The Murray State News

SOCCER SUCCESS Women’s soccer hits three-game winning streak, 1B

The Murray State News September 26, 2014

Zones, times change for parking lots on campus

TheNews.org

Vol. 89, No. 7

Rankings position University on top

Defining ‘spouse’

Rebecca Walter

Mari-Alice Jasper

News Editor

rwalter@murraystate.edu

Staff writer

Notable parking changes are occurring across campus this semester that may not be known by all students.

The newest includes permitted parking at the Curris Center from 5 p.m. to midnight.

All one-hour parking spaces are available for use during this time.

The vehicle owners must present a valid Murray State parking pass.

Spaces labeled as “restricted” and “designated disability” spaces are remaining zoned, meaning an approved restricted permit or disability pass is needed.

Francie Ray, Public Safety and Emergency Management parking supervisor, said the University monitors parking areas on campus to observe parking trends and usage.

“As (the parking office) monitors, we evaluate not only visually the vehicles, times and spaces that are being utilized by our consumers, but we also evaluate the events, attendees and consumers of parking utilizing those parking areas,” Ray said.

Other parking changes include: • Heritage Hall parking lot A will be a blue, red, yellow and brown zone • Immanuel Lutheran Church will be blue, red, yellow and brown zone • The Sorority Suites will be a blue, red, yellow and brown zone • Ryan Southeast, located at the corner of 16th Street and Ryan Avenue, will now be a blue and red zone • Kentucky College Terrace South parking lot will be red and green • Hamilton Field will be red, brown and yellow

Parking classifications are as followed: • Blue – faculty and staff parking only • Red – commuter parking only • Yellow – upper class men living in the North Residential College complex only • Brown – Regents and White Residential College residents only

Affair’s attention, the committee also sent its Student Government Association representative, Norman Franklin III, to speak with SGA and to gain its support.

This was the first year the SGA representative position was filled on the advisory committee, despite it being available for several years.

Michael Dobbs, president of SGA, said from the discussion following Franklin’s request, he believes the vast majority of the senate had no problem with a change of the policy to include same-sex partners, although no official vote was taken.

Dobbs said he is not entirely sure what the policy is regarding the use of the center by staff and faculty, but that he does not feel anyone has been intentionally excluded.

“It takes pointing things out to make changes and that is what is being done here,” Dobbs said. “I am confident that the individual(s) charged with making changes to the Wellness Center’s policy will do what is in the best interest for everyone.”

Murray State officials and The U.S. News and World Report declared Murray State as the ninth best public school in the southern region.

Jay Morgan, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, said officials are doing their best to advertise the ranking because it portrays the University well.

The College of Charleston and The Citadel are two other top-ranking universities in the Southern region.

“We are in good company,” Morgan said.

Washington Monthly listed Murray State 17th in its “Best Bang for Your Buck” article.

Every school in the U.S. is eligible for this competition.

The U.S. and World News Report lists Murray State as the highest-ranking public school in Kentucky, but nearby schools University of Kentucky and University of Louisville were not included in the same division.

The U.S News and World Report divides schools using the Carnegie Classification system.

According to the website for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, “This system categorizes institutions by their mission, which is derived from the breakdown of types of higher education institutions.”

Institutions of higher education are divided into National Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges.

Murray State is classified as a regional university and University of Kentucky and University of Louisville are national universities.

According to The U.S. News and World Report, a regional university offers a full range of undergraduate programs.

National universities provide master and doctoral programs in addition to undergraduate.

Morgan said Murray State plans to add more doctorate programs to the curriculum in the future.

Nursing and education doctorate programs are available, but won’t be the only ones with the addition of a new program in

see WELLNESS, 2A

see RANKINGS, 2A

mjasper1@murraystate.edu

see PARKING, 2A

Photo illustration by Hannah Fowl/The News

Spouses of people who work at the University can get a Wellness Center membership at a discounted rate. This doesn’t currently include same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples excluded from Wellness policy Ben Manhanke || Staff writer bmanhanke@murraystate.edu

Citing discriminatory wording in the Wellness Center’s membership eligibility policy, the LGBT Programming Advisory Committee filed a letter with the Office of Student Affairs recommending it be revised.

According to the letter of recommendation sent by the president of the LGBT Programming Advisory Committee, Peggy Munke, the Wellness Center’s policy on purchasing memberships does not extend benefits to same-sex partners of University staff and faculty.

It is the use of the word “spouse” in the Wellness Center’s policy which the committee would like to see amended, as this word has a legal definition which does not apply to partners in a same-sex relationship.

As it is currently worded on the Wellness Center’s website, “Spouse of student, faculty, staff and retiree and alumni members can purchase a membership at the same level as the primary member.”

This allows spouses to pay the same reduced rate for a semester or summer membership as their partner working at the University.

Munke said this issue was first brought to her and the committee’s attention approximately a year ago, but at the time was not deemed to be a priority.

“There are always a number of issues of which we are aware,” she said. “However, we work to get one issue resolved before we work on another. We work incrementally.

There were several other issues that had priority over this one. Those issues have now been resolved so we were ready to confront this issue.”

Along with bringing the issue to the Office of Student

Hannah Fowl/The News

A student walks on the treadmill at the Wellness Center.

City considers vote to close Olive Street Staff Report

Kalli Bubb/The News

WATERMELON BUST: Lambda Chi Alpha held its annual Watermelon Bust, which raises money for Needline of Murray. Read more about the event on page 6A.

WHAT’S

INSIDE

The Murray City Council voted unanimously Thursday to close a portion of Olive Street to prepare for construction of the new Engineering and Physics building.

Kim Oatman, chief Facilities Management officer, said the recommended section to shut down runs from the intersection of 16th Street to 140 feet east of the intersection of Broach Street.

Oatman said the University owns the property on both sides of the section of street it has proposed to close.

“That intersection is heavily congested with pedestrians at certain times of day, so it is dangerous at times,” Oatman said.

Closing the intersection of 16th and Olive will force traffic to other streets, but Oatman said pedestrian safety in the Olive Street area will improve.

“The closure will allow Murray State to follow through with its plan for constructing a state funded building, the Engineering and Physics building,” he said.

The groundbreaking for the Engineering and Physics building isn’t scheduled yet, but Oatman said he believes it will happen this fall or early next year.

Construction on the new building, located southeast of the Jesse D. Jones Hall is projected to take between 16 and 18 months, according to Oatman.

The University would like to have the street closed by the Spring 2015 semester.

WHAT’S ON THENEWS.ORG LETTERS

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

RACER FOOTBALL Follow @MSUSportsNews on Twitter and check out our continuing game coverage at TheNews.org.

PRESIDENTIAL LUNCH

OUR VIEW

JACKSONVILLE STATE

RACER NATION

Students share concerns with President Davies, 3A

Wellness Center policies need to change, 4A

Football prepares for game after bye, 1B

New app keeps Murray State fans connected, 5B

The News

News

2A

September 26, 2014

RANKINGS

WELLNESS

From Page 1

From Page 1

the upcoming year to year and a half.

“In 12 to 18 months there may be a humanities doctorate program,” Morgan said.

Rebecca Shepherd, senior from Greenville, Ky., said Murray State should not be in the same division as University of Kentucky or University of Louisville, because the campuses are so different.

“Being in a big city like Louisville or Lexington affects campus life,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd transferred from Western Kentucky because the atmosphere at Murray State is friendlier, she said.

“Campus is so diverse,” Shepherd said. “All people from all religions are welcome, and that’s what makes Murray State so unique.”

Public regional universities, like Murray State, are then divided into north, south, west and mid-west.

The U.S. World News Report ranks schools based on their undergraduate academic reputation, their retention rate and faculty resources.

Fifty other universities were ranked in the same division and region as Murray State.

Western Kentucky ranked

Jody Cofer Randall, LGBT Program Coordinator, said as SGA’s response was reported

by Franklin, there seemed to be confusion in SGA as to whether the Wellness Center’s policy already allowed for a general “plus one” admittance policy, which samesex partners of University students and personnel could benefit from.

Cofer Randall said he does not believe the Wellness Center’s policy to be deliberately discriminatory and the over sight may be due to the time at which the policy was made.

“One could say we should have a massive study of all the University benefits as they relate to partners,” he said. “The committee felt this was something which it would be easy to make a case for and when the administration looks at it they’ll see the inequity in the policy.”

The committee sent its letter of recommendation to Student Affairs two weeks ago.

Cofer Randall said the committee has yet to receive any additional feedback on how the problem is being addressed other than an email from Mike Young, associate

PARKING From Page 1 • Green – College Court residents only • Purple – freshmen parking at Stewart Stadium only Ray said students and community members in particular requested the Curris Center parking change.

“We feel this change will greatly benefit our students, faculty and staff as they attend or participate in events at the Curris Center,” she said.

Darlene Beard, freshman from Mayfield, Ky., commutes to campus daily.

She said she was unaware parking changes had taken place, but she is glad they did.

U.S. News and World Report

close behind Murray State in 12th position. Eastern Kentucky ranked 27th and Northern Kentucky ranked 31st.

For 24 consecutive years, Murray State has been ranked

by The U.S. News and World report with ninth being its highest achievement.

Bob Jackson, president of the MSU Foundation, said the rankings are used to recruit students.

“Our ranking and reputation is important to the University,” Jackson said.

Harley Watson Jr., senior from Princeton, Ky., said he knew Murray State was in the top ranking for several years, but it had no impact on his decision to attend classes here.

“I picked Murray State because of its location, flexible tuition fees and small classroom sizes,” Watson said.

“It is oftentimes hard to find a space on campus everyday, especially in the red zone,” she said.

Beard said she hopes the University administration Dobbs keeps working on ways to increase parking and make it better for students.

Michael Dobbs, president of the Student Government Association, said complaints about parking from students are the ones he hears the most.

“The way I see it, our parking situation could be a lot worse, like other universities where (students) have to pay more money for worse spaces,” he said. “We

Other intangibles make up the college experience that cannot be measured by data, but The U.S. and World News Report strives to provide families with valuable information such as tuition fees and student population for each institution.

“Some people call Murray State a hidden gem,” Morgan said. “I don’t know that we are hidden, we’re just a gem.”

still make it our mission to hear students out and work together with the University to bring about positive and beneficial changes.”

Ray said there are no more plans at this time to change parking in the near future.

Dobbs said many students were under the impression that Curris Center parking wasn’t zoned.

He said parking is always a hot topic for students.

