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THE MUR R AY STATE

NEWS

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Destinee Marking Senior writer

dmarking@murraystate.edu

Water leaking through windows, puddles of water in the hallways and mold on the ceiling and walls.

That’s what students who attended class in Woods Hall and those who had offices there have dealt with for years.

The Board of Regents had planned to renovate

@MurrayStateNews

October 25, 2018 | Vol. 93, No. 9

Blackburn Science Building in order to house the relocated offices and classrooms from Woods Hall.

However, because of accelerated deterioration, faculty, staff and students were moved to other locations on campus sooner than anticipated.

Originally, offices and classrooms were expected to stay in Woods Hall until fall 2019, but Shawn Touney, director of communication, said recent rainfall resulting in damages to the building pushed all resources out sooner than planned. see page 3 Education Abroad is

WOODS,

Colton Colglazier/The News

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NEWS NEWS THE MUR R AY STATE

October 25, 2018

Regents revise position on CPE funding Elizabeth Erwin News Editor

eerwin1@murraystate.edu

The Board of Regents unanimously voted to pass a revised statement regarding state performance funding during their Oct. 19 meeting.

The resolution comes after state budget bill HB 200 set aside $31 million for the Postsecondary Education Performance Fund to distribute across all public state universities and Kentucky Community and Technical College System institutions based on certain performance funding model metrics.

Out of the available $31 million, Murray State received $557,800.

“We’ve had a lot of discussion about this and

there was a unanimous consensus on our board that we needed to address this in a more formal way,” Regent Jerry Rhoads said. “We have provided input in Frankfort, both to the CPE [Council on Postsecondary Education] and the legislature, communicating our position and expressing our concerns about the current model. But, we thought it would carry more weight and be a better practice for us to go ahead and draft a position statement which would be formally approved.”

The revised statement emphasized the volume-based nature of the current performance funding metrics versus the more qualitative metrics that the Board of Regents

had originally advocated for in 2016.

“In 2016 when this Board issued the initial statement about performance funding… you as a Board said that you wanted a performance funding model that was based on quality and not quantity,” Jordan Smith, director of government and institutional relations, said.

“And many are arguing that the model we have now is quantitative and volume based.”

The current metrics used to distribute performance funding among universities are comprised of student success, course completion and institutional support

c o m p o n e n t s .

The student success component makes up 35 percent of the total distribution formula and is calculated based on the amount of certain bachelor’s degrees such as STEM+H and the amount of under-represented minorities and low-income students pursuing bachelor’s degrees.

The course completion component is responsible for another 35 percent of the total distribution calculation and is based on an institution’s total number of student credit hours earned.

The institutional support com-

1.9%

ponent, which makes up 30 percent of the calculation, analyzes a university’s instructional and student services, enrollment of full-time equivalent students and the total square footage of facilities.

“While the Murray State University Board of Regents maintains our commitment to statewide access to postsecondary educational opportunities, the Board believes that the current performance funding model has various unintended consequences primarily relating to the major emphasis placed on volume-based metrics,” according to the revised statement passed on Oct. 19.

The statement then went on to address other

consequences of the performance funding model including the “disadvantage given to institutions within the state pension system, state budget cuts, deferred maintenance issues, campus space utilization and fiscal management in the instruction and student services areas.”

During the meeting, Rhoads said other universities were likely to take similar action toward the performance funding metrics, specifically mentioning Morehead State University.

Morehead was one of two schools that received less than Murray State, the other was Kentucky State University.

Both of which were appropriated $0.

Overall budget compared to Murray State’s portion.

Colton Colglazier/The News

News

October 25, 2018

WOODS From Page 1 now located in Lovett Auditorium, Inter-national Recruitment is in the Oakley Applied Science Building, International Admissions and Student Services is in Pogue Library and ESL are in Faculty Hall.

The Blackburn Science Building renovations and the future of Woods Hall were discussed during the deferred maintenance projects update at the most recent Board of Regents meeting on Oct. 19.

During this portion of the meeting, Regent Don Tharpe expressed concern about the University not committing the necessary funds to maintain buildings on campus.

“On behalf of those students who are not here to speak to this and taxpayers of Kentucky, I believe we have to address this deferred maintenance issue,” Tharpe said.

To avoid meeting years in the future and reporting on the same issues, Tharpe said a solid plan is needed now.

“If you look at the dormitories, some of them are barely up to Section 8 housing standards,” Tharpe said. “Some of the students are complaining that they can’t even choose

Deteriorating conditions in Woods Hall prompted offices and classes in the building to be relocated across campus.

their clothes because there’s not enough light in the rooms, so I’m continuing wanting us as a Board to ask administration to come forward with some plan to address these deferred maintenance issues. If we continue to kick this can down the road, five, six, seven, eight, ten years from now, we’re going to be tearing these buildings down.”

Page 3a usefulness. Demolition of a facility is never inexpensive. It’s always something we don’t want to do, but sometimes we must, and Woods Hall has definitely created that situation.”

The demolition of Woods Hall was one of the projects authorized

by Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed biennial budget at the beginning of 2016.

