The Murray State News September 19, 2014
TheNews.org
Take Back the Night date moved Mary Bradley
Assistant News Editor mbradley9@murraystate.edu
Between 600 and 700 students will have to wait until the spring semester before they can attend the Women’s Center annual Take Back the Night event. The new date for Take Back the Night is now March 30, as opposed to being held in September, and will still be held on Cutchin Field. The date will be in time for Kentucky’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month in March and the National Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. The annual event, held to raise awareness to fight sexual assault and violence, has been held during the fall semester previously, but the move is to align the event with other initiatives and increase attendance. Last year, a few hundred students attended Take Back the Night. The theme was making sure rape and sexual assault didn’t define a person’s character. Abigail French, director of the Women’s Center, said the Purchase Area Sexual Assault Center holds many of its initiatives during March and April, and the Women’s Center wants to partner with them to bring those initiatives to campus. “It fits with a lot of what the community does to move it to that time,” French said. While the date aligns well with awareness month and other sexual assault awareness events, French said the move also falls during the beginning of Greek Week. She said typically 500 Greek members attend Take Back the Night and the Women’s Center wanted to move it to a time when those organizations can take advantage of the event and continue to be big supporters. The date change is not the only difference attendees will notice. The Women’s Center is also changing the theme focus on bystander intervention. French said it is estimated that one-third of sexual assaults occur in the presence
of a bystander, and she said that if a bystander were to intervene, one-third of assault could be prevented. “We really want to begin to focus on educating students about bystander intervention, what that means, how they can be involved at their comfort level by giving them real, practical options for doing that,” she said. She said the survivor stories that have been told in the past have been great, but have left some students feeling helpless. With the theme of bystander intervention, French hopes students can better know how to prevent sexual assault. By sharing stories of intervention, French said the idea behind the theme is that it will normalize the behavior and see intervention as something students can do to help others. Paige Wilson, senior from Warsaw, Ky., said she thinks the date change coincides well with Greek Week and believes it is important for Greek members to know how to prevent sexual assault. As a member of Greek Life, she said the organizations hold a large number of events and parties, making the possibility of sexual assault more likely. Because of this, she said Greeks should know what to do and how to help each other in those situations. Wilson said she thinks a bystander intervention theme will be good change, but that the victim stories shared in the past were influential for attendees and therapeutic for victims. She said she could understand how students are left feeling hopeless after Take Back the Night, and the bystander intervention theme can provide a solution to student hopelessness. “I feel like they can sometimes leave you hanging on a cliff,” she said. “You’re left like, ‘oh my gosh, I have all this emotion’, and then they don’t bring (attendees) back down to a solution or what we can do. It would help for students to know what they can do and what we as a campus can do.”
Vol. 89, No. 6
NO MORE SMOKE University mindful of state smoking bans Mary Bradley
Assistant News Editor mbradley9@murraystate.edu
In light of Gov. Steve Beshear’s recent executive order banning smoking on government property, the University’s potential to instill a smoking ban of its own has lit up debates all over campus. On Sept. 4, Beshear signed an executive order requiring government property including sidewalks, parking lots, state vehicles and lawns to be smoke free, effective Nov. 20, affecting more than 33,000 state workers. Nearly 5,000 state employees use tobacco products, but Murray State’s students, faculty and staff will not be effected by the order. As one of only two Kentucky universities without some form of tobacco ban, the other being Western Kentucky, President Bob Davies and the University may make the move to create a ban of some form by the start of the next year or by the beginning of the new academic year. Before Beshear’s executive order, the Faculty and Staff Insurance and Benefits Committee designated a Smoking Committee to make a recommendation of a possible smoking or tobacco ban to the University. The Insurance and Benefits Committee is responsible for making recommendations concerning group health and life insurance and other benefits for faculty and staff, according to the 2014 Faculty Handbook.
see SMOKE, 2A
Haley Hays/The News
A student sits outside of Faculty Hall between classes. Students, faculty and staff can’t smoke on the side of the building that faces 16th Street.
University budget in unexpected surplus Ben Manhanke || Staff writer bmanhanke@murraystate.edu
Murray State is beginning the fiscal year 2014-15 with excess revenue of approximately $3.8 million in net assets, which included a $1.2 million shortfall in its operating fund. Following extensive cuts and restructuring under former President Tim Miller last semester in order to diminish the University’s budget deficit, it was announced at the Board of Regents quarterly meeting last month that while the University has a surplus of money, these funds may not be spent freely. This also left $1.2 million to
be recovered. Don Robertson, vice president of Student Affairs, said when talking about a University’s multimillion dollar budget, a shortfall of $1.2 million is comparatively little. “To us a million dollars is significant, but not in the grand scheme of the whole University budget,” he said. “This amount can have an impact, but it’s still not as much as a person would think. My sense is that we are on much more solid footing now than we were.” Robertson said he attributes Murray State’s favorable financial state to the leadership of Miller.
“Miller put into practice policies and procedures that have left us in a much better position than when he began his term,” Robertson said. “His goal was to make sure the budget was balanced and he did that.” Jackie Dudley, vice president of Finance and Administration Services, said this shortfall was planned and foreseen by the Board of Regents and represents the cost of replacing Murray State’s electrical transformers, renovation projects to both Pogue and Waterfield libraries and deferred maintenance funds for facilities.
see BUDGET, 2A
College Courts renovations behind schedule Kate Russell || Staff writer krussell13@murraystate.edu
Renovations on College Courts weren’t completed on schedule, but work on the apartment complex is continuing through the school year and into next summer until the improvements are finished. Kim Oatman, chief Facilities Management officer, said about 50 percent of the scheduled renovations were completed this summer. He said additional projects will be completed during the school year and the renovations will be finished by summer 2015. “The reason that everything was not completed was a combination of limited time with which to get things done and limits on funding and resources,” Oatman said. The renovations scheduled for this past summer included installing sprinklers, new windows and doors, a new hot water system, new flooring, exterior improvements on some buildings and asbestos abatement in some buildings.
WHAT’S
INSIDE
Jenny Rohl/The News
College Courts apartments haven’t seen significant renovations in 20 years. Oatman said the flooring and five buildings of sprinklers were finished, as well as roofs for some buildings. New dumpster enclosures were built this summer as well as asbestos removed from buildings. The projects not completed included
the rest of the sprinkler installation, new windows and doors and the hot water system. Oatman said the University slated about $2 million dollars for improvements to College Courts. After this summer approximately $1 million has
been spent. Oatman said Facilities Management has been trying to complete some renovations every summer for the past couple years. “In the past we have installed all new HVAC systems, smoke alarm systems and renovations to the parking lots,” he said. “Prior to 2011, there had not been any significant renovations in the last 20 years.” College Courts, built from 1961 to 1966, consists of 12 buildings with 12 apartments in each building. According to the College Courts page on the University website, 132 are one-bedroom apartments open to married or single-parent students with two or three family members, graduate students or undergraduate students over 21, non-traditional students and faculty and staff members. The other 12 apartments have two bedrooms and are reserved for families with more than three members. David Wilson, director of Housing and residence life, said there are 142
see COURTS, 2A
WHAT’S ON THENEWS.ORG VIDEO
Sports Editor Mallory Tucker talks about coverage in her section.
POLL
We want to know what you think about issues on campus.
LETTERS
Letters to the Editor are available at TheNews.org that didn’t make it into the print edition.
FOLLOW US
@MurrayStateNews and @MSUSportsNews
VETERINARY CENTER
OUR VIEW
UNDEFEATED SEASON
WORTH WORK
New veterinary center opens in Hopkinsville, 3A
Take Back the Night should be held in the fall, 4A
Volleyball undefeated in tournament play, 1B
Students discuss reasons, benefits for employment, 5B
News
2A
BUDGET From Page 1 Dudley said this shortfall will not hamper Murray State’s operating ability. “Financially, we are pretty much where we were last year,” she said. “Our reserve balances are a little bit less, but that doesn’t put us in worse financial standing. The University is still very well off and we have reserves to last us approximately 140 days if something occurred and we didn’t have revenues coming in or new funds. ” As Murray State’s surplus in funds have restricted use and are in the form of grants and endowments which can only be spent and used as stipulated, $1.2 million was extracted from Murray State’s reserve operating funds. She said she does not expect the University to have to dip into its reserve funds again until possibly fiscal year 2016 to fund the building of the new Engineering and Physics Building. While this building is being funded by the state,
The News
the University is authorized to spend up to $5 million on the project if the money from the state does not cover the cost. The expectation is that these funds will be reimbursed to the University over a number of years from donor funds. Dudley said it is not a common practice to utilize reserve funds in this way, but that she expects for this too to be balanced by the end of the fiscal year primarily through revenue gathered from tuition and being conservative on the expenditure side.
BY THE NUMBERS • Former President Tim Miller planned for a $3.9 million deficit in the 2014-15 budget • Tuition increased by 5 percent this year • Tuition can only increase by another 3 percent, unless revisited by the Council on Postsecondary Education
SMOKE From Page 1 Davies said he gave the group the assignment because it includes representatives of all three University bodies: Faculty Senate, Staff Congress and the Student Government Association. “I will be asking them for a recommendation from the (Smoking Committee) to the Insurance and Benefits Committee and then to my desk that would say, ‘we recommend to keep it as is, we recommend smoke-free, we recommend tobacco free,’’ Davies said. “It’ll be one of those three.” Davies said discussing the smoking or tobacco policy on campus is a tangled web with health, cost and cleanliness issues. Davies said there have been many other conversations brought up regarding tobacco, including donations from tobacco companies to Murray State. He said he doesn’t believe donations will be dropped because other universities in tobacco producing
September 19, 2014
COURTS From Page 1 apartments available for occupancy and only 128 are occupied. “We have a number of apartments that are being cleaned and we have a waiting list of students wanting to move in, so that number will increase over the next few weeks,” Wilson said. College Courts, like Murray State’s residential colleges, have resident advisers for those living in the apartments. Sandy Crowell, junior from Edwardsville, Ill., has been a resident adviser for College Courts for two years. Crowell said she thinks because of the renovations the buildings are holding up fine. Crowell’s block of apartments had flooring replaced the summer before last, and she said other buildings had floors replaced this summer. She said she would like to see the rest of the sprinklers installed in all the buildings, as well as new, more efficient windows that can be easily opened. “Eventually the University should rebuild College Courts to make the apartments safer and to ensure that they don’t fall apart,” Crowell said. For now, renovations must suffice, as the next large-scale construction projects are New Franklin and White residential colleges.
areas have smoke or tobacco-free and also continue to receive contributions. Davies said the University will provide services to help people quick smoking if they need it. “Part of the efforts, if it comes out that we’re going smoke-free or tobacco-free or whatever combination there of, is we as an institution need to have programs in place by working with the Wellness Center and Health Center to provide opportunities for people to not have to go cold-turkey,” Davies said. Clinton Combs, junior from Benton, Ky., is one of two SGA senators involved in the Smoking Committee. “The President’s Office wants (the committee) to have a recommendation made by the week of Nov. 17, also around the time the executive order from Beshear goes into effect in Kentucky,” Combs said. “He wants us to be able to present to the Insurance and Benefits Committee with a recommendation by that time, so then it can go to the Board of Regents meeting on Dec. 5.” Combs said the possible ban could be either a smoking ban or tobacco ban.
Jenny Rohl/The News
Fifty percent of planned renovations have been completed on College Courts student housing.
