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April 30, 2020 | Vol. 94, No. 28

Board of Regents discusses stimulus package and budget updates

Photo courtesy of Murray State’s Youtube Channel The Board of Regents held a special meeting via Zoom on Friday, April 24.

Daniella Tebib News Editor dtebib@murraystate.edu

flex plans with a 7-2 vote. Shemberger and Book also opposed this motion. The increase is compliant with the Sodexo contract agreement.

The Board of Regents held a special Federal Stimulus Package Update meeting on Friday, April 24, to discuss tuition, housing and dining rates, the federal Jackie Dudley, vice president of finance, stimulus package, the updated budget, ensaid the University received notice that rollment efforts and state legislation. $3.135 million out of the $6.2 million from the federal stimulus package for stuTuition, Housing, Dining Rates dents was posted to its bank account on Update Friday, April 24.

The University is working on its guideThe board unanimously approved the authorization of the tuition rates for the lines about how these funds will be allocat2020-21 academic year with no increase in ed to students. Dudley said while guidelines from the federal government are tuition or mandatory fees.

While tuition rates will not be increased, fairly flexible, the Department of Educahousing and dining rates will see an in- tion has made several suggestions. Dudley crease. The board approved a 0.5 percent said the Department of Education prefers increase for housing rates with 7-2 vote. for the aid to go to students who are eliFaculty Regent Melony Shemberger and gible for the Pell Grant and have specifstudent Regent Trey Book opposed the ic guidelines for what the money can be motion. The revenue will generate an addi- used for, including expenditures related to tional $73,509 to be used for facilities, fur- COVID-19 such as food, shelter, health niture, bedding and deferred maintenance. care, child care and technological needs.

President Bob Jackson said about 34 The board also approved a 3.09 percent increase in meal plans, but no increase in percent of Murray State’s students are

eligible for the Pell Grant. The University will also look at students who have lost their jobs and who were eligible for the Pell Grant in Fall 2019, but not in Spring 2020. Jackson also said not every student will get aid from the federal stimulus package.

To provide funding to students, the University is working on a type of application that a committee will assess for students to apply through by the beginning of May. Dudley said the University is looking to set a priority deadline for applications for the end of the academic year for the first wave of checks, but the dates have not been finalized.

Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget Update

Dudley said the University is expected to lose almost $7.4 million because of loss of operations, revenues and expenditures.

However, because of the pandemic, Dudley said the University is expecting to save about $2.6 million compared to the $1.1 million the University had in the balance last year. The positive balance will be put towards the $7.4 million shortfall.

The University will also be receiving $3.135 million from the federal stimulus package to offset any costs related to COVID-19. Dudley said with the $2.6 million, the federal stimulus package and other funds, they still expect to be around $1.6 million below the budget. Because of the shortfall, the University plans to tap into its rainy day fund and reserves to offset the costs.

Because of COVID-19, the University chose the option of prorating student accounts according to the exact number of days students were not on campus. Credits were issued to student accounts, and federal financial aid dollars were refunded to students accordingly.

S cholarship credits from Murray State have also been applied to some housing and dining fees, resulting in a return of $500,000 with a net impact of housing and dining credits of $4 million, heavily impacting fiscal year 2020.

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see REGENTS page 2

Parker pleads guilty to 2018 Marshall County High School shooting Addison Watson Staff Writer awatson25@murraystate.edu The families affected by the 2018 Marshall County High School shooting received some closure as Gabriel Parker entered into a plea agreement.

Parker pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and eight counts of first-degree assault. Six of the assault charges were amended to second-degree assault.

Originally, all the assault charges were first-degree.

The other eight assault charges were not amended and stand as charged.

Parker’s guilty plea for the assault charges is expected to come with up to 70 years of prison time, not including his plea for the two murder charges.

Each murder charge is expected to grant him life in prison.

Parker’s defense attorney Tom Griffiths said the sentences run together into a life in prison plea deal because

Kentucky doesn’t do life plus a number of years.

The News spoke to Dennis Foust, commonwealth attorney, who confirmed the details regarding Parker’s guilty plea.

Griffiths said Parker agreed to the plea deal because he felt it was the appropriate thing to do.

“Gabe entered a plea today not because it was easy for him but because it was the right thing to do,” Griffiths said. “It was the right thing for him, for the victims’ family.”

G r i f fi t h s s a i d Pa rk e r n e ve r e ntered a plea of not guilty in previous proceedings.

