The Murray State News

The Murray State News November 13, 2015

TheNews.org

Vol. 90, No. 12

Switching track

Pros, cons of proposed tuition model

How one athlete had to choose between walking in her graduation and staying on the team.

Kelsey Randolph || Sports Editor krandolph3@murraystate.edu

Bailey Bohannan Staff writer

bbohannan@murraystate.edu

K

Kiara Austin, who has been a track and field athlete for half her life, is experiencing what it’s like to be a full-time student for the first time after choosing between remaining on the track team and attending her graduation in May. It started when Austin, a senior, realized the 2016 OVC Outdoor Championship fell on the same day as graduation. She approached her coach in August after making an official decision and said she would rather walk across the stage at graduation than compete.

Then in late October, Austin’s coaches gave her two options: walk in December or participate in a small ceremony after the championship. She cleaned out her locker.

She made the decision, partly because she will be the first person on both sides of her family to go through college. Graduation is more important to her than competing in a meet, she said.

“I told them if it came down to it I’d rather walk across the stage than compete in my last competition,”

and track program for the aid she receives,” Ward wrote. “After she was presented with several options, she returned a day or so later communicating her lack of desire to compete any further.”

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Jen

Austin said.

Austin has been a key contributor to the track team, competing in triple jump, long jump and hurdles. Austin holds the No. 2 spot in Murray State’s history for triple jump, which she set in the outdoor season last year. She placed fourth at both the OVC Outdoor and Indoor Championships in triple jumps in the 2012-13 season, fourth at the Indoor OVC Championships again in the 2013-14, second at the GVSU Big Meet in triple jump during the indoor season and won the event at the SIU Bill Cornell Spring Classic last season.

Austin said her problem underscores issues for both athletics and

Jenny Rohl/The News

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academics. Athletics did not c o m municate timely enough for Austin and they weren’t aware there was a concern for seniors who wanted to walk rather than compete in the final meet. For Austin, she said there was no knowledge of other outlets or resources for a solution.

“It’s hard to plan for all 12 schools in the OVC to avoid missing someone’s graduation,” said associate professor and Faculty Athletic Representative Dave Gesler. “Unfortunately we haven’t come up with a solution, but it is on our radar because it’s a shame they have to make a decision like this.”

The Murray State News scheduled an interview with Head Coach Jenny Swieton for Tuesday, but the morning of the interview Assistant Athletic Director Dave Winder canceled it and referred all questions to Director of Athletics Allen Ward.

Ward, who answered questions via email, wrote that he believed the athletic department handled the situation and there was no further problem.

“We made every effort to accommodate Kiara’s desire to participate in a commencement ceremony while at the same time allowing her to fulfill her obligations to the team

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FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT

About a month after graduating from high school in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Austin’s military family received orders to move to Germany. Throughout her entire college career, they’ve been on the other side of the world.

Finally in February, Austin received word they were moving back to the U.S. and would be stationed in Texas. They finally could watch her compete in a collegiate track and field competition and be there as she walked across the stage at graduation.

Austin approached her event coach, Rochelle Black, and told her that if the OVC Championship fell on her graduation that she would chose graduation over the competition. Austin said she was told, “We’ll talk about that when we get there.”

Again in August, Austin approached Black. When Austin didn’t hear any solutions from the athletics department, she thought of every possible solution she could.

She tried to plan to the minute if she could graduate and compete. It just wouldn’t work.

On Oct. 27 Swieton called Austin into a meeting with assistant coaches Adam Kiesler, Krysten Sebby and Black.

“I remember Coach Swieton telling me she had been hearing I didn’t want to run in the final competition,” Austin said. “I thought, ‘Man,

see TRACK, 2A

The new proposed tuition model, as outlined to the university community in a recent email sent on behalf of President Bob Davies, includes a new scholarship model and tuition that will charge a discounted rate based on residency for students taking above 12 to 15 credit hours.

The proposed model is similar to models adapted by other Kentucky universities.

After Murray State was advised by McGuire, an international enrollment consulting company, to switch to a percredit-hour tuition model, the university reviewed the model for other schools such as Northern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Kentucky State and Morehead State, said Jackie Dudley, the vice president of finance at Murray State.

Morehead State is one of the schools that used the proposed model. For five years, Morehead State had this model before switching to a “cap at 12” or full-time model in the fall of 2013. Morehead State switched to the full-time rate because the hourly tuition model had too many complications with the software, communication and students dropping classes said Beth Patrick, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administration at Morehead State.

“One of the primary reasons was due to the complications that we were having with financial aid and processing the billing for financial aid on the per-credit-hour model,” Patrick said.

Morehead State switched models in order to simplify tuition and financial aid.

“We simplified the billing for our students,” Patrick said. “We were having difficulties when students would drop or add a class just in the whole communications of it, and sometimes in the processes of it. For ex-

see TUITION, 2A

Men outnumber women in intramurals Abby Siegel

Contributing writer asiegel@murraystate.edu

Male and female intramural sport involvement at Murray State has continued to increase since 2011, according to the 2014-15 Murray State University Fact Book.

Between 2011 and 2015, the number of participants has increased by about 1,000 individuals. In 2011, there were 1,870 male participants and 1,187 female participants. For the 2014-15 academic year, 2,352 males participated and 1,707 females participated in intramural sports.

Of the total intramural sport participants, about 58 percent are male and 42 percent are female. Of the entire Murray State student and faculty population, 59 percent are female and 41 percent are male.

Andrew Jaynes, senior from Oswego, Illinois, said he thinks male and female participants are treated equally and neither is favored through intramural sports. He said it is a way every-

WHAT’S

INSIDE

Nicole Ely/The News

Hester Residential College plays against Alpha Gamma Delta A in an intramural football game in late October. one can enjoy playing sports.

Fewer total females are involved than males, despite the majority of the university’s student and faculty population being female. Steven Leitch, director of Campus Recreation, said other institutions’ intramural sports departments would

be envious of the women’s participation at Murray State.

Leitch credits the residential college systems and the effort of athletic directors for the promotion of and participation within intramurals as well as Greek life organizations.

“The sororities also deserve

a lot of credit for also fielding multiple teams per sport instead of being content with just one competitive team,” Leitch said.

Jessica Newton, junior from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, has been involved in intramural sports during her three years at

Murray State, especially basketball, because she played all through high school and said the sport brings her happiness. She also has participated in flag football.

Although Newton found intramural basketball to be enjoyable, not all female students are attracted to the sports offered like she is.

Bryanna Handley, sophomore from Louisville, Kentucky, signed up on imleagues. com to participate but found the timing of the games to conflict with her schedule and priorities, and wasn’t of great interest to her.

“I could be studying rather than playing football at nine o’clock at night,” she said.

Handley said since it is not a priority for her it would bring her more stress to be involved rather than act as a stress reliever. She said she relieves her stress by crying, crafting or talking to her friends – something she doesn’t think men are as likely to do for stress relief

see INTRAMURAL, 2A

WHAT’S ON THENEWS.ORG ALLIANCE

We went to Murray State Alliance’s Glamour Drag Show Thursday night. Check out photos and full coverage online at TheNews.org.

BASKETBALL

Follow @MSUSportsNews on Twitter for live game coverage.

CORRECTION On Friday, Oct. 30, The Murray State News printed an error in the article, “Annual LGBTQ+ conference comes to Murray.” The article states that the conference was held for the first time at Murray State. That is incorrect. It was also held at Murray State in 2003.

The News regrets the error.

BURRITO SHACK

GAMES DAY

OUR VIEW

RIFLE RANK

International Games Day to begin Saturday, 6A

Being a student-athlete or athlete-student, 4A

Murray State rifle team drops to The origins of the Burrito Shack’s “The Punisher”, 6B fourth in the nation, 1B

The News

2A

TUITION From Page 1 ample, we would have to adjust scholarship awards for full tuition scholarships students who would drop or add a class, that would change their scholarship to cover their whole tuition and it just got confusing and a little difficult.”

Patrick said there were pros and cons with that model as well as the full-time model.

Students including Erin O’Donnell from Louisville, Kentucky, Emily Hoard from Metropolis, Illinois, Larrin Moody from Madisonville, Kentucky and Lidia Powell form Murray, all freshmen, said enrollment or graduation declines could be a worry for Murray State in the future because of the model.

However, Dudley said that other universities have had a decrease in enrollment, but not due to the tuition model that charges students for credit hours above 12.

“In the analysis that we have

TRACK From Page 1 you guys know what I want.

This isn’t new.’ So I told them I had been strongly considering it.”

“The next thing she told me was, ‘Well, if that’s the case you can clean out your locker at the end of the day,’” Austin said.

Ward wrote that it isn’t unusual for the coach and the athlete to have those kind of meetings without anyone else present.

“As with all matters such as this, the sport supervisor and Athletic Director were involved,” Ward wrote. “I was out of town, but kept fully informed as to the discussion and alternatives being suggested.”

SIGNING AWAY HER ATHLETIC CAREER

Austin said she went to practice that day, and at the end of the day Swieton approached Austin one more time. Austin’s answer was still the same. Austin cleaned out her locker and went home.

The next day, Austin returned to Swieton’s office where she was presented with

been running we do not see [declining enrollment or graduation rates] happening,” she said.

There are advantages and disadvantages for every tuition and scholarship model, Patrick said. The full-time model benefits certain students, and the per-credit-hour model benefits others.

“There were pros and cons with [the per-credit-hour] model just as there are pros and cons of the full-time model, I liked it specifically because I believed it was a more fair model for part-time students,” Patrick said.

Dudley said she sees more pros than cons for this new model. The cons being students and faculty having to adjust to the new model, but the pros highly outweigh the cons.

“We want to be of value to students for what we offer,” Dudley said. “We offer quality education, but that is not necessarily correlated with being the cheapest institution, and that is really a big driver.

They’re trying to get our price to be more reflective of what we are providing.” two alternatives.

Swieton told Austin she could still participate in the OVC Championship, and the track team would put on a small ceremony the day after for all 13 graduating seniors. Austin said it wouldn’t be the same as walking across that stage.

The second alternative was to walk across the stage in the December graduation ceremony and still compete in the May 13-14 OVC Outdoor Championship.

Austin said that would’ve worked had that decision been made in August and not a month and a half away from the December graduation. But Austin’s family already had paid for plane tickets for her and her grandmother to fly to Texas for the month of December. She said it wasn’t financially feasible for her family to fly back on that short of notice.

“For me, at that point, it was all or nothing,” Austin said. “Graduation is such an important event in my family.

I just wanted to know why it took for me to say something before there was any alternative even given.”

Two days later, Austin went back to Swieton’s office with her event coach, and she said she

November 13, 2015 News Tuition model proposal outlined in an email to university Staff report An email sent Wednesday morning to student, fall 2016 tuition cap proposal faculty and staff on behalf Charge for each hour under full-time status of President Bob Davies outlined the official new proposed tuition model.

Under the proposed tuition model students s our taking more than 12 to 15 5h 1 credit hours per semester t 12 na o to finish i would pay additional tuit tui tion. The proposed model sed o p is designed to support the pro ap C “15 to Finish” campaign that began at Murray State in 2014. The CounCharge for each hour over 15 at a 50% discounted per hour rate cil for Post-Secondary Education initiated the “This supports the 15 to Finish initiative and retains the full time status of students at 12 hours. program.

A student pays the same in tuition and fees for taking 12 or up to 15 hours.”

The proposed model will be applicable only to new, incoming students Graphic by Alex Hilkey/The News beginning in Fall 2016. example, prospective in-state an “opportunity to align (the) Under the proposed turesidents would be charged tuition base with fellow Kenition model, future students $158.50 per hour. The rate will tucky Institutions,” according determined to take more than vary based on the residency to the email.

15 hours per semester, will of the student. This proposed With this new tuition model, have to pay a 50 percent distuition model is considered the web premium for online counted rate per hour. For

15

officially made one of the most stressful choices she ever had to make and signed a disassociation form, which dissolved her from the team and her scholarship.

ALTERNATIVE IDEAS

Austin said she wishes the athletics department would have entertained alternative options sooner in order for more seniors to have other options as well.

One of Austin’s ideas was that she could participate in the indoor season and forgo the outdoor season because they are two separate seasons.

“I asked about it, and whether Coach Swieton meant it this way or not, she told me athletics didn’t care as much about the indoor season,” Austin said.

Austin has notable accomplishments at both indoor and outdoor. She expressed the idea of redshirting and participating in just the indoor season but felt turned down.

“I am not privy to that discussion,” Ward wrote in an email.

