M
THE MUR R AY STATE
NEWS
Falling in love in Org Com
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February 15, 2018 | Vol. 92, No. 18
‘There’s a new normal now’ Lindsey Coleman News Editor
lcoleman7@murraystate.edu
Photo courtesy of Project Linus Facebook page
Project Linus delivered 1,400 blankets to Marshall County High School. Every student at the school received a blanket.
“I never thought it would happen in Marshall, or in Kentucky, really,” she said. “You assume it’s never going to be you.” Monica, a sophomore at Marshall County High School, said prior to the Jan. 23 shooting that killed two students and injured 21 others, security at the school was limited. Now, she said students are only allowed to enter the school through one of four doors. Once inside, students have their backpacks and bags searched, and they are “wanded” with metal detector wands similar to those used in airports to search for weapons.
“Personally I think that if someone wanted to do something again, there would be no stopping it,” Monica said. “Quite frankly, I feel just as safe as I did before, which now, is next to nothing. I think that the people who have gone to this school and knew the boy have realized that this takes a big toll on people, so I think that most kids are really frightened by this idea.” To help faculty, staff and students grieve together and attempt to diminish those feelings of fear Monica described, school officials said it was best to get school back in session as quickly as possible. Therefore, school resumed just three days after the shooting. “I think it was too soon personally,” Monica said.
“I know I was still really shaken.” The school held an assembly on the Friday following the shooting when students returned. They were greeted by local church members holding signs providing words of encouragement. The true first day back in school was on Monday, Jan. 29. Monica said the first few days were mainly just a time to be around each other, to play games in classes and to use pet therapy as part of the grieving process. She said the pet therapy was one of the best things they could have done. “I think that it really helped students a lot, just because it was a scary place at that point,” Monica said.
see MONICA, page 2
Graduation changes: No tickets, 2 ceremonies James Turner
Contributing writer jturner34@murraystate.edu
Graduation will be split into two ceremonies for graduates and undergraduates this May, and limitations on family attendance will be lifted. The undergraduate ceremony will be at 9 a.m. and the graduate ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on May 12. Mark Arant, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the change was made out of respect for the community. “Murray State has 51 percent first generation students,” Arant said. “An opportunity to be a part of that student’s graduation commencement for the first time in a family is an immense accomplishment.” Arant said the university administration wants as many family members as possible to share in these kinds of moments, so there will be no tickets limiting how many family and friends can be invited. “It’s about the students and about the families more than it is about us,” Arant said. The other reason for the change was length of ceremony. At the ceremony last spring, Arant said it lasted for nearly four hours, and very few people were left by the ceremonies end. Now, he hopes the ceremonies will last no longer than two hours each. The changes were welcomed by Caprisse Johnson, a senior graduating in May. She was grateful for the potential time reduction. “I don’t have to sit in a chair for four hours while I’m waiting for everyone to graduate, which is always good,” Johnson said. Arant said these changes were
talked about for two years before he accepted his current position. “When I started in July, the commencement ceremony was one of the first things that people brought to my attention that needed some review and some adjustment,” Arant said. Arant said by limiting how many could come, Murray State would be losing families and the opportunity for retaining current students and recruiting new students. Changes won’t be needed for the December ceremony though, as the pressure on the CFSB Center will be significantly less. However, Arant said with more people graduating and walking in December, they will consider two ceremonies. For now, December commencement will be combined into one ceremony for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. Many students are still unaware of the changes, but steps are being taken to ensure students will know what to do. Arant said they are preparing information packets that will be included with student’s regalia upon purchase, so they’ll know which ceremony they need to attend and what they need to do. Director of Communications, Shawn Touney said faculty are not required to attend both ceremonies, but will be encouraged to attend one or the other. The deans of each college will be working with faculty to make sure they are informed of the changes. “During this process, we hope to address things that have been unclear in the past,” Arant said. “This is not just simply a split of ceremonies, but it’s a look at process, and trying to get everything as smoothly operated as we can.”
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Savannah Hatfield/The News
U.S. 68/KY 80 bridge opens
Lindsey Coleman
News Editor
lcoleman7@murraystate.edu
Faculty, staff and students heading east of Murray through Land Between the Lakes will notice a few changes along their route. The new U.S. 68/KY 80 Lake Barkley Bridge opened on Monday, Feb. 12 to two lanes of traffic as part of the Lake Bridges project. The first phase of the bridge project, the new U.S. 68/KY 80 Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake at Aurora, Kentucky opened to traffic in August 2016. Since then, crews have been working to construct the next phase of the project, the new Lake Barkley Bridge. The bridge is a popular thoroughfare for students like Ethan Chester, senior
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from Trenton, Kentucky. “Since I travel the bridges that are over Kentucky and Barkley Lakes 2 to 3 times per week I feel that it is going to make my commute to and from Murray a much safer one,” Chester said. On Monday, two-way traffic was moved to what will eventually become the eastbound lanes of the new bridge. Crews will continue to construct a multi-use path, painting on the main arch steel and other work through the end of the year when the project is expected to be completed. Director of Alumni Relations, Carrie McGinnis said she crosses the bridge twice a day and is most excited about the functionality for recreation. “Now that both the Barkley Bridge and the
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Kentucky Bridge will have bike and walking paths, I can safely ride from my house in the Canton area of Trigg County, all the way through Land Between the Lakes and over to Aurora, or even to Murray,” McGinnis said. McGinnis said her maiden voyage will be to Belew’s Dairy Bar when the weather gets warmer. The bridge, which serves as the eastern entrance to Land Between the Lakes, originally opened to traffic in 1932 as a toll bridge, according to a press release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The toll was removed in August 1945. “This will be the only spot on the planet where two basket handle arch bridges are within 9 miles of each other,” according to a KYTC press release.
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Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
The new Lake Barkley Bridge opened to two lanes of traffic on Monday, Feb. 12. The rest of the bridge is expected to be complete by year’s end.
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