays for competition, some students chose to play to help keep them in shape.

Jordan Norber, junior from St. Louis, Mo., says he was just looking to avoid the “freshman fifteen” when he started intramurals.

“I originally began playing intramural sports my freshman year because I was scared of the almighty freshman fifteen,” Norber said. “I came to enjoy the sportsmanship and friends I made. I’ve since then been playing with two teams and I’ll continue to play until I graduate.”

The slow-pitch softball season kicked off Sep. 8 and lasts until Oct. 8.

The next intramural season, flag football, kicks off Oct. 20.

Kory Savage/The News

Darvonte Green bats for Lambda Chi Alpha Wednesday night during its game against Sigma Pi.

Games to Watch Monday Alpha Sigma Phi vs. Alpha Gamma Rho 7 p.m.

Lambda Chi Alpha vs. Sigma Phi Epsilon 9 p.m.

Tuesday Tiger Sharks vs. Master Batter, 5 p.m.

Men’s Hart A vs. Richmond A, 8 p.m.

Wednesday One Hit Wonders vs. ASA B Team, 7 p.m.

Sigma Sluggers vs. Springer-Franklin Terps B, 9 p.m.

Thursday Tri-Lam vs. Good Wood, 7 p.m.

Sigma Alpha vs. ADPi Lions, 5 p.m.

Kory Savage/The News

Ethan Lett swings away for Sigma Pi against Lambda Chi Alpha Wednesday night at Central Park.

Kory Savage/The News

Lambda Chi Alpha and Sigma Pi shake hands after their game Wednesday night.

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Sports

4B

September 12, 2014

Soccer faces double defeat in Florida Peter Northcutt || Staff writer pnorthcutt@murraystate.edu

It was not all sunshine and daisies for the Murray State women’s soccer team this past weekend as they traveled to Florida.

The team lost both of its games down south, losing a heartbreaker to Florida International 1-0 on Friday and then was edged out by Florida Gulf Coast 4-0 on Sunday.

The first game of the weekend was evenly matched as both teams accumulated eight total shots between the two of them with none finding their mark.

The Panthers did have a 4-0 advantage in shots on goal during the first half, indicating that they controlled the tempo for the most part. In the second half, the Racers won the shot on goal advantage 3-2 but was hurt by a simple defensive mistake in the waning minutes of the second half.

Florida International’s Scarlett Montoya fired in a dangerous cross from ten yards out that was connected by Johanna Volz to sneak the ball past Racer keeper Shelby Haworth for the game’s lone goal.

The Racers gave a last ditch effort in the concluding 10 minutes of the game with three scoring opportunities, none closer than Julie Mooney’s shot with 38 seconds to go that bounced off the bar and was cleared by the keeper.

Murray State Head Coach Jeremy Groves was disappointed with the losses, but proud of his team’s effort.

“It was a pretty even game both ways,” Groves said. “I thought we defended pretty well, ya know, we really didn’t get going until about the last ten minutes of the game when we had a penalty appeal turned down which I thought was a penalty for us and then we also hit the bar. They didn’t really create a lot going forward.”

The Racers made the short trip across the state on Sunday to play Florida Gulf Coast in what would be their toughest competition yet this season. The game was very evenly matched for most of the first half until the 36th minute when FGCU’s Tabby Tindell scored the game’s first goal on an assist from Sarah Lowicki. The Racers still had hope heading into the locker room as they were only down 3-2 in the shots on goal category.

However, a foul given in the 67th minute of the second half gave the Eagles a penalty kick opportunity that they would capitalize on to increase the lead to 2-0. The third FGCU goal of the game came only three minutes later off the foot of Tindell for her second goal of the game. In the 73rd minute, the Eages would score the final point of the game by setting up Paulina Speckmaier to increase the lead to 4-0.

Groves noted the weather situation as a disadvantage to his team on Sunday, but knows his team can learn from these losses.

“There was a bunch of weather rolling in so we

Lori Allen/The News

Senior Julie Mooney kicks away during a home game at Cutchin Field last season. tried to change the formation,” Groves said. “If it got to seven minutes the result would have stood, so we tried to chase a goal and at that point they took advantage of that and hit us on the counterattack three times and scored.”

Senior Bronagh Kerins led Murray State on Sunday with three total shots and one shot on goal.

“We created a lot of chances like we usually do during all the games,” Kerins said. “We were pretty good at attacking and we did really well, we were really solid. We just had a few mistakes in the back line and soccer is a game of mistakes so we just messed up on a few of those.

