The Murray State News

The Murray State News October 9, 2015

TheNews.org

Vol. 90, No. 7

Seven sexual assaults reported, tying 2014 total Abby Siegel

Contributing writer asiegel@murraystate.edu

Jessica Bostick

Assistant News Editor jbostick@murraystate.edu

Murray State students have reported seven sexual assaults since freshman move-in day on Aug. 15, matching the total number of sexual assault complaints in 2014.

The number of reported sexual assaults has increased from one in 2012 to three in 2013, then seven in 2014 to seven in the first 52 days of the semester, according to The News’ review of the crime logs maintained by

Public Safety and Emergency Management.

Of the seven assaults reported, one arrest was made while in the other six cases the person who reported sexual assaults declined to press charges, according to the crime logs. One of the sexual assaults occurred off campus.

Sexual assault, as defined by the Title IX office’s website, “can be verbal, visual or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention.”

Abigail French, director of the Women’s Center, said she believes the rise in reports might not necessarily mean an increase in assaults taking place.

“I believe that a lot of effort

has been made to make the reporting process more accessible and to make students more aware of how to report an assault when it occurs,” French said. “I do not believe these numbers indicate an increase in incidents; rather, they re flect an increase in student knowledge French of how to access services and support.”

One in five women is sexually assaulted in college, according to the 2014 First Report of the White House

Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.

The report highlights that men can also be victims of the crime.

“The change is largely in increased reporting, which in my mind is a positive change because it reflects students may feel more empowered to seek help,” French said.

This semester, the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Access has required all students to complete online training regarding reporting sexual assaults and offered additional seminars for many student leaders to attend to ensure that the information is presented and reinforced to all students. For instance, many student lead-

ers had to attend the “Just the Facts: Title IX and Sexual Misconduct” program Sept.

29.

“The increased focus on Title IX has driven massive efforts to educate and publicize policies, procedures and resources,” French said.

“This information helps students make decisions about whether or not they want to report.”

Students also must earn 100 percent on the online quiz to have the hold removed from their student accounts.

While some students said the requirement was frustrating, they told The News in interviews that they saw the value of Title IX training.

“I think it was good that

we have Title IX training because it makes everyone know what to look for, being responsible as a bystander,” said Abigail Prins, freshman from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

MORE WAYS TO REPORT

Miranda Whitworth, freshman from Hardinsburg, Kentucky, said she believes more students might be reporting sexual assaults because they understand the confidentiality rules now and how the university is required to respond when a report has been made.

“Most people normally

see ASSAULTS, 2A

Smoking policy’s effect hazy New tobacco free regulation seems to reduce, but not eliminate, smoking on campus Alicia Steele Staff writer

asteele5@murraystate.edu

Mikayla Marshall Staff writer

mmarshall5@murraystate.edu

Through the first two months of Murray State’s tobacco free policy, some students say they have noticed less smoke but parts of campus remain littered with evidence that people still are lighting up on the grounds.

And because enforcement is voluntary and is up to bystanders to speak up, no one has faced penalties for breaking the policy.

“It’s not a hit somebody where they are, it’s a more positive aspect that we’re trying to have a healthy and safe environment for everyone involved,” said Renee Fister, senior presidential adviser for strategic initiatives.

The rule is aimed at improving “the health and safety” of people on campus by discouraging anyone from using tobacco, as opposed to doling out punishment, Fister said.

“To my knowledge, no action has been taken in regard to the compliance aspect of the campus tobacco policy,” she said.

Fister served as President Bob Davies’ point person while working with the Board of Regents to craft the tobacco free policy last fall and this spring.

Chalice Keith/The News

Since the official beginning of the tobacco policy implementation began in August, no one has faced penalties for breaking the policy which relies on bystanders to speak up.

In February, the board approved the new policy, which bans the use on campus of “any substance containing tobacco leaf, including but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah, snuff, chew tobacco, bidis, blunts, clove cigarettes or any other preparation of tobacco.”

Starting in February, the policy immediately prevented tobacco use within 25 feet of

university buildings and then spread across all campus grounds effective Aug. 5.

The policy applies to faculty, staff, students and visitors.

ENFORCING THE RULE

But two months after the policy took hold, cigarette butts still can be found throughout campus. For instance, on Wednesday the

mulch outside of the Business Building North entrance facing the quad was littered with nearly two dozen butts, including five around a small blue sign that says, “Please refrain from personal tobacco use.”

Some students, such as Bryanna Kampwerth, freshman from Highland, Illinois, said they still notice other students lighting up while

walking to class and outside classroom buildings.

“I don’t think it’s a huge problem, but it’s definitely an issue,” Kampwerth said.

“I saw three different people smoking today.”

Fister said the administration is aware tobacco use still occurs on the grounds.

“I do think there are a few pockets of places where people are going,” she said.

In one case, many international students were continuing to use tobacco products, so Fister said the administration worked with the international department to designate a spot near Woods Hall, where the international programs are based.

“If people are just willing to communicate and work through that, it’s good,” she said.

Enforcing the policy elsewhere on campus has been trickier.

Fister said that if any representative of Murray State sees someone using tobacco on campus, the person should first explain the tobacco policy and ask the tobacco user to comply.

If someone is found violating the policy a second time, that representative can report faculty or staff to the supervisor of the building or to Human Resources, and report students to the supervisor of the building or Student Affairs, Fister said. The next step would be for the building supervisor or human resources to go through the MSU Student Life Policies, Rules and Procedures; MSU Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual; or other regulations and policies.

“If you violate a policy in the student code of conduct there are certain steps that are included there for help or encouragement to quit doing

see SMOKING, 2A

SGA passes 16th Street construction resolution Kayla Harrell || Staff writer kharrell@murraystate.edu

The Student Government Association passed a resolution that does not support any of the proposed three alternatives for the future of 16th Street, and asks city and university leaders to go back to the drawing board.

The SGA did not suggest an alternative idea for 16th Street in the resolution, which passed unanimously Sept. 30 in its first reading and won final approval Wednesday.

The purpose of the proposed 16th Street project is to address the vehicular and pedestrian traffic along N. 16th Street from Main Street to Chestnut Street, according to the City of Murray website.

Each day that section of the street will see 11,000 pedestrians and 7,000 cars, President Bob Davies said at an Aug. 26 Board of Regents meeting.

Clinton Combs, president

WHAT’S

INSIDE

of the Student Government Association, said the resolution was important because it shows students care about the ultimate solution.

“We wanted to make sure [the] administration, city and state of Kentucky knew that this is something we are taking seriously, something that we are looking at and making sure that it is done right,” Combs said.

The Murray State Council has presented three alternatives for the congestion of 16th Street. The three options are: • Raise the road so students can walk underneath; • Loop the street around the Gene W. Ray Campus on the west side of 16th Street, which includes the Jesse D. Jones Hall and the Biology Building; • Create a wider loop around the Gene W. Ray Campus that would include cutting

see SGA, 2A

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HOMECOMING AND CAREER TABS Nicole Ely/The News

The Student Government Association has passed a resolution that does not support any of the three proposed alternatives for 16th Street.

We’ve released two tabs for this week’s edition of The News: the Homecoming tab and the All Majors Career Fair tab. Check them out inside!

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2A

SGA From Page 1 through university parking lots.

The Student Government Association “felt that none of the options really suited what we would consider the longterm goals of Murray State University,” Combs said.

Alisha Kempher, sophomore from Benton, Kentucky, said she knows many other students who do not like the options given by the city so far.

“Their options make the flow of the academic side of campus awkward,” Kempher said.

Although the Student Government Association did not include an idea for the city, the university has come up with an option.

“The President’s office has talked before about closing down 16th Street for a period of time to see where traffic goes,” Combs said. “Speaking for myself, I see that as an interesting option to see what happens.”

If the city closed down 16th Street, traffic would shift to other nearby streets.

“Shutting down the street would affect the Murray population more than it would the students,” Kempher said.

ASSAULTS From Page 1 wouldn’t look into the university’s procedures unless it pertained to them, but now that everyone is exposed to it, I think it helps in overall reporting,” Whitworth said.

Prins and Whitworth said they didn’t know how to make a report regarding sexual harassment before the training.

The university also promoted the LiveSafe app this fall as an effort to provide an additional outlet for students to report unsafe behavior easily. University officials encouraged students to download the app, which

The resolution said the Student Government Association wants to see a sustainable alternative that will promote safety of the community, consider the future growth of campus, is a good steward of state money and provides for the preservation of university parking.

“The Student Government Association, who represents all the students’ interests, [believe] this resoCombs lution will have an impact,” Combs said.

“We want what is best for the city but also what is best for our university.”

The executive committee of the Student Government Association, their sponsors and co-sponsors signed the resolution and are sending copies to city leaders.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make some meaningful changes to 16th Street,” Combs said. “We felt that the students’ voices should be heard throughout this process.”

The city has been collecting other input on a potential solution, including posting an online survey for residents last month.

Graphic by Alex Hilkey/The News

allows them to link directly to Public Safety and report an incident, crime or if they fear for their safety or the safety of others.

Another feature of the LiveSafe app allows anonymous reporting for issues including sexual assault/abuse, harassment and stalking.

not been apprehended and there is a threat to the safety of the campus community.

An exception is if the incident occurred more than 14 days before it was reported.

“That’s a really screwed up system,” said Nicole Schulenburg, sophomore from St. Louis, Missouri.

A Timely Warning still can be distributed if an incident occurred off campus. The Murray State police chief and the vice president of Finance and Administrative Services determine if a Timely Warning is necessary.

“We deserve to know if something happens regardless of where or when,” Schulenburg said.

Staff writer Ashley Traylor contributed to this report.

TIMELY WARNING Despite seven reported sexual assaults this semester, Public Safety has not issued a “Timely Warning” email to students and university employees, which is required by federal law in certain circumstances when a sexual assault is reported.

The Timely Warning must be shared when a crime is reported, the perpetrator has

October 9, 2015

3. Larger bypass

Murray State University

2. Mini bypass around Jesse D. Jones Hall

1. Raising a bridge

Three options for relocating 16th Street

SMOKING From Page 1 what you’re doing,” Fister said.

Fister said Racer Patrol is not involved in enforcing this policy.

IS IT WORKING?

Overall, though, Fister said she couldn’t comment about whether the Board of Regents believes the policy is working, or whether the rate of tobacco use on campus has dropped.

Some students said the policy has cleaned the air.

Oksana Reeves, sophomore from Trenton, Michigan, said

she has noticed fewer smokers compared to her freshman year.

“On my way to class, I would always get behind someone smoking,” she said.

“It’s important they enforce the policy so the campus continues to be clean.”

Tyler Covington, freshman from Murray who attended Racer Academy last year, said he also has seen the tobacco free policy working.

“Last year I’d walk out of Faculty Hall and there would be a cloud of smoke surrounding the building,” he said. “The policy is absolutely necessary.”

Earlier this week, Marilyn Harris, lecturer in the English department, stood under a tree on the median of

Olive Street near the campus gate to smoke two cigarettes between classes.

“I don’t smoke that much during the day anyway,” Harris said.

Harris said she believes the university is following a trend, which is to encourage people to stop smoking.

But not all students believe the policy was needed. Haley Purvis, freshman from Versailles, Kentucky, said she doesn’t care whether Murray State has a tobacco free policy.

“This is the point in time where we can be adults and make our decisions,” she said. “And with this policy it’s like you’re a kid again, and they’re telling you what you can’t do.”

ICD 199-02, Fall 2015

MARK TWAIN

TODAY!

8 Weeks of Laughter May Be Expected!

(Students may expect whatever they like if they can bear disappointment)

A GIFTED TROMBONIST HAS BEEN ENGAGED TO ENTERTAIN!

(However, he is unreliable and may not appear.)

AMERICA’S GREATEST WRITER & NOTED HUMORIST WILL SPEAK! (Well, that much is true, insofar as it goes. Robert Valentine will lecture, also.)

An Eight-Week Course on America’s Greatest Humorist!