He said a smoking ban would include tobacco in the form of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, hookah and e-cigarettes, essentially anything that is or simulates smoking. A tobacco ban would include chewing tobacco and anything that is a tobacco product. “I want people to keep in mind that we want to best represent what the students want,” he said. “If people have any opinions of this that they want to get to the committee, we urge them to talk to their SGA representative or come to an SGA meeting. “I want to make sure that this goes in favor of what the students want.” There are 1,372 total colleges and universities nationally that are smoke-free, 938 are tobacco-free and 167 do not allow e-cigarettes, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Max Crofton, sophomore from Murray, said a smoking ban is necessary to ensure the health of students on campus and said it is surprising to him that Murray State has yet to have a ban when it is common among other campuses and states. “Many of us find it hard to believe that now, with all the smoking
hazards and advertisements telling us how wrong smoking is, that at a higher learning facility such as Murray State, that it is still allowed,” Crofton said. “I can’t walk across campus and not smell smoke. “It’s everywhere and it’s ridiculous. Faculty Hall, the library, Fine Arts. You can’t get away from it.” Crofton said he believes Murray State is falling behind society as more institutions begin to have smoking or tobacco policies. He said it is strange to him that Murray State is one of only two Universities left to impose a ban of some type, and the University would be better off with a smoking ban. “Smoking harms so much more, not just the one smoking, but the people around them,” he said. “Especially when the rest of the world is telling us to stop smoking, it would make sense for a place of higher learning to do the same.” John Wyatt, freshman from Calvert City, Ky., said a ban would hurt smokers because of their addictions. “It’d definitely hurt some people,” he said. “For those people that are hard stuck on nicotine, they’ve got to have cigarette every now and again.”
Tinseltown
Tuesday
Wyatt said he began smoking socially, and as he saw his own friends begin to pick up the habit, he did, too. However, he said if a smoking ban had been established on campus before he started classes, he might not have started the habit. “I probably wouldn’t have messed with it,” he said. “I don’t have anywhere to smoke off campus because I don’t smoke in my car or in my house.” Wyatt said he thinks a smoking ban could help Murray State students, but argues that it would lead to lower academic performances for those students who do smoke freely on campus now. He said a smoking ban is both an invasion of personal freedoms and a protection of health but believes smokers should have the right to smoke if they so choose. “If you’re thinking about everybody’s health in general, it would be better (to have a ban),” Wyatt said. “But if you’re thinking of the people that are going to have to sit and wait six hours that are really addicted to nicotine, they’re not going to be able to focus in class and their grades will drop.”
Sept. 23 Hitch Sept. 30 & Oct. 7 Captain America 1 & 2
New Life Campus Ministry Curris Center Theatre - 7 p.m.
THENEWS.ORG
The News
News
September 19, 2014
3A
News Editor: Rebecca Walter Assistant Editor: Mary Bradley Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews
School of Nursing to hold ceremony
POLICE BEAT
Amanda Grau || Staff writer
Sept. 11 9:29 p.m. Racer Patrol reported a car driving erratically in the Roy Stewart Stadium parking lot. Officers were notified and a warning citation was issued for careless driving. 10:15 p.m Racer Patrol reported suspicious people at the Roy Stewart Stadium parking lot. Officers were notified. The scene appeared normal upon arrival.
Sept. 12 11:57 a.m. A caller reported a sexual assault at Regents Residential College. Officers were notified and a report was taken. 11:51 p.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at 15th and Main streets. A citation was issued for possession of marijuana.
Sept. 13 12:59 a.m. A caller reported a physical altercation at the Sigma Chi fraternity house. Due to the incident occurring off-campus, the caller was referred to the Murray Police Department. 8:51 p.m. An officer conducted parking enforcement at the White Residential College parking lot. Ten citations were issued.
Sept. 14 7:51 p.m. An officer conducted parking enforcement at the James H. Richmond parking lot. Six citations were issued. 11:23 p.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at the Roy Stewart Stadium parking lot. A verbal warning was issued for disregarding a stop sign.
Sept. 15 10:20 a.m. A caller reported a person threatening to damage their vehicle at the 15th and Olive streets parking lot. Officers were notified and a report was taken. 10:15 p.m. A caller reported a medical emergency at Old Richmond Residential College. Officers and Murray Ambulance Services were notified. The patient refused transport by Murray Ambulance Services and a medical report was taken.
Sept. 16 8:46 a.m. A person and the Murray Police Department advised of a possible stolen vehicle at the Public Safety Building. Officers were notified and an information report was taken. 1:00 p.m. Central Heating and Cooling Plant reported a fire alarm activation at Regents College. Officers, Facilities Management, Murray Fire Department and the state fire marshal were notified. The activation was accidental. A fire report was taken.
Sept. 17 1:03 p.m. An officer conducted parking enforcement at the CFSB Center parking lot. Seven citations were issued. 6:08 p.m. A caller reported a theft in the 500 block of College Courts. Officers were notified and a report was taken for second degree burglary.
Call of Fame Sept. 15, 8:18 a.m. - An officer conducted a traffic stop at the Roy Stewart Stadium parking lot. The driver of the vehicle was served a warrant and arrested for failure to appear in court out of Grayson County, Ky. Motorists assists – 7 Racer escorts – 6 Arrests – 1 Mary Bradley, Assistant News Editor, compiles Police Beat with materials provided by Public Safety and Emergency Management. Not all dispatched calls are listed.
Correction
On Sept. 12, The Murray State News’ article “Leadership workshop guides women” was printed with a mistake. Lana Porter is on the board of directors for Leadership Women and was a catalyst for bringing the program to Murray State. Carolyn Flynn is not on the board of directors.
agrau1@murraystate.edu
For the first time at Murray State, nursing students will don the age-old white coat – a traditional symbol of the medical profession. Traditionally, white coat ceremonies were reserved for students graduating from medical school. This is the first time in the field’s history that students entering the nursing profession are taking part in a White Coat Ceremony. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing awarded the Murray State School of Nursing up to $3,000 in funding the first White Coat Ceremony for undergraduates completing their Bachelor’s on Sept. 26. Graduating medical students take part in a White Coat Ceremony, a tradition that began in 1989. The ceremony, originally reserved for physicians, now includes nearly all professions in the medical sciences. The practice of ethical medicine, or compassionate care, sparked the idea for the ceremony. “The White Coat Ceremony is meant to emphasize to students the need for compassionate care,” said Marcia Hobbs, dean of the School of Nursing. The Hippocratic Oath is typically read at the ceremony and, as undergraduates would throw caps in the air, the future doctors would put on their white coats. The oath has its roots in Greek history. Originally sworn to gods and goddesses, it declares unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of the swearer’s patients. The Murray State School of Nursing was chosen for the ceremony by
Fumi Nakamura/The News
Students sit in a classroom in the School of Nursing, one of 100 nursing schools chosen for a White Coat Ceremony. the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which is dedicated to maintaining ethics and compassion in medicine. Murray the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, dedicated to advancing higher education in nursing. Only 100 nursing schools were chosen in the United States. Hobbs said the personal attention
students get at Murray State is what set the School of Nursing apart from the rest. “With the class size of 40 students, faculty know the students and follow up with them if there are problems,” Hobbs said. Caleb Burchett, senior from Paducah, Ky., said after he was accepted
into the School of Nursing, he heard that it is one of the best in the nation. The rigorous curriculum challenges students but is also the reason students graduating from the program are more likely to be hired. “We go for three years instead of two,” Burchett said. “Our core classes start earlier. Our curriculum is more in-depth. Our teachers take so long and focus on every little aspect of what we’re learning.” Burchett said the best part of the program is the relationship he has with his teachers and fellow students. “All of our professors are caring,” said Kelleigh Jones, senior from Paducah, Ky. “They invest in us.” Janessa Tovar, senior nursing student, came from California to study at Murray State’s nursing school. Her online research led her to choose Murray State over other schools throughout the country. Tovar’s journey through the program was complicated partly due to a pregnancy for which she had to go on bed rest near the end of her term. “I had a beautiful pregnancy,” Tovar said. “The last two weeks though, my doctor put me on bed rest because of high blood pressure.” Tovar said her teachers worked with her throughout the two weeks, helping her to get her work and continue learning. When her son was life-flighted to Vanderbilt Hospital a few weeks after his birth, her teachers helped her yet again. “It was so incredible, the amount of accommodation they allowed me,” Tovar said. Tovar finished the semester maintaining her all As and Bs record. “We’re not just friends in the program,” Tovar said. “We’re honestly a family.”
New Breathitt Veterinary Center to open in 2016 Mari-Alice Jasper || Staff writer mjasper1@murraystate.edu
Lines of shovels broke into the soil at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Breathitt Veterinary Center, or BVC, at the Hopkinsville Regional Murray Campus Thursday afternoon. Gov. Steve Beshear said the BVC is going to have a profound effect on agriculture in western Kentucky. The BVC’s sister lab in Lexington, Ky., covers diagnostic research in Central and Eastern Kentucky. “Having a modern, state of the art facility is absolutely essential,” Beshear said. Wade Northington, Program Director at the Breathitt Veterinary Center, said the current facility will remain open until the new one is finished in 2016. The new BVC will be 32,000 square feet. “Space at the old building was a critical issue,” Northington said. “We will be more than doubling the functional lab space.” Stephanie Bland, Ph.D. student from Carbondale, Ill., said she was impressed by the size of the new building. Bland has ongoing research at the BVC, but said the new facility will impact the undergraduates in the pre-veterinary program the most. She said they will have more space to perform diagnostic procedures. Marissa Bedron, graduate student from Murray, said when her class toured the current BVC, it was crowded. “As technology advances, machines get bigger,” Bedron said. All of the equipment in the current building is up to date and will be transferred to the new facility.
Illustration provided by Murray State University
The new Breathitt Veterinarian Center in Hopkinsville, Ky., will be completed in 2016, and will be approximately 32,000 square feet. “I’m excited to see how (the new BVC) advances classes at Murray State,” Bedron said. Northington said the new facility will feature state-of-the-art classrooms with 21st century technology. Tony Brannon, dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture, said 20 students per semester enroll in a course of classes called “the Breathitt Center.” These students occasionally travel to the BVC for labs, but several faculty members give lectures from the BVC online. “The mission of the diagnostic lab is to serve veterinary technology and
pre-medical students,” Brannon said. Veterinary students seeking doctorate degrees have the opportunity to attend Auburn University with in-state tuition prices, according to Brannon. There are 36 slots designated yearly for Kentucky students because there are no veterinary schools in the state. Northington said that the new BVC may partner up with other institutions in the area like Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn., in the future. The new BVC will have heightened safety and biosecurity for its
employees and the community. It will be the only lab in Kentucky to be Biolevel 3 certified. Without this certification, the BVC would have to defer high impact diseases to other labs. Laura Metcalf, senior from Simpsonville, Ky., said the new facility would allow for expansion of different departments. “As veterinary medicine develops, the need for labs like the BVC increases,” Metcalf said. It is undetermined what will happen to the current BVC building once the new facility opens in 2016.