“We kept our shape, we really worked on a lot of things, we created chances and unfortunately we just didn’t get to finish them.”

The Racers now move to 1-4 on the season with many of their losses coming from winnable games.

Groves attributes their early record to inconsistency.

“We’re doing it in spurts now which is probably why the results aren’t going our way,” Groves said.

“For twenty minutes we’ll be playing well and doing

the things we’re supposed to and then for ten or fifteen minutes we’ll kind of revert back to our old ways.

“It was definitely a positive trip, though. We got a lot of things accomplished. We’re continuing to get better defensively and on Friday we played really, really well.”

Even if the team did not get the result they wanted on the field, the Florida trip might prove to be invaluable later on the season. The team spent four or five days constantly surrounded by their teammates, whether eating, sleeping, or traveling.

“We spent so much time together,” Kerins said.

“We’re around each other all the time, we’re at the airport together, we’re in the hotel together. It’s very important to have everyone bonding and creating that unity on the team. The trip to Florida was really beneficial and I think we’ve gelled a lot more and that will help with the unity of the team.”

The Racers will have another shot to improve its record as the women travel to Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. Friday.

Cross country beats heat at Eastern Illinois Kelsey Randolph

Contributing writer krandolph3@murraystate.edu

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics

The Racers take off at the Belmont Opener August 29 at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn.

With a heat index of 100 degrees, the Racers still came out strong at the Eastern Illinois University Walt Crawford Invitational in Charleston, Ill. The women finished second and the men finished third overall. Individually, the women were led by sophomore Alicyn Hester, who finished in sixth with a time of 19:15.27. She was followed Meagan Smith 10th, Emma Gilmore 13th, Abbie Oliver 15th, and Kati Heil 26th.

The men were led by Gavin Galanes who finished 13th with a time of 27.08.50.

He was closely followed by Cole Cisneros in 19th.

Starting his third year on the team, junior Lucas Prather said he is going into the season with a positive, motivational outlook for not only himself but the team as well.

“We’re working our way up slowly but surely,” Prather said. “I think everybody gave a good effort. We all knew it would be hot and we still started out the meet with a positive attitude.”

This race comes only two weeks before the team’s big meet at the Notre Dame Invitational, where more than 100 teams meet to compete in a three-part race.

The EIU meet was just a step in the

right direction toward meeting their overall goal.

“I was more excited for the team results,” Prather said. “I was just really happy with everyone’s performances. It just tells me we are all going to be confident and continue to work our way up for OVC.” Head coach Jenny Severns says there are some goals to meet this week – stick together to run faster and always be confident.

“On both the men and women’s side they did really well,” Severns said. “On the women’s side they were all struck by the heat, and while it impacted certain people more than others, they knew exactly how to run out, pace themselves and end strong. I am proud of the whole team.”

Prather says his motivation comes from purely wanting to be there.

He said he leads by example and hopes his motivation will lead others to be excited and have a positive attitude for the season.

“This year we are all about improvement and doing better year to year,” Prather said. “I can only hope that I continue to improve and so does the team.”

The Racers will be back in action at the Austin Peay Invitational in Clarksville, Tenn., on Sep. 19 and then the team will travel to the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind. on Oct. 3.

Men’s golf starts strong Staff Report The Murray State men’s golf team finished fourth place overall in the first tournament of the season at SIU-Edwardsville Derek Dolenc Invitational at Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville, Ill. Head Men’s Golf Coach Eddie Hunt wasn’t dissapointed by the tournament results.

“The main thing was that I was really pleased overall to have finished fourth place,” said Hunt.

The tournament hosted 15 teams in the invitational on Tuesday. The first round of the tournament initially pushed Murray State back into 10th place – but the Racers came back into sixth place later that afternoon.

In the final round of the tournament, Murray State fired a 292 score, which moved the team into its finishing spot of fourth place.

Murray State’s score was topped by senior Jordan Smith and landed him a spot on the all-tournament team. Smith scored fourth place with finishing scores of 7569-71, which totaled out to be 215.

Junior Brock Simmons placed in 18th in the tournament with rounds of 75-74-74, totaling 223.

Matthew Zakutney placed 27th with scores of 77-74-74, totaling 225. Jared Gosser placed 43rd with a total score of 228 and Myles Morrissey in 75th place with a total score of 239.

The team that placed behind the Racers at 888 was Belmont, while Bradley University finished sixth with an overall score of 891.

The Racers next home tournament will be (September 22nd-23rd) at Murray State Invitational at Miller Memorial Golf Course. “Our next tournament is at home and I really expect us to pull out a win on our own tournament,” said Coach Hunt.