“When there is a positive change, like more parking, students are always going to be happy about that, but when it comes to not being able to find a space or getting ticketed, they feel pretty negatively,” Dobbs said.

“Parking is an issue that is almost always being discussed and debated.”

Students may contact the parking office at 270-809-4812 with any questions or concerns.

vice president of Student Affairs, confirming he had received their letter.

Young said there are two possible ways this issue may be addressed.

Either the issue will be brought before the University Benefit Committee who will have to make a ruling, or, depending on what sort of language the University has already adopted regarding other policies, updating the Wellness Center’s policy would only be a matter of time.

“I think the University’s policy as it relates to health insurance and things like that already includes the word ‘partner,’” Young said. “If that is the case then this (change) would be an easy thing to do because we are already on that page allowing partners to purchase insurance for their significant other.”

Young said Murray State’s department of Human Resources is in the process of reviewing several of the University’s positions as they relate to same-sex partners looking for discrepancies in wording, including this new case.

He said he believes the policy’s wording is not intentionally discriminatory and that, to his knowledge, no one has been denied the purchase of a membership for this reason.

Haley Hays/The News

Abby McWherter, senior from Benton, Ky., gets into her car in a red zone commuter lot.

The News

News

September 26, 2014 News Editor: Rebecca Walter Assistant Editor: Mary Bradley Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews

POLICE BEAT Sept. 18 11:24 a.m. A caller requested to speak to an officer. Officers were notified and a report for assault in the fourth degree was taken.

10:08 p.m Racer Patrol reported a reckless driver in College Courts. Officers were notified and a written warning was issued for reckless driving.

Sept. 19 12:36 a.m. A caller reported someone knocking on their window at Springer Residential College. Officers were notified and the incident was unfounded.

7:50 p.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at Hester Residential College. A written warning was issued for speeding.

Sept. 20 12:10 a.m. A caller reported a fight in progress at Hart Residential College. Officers were notified and an information report was taken.

9:45 p.m. Murray Police Department requested assistance with locating a vehicle driving recklessly at 16th and Farmer streets.

A verbal warning was issued for careless driving.

Sept. 21 12:15 a.m. A caller reported an intoxicated person in Hart. Officers, Student Affairs and Murray Ambulance Services were notified and the patient was transported.

2:06 a.m. A caller advised of a fight in progress on Main Street.

Officers and Murray Police Department were notified.

Sept. 22 2:54 a.m. Murray Police Department advised of information in reference to a welfare check of a person in the Price Doyle Fine Arts Complex. Officers, Murray Fire Department, Murray Ambulance Services and Student Affairs were notified. The patient was transported.

4:06 p.m. A caller requested to speak to an officer. Officers were notified and a criminal report was taken for menacing.

Sept. 23 8:54 p.m. A caller reported the smell of smoke at the Equine Training Facility. Officers, Murray Fire Department and the fire marshal were notified. A fire report was taken.

9:43 p.m. A caller reported a suspicious person at Hester. Officers were notified and a report was taken.

Sept. 24 6:57 p.m. A caller advised of a suspicious bag at Chestnut and 16th street. Officers were notified and an information report was taken.

11:27 p.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at Hester. A warning was issued for failure to signal.

Call of Fame Sept. 22, 8:23 p.m. - A caller reported a suspicious noise in Wilson Hall. Officers were notified and the suspicious noise was from the practice of a play.

Motorists assists – 6 Racer escorts – 2 Arrests – 0 Mary Bradley, Assistant News Editor, compiles Police Beat with materials provided by Public Safety and Emergency Management. Not all dispatched calls are listed.

3A

Davies, student lunch offers insight Brittany Risko || Staff writer brisko@murraystate.edu

Murray State’s Lunch with the President, held in Winslow Dining Hall, began in order to familiarize students with the University president in a relaxed setting.

During the lunch, students talked about multiple topics such as what makes Murray State great and some issues on campus.

President Bob Davies said he decided to participate in Lunch with the President because anything that has to do with the students is something he is willing to get involved in.

“I think it is a good way to get to sit down with students, answer any questions and raise discussions that they want to talk about,” Davies said.

Paula Amols, director of Dining Services and Racer Hospitality and creator of Lunch with the President, said the idea developed to provide an informal way for students to talk with the president.

“We got the idea when Davies first came, we knew how engaged he is with the students and felt like it would be a good way for Davies to talk face-to-face with the students,” Amols said.

Ryan Knight, senior from Benton, Ill., said he was interested in Lunch with the President because it was a way to talk about issues and improvements on campus.

“Lunch with the President is a good opportunity to speak with administrative professionals about issues and ways to improve those issues from

Photo courtesy of Dining Services

President Bob Davies and students sit at a reserved table in Winslow Dining Hall for Lunch with the President. the people that it directly impacts,” Knight said.

In an email to The Murray State News, Paula Jaco, sophomore from Metropolis, Ill., said she signed up for Lunch with the President because it was important to have a connection between faculty and students.

“I decided to sign up for Lunch with the President because I feel that it is

important to have a real connection among the faculty and the students at Murray State,” Jaco said.

At the lunch, she asked a few questions about housing.

“When I went into the lunch the questions I had prepared for the president were about some concerns within the residential colleges, such as renovations, budgets and also

some new ideas from myself and the residents,” Jaco said.

The next event will be Dinner with the President is Oct. 13 at 6 p.m.

There will also be another Lunch Nov. 12. Space is limited and there is only room for 10 to 15 students to attend, Amols said.

Not only is Lunch with the President a way to let students familarize themselves with the president, but it is also a way to introduce students to new food.

“Today the cold soup was served; I do not think it was that big of a hit, but at least everyone tried it,” Amols said.

The menu consisted of Peach Buttermilk Soup, a mixed green salad, Bourbon Glazed Ham and a Tuxedo Torte.

Students are able to go online to sign up for the lunch.

“Also if students have any special dietary needs, we will accommodate to them,” Amols said. “There is a space at the bottom of the sign up page where students can put whether they have a special dietary need.”

She said Lunch with the President is a unique way to let students talk with the President about anything that is going on. It opens up the opportunity to sit and talk with the president that students otherwise might not have.

“I hope that with Lunch with the President students take away that they have a voice,” Davies said. “I hope that they know that their suggestions are taken seriously and are heard.”

‘Students for Alison’ offer city voting registration Amanda Grau Staff writer

agrau@murraystate.edu

Students for Alison, the campus organization supporting Alison Grimes’ senate campaign, is pounding the pavement asking students to register to vote.

Students for Alison began asking students to register or change their registration city to Murray, at the beginning of the fall semester. They plan to continue registering on campus until the deadline in October.

Alix Bloodworth, senior from Murray, said the next two weeks are crucial to the 800-student goal set by the organization. The organization is 80 percent there.

Grimes, the democratic candidate for the November senate election, could topple senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell has held his place as minority leader since 2007, and as one of the two senate seats for Kentucky since 1985.

If Grimes wins, she will be the first woman to hold a senate seat for Kentucky.

Students for Alison also helps people switch their city of registration to Murray.

“It’s easier on people,” Bloodworth said. “We don’t

get out of school for election day, and it’s on a Tuesday.

People from Louisville, St. Louis, or Nashville can’t go home to vote.”

Bloodworth said even those who live out of state should consider switching because registering in Murray gives students the opportunity to have a voice in community politics.

“They can vote in Kentucky elections,” she said. “It’s important because they’re living here at Murray State for four years. It’s important to be involved in your community.”

She said apathy toward politics runs rampant on campus, and pushing people to register can help alleviate it. Students who are registered outside of Murray are unlikely to travel to vote or to request an absentee ballot, she said.

“The apathetic won’t vote,” she said. “I think apathy is a problem on campus.”

Germoni McCray, junior from Memphis, Tenn., said she is uninterested in politics, but is registered to vote and voted in the last presidential election.

McCray said she knows Kentucky politics affect her life, including the November election. Spending most of the year in Murray has taught her that.

“I’m from Tennessee but I consider myself half a resident of Kentucky,” McCray said.

Despite her acknowledgment, McCray chose not to change her voter registration to Murray when asked by Students for Alison.

Alexis Macklin, sophomore from Louisville, Ky., registered to vote when approached by Students for Alison. Macklin said the convenience made it easy.

“I never had registered, and now I’m finally of age,” Macklin said. “It was right there, so I did it.”

Students for Alison provide the registration card to students and deliver it to City Hall for processing.

Olivia Petter, freshman from Paducah, Ky., said the persistence of Students for Alison irritated her after being asked multiple times to register.

“It was kind of annoying honestly,” Petter said. “The same person had already asked me twice, and I’m registered already.”

Even with the annoyance, Petter said she felt the goal was a good one.

“People should be registered to vote,” Petter said.

“Everyone gets their input in.

People need to realize how important it is to vote.”

Lori Allen/The News

A student stands at a voter registration booth inside the Curris Center.

Professor wins Top Paper Award for communication convention Amanda Grau || Staff writer agrau@murraystate.edu

Zac Johnson, assistant business professor, recently discovered the importance of peer confirmation and its relation to classroom success.

Johnson, along with collaborator Sara LaBelle, will receive the Top Paper Award on his work “Student-to-Student Confirmation in the College Classroom: An initial Investigation of the Dimensions and Outcomes of Students’ Confirming Messages.”

The award will be given at the National Communication Association Convention in Chicago in November.

Johnson worked with LaBelle, a professor of humanities at Chapman University, to survey students on how they give and receive confirmation to one another.

Johnson said there has been research done with understanding how teachers communicate with students.

Researchers have tried quantitatively measuring how teachers reveal their personalities and personal information with their students.

Researchers then tried to apply the same method to students with some success.

“But that doesn’t work for all teaching behaviors because something like confirmation is displayed by teachers

in ways that aren’t applicable to students,” Johnson said.

Johnson described “confirmation” as a process in which someone is made to feel endorsed, valuable and significant.

Johnson’s goal was to understand how students made each other feel significant within a classroom setting.

He discovered many students were not afraid to offer praise, but were afraid to aid another student. Students feared offering help because they may be misunderstood.

“They don’t like offering help because they don’t want to offend anyone,” Johnson said. “You know how people are. They read too much into

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something. They think they’ll be misunderstood, that people will say ‘Why do you think I need help? Do you think I’m stupid?’”

In reality, Johnson said students can create a more efficient educational experience by helping one another.

