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February 20, 2020 | Vol. 94, No. 19

Gov. Andy Beshear visits campus s

Addison Watson Staff Writer awatson25@murraystate.edu

During Gov. Andy Beshear’s second visit to Murray since his inauguration, he spoke to a full auditorium about his new budget proposal and goals for higher education on Monday, Feb. 17. After a nearly 20-second applause welcoming Beshear to the podium, he presented the highlights of his “education first” budget and spoke proudly of his administration’s proposal in the first two months of his term as governor. Beshear was presented with a Murray State sweatshirt prior to his speech by P re s i d e n t B o b Ja c k son. Beshear said he would proudly wear it whenever he is in Murray. “It’s always good to have the governor on campus, especially in the College of Education,” Jackson said.

News Opinion Sports Features

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“We appreciate the time that he spent here and appreciate the budget that he has advanced to support education.” Beshear praised Murray State for its dedication to higher education. “Every time that you all graduate somebody from here at Murray State or we have a first-generation high school graduate, it changes every generation after that individual going forward,” Beshear said. “And for that, you all deserve a giant thank you.” Education The maintenance of universities across the state is one of the main concerns Beshear plans to address. “For 14 years, we have had to make deep, difficult cuts, each and every year,” Beshear said. “We went way past the fat and cut deep into the bone.”

Campus production highlights the effects of low wages page 2

Paige Bold/The News

achievable in a timely manner and relevant to current needs to students, teachers, and higher education facilities,” Stroud said. “I’m particularly interested in his goals for Kentucky’s education and economic opportunities... I really agreed with his statement about the importance of stressing first-generation higher education which starts with strong and supportive public education. I was pleased to hear that this proposed budget was the first in 14 years that didn’t propose cuts to the education budget, which is huge.” In his budget proposal, which includes no General Fund cuts f or the first t i m e i n ov e r 1 2 ye a r s , Beshear included a $2,000 raise f or all public K-12 school teachers in the commonwealth. A one percent increase in funding to public universities and full pension

funding for the Teachers’ Retirement System is also detailed in the proposal. “ Ye s , i t ’s o n e p e rc e n t , but one percent is a start,” Beshear said. “It puts us on the right track to continue funding in the future. You have my commitment that I’m going to continue to try to do that in every budget that I’m governor.” Beshear also introduced a performance-funding model which his administration has frozen in his current budget proposal, but is anxious to see if the legislature will push it forward. He said public universities currently can’t compete equally to earn the funding, specifically universities like Morehead State University and Murray State. “If we are gonna have a performance-funding model, which I’m not against,

Trump pushes to end PSLF program

Racers tennis moves 7-2: Murray State grabs a pair of weekend wins

Black History Month: Students discuss what it means to them

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Adamant on reinforcing his no-cut budget, Beshear’s administration wants to provide more funding for universities. Amara Stroud, junior from

I was pleased to hear that this proposed budget was the first in 14 years that didn’t propose cuts to the education budget, which is huge. - Amara Stroud, junior from Greenville, Kentucky

Greenville, Kentucky, said she attended Beshear’s talk and was happy with what she heard. “I thought he had some good ideas concerning education that I felt were both

see BESHEAR page 3

News

February 20, 2020

Jillian Rush/The News The department of global languages and theatre arts presents “Nickel and Dimed.”

“Nickel and Dimed”

Campus production highlights the effects of low wages Daniella Tebib News Editor dtebib@murraystate.edu

“Nickel and Dimed,” presented by the department of global languages and theatre arts, gives a look into the lives of those who live off of minimum wage jobs. “Nickel and Dimed” is a play based on the book “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” by Barbara Ehrenreich. The book details Ehrenreich’s experience living in three different states and attempting to live solely on entry-level minimum wage jobs for a month. The play adaptation depicts her struggles throughout her sociological experiment. It also shows the audience those she met along the way who live their everyday lives on entry-level minimum wage jobs. Matthew Crider, director and assistant professor of theatre, said the play is about the working class and the lives they lead. “It puts a human face on the struggle of the economic system we live in,” Crider said. There are a total of seven cast members in the production and each actor plays multiple roles.

Andrea Daniels, junior from Belleville, Illinois, was cast as Nita, a waitress; Carlie, a hotel cleaner; Melissa, a retail associate; an angry customer; a server and a nanny. Daniels said the play is thought-provoking. “On the surface, it is about a s o m ewh a t p r iv i l e ge d writer that wants to write a book,” Daniels said. “She tells her boss that it should be about the working poor and their struggles but he, as well as other people in her life, don’t see why. She goes undercover as an entry-level worker and discovers that the situation of the working poor is much worse than she originally believed, which angers her, fueling her need to write about it even more.” When Ehrenreich’s book was published in 2001, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage was $5.15 an hour. It was increased to $7.25 an hour in 2009 and has not risen since. The last time Kentucky raised its minimum wage was also in 2009 and it still remains $7. 25 an hour. “Though the numbers have changed slightly, the issues have remained the same in the 20 years since Barbara first wrote the book,” Crider

said. “The fact that these are persistent issues make it continually relevant. Many of the jobs presented in the production are jobs that college students have as they try to pay for their bills.” Calissa Whitmore, junior from Owensboro, Kentucky, was cast as Barbara in the production. From her time working on the play, she said her perspective has broadened. “Since I was an actor in this production, I had to spend some time researching and understanding what it would be like to live as a low-wage worker,” Whitmore said. “Just imagining and playing Barbara’s experiences on the stage has taught me that it is not easy.” Whitmore also said she believes the production holds a lot of value for students on campus. “It is important to perform this on a college campus because many college students are working for minimum wage,” Whitmore said. “They will not only relate and want change, but acknowledge they are not alone.” Daniels is from Illinois where the minimum wage i s $ 8 . 2 5 a n h o u r, s o t h e adjustment of working in

