The Murray State News

Controversial politics and vandalism, See 5B Vol. 90, No. 27

Women’s caucus pushes for new spousal policy Alicia Steele

Assistant News Editor asteele@murraystate.edu

When Diane Nititham, assistant professor of sociology, was offered a job at Murray State last year, she and her husband were employed in Chicago and had two incomes. She decided to move to Murray alone and her husband opted to stay in Chicago for at least six months while she settled into her first semester.

She said her husband’s chance of finding employment in Murray is much lower than in Chicago and believed the temporary sep-

aration was a better alternative to the loss of income if he had moved to Murray with her.

“If there were a policy or some institutional support for spouses to find employment, it would not only have made the move easier, but also would help us to plan long term without uncertainty and anxiety,” Nititham said.

Last month, members of the Murray State faculty and staff held the first meeting of the Women’s Faculty Caucus, during which multiple women discussed the lack of a policy that would aid in spousal employment oppor-

If there were a policy or some institutional support for spouses to find employment, it would not only have made the move easier, but also would help us to plan long term without uncertainty and anxiety.

“

”

- Diane Nititham, assistant professor of sociology tunities when a new faculty ommendation to the Board or staff member is hired at of Regents at an upcoming the university. meeting so that it will be Shawn Touney, director of enacted, if approved, during communications, said Presithe next academic year,” dent Bob Davies is aware of Touney said. the situation.

For some faculty members, taking a job at Murray “He is considering various options and will make a recState has meant coping with

New sorority shows ‘signs’ of change

Z Δ Brianna Willis

Assistant Features Editor bwillis2@murraystate.edu

Next fall, Murray State will begin the process of adding a seventh sorority on campus. The addition of Delta Zeta, whose national philanthropy efforts focus on speech and hearing organizations, coincides with the addition of first and second level American Sign Language classes that will be added in the fall.

Evan Ditty, coordinator of Greek life and student leadership programs, said this will help meet a need currently not being served: a lack of ser-

vices available to hearing impaired students outside of student services.

“Their national philanthropy is different from everyone else’s, which is cool,” he said.

Kathryn Malone, educational leadership consultant for Delta Zeta, said Delta Zeta partnering with the Starkey Hearing Foundation fits with their philanthropic goals.

“We want to make a global impact,” she said. “Partnering with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, who fits hearing aids with men, women and children across the world, helps us with making that global impact.”

Ditty said the addition of the American Sign Language classes and Delta Zeta coming in the fall was coincidental. However, he said he hopes it will show how Greek organizations will work with other student organi-

zations.

“I think that we will see them collaborate a lot due to their mission,” Ditty said.

The process of starting a chapter is lengthy, but recruitment will begin in the fall.

They will start Ditty as a colony, and Malone said they will participate in the first round of formal recruitment.

Delta Zeta will then drop out of the formal recruitment process, and once formal recruitment is over, they will hold their own process.

Within the year, the colony will have their installation and the found-

see SORORITY, 2A

STEM programs bring their A-games Women’s STEM grant brings opportunities

Robotics Team places second in competition

Cody Hall

Contributing writer

chall22@murraystate.edu

chall22@murraystate.edu

A team of professors at Murray State has received a grant to study the obstacles that women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) face.

The project is entitled, “Differences and Deficits Affecting Women STEM Faculty: Creating a Framework for Change at a Rural Public University.” Murray State received $250,000 from the grant.

The study will start on May 1 and continue for a three-year period.

Maeve McCarthy, mathematics professor, is leading the

The Murray State Institute of Electrical and E l e c - tronics Engineers robotics team placed second at the SoutheastCon 2016 robotics competition.

The Murray State robotics team placed the highest it ever has at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers competition April 2. Previously, the highest place the team had received was tenth in 2012. This year, there were 46 different schools that competed in the robotics competition.

The hardware, or robotics, competition was the only event Murray State competed in. It consists of the teams building

see GRANT, 2A

see ROBOT, 2A

WHAT’S

INSIDE

something here, and then the possibility I wouldn’t be here next year,” Morrison said.

Now Morrison has been hired for a tenure track position at Murray State, but the couple has decided to leave their current living arrangements in place.

“There is no way he could find a job in Murray that would pay him near what he makes in Evansville or anything even close to it,” Morrison said. “Even if he were to go back to part at a car dealership in Murray or Paducah, [Kentucky], he still

see POLICY, 2A

Human Rights Awareness Week hosted in Murray Kayla Harrell Staff writer

kharrell4@murraystate.edu

The City of Murray Human Rights Commission hosted Murray’s first Human Rights Awareness Week this week, themed “Human Rights for All.” Jessica Evans, vice chairwoman for the City of Murray Human Rights Commission, said this week will bring awareness to the commission, community organizers, activists and ties in Murray that reflect the larger human rights framework.

“This week is really about bringing awareness to the issue, letting people know that human rights are not something that just get put on a shelf and you get to dismiss it whenever it’s not convenient,” Evans said.

Human rights are a set of basic principles declaring inalienable rights and freedoms of all people; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains 30 articles, which serve as a set of principles for governments to use to remain accountable for their duty to protect the rights and freedoms of all people, according to the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

“It’s more than just a basic

need,” Evans said. “It’s about understanding a basic respect and dignity for your fellow man.”

Human Rights Awareness Week consisted of a high school writing contest, a voting rights awareness seminar, a disability awareness day with a film viewing of “Fixed,” a “Democracy, Turnout and Inequality” lecture and a Need Line food drive.

J o d y C o f e r R a n d a l l , chairwoman for the City of Murray Human Rights Commission, said the commission wanted an opportunity to give back to “some of those that are less fortunate.”

“I’m hoping that people will engage with us,” said D. Andrew Porter, independent living advocate for the Center for Accessible Living.

“Without that community engagement, the problems that are facing this community are never going to begin to be solved.”

Through a human rights education, an individual can empower themselves and others to develop the skills and attitudes that promote equality, dignity and respect in their community, society and worldwide, according to Amnesty International.

see HUMAN, 2A

WHAT’S ON THENEWS.ORG

Cody Hall

Contributing writer

long-distance relationships.

Jennifer Morrison, visiting assistant professor of public administration, started this academic year as a visiting professor. Because she is a visiting professor, she and her husband decided not to give up his job in Evansville, Indiana, as the parts manager for a Bobcat dealership.

Her husband currently rents a room in Evansville, and has been traveling to Murray on Friday nights and waking up at 3 a.m. on Mondays to drive back to Evansville to go to work, she said.

“As I was visiting, there was no point in him quitting his job there, maybe finding

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BASKETBALL OVERSEAS POLITICS TO VANDALISM

Katherine Farmer has been named Faculty Regent, 3A

Yik Yak and the voice of anonymity, 4A

Jeffery Moss signs international Pro-Trump chalkings found across campus, 5B agent to play overseas, 1B

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2A

April 21, 2016

HUMAN From Page 1 “Human rights are at work in Murray all the time, whether you see it or not,” Cofer Randall said. “We all have a part to play in that.

Just because you might not be able to speak out on certain things, there are other things you can do that are in support of equality.”

The commission’s purpose is to promote and secure mutual understanding and respect among all economic, social, religious, age, ethnic,

POLICY From Page 1

Photo courtesy of Alec Leedy

The award-winning team of Racers standing in front of their winning design after a second place victory last week at the SoutheastCon.

ROBOT From Page 1 a robot to perform different tasks. This year the robot was built to organize colored blocks, said David Whitney, captain of the Murray States Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer team.

Whitney had previously been to the competition, so he understood how it worked and how to lead the team.

Five of those who worked on the robot attended the competition, but between eight and 12 people consistently worked on the robot to get it ready to compete.

Whitney said the robot they took to the competition last year was a cheap one.

The team did not buy quality parts, and their performance suffered because of it. This year the team spent around $2600 to get better quality parts. The team tried to make the robot as simple as possible to avoid over-engineering it, Whitney said.

“What set this team apart was their ability to work together,” said Aleck Leedy, electric engineering professor and adviser for the Murray State Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer team. “The members that were there got along well and worked well together.”

Leedy handled most of the finances for the team. For the last six years that Leedy has been with the team, he has written and received a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of Kentucky.

This year, Leedy received $8,861 to pay for the building of the robot and all the costs of attending the event, so the students didn’t have to pay anything.

After receiving second place at the competition, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of Kentucky invited the Murray State Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

SORORITY

From Page 1

“

GRANT From Page 1 project with Robin Zhang, geoscience professor and Paula Waddill, physiology professor and department chairwoman.

They tried to get this grant in 2013 but were not successful. After revising it, they received the proposal in 2015.

“It’s difficult to be a women in science anywhere in the United States,” McCarthy said. “What we want to

It was awesome seeing the robot work; it really gets the adrenaline rushing.

”

Photo courtesy of Alec Leedy

The robot the Racer’s Robotics Team built for the competition.

robotics team to attend the VEX robotics world competition as judges, Leedy said.

“It was awesome seeing the robot work; it really gets the adrenaline rushing,” said Patrick Smith, senior from Belleville, Illinois.

“There are so many things

that could go wrong. We would watch all the other robots go and something go wrong, and the same things could happen to us,” Smith said.

Smith was one of the team members that was able to go to the competition and the treasurer for the team.

Smith helped build the robot, rather than doing the coding to make it perform the different tasks.

“With the experience of this competition and the Murray State team that we will have next year, we have a good chance of possibly getting first,” Smith said.

“We were the 27th team to go, and we were the first one to touch a block. And this was after schools like University of Alabama, University of Kentucky and University of Florida had already gone,” Whitney said.

do is provide resources here at Murray State so that we have a better work situation for women that work here, and hopefully that will lead to better retention of women faculty.”

The study will focus mainly on women faculty, not students.

They will use responses from faculty across all departments at the university to help create questions for their research, McCarthy said.

Over the three years of the study, they will be bringing in speakers twice a year and set up mentoring circles for

some faculty.

McCarthy hopes that when the research is finished the retention rate of female employees will be better.

Having more women faculty in the STEM fields will give incoming female students more role models in these fields, McCarthy said.

Echo Wu, director of the Center for Gifted Studies, hopes that the project can improve the situations of female faculty members in more than just Kentucky, but on a national level, and possibly on a global scale.

Wu has interviewed 20 Nobel Prize winners, and

not a single one of them was a woman, though this was not by chance.

For years, the STEM fields have been dominated by men, she

-Patrick Smith, senior from Belleville Illinois

wouldn’t make even close to what he is making now.”

Morrison said her husband can’t access the superior health insurance plan Murray State offers because her husband’s employer offers a separate plan already. She said her husband is in need of a sleep test, but his insurance policy will not cover it and hers would.

She said with a policy in place, her husband could have landed on campus em-

Waddill

said.

This project is focused on the faculty of Murray State but is aimed at helping all rural schools, Wu said.

Wu is helping with the study by surveying faculty, and dis-

ing members will sign the charter solidifying the chapter.

Malone said it will be up to the local chapter to decide what local philanthropy they choose to support, but she said the focus will be on speech and hearing.

Malone said being a member of Delta Zeta is a lifetime commitment and that they have alumnae chapters in Europe and other locations across the globe. She said Delta Zeta is unique because they are an international organization with a chapter in Canada.

Malone said that personally being a Delta Zeta allowed her to expand her leadership skills.

“Greek life in general has a lot of leadership opportunities available,” she said. “I served as chapter vice president and chapter president of my own chapter, so that really gave me the opportunity to work with others and serve.”

Ditty said the univer-

covering how they feel about the university as it is. The project is expected to help improve the work environment for women at Murray State, and to contribute to the field as a whole, even if just in small ways, Wu said.

“Our hope is that we will be able to identify programs, policies and support systems that will help attract and retain female students to the STEM fields, and also be more attractive to women as they consider careers as STEM practitioners,” said Stephen Cobb, dean of the college of science, engineering and technology.

sexual and racial groups in the city, according to the City of Murray website.

“Every person can only speak to their own lived experiences and their individual uniqueness,” Porter said.

Porter said all individuals want their differences to be recognized but still be accepted as “a person first.”

“It really is about that interconnection of how we all coexist. We’re all very individualized, and there’s some beauty in that,” Cofer Randall said. “Sometimes our differences cause problems, but often times we share more than we differ.”

ployment that would have offered him job security in Murray, though he would still make less money here as compared to Evansville. But, she said, they would spend less money on gas to travel back and forth and rent for him in Evansville.

However, Morrison said she and her husband are dealing with the separation.

“It sucks being apart like this, but I have been a Navy wife, so four days apart is nothing compared to a sixmonth deployment,” Morrison said. “And we talk and text regularly during the day, and he calls me every evening when he leaves work.”

sity is always trying to help students get a full college experience outside of the classroom.

“By bringing a new sorority on campus, what we are really doing is opening the

“

...what we are really doing is opening the door for 70 to 130 women to get a new experience and leave a legacy here.

”

- Evan Ditty, coordinator of Greek life and student leadership programs

door for 70 to 130 women to get a new experience and leave a legacy here,” he said.

“This is really an opportunity for women who may have not considered Greek life before to start their own and connect with Murray State in a unique way.”