Johnson said students should not be afraid to offer help to a classmate who is struggling with a subject in which they excel. Just by making themselves available to help, students create a closer bond with classmates.

“It helps reinforce and teach,” Johnson said. “I’m still available, but it allows students to learn themselves instead of me just fixing everything.”

4A

September 26, 2014

The News

Opinion

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

­

Our View

Wellness Center policy needs revision The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.

The News 2609 University Station Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 murraystatenews@icloud.com Fax: 270-809-3175

TheNews.org Lexy Gross

Editor-in-Chief • 270-809-6877 cgross2@murraystate.edu Rebecca Walter News Editor • 270-809-4468 rwalter@murraystate.edu Carly Besser Opinion Editor • 270-809-5873 cbesser@murraystate.edu Hunter Harrell Features Editor • 270-809-5871 hharrell@murraystate.edu

Katie Wilborn/The News

In terms of inclusion for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, faculty and staff, Murray State has made long strides since opening its gates.

We provide safe places for students to meet with faculty to discuss LGBT-related problems they’re facing on campus. The Murray State Alliance also has a powerful membership that provides a community in which LGBT members can interact and feel comfortable.

However, there are still old policies in place at the University that put LGBT faculty, staff and students at further disadvantage than their straight coworkers and peers.

The Wellness Center provides membership packages for spouses at discounted prices, but because

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

the term “spouse” is a legal definition, same-sex couples cannot enjoy the benefit of a reduced membership fee.

While we understand that it likely wasn’t the intent to exclude LGBT faculty, it is still presumed that this discount is not extended to them. According to US code seven, the term “spouse” refers to someone of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.

The LGBT Program Advisory Committee presented the standing membership policy to the Student Government Association as well as recommended a revision of the policy to Mike Young, associate vice president of Student Affairs. We’re glad to see the committee take these steps to provide more inclusion.

If the revision recommendation

Fumi Nakamura Photography Editor • 270-809-5878 fnakamura1@murraystate.edu

What do you want to be when you grow up?

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.

can help to revise this policy as well.

In order to make equality total and permanent at the University, there will be some cobwebs that need to be swept. Some of them include cryptic rules and loopholes in policy that have been in place for decades. The matter of changing a sentence to one that is more inclusive should be a priority to make everyone here feel welcome.

We should appreciate Murray State faculty and staff for the tremendous job they do. Without our faculty, we couldn’t have a functioning University.

Revising the policy to include partners of same-sex couples in the discounted membership package is another way of showing our appreciation.

The Captain’s Log

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

Write to us!

is accepted, partners and spouses will be able to purchase the same discounted membership package.

There is no question that Murray State works to include people of all sexualities. There are strict rules about discrimination against LGBT students and the University provides multiple resources for people to feel welcome here.

However, the membership discount is an example of a discrepancy that prevents same-sex couples from experiencing complete equality while studying or working here.

We hope the SGA recognizes the standing Wellness Center policy as a hurdle for equality that is unnecessary. If the senators can vote in favor of gender-neutral bathroom signs, they

Every kid has been asked the same question at some point throughout their young life. What do you want to be when you grow up?

I loved this question. I would think “What is possibly the most awesome thing I could ever do?” I put Zac Garrison quite a bit of Senior from thought into it, until I finally Franklin, Ky. knew. I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a superhero who was also a veterinarian.

My costume would be me with a stethoscope around my neck and my superhero name was going to be “VetMan.” I was a cute kid, but obviously not a creative one. I answered the question above countless times. But oddly enough, every time I answered, I answered it a little bit differently.

As I grew older, I began to tweak my answer every so often as to what I wanted to be when I grew up.

When we ask this question to children, we expect outrageous answers. We expect them to be creative and to shoot for the stars as to what they could want out of life. So when kids tell us they want to be a rockstar, a princess or

a superhero that just so happens to be a veterinarian, you never question it.

At that point in life, they dream harder than they ever will again. They will be able to wish and want with no real inclination of how many obstacles they will come across in the following years.

This question changed when I became an adult. It may be the same words in the same order, but they don’t mean the same thing.

Now this question has turned into something along the lines of, “What can you feasibly achieve while regarding your income, social class and your education?” This makes reality bite hard.

Knowing how bad I wanted to be an animal-saving superhuman and having to realize how incredibly impractical that option was is kind of soul-crushing. I drew out my costume numerous times, practiced what his signature might be like if I would have to sign any official superhero stuff and even practiced deep voices and chest postures in the mirror while announcing my signature line “I am VetMan.” The catchphrase is another example of my creative genius as a child.

I remember how close I felt to actually being VetMan when I grew up. Being told for years that I can be anything I wanted to be, only to be slapped with a cold slab of reality and realizing that wasn’t the case.

Our generation has learned to be afraid of asking the universe for what they want. This happens as that question changes meaning as we grow older. We begin to get embarrassed by our dreams.

All of a sudden, explaining to your friends that VetMan could actually be a superhero

while also being a veterinarian was not nearly as cool as it used to be.

As we begin to become embarrassed of our dreams, we change them to something we know we can feasibly achieve. Why? We are told our whole lives that big dreams are bad.

Those big dreams are big leaps that just might turn into big falls, so as a society, we begin to reject them.

We need to get back to dreaming big. Jim Carrey did the commencement speech at Maharishi University of Management, and during this speech he told a small tale about his father.

A tale of a man who wanted to be a famous comedian, but instead made the conservative choice to be an accountant who then lost his job when Jim was 12, leaving the family poor and struggling.

Jim Carrey then said, “When there is always the chance you can fail at what you don’t want to do, why not take the chance with something you actually do want to do?” These words are incredibly powerful, and I’m sure these words hit pretty close to home for several people. If you haven’t watched the video, I highly recommend watching it.

Jim Carrey also said in that speech that we make choices based on fear, but justified with practicality. We aren’t scared of achieving what we want, but of failing to do so. We spend our whole lives thinking “what if” as we punch the clock 9-5 daydreaming about what could have happened or almost happened.

It’s time to be brave. Don’t worry that big leaps could lead to big falls, but think about the big success that could be at the end of that leap. You miss every shot you don’t take.

The News

Opinion

September 26, 2014

5A Did she really say that?

Letter to the Editor Recently members of Murray State University’s “Faculty Against Racism” conducted a demonstration to express their views and to show support for the Ferguson, Mo., community. Subsequently, racist postings with threats of violence directed at African-Americans on campus were anonymously posted on a social media platform that is not controlled or regulated by Murray State.

While it is unknown whether any members of the University community were involved in postings, we acknowledge the right given by the US Constitution for freedom of speech and expression. Nonetheless, there is no place on our campus for bigotry or violence against anyone.

These recent events have brought racism to the forefront at Murray State. These events also highlight the challenges that often occur when individuals choose to exercise their right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and free-

dom to peaceably assemble. This dilemma subsequently raises questions on how the President’s Commission on Diversity and Inclusion should respond to racist postings with threats of violence. Some have asked, what is the role of the PCDI? The PCDI is a permanent and standing governance body that is housed within the President’s Office. The primary role is to make recommendations to the president relative to planning, developing, improving and evaluating overall diversity efforts at Murray State.

The PCDI worked toward the creation of Murray State’s own Campus Diversity Plan taking into consideration the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Statewide Diversity Plan and has transitioned toward implementation and oversight of the Murray State Diversity Plan.

We support the efforts of any faculty, staff or student initiatives that are aligned with the following basic principles: • Accept one another

Yik Yak targets women, too

• Learn from one another through civil discourse • Create an atmosphere of positive engagement • Challenge bigotry in any form Murray State students and employees are obligated, regardless of their roles or responsibilities, to commit to and practice these basic principles of diversity.

Furthermore, adhering to these basic principles of diversity does not diminish any individual’s right to divergent opinions. In fact the PCDI feels that following these basic principles of diversity enhances the ability to have an intellectual community that is safe, productive and enriching for all involved.

Signed by President Bob Davies. Approved by the PCDI.

We, the leadership team of the Murray State College of Humanities and Fine Arts, deplore the recent racist postings on Yik Yak (The Murray State News, Sept. 5).

These statements are not representative of the views of the vast majority of Murray State students, faculty, and staff, and they have no place at an institution of higher learning.

We call on the users to rethink their outlooks and on all members of the University community to stand up for the dignity and worth of every individual.

Ted Brown- Dean Staci Stone- Assistant Dean David Balthrop, Kathy Callahan, Bill Cassie, Reika Ebert, ZB Smetana, Sue Sroda, Paula Waddill, Pamela WurglerDepartment chairs

Issues, observations and sometimes rants

Qualls: What’s going on?

In 1970 Marvin Gaye recorded the now classic Soul/ R&B song, “What’s Going On?” In 2014, it’s a question that still begs an answer.

Having witnessed police brutality, a nation at war, the social unrest that accompanied the Civil Rights Movement and corrupt government, Gaye was exasperated.

He wondered Kevin Qualls how he could go on Professor of singing love songs mass communications in a world like that.

Check out these lyrics: Mother, mother There’s too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There’s far too many of you dying You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today – Yeah.

What’s going on in Ferguson? What happened in Benghazi? What’s all this about Ebola, Homeland Security, and Eric Snowden? The only news that is certain are reports about the final score of a ballgame, who won an Oscar or a Grammy and sometimes the weather forecast. The rest is suspect.

Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Talk to me, so you can see Oh, what’s going on This may not be what’s going on, but what’s happening: News events are co-opted to serve

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

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

Comics

the purposes of existing agendas that frame every issue. When somebody gets shot, both those for and against gun control are ready with a sound bite, a picket sign, a press release for Sandy Hook, Columbine, Ferguson.

Recently, an 18-year-old man named Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer named Darren Wilson. Before all the facts were known, the event became the current ground zero for expression that was previously voiced in Sanford, Fla., where George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, and in Los Angeles where police abused Rodney King. Now we have Ferguson.

The issue is important. So are the issues of environmentalism, energy policy and health care. These issues, and others, become the frame through which all other news is presented. And so the question remains, “What’s going on?”

Father, father, everybody thinks we’re wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply because our hair is long Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way To bring some understanding here today.

According to a recent article in Business Insider, six corporations control more than 90 percent of the media in the United States. That article was written in June. Now the biggest fish, Comcast, is in the process of purchasing another big fish: Time-Warner. The Columbia Journalism Review has an online page called “Who Owns What.” With various drop-down menus, media ownership is vertically arranged, resembling Russian nesting dolls. What’s going on? Not diversity.