CLASSES BEGIN 4 P.M. TUESDAYS, OCT. 13 - DEC. 1 IDC 199-02, “Mark Twain Today,” meets at Elizabeth Hall CRN: 87442 E-mail rvalentine@murraystate.edu for permission to enroll

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October 9, 2015 News Editor: Mari-Alice Jasper Assistant Editor: Jessica Bostick Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews

POLICE BEAT Oct. 1

6:51 a.m.

Racer PatrolSafety advisedand Mur12:31 a.m.

Public ray State Police of an abandoned Emergency Management regolf cart aoutside the Lowry ceived sprinkler tamperCenter. and Officers werealert notified inforfire trouble fromand thean alarm mation was taken. centerreport computer at the Equine 11:42 p.mFacility.

An officer conducted Training Central Heataing traffic stop atwas 121 notified.

North and and Cooling Coldwater Streets.

A citation was 12:42 p.m.

A caller reported issued to thethreat driveroffor a potential firefailure at theto wear seatbelt.

The passenger CFSBa Center.

Central Heating was an outstanding and arrested Cooling, on officers and the warrant andMarshall was taken to notiCalloState Fire were way Jail.of fire was presfied.County No threat 8:20 caller reported a resent a.m. upon AMurray State Police idential Officerscollege arrival.flag missing. The

Oct. 2

12:16 a.m. A caller reported the Housing was notified. smell ofOffice marijuana at Elizabeth 11:22 p.m.

A caller Areported Residential College. citation a motor vehicle accident withofno was issued for possession injuries at White Residential Colmarijuana. lege. were notified 3:19Officers p.m. Public Safety and re- a report taken. ceivedwas notification of a fire 7:17 p.m.

An officer alarm activation at conducted Richmond a traffic stop at the Businesson Building Residential College the parking lot.

A citation was issued alarm center computer. Offifor driving on a suspended cers and Central Heatinglicense. and 8:51 p.m.

A caller reported Cooling were notified.

The firethe smell of activation gas at Hart was Residential alarm due toCola lege.

Officers, Murray Fire mechanical malfunction. Depart-

Oct. 3

10:53 a.m. Officers conducted ment, Central and Cooling a traffic stopHeating in the Immanuel Plant, Murray Gas and the State Lutheran Church parking lot. Fire A Marshall wereissued notified. report citation was for A speedwas ing.taken.

12:01 A caller conducted reported a 12:21 p.m. p.m. Officers sparking in the the Business 300 block a traffic outlet stop in ofBuilding CollegeNorth Courts.

Officers, the parking lot. A Murray Fire issued Department, Cencitation was for speeding tral Heating 16 mph over. and Cooling Plant

Oct. 4

12:02 a.m. A traffic stop was conducted officers at Jesse and the StatebyFire Marshal were D. JonesAHall.

A verbal warning notified. report was taken. wasp.m. issued for Murray improper driving.

4:57 The Police De8:37 p.m.was Racer Patrolof reported partment notified a meditheemergency smell of at marijuana near cal the Volleyball White Residential Courts.

Officers andCollege.

MurrayOffiAmcers were notified were and a citation bulance Services notified. for patient possession marijuana was The wasoftransported and a issued. report was taken.

Oct. 5

8:33 a.m. Public Safety and Facilities receiveda 3:46 a.m.Management Officers conducted notice of a smoke detector check of a person on North ac12th tivation Hester Street.

Thein person wasResidential arrested and College. The smoke County detector transported to Calloway Jail was activated by a resident for alcohol intoxication in a public usingA report a hair was straightener.

No place. taken. threatp.m. of fireAwas located.

9:09 caller reported p.m.detector A theft of less thanat a 1:49 smoke activated $500 was reported College in the ThorSpringer Residential due to inwere the Curris a oughbred hair dryer. Room Officers notified and no threat of fire wasa found.

An Center.

Officers took theft reinformation report was taken. port.

Oct. 6

12:05 a.m. Officers conducted 4:42 p.m. A caller a theft a traffic stop on reported 12th Street.

A of property from a vehicle from written warning was issued for Alexander Hall. Officers were nodisregarding a stopwas sign. tified and a report taken for 8:47 a.m.

A traffic was theft of under $500 bystop unlawful conducted officers on 16th taking from a by vehicle.

Street.

A citation issued for 6:12 p.m.

A callerwas reported the failure to wear a at seatbelt. smell of marijuana Hart. Officers

Oct. 7

2:49 p.m. A caller reported were notified and an information drug use in the Regents Resireport was taken. dential College parking lot. Officers were notified.

11:38 p.m.A Officers conducted 2:47 p.m. caller reported an a traffic stop by Clark Residenunauthorized company selling products on campus at Winslow tial College for failure to turn Dining Hall. The caller was reon headlights.

A written warnferred to Student ing was issued. Affairs.

6:12 p.m. A caller reported the smell of natural gas at the Old Fine Arts Building.

Officers, Racer Escorts - 2 Central HeatingMotor and Cooling Murray Assists Plant, -6 Fire department, Murray Gas and Arrests - 0 the State Fire Marshall were noti-

Call of Fame 10:43 p.m. Public Safety received a notice of a fire alarm activation in the CFSB Center. Officers, the Murray Fire Department and Central Heating and Cooling were notified. The fire alarm activation was due to a mechanical malfunction.

Jessica Bostick, Assistant News fied and a report was Police taken. Beat Editor, compiles with materials provided by Public Safety and Emergency ManMotorists assists – 8 agement. Not all dispatched calls Racer escorts – 1 are listed.

Arrests – 2 Mary Bradley, Assistant News Editor, compiles Police Beat with materials Enjoy Police provided

by Public SafetyBeat? and Emergency Management.

Check it out on-

Not all dispatched are listed. line everycalls week at

TheNews.org!

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31 programs getting a checkup Jessica Bostick || Assistant News Editor

College of Education and Human Services

jbostick2@murraystate.edu

Thirty-one of Murray State’s academic programs across four colleges are up for review as part of the reaccreditation process during the 2015-16 academic year.

“Accreditation of the academic preparation programs provides assurance job candidates have received an education that includes the essential knowledge and skills needed for the work setting,” said Kelly Kleinhans, academic director of the center for communication disorders in the College of Education and Human Services, which is one of the 31 programs up for review this year.

Those programs will be reviewed by the accreditation organization that oversees that area of study.

Accreditation agencies are private educational associations that develop standards and conduct evaluations to assess if those standards are being met.

Accreditations are requested by an institution to show a program’s credibility and the quality of the education being provided by the university.

“I definitely want to receive my degree from an accredited university,” said Rodney Mills, a senior from Eddyville, Kentucky. “In the grad school application process, this would seem very important.”

These accreditation renewals include programs in the Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business, the College of Education and Human Services, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, the Hutson School of Agriculture and the Jesse D. Jones Col-

23 programs

Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering & Technology

3 programs

College of Humanities & Fine Arts

2 programs

Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business

4 programs

lege of Science, Engineering and Technology.

The College of Education and Human Services will try to ensure the reaccreditation of its speech-language pathology, teacher education, counseling and social work programs in 2016.

“For speech-language pathologists, this includes evaluation and treatment of all types of communication disorders, skill with evidence-based practices, cultural competence and oral and written communication skills, as well as an understanding of ethics in the profession,” Kleinhans said.

The reaccreditation of this program will cost more than $30,000, said David Whaley, dean of the College of Education and Human Services.

During the reaccreditation process, Murray State pays for accreditation agencies to send teams to review its programs. This includes the cost of travel, hotels and anything else the team might need during their stay.

These site visits last for several days and involve members of the accreditation team sitting in on classes, reviewing course syllabi and the advising process and meeting with students, administrators and faculty members.

“Students choose to pursue education degrees at Murray State University because of the outstanding reputation of our programs, which is affirmed by national accreditation,” Whaley said.

The process of accreditation shows future employers that students attended a university that has its programs regularly inspected through agencies that specialize in that area.

“The job market is intensely competitive in this day and time,” said Olivia Fowler, a junior from Camden, Tennessee. “In a job interview, a degree from an accredited college would have the upper hand versus a degree from an unaccredited college.”

Students watch but don’t work on campaigns Bailey Bohannan || Staff writer bbohannan@murraystate.edu

Despite a competitive election for governor this fall between Republican Matt Bevin and Democrat Jack Conway, Murray State Republican and Democratic activists aren’t working for either of the campaigns.

Both the Bevin campaign and Conway campaign have internship opportunities for students to work in areas of fundraising and communications. But unlike college students from other universities, Murray State students haven’t gotten involved in those internships.

Instead, some Murray State students are getting involved in this governor’s race in other ways.

With less than a month before the Nov. 3 election, the Murray State College Democrats have held debate watch parties and have focused more on their online efforts through the group’s Facebook page on the upcoming 2016 presidential campaign.

The Murray State College Republicans have started a “Students for Bevin” group.

Ellen Adkisson, a senior from Frankfort, Kentucky, and a member of the Murray State College Republicans, said she hadn’t heard of the internship opportunity.

The internships are aimed at giving students a window into the in-

nerworkings of highly competitive campaigns, said Jessica Ditto, the communications director with the Bevin campaign.

The campaigns also affect students because the outcome of this race will affect students’ education in the future.

The Youth for Matt Bevin Program is ideal for “highly-motivated students that are interested in learning more about the public policy process and helping elect Matt Bevin as Kentucky’s next governor,” Ditto said.

Conway’s campaign offers similar opportunities for students.

“The Conway-Overly internship program affords students the opportunity to gain valuable campaign experience in fundraising, communications and political outreach,” said Daniel Kemp, the spokesman for Conway’s campaign. “Our internships offer students who share Jack and Sannie’s values a firsthand look into how campaigns work and an opportunity to learn from influential community leaders.”

A third candidate, independent Drew Curtis, is running a more limited campaign and doesn’t offer an internship program.

Each candidate holds a different plan for the future of education in Kentucky.

Bevin focuses most of his efforts

Chalice Keith/The News

Matt Bevin, a candidate for Kentucky state governor, is seeking interns. concerning education toward kindergarten through 12th grade, according to his campaign webpage.

Conway’s plan for higher education focuses on making sure colleges and universities are training students to be better prepared for careers.

“We can be doing more to align our university, college and technical college systems with the needs of employers so that students have access to relevant education programs

and are prepared to enter the workforce,” Conway said in his Kentucky education plan.

Each campaign encourages students to apply for the internship, but Murray State students are not taking advantage of these opportunities within the campaigns.

“It is time for us, the everyday citizens, to once again take political ownership of our state and our country,” Bevin wrote in a letter to potential interns.

Pet therapy offered to students Abby Siegel Staff writer

asiegel@murraystate.edu

When Skipper strutted into the crowded Curris Center, all attention snapped to him. A stream of smiling students wanted to know his name and pat him on the back.

All he had to do to get a passerby to stop was to sit and give them his puppy-dog eyes – or in Skipper’s case, a puppy-dog eye, because he has just one. As students admired his tricolored hair and his petite figure, he responded with a smile so wide his tongue showed.

That’s Skipper’s skill: being lovable. Skipper has been a Papillon therapy dog for all 12 years of his life, earning the nickname “the grand ole man of pet therapy” and has become one of the stars of the Calloway County Humane Society’s pet therapy program.

The Humane Society hosts a pet therapy session at Murray State once a month, sponsored by the Student Government Association. In addition to visiting the University, the pets – including cats, dogs, miniature horses and roosters – visit nursing homes, schools, make special request visits and participate in WATCH, a program for developmentally-disabled adults. In 2014, the pet therapy program logged 350 visits in the county.

“A fundamental difference between therapy

dogs and service dogs is that a service dog is trained for the benefit of the owner,” said Cassie Barber, pet assisted therapy program coordinator.

“The therapy dog is trained for the benefit of other people.”

Similar to service dogs, pet therapy dogs must go through a certification process that ensures their ability to be obedient and respond safely in loud environments. One test requires the dog to be stimulated in a similar environment to a nursing home with people in wheelchairs, crutches and loud moaning.

Not only can Skipper put “certified therapy dog” on his resume but he’s also a dog show champion and a frequent parade participant.

“We say Skipper always has a good day,” said Powell Henderson, Skipper’s owner.

Henderson and his wife have been involved in the Calloway County therapy program since they moved from New Mexico 12 years ago. Over the years, they have had four therapy dogs.