Cobb said the difference between men and women in STEM fields is a national trend, and it is important to understand and identify the issues that are holding women back in these fields. Cobb will be helping the research by communicating between the research team and Murray State’s upper administration.

“We have such a dedicated group of outstanding female faculty, and it would be a pleasure to have even more role models for our students.

Ultimately, I hope it leads to a better university environment that promotes STEM for everyone,” Cobb said.

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April 21, 2016 News Editor: Abby Siegel Assistant Editor: Alicia Steele Phone: 270-809-4468 Twitter: MurrayStateNews

POLICE BEAT April 13

1:43 of p.m. officer conducted 8:2ll gas An at Hart Residential Cola traffic stop at North 17th lege.

Officers, Murray Fire DepartStreetCentral and College Road ment, HeatingFarm and Cooling and issued citation forState failure Plant, Murraya Gas and the Fire to wear awere seat notified. belt, possession Marshall A report of drug was taken.paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

12:01 p.m.

A caller reported a 4:26 p.m.

A caller reported a sparking outlet in the 300 block person possibly under the inof College Courts.

Officers, the fluence of alcohol at the Price Murray Fire Department, CenDoyle Fine Arts Building.

Public tral Heating and Cooling Plant Safety Emergency Manageand theand State Fire Marshal were ment contacted person notified.

A reportthe was taken.and everything appeared 4:57 p.m. The Murraynormal.

Police De-

April 14

partment notified of a medi8:07 p.m.was A caller reported a cal emergency at the Volleyball motor vehicle collision with no Courts. and Murray AminjuriesOfficers in the Faculty Hall parkbulance Services were notified. ing lot. Officers were notified.

The transported and 10:51patient p.m. Awas caller reported the asmell reportofwas taken. at Regents marijuana 3:46 a.m. Officers conducted Residential College.

Officers a check a person 12th were of notified and on an North informaStreet.

The person was arrested and tion report was taken.

April 15

9:39 a.m. A caller reported a transported to Calloway Jail medical emergency atCounty A. Carman Pavilion AnimalinHealth for alcohol intoxication a public Facility.

Public Safety, place.

A report was taken.Murray 9:09 p.m. Service A caller reported Ambulance and Student aAffairs smokewere detector notified.activated at Springer Residential dueato 11:11 a.m.

A callerCollege reported atheft hair dryer.

Officersatwere notified of property Winslow and no threat of fire was found.

Dining Hall. Officers were noti-An information report was fied and a person wastaken. arrested 4:42 p.m. A caller reported a theft on active warrant for failure to of property from a vehicle from appear and a report waswere taken Alexander Hall.

Officers nofor theft unlawful taking tified and aby report was taken for underof$500. theft under $500 by unlawful taking from a vehicle.

April 16

10:07 a.m.

Safety re6:12 p.m.

A Public caller reported the ceived a fire alarm activation smell of marijuana at Hart.

Officers fromnotified James H.and Richmond Resiwere an information dentialwas College report taken.and officers and Central Heating and Cooling were notified. Activation was due to steam from a shower and no threat of fire was located.

11:58 p.m. An officer conducted Motorists assists – a traffic stop at Five Star gas staRacer escorts – tion at 16th Street and Highway Arrests – 121 and a citation was issued for speeding 40Assistant mph in News a 25 mph Alicia Steele, Editor, zone. compiles Police Beat with materials

April 17

8:48 p.m. An officer conducted provided by Public Safety and Emera traffic stop at Bradley Book gency Management.

Store and issued a verbal warningall fordispatched a loud exhaust.

Not calls are listed.

10:07 p.m. A caller reported the smell of smoke at Regents Residential College. Public Safety, Murray Fire Department, Central Heating and Cooling and the State Fire Marshall’s Office were notified.

April 18

3:02 p.m. Public Safety received an emergency elevator call box activation advising someone was stuck on an elevator in Oakley Applied Science Building. Officers and Facilities Management were notified and the person was safely let off the elevator.

8:22 p.m. Pubic Safety received a parking complaint via the LiveSafe app at Five Points parking lot. Racer Patrol was notified and four parking citations were issued.

April 19

8:48 a.m. An officer conducted a traffic stop at the CFSB Center and issued a citation for failure to wear a seatbelt and a verbal warning for speeding.

9:35 a.m. A person reported damage to Murray State property at Woods Hall. Officers and Facilities Management were notified and determined the damage was not criminal.

Escort – 1 Motorist assist – 0 Arrests - 1

Alicia Steele, Assistant News Editor, compiles Police Beat with materials provided by Public Safety and Emergency Management.

Not all dispatched calls are listed.

Love Police Beat?

You can check it out every week online, too, on TheNews.org.

3A

Farmer named Faculty Regent Alicia Steele || Assistant News Editor asteele5@murraystate.edu

Katherine Farmer, director of the Curriculum Materials Center, Education Research and Instruction Librarian and vice president of the Faculty Senate has been named the next Faculty Regent.

“I was the only one who signed up, so the election was more like a formality,” Farmer said.

Throughout the month of March the Faculty Senate asked for nominations for Faculty Regent.

Anyone who wishes to run for Faculty Regent must turn in a petition with 15 faculty members signature.

Farmer said the main requirement to become Faculty Regent is the candidate must be an assistant professor or higher in rank.

She said she hopes to continue the work of Martin Jacobs and uphold the policy of shared governance between faculty, staff, students and

administration.

“And to be a voice for the faculty in this era of difficult times with the budget situation,” Farmer said. “And to also be a voice for the goals of the university.”

I’m all about helping the students in making sure they succeed and find their place.

- Katherine Farmer, newly named Faculty Regent

”

Farmer said the goals of the university include the strategic plan, keeping academic excellence and being very student-centered.

“Those are some of my goals in life,” Farmer said. “I’m all about helping the students in making sure they succeeded and find their place.”

Farmer said taking on the extra responsibility of Faculty Regent is going to be a lot of hard work, but she said she is “purely ready to go.”

Emily Harris/The News

Katherine Farmer named new Faculty Regent.

Alumni Association hosts dinner for distinguished graduates Alicia Steele || Assistant News Editor asteele5@murraystate.edu

The Murray State Alumni Association hosted its annual 2016 Distinguished Alumnus award dinner Friday in the Murray Room of the CFSB Center. This year, Murray State recognized four graduates as distinguished alumni: David Beck, class of 1977; Bill Cunningham, class of 1966; Janice Padgett Harper-Smith, class of 1963 and 1968; Dennis Jackson, class of 1966 and 1971.

This year the named its award winners a Kentucky Supreme Court justice, Murray State’s first African-American athlete, a Kentucky Farm Bureau Association executive and an international opera star.

Shawn Reynolds, president of the Murray State

Alumni Association, said the organization looks to recognize alumni who have been successful since graduating and who continue to be involved with Murray State.

“I think all these folks tonight are involved and will be going forward,” Reynolds said.

Three of the four alumni were able to attend the dinner. Padgett Harper-Smith, who lives in Europe, was unable to attend.

MURRAY STATE REFLECTION

“It’s a humbling experience,” Beck said. “It’s very much an honor, and it’s hard to imagine where the years have gone.”

Cunningham said it is a humbling experience because there are numerous other alumni deserving of the honor. He said he feels like he is

representing many other people.

Jackson said he is proud getting his education at Murray State.

“This is something like dreams are made of,” Jackson said. “Because when I grew up I had no idea that it would even be possible for me to go to Murray State University.”

He said the university prepared him for his life accomplishments because of the great teachers and mentors who have supported him.

“Even now if I have a question, I just call them and ask them,” Jackson said.

Beck is still involved with Murray State and makes visits to campus to interact with administration and faculty.

“I am proud that I am an alumni of Murray,” Beck said.

Promoting study abroad opportunities on campus Alisha Kempher || Contributing writer akempher@murraystate.edu

Faculty members, advisers from the Education Abroad office, representatives from Cooperative Center for Study Abroad and Kentucky Institute for International Studies set up tables at Waterfield last Tuesday, promoting study abroad opportunities for the upcoming semesters.

The Study Abroad Fair gives students an opportunity to explore the different programs and find the one best suited for their schedules and interests. The fair also allows students to ask questions or voice concerns to faculty members or program directors.

Several attacks have taken place overseas within the last year, including the bombings in Brussels and Paris. There were students from Murray State who were abroad in Paris when the attacks occurred in November 2015.

Jaylynn Will, junior from Marion, Illinois, was a student who traveled to Paris with some friends during the weekend of the attacks when she studied abroad.

She said while touring the city they heard the news of the attacks and were stunned to find out they were 700 meters from one of the restaurants attacked.

“We decided to walk the 20 or so minutes to the embassy as it was in the opposite direction of the reported attacks at that point,” Will said.

Will said she talked with an American agent who helped calm them down during the situation.

She said they were able to get into contact with their families and made the best decision they could at the time, which was to go back to their apartment.

“To be there during the attacks was very scary

McKenna Dosier/The News

Students learned about study abroad opportunities at the study abroad fair last week. and eye opening,” Will said. “I have no clue what kind of protocol we should have followed during a situation like this, but I think we did the best we could with the time we had.”

Robyn Pizzo, senior education abroad adviser, said the staff that go on the study abroad programs must go through extensive training for all emergency situations, ranging from a broken leg to a catastrophic event.

She said there is also an emergency contact in the Education Abroad office assigned to every program that is abroad.

“I personally think other students should be concerned about the attacks, but not so concerned that it hinders them from traveling more and having new experiences,” Will said.

Pizzo said she has not heard many concerns

from students. However, she said she thinks it will be a big concern for parents.

“It is definitely on our radar,” Pizzo said. “We will have to do some additional work making sure they know what our emergency plan is, if the students were to be in a situation like that.”

The potential for terrorist attacks are a concern for parents like Debbie Cooke, whose daughter is going to Prague this summer.

“The concerns I have regarding terrorism aren’t enough to want her to miss out on this opportunity,” Cooke said.

Martin Dowling, a graduate student from Regensburg, Germany, was at the fair attempting to convince Murray State students to study abroad.

He said he did not have concerns about students studying abroad.

Murray State hosts social work conference Cody Hall || Contributing writer chall22@murraystate.edu

Social work students were given the chance to network with students and professors from all around the state of Kentucky at the Kentucky Association of Social Work Educators spring student conference last week.

Murray State hosted the annual conference this year for 12 different universities, including students from all of the Murray State regional campuses.

The spring conference rotates where it is held each year. Murray State is scheduled to host the conference every seven years.

Educational sessions were held for both students and professors, including discussions about the rural homeless and abortion. During the evening, food was provided for those attending and social events were planned to help the students to network.

“It gives students a chance to go to a conference and see what that is like,” said Jeff Wylie, senior social work lecturer. “The conference lets students get the chance to experience giving presentations outside of a classroom setting.”

Wylie said most of those who will be giving presentations are on a graduate or doctoral level, but some undergraduate students give presentations as well.

He said the conference shows the students that other students are learning the same things they are learning, and gives them a great chance to network with people who are studying the same things. He said many of the graduate programs from around the state were there, giving students a chance to look into furthering their education.

“In social work you need to know the right people to call in the right situation,” said Jason Freeman, junior from Pensacola, Florida. “Because there are a whole bunch of different resources you will need, and things you need to know about be-

Nahiomy Gallardo/The News

Social work students attended the Kentucky Association of Social Work Educators last week. fore you can officially help people.”

Freeman is the president of the Student Association of Social Work at Murray State. This is the second time he has attended the conference.

The first year Freeman went to the event he met a group of friends with whom he plans to open a practice after he graduates.

Abby Hudspeth, junior from Paducah, Kentucky, said getting to meet students from other universities – who could become classmates in the future– is one of the best parts of the event. She also said having time built into the schedule to socialize and network with them makes it easy.

Hudspeth is a member of the Student Associa-

tion of Social Work and was the event coordinator for the conference. She said it is important to learn from others at events like this because every person is going to have different experience and different ways of viewing things.

Brittany White, senior from Murray, was one of the undergraduates presenting the findings of her research at the conference. Her research was on barriers that prevent students from completing their general education development.

She said giving presentations has helped on a one-on-one level, as well as with the policies. She said it makes it easier to speak in front of people, and to get more hands-on with agencies.

4A

April 21, 2016

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Yik Yak provides opportunity for inclusion The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.

“One Herd. One Love.”

This is not the catchphrase for a quirky organic milk company or a new Animal Planet show about romance in the wilderness, though it should be in the running for both.

It’s the tagline of Yik Yak, the popular college campus-based social media app known for its ability to let users post anonymously.

The app has gained its fair share of criticism since its launch in November 2013 – bloggers and journalists from The New York Times to the Huffington Post debate its merit and raise concerns about cyberbullying and hate speech. Because of its anonymity function, the capacity for offensive speech is significant. Behind the security of a phone screen and binary codes, users can speak with gall and without inhibition.

It’s easy to condemn an app like Yik Yak and its users, especially when the target audience is college students who may see their impudence as expressions of identity not to be analyzed or taken seriously.

Even Murray State is no

stranger to troubling cases of bigoted Yaks; racist and sexist posts in the fall of 2014 seemed to reduce the app to a breeding ground for intolerance.