Out of Bounds

We get it, you know sports If you choose to read any further, you will probably pick up on the fact that this is the first column I’ve Peter Northcutt ever written. editor Staff writer My entrusted me with the column this week which was her first mistake considering I’m not positive what a column actually is.

I googled it earlier and Mallory expects me to either build an upright pillar that is typically cylindrical or, more likely, I am responsible for an article expressing my opinion on a certain topic.

Considering I know nothing about construction and the fact that I work at a newspaper, I am going to proceed assuming the latter.

If you, like me, came here expecting something to help you support your house, I sincerely apologize.

I’m just as disappointed as you are. Maybe one day I will write a column about columns.

But today we have a much more important topic to talk about. This is a subject that I feel very strongly about and I sense that you do, too. Since this is my first opinion piece, I decided that I might as well swing for the fences and take on the issue that is more controversial and has divided more households than any in recent memory.

I’m not sure if you’re wearing that hard hat because you thought we would be building columns today but you should leave it on because it is about to get messy.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I am talking about obnoxious sports commentary on social media.

Other than the Murray State News’ devout Amish following, all of you have probably been effected by this in some way.

Just imagine you are sitting at home enjoying the big game on TV when they cut to commercials, otherwise known as Twitter break.

You harmlessly scroll through your feed, skipping over your friends’ Crossfit updates and occasionally laughing at a cat photo, when the unthinkable happens.

Your neighbor, who you thought was your friend, tweets, “The Colts need to figure out how to get pressure on QB without blitzing too many guys. They should switch to a simple 4-4-2 #firepagano.”

The story ends with you saying words to your phone that would make Siri blush and throwing it out the window.

Not only are these types of tweets useless and annoying, but they are a catalyst to a whirlwind of obnoxious tweets that increase exponentially.

If we don’t put a stop to this now, most of our major cities will be taken over by this viral disease by as early as 2016, according to some reports.

If you are reading this today and saying to yourself, “I thought my athletic insights were enjoyed and admired by my online fan base,” don’t be ashamed.

Maybe some of your Facebook friends actually do care about whether you think the Racers should play a zone or man-to-man, but I know at least two people who don’t care and that’s me and Steve Prohm.

So the next time you have that 140 character tweet typed and ready to send, just imagine Steve, myself, and all of your Twitter followers yelling in the famous words of Michael Scott, “NO. PLEASE, GOD. NO. NOOOOO.” And thus ends my first and probably last opinion piece. Hey, it looks like a column, you guys! It all makes sense now. pnorthcutt@murraystate.edu

FOLLOW SPORTS

Lori Allen/The News

Junior Brock Simmons lines up a putt at Miller Memorial Golf Course last season.

Twitter: @MSUSportsNews Check out game updates, profiles and columns at TheNews.org.

September 12, 2014

5B

The News

Features

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

­

‘SPEAK OUT’ National, local organizations seek to “SPEAK” (Suicide Prevention Education Awareness and Knowledge) Hunter Harrell || Features Editor hharrell@murraystate.edu

Imagine how different iconic movies such as “Flubber,” “Hook” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” would have been without Robin Williams cast in his specific roles.

If another actor filled those shoes, would the movies have the same impacts on society?

The sudden death of the actor and comedian sparked a conversation around the nation about suicide and recognizing signs of depression and suicidal tendencies.

Now more than ever, during National Suicide Prevention Week, organizations such as To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), the World Health Organization and American Association of Suicidology seek to educate people on depression, suicide and how to prevent suicide.

This year, the overall theme, as spearheaded by TWLOHA, is “No one else can play your part.” The goal of the TWLOHA movement this year is that people will recognize they have a role in this world.

LOCAL CONVERSATION

According to statistics provided by the American College Health Association, more than 1,000 suicides occur on college campuses

each year.

With numbers as high as these, Abigail French, director of the Women’s Center, recognized a need for outreach to students on campus regarding suicide prevention and awareness.

In the past, the organization has invited speakers from TWLOHA and Theater Delta, an interactive theater program to show students the warning signs of depression and suicide and how to intervene.

This year, however, French wanted to shift the focus of the event to the help available for college students specifically.

“Mental health in general has become more of a priority on college campuses,” French said. “I believe people are becoming more aware of (suicide and depression), so I think it, the problem, is getting better. I think it is important for students to be aware that it isn’t scary to ask for help, and it isn’t uncommon either.”