Kentucky has been a little shocking for her. “[T he minimum wage] is $8.25, and I didn’t even think that was great,” Daniels said. “But a whole dollar less? How do they expect entry-level workers to pay rent, buy clothes, feed themselves and maybe their kids, clean clothes, etc. with 40 hours at that rate?” According to the Economic Policy Institute, the suggested annual budget for a single adult living in Calloway County with no retirement savings or emergency budget is around $32,000. However, a person working full-time earning minimum wage in Kentucky earns only around $15,000 a year. This is the third production of “Nickel and Dimed” Crider has been involved in. He said every time he is involved with the production, he gains a new perspective of those living on low wages. “It always reminds me to try my best to treat workers in stores and restaurants with respect,” Crider said. “Although this play is not really about politics, my experiences with the show have cer tainly made me listen more closely to economic discussions in the news.”

As director, Crider hopes to open the eyes of audience members and force them to rethink some of their actions. “It’s unpleasantly easy to make the working poor anonymous or invisible,” Crider said. “How often have you snapped at a server or a sales clerk? How many workers does it take to maintain the convenience of your grocery store?” Crider also said he believes there is a common belief that all it takes to get out of poverty is to work hard. “Looking at the numbers, the system is stacked against that,” Crider said. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I think it’s frighteningly easy to underestimate how difficult it is and that’s without emergencies like medical expenses or car breakdowns.” Not only does Crider hope to make the audience question their actions, but he hopes they’ll make a change. “If we’ve done our jobs right, our audience will start to tip better at restaurants,” Crider said. “It’s a small thing, but a tangible one.” “Nickel and Dimed” will be showing at 7:30 p.m. in the Wilson Hall Studio Theatre from Wednesday, Feb. 19 to Saturday, Feb. 22.

News

February 20, 2020

BESHEAR From Page 1

everybody [needs to be] at a place where they can compete before we turn that model on,” Beshear said. Anticipating the one percent increase in funding, all universities will have the ability to compete in a competitive nature. Beshear also said the lottery brought in a record amount of money in 2019. According to the Kentucky Lottery’s annual report, $272.7 million was transferred to the commonwealth for scholarship usage. With the revenue, nearly 60,000 students in Kentucky will receive scholarships. He later said an additional 7,300 need-based scholarships were added to help break the cycles of poverty as well. Elina Fochtman, sophomore from Louisville, Kentucky said she supports Beshear’s “education first” budget because it will enhance educational opportunities for many people. “This is most readily expressed by Beshear’s plan to increase the amount of need-based scholarships, which will ultimately increase the likelihood of high school students pursuing a college degree, in order to gain the multitude of opportunities associated with receiving a college degree,” Fochtman said.

Republican-controlled legislature. Beshear expects to run into disagreements regarding healthcare and other issues. However, he said he hopes common ground can be found re-

Can we all agree that every single Kentucky child should be covered by some form of healthcare coverage. - Gov. Andy Beshear

garding Kentucky children. “Can we all agree that every single Kentucky child should be covered by some form of healthcare coverage,” Beshear said. Beshear allocated $2 million toward Kentucky Children’s Insurance Health Plan which is a Medicaid-funded health plan for low-income children whose parents currently earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Additional projects

In his new budget proposal, Beshear is also prioritizing the safety of students in school systems across the state. Because of the tragic Marshall County High school shooting on Jan. of 2018, school safeHealthcare ty measures have been When discussing his new increased. To further funding for school safebudget proposal, he also said it prioritizes healthcare ty, Beshear’s budget will fund every single dolin both rural and urban areas because he views it as a lar of the physical safety and improvement recombasic human right. mendations made by the Since Beshear was electKentucky School Board ed, he has already defended healthcare several times. Association. Beshear also touched on During his first week in his transportation budget office, he rejected a medicare waiver that would kick and highlighted the imnearly 100,000 people off of portance of the Interstate 69 project that will travel their healthcare. through western Kentucky. Beshear also said he be“I know a number of local lieves rural hospitals are in jeopardy. A hospital in Ash- projects along the connector that we’re going to land, Kentucky closed just have here,” Beshear said. a couple weeks ago which “It’s gonna make us more cost the community almost and more attractive.” one-thousand jobs. Beshear plans to push “Every state that doesn’t the project forward in his fully fund expanded Medfirst term as governor as icaid is seeing their rural he dedicated $250 milhospitals close at a very lion in his current budget scary rate,” Beshear said. proposal. “Having expanded MedicHe ended his talk with aid gives them the ability to a sense of unity, ensurcompete.” ing the audience we are Beshear also said it’s imall more than a partisan portant to be able to see a doctor in local communities letter next to our name with hopes that both sides instead of having to travel of the aisle will work to Louisville or Lexington, together. or even out of state. Beshear’s budget proposWhile Beshear has al will be discussed in the many progressive house and senate until a ideas for education and resolution is agreed upon. healthcare, he faces a

Paige Bold/The News Governor Andy Beshear speaks with students, faculty and community members during his visit to Murray State.