Considering individual media markets, “232 executives control the information diet of 277 million Americans,” according to that article in Business Insider. By the way, Business Insider was launched

by Kevin Ryan, the same guy who founded DoubleClick and other web-based tracking tools that profile consumers to optimize online advertise-

Cheers to ... Family Weekend

ments. It’s a small, small media world, after all.

So, you may not know what’s going on, but you know what to buy. Soon, you’ll know whom to vote against. Thanks to the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee, those six corporations (and others) no longer have dollar limits on how much they spend on election campaigns. To limit campaign contributions would limit their freedom of expression as guaranteed by the first amendment.

It seems that a majority of the Supreme Court thinks corporations should enjoy the same fundamental rights as natural persons. What’s going on?

What should we do, Marvin Gaye?

Father, father We don’t need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today.

That sounds good, especially when Marvin sings it. If only it were that simple.

Strong opinions are offered on scant facts and the world is moving fast. What’s going on? War, disease and famine. Beheaded journalists. An NFL player assaulted his wife in an elevator. McCracken County is considering the merits of a leash law for cats. Miss America was kicked out of her sorority for hazing. There is no such thing as a southern border anymore. Midterm exams and midterm elections are almost here. Nineteen jetliners have been missing from Libya for months now.

There’s a lot going on: Maybe the real question is, “What does it all mean, really?” Marvin says that only love can conquer hate. Maybe his song is really a plea for justice.

But “Why is this going on” is not a catchy lyric.

To ask why is to seek truth: objective truth. That’s hard to find in an agenda-driven media. Truth has no agenda.

Jeers to ... Unseen

There’s no doubt that some of us miss our families. Just make sure you clean your dorm before they get there.

We hope your employers don’t find out that you’re posting your naked bodies on the new Unseen app. Let’s be professional, guys.

Jeers to ... Gideons.

Cheers to ... BBQ on the River

We understand that you want to spread the word, but don’t be so pushy. Some of us don’t want a pocket Bible and we won’t change our minds in 50 more feet. No is no.

Our neighboring city of Paducah’s annual BBQ on the River festival is coming up this weekend. Stop by and grab some pulled pork and tell us how it is.

Being a student at Murray State puts me in a position to be curious about the dark underworld that is “Yik Yak.” Since its popularity spike at the beginning of the semester, Yik Yak beCarly Besser came notoriOpinion Editor ous for being a platform to express violent racism.

While the racist posts are disgusting and deserve to be addressed, there is another group on campus that is also targeted frequently.

It seems that women are almost subhuman in the world of Yik Yak. The sexual objectification, derogatory comments and shaming that is posted on the app are conjured in every feminist’s nightmare.

One Yak in particular caught my attention and maintained it: “When you girls go to a dance party and dance with guys because you have a bf you should do us a favor and stay home or go f*** him so somebody is getting a**.”

As much as it made the copy editors cringe, I left the grammatical errors there to prove how asinine the post really was. It’s incredible how a guy dancing with a woman automatically means that he is entitled to sex.

We went to dances in middle school. Not everyone had sex after their awkward slow dance to Usher, I promise. I’m pretty sure that was the age when kissing was considered a taboo.

Apparently, women have no place at these parties, social gatherings or anything else unless they provide sex.

If they don’t give it up, they should just stay home. That post wasn’t the only one worth pointing out. Yik Yak is full of men cat-calling, disrespecting and downright degrading women.

And now that Unseen, an anonymous picture posting app, has surfaced at Murray State, the dilemma continues. Men ask women to anonymously post pictures of themselves naked, and a few women are actually crazy enough to do it.

Downloading the app has made me realize that I have probably met, talked to or had class with men who really feel that treating women this way is OK. I am then filled with overwhelming disappointment that these people are pursuing higher education.

Most men here have the respect to treat women like people, with the exception of a few.

It’s when the veil of anonymity protects us that we feel the confidence to say whatever we want.

If a man were face to face with a woman, would he have the audacity to tell her that he won’t get on one knee for her unless she gets on two for him? Most likely not, but someone said it on Yik Yak. If these users were forced to wear signs that had every Yak they ever posted on them, maybe things would be different. Maybe we would watch our tongues, but that’s just wishful thinking.

What few people on Yik Yak consider funny is considered hurtful, predatory and bigotry by people with morality. Before you post something about some girl being a “whore,” imagine how you would feel to say it while she was facing you. That is the situation you are avoiding, in cowardice, when you post it on Yik Yak. cbesser@murraystate.edu

Test Timeline

By Katie Wilborn

The News

News

6A

September 26, 2014 Kalli Bubb/The News

BUSTIN’ THEIR CHOPS

Mary Bradley Assistant News Editor mbradley9@murraystate.edu

Lambda Chi Alpha held its annual Watermelon Bust Saturday and proved once again that Greeks are not afraid to get down and dirty to help the community.

In a mud pit spanning several dozen feet, Panhellenic sororities competed for the Watermelon Bust overall winner title by participating in several events such as tug of war, over and under watermelon pass and a watermelon crawl.

The week prior to the event, sororities also earned spirit points by participating in a social media contest, a rebate night, canned food pyramid contest and a volleyball contest.

However, the competitions were only second to the purpose of the

philanthropy, which was to collect and donate money and canned foods for the Murray Calloway-County Need Line and Feeding America.

Lambda Chi member Shane Leonard, senior from St. Louis, said Watermelon Bust is a national event for the fraternity. The main event is usually held on one day, but the Murray State chapter has made fundraising span an entire week.

He said that last year, approximately 40,000 pounds of canned goods were given, an amount that can feed about 10,000 to 12,000 families.

He said fraternity hopes to see the same amount of food donated as it did last year.

“This year we’re hoping to raise about the same,” Leonard said. “I believe our goal was to be up to 60,000 pounds this year.”

The Watermelon Bust week events

raised $1,400 and more than 10,000 cans of food.

In addition to the canned food drive, Leonard said the fraternity also collected toys to give to families.

Lambda Chi Alpha Vice President of external affairs, Patrick Martino, junior from Paris, Tenn., said the event takes hard work, but that it is worth the effort in the end.

“It takes a lot of nights of losing sleep getting paperwork done and it takes a lot of getting people together,” Martino said. “I’ve been to every sorority meeting. I’ve been to every Panhellenic meeting. I’ve been everywhere and have talked to everyone. It takes a lot to get it going.”

With high energy surrounding the Bust events, Martino said the mud only makes it more fun.

He said whether people are young or old, everyone likes to play in the

mud sometimes.

Martino said the best approach to the mud pit is to cannonball.

“Just sprint and cannonball it,” he said. “See if you can make some ripples.”

Bust ends a week of giving and is a moment for the Lambda Chi and the Panhellenic sororities to celebrate their collective efforts.

“This is the celebration of all the food we’ve raised all week for Need line,” Martino said. “This is a way to give back to ourselves since we’ve been giving back to the community by raising cans, raising food and raising awareness for hunger in the area.”

Alpha Sigma Alpha member Brennan Handley, junior from Springfield, Ill., participated in the celebration of mud, watermelons and giving back.

“It’s so fun to get out there in the mud and play with your sisters,” she

said. “And it’s also for a good cause.”

Handley said she thought the event was a good combination of philanthropy and fun, and said the games aren’t boring because0 they’re all held in the mud pit.

For Handley, she said the best approach to the giant mud pit is to just go for it.

“You just have to jump right in,” she said. “Don’t walk in. I just slid right down the hill and that was the best way to go in.”

BUST WINNERS Overall: Alpha Gamma Delta Mud Games: Alpha Omicron Pi Spirit: Kapppa Delta

September 26, 2014

Section B

The News

Sports

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

Soccer continues winning streak Peter Northcutt || Staff writer pnorthcutt@murraystate.edu

The Murray State women’s soccer team has bounced back from early season losses and is now on a three game winning streak heading into OVC play.

This streak includes two wins over the past weekend, thanks in large part to Julie Mooney’s four goals, as they defeated Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 3-1 Sept. 19 and then turned right around to beat Northern Kentucky 4-1 Sunday.

Head Coach Jeremy Groves was pleased with the outcome of the weekend’s games.

“We set out to get two games and we did that and we did it in style,” Groves said. “Coming off the road for three weeks and coming home and scoring some goals is what we needed to put ourselves on the right foot going into OVC play.”

The Racers came into the Friday showdown with IUPUI riding high off a huge win against Saint Louis University the previous weekend.

Murray State fed off that momentum early as they were attacking constantly on the offensive end.

Mooney first found the back of the net off a Taylor Stevens assist in the 37th minute to give her team the one point cushion heading into the half.

After IUPUI answered early in the second with a goal of their own, Mooney responded in the 61st minute with an assist from Stevens once again.

To complete her hat trick and finish off any hopes of an IUPUI comeback, Mooney tapped in the last goal of the game in the 83rd minute with an assist by Pavlina Nepokojova.

When asked about her goals, Mooney was quick to give credit to her teammates.

“It wasn’t really a personal goal of mine but it was exciting,” Mooney said. “I have to give it to a lot of my teammates, like (Nepokojova) and Taylor (Stevens), they had some really good crosses and I was just there to tap it in to be honest. It was just good to score for the team and get a win.”

Her coach was much quicker to praise Mooney’s efforts.

“She’s not a kid that talks much; she leads by

actions,” Groves said. “She’s always working hard, she always tries in the running that we do, she’s always one of the leaders in that but in terms of vocal leadership she is not going to say too much.

“She does the talking on the field. We have a couple of other captains who are better at talking than she is so her actions give a thousand words.”

The Racers ended the game with a 17-5 total shot advantage, indicating their dominance over the Jaguars.

While the offense was not as dependent on Mooney in the second game of the weekend, it was every bit as potent.

Four different Racers scored on the afternoon as Murray State improved its winning streak to three, defeating Northern Kentucky 4-1 in the process.

Murray State took control of the game early as the Racers scored their first point only 17 minutes into the game.

Defender Bronagh Kerins found herself one on one with the keeper and chipped it right over her to score the first point.

Northern showed some fight in the 29th minute to tie the game at one, but Mooney responded quickly to score an unassisted goal only two minutes later to push the lead back out to one and score her fourth goal of the weekend.

In the 60th minute of the second half, Taylor Richerson scored one more for the Racers off an assist from Mooney and then Harriet Withers scored unassisted eight minutes later for the final goal of the match.

Groves said he knew that his team has been capable of this kind of success all season long.