The estimated cost for

“

If we continue to kick this can down the road, five, six, seven, eight, ten years from now, we’re going to be tearing these buildings down.

-Regent Don Tharpe

Nearly a year ago at the Dec. 8, 2017 Board of Regents meeting, the Board approved moving forward with the plan to renovate the Blackburn Science Building so Veterans Affairs, international programs and experiential learning could be moved into the building.

At the meeting, former president Bob Davies said the demolition of Woods Hall was a University priority. He said the building is “glorious” when looking at the outside, but the inside does not reflect that.

“The facility is old,” Davies said. “It is well past its prime. It’s well past its

”

the razing of Woods Hall is $2.3 million, but Jackie Dudley, vice president of finance and administrative services, said the project has not yet been funded.

She said the remainder of the $3 million funding Blackburn renovations will go toward razing Woods Hall.

Lisa Rudolph, Board of Regents vice chair, said she understands Tharpe’s concerns.

“By looking at this, I really don’t know when the situation is going to improve,” she said. “I know that any budget, you can’t predict it, but when I look at it, it seems like we look at a lot of the same

things each time and we don’t have any good idea of when things are going to be accomplished.”

Interim President Bob Jackson said the process of establishing a plan is lengthy and difficult.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure we have a very, very thoughtful plan of action,” Jackson said.

“Then we have to allocate the dollars if they haven’t already been allocated.”

Additionally, Jackson said a plan will not immediately solve all issues.

“We can be as detailed as we want, but the problem with this is we’re addressing some issues that have been bubbling for some time, so over the course of the next several months and years, we will be tackling all of the things on this list, and there will be new items added,” Jackson said.

Everything is intended to be out of Woods Hall

by Thanksgiving so the building can officially be locked, and Jackson said the building will ideally be razed during summer 2019 when students are not on campus.

Dudley said the goal of completing the Blackburn renovations by fall 2019 is “lofty,” but it must get done so the International Studies department can be moved in.

“We’re anxious to pull those units back together as one functioning unit,” she said.

Rhiannon Branch/The News

News

Page 4a

October 25, 2018

SUV crashes into Boone Cleaners James Turner Staff writer jturner34@murraystate.edu

Courtesy of the Murray State Police Department

The Murray State Police Department is asking the community to be on the lookout for these two individuals soliticing money.

Be on the lookout

A black Cadillac crashed through the front door of Boone Cleaners on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

According to a press release from the Murray Police Department, 67-year-old Pamela Cherry of Murray said she thought she applied the brakes, but her vehicle rammed into the building.

An employee who was near the door at the time of incident was taken to the hospital for a possible

minor injury.

Police Sgt. Brant Shutt said Cherry was pulling in to park but mistakenly put her foot on the accelerator.

“Just one of those crazy accidents that can happen,” Shutt said.

Tony Boone, one of the owners of Boone Cleaners, got the call from ‘Cindy’ on the laundromat side telling him what had happened, but he didn’t believe her at first.

“I thought she was being funny,” Boone said.

Boone said he recognized the driver of the

Cadillac, though he did not know her name. He said she was a nice lady that couldn’t have been much older than him.

As for the building damage costs, Boone said he’s going to let the insurance adjusters have at it. However, he said the laundromat side will remain open, and the hole on the cleaners side will be boarded up.

Boone also said the incident could expedite plans to move the business to another part of town, which was originally planned for Dec. 1.

Suspicious persons solicit money on campus Ashley Traylor Editor-in-Chief atraylor@murraystate.edu

The Murray State Police Department sent an email to students, faculty and staff on Oct. 24 informing them of a suspicious man soliciting money in academic buildings.

According to the email, the man is selling Rice Krispies Treats and allegedly donating the money to charity. His picture is posted on Murray State University Police Department’s Facebook page.

After Murray State Police posted the man’s photo on their page, they learned the man is not working alone. A woman has also been seen soliciting donations.

Nick Fuson, freshman from Meade County, Kentucky said he was approached by a woman in front of Waterfield Library.

“She didn’t say anything, because she seemed sick and couldn’t talk,” Fuson said. “But, she handed me a thank you card and it said she was a student volunteer trying to raise money for a trip by selling Rice Krispies Treats.”

Fuson told her he does not carry money with him on campus.

“She said, ‘Do you carry credit or debit card’ to which I responded ‘No, I don’t have anything,’ and walked away,” Fuson said.

Murray State Police have been unable to verify the validity of the charity, but they wrote on

Facebook that the charity the man and woman are supporting is run by Apollo Quiboloy, who is the leader of Philippinesbased church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Several students, who commented on the post, said these persons also had card readers, and Murray State Police said they took information on several students’ credit cards.

The man was seen carrying a Bath and Body Works bag, and students who have been approached by the woman have said she carries a black bag.

If you see this person on campus, contact the Murray State Police at 270-809-2222 or through the LiveSafe app.

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October 25, 2018

NEWS SPORTS THE MUR R AY STATE

Page 5a

Ex-NFLer leading AD search Blake Sandlin Sports Editor bsandlin1@murraystate.edu A former Cincinnati Bengal turned Murray State Regent is heading the search for the next University athletic director.