“But I do know that Coach Swieton would not have slighted the indoor season. If Kiara didn’t have the desire to compete any further like she openly shared with us, I’m guessing that would include the indoor season as well.”

Rick Allen, co-founder of Informed Athlete and former NCAA Compliance Officer, said since Austin was aware of her options about disassociation then there was no policy violation. However, he said it has become a matter of an ethical dilemma.

Allen said he feels the decision to seemingly push Austin off the team puts the athletic department in an ethical dilemma of either keeping an athlete who consistently does well or to take the loss and move on.

“I can see it from two standpoints,” Allen said. “One being from a disappointed family and the other I see the coach, who is hired to make those decisions, make a decision as to what is best for the team.”

NCAA bylaws allow for four reasons in which a university can reduce or cut off athletic scholarships mid-year: • If the recipient renders himself or herself ineligible for intercollegiate competition; • They fraudulently misrepresent any information on an application, letter of intern or financial aid agreement; • If they engage in serious misconduct warranting substantial disciplinary penalty; or they

• Voluntarily (on his or her own initiative) withdraw from a sport at any time for a personal reason.

“I applaud her for beginning her talk with them way ahead of time,” Allen said. “But it could’ve been handled a lot better. It was not handled well at all.”

Gesler, Murray State’s faculty athletic representative, said he was unaware of the situation prior to an interview with The News on Tuesday.

Gesler’s job as faculty athletic representative is to be a liaison between athletics and academics. But Gesler said he is there to ensure the academic integrity of athletics and to ensure institutional control as well as the student-athlete well-being.

“Everyone has stories on both sides of the spectrum whether they chose to walk or compete and there have been cases where students have been allowed to miss a meet,” Gesler said. “The fact that she had to give up a scholarship, and me not knowing anything else on the matter, on the surface just sounds a little goofy.”

Austin said she was unaware of the other resources she had on campus, like Gesler, to help her in coming up with other solutions, which is something

she hopes improves among athletics as a whole.

INTRAMURAL

and soccer during his four years as an undergraduate. He has played for Lee Clark Residential College, been a coach for ADPi and played for independent teams.

“I use it as my enjoyment, my escape from school,” he said.

He said he believes men tend to enjoy competing physically more than women, resulting in greater male involvement. For Newton, this isn’t the case.

“I just love every sport,” she said. “I am competitive and I am comfortable with my skills.”

Physical activity has shown to provide health benefits for both “the head and the heart,” according to Harvard Health Publications. For the mind, it can counter depression and anxiety and reduce stress; for the body, exercise fights obesity, increases flexibility and strengthens the muscles in the heart.

“It can improve a student’s wellness in multiple dimensions,” Leitch said. “Being active in sports improves your physical wellness, working with teammates and building a camaraderie improves your social wellness and dealing with adversity and not always getting the outcome that you were expecting improves your emotional wellness.”

Eight new sports have been added to the intramural calendar this year, including swimming, bowling, ping pong and racquetball.

“We are always looking for ways to increase participation numbers,” Leitch said. “Not in response to any deficiencies in participation, but because we felt it would improve the opportunities for even more people to participate.”

Leitch said those who want to get involved should contact the intramural office or go to imleagues.com to get started.

From Page 1

Emily Harris/The News

INAUGURAL ADDRESS: President Bob Davies speaks to a crowd at Wrather Auditorium during his State of the University Address. To check out our coverage of Davies’ speech, visit TheNews.org.

12

classes will be eliminated and replaced with an online fee of $75 per credit hour or less.

In addition to the proposed tuition model change, the university is working to redesign the scholarship model.

Money generated by the proposed tuition model will be used to pay for essential services at the university and to fund a “new and more aggressive scholarship program designed to reward high-achieving students” and to reinvest in quality programs, according to the email.

Before the proposed tuition model can be enacted the Board of Regents will have to approve the proposed model to be sent to The Council for Post-Secondary Education for consideration. No action will be taken by either party until Spring 2016.

compared to playing sports.

“Sometimes you are kind of just thrown in and that adds stress,” said Vanessa Barrientos, junior from Boston.

“Rather than reducing my stress it could be embarrassing if I’m not comfortable playing the sport.”

Barrientos plays intramural soccer because she played in high school. She said she decided not to participate in other intramural sports because she wasn’t sure of the rules and didn’t want games and practices to interfere with her academics.

Ray Hecht, senior from Jackson, Missouri, said he plays intramural sports to “recharge his batteries.” He has played softball, football, basketball

LIFE AFTER TRACK

Austin said she believes she made the right decision because now she feels like a real student and not a student-athlete.

“I love it,” Austin said. “I feel like I’m a legit student because you just don’t realize how much time, effort, thoughts and emotions you put into your sport when you’re here … you put the student part on the side. It’s a different feeling but I’m OK with it.”

Austin said she doesn’t want this to happen to other seniors. Austin said for the next four years the OVC Outdoor Championship will be on graduation and she would like to see some change and preparation in coming years.

“I don’t have any ill feelings toward anybody over in athletics,” Austin said. “I still love the team – I’d even go to a track meet if I could – I would definitely support them. I just hate that it had to come to this for me.”

On Wednesday, Austin was leaving Wilson Hall when she passed a former teammate. The other athlete asked Austin how she was doing. Austin paused.

“Enjoying freedom,” she said.

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November 13, 2015 News Editor: Mari-Alice Jasper Assistant Editor: Jessica Bostick Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews

POLICE BEAT Nov. 5

6:51 a.m.

Racer Patrol advised Mur12:34 p.m.

Officers conducted ray State Police of an abandoned parking enforcement in the golf cart outside the Lowry Center. residential college and College Officers notified an citainforCourts were parking lots. and Three mation report was taken. tions were issued.

11:42 officer conducted 1:51 p.m p.m. An A person reported a being trafficstuck stopinatthe 121elevator North and in Coldwater citationOfwas BlackburnStreets.

ScienceABuilding. issued drivermanagement for failure to ficers to andthe facilities wear seatbelt. wereanotified andThe theypassenger were let was arrested on an outstanding off of the elevator.

3A

Accounting professors win research award Bailey Bohannan || Staff writer bbohannan@murraystate.edu

Honors graduate Jenifer Axtell and business professors Wayne Tervo and Murphy Smith collaborated and put together “The Advent of Accounting: A Historical Analysis.” This began as an Axtell’s thesis in 2014 and has now won the Distinguished Research Award 2015 at the Allied Academies Fall Conference this past October in Las Vegas.

A year before Axtell had to write her thesis is when she said she was originally inspired to write about the

history of accounting. The idea came while Axtell was sitting in a lecture from one of the professors that collaborated with her over a year later.

“I was actually inspired by a class with Dr. Smith a year before I began writing,” Axtell said. “He spoke on Luca Pacioli, the Father of Accounting, and it was the history of a subject I had studied since high school, but had never heard of before.”

Axtell said she never thought that her thesis might win an award.

“When I began working on it, I never dreamed that my thesis would do anything more than sit on my

bookshelf acting as a conversation topic,” Axtell said.

Axtell said she wanted to write this thesis because she wanted people to know about the history of accounting. She said she learned a lot of useful rules, but she never learned the “why” aspect of accounting because she didn’t learn the history.

“Accounting is very rules based,” Axtell said. “Students learn a massive amount of rules and exceptions, but not where they originated from. I always found it difficult to understand the rule without knowing the ‘why’ behind it. Accounting has an interest-

Nov. 6

12:35 a.m. A caller reported a warrant was taken Callofight to and Public Safety andtoEmerway County Jail. gency Management at White 8:20 a.m. A caller reported a resResidential College.

Officers idential collegeand flagamissing.

The were notified report was Housing taken. Office was notified.

11:22 A caller 5:33 p.m. p.m. The smellreported of mari- a motor accident juana vehicle was reported at with Whiteno injuries at White Residential ColResidential College.

Officers lege.

Officers were notifiedwere and anotified report and was a report taken.was taken.

Nov. 7

1:09 a.m. Officers conducted a traffic at Bradley’s Book- a 7:17 p.m. stop An officer conducted storestop on atChestnut Street.

A traffic the Business Building verbal lot. warning was given for parking A citation was issued disregarding sign. license. for driving on a stop suspended 4:41p.m. p.m. AA caller caller reported reported the a 8:51 smoking complaint at Springer smell of gas at Hart Residential ColResidential and lege.

Officers,College.

MurrayOfficers Fire Departthe building coordinator were ment, Central Heating and Cooling notified.

TheGas person was gone Plant, Murray and the State Fire upon arrival.

Marshall were notified. A report

Nov. 8

3:08 p.m. A caller reported a vehicle on the intramural field. Ofwas taken. ficersp.m. were A notified a traffic a 12:01 callerand reported stop wasoutlet conducted. sparking in theThe 300driver block medicalOfficers, emergency ofreported CollegeaCourts. the that hadFire not Department, been reportedCento Murray Public Safety. tral Heating and Officers Cooling conPlant ducted a check of Marshal persons and and the State Fire were Student A Affairs notified. reportwas wasnotified. taken. A medical was taken.

4:57 p.m.report The Murray Police De9:08 p.m.

A strong odor bug partment was notified of aofmedispray was reported at Richmond cal emergency at the Volleyball Residential College.

Officers, Courts.

Officers and Murray AmMurray Services State Environmental bulance were notified.

Safety & Health, the Murray The patient was transported and Department a Fire report was taken. and Murray Ambulance Services were no- a 3:46 a.m. Officers conducted tified.

The room was ventilated check of a person on North 12th

by Murray Fire Department.

Street.

The person was arrestedAn and information wasCounty taken. Jail transported toreport Calloway

Nov. 9

1:14 p.m. A medical emergency at alcohol Blackburn Science in Building for intoxication a public was reported.

Officers, place.

A report was taken. Murray Ambulance and reported Student 9:09 p.m. Service A caller notified.

The pa-at a Affairs smokewere detector activated tient was transported

by Murray Springer Residential College due to a Ambulance hair dryer. Officers Service. were notified and nop.m. threat fire was found.the An 4:20 A of caller reported information report was taken. smell of marijuana at White 4:42 p.m. A caller reported a theft Residential College.

Officers ofwere property from vehicle from notified anda an informaAlexander Hall.

Officers were notion report was taken.

Nov. 10

1:33 and a.m.a Areport callerwas reported a tified taken for smoke at Hart theft of alarm underactivation $500 by unlawful Residential College. Officers taking from a vehicle. and p.m.

Central & Cooling 6:12 A Heating caller reported the wereofnotified.

The alarm was smell marijuana at Hart.

Officers were notified an information caused by a and mechanical malreport was taken. function.

5:37 p.m. A medical emergency was reported at Wells Hall. Of2:47 p.m. caller Ambulance reported an ficers and AMurray unauthorized company selling Service were notified. The paproducts on campus at Winslow tient was transported by MurDining Hall. The caller was reray Ambulance.

Nov. 11

12:20 a.m. Public Safety was ferred to Student Affairs. notified of fire alarm activation 6:12 p.m. A caller reported the at Hester Residential smell of natural gas at theCollege.

Old Fine The alarm was due to Central a hair Arts Building. Officers, straightener.

An information Heating and Cooling Plant, Murray report was taken.Murray Gas and Fire department, 12:53 p.m. the State FireOfficers Marshallconducted were notia traffic onwas Kentucky fied and a stop report taken. Avenue. The driver received a written warning for disregarding a Motorists assists – 8 stop sign.

Racer escorts – 1 Arrests – 2 assists – 8 Motorist Escorts – 1 Mary Bradley, Arrests – 0Assistant News Editor,

Call of Fame 3:52 p.m. – An escaped sheep was reported by a caller at the Expo Center.

Officers and the farm manager were notified. The sheep was gone upon arrival.

Jessica Bostick, Assistant News compiles Police Beat withBeat materials Editor, compiles Police with provided

by Public Safetybyand Emermaterials provided Public gency Management.

Safety and Emergency Management. Not all dispatched calls are Not all dispatched calls are listed. used.

Enjoy Police Beat?

Check it out online every week at TheNews.org!

Photo contributed by Murray State Public Relations

Axtell, Tervo and Smith were given the Distinguished Research Award in October for their work on “The Advent of Accounting: A Historical Analysis.”

ing past that most people have never heard of.”

Now, over a year later, Axtell, Tervo and Smith are all still developing the paper in hopes to get it published in an academic journal, Smith said.

The path of this paper has been a long one, and Smith said it still has quite a far way to go before it gets published; with almost two years of work under their belts so far, he estimates another year at least having to be put into the development.