The Women’s Center set up a tent on the Carr Health Building lawn to educate students on the signs of depression and the resources available on campus Wednesday, which was World Suicide Prevention Day. Informative fliers were handed out to those who passed by. Yellow armbands, pens and stress balls

see SUICIDE, 6B Graphic by Summer Bush

Yoga classes offer student escape Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu

As the fourth week of classes is coming to a close, students’ agendas are quickly filling up with assignments and events. Stress is an inevitable part of college life. Some Racers choose to release this stress by practicing yoga.

Held in the Carr Health Building Dance Studio, three different offerings of connected warrior yoga and vinyasa flow.

Gayle Rogers, certified yoga instructor, has been teaching yoga since 1997 and noticed an increase in the number of people participating in her yoga classes.

“I was hopeful to have a good response the first year (at Murray),” Rogers said. “I had about 20 students then and now have had up to 33 students in a single class.”

The Yoga for Wellness class, taught by Rogers, has grown so quickly in the previous years that during this semester, Murray State is offering two separate class sessions for credit.

“The class roster usually fills up in one hour,” Rogers said.

Although there is a high demand for the class, credit isn’t the only thing students gain. There are both physical and mental benefits from practicing yoga.

“Physically, yoga increases flexibility, strength and balance,” Rog-

ers said. “Emotionally it helps you be more centered and grounded and it keeps you focused.”

Ginger Cupp, senior from Carterville, Ill., practices yoga two to three times each week because of the benefits.

“I needed something that provided a release from stress,” Cupp said. “Yoga seemed to combine this as well as exercise. It has helped my posture and has taught me tricks to mediate stress. I use it for fixing any joint or muscle problems that arise, rather than going to a chiropractor.”

Rogers explained that some people may be hesitant to try yoga because they are worried it will influence their traditional values.

“The number one obstacle for being able to share the gifts is a lack of information, perception” Rogers said. “This is not about religion, but you can connect to your own sense of spirituality.”

Understanding that each person has a different set of issues, Rogers says yoga will adapt to individuals.

“Whether you need energy, or have some depression, or have too much energy each body receives it in a different way.”

Debbie Ray, community participant from Murray, takes the Yoga for Wellness class offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I have been taking yoga for 10 years,” Ray said. “It really helps

Transgender equality advocate to speak at LGBT event on campus

Lecture series caters to each organization Taylor Inman ||Contributing writer tinman@murraystate.edu

Jenny Rohl /The News

Makenzie Sindelar, senior from Princeton, Ky., concentrates on breathing during a yoga class. with my flexibility and helps my golf game.”

If you would like to join a yoga class and are not enrolled in the yoga for wellness course at Murray State, Rogers provides classes that are open to the public as well. Participants in these classes range in age from 14 to 87 years.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. Rogers teaches peaceful spirit yoga as a multi-level class. A separate class is also offered Tuesday evenings at 6:30. The sessions are five dollars. Students also have the

Madison Wepfer || Staff writer mwepfer@murraystate.edu

This year’s Conversation and Dessert, hosted by the LGBT community and other local sponsors, will reflect the movement and the changing perspectives across the country, specifically with transgender equality.

“This (LGBT) movement around the country has taken off faster than any other human rights movement we’ve ever seen,” said Jody Cofer Randall, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Program Coordinator at Murray State.

When presented with the task of choosing a subject and speaker for the third annual Conversation and Dessert, Cofer Randall said it seemed obvious as to what people were interested in knowing.

“Throughout the year, we give Safe Zone

opportunity to take the one credit hour Yoga for Wellness course.

Rogers also offers class Wednesday mornings at 8:00 as a volunteer instructor with the Connected Warrior Program. This program brings a free yoga class to active or inactive military personnel and/ or their family members that are 18 years or older.

“Yoga is powerful and not a respecter of age or physical ability,” Rogers said. “Wherever you are on your path to wellness, yoga meets you there.”

presentations for faculty and staff during the Safe Zone Project,” Cofer Randall said.

“One of the questions we ask them is, ‘what kind of additional training do you need to feel more confident in working with LGBT students?’ Time and time again, we always find that they hit on transgender issues. I took that to heart.”

In response to that request, Cofer Randall decided to invite LGBT advocate Mara Keisling to speak at this year’s Conversation and Dessert. Keisling is the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality and a leading voice for transgender equality.

“Mara is known to be an outspoken and very direct speaker,” Cofer Randall said.

“She speaks her mind and she speaks it very clear and bluntly. She doesn’t beat around the bush.”