Do those instances invalidate Yik Yak as a means of communication, though? While the cons may be glaring, we cannot ignore the pros.

On a daily basis, the number of offensive messages is dwarfed in comparison to the mundane – comments about Winslow Dining Hall, mentions of the weather and jokes about college life. While not the most riveting points of discussion, those posts serve a purpose in our campus community.

The Yik Yak homepage states the app “makes the world feel small again by giving you a feed of all the casual, relatable, heartfelt and silly things people are saying around you.”

One scroll through the app will show how the qualifications for relativity or silliness vary drastically from user to user. But matters of taste aside, does the app deserve any more criticism than

Snapchat, Twitter or Tumblr?

Yik Yak is a lens through which students can view their college campus – whether or not they like what they see is a separate issue.

As the mission statement says, the app provides a reel of the everyday conversations that happen on campus and can sometimes lead to deeper emotional connections.

In addition to the numerous requests for hook-ups, cuddle buddies and dates that circulate on the feed, there have also been instances of users reaching out in times of severe anxiety and depression. In these cases, users who may feel alone, socially excluded or not feel comfortable acknowledging mental health issues to friends or family can suddenly receive support and kind words from their “herd.”

Yik Yak’s FAQ page addresses the issue of suicidal posts, advising users to screenshot them for report to the system and to contact local authorities or suicide hotlines. The FAQ also has several tabs with helpful tips on how

to report and resolve any other worrisome behavior, including threats, bullying, offensive language, etc.

Even if troubling posts seem to run rampant, they’re not without the acknowledgment of the app’s creators and gatekeepers.

In comparison to other popular social media apps, Yik Yak has actually implemented fairly smart regulations to avoid mishaps, like prohibiting users from posting phone numbers. Anonymity, for the most part, ensures its users more protection, not harm.

While Murray State has a designated “free speech zone,” few students actually use the space on a monthly basis, much less a daily one. Students might see Yik Yak as a more accurate space for free speech than on campus, where hundreds of passersby could identify them.

The app certainly has its downfalls, as all social media platforms do. But as a space for students to find comfort, humor or stress relief, Yik Yak is undeniably valuable for young adults trying to find their herd.

Making Headway

Any is too many

Seven percent of anything never seems like a huge deal.

If a student only answers 7 percent of the questions on a test incorrectly, they celebrate their newly acquired score of A-minus.

If a university announces a 7 percent tuition Dylan Doyle rate increase for next semester, Sophomore from not all will realMarion, Ky. ize the severity of the situation.

We know what the word “percent” means, and the number seven is a minuscule piece of 100.

That logic becomes faulty, however, when you start talking about huge numbers, because small pieces of huge numbers can be huge in their own right. It breaks down further when you start talking about human lives.

Data from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center tells us this: 7 percent of college students will have serious thoughts of suicide next year. Two percent of those will come up with a plan. One percent will attempt to carry it out.

Let’s do some quick math: say there are 20 million college students in the country next

year, since the U.S. Department of Education expected about 20.2 million students to enroll in the fall of 2015. Even using a low estimate, this means a staggering 1.4 million students will contemplate suicide next year.

Suddenly, that 7 percent seems heartbreakingly large.

No one likes to talk about how difficult it is to be a full-time college student with a mental illness. We do not want to seem weak or fragile in front of our professors or employers. All too often, we are unable to admit to ourselves or those close to us that we are mentally ill at all. Before you know it, we propagate the culture of secrecy and silence preventing so many from seeking the help they need and ending lives because of it.

It is a heavy topic and definitely not one to bring up over an order of Applebee’s chicken wings with friends on a Friday night, right?

That is precisely where we go wrong. Depression and anxiety are stigmatized subjects except when reported the socially-acceptable way: watered down with a few jokes included, prepared to be misunderstood.

Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or any other type of mental illness? Forget talking about it completely.

A few people will understand and offer gracious words of encouragement or help, but the vast majority simply do not want to hear about it. Those suffering from these less accepted mental illnesses have learned not to take the chance and not to place bets on the compassion of others.

At the risk of getting personal, I was diagnosed with major depression and social anxiety in November 2015. Keeping up with

the responsibilities of college life was like jumping rope across Death Valley: pointless, miserable and ultimately much more difficult than it sounds.

When activities like getting out of bed or changing clothes become huge obstacles, you find yourself agreeing with the mob of people throwing stones at you – people who claim laziness is the cause of the issue. Eventually, I started throwing stones at myself.

Desperately, I tried to will myself into being mentally healthy. In the words of blogger Allie Brosh, it was like a person with no arms trying to punch themselves until their hands grew back; a fundamental component of the plan was missing and it wasn’t going to work.

The world of academia is not overly accommodating to mental illness – the mind-numbing apathy that accompanies so many conditions is all too often mistaken for laziness, and the manic highs of other types are mistaken for attention mongering. Conversely, people with obsessive tendencies are invalidated every time someone claims their tidy desk is the result of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It all points to a fundamental lack of understanding.

The faculty and community at Murray State do a phenomenal job providing aid to the mentally ill, and I am forever grateful to them for helping me locate the road to recovery, but we must do more. We must see more, speak more and learn more. We must change how we talk about and treat mental illness as a society. Seven percent is unacceptable. One percent is intolerable. Any at all is too many.

The News

Opinion

April 21, 2016

Poll

5A Some Things Considered Can you spot the difference?

We asked our Twitter followers if they use Yik Yak. Here are the responses of 90 people.

64% 60

Like our polls?

In our latest poll, we asked you if you use the app Yik Yak and, if applicable, how you use it.

To participate in future polls, follow us on Twitter, @MurrayStateNews.

50

40 I don’t use it at all

30

24%

20 I only read posts

12% 10

I read and make posts

I’ve Got A Story For You

Get a box Google Docs or a private Facebook or Pinterest or Twerper or Instacram or some other component of the latest social networking universe.

It’s a vast improvement – until this time next year.

Then, we will find that Pinterest was bought out

by ESPN The Website and that your e-notepad has been sent to the big e-recycling bin in the e-sky. Everything was on Dave’s computer, but he forgot to forward it to someone and it fell overboard while he was fishing and writing an accounting paper at the same time. He lost the fish, too.

Andrea can’t remember which password she used for Google Docs, and she has run through all the possible permutations of her ex-boyfriend’s statistics, including birthday, height, weight and the number of times the sleaze bag lied about studying at the Signa Phi Naught house when he was actually out with Stephanie, her ex-BFF (assuming “B” still stands for “best”).

In short: no one knows what we did or how we did it. We only know it took a great deal of work and it was pretty successful. Now what do we do?

”

It’s that special time of year again.

No, it’s too early for July 4, despite the prevalence of red, white and blue, which signifies a presidential election year. It’s too early for Election Day, too (sigh).

It is the perfect time for vice presidents, secretaries, volunteer event coordinators and publicRobert Valentine ity chairmen across campus to get a box.

Senior lecturer Depending on what of advertising you’ve been doing, you might want to get a big one.

The one big problem with the digital age is that all the communication is digital. Gone is the memo, the scribbled list, the minutes of the meeting or the printed letter from someone detailing the steps necessary to pull off the Homecoming fundraiser, the annual alumni dinner or the Rho Rho Rho Kitten Toss for Male Pattern Baldness.

In place of the old fashioned piles of paper are digital files, voice mails and emails that remain only seconds away, assuming you have access to the right computer, cell phone or iPad. Instead of planning meetings, we have group emails. Instead of a filing cabinet drawer in an office somewhere, we have

The one big problem with the digital age is that all the communication is digital.

”

Cheers to ... A decision, finally.

Cheers & Jeers Cheers & Jeers is written by The Murray State News’ Opinion Editor.

Questions, comments or concerns should be addressed to hbeard2@murraystate.edu

Comic

“If only,” you wail to an uncaring shoe tree, “we had collected all the lists, charts, programs, plans, posters, receipts, records, thank you notes and spare keys to the rented golf cart and put them all in one place where we could find them this year!”

Well, “if wishes were horses,” as the old saying goes, “there would be plenty of hoof prints around here.”

But wishes are not horses, nor are they careful records, summaries of activities, mailing lists, calling lists, guest lists, bucket lists or suggestions for improvement.

Those you must make, print, preserve and put in a box. You can even include a thumb drive with everything on it. Then, you must make sure the box is not given to Dave, Andrea’s boyfriend, or ol’ professor Postulate who has been declaring his retirement since the reign of the Alexanders and who might just do it this year. He can’t remember where he parked, anyway.

Even if your event was part of the Great Beginnings and Luggage Migration Extravaganza, it’s not too late.

Get a box. Someone is going to have to remember how we do Campus Lights, All Campus Sing, Honors Day, Senior Salute, officer elections, new member installations, Runs, Walks, Sleep-ins, Robings and all the other memorable events of spring.

It’s not too early to start making a plan to save all the “stuff” that will make it easier for next year’s wheel re-inventors.

Be a friend; help make life easier for the next class. Make yourself part of history.

Get a box.

Jeers to ... “I’m too busy.”

After months of waiting to hear if Gov. Matt Bevin #Got2Work and approved a better version of his proposed budget, we have a decision.

The 4.5 percent cuts are not ideal and certainly nothing to celebrate, but at least we now know how to prepare for the change.

Come on, people. At this point in the semester, we’re all very busy with important committments. It’s a flimsy excuse and doesn’t justify not pulling your weight in classes and collaborative projects. Be a good friend and a good classmate – learn to prioritize.

Jeers to ... Netflix raising prices.

Cheers to ... All Campus Sing.

What’s the deal, Netflix? You must know your main source of income is poor college students who just want to chill while using the login of their ex-lover. On second thought, maybe the price increase isn’t so bad ...

For the first ACS in years, the sun was shining and all was right in the Quad – puppies ran freely, friends relaxed on quilts and the sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma took home their well-deserved victory as grand champions.

Last weekend, I made a quick trip to Louisville, Kentucky with my roommate.

We thought checking out the nightlife downtown – where many University of Louisville stuHallie Beard dents roam Opinion Editor – would be an exciting change of pace from our usual hangouts in Murray.

Upon recommendation from a friend, we decided on a sports bar called the Granville Inn. A hot spot for college students and a guarantee for cheap food and drinks, we likened the pub to Mr. J’s Grill & Pub in Murray.

Like Mr. J’s, it was a perfectly fine place to chat and eat – the young bartenders were friendly enough, it was as clean as a sports bar can be and the music was tolerable. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

As more and more people came in, we spotted all the usual college stereotypes: the sorority sisters, the sports fanatics, the trivia-obsessed, the non-traditionals. It was funny to us that the people coming in seemed so customary; if transplanted to a small town four hours southwest, they could have been walking into The Big Apple.

Something strange happened as the night progressed, however. As students trickled into the bar, we began to spot doppelgangers of fellow Racers. Our eyes would light up at someone coming through the door, and we’d almost recognize them as a friend – but as quickly as we saw some flash of familiarity in their faces, we’d remember we weren’t in Murray, and it would have been unlikely to see Murray State students there.

This unsettling phenomenon didn’t just happen once; it became a joke between us, and we’d even catch ourselves falsely recognizing the same person over and over.

I’m a homebody, but I’ll be the first to complain about monotony in my activities. Sometimes the idea of driving the same stretch of road to Five Points or ordering pollo loco from Los Portales one more time is enough to make me scream.

In spite of the humdrum of our daily lives, though, we missed those spots in our four-year home. By the end of the night, after seeing one too many carbon copies of a fraternity brother down a pitcher of Bud Light or a hipster chick mention Coachella, we were saying to each other, “Where’s Mr. J’s when you need it?”

It wasn’t as if the atmosphere was foreign to us, but something was off – being there was like trying to spot the difference between two images of the same scene, knowing only a few small changes lay in the colorful print. Something about the nameless, yet familiar, faces told us this crowd was not ours, this wasn’t our school and we simply didn’t belong, in the most non-menacing way possible.

When a group of rambunctious students started to chant “C-A-R-D-S,” my roommate and I found ourselves wanting to chant “R-A-C-E-R-S,” as if it would garner the same cheers and hollers from the crowd. But we knew it wouldn’t – we were far from our blue and gold stomping grounds and surprisingly aware of it.

So, to seniors on the verge of graduation with cabin fever or underclassmen itching for a change of scene: hold tight.

I know, it seems like we see the same boring buildings and faces every day.

But take a few minutes to appreciate everything here we have the pleasure of getting tired of: the businesses, the traffic, the rain, even the construction.

There’s something comforting about our surroundings here, and there’s a sense of community even with students you’ve never spoken to.

Maybe it takes distance or absence to see it sometimes, but we’ve got a great thing going on in this place. Go Racers. hbeard2@murraystate.edu

It’s that time of year

By Selena McPherson

The News

News

6A

April 21, 2016

Students honored by Farm Credit

McKenna Dosier|| Photography Editor mdosier@murraystate.edu

Out of more than 1,000 nominees, two Murray State students were nationally recognized on the Farm Credit Fresh Perspectives 100 Honorees list.