Both Smith and Axtell said this award has helped them stay motivated and focused to keep developing this paper in hopes of getting it published.

“The award is definitely encouraging,” Smith said. “This encourages us to keep working on it because it could potentially be published.”

However, Axtell said she finds a deeper importance in spreading the word about the history of accounting.

“I want people to read it, but only so they can see how interesting accounting can be,” Axtell said. “There are other subjects that we just learn rules without understanding the history behind it.”

Smith on the other hand, said he is hopeful for publishing, however he enjoys working with his students.

“I love being a professor at Murray State University, and I believe that we have some of the finest students in the world, and I always enjoy working with all our students,” Smith said.

Smith said this award encourages him and everyone working on developing this paper, but it should also inspire other students when working on their theses.

“It’s well worth the time and energy to do your very best work. It can have an impact on other scholars in your field,” Smith said.

Mentoring program created for African-American students Jessica Bostick || Assistant News Editor jbostick2@murraystate.edu

A mentoring program called “We are B.R.A.V.E.” has been developed by Jasmine Young, a Murray State graduate student with a degree in counseling from Louisville, Kentucky, for at-risk African-American youth in the Murray-Calloway County school district.

“Both School Counselors and Administration [at Murray Elementary School] have recognized a pattern that identifies African American students becoming less invested in the school culture,” Young said. “The faculty and staff suspect that the pattern has a direct correlation with the lack of diversity in the school and school administration, because there is no representation of the African American culture.”

B.R.A.V.E. is an acronym for Black, Respectful, Achieving, Victorious and Empowered. Members believe the program will help African-American students develop high academic standards while at the same time empowering them and building their confidence.

Young says she hopes that the program will act as an early intervention for African-American students by showing them examples of successful African-American college students and what they could one day become by allowing the students to spend time on Murray State’s campus.

The program will also encourage students to explore careers and set personal goals for themselves. Students in kindergarten through the third grade will be eligible to participate in the program.

“This program will build their self-esteem by giving students the opportunity to see other African-Americans who have plans to be doctors, teachers, engineers, social workers, etc. while getting them onto a college campus to show them where they could be in the years to come,” Young said.

The three goals of the B.R.A.V.E. program are to provide students with supportive relationships with their mentors, improve the participants’ academic performance and improve the students’

Photo courtesy of Murray State Public Relations

We Are B.R.A.V.E. pairs African-American Murray State students with local African-American elementary students. interpersonal skills.

“The idea of the program is to give them a positive outlook in life and self-worth; especially coming from a school where the African American students aren’t familiar seeing people that look like them,” Young said.

The Murray State students involved will provide support, guidance and friendship to the participants. Mentors will be paired with their mentees for at least a year at a time.

Since the program began in September, events have included a mentor/mentee reveal, parent orientation and a Halloween Festival. The next event

is the Harvest Festival on Sunday. At the Harvest Festival, students will make Thanksgiving cards to send to local nursing homes and discuss the importance of Thanksgiving.

“We Are B.R.A.V.E. will be expanding to Murray Middle school in January 2016. I eventually would like to implement the program to my home town, Louisville, Kentucky,” Young said. “My hope is to make We Are B.R.A.V.E a nationwide program.

African-American culture is underrepresented and tends to have a negative stigma.”

Anyone interested in being a mentor can contact Young at jyoung2@murraystate.edu.

Mary’s Bistro closes after five months Ashley Traylor Staff writer

atraylor@murraystate.edu

After five months of business in downtown Murray, Mary’s Bistro, formerly Mary’s Kitchen, closed its doors Nov. 1.

“There is no income,” said owner Mary Black. “I went broke. When you don’t have customers and you have to pay chefs and servers you go into a big fat hole. I could not maintain that hole.”

Black said she knew for weeks that she was going to close the restaurant.

For the last month and a half, she had her employees searching for jobs in hopes they would secure employment before the doors closed.

She said the overall overhead of the building was expensive and the restaurant was not receiving enough business to turn profit.

“The labor was just eating me up,” Black said. “The utilities were eating me up. The rent was large there. It required [the restaurant] to be busy and it just wasn’t busy.”

Mary’s Bistro originally opened in April 2009 as Mary’s Kitchen on the North side of Murray before moving downtown in June 2015.

“If I stayed on the north of end of town, I think we would have stayed in business,” she said. “I didn’t have a choice though. The landlord sold the building.”

A post announcing the closure on the restaurant’s Facebook page stated, “Customers, family, and friends, after 6 and a half years, Mary’s Bistro (formerly Mary’s Kitchen) has decided to close its doors. We appreciate all the business our loyal customers have shown us over the years and would like to thank you all for all of your love and support.”

Fans of Mary’s Bistro meals may be encouraged to hear the former manager of Mary’s Bistro, Candy Feagin, is considering opening a food truck. Black said she is giving Feagin the recipes so she will have access to everything the restaurant did, but she is not for sure if this is where the future of Mary’s Bistro is heading.

Nicole Ely/The News

After moving downtown earlier this year, Mary’s Bistro has closed its doors.

Black said if the Feagin opens a food truck, she hopes it will attract the college student community.

“If she opens a food truck, then I will help her,” Black said. “I love the

college students. I love them and always have. That is where my heart is. It is not with the restaurant. I only started the restaurant for the college students.”

4A

November 13, 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

Student-athlete or athlete-student?

Mari-Alice Jasper News Editor • 270-809-4468 mjasper1@murraystate.edu Allison Borthwick Opinion Editor • 270-809-5873 aborthwick@murraystate.edu 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 Kalli Bubb Photography Editor • 270-809-5878 kbubb@murraystate.edu

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

Kiara Austin recently walked into a meeting with her track and field coaches as a “student-athlete” and walked out just a student.

Despite the odds, Austin is a first-generation college student graduating in May. Approximately a third of undergraduate students are first-generation college students, according to a 2012 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. Of those students, only about 40 percent complete a degree in six years.

Instead of being rewarded for her hard work and determination to be one of the 40 percent, she ended up facing a tough decision: whether she would compete in the track and field OVC championships or walk across the stage at commencement.

Austin first approached her coaches with her desire to attend the commencement ceremony last May. She confirmed her de-

cision to walk across the stage in August. After a meeting with her coaches in late October, Austin signed disassociation papers, stripping her of her athlete and scholarship privileges.

A menial 2 percent of high school athletes are awarded athletic scholarships to compete in college, according to a 2014 NCAA study. Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of students have to borrow money to pay for college and graduate owing, on average, more than $25,000, according to The Hechinger Report.

In choosing the honor to walk at her graduation, Austin is sacrificing rare scholarship money and is potentially risking going into debt.

Allen Ward, Murray State director of athletics, said she was presented with “attractive alternatives.” How attractive could

Cameron Witte Chief Videographer cwitte@murraystate.edu

The News welcomes commentaries and letters to the editor. Letters should be 600 words or less.

Contributors should include phone numbers for verification. Please include hometown, classification and title or relationship to the university.

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

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

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

to be a student as well.

The fact that Austin felt compelled, whether or not athletics directly forced her, to choose the lesser of two evils is an injustice to both the system of higher education and to Austin’s self-worth.

Austin is ranked No. 2 in Murray State’s history in track and field jumps. Does her value at Murray State end there? Absolutely not.

Student-athletes are required to do well in school and obtain a certain GPA, so why the disconnect now? Why does the academic support and encouragement end because of an inconvenient scheduling conflict? Why is it an either-or choice and why are the consequences so severe?

If a student is passionate about and excels at both academics and athletics, they shouldn’t be forced – directly or indirectly – to choose between the two.

I Get to Write About Anything I Want?

“Master of None” masters seniors’ anxieties

Joe Hedges, Ryan Alessi Advisers • 270-809-3937 jhedges@murraystate.edu, ralessi@murraystate.edu

Write to us!

those other options have been if she chose to stop competing altogether for a chance to fully participate in the first college graduation ceremony in her family?

Austin is a proud student with a lot going for her, but also a lot going against her – Murray State athletics should not have become the latter.

What is the proper order? Student-athlete or athlete-student?

Sixty percent of college athletes consider themselves “more as athletes than students,” according to an NCAA study. Austin is not alone.

A trophy should not outweigh a degree.

Yes, Austin signed a contract with Murray State athletics which outlined their expectations and requirements. That contract, however, should not mean she signed away her right

Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None” premiered on Netflix Nov. 6th, so naturally I spent my weekend watching and live tweeting it.

I loved it and I still can’t stop talking about it.

Ansari isn’t just an observational comedian, he’s Taylor Grace Suiter plain observant, and it shows in Senior from the series’ abilBrentwood, Tennessee ity to flit from topics as trivial as Treezam (Shazam for trees) to quarter-life crises.

I was as unprepared for the poignant punch the final episode delivers as I was for the fresh and unexpected dialogue that fills the beginning episodes. (What does “Honky Tonk” mean, anyway? Why do we all know about citizen’s arrests but never see them happen?)

With Dev (the protagonist), Ansari delves into a richer and more fully developed role than the cashmere-loving-Treat-Yo-Self-Day Tom Haverford that made him famous on “Parks and Recreation,” but he maintains the

endearing charm that he’s just as well known for.

In “Master of None,” Ansari proves that he’s more than a bit character in the series.

He co-created, directed and co-produced the Netflix original series alongside a host of other talents like Eric Wareheim of Adult Swim’s “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” and Alan Yang, who also writes for “Parks and Recreation.”

Each episode could stand alone as a kind of mini-movie, each with a strong direction and message, a quality made even stronger by each episode’s 70s style “‘Master of None’ presents … ” opening credits. The fourth episode, “Indians on TV,” stands out especially for its nuanced and frank tackling of racism in the media. Ansari’s work really shines when watched in back-to-back sequence, though.

He’s writing binge-watch-worthy TV with substance that demands its viewers to think about

“

Have your freak out now!

Follow the wild hairs now!

”

topics like racism, sexism and the media.

I especially liked how “Master of None” balances the serious with the silly without discounting the importance of the social commentary each episode aims to make.

There are moments of anger, fear and hard decision making in the show that viewers aren’t familiar seeing the seemingly always cheesin’ Ansari perform. The final episode even takes on Sylvia Plath’s “Bell Jar,” utilizing her analogy of life’s potential offerings being like a fig tree that will leave you starving if you don’t hurry up and pick one.

The fear of finality, a theme that runs in the undercurrents of the entire series and culminates with “Finale,” may resonate especially with students. Finalizing a major, accepting a job offer and (at least in Murray) nailing shoes on a tree are choices that aren’t easily taken back. Saying “Yes” to one opportunity often means sealing off the entrance to another, and that’s a harsh reality that students and Ansari’s character are forced to come to terms with in one way or another.

The difference between Dev’s existential crisis and students’ graduation anxieties is that Dev is 32 and most students aren’t. As one of my friends put it, “The unspoken truth about ‘Master of None’ is that they both feel like they wasted their twenties kind of going nowhere.”

Watching “Finale” as a senior felt like witnessing a cautionary tale, a warning: “Have your freak out now! Follow the wild hairs now!”

As “Mornings” reminds viewers, you’ll never be 100 percent sure of anything, after all.

The News

Opinion

November 13, 2015

5A

Letter to the Editor

One of the best things about Murray State is its affordable education.

Thus, when students learned that there would be tuition changes, some became upset. I want the student body to know that I am here to be your voice. I want to address the proposed tuition model that has been the topic of such strong criticism. I respectfully submit this note to all students who are worried about their future at Murray State and I offer my help as we move forward.

If you are worried about the proposed tuition model, you are not alone. If you are worried about how the proposed tuition model will affect future Racers, you are not alone.

Since the first proposal was made to the Board of Regents, I have taken great care to educate myself on the matter. I have also taken great care to be available to students who want to express their concerns to me. It is important to know that the model is not complete yet. From the very first proposal that was presented at the Board of Regent’s meeting to the most recent meeting I had with members of the administration, there have been multiple updates and changes.

I assure you, though, I have represented your voice and will continue to represent your voice every step of the way.

First and foremost, I think it needs to be stated, the new tuition model will only be for incoming freshmen and those after. However, I don’t think we should take satisfaction in knowing we won’t be affected by the change. We should and I will, continue to work with the administration to keep a student voice heard in the process and think of those who come after us. I cannot promise that you will love the final model and I cannot promise that your tuition will not go up. What I can promise is that I will work hard to ensure that your voice is heard.