“This is the thing, we’ve always been working hard and doing the right things,” Groves said. “All it was was a confidence thing. Once we started finding the net I knew that we’d keep doing it.

“Hopefully that lasts over the next period of games here. I think right now we’re kind of full of confidence so I hope that’s going to bleed over into the next 10 games.”

Mooney agreed that the Racers are finally hitting their stride.

see WINNING, 2A

Jenny Rohl/The News

Senior forward Julie Mooney dribbles past an IUPUI defender Sept. 19 at Cutchin Field.

Softball keeps undefeated season Peter Northcutt || Staff writer pnorthcutt@murraystate.edu

Racer softball is off to a hot start this fall season as the women improved their record to 3-0 with a pair of wins this weekend in Southern Illinois. The Racers took on Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in the first game and defeated them 2-0 then rolled over John A. Logan College in the second 8-1.

SIU is the only Division I team on Murray State’s schedule and Head Coach Kara Amundson knew that her team would have to pick its effort up if it was to battle with higher competition.

“That game was probably the best competition we are going to have throughout this fall,” Amundson said. “They’re the only Division I team we’re playing this fall so we knew that we were going to have to compete a little bit and it was going to be different competition than what we’ve had. We came out with a lot of focus and a lot of confidence.”

The Racers, who lost to the Salukis last season, did not take much time in scoring the eventual game winning run. In the second inning, sophomore Taylor Odom hit Murray State’s first homerun of the season to give the Racers a one run lead. In the fifth, sophomore Cayla Levins led off the frame with a single. Levins was driven in the next at bat by senior Alexa Becker’s double, scoring the second Racer run of the day.

Senior CheyAnne Gaskey started the day on the mound for the Racers as she struck out three and only gave up two hits. Freshman Haven Campbell finished the game by only giving up two hits over the final four innings.

“Our pitchers got behind in the counts a little more than I wanted them to but defensively they came to play and we made some really good plays at good times,” Amundson said. “We scored a couple runs in different situations. It was a 2-0 game so it was a lot of defense and a lot of pitching, but we stayed focus throughout the game and that was something that I liked to see from us at this time of the year.”

Despite the huge win, Amundson was adamant that her team has much more to prove.

“I’m not sure we necessarily proved any-

WHAT’S

INSIDE

Football looks forward to Jacksonville State at home Mallory Tucker || Sports Editor mtucker11@murraystate.edu

going 4-4 at bat with two runs, two RBIs and a double. Murray State ended the day with a 13-1 advantage in hits, translating to an 8-1 victory. Junior J.J. Francis began the game for Murray and allowed no hits, runs or walks in the first three innings. Sophomore Mason Robinson picked up the game in the fourth and allowed only one run.

“We started off a little slower than I wanted to in that game,” Amundson said. “It was obviously some different competition; John A. Logan is a significantly better program than this time last year. I thought they

After a 45-14 loss to the Western Michigan Broncos Saturday at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich., the Racers look ahead to conference play, despite a slight bitter taste in their mouths.

“It’s kind of a hard feeling that we had after the ball game,” said Head Coach Chris Hatcher. “We all actually felt better after the Louisville defeat than we did the Western Michigan defeat, to a certain extent. I thought it was a game of missed opportunities on our part.”

Hatcher’s goal now is to work with his backup players and figure out what type of team he has on his hands.

According to Hatcher, his players dropped a few balls that they normally don’t drop, and he is looking to some of his second string players to step up and not get down on themselves.

Despite the hard work they’re putting in, the young Racer team simply lacks the depth they’ve seen in the last two FBS opponents.

“I don’t think you can ever underestimate the psyche of a football team,” Hatcher said. “Now, I haven’t figured out how to read the psyche of a team. If I did I wouldn’t be sitting here, I would be making a whole lot of money probably giving some seminar somewhere else.

“But you look at the way our team’s been; we felt good about Union, go to Louisville and then play Western Michigan, you know, I imagine there is a little doubt when you go play teams like that on the road. So now I think we’re excited – we get to play on our level.”

Hatcher believes Jacksonville State to be the best football team the Racers will face all season with the exception of Louisville.

He described the Gamecocks, who are ranked No. 8 in the FCS, as having it all, including a defensive line stacked with former SEC players and a standout runningback in junior DaMarcus James.

Despite a bye week, the Racers are still recovering from

see SOFTBALL, 2A

see PREPARES, 2A

Haley Hays/The News

Freshman pitcher Haven Campbell tosses balls to senior outfielder Mallory Richardson at practice Wednesday at Racer Field. thing in terms of conference play, I think we have a long ways to go when it comes to that kind of stuff,” Amundson said. “I think what we are proving is that anyone can step in at any given time and we’re proving that we have a very good dynamic on the field in terms of defense. I think it is less proving to other people and more proving to ourselves that we’ve got a lot of talent and we’re working hard in practice and we’re executing relatively well in our games.”

The second game against John A. Logan was not as high profile as the first, but the Racers did what they needed to do to take care of business. Becker led the Racers by

FAMILY WEEKEND

CMT COUNTDOWN

INTRAMURALS

VOLLEYBALL FALLS

Students, staff look forward to upcoming events, 5B

Murray State wins contest, prepares for prize, 5B

Photos, standings, schedule as softball winds down, 1B

Racers shake off loss going into conference play, 5B

The News

Sports

2B

September 26, 2014

SOFTBALL

WINNING

From Page 1B

From Page 1B

came out wanting to compete. I don’t think we made adjustments as fast as we probably could have and should have, but again on the positive side our pitching came to play. I think J.J. Francis started off that game and I’m not sure she gave up a hit at all. So pitching came to play, the defense came to play, but I think we could have capitalized offensively a little more and earlier than we did.”

The Racers will look to continue their strong start to the season Sunday at noon as they take on Truman State at Racer Field.

“We’ve had a couple days to recoup and get our feet back under us,” Amundson said.

“These next four days at practice our job is to work on the things we need to work on and build on the good things that we did. We need to come out and compete in the same way we did this past weekend and just be better this coming Sunday than we were last Sunday.”

“I thought we played really well,” Mooney said. “We’re getting better every week which is good because we’re peaking right around OVC play.

Our defense and midfield did really well and we were able to finish up top too so it was just a good weekend overall.”

The recent success of the women’s soccer team did not come a moment too soon as it has finished its nonconference schedule and looks forward to conference play.

The Racers welcome Tennessee Tech University and Jacksonville State to Cutchin Field this weekend in two OVC showdowns.

Murray State’s three game winning streak has improved the team’s mindset at this point of the season, Groves said.

“The recent success is huge,” Groves said. “It gives our forwards some confidence that they can actually hit the back of the net. It’s going to be two pretty similar games this weekend.

“Friday should be a little bit of an easier game if there is an easy game and Sunday will be a pretty tough test because I think Jacksonville has improved here over the last couple years.

I think it should be a good game.”

Catch the Racers in action as they take on Tennessee Tech at home today at 3 p.m.

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

Rifle ranked nationally at season start Staff Report

Hannah Fowl/The News

GOAL ORIENTED: Junior forward Julie Mooney practices corner kicks at Cutchin Field. Mooney scored four goals in two games against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Northern Kentucky and was voted OVC Player of the week by the league’s sports information directors.

PREPARES From Page 1B injuries suffered in their last two FBS games.

In addition to injuries to junior Demetrius Mason, senior Felton Collins, junior Jalen Harrington and sophomore Roman Clay, junior defensive back Shawn Samuels-Connell was injured during the opening play of the Western Michigan game. Hatcher described this as losing the quarterback of his secondary – the leader for his less experienced defensive backs.

“We’ve been playing this level that we’re get-

ting ready to see,” Hatcher said. “I mean, for two weeks in a row. We just haven’t played light competition. I don’t know how we’re going to stack up to teams that are like us. I know we believe we can win every game that we have coming up. But we have to execute better.

“This year’s team’s different than last year’s team.”

Last year, the Racers defeated the Gamecocks 35-24 in overtime on a two-point conversion that ended a nine-game losing streak to Jacksonville State.

Another change for the Racers came as redshirt sophomore quarterback K.D. Humphries made his first collegiate start against Western Michigan Saturday.

According to Hatcher, Humphries will continue to start, permitting senior quarterback C.J. Bennett doesn’t outperform him at practice.

“I’ve said it all along, we had to know who we were headed into this game,” Hatcher said. “I think I know who we are, but you never know till you go up and play a team of your caliber, your level. It ought to be fun. We’re going to come out guns a blazing and be ready to go, I can assure you that.”

With fireworks to follow as a Family Weekend event, Hatcher and the team hope for a large turnout of support for what he calls “the Murray family’s team.”

The Racers return to the field Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Roy Stewart Stadium.

The Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association preseason Top 20 Rankings were released Wednesday, with the Racers taking the No. 10 spot in the nation.

Finishing at No. 11 in the final regular season poll of the 2013-14 season, the Racers now fall just behind No. 9 Army.

All five OVC rifle teams join Murray State in the ranking, with only Jacksonville State topping the Racers at No. 8.

Two-time NCAA qualifying All-American Kelsey Emme returns as this season’s lone senior. Assisting Emme, junior Tessa Howald, who won the OVC smallbore competition and earned First Team All-Conference honors in her breakout 2013-14 season, will pursue Murray State’s first OVC title since 2011.

Murray State will kick off the 2014-15 season Sunday when it makes the trip to compete against OVC rival UT Martin.

The Racers have a quick turnaround before the Ole Miss Invitational Oct. 4 in Oxford, Miss. Murray State’s first home competition is a tri-match scheduled for Oct. 25 against Jacksonville State and Texas Christian University.

The News

Sports

September 26, 2014

3B

Hart Ravens look to repeat

Games to Watch Monday Men

Logan Burnett || Contributing writer

Alpha Gamma Rho vs. Lambda Chi Alpha 7 p.m.

Sigma Chi vs. Sigma Pi 8 p.m.

lburnett1@murraystate.edu

The Hart Residential College women’s softball team is looking to double its championships this season. After winning the tournament and having the best regular season record last year, Athletic Director Tori Twidwell has high hopes.

“Last season we lost two games and came back to win the championship,” she said.

“The girls have a fire lit under them, and we’re ready to go.”

The Ravens are 2-2 this season, but Twidwell is not discouraged. She drew parallels to last season where her team picked up its game right as the regular season drew to a close. Currently sitting at .500, the Ravens have one more game of the regular season.