“He was always accepting responsibility for what he has done,” Griffiths said.

Today’s hearing was originally scheduled to discuss whether the trial should be delayed further because of complications involving COVID-19, but Parker instead wanted to accept the commonwealth’s plea agreement.

On Jan. 23, 2018, 15-year-old Gabriel Parker entered Marshall County High School where he opened fire, killing two of his classmates, Preston Cope and Bailey Holt, and injuring 14 other students. Four of the students were critically injured.

In a video posted on the Louisville Courier-Journal’s website in 2018, Marshall County Sheriff ’s Department Captain Matt Hillbrecht gave a possible motive for the shooting.

Hillbrecht said Parker told him he was an atheist and his life had no purpose or meaning, and other people’s lives also had no purpose. He also said he wondered what prison life was like.

Parker has been held in the Christian County, Kentucky, jail since the shooting, where the trial was supposed to take place.

Judge Jamie Jameson said sentencing for Parker will be held June 12 at 1 p.m. Griffiths said Parker will be eligible for the possibility of parole in 20 years.

Photo courtesy of Dave Thompson/The Paducah Sun

News

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April 30, 2020

Murray State addresses future plans Gage johnson Editor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu With the 2019-20 school year approaching its end, Murray State is looking toward the future with some of its most recent decisions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring 2020 commencement After mulling over the decision, the University has decided to postpone spring 2020 commencement and combine it with commencement in December.

President Bob Jackson said commencement is an extremely important day for Murray State students and hopes they will take part in the ceremony on Saturday, December 12. Further details will be emailed to students.

Budget update Multiple decisions regarding the current budget for the University were made at a special meeting of the Board of Regents. For that information check out The Murray State News article at TheNews. org.

As far as the budget for the 2021 fiscal year goes, Jackson said the University will spend the next few weeks mulling over those decisions.

REGENTS From Page 1 The pandemic has also forced all summer camps to be canceled, including ones hosted on Murray State’s campus. Because of the cancellation, the University is losing an estimated revenue of $98,000.

The contract between Sodexo and the University is revenue-based and has also been affected by the pandemic. Since campus dining services are closed aside from Fast Track, no revenue is being generated.

Dudley said because of the contractual obligation the University has to Sodexo, the University is expected to pay $663,000 in net expenditures for this summer after David Looney, executive director for auxiliary services, negotiated with them.

The University’s partnership with SSC was also impacted which will result in some savings from their contract as costs will be less. Dudley said early estimates show it will cost about a third less than what was expected.

About half of the employees that they originally intended were brought on and operations have been able to run more efficiently as there are not many people on campus. They are also able to work more in the residential halls because they are no longer occupied.

Dudley also said they are expecting a loss in revenue of about $434,000 through June 30 because of the closure of the bookstore. $309,000 will be lost from the athletic department and the NCAA has notified the athletic department of its expected loss in revenue of $542,000 which the department depends on for their operations and budgeted expenditures. Dudley said director of athletics Kevin Saal and his team are working to adjust their fiscal year 2021 budget to account for the lost revenue.

“During the next few weeks, we will outline further budget decisions regarding fiscal year 2021,” Jackson said. “Again, we are committed to addressing our budget challenges in an open and transparent manner, protecting jobs to the best of our ability while also having to make strategic cost-saving measures, safeguarding academic quality and teaching excellence and ensuring our students and families a student-centered, high-quality, high-value educational experience which we have been known for nearly 100 years.”

CARES Act funding for student aid plans Jackie Dudley, vice president of finance, said that $3.135 million out of the $6.2 million from the federal stimulus package for students was posted to the University’s bank account on Friday, April 24.

Jackson said the University is outlining how the money will be dispersed and will release more information this week.

“We are finalizing the awarding parameters based on federal government guidance for approximately $3.15 million in student financial grants,” Jackson said. “We expect a student application and further details to be available during the next few days. We will alert our students once these details are finalized and Dudley also said there is a projected loss of $450,000 in interest through the rest of this fiscal year from investments made with the state.

The University has also had to put funds toward instructional costs, faculty stipends, supplies and materials as courses have been moved online.

The cancellation of study abroad programs has also seen a significant loss in revenue and reimbursements as many programs were cut short and students were forced to purchase flights home to the United States. Jackson said the University was able to bring all students who were studying abroad home as of a few weeks ago.

Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget Update Dudley said they are not expecting an increase in the KERS employer contribution rate, meaning it will remain at 49.47 percent until June 30, 2021. There will also be no increase in employer contribution for the health and wellness plan in 2021.

Dudley also said they do not plan on giving out any employee pay raises, overtime will be minimized and all open positions will be frozen. Any positions that need to be filled will be required to obtain approval from Dudley and Jackson.

Recruitment, Retention and Enrollment Updates

Compar ing Apr il of this year to April 2019, the fall 2020 preliminary numbers are showing a small decrease of less than one percent with 15 less students enrolled for fall 2020. Don Robertson, vice president for student affairs, said the University is working hard to close this gap and increase enrollment through its Recapture Campaign where faculty and staff contact students who have been admitted, but have not registered yet.

Photo courtesy of Murray State University

awarding will occur as soon as possible canceled, or will be conducted virtually according to Jackson. thereafter.”

Future camps, events and campus activities With people remaining quarantined in their homes, Murray State related events are continuing to be postponed. Through July 31, no camps, events or campus activities will take place. Any previously scheduled event will be postponed, Robertson said the number of first-time freshmen applicants and admissions for fall 2020 are comparatively higher than those of fall 2019. First-time freshmen are up 7.6 percent.

There has also been an increase in one of the University’s main focus areas, an 18-county region. However, in other areas in Kentucky, applications and admissions have decreased a little or are the same as past years.

Robertson also said Summer Orientation registration numbers are another good indicator for enrollment numbers.

Compared to students who registered for Summer O in April 2019, registrations for Summer Orientations for this year have increased by a little over 4 percent, which is 59 more students than last April. Summer Orientations are set to take place virtually with an additional event in August.

Transfer students and graduate students have shown an increase as well. Robertson said one area of concern is international students because embassies are not giving out student visas right now. Before the pandemic, Robertson said international enrollment was positive.

Housing applications for new students have also increased by almost 6 percent.

However, because of COVID-19, the University had to close campus, so campus visits have decreased. In place of campus visits, students can make an appointment with the virtual Zoom visit program. Students can also take a virtual tour. Students can take a virtual tour or schedule an appointment here.

To continue the University’s recruitment efforts, Robertson said they developed a specific marketing campaign for the summer. The total number of registrants as of press time compared to April 2019 has increased about 8 percent and credit hours have also increased. However, undergraduate numbers have decreased by 1.6 percent, but the graduate numbers are up by 33.3 percent, showing an increase for in-state

While we are in grim times, Jackson is hopeful that students will be able to grow at Murray State again once the pandemic comes to an end.

“This crisis will pass and we will be better positioned for future growth and enhancement regarding the high-quality, high-value academic work for which we have been known for nearly 100 years,” Jackson said.

and out of state students. Based on this information, Robertson said he expects a high summer enrollment.

While other universities have extended the deadline for scholarships acceptance, Robertson said the general scholarship application deadline will remain May 1.

“We are aggressively calling students, we are reminding them of the deadline, but we feel if a student is not going to come, then we can move on and offer that scholarship to an alternate student which could make a difference in them coming to Murray State versus going to another institution,” Robertson said.

State Budget and Legislative Session Update

Jordan Smith, director of governmental and institutional relations, said several pieces of legislation in Murray State’s favor were passed despite it being a tough legislative session.

Senate Resolution 277 was passed resulting in the confirmation of Regent Leon Owens’ appointment. Read more about the confirmation here.

The state budget was also passed. Many items within the budget were not passed because of COVID-19, but the KERS pension rate freeze was.

Smith also said two agriculture-related bills were also passed. The first piece of legislation Smith said was passed was House Bill 214 regarding veterinarian contract spaces which secures the current veterinary slots of Kentucky’s students and relationship with Auburn University. House Bill 236 which allows the Breathitt Veterinary Center Lab to be used by the Department of Agriculture for hemp testing was also passed.

Smith said Senate Bill 115 was also passed regarding tuition waivers which will waive 150 graduate credit hours for fostered and adopted children regardless of objection from Murray State and other universities.

Opinion

April 30, 2020

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America isn’t ready to reopen The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.

With President Donald Trump’s recent pushing of reopening the country, many are worried about what could accompany the idea.

The fact of the matter is that many Americans are simply not ready for the nation to reopen, and they are right to feel that way.

Gallup, a global analytics firm popular for its polling, conducted a series of polls to find out whether Americans felt comfortable with the idea of reopening the nation. In an article the firm published on April 23, Frank Newport, senior scientist for the firm, discussed much of the data Gallup has been finding.

