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October 18, 2018 | Vol. 93, No. 8
Best start in OVC since ‘97 Keith Jaco Staff writer rjaco@murraystate.edu
Murray State Racer football is off to its best start through six games since 2013 and its best start in the OVC since 1997. The Racers have strung together a three-game win streak and show no signs of slowing down heading into Eastern Kentucky
on Saturday, Oct. 20. After a dismal start to the season at home against Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, the Racers have managed to get back on track by minimizing turnovers and increasing offensive productivity. Cornerback Cortez Roberts knows the Racers still have more work to do down the stretch. “We’re taking care of
business and moving forward, trying not to get too satisfied with where we’re at,” Roberts said. “We have a lot of errors to clean up and we haven’t played the best Murray State football yet.” This season, sophomore running back D.J. Penick has quietly put his name in the hat for best running back in the OVC. Penick has garnered 436 yards
on 72 attempts, averaging 5.6 yards a carry with four touchdowns. Backup sophomore running back Rodney Castille has also put together an impressive season despite receiving fewer touches. Castile has amassed 382 yards on 45 attempts, averaging 8.4 yards a carry with one touchdown.
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see FOOTBALL page 2
Elizabeth Erwin/The News
The spread of pink eye prompted a campus-wide email.
Pink eye infection spreads on campus Daniella Tebib Staff Writer
dtebib@murraystate.edu
Blake Sandlin/The News
Freshman wide receiver Rajai Perkins posed for the camera as the team ran onto the field for the game against Eastern Illinois.
NEWS:
SPORTS:
FEATURES:
Candidate forum held at Lovett Auditorium
‘The times are a-changin’’
Murray featured in Lukas Graham video
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Pink eye is the latest infection to spread among students on campus, following increased reports of staph infection last month. According to the Mayo Clinic, conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye, is an infection of the transparent membrane that lines the eyelid and covers the white area of the eyeball. Michael Cooper, microbiology professor at Murray State, said it is caused by a bacterial or viral infection or an allergic reaction. Pink eye is extremely common and spreads easily. “Bacterial and viral conjunctivitis (excluding the HSV-1 variety) spread very readily through contact with eye discharge,” Cooper said. “One might think that it is unlikely other people are going to touch the eye discharge, but that contact is instead mediated through
the infected person themselves. Try to consider how many times you touch your own face in a day then consider how much more you’d likely touch it if your eyes felt terrible. We are great at spreading pathogens both through contact like this and the ever-prevalent fecal-oral route. It can also be spread by fomites (inanimate objects) that infected people have handled or even just touched.” According to an email sent to faculty, staff and students on Thursday, Oct. 11, symptoms include burning, painful, itchy eye(s) discharging fluid, redness or pink color to the eye(s) and slight blurry vision. Cooper said those affected should visit a health care professional. However, he said antibiotics are useless when it comes to viral conjunctivitis. Both bacterial and viral conjunctivitis typically resolve on their own within a couple of weeks.
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see PINK EYE page 3
OPINION: Nobody likes being sick
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