Alliance introduces new scholarship for LGBT students Ben Manhanke || Staff writer bmanhanke@murraystate.edu
For the first time, Murray State is offering an LGBT-specific scholarship that is sponsored by Alliance and the Office of Student Affairs. The idea for the scholarship and the money funding the two $500 scholarships available to students was donated by the Office of Student Affairs, its division of LGBT programming, and by Alliance from money it has raised over the past several semesters from club activities. Alliance is giving $500 for the scholarships, $250 per each semester, and to an LGBT student attending school on campus. The second $500 scholarship cost is being split evenly between the Office of Student Affairs and its division of LGBT programming. Morgan Randall, president of Alliance, said she has wanted to offer a scholarship for members and for LGBT students at Murray State for several years so when she was elected president she made it a top priority. “I just really put (the idea) on the table and
said that I seriously want us to consider (offering a scholarship) this year and see if we can make it work,” Randall said. “Fortunately, we’ve got enough in the bank so Alliance can continue to do all the other things it wants to do and provide this scholarship at the same time.” During her time at Murray State, Randall said she has seen a number of LGBT students who struggle with financing college because of a lack of family support and have subsequently had to drop out. She said anything Alliance can give back to its members is better than nothing. While the scholarship does not specify that the recipient must be a member of Alliance, as stated in the eligibility requirements of the scholarship, members are given preference. Preference is given based on demonstrated need, their participation in LGBT community activities and their “appreciation for fairness in sexual orientation and gender identity and expression issues.” Randall said for the fall scholarship, for which the deadline was Sept. 3, Alliance received three applications. She said she hopes there are more applicants for
the spring semester scholarship and that after her graduation the scholarship is offered next year. Jody Cofer Randall, LGBT program coordinator, said his office supported the offering of the scholarship as it was a worthy cause and because there were previously no scholarships being offered specifically for LGBT students. The only exception was an LGBT scholarship for studying abroad which was established approximately a year and a half ago, Cofer Randall said. He said he looked for several years for an alumnus or donor who would be willing to provide the financial backing for an LGBT scholarship at Murray State, but has so far been unsuccessful. “The need is there,” Cofer Randall said. “And I think it speaks volumes that a student organization, with a little bit of support, made this happen. It’s pretty cool that students are doing this for students like them.” Applications for the second $500 Alliance scholarship are due Jan. 21. Randall said that Alliance officers are currently reviewing the fall scholarship applications. They will make a decision on whom to award the money to by Oct. 1.
4A
September 19, 2014
The News
Opinion
Opinion Editor: Carly Besser Phone: 270-809-5873
Our View
Reschedule of event causes concern The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.
MARCH 2015
The News
SEPTEMBER 2014
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 Katie Wilborn/The News
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 Joe Hedges Adviser • 270-809-3937 jhedges@murraystate.edu
Write to us! 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.
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.
Take Back the Night is a campus tradition that promotes the awareness and prevention of sexual assault. Typically held in September, students join together for a candlelight vigil and listen to stories of those who were victims. However, Take Back the Night is now scheduled for March 30, six months later than in previous years. The change was made because March is Kentucky’s sexual assault awareness month, but this could ultimately hurt the promotion of the cause at Murray State. New students who are trying to acclimate to campus attend events earlier in the year. After the fall semester is over, many students will graduate or have found another niche somewhere else in campus life like a club or intramural sport. With most seminars, classes and discussions happening this month, the newly scheduled Take
Back the Night takes place far after the other events about sexual assault, so it is less likely to have as high of a turnout. The event will take place during Greek Week. Some sororities and fraternities make Take Back the Night mandatory, so Greek attendance will be high, but the same standards do not apply to non-Greek students. These students will probably assume Take Back the Night is a Greek-exclusive event and decide not to attend, despite the message being relevant for all students. Awareness should be as inclusive as possible. There is the issue of having two important events taking place at once. Will the excitement of Greek Week take away from the message that Take Back the Night tries to send? Scheduling Take Back the Night during Greek Week could
also potentially group sexual assault with Greek activity, which isn’t fair to students in those organizations. Sexual assault awareness is a message that we should want to push and include everyone as much as possible. Take Back the Night will feature bystander intervention stories, because most sexual assaults can be prevented when a bystander intervenes. Bystander intervention stories will replace the victim stories shared in past Take Back the Night demonstrations. It’s refreshing that the event will change from past presentations, but both victim stories and intervention stories are equally important for the event. The message that sexual assault is emotionally damaging is an important one for us all to hear. Seeing and hearing people talk about their experiences and
pain resonates more than reading a pamphlet about sexual assault in a waiting room. Sexual assault awareness, especially on a college campus, should be promoted. Students should encourage their friends and partners to attend Take Back the Night. We also hope that the change in time will not dilute the importance of this message. Just because students are not required to attend seminars about sexual assault doesn’t mean they shouldn’t feel obligated to join those who are. Everyone can learn something valuable from Take Back the Night, whether it be how to respect others, prevent an assault from happening or avoid risk factors that lead to sexual assault. Though it is six months away, students should make a point to attend Take Back the Night to educate themselves.
The Captain’s Log
Garrison: Why men should cook Pour some heavy whipping cream into a pan. Put on medium-high heat (around a seven, in numerical terms) and then add grated parmesan cheese while slowly stirring until the sauce thickens. As your sauce simmers, boil a few servings of pasta and Zac Garrison throw in a dash of salt for flavor. Senior from Once your Franklin, Ky. sauce is thick enough, drop your noodles into the pan with the sauce and briefly toss. Pour onto a plate, garnish the edges with some parsley and enjoy your simple and delicious home-cooked meal. Ladies and gentlemen, I just gave you stepby-step instructions on how to make fettuccine alfredo from scratch. It’s easy, quick and making it in your kitchen sure beats paying $15 for a measly portion of it at some bourgeois steakhouse chain. I’m an avid cooker. I love the feeling of creating something from raw ingredients and formulating a wonderful finished product that brings people together. Not many people know I cook, but it’s been one of my passions for as long as I can remember. I think every man should know his way around a kitchen. I’m not going to try and make this column a gender equality anthem, but I am genuinely a firm believer that a man
needs to be deadly with a spatula and a cookbook. My roots in cooking go back to when I was a child, and it starts with my father. I never really had many ways to relate to my father. Dad liked to work on cars. I liked to work on computers. Dad liked to ride four-wheelers. I was more partial to sitting in the house reading the “Pendragon” series for the third time. We always bonded, but never really had anything in common. My father also loved to cook, and every time he made a meal he made me put down the Game Boy and come help. I would always moan and groan but eventually make my way to the kitchen to peel potatoes or dice onions or do whatever laborious task he had saved for his little sous chef. It eventually got to the point where I would really enjoy cooking with him. I started to understand what flavors went well with each other and we finally really had something in common. We were culinary conquistadors on an epic quest for fatherson bonding and I’ll keep all the knowledge I gained from being a sultan of the souffle close to heart for the rest of my life. Men, if you think cooking is just for women and is not an important skill to learn, I’m totally OK with that. But, you are missing out on the vast benefits that come along with being skilled in the kitchen. First off, we’re going to have to cover the basic fact that ladies love it. Ladies love a man that can cook for them. Mostly because everyone loves food, but also it shows that you are diverse in your skill set. Part of the beauty of learning to cook as a guy is that women simply don’t expect it and are usually impressed. I’m serious guys – cook for your ladies. It’s also one of the best ways to help you learn to multitask. Anyone who has ever
worked in the food industry can vouch for this statement. At any point in time, you can have eight different things cooking and 12 different orders that haven’t even been looked at. Needless to say, you learn to multitask, prioritize and manage your time extremely efficiently. It’s always a mental workout in the kitchen, for me at least, to read the recipe for the first time and spending $34 on ingredients even though you’re not exactly sure how to make it. Then managing to not burn anything while you’ve got four different pans on the stove while one is about to burn and the oven buzzer just went off is another situation all in its own. Learning to cook for yourself is also incredibly good for your health. Even though I wouldn’t say it’s gotten me washboard abs, I know exactly what’s going into my food and how fresh it is. You have full control over the ingredients and the freshness of said ingredients that you are eating every time you cook a meal. By doing this, you get to taste food at its full potential with fresh ingredients that aren’t necessarily packed with preservatives. If the day comes that I have a son of my own, I’ll make sure and have him in the kitchen with me. Some of my best memories I’ll ever have of my father include learning to chop onions or watching him curse after he nicked his thumb for the third time. Then when my son grows up he’ll be a super ladies’ man with all of his culinary expertise and all the young lasses will swoon as he walks by. Not exactly that, but something close. So men, take note. Learn to cook. Cook for your lasses, (or lads) watch as they enjoy something that you created, and tell me it’s not a great feeling. Trust me, it’s worth it.
The News
Opinion
September 19, 2014
5A Did she really say that?
Letter to the Editor 45%
Poll Results
45%
Have you attended Take Back the Night?
40%
We asked you if you’ve ever attended this sexual assault awareness event and this is what you had to say. To participate in future polls, visit The Murray State News Facebook page or TheNews.org.
35% 30% 25%
24%
20%
We still want to hear from you
19%
15%
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.
12%
10% 5% Yes
No
This is my first time on campus
Never heard of it
I’ve got a Story for You
Valentine: Engarde! Driving in Murray We are now one month into an exciting new semester. Most people have found their classrooms (although they may not use this information on a regular basis), made new friends, found a favorite restaurant and received their first parking tickets on campus. If you are new to Murray, and if you have a car, you Robert Valentine will be collecting a Senior lecturer few parking tickets during your career. of advertising Get used to it. Your parking permit is a permit to search for a space, but it is no guarantee that such an unoccupied space actually exists in this dimension. A handful of wise, happy people will leave their car parked for four years and are also lucky enough to find housing within a reasonable walking distance. A much larger handful of not-so-wise unhappy people live close to classroom buildings, but insist on driving to class three minutes before the lecture starts. These people will be eternally disappointed, which prepares them for American
Cheers and Jeers Cheers & Jeers is written by the Opinion Editor. Questions, comments or concerns should be addressed to cbesser@murraystate.edu
Comics
presidential elections. Most of us, however, will have the odd occasion to travel the streets and byways of Murray, the Friendliest Town in America. There are a few things you must know to safely navigate the Friendliest Streets in America, and here they are: - Robert Valentine, senior lecturer of advertising 1. Unless you are at an east-west street with a traffic signal (or “stop light”) you must never, ever attempt a left-hand turn onto 12th Street (also known as Highway 641. Although left turns onto 12th are possible between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., they are usually a fruitless exercise in waiting without hope). On Fridays, such left-hand turns are the operational definition of “impossible.” If you attempt such a turn from the parking lot at McDonald’s, your enemies will use this behavior as a sign that your are legally insane, and local courts will up-
If you are lost, driving aimlessly about, looking for the large shopping mall, simply pull over, turn off the engine and say to yourself ‘There is no mall in Murray.’
“
”
hold the ruling based on that evidence. 2. Learn to use turning lanes. If you are from a small village with no four-lane streets, you may be astonished to find that some streets in Murray have “turning lanes.” This is a third or fifth center lane that enables you to turn left, and may often have its own private traffic signal. Take advantage of such brief opportunities by pulling into the lane when the yellow centerline turns white, and then turning left when the crossing street is clear and the green arrow tells you it’s OK to do so. Please don’t sit there like an idiot waiting for someone to offer you a personal invitation to proceed safely to your destination. If you find yourself sleeping in a turn lane, don’t be surprised if an actual driver gives you a friendly courtesy “toot” to hasten you on your way. (NOTE: the turn lane is not, as some people seem to believe, the express lane to Kroger.) 3. If you are lost, driving aimlessly about, looking for the large shopping mall, simply pull over, turn off the engine, and say to yourself “There is no mall in Murray.” Then go back to campus and look for a parking space which, in theory, may actually exist. 4. Whatever happens, don’t be surprised when someone stops to allow you to (illegally) cross where there is no posted pedestrian crossing. 5. When driving down a country road, don’t be alarmed if someone waves and smiles from a passing pickup. It is the Friendliest Town in America. Even rush hour is friendly — or will be, if we ever have one.
Cheers to ... Pumpkin spice
Jeers to ... Parking
For whatever reason, pumpkin spice flavored coffee, candy and whatever else you desire is only available during the fall. Oh well. We’re just glad that it exists. Go pick up a pumpkin spice latte from Thoroughbrewed Café.
It seems like we complain about this on a regular basis, but parking on campus is nearly impossible. Also, getting a ticket for parking illegally because we had no choice is really the cherry on top of the cake.
Jeers to ... Scheduling Take Back the Night to March. Even though March is Kentucky’s sexual assault awareness month, Greek Week will be running at the same time. We hope it doesn’t take away from the message.
Cheers to ... Fall weather You now have an excuse to bust out your unnecessarily large collection of Murray State hoodies, jackets and sweatpants. Good riddance, cruel summer. It was about time for a change.