The event will include both presentation

Award-nominated speaker Bob Hall come to Murray State to present his Nonviolent Sexuality Series to students and faculty Sept.

17.

Hall will present four workshops, each geared towards a different group.

One lecture will be specifically for faculty, housing, Public Safety and Emergancy Management and professional staff. The other sessions will be for Greek Life, Murray State athletes and Murray State administrators.

The workshops will entail a discussion with the speaker, instead of a lecture. Abigail French, director of the Murray State Women’s Center, said she believes this series will give students and staff a chance to be more involved with the learning process and allow individuals to ask Hall questions they normally would not get to ask in a formal lecture setting.

Hall is the founder of Learning to Live With Conflict Inc. Since 1981, he has been using knowledge from his research on violence and human sexuality alongside a black belt in judo to teach others ways to handle conflict. He has spoken at more than 900 college campuses,

see LECTURE, 6B

and conversation. At 7:30, Keisling will give her presentation on transgender equality.

After the presentation, the conversation portion will begin. Students will be free to ask questions and engage in conversation with Keisling, Abigail French, the director of the Women’s Center and Renae Duncan, Murray State’s associate provost for undergraduate education.

“The intent is for those in attendance to engage Mara and Dr. Duncan in a real conversation about these issues,” Cofer Randall said. “There will be roaming microphones, and people can actually pose questions.”

The purpose of Conversation and Dessert is to make students, faculty and community members more aware of LGBT issues and learn from people who have experienced

see CONVERSATION, 6B

The News

Features

6B

The week ahead...

TODAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

September 12, 2014

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

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

12

13

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7 p.m.

“Grace and Glorie,” Playhouse in the Park, Chestnut Park

7 p.m.

MSU Rodeo Fun Show, William “Bill” Cherry Exposition Center

7 p.m.

MSU Rodeo Fun Show, Expo Center

11 a.m.

Barre, front lawn, Carr Health Building

7:30 p.m.

Conversation and Dessert featuring Mara Keilsing, Curris Center Small Ballroom

8 a.m.

Connected Warrior Yoga, Carr Health Second Floor Dance Studio

7:30 p.m.

Cinema International presents “PIETA,” Curris Center Theater

SUICIDE

From Page 5B

were also given to students. By the end of the afternoon, 55 students stopped by the tent.

Though past events have drawn larger crowds, French said the students who expressed interest in their program were sincere and grateful.

“We were very happy with the turn out today,” she said.

“Most students expressed their gratitude for the information we provided them.”

FUTURE EVENTS

Suicide is the second leading

cause of death in the U.S. for people between the ages of 15 and 24.

A majority of college students fall into this range, meaning the need for education and awareness is still a relevant issue for students at Murray State.

Because of this, French plans to continue acknowledging National Suicide Prevention Week and World Suicide Prevention Day next year.

“Next year we hope to add to the event by having some sort of way for students to remember those they may have lost to suicide,” French said. “Also, we have plans to move forward with the Walk the Walk program next year. Next year’s event will likely span the whole week.”

CONVERSATION From Page 5B those issues first-hand. Cofer Randall said he wants people to speak with Keisling casually as if they’re having a private conversation.

“We physically set up the stage to look like a living room setting so it feels like sitting around the living room having a conversation with this person who really, five days a week is in D.C. demanding transgender equality and pushing these issues,” Cofer Randall said.

Although she specializes in transgender equality, that is only a portion of Keisling’s knowledge. People who attend the event may

LECTURE From Page 5B

Kalli Bubb/The News

The Women’s Center promotes suicide prevention and awareness Wednesday on the Carr Health Building lawn.

also discuss human rights and other aspects of the LGBT movement with Keisling.

The event is free and open to the community. It will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16 in the Curris Center Ballroom.

Cofer Randall said many members of the community will attend the event Tuesday including President Bob Davies, Mayor Bill Wells and several members of the Human Rights Commission.

“We use this event and this speaker not just to hit not just the students that I work with everyday, but to open it up,” he said. “If anyone out in the city of Murray thinks, ‘huh, I don’t know much about that,’ well, here’s a free chance to come hear something about it.”

Cofer Randall said that he wants to allow everyone in the community to learn about

transgender equality and more about the LGBT community.

“More than half of my job is not planning events. Half of it is correcting stereotypes and assumptions that people have about LGBT people that are not correct,” Cofer Randall said. “I spend half of my time working with straight people or allies to reframe the conversation and direct it more in a positive direction.”