Eric Crigler has come a long way since his football-playing days at Murray State and his short stint in the NFL. A two-time AllOVC selection in 1988 and 1989, he graduated from Murray State in 1990.

Crigler, a Louisville native, spent his childhood attending Bengals games and idolizing players like quarterback Kenny Anderson, who played less than 100 miles away from his home.

As fate would have it, Crigler would be drafted in the 10th round of the 1990 NFL Draft to none other than the Cincinnati Bengals, where he would play for nearly a year and a half.

His 1990-91 Bengals team won the division championship and is the last team in Cincinnati to have won an NFL playoff game.

Crigler was released from that team shortly after, which led him to play for the Frankfort Galaxy in the NFL Europe League. He played under Jack Elway, the father of legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. When the six-foot-five-inch, 295pound lineman realized his professional football career was over, he began plotting his post-NFL life.

“I was trying to figure out what to do with my life,” Crigler said. “I had a job at a Telecom company, kind of an entrepreneur type thing, but I was really trying to figure out how to get into investments because it was really a tough area to get into. I ended up going back to school and getting a graduate degree at Indiana University; got my MBA there. That really is what enabled me to transition to kind of a Wall Street career.”

Crigler was a mathemat-

ics major at Murray State with a minor in finance, and had always been enamored with investing. When he was drafted, his dad gave him investment magazines to help guide his financial future.

After acquiring his MBA and getting an internship at Goldman Sachs, Crigler broke into the finance world and worked for a company out of Wisconsin for more than eight years before moving to his current residence in Memphis, Tennessee.

There, Crigler started an investment firm called Skyhawk Capital in 2005.

While he was living in Memphis, a friend urged Crigler to apply for a vacant seat on the Board of Regents at his alma mater. Though he said he didn’t feel overly qualified for the role, he decided to apply.

“Murray and Murray State hold a special place in my heart and gives me the opportunity to give back to the University,” Crigler said. “...So the opportunity to try and serve and give back to the University was an exciting thought to me.

I didn’t really think I had a great chance or had some kind of inside track or anything like that.”

Nevertheless, Crigler found favor in the eyes of Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who appointed him to the Murray State Board of Regents on Monday, Aug. 6.

Crigler was thrown into the fire almost immediately, as his appointment came just days after former Murray State President Bob Davies resigned his post, and a day before the board moved to name an interim president.

Now, over two months since his appointment, Crigler has been hard at work to fill another vacant post at the University.

This one, the athletic director position, has been vacant since Allen Ward resigned on July 13 to take a job at Abilene Christian University. Head Coach of Murray State women’s golf, Velvet Milkman, is current-

ly presiding as the interim athletic director in the meantime.

Though he doesn’t directly lead the committee, Crigler was tasked with the role of liaison for the Board of Regents in the search for the new athletic director over a month ago. Instead of employing the work of a national search firm, the University opted to conduct the search internally.

While Crigler noted that there are caveats in foregoing the services of a national firm, there is still a lot to be gained.

“The downside [of a search firm] is obviously money,” Crigler said. “The other thing is, what the search firm really doesn’t understand is the culture of the place they’re serving, and they have to try to get up to speed on that. The people on the committee, the people who have been involved at Murray State year after year or were student-athletes that have gone on, like myself, to have other careers, we understand kind of the culture of Murray State and what Murray State needs and the fit you can get at Murray State.”

That’s why he is part of a 12-person committee formed in order to provide varying perspectives and skill sets throughout the hiring process. That committee is comprised of former and current Murray State student-athletes, former athletic administrators, academic personnel, University donors and Murray constituents.W “We tried to really have a diverse group of constituents so that some people can say, ‘This is really important to me’, or ‘That is really important to me,’” Crigler said. “That athletic director position has to keep a lot of balls in the air; they juggle a lot. You want to be competitive and do well on the field or court, but you have to keep an environment of compliance in terms of NCAA, grades and Title IX.”

Courtesy of Racer Athletics

Regent Eric Crigler poses for a photo during the commemoration of former Murray State Head Coach Frank Beamer.

Crigler said he has been surprised by the sheer volume of applications that the listing, which was posted Oct. 2, has yielded. He said the job posting will run until the end of November or until the position is filled.

The search is also closed, which affords potential admirers the luxury of confidentiality.

“It’s a closed search, so obviously you get people who are happy in their current job, but would like to see what’s going on and so forth,” Crigler said. “So far we’ve been very happy with the response from the ad.”

While Crigler was unable to comment on individual applicants personally, he

noted that Murray State’s brand and rich tradition speaks for itself. “[Murray State’s] a Division I athletic director job in a program with scholarship football and basketball that has the tradition and brand in athletics,” Crigler said. “So there’s a scarcity factor that I maybe didn’t appreciate that much before the search started, but there’s been a lot of interest.”

This official listing requires that prospective applicants are adept in areas like fundraising and marketing, leadership, collaboration with staff, students, faculty, alumni and media, and a minimum of five

years experience in athletic administration.