“As long as we have him, we will be involved,” Henderson said.

Pet therapy has scientifically-proven social and health benefits, including lowered blood pressure and decreased loneliness, according to a 2001 article by Sarah Brodie, published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. The presence of animals can help individuals relax and can promote holistic overall health benefits, according to Brodie’s re-

search.

“Anyone involved with the program will tell you the real benefit is the joy the program brings to people and the smiles a visit puts on faces,” Barber said.

Henderson said he participates in pet therapy because it makes people happy.

“You get a lot of grins, a lot of laughter and a lot of smiles when you do it,” he said.

Students said they look forward to the monthly visit of cats and dogs in the Curris Center rocking chair lounge.

“It gives them a chance to de-stress and talk about the pets they have left at home,” Barber said.

Morgan Cash, junior from Graves County, Kentucky said she is a dog person and any dog she sees on campus brightens her day.

“Since you can’t have a dog on campus yourself living in the residential colleges, having one around on campus makes everyone happy, makes everyone smile,” she said.

Katie Belleville, junior from Belleville, Illinois, said being three hours away from her black lab is one of the toughest parts of being away at college.

“Pet therapy makes Murray feel more like home,” she said.

The pet therapy sessions scheduled for the rest of the semester are from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m., Oct. 14, Nov. 11 and Dec. 2., in the Curris Center rocking chair lounge.

In Brief Former Custodian Dies Library to close early Friday William “Bill” Alan Brien, 58, of Benton, Kentucky died at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the Ray & Kay Eckstein Hospice Center in Paducah, Kentucky.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11 in the chapel of Collier Funeral Home in Benton, Kentucky. Rev. Don Wilson will officiate.

The burial will follow the service in the Haltom Cemetery in Benton, Kentucky. Friends may visit with the family until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11 until the funeral at 3:00 p.m. at the Collier Funeral Home located at 211 W. 5th St., Benton, Kentucky. All other arrangements are incomplete at this time.

Waterfield Library will close at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9. The library will be closed for renovations in the building’s restrooms and electrical infrastructure.

To accommodate the need for space to study, Pogue Library will be staying open until 8 p.m. There are a limited number of laptops and computers for student use, so please plan accordingly. Be aware that the handicap accessible entrance to Pogue is available through Lowry Center.

It is possible that renovations will continue beyond Friday night, which may result in Waterfield opening Saturday, Oct. 10 no later than noon.

Refer to the library’s website to verify hours for Saturday.

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October 9, 2015

The News

Opinion

Opinion Editor: Allison Borthwick Phone: 270-809-5873

­

Our View

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

TheNews.org Mary Bradley

Editor-in-Chief • 270-809-6877 mbradley9@murraystate.edu

Selena McPherson/The News

Mari-Alice Jasper News Editor • 270-809-4468 mjasper1@murraystate.edu

Pushing the limit

Allison Borthwick Opinion Editor • 270-809-5873 aborthwick@murraystate.edu

The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.

Connor Jaschen Features Editor • 270-809-5871 cjaschen@murraystate.edu Kelsey Randolph Sports Editor • 270-809-4481 krandolph3@murraystate.edu Adrienne Vititoe Chief Copy Editor • 270-809-5876 avititoe@murraystate.edu Elizabeth Leggett Online Editor • 270-809-5877 eleggett@murraystate.edu Jenny Rohl Advertising Sales Manager • 270-809-4478 msunewsads@gmail.com Alex Hilkey Advertising Production • 270-809-5874 shilkey@murraystate.edu Fumi Nakamura Photography Editor • 270-809-5878 fnakamura1@murraystate.edu

“It will be the best four years of your life,” they said.

“It will be worth it,” they said.

What happens when four years turns into five or six? What if college’s “worth” changes and increases to the point of unaffordability?

The Board of Regents will soon be considering a new tuition system that will inevitably push the limit of what students can financially handle, which isn’t much as is.

This new system, which would only apply to students enrolling in or after Fall 2016, would require students taking more than 12 credit hours to pay for each extra credit hour after that.

Let’s do the hypocritical math, here: Murray State has been advocating the “Fifteen to Finish” plan for a while now – take 15 credit hours per semester and graduate on time

Cameron Witte Chief Videographer cwitte@murraystate.edu

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These kinds of awards, along with the quality of education and nurturing learning environment, are some of the main reasons we chose Murray State as our higher education destination.

What will happen when the caliber of education and learning environment aren’t enough to attract students? What if the increasing quantity of money Murray State might expect from students outweighs the quality of a good education?

We shouldn’t be punished for wanting, and sometimes needing, to graduate in four years or less.

We shouldn’t feel trapped in a major we ended up hating because switching majors would mean taking more credit hours per semester to catch up, which would mean acquiring more debt. We shouldn’t have to choose between the stress of funneling all our money into college or the stress of having a

lower quality of life because a college degree wasn’t affordable.

Yes, this potential new tuition system would give Murray State more funding to improve our educational resources, renovate academic buildings and fix what’s currently failing. Another benefit of the new system would be the flexible scholarship system that would go along with it – i.e. a $4,000 scholarship could be adjusted to $4,500 if tuition increased.

However, the Board of Regents needs to take a hard look at what this tuition system would mean for everyone involved. The benefits of a degree from Murray State need to outweigh the disadvantages on all fronts, especially for the ones paying for it.

If people cannot afford a Murray State education, they will take their money elsewhere. It’s as simple, and serious, as that.

Some Things Considered

The midterm slump

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

Write to us!

in four years.

If students feel financially pressured to take only 12 credit hours (the minimum to be considered a full-time student and to receive financial aid) per semester, and if students are required to earn 120 credit hours to graduate: 120/12 = 10.

Students would have to be enrolled at Murray State for 10 semesters - five years.

We would then be forced to choose: I can pay more per semester to graduate on time/early, I can pay more to stay in school longer or I can enroll somewhere other than Murray State.

Our fear is that graduating high school seniors and potential transfer students will choose the latter.

Murray State has been recognized as “Best Bang for the Buck”

by Washington Monthly and “Best Buy” by GetEducated.com, according to MurrayState.edu.

Midterms: everything is made up and the points don’t matter.

If I were to approach a random student in the Quad and say, “The lowest points of my life have been during fall midterms,” they probably wouldn’t doubt me.

I can’t be the only one who dreads early October in college, or as I like to call it, the

“

Hallie Beard Junior from Louisville, Ky.

Midterm Slump.

There’s no denying it: the Slump is a doozy and much worse than spring semester midterms. Rest assured, though – you will survive this one as you’ve survived all Slumps past, if you’ve been in college for more than a semester. If this is your first one, enjoy the challenge. They won’t get any easier, but take it from me: you will get better at managing the madness.

Now is a tough time to imagine the light

at the end of the tunnel, but think of it this way: any terrible midterm experience you’ve already had is in the past and filed away as a learning curve. For me, that was last year.

From day one, fall semester sucker-punched me in the gut and showed no mercy. By the time midterms reared their ugly head, I thought I might somehow die.

These next few weeks will probably be terrible, but they won’t kill us.

”

I remember driving to a rehearsal dinner the night before homecoming, crying at the thought of writing an essay for a two-part midterm that was due at midnight. Barely having read the hundreds of pages of Romantic era British literature for the assignment, I was in no shape to simply “wing it” after a night of visiting with family and friends.

It seems ridiculous now, but up against the deadline in that time of stress, I remember thinking, “There is no possible way I can do this.”

And yet, here I am: alive and well with another handful of midterms down.

That night, I frantically tried to sustain Internet connection and battery on my laptop as

my sister read aloud to me passages of readings I had marked and helped me organize my mess of highlighted notes and handouts.

Though I felt like a zombie on steroids, I finished the essay and submitted it to Canvas by 11:59, seconds before the deadline.

It seems so trivial now, trying to relay the sense of fear and worry I felt then. It was just an essay – just pages of text, words strung together.

In your case, it may be just an exam, or just a project; something that seems so monumental now, but will be practically meaningless in a year.

The Midterm Slump can feel like a cruel audition for “Whose Line is it Anyway?” - “the show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.”

In a weird way, that catchphrase is almost true; the arbitrary rules of grading scales, required readings or quiz quotas are essentially made up, and we’re all improvising every day.

The trickiness lies in the points – while they certainly matter that semester, they will evaporate as soon as the class is over. While the difference between an 85 and a 90 may have you wanting to scream now, you may not even remember the name of the class in a year’s time.

So, don’t fret too much, Murray State students. These few weeks will probably be pretty terrible, but they won’t kill us. We’ve conquered midterms before, and we’ll do it again.

We have just begun to fight!

The News

Opinion

October 9, 2015

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Tent City

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6 4

The game

The parade Tailgating

1 Other

I’ve Got a Story for You

In defense of the clerk I write today in defense of the clerk.

By “clerk,” I mean to refer to those people who file, answer phones, take money, keep records, give receipts, answer idiotic questions, open up and lock up and make things run as they should.

“Clerk” comes from Greek and Robert Valentine Latin words reSenior lecturer ferring to an administrator of the of advertising church. Thus, the word “cleric,” which is associated with religious organizations, is a relative of “clerk.” If your family name is Clark, for instance, you probably have a prominent clerk in the family tree. If your family name is Idiot, your ancestor was probably in Congress.

Murray State could not run without clerical personnel. The phrases, “He is only a clerk,” or “She’s just a secretary,” make my blood boil. It’s like saying, “It’s only my femur,” and, like a body without a femur, without clerks and secretaries Murray State would not have a leg to stand on.

The clerks are the first people you encounter

“

when you have to deal with an organization. From the Clerk of the Court at City Hall to the student worker who sits behind the counter at the University’s Office of Things You Need But Won’t Be Getting Today, the clerk is the gateway to solutions.

Clerking is a noble profession, and it is about to have a hard time of it, especially at Murray State.

As we begin to receive midterm grades and prepare to enroll in second-half semester courses and get ready to register for spring classes, you may meet the clerk. Be nice.

Granted, most clerking duties have been transferred to the faculty, a race of people who spent more years in class so they could avoid being clerks. At Murray State the faculty devises a schedule for you, and then tries to decipher why the computer will not let you take open courses with no prerequisites. Be nice to your adviser; she (or he) is in a kind of scholarly purgatory.

However, if you appear to be having a run-in with the university, remember that the power of clerk is highly limited. Clerks did not make the rules and, in some cases, they did not even know the rule existed until you brought it up. Therefore, they cannot break the rule for you. They cannot bend it, nor can they explain why it’s there. In some cases, no one can.

There is a 98 percent chance that, whatever the problem, the clerk didn’t cause it.

”

When you show up in rage, they are just as uncomfortable as you – more so, in fact, because you have the advantage of righteous indignation. The clerk only has that narrow counter for protection.

Be kind.

Clerks take a lot of blame for things like inadequate budgets, faulty technology, inexplicable policies and inadequate information on websites.

Nothing is perfect.

So, lighten up on the clerks. Even more than you, they wish you weren’t having this problem. Often the more experienced among them can help you solve the problem if you will be calm and let them do their work. Sometimes, you have to get the name of the appropriate administrator and take the issue “upstairs.” The clerk can help you do that.

For students, the adviser can often cut through the confusion. They get training for that, and they usually make more than the clerks, so reliance on the faculty is both wise and appropriate. Beat not thy head against the rock, but go ye unto the adviser.

But doubt not that the clerks, secretaries and administrative assistants are people who play a key part in making the hope, endeavor and achievement come together in the dream that is Murray State. They don’t get the big money or the recognition they deserve, but they keep coming to work and making this place run.

The least you can do is to be polite, as your mother expects. After all, there is a 98 percent chance that, whatever the problem may be, the clerk didn’t cause it. If you’re nice, they might help you make it go away.

You’re in Murray; be friendly. It’s the law.

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to ... The Racers!

Let’s all wish our Racers luck for a good, winning game against Austin Peay State University this weekend. This Homecoming game and the events that go with it are bringing students and alumni together for a weekend full of Racer Pride.

Jeers to ... Asking for too much.

There’s only so much students can handle before the cost of college becomes too much.

Asking students to pay per credit hour after an allotted 12 credit hours goes a little too far. This will likely change enrollment and student perception of Murray State.