Losing all faith in the NFL I grew up in a house that loves NFL football. I watched the games religiously, I memorized player statistics to a near compulsion and the Superbowl comes second only to Carly Besser Christmas. Opinion Editor The only bad headlines I was used to reading were about my favorite players getting injured or ridiculously fined for an overly flamboyant touchdown dance. However, the way the NFL reacted to recent controversial situations left a bad taste in my mouth and made me question my fanhood. Most of us have seen the viral video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his fiancee unconscious and dragging her body out of an elevator. Now, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s professional fate is in question because pictures surfaced of his 4-year-old son covered in welts. The boy’s heinous injuries were at the hands of his father, and Peterson was charged and indicted on all counts. He admitted to the abuse via text message, but according to Peterson, his son was “aight” and “he did it to himself.” Despite the charges, he’s still padding up and playing professional football. At first, Rice faced only a temporary suspension for assaulting his now wife. It was the public outcry of injustice that forced the NFL to reconsider its light punishment. It now seems that we must put pressure back on the league to hold these men accountable for their actions. It disgusts me that the NFL has no standard of punishment for these crimes. Instead, they wait for the public to say something about it and then take more reasonable action as part of a larger coverup. These are athletes that young men and women look up to. Even though looking up to athletes and celebrities is arguably problematic, we cannot change the fact that we idolize them anyway. We put athletes on the front of Wheaties boxes, we put celebrities on commercials that we see every day and we let our children grow up with the notion that these people are the ideal standard of beauty, popularity and athleticism. Some argue that we should look up to teachers, parents, priests and the like, but let’s be fair. Can these people boost profit for cereal or sneakers? If it is in our culture to put these celebrities on pedestals, then we should be just as prepared to escort them down when they don’t deserve to be there any longer. By letting them sit so high above us, the lack of oxygen goes to their heads. No matter how rich, affluent or famous someone is, violence is not OK. The league is sending a message that will resonate with young people of this generation: if you are rich and powerful enough to dodge the law, you can. Felony assault carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, but if you play football, don’t sweat it. You’ll just sit out for a game or two. Because professional athletes are public figures, they should be held to a standard as high as their astronomical salaries. The recent blunders made by the NFL are so inexcusable that no amount of good PR could fix them. cbesser@murraystate.edu
Presidential Luncheon By Katie Wilborn
The News
News
6A
September 19, 2014
Considering the options Students contemplate new, healthy food choices against everyday unhealthy favorites
Brittany Risko || Staff writer brisko@murraystate.edu
Many college students worry about the dreaded “freshman 15” which could be gained while living away from home. Emily Hannan, sophomore from Paducah, Ky., said eating healthy is important to her. “Eating healthy on campus is easy, but you have to want to eat healthy because there are also many unhealthy options,” Hannan said. Some students say there are too many unhealthy choices surrounding them in Winslow Dining Hall and the Thoroughbred Room. Paula Amols, director of Dining Services and Racer Hospitality, said there are ways for students to eat healthy on campus. “On the dining website there is a link for healthy eating; you can pick Winslow and the T-Room and it lists all the items that we have that are healthy options, and also vegetarian options,” Amols said. Nutritional information can be found on the Dining Services website or in each place to eat on campus. “In the T-Room there is a baker’s rack of binders that have nutritional
Haley Hays/The News
On the left, a student enjoys a healthy food option available in the Thoroughbred Room, while the student on the right digs into a less healthy meal. values of everything that is served on a daily basis,” Amols said. “In Winslow the information is on the bulletin board next to Salt and Pepper or on the meal cards by the food.” “The demand for healthy alternatives has prompted Dining Services offer a healthier option alongside what is normally served. “In Winslow
brown rice is being offered along with white rice. Winslow now offers a side salad made with different grains,” Amols said. “At the pasta station in T-Room, one of them is 51 percent whole wheat pasta. Fresh roasted vegetables are being offered at the grill if a student did not want French fries or mozzarella sticks.
Also, in Winslow on the hot line for both lunch and dinner, there is a plain meat and plain steamed vegetables.” Through various services, students can sit down with other students enrolled in a nutrition classes to give tips on how to eat healthy. “One of the students is available to sit down with a student that wants
to follow a special diet, whether it is medical needs or if the student is looking to cut back on fats or carbs. They will sit down and go over what your needs are and what is available and help you put together a healthy diet,”Amols said. Although there are ways to eat healthy while dining in Winslow, some students do not think it is all that easy. Sydney Cline, freshman from Louisville, Ky., said she believes eating healthy in Winslow is not the easiest. “It’s pretty easy not to eat healthy with all the desserts around you,” Cline said. “More fresh fruit options would make healthy eating a lot easier.” “It’s not easy to eat healthy at Winslow because there is only a limited amount of things offered each day,” Taylor Bartnick, sophomore from Hillsboro, Mo. said. Amols said there are options for healthy eating and ways to calorie intake or other dietary needs. “There is a lot of healthy options available for students right now, and if we see the demand continue to grow there’s more we can do,” Amols said. “There just has to be enough students want for it to happen.”
Cell phone service disappears, University honored for the 5th year in a row leaves students disconnected Brittany Risko || Staff writer brisko@murraystate.edu
Mari-Alice Jasper || Staff writer mjasper1@murraystate.edu
For many people in Murray, Sept. 8 was a step back in time. Students and community members were forced to resort to home phones and word-of-mouth to communicate. Cathy Lewandowski, senior public relations manager for AT&T, said AT&T customers in Calloway County may have experienced issues with wireless and wireline services Sept. 8 and Sept. 9. “(The service was down) due to a (fiber line) that was damaged during a severe storm,” Lewandowski said. AT&T, Sprint and Verizon customers in Murray were all affected by the service outages. “It’s like everything died that day,” said Miranda Bivins, senior from Hopkinsville, Ky. Bivins said her service was out for about seven hours. While Bivin’s cellphone service was out she said she tried to find Wi-Fi, but it wasn’t working either. “It was annoying,” Bivins said. “I was having car troubles and I couldn’t get in touch with anyone.” Abbie Oliver, senior from Flintshire, U.K., said her service was out from 1:30 p.m. until midnight. This is her fourth year at Murray State and she said she had not experienced problems with AT&T before. “I didn’t receive a courtesy text or call like I would have in the United Kingdom,” Oliver said. Oliver lives at Campus Evolution Village South and she didn’t have Internet either. “We were stuck with no communication,” Oliver said. She said she didn’t worry as much about the service outage because all her friends were having similar problems. Kathy Girgis, senior from Louisville, Ky., said she knew it wasn’t the end of the world when her cell phone stopped working on Sept 9. Girgis said she was working in the library when she stopped being able to send text messages. “At first, I thought it was because I was in the library, but then everyone kept talking about the problems they were having,” Girgis said.
Photo illustration by Kory Savage/The News
A student holds up her cell phone while searching for a cell phone signal after service went out through the city. She remembers being frustrated, but she used Wi-Fi on campus to continue talking to people instead. Girgis said the reason why service was out was not made clear to her. “There was a post on Facebook I think, but I don’t remember what it said,” Girgis said. “I just wish someone had been able to tell me what was going on.” On Oct. 8, 2013, Murray experienced similar service outages that were resolved within 24 hours. Mark Ventura, freshman from Stanton,
• All rooms have refrigerator and microwave. • Rated 100% by Dept. of Public Health. • Owned and operated by an MSU graduate. • The only 100% non-smoking and pet-free hotel/motel in town. RA MU TED #1 • Free Wifi. R O
RAY HO F 9 TRIP ON TELS ADV ISO R!
506 S. 12th St. (US 641) Murray, KY 42071 270-753-2682 Online reservations: murrayplazalodge.com Email: mpl@murrayplazalodge.com
10% OFF for MSU members including parents, alumni & visitors
Ky., said he lives on campus so he still had Wi-Fi even when his phone wasn’t working. “I just figured it would get solved eventually,” he said. Ventura said once he realized everyone was having cellphone problems he knew it must have been Verizon and not him. His service was out for a full day on Sept. 9. Lewandowski said, “Service was fully restored (Sept. 9). We apologize for any inconvenience,” Lewandowski said.
For five years in a row, Murray State has been recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of its “Great Colleges to Work For.” Murray State was particularly recognized for its teaching environment. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s website, in order for an institution to be considered a great teaching environment, the faculty members must say the institution recognizes innovative and high quality teaching. In an email to The Murray State News, Jay Morgan, vice president of Academic Affairs said, “This designation really validates Murray State’s story of why faculty come to Murray State, and many of them for their entire careers.” He said it shows the dedication of the Murray State faculty and staff. “I think one of the reasons our teaching environment is great and faculty want to work at Murray State is that they have the freedom within their discipline area to teach the courses that they want to teach and conduct the research that they want to conduct,” Morgan said. “When we hire faculty, we generally tell them before they are hired what the course load will be, what they will be teaching, as well as other expectations, and that, ultimately, creates an environment to which they are satisfied in their decision to come to Murray State.” Many professors stay at Murray State because they are able to teach their classes however they please. Professors are able to choose what kind of activities they want their classes to participate in, Morgan said. “I see that we employ group work, collaborative learning, competency based learning, mastery learning, flipped class-
rooms, ITV, online instruction and much more,” David Whaley, dean of the College of Education said. “As I participate in the teaching and learning that goes on here, I also see that our teachers model a constructivist philosophy one that encourages teachers to be master guides in the learning process and for students to co-construct their learning process,” he said. Not only do some professors say Murray State is a great place to work at, many students who work on campus are pleased with the environment as well. Caitlin Murnane, freshman from Paris, Tenn., likes working on campus because of the convenience. “I enjoy working in Winslow because they are really flexible with my schedule,” Murnane said. Kelci Fulkerson, senior from Leitchfield, Ky, works in customer service in the University Store. She said she likes working on campus because if she needs off she is able to find someone to cover her shift quickly. “If I need to be off quickly because of classes or something else, they are willing to work with me and help me find someone to cover my shift quickly.” Fulkerson said. Karen Trevarthen, junior, from Mayfield, Ky., likes working on campus because the University is able to work together well with students and their schedules. “Working with Murray State catering feels like being around family. Everyone is comfortable around each other,” Trevarthen said. Teachers enjoy working at Murray State because they are able to pick and choose what should be included in curriculum. Students love working on campus because they are flexible with their class schedules and students are able to work as a team.
Ed itor-in-C hief!
THENEWS.ORG
SUBMIT AN APPLIC ATION & RESUME AT 111 WILSON HALL
qualifie d? If so, applications are due Sept. 22
September 19, 2014
Section B
The News
Sports
Sports Editor: Mallory Tucker Phone: 809-4481 Twitter: MSUSportsNews
STARTING UNDEFEATED Logan Burnett
Contributing writer lburnett1@murraystate.edu
Racer volleyball had another successful weekend at the Chattanooga Classic tournament, going 3-0 by sweeping Mississippi Valley and Wright State and ultimately defeating Chattanooga 3-2. The Racers began the tournament with a strong comeback against Mississippi Valley after
their opponent took an 11-10 lead. The Racers responded by scoring ten points, answered by just one Mississippi Valley point. The Racers took the set 25-14. The Racers looked commanding in the following two sets, never giving up the lead, and winning the second set 25-7. After giving up the first initial point in the third set, the Racers went up 10-1. They only allowed nine more points the entire set, and won the game 25-10.
Junior middle blocker Alyssa Leim led the team with 10 kills, and sophomore outside hitter Kamille Jones’s added nine. Individual success continued with junior outside hitter Emily Schmahl and freshman outside hitter Kaitlyn Embrey adding 15 and 12 digs, respectively. Head Coach David Schwepker was impressed with his team’s performance. “Honestly, we never stress about individual stuff,” he said.