At every meeting I have had concerning the tuition model, I have expressed student interests. My office door, my inbox and my voicemail have been open for all thoughts and ideas – and will continue to be. I want you to express your thoughts. Like the old saying goes, “It takes two to tango.” I need you to be proactive. I need you to listen and learn the issue, as the proposal is presented.

I Have a Lot of Feelings

I meet with students daily to discuss concerns they have about this university. Likewise, I work hard to take those concerns and find meaningful solutions to them. It is ever so important to not only have an SGA President/Student Regent that is willing to listen, but he/she should be willing to act. I have and will continue to work hand in hand with all students that have concerns about tuition or other matters concerning our university. If you want to express your concerns to me I urge you to email me at msu.sgapresident@murraystate.edu, call me at 270-809-6883, or visit me in the office located in the Center for Student Involvement on the first floor of the Curris Center. I look forward to helping you and our peers in this and future endeavors.

Go Racers!

Class Registration: A Horror Story

We still want to hear from you.

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

Clint Combs

Senior Student Government Association President and Student Regent

Rational Animal

Confronting our past This semester I have been teaching Murray State students in Regensburg, Germany.

As part of the program, we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial.

Dachau was used to imprison political, social and ethic enemies of the Nazi government.

Like many John Muenzberg such camps, the Lecturer of philosophy prisoners were slaves, forced to work to supply the German Army with goods.

They were also worked as a means of torture and endlessly threatened with beatings and murder.

After the visit the students were somber, reflective and a bit overwhelmed.

It is difficult to understand why a political organization would turn to such inhumane methods to maintain power. It is difficult to understand how people would participate in such horrors.

It is also an important question to ask how the details of such barbarism were retained and displayed.

The German government maintains numerous museums about the inhumane actions of Nazi Germany. The stated goal is to “document” and “confront” that period in German history. The Dachau Memorial is an admission by German society that this occurred and anyone could come and see what they had done. It is a public repentance, a social shaming for collective past deeds and a way to learn from the events.

Recently there have been more calls for removing U.S. Confederate flags and other symbols of the Confederacy from public life. Some reject these calls by arguing that this is an attempt to hide the past.

Given the example of modern Germany, moving these to a museum is exactly the way to confront the past, not to hide from it. Placing statues of confederate soldiers in the public square is a demonstration of public support for what the symbols stand for. Having a statue of Jefferson Davis in the Kentucky Capital demonstrates support for Davis by our state government.

On the other hand, detailing the inhumane and barbaric treatment that American slaves received from their owners would help modern Americans to confront their past. Demonstrating the economic windfall of slavery would force us to confront our greed. Listing the Christian

churches that supported slavery could bring about a reflection on our faith. Chronicling the laws that legalized segregation and subjugation after the Civil War would remind us that racism continues. There are few calls by defenders of Confederate symbols for public money to “document” and “confront” this period of our past.

More typically they attempt to explain away the inhumanity, the horrors and the barbarism.

Naming places and displaying statues is a public act to convey honor and demonstrates what a society values. Germany has noted what it values by removing Nazi honors from the public spaces and placing them in museums. Doing so does not erase their past, but rather enables them to confront it.

The names given to military bases and schools are an honor that we should bestow on those Americans that we admire. Those that fought to perpetuate an inhumane system should not be given such honors. If we want to keep our own barbaric past in public view we can do it through our own museums, plantation memorials and document centers. Yet even 150 years after the end of the Civil War, few of these exist.

After World War II, Germany banned the display of the swastika except in specific uses, such as museums. So what symbol do German neo-Nazis use when they rally against immigrants and minorities? Just like the KKK before them, they use the U.S. Confederate Flag.

Jeers to ... MyGate.

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to ... The Drag Show.

The Drag Show was Thursday and it was just as awesome as ever. Drag kings and queens danced their butts off and gave the crowd a show to remember.

Attendees lined up to hand/ strategically place money to/on the performers, raising lots of money for Alliance.

We don’t ask much of you, MyGate. We need you sparingly to check our Flex accounts, look at our e-bills, check transcripts, etc. The one time we NEED you to come through is once a semester for class registration. And what do you do every single time? Crash.

Cheers and Jeers is written by the Opinion Editor.

Jeers to ... Friday the 13th.

Cheers to ... John Mulaney.

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

Comic

Don’t you rain on our parade, sir.

We already had our spooky scary Halloween fun. Now we just want to focus on getting through the rest of the semester relatively unscathed. We’ve all had our fair share of bad luck already. Give it a rest.

If you haven’t heard of this incredible comedian before, look up his new comedy special, “The Comeback Kid,“ on Netflix. It aired Friday and will surely make you laugh until you cry. While you’re at it, watch his first special, “New In Town,“ as well. You won’t regret it.

It was a brisk day in April. Not a high school senior and not yet a college freshmen, 18-yearold Allison Borthwick scampered into a computer lab in the Arthur J. Allison Borthwick Bauernfeind College of Opinion Editor Business to register for her very first semester of classes at Murray State.

It was Summer Orientation and anything was possible.

I’m going to stop talking in third person now because it’s making me nauseous. I’m also going to stop writing this column like it’s a fairytale, because class registration is ANYTHING but; it’s a full-blown nightmare.

I’m typically a pretty oblivious person – not much has changed in three years. Put me, a deer in college’s headlights, in a new place, hand me a piece of paper with letters and numbers on it and tell me those are the classes I need to take? I’ll believe anything you say, esteemed college professor I just met. Point me to the nearest computer and I’ll register for these scary classes – no problem.

Problem. Nobody told me to be checking my Murray State email before said classes started in August.

I didn’t even know what RacerMail was. So, when the Bursar’s Office kept sending me emails about my “unpaid bill” and its consequences, I remained blissfully unaware of the horror to come. Turns out, my mom was convinced she paid the bill, but forgot to click some obscure button on the online payment page.

Turns out, if you don’t pay your bill, Murray State purges your class schedule – a week before freshman move-in day.

I was still young and spry back then, so the news that I had to re-register for a bunch of classes I knew nothing about and which were mostly full by that point didn’t send me into cardiac arrest. However, every class registration since then I have had 911 on speed dial and a Life Alert bracelet strapped to my shaking wrist.

Because class registration week is where hope goes to die.

Who’s going to crash first – me or MyGate? Hint: it’s MyGate. It’s always MyGate. I don’t get the pleasure of crashing because every poor soul with a last name starting with A-L is trying to log in to MyGate at the same time because our graduation requirements aren’t going to fulfill themselves.

MyGate? More like MyHate, am I right?

But good news: after franticly reloading the page for 30 minutes, you finally get to successfully register for all the classes you and your adviser carefully selected!

Just kidding.

Need to take this one class that’s only offered in the spring semester?

TOO BAD – it’s full and you’ll never be able to take it ever again … ever.

This class looks like a fun elective and it’s on a topic you’re genuinely interested in? SUCKS TO BE YOU – you don’t have the seven (unnecessary) prerequisites for it. Ooh – here’s a class you need and it isn’t full yet!

You’re OK with a seven-hour biology lecture on Saturdays, right? That’s a rhetorical question because LOL you don’t have a choice.

If you looked up “class registration” in a thesaurus, “gladiatorial combat” would be the first suggestion.

I just registered for my last semester of college classes and, needless to say, I couldn’t be happier. aborthwick@murraystate.edu

YouTube is a black hole

By Jade Simpson

The News

News

6A

November 13, 2015

Asian lady beetles seek warmth on campus during migration McKenna Dosier Contributing writer mdosier@murraystate.edu

The recent warm and sunny weather has brought the Asian lady beetles, commonly mistaken for ladybugs, out of hiding and onto campus.

The Asian lady beetle, Harmonia Axyridis, was released in 1979 and 1981 by the United States Department of Agriculture in several states, including Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Washington.

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment believes the beetles are in Kentucky due to their migration north.

“I woke up with about 15 crawling up my leg the other night,” said Mat Seifert, sophomore from Mount Vernon, Indiana. “I’ve heard of ants in your pants, but not ladybugs.”

Although released several years earlier, the first overwintering beetles weren’t recorded until 1993, according to Pennsylvania State Department of Agricultural Services.

The beetles were released to help control the aphid and scale insect population. Both are seriously damaging to crops.

Aphids cause distortion to the plants growth or stunt the growth completely. They can also transmit diseases from plant to plant, easily infecting a whole field.

Scale insects are hard and shell-like. The insects build up together and cause the plant to stop growing and die. These insects affect vine growing crops such as squash, cucumbers, pumpkins and melons.

The aphids also affect more popular crops such as soybeans and potatoes.

The Asian lady beetle varies from yellow to red in color and can have anywhere from zero to 19 black spots. It can also be distinguished from a ladybug by the white M shape in the

center of its head.

The beetle’s most distinctive difference from the average ladybug is that it can bite as well as stink, and secretes a yellow liquid when killed or threatened. The yellow fluid is isopropyl methoxy pyrazine, a chemical known for its odor.

While they can and do bite, the bites are not venomous.

Some cases of allergic reactions have been reported, according to About Health. Symptoms of an allergic reaction are redness, swelling and watering of the eyes.

Since their release, the beetles have become a nuisance.

They can wiggle their way through almost any crack or crevice sneaking into your house or residential college.

They are seeking warmth and a place to live out the winter, which is why they appear on sunny, warm autumn days.

This is also why they can be found clustered around lights or on dark surfaces.

In 2005, the beetles became so bad that according to the New York Times, a western Kentucky hospital reported having to postpone operations due to finding these beetles in sterile operating rooms.

ShiAnne Wilson, freshman from Independence, Kentucky, said she noticed the beetles at Blackburn Science Building.

“There was about 60 or more of them flying around,” she said.

“There are literally thousands of them everywhere,” Keri Mogan, an on-campus resident, said.

The insects will be gone with the first frost but until then there is very little you can do to get rid of them, according to Whole Lifestyle Nutrition.

The only precautionary measure is to seal all windows and doors as well as you can, leaving no cracks or spaces for the insects to enter.

The beetles are helpful predators, so the use of insecticides

McKenna Dosier/The News

This time of year Asian lady beetles can be found in every nook and cranny of campus seeking warmth from the environment. Asian lady beetles are commonly mistaken for ladybugs because of their polka-dotted shells. Students are encouraged to use lemon and citrus scented oils and cleaners to help deter the beetles from entering their rooms.

I woke up with about 15 (bugs) crawling up my leg the other night. I’ve heard of ants in your pants, but not lady bugs.

- Mat Seifert, sophomore from Mount Vernon, Indiana. against them is highly discouraged. Whole Lifestyle Nutrition recommended planting mums, using citrus scented oils and sprays on places where the beetles can get in, and putting bay leaves around doors and windows.

Alexis Ash, resident of Hart

Residential College, said she sprayed lemon scented Febreze on her walls and the beetles haven’t been back.

If all else fails, do not squish the beetles. Gently sweep or vacuum them up and release them outside.

Bye, Bye, Insects •Seal all windows and doors •Plant mums •Use citrus scented oils and sprays •Put bay leaves near windows and doors

Second Chance Dog Rescue Giving homeless pets in Murray hope Courtney Scoby || Staff writer cscoby@murraystate.edu

Graphic Contributed by International Games Day

More than 2,000 libraries are participating in International Games Day this year.

Waterfield library invites students to play games Dylan Doyle Contributing writer ddoyle@murraystate.edu

Students can come together and connect through a shared interest in gaming as Waterfield Library joins more than 2,000 libraries around the world in hosting International Games Day tomorrow from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

“We hope students can stop by to decompress and play games before finals,” Becky Richardson, cochair of the International Games Day Initiative, said.

The International Games Day Initiative is an arm of the American Library Association. Richardson also serves as Research and Instruction Librarian at Murray State.

Murray State’s IGD event was met with a disappointing turnout in 2014, which Richardson attributes to misconceptions about the nature of the event.

“This is open to any-

body and everybody,” she said and invited all “gamers” to attend. Richardson said the librarians define a gamer as anyone who likes to play a game.

Richardson said the event is not aimed specif-

sors and is inclusive of all type of games, including classic board games like Clue, card games like the popular Pathfinder, acting games like Reverse Charades and video games. Participants can

ically at international students, but at the student body and broader Murray community. The “international” component of the title is a reference to the global reach of the program, not its intended demographic.

International Games Day will feature games donated from various spon-

also bring their own personal games to play with others.

The program has been taking place around the world since 2007, and includes events on all seven continents, as well as on the International Space Station.

“This year we have more than 2,000 libraries

registered worldwide,” she said.

The program takes place in all flavors of libraries, including public, academic, and K-12 educational libraries.