Cheers and Jeers is written by the Opinion Editor.

Jeers to ... October heat.

Cheers to ... The alumni.

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

Comic

I Have a Lot of Feelings Fight or flight

In our latest poll, we asked you what your favorite Homecoming event is. To participate in future polls, visit TheNews.org/poll.

We asked students what their favorite Homecoming event is. Here are the results of 40 votes.

20

5A

Enough, Mother Nature. October is supposed to be sweater weather. We’re supposed to be enjoying crisp, cool weather, not 85 degree heat. We shouldn’t still be melting into our car seats due to oven-like temperatures. Sweat should be a thing of the past.

Welcome back, Racer alumni!

We’ve missed you. Enjoy this weekend chock-full of nostalgia, old favorite restaurants, campus favorites and reunions.

Cheer on your football team with Racers old and new. Leave feeling refreshed, happy and ready to come back next year.

Allison Borthwick

Opinion Editor

Why is our instinct always to escape?

For instance, I just attempted to escape the responsibility of writing this column by watching an hour and a half of YouTube videos.

That’s so many YouTube videos, you guys.

And SO little writing.

It’s not that I dislike writing, either. I love it. But what kind of college student would I be if anything I HAD to do wasn’t like a human-version of insecticide for me?

This goes deeper than, “If I don’t like doing this, I’ll just do that.” We genuinely seek to forget and hide from the realities of life more often than not.

If we feel awkward in a social setting or if we’re sitting alone in public, we pretend to be doing important smartphone things on our important smartphones, when in reality we’re just deleting all those pictures of melted cheese we saved that one night. Or we’re texting nothing but alkdjfalkdjfaoieurkaxjlfakljfasda to nobody.

How ridiculous is that? We avoid human interaction by babbling incoherently to ourselves on a screen.

What a time to be alive.

If we have an exam worth 20 percent of our grade, we nap the stress away. Stress naps are great because you don’t actually get any sleep and the only reason you get out of bed is to check WebMD for symptoms of heart palpitations. Such fun. Many anxiety.

If we have a 10 page paper to write on the entire history of the world, we watch 10 episodes of “Gossip Girl” instead. Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like watching a bunch of rich teens scandalize high school, am I right?

If we have a problem with the way our friends are acting, we avoid confrontation like the plague and subtweet to our heart’s content.

There’s absolutely no way they will ever figure out that Taylor Swift lyric is directed toward them. It’s foolproof – until it isn’t. But that’s what escaping behind locked doors is for.

It’s a fight or flight world, and we’re all just fleeing from it. Life would be so much easier if we just faced things head on.

Imagine a world where we did our work on time, interacted with human beings in public and talked about our problems like adults.

Imagine a world where reality wasn’t something to escape from.

Invest yourself in the world you live in, not distractions. Everything we’re doing, even the papers and tests, means something.

Not everything has to be another menial task in the obstacle course between you and hours of mindless Netflix binging.

Learn and grow from the hard things in life. They may be intimidating and scary, but running from those things hurts a lot more than facing them.

Mostly because running is the hardest thing of them all. Unless you’re running to Murray’s grand opening of Krispy Kreme or running from a murderer, knock it out.

There’s no way health is that important.

Stay in school, kids. Do your homework. Tell people how you feel.

Stop hiding and live your life. aborthwick@murraystate.edu

Say Hi

By Jade Simpson

The News

News

6A

October 9, 2015

Can tests cause (a) headaches, (b) nausea, (c) panic?

Ashley Traylor

Contributing writer atraylor@murraystate.edu

Tierra Reese

Contributing writer treese1@murraystate.edu

If just the thought of taking an exam causes headaches, nausea or light-headedness, then it could be a case of test anxiety, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Now that the fall semester has reached its midpoint, most students have taken or are preparing to take tests.

Test anxiety is a state of uneasiness during an exam that can lower a student’s performance.

Kristin Douglas, counseling clinic coordinator, said about 20 to 35 percent of college students struggle with test anxiety, but it is treatable.

“If students are not prepared for the test that is one thing,” she said. “But test anxiety is where students often know the answers but their mind goes blank, they panic or freeze during exams.”

Even after hours of studying on a daily basis, if a person suffers from test anxiety, all the knowledge can temporarily be suppressed during the actual test.

Alicyn Woodward, senior from Terre Haute, Indiana, said she often experiences test anxiety around finals week because of stress and worry.

“I was so nervous about a speech in my COM 161 class that I sought professional help from my advisers and counselors,” Woodward said.

When your body is under stress, it re-

leases adrenaline, which can cause an increase in heart rate, sweating, tense muscles, digestive issues and many more problems. The more a person focuses on the stress of a test, the greater the possibility of performing poorly.

Students who tend to worry a lot or are perfectionists – as well as those who are not prepared for test but do care about doing well – are more likely to struggle with test anxiety, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association.

Lack of preparation is not the only reason people experience test anxiety. Pressure, overthinking and a history of poor test-taking are causes as well.

Autogenic relaxation is a popular technique to treat test anxiety. It is a technique used to relax the mind and body – similar to self-hypnosis – and begins with taking a few deep breaths to prepare the mind and body for relaxation, according to the association.

“I have seen students benefit from autogenic training for test anxiety,” Douglas said. “The approach addresses the physical and mental aspects of stress.”

There are several ways to combat less severe cases of test anxiety. It is important to develop consistent, thorough study habits. These habits should include beginning to study for an exam a few weeks before the test date to avoid cramming. Read all test directions carefully and take advantage of the full time limit.

Research also suggests staying healthy – physically and mentally. Not exercising, eating poorly and failing to get enough sleep at night will make it more difficult to manage test anxiety.

(Actually, all of the above)

Murray State has counselors at Alexander Hall available to help students who struggle with test anxiety, which can manifest itself in different ways.

•

•

•

Physical Symptoms: Headache, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sweating, feeling faint, panic attacks Emotional Symptoms: Anger, fear, helplessness, disappointment

Behavioral Symptoms: Difficulty concentrating, negative thoughts, comparing yourself to others

Jenny Rohl/The News

Pakistani students spend fall in Murray for ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ Abby Siegel

Contributing writer asiegel@murraystate.edu

McKenna Dosier/The News

(Above) Yaseen Fatima is one of four Pakistani students who are studying this semester at Murray State as part of the U.S. State Department’s Global Undergraduate Exchange Program. The students become immersed in U.S. culture and focus on community service as part of the program. (Left) A pin from the exchange program shows the U.S. and Pakistani flags.

Murray State is hosting four Pakistani students participating in the U.S. Department of State’s Global Undergraduate Exchange Program to “build a bridge between the two nations.”

Humayoon Akhtar Qaimkhani, senior from Hyderabad, Pakistan, earned a spot in the competitive semester-long program from a pool of 6,000 applicants.

He said this was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to develop his leadership and communication skills.

Akhtar said his friends in Pakistan initially said the program would be a waste of half of his senior year. But those friends are now jealous of his experiences, and he said is now helping them prepare to apply in the future.

The Global UGRAD-Pakistan program focuses its participants on building civic and economic skills to affect change in their underserved home communities. While in the United States, participants will complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service.

Yaseen Fatima, senior from Larkana, Pakistan, is completing her community service hours at the Women’s Center.

Akhtar is completing his service hours at Need Line, stocking shelves in the food pantry.

Additionally, the exchange students must participate in American traditions and in return share Pakistani traditions with the Murray community through programs at local schools, Rotary clubs

and assisted living facilities.

Akhtar said he is learning about the United States and will bring what he learns back to Pakistan.

Along with other students in the program, he attends American cultural festivals as well as festivals put on by other international students at the university to gain a greater understanding of the overall scope of diversity.

“What is showing in Hollywood … it is not like that,” said Abdul Qadir Ahmed Abbassi, senior from Kashmir, Pakistan.

Abbassi and Akhtar said they were surprised how friendly people in Murray have been to them. When they have asked for directions, people walked them to their destination, rather than just telling them where to go.

“The best thing I’ve found here is good people,” Fatima said. “Sometimes they are astonished by my culture, but I have only had healthy conversations with them.”

Through their travels, they have found that every state has different kinds of people, Fatima said.

“People were not so friendly in New York,” Akhtar said.

They have plans to travel to California at the end of the semester and said they are excited to see what kind of people they will meet there.

During their time at Murray State, Global UGRAD-Pakistan students live in residential colleges with Murray State students.

Akhtar said his roommate thought he was from some rural community with little infrastructure.

“He was amazed to know there were big restaurants in my country,” he said.

Fatima also said she has had a pleasant experience with her American roommate.

“She breaks my stereotypes of Americans,” she said.

Students from the program are placed in 24 states across the United Sates. But Fatima said landing at Murray State was a privilege.

“You are lucky if you come here,” she said.

Fatima said she applied to the program because she wanted to bring change to her community. She is the first woman from her university to be accepted into the program, and she comes from a conservative community.

“They thought I wouldn’t go,” Fatima said. “I wanted to go to America, but I never thought I would get the chance.”

Fatima’s goal is to build a health care facility that people can go to for free because many people cannot afford medical care in her community. Hepatitis B is a problem in her community, and she said she wants to work to end the spread of the disease there.

Akhtar said he wants to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering and hopes to become a professor. He said Murray State professors have been a good influence because they “talk to you like a friend,” and he wants to do the same for his future students.

Murray State’s Global UGRAD-Pakistan students have only one complaint about the program.

“The program should increase its duration to at least one year,” Abbassi said.

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October 9, 2015

Section B

The News

Sports Editor: Kelsey Randolph Phone: 270-809-4481 Twitter: MSUSportsNews

Sports ­­

Softball to host Dyersburg over weekend Blake Bernier || Staff writer dbernier@murraystate.edu

Homecoming weekend will feature opportunities for recruiting and fun for the Murray State softball team.

This weekend the undefeated softball team will play against Dyersburg Community College in a doubleheader Friday, followed by an alumnae game on Sunday.

Head Coach Kara Amundson said when they play junior colleges it gives them a chance to see visiting players on the field and often doubles as a recruiting opportunity.

Dyersburg heads into this season with seven freshmen and six sophomores.

The doubleheader will start at 5 p.m. at Racer Field and fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As the fall season continues for the Racers, the team is still giving everyone an opportunity to play and contribute to the team’s success.

Every healthy player on the roster has played for Amundson during the fall season.

The Racers will take the field against familiar faces in the inaugural alumnae game at 11 a.m. Sunday.

“We are finally to the point where there are enough alumnae to field a full team,” Amundson said.

The softball program is entering its seventh season at Murray State, making an alumnae game possible for the first time.

Amundson said the alumnae game keeps the former players engaged.

“I think they will enjoy coming out and running around a little bit and playing against our current team,” Amundson said. “It’s just a fun weekend for them to come back with Homecoming and football and the festivities.”

Zachary Maley/The News

Sam Bedard, senior from Breese, Illinois, prepares to set Olivia Chatman, sophomore from Richmond, Texas, for a spike in Murray State’s sweep on Austin Peay State Wednesday at Racer Arena.

How sweep it is Murray State earns 11th sweep of the season

Blake Bernier || Staff writer dbernier@murraystate.edu

With the 11th sweep of the season, the Racers (14-1, 4-0) defeated the Austin Peay State Lady Govs (5-14, 0-4) on Wednesday at Racer Arena 25-16, 25-21, 27-25.

The win pushed the Racers winning streak to 11 with four straight conference sweeps and extended the home winning streak to 12 after they went 11-0 at home last season.

With the sweep on the line, the Racers trailed 21-16 in the third set leading Head Coach Dave Schwepker to call the

first Racer timeout of the match.

“He told us we need to keep pushing,” Senior Alyssa Lelm said. “We had a job to do and we needed to keep going.”

The Racers closed the deficit and tied Austin Peay at 24, forcing Lady Govs Head Coach Taylor Mott to use a timeout. Lelm contributed eight kills in the final set to keep the Racers in contention in the third set.

“I tell Sam just to get it to me and I will find a way to get it down,” Lelm said.

A quick exchange of points

pushed the score to 25-25 and then the Racers stepped up the pressure. Diving digs by senior setter Sam Bedard and junior Hannah Stultz swung the momentum in the direction of the Racers and freshman Dacia Brown converted her only kill attempt of the night to take the lead.