Courtney Gerstenecker, senior agriculture education major from Carlyle, Illinois, was nominated in the youth leadership category and Caleb Brannon, junior agribusiness major from Puryear, Tennessee, was nominated for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Farm Credit is an organization established almost 100 years ago that gives rural communities and agriculture “reliable and consistent” credit.

Honorees can be nominated by anyone. A selection panel of 21 agriculture experts with a wide range of skills careers and backgrounds, chooses the honorees. This year there were more than 1,000 nominations.

Brannon grew up on a 600-acre family farm in Tennessee where they grow and harvest a rotation of corn, wheat and soybeans. He also owns a 40-acre sharecropping farm with his brother.

Growing up in and around the agriculture industry cultivated his passion for agriculture, making him want to pursue an agriculture career and advocate for the industry, he said.

Gerstenecker grew up on a southern Illinois corn, soybean and horseradish farm. Her father runs the farm and is a crop insurance salesman and her mother is an agriculture teacher at the local high school.

McKenna Dosier/The News

Caleb Brannon and Courtney Gerstenecker were nationally recognized on the Farm Credit Fresh Perspectives 100 Honorees list.

She said agriculture is in her roots, and by growing up in the industry, she has gained a respect for it.

“That’s why I want to teach, to hopefully in-

still a respect and passion in my students and in the community,” she said.

Both honorees are active in Future Farmers of America. Gerstenecker was elected as the

Illinois state reporter for 2012-13. Brannon participated in the agriculture sales contest and is receiving his American Degree, the highest degree awarded, at the 2016 National FFA Convention in October.

Brannon said he received about 12 nominations to be on the list, some from River Valley Ag Credit and some came from within the university.

Members of the local Farm Credit in Gerstenecker’s hometown nominated her.

Brannon said it was an honor for agriculture leaders to see him rising, and it has shown him his hard work is being recognized.

“A big thank you for all the kind words that they used to talk about me and my story,” he said.

Gerstenecker said she didn’t even know she had been nominated until a representative from National Farm Credit called to congratulate her.

“I was really humbled and honored that they thought of me to nominate in the first place,” she said. “And the fact that I was chosen out of 1,100 people as one of a hundred was basically breathtaking.”

As far as his plans for the future, Brannon plans to continue helping on the family farm, building up his knowledge and involvement and going into agriculture sales.

Gerstenecker said she plans to student-teach in Kentucky from August to December, then move back to Illinois to continue teaching agriculture.

Edminster named Kentucky Honors Roundtable president Abby Siegel || News Editor asiegel@murraystate.edu

Jenny Rohl/The News

Warren Edminster was recently named president of the Kentucky Honors Roundtable.

Family man, leader and lifelong learner, Warren Edminster, professor of English and director of the Honors College, was elected president of the Kentucky Honors Roundtable (KHR).

KHR is a consortium of Kentucky Honors programs and colleges of public universities that provide the opportunity for undergraduate students to present research and talk about projects they are involved in.

Murray State Honors Program was a founding institutions of KHR in the 1980s.

Once a year, the directors of the Honors colleges and programs from Kentucky’s public universities meet to elect a president. The president before

McReynolds awarded LGBT ‘Ally of the Year’

Edminster, Kentucky State’s Honors Program director, held the position for eight years before stepping down from the one-year renewable position.

One of Edminster’s goals for KHR is to increase the number of students able to participate in the professional experience by adding opportunities for more creative kinds of expression to the roundtable.

Tori Bertram, senior from Paducah, Kentucky, has known Edminster for four years and said he was very helpful when she decided to present her research at KHR. As a creative writing major she wasn’t sure what the best platform would be to present her work.

“That is where Warren came in,” Bertram said. “He was super helpful and encouraging through the process. Pre-

senting unique and creative work can sometimes be a little nerve-racking and Warren was extremely supportive.”

While he enjoys his involvement with KHR, Edminster said he enjoys his work at Murray State the most.

“I really cherish getting to work with Honors at Murray State and have enjoyed seeing it grow to the point we have built an Honors College out of it,” Edminster said.

Bertram said she would describe Edminster as “a cardigan-wearing, unbelievably dedicated and loyal friend as well as a connoisseur of really, really old poetry and literature.”

“He is a leader among his students and his peers because of how hard he works,” Bertram said. “I’ve never seen him give

less than 110 percent, whether he is listening to a frazzled student, leading a committee (and he does that for several committees) or planning a trip to Zimbabwe, he always gives everything he’s got,” she said.

He began teaching Honors courses in 2002 and became the director of the program in 2008.

Edminster came to Murray State in 1999 when he applied for a medieval literature position. He began teaching in 2000, expecting to only be here 2-3 years. Sixteen years later, the Edminster family is still here.

“We immediately fell in love with Murray,” Edminster said.

“It’s a great town, great university.”

Edminster’s oldest daughter attends Murray State and his second daughter plans to attend in Fall 2016.

Donnelly receives statewide distinguished teaching award

Nicole Ely/The News

Robert Donnelly received the 2016 Kentucky Mathematical Association of America Distinguished Teaching award.

Kayla Harrell || Staff writer kharrell4@murraystate.edu Jenny Rohl/The News

Derrick McReynolds was named the Jane Etheridge Ally of the Year award recipient for advocating for LGBT students.

Ashley Traylor || Staff writer atraylor@murraystate.edu Derrick McReynolds, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, said he was taken aback when the Murray State Alliance named him the Jane Etheridge Ally of the Year award recipient.

“It’s one of those things folks recognize you for that you really don’t see because for you, it’s just what you do,” McReynolds said. “It’s just a normal everyday thing.”

The Jane Etheridge Ally of the Year award is named after the former director of the Women’s Center, Jane Etheridge, and is given out to a faculty or staff member who advocates for LGBT students.

“The LGBT students who have interacted with Derrick always come back to this: he does it because it’s just who he is,” Jody Cofer Randall, coordinator of LGBT Programming, said.

“You could say it’s his job to create inclusive spaces, but the way Derrick does it has sincerity to it.”

McReynolds has worked in housing for almost 12 years, recruiting and training resident assistants and residence directors. During this time, he has brought other people in to talk to RAs and RDs about creating a welcoming community, including Cofer Randall.

McReynolds said he is careful to make sure LGBT is part of the training because everyone should be treated as a person and always have someone to listen to them.

“For my staff to truly understand what is going on, I like to give them examples of how it can feel to see how their biases are closer than they think it is,” McReynolds said. “You’re not

judging or talking about someone across the street or in another building or another state, sometimes you’re judging people on your staff that you may not know identify that way.”

Cofer Randall said McReynolds has a moving way of speaking with students, faculty and staff about the experiences of LGBT. McReynolds is a good person for students to look up to because his identity means so much to him. His supporting peers and his faith have made him a successful person, Cofer Randall said.

McReynolds has always championed talking about diversity, which is one reason he is a role model for students, Cofer Randall said.

LGBT students told Cofer Randall it is hard on them because there are only a few openly LGBT faculty members at the university, and as part of your own development, you want a role model. McReynolds is that role model, Cofer Randall said.

“If this student needs your help, regardless of if they’re gay, if they’re black, if they’re green or if they’re an international student, the thing is they need you,” McReynolds said.

“I use my own experiences and my own identities to help students understand it’s not about their identities. They are a person, not a stigma,” McReynolds said.

“I’m always open to making sure I let those in that community know that I am person that they can come to,” McReynolds said. “I am not going to judge them.”

“I think Derrick will continue to do what he’s been doing and hopefully this award leads him to believe we acknowledge it. We acknowledge everything he has done,” Cofer Randall said.

A chemist, a physicist and a mathematician are stranded on an island with nothing but a can of beans. The chemist suggests they heat the can over a fire to make it burst open. The physicist suggests they pull back a palm tree and let it swing so the can hits a nearby rock to break it open. The mathematician says, “Suppose we had a can opener.”

Alexandra Carney, senior from Paris, Tennessee, said the joke resembles the sense of humor mathematics professor Robert Donnelly uses in his teaching.

“He always told us jokes. We were always laughing in his class,” said Brooke Croel, sophomore from Bruce, Wisconsin. “I would make jokes in class all the time. He would add onto them and next thing you know, the whole class went from learning algebra to hysterically laughing.”

Donnelly received the 2016 Kentucky Mathematical Association of America (KYMAA) Distinguished Teaching Award.

The requirements to be nominated for this award include: being a mathematical science college professor for at least part time during the academic year in the U.S. or Canada, more than seven years of mathematical science teaching experience, holding a Mathematical Association of America membership and being widely recognized as successful, effective and influential in their mathematical teaching, according to KYMAA teaching award guidelines.

Edward Thome, Mathematics and Statistics Department chairman, said in his support of Donnelly’s nomination for the 2016 KYMAA Distinguished Teaching Award, Donnelly is personable and brings his students and participants to a level of understanding.

“This is one of the nicest honors I’ve ever received,” Donnelly said. “I feel like it is undeserved and mainly due to the many students and colleagues who have encouraged and inspired me over the years.”

He has taught in the Mathematics and Statistics Department at Murray State since 1997.

“When I was in college, I absolutely fell in love with mathematics - not mathematics as an inert collection of results, but mathematics as an enterprise that moves forward through discussion and connection with other people,” Donnelly said.

“That’s why I chose to teach mathematics.”

Thome said Donnelly teaches a variety of courses, from service classes, such as mathematical concepts and business calculus, to education certification courses.

“These course activities cover a broad range of purposes and students, each with its various challenges: the mathematical background of the students, the size of the class, the range of capabilities of the students in the course and the interest-level of the participants in the activity,” Thome said.

Donnelly said he also helps students on research projects, and “several times we had a collective moment of realization - a ‘eureka’ moment.”

“Once, a student and I finally got a long-awaitedfor verification of a result from a program running on my office computer,” he said. “When the computer returned the result of ‘true,’ it was easily as exciting as MSU beating Vandy in the NCAA a few years ago.”

Carney and Croel said Donnelly’s passion is evident in the classroom. Croel said she took a night class with him and initially dreaded it.

“Dr. Donnelly made it so I truly wanted to learn, and I really enjoyed my night class. He is really great about explaining things multiple ways so everyone in the class understands. If the class doesn’t get it, he will work with us on it until we do,” Croel said.

Donnelly said teaching allows him to connect with students about mathematics.

“Obviously, mathematics is one of the greatest of all human imaginings, and it is perhaps unrivaled in its beauty and universality,” he said. “Not everyone experiences mathematics in this way, but my hope is that I can move my students just a little bit further in that direction.”

April 21, 2016

Section B

The News

Sports

Sports Editor: Mark McFarland Assistant Sports Editor: Sarah Combs Phone: 270-809-4481 Twitter: MSUSportsNews ­­

Moss shooting for pros, signs with international agent 29 games played 21.4 avg. min.

4.4 ppg .403 3FG .421 FG

Freshman

34 games played 34.4 avg. min.

13.2 ppg .397 3FG .436 FG

35 games played 33.1 avg. min.

11.2 ppg .423 3FG .487 FG

Sophomore

Mark McFarland Sports Editor

mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

Jeffery Moss, senior from Madison, Alabama, has been dreaming of playing basketball professionally since he was in the tenth grade. He fell in love with it, knowing he was good at it and knowing he may have a future in the sport.

Moss signed Andras Nemeth, a sports agent, to try to play overseas for the agency Mansfield and Associates on April 12. Nemeth is a licensed International Basketball Federation (FIBA) agent. Mansfield and Associates is an international agency

Junior

with offices all over Europe and the United States.

Nemeth has many players from the United States on his player list, including former point guard for University of Louisville and Georgia State Kevin Ware.

Moss said picking an agent is just like picking a college.

“You have to talk to him, get a feel for him and that’s what I did,” Moss said.

“When I talked to him on the phone I talked to him multiple times, and me and my dad, we both felt comfortable with him.”

Nemeth wrote in an email, “We are re-

31 games played 25.7 avg. min.

14.2 ppg .415 3FG .435 FG

Senior ally excited to work with Jeffery. During his four successful years at MSU Jeffery Moss proved to be a gifted player, with a hard working attitude on and off the court.”

Moss said he remembers the first time he came to Murray State and saw a game in the CFSB Center. He said the atmosphere and the crowd really made him want to be a Racer.

“I didn’t really understand it until I came on a visit my senior year of high school,” Moss said. “Just seeing the atmo-

see MOSS, 2B

Jenny Rohl/The News

Folke wins OVC

Men’s golf finishes second, now sets course for OVC win

Mark McFarland

Sarah Combs

mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

scombs8@murraystate.edu

Moa Folke, sophomore from Tranas, Sweden, won the individual OVC Championship and led the women’s golf team to a sixth place finish Wednesday.

The tournament was held at Hampton Cove Golf Club in Owens Crossing, Alabama.

Head Coach Velvet Milkman said the third day on the par 72 course was the most difficult because of the wind.

“The first two days there was no wind,” M i l k man said.

“The wind Milkman picked up

The Murray State men’s golf team will prepare for the upcoming OVC Tournament after coming away with a second place finish at the Tennessee State Big Blue Intercollegiate.

Coming off a spring in which several individual players progressed, the Racers are working on getting different looks from different courses.