Cofer Randall and the LGBT community have worked to break down barriers and eliminate stereotypes on Murray State’s campus.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress with some of our trans-work on campus,” Cofer Randall said. “This summer we designated some transgender restrooms. It’s just a start to the work. It’s by no means finished.”

and is a three-time nominee for the National Association for Campus Activities Lecture of the Year.

Hall brings a different take on how to handle sexual violence, French said.

“He has a very interesting perspective on how to address sexual violence on campus,” she said. “A lot of times programs and speakers will focus on what not to do. And while that’s good, a lot of students leave feeling that they know what they’re supposed to not do, but not what they’re supposed to do.”

Hall’s lecture series will focus on understanding how and why people can be emotionally and physically abusive.

“He really gives both sides of the coin, and that’s what we were looking for in a speaker,” French said.

“He’s someone who can talk about all the bad things we’re not supposed to do and also show students what a healthy relationship looks like.”

French said she has recognized a need for student, faculty, and staff education on the topics Hall speaks about at Murray State, “Students really don’t know what (healthy sexuality) looks like; they don’t know how to talk about sex,” French said. “They don’t know how to talk about boundaries. Because of that they are often times dissatisfied with how those relationships go, but they don’t necessarily know why.”

These problems can often turn into situations like rape and sexual assault, which are problems on college campuses.

“When students are educated about these issues they can go on to have healthy relationships with people and I think that changes the culture,” French said. “So I think we begin to change the culture by setting the standards higher, and you can’t do that if you don’t know what you’re shooting for.”

Alumnus shares his successes, life experiences Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu

Murray State has a history of successful scholars. One scholar in particular, Jason Morrow, in less than five years after graduation has completed nine novels and is working on his 10th.

Morrow graduated from Murray State in 2009 with a degree in print journalism. Throughout college he gained the experiences that ultimately led him to where he is today.

Tiffany Whitfill: How would you describe your current lifestyle?

Jason Morrow: My wife and I have been nomadic for the past four years. We started a job at a newspaper in Jesup, Ga. It was a small town and the people were nice, but neither of us could really imagine staying there for a year or two. So, we decided to teach English in South Korea. It allowed me time to write fiction between classes, and the schedule was shorter than the average American work day, so I found a lot of time to write.

After South Korea, my wife and I moved back to the states. By that point I had written six books and we were making enough so we didn’t have to take on any jobs. So, we bought an RV and decided to travel United States for a year. We started in Sheboygan, Wi, through Kentucky and visited many places out West.

You could call us traveling writers, though my writing has nothing to do with our travels.

That’s Emily’s job. She’s keeps a blog called tomorrows.org. She takes all the photos and writes about our journey.

TW: Describe the next chapter in your life.

JM: My wife and I plan to go back to South Korea. We have taught there for two years before and we had such a good time that we want to go back for just one more year. There we will be teaching young ones the English language and I will be putting out more books as we go along. I know it seems a bit crazy for me to stop writing full-time and take on another job when

I don’t have to, but we live this way because we love the adventure. South Korea is a wonderful country to live in TW: Where do you get inspiration to write a novel?

JM: We bought an RV and stayed in many ranges of places. We stayed in the Redwood Forest, saw mountains capped with snow and deserts that spanned as far as the eye could see. Naturally, being in places such as these, I gained a lot of inspiration for settings. I write fantasy, so having a wide range of places to see helps out a lot. For instance, the Redwoods definitely seem like a place elves might live. The dark caverns of Carlsbad New Mexico provide excellent images for the setting of some monster. Many abandoned cities we came across gave me great images for the zombie series that I just wrapped up.

I’ve now started work on a Western/Fantasy titled Keeper of the Books. Traveling through Wyoming, Texas and many parts of California has been excellent in providing me with good settings. Much of my inspiration comes from brainstorm sessions with my wife. It was her idea to write a series about people with superpowers in a zombie world, which turned into a successful series of six books. I plan to write more in that series too, but I’m at a good stopping point and am excited to work on this new fantasy series.

TW: How long did your first manuscript take to write?

JM: That depends on how you look at it. I can’t tell you how many hours of political science classes were spent fleshing out story ideas while the professor taught. It was terrible of me to do that, but the stories were just getting ready to burst. Instead of taking notes about some philosophical concept, I was furiously writing character sketches and plot ideas.

Of course, I never did this in my journalism classes. There I was learning to be what I really wanted to be—a writer.

Photo submitted by Jason Morrow

Jason Morrow and wife, Emily, pose for a selfie in front of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

So, in answer to the question: It took me about a year to plan out and fully write and edit my first book. My second book took me about six months. My third book took about four months. Now that I write fiction full time, it usually takes me about two months to start and finish a book.