News

February 20, 2020

Murray State Count Committee encourages census participation

Levi Brandenburg Contributing Writer lbrandenburg1@murraystate. edu Isaac Ash Contributing Writer bash@murraystate.edu The first Murray State Complete Count Committee met on Wednesday, Feb. 19, to solve the looming problem of the 2020 Census. The United States has conducted a census for 230 years. Every 10 years, the

United States Census Bureau puts together a nationwide census of all American residents. It asks questions re g a rd i n g b a s i c d e m o graphics like age, gender, number of residents in a home and whether they are permanent or temporar y residents. In the past, the census was always conducted on paper mailed to each household or in person by c e n s u s wo rke r s . T h i s led to many undercounts of minorities, low-income

f a m i l i e s a n d e s p e c i a l ly college students. However, the Murray State CCC is hoping to help fix the underestimation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Murray State’s CCC is a volunteer committee that helps confirm the accuracy of the census and make programs to help get as many people to respond as possible. “For the first time, the census is being done online,” said La Dawn Hale, Murray State’s partnership specialist.

“We are sending letters with codes to each household which lets them complete the census online. We’re hoping it will help to increase the number of people who respond.” This year the group is hoping to combat a low count because the results of the census directly correlate to how many resources counties get, like Calloway County. “The census affects many things including education, transportation, health and businesses,” Hale said. “An undercount means that

Levi Brandenburg/The News Murray State’s Complete Count Committee meets to help raise census participation.

Summer Instructors and Residence Staff Needed Upward Bound Math and Science at Murray State University is hiring for Summer 2020.

Seeking Murray State community members to work as staff members during our Summer 2020 Residential Program, May 26 – July 3

Positions Needed:

Science Instruction Block Coding Instruction (including robotics and drone programming, 3D printing)

Elective Instruction (which may include a variety of

areas like art, videography with social media, 3D printing, theater, e-sports) Residential Advisors, 21 and older preferred but not required Residence Hall Security (nights only, Sunday Thursday)

Upward Bound Math and Science serves income-eligible, first-generation high school students with strong interests in STEM education and careers.

For application or more information: email Amy Cox at acox9@murraystate.edu stop by 252 Blackburn Science or call 270.809.5429

Murray State would get less money for students for financial aid and that federal aid like Pell Grants and fewer federal grants will be given.” Students at Murray State have a general understanding of what the census is, but have not given any thought on how they can fill it out. “I haven’t really thought much about it, but I guess I’ll plan to,” said Peyton Lutz, junior from Louisville, Kentucky. In 2010, the last decennial census, Murray was labeled a problem area in Kentucky. One of the main reasons Murray is a concern is because of the difficulty of conducting the census on campus. In fact, many college campuses are considered problems in conducting the census because of the large number of people who live in very few buildings, the mobile nature of college students and mistakes on the students’ part. “ S t u d e n t s wh o l ive o n campus don’t have to worry about as much,” said David Wilson, the director of housing and residence life. “Many of them we already have the information for and use a group quarters operation to provide that information. Our biggest problem is in commuting students and the College Courts since their situation is different.” Letters will start to arrive to households between March 12 and March 20. The CCC plans to complete the census by the end of April.

Drivers Needed! Upward Bound Math and Science at Murray State University is hiring good drivers.Seeking Murray State community members (students or staff) with good driving records to work as drivers to transport high school students from pickup locations to and from the Murray State campus.

Dates Needed:

Saturday,March 14,2020 Sunday,June 7,2020 Friday,June 12,2020 Sunday,June 14,2020 Friday,June 19,2020 Sunday,June 21,2020 Friday,June 26,2020 Saturday,June 27,2020 Friday,July 3,2020

Upward Bound Math and Science serves income-eligible, first-generation high school students with strong interests in STEM education and careers.

Travel Routes:

Murray and Paducah, KY Murray and Hopkinsville, KY Murray and Tiptonville, TN, with a stop in Fulton, KY Murray and New Madrid, MO

For application or more information: email Amy Cox at acox9@murraystate.edu stop by 252 Blackburn Science or call 270.809.5429

Opinion

February 20, 2020

Trump pushes to end PSLF program The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board. Among 45 million Americans, the student debt crisis is currently at $1.6 trillion. Let me say it again in a different way: 45 million Americans collectively owe the government $1.6 trillion purely for furthering their education and, through relation, their future. Recently, President Donald Trump proposed his budget for 2021 to Congress. In this most recent season of White House drama, the president is pushing for the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. PSLF is the prime student debt forgiveness program in the nation that was established in 2007 under former President George W. Bush. The program’s purpose is pretty self explanatory—to forgive student debt. Full-time employees working in eligible federal, state or local public service or nonprofit jobs who have made 120 payments on time over the course of a decade are eligible to have their student debt forgiven. Trump and the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, are hoping that this proposed elimination of PSLF will help balance the needs of taxpayers and loan borrowers alike. Accompanying the removal of the PSLF would be the end of subsidized federal student loans and a limitation to annual lifetime student loans for graduate students and parent borrowers. Trump’s new budget would also allow undergraduates to become eligible for debt forgiveness after fifteen years post-graduation, and would expand