International Games Day also facilitates worldwide games like “Global Gossip,” a game which involves passing a message originating in Australia across every continent until it returns to Australia.

“It’s like a game of Telephone, played from library to library,” said Richardson.

Allen Neese, sophomore from Dover, Tennessee, said he pictured the event as a “fun way to connect with people.”

“I think games give you a break from thinking,” Neese said. “You can take out your anger or your stress.”

Waterfield also has plans to hold a monthly session of the program if students show interest, Richardson said.

Second Chance Dog Rescue, an animal rescue organization established in the spring of this year, seeks to strengthen the community of individuals and organizations fighting for animal welfare in Calloway County.

“We are not here to take away from any other organization,” said Steven Reed, secretary of Second Chance Dog Rescue. “We are here to assist.”

Second Chance Dog Rescue works with other animal welfare organizations in Calloway County, but is uniquely positioned to help the cause in different ways.

“The Humane Society does a great job of shipping a lot of puppies and small dogs out of the area, which is wonderful because it saves their lives,” Reed said. “But people are going out of town to get their dogs when there are dogs right here.”

For this reason, Second Chance focuses on fostering local homeless animals until they can find loving homes.

“We have actually fostered some dogs from local area shelters, and primarily it has been dogs that have perhaps medical needs that the Humane Society or the animal shelter doesn’t necessarily have the funds to take care of those animals,” he said. “So we get them spayed and neutered, all the vet care that they need, get them used to being in a good [foster] home and then get them adopted out.”

Although Second Chance’s title specifies the organization as a dog rescue organization, Second Chance does take in all kinds of animals.

“We are called Dog Rescue, but we do rescue cats, kittens and things like that,” said Carrla Stokes, treasurer of Second Chance Dog Rescue.

The organization has taken in such uncharacteristic pets as a goat and a turtle.

Second Chance, although primarily a rescue organization, has other goals for the future as well.

“We would like to raise awareness of shelter animals and of spaying and neutering – that’s ultimately how you end dog overpopulating, is good spay and neuter programs,” Reed said. “Personally though, my first love will always be rescuing puppy mill dogs.”

However, the board members recognize the limitations of Second Chance as a relatively new organization.

“We’re still in our first year, we

don’t have a facility, we just have foster homes,” Reed said. “If someone called today and said, ‘I have 20 dogs,’ there wouldn’t be anything that we could do.”

At the same time, Second Chance aims to rescue and re-home as many animals as possible within their means.

“We have learned the biggest problem for rescues is they go and they rescue all these sick dogs and they get their medical care and they can’t pay their vet bills, and so they go defunct because they go financially bankrupt,” Reed said. “We’re trying to be responsible and to have slow growth each month.”

This can be extremely difficult for a rescue organization, especially a new one.

“Our average cost has been around $300-$350 per dog,” Reed said. “Our adoption fees, depending on the dog, are anywhere from $100-$250, so you lose money on every single dog that you place, but we’re not in this to make money anyway.”

Second Chance is committed to picking the right family for each animal they rescue as well.

“We check vet references, we check personal references, we typically do a home visit,” Reed said. “If the family has other pets, we want to make sure that the dog or the cat gets along with other animals in the family.”

Fortunately, the community has been very welcoming to Second Chance.

“All of the vets in Murray have been very receptive to us and helped greatly, and groomers too,” Stokes said.

Although Second Chance is still in its beginning stages, it is looking forward to a bright future.

“We would love to have our own facility at some point, as funds and things allow,” Reed said.

“I would love to eventually be able to go to the grade schools and educate the children on the importance of spaying and neutering, because that’s the key to the overpopulation,” Stokes said.

In the meantime, the organization is “in desperate need of fosters.”

“We’ve been lucky so far that every time we’ve had a dog come in, we’ve found a foster, but three of our fosters have foster-failed and are keeping the dogs that they fostered, which is wonderful, but then there went three of our foster homes,” Reed said.

Second Chance Dog Rescue can be contacted at 270-293-3012, through their Facebook page or at asecondchancedogrescue.org.

November 13, 2015

Section B

The News

Sports

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

Winning the OVC Racer soccer take home first OVC Tournament title since 2009 Mark McFarland

Assistant Sports Editor mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

Jenny Rohl/The News

The Racers celebrate their OVC Tournament win over Southeast Missouri State Nov 8.

The Racers will head to the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history as they beat Southeast Missouri State 1-0 in overtime during the OVC Tournament championship.

The Racers are entering the NCAA tournament with an overall record of 16-4.

This is the second time that the Racers have been to the NCAA tournament since they lost to Virginia Tech 2-0 in 2009.

Murray State’s off conference schedule included two teams from the SEC. The Racers lost just one home game this season against St. Louis University. The team also lost three games on the road.

Murray State earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament from the OVC conference after winning the regular season and tournament championship.

The Racers will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to play their third SEC opponent of the season.

Ole Miss finished its season with a 13-5-2 record as it lost to Vanderbilt 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss shared two common opponents with the Racers this year in Austin Peay and Little Rock. Ole Miss and the Racers both beat Austin Peay, while Ole Miss beat Little Rock 1-0 in overtime, but Murray State fell 2-1 in regulation.

Senior Racheal Foxley, from Bolton, England, said she’s excited for the challenge of another high quality opponent.

“I think we kind of know how SEC teams prepare before games, obviously it’s a

Overtime win for Racers, Volleyball clinches last home game against EKU regular season title

Mallory Tucker

Staff writer

mtucker11@murraystate.edu

Coming off a 46-43 overtime win against Tennessee State, the Racer football team hopes to build off their momentum heading into their final home game of the season Saturday versus Eastern Kentucky.

“You’re hoping that all your bigtime playmakers make bigtime plays in big-time g a m e s for us,” Stewart said Head C o a c h Mitch Stewart. “It’ll be a home game, so that’ll be nice. You’re hoping that all the guys that you’re counting on and step up just like they did last week.

We’ve got to build on that.”

Last week, junior running back Roman Clay was one

WHAT’S

INSIDE

of those big-time playmakers with a two-yard rushing touchdown to win the game and 134 total yards. Junior receiver Jesse Blackburn made big-time plays as well, totaling 162 yards and two touchdowns. At 6 feet 3 inches and 240 pounds, Blackburn took full advantage of his unusual size for his position, and observers took notice.

“I heard most of the commentators talking during the game – what a big body I am,” Blackburn said. “I try to use that as much as I can. I’m out there on guys that are just a little bit smaller than I am, so being as wide as I am, I try to use my body a lot. I’m not a very great route runner – I can run good routes, but I try to just use my body as much as I can.”

Size and strength like Blackburn’s are offensive tools the Racers’ upcoming opponent are usually known for, but Stewart views the Colonels differently this year.

“They’ve normally been

big sets, ground and pound, and they may,” Stewart said.

“They may come out and try to pound our fannies, I don’t know. Now they’ve got that quarterback – the transfer from Cincinnati, I’m not good with names – Coney, he can throw it all over the yard.

They’ve got a lot of run-pass options that they do with him, which makes it very tough to defend.”

Coney has 2,000 passing yards on the season and a passing efficiency of 139.7 running an offense Stewart sees as familiar to his own. With a more up-tempo, spread style than they’ve run in past years, EKU is taking full advantage of their second-year quarterback. Senior defensive end Zach Dean, who was named OVC Specialist of the Week and an honorable mention selection for the STATS FXS National Special Teams Player of the Week for two blocked extra points and one for a

see FOOTBALL, 2A

Kelsey Randolph Sports Editor

krandolph3@murraystate.edu

For the second year in a row the Racer volleyball team won the OVC regular season title becoming the seventh school in OVC history to do so.

After clinching a share of the title with a win over Southeast Missouri State on

Nov. 7 and pushing the program’s home win-steak to 18 matches, the Racers had bigger goals in site.

The Racers, 14-1 in the OVC and 24-2 overall, took on their last away game against Austin Peay State, 3-12 in the OVC and 9-22 overall, where they

see VOLLEYBALL, 2A

{ } Basketball games

WOMEN’S TENNIS

RIFLE DROPS

Racers prepare for spring season, 3B

Racers drop to No. 4 in the country, 4B

Don’t miss it!

Time: Women’s against Oakland City at 5 p.m.

Men’s against Harris Stowe State at 7 p.m.

Date: Nov. 13 Place: CFSB Center

GOLDEN HORSESHOE

big school so it’s a lot different than playing teams in the OVC,” she said. “But we have played teams like that and that’s going to help us going into the game.

Foxley said that they haven’t really had an opportunity to look at how Ole Miss plays but she also said she isn’t too worried about that.

“We don’t really know much about the girls, but I’m sure coach has a scout on them and we have played a couple SEC schools, so he has contacts in the SEC who can help us out,” she said.

Head C o a c h J e r e m y Groves said he l i k e s watching SEC soccer in his office and has seen Groves Ole Miss play a couple times. He also said he is coming up with a game plan and the practice schedule will look very similar to what it has been all year. Groves predicted also that the Racers would have been selected to travel to Oxford for the first round.

“I kind of guesstimated a couple places and I figured that it might be one of them so, I’m pretty happy we’re not going north,” he said.

“It’s a good game for us and I think it is maybe a winnable game if we go down there and play our game.”

Groves said the Racers plan on getting a training session sometime Thursday.

Murray State takes the field at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. The winner will play the winner of the Furman vs. Clemson on Nov. 20 or Nov. 22.

CORRECTION On Friday, Nov. 6, The Murray State News printed an error in the article, “Muslim Student Organization Hosts Tournament” The article did not mention that Korea C was in 4th place.

The article also said “Top Goalie” instead of “Best Goalie.” MSO did not host the event, the Burrito Shack and Shogun sponsored the event.

The Murray State News r e g r e t s t h e error.

See an error?

Let us know by emailing us at murraystatenews@ icloud.com.

SUPPORT GROUP

Racer alumnus honored by Mur- Sibling loss group makes its debut for students, 6B ray State, 5B

The News

Sports

2B

November 13, 2015

Jenny Rohl/The News

OVC CHAMPIONS: (Top) Junior Taylor Richerson dribbles through the Southeast Missouri State defense during the OVC Championship game Sunday. (Left) Sophomore defender Mazie Fry shields off a SEMO forward to help complete the shutout. (Bottom) The Racers pile up in celebration after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to earn their second OVC Tournament title.

FOOTBALL From Page 1 touchback, is planning to take the game in stride.

“I know they’re pretty tough,” Dean said. “You can tell by their record and how they play in the conference.

Just like we do every week, we’re going to go out there

and we’re going to line up.

We’re going to do as best we can to defend what they have.

We did it last week, so we’ll do it again this week.”

Junior quarterback KD Humphries has racked up season statistics rivaling Coney’s, totaling 3,178 passing yards and a 136.62 passer rating – just shy of breaking his quarterback coach Casey Brockman’s Murray State single-season passing record of

3,729. Stewart is doing all he can to minimize the friendly in-house competition to keep Humphries’ talent rolling against the Colonels.

“The trick is you’ve got Casey Brockman, whose stats he’s about to surpass, and every Sunday when we come in Casey Brockman only wants to talk about the run game,” Stewart joked. “So if I can get Casey to stop sabotaging him, then maybe he’ll have

Nicole Ely/The News

Senior cornerback Bernard Thomas tackles an Eastern Illinois player in their Oct. 31 game.

a chance.”

Looking beyond the Humphries-Brockman comparison, Stewart has another pressure riding on this game: a sense of state pride. As the longest continually-played series in program history alongside Tennessee Tech, the teams have met 74 times.

EKU leads the series 44-26-4 since 1945, but the last time the teams met at Roy Stewart Stadium the Racers bettered the Colonels 34-27 in overtime.

“To me, this is an in-state rivalry,” Stewart said. “I don’t care if both of us wind up being last in the conference from here on out, every time we play Eastern Kentucky if we win, that’s going to be a horseshoe on the wall for us because to me, it’s the state championship game.”

The Racers kick off for the second-to-last time this season at 1 p.m. at Roy Stewart Stadium.

They will then hit the road Nov. 21 to face the No. 1 in the OVC Jacksonville State Gamecocks the following weekend.

VOLLEYBALL From Page 1 swept the Governors, 25-19, 25-14 and 25-19.

Leading the team with 13 kills was senior middle blocker Alyssa Lelm and redshirt junior right side Kristen Besselsen adding 11. Senior setter Sam Bedard had her 18th double-double of the season adding 30 assists and 15 digs which was five behind junior libero Ellie Lorenz who added 20 digs.