Crigler identified several defining qualities that a prospective athletic director should have.

“You’re in charge of a large budget within the University, you have to manage coaches, you’re working on the culture and have processes and controls for the compliance aspect and now the position has really evolved to where the athletic director tends to be one of the faces of the University,” Crigler said.

“So they have to be creative in the revenue department,

,

see CRIGLER page 6

Sports

Page 6a

CRIGLER From Page 5 they have to be involved in fundraising and development and they have to engage the community on behalf of Murray State. It’s tough to find someone that’s good in all those areas, so really what you have to do is have a solid team. Thankfully, we have some solid folks over there.”

Before the transition can occur, the committee must find that ideal candidate. Since the University is not utilizing the services of a national firm, their

reach is vastly limited.

However, Crigler said Murray State athletics has been advantaged to have prestigious coaches call the school home in the past, and the school is using that deep network of individuals to source the perfect candidate.

“Reaching out to those people, using our networks to go out and source and find people,” Crigler said.

“Some applications are just people that saw the posting, and they may very well be the very best people for the job, but the committee isn’t just sitting on our laurels and hoping that people send things in;

the committee has been actively recruiting.

This period of time is really about getting as many great candidates as we can in the pool, and we’ll start dwindling that down once we get that.”

No matter the direction the search committee ultimately takes with the hiring of Murray State’s next athletic director, Crigler’s credentials as a former athlete and financial savant should provide invaluable insight for the committee and the Board of Regents during a period of critical turnover and depleted budgets.

October 25, 2018

THE MURRAY STATE NEWS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Giustino helped the Racers extend their winning streak to seven games last weekend while reaching a milestone that only 13 other Murray State players have reached.

She crossed the 1,000-kill milestone in Murray State’s win over Jacksonville State.

The junior finished the weekend with a total of 28 kills and 25 digs.

RACHEL GIUSTINO Junior Outside Hitter

Rosalyn Churchman/The News

McMahon: Conference is ‘wide open’ Blake Sandlin Sports Editor bsandlin1@murraystate.edu

It’s that time of year again: the one day a year when media, coaches and players congregate in Evansville, Indiana, to ask coaches to address the arbitrary significance of their respective preseason rankings.

Among those dismissive coaches was Murray State men’s basketball Head Coach Matt McMahon, who was indifferent towards his Racer team being picked

to finish second in the OVC in the preseason standings after Belmont.

“I don’t think you sort it out at all because it’s all very meaningless when you start talking about whether it’s preseason polls, preseason awards, what have you,” McMahon said.

Nevertheless, there’s no refuting Murray State has monumental expectations to uphold. After winning their 16th OVC Championship in program history, cementing a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament and

compiling a 26-6 record, the Racers will be tasked with replicating their successes without the services of Jonathan Stark and Terrell Miller.

Stark (21.4 PPG) and Miller (15.1 PPG), who departed for professional careers after last season, combined for more than 46 percent of the Racers’ offense last season.

Thankfully for the Racers, as one door closes, another one opens.

And behind this door stands a stellar tandem of successors.

Murray State Head Coach Matt McMahon speaks with the ‘Voice of the Racers,’ Neal Bradley.

Blake Sandlin/The News

Most notably, sophomore guard Ja Morant and senior guard Shaq Buchanan will be primed to lead the Racers.

Buchanan and Morant were each named to the Preseason All-OVC Team. Morant is coming off a year where he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.3 APG and 6.5 RPG. “Our guy Ja Morant is special,” McMahon said. “He makes everyone around him better.

He can really score the basketball, as I think you’ll see this year. He’s an elite-level passer.

A monster athlete, as you’ve seen, with incredible explosiveness. He’s a competitor.”

Buchanan averaged 9.1 PPG last year, and was one of just two players to make the Preseason All-OVC team averaging single-digit scoring.

Any offensive shortcomings Buchanan had were well compensated for on the defensive end.

The senior averaged 1.6 steals per game to lead the Racers last year.

“With Shaq, you have an elite defender, one of the best I’ve

had the opportunity to coach, probably right there behind Jewuan Long, who’s the best,” McMahon said. “But Shaq is relentless on the defensive end of the floor, and I think you’ll see his offensive production be even more than last year.”

Even still, McMahon contended Morant and Buchanan should average even more given the departure of Stark and Miller.

“With Ja and Shaq, 13 points per game and 9 points per game last year, it wasn’t because they couldn’t [score more], it’s that they’re unselfish, smart players,” McMahon said. “They had guys like Stark and Miller, and they created a lot of scoring opportunities for those guys, so we’ll count on them to score more for us this season.”

Morant, Buchanan and the rest of the Racers will need to be sharp this season as they will embark on a top-heavy yet threatening conference poised to dethrone the reigning confer-

ence champs. Belmont, picked to finish first, Jacksonville State, picked to finish third, and Austin Peay, picked to finish fourth, are all formidable opponents this year. Despite the frontrunners, McMahon believes the league could see some surprises.