“Everything is for the team, and they went out and played hard and that’s a good team morale booster. Shows me that we have a lot of depth on the team.” Murray State started the first set against Wright State down 11-9. The Racers responded by taking the next six points and going up 15-11. The squad surrendered only one more point and won the set 25-15. The Racers took an early lead against Wright State during the second set and
did not let go, eventually winning 25-12. The third set was closer after the Racers went up 9-2. Wright State cut the lead to 13-10, however, Murray State sealed the set at 25-18. “Wright State came out strong and they did a good job, but our girls did the same,” Schwepker said. “I feel like we just stayed doing what we were supposed to be doing.”
see UNDEFEATED, 2A
Jenny Rohl/The News
Junior Emily Schmahl digs for a ball during practice in Racer Arena. The Racers are undefeated in tournament play and are looking forward to the start of regular season.
‘Big Five’ changes could impact OVC Softball begins fall ball undefeated Lexy Gross || Editor-in-Chief cgross2@murraystate.edu
Athletic departments across the country are preparing to make major financial and administrative changes, and Murray State isn’t immune. At the end of summer, the NCAA passed a new governance system that gives more power to the “Big Five” conferences: the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and Big 10. This legislation allows these Division 1 schools to make financial and administrative decisions on their own. Other Division I conferences, such as the OVC, will have the option to adopt or reject legislation the Big Five pass. The OVC
Peter Northcutt || Staff writer pnorthcutt@murraystate.edu
Murray State got off to a good start this fall by opening up its fall season with a doubleheader win on Sunday at Racer Field. The Racers squared off against Lake Land, winning the first game 5-2 and the second 20-1. The 1-0 Racers came off a program-boosting spring season that saw them march all the way to the conference championship game. The team would go on to lose to eventual champion Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 12-1. “I think the last game we had last year kind of left a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouth,” said Head Coach Kara Amundson. “That was the first time our program has made it to the conference title game and it was very clear to anyone watching that it was not the best game of our year by far. Our returners are really ready to compete this season and get back to that game with a little different results and I think they’re spreading that energy and excitement to our newcomers who are doing it for the first time with us.” The Racers were slow out of the gates offensively against their first opponent. Although they scored two runs in the first
WHAT’S
INSIDE
inning, they only managed three more over the course of the game. The Racers held Lake Land to only two runs in the first game. “We started off a little slow and timid offensively,” Amundson said. “Defensively we came out firing and came out right away ready to play. Offensively it was a little bit of a slow start the whole first game. We scored multiple runs in the first inning then we were kind of quiet throughout the rest of the game.” Despite their somewhat sluggish offensive performance in game one, the Racers still managed to get hits from nine different players, led by sophomore Maggie Glass who went 1-for-3 with a run, two RBIs and a hit by pitch. Senior pitcher CheyAnne Gaskey picked up the win for Murray State with six strikeouts on the day with three coming in the first inning. What little rust the Racers showed during the first game was shaken off in the second as they blew past Lake Land 20-1. “The second game was a much better showing than the first,” Amundson said. “The second game was really telling of the kind of talent we have. We made some really, really good defensive plays. We were relatively clean defensively which is something good to see this early in the season
and smaller conferences could also decide to leave Big Five decisions up to individual schools. OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche said there are many layers to the new NCAA governance system and its potential affect on OVC sports. “We can anticipate – we don’t know for sure – but we can anticipate that one of the first actions the autonomous five will want to take is to expand the value of a scholarship,” she said. One of the first items on the Big Five agenda is to potentially start providing the “cost of attendance” to student athletes, on top of the athletic scholarships they already receive. The cost of attendance varies from
because that’s not always the case.” Not only were the Racers clean defensively in the second game, they also stood out offensively. Five Murray State players recorded multiple hits, including senior Alexa Becker and Freshman Erika Downey with four hits apiece. Junior pitcher J.J. Francis went four innings for the Racers, giving up only one run, while sophomore Mason Robinson finished the game almost perfectly for Murray State, only giving up one walk in three innings. Amundson expects the depth that was on display this weekend to continue to shine throughout the fall season. “We prided ourselves last season on our depth and this year I think we have even more depth than we’ve had in the past,” Amundson said. “At any time offensively, anyone on the team can get it done for us, and same thing defensively. We had a couple players out due to injury this past weekend and people stepped in and got the job done. That’s what is going to make us a better team and a better program this year is that we do have the depth, we do have the better competition in practice this year and we have a great group of girls who are willing to work hard for it.”
see FALL BALL, 2A
school to school and usually lands between $2,000 and $5,000. At Murray State, cost of attendance is approximately $3,300. “From the OVC standpoint, we have already talked preliminarily with our presidents to explore and see if this is something we would like to look at that,” DeBauche said. “We’re gathering more information as to what the financial impact of some of that reach would be.” Murray State Athletic Director Allen Ward said he thinks it will be necessary to address the idea of adding a cost of attendance stipends to scholarships in the OVC soon. In the OVC, Ward expects that
see ATHLETICS, 2A
Jenny Rohl/The News
Junior J.J. Francis pitches against Lake Land Sunday at Racer Field.
RACER RECEIVERS
SOCCER SNAPS
RJ MITTE
LASER TAG
Four wide receivers share stats, stories, 3B
Comeback against SLU revitalizes season, 4A
‘Breaking Bad’ star to share success story, 6B
Expo Center plans second tournament, 5B
2B
Sports
FALL BALL
ATHLETICS
From Page 1B
From Page 1B
The competition does not get easier from here for the Racers as they travel to southern Illinois this weekend to take on Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The Racers lost to the Salukis last season and look forward to the early season challenge. “I think this coming weekend is going to be a little bit different for us than this past weekend,” Amundson said. “Our first game is against Carbondale who is a Division I program and they beat us pretty bad last spring. So it is more solid competition than we played this past weekend. They’re going to have to be ready to go from the very first pitch.” Despite the more impressive opponent, Amundson insists that her message to the team is the same. “Our main goal is to compete and focus on every pitch and to play every ball and really be in every at bat,” Amundson said. “We have all the talent in the world so if we can do that, the fall is going to be something that is very telling for the spring.” The Racers will take on the Salukis Sunday at 2 p.m. in Carbondale.
men’s and women’s basketball may be the focus of discussion. “With the recent post-season success by the OVC in the NCAA Tournament, basketball may be impacted the most from a recruiting standpoint,” Ward said. “And then women’s basketball will be part of the discussion to ensure Title IX compliance.” However, Ward said the discussion will need to include all Division I sports once the OVC knows more about the new governance system. Ward said many mid-major conferences will likely wait to see what other conferences decide to do when faced with new legislation. If schools of similar size decide to start paying stipends to athletes but Murray State doesn’t, it has the potential to hurt recruitment. “What they choose to adopt, and what recruiting and competitive advantages that may provide, will be of significant concern for programs like Murray State,” Ward said. “It will be important that we position ourselves to act quickly and strategically for the good of the program.” If men’s and women’s basketball adopts paying student athletes cost of attendance, it would cost Racer Athletics approximately $95,000 in additional scholarships.
Senior Mackenzie Schmitt from Ridgway, Ill., bats away during an intramural game against Alpha Gamma Delta Monday night.
The News
September 19, 2014
The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted some of the disparities between the Big Five schools and other Division I institutions – primarily financial support in their budgets. While most Big Five schools have large athletics budgets that don’t depend on university subsidies, the OVC doesn’t share that luxury. According to study by USA TODAY on NCAA Division I school athletics budgets, Murray State had a steady increase in revenue and expenditures from 2006-11. More than 72 percent, or approximately $9.8 million of the athletics budget came from subsidies in 2011, which matched almost evenly with all of the other OVC schools. The athletics budget at the University of Kentucky, however, only had $819,124 in its budget from subsidies, or 1 percent overall. Western Kentucky, which is in the Sun Belt Conference, was still lower than Murray State with 63 percent of its budget coming from university subsidies. President Bob Davies said he understands the need to have competitive sports at Murray State, while also making sure the athletes maintain academic standards. Davies hopes the decisions will be left to the institutional level instead of at the OVC. “I don’t want the OVC to come in and say, ‘you shall do this,’” Davies said. “I firmly believe this is an institutional decision … we need to watch it closely because it does have a pricetag.”
UNDEFEATED From Page 1B The Racers defeated the host, Chattanooga, 3-2 in the final game to win the tournament. The first set began close with Chattanooga taking a 10-8 lead. After struggling to gain the advantage, Chattanooga took the set 25-23. The second set began with Murray State taking a 15-12 lead, but the Chattanooga Mocs tied the set at 15-15. The Racers only surrendered one point and regained the lead 20-16. They took the set 25-19. The third set was back and forth until the Mocs prevailed 27-25. The fourth set was when the Racers began to take control, they took the first six points and didn’t let go. They gained a 22-8 lead, sealing the set at 25-14. The final set was back and forth until the Racers capitalized on a kill from Leim to take the game 17-15. “(Chattanooga) played really well, and we played really well,” Schwepker said. “It was a good win for us.” The Racers travel to Valparaiso for their final invitational before regular season today. A successful weekend will continue their undefeated run and carry them into OVC play. Murray has not played Valparaiso since 2011, and the Crusaders have enjoyed an equally successful preseason, sweeping their opponents last weekend.
Intramural Standings
Jenny Rohl/The News
Men
Women
Fraternity
Sorority
1. Pi Kappa Alpha 2. Lambda Chi Alpha 3. Alpha Sigma Phi
1. ADPi 2. Tri Sigma 3. Kappa Delta
Independent
Independent
1. Master Batter 2. Good Wood 3. Steak Sauce
1. Omega Mu 2. ADPi Lions 3. White College B Team
Residential College
Residential College
1. Lizo A 2. Clark A 3. Franklin A
1. Hester College 2. Lizo 3. Hart Ravens
The News
Sports
September 19, 2014
#3 Jeremy Harness 185 lb., 5’8” junior from Radcliffe, Ky.
3B
RACER RECEIVERS
#9 Janawski Davis 164 lb., 5’7” junior from Eight Mile, Ala.
93 receiving yards and three touchdowns on the 2014 season
160 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the 2014 season
“My freshman year, we had a dude named H.B. and he used to always come on the field and he’s like, ‘Boy you bow-legged as I don’t know what. From now on I’m gonna call you BoBo.’ And it just stuck with me since then.”
Has a lucky pair of socks that he practices in three days before each game
#85 Jesse Blackburn
#86 Nevar Griffin
240 lb., 6’3” sophomore from Gardendale, Ala.
209 lb., 6’2” senior from St. Louis, Mo.
64 receiving yards on the 2014 season
90 receiving yards on the 2014 season
Takes a nap around one hour before each game, and says he can fall asleep anywhere
Has started all four years of his college career, totaling 785 yards over his first three years
“Hopefully I’m going to finish what I started last year and keep everything going and not let my team down at all.”
“All that grind and hard work on the off season, now we get to have it pay off on the field.”
“Regardless of what they say, we’re going to do what we do. We’re going to play hard how we play. We’re going to come out and show the world.”
“ ” Kory Savage/The News
Wide receivers Janawski Davis and Jesse Blackburn talk after scoring a touchdown Sept. 6 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
From Hatcher’s mouth
Head Coach Chris Hatcher answered the media’s questions about the bye week at a press conference Monday. Here are a few of his main points.
“Any time you get a couple days off to recharge your batteries and get away – players get away from coaches, coaches get away from players – it never hurts. Especially after we’ve been through a long camp.”
“One thing that we’re excited about, though, is we finally get into some form of a routine. We played a Thursday night, had a few extra days off, then play a game and have the week off. So looking forward to getting into some sort of seasonal routine, if you will, as we head into this upcoming opponent of Western Michigan.”
“This is our second money game back to back. It’s almost like we play three money games, back to back to back, with Louisville, Western Michigan and Jacksonville State, as good as they are. The schedule has done us no favors, but you’ve got to show up and you’ve got to be ready to play.”