the eligibility for the Pell Grant. Changes would also be seen in discretionary funding for Historically Black Universities and Colleges and support for the Borrower Defense Rule (which offers students relief from loans they borrowed based on fraudulent and misleading information given to them by their university). These changes are part of a $5.6 billion decrease in funding for the Department of Education. That’s over a seven percent decrease from the previous year’s budget. And still, the biggest change is the elimination of the PSLF. Those arguing against the removal suggest that this could harm the public service workforce; knowing that they are eligible for debt forgiveness is a large draw to public service positions, so losing that could potentially lead to people

looking to other workforce positions as a means of more easily paying off their student debt. Where would we see this effect the most? The U.S. Armed Forces, police officers, firefighters, prosecutors, first responders, public defenders and that has only scratched the surface. Who else will this affect? Professors and teachers. What Kentucky went through with former Gov. Matt Bevin’s pension plan could happen again, this time on a nationwide level. Professors and teachers, who have gone thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt to further not only their own education, but the education of so many. If this budget gets passed, the financial plight of those professors and teachers would seemingly be ignored by their own government. Ironic— the same people making this budget couldn’t have

possibly gotten where they are in life now without the help of those professors they are now doing a disservice to. The last time the Trump administration attempted to eliminate PSLF, back in 2018, the change would have gone into effect for those taking out loans after July 1, 2018. Assuming this attempt xis similar, this would only affect those borrowers taking out loans after July 1, 2021. Again, assuming this elimination attempt mimics the previous one. Public service workers, including current professors, would be safe from the change (so long as they don’t plan on taking out future loans). So, what about current students? I suppose that answer is quite obvious. Any thought of debt forgiveness through PSLF would be futile as the program would be gone.

At the end of the day, many questions are brought about by this $5.6 billion decrease in Department of Education funding. One in particular stands out—is education a right or a privilege? The United Nations wrote out a list of fundamental human rights; this list is called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Written out are a plethora of basic human rights: home, family, fair trial, nationality, a living wage, the list goes on. Article 26 is quite clear about education. “Everyone has the right to education,” according to the very first sentence of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One would think, maybe even assume, that “everyone” means just that—every single living, breathing human being on this planet has the right to an education. But, we all know what happens when you assume. The Trump administration would see education as a right… for those who can afford it. For those working two jobs to keep their family under roof and food on the table, education is not a right, rather a privilege that they should have worked harder to earn. For the single parent working to keep the lights on, they should have tried more to earn that privilege. For the minorities that are refused jobs because of the systemic racism and prejudice woven throughout the nation, they should have worked harder to earn that privilege. Thank you, Trump, for reminding me what assuming does.

Gage Johnson Danilla Tebib Cady Stribling Josh Embry Megan Reynolds Editor-in-Chief News Editor Features Editor Sports Editor Opinion Editor gjohnson17@murraystate.edu dtebib@murraystate.edu cstribling1@murraystate.edu jembry3@murraystate.edu mreynolds12@murraystate.edu

Editorial Board

Bryce Anglin Jenna Carnes Production Manager Chief Copy Editor zanglin@murraystate.edu jcarnes2@murraystate.edu Kalea Anderson Elizabeth Erwin Chief Videographer Public Relations Manager kanderson29@murraystate.edu eerwin1@murraystate.edu

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 mreynolds12@murraystate.edu.

Connor Dame Brock Kirk Ad Sales Manager Photo Editor cdame2@murraystate.edu jkirk11@murraystate.edu John O’Neill Dr. Stephanie Anderson Online Manager Faculty Adviser joneill4@murraystate.edu sanderson37@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.

Opinion

February 20, 2020

Anti Chinese sentiment spreads faster than coronavirus

Megan Reynolds Opinion Editor mreynolds12@murraystate. edu What do AIDS, ebola and the novel coronavirus all have in common? All have been accompanied by some sort of prejudice toward a group of people. For AIDS, it was the LGBTQ+ community. For ebola, it was black people and people from Africa. And now, for the coronavirus, it’s Chinese people. The novel coronavirus is a recent outbreak stemming from Wuhan, China. Patient Zero was reported on Dec. 31, 2019, according to the World Health Organization. It is called the “novel coronavirus” because it is a strain of the coronavirus that has not previously been identified. Originally known as 2019-nCov, and now known as SARS-CoV-2, the abbreviated name for this strain is COVID-19; it is one of seven strains that has the ability to infect humans. Four of the strains are very common, three are not so common. The three not often seen are SARS-CoV (SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS-CoV (MERS, or Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome) and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19, the coronavirus disease the world is currently experiencing). These three are viruses that originated in animals and evolved and

adapted to be able to infect humans. The World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and other health organizations have been working seemingly non-stop to research the new coronavirus disease and where it originated. Through study of COVID19’s genetic tree, they have found that it originated in bats; they are unsure if the disease adapted straight from bats to humans or if there were animals that it adapted to in between. Currently (on Feb. 19, 2020 at 3:58 p.m.), COVID19’s death toll is 2,014. It has infected 75,309 people. Over 15,000 people who have been infected have completely recovered. Outside of China the number of cases has broken 1,000. Symptoms of COVID-19, especially at the beginning of infection, are very similar to symptoms of the common cold. Fever, cough, congestion, that sort of thing. People infected have reported mild to severe symptoms. Those who are immuno-compromised (infants, the elderly, those with previous illnesses that may cause a compromised immune system) are more prone to severe cases of COVID-19. And, as often happens with disease, a negative stigma, a plague all its own, has followed COVID-19. China has experienced backlash and prejudice for