They are ranked third overall in the Residential College division, with Hester Residential College (3-0) and Elizabeth Residential College (3-1) leading by a game each.

Hart and Elizabeth played September 23 in a game that ended 9-3 in Hart’s favor and effectively kept the Ravens in the running for a top seed in the tournament.

“It’s late in the season and we are finally playing as a team,” Twidwell said. “We finally got our bats going again and our defense is set.”

She has also seen a raise in team morale after their most recent victory.

The women’s intramural softball tournament is shaping up to be a close knit affair, with several teams vying for the top spot.

Tournament plays begins Oct. 8.

Women Tri-Sigma vs. AGD A Team 7 p.m.

Omega Mu vs. Sigma Sluggers 8 p.m.

Tuesday Men SigEp B vs Master Batter 5 p.m.

Clark A vs. Regents 6 p.m.

BCM Bombers vs. Clark B 7 p.m.

Women ADPi Lions vs. Sigma Sluggers 5 p.m.

Lee Clark Girls vs. Hester College 7 p.m.

Great Whites vs. Richmond A 9 p.m.

Kory Savage/The News

Freshman Brianna Sanders from Lancaster, S.C., bats for White College A Girls Sept. 23.

Intramural Standings Men

Women

Fraternity 1. Pi Kappa Alpha 2. Alpha Sigma Phi 3. Lambda Chi Alpha

Sorority 1. Kappa Delta 2. ADPi 3. Tri-Sigma

Independent 1. Good Wood 2. Master Batter 3. BCM Bombers

Independent 1. ADPi Lions 2. Omega Mu 3. Sigma Sluggers

Residential College 1. Lizo A 2. Clark A 3. Great Whites

Residential College 1. Hester College 2. Hart Ravens 3. Lizo

Standings last updated at 11 a.m. Thursday

Kory Savage/The News

Clark B takes a break in the dugout and watches their teammates bat Tuesday against Good Wood.

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

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Sports

4B

September 26, 2014

Golf places third at home tournament Heath Ringstaff

Contributing writer hringstaff@murraystate.edu

The Murray State men’s golf team finished third place overall at the Murray State Invitational at Frances E. Miller Memorial Golf Course.

Head Coach Eddie Hunt said he thought the team really had a great opportunity to win because they were playing on their home course.

“When you have your own home tournament you always expect to win,” Hunt said.

Senior Jordan Smith led the Racers to a third place finish with the lowest score of the team. Smith’s total scores were 68-69-69 which in turn gave him an overall score of 206.

During the first day of the tournament Smith made seven birdies and an eagle in two rounds, and led the Racers to third place with scores of 292-290 with an overall score 575.

Head Coach Hunt gave praise to Smith for all of his hard work and determination to become an OVC champion.

“He has worked hard for the last three years on his game and his goal is to be an OVC champion and I think he has put himself in a position to do that by

the way he’s working at his game,” Hunt said.

Junior Brock Simmons placed 22nd in the tournament with rounds of 72-76-73 with a total score of 221.

Junior Preston French tied it up in 22nd place with his teammate Brock Simmons after scores of 76-73-72 with another overall score of 221.

Sophomore Matthew Zakutney placed 30th with scores of 76-74-73, totaling 223.

Junior Jared Gosser placed 39th with an overall score of 226.

Murray State had a successful pair of players from its second team as well: sophomore T.J. Ferry fired rounds of 70-73-72, totaling a score of 215, to get a share of eighth place. Junior Duncan McCormick placed 13th out of 75 players with rounds of 71-77-69 and a total score of 217.

The second team placed 11th overall in the event with scores of 299-302-298, a total score of 899.

The team that placed behind the Racers in fourth place was UT Martin, with Eastern Kentucky trailing behind in fifth with an overall score of 874.

The Racers’ next tournament will be Monday and Tuesday at the Cardinal Cup in Simpsonville, Ky., at the University of Louisville Cardinal Club.

Jenny Rohl/The News

Junior Brock Simmons follows through a swing at Frances E. Miller Memorial Golf Course last season.

Cross-country sweeps Invitational Heath Ringstaff

Contributing writer hringstaff@murraystate.edu

Jenny Rohl/The News

Freshman Mark Venura practices agilities with the cross country team at Stewart Stadium Sept. 24.

The Murray State men’s and women’s cross country teams earned a pair of wins against Austin Peay State and Bethel Friday at the Austin Peay Invitational in Clarksville, Tenn.

The women finished with a perfect score and took every spot from first to fifth place and the men took first and second place. Individually the women were led by junior Emma Gilmore, who won the 5K race with a time of 18 minutes, 37 seconds. She was closely followed by freshman Meagan Smith who took second time 18:38, redshirt sophomore Alicyn Hester finished third, freshman Caroline Grogan finished fourth, and senior Abbie Oliver who placed fifth at 19:08.

The men were led by junior Cole

Cisneros, who finished first place in the four mile with a time of 21:45. He was followed by Mark Venura who placed second with a time of 21:52.

Head Coach Jenny Severns said both the men’s and women’s teams did well in both of their races.

Cisneros and Gilmore both earned cross country runners of the week from the OVC for the first time this season.

Both teams have the week off before returning to action Oct. 3 at the Notre Dame Invitational.

“There will be eight boys and 12 girls attending the Notre Dame Invitational from Murray State,” Severns said.

The women will compete in the 5K race and the men will compete in the five mile race that will take place at the Notre Dame Golf Course in South Bend, Ind., beginning at 2 p.m.

Undefeated preseason ends at Valparaiso Kelsey Randolph || Staff writer krandolph1@murraystate.edu

The Racer volleyball team is not letting a weekend loss at Valparaiso hold it back as it begins conference season.

Head Coach David Schwepker said he learned a lot last weekend about how his girls play together and what needs to be done to come back on top.

“This teaches us a lot about ourselves,” Schwepker said. “I believe we were over-confident and because we started winning, we let it go to our heads. It’s like we forgot what it was that got us winning in the first place.”

Murray State lost a pair of matches Saturday to George Washington 1-3 and Sacramento State 1-3.

During game one against George Washington, the Racers played four tight sets. The first set was 11-11 then Murray State scored six more points and took the lead, 17-11. Murray State kept the lead all the way and took the first set with a score of 25-18.

The second set started with George Washington leading 7-3 and ended at 25-15 not in favor of Murray State. The third set was also close with George Washington taking the set 25-20.

“I think we went through a slow phase and now we’re over it,” said junior setter Sam Bedard. “Now it’s on to have a successful conference season. We just need to regroup ourselves.

We won’t let what happened last weekend affect the rest of our season.”

Redshirt sophomore Kristen Besselsen led the team with 13 kills, followed by junior middle blocker Alyssa Lelm, who added eight. Bedard came out with 36 assists and nine digs. Sophomore Ellie Lorenz had a team-high of 12 digs and was also named to the All-Tournament team.

The second game against Sacramento State started with Murray State coming out on top 8-4 and ended at 25-16 in favor of the Racers. Sacramento State came back in the second set and led the Racers 14-6 after earning eight straight points. Sacramento State held Murray State to only 10 points and took the second set at 25-10.

The third set began with the Racers having an advantage but Sacramento State regained the lead and won the set, 25-30. The fourth set ended 25-23, Sacramento State beating the Racers. Lorenz had a dig high of 25, with Bedard coming in with 24 assists and sophomore Scottie Ingram, adding 10 kills.

“I really think the girls are doing well,” Schwepker said. “Every time there will be glitches, I think this is a good team and girls will be girls but they will always work out their glitches.”

The Racers play at home this weekend starting tonight at 7 p.m. against Southeast Missouri and tomorrow at 2 p.m. against UT Martin. This will begin their OVC play.

Haley Hays/The News

Sophomore outside hitter Kamille Jones practices at Racer Arena last week.

Red’s Report

Home is where the sports are I’ve wanted to write for as long as I can remember. My mom put a pencil in my hand as soon as she could because as Kelsey Randolph an English Staff writer teacher she hoped I would follow her footsteps. I never thought that having the ability to write would put me where I am today.

I’ve always been close to all sides of my family, including my step parents. I grew up in a blessed household with many people surrounding me. All sides of my family had two things in common – myself and their love for sports.

When I was originally asked to write for the paper I had the News Section, maybe Features in mind.

Sports was definitely not in my future. I decided I shouldn’t pass up the opportunity when offered because I could always be moved around and I thought it would give me the chance to improve upon my skills as a journalist – so why not?

If you know anything at all about journalism writing you know it isn’t anywhere near how you write an English paper. We have our own language, our own books and we wouldn’t dare use the Oxford comma. If you know anything about journalism writing, you know sports writing is even more difficult. I thought for sure I’d be sent off staff the second my editor read my stories.

It wasn’t until my fourth week writing for Sports that an unsuspect source, my step-mother, mentioned something about how my grandfather and uncle would be proud of me.

My Grandpa Joe and my Uncle Matt were close to me growing up. They were a part of my step family and fueled my passion for basketball and baseball. When I was a sophomore in high school my Grandpa Joe passed away and when I was a senior is high school my Uncle Matt passed away.

My Grandpa Joe watched every sports game he could possibly watch sitting on his chair in his man cave, coaching the boys from his throne. My Uncle Matt, if he wasn’t watching the Major Leagues on TV, he was listening to it on the radio in his studio. Matt wore the same Chicago White Sox hat every game, no matter who was playing.

Now that I work for sports, every time I start to write I think about my grandpa and uncle. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even be interested in the slightest. I think about how they are probably laughing at my mistakes, joking about my extensive use of commas, but more than anything probably proud to see me doing something I’ve always loved.

I can hear my Grandpa Joe in my ear telling me, “You can do anything you want, sweetheart.

Life isn’t an uphill battle but it is a swing and a miss. You just keep hitting until it goes out of the park.”

When asked to write a column, I won’t lie, I hadn’t the slightest clue what to talk about. I suppose though, for me, writing a column means remembering out loud the reason I’m here.

Possibly, by telling everyone about how I took that leap of faith and did something I wasn’t so sure of, will inspire someone else to try something new. The easiest answer isn’t always the best answer. Who knows, you might discover a new love for something. krandolph1@murraystate.edu

September 26, 2014

5B

The News

Features

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

CMT show to invade campus

­

Breanna Sill || Assistant Features Editor bsill@murraystate.edu

After being in the running for almost four months, Murray State has won the “Country College Town Sweepstakes” hosted by Country Music Television.