“We play a Western Michigan team that hasn’t had much success in the past few years. However, I think they’re a much improved football team. Again, they’re at a level higher than us – more scholarships. I think the biggest improvement in their team is on the front lines. I think they’re much improved offensive line-wise, much improved on the defensive line. Which, if there was an area that I didn’t want them to improve in, it was those two areas, ‘cause those are the two that usually give us the most trouble when we move up a level in play.”
Kory Savage/The News
Head Coach Chris Hatcher talks to a reporter at the University of Louisville game Sept. 6.
“We feel like we’ve got a good game plan. We always play to win, this week will be no different. So we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes on Saturday.”
Grand Opening Specials
Tracy D. McKinney, CIC Steven S. Dabbs, CIC Curtis J. Bucy, Agent
AUTO - HOME - FARM - BUSINESS LIFE - MOTORCYCLE - BOAT 270.753.3500 100 NORTH 5TH STREET MURRAY
THENEWS.ORG
The News
Sports
4B
September 19, 2014
Soccer snaps losing streak Peter Northcutt || Staff writer pnorthcutt@murraystate.edu
The road woes of the Murray State women’s soccer team continued Sept. 12 as it lost 1-0 to Middle Tennessee State then bounced back Sunday to defeat Saint Louis 1-0 on its own turf to end the losing streak. The Racers’ tour of the U.S. had not panned out to be the vacation they had hoped for heading into the weekend as they lost all three away games thus far. The frustration was evident in Head Coach Jeremy Groves, but he knew that it is just the nature of the game. “I don’t know any other sport in the country where you can play well and still lose,” Groves said. “At MTSU that is what we did; we played extremely well, we created a bunch of chances again, we just couldn’t score.” The Racers’ showdown with Middle Tennessee looked promising for the Racers at first as Julie Mooney had a shot on goal within the first 30 seconds of play. That would be the only shot on goal for the Racers for the rest of the half, however, as both teams managed only one a piece the entire half. The second half continued to be much of the same as the teams were deadlocked. MTSU had the slight edge in total shots at 10-8 and led the shots on goal advantage 4-3. Despite a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks, the Racers still could not find the back of the net in regulation. The Blue Raiders dominated the overtime period, however, as they took four shots to the Racers’ zero. With 1:17 left in the first overtime, MTSU’s Angie Lai scored the game winning goal as she blasted a shot from the corner of the 18 yard box off a pass from Grace Summers. Despite the loss, Groves still walked away from the game encouraged by his team. “It’s a tough thing, ya’ know,” Groves said. “I couldn’t be disappointed or angry or upset or in how we approached the game and how we played with the energy and effort.
Haley HaysThe News
Senior forward Pavlina Nepokojova prepares to kick during practice at Cutchin Field. Again, it’s just about taking care of the little details. It’s kind of heart-wrenching after playing hard for 95 minutes and then we give up a soft goal at the end. You just have to be positive with them and tell them to keep doing what they’re doing.” Senior forward Pavlina Nepokojova was far from content with the outcome as well. “We were very disappointed as a team because I think we played really well,” Nepokojova said. “We pressed them a lot, we created chances, we hit
Sport Shorts Haworth earns weekly OVC award Staff Report
a couple corners, but unfortunately we didn’t score any of those, so we were disappointed. We are still confident, though, because of the way that we played. We just have to get ready for the next game on Sunday.” The Racers took on Saint Louis Sunday for the final game of their five game road stretch. The travels seemed to show in the Racers’ legs in the first half as they were outshot by the Billikens 7-2 in the opening frame. Fortunately, the Racers escaped the first half still tied at zero with SLU.
Tennis prepares to kick off fall season Staff Report
Freshman Shelby Haworth has been named the Adidas OVC Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week for her performances against Middle Tennessee State Sept. 12 and Saint Louis University Sept. 14. Haworth allowed only one goal this week during the first overtime of the Middle Tennessee State match. She also recorded the first game of her collegiate career with no goals allowed during the Racers’ victory over SLU. Five saves against Middle Tennessee and a career-high seven at SLU gave Haworth a 92.3 save percentage on the week.
For more sports news in a minute or less follow us on Twitter: @MSUSportsNews Check out game updates, profiles and columns at TheNews.org.
“We didn’t come out in the first half and play very well,” Groves said. “I thought we were a little bit down and that’s probably the overtime loss showing a little bit in the first half on Sunday. We kind of got into them a little bit at halftime and then we came out and gave a really good account of ourselves after the half.” The second half went favorably for the Racers as they gained the advantage in shots on goal. The game was still tied at zero for much of the game, however, as neither team could manage a goal. The hero of the game, Nepokojova, finally broke through the Billiken defense in the 79th minute to score a corner goal and seal the 1-0 victory for the Racers. Nepokojova was quick to share the glory with her team following the victory. “It felt nice to score a goal, of course, but I was really happy that we actually scored first that we were winning 1-0,” Nepokojova said. “Our team did really well in the second half so it was great.” By defeating Saint Louis Sunday, Murray State snapped a four game losing streak and injected life back into the program. “I think (the win) was huge, obviously,” Groves said. “It was our fifth away game in a row. We’ve been close in a couple of others, losing one nil and so forth, so just for them to get over the mental hump of losing and turn one around and win a game was huge for us.” The Racers will return to their home field this Friday to battle Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. After a five game road streak, the homecoming is much needed for the team. “We’re really looking forward to being home,” Groves said. “There’s no more traveling. I don’t know how many miles we’ve done but we’ve been up to Ohio, we went down to Florida, Tennessee, Missouri; we’ve been all over the place the last couple of weeks. It’s going to be good to sleep in our own beds and we’ll get an extra day to prepare which is good. We’re really looking forward to playing here.”
Interim Head Coach Jorge Caetano is ready for a strong and positive season as the women’s tennis team gears up for the first match of the season. As defending OVC Champions, Caetano has been preparing for what he hopes to be another OVC Championship season. Rising senior Andrea Eskauriatza is going into her second season as a Racer and is passionate about defending the title as OVC champions. “I’m excited; we have a really good team,” Eskauriatza said. “Since we are defending champions it makes the season that much more exciting.” Caetano graduated from Murray State after playing tennis for three years and was a volunteer assistant coach for three years. “We have a really strong team this season,” Caetano said. “Last fall went well and being defending OVC champions just makes us ready to work hard for that again.”
With six returning women and two new team members, the women’s team has been conditioning all summer and has been practicing several days a week to prepare for the year. Caetano says their goal is to work hard, try their best and just have a good time on the court. “We’re really excited he’s our coach,” Eskauriatza said. “We feel really good about him and even though it’s different than last year, for sure, we’ve been working on a lot of physical conditioning and in some ways this season is looking better than last year.” Caetano says his team has been practicing five days on the court and five days off the court. The five days outside the tennis court are focused on strength and conditioning workouts. He says this will help prepare the team for the back-to-back weekend matches that the spring season will bring. The Racers play this weekend at Kennesaw State in Georgia before moving on to regionals against Jacksonville State at Kenlake State Park Oct. 17-21.
Women’s golf finishes 10th Heath Ringstaff || Contributing writer hringstaff@murraystate.edu
The Murray State women’s golf team finished 10th overall in the second event of the season at the Cardinal Cup Tuesday. Head Coach Velvet Milkman wasn’t entirely disappointed by the tournament results. “The goal was to go in and try to finish in the top five,” Milkman said. The Cardinal Cup hosted 17 different teams at the University of Louisville Golf Course in Simpsonville, Ky. During the first round of the tournament Monday afternoon, the Racers were in 10th place with a score of 620 with Northern Illinois trailing right behind. The golf course in itself was one of the more challenging parts of this tournament according to Milkman. “It was a really good golf course; it’s got some really difficult holes on it,” Milkman said. Even with the challenge of the golf course, the team was able to compete with the other 17 teams in the Cup. “I thought they handled that fairly well,” Milkman said. In the final round of the tournament, the Racers totaled up to a 929 score, which kept the team in its finishing spot of 10th
place overall. Freshman Moa Folke and junior Sophie Hillier led the Racers with a pair of 35th place finishes in the field of 100 competitors. Hillier played a solid final round of 75, the fourth 75-round of her collegiate career, carding scores of 79-77-75=231 overall. Folke also carded an eagle during the 54-hole event and finished with a score of 77. Her line was 78-76-77=231. Sophomore Sydney Trimble placed 47th overall with rounds of 78-78-78=234, while sophomore Jacklyn Van Meter placed 53rd after her rounds of 79-78-79=236. Junior Abbi Stamper carded scores of 76-8180=237, placing 59th. Sophomore Minta Yin entered the Cardinal Cup as an individual for the Racers and placed seventh among the other 16 solo players. She placed 67th overall with scores of 75-81-85=241. In the field of the 17 teams, the Racers ranked fifth and carded a total of 25 birdies. Folke’s eagle on the ninth hole was the Racers only one of the tournament. The Racers’ next scheduled tournament is the Cincinnati Invitational Oct. 6-7 at the Tournament Players Club River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio. “I expect us to work hard in these next two weeks and continue to get better in all aspects of our game,” Milkman said.
Kylie Townsend/The News
Senior Gina Nuzzo plays at Drake Creek Golf Course Sept. 9.