“I think the league’s wide open,” McMahon said. “I think it’s a difficult lead to project because so many teams in our league are dependent on high-major Division I transfers. We have junior college AllAmericans coming into our league; talented high school seniors coming into our league. These are guys who although you may not know their names now, they are guys that will be on that All-Conference team come March.”

Fans can discover if the Racers’ No. 2 ranking is warranted when they officially open up their regular season against the reigning Horizon League champs, Wright State, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the CFSB Center.

Sports

October 25, 2018

Page 7a

Racer women tabbed to finish last in conference Gage Johnson Senior writer gjohnson17@murraystate. edu On Tuesday, Oct. 23, the OVC held its annual OVC Media Day for all the teams across the conference to address the media and announce preseason awards for the upcoming season.

Between the morning and afternoon interview sessions, the OVC Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Communications Kyle Schwartz, Murray State men’s basketball Head Coach Matt McMahon, Belmont University women’s basketball Head Coach Bart Brooks and OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche spoke to the media about several topics in the conference.

McMahon and Brooks talked about their experience at the tournament last season, as well as their

excitement for the competitiveness and buzz around the conference.

DeBauche expressed her gratitude for the conference sponsors and the OVC tournament host city of Evansville.

“We heard from our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans that they had a great time in Evansville,” DeBauche said. “With that feedback in mind, our board of athletic directors, many of whom are here today, gathered in the spring, and ultimately voted to bring the tournament back here for a number of years.”

Before the season begins, the head coaches and sports information directors voted for the Preseason All-OVC teams, as well as where they think the teams will place by the end of the season (schools couldn’t vote for their own team).

The Racer women’s team had no representatives rec-

ognized, while Belmont senior guard Darby Maggard was voted as the Preseason OVC Player of the Year. The reigning OVC Champion Belmont Bruins received the most first place votes in the predictions, while Murray State was voted to finish last in the conference.

Murray State’s women’s basketball Head Coach Rechelle Turner said she hopes the slight to the Racers inspires them.

“I think it goes to show our kids that nobody is really expecting anything out of them,” Turner said. “I don’t think they necessarily deserve any respect at this point; they haven’t done anything. When you look at this roster, we’re bringing two players back that had [played] any minutes whatsoever last year. Where else would they put us? But I do think that it’s something that can continue to drive us and hopefully help our players

Blake Sandlin/The News

Murray State Head Coach Rechelle Turner addresses the media at OVC Media Day in Evansville, Indiana. work harder and give them incentive to prove people wrong.”

Turner said she knows that the competition will be stiff this season, but believes

her team will shock some people.

“I think Belmont is going to be very good and they deserve to be on top,” Turner said.

You can see the Racers in action against Lindsey Wilson College at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the CFSB Center.

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Page 8a

NEWS FEATURES THE MUR R AY STATE

October 25, 2018

Homecoming mums arranged in class Allison Boggan Staff writer aboggan@murraystate.edu

With Homecoming quickly approaching, many Murray State organizations and departments are pitching in to make the event a success.

In Steven Still’s floral design course, his students work in collaboration with a guest course instructor, Kimberly Bellah, to learn the art of floral arrangement. These arrangements, composed of mums, will be used in one of the many Homecoming events.

“I began teaching about making traditional Texasstyle Homecoming mums when I taught the floral design class a few years ago during the horticulture faculty transition time,” Bellah said. “When Dr. Still began teaching the class, he asked me if I would continue teaching that lesson, so I bring my materials and we construct the mums together.”

Bellah most enjoys teaching the students about the history of Homecoming mums and why students make them today. When she moved to Texas, she was introduced

to the arrangements, and she wanted to continue that tradition for her children when they moved to Kentucky.

“In terms of teaching, since my students primarily are planning to become high school agricultural educators, it is wonderful to show them a project they can incorporate into their agricultural programs as both the start to a tradition and as a means to raise some money for their floral design programs,” Bellah said.

What is most memorable to Bellah each year is watching her students go from a place of suspicion or concern when looking at their materials, to a place of frustration in learning how to braid ribbons and create loops, to a place of pride and amazement at their own creativity with ribbons, artificial flowers, staples and glue guns.

Kassie Maierhofer, senior from Seneca, Illinois, enjoyed learning about the different types of floral arrangements and how they are used for different events across the country. She also enjoyed the creativity the arrangements gave each creator. The mum

arrangements were challenging but allowed her to be as creative as she wished.

“I’m not sure that I’ll ever make the mum arrangements in my future career, but as an agricultural communications major, I utilize every experience that I can get,” Maierhofer said.

“I think understanding floral arrangements helps to create versatility within my skill sets.”

She said in agriculture, no one ever really knows what tasks they will encounter. Each day is different, so every experience is beneficial to have and there is never really too much exposure to different elements within the field.

“Students are benefiting from the experience because it shows them another type or style of floral design and they may be interested in instructing their future students in this type of mum creation,” Still said.

Homecoming starts Friday, Oct. 26 and continues on Saturday, Oct. 27 with a variety of events for Murray State students, faculty, alumni Mackenzie O’Donnley/The News and community members to partake in.

Kassie Maierhofer helped with floral arrangements for Homecoming.