Last weekend, the Racers finished second in Tennessee State Big Blue Intercollegiate with a final score of 581, a one stroke difference between the winner Belmont. Senior Jared Gosser from Russell Springs, Kentucky, finished in second place with a final score of 142, which was three shots

Sports Editor

Assistant Sports Editor

Women’s tennis prepares for OVC WHAT’S

INSIDE

Photo Courtesy Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Moa Folke, sophomore from Tranas, Sweden, tees off during her OVC Tournament win. on the back nine today ,and that’s what made it a lot more difficult.”

Folke started the third

and final day of the tournament tied at the top of the

Sarah Combs

and Eastern holds an 8-2 record. The Racers have faced Eastern two years in a row in the finals.

Head Coach Jorge Caetano said he expects a tough match against their biggest rival.

“We always have a tough and competitive match against them,” Caetano said.

“It’s not gonna be easy.”

The Racers are preparing for tournament play by splitting into small groups and focusing on individual mechanics. The focus this week

Assistant Sports Editor scombs8@murraystate.edu

The women’s tennis team clinched a sixth seed in the OVC and look for retribution against third seed Eastern Kentucky, which defeated them 0-7 in the regular season.

After cold weather conditions and having to play an inside match, the Racers say they are looking forward to facing Eastern in different conditions for the first match of the tournament. Murray State is 6-4 in the conference

MEN’S TENNIS

see OVC, 2B

see TENNIS, 2B

off the lead. Brock Simmons, senior from Murray, finished in seventh place in the Intercollegiate with a score of 145, which was six shots off of the winner and three shots behind Gosser. Senior Duncan McCormick from Morganfield, Kentucky finished in 28th place scoring 74 and 80, making his final score of 154.

Three of the seniors have top six scoring averages in the conference: Gosser is third in the overall indiv i d u a l s c o r e s and is averaging 72.3; Hunt Simmons, is fifth averaging 72.4 and Preston French, from Lex-

ington, Kentucky, is sixth, averaging 72.6. Head Coach Eddie Hunt said he is proud of how the seniors have been doing this year in helping the team get closer to fulfilling their goal.

“They have worked really hard,” Hunt said. “That’s been their goal from day one after a really good finish last year to win an OVC Championship.”

The Racers are led by multiple players that bring different attributions to the team. French has been a four-year starter for the team and has helped the team though his play. Gosser has brought momentum to the team with his play and Simmons has provided a consistent performance throughout the year.

“Those are the three guys

see MEN’S GOLF, 2B

Emily Harris/The News

Senior Erin Patton from Memphis, Tennessee, serves the ball during senior day. The Racers earned a No. 6 seed in the OVC Tournament.

ZUMBA CLASSES

Men’s tennis season comes to a The Wellness Center andCarr close, 3B Health host student classes, 4B

CHRISTIAN RAP

FRANKENSTEIN PLAY

Christian rapper Lecrae preforms at Lovett Auditorium, 6B

Meet the sensitve man inside the monster, 6B

Sports

2B

MOSS From Page 1 sphere, honestly I couldn’t believe it, and a year later, I was out there. I fed off of it and I got better from it.”

During his time, Moss dominated offensively on the court. He made the third most 3-pointers in Racers history.

One of the players in front of him on the list is Isaiah Cannaan. Moss said being third on the list all time is a huge accomplishment.

“Before I came to college, I couldn’t really shoot like that,” Moss said. “It just shows me how much hard work and dedication I put in and over the years it paid off.”

Moss played for coaches like Steve Prohm and current Head Coach Matt McMahon.

After his stint at Murray State, Prohm was hired by Iowa State as the school’s new head coach. Prohm helped lead the Racers to the OVC Championship game in the 2014-15, while Moss was on the team. Moss said both coaches had an impact on him that helped shape him into the player he has become.

“I remember coming in as a freshman, Coach McMahon was always picking on me

OVC

From Page 1

about the little things,” Moss said. “I didn’t really like it, because I always thought he was picking on me.”

Moss said he wants to give credit to all his teammates. He said they constantly pushed him to become a better player and a better person.

Moss played in a total of 129 games in his four years at Murray State, including starting his last three seasons.

He averaged 29.45 minutes per game. Moss continued to shoot the ball well all four years as a Racer as he shot more than 39 percent from the 3-point line in each of his seasons.

This May, Moss will graduate from Murray State. He said this is a big accomplishment in his life.

“Graduating college-it’s a huge step in my life,” Moss said.

Moss will continue to wait to see which team overseas will take him off the free agent list, but he wants to thank the Racer fans and his friends and family back home for showing him support.

“My very first game, even though it was just an exhibition game,” Moss said. “I ended up scoring 16 points. I know a lot of people back home saw that and everyone reached out to me and showed me support. I haven’t looked back since.” really tough and the pins were pretty difficult as well,” Folke said. “I realized coming in that it would be tough, but I played good, but I mean I made some bogeys and I made some mistakes here and there.”

Milkman said her and Folke were following the live scoring and watching what players were doing while they were waiting to see who would win the individual championship.

“We knew those holes coming in were very difficult, especially into the

leaderboard. She held the lead for the entire day finishing up her round leading by two strokes with some of the field having to finish their rounds.

“When I went in and heard I had a two-stroke lead with three to play, I felt pretty good about it, because I knew the last three holes were really tough,” Folke said. “I mean it was a nervous wait, but when it was all done, I was really happy that it was enough.”

Folke carded a 71 on each of the first two days of the tournament, which was good for two-under-par and a share of the lead.

During the final round, Folke finished the front nine with - Moa Folke, sophomore from Tranas, Sweden. an even 36. Folke finished the back nine five-over-par to finwind,” Milkman said. “We ish the round at 77, which knew that they had to make brought her total score to birdies, and if they did 219 for the tournament. that, they deserved to win Folke said the back nine the tournament, but there was much more difficult beweren’t very many birdies cause of the wind and pin coming in. We actually felt position. pretty good when she posted “On the back nine, it was

“

When I went in and heard I had a two-stroke lead with three to play, I felt pretty good about it because I knew the last three holes were really tough.

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April 21, 2016

Nicole Ely/The News

Moss dribbles past defender during his senior year, in which he contributed 14.2 points per game. He helped lead the Racers to get their 29th consecutive winning season.

her score.”

Folke is the first women’s golfer from Murray State to win the individual championship since the 2013-14 season when Delaney Howson won the tournament by 13 strokes, the largest margin of victory in OVC Tournament history.

However, Folke was not the only player to finish in the top 20 for the Racers. Junior Sydney Trimble, from Paducah, Kentucky, finished in 12th place,10 strokes behind Folke.

Milkman said the team prepared similar to how they usually do for any kind of tournament.

“I don’t think we changed our practice around a whole lot,” Milkman said. “The key to this golf course is the greens and we focused a little bit of effort there.”

Folke said she is excited that she was able to win the tournament and she has wanted it all year.

“I felt great about it,” Folke said. “I mean it’s been my goal all year to win the OVC so I am really happy I accomplished that.”

Folke said she plans on staying in Murray through finals week and looks forward to going home to Sweden during the summer to prepare for the next season.

”

Individual Standings: 1. Moa Folke, Murray State- 219

4. Sofie Levin, Eastern Kentucky- 223

T2. Allyson Dunn Tennessee Tech- 222

5. Morgan Kauffmann, Austin Peay State- 224

T2. Anna Glexiner Eastern Kentucky- 222

6. Amanda Lindahl, Eastern Kentucky- 225 Photo Courtesy Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Folke, the individual OVC Tournament champion, stands next to Head Coach Velvet Milkman as she strategizes her next shot on the second day.

TENNIS From Page 1 is having good conditioning and being fresh for the first match, Caetano said. Being in physically good shape and mentally focused will be a big part of the weekend.

“OVC Tournament is all about attitude,” Caetano said. “Believing that you can beat the other team and being positive.”

Murray State has one four of its last five matches while Eastern comes off two loses.

The Racers go into the tourna ment after defeating Jacksonville State 6-1. The Racers earned the doubles point against the Gamecocks, giving them a 1-0 advantage into singles.

Erin Patton, senior from Memphis, Tennessee, and Haily Morgan, freshman from Anthem, Arizona, took the No. 1 doubles position and defeated their opponent 6-2. Megan Blue, senior from Mississauga, Ontario, and Amina Hadzic, sophomore

from Esbjerg, Denmark, delivered a 6-2 victory at the No. 3 court that clinched the doubles point for the Racers.

Blue led the team at the No. 1 spot in singles, winning her third straight match 6-4 and 6-3. Hadzic followed suit as the No. 2 spot. Hadzic won her first set 7-6, lost momentum in the second 2-6 and pulled out the win in her final set 10-6. Morgan delivered her sixth straight match win at the No. 3 spot for the Racers. Morgan won her matches 6-4, 6-2. Patton also delivered a five-match win streak, winning her first set 6-4, falling in her second 6-2 but pulling together a 6-0 win in her third set.

“The whole match was very high intensity,” Patton said. “It was a big win for us.”

After losing to Eastern in the regular season, the Racers are ready to make a point with nothing to lose, Morgan said. “I expect everybody on our team to go out swinging,” Morgan said. “Not be afraid to play and hit the ball.”

MEN’S GOLF From Page 1

Photo Courtesy Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Duncan McCormick, senior from Morganfield, Kentucky, finished in 28th place at the Tennessee State University Intercolegiate last weekend.

that are leading our team,” Hunt said. “If we can get a performance out of them I think we can do very well.”

The Racers will travel to Owens Crossing, Alabama where the women’s golf tournament is being held to prepare before heading to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to compete. They will have a practice round on Sunday, playing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the week before the tournament.

The Robert Trent Jones Course Trail is a par 72 course known for being challenging and in good shape.

All four seniors have had three years of tournament experience on the course and plan to use that to their advantage. The Racers tied for second with Belmont last year at the course, five strokes behind Eastern Kentucky.

“Our guys are really ex-

cited about going back to that course,” Hunt said.

“They feel like they have an advantage and they like the setup.”

“Everybody has to play their own game. It’s a team sport, but it’s an individual game. You have to play each round like your score is going to count.” French said.

The seniors said they will get to the tournament two days early and have a chance to get in two practice rounds. They also said you cannot play the championship course six months in advanced of the tournament, which means they only have two days to study the course and find out where the trouble lies.

“We have been close a lot this year where we just lost by a stroke or two. I think everything happens for a reason and is preparing us for something bigger,” Simmons said. “We have been talking about this the past couple of years and it’s finally here. It’s exciting.”

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April 21, 2016

3B

Men’s tennis finishes season

Clara Firtos

more from Novi Sad, Serbia, fell 6-1, 6-3.

“Ueltzhoffer, True and Trosic will all be on the team next year,” said Anjan Kashyab, graduating junior from Tell City, Indiana, “They were all great teammates, and they showed dedication to the sport.”

In the doubles competitions, the Racers fell, giving Jacksonville State the early lead.

No. 1 partners Ueltzhoeffer and David Schrott, freshman from Mannheim, Germany, came close in the first set but fell to their opponents 7-6, 6-1. No. 2 duo, True and David Hess, junior from Louisville, Kentucky, won their second set but lost in the tiebreaker 6-0, 7-6, 12-10.

Contributing writer

cfirtos@murraystate.edu

The Racers finished off the season over the weekend against Jacksonville State Friday and Tennessee Tech Saturday, losing both matches 7-0.

Ending the season is bittersweet, said Will True, sophomore from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

“It felt a bit strange knowing I’m already halfway done with my collegiate career, but I’m looking forward to spending summer working hard to improve aspects of my game that need work,” he said.

JACKSONVILLE STATE

In the singles matches, Marcel Ueltzhoeffer, sophomore from Oftersheim, Germany, played in the No. 1 spot.

Ueltzhoeffer played a close first set but lost the match 7-6, 6-1. Despite his loss, Ueltzhoeffer has won nine single matches out of the whole season.

At No. 2, True won his second set but was defeated by his opponent 6-0, 7-6, 12-10.

Throughout the season True played in the No. 1 spot.

No. 3 Srdjan Trosic sopho-

TENNESSEE TECH

In the last match of the season, the Racers lost 7-0 to Tennessee Tech, giving the Racers a 1-8 score in the OVC and 3-22 overall.

“The one thing is that I have a young team,” said Head Coach Mel Purcell.

“I’m looking forward to next year, and after a tough season, we are looking toward to improving.”

Singles No. 1 player Ueltzhoeffer fell 6-0, 6-7 and No. 2 True fell 7-6, 7-3.

“These Ueltzhoeffer and True are studs, they fought a tough team,” said Purcell, “Ueltzhoeffer was up five to four serving in his match and for his first year he played good.”

Purcell said True played well all year.

He said it’s important for True and the rest of the men to maintain a good attitude and to focus on the OVC for next season.

The doubles duo True and Hess lost 4-2.

Purcell said it’s a tough schedule for next semester and he’s focusing in on how the men play doubles. “[Javier Villar] came in to play for Murray State and never played double tournaments before,” Purcell said.

“So it’s important to improve him on doubles just like the rest of the boys.”

Purcell said the men need to focus on being more competitive in the OVC and to work hard over summer to prepare for next year.