From the Sidelines
What exactly are we beating? Sports are obviously about beating someone – the opponent. But no one can turn a blind eye to the beatings that have Mallory Tucker been all over media Sports Editor the lately, headlined by Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. I’m all about high level competition, and I’m constantly amazed by the almost unreal performances of gifted athletes, but until recently, I’ve never given much thought to the damage that these same gifted individuals can cause. Names like O.J. Simpson, Michael Vick and Aaron Hernandez come to mind when we think of traditional NFL monsters, but the list goes on and on. Now, with Rice and Peterson added to the list, the league is finally coming under fire and I think it’s safe to say change is inevitible. When you’re constantly watching someone and making them a public figure, you’re setting them up for failure. But they know what they’re signing up for, and they gladly accept the limelight when they take their multimillion dollar signing bonuses. As of late, it seems like they’re also signing up for invincibility. A professional athlete might ask themself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” And then instantly respond: “I don’t know, maybe a two-game suspension, maybe six games, oh wait now a lifetime ban from the league.” When it comes down to it, these athletes don’t know how they’ll be penalized, and that’s why they’re willing to do the crime. The inconsistency of punishment within the league is exactly what promotes the consistency of incidents. Honestly, if I knew I could get away with something I shouldn’t, I would probably do it, too. But that’s the norm for these athletes. Because they’re superhuman freaks of athleticism, we hold them to higher standards when it comes to performance on the field and then cause a media storm when they perform poorly off the field. Poor off the field performances should illicit the same punishment that any normal person would receive – but we all know that isn’t always the case. When I watch the video of Rice knocking his wife unconscious and see the photos of Peterson’s four-year old son, I can’t help but cringe. And the fact that Rice’s now-wife, Janay, chose to marry him after the incident, makes me cringe even more. Both men exceed 200 pounds and are at the peak of their body’s strength due to weightlifting, workouts and strict diets. Their victims were indefensible, just as I would be in their situation. These are the men that I look up to: the men that we watch every Sunday and the men that I hope to work with someday. I understand that everyone makes mistakes. I understand that Rice was intoxicated, and that Peterson was punishing his child for bad behavior. But when you’re an exceptional person, shouldn’t you behave exceptionally at all times? They know cameras are always running, and they know they’re under constant criticism. I don’t know if this says more about their levels of intelligence or their character. Either way, these aren’t men that I want to look up to anymore. I hope they can both come out of this as better people. I also hope that Janay finds the strength to leave her husband, and that Peterson’s son is never touched by a man five times his size again. But mostly, I hope that the NFL can get it together and punish them justly, and soon. Do I blame NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for these incidents? No. (I do blame him for some other things, but that’s a whole other column to be written.) I blame these individuals, because they’re the ones at fault. With the world at their fingertips, they decided to hurt not only their loved ones, but their colleagues and fans. They’re giving a bad reputation to a whole group through their actions. Instead of paying for counseling – which would be pocket change for these men – or taking their anger problems out on the field, they made their lives our issues, and these issues aren’t going away any time soon. mtucker11@murraystate.edu
September 19, 2014
5B
The News
Features Editor: Hunter Harrell Assistant Features Editor: Breanna Sill Phone: 270-809-5871 Twitter: MSUNewsFeatures
Features
WORTH THE WORK Students discuss benefits of employment while in college
Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu
As a college student, basic necessities can be hard to afford. Going out to eat or seeing a movie can be difficult on such a tight budget. As a resolution to this problem, some students choose to work part-time jobs while attending school. According to a study by Business Week, students spend most of their money on clothing at about $5 billion per year. The second most popular expenditure is measured at $4 billion per year for personal care items. DVDs, music and video games rank third at $3 billion per year. Murray State students describe expenditures consistent with the answers from the study. Some use their paychecks from parttime jobs to pay for those wants and needs. Ashley Deeter, senior from Medina, Tenn., just began her job for Murray State Catering Service. Deeter also babysits for some professors on occasion, especially during the weekends. Because her parents pay tuition, Deeter uses her paycheck for gas, groceries, and going out to eat with friends. While paychecks can be used for entertainment, they can also be used for necessities. Stefan Messmer, senior from Goreville, Ill., works at the Wellness Center and Briggs and Stratton while attending school. Since he does not currently pay for tuition, Messmer chooses to spend his paycheck on rent, basic necessities and occasional travel. Although receiving a paycheck sounds like good news to most students, some may not know what jobs are available on campus. Murray State makes a plethora of jobs available to its students. The Financial Aid office has provided that there is an unduplicated count of 1,413 student workers on campus. Most of these positions are in most
LGBT hosts Conversation and Dessert for public
of the academic colleges and administrative offices. Teresa Palmer, Associate Director of the Financial Aid office, said these students are working in approximately 259 positions across campus. “The positions range from one or two to as many as 28 positions per various departments on campus,” Palmer said. “These positions include undergraduate and graduate students.” Deeter said that because she is a student worker she cannot work more than 20 hours per week. However, because she has other commitments, Deeter is able to manage an estimated 12 to 15 hours per week offering catering service for local businesses, sorority and fraternity events, various banquets and some events that require traveling. “I like how Murray offers jobs to a lot of students,” Deeter said. “They give everyone a chance.” Most on-campus jobs are flexible with students’ schedules. Messmer said he is provided flexible hours as a personal trainer and building manager at the Wellness Center. He is allowed to schedule sessions with his seven clients whenever he has free time. This particular job is also flexible enough to work with a second job that is off campus. Messmer’s second job is at Briggs and Stratton where he works 16 hours per week. Because he balances two jobs with his full-time class schedule, Messmer said he is gaining experience. “It’s a good life lesson,” Messmer said. “It prepares you for when you have a job and to use time wisely.” There are a lot of ways to spend a paycheck and gain experience, but finding a job is the first step. Students who are interested in finding an on or off-campus job can visit the Career Services page on Murray State website for instructions.
Madison Wepfer || Staff writer mwepfer@murraystate.edu
Murray State is making great advances toward LGBT equality, said Jody Cofer Randall, LBGT program event coordinator, but it is by no means finished. When Cofer Randall invited Mara Keisling, LGBT advocate, to Murray, he knew it would turn heads. At the third annual Conversation and Dessert Tuesday night, Keisling spoke about the future of LGBT equality. After advocating for change in large cities such as Washington D.C. and Atlanta, one would think that LGBT progress in small-town Murray would not compare. However, Keisling said that many universities are on the same page as Murray State. “It’s certainly not at the forefront, but it’s definitely not at the rear,” Keisling said. “Of all the thousands and thousands of schools in the country, there’s less than 1,000 that have LGBT resource
Hannah Fowl/The News
Tyler James, senior, Palmdale, Calif., serves a personal pan pizza to a student as part of his many duties as a student worker at Winslow Dining Hall.
centers, so I think that’s really super good.” Cofer Randall and his team have implemented several new programs to get Murray State’s campus up to snuff in terms of equality, particularly with the LGBT resource center. “The kind of programming the LGBT resource center has been doing and it’s really pretty amazing for a school this size to care that much,” Keisling said. With President Bob Davies now in the picture, Keisling said she believes he will ultimately help the Murray State LGBT movement become prevalent on campus. “I think with Dr. Davies being so new you have to hope for the best,” Keisling said. “Hopefully that’s a good sign of further progress. These days, it usually is. Every new person in charge is more LGBT-friendly than the last one.” Because Keisling grew up in a traditional family during a time before the LGBT movement began, she witnessed a lot of discrimination, which led
her to becoming and LGBT advocate, she said. “I’ve always been kind of a socially-privileged person,” Keisling said. “I grew up middle class. I grew up white. I grew up without a disability. I have been really really fortunate, and when I came out as transgender, I looked around, and I just saw a lot of people who weren’t as lucky as I was.” For more than 25 years, Keisling has been at the forefront of the LGBT movement. She has spoken to countless universities and colleges across the nation, held meetings with congress and offered education and law reform to other officials in D.C. and nationally. Keisling said what’s “hot” at the White House right now is healthcare and immigration rights, both of which directly affect transgender people. “For decades, the kind of healthcare that we need has been denied by most insurance companies,” Keisling said. “As healthcare is changing, we
see CONVERSATION, 6B
Foreign films expose new cultures Expo Center announces laser tag tournament
Breanna Sill
Assistant Features Editor bsill@murraystate.edu
While many students venture off campus to a local movie theater to catch the latest flicks, what they may not know is that every week the University puts on its own movie event in the Curris Center. Cinema International is a weekly event in which movies that are not shown in most theaters are available for students to come and view for free every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in the Curris Center Theater. In the theater, posters promoting Cinema International date back into the 1980s, and Andrew Black, interim director of Cinema International, said the University has tried to have an international cinema presence on campus since the ’70s. On a typical weekend Cinema International has between 150 and 200 students and community members coming though its doors to experience movies more culturally diverse and visually captivating than modern movies shown in a regular cinema. “I had a student who had never really seen a foreign movie before,” Black said. “And he went to see two of the last ones (movies) and he said that ‘At first I didn’t really understand what was going on, but really, maybe I’m not supposed to.’ International cinema is not just a difference in the language we speak, but in the visual language of a movie.” Cinema International is funded
Taylor Inman || Contributing writer tinman@murraystate.edu
Hannah Fowl/The News
Cinema International is held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in the Curris Center Theater. through many departments on campus including WKMS, the study abroad department and Offic of the Provost. The Cinema International board who chooses the movies played at Cinema International meets in the spring and comes up with all the movies it plans to show throughout the semester. Black said everyone gets together in a room and fills white boards up with movie titles they think students would be interested in seeing. While most majors require foreign language and diversity classes, Cinema International is an easy
way for students to further their education into those two broad topics. Black also thinks it is important that students see these types of movies on the big screen as opposed to renting them and watching them on their televisions at home, Black said. “One of the cool things about Murray is that even though it is a small town, there is still a very large international community here that allows that exposure to other cultures,” Black said. Some movie events Black is looking forward to in the next couple of weeks include this week’s showing
of the Korean film “Pieta” which premiered Thursday and runs through Saturday night. “Pieta” is described as a powerful and provocative Korean film with a very powerful message. Other films coming soon to the Cinema International screen are “Coffee in Berlin” and “World’s End” which Black describes as much funnier and lighter than other movies shown. “I think it is very important that people know that there is more going on in movies than what is just happening in America and the big movies that come into movie theaters,” Black said.
The William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center will host their second laser tag weekend. It will be Sept. 26-27 from 1 - 10 p.m. It will be open to the general public and Murray State students. There will also be concessions available and a $6 meal deal. The costs are $5 for one person to play one game, $30 for one person to play the entire night or $40 for a team of five or less to play an entire night. People can play individually at any time, but there will be special events going on Saturday. Also, those wishing to have a large group participate are able to call in and reserve games on Sunday, but that day is not open to the general public. It’s only for groups that have called ahead of time and reserved allotted times to play. On Saturday, there will be a Kid Zone from 1 - 4 p.m. which costs $15. This will give kids a chance to play on their own in an area especially for them. The laser tag tournament starts at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. All teams must be signed up by 5 p.m. in order to participate. Prizes will be
see TOURNAMENT, 6B
The News
Features
6B
The week ahead... TODAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
September 19, 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
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
7:30 p.m. Cinema International presents “PIETA,” Curris Center Theater
10 a.m. Farm Equipment Consignment Auction, Expo Center
All day Festival of Lights, Murray Central Park
11 a.m. Barre, Carr Health Building, front lawn
7 p.m. Students Fight Back Program (Title IX), Curris Center, large ballroom
8 a.m. “Coffee with a Cop” (Title IX), Curris Center, Thoroughbred Room
7:30 p.m. Theater production of “Toyer,” Actor’s Studio Theatre, Wilson Hall
TOURNAMENT
CONVERSATION
From Page 5B
From Page 5B
given out for the tournament and the Kid Zone. Last semester, more than 100 students attended the event throughout the weekend. “We are expecting a big turnout this semester,” said Becky Ballard, building manager at the Expo Center. “We had a large turnout last semester, and keep planning to do this every semester and maybe even twice in the spring.” However Ballard said the three-day tournament last semester just didn’t work out. “We had very few people show up on Thursday and the tournament on Friday had just one team,” she said. “So we hope that this schedule will work out better for everyone involved.” With the closest place to play laser tag an hour away, it’s beneficial to Murray State students to have these activities open to them. “I loved the laser tag last semester,” said Jonathan Vinson, senior from Benton, Ky. “It’s a great way to get out and do something with your friends without having to travel all the way to Nashville.” It’s easy to run out of things to do in a small town like Murray, but the Expo Center has many events that are typically open to the public.
Kylie Townsend/The News
LGBT advocate, Mara Keilsling, answers questions from the audience regarding transgender equality Tuesday evening.
need to make sure that transgender people are taken into consideration.” Keisling also spoke about the future of young people and the effect their voices have on the future of LGBT equality. “Most of the advances in the history of the world have not come from 70-year-olds they’ve come from 20-year-olds and 19-year-olds,” Keisling said. College and high school students will be the future of not only the LGBT movement, but other equal rights movements as well. Keisling said that immigration rights, racism, sexism and poverty are still big issues in the world, and young people are the people who will change that for the better. After an audience member asked the one thing was that people need to understand about transgender people, she responded, “I want people to understand this one simple thing about trans-people: we are human.” Keisling said that transgender people are often falsely labeled and pushed into a category of “those people.” She advocates for LGBT rights everyday with the hope of breaking down stereotypes, removing social barriers and making people understand the facts about LGBT people.
Staff writer
mwepfer@murraystate.edu
Summer is ending and fall is on its way. Say goodbye to bikinis and crop tops and hello to cardigans, boots and funky-patterned pants. This fall, big, bold prints are back in style. Think of those crazy ’60s patterned skirts and coats. Listen for those to be the talk of the campus this semester. According to Elle magazine, robe coats, mini-skirts with knee-high boots, chunky knitted sweaters and cardigans, zombie-apocalypse-inspired prints and textures and turtle necks will be in season come fall. Zombie-apocalypse fashion consists of eclectic prints on top of more prints. Mixing and
matching interesting textures and colors is the way to go this fall. This season is all about making a bold statement and doing it with a bang. Designers such as Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang have designed lines of clothing that say, “I’m up for anything, even fighting my way through the undead.” The bottom line with this trend is to always have an element of funky fashion in the closet this fall. Vogue magazine and Elle are on the same page in fashion trends the next season. According to Vogue, large, chunky coats and over-sized sweaters will be in style as well as turtlenecks. Yes, turtlenecks. Big and fluffy fur coats will make their way into department stores as
will a wide range of intricate designs and patterns. It’s easy to spot cute clothes on the runway, but getting that same sense of fashion with the limited amount of shopping options in Murray can be challenging. Whitney Bogard, an employee at Penique’s said cardigans and palazzo pants are filling the racks this fall, with a wide array of new patterns surfacing – out with the old and in with the new. “I don’t think (chevron) is completely dead, but dying off a little,” Bogard said. “There’s still patterns but it’s not all gonna’ be plain.” Bogard said the must-haves for high fashion this fall will be knee-high boots. No matter the color or style, a boot is the perfect completion to a fashion-forward fall outfit.