The Buddy Project shines light on mental health Amy Turner Staff writer aturner32@murrraystate.edu

Stress, anxiety and depression are all too real for most students on campus. The Buddy Project is here to help.

This is a national organization founded by 20-year-old Gabby Frost.

The organization works by pairing people based on a compatibility test to a buddy. Then, through social media, a participant can connect with their buddy who understands what they are going through.

Photo courtesty of the MSU Buddy Project Instagram “Having just one friend to support you through Visit bpatmurraystate on Instagram to join the Murray State Buddy Project.

the hardships of your life can really make a difference,” Frost said.

“I created The Buddy Project to show that to the world.”

According to the website, the mission of the organization is to intervene before mental illness leads a person to a potentially life-threatening decision.

This organization focuses on children, teens and young adults across the globe by providing positivity, companionship, resources and education to reduce the stigma of mental illness, bullying and negativity on social media.

The Buddy Project has spread to multiple college campuses through college representatives.

Emily Netherton, junior from Louisville, Kentucky, brought this project to Murray State. She got involved after being introduced to the organization by a friend.

“I really enjoyed the way that they really strongly advocated for mental health,” Netherton said.

After getting a buddy for herself and following the organization on social media for a year, Netherton decided to join the team.

To read the rest of the story visit TheNews.org.

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Features

October 25, 2018

Page 9a

Fall showcase highlights two University vocal ensembles Bridgette McAuliffe Staff writer bmcauliffe@murraystate.edu

The Racer Men’s Chorus and EQ Blu, two vocal ensembles in the Murray State Department of Music, gave a joint recital on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

The sets, unlike many choir concerts, included contemporary music that was familiar to the audience. Solos were performed by many students pursuing both music and other majors.

The Racer Men’s Chorus performed the song “Glory” from the movie “Selma,” originally performed by John Legend and Common.

The song closed the Men’s Chorus set and was meant to convey the message that despite the feeling of division we may be facing, we will come out on the other side together: “One day when the glory comes, it will be ours.”

Tyran Fitzgerald, sophomore from Paducah, Kentucky, performed the solo in “Glory.”

“Singing ‘Glory’ was really fun and meaningful to me because not only is it a beautiful song, but it also touches on a serious note that no matter what it is that we go through

there’s always going to be something worth fighting for,” Fitzgerald said. “It is a very empowering song and it has a lot of things to teach if you really pay attention to the lyrics.”

Fitzgerald loves performing because he gets to completely change the atmosphere in a room or even someone’s life.

“Certain songs really have the power to change people and really touch them emotionally,” Fitzgerald said.

He is also a member of EQ Blu, an audition-based acapella group in the music department.

The group, unlike other ensembles on campus, has a contemporary repertoire that they are constantly improving to take on tours and gigs locally and regionally.

Luis Servin, sophomore from Paris, Tennessee, is a member of both Racer Men’s Chorus and EQ Blu. EQ Blu performed many pop hits including Ariana Grande’s “Into You,” which Servin said was his favorite song to perform.

“My favorite thing about performing is seeing the joy it brings to people,” Servin said.

Tesla Like, junior from Murray, was encouraged by friends to audition for EQ Blu when she transferred here and these peo-

ple quickly became some of her best friends once rehearsals started.

Like said her favorite memories from EQ Blu are right before they perform when all of their nerves set in.

“We are all so jittery and nervous, but most of the time we sing random songs and dance around together,” Like said. “Moments like those make me appreciate these people and this music so much.”

Christopher Mitchell, associate professor of music, directs both Racer Men’s Chorus and EQ Blue.

“In Men’s Chorus we have guys that are literally singing in choir for the first time in their life and guys that have been singing in choir since they were five so it’s a wide range of experience, so it takes them a little bit longer than some of our ensembles to gel as a group,” Mitchell said.

“I put a lot more performances on the calendar this semester because every time they perform together they bond a little bit more.”

The ensembles will perform again on Friday, Nov. 2 in the Performing Arts Hall with the Murray State University Women’s Chorus.

Nora Crafton/The News

Alec Wadley, Lius Servin, Abigail Paschall and Emily Green performed classic and modern hits with EQ Blu.

Photo courtesy of Trae Blanco

This note was left in the band room by Sam, BST leader, and his custodian team to show support for the wind ensemble.

Note left by custodians leaves emotional impact Allison Boggan Staff writer aboggan@murraystate.edu

The midterm season can be especially chaotic for students. For this reason, Trae Blanco, director of University bands, posted two signs in the band room to encourage the students.

Soon after, a custodian left a note of encouragement and praise for all of the music students.

“A couple days after I posted the signs, I found a note on the chalkboard one morning and it was pretty great,” Blanco said.

“I waited to share it with the students until we really needed an extra push. We, of course, shared the pictures of the note on social media and I’m happy to say it got a lot of attention.”

The note touched both students and faculty and provided them the confidence and inspiration to keep going and do their best through the rest of the semester.

Kaylee Silvey, sophomore from Russellville,

Kentucky, shared the note and its impact on her personal struggle on social media.