“We realized that if we didn’t push and didn’t get those kills and get those digs we weren’t going to be able to win,” junior Ellie Lorenz said.

“So we just fought through it.”

Both Lorenz and Lelm contributed their team success to

practicing like they want to play.

Lelm said scrimmaging really help them out in the game because they come back from down 10 points in practice so they know what it’s like to comeback and face adversity.

On the next attack from Austin Peay, senior Samantha Strother airmailed a spike and the crowd of more than 700 erupted.

“A lot of teams will get in that third set and if we’ve played them pretty tough they back down and Austin Peay wouldn’t

back down,” Schwepker said.

Lelm, junior Kristen Besselsen and junior Scottie Ingram each recorded double-digit kills with many of those kills coming off of assists by Bedard. Bedard finished with 45 assists and her ninth double-double of the season.

In the first set the Racers jumped out to a 13-5 lead behind a six-point run with senior Taylor Olden serving and they never looked back.

With the score 22-16, the Rac-

see VOLLEYBALL, 2A

Stewart: Racers must relax Pair of wins gives soccer team Mallory Tucker Staff writer

mtucker11@murraystate.edu

It’s a work in progress.

That’s what Head Coach Mitch Stewart said about the football team after a 27-10 loss to Southeast Missouri State Oct. 3 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Stewart made quick work of that game’s film and discovered exactly what progress needed to be made during the week before their next game. Stewart said if the Racers can do one thing, they would find success 3 p.m.

Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium as they kick off against Austin Peay State for the homecoming football game.

Their biggest challenge isn’t technical and it has nothing to do with their athletic abilities. They don’t need to get bigger, run faster or learn their plays better. They must relax

WHAT’S

INSIDE

“The good news is we’ve got it figured out,” Stewart said. “You’ve got a bunch of 20-year-olds, 18-year-olds, coaches, fans, media-related people that have been following this program. Everybody’s tied up in such a tizzy and everybody’s wound up in such a tight ball and they want to win so bad – especially the kids, especially the coaches – and everybody wants to win so bad that you can’t win for losing.”

Ridding themselves of that stress and pressure goes hand in hand with releasing their frustration from the last few weeks, especially the SEMO game. Junior running back Roman Clay – who racked up 156 rushing yards during the matchup – says the team is disappointed because they know they should have beaten the Redhawks. Before playing the Racers, SEMO was 1-3 including a loss to Division II Shorter University.

“After a loss, everybody was so worked up and mad,” Clay said. “We knew we should have beat that team.

We were better than that team. That’s why everybody was so upset. We know we’ve got the best players on the field. Our 11 vs. your 11, we’re going to win. It was more like we let ourselves down. We didn’t play up to our expectations.”

For the most part, the Racers didn’t come up short on offense – only in the red zone.

Redshirt junior quarterback KD Humphries threw for 368 yards with only one sack and one interception.

“We were able to move the ball all up and down the field,” Clay said. “It’s just when we got to the red zone, like Coach Stewart says, we felt so tight and so anxious that we’ve got to make a big play and we’ve got to score.

see FOOTBALL, 2A

best OVC start in seven years

Mark McFarland Staff writer mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

The Racers defeated UT Martin 4-3 and Southeast Missouri State 4-1 over the weekend to start 3-0 in the OVC for the first time since 2008.

The Racers found comfort playing at home as they imp r o v e d their home r e c o r d to 4-1 on the season. Head C o a c h Jeremy Groves said he does not Groves want to focus too much on the future as the team is preparing this week for a four-game road stand.

“I think last weekend we probably gave up too many

soft goals which is something we will try and focus on this weekend,” Groves said. “It gets a little bit harder now playing on the road where we can’t give teams easy chances to score goals.”

This came after the Racers put up eight goals in two games. Groves also noted that the offense has been clicking and attacking much better than it was in the beginning of the season.

In the first game against UT Martin, it did not take more than eight minutes for the Racers to put up the first goal of the game. Taylor Stevens, senior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, put the ball right past the goalkeeper to give the Racers the quick lead.

The Racers kept up the pressure, scoring another goal just 10 minutes later, as the ball was crossed into the box and found Harriet Withers, sophomore from Murwilumbah,

Australia, who shot it past the keeper to give the Racers a 2-0 lead.

The UT Martin Skyhawks were not going to go away as they found the scoreboard in the 23rd minute and again in the 33rd minute to send the game to half time tied up at 2-2.

The Racers and Skyhawks played even soccer until the Racers broke the tie in the 54th minute, when Taylor Richerson, junior from Murray, Kentucky, found Withers again to take the one goal lead.

Again the Skyhawks tied it up in the 65th minute, but that was not enough to beat the Racers when Marissa Burroughs, senior from Popular Bluff, Missouri, scored in the 71st minute to seal the deal for the Racers.

The Racers then took the field to face the Redhawks of

see SOCCER, 2A

BOOK SIGNING

INTRAMURAL DERBY

MEN’S GOLF

SNOWDEN SPEAKS

Intramural hosts inaugural home run derby, 3B

Simmons earns second OVC Golfer of the Week, 4B

Bard College broadcasts privacy Local author reveals new book, 6B speaker, 5B

The News

Sports

2B

October 9, 2015

SOCCER The News’ Athlete From Page 1 of the Week The News picked Taylor Richerson as our Athlete of the Week for her goals in the Southeast Missouri State game.

Taylor Richerson

Soccer

1. How long have you been playing your sport and why did it interest you to begin with?

“I started playing soccer in rec league, so I was probably eight. I always looked up to my cousin who played soccer at Murray State, so I think that had a lot to do with me choosing to play soccer out of any other sport.”

Position: Forward/Midfielder

2. What is it about your sport that makes you enjoy it?

“Being a part of a team and the competitiveness is what is most enjoyable about soccer.”

Height: 5 feet, 5 inches Hometown: Murray, Kentucky

3. How does it feel to be 3-0 in conference play?

“3-0 in conference to start off with is huge for the team. Our goal is to win regular season conference so we can play all of the tournament conference games at home, and so far we have done what we needed to do.”

High School: Murray High School

4. What do you most look forward to the rest of the season?

“For the rest of the season, I’m looking forward to competing against the rest of the conference and trying to win a championship!”

5. If you could give one piece of advice to someone about accomplishment, what would you say?

“Hard work and commitment does eventually pay off, and when it does, the feeling of accomplishment makes you realize it was all worth it.”

FOOTBALL From Page 1 Really, what we did was we took ourselves out of the game. We had over 500 yards of total offense. What’s 25 more yards?”

The Racers’ kicking struggles didn’t help, as Stewart moved redshirt junior kicker Connor Mitchell up the depth chart to kick field goals and extra points in lieu of senior kicker Carson Greifenkamp.

“It’s no secret, our field goal team right now is very shaky at best,” Stewart said.

“So what that does is that puts an awful lot of pressure on your offensive team. What happens is, a guy like Roman Clay, he breaks open for a 35yard run and gets tackled at

“

you’re worried about not getting the six. In essence, what you’re doing is trying not to lose instead of trying to win.”

Senior defensive tackle Demetrius Mason puts just as much fault on the offense, saying there are great players on both sides of the ball for Murray State.

“We shouldn’t even be Stewart letting a team like SEMO get that many points on us,” Mason said. “I feel like we have a great defense this year. We’ve just got to execute more. Even if the offense goes 3-0 quick and we’ve got to be back on the

It’s no secret, our field goal team right now is very shaky at best. So what that does it that puts an awful lot of pressure on your offensive team.

-Mitch Stewart, Football Head Coach

the 10 – instead of everybody rejoicing over that big run, everybody’s going, ‘Crap, I wish he would’ve scored. We needed that six points right now, because we can’t settle for three.’ All of a sudden you don’t get your six because

”

field, we can’t be worried about that, we’ve just got to go play ball.”

Moving forward – a new mantra for Stewart and a reality for the team this week as they put the SEMO game behind them – the Racers are

excited to play in front of a packed house at homecoming.

“We love the Racers’ support and we love people to come out there and watch us,” Mason said. “When you’re on the field, you don’t worry about how many people are in the stands, but it’s always good seeing those faces in the crowd that came to support.”

The Governors are 0-5 this season and 0-2 in the OVC with losses to Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois under their belt. Last season, the Racers fell to the Governors 20-13 at Governors Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee, but Murray State has beat Austin Peay during its last three meetings at home.

Austin Peay’s quarterback, Trey Taylor, has racked up only 531 total yards this season in comparison to Humphries’ 1,829 passing yards alone. Statistics and record are being set aside, however, as the only way to move is forward.

“Moving forward, we put this game behind us,” Stewart said. “We’ve put the season to this point behind us, because we’ve still got six more ball games to play. And we’re good enough to win all six ball games. Now is it going to be easy? Absolutely not.

What we’ve got to do is we’ve got to relax and we’ve got to play ball. That’s the bottom line. Relax, play ball, coach ball. Let the game come to us and stop worrying about every little thing that happens on every call.”

Southeast Missouri and took it to them early.

They scored quickly again as Richerson scored off of a long ball from Rebecca Bjorkvall, senior from Aland, Finland, to take the 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later Withers hit Stevens with a corner kick then headed it in to keep the momentum on the Racers side.

The Racers finished the half doing everything they could to put their undefeated conference record on the line by scoring two more goals off of the feet of Richerson and Caroline Ashton, forward and midfielder from Fishers, Indi-

VOLLEYBALL From Page 1 ers rallied off three straight points ending with a Bedard ace, one of the teams six on the night.

Austin Peay came out more competitive in the second set and trailed 19-18 before the Racers rattled off four consecutive points and extend their lead. Ingram finished the set

ana, to seal the game.

The Racers did not score for the rest of the game but did concede one goal from the Redhawks in the 77th minute of the game.

“Going 3-0 in conference is a big deal,” Withers said. “And obviously it is a great head start for the team and a huge step for us as a team.”

Groves said that he wants the momentum from this huge weekend to carry onto the next week and continuing the rest of season, as they are not looking too far ahead.

“Obviously it is huge to go 3-0” Groves said. “It puts us one step closer to getting into the tournament.”

The Racers head to Nashville, Tennessee this weekend, to take on Belmont Friday to start their four game road trip.

with her fourth kill of the set, hitting the ball off of the block attempt by Austin Peay senior Aubrey Marsellis.

The next match is 7 p.m. Friday at home against Eastern Illinois, Schwepker said Eastern Illinois is one of the top teams in the conference with strong talent.

“We will work on all of their problems tomorrow,” Schwepker said. “They’ve got a lot of things they’ve got to clean up and a lot of things we need to work on.”

Zachary Maley/The News

Taylor Olden, senior from Lincoln, Illinois, spikes a ball during the Racers win Thursday.

The News’ pick of the week - Football Vs. Kelsey Randolph Sports Editor 3-5 Tyler Dixon Graduate Assistant 3-5 Mary Bradley Editor-in-Chief 4-4 Blake Bernier Staff writer 5-3 Dave Gesler Associate Professor 3-5

Vs.

Vs.

Vs.

Off the Gridiron

Sportsmanship in Sports

Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks cornerback, intercepted T o m B r a d y , New Eng l a n d Patriots quarterback, and asked Tom Brady later, “You mad, bro?”

This was a highlight when the New England Patriots fell to the Seattle Seahawks 24-23 in 2012, but Brady and the Patriots got their revenge three years later in Super Bowl XLIV. The Seahawks were on a march for the game-winning drive until the Patriots intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass to clinch the victory and give Brady his fourth championship ring. After taking a knee to run out the clock, Sherman walked up to Brady to shake his hand and after a few seconds, Brady stood up and shook Sherman’s hand as a sign of respect from both players.

They were similar scenarios with two different endings, but each was on two different ends of the spectrum of sportsmanship. One ending showed what people would call a lack of sportsmanship and one showing a great amount.

What constitutes sportsmanship?

By definition, sportsmanship is ethical, appropriate, polite and fair behavior while participating in a game or athletic event.

