The Murray State News March 27, 2015
TheNews.org
Zachary Orr || Staff writer zorr1@murraystate.edu
Students attending the Government and Law School Career Fair on April 6 can expect to discover a plethora of career opportunities, including 88 federal, state and city agencies and 12 law schools. The Government and Law School Career Fair differs from the University-sanctioned All Majors Career Fair in that government agencies are in need of workers from a variety of educational b a c k Ferreira grounds, Bertus Ferreira, criminal justice professor and organizer of the Government and Law School Career Fair, said. The fair is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 6 in the Curris Center Ballroom. Ferreira said the All Majors Career Fair underrepresents a large portion of the student population and he hopes to offset some of that imbalance with the Government and Law School Career Fair. “I can’t fix everybody’s lives,” he said. “But here I have a massive solution to part of the problem.” Ferreira volunteered to bring more federal agencies to the All Majors Career Fair last semester. When he was turned down because of lack of space at the fair, he decided to make his own. With no outside help, Ferreira organized the Government and Law School Career Fair in hopes of showing students just how many opportunities there are for students of all majors in the government. Students, such as Desiree Isaac, senior political science and public relations double major from Topmost, Ky., see more specific career fairs such as the Government and Law School Career fair as a solution to the problem of underrepresentation in the All Majors Career Fair. “While the all majors fair is helpful, the Government and Law School Career Fair offers a wide variety of options for students in specific studies that are sometimes not heavily focused on in the general career fair,” Isaac said. Joe Caudell, assistant professor of biology, said his past experience working career fairs for a federal agency led
him to believe that generalized career fairs, such as the All Majors Career Fair, are not beneficial for most students. “As an employer, I went to some generalized career fairs,” Caudell said. “I think it was a waste of my time. I might see a handful of students interested in what our agency had to offer.” Caudell said he is excited about the opportunities the Government and Law School Career Fair is giving his students, with recruiters coming from several wildlife agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Careers in wildlife biology are highly competitive, Caudell said. Students are encouraged to accumulate two to three internships over their college careers in order to be competitive after graduation. “Any contact whatsoever with people in these agencies will be good for the students,” Caudell said. Ferreira said the demand these government agencies have for students is overwhelming. The FBI is seeking foreign language students. Correctional Facilities and the Military Branches are seeking nurses as well as musicians to play in military bands. Almost all federal agencies are in need of accounting students and computer science students, who often overlook serving their country through government jobs for better-paying corporate jobs. “I want students to understand that there is an honorable thing in working for the government,” Ferreira said. “You can serve your country working for the government.” Ferreira said he is impressed by his success in recruiting 88 government agencies and law schools to come to the fair in its first year. He credited his success to actively contacting agencies himself, as well as not charging the $200 a table Career Services does for the All Majors Career Fair. “Big companies, they don’t care,” Ferreira said. “$200 is pocket change for them. They write it off as a business expense for recruitment. Small police departments, sheriff departments, and corrections agencies don’t have $200 in their budget to pay. That’s why many of them simply
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Raising the bar Since Murray became a wet city, revenue has poured in, but not without a few issues.
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Government and Law Career Fair offers new opportunities
Vol. 89, No. 25
Lucy Easley || Staff writer
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leasley@murraystate.edu
Hannah Fowl/The News
People watch TV at Nick’s Sports Pub, a popular spot to drink in Murray.
Winter weather changes schedule of Panera, not Station 74
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the amount of alcohol sales revenue since Murray became a wet city within dry Calloway County. 395 percent: the increase in revenue since changing from moist to wet. Prior to the law changing, annual regulatory fees produced r o u g h l y $145,000 for the city. In the 201213 fiscal year, regulatory fees totaled to $572,586. Revenue continued to rise in the 2013-14 fiscal year, bringing in $1,030,078. This revenue is from an 8 percent regulatory fee placed on the sale of alcohol, which goes to law enforcement to help pay the cost of enforcement, regulation and administration of alcohol laws in the city. Kendra Clere, Alcohol Beverage Control, or ABC, Administrator for the City of Murray, said she predicts the 2014-15 fiscal year will produce comparable numbers. According to the City of Murray’s website, 12 percent of the 2015 fiscal year’s general fund operating budget is based on alcohol sales fees. This is the third highest contributor, behind only property and insurance tax.