The sweepstakes began in May and ended two weeks ago with Murray State being announced as the winner on “Hot 20 Countdown” on CMT. The prize package includes a taping of “Hot 20 Countdown” to be hosted on the winning school’s campus, as well as a promised guest appearance by a big name country artist.

Dana Howard, manager of social media marketing, said that while the news of Murray State’s win over much larger schools such as Iowa State University and Louisiana State University is exciting, there is not much else the University knows about

the show’s taping on campus as of right now.

“The format we are expecting is that they will come in and do the recording of the show on a Friday,” Howard said. “Then on Saturday there would be a concert of some sort.”

One thing Howard said she does know for sure is that CMT is going to try new forms of social media throughout the show which will hopefully keep the audience more engaged.

In preparation for the event, Murray State will be allowing producers of the show to tour campus in the near future who will decide on a location to hold the taping and rumored concert.

“We are really just waiting on them to let us know when we can start promoting things or when we will have a final date,” Howard said. “I do believe they want to announce the artist on their show first, so we won’t be able to say anything until they have announced it and are ready.

So when we say watch the show Saturday, again, it will be a big, big announcement.”

Howard said she believes that student use of social media had a large impact on the University’s success in the contest.

Murray State did not pay to advertise the contest, the winning outcome came soley from student interaction.

Shelley Todd, director of the CFSB Center, said she thinks it is important for Nashville, Tenn., to know a plethora of Racers are country music fans.

Todd is not the only one who feels that way.

“For any other larger school this wouldn’t have been such a big deal because things like this happen for them all the time,” Howard said. “For students at Murray State this will be an opportunity for them to see an artist the University wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise. So this will be a really exciting event.”

ALS event sees record numbers Taylor Inman || Contributing writer tinman@murraystate.edu

graphic by Summer Bush/The News

Rising Racer Nation New app encourages student involvement

Madison Wepfer ||Staff writer mwepfer@murraystate.edu

Racer Nation, an app that has the potential for great things, hit the app stores Sept. 25, said Vice President of Institutional Advancement Jim Carter.

The purpose of the app is to increase attendance for events on Murray State’s campus.

It allows users to check into events, such as sports games and lectures, and receive prizes based on the number of points earned from the events he or she attends.

“It’s based around going to events, checking into events and earning points for going to things,” Carter said. “Ultimately, it will lead to users getting a water bottle, a T-shirt or maybe a real premium – something like tickets to events or being a coach on the sidelines.”

To use the app, users must create an account or sign in through Facebook. Then they can click on events and add it to their calendar or check in.

Also available through the app is a fan cam, a store for University apparel, a link to the Alumni Association Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, a live stream of the events and an award tab that shows users which awards they have won from attending events.

The app is in its early stage, so prizes and incentives are not fully developed. However, Carter said future prizes may include much more than just free T-shirts.

“Ultimately, we’ll move into bigger things,” Carter said. “That could be free concessions, discounted concession stands. It could put you in some kind of competition for a VIP package. It could be front row concert tickets or basketball coach for a night.”

Although students and faculty are encouraged to download and use the app, Carter said he wanted it more for Murray State alumni.

Recently, Carter said they had to make drastic but necessary changes to the Alumni Association.

Two years ago, the alumni bud-

Students, staff discuss Family Weekend goals, importance

get cut entirely, which required the University to change the Alumni Association from non-due-paying to due-paying, Carter said.

Therefore, he said he wanted more incentives for Murray State graduates to be a part of the Alumni Association.

“If you’re a member of the Alumni Association, you get double the points for going to the basketball games, football games, et cetera,” Carter said. “For the alums, it’s a premium membership. As we continue to roll out the premiums and the awards, there will be exclusivity benefits for alumni.”

The app was created by a company called SuperFanU. They create basic app templates specializing in rewarding fans, tracking who fans are, what events they attend, how long they stay and what they buy, according to their website.

Carter said other schools inspired him to implement the app into Murray State.

Schools such as the University of Louisville and Southeast Missouri

Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu

During the annual Family Weekend, hosted by Student Affairs, families will be invited to attend a variety of events today, Saturday and Sunday.

Each year, Family Weekend features a home football game to allow families to tailgate and meet other families. This year is no exception. Saturday, the Racers will play Jacksonville State at Stewart Stadium at 6 p.m.

James Mantooth, director of Retention Services, said that there will be a fireworks show after the game that is co-sponsored by Independence Bank.

Josh Bliven, sophomore from

State University have used the app to advertise events.

“I was very impressed with the schools that were already on board and saw a lot of potential there,” Carter said. “One of the cool things that pushed me over the edge when looking at this technology was the mobile messaging systems.”

Using this new technology, Murray State can send students, faculty, alumni and potential students notifications that contain various discounts and prizes.

In the future, Carter said he will expand the technology to push discounts and prizes to users. He also hopes to increase the types of events that users have the opportunity to attend. “(We will) definitely add concerts to it, and then there will be select things like the president’s election,” Carter said. “We may, because it’s a large event, have incentives around All- Campus Sing.”

The app is available for Apple and Android products and is free in the app stores.

Quincy, Ill., said he will attend the game with his dad.

For Bliven, Family Weekend provides a time to tailgate, watch a football game and go out to eat with his father. Bliven said he believes this weekend is important for everyone.

“It is important for (parents) to know what and how you are doing,” Bliven said. “They can see what the school atmosphere is about.”

Mantooth said he expects more families to attend this year than in the past.

After pre-registration, there were 666 individual registrations accounting for 3,066 people.

Families may also register this weekend as at the walk-up regis-

Though the “Ice Bucket Challenge” seems to have slowed down, raising awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is not a dying trend. Six hundred people arrived at the CFSB Center Saturday to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS. The event set records for the CFSB Center with the biggest turn out its had since the walk began in 2005.

Jennifer Houston was the administrative project coordinator for the event Saturday.

“It’s absolutely amazing; we couldn’t have asked for better weather,” Houston said.

“We had 400 people register online, and another 200 that signed up this morning. The goal we wanted to raise was $60,000 and as of this morning we had raised $68,000 before anybody else had turned any money in (Saturday.)”

There was a strong presence of both community members and students at the walk.

Support from the student body came in the form of individuals and groups such as the Murray State basketball and baseball teams, Pi Kappa Alpha, Kappa Delta and Alpha Omicron Pi. Twenty-five teams registered for the walk, which is twice as many from years past. Teams donned matching T-shirts in support of family or friends affected by ALS. Callie Coffey, community member, was a member of a team of participants called “Rita’s Angels.”

“My best friend’s mom has been diagnosed with ALS,” Coffey said. “She got the diagnosis two years ago and she is just battling for her life right now. It’s greatly affected her; she’s already on hospice care and has to use a feeding tube and wheelchair. So it’s very close to my heart.”

ALS is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease shuts down the motor neurons and causes lack of mobility in victims, and may cause total paralysis in later stages. The disease received more attention recently thanks to the Internet sensation “The Ice Bucket Challenge” which raised more than $114 million for the ALS Foundation.

The attention brought to the subject by the “Ice Bucket Challenge” contributed to the large turn out this year, Houston said.

“The overwhelming amount of awareness the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ created really motivated people to do something or get involved with their local chapter,” she said.

“We have a lot of people who didn’t realize there was a Kentucky chapter that they could get connected with.”

tration. Last year approximately 300 families signed up during the weekend that were not previously registered.

Mantooth said that Family Weekend is a way to reassure parents and family members that they can be comfortable with their students’ choice at Murray State.

“The primary goal is to give families and students a chance to connect on campus,” Mantooth said. “Students can give their families a tour of their residential colleges and around campus.”

Traditional events are once again featured this year including the International Film Festival, the musics department’s “Fall Fanfare” concert, picnic lunch provided by Murray State Dining

see ALS, 6B Services and Racer Hospitality and residential college receptions featuring a continental breakfast.

Mantooth said that the weekend is a campus-wide effort and that a lot of offices help them out.

Although Family Weekend is designed for families to connect, some students have prior commitments to attend.

Christine Acquisto, senior from St. Louis, will be out of town but she said her parents usually come in for Family Weekend.

Acquisto said that her parents tailgate every year and she and her father attend the father/ daughter lunch for Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.

see FAMILY, 6B

The News

Features

6B

The week ahead...

TODAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

September 26, 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

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1 p.m.

Laser tag, Expo Center

1 p.m.

Laser tag, Expo Center

7:30 p.m.

Theater production of “Toyer,” Actor’s Studio Theatre, Wilson Hall

11 a.m.

Barre, Carr Health Building, front lawn

8 p.m.

Alonzo Pennington Band, Wrather Museum

ALS

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

1

2

8 a.m.

Connected Warrior Yoga, second floor dance studio, Carr Health

FAMILY

From Page 5B

From Page 5B

Though more people who are not affected

by ALS are being educated on the disease, Houston has seen another positive reaction from patients.

“People also reached out for care services and getting patients who are in our networks connected with our chapter and realizing that there are resources available to them,” she said. “So we can improve their quality of life with the services available.”

In addition to the walk, the CFSB Center also held a silent auction. There was a variety of items available to the public to bid on including gift baskets and a basketball signed by the Murray State basketball team to be auctioned off. Some attendees took home more expensive items from the auction like an electric guitar, Murray State corn-hole boards and a Meco 5030 electric grill.

By the end of the event, more than of $69,000 was raised.

The proceeds will benefit the foundation in two ways: aid patients affected by ALS help researchers move one step closer to finding a cure.

“My family loves seeing my friends,” Acquisto said. “(They) get to meet everyone I talk about.”

Like Acquisto, other students attend the same traditional events with their families.

Jaime Adams, sophomore from St. Louis, will not have her family attend this year because of the commute.

However, Adams will still attend events throughout the weekend.

Adams said she believes that Family Weekend is a good idea, especially for freshmen. Adams will attend another long-lasting tradition, Mr. MSU, Friday night with friends.

As part of the Family Weekend agenda, the Mr. MSU pageant is a tradition of 34 years.

Paige Buckner, junior from Paducah, Ky., is the philanthropy chair of Alpha Omicron Pi, the sorority that coordinates the Mr. MSU pageant. There are 19 contestants in this

Kate Russell/The News

Family Weekend offers a variety of small events and entertainment for students and their families.

All day Fall Break begins

year’s competition “Eligible men on campus fill out an application and compete for the title of Mr. MSU,” Buckner said. “They compete in talent, interview, formal wear and the application counts for part of the score as well.”