As fans we enjoy the games and watch a lot of back-andforth between competitors, and some people take the approach of messing with the opponent’s heads by talking to them all game just to get a response and get them out of their game. But a lot of people respect the guys who just go out and perform without any extra attitude.

“Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can’t tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way,” Tennis great Jim Courier said.

This goes a long way with a lot of athletes-not everyone likes the guy or girl that has to let the world know every time they win. A well-known saying that a lot of coaches use for sportsmanship is to act like you been there.

For example, Sherman is more known for being the literal talk of the team and will talk his head off just to bring another element to the game.

Marshawn Lynch, running back of the Seattle Seahawks, is more of the no-words justplay kind of guy. Even in the media he won’t talk. He just goes out and plays the game.

While Sherman talks a lot, he backs up most of it. Players don’t have the opportunity to banter with Sherman unless they do something spectacular against him, but that does not happen very often.

The classic sign of sportsmanship is teams shaking hands after a game. Every sport has a ritual of shaking hands with the opposing team.

Not everyone shakes hands, but it’s a symbol of class and respect. In a majority of sports, that is the key sign of respect and sportsmanship. In some instances, there might be bad blood between players and teams as a whole, so people don’t always want to shake hands.

Sometimes in middle school or high school, – depending on the game – if there’s a little too much bad blood they might cancel the handshakes and part ways to avoid any confrontation.

Every athlete, current or former, knows sportsmanship is one of the first characteristics a player learns about when playing sports. It molds athletes into a better person-not just a competitor.

It’s a basis for respect and is carried on even after their playing days are over.

John Morris

jmorris36@murraystate.edu

The News

Sports

October 9, 2015

3B

Rifle claims second Home run derby is a hit in first year place at Ole Miss Senior Steven Becker wins derby Men and women shoot consecutive high scores

with nine total hits

Alec Mullins

Contributing writer amullins2@murraystate.edu

Opening the season at No. 6 in the nation according to the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association is an indication that the Rifle team is no stranger to success.

Claiming a victory against OVC opponent UT Martin was enough to propel the Murray State Rifle team to fifth overall as of Sept. 28.

The Racers then competed in Oxford, Mississippi, at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center for the Ole Miss Invitational, where shooting a 4676 was good enough for the Racers to take second place, behind No. 3 TCU with a score of 4696.

After shooting the same score as a team in consecutive weeks, that type of effort is what Head Coach Alan Lollar is looking for in his team.

“In rifle we name five counters and the top four scores count for you and so it’s normally a combination of when someone is down, somebody else picks them up,” Lollar said. “It’s going to change week to week during the year, somebody will be a little up and somebody will be a little down, we just hope that the team stays consistent.”

Though the team had a good season last year, after two successful team showings Ben Estes, sophomore of Ozark, Missouri, is feeling confident in the progress this team is making together.

“We all come in here and we do our best every single day and because of it, I feel like we have a much stronger team than last year,” Estes said.

Next on the Rifle team’s

Blake Bernier || Staff writer dbernier@murraystate.edu

McKenna Dosier/The News

A rifle member takes the standing position before their first home match against UT Martin. schedule is fourth ranked Kentucky. That match will take place at 9 a.m. on Oct. 17 at Pat Spurgin Rifle Range.

“We always look forward to hosting them,” Lollar said.

“They’re a class program and Coach (Harry) Mullins will have them ready to shoot when they get here. We enjoy competing against the best.”

After Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Morehead State will come to Murray State Oct. 24 to Pat Spurgin Rifle Range

for a conference tri-match.

All three schools were in the preseason top-20 with Jacksonville State at No. 8 and Morehead opening at No. 18. Jacksonville State also attended the Ole Miss Invitational and placed fourth with a score of 4642, just 44 points behind the Racers.

“We’re competing against what our best potential is,” Lollar said. “It’s not where you start at, it’s where you finish at.”

Cross-Country finished among top 15 at Notre Dame Mark McFarland Staff writer mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

Five women set new personal records at Notre Dame Invitational The Notre Dame Invitational was a success as both the men’s and the women’s team finished in the top 15, while five women set new personal best times on Friday Oct. 2.

The men’s team finished 15th in the gold five mile race with an average team time of 26:07.

Mark Ventura, sophomore

from Slade, Kentucky, finished first on the men’s team with a time of 25:44. Head Coach Jenny Swieton was very pleased with how they competed in the race.

“They competed well,” Swieton said. “Almost every guy finished in a better place than where they were at the halfway point in the race.”

As for the women’s team, five different women set new career record in their gold 5K race this past weekend. Heatherly Paschall, senior from Murray, Kentucky, set her personal best time at 20:30.

But Coach Swieton was not pleased overall with all of her female runners.

“Some ladies had really great performances,” Swieton said. “Some were not where we would hope them to be.”

Coach Swieton is excited to see the two team’s compete in their next race. It is a very big race and there will also be a ton of competition there that will be exciting to watch, she said.

The Racers will compete in their next race on Oct. 17 in Louisville, Kentucky in the Pre-Nationals.

Racer Band travels to St. Louis for Bands of America Alec Mullins

Contributing writer amullins2@murraystate.edu

The Murray State Racer Band will take the field on Oct. 17 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Edward Jones Dome for Bands of America’s Super Regional event.

This competition for high school marching bands will feature 60 bands from across the U.S. performing over two days. Performing in an exhibition-style class, the purpose for Racer Band will be to entertain not only the competition’s regular spectators but also all the bands that compete on the final day.

Jacob Baker, junior from Kuttawa, Kentucky, said the band is accustomed to playing in front of large crowds as the team averaged more than 4,000 fans at home games last season, according to GoRacers.com, but it will

be a different atmosphere.

“I actually played there in high school, but it wasn’t much different than a regular competition, but It’s going to be way more intense with 250 people in the band instead of 25,” Baker said “Also, the crowd is going to be huge, so the reactions are going to be great.”

With a show that consists of a medley between “The Tiger of San Pedro” and “Malagueña”, followed by Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” and closed with a pop mash-up of Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”/Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”, Racer Band attempts to showcase a variety of music, but usually “Uptown Funk” gets the best energy from the audience Baker said.

“We have a part where the pit is clapping and hyping the crowd up, and it always gets a huge response,” Baker said.

The focus of the day will

not be solely around the performance though, as many Racer Band members are excited to share a day with their peers. Cody Ball, sophomore from Mayfield, Kentucky, said the show will be the main priority, but a chance to connect with other members of Racer Band is also important.

“My friends that I have made through Racer Band are some of, if not, my closest friends that I have made in all of my life,” Ball said. “Imagine being in a group of people you feel like you have known for your whole life and then imagine all of those people coming together for one goal, that is Racer Band.”

With only a few performances left in the season the Racer Band can be seen during halftime at all of the remaining Murray State home football games and Saturday’s homecoming parade.

Ten players swung for the fences in the inaugural intramural home run derby on Monday.

Senior Steven Becker from Breese, Illinois won the event with nine home runs in two rounds.

Intramural supervisors decided to hold a derby after the regular season ended without any rainouts, resulting in a free day.

“We had an extra weekend and we thought we might as well do a derby and see what kind of interest we can gather, and we had a pretty good turnout,” Becker said.

The event lasted a little over an hour. Participants were responsible for providing their own pitcher and shagging balls in the outfield when not hitting. The rules for the derby were 20 pitches or 15 swings with the final ball being a “money ball” worth two points.

After one round the top two scorers would battle it out in a championship round with each participant starting back at zero.

First up was junior Adam Warren from Belleville, Illinois. His 15th swing resulted in his only home run of the night but counted for two.

Warren said the first pitches were really rough in the beginning, but he rebounded late and finally came through with a homerun on the money ball.

The next few contestants failed to hit one out but sophomore Reid Lucas from Park Hills, Missouri, broke the scoreless streak with three home runs, including the money ball.

Lucas said he got off to a slow start in the first round but finished with four home runs to earn a spot in the championship round.

A couple of batters later, sophomore Jonathan Rogers from Princeton, Kentucky, stepped up to the plate and hit four balls out and had two near misses that hit the top of the fence but stayed in the field. His score eliminated Warren from the final round and tied him with Lucas.

Becker batted last in the first round and showed his power while hitting a round high five home runs.

A second place tie meant there would be three batters in the final round, and leading

Chalice Keith/The News

Steven Becker, senior from Breese, Illinois, won the first home run derby. off was Lucas.

Lucas posted a score of three in the final round but said he should’ve done better.

“In the championship round I just choked, I honestly think I let it get to my head,” Lucas said.

Next to bat was Rogers, and he hit one home run with his 15 swings.

Rogers said he was a little more patient in the first round and waited for higher pitches that he could level out and hit line drives, but in the championship round he tried to lift the ball too much and only hit one home run.

“That second round was terrible,” Rogers said.

Becker batted last and with two swings left Becker hit his

fourth home run out of deep left field to earn the home run derby championship.

Becker started slow but said he needed background music to help him find his rhythm.

“Championship round I hit my first two or three on the ground and then I realized I didn’t have Shania Twain going so I went back to the dugout and got Shania going,” Becker said.

Senior Ray Hall from Jackson, Tennessee, pitched to the winning batter and said there was a strategy going into the final round.

“We knew exactly what the game plan was and we executed it and brought home the championship,” Hall said.

The winner got a shirt.

Intramural Softball Women’s

Men’s

Sorority

Fraternity

1. AGD A 2. AOII A Team

5-0 4-1

Residential College 1. Lizo A 2. Regents Crash

5-1 4-1

6-2

1. Lizo A 2.Franklin A

6-0 5-1

Independent A 4-0 3-1

Independent B 1. Regents Rhinos 2. ADPi B and BCM Bombers

7-1

Residential College

Independent A 1. Omega Mu 2. Sigma B Team

1. Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Sigma Phi 2. Sigma Pi

1. Tri Lam 2. Phi Mu Alpha

2-1 1-2

Independent B 3-1 2-2

1. Who’s on First 2.Master Batters, Steak Sauce and Good Wood

6-0 4-2

Co-Recreation 1. Lizo (A) 2. White Co Rec (B)

3-0 2-1

Results are as of Tuesday. Standings courtesy of IMLeagues.

The News

Sports

4B

October 9, 2015

Simmons earns second OVC Golfer of the Week Mallory Tucker Staff writer mtucker11@murraystate.edu

Senior golfer and co-captain Brock Simmons earned his second OVC Golfer of the Week honor in three weeks with a third place finish at the UT Martin Skyhawk Fall Classic at Paris Landing State Park in Buchanan, Tennessee, Oct. 5-6.

Announced Oct. 7 by the OVC league office, Simmons shares the honor with UT Martin’s Hunter Richardson.

The two golfers tied at the Fall Classic with total scores of 209 each. Simmons’ three rounds of 70-66-73 marked both his lowest round and lowest total of the year thus far.

“Brock’s worked extremely hard,” Head Coach Eddie Hunt said. “Two-time player of the week for the OVC says something about Brock’s efforts this year, because we’ve just

been in the season for about a month. I expect Brock to be in contention almost every time we have a tournament, and that’s what you like to see.”

Alabama State took home first place out of 11 teams, with UT Martin taking second, seven strokes behind with a team total of 853. The Racers totaled five strokes above the Skyhawks, with team rounds of 287-276-295 for a 858. Junior Matthew Zakutney, senior Duncan McCormick, senior Jared Gosser and senior Preston French joined Simmons in team play placing sixth, eighth, 11th and 28th, respectively. The rest of the roster competed in individual play, with freshman Gabe Wheeler tying for 14th place. Hunt was impressed with his team as they tied for the lead after the first two rounds, but disappointed by the result of day two.

“We really felt good about

ourselves and thought we had a really good chance of winning the tournament,” Hunt said. “We felt like, especially being tied for the lead, that we really had an opportunity to win the tournament. But for whatever reason we didn’t play really good the second day. I was really disappointed.

I thought that we’d be in a real battle for first place. We just got off to a bad start and never recovered.”

The Racers have three tournaments under their belt so far this fall, with a championship title at home and an 11th place finish at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Derek Dolenc Invitational in Madison, Illinois, Sept. 28-29. Looking ahead, they have a week off from tournament play before traveling to the Links at Novadell in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, for the Austin Peay State Intercollegiate Oct. 19-20. Hunt

is giving the team a few days off to rest – taking into consideration that Francis E. Miller Memorial Golf Course will be crowded during the weekend for Murray State Homecoming. The last tournament of the fall, Arkansas State’s Fall Beach Classic in Gulf Shores, Alabama, is a week after Austin Peay’s tourney and will cap off the season before they return to the course in February.