Photos courtesy of hercampus.com
Madison Wepfer
Graphic by Summer Bush
Fall fashion foreword: Guide for what’s in this season
Community businesses provide student discounts, special offers Breanna Sill
Assistant Features Editor bsill@murraystate.edu
While it is no secret that coming to college is stressful on the mind and body, what most students do not realize before moving away from home is how stressful the transition is going to be on their bank accounts. Being a college town, Murray businesses acknowledge that without students they would not have nearly as much revenue as they would without having the campus so close by. Also, knowing that students have a tight budget, some local businesses say the flash of a student ID can get students a percentage off services or products that they want or need. Local boutique owner Penny Bogard said her store, Penique’s, offers students 10 percent off their purchases just by showing their student ID at checkout. “I don’t really know why not to do it,” she said. “I know how hard it is trying to make it in college, so I understand.” Ribbon Chix is another clothing store in Murray that offers students a discount on their merchandise. They offer 15 percent off. Another business in Murray that offers students a discount is Cheri Theatre on Chestnut Street. Cheri Theatre offers $2 off all regularpriced tickets Monday through Thursday to students who present their ID at the counter.
Baldy’s Grill is another local business that appreciates the students by offering them a discount. The staff at Baldy’s provides a 10 percent discount to all students who are able to present their IDs, excluding their daily specials. They also offer $1 off on pick-up pizza orders. Culver’s and Back Yard Burgers are fast food restaurants that offer students a 10 percent discount on their meals when students show their ID when checking out. Students who have automotive troubles can take their cars to Cunningham Auto Repair to receive their discount. Cunningham Auto Repair not only offers students a discount on its services, but they also offer students a free ride back to campus via its shuttle service while the maintenance is taking place, according to its website. Although the majority of businesses in Murray do offer discounts to Murray State students, a lot of students are not aware of the discount opportunities. “I had no idea Cheri Theatre offered a discount,” said Chelsi Werner, junior from Golconda, Ill., “I wish they would promote it more or ask if I want to do it when I buy my tickets. I would for sure take advantage of it more often.” Although students may not feel like they are saving much money, taking advantage of student discounts does add up eventually. In the bank account of a starving college student, every nickel and dime counts.
‘Breaking Bad’ star to share success story Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu
Photo illustration by Kylie Townsend/The News
Students can use their Murray State ID for discounts in various places.
It is not often that you can listen to a celebrity who is famous for his work in a series portraying the son of a meth chemist. However, on Nov. 12, students at Murray State will be able to listen to RJ Mitte, better known as Walt “Flynn” White, Jr. from the award winning series Breaking Bad on Murray State’s campus. While fans of the show know that Walt “Flynn” White, Jr. has cerebral palsy, most may not know that Mitte also has a milder form of cerebral palsy and has had to deal with some struggles and immobility throughout his lifetime. It is because of these adversities and hardships that Mitte will be speaking with students about awareness for the disease as well as how to overcome obstacles. “(Mitte) is coming to present a lecture, focusing on his excellent film career as well as his struggles and successes with cerebral palsy,” said Grant Grissom, Student Government Association vice president. “The goal is for him to provide an inspirational testimony to students that they can achieve great things, no matter what their limits, as well as to relate to some awesome popular television subjects, as ‘Breaking Bad’ is one of the most critically and generally acclaimed television shows of all time.” Because of his success at a young age, Mitte will try to encourage students to make a difference while they are young. “I truly believe that people are excited to hear his story of success and apply that inspirational tone to their own lives,” Grissom said. The lecture will take place Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. in the Large Ballroom in the Curris Center.
The News
Features
September 19, 2014
7B
FEATURED TWEETS
Pop Culture Corner
#iOS8
Celebrity Encounters
Kidnapped by Taylor Swift
Dane Cook @DaneCook I’m pretty sure iOS 8 is downloading all the secrets of the universe in this update. #iOS8 #iOS8isSkynet 2:49 p.m. 17 Sept 2014
Dj Charlesy @djcharlesy 64gb iphone and I still ain’t got space for #iOS8 5:00 p.m. 17 Sept 2014
Ryan Wyatt @Fwiz Apple made me delete memories today. Poor photos, videos and old iMessages now gone forever. Health app better track my sadness. #iOS8 12:51 p.m. 17 Sept 2014
Gina Trapani @ginatrapani “I was afraid I was going to die doing something stupid, like upgrading an operating system” #ios8 #xoxofest 6:04 p.m. 17 Sept 2014
MELISSA RIVERS JOINS FASHION POLICE, PAY TRIBUTE TO MOTHER E! and the cast of Fashion Police are planning to pay tribute to the late Joan Rivers by celebrating “Joan Day” on Friday. The marathon will show Joan’s funniest Fashion Police jokes and the last episode of the show she appeared in. Joans’s daughter, Melissa, will join the cast to co-host.
Photo courtesy of radio.com
Rising country star Lee Brice has released three albums since 2010. “I Don’t Dance: Extended Edition” was released Sept. 9.
‘I Don’t Dance’ pleases country fans Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu
JAMIE FOXX TO RETURN TO MUSIC WITH NEW SINGLE
Jamie Foxx is making a return to the music industry after an almost four-year hiatus. His new single entitled “Party Ain’t a Party,” features 2 Chains. The song plays on the line between singing and rapping.
Soundbytee “I feel like watching my dating life has become a bit of a national pastime.” - Taylor Swift
Born and raised in Sumter, S.C., Lee Brice is a rising country star and former football player for Clemson University. Brice has written many songs that he has performed himself, as well as song performed by big name country music singers like Jason Aldean and Keith Gattis. Brice released his third album “I Don’t Dance: Extended Edition” Sept. 9 in stores, iTunes and Amazon. Like most country albums, “I Don’t Dance” features topics of summertime fun, women and friends. The album provides a variety of different tempos and styles in its 16 songs. Each track also uses guitars and percussion instruments. Although a lot of the concepts in the album seem to be consistent with traditional country music, the styles of the songs favor a rock genre or modern country. Half of the album is upbeat and fast paced while the other half has a softer, sentimental rhythm. There were also some interesting lyrics in the album. The song “Girls in Bikinis” compared watching girls in bikinis to watching slinkies walk down stairs. In a completely opposite direction, the song “Hard to Figure Out” discussed a woman who
lost her husband in a car crash and how he learned to examine his life from her words. While the two songs elicit opposite moods, they provide a diverse set of life experiences and emotions. The song “Good Man” blends a hiphop style with modern country additions. In contrast, “That Don’t Sound Like You” mixes elements of traditional country music with modern country foundation. One of the most successful songs on the album is “I Don’t Dance,” and for good reason. The lyrics are approachable by all ages and genders. It is a slow-paced song that discusses love in a unique way that appeals to a large audience. That track alone has received more than nine million Spotify plays. Matt Bjorke, author of the “Top 30 Digital Singles – August 27, 2014” wrote that as of August 2014, the song sold 918,000 copies in the U.S. since the song was released earlier this year as a single. Overall, the album was good. It lacked creativity in introducing new themes for songs but the tracks were catchy and interesting. There were two or three songs that were enjoyable to listen to. These songs had great tempos and lyrical value that was appreciated. The album is consistent with the fresh approach to the country genre but has
customary values spread throughout the tracks. Many songs blended together and did not differentiate enough to become strong singles which can be explained by the same general theme that was provided throughout the sixteen tracks. “I Don’t Dance: Extended Edition” seems to be successful amongst the audience that it plays to and offers tracks that may resonate with listeners who are not country music fans as well. The album is currently No. 20 in the iTunes store. Brice also has two other albums that offer the same general style and structure. “Hard to Love” was released in 2012 and has 13 tracks while “Love Like Crazy” was released in 2010 and has 12 tracks.
Quick Facts Title
“I Don’t Dance: Extended Edition”
Artist
Lee Brice
Out this Week
Read It
“The Contract” Derek Jeter
See It
“The Maze Runner”
Hear It
Rent It
“The Big Revival” Kenny Chesney
“Neighbors”
Boots & Hats, Western & Designer Apparel, Jewelry, Home & Yard Decor, Tack, Rodeo Equipment
705 Main St. Hwy 641 Like Us on Facebook Check for TNT Arena Events listed on Facebook
Play It
“Wasteland 2”
Since I got such positive feedback from the last time I shared a story about Taylor Swift I figured it was time to share anBreanna Sill other one. This one Assistant is from the Features Editor summer of 2010, the summer before Taylor Swift dropped her third album entitled “Speak Now,” but at the time no one knew anything about it. We didn’t know anything about the title of the album or a single. I was already in Nashville, Tenn., for CMA Fest week when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to be put on the list for a secret event and all anyone knew was that it had something to do with Taylor. That is all. And, of course, I said yes. Everyone in attendance was told to park their cars on the top floor of a random parking garage downtown and wait for further instruction. We then had to show a photo ID and were told we couldn’t bring anything with us – no phone, no wallet, nothing. The people we met then loaded all of us up onto coach buses, still having no idea where we were going or why, and we took off to our destination. About 30 minutes later we arrived at a warehouse in the middle of nowhere and we all got off the buses and lined up outside, we were then handed lanyards that said “Taylor Swift – VIP” and were lead through multiple security checkpoints to ensure we hadn’t brought anything with us and made us all sign confidentiality contracts. Once we got inside we were told the actual reasoning for being brought to the middle of nowhere without any knowledge – Taylor was filming a segment for the CMA Festival television special of her newest single off her new album, and we were going to be the first fans to hear it. They led us through some hallways and past all kinds of television cameras and then led into a set decorated exactly like Taylor’s T-Party room, her meet and greet room backstage on her tours. I stood in the front row in the middle at the end of the catwalk; I had the best spot, for sure. They explained to us a bunch of rules and how we couldn’t tell anybody anything that was happening until the show aired in September. Taylor came out and played “Mine” for the first time ever. She looked down and saw me standing at her feet and got on her knees and asked me what I thought. I told her it would be an instant hit, so she hugged me and handed me her guitar pick she had just been using and played the song about five more times. The whole thing was so surreal. Out of the 75 people who attended no one said anything about the song until it leaked in August. I got the chance to talk to Taylor about it again a few days later and I hadn’t ever felt more special for being a part of something like that. There’s never a dull moment being a Taylor fan – she makes sure of that. bsill@murraystate.edu
TERRY’S AUTOMOTIVE
Quality service, reasonable price Terry Byerly Owner 2996 State Route 94 East Murray, KY 42071 Shop: 270-759-4593 270-752-0833
All MSU Students will receive a 10% discount (excluding sale items)
ellness W a Anim l
is having a back to school special.
alth and e H
$10.00 per day. We open at 6am to 12 midnight, Mon.-Fri. and Sat. as needed. Shining Stars is located at 309 Chestnut St. Murray, KY 42071 CONTACT US! 270.759.0010 twhornbuckle@outlook.com
Larisa Bierds, DVM 2477 State Route 94 E Murray 270-753-4830
Present your Racercard for a 10 percent discount on your first visit.
10% Discount MSU Students
8B
The News
September 19, 2014