Julia Mazzuca|| Staff writer jmazzuca@murraystate.edu
Despite February’s ice and snow, the new Station 74 apartments will open on time, but Panera Bread will not. The set completion date for Station 74 is still July 15, but Panera many not open until May 1 – a week after the original April 22 deadline. Trey Long, one of the four managers of the new Panera Bread, noticed the setbacks the winter storms brought to Panera. “Because of all the snow and ice, we are definitely a week behind,” Long said. Long believes the completion date could be pushed back to May 1 because of slowed progress. The new Panera Bread will include the cafe and bakery, and will also cater events. As of right now, different businesses around Murray call in catering at Paducah’s Panera, which is then driven all the way to Murray. “The new Panera Bread is hiring for all positions,” Long said.
Restaurants, bars, convenience stores and package stores all contribute to this grand total and are accountable for certain regulations based on the type of liquor license they operate under. When Murray was a moist city, restaurants had to adhere to a 70:30 food to alcohol sales ratio, Clere said. Now, they must follow a 50:50 ratio and local popular restaurants such as Mr. J’s Grill and Pub, Nick’s Sports Pub and Agave all follow this licensure. Additionally, bars, restaurants and package stores are not permitted to sell alcohol on Sunday and even despite the large increase in regulatory fee revenue the law will probably stay that way, Clere said. James Hutchens, owner of Mr. J’s Grill and Pub, said he chooses not to open up his restaurant on Sundays because of the limitations of liquor laws. If the restaurant were to be open on Sundays, food could be served but liquor bottles and beer taps would all have to be covered and locked up. All establishments operating under restaurant licenses are required to follow the same restrictions if they choose to serve food on Sundays. Some restaurants, such as Applebee’s, remain open while others close their doors. “It’s too big of an ordeal to cover and lock everything up,” Hutchens said. Hutchens said the business does well enough other days of the week that the legislation doesn’t impact the business much, and he does not typically have problems meeting the 50:50 ratio required by law. “I see why they don’t allow it and I see why they should,” Hutchens said. “I’ll go either way. I think overall they should just do what’s best for the community.”
Applications can be found online. Carlton Stroud, superintendent to the general contractor for Station 74, and his team worked through some of the bad weather. Stroud said 80 percent of the asphalt was finished for Station 74 in November, which helped the completion date remain the same. Although the asphalt took abuse from the freezing weather, he said it was well worth the time to get it finished and set so that the team could work through the winter. He said the construction workers continued their work after taking days off due to the snow and ice. They took overtime and are dedicated to the deadline and will keep pushing until everything is back on track. Station 74 didn’t experience any physical setbacks besides losing a couple days of work. The only financial setbacks are paying the construction team for the weekends of overtime required in order to finish on time. The Preiss Company, a management firm,
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Honors Program transition into Honors College begins Lucy Easley || Staff writer leasley@murraystate.edu
The Honors Program received approval to begin its two-year transition into the Honors College with the hopes of increasing participation and the creation of a designated residential section for its students. The college will include new curricula models, more faculty and residential life elements. Funding is also increasing in a twostep process, beginning in fall 2015 and continuing into the next academic year. Warren Edminster, director of the Honors Program, said the new Honors College will take education outside of the classroom and engage students in a number of ways. In 2009, 146 students participated in
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the Honors Program. This number has steadily increased in the past six years, with 195 students participating in 2013. Edminster said he hopes this number continues to increase. A residential component is being developed, though it is still in the early stages. Members of the administration plan to visit schools such as Baylor University that already utilize these systems and come back with a recommendation for implementation. By fall 2016, floors and wings of a residential college are planned to be devoted to Honors College students; however which residential college or colleges has not been designated by the program yet.
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see HONORS, 2A Members of the Honors Program meet Tuesday night, led by the executive members.
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