First, over half of the American population worries they are likely to get the coronavirus, and there are just as many of them who think the situation is getting better as there are who think it is getting worse.

Financially, most Americans have a pessimistic view of life post COVID-19.

Despite most of the nation reporting that they can continue social distancing and avoid devastating financial hardship, 50 percent of the population said they’ve experienced some sort of severe financial hardship stemming from the pandemic.

Asking Americans to choose between containing the virus and reopening the economy is an exceedingly complicated question. It’s like asking them to choose between the lesser of the two evils, a situation that no one wants to be forced to face. The coronavirus and the economy are two very, very heavy topics with a lot of underlying issues, especially when the two directly deal with each other.

In this situation, the alternatives seem to be “open the economy too soon and

risk unnecessary loss of life” or “open the economy too late and risk an entire collapse.” Who in the world wants to choose between that? It’s an entirely unfortunate situation in which we must realize that the virus is destroying lives, and yet the economy has the ridiculous ability of destroying lives as well. So how do we keep the balance? How do we keep from opening too early AND from opening too late? What is “just right” in this situation?

The answer? Not now. Some of the nation’s top economists, many of them veterans of presidential counsels, have said that the U.S. needs to focus on increased virus testing before even beginning the process of reopening. We need to fully understand how the virus works, how it spreads, before we can risk the lives of our people for the sake of our economy.

Gallup polling shows that even if businesses reopen, the majority of Americans have said they wouldn’t return to their normal routines yet. They would wait it out, and see how the rest of the world does before venturing back out into society.

The president may be pushing people to get back out into the world, but his credibility is not standing very well with his constituents. Between Trump’s heinous suggestions for cures and empty excuses as to why his handling of the situation has been so poor, his people are losing whatever semblance of faith they had in their leader.

Yes, the future is uncertain, but two things are for sure: now is not the time to reopen the nation and Andy Beshear for president in 2024.

Cadence Utterback/TheNews

Gage Johnson Danilla Tebib Cady Stribling Josh Embry Megan Reynolds Editor-in-Chief

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Sports April 30, 2020 Cozart named as one of top second baseman in nation 4

Jon Dunning Staff Writer jdunning1@murraystate.edu

Murray State baseball senior infielder and pitcher Jordan Cozart was ranked 26th out of 30 by D1baseball.com in the website’s top 30 second baseman in the country list published April 23.

Being in the top 30 means Cozart is among the top 10 percent of second baseman in the country.

Cozart stands out even among the top 30, as the senior ranks first in home runs, third in RBI, seventh in batting average and third in OPS out of the other players on the list.

This honor marks the second time in recent weeks that Cozart has been recognized by D1baseball.com. On March 28, the site ranked Cozart 17th in college baseball’s top 50 senior hitters in the nation.

The rankings for the top 50 senior hitters in the nation were determined

by D1baseball.com’s categories of plate discipline, hit ability and game power.

Cozart ranked 11th in hitting ability with a score of 80.3, which was his top category. He also placed 12th in game power with a score of 82.2.

Cozart performed well this year, hitting .414 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. To keep updated on Murray State baseball, continue to follow The Murray State News.

Senior infielder Jordan Cozart fields a ball against Saint Peters earlier in the season.

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics

Virtual graduation ceremony created in Minecraft

Jon Dunning Staff Writer jdunning1@murraystate.edu

Graduating Murray State students may not be able to attend a graduation ceremony this semester at the real CFSB Center because of the coronavirus pandemic, but they can attend a virtual graduation ceremony hosted at the CFSB Center in Minecraft on May 9 at 1 p.m.

Murray State alumna Rachel Stewart and Systems Administrator and Esports Club Adviser Sean Mitchuson recreated the CFSB

Center block-for-block in Minecraft. The pixelated version of the Racers’ sports arena can be viewed in a video on the RacerEsports Youtube channel. The video shows the CFSB Center decorated for the Spring 2020 graduation ceremony and features “Murray State Fight Song” and “Murray State Anthem” in the background.

Mitchuson said building the CFSB Center in Minecraft is a way to honor seniors who will not get a chance to walk across the stage and receive their diploma.

“I know a lot of students actually like walking at graduation,” Mitchuson said. “So I was

like, ‘we should just build the CFSB Center in Minecraft and have an online commencement for them.’ We’re going to broadcast it on Twitch…kind of give them props so they can kind of feel that commencement vibe in case there’s not a good alternative.”