The Governors added 18 assists by senior setter Aubrey Marsellis and 19 digs by senior libero April Adams.

Next for the Racers is their final home game of the regular season. During the game, they will honor seniors Bedard, Lelm, outside hitter and defensive specialist, Taylor Olden, outside hitter and right side Audrey Lewis and outside hitter Emily Schmahl.

Bedard is from Breese, Illinois and in 2013 played in

all 30 matches and started in 29. Olden is from Lincoln, Illinois and in 2013 also started and played in all 30 matches.

Schmahl is from Edgewood, Kentucky and in 2013 played in 23 matches and in 2014 played in 21 matches.

Lewis came to Murray State from Columbus, Indiana and transferred from Tennessee Tech. Lelm is from Mackinaw, Illinois and is one of two Racers to appear in all 32 matches last season and is the only one to start in all matches.

If the Racers win against Morehead State on Saturday at 11 a.m. they will extend their home win streak to 19.

The Racers will host the OVC Tournament on Nov. 19-21 in Racer Arena. Last year the Racers played Belmont in the final game of the OVC Tournament and beat them in a 3-set sweep.

After winning the regular season and championship title the Racers went on to play Illinois State in the NCAA tournament losing in a 3-0 win by the Illini.

The News

Sports

November 13, 2015

3B

Women’s Tennis going for third conference title in a row Blake Bernier || Staff Writer dbernier@murraystate.edu

With five new faces, the women’s tennis team is preparing to defend its OVC championship for the second year in a row under Head Coach Jorge Caetano.

Each of the last two years have ended exactly the same, with the Racers winning the OVC title against Eastern Kentucky and losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Vanderbilt.

The biggest difference between the last two seasons and this coming one is the absence of a true No. 1 for singles.

“I feel like last year we had Andrea (Eskauriatza) but this year our top four are very similar level,” Caetano said. “They play different styles.”

Last year the team had six returning players to the team but this year there are only returning seniors Megan Blue from Mississauga, Ontario, Erin Patton from Memphis, Tennessee and Suzaan Stoltz from Bris-

bane, Australia.

“We have Megan playing at [number] one because she is a senior and two-time All-Conference team and she likes playing on that level,” Caetano said.

Last season Blue finished with a singles record of 14-10 but knows that playing at the top spot requires a higher level of skill and focus.

“It’s a different type of game style, but I have to lead them as much as I can,” Blue said.

With a new team the Racers are still focused on one thing: an OVC championship.

“Nothing is different other than the team is a little different,” Blue said. “But it’s the same dynamic-we still want to win.”

Caetano brought in four freshmen and one junior college transfer to help the team compete this year.

During the fall semester the team competed in two tournaments and Caetano said the team showed some promise in both the singles and doubles matches.

“We had some good competition in the two tournaments we played,” Caetano said.

“We competed well and won some good matches, so I’m excited.”

The Racers finished 8-6 in the singles matches and 4-4 in the doubles. Newcomer Alina Schibol from Hamburg, Germany, and teammate Stoltz won both of singles matches at the Steve Baras Invitational.

This year the doubles teams are all new after their top team of Verginie and Eleonore Tchakarova transferred to St. Louis University, but the teams are playing well together and Caetano said he expects them to continue to improve once the season starts.

“I think it’s been one of the best doubles teams that we’ve had,” Blue said.

The title defense will begin on March 18 when the Racers open conference play at Morehead State. Next up for the Racers will be a match at the University of Evansville on Jan. 29.

File photo

Megan Blue, senior from Mississauga, Ontario, prepares for her serve.

The News’ pick of the week - Football Kelsey Randolph Sports Editor 16-12

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4B

November 13, 2015

Rifle drops to No. 4 in country Alec Mullins || Contributing writer amullins2@murraystate.edu

The Murray State Rifle team dropped to No. 4 in the country for the second week, after previously being tied for first with West Virginia University.

Starting with a win at home over conference opponent Morehead State and Jacksonville State in a Tri-Match, the team shot 4714, breaking the school’s aggregate-score record. Barbara Schlapfer, freshman from Gais, Switzerland, posted the highest individual aggregate score in the nation with an 1185 combined performance.

The Racers then traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for the Buckeye Open hosted by Ohio State. Placing first

work on some things,” Schlapfer said.

Being focused so intently on improving in every category has not only helped the team’s performance but brought them closer outside of the world of rifle.

“If you see us walking up to the range you can tell we are not just a few shooters who have shot together,” Schlapfer said. “We are really a team.”

The Racers will compete in their final match of the year at 9 a.m. Nov. 21 in Jacksonville, Alabama, facing the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the final match of the regular season.

“We’ve got a week off to work on some of the small stuff,” Lollar said.

“We’ll take our time and put it together for our trip to Jacksonville.”

ginia, in a match that ended 46974692. Losing by just five points, Lollar said he is still pleased with the way his team competed in a tough part of the schedule.

“We’ve had five matches in three weeks. This stretch was put together in order to test us, to force us to focus when we were tired.” Lollar said.

“There are always things we can be doing to get better, but right now we are competing and performing well.”

Schlapfer said even after breaking various school records so far this season, the team is ready to improve upon their recent performances and set their sights higher.

“We know where our potential is. There are a few months until the NCAA Championship and we can

overall, the Racers shot a combined score of 4699, the second best score in school history, to defeat then No. 4 Texas Christian and No. 8 Ohio State.

While in Columbus, the Racers claimed another victory against Morehead State.

Leading the team was freshman shooter MacKenzie Martin, from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, who shot a combined score of 1178. Head Coach Alan Lollar had high praise for her performance.

“I knew it was coming because she was training very well,” Lollar said.

“There’s an ebb and flow of who is shooting well and it was her turn to pick up the team.”

The only loss of the stretch came against then top ranked West Vir-

Chalice Keith/The News

McKenna Dosier/The News

Rifle team members prepare to take their shot in Pat Spurgin rifle range. The team was bumped to fourth in the nation.

Intramural Football:

Pound Town wins big

Mark McFarland

Assistant Sports Editor mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

The mercy rule came into effect Monday as Pound Town defeated the Diaper Dandies 43-0 in a lopsided effort.

Pound Town’s offense got off to a quick start, scoring on their first drive of the game. Kendall Deese, senior from Murray, started out his night to remember with a touchdown run to start the rout. But Pound Town did not stop there as they forced a turnover came down the field again, this time for a passing touchdown from Deese after converting on the extra point, making the score 14-0.

Deese said that the team came out wanting to have fun.

“People get caught up in their record and how many points they score, but for us, we are just doing it

Defensively Deese said Pound Town knew what the Diaper Dandies would do the entire game.

People get caught up in their record and how many points they score, but for us we are just doing it for fun.

-Kendall Deese, senior from Murray for fun,” Deese said.

The offense continued to roll as Deese added two more passing touchdowns to his night.

“Most of us went to high school together so we all know each other pretty well,” Deese said. “We have all grown up playing football in the

Women’s

Men’s

Sorority

Fraternity 4-0 3-1

1. Tri Sigma A 2. ADPi A and AGD A

1. Lambda Chi Alpha 2. Sigma Chi

Residential College 1. Springer-Franklin A 2. Lee Clark Girls

A

1. Omega Mu 2. Tri Sigma B and AOII B Team

6-0 3-2

1. Kiss My End Zone 2. Granny Panties and Sigma Alpha

6-0 4-0

1. Lizo A 2. Franklin A and Richmond A

5-1 4-2

Independent A

1. Pound Town and The Untouchables 2. Joe and Friends

Independent B

Independent B

Kendall Deese, senior from Murray, drops back to throw a pass for Pound Town.

5-0 4-1

Residential College

6-0 5-1

Independent

Zachary Maley/The News

back yard together so you kind of know what they like to do.”

The defense only let the Diaper Dandies cross midfield three times and caused two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

The mercy rule comes into effect when a team is leading 36-0 with 10 minutes to go in the game. Pound Town started with the ball in the second half, but it did not take long for Deese and Pound Town to score again and put them over the mercy rule to win the game 43-0. Deese said it was fun but wished they could have kept playing.

“I wish we could have kept playing honestly,” Deese said. “It was a lot of fun to get out here with the guys and just compete, not for a championship but for fun.”

4-1 3-2

1. Steak Sauce and

5-0

Straight Outta Retirement 2. BCM Brusiers

4-2

Independent C

1. White Owls 2. Richmond Shenanigans Results are as of Tuesday. Standings courtesy of IMLeagues.

6-0 5-1

Off the Gridiron

Media and sports

A lot of what we know in the sports world is known because of the media.

Our perception of athletes, teams and organizations are based on what we see on TV or social media.

Like a lot of things that we see on TV, this shapes our mind.

Most people in the world have played a sport, wanted to play a sport or idolized someone who played a sport growing up. For many, this seed was planted because of the media.

The media portrays most of these players as superhuman. LeBron James is perceived as the best basketball player in the world. Usain Bolt is coined as unbeatable, but how many people have truly watched him run in a race?

Everything the media covers in sports is not necessarily all good. It’s not always about a highlight or a good game; they also reveal the downfall of sports.

For example, ESPN, E:60 and ESPN’s 30 for 30 show a lot of things about teams, players and organizations that we may have never known if it weren’t for media coverage.

Despite the media’s sports coverage, some members of the public would rather be left in the dark when it comes to the personal lives of their favorite athletes.

Some people don’t like the media, whether the information is good or bad. On the outside looking in, when does it stop, or when is it OK to tell the cameras to go away?

Once they’ve moved on from the issue, the cameras and reporters go back to look for the next big story.

What about these athletes’ personal lives? Cameras don’t often show James watching TV with his children or Stephen Curry cooking for his wife and daughter.

A camera is always waiting for them to make a move, and as soon as it’s the wrong move or something the fans don’t agree with, their lives can change dramatically. If Derrick Rose stiffs on a tip, the receipt is on Bleacher Report within 24 hours. If a non-celebrity does the same thing, no one ever bats an eye.

The public doesn’t have their lives broadcast on TV for the world to see.

This brings a very human perception to us as fans since we paint these athletes as superheroes. Although the bad stuff makes for some of the best stories, the media does a very good job of keeping us in tune with the people involved in sports.

It’s not all bad; the media does try to shed some light on the good deeds athletes do.

Usually around a holiday or an event for people with special need or social awareness there is a lot of good media coverage for the athletes.

The media seems to love a dramatic change in character to star a story. Stories like these bring in the most attention to a program or website.

Johnny Manziel being a star quarterback at Texas A&M and having his character questioned for being a typical college student or Tom Brady being a nobody going into the NFL and being laughed at for his poor combine showing and eventually becoming one of the most popular faces in the game, by the fans standards. Even now Brady went through the media ridicule of an investigation being accused of cheating in a football game.

These types of stories will always make headlines because this is what catches the eye of viewers and readers.

Talking about these people’s normal lives will bore us to sleep. The stories that make everyone question these people are what we live for. jmorris36@murraystate.edu

John Morris

November 13, 2015

5B

The News

Features Editor: Connor Jaschen Assistant Features Editor: Gisselle Hernandez Phone: 270-809-5871 Twitter: MSUNewsFeatures

Features ­

Balancing school spirit and the favorite team Craig Taylor || Contributing writer jtaylor6@murraystate.edu

Nicole Ely /The News

Walking through campus, you can see students supporting schools like University of Alabama, University of Kentucky and University of Tennessee by wearing that school’s apparel.

Andrea Martin, sophomore from Gunterville, Alabama, is a die-hard University of Alabama fan.

You can see Martin throughout campus wearing her Alabama and Murray State gear.

“I’m a huge Alabama fan,”

Martin said. “I’m a fan because that’s the tradition of my family.”

Aaron Sexton, freshman from Mayfield, Kentucky, expresses his fandom for the University of Tennessee and said that he will always be supporting and wearing the orange and white.

“I was initially born in Knoxville, Tennessee, where pretty much my entire family went to the University of Tennessee,” Sexton said. “Tennessee was ultimately my No. 1 school that I wanted to attend, but Murray State was much more affordable.”

“I attend a lot of Murray State athletic events, my favorite being the Murray State soccer games,” Sexton said. “This gives me the opportunity to show a side of my school spirit.”

Martin and Sexton both agree that wearing apparel from different schools doesn’t necessarily hinder the school spirit here at Murray State. They both feel that they want to keep hold of the tradition they have back at home, but can equally support Murray State.

“I love it here at Murray State,” Martin said. “It’s my home away from home.