Cheers to... Marit Kreugel! She has gone 18-0 in her tennis games so far this season! Shoes Up!

something out of their control; now, Chinese people, regardless of if they have been to China recently or not, have become subject to this hate and prejudice. The hashtag #ChineseDon’tComeToJapan was trending on Twitter the week of Feb. 13. Businesses in Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and South Korea have posted signs refusing service to Chinese people. Schools and universities have taken to quarantining students returning from China. Colby College, a school in Maine, put students showing no symptoms of COVID-19 in isolation after they returned from China. The school said that it was following guidelines, but the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement saying the students who were quarantined posed no risk to public health. The CDC also said it never ordered Colby College to quarantine students. Princeton University, among others, also had to consider quarantining returning students. A newspaper in France, Le Courrier Picard, gave articles controversial headlines such as “Alerte jaune,” meaning “Yellow alert,” and “Le péril jaune?,” meaning “Yellow peril?.” Le Courrier Picard didn’t stop with the headlines; accompanying the headlines were pictures

REYNOLDS’ ROUNDTABLE

of Chinese people wearing masks. When the WHO released a travel advisory for China, it only increased prejudice and added fuel to the xenophobic fire. People began relating danger to China and any people who looked as though they might be from the country. Perhaps this is why people who aren’t from China are experiencing the same prejudice. Vietnamese, Japanese and others of Asian backgrounds have reported the same xenophobia the Chinese have. People make poor, distasteful and racist assumptions and treat all who appear to be Asian with contempt. People are taking their fear of a disease, their fear of death, and finding some twisted reason to embody it in Chinese culture. They have given physical form to their fear, and it has

resulted in anti-Chinese sentiment. It has empowered hatred. This racism is utterly gross and unacceptable. These are people we should be helping, lending our shoulder to should they need one to lead on. They are people, human beings, with feelings and thoughts and hopes and dreams. They are undergoing mass amounts of needless scrutiny. Asian-Americans shouldn’t have to feel afraid or nervous to walk down the street in a country they have lived in for years, many of them for their entire lives. If you’re going to let your fear empower anything, let it be yourself. Let it empower your desire to stand up for the good in the world, for the people who need you. Let’s start a new hashtag. #StandUpForChina

Jeers to... Late night studying! With midterms fast approaching, students are once again finding themselves in the library at all hours of the night.

February 20, 2020

Have Have aa Band? Band? Enter the Battle Entry Deadline: March 1

Win Bragging Rights A recording session & much more Details at wkms.org

Sports

February 20, 2020

Racers tennis moves to 7-2 Murray State grabs a pair of weekend wins

Simon Elfrink Staff Writer selfrink@murraystate.edu Murray State women’s tennis hosted three matches at the Kenlake Tennis Center last weekend, winning two in the homestand to move to 7-2 overall. The Racers grabbed its first of two wins on Thursday, Feb. 13, against the University of Central Arkansas, winning 5-2. The Racers gained the doubles point for the seventh match in a row following duo teams of redshirt junior Sara Bjork/freshman Marit Kreugel and seniors Anja Loncarevic/Sara Loncarevic. Singles play yielded similar success for the Racers. Sara Loncarevic and Kreugel won their matches in three sets, while junior Stasya Sharapova and Anja Loncarevic won in straight sets. Head Coach Jorge Caetano was pleased with the opening match. “UCA has a very strong team,” Caetano said. “Getting a win against them shows the potential of our team. We played great doubles, and in singles we competed our hearts out and were able to win the top four positions, which is hard to do against a quality team.” Wr ight State University fared similarly against the

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Junior Stasysa Sharapova returns the ball.

Racers on Friday, Feb. 14, falling 5-2 after dominant doubles performances from Sharapova/freshman Samantha Muller and Kreugel/Bjork. Sharapova, Muller, Bjork and Kreugel all took wins in singles play. Caetano said doubles matches were pivotal in the win over the Raiders.

“We probably played our best doubles of the year against Wright State,” Caetano said. “We didn’t play our best tennis in singles overall, but the girls found a way to compete for every ball and it was another important victory for us.” On Sunday, Feb. 16, the Racers fell to Western Kentucky

University 4-3, snapping the five-match winning streak. The Hilltoppers became the first team to take the doubles point from the Racers. Still, the Kreugel/Bjork duo continued to shine and took their match in a 6-1 victory. “Marit Kreugel and Sara Bjork are doing an amazing job in doubles,” Caetano said.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way they are playing right now.” Sharapova and Kreugel won their singles matches in straight sets, while Anja Loncarevic took her win after three sets of play. “Anja was also key for us this weekend,” Caetano said.“It was great to see her focus on the goal and on the process and she truly deserved those big wins.” While Caetano was happy with the overall performance against the Hilltoppers, he admitted the Racers were within arm’s reach of a victory. “It was just a disappointing result because we know we missed so many opportunities,” Caetano said. “We have to give credit to WKU for putting together a great match in both doubles and singles. They handed us our first loss in doubles, and I think this is going to be beneficial for us so that we can make some adjustments. In singles, we had a lot of opportunities to get the overall win but couldn’t capitalize.” Kreugel remains undefeated in the 2020 season, going 18-0 overall. She looks to keep that level of play going into the heart of the season on Saturday, Feb. 22, when the Racers will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to play the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University.