Men’s tennis might have had a bad year, Purcell said, but he is still telling the men to focus on a positive attitude, grades and learning from mistakes.

“The more experience the better the player,” Purcell said.

Chalice KeithThe News

Srdjan Trosic, sophomore from Novi Sad, Serbia, celebrates a match point.

Don’t miss the Racers

IM Standings: Soccer Women’s

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Sorority A

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Keep up with the teams as the push for OVC titles

Women’s Tennis

1. AOII A Team

4-0

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Independent

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Where: Nashville When: April 22

No. 3 Eastern Kentucky

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OVC Tournament

1. AL-NASSR

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2. Korean Malakas United

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Where: Alabama When: April 25

OVC Tournament day one April 26 OVC Tournament day two April 27 OVC Tournament day three

@ 2 p.m.

Independent

Men’s Golf

Where: Racer Field Where: Reagan Field When: April 23 @ 1 & 3 p.m. When: April 22 @ 6 p.m.

April 24 @ 1 & 3 p.m.

April 23 @ 2 p.m.

April 24 @ 1 p.m.

Tracy D. McKinney, CIC Steven S. Dabbs, CIC

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April 21, 2016

Zumba dances away the stress Clara Firtos Contributing writer cfirtos@murraystate.edu

Zumba is an aerobic fitness practice that attracts anybody who’s looking to make working out a fun experience. The class mainly follows Latin dance and music.

Belinda Woods is a Latin Zumba instructor at Murray State. She was originally born in the Philippines but moved to the U.S. in 1973. Woods has been teaching Zumba for five years in Murray. Her love for fitness got her interested in Zumba.

“I was watching TV and they all had Latin-based movements, which looked like a lot of fun,” Woods said.

A few of her Latin Zumba students have gone on to teach Zumba themselves. She be-

lieves Zumba attracts students because of the easy hand-eye coordination.

“My experience with Zumba was fun because of all the crazy dance moves,” said Katie Byrnes, senior from Memphis, Tennessee.

Byrnes said Woods’ Zumba class always has a fun, warm and welcoming environment.

“Everybody is almost always a beginner, so we’ll gradually start by getting the hands going by the time we got the footwork done,” Woods said.

“And that way it won’t be so stressful on my students.”

Woods reminds her students throughout Zumba that it’s important to breathe, to enjoy yourself and to cheer.

Cheering helps the students to relax and to feel proud of themselves for accomplishing their moves.

“As people, we love what we’re familiar with,” Woods said. “Zumba is a dance that students grow familiar with after each lesson.”

Byrnes is new to Zumba.

She said it was easy for her to catch on to the different moves through the beat of the music.

“I do warn my students to be careful if they hear a song out in public,” Woods said. “I don’t want them out in Kroger doing the moves.”

On a regular class day, Woods has 20 students, but the biggest class she has ever taught included 150 people.

Occasionally, Woods will also teach a Zumba class at her local parish, St. Leo Catholic Church.

“My favorite part of her class was seeing Father Eugene dance,” Brynes said.

“Sometimes, he would not do them well and he would laugh

Justin Gaston

Contributing writer jgaston2@murraystate.edu

Nicole Ely/The News

Softball falls to SIUE Sports Editor

mmcfarland1@murraystate.edu

The Murray State softball team struggled last weekend, only mustering one win out of three to No. 5 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

After the series, the Racers moved to 18-23 overall and 8-9 in the OVC. Murray State sits in sixth place in the conference and would qualify for the OVC Tournament if the season ended today. The Cougars move to 17-20 in the year and 9-7 in the conference and sit one spot above Murray State.

Despite losing the series, the Racers tied SIUE 4-4 in overall runs on the weekend. Head C o a c h K a r a Amundson said the pitching and defense h e l p e d keep the Racers in the series.

Amundson “We gave

Nahiomy Gallardo/The News

The popular Zumba class is available in the Carr Health Building and Wellness Center for free.

Getting to know Priddy

Junior infielder Jessica Twaddle throws the ball to third base in the team’s Saturday loss.

Mark McFarland

at himself.”

Woods encourages her students to bring their friends.

She believes Zumba is a fun physical fitness for everyone, not just college students.

“It’s important to remember to just have fun no matter how dumb you look or feel,” Byrnes said.

Woods said if students are interested in taking Zumba, all they have to do is walk in.

The Wellness Center and Carr Health Building offer classes for students. All students need is a good attitude, a willingness to learn, a water bottle and a towel.

Woods teaches her Zumba class at the Wellness Center at 4:50 p.m. every Monday. Other Zumba classes at Wellness are offered at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, at 4 p.m. on Fridays and at 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

up a total of four runs and we scored a total of four runs,” Amundson said. “It just wasn’t necessarily at the right times for us. I felt, in general, our pitchers did a pretty dang good job of holding people and attacking the zone.”

The series with SIUE was the Racers’ lowest scoring three-game series of the season, with a total of only eight runs scored.

With the Racers giving up four runs last weekend, their team earned run average (ERA) is third best in the OVC at 2.73 in 271.1 innings pitched this season. Amundson said the last couple weekends the pitching has really been strong and continues to improve.

“Over the past five conference games, we have only given up five runs in the circle,” Amundson said. “But we need to score.”

Junior pitcher Mason Robinson has a 13-11 record, 1.78 ERA and 161.2 innings pitched and leads the pitching staff for the Racers. She is holding her opponents to a .211 batting

average, which ranks first on the team and fifth in the OVC. She leads the league in games started and innings pitched and is in third place in wins.

Amundson said she has been a force to be reckoned with not only in the conference, but all year as the team’s No. 1 pitcher.

“What she is doing right now, I can’t ask for more from her,” Amundson said.

“We have outscored our opponents in conference by 20 runs, which is just kind of a staggering number.”

The Racers play two series this weekend, one against Jacksonville State, the top team in the OVC, and the other against Tennessee Tech, who sits ninth.

The OVC Tournament is May 11-14 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama. The top eight teams move on with the winner of the tournament receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.

Amundson said she keeps preaching to her team to just get to the tournament and they could be one of the teams to beat.

Sopho m o r e f r o m Austin, Texas, Rebekah Priddy has been a key contributor to the Priddy Racers’ success this season. Priddy currently holds the school record for the 2K steeplechase. Priddy took some time to answer a few questions about herself and this track and field season.

Q. When did you begin running track and what made you start running?

I started to run when I was just a freshman in high school.

Soccer was my main sport up until I realized that distance running was what I wanted to focus on. My sister, a year older than I am, joined the cross country team for fitness purposes, and I luckily followed in her footsteps. I honestly never expected running to become such an integral part of my life.

Q. What are some things that go through your mind while you’re competing in a race?

It really depends on the distance of the race, but most of the time I try to block everything out and just focus in on the race. I think it takes a lot to do this, considering there are so many distractions around you in a race, but I find it reassuring to be able to constantly remind myself that fatigue is a product of perception and can therefore be overcome if I just hold on.

Q.What has this season been like for you and your team with all the achievements you all have made?

This has definitely been the team’s best season since I’ve come to Murray, and I can honestly say that it’s been a roller coaster. I have personally never trained so hard in my life for this sport, and I know that many, if not all, of my teammates would say the same. That being said, all of our hard training is paying off and we’re able to see improvement in every single race that we run.

Q. Do you remember your first official track race?

What was it like?

My first official track race as a Racer was in December of 2014, and I had just come out of a season of injury.

Coach Jenny entered me in the mile at Vanderbilt and I was scared to death, mostly because I didn’t think of myself as a middle distance runner and because the uniform was not something that I was used to yet. I don’t remember exactly how the race felt but I definitely remember that my time was about 25 seconds slower than what I can run now.

Q. Being from Austin, Texas (Hook ’em Horns!), how long did it take you to adjust to the weather?

(I’m from Dallas and still haven’t gotten used to the cold).

In all honesty, I’m still surprised at how miserable I feel when I walk outside and the air is so cold that it hurts every inch of skin that is showing. I’m also naturally cold all the time, so that doesn’t help at all. But to cope with the icy winters, I just put on a ridiculous amount of clothing and cross my fingers that I don’t freeze to death in the Kentucky tundra.

Q. What is your most memorable moment in track and field?

So far, I would have to say that my most memorable moment on the track was when I ran the 2K steeplechase at Vanderbilt and got the school record. I remember crossing the finish line and walking off the track not knowing what time I had just run or that I had even gotten the school record until my coach and teammates were shouting it in my face.

Q. What are things you like to do outside of track?

When I’m not running around in circles, I really enjoy cooking in my free time.

Ever since I moved off campus, I’ve enjoyed the luxury of being able to cook for myself and try new recipes.

Q. I heard you tutor. Is teaching something you want to pursue in the future, or maybe coaching?

I am a Spanish tutor and a physics lab teaching assistant, and I really do enjoy both of those jobs, but I’ve never considered pursuing a future in teaching. I’ve had some great coaches in my life as well, and although they’re truly inspiring, I’ve always known that I want to pursue a career in engineering, particularly in the biomedical field.

Q. What’s an event that you haven’t done that you have always wanted to do?

So far, I’ve gotten to run every distance event from the 800 to the 5K. The only distance event left for me to try is the 10K, and although it’s a physically and mentally tough race to run, I really would like to see what I could do. I actually enjoy long runs and the occasional half marathon, so hopefully next year I’ll get to try the 10K.

Track and Field prepare for Virginia Challenge Justin Gaston

Contributing writer jgaston2@murraystate.edu

The Racers will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia and Springfield, Missouri this weekend. Racers Head Coach Jenny Swieton is using both meets for quality competition. The middle distance and distance runners will compete in Virginia and the sprinters will compete at Missouri State.

Swieton said she wants to see her team push for faster times. One runner in particular she wants to see perform is sophomore distance runner Vallery Korir, whose 10K time is on the brink of qualifying for nationals this year.

“She’s come to me and told me, ‘Coach, I know I can run faster,” Swieton said.

Swieton said she thinks Korir will have a great op-

portunity to run an even better time than before during the Virginia Challenge at the University of Virginia, which has more than 1,200 competitors listed to participate this Friday.

Another runner Swieton said she is looking forward to seeing compete is sophomore distance runner Rebekah Priddy. Priddy has already broken the school record in the 2K steeplechase and will be pushed to set another new record competing.

One of the reasons Swieton chose to compete in the Virginia Challenge instead of the Jesse Owens Invite at Ohio State is because the distance events have more competitors and more events.

Swieton said the meet at Missouri State will not have nearly as many competitors but offers quality competition for their sprinters and

will also give the Racers a chance to face some of their OVC opponents.

“Austin Peay will be there; they have some very good sprinters. There will be some other good teams there as well,” Swieton said.

As the season heads toward an end, Swieton said she will be testing her runners in the events they are less accustomed to running rather than putting them in the events they are used to.

“I think putting them in events they aren’t use to running has helped them more in the events we need them to run,” Swieton said. “I think running the 400 has helped Tamdra [Lawrence] run better in her other races.”

Swieton also said she is confident in the Racers. She said she believes they still have much more left and will continue improving throughout the end of the season

McKenna DosierThe News

Jill Jachino, senior from Taylorville, Illinois, competes in triple jump at Murray State April 1. heading toward the OVC Championship.

“I think, at worst, we need to finish where we did in the Indoor Championships,” Swieton said.

The Racers will be facing

quality competition the remainder of this month, as they will also be attending the 50th Annual Gina Relays at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, the following week.

These large meets are not scheduled by accident, as Swieton wants the team to be ready running full throttle for the OVC championships, which take place on May 13.

April 21, 2016

5B

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Features Editor: Gisselle Hernandez Assistant Features Editor: Brianna Willis Phone: 270-809-5871 Twitter: MSUNewsFeatures

Features ­

Politics: From TV screens to brick walls The fine (chalk)line between freedom of speech and vandalizing campus

Nahiomy Gallardo/The News

Taylor Inman|| Staff writer tinman1@murraystate.edu

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has hit home for some students at Murray State, as several chalkings supporting Trump popped up on sidewalks and even on the side of Wells Hall on Friday. The writings went from being free speech to vandalism, and continue to be found all over campus, like in front of Waterfield Library and by the Quad.

The chalkings, some including profanity, stretch from in front of the Business Building to in front of the Carr Health Building and have been causing a stir on social media platforms like Yik Yak. The question has been brought up: how does

campus deal with vandalism and letting students write whatever they want on the sidewalk?

Don Robertson, vice president of Student Affairs, said this is something that is hard to control.

“You have to have permission to keep it up,” Robertson said.

“You have to contact Facilities Management and the student life office ahead of time.”

But the sidewalk chalkings went to another level when one was found on the side of Wells Hall. This took the issue from being about one’s first amendment rights to being vandalism.

Websites like “Total Frat Move” have posts in forums encouraging students involved in Greek life to make their sup-

port for Trump known. Several pictures have been posted from colleges across the country, such as Emroy University in Atlanta.

The chalkings have been causing agitation there, as well.

Fox News reported in an article that the “Trump 2016” drawings found on Emroy University’s campus made students feel unsafe.

The chalkings have been up long enough to get students’ attention on Friday alone. There were also many scheduled tours for incoming freshmen going on throughout Friday afternoon.