When Mitchuson thought to build the CFSB Center in Minecraft, he brought the idea to Stewart because he knew she was a genius at creating things in the game.

They started construction on March 24.

Stewart estimated that it took the duo 50 to 60 hours to complete the project, and said this build was her biggest yet. The

Sean Mitchuson and Rachel Stewart worked 50 to 60 hours to complete the design of the virtual CFSB Center.

Murray State alumna used Google Maps and images of the CFSB Center to build the project to scale.

“I started with the basketball court and just kind of built outward from there,” Stewart said. “It was just a really fun project.”

Mitchuson said students can either attend the graduation ceremony through Minecraft by connecting to raceresports. shockbyte.games:25621 in the Java version of the game or they can watch the ceremony live on the RacerEsports Twitch channel.

Photo courtesy of Racer Esports

April 30, 2020

Features

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Senior set to leave for Germany for Fulbright

Grant Dillard Staff Writer gdillard@murraystate.edu

Murray State senior art major Eriko Whittaker has been accepted into the highly competitive Fulbright Student program to research in Germany next year.

Whittaker was supposed to leave in September, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic she is now set to leave in January 2021.

During the application process last fall, Whittaker drafted her research proposal that she now gets to pursue in Berlin.

“For my research, I will be observing the cultural and social exchanges of refugees and the local German communities,” Whittaker said. “I am interested in how art is used as a vessel to express and communicate ideas.”

These ideas, she said, could range from the meaning of home, identity, language, religion and more. She views all forms of art, such as music, dance and film, as a way to be creative and as a documentation of the lived human experience.

When performing her research, Whittaker will be working with the organization Fasahat, a refugee home that focuses on art, community projects and creative workshops, which was designed to encourage self-expression and empowerment.

This part of her research was inspired by her growing concern of the refugee crisis in the United States and wanting to help refugees.

“I am troubled by the growing hate, apathy and neglectance towards groups of people who may look different and speak a different language,” Whittaker said. “I

Whittaker will be researching and taking classes in Berlin.

always believed that we are far more alike than we are different.”

At the Fasahat workshops, refugees and the German community will create art, and Whittaker will participate and document what she’s observed through painting.

Her host institution will be Universität der Künste Berlin, or the University of Art Berlin.

“I will have a studio space there, and a mentor, where I can create more paintings and have somebody guide me during my research,” Whittaker said.

Although she is taking classes at the university, it will not be for a degree or grade since her program is for research.

Whittaker will take classes to better

socially integrate, make friends and because she enjoys learning.

Whittaker began the application process back in spring 2019, and she said it was a demanding and stressful process.

“It felt like I was doing three full-time jobs: being a student, the Fulbright application and the actual job that I had to support myself,” Whittaker said. “However, I also had such amazing help from professors and other MSU faculty. Without their expertise and guidance, I never would have been able to submit my application.”

Whittaker chose to study in Germany because she studied abroad in Regensburg, Germany, during the fall 2018 semester. During that stay, she went on a trip to Berlin for a week, and the experience deeply moved her.

Photo courtesy of Eriko Whittaker

“I was mesmerized by the art, especially the art available, such as galleries and museums, the history, cultural significance and overall life of the city,” Whitakker said. “After the trip, I knew that I wanted to go back.”

Whitaker was nervous that the program would be canceled, but after seeing her acceptance, she was relieved. She said she is looking forward to the future challenges and experiences.

“I have learned that I can only grow better as a person by listening to and observing the world around me with an open mind, and by being put in new and often challenging experiences,” Whittaker said. “While moving to a new, foreign city by myself is a little daunting, I am excited for the friends I’ll make and for the growth in my artistry.”

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Features

April 30, 2020

Music business program students dedicate livestream to seniors

Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu

Ever y year, students in the music business program have enriched the Murray State community by putting on Lovett Live, a performance where the audience gets to sit on stage with the artists while they play.

Although c lasses and campus life have moved entirely online, these students are now working to bring Lovett Live Stream to the community through a Facebook livestream. The show will be dedicated to 2020 seniors and graduates.

Karen Kane, music business program director, said the show is intended to be an online graduation party. “ We will have music and shoutouts from a lot of Murray State ‘celebrities’ and Murray community leaders,” Kane said. “The artists are coming to us from their homes for the livestream, but usually we have access to Lovett’s cool living room vibe for the live shows.”