Sports

February 20, 2020

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Senior Destiny Carey competes at the John Craft Invite at EIU.

Racers wrap up indoor regular season Jon Dunning Staff Writer jdunning1@murraystate.edu The Murray State track and field team participated in its last regular season indoor meet at the Bulldog Open Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, in Birmingham, Alabama. The event opened Friday with the 200m, with senior Norma Abdur-Rafia placing second in the contest with a time of 24.28 seconds. Redshirt sophomore Jumyia Denning took seventh in the event with 24.95 and freshman Kenia Seals finished ninth with 25.18. After placing first in the high jump competition last week at the Marshall Invitational, freshman Meghan Fletcher took first place for Murray State with a 1.70m jump. The Racers overall delivered a strong performance in the high jump, as redshirt junior Jessikha Ribeiro placed third and sophomore Ashlyn Oren took fifth, each jumping 1.65m. Numerous Racer athletes earned personal-best records throughout the course Saturday. For Murray State Head Coach Adam Kiesler, this level of performance is what he wants to see out of his team as they get ready for the OVC Indoor Championship. “We hope that’s kind of the case, preparing for OVC,” Kiesler said. “We’ll get on the bus in about eight days, so we are kind of looking for those types of things to happen. We’re encouraging things to happen. Usually we hope around this time of year that would be the case when we go to meets, so it was a good sign for those kids that had PRs going forward.”

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Sophomore Morgan Vosler competes at the John Craft Invite at EIU.

Seals set a personal best record in the 60m, placing fifth with a time of 7.52. Senior Hilary McAdam took second in the 800m with 2:15.18, while Amirr Evans placed sixth with 2:18.70. Freshman LaMiah Campbell set a new personal-best record in the event, running 2:19.40 to place eighth. Freshman Emma Graf also earned a personal-best record during the mile, completing

the event in 5:18.01 to finish fifth. Sophomore Dani Wright, freshman Kristin Dent and sophomore Morgan Vosler each set personal-best records in the 3000m. Wright placed fourth with 10:40.94, Dent took sixth with 10:53.15 and Vosler ran 10:57.70 to finish eighth. Hagans set a personal-best distance in the long jump and also set the record for the third

best jump in the OVC this season with 5.74m. In pole vault, sophomore Brooke Misukonis took sixth with 3.50m while freshman Jenna Pauly set a personal-best record, finishing seventh with 3.50m. In the 60m hurdles finals, sophomore Dontavia Howard took sixth with a time of 9.44. Senior D’Myia Thornton, Hagans, McAdam and Campbell comprised the 4x400m

relay team, which placed with 3:50.05. While Kiesler was mostly impressed with the Racers’ performance at the Bulldog Open, he sees even more room f or growth from his team. “Track and field in general, there’s some ups and downs sometimes, so we kind of experienced some of those,” Kielser said. “We hope to lear n from those types of things, whether that be a few do’s and don’ts in training in the next week or so in terms of rest. I think overall it was a good stepping stone towards conference.” As the team gets ready for the OVC Indoor Championships, Kiesler knows that the team feels capable of competing at the event but also knows it will be one of the tougher challenges the team has faced this season. “We are confident, but at the same time, we know that the OVC, especially over the last, like, two to four years, has gotten a lot better,” Kielser said. “We’re confident but we also have respect for our opponents in terms of what they are going to bring to the table in the competition, so we kind of have to mind our business in terms of what we think we can do. You know, go out and try and make as many finals as we possibly can and then at the end of the two-day competition, see what happens.” The Murray State track and field team will compete at the OVC Indoor Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Thursday, Feb. 27, at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sports

February 20, 2020

The fight for Evansville continues Racers inch closer to securing OVC Tournament spot Josh Embry Sports Editor jembry3@murraystate.edu

Murray State women’s basketball (12-13) will look to rise in the OVC standings when they travel to take on Eastern Illinois and SIUE this week. Murray State The Racers suffered a 6961 loss at the hands of Austin Peay on Thursday, Feb. 13, but rose to the challenge of Head Coach Rechelle Turner being ejected to come away with a crucial win against Morehead State on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the CFSB Center. Turner praised the whole program for its ability to handle the situation and to go on and win the game. “I would just like to start out by giving compliments to my coaching staff, players, management and everyone involved in the win Saturday night,” Turner said. “I thought it was a huge win. It goes to show that when you put your mind to do something, you can get it done. The players at halftime said ‘we are going to win this game,’ and they went out and did what they had to do to win.” Turner said the team’s ability to overcome her ejection was a learning moment for all and to win the game exemplified the toughness of the team.