TW: Do you have any advice for students who want to pursue their careers?

JM: Do what you really want to do. If you do

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what you really want to do, that probably means you’re good at it, or at least have a mind for it already. If you’re a writer at heart and you’ve stuck yourself into a math degree because you think it will make you more money, it’s time to switch majors. Always work toward doing what you are passionate about. For me, I loved writing. I had no idea that when I became a journalist that I was going to be writing my tenth book by the time I turned 27. But I worked at it, and it has paid off.

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Features

September 12, 2014

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FEATURED TWEETS

Pop Culture Corner

iPhone 6

Advice you didn’t ask for

Wash your hands

Gareth Emery @garethemery Nightclubs without LED walls don’t need to worry anymore. Just stick an iPhone 6 Plus up there.

Nearly as big innit.

1:07 p.m. 9 Sept 2014

Nick Bilton @nickbilton That’s it folks. Apple Pay will replace your credit card, iPhone 6 will replace your small iPhone & the Apple Watch will replace your wrist!

1:51 p.m. 9 Sept 2014

Albert Breer @albertbreer That’s weird… My phone is suddenly starting to act up! #iPhone6 12:54 p.m. 9 Sept 2014

Ebro Huxtable @oldmanebro Too dumb for a Samsung? iPhone 6 is here!!!

1:35 p.m. 9 Sept 14

VANESSA HUDGENS MAKING BROADWAY DEBUT The actress-singer will make her Broadway debut in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe’s musical “Gigi.”

“Gigi” is set in the turn of the 20th century Paris. Hudgens will star as the main role in the musical.

The musical is set to release in January and run through February.

Photo courtesy of circleofconfusion.com

The psychological thriller, “As Above, So Below,” was filmed almost entirely in the catacombs beneath the streets of Paris, France.

‘As Above,’ sinks below John Gruccio || Contributing writer jgruccio@murraystate.edu

SHIA LEBEOUF PLEADS GUILTY TO DISORDERLY CONDUCT CHARGE Shia Lebeouf pleaded guilty Wednesday to a disorderly conduct charge after acting up at a Broadway show.

The “Transformers” star has gotten treatment for an alcohol addiction since his arrest in June.

Soundbytee “Humor doesn’t come out of the good times, it comes out of the anger, pain and sorrow.”

- Joan Rivers

Like clockwork, we are introduced to a couple months of semi-scary horror movies that lead us up to Halloween’s fresh batch of frights. Sometimes we get lucky with these films and we get even more excited for Halloween to come.

“As Above, So Below” is not one of those films to get excited about.

Desperate to finish her father’s quest, a young researcher gathers a small team to journey into the catacombs that lie beneath the beautiful streets of Paris.

Everyone knows the tales that have been told about the catacombs, especially the ones featuring death.

However, this group of adventurers soon learns that even darker secrets have haunted these underground tunnels for a very long time.

The film stars Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, Francois Civil, Marion Lambert and Ali Marhyar. It is directed by John Erick Dowdle (Devil).

For a “found footage” psychological thriller, I have to admit this film had an interesting concept.

I have never seen a movie use this type of ‘found footage’ filming while going underground and in foreign areas.

As an almost unknown cast, this particular group of American and French actors collaborated well.

As thrillers go, this film had a good eeriness to it and a creepy score to go in hand with it.

The usefulness of the score is really justifiable seeing as within these catacombs, you have no idea what is in front of you or behind you.

With all of that being said, it would have made a very good Netflix film, but not a theatrical one.

The overall plot may be intriguing with spiritual intuitions and references to Hell, but the story makes no sense whatsoever. Whenever we get glimpses of the researcher’s true intentions, the film jumps to something else.

Other than the catacombs, we never get a clear look at anything else in France. Since this film was shot on location in Paris, it is kind of disappointing.

Besides some skull crosses and a little bit of blood, you really do not get to see anything mesmerizing about the haunted catacombs.

The male and female leads are not only predicable, they are also very stereotypical. At times during the film, I forgot that I was watching this film and found myself seeing a crappy version of

either Lara Croft or Indiana Jones running through underground Paris.

“As Above, So Below” is creative and intriguing. But it lacks all the right necessities to make a thriller – one being, for lack of a better word, thrill.

Save your money, wait for Redbox if you must. Or just catch it on Netflix in a year or so.