The chalkings provoked anti-Trump supporters to add words or completely write over the chalkings, like putting a red line through a “Trump

2016” chalking.

Cheyenne Miller, freshman from Louisville, Kentucky, wrote the word “sucks” underneath Trump’s name on one of the chalkings and changed “Trump 2016, Make America Great Again” to “2016, Make America Hate Again.”

Miller said she thinks that these writings could reflect badly on the university.

“I think that supporting Trump says something bad about Murray State,” Miller said. “Trump is so closeminded and promotes so many things that I think Murray State goes against, like racism, sexism and any ‘ism’ you can think of.”

The free speech debate has been going on across college

campuses all over America in recent years. The talk takes on many different forms, like the implementation of “Free Speech Zones,” which have been used at many campuses, including Murray State. But the university can’t fully control what students want to say, whether it’s posted on Twitter or the sidewalk behind Pogue Library.

Robertson believes that it doesn’t reflect directly on Murray State.

“It’s pretty common on most college campuses; it’s not a new thing,” Robertson said.

“It doesn’t necessarily reflect what the university stands for, though it needs to be done tastefully. It’s like hanging a poster up; the poster doesn’t

directly reflect on the university.”

There have been some who argued the opposite. But it’s clear that the mention of Trump’s name has once again divided many people.

Miller said she doesn’t want people thinking that Murray State supports the candidate.

“I don’t know if adding to it made it worse,” Miller said.

“But I wouldn’t want people coming to campus and thinking that we support Trump.”

The person(s) behind the chalkings have not been identified, but there have been no more reports of any other chalkings supporting Trump.

However, there are still traces of the ones that were found on Friday morning.

Yik Yak: Bullying “Junk” not really junk at all site or social ladder?

Nick Erickson

track of the same name. A dancey, honky-tonk style piano riff kicks in with a chunky bass line. As Gonzalez sings, tempo slows for periods of times as ambient, dreamy synths fill out the space, allowing the punchy piano chords to return. Keyboards resolve into more and more layers of keyboards as the track progresses, just as the music period it aims to capture. Its smart introduction to the album, M83 gives the listeners a taste of what is to follow with the remaining tracks: loads of ’80s aesthetics.

Singer Mai Lan is featured on “Go!” With a timbre resembling the likes of Cyndi

Staff writer

nerickson@murraystate.edu

Taylor Inman|| Staff writer tinman1@murraystate.edu

Yik Yak is a social media app that has been causing drama on campuses all across the country, according to The New York Times, which says it has been a source of abuse; but it’s also been known to bring campuses together. Murray State has been no exception to either.

Yik Yak operates mainly as an anonymous status posting site, made originally for college campuses only, but has expanded to include whatever “yaks” one can pick up within a five-mile radius.

Though it seems that Yik Yak has died down around Murray State, the opposite is true for bigger campuses that continue to deal with the drama that Yik Yak can bring, like Vanderbilt University or the University of Kentucky. Being able to say anything about anyone with no immediate repercussions is what Yik Yak can offer.

But to Javus Yandal, junior from Hickman, Kentucky, the drama isn’t always bad. He said this because most people don’t know him as Javus; they know him as “orange backpack guy”.

Yandal reached “Alex from Target” fame on a local level after he started working as a housing rover, where he carried around things in his orange backpack during his long, late night shifts.

“It started about a year ago last fall. I always used to work around Regents and White Colleges,” Yandal said. “For some reason, people were still up at this time and they would just talk to me while I worked. Nobody knew my name, but I always wore my orange backpack. I would walk in and they would call me ‘orange

backpack guy.’”

After people started recognizing him on a daily basis, they started to talk about him on Yik Yak, where his fame grew.

But Yandal said the fame grew to an almost uncomfortable point after people started asking where he was on Yik Yak, then responding and posting his location publicly and anonymously. He didn’t even download the app until after his popularity skyrocketed.

“My friends would send me screenshots of Yik Yak that were all about me,” Yandal said. “It was freaky at first, but then it just got funny.”

Yandal has even had his fair share of Yik Yak criticism, saying people even start rumors about him. But he said he believes that the bullying potential of the app can be easily avoided.

“That’s just how the world is; all I can say is that if you don’t like it, just delete the app,” Yandal said. “That’s just as simple as when you downloaded the app to begin with.”

But sometimes the things posted on Yik Yak can’t be easily forgotten once the app is deleted.

When the Black Lives Matter movement started in 2014 after the death of Ferguson, Missouri teenager Michael Brown, students and faculty at Murray State held a few protests for the cause and the reactions unearthed racism on campus.

Tori Story, who was a protester at one of the Black Lives Matter protests on campus, remembers when the controversy happened.

“We talked about it in class, the comments that were being made during and after the protests,” Story said. “I remember there was one saying ‘If you threw a bomb in the crowd, you’d get rid

of most of the black people on campus’.”

The posts on Yik Yak generated a conversation about racism at Murray State, for which Story said the app can be used as a tool.

“I think it can facilitate movements against racism,” Story said.

“It can help people be more honest about what they’re thinking.”

The app has also been a source of sexism, to the point where entire blogs have been dedicated to the ‘yaks’ that have been seen as misogynistic.

Abigail French, director of Murray State’s Women’s Center, said social media can be a place that facilitates sexism.

“Sexism, like most social justice issues, is a product of cultural acceptance of inequality.

Social media (Yik Yak included) serves as a means by which our culture communicates what we accept and/or reject,” French wrote in an email. “People facilitate sexism using social media and apps, but it is the people we should hold accountable.”

French said the app can be a danger to women.

“Apps that are not monitored and regulated closely by the creators/developers of the apps can absolutely be abused and used as a means for harassment, bullying, shaming, etc,” French wrote.

But even with its negative effects, Yik Yak has been proven to be a healthy outlet for some students like Yandal, who said that the app helped him make friends.

“It got my name out there.

When I first got here I was kind of a shy guy,” Yandal said. “It’s became an involuntary tool and a conversation starter. People I don’t know will say ‘Hey OBG.’ It just makes campus feel smaller.”

Nostalgia has its place in pop culture. People associate certain sounds and color schemes with a particular era of their life. Nostalgia can be easily attributed to music, with M83 being a clear example.

The French synthpop group has fully grasped the essence of the word with their seventh record, “Junk.”

Akin to the term, the album essentially is just that: junk, although not in the negative way the word suggests. M83 has taken the highlights of the musical scope from the ’80s to early ’90s, creating a lush atmosphere bound to evoke fun memories for the youth of that era.

Anthony Gonzalez, the brain behind M83, grew up in the ’90s and has put as much of that influence into the record as he could fit. Even the album artwork looks like some sort of slightly disturbing but familiar claymation design from those days. “Junk” contains enough layers of synth to provide soundtrack to any of the Brat Pack movies and contains 15 tracks of subtle beats, vocoder-infused harmonies and spacious pianos.

The vocals are rarely in the forefront, and its almost better that way. This allows the colorful imagery of instrumentals to shine. While this is different from previous endeavors, Gonzalez still gives each track enough character to make the song recognizable as an M83 track.

A voice repeating the phrase “Do it, try it” greets listeners on the opening

“

A lush atmosphere bound to evoke fun memories for the youth of that era.

high-hat/snare drum combo fuels relaxation, inducing listeners into a trance. A surprising yet epic keytar solo bursts out of nowhere and, while short, is definitely one of the highlights of the entire album. As the synthetic string ensemble crescendos, it is truly an awe-inspiring moment that makes the listener appreciate the musicianship of M83. While often minimalistic, it’s simply gorgeous and thought-provoking.

With quite a fitting title, “Sunday Night 1987” ends the album on a oddly melancholy note. Slow and dreary synth arpeggios lead the way for Gonzalez’s heavily reverbed voice, which gives the illusion that he is far away.

A somber harmonica solo steals the show during the song’s latter half. This track makes it easy to paint an image of what the title encapsulates: a solemn Sunday night in the late ’80s, walking alone. This tracks contrasts from the more upbeat tracks on the record, and while it feels sad, it also feels incredibly peaceful and was a dynamic way to end the record.

M83 took what everyone enjoyed listening to in the ’80s and ’90s, modernized it, and put it into “Junk.”

While it might not be anything original or reinventive of the genre, it does what it was intended to do very well: capture the feeling of the spacey, dream-like music of the past. For those who enjoy a healthy dose of nostalgia, or wish the ’80s never came to an end, pop “Junk” into the CD player and let M83 take you on a journey via an ambient masterpiece.

”

Lauper, she was a perfect addition to the track, enhancing the vibe it builds upon.

A simple synthesizer hook is repeated as a drum groove pulsates. The well-placed guitar solo in the second half of the track is icing on the cake.

Clocking in with more than six minutes, the record’s longest track proves to be one of its more beautiful parts. “Solitude” carries a chord progression with a nod toward the 007 theme song. Delicate piano chords, placed with even softer strings and a minimal

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April 21, 2016

Lecrae literally brought down the roof Brianna Willis

Assistant Features Editor bwillis2@murraystate.edu

The lights went out as the crowd began cheering and screaming. Silhouettes moved across the stage as the stagehands ensured everything was in the right place. Lecrae climbed atop a raised platform and stood totally still. The anticipation began to rise as the crowd’s cheers grew louder until, finally, pulsating lights around the edge of the platform illuminated Lecrae in flashes. He began rapping and the crowd immediately picked up on the song and began rapping in unison with him. As quickly as he began, the stage blacked out again, and in an instant, colors burst from the lights on stage. All at once, the stage came to life and Lecrae, energetic and dynamic, began his set in Lovett Auditorium.

THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC Lecrae Devaughn Moore was born October 9, 1979, in Houston. As a Christian rapper, Lecrae has gone from using his musical talent to perform at a juvenile detention center in Texas to now performing on tours and writing a book set to come out May 3. However, Lecrae said it hasn’t always been easy, and his journey as a Christian has not been perfect.

“I don’t want to present you with some sanitized image of a Christian,” he said. “I’m flawed and I don’t have it all figured it out, but I put my trust in the one who does.”

Lecrae talks about his struggles with his faith and the things he has been through in life in a number of his songs. This transparency about his life is something he said he hopes he can use to inspire others.

“College students are leading the world in change,” he said. “If I can inspire that, then I am excited.”

He said his success has not clouded his judgment, though.

Rather than being focused on achieving more success and more money, Lecrae said sharing his music and his experiences with people is what he wants. He said he was successful within his community but realized that there were people outside of the faith community who were not receiving the message.

“So we decided to release a free mixtape for people outside the community,” he said.

He released “Church Clothes” in 2012, and it gained national attention, reaching 250,000 downloads on Datpif.com in less than a month, with 100,000 of those downloads achieved in the first 48 hours.

“I share these numbers not to exalt myself,” he said. “But to share the thousands of stories that came pouring in with those numbers.”

He has since released “Church Clothes 2” and “Church Clothes 3,” along with other albums.

At the end of the day, Lecrae said his aim is to inspire others, and to help people along their spiritual journey.

THE EXPERIENCE Doors opened at 6:30 p.m. and a steady stream of people filed into their seats right up to the moment the show started.

People filled the balcony and the lower level seats.

The audience was diverse in age and race. People crowded the merchandise table, buying hats and shirts while modern pop songs played overhead.

The concert opened with Swoope, another Christian rapper. He engaged the audience and encouraged participation, starting with a call and response song. Throughout his performance, he talked to the crowd in a way that was specific to Murray, from referencing local restaurants to shouting out Murray residents for their participation in his set.

If someone were to pass by, they would hear loud

bass and lyrics that seem to be about drinking and “turning up” with friends. However, closer analysis of the content matter shows the lyrics are actually about “turning up” with God and living on the right path. His lyrics suggest he finds his energy and happiness through God instead of from a liquor bottle. This combination of rap beats and lyrics with a message of living a holy life creates a musical experience previously unheard of.

Swoope kept the concert light, including jokes throughout his performance. At some points throughout the show, the bass was so heavy audience members could feel it in their chests as they jumped, danced and rapped along with him. There was even an instance where ceiling debris fell on some audience members, though the original cause of this is unknown.

Swoope also incorporated serious moments into his performance, such as talking about his personal journey with God and the problems we see throughout the world.

Some of the songs from both Swoope and Lecrae contained serious subject matter and social problems along with a message of living a Christian life.

“I identify as a Christian,” Swoope said. “But no matter what faith or background you’re from, we can all acknowledge that there is something wrong with the world; something is broken.”

After Swoope was DJ Promote. He incorporated popular memes, video clips and songs into his set. At one point, he took a selfie of himself and the stage.

He played some old school songs such as “This is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan, but also included modern hits such

as “Turn Down For What” by Lil

Jon and “Hotline Bling” by Drake.

His intention to get the party started and keep the energy going was clear.

“Turn to the person next to you and tell them ‘I came to have a good time!’” he said.

At one point he played “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”

by Silento and a little boy in the audience, around the age of 6, showed his mom how to do the popular dance.

He finished his set and someone yelled “I’m going to need an intermission!” His wish was soon granted as Lecrae played a video discussing a philanthropic organization “Food for the Hungry”.

Byron Chambers took the stage to talk more in depth about the organization. He passed out a few packets to sponsor a child

Emily Harris/The News

and then performed a song on his “talk box,” which is similar to auto tune. The crowd cheered, and a brief intermission followed.

Finally, Lecrae took to the stage, performing many of his more recent songs.

He talked about his faith journey and even told a brief humorous story about his failed attempt to flirt with a girl while he was in college. He used this story to segue into talking about his wife, followed by a song he dedicated to her titled “All I Need is You.” Like Swoope, his set focused on his journey with Christ as well as social justice issues.

“I go across the world to Mid-

dle East, Africa and Asia and then I come home and there’s Ferguson and Baltimore,” he said. “So who are we? The type who just says ‘prayin’ for you’ or do we reach out and be the light and salt of the Earth?”

This was followed by cheers.

At the end of his show, he walked off and the crowd began chanting “Say I Won’t,” which is a popular song of his.

“What more do you want from me?,” he said. “Are you not entertained?”

He laughed and then performed the full song, the crowd rapping along with him. He closed out his show with a “Kentucky, we love you” and walked off stage.

Classic horror play shows the human behind the monster

Gisselle Hernandez

Features Editor

ghernandez1@murraystate.edu

When Spencer Ray saw his name up for the part of The Creature in Mary Shelley’s acclaimed romantic-horror classic “Frankenstein,” he was dumbfounded. He was sure his towering height of 6 feet 10 inches was the reason he got the part of the monster, especially considering he isn’t even a theater major.

Ray, senior from Evansville, Indiana, had always been attracted to theater, performing in church plays when he was a child. “Frankenstein” was Ray’s first play, which debuted last weekend in the Robert E. Johnson Theatre, and the role involved two hours’ worth of heavy makeup to make him look grotesque. Ray said him being a funny person in real life made it difficult to maintain a melancholic and dark composure throughout the play, which involved him delivering high-pitched wailing to show his character’s need for the love and affection of his creator, Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

Ray said his love for theater stemmed from the reason people went to the movies and theater during the Great Depression: to take people’s minds off the problems at hand.

“[People] came to the theater to get entranced in a world they have no idea about; they didn’t care about what was going on out there,” he said. “What mattered at the time was it relieved people.”

As Ray looks forward to performing in more plays, Ray said his family has been the biggest support of his life.

He said that no matter what happens, family will always love unconditionally.

“My mother and my father have always been in my corner in my boxing ring,” he said. “Life is sort of like a boxing ring: you fall down, you stand up, you get hit, you throw punches. My family and friends have always been in that corner for me, no matter what I do.”

Daryl W. Phillipy, assistant professor of theater, directed the R.N. Sandberg adaptation of the oft-performed play, which he described in his director’s notes as “a seeming dreamscape.” The play is a nightmare told in flashback. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein (Brad Rodgers), who is mourning the loss of his mother (Cassidy Edwards) and, through his scientific knowledge, seeks to bring his mother back to life. He eventually succeeds, creating The Creature (Ray) who, because of his ugliness, is abandoned

by Frankenstein and left to

fend for himself in the world.

The play later develops on the deteriorating sanity of Frankenstein, who ends up becoming the “mad scientist.” The classic is also described as a romance because of Frankenstein’s love for his adopted-cousin, Elizabeth (Campbell Childers), who becomes a target for The Creature.

During the two-hour runtime of the play, actors played their parts in a number of scenes that included heavy lifts, fight scenes and a dance sequence.

Rodgers, senior from Owensboro, Kentucky, said that this was one of the difficulties he faced while acting.

“To keep from passing out was probably one of the most challenging parts,” he said.

“Trying to get the lines was my first priority, but trying to keep my energy up was where the real challenge comes in.”

Because of Gov. Matt Bevin’s comments on his opinion that humanities majors, like the Theatre Department, don’t have the same importance as STEM majors, Phillipy said it devalues not only the educational aspects of institutions, but it devalues the governor’s constituents’ enjoyment of the humanities.

“As someone who teaches in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, I really felt like

Nahiomy Gallardo/The News

Brad Rodgers (Frankenstein), Campbell Childers (Elizabeth) and Spencer Ray (The Creature) perform Mary Shelley’s classic, “Frankenstein.” the governor was devaluing me,” he said. “He devalues students who want to go in those career fields, he’s devaluing their career choices and he’s devaluing the way they want to live their lives.”

Rodgers agreed, saying it is even more important now to open people’s minds to appreciate the arts, especially if the cuts go through.

“A lot of people are into sports around here – Kentucky is a big sports state – so for the arts, there is support, but I don’t think a lot of everyday people have a real passion for it or want to go out of their way to see a show,” he said. “They rather go see a movie. For live theater, we have to keep that going.”

Ray was one of those people who was immersed completely in sports. He was an athlete at Western Kentucky before he decided to transfer to Murray State and take a theater class outside of his recreation and leisure services major later on. When

asked what made him change his mind, Ray said he wanted to officially be done with sports and pursue what he’s always wanted.

“Athletics no longer has this pull on my life, except for jobs like coaching,” he said. “I finally had time to do this thing that I’ve kind of missed my entire life, because I’ve seen plays and always enjoyed it and finally had time to do something I wasn’t bound to.”

REFLECTION ON MODERN SOCIETY “They say it’s a horror story and you know when people think about horror stories, they think about monsters,” Phillipy said. “But [The Creature] is not a monster. He’s like any other human being but society, I think, in general tends to reject those who are perceived to be drastically different than you and I.” Phillipy said the plot’s message is relevant to society rejecting those of the LGBTQ community and of the issues of illegal immigration. He

said “Black Lives Matter” is the same as “The Creature’s Life Matters” in relation to the play.

“That’s the real horror: society devaluing and reviling others because they’re afraid of the others,” he said. “It’s not just a monster movie; again, the horror comes from our own fear in the way we treat human beings.”

Phillipy said “Frankenstein” is one of his top five favorites as of right now, until something better comes along. He said because the play was told in flashback and dreams, it creating a unique artistic challenge and he was able to learn a lot about himself as a director.

“That’s been the exciting part of my journey: learning what I like and how to stage this and what challenge is this new play going to bring me and what’s the next thing I’ll direct,” he said. “I don’t know yet what I’ll do [in the future], but when I do know, I know it’ll be my new favorite thing.”

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Pop Culture Corner

7B Incorrigible, Defiant Woman

Featured Tweets Jaamie Curry

#BeforeYouTube

@jaamiecurry #BeforeYouTube i think i went outside. can’t remember 7:40 am 19 Apr 2016

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Maz Bonafide

@MazBONAFIDE #BeforeYouTube hundreds of future vloggers just sat talking to their bedroom walls. It was a dark time.

7:23 am 19 Apr 2016

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4:54 am 19 Apr 2016

#BeforeYouTube I had to rely on my daily subway ride to see people doing bizarre things in public. #NYC 7:05 am 19 Apr 2016

CGI brings fantasy to reality Photo courtesy of freelookinfo.com

Beloved TV mom dies Doris Roberts, the fan-favorite mother from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” died April 17 at 90 years old. Roberts is best known for her tart-tongued character Marie Barone. Celebrities such as Phil Rosenthal, Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton expressed their condolences online.

Photo courtesy of wsj.com

‘Hamilton’ continues winning streak The 100th annual Pulitzer Prizes were awarded April 18.

Some of the winners included The Associated Press in public service for its investigation series on slavery in the seafood industry, The Washington Post staff in national reporting for its coverage of police shootings and The Los Angeles Times staff in breaking news reporting for its coverage of the San Bernardino shooting.

While it did not come as a surprise to many speculating over who would take home prizes, Hamilton, a hip-hop musical based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, won the drama category. While it is rare that a musical would win, the last musical to win was in 2010 and before that 1996, Hamilton has dominated the theater scene. It is currently sold out of standard and premium tickets for the season.

Soundbyte “I watched... down on 7/11 at the World Trade Center.”

-Donald Trump, in a speech referring to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Photo courtesy of slashfilm.com

Mowgli says goodbye to his wolf parents in the new blockbuster film ‘The Jungle Book.’

‘The Jungle Book’ reboot brings a fresh spin on a classic Adam Winn || Staff writer awinn@murraystate.edu

When most people think back to their childhood, one of the films that stands out is the timeless animated classic “The Jungle Book.” The feeling of nostalgia is very influential. When producers take on the responsibility of remaking a significant story many know by heart, they have to be careful not to destroy the legacy of the original. The new live-action remake not only honors the original, but will introduce an entirely new generation to the phenomenon that is “The Jungle Book.”

The plot tells the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a young human orphan who is found by Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), a noble black panther living in the jungle. Thereafter, he is raised by a pack of wolves and referred to as the “man cub.” After a menacing tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba) makes a threat on Mowgli’s life, the pack unanimously decides he should leave the jungle and be reunited with his own kind.

Bagheera decides to escort Mowgli to a close village. After a surprise ambush by Shere Khan on the way there, Mowgli is left alone in the middle of the jungle. Not long after, he crosses paths with a seemingly lethargic brown bear named Baloo (Bill Murray) who decides to teach Mowgli about the “bare necessities” of living in the jungle.

First off, nearly the entire film, from the jungle background to the animal designs, is purely CGI. The computer animation is so vivid and detailed that the

Photo courtesy of mashable.com

‘The Jungle Book’ opened April 15 and held the number one spot in the box office. movie looks entirely life-like and uses some of the best design techniques to date.

While still carrying over a majority of the plot devices from the original animation, this film is not a carbon copy.

This version has a noticeably darker tone than the first one, making it more enjoyable for an adult viewer to watch but not enough to discourage bringing a small child to view it.

This interpretation of the story is also not a musical like the original but does pay homage to that film by incorporating newer renditions of the more popular songs, such as the iconic “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be like You.” The acting is spectacular. Newcomer Sethi, who plays the only major live action character in the film, gives an outstanding performance as the “man cub,” Mowgli. The rest of the cast is rounded out by a colorful array of mesmerizing

voice portrayals. Murray’s representation as the lovable bear Baloo is hilarious and entertaining and is one of the overall highlights from the motion picture.

Additionally, Elba, deserves an honorable mention for giving a ferocious voice-over as the story’s primary antagonist, Shere Khan. Every scene he is in gives off an uncomfortable feeling. The viewer can easily detect all the built up resentment and hatred the tiger has for Mowgli, materializing during his first on-screen appearance and progressively increasing throughout.

“The Jungle Book” is already one of the year’s best films. Whether the viewer is an adult or a child, the audience will leave feeling completely satisfied with the story and knowing they got their money’s worth. This a mustsee movie that will undoubtedly become a classic that watchers will relish and enjoy years from now.

N e x t December, I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in history. I would like to preface the rest of this column by Brianna Willis saying first Assistant and foreFeatures Editor most, thank you. Thank you to every teacher, regardless of subject matter, who ever took an interest in me and pushed me to be better. Thank you to my parents and my friends, who, at this point, I consider family.

It has been brought to my attention that recently the Kentucky lieutenant governor said, “I would not be studying history, unless I have a job lined up.”

“Surely she didn’t mean this,” I thought to myself when I first heard the news. It was true, and as she sought to clarify her statements, she perhaps made it worse.

Fascinating Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, tell me more. Please tell me more about how little you know about what it takes, and what it means, to earn a degree in history.

What it sounds like to me is that she, and others, don’t truly understand what it means to have a history degree. A common conversation starter from others, “What’s your major?” usually leads to a grimace when I tell them proudly and confidently, “History.” This is also always followed by “So, you want to teach?”

It is comical because I do, in fact, want to teach high school history after graduating. I also want to write books. I want to go to law school.

Teaching is an admirable career path, one I plan to follow at least for a while. This does not mean that the assumption historians are only good at educating the general public is a valid one. History majors are more diverse and varied in their interests and it is utterly disrespectful to assume we are all the same and all want to enter the same career.

Did you know that Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush and Dwight Eisenhower were all history majors?

Earning a degree in history allowed me to study abroad in Rwanda.

I learned about things many average Americans know little to nothing about and empathized with people from a culture I never encountered before.

Earning a degree in history taught me to analyze, to read, to write and to broaden my understanding of the complexities that exist in our world.

I have learned about war and how it operates, foreign governments, international economies and influences on our own constitution.

Earning a degree in history expanded my horizons. History has taught me empathy, moved me to tears, made me stronger and given me the tools required to enter the job market. I am capable of analyzing data, writing well and explaining myself thoroughly. In general, I have a good grasp on the history that came before me and will be made and written by me and the many other history majors that exist.

My friends will be graduating with degrees in majors ranging from journalism, nonprofit leadership, nursing and English. We are all bright, strong and equipped for the job market. I am not saying this to shame those in science fields; rather, to say whatever you major in, you matter. Sciences matter, and so do the humanities. I am tired of the disrespect.

History isn’t dead. It is living, breathing and ever-changing. As time moves on, we can look to the past to understand our present and perhaps predict the future. History is being made by you, your family, your nation and the world. It continues to evolve even as I am writing this. So don’t dismiss a history major-- they just might be your next president. bwillis2@murraystate.edu

Out this week

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War”

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