The players will emphasize their short game over the next two weeks before facing upwards of six conference teams at Austin Peay.

“We want to go up there and have a good showing toward the end of the year and see how we stack up with the rest of the league,” Hunt said. “It’s close to home, which makes it nice, and we’ll probably take six or seven players. Our main competition for the title will be there.”

Nicole Ely/The News

Matthew Zakutney takes a putt during the Murray State Invitational.

Women’s golf finish eighth in Bearcats Fall Classic Mallory Tucker Staff writer

mtucker11@murraystate.edu

Nicole Ely/The News

Sydney Trimble lines up her putt at the Murray State Invitational.

The women’s golf team finished fifth in a field of eight at the University of Cincinnati Bearcats Fall Classic at TPC River’s Bend Oct. 6 in Maineville, Ohio.

Sophomore Moa Folke’s rounds of 79-81-70 for a final score of 230 led the Racers with an 11th place finish and a career low last round at two-underpar. Senior Sophie Hillier was close behind, tying for 13th place with rounds of 79-75-79 for a score of 233. In addition to playing a great course and diverse, large-university competition, the women benefited largely from one factor of the trip: team bonding.

Five and a half hours in a van to Cincinnati provide plenty of time together for the women, but an element of fun was added during this special road trip. Staying in a hotel next to Kings Island, five of the golfers

Graduating in December 2015 or May 2016?

r e b o t Oc 30th

so that’s good,” Milkman said.

“You master the greens at that golf course, and you win the tournament. So that’s what we’re going to work on.”

Milkman says she expects a win from the team at Austin Peay, as they’ve won the tournament several times in the past. Last year, the Racers placed second of 10 in the tour-

“

on track for success as each player has shot their personal lowest rounds this fall, adding confidence to their game and a determination to give their best effort even to the last stroke. The Racers have had a busy week, with Homecoming, catching up on classwork, getting much needed rest and improving their game, but Milk-

You master the greens at a golf course and you win the tournament. So that’s what we’re going to work on.

-Women’s golf Head Coach, Velvet Milkman

ney with Folke leading the team in fourth place. Folke’s continued success this season comes as no shock to Milkman.

“Moa’s (Folke) a very good player,” Milkman said. “She’s playing really well, so it doesn’t surprise me at all. I do expect her to continue to shoot those numbers and help lead this team, even though she is a sophomore.”

As a whole, the team is

”

man is content with the season so far.

“That’s what makes a good team,” Milkman said. “They all have the confidence that they can shoot par or around par or under par. We definitely have work to do, but I’m pleased. I wish we would have finished a little better – we just had a bad first round – but they bounced back from that, so that’s the key.”

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took a short hiatus to have some fun at the theme park and connect off the golf course. Head Coach Velvet Milkman says this kind of bonding makes a huge difference on the course as well.

“It’s a good trip,” Milkman said. “That’s not a usual trip for us – we don’t get to do that all the time – but that’s one reason I do choose to play in that tournament. There are some extras, but mainly it’s because of the golf course.”

The Cincinnati trip was the second of four consecutive road trips for the Racers, the first of which was Sept 27-29 at the Jacksonville State’s Chris Banister Classic in Glencoe, Alabama.

Murray State placed fourth in a field of twelve at Jacksonville State and are excited to see more conference competition – and a familiar course – at Austin Peay State Intercollegiate Oct. 12-13 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

“We’re very familiar with Clarksville Country Club, which is where we’re going,

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October 9, 2015

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Features ­

Black

Gold

and

Alpha Phi Alpha prepares for annual pageant

File photos

Murray State women will compete in the annual Miss Black and Gold pageant at 7 p.m. Friday in Wrather Auditorium. The winner receives a $500 scholarship. Past winners include, from right to left, Katie MacAllister in 2012, Jharoneé Woods in 2011 and Morgan Pearson in 2013.

Breanna Sill Staff writer

bsill@murraystate.edu

Murray State’s oldest pageant, Miss Black and Gold, will be hosted Friday by the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha.

This year marks the 31st year that the brothers have hosted the pageant and this year’s theme is “Be Empowered,” which gives a nod to women’s empowerment.

“We chose this theme because we feel that it is important that women should be able to empower each other,” Justin Frazier, senior from Paducah, Kentucky and Alpha Phi Alpha president said. “Success is never reached alone and wisdom and wealth is sweeter shared.”

Fraizer also said the women in this pageant are judged on a deeper level than just

their appearance.

“It’s not just a beauty pageant,” he said.

“It’s a pageant that capitalizes on the full woman: scholastic achievement, elegance, poise, confidence and character appearance.”

Black and gold are the colors that represent the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. The Miss Black and Gold pageant was held in 1976 in New York City at the Alpha Phi Alpha’s annual convention.

This year’s retiring queen, Kimberly Jonesk, will hand down her crown to one of the eight contestants nominated this year.

This year’s eight contestants are Candace Alexander, sophomore from St. Louis, Missouri, Dominique Roach, Latoya Tyson, freshman from St. Louis, Missouri, Brooke Parsons, Jayla Holmes, Devoney Maborn, senior from Mounds City, Allia Earick,

sophomore from Murray and Emani Griffin, sophomore from Akron, Ohio.

There will be five categories that the girls will be judged on: • interview • business projection • swimwear • creative arts/talent and • the final walk and question.

Of the eight girls, there will be a queen, first runner-up, second runner-up, Miss Hospitality, Miss Congeniality and Most Talented.

Earick said the key to preparing for the pageant is practice.

“Practice, practice, practice,” she said.

“Outside of practice, I meet up with my coach to go over my talent portion and ask any questions that I have.”

The girl who is chosen as queen will re-

ceive a $500 scholarship and the opportunity to assist with activities for the community with the money raised through the pageant.

The winner of Miss Black and Gold is also able to go on to compete at a regional and national level, which is where Fraizer said Jones represented the Zeta Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Past Miss Black and Gold queens took time to come to one of the contestants’ rehearsals and give the girls some advice.

“Getting feedback from previous Miss Black and Gold winners was also great, as well,” Earick said. “They were generous enough to take time out of their day to come critique us.”

The Miss Black and Gold pageant will take place at 7 p.m. in Wrather Auditorium on Friday. Tickets cost $7 beforehand and $10 at the door.

Church tie-dye event Bard College broadcasts Snowden comes back to campus Breanna Sill || Staff writer bsill@murraystate.edu

Monika Staszczak Contributing writer

mstaszczak@murraystate.edu

Last Friday the Episcopal College Fellowship hosted a tie-dye event on campus.

A small group of Murray State students involved with the fellowship made an on-campus tie-dye station in front of the Carr Health Building. All interested could come, grab a shirt and make some art.

The Episcopal College Fellowship is a part of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Murray that operates on the Murray State campus.

This group offers a lot of on­c ampus, church-­r elated activities, like Sunday school, dinner and game nights, etc.

Tie-dyeing is a technique of dyeing fabrics, where someone folds the fabric and binds it with rubber bands and then applies the dye.

The goal is to make bright colors, swirly shapes and fun patterns.

According to Merlin Silk’s “The History of Tie-Dye,” tie-dye actually originates from ancient fabric dying techniques like traditional art from India, Japan and Africa, and it became popular in the United States around 1960s and 1970s through the hippie movement. Recently more and more common, the tie-dye trend is now coming back into favor.

The tie-dyeing event on the Murray State campus developed from a church camp tradition.

“We grew up at a church camp that does that every summer,” said Matthew Bradley, priest-­i n-charge and campus minister of the Episcopal College Fellowship. After coming to Murray, the group of church friends have decided to continue the tie dye tradition and share it with the rest of campus.

The youth group offered T­-shirts that anyone could come by and tie-dye for free, and then take it home

in a plastic bag, along with instructions on how to complete the process. Several students were helping the less-experienced and assisting everyone.

Even after the shirts were gone, everyone was welcome to continue dyeing with their own shirts.

While the whole event was free, the Episcopal College Fellowship accepted donations. Students could donate however much money they wanted. The money raised went toward paying for kids to go to the church camp with the St. John’s Episcopal Church for free.

Colorful tie-dye shirts and music attracted the students passing by.

A lemonade booth was organized by the Murray Environmental Student Society club right by the tie-dye station as well.

“Everyone was super helpful and I had a blast,” said Amanda Rakestraw, a freshman at Murray State who attended the event.

Of the general public, 68 percent do not believe privacy laws in the United States are good enough at protecting the rights of Internet users, according to asecurelife.com.

This is the main focus of the Hannah Arendt Center’s eighth annual fall conference, “Why Privacy Matters: What Do We Lose When We Lose Our Privacy?”, which will be livestreamed to University libraries from Bard College.

Edward Snowden, American privacy activist and former CIA employee who was forced to leave the country after leaking classified National Security Agency documents, will be a keynote speaker.

The conference will be streamed live by Murray State’s University Libraries. The Hannah Arendt Center is located on the campus of Bard College in Hudson, New York. Snowden will appear live from Russia where he sought asylum from the United States.

Following Snowden’s talk will be a presentation from Robert Litt, second General Counsel of the Office of the Director of Na-

tional Intelligence.

Litt recently spoke out at a panel discussion, “Whistleblowing and America’s Secrets: Ensuring a Viable Balance,” hosted by the Center for Advanced Governmental Studies of John Hopkins’ school of arts and sciences in Washington, against the sharing of personal information in a public setting after the New York Times published the names of three covert CIA officers in a story.

“It’s not only them that’s at risk,” Litt said in the discussion.

“It’s their families and their contacts when they served in covert capacities overseas who are now going to be put at risk.”

Philip Siblo-Landsman, library assistant of University Libraries, said it is important for people to attend the talk to find out more about how privacy breaches can affect them personally.

“We’re not always aware of everything that is going on when we are using our devices,” Siblo-Landsman said. “We are just so connected that there are issues of privacy. Different companies are able to track different kinds of data and they can use that data to gauge what they’re going to advertise to you

on your phone, when you’re on a particular website. Facebook does that especially.”

By attending the stream of this conference, he said, students can gain a knowledge of what exactly can be seen from them online.

Siblo-Landsman said another important factor of attending this conference is to hear opposing views on the collection of this data, for example from Snowden and Litt.

“One thing is you might be looking at geolocation of someone and that might be important to track a person and if that person says a key word like ‘bomb’ or ‘gun’ or something like that, well then, maybe we want people to have the NSA snooping on people because that might actually relate to a very important event,” he said.

The live stream of the conference will begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 15 and 16 in Waterfield Library Rooms 210 and 211. This location is subject to change due to demand of space.

Students who wish to attend the lectures are asked to sign up online through the University Libraries website. Students are also welcome to come and go as they please during those days.

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7:00 p.m.

Miss Black & Gold Pageant, Wrather Auditorium

11:00 a.m.

Tent City, Roy Stewart Stadium

10:30 a.m.

CHI Alpha 40th Anniversary Bash, Hope Harbor Church

10:00 a.m.

Banner Finance Training, Gatehouse

7:15 a.m.

Business @ Breakfast, Murray Room of CFSB Center

9:30 a.m.

Theatre Production: Anansi The Spider, Robert E. Johnson Theatre

7:30 p.m.

Air Force Band concert, Lovett Auditorium

The age of Internet stars Brianna Willis || Staff writer

could before coming,” Hall said.

One female student was called out

by Hall for posting a picture on Instagram when he told the audience to take notes..

“I have been taking notes on my phone!” she yelled back from the crowd.

It is not surprising then that stars such as Hall have gained popularity in this generation of technology users.

His engagement with students throughout the show and students’ participation in songs such as “Twerking in the Rain,” show that they aren’t just glued to their phones.

Students joined in to dance, sing and respond to his questions. Rather, the Internet and instant availability of entertainment has given rise to more specialized entertainers, and personal interactions with artists.

Hall discussed collaborating with other YouTube stars such as Pentatonix, an acapella group that covers hit songs as well as writing their own.