“Our director, Dr. Blanco, read the note to us after he had found it in hopes of pepping us up for the concert. It made me tear up quite a bit, and he teared up some as well. It was a very heartwarming note, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for me,” Silvey said.

Silvey explained that she felt lost in her major and the note confirmed in her mind that she was right where she was supposed to be.

“Quite literally the day before, I had a meeting with my advisor about potentially switching majors,” Silvey said. “I am currently in music education, and I have felt so broken and confused lately. The note made me remember why I was in the degree in the first place. It helped me in a particularly rough spot in my semester, and that’s why I shared it.”

Neither Blanco nor Silvey ever imagined that

the note would gather so much attention, but both agree that they are glad it helped other people when they needed it.

“I only wanted to share the note because it had touched me so much, and I was hoping to pass it along in case anybody else needed to hear the same thing,” Silvey said. “I truly hope that Sam, the custodian who wrote the note, was okay with that! I don’t think either of us intended for it to get that much attention. It really meant a lot to me, though.”

Blanco is thankful the music custodial staff appreciates the effort the students put into their craft and recognizes that the department would not be what it is without the work the custodians do every day.

“The custodial staff recognizes the hard work and dedication of the students, and in return, our students are grateful for all that the staff does to help our building feel like a home away from home,” Blanco said.

Features

Page 10a

October 25, 2018

Young Alumni Council launches during Homecoming Staff writer mcarpenter4@murraystate.edu

Murray State’s Alumni Association will launch a new program on Friday, Oct. 26 to encourage recent graduates to stay involved with their alma mater.

The Young Alumni Council is an affinity group under the umbrella of Murray State Alumni Association and will officially begin accepting members to the overall organization during Homecoming. To become a member, you must be a Murray State graduate within the last decade and under the age of 40.

According to the Young Alumni Council mission statement, “The Murray State University Young Alumni Council serves to support recent graduates with programs and communications that are uniquely tailored to their own needs by fostering relationships, facilitating networking activities and creating a fervent culture of giving among Murray State’s young

alumni.”

The idea for the program was started by a small group of graduates along with the support of Associate Alumni Relations Director, Katie Payne and Director of Alumni Association, Carrie McGinnis for administrative support.

“We are looking at new and exciting ways of keeping our young alumni engaged and active in the mission and vision of Murray State,” McGinnis said. “These alumni who are less than 10 years removed from their college experience can give a fresh perspective to incoming Racers and prospective students that will be key in our efforts to boost enrollment and recruit and retain students.”

The program already has seven members and hopes to grow dramatically after Homecoming. The Council leaders will consist of 15 members on three-year rotating terms filling four leadership roles. Within the council, members have opportunities to chair one of four committees that will be responsible for creating programs and

initiatives for the program.

“A dedicated group of volunteers have been working in the background for months to get to this point,” McGinnis said. “President Clint Combs (2016-17), President-elect

and passionate alumni have been making plans, crafting bylaws, creating a social media presence and organizing their executive roles to make this Homecoming kick-off happen for several

“

Those additional funds will be used solely for the benefit of the Young Alumni to fund events, programming, scholarships and promotion. It is the goal of the organization to foster Young Alumni Chapters all across the country.

“

Miranda Carpenter

-Director of Alumni Association, Carrie McGinnis

Heather Mix (2017) and Vice President Lindsey Powers (2016), along with several other committee chairs

months.”

The Council is already starting to plan social events, which include tailgating for

athletic events, a student mentorship program, legislative days at Frankfort and campus beautification projects. During Homecoming, new members are welcome to participate in a special viewing area for the parade, games at Tent City and the inaugural Young Alumni Reunion.

“In order to be a Young Alumni member, participants must first be a member of the overall MSUAA (Murray State University Alumni Association), which is $40 annually for a single member and $60 for a family membership,” McGinnis said.

“Membership in the Young Alumni will cost an additional $15 per year, per person.

Those additional funds will be used solely for the benefit of the Young Alumni to fund events, programming, scholarships and promotion.

It is the goal of the organization to foster Young Alumni Chapters all across the country.”

Combs elaborated on the idea of having chapters across the country since many graduates no longer reside in

Murray.

“We are planning to create local chapters in cities where we have large groups of Murray State alumni,” Combs said. “Our longer-term plan is to have those local chapters creating programming at a local level to keep our young alumni involved with our larger Young Alumni organization, coordinating larger programming and initiatives to support those local chapters. The idea is, wherever there is a group of young alumni, they can create a local organization in their city.”

Recent graduates are encouraged to like and follow the Murray State University Young Alumni on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get updates as the program unfolds. Graduates will also receive an email from Murray State’s Office of Alumni Relations, only if the Office has the most recent information on file.

Anyone with questions or interest in the new program is asked to call the Office of Alumni Relations at 270-8095600.

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October 25, 2018 Ashley Traylor Editor-in-Chief • 270-809-6877 atraylor@murraystate.edu

Savanna Rininger Production Manager • 270-809-5877 shatfield2@murraystate.edu

NEWS OPINION THE MUR R AY STATE

Our View

Stop kicking the can down the road The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board

The University has a tendency to ignore problems News Editor • 270-809-4468 until they can no longer be eerwin1@murraystate.edu ignored.