Regardless, I’ll always be a fan of Alabama, but I will equally love and support the Racers.”

“The only way I could see something negatively impacting school spirit is when I see people wearing other school gear from the OVC,” Sexton said.

“Wearing Belmont is an absolute no-go, same for wearing different school gear to other MSU athletic events.”

Leah Judd, junior from Greensburg, Kentucky, said that as a Murray State golf athlete, wearing other schools apparel does hinder the school spirit.

“I can see both sides because I grew up as a UK fan,” Judd said. “But as an athlete at Murray State, I’m not allowed to wear apparel from different schools.”

Though Judd said he doesn’t take personal offense from students wearing other schools’ apparel, he feels that you should always show your support at Murray State affiliated events and around campus when you can.

Leah Carroll, junior from Central City, Kentucky, is a fan of both Western Kentucky football and UK basketball. However she will not wear WKU and UK apparel throughout campus.

“It makes me feel weird and it makes me feel like I have no school spirit,” Carroll said. “I’ve been part of many organizations here at Murray State, such as the Racer Band and Pep Band, which is one of the largest organizations on campus.

“I want to be proud of my school just like people are at UK and WKU,” Carroll said. “Just because we aren’t as big of a school, doesn’t mean we can’t have as much school spirit as the other bigger schools have.”

Gifting the Golden Horseshoe 6th annual

ROOTS concert returns to Murray

Racer alumnus honored for distinguished service to the Murray State community

Kelsey Grapperhaus Staff writer

kgrapperhaus@murraystate.edu

File photo

Professor Bob Valentine and Bob McGaughey have worked together for years at Murray State.

Brianna Willis || Staff writer

serving on the Pi Kappa Alpha advisory board, teaching high school workshops and even performing comedy routines Bob McGaughey is a modwith Bob Valentine, senior lecern-day Renaissance man. Recturer of advertising at Murray ognized for his years of service State. and support of the university, McGaughey and Valentine President Bob Davies prehave known each other since sented the 2015 Golden Horsethey met under comedic cirshoe Award to McGaughey at the class of 1965’s 50th annivercumstances in 1978. During a sary dinner on Oct. 9. major storm that year, the two “I was shocked,” McGaughey were at a party at a mutual said. “I heard Dr. Davies was friend’s house. up there, and he said ... ‘This They were asked to enteryear’s winner was awarded tain the guests, and they perDistinguished Professor formed stand up comedy. in 1990’ and I thought, “We did stuff we ‘Hey, that’s me!’” knew. Bob Newhart, Ab Originally from Hopbott and Castello and kinsville, Kentucky, even made up some stuff McGaughey went to on the spot,” McGaughey University of Florida at Murray State honors its alumni in a number of ways, not only said. first to play basketball the Golden Horseshoe Award. The other awards offered by the McGaughey was even and baseball. He soon reawarded “Who’s Who in turned home when Ralph Alumni Association include: American Entertainment” Woods, the president of in 1991 and 1995.

Murray State at the time, McGaughey has many offered him the equivtitles, and wears many alent of a presidential hats in the Murray State scholarship. community. However, he “My scholarship only says at the end of the day covered tuition and fees, none of it is for the recogand was worth about $700 nition. total,” he said. “My first “It is rewarding and semester here was $75. satisfying to be recogCan you believe that?” nized, but it is never Tuition prices are about the awards,” he not the only thing that said. “I just love talking have changed since Mcwith the kids.”

Gaughey’s time in Murbwillis2@murraystate.edu

ray, he said.

When McGaughey entered Murray State, there was no journalism major. He said he decided to make journalism his minor – along with ROTC and Spanish – and chose to major in history.

McGaughey used his experiences at Murray State to pursue a variety of careers in the communications field. In his liftetime he has worked in ad sales, public relations, radio and writing for newspapers.

After graduating in 1965,

McGaughey became a faculty member in 1969 as a journalism professor, culminating in a 23 year-long stay as chairman of the department.

The Alumni Association, which awards the Golden Horseshoe, has honored him with other awards over time such as the Distinguished Professor in 1990.

McGaughey has committed his time to Murray State and the local community. His recent endeavors include writing stories for the JMC Journal,

Other awards offered

Murray State University Distinguished Alumnus Award

Murray State University Alumni Association Distinguished Reseacher Award

Murray State University Distinguished Professor

Murray State University Alumni Association Emerging Scholar Award

Murray State’s department of history and student affairs will host its 6th annual ROOTS music concert on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Lovett Auditorium.

“We’ve got a very strong lineup this year, one of the best yet,” said Ted Franklin Belue, professor and concert organizer.

“The artists are seasoned pros Belue and their music is refreshingly different.

We always have a great show and it is great family entertainment.”

Also helpCallahan ing set up the music concert is Kathy Callahan, who is currently teaching in Regensburg, Germany.

“It would be hard to attend the ROOTS Music Concert and leave without a smile. The lively music, combined with the dedication and enthusiasm of the performers, is sure to bring joy to even a die-hard rock fan,” said Callahan, professor in the history department.

The music concert will first feature Nashville’s Gypsy Hombres. The Gypsy Hombres will be playing world music and gypsy jazz.

Rory Hoffman, guitarist for Gyspy Hombres, is blind yet plays more than a dozen instruments.

Hoffman drives the group with his astounding technique, playing a right-hand guitar lefthanded on his lap like a piano, Belue said.

Peter Hyrka founded the

Gypsy Hombres in 1995 as an acoustic trio featuring violin, guitar and string bass and has since made the band his fulltime vocation.

Hyrka started playing instruments such as the accordion and guitar before fully diving into the violin at 19 years old.

“I practiced a lot, maybe three or four hours a day,” Hyrka said.

“I was into bluegrass, but I soon got over it and got into classical.”

Hyrka has accepted awards including multiple Premier Player Awards, given by the Memphis chapter of the National Association of the Recording Arts and Sciences.

Second in the line-up is The Vickie Vaughn Band, who play contemporary bluegrass. In September, the band released their latest CD, a six-track EP produced by Grammy award winner Ronnie McCoury.

VVB, led by Vickie Vaughn, Belmont graduate and western Kentucky native, is a mix between bluegrass, Americana and country.

The band was a nominee for the IBMA Momentum Award for Band of the Year in 2014.

Last in the line-up is Emily Duff and Friends.

Duff, a student from Graves County, Kentucky, is the history department’s student ambassador and sings with the MSU Jazz Orchestra.

Emily Duff and Friends will be performing traditional standards and ballads, but giving a unique interpretation, Belue said.

“We also have a few surprises planned,” Belue said. “So I hope folks will come out and support live music in your community.”

Belue has hosted the previous five ROOTS music concerts and is hoping for an even bigger turnout than the previous years, where they had up to 400 people in attendance, Belue said.

ROOTS 6 music concert is free and open to the public, though the history department is requesting canned goods for Need Line as a ‘ticket’ at the door.

The News

Features

6B FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

November 13, 2015

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

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All Day MSU Toy Show & Shopping Extravaganza, William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center

4:00 p.m.

Fusion International Dance Showcase, Lovett Auditorium

All Day Holiday Open House, Murray

1:00 p.m.

IEW: Partnership for Success, Curris Center Barkley Room

7:30 p.m.

ROOTS 6 Music Concert, Lovett Auditorium

9:30 a.m.

International Bazaar, Curris Center Ballroom

7:30 p.m.

Theatre Department Musical: Curtains, Robert E. Johnson Theatre

Burrito Shack and ‘the Punisher’ Monika Stasczcak Contributing writer

mstasczcak@murraystate.edu

From the outside, Burrito Shack seems to be just a small, local Mexican restaurant with a friendly atmosphere. What many people don’t know is that it’s also the home of “The Punisher.”

The Punisher is an eating challenge that has been going on at Burrito Shack ever since Matt Gingles opened the restaurant in 2009 with his father.

It all started with Gingle’s friend, Chance Randolph, claiming he could eat four large burritos.

After coming up with rules, the bet was on- in order to complete the challenge, Randolph had to eat three large burritos in 30 minutes, Gingles said.

Randolph completed the challenge, not only winning the bet, but also starting a tradition. On a wall inside the restaurant hangs pictures of everyone that has ever completed the challenge. Along with glory, winners get their meal for free. If a customer wants to take it a step further, they can try

to eat four burritos in 40 minutes.

The challenge hasn’t always been called The Punisher. It was renamed two years ago by a champion that managed to eat five burritos in 58 minutes.

“In order for someone else to rename it, even if they do five, they have to beat his time,” Gingles said.

Jeffrey Finley is one of the people who managed to complete both the three and four burrito challenges.

While Finley had prepared for the three burritos challenge, the four burrito challenge was a spontaneous choice, brought on by pressure from his friends. Beating the challenge was an ironic lesson for Finley.

“Eating four burritos was probably the most miserable experience of my life,” Finley said. A sick feeling stuck with him until the next day. As a reward, the Burrito Shack gave him an extra-large shirt for completing the challenge.

“The irony of the gift was that the shirt was too small for me to wear,” said Finley.

He said that his experience was

a sign for him to switch to a healthier lifestyle. Finley and his friends set a weight loss goal to reach by New Year’s Eve. If he fails, the punishment is to complete the final step of The Punisher, and eat five burritos.

“Yes, I know,” Finley said. “It’s all rich with irony.”

The challenge has been completed by many people, but never a female. In fact, there was never a girl to even try - until now.

Danielle Williams, freshman from Fulton, Kentucky, attempted to complete the three burritos challenge this week. She was unable to complete it.

“After eating one and a half, I was done; I thought I was going to throw up,” said Williams.

The challenge seems to be easier than it actually is. It seemed completely doable until the burritos were set in front of her, Williams said. She isn’t going to accept the defeat though, and she wants to be the first female winner.

“Now it’s my personal goal to win the burrito challenge,” said Williams.

Zachary Maley/The News

Burrito Shack boasts the Punisher Wall of Fame proudly.

Student creates support ‘A Walk in the Woods’ reprint group for sibling loss holds maintains cultural impact Breanna Sill || Staff writer bsill@murraystate.edu

On April 24, an explosion at the Silver Trail Distillery in Hardin, Kentucky shook a community to its core.

Fourteen days later, Kyle Rogers, a Murray State alumnus, was taken off life support and died from his injuries suffered in the explosion. His sister Allison Rogers, senior from Murray, survives him.

Now, six months after the death of her brother, Rogers has started her Rogers own support group for young adults who also have lost their siblings.

Rogers was inspired to start the group after receiving a large amount of support from a family friend, Kimberly Bridges of Murray, after the death of Kyle. Bridges had recently lost a brother as well.

“Whenever my brother passed she [Bridges] texted me and said ‘Hey, I know exactly what you’re going through, if you need anything let me know,’” Rogers said. “So I guess it was sort of after that, we started texting each other every day and knowing that we had that support who knew what we were going through.”

Rogers has since found 10 other students who have experienced similar circumstances.

The group, Young Adult Sibling Loss Support Group, is a private Facebook group where people can go to talk or post pictures of the siblings they have lost.

Apart from the Facebook group, the group has plans to begin meeting in person at 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the Baptist Campus Ministry building at 800 Wal-

drop Drive.

Rogers said she believes incorporating Facebook as part of the support group is important because for some, meeting and talking face to face can be hard, especially for people who are grieving.

“Grief is completely different for everyone,” Rogers said. “It feels different and it looks different for everyone who experiences it.”

She explained that by saying she cannot compare losing her own brother to Bridges losing hers.

“Kimberly lost her brother,” she said. “I can know how it feels to lose my brother, but I can never know how it feels to lose her brother, to lose that particular person from my life.”

Grief Share is another support group, dealing with all forms of loss, with a chapter locally at the Hardin Baptist Church in Hardin, Kentucky.

However, Rogers said her group is different because it focuses specifically on sibling loss.

“There was another support group nearby, but a lot of those people were parents who had lost children,” she said. “Personally, I needed to talk to someone who had lost a sibling themselves to understand what I was going through.”

Rogers hopes this group is able to give young adults, ages 18-35, a safe place to go to feel comfortable talking about their grief and the siblings they have lost.

“For some people, it’s kind of uncomfortable to talk about the sibling that you have lost,” she said.

“Some people are like, ‘I don’t know if I should say something or not,’ and sometimes we just want to talk about our siblings and memories we have about them. This gives us a safe place to do that.”

If interested in being a part of the group, Rogers asks that students email her at arogers19@murraystate.edu.

Murray Animal Hospital 1601 College Farm Road Murray, KY 42071 270-753-2088 TERRY D. CANERDY, D.V.M. MICHELLE D. WESTERFELD Small animal veterinary care, surgery, dentistry, exotic pets and boarding.