“I think a lot of good came out of Saturday night because it showed our kids what they are made of and what they are capable of doing and you have to learn and you have to grow from each situation,” Turner said. Murray State enters this week with an 0-7 away record in OVC play and are on the road both games this week. “I guess that is the biggest elephant in the room,” Turner said. “We are 0-7 on the road so figuring out a way to take the mentality we seem to have at home and put that mentality into our players when we take the floor in Illinois this week is something that is going to be vital.” The Racers currently sit at the eighth spot in the OVC rankings with a 5-9 record. Their win over Morehead State moved them ahead of the Eagles in the standings despite having the same record. They are also one game back of Austin Peay. T wo o f t h e i r l a s t f o u r games are against teams who are ranked tenth and last in the conference standings (EKU and SIUE). With four games left, the Racers have a solid chance of making the tournament. Turner wants the team to be in control of whether they make the tournament or not, and that means coming away with wins in each of their last four games.

Gage Johnson/The News

Sophomore forward Alexis Burpo drives baseline against Morehead State. “Every game is important,” Turner said. “I told the kids all along, ‘you control what you can control.’ You cannot count on someone else beating someone else for you. That is not who we want to be. We want to control our own destiny.” Eastern Illinois

The Racers will face off with the Panthers for the second time this season. The last time these two teams met, Murray State cut EIU’s 10-point fourth quarter lead and forced overtime against the Panthers, eventually winning 92-87. Prior to its last game that resulted in an 88-64 loss to UT Martin, EIU was on a fourgame winning streak. The Panthers are 15-10 overall and currently sit at fifth in the OVC standings with a 9-5 record. The Panthers rank top five in many of the OVC team statistical categories, including scoring offense and defense, field goal percentage, threepoint field goal percentage and three-point shooting defense. They also lead the conference in steals per game. Freshman guard Lariah Gage Johnson/The News Washington, who averagSophomore guard Lex Mayes follows through after a jumpshot. es 13.8 ppg in conference

p l ay, c o u l d n o t b e c o n tained when the two teams last played, as she erupted for a career-high 35 points. Sophomore forward Abby Wahl (11.7 ppg and 5.6 rpg) played well against the Racers as well, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Junior guard Karle Pace (18.4 ppg in conf erence play) and freshman forward Morgan Litwiller (7.6 ppg in conference play) round out the top performers in conference play for the Panthers. Turner knows Eastern Illinois is a good team and that they will be a challenging opponent on Thursday. “Eastern Illinois is a very good team,” Tur ner said. “They have a win over UT Martin which is a very fine basketball team. They have been able to string together several wins [while] playing on the road.” SIUE Murray State will look to go 2-0 against SIUE this season when after the Racers defeated the Cougars 74-60 at the CFSB Center in the first matchup. The Cougars are losers of 12 straight, with their last win coming on Jan. 4 when they beat Tennessee State 76-63.

SIUE sits at last in the OVC standings at 1-13 and are 3-22 overall. The Cougars are the lowest scoring team in the conference (56.9 ppg) and have the highest scoring defense (70 ppg). They are second-tolast in field goal percentage (35.6%) and are the poorest three-point shooting team in the OVC, which is beneficial for the Racers as they have the highest three-point shooting percentage in the conference. No SIUE player dominated in the two teams’ last matchup, but junior guard Allie Troeckler leads all scorers on the season with 10.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Freshman forward Mikayla Kinnard (7.8 ppg in conference play), junior guard Christen King (6.3 ppg) and graduate guard Bria Stallworth (5.8 ppg) round out the top scorers. When and Where

The Racers’ two-game road stretch will begin in Charleston, Illinois, as they take on EIU at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20. The Racers will then head to Edwardsville, Illinois, to face off against SIUE at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Features

February 20, 2020

Professor establishes all-girls STEM Club Iris Snapp Contributing Writer isnapp@murraystate.edu Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu

Growing up as a girl who loves STEM might feel discouraging since the field has been male-dominated throughout history. Society ingrained the link between women and humanities, and only recently have educators focused on diversifying STEM. Stephanie Hendrith, assistant professor of elementary education, witnessed this need herself when she taught at an elementary school in Tennessee. In 2016, Hendrith began as a lecturer at the University, and by 2018, she had established an exceedingly

successful all-girls STEM club for fourth and fifth graders at Murray Middle School. Her inspiration came after attending an annual STEM Day at Murray Middle when she noticed both boys and girls were equally excited to learn, yet the female students stepped back. “The boys were very eager,” Hendrith said. “The girls were too, but we noticed the boys jumped to the front of the line. The girls seemed to shrink back because the boys were so loud and excited. The boys seemed to control the activities.” Remembering her own struggle to get into the science field, Hendrith understood the need to encourage the girls in STEM who were too afraid to push boys out of the way. Hendrith realized younger female students needed

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Hendrith Students in the club do STEM activities.