The event is a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation.

Last year, Mr. MSU raised $10,600 for the foundation.

This year, like those past, AOPi will raise funds from ticket and T-shirt sales as well as a “best legs” table. The table allows students to place money into the jar of the contestant who has the best legs, as shown in the pictures on the jars.

The “Southern American” themed pageant is today at 7 p.m. in Lovett Auditorium. Tickets cost $10.

There will be other events not directly sponsored by Family Weekend.

A new event this year is the 5K race sponsored by Murray State track and field. This will be a fundraiser for the team and runners can donate canned goods to Murray-Calloway Need Line.

If students have not registered with their families they may do so today from 1-6:30 p.m.

Brothers raise funds for close to home cause Madison Wepfer Staff writer

mwepfer@murraystate.edu

Kylie Townsend/The News

Amber Miller, graduate student from Owensboro, Ky., talks with a police officer over a cup of coffee in the Thoroughbred Room Wednesday.

‘Coffee with a cop’ Tiffany Whitfill || Staff writer twhitfill@murraystate.edu

Students rely on Campus Safety and the Public Safety and Emergency Management for protection and security. Often, students forget to communicate concerns or create friendships with the officers. It is for these reasons and more that Assistant Chief Jeffery Gentry pioneered “Coffee with a Cop” along with other police departments.

Roy Dunaway, interim chief of the Public Safety said the event is part of a growing national trend designed to push community-oriented policing.

The concept of community oriented policing was first coined by University of Wisconsin–Madison professor Herman Goldstein, and can be described as problem-oriented policing.

Gentry compared the idea of community-oriented policing to Andy Griffith.

Gentry said that Public Safety is trying to initiate conversation, be visible, out of the vehicle and approachable to students.

Captain of Operations, Robert Bringhurst previously worked at University of Louisville where community-oriented policing was also present. The campus used bicycles, segways and ATVs to be visible

outside of police cars.

Dunaway said he is hopeful that students will interact with the officers repeatedly in an informal setting. He said he believes if students see officers in public more often, the impression of law enforcement may change and help students open up to them more so they may be aware of what is going on around campus.

During Wednesday’s event, the department answered any questions the students had about law enforcement and provided safety tips. Dunaway said the goal for the event was for students to understand that the law enforcement is both approachable and helpful.

“Unfortunately when citizens, in particular our student population, interacts with the police, it is often of a negative nature,” Dunaway said. “By conducting this program, it is our intention to familiarize ourselves with the students in order to mitigate the common misconceptions regarding law enforcement.”

Previously, Public Safety engaged in a lunch with students named “Talk with a Cop.” There will be more opportunities for officers to communicate with students throughout the semester in different settings on campus.

Dunaway said that while the program

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was called “Coffee with a Cop,” he would characterize it simply as conversation with a cop.

“We strongly believe that by interacting with the students in a positive atmosphere, a better, more productive relationship can be established with the University community,” Dunaway said.

Students understand that the Public Safety works to make campus safe, but students may not know what programs the department has to offer.

Bringhurst said there are various programs to bring awareness to issues students may encounter during their time at college.

A few of the programs offered by the Public Safety include sexual awareness, alcohol awareness and general safety. The safety program is not implemented just for campus safety but also on vacation and in different environments.

Public Safety also has outreach programs for younger students. An officer presented a “Stranger Danger” and safety awareness program at Alexander Hall to local preschoolers.

Murray State Police Department hopes that students will meet with them and if they have any questions or suggestions to contact the department.

When Nick Anderson, junior from Murray, and member of Alpha Tau Omega, found out that his girlfriend, Olivia Reed, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and a brain tumor, his whole world turned upside down.

ATO brothers Chad Denson, junior from Okochobee, Fla., and Ethan Shaw, sophomore from Hopkinsville, Ky., immediately jumped on the opportunity to help, and the rest of the fraternity followed suit to show their support for Anderson and Reed.

“In the meeting, he mentioned (Olivia) and I said, ‘Well let’s do an event,’” Denson said. “Everyone said, ‘Dude you can’t push an event in two weeks,’ but I said, ‘I’ll make it happen.’”

Denson said he wasted no time planning the fundraiser.

He and his brothers wanted to do everything they could to show their support.

They presented their idea to Lambda Chi Alpha so they could partner for on the events and reach a larger audience.

After everyone was on board, they began to plan the events.

“She (Reed) means a lot to the fraternity,” Denson said.

“Nick and Olivia have been together for eight months, and in those eight months, she’s always been here, and she’s always been supportive of us.”

The first event was a rebate night Sept. 18 at Mr. J’s Grill and Pub. The next event was Thursday where Reed gave a speech about her condition and appreciation for the donations. Representatives

from the American Cancer Society also spoke.

The brothers provided a banner for people who lost family members to cancer to write those names in remembrance.

After weeks of planning, Denson said he wanted to do something fun to celebrate all of the support and donations that were inspired by one woman.

The next event is from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. tonight at the ATO house. Admission is free and open to everyone.

“I instantly cried when I called Nick and he told me what the guys were doing for me,” Reed said. “No one has ever done anything close to this event for me.”

The original intent was to raise money to help Reed pay her medical bills, but her insurance covers everything, Denson said.

Since Reed and her family were not in need of financial support, the brothers decided to give 100 percent of the money raised to the American Cancer Society.

“We want to support her anyway. We’re not asking for much, just support,” Denson said.

ATO will sell T-shirts at the event and accept any donations.

Denson said since the events were planned in only three weeks, they want to give people enough time to be able to donate.

Ultimately, the goals of the events are to support Reed, raise money for cancer research and give all Greeks the opportunity to come together for a cause, Anderson said. “(It’s about) raising awareness for something good, something positive,” Anderson said.

The News

Features

Septemberr 26, 2014

Pop Culture Corner

7B Advice you didn’t ask for

FEATURED TWEETS Cavan Sieczkowski @cavanshays Yes, I just watched the #OnTheRunHBO. Yea, Beyonce and Jay Z are the world’s most perfect couple. Yes, I am crying.

6:51 p.m. 22 Sept 2014

Aubrey O’Day @AubreyODay There are no words for the #OnTheRunHBO tour movie.

Pure Brilliance.

8:16 p.m. 21 Sept 2014

Montana Tucker @montanatucker I keep re watching the Beyonce & Jay Z #OnTheRunHBO special… Is that normal?

10:08 p.m. 21 Sept 2014

David Swerdlick @Swerdlick OH watching Jay/Bey #OnTheRunHBO: “Well, I *am* half white.” “Musically, you’re *three-quarters* white.”

11:14 a.m. 21 Sept 2014

AMBER ROSE FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM WIZ KHALIFA Rapper Wiz Khalifa’s wife, Amber Rose, filed for divorce Tuesday citing irreconcilable differences.

Rose is seeking custody of the couple’s 1-year-old son and spousal support as noted in the couple’s prenuptial agreement.

Photo courtesy of apnatimepass.com

Liam Neeson stars in the new myster thriller, “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” which was released in theaters Sept. 19.

Crime thriller impresses viewers John Gruccio || Contributing writer jgruccio@murraystate.edu

SARAH HYLAND GETS RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST EX “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland obtained a temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend, Matt Prokop, after she says he choked and threatened her.

Prokop has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from the actress’s home and work.

Out of all the genres there are in a cinematic arsenal, one of the hardest ones to combine or get right is the combo of mystery and thriller. You usually only see these two attempted with scary movies or crime stories. With “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” we have a crime story that successfully achieved the combination. It’s also a bonus that it stars Liam Neeson.

Matt Scudder (Neeson) is a former New York policeman who spends his days working as an unlicensed private detective. When he is hired by a known trafficker of heroin to solve his wife’s kidnapping and murder, he is more than reluctant. However, when he learns of the savagery these men have committed against their victims, he can’t help

but feel compelled to stop them. While blurring the lines between his own morals and the consequences of right and wrong, he must track them through the backstreets and alleyways of New York City before they kill again.

One of the first things you realize with this film is that it is Neeson’s movie all the way. The entire film is structured around his character. This is one of his best performances since he broke new ground with 2008’s action film, “Taken.”

It says something when you are in your upper 60s and you can still deliver hard-hitting performances.

The supporting cast is filled with a mix of known supporting actors and new ones. One in particular that viewers may recognize is Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley on BBC’s “Downton Abbey.” In this film, Stevens, just as the others did, played his part beautifully.

Director Scott Frank successfully transfers the story to the screen, and when dealing with an already known novel; this is not an easy task. The film reminded me so much of the classic crime thriller series, “Dirty Harry.”

Now, this is not to say Neeson was doing a Clint Eastwood impersonation, but to acknowledge the way the film was shot. The attention to detail the film brings to the city’s landmarks is fascinating.

The main problem I had with the film is that we never get a good reason for the depraved actions of this twisted duo other than the fact that they are unbalanced men.

Also, some of the supporting characters at times feel a little one-dimensional.

If you want to see an intriguing and dark crime thriller, “A Walk Among the Tombstones” is definitely your movie.

More Than a Bookstore...

Court Square, Murray

Yakkity Yak I’m sure Yik Yak has been in the news enough that I don’t have to tell you about this application. The app has caused Hunter Harrell uproars on Features Editor our own campus, and if you’re reading this far into the depths of the paper, odds are you are familiar with previous front page stories.

The app is available to anyone with a smart phone. High school students are using Yik Yak to post hurtful messages directed at one another and spread rumors quickly through the hallways. Except in Fairfield, Ill., a 30-minute drive from my hometown, an anonymous comment on Yik Yak led to the arrest of a 20 year old in the community.

The man posted a threat to the local high school, which students saw and immediately alerted school officials. A few phone calls was all it took for authorities to contact Yik Yak. The company then released the information of the user and his GPS coordinates. Six hours after the initial lockdown, the Fairfield Police Department arrested the “anonymous” individual.

Now, I don’t mean to preach to someone about an app or how they use it.

In fact, I like the app for its original intent and think it’s a cool way for students to talk about nothing important, but just everyday student life.

However, this instance is exactly why I would never post something I don’t actually mean or stand behind on any social media site.

There’s nothing wrong with posting about issues, daily life and even poking fun at some of the crazy things you can see on a college campus on an anonymous app, but there are still principles that should be followed.

My mom always quoted Thumper from the Disney movie “Bambi” – “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” hharrell@murraystate.edu

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The News September 26, 2014