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Courtney Scoby Staff writer cscoby@murraystate.edu

A book title like “A Walk in the Woods” brings to mind images of leisurely strolls through state parks on neatly maintained trails that traverse mostly flat land. Maybe there is a deer or some frisky squirrels, perhaps even a rare bird.

Attempting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) – all 2,000 plus miles of it – is no simple walk in the woods.

To say that thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, a term used to describe hiking the entire length of the trail, is extremely difficult is an understatement.

In the words of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, “Each year, thousands of hikers attempt a thru-hike; only about one in four makes it all the way.”

The AT crosses 14 states and includes a variety of treacherous terrains. Thru-hiking takes the average hiker about five to seven months.

Renowned travel writer Bill Bryson, along with his grumpy sidekick Katz, set out to do just this in the novel. Originally released in 1998 and recently re-released to coincide with the release of the 2015 movie based on the book starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Ap-

palachian Trail” relates the journey of two men through some of America’s most beautiful and terrifying wilderness.

While the majority of the book is dedicated to the walk itself, the first several chapters detail the extensive preparation that went into the trip. For Bryson, this involved several hours at a local equipment store and many stacks of reference books; for Katz, this involved consuming large amounts of Little Debbie snack cakes and throwing his pack together a few hours before departure.

Not all of the pre-trip research was useful, though.

For example, in his recounting of a book on bear attacks, he hilariously calls out the author on the conflicting pieces of advice given for confronting a black bear in the wild, underscoring the total unpredictability of the behavior of wild animals: “To ward off an aggressive black bear, Herrero suggests making lots of noise, banging pots and pans together, throwing sticks and rocks, and ‘running at the bear.’ (Yeah, right. You first, Professor.)

On the other hand, he then adds judiciously, these tactics could ‘merely provoke the bear.’ Well, thanks.”

Once the journey begins, the narration of life on the trail is interspersed with long passages of scientific and historical information about the Appalachian Trail. These passages can

Photo courtesy of amazon.com

run a bit too long at times, but to Bryson’s credit, he does condense a massive amount of information into a reasonable number of pages.

This is not to say the information is uninteresting, though. There is a lot to learn here about the ecology, history and politics behind a somewhat secret national treasure. Bryson lodges some serious complaints against the National Forest Service, bringing to light some astonishing revelations about how we think our natural resources are being managed and how they really are.

Fortunately, the humorous tone of the first few chapters carries throughout the remainder of the book,

as Bryson and Katz encounter too-strange-to-be-fiction characters, unforeseen challenges, and wildlife of all kinds along the trail.

While the book was written nearly 20 years ago, the environmental and conservation issues discussed in it are still relevant today, arguably even more so considering the accelerated rate of climate change and human exploitation of natural resources.

Bryson writes with a great deal of intelligence, but the text is still easily readable. Equal parts hysterically funny and thought-provoking, A Walk in the Woods is one of the most enjoyable literary walks through nature out there.

The News .org

Features

The News

November 13, 2015

7B Let’s Be Honest

Pop Culture Corner

MEDIA REVIEWS

Demi Lovato’s ‘Confident’: ‘Burnt’ movie plot not so hot FEATURED A rollercoaster of raw passion TWEETS possessed by the reality-star chef Gordon Ramsay.

One frustrating plot point In the newly released is the introduction of the drama “Burnt,” one of the character Simone Forth, lines spoken by Bradley played by talented actress Cooper’s character is, “If Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill”). it’s not perfect, you throw it The film introduces her away ... regardless of time.” character near the beginning However, the script writer of the film as what appears obviously didn’t take his to be an important side charown words too seriously or acter and after appearing in the final product for this film a mere two scenes, she just wouldn’t have turned out disappears and never rethe way it did, which, unforturns. tunately, was rather disap The film is eerily similar to pointing. the recently released “Rock This film tells the story of the Kasbah.” Not because of Adam Jones (Bradley Cooeither film’s content, but beper) who is a world-class cause of the films’ structures chef, but is also a recoverand star quality behind them. ing alcoholic, drug-addicted Both introduce a very popuwomanizer whose previous lar actress who the audience behavior cost him his job thinks will be important to working as a chef in an esthe film. However, they just teemed restaurant in Paris. disappear out of nowhere, After recently moving almost as if these actresses to London from a self-imwere just placed in these posed exile in Louisiana, he movies for nothing more tracks down some of his old than added star power. Both acquainscripts tances that seem to worked in have no the former sense restauof dirant and rection, sets out to leavstart a new ing the restaurant audiwith the ence to ultimate wonder goal of w h a t achieving a t h e Photo courtesy of www.ijournal.cz heck is three-star Michelin going on rating, which is the highest the whole time. The viewers honor possibly given to any are going to find themselves European restaurant. confused trying to figure out Along the way, he meets what the ultimate objective Helene (Sienna Miller) who each film is. is also an extraordinary chef Most importantly, the and after much reluctance on central theme of this film her part, enlists her as part of is supposed to be about the his team at the new restaucreation of high-quality, luxrant. Not long after being urious food in a high-end in London, Jones also finds restaurant, but fails to make out that his former rival and viewers actually attracted to co-worker, Reece (Matthew the food options. The movie Rhys), is the head chef for an shows a good example of exclusive restaurant, which how the extremely wealthy further fuels Jones’ ambition dine, but other than that it to become, in his own words, doesn’t deliver much else. the “perfect chef.”

One of the only reasons The movie’s plot is borthis movie is worth watching and brings nothing new ing is the well-done acting to the table, pun intended. job for the cast. Cooper did While watching the film, the an amazing job of making viewer can tell that the script the character Adam Jones either went through several his own and had the script rewrites or just had some been more solid and thought lazy writers. The writers through, this could have would start a story line and been one of his best-to-date. then just abandon it and go Miller had great on-screen in a new direction. chemistry with Cooper’s In the first half of the movie character and the two did a the viewer mainly watches good job playing off one anCooper’s character eating other, but sadly not enough food and running into old to save the film. acquaintances from his past, Everyone, except maybe then the second half is spent die-hard Bradley Cooper watching his character be a fans, should just forget about narcissistic prick to his felthis one and find something low employees, almost as else to watch. if Cooper himself had been Adam Winn || Staff writer awinn@murraystate.edu

#ScienceABook Bonnie Burton

@bonniegrrl “Of Mice & Molecules” #ScienceABook @midnight 8:49 pm 10 Nov 2015

Rich Rubin @rubin1067 Clifford The Big Red Pavlov’s Dog @midnight #ScienceABook 8:52 am 11 Nov 2015

Eric Schwartz

@ericschwartz #ScienceABook The Lion, The Witch and the Wormhole @midnight 9:20 pm 10 Nov 2015

The Media Man

@CharlestonBrian Game of Pheromones #ScienceABook @midnight #pointsme 8:41 pm 10 Nov 2015

Starbucks consumers “seeing red” after release of holiday cup Starbucks’ holiday-seasoned cup, a simple red cup, has raised controversy after its release last week.

Angry consumers are accusing Starbucks of “hating Jesus” since the cup lacked its usual Christmas-y decorations, according to www.money.cnn. com.

Starbucks said in a statement that the cup was made to “create a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity.”

Still, people have been accusing them of being against Christmas. Other consumers have stood beside the multi-billion dollar company, hashtagging “#ItsJustACup” on social media, claiming people are going too far over a simple cup.

Soundbyte “I’m peeing myself!”

-Kendall Jenner,

Photo courtesy of demi-lovato.wikia.com

Nick Erickson Contributing writer nerickson@murraystate.edu

Like many before her, Demi Lovato has managed to break free from her Disney roots as an innocent child star and grab the music industry’s full attention.

The 23-year-old pop singer, who once appeared on shows ranging from “Barney and Friends” as a tot to her own show as a teenager, “Sonny With A Chance,” just debuted her newest album, “Confident.”

This is her fifth album, and arguably the strongest of her career, with enough edge to draw in even the most unlikely of audiences.

Lovato’s 2013 album “Demi” brought her huge commercial success, with the hit single “Heart Attack,” which has surpassed 350 million views on YouTube.

There is clearly pressure on her to deliver an album as successful as this, and she manages to do this right from the beginning of the album.

Lovato makes it abundantly clear from the opening and title track “Confident” that she’s here to make a bold impression with this album, with the inflated line, “It’s all about me tonight.” This track features a synthesized trumpet and horn ensemble and beats that make it hard not to move to the music. It was a great choice for a first track, giving listeners a taste of the rest of the album.

The first single from the album, “Cool for the Summer,” proves to be a really strong track. Kicking off with a tinkling piano melody, it jumps right into a beautifully written verse with some distorted guitar mixed in. The intimate lyrics will appeal to many, and her vocals throughout the chorus are explosive as Lovato shows us just how well she can control and apply her versatile vocal range.

“Take me down into your

paradise. Don’t be scared ‘cause I’m your body type.

Just something that we wanna try. ‘Cause you and I, we’re cool for the summer.”

There are several points across “Confident” that really stand out. “Kingdom Come,” for example, features a quick verse from rapper Iggy Azalea, adding a bit of flare to the track list. It fits in seamlessly.

Rapper Sirah, known for her Skrillex collaborations, contributes to “Waitin’ For You” with hostility against an exlover. “Got my name in your mouth, forgive me when I knock it out.”

The emotional closer to the album, “Father,” is without a doubt the highlight of Lovato’s career. She sings with gut-wrenching honesty about her deceased father, with whom she had been estranged before his death. As she sings of her guilt and regret about his passing, a layer of delicate piano chords and backing choir soothe the listener. The ending takes a turn as Lovato belts from the top of her lungs her mixed emotions on her fathers passing.

“You did your best, or did you? Sometimes I think I hate you. I’m sorry, Dad, for feeling this. I can’t believe I’m saying it.”

This track is a roller coaster of raw passion, and brings the album to an overwhelming, powerful ending.

Lovato has grown immensely over the past decade. Her days as sugar-sweet Disney tween are long gone, and now she’s here to say exactly what the album title says: She’s confident she can make a name for herself.

“Confident” is packed with catchy hooks, uplifting dance beats, sure, but where the album shines even more is the emotion put into it.

There’s a lot more meaning behind pop music than meets the eye in the world today, and Lovato is making that clear.

on being nervous for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

MyGate Sucks N o w that everyone has (hopefully) scheduled, it’s time to point out something that affected a large porConnor Jaschen tion of the Features Editor s t u d e n t body this week: those myGate crashes.

It happens every year. Last year, freshman me decided to be on time and do everything I could to make sure I had all the classes I want. I got on, and what happened?

The whole site froze up and kept me away from that ‘sighof-relief” moment when you look at your schedule and realize you got every class you had planned. Luckily, I was just a freshman and had enough gen ed courses I needed to take before I got into the nitty gritty of my major. Sadly, not everyone can count themselves so lucky.

You would think that since the university has consolidated most of student online activities to one or two sites (myGate and Canvas) that it would also make sure it had the ability to hold the online traffic.

Obviously that is not the case.

The traffic on the server was hectic, I’m sure, but if the university wants to assign only two separate times to schedule for the next semester, they should also find a way for the servers to handle that sort of traffic. Instead students were constantly being kicked off from the site, keeping us from making sure we have the right classes to graduate.

I haven’t spoken to someone yet who didn’t go through some sort of meltdown over the chaos that is scheduling.

You stay up the night before to plan out the best possible schedule, you wake up early enough to rub the grogginess from your eyes and as soon as you get the chance to nab that last spot in your upper-level course, you’re kicked off the server.

And that is when the rage sets in and you consider the ramifications of punching someone in the throat.

Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but still. If scheduling is laid out so large portions of the student body are supposed to get on all at once, Murray State should have some way of making up for a server that obviously isn’t meant for that heavy of a flow of activity. Honestly whatever it takes would probably be worth it. I can only imagine what it would be like to be locked out of one of the final classes of your major say junior or senior year.

Yeah, I get it, I’m not a techno-geek, so I don’t even really know how someone would accomplish that, or if it’s even possible.

But if the other option is kicking someone off of the one website they can actually use to schedule, something should be done about it.

Is asking for a stable online experience too much? cjaschen@murraystate.edu

Out this week

Read It

“The Guilty”

by David Baldacci

See It

“By the Sea”

Hear It

“When the Morning Comes”

by A Great Big World

Rent It

“Trainwreck”

Play It

“Game of Thrones”

8B

The News

November 13, 2015