Quick Facts Title:

As Above, So Below

Rating: R

Cast:

Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, Fracois Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro, Hamid Djavadan, Theo Cholbi and Emy Levy

Similar to: Descent Borderlands Silent Hill

If I could only give one more piece of advice in my lifetime, I would have one simple thing to say: wash your Hunter Harrell hands.

I know Features Editor it isn’t much, but it’s something and it’s something that works. Washing your hands is often seen as an inconvenience. It is a chore tied to messes. Messes such as ketchup from a burger dripping or covering one’s mouth from a sneeze. These messes may be small at first, but they build up.

In either instance, I still advise you to wash your hands.

The human body is both a remarkable and disgusting machine.

The body is remarkable because it can heal its wounds in time and fight off infections. The human body can perform amazing tasks and here’s a perk, has opposable thumbs to do so.

It’s a wonderful design. But the body is by no means, invincible. It is susceptible to harm and disease.

The world is dirty. You are dirty.

Your hands are dirty.

So wash your hands, and wash your hands often. The more frequently you wash your hands, the better your body can operate.

Keeping your body healthy is one of the best things you can do, so don’t neglect your body when there is a need.

It’s a pretty simple piece of advice, but I wish you could further explore it with me.

What if that need is wrapped up in the mind? What if a person suffers from depression or thoughts of suicide? What if their mind is cluttered with these thoughts so much that it creates a mess? My advice to them is wash your hands.

When your body is in distress, you visit a doctor to fix the issue.

The mind is just a piece of the body, so take care of your mind and wash the filth from the world away often.

Don’t let the negative comments, failures and problems grow and manifest and become messes.

Remember to give yourself a well-deserved break if you need to think things through. Remember that your mind is a part of you and you must care for it as you do the rest of your body.

The advice I am giving you is malleable. It can be molded to fit any situation. It’s simple advice, easy to remember and foolish to forget.

More than anything, please remember to wash your hands. hharrell@murraystate.edu

Madison Wepfer || Staff writer mwepfer@murraystate.edu

After a fire destroyed costumes, props and a storage unit at Playhouse in the Park in July, director Lisa Cope had to improvise and find a way to keep the community theater afloat.

“We lost all of our props, all of our furniture,” Cope said. “We lost tuxedoes and wedding gowns and prom dresses and all those kinds of things as well as most of our men’s costumes.”

Because the theater lost so many valuable pieces, Cope and her staff decided to create a list of needs, which they have posted on their website and Facebook page.

Cope said the list is updated every time they receive a new item, so everything that is on the list is still needed to produce their upcoming shows.

The fire may have destroyed an entire storage unit’s worth of props, costumes and furniture, but Cope and her staff did not let that small setback keep them from programming new and exciting shows this semester.

Next weekend, they will host a Cabaret night where groups from Phi Mu Alpha and Sigma Alpha Iota will perform. Since the theater’s storage unit was destroyed, they will have to purchase one to use. The money raised at the Cabaret will aid the playhouse in buying a new storage unit and replacing the things they lost in the fire.

“We’ve done the Cabaret every year, but this one is specifically for the ‘fire fund,’” Cope said.

Also coming up this season will be the Penguin Project, a show dedicated to disabled children who are interested in theater.

“It was started by Andy Morgan who is a pediatrician who works with children with disabilities,” Cope said. “He does theater as a hobby, so he came up with this project.

The artists (disabled children) are the stars of the show. They have all the solos and all the speaking lines. The show really belongs to them.”

Each child is paired with a student mentor.

The mentor is responsible for helping them during the show and supporting them on and

off stage.

“It’s intended to be an opportunity for them that they might not otherwise get, and it’s also very important from the socialization aspect,” Cope said.

Cope said that all of the students become friends by the end of the production and spend time together outside of rehearsal. The children will be performing “Annie Jr.” Friday, Sept. 26 through Saturday, Oct.r 4.

Then comes “Legally Blonde,” the most popular musical of the season.

“In our minds, ‘Legally Blonde is the big musical of the year,” Cope said. “It’s the most expensive show and it has the most people in it.”

The Christmas shows this year will be “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!,” a children’s production and “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” in which Cope hopes to cast all teenagers.

However, some adults are still needed in both shows, so college students may audition.

Cope said many students are volunteers at the theater but more are always needed, whether it be to help behind-the-scenes help or to audition for a show.

Graphic By Summer Bush

Local theater productions commence after summer fire

Out this Week

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“The Infinite Sea”

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“Partners” Barbra Streisand

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“The Fault in our Stars”

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“Kick Beat”

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The News September 12, 2014