Hall and Pentatonix are incredibly different in terms of the videos they

bwillis2@murraystate.edu

When Todrick Hall – YouTube and MTV star – came to Murray State last week, cellphone glows lit up the room when the lights went down. Students taking selfies were spotted throughout the room before Hall came onto the stage. Hall has tapped into a generation who finds amusement in the instant.

“Living in 2015 is a cool experience,” Hall said. “You can pick up your phone and be an instant success.

You don’t have to wait for a Hollywood producer to knock on your door and make you a star.”

Hall touched on his rise to fame via the Internet in his show last week, something that resonated with students in the audience. When he mentioned YouTube success, the audience cheered. During his performance students recorded on Snapchat, took selfies with Hall, and even live tweeted their experiences.

“I tried to retweet as much as I

Chalice Keith/The News

Todrick Hall giving a backstage interview during his time here in Murray.

make, yet they were able to work together and collaborate.

By finding a special section to make a name for yourself, the Internet allows for the creativity and personality of each artist to shine, while fostering a communal atmosphere. Artists such as Hall utilize the Internet and social media to create a personal connection with fans.

Ashlyn Smith, student from Henderson Community College, drove two hours to see Hall. She recounted a story of how she bought a pink doughnut onesie at a local Walmart.

She tweeted a picture that ended up in Hall’s hands. He then posted the picture on his Instagram. Smith replied and got his address. She mailed her onesie to Hall who has now worn it, and gave her a shoutout out at the performance.

This illustrates the fast paced nature of the Internet, and how artists can now better connect with fans than ever before.

“I love how he never gives up,” Smith said. “He’s just incredible.”

Author hosts Bob Warren book signing Murray hospital to host breast cancer luncheon

Da’Sha Tuck

Staff writer

dtuck@murraystate.edu

One out of every eight women will develop breast cancer within their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). In 2015, ACS predicts 232,000 new cases of breast cancer will be discovered in women.

At 11:30 a.m. Oct. 14, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital will host a luncheon in the CFSB Center in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We are providing awareness for women of all ages,” said Melony Morgan, director of planning and mar-

Kelsey Grapperhaus Staff writer

kgrapperhaus@murraystate.edu

A book signing for Jhonda K. Johnston’s, “The Argument, A Conversation with Bob Warren,” will be hosted from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015 in the Hardin County Library.

‘The Argument,’ Johnston’s first book, is more than just a “Conversation with Bob Warren.” It’s a biographical story of a former pro basketball player turned Bible teacher that has a roundtable discussion with three college students over Reformed Theology.

The late Warren was a native of western Kentucky, and a founder of The Hill, a disciplining ministry located in Hardin, Kentucky. Warren first found his relationship with Christ when he was 27 years old and since then wrote numerous Bible commentaries and studies. Before Warren’s eight-year

keting for Murray-Calloway County Hospital.

Morgan said this event is sponsored by the hospital and is free to everyone.

The hospital is promoting a new campaign called “Because She Matters,” a campaign to encourage people to donate toward the purchase of the latest digital imaging technology.

Digital tomosynthesis allows for a three-dimensional image of the breast tissue using X-rays. A standard mammogram uses two X-rays and requires a more extensive process.

Breastcancer.org states, “mammograms are very good, but they have

professional basketball career, he earned a degree in electrical engineering while playing basketball for Vanderbilt University.

“The Argument” contains scripture responses to many questions posed by both Calvinists and Free Will adherents in their long-standing debate. The biography throughout “The Argument” is true, the discussion he had with his three college students actually did take place, and the truths shared were things he actually taught throughout his Bible studies.

Customer reviews from all over the globe rate “The Argument, A Conversation with Bob Warren” with five stars on Amazon, stating that there is a “truth in a clear and easy-to-understand manner” and adding that readers are able to “hear his voice coming clearly through the words.”

The book’s author, Johnston is also a western Kentucky native

some significant limitations.”

According to breastcancer.org, mammogram limitations include the compression of the breast during a mammogram, which is uncomfortable and can cause overlapping of the breast tissue.

Digital tomosynthesis is a new technology that eliminates these limitations. This technology uses an X-ray that takes multiple pictures at several different angles, providing a more accurate image of the breast tissue.

According to breastcancer.org, “The X-ray tube moves in an arc around the breast while 11 images are taken,

from Hardin, Kentucky.

Johnston had been editing for Warren since 2011 and in Feb. 2014, she pitched this book idea to him. After Warren’s approval and well wishes, Johnston began putting together “The Argument.”

By the time Warren passed away in Aug. 2014, time Johnston had acquired all of the information needed, but had only completed about a fifth of the entire book.

“I could write pages about the holes created in many more lives than mine for missing Bob, but I’ll leave that endeavor for another time,” Johnston said. “However, to say constructing the bulk of this manuscript without him was difficult would be a grave understatement.”

Lloyd Weatherly, a close friend of Johnston’s, said he hopes to have a good turnout for the book-signing event at the Hardin County Library in Elizabethtown,

during a seven second examination.”

The tomosynthesis technology has many advantages including earlier detection and accuracy in determining size and shape of abscess. It can detect multiple tumors and has a lower likelihood of false negatives.

During the luncheon, Robin Floyd of diagnostic radiology will speak on the importance of breast cancer awareness. Floyd will provide information on what this new technology will mean to the Department of Oncology.

Joan Travis, a breast cancer survivor from Marshall County, will speak at the luncheon and tell everyone

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about her life experience.

Those who wish to donate to the cause can do so at the event, and donations can also be made by texting “Matters” to 91999.

Reservations for the luncheon can be made by calling (270) 762-1381.

“This is a great opportunity for the community to make a difference locally. We need everyone’s support to make this a reality and what better time to kick off the efforts than October – National Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Keith Travis, vice president of development at Murray-Calloway County Hospital.

The

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Kentucky. Weatherly predicts that many local residents will be in attendance and is hoping for Murray State students to be involved too.

“I’m most excited for Jhonda and the impact of being published and realizing tangible results for her efforts through the audience.”

Weatherly said.

Weatherly said he realizes the time and effort that go into a book because he also self-published a book several years ago.

Weatherly is most interested in the understanding of Bob Warren’s explanations “through Biblical references of questions many of us have as we journey through life.”

The event will begin with a short reading by Johnston and a discussion with Johnston and The Hill representatives- Kim Warren, Brent Armstrong and Benjamin Warren- followed by a reception and book-signing by Ms. Johnston herself.

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Artist Lady Gaga to Star in American Horror Story’s Season Five American Horror Story’s fans’ anticipation came to an end as the FX horror anthology television series released its fifth season “Hotel” on Wednesday night.

The plot centers around the Hotel Cortez, a mausoleum with a notorious reputation in Los Angeles, owned by the Countess, who is played by pop singer Lady Gaga.

According to writer Ryan Murphy, fans can expect the show to be more modern and sexy but definitely just as scary, if not scarier, than the previous seasons.

Photo courtesy of AMC Movie Views

Emily Blunt as Agent Macer in Denis Villenueve’s ”dark poem” of an action film.

‘Sicario’ intensity leaves audience squirming Benicio Del Toro steals the show in a drug-based crime drama Adam Winn || Staff writer Nicki Minaj shuts down The New York Times interviewer Rapper Nicki Minaj, who is featured in this week’s “The New York Times Magazine,” lashed out at an interviewer after being asked if she thrives on drama.

On the subject of boyfriend Meek Mill and labelmate Drake’s feud, the interviewer wondered whether the “Anaconda” singer thrived on the kind of drama “worthy of an HBO series.”

However, Minaj pointed out that the question was “disrespectful” and called the interviewer “rude” and a “troublemaker” for seeming so misogynistic.

Soundbyte

“I want to show the side of me that’s real,” -Demi Lovato, regarding her spontaneous nude, make-upfree photoshoot with Vanity Fair.

awinn@murraystate.edu

The brutal yet satisfying film “Sicario” is a crime drama based around the mental and physical effects of the “war on drugs” on individuals and society as a whole.

The movie focuses on an FBI agent named Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) who is recruited to be part of a government task force responsible for eliminating the drug trafficking around the U.S.-Mexico border.

A mysterious man named Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) leads the task force and the even more mysterious agent Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) assists him in doing so.

Agent Macer goes into this new position not fully aware of what part she’s supposed to play and what her real involvement is in this secretive task force, but she soon realizes that not everything is how it appears.

The film delves deeper into its message of the murkiness between what’s right and wrong and what people are truly capable of when push comes to shove.

“Sicario” gives off an uneasy feeling. It makes the audience squirm with the brutal message that it wants its viewers to take away. The movie holds a tight grip on the viewer’s attention, not once feeling uninteresting or too drawn out.

One factor that adds to the film’s grim ambiance is the perfectly crafted soundtrack. Most scenes contain some kind of somber beat or sound added to make the audience more uncomfortable with every passing minute.

The film contains outstanding acting from the entire cast, especially by Blunt and Del Toro.

Blunt’s award-worthy performance as Macer is captivating. She portrays this character as a tough, calculated individual who also possesses a sad and lonely quality. Her character is clearly the smartest person in the male-dominated cast.

But she’s consistently left in the dark about what her overall objective is in this task force.

Even with Blunt’s spectacular lead performance, it was Benico Del Toro’s supporting character, Alejandro, who stole the show.

There is a methodical obscurity surrounding his performance, and he does this while still giving off this quiet, unnerving intensity throughout the film.

As the movie’s plot progresses, his motivations become clear for why he acts the way he does. The guy is definitely not someone anybody would want to be left alone with for any period of time.

Leaving the theater, the viewer will still be left contemplating the film’s

message and what it is exactly that they just watched.

Comparing this film and the recently released crime drama “Black Mass,” both films are great, but this film wins hands down in every way possible.

This is one of the year’s best movies so far and definitely not one that should be missed.

Want to read a review of a movie in theaters before you see it? Let us know! Send an email to our Features Editor, Connor Jaschen, at cjaschen@murraystate.edu.

I can’t have the best night of my life happen and not write about it in my column this week.

I’ve always heard Gisselle Hernandez of peoAssistant Features ple saying Editor there’s a moment in your life where you simultaneously feel completely at peace and bursting with energy that makes you want to just pause and stay in that moment forever.

On Monday night, Tyler Joseph’s voice made me understand what those people meant.

I have been a Twenty One Pilots fan for about three years now and, like any other fan, I have always dreamed of seeing Tyler Joseph, lead singer, and Joshua Dun, drummer, live.

When the Nashville tickets went on sale over the summer, I impulsively bought two without knowing how I was going to get there.

Eventually, I made sure I found a way.

I’ve met people who have been to more than 16 concerts, met the band members seven times and who have basically toured America, trailing their every move.

While that’s a nice yet seemingly far-fetched dream for a fan who is a broke college student, I think the first time is always the one you’ll remember the most.

The ground vibrating under your feet as you all rhythmically jump to “Holding On To You,” the chill in your bones when 2,362 voices sing in unison to “Goner” and, of course, the moment when you realize you are actually seeing them in the flesh are reasons that made the show memorable.

As someone who grew up in a Third World country, actually seeing the people who inspired you to stay alive with the strum of a ukulele or the beat of a drum seemed near impossible.

As if the show weren’t enough (is it ever?), I waited three hours with 25 other people on wet pavement to meet the men who have caused 2,362 kids to believe in themselves.

Although we waited in vain, life long friendships were made.

A bunch of young adults covered in body paint waiting seven hours ahead of time at the venue somehow still find the energy to stay back after the two-hour show and wait hours in some weird alley. They do all of this for a chance to meet a couple of dorky guys from Columbus, Ohio, which, to an outsider, may seem to be just a tad too much.

However, the 25 people, whose hearts soared when Tyler leapt into the crowd to sing “Car Radio,” said they would do it all over again.

Like me, it was the first concert ever for a lot of people, but I realized that there was a reason others kept coming back for the 17th time.

Tyler and Josh not only believed in all of us “broken people,” but we believed in them too. ghernandez1@murraystate.edu

Out this week

Read It

“See Me”

by Nicholas Sparks

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“Steve Jobs”

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“Fast & Furious 7”

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“Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection”

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