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Hendrith Assistant Professor Stephanie Hendrith founded all-girls STEM club.

their own space to explore the field. She took the idea to Murray Middle with the goal of creating a space for girls to love STEM and understand it wasn’t just for the boys. “I wanted to reach out and work with children,” Hendrith said. “One of my passions is science and I wanted to make it accessible for everyone.” With the startup of the club at Murray Middle, Hendrith didn’t expect such a large group to be interested. “I was originally expecting 10 to 20 girls,” Hendrith said. “Just a small group of girls, but we had about 50. Obviously this was a need I did not see, and they loved it. I had student volunteers and about four other female

Black History Month

teachers working with me and the girls.” The girls met twice a month for an hour to do hands-on activities like building small replicas of bridges and learning code. Hendrith said the club helped teach children problem-solving skills that will be useful in the future. “We focus a lot on coding because it lends itself to analytical problems, and those are things we want kids to pick up on,” Hendrith said. The club has also learned about 3D printing and worked with robots. One of the main types of robots they handle are Spheros, which are small, sphere-shaped and programmable from an iPad.

Hendrith said the club helped teach all these amazing STEM activities and skills to girls without interruption. Even more, the girls were able to express themselves outside of science. “I want the future of my program to be a safe space for girls to express themselves while also learning STEM,” Hendrith said. Murray Middle, thoroughly impressed with its popularity, decided to pick up the club and run it permanently. In 2019, Hendrith began an allgirls STEM club at Paris Elementary School to reach even younger audiences. The club, which meets from October to February, ended earlier this month.

Students discuss what it means to them Dionte Berry Contributing Writer dberry11@murraystate.edu Iris Snapp Contributing Writer isnapp@murraystate.edu

Black History Month is the time to celebrate the accomplishments of black people that have positively shaped history, and reflect on what the black community has gone through in the past. The Office of Multicultural Initiatives and Black Student Council have come together to celebrate Black History Month with various activities on campus. McKenna Barken is a freshman student worker for OMI and is part of the branding and marketing team. She is also one of the captains of the Radiant Racerettes. She believes that Black History Month is about embracing her history. “Black history overall means embracing ourselves

and staying informed and informing others as well,” Barken said. Many people like Barken use this month to learn about the past and inform others of the black community’s past and current struggles. Barken has her own way of celebrating Black History Month. “I celebrate Black History Month by supporting black businesses, and I try to reach out to them and support them,” Barken said.“I’m even trying to reach out to some black businesses and do photoshoots for them since I have my own photography side job.” Though Murray State does celebrate Black History Month, many students, like Nia Russell, sophomore business administration major, feel that there is more that could be done. “I would like to see more programs [and] have more speakers because when other people and other cultures see

someone ethnic like them succeed it gives everyone a different idea of what they can be,” Russell said. Russell also said the only place on campus that focuses on minorities is OMI and feels there should be more extracurriculars for people of color. “I would want to see more programs that show us, successful ethnic people, because it’s inspiring,” Russell said. Senior accounting major Nile Shemwell agrees with Russell and feels as though black history should be taught for more than one month. “It’s normal history and it shouldn’t be limited to one month,” Shemwell said.“We should learn about black history across the globe because black people have made an impact all over the world.” Black history affects people in their everyday lives. Black History Month is a month for celebration, but also the consideration for the issues that still exist in modern American society and around the world.

Photo courtesy of Mckenna Barken Student Mckenna Barken talks about what Black History Month means to her.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, Black History Month events on campus will continue with a panel discussion in Freed Curd Auditorium about being diverse in a professional setting starting at 5 p.m. The week will end with a talent show on

Friday, Feb. 21, in Mason Hall starting at 6 p.m. Murray State’s Black History Month celebration will conclude on Friday, Feb. 28, with the fourth annual Diversity Ball in the CFSB Center at 7 p.m.

Features

February 20, 2020

Student reflects on New Zealand adventure Grant Dillard Staff Writer gdillard@murraystate.edu Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu

Junior agriculture communications and Spanish double-major Camryn Clift had the experience of a lifetime studying abroad in New Zealand with the Hutson School of Agriculture. Far from a vacation, for 13 days students woke before dawn for class, went on day-long visits to farms and ended each day with a night class. Yet, Clift describes the program as an amazing experience. Over two weeks, the group traveled to several cities including Auckland, Hamilton, Mata Mata and Rotorua. “It’s awesome to see how much life can be lived in such a short period of time,” Clift said. “Not only did I get to visit this new and exciting place that’s basically on the other side of the world, but I had the opportunity to learn about the industry I love at the same time.” Clift said the same work ethic and respect for the craft that she cherishes in the U.S. was mirrored in the hearts of

the New Zealand agriculturalists she met. While traveling through different cities, students saw the preserved scenery that New Zealand is known for like hot springs, geysers, kiwi farms and cherry orchards. On the ninth day of the program, Clift found herself four feet from a native blue penguin colony in Oamaru. Earlier in the day, the group had visited deer farms and Lake Tekapo where lupine flowers were in bloom. “All in one day I got to learn about a fascinating industry that was completely novel to me, visit a place with flowers that I have only ever been able to read about and see the most stars in the night sky that I had ever seen before,” Clift said. Describing her winter break study abroad experience as full of firsts, Clift said she will never forget her time in New Zealand. “I had the opportunity to see beautiful countryside and natural wonders that I probably will never get to see again, so I am so grateful for my New Zealand experience,” Clift said. Clift left New Zealand for Spain where she will spend the remainder of her spring semester studying at the University of Alicante.

Photo courtesy of Camryn Clift Camryn Clift traveled to New Zealand with the Hutson School of Agriculture.