Typically, audience members sit on the Lovett stage with couches, chairs and cool lighting to recreate a living room concert. Kane said they put on two or three concerts each year.

The live performance and concert promotion class is in charge of preparing these performances from booking the artists to loading in the production.

This year, they booked DJ Tan the Man and Nashville singer-songwriters Stevenson Everett and Angie K. “The artists for Lovett Live are chosen because they are on the verge of breaking through on the national music scene—tomorrow’s next music superstars,” Kane said. “We want Murray State to be on the cutting edge of what is happening in the music business.”

Lovett Live, which is normally held on the Lovett stage, will be on Facebook livestream.

Susanna Poeysti, senior music business major, said the class is broken into promotions, logistics and communications teams. If they were back on campus, they’d also have merchandise, security, ticketing and hospitality teams. “ The class has to work together as a team to make the shows a success, which is an amazing learning experience for us,” Poeysti said. “I have been working on creating ads and leading the promotions team every day for several weeks now.”

She said it takes hours everyday to ensure the show is together. The different teams in the class are also in charge of promoting, contacting artists, writing contracts, creating videos and contacting community businesses and members.

Typicall y, L ovett Live’s theme is “Closer to the Music” because of the personal atmosphere of the performance, but the class knew they wanted to do something different this year. “ We all agreed that it would be a nice gesture to the graduating class of 2020 if we involved them,” Poeysti said.

“They are missing their graduation ceremonies and parties due to the coronavirus, so we wanted to dedicate the show to them.”

Micah Frank, music business junior, said once classes moved online, students worked as a cohesive unit to make the livestream happen.

“This whole idea of a livestream started off in a discussion board and grew into so much more,” Frank said. “Due to the

Photo courtesy of Lovett Live’s Facebook page

current circumstances, we wanted to hold something that would help people feel closer despite being far apart.”

Frank said he has felt closer to his community throughout the process of putting on the show and is proud to be a Racer.

“With the number of people chipping in, working together and the amount of support we have got from faculty and leadership across the campus, I feel like this is a tight-knit community that looks out for one another and helps where it is needed,” Frank said.

He said the class has put a lot of work into the show, and he hopes everyone enjoys what they have in store.

Lovett Live Stream will be on Facebook and YouTube on Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. Central.

Alumna brings diversity to newsrooms across the country Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu Distinguished alumni deserve recognition for their prominent accomplishments, like Felecia Dixon Henderson, graduate of 1983, who went on to become the first Table Stakes coordinator for the Maynard Institute.

The Maynard Institute, located in Emeryville, California, is a nonprofit organization that helps train and place minority journalists in newsrooms across the country.

“My role as Table Stakes coordinator is to help news organizations incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into their performance challenges and into coverage of their communities,” Henderson said.

The term table stakes is used in poker, Henderson said, and means the amount required to have a seat at the table.

“Today, the institute has the Maynard 200 porgram that helps journalists, producers, managers and journalism entrepreneurs of color,” Henderson said. “The goal is to expand the diversity pipeline by training 200 diverse storytellers in the next five years.”

Henderson graduated from Murray State with a double major in radio-tv and journalism, then attended the former Editing Program for Minority Journalists at the University of Arizona in 1987.

“My attendance in that program led to my career as a copy editor, which in turn led me to become an assigning editor, features department head and eventually assistant managing editor,” Henderson said.

After receiving her master’s degree in organization development in 2017, she wanted a career that would combine this with journalism. She found herself doing just that as the Table Stakes Coordinator in January 2020.

Henderson has seen the ebb and flow of diversity coverage and inclusion efforts in newsrooms over her 35-year career.

“After I graduated from Murray State in 1983, I saw the efforts newsrooms, large and small, made to hire more women and people of color,” Henderson said. “With those hires, news organizations began to reflect the communities in which they were located, and stories that were published began to reflect the diversity, too.”

However, diversity efforts took a major hit in the late 2000s when news organizations began to layoff staff and offer buyouts, Henderson said.

“Many of those impacted were people of color,” Henderson said. “You also began to see the lack of diversity in news pages.”

Henderson said her position as Table Stakes coordinator is critical to helping newsroom personnel in order to find ways to better reflect the makeup

of their communities in order to avoid stereotypes.

The way she does this is by travelling to newsrooms across the country to lead diversity trainings. In these training sessions, Henderson asks editors questions to make them think about coverