M
THE MUR R AY STATE
NEWS
Rainbows in Murray
Page 9
90 years of excellence
April 13, 2017 | Vol. 91, No. 25
FACING A CHOICE
Controversial topics paired with shocking images brought abortion into the student eye this week Abby Siegel || News Editor asiegel@murraystate.edu
Connor Jaschen || Editor-in-Chief cjaschen@murraystate.edu
The words “Genocide Awareness Product,” hung over the breezeway Tuesday and Wednesday, April 11 and 12, framed on every side with graphic images of Holocaust victims and aborted fetuses. The large display showed pictures of bloody body parts of aborted fetuses. Additionally, there was a poll for students to take, answering the question, “Should abortion remain legal?” Center for Bio-Ethical Reform spokesperson, Maggie Egger said the images may be graphic, but they were meant to spark a conversation with students on campus. Some students came to debate, others to protest and others to offer support for the pro-life cause. Egger said the volunteers who attended viewed themselves as social reformers, hoping to change public opinion surrounding abortion first and foremost. Only after the public opinion of abortion is changed can the law – specifically Roe v. Wade – be changed, she said. “I don’t think anything is settled law,” Egger said. Egger said the Genocide Awareness Project has two main messages: “Preborn are human beings and abortion dismembers and decapitates human beings.” These messages are what the organization hinges its ideas on, believing if life truly does begin at conception then abortion must be murder. However, many passing students dis-
agreed with the premise of preborn personhood, including one protester who decided to spread a message of his own. Joshua Marvin, freshman from Murray, saw the protests and immediately leapt into action, grabbing a poster board and a bag full of condoms. He sat by the presentation for more than three hours. “I walked by and saw it and I despise the flawed reasoning that is used on these signs,” Marvin said. “I believe that their imagery especially is deceptive. It’s an attempted emotional appeal.” Marvin said the volunteers were polite and respectful, but his main issue lies with the iconography of the displayed, including statements comparing abortion doctors to Nazis. Hoping to educate students on more positive birth control methods, Marvin handed out free condoms and sexual health pamphlets provided by Health Services. His sign read: “Abortions are fine, but condoms are cheaper” and “Homosexuality is also a fine choice.” The Genocide Awareness Product made no mention of homosexuality in their debates or posters. Some protesters had issues with the apparent shock value of the images, but Egger stood by the group’s decision to use these visual portrayals of abortions, in the same way other social movements used shocking visual images to shed light on what they considered injustice. “Yes, maybe, women are being upset by seeing these pictures,” Egger said. “But if being upset by seeing the pictures causes them to
see ABORTION, page 2
Jenny Rohl/The News
Many of the images displayed on campus included dismembered body parts of fetuses along side images of victims of genocide.
Week 12 Day 84 The puzzle of Autism U.S. steps up in Syria 100 days of
TRUMP
Opening up about a struggle for acceptance Abby Siegel || News Editor asiegel@murraystate.edu
Collin Morris
Assistant Sports Editor cmorris29@murraystate.edu
In the late hours of the night on Thursday, April 6, President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike directed at a Syrian airfield. The strike is in response to the April 4 chemical attack, which killed at least 69 Syrians. Trump blamed the chemical attack on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian government denied claims of their involvement with the chemical attack while Russia, known allies of al-Assad government, said it was caused by an airstrike on a rebel facility storing chemical
weapons. According to the Pentagon’s official statement, the strike targeted aircraft, aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistic storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radars. However, according to the Syrian state media, nine Syrians civilians were killed in the strike. Following the strike, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Bashar al-Assad’s leadership should be questioned. “Assad’s role in the future is uncertain, and with the acts that he has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people,” Tillerson said. On Tuesday, March 11, a U.S.
government official announced that a U.S. investigation into the events revealed Russia knew of the imminent chemical attack in advance, but did not act. Multiple tweets from Trump’s personal Twitter account containing criticisms of former President Barack Obama and calling for U.S. isolation from conflict in Syria were trending in the hours after the strike, as well as the next day. Trump has been criticized for ordering the strike without congressional approval. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, is one of those critics; he said Trump is putting the country at risk.
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Graduation is almost here! 9 a.m. Saturday, May 13 at the CFSB Center TICKETS
An admission ticket is required for each individual planning to attend. Graduating seniors don’t need a ticket, but each senior was eligible to request up to eight guest tickets. To print their tickets, seniors must use their My Murray State Tickets account. Seniors who do not yet have a My Murray State Tickets account set up can go to https://www.murraystate. edu/commencement/img/setupaccount.pdf for directions.
PARKING
On the day of the ceremony, the Roy Stewart Stadium parking lot will be available. This lot is east of the CFSB Center and off of Highway 641. Beginning at 7:30 a.m., shuttle buses will transport guests from the parking lot to the CFSB Center. For those with accessibility needs, the parking lot off of Gilbert Graves Drive will be available.
LOCATION SECURITY
Doors will open one hour before the ceremony begins at 8 a.m. for guests to take their seats. All guests entering the venue will be visually observed by security personnel. Items such as weapons, backpacks, signs and banners, noise-making devices and laser pointers are not allowed in the CFSB Center. Once in the venue, all seating is general admission.
M S U
Graphic courtesy of Connor Jaschen/The News
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For Darien Rainey, senior from Belleville, Illinois, social situations are awkward, uncomfortable and have developed into a personal battle for acceptance. “I worry about what I am going to say like every second of the day,” Rainey said. “One of my challenges is, I have to think before I talk, that is another thing that people like me struggle with.” April is Autism Awareness Month. According to Autism Society, the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, the purpose of this month is to create a movement toward acceptance and inclusion for those with autism. In his childhood, Rainey was diagnosed with a learning disability with “autistic tendencies,” but it wasn’t until he came to Murray State that he was officially diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning subtype of autism. According to Autism Society, characteristics of Asperger’s syndrome include social awkwardness, not being able to understand social rules, showing lack of empathy, limited eye contact and inability to understand gestures or sarcasm.
STRUGGLE FOR ACCEPTANCE
Developing friendships, Rainey said, has always been a challenge for him. “I’m afraid [my friends] might grow tired of me,” Rainey said. During his childhood, even before being diagnosed, he said he struggled with interacting with others. “It was hard for me to fit in growing up because I was really socially challenged,” Rainey said. “I kept trying to reinvent myself so others could see me as normal or cool and
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Jenny Rohl/The News
Darien Rainey was officially diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome in college. so I could fit in.” In high school, Rainey said he began to improve, but his personal battle for acceptance continued through adulthood. He said he finally found acceptance from his peers through the campus ministry, Campus Outreach. Logan Burchett, senior from Ekron, Kentucky, is one of Rainey’s good friends. Together, Burchett said they attend Hardin Baptist Church and their campus ministry, and enjoy having long talks about Christianity, personal struggles and being at peace with who you are. “He has made me feel accepted,” Rainey said. “He assures me that people do accept
me, and he has always told me ‘Let loose and be yourself.’” Rainey said he wants to be seen as normal. He said he can be silly at times and when he is having his outgoing moments he loves to dance “mad crazy, like Michael Jackson crazy.” He said he loves to sing aloud Michael Jackson, The Temptations, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston. “Although he is a little awkward, he has a very compassionate nature and loving nature, it is hard for him to express sometimes, but for those who really get to know him it is really evident how much he loves and cares for people,” Burchett said.
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