Destinee Marking Woods Hall was recently News Senior Writer• 270-809-5878 evacuated after a rainstorm dmarking@murraystate.edu caused flood damage and mold. The issue, though, Colton Colglazier is that there was too much News Graphic Designer mold present for it to have ccolglazier@murraystate.edu been caused by the last storm alone.

Sara Howell In 2017, former President Features Editor • 270-809-5871 Bob Davies and the Board showell6@murraystate.edu of Regents discussed plans Savannah Jane Walton to tear down the building.

Features and Opinion Graphic Obviously, that never hapDesigner pened and the building conswalton2@murraystate.edu tinued to be used for multiple purposes.

Blake Sandlin Instead of dealing with the Sports Editor • 270-809-4481 mold problem that has clearbsandlin1@murraystate.edu ly been present for years, the University decided to kick Gage Johnson Sports Senior Writer • 270-809-5878 the can down the road.

The “can” has reached gjohnson17@murraystate.edu a dead end, and hopefully, Rosalyn Churchman under this new administraSports Graphic Designer tion, the University will pick rchurchman@murraystate.edu it up.

Woods Hall was the home Ginni Sisemore of the Education Abroad Opinion Editor • 270-809-5873 office, the English as a vsisemore@murraystate.edu Second Language program, several faculty members’ David Wallace Chief Copy Editor • 270-809-5876 dwallace15@murraystate.edu

Elizabeth Erwin

Chandler Cochran Ad Sales and Circulation Manager • 270-809-4478 ccochran3@murraystate.edu

Rhiannon Branch Photography Editor • 270-809-5878 rbranch@murraystate.edu

Page 11a

Autumn Brown/The News offices, several senior art studios, and international students have meetings there.

It’s an important building on campus that had to be quickly evacuated, displacing everyone who used it.

The University’s decision to ignore the problem and their lack of transparency about the seriousness of the issue is incredibly frustrating to current students and will have a lasting impact on

enrollment.

International students are an integral part of this campus and a group that relies heavily on Woods Hall.

International enrollment is already down this year, and this displacement and blatant disregard for student safety will not help at all.

This problem isn’t isolated to Woods Hall. Springer Residential College was evacuated in 2016 for the

same reason as Woods Hall.

Rather than renovating the building and allowing students to move back in, it has been demolished and the space will now become a greenery area.

Students in the older dorms on campus - James H. Richmond, Springer II, Regents, White, and Hart residential colleges - are concerned about mold in their buildings. There is a lack of communication between the University and students.

These older dorms are at risk for mold issues, and students should be aware of this. Students should also be informed as soon as University administration is made aware of an issue.

The Board of Regents has a history of ignoring mold problems until the only way to solve the issue is to tear the building down. It puts students in danger when they live and work in an unsafe environment.

A focus this year for the University administration has been student safety, encouraging students to

Cheers to: Homecoming

Jeers to: Moldy buildings

Vote for Homecoming King and Queen, watch the parade and cheer on the Racer football team as it looks for its fifth OVC win this season.

It’s unsafe, unsanitary and unappealing.

Students had no idea Woods Hall was infested with mold until it was evacuated.

Savannah Jane Walton/The News

Rebecca Mosella Chief Videographer • 270-809-5878 rmosella@murraystate.edu

Ravi Shankar Shah Online Editor • 270-809-5878 rshah2@murraystate.edu

Dr. Stephanie Anderson Adviser • 270-809-3937 sanderson37@murraystate.edu

use the LiveSafe app and other services offered by the Murray State Police Department. Yet, the University did nothing to solve or repair mold issues.

According to the Center for Disease Control, indoor mold can cause asthma flare-ups, skin and eye irritation and upper respiratory tract infections. If the administration wants to improve student safety, health should be a factor.

It feels like the University has little respect for its students, current and incoming. This may not be true, but the failure to communicate safety concerns with students is disconcerting.

The University needs to start putting money into renovation rather than demolition, communicating with students and solving problems when they start.

Kicking the can down the road, leaving problems to fester until they must be dealt with years later, is bad policy. Students need to know the University can be trusted.

The News 2609 University Station Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 murraystatenews@icloud.com Fax: 270-809-3175

TheNews.org

The News welcomes commentaries and letters to the editor. Submissions should be 600 words or less, and contributors should include phone numbers for verification. Please include hometown, classification and title or relationship to the University. The News reserves the right to edit for style, length and content. No anonymous contributions will be accepted. All contributions should be turned in by noon on Monday of each week via email to atraylor@murraystate.edu.

Contributions to The News are the opinion of the author and not that of The Murray State News.

The News is a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval.

The paper offers a hands-on learning environment for students interested in journalism. The campus press should be free from censorship and advance approval of copy and its editors should develop their editorial and news policies.

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

The News is prepared and edited by students and is an official publication of Murray State University. The first copy is free. Additional copies are available for 25 cents at 111 Wilson Hall.

Page 12a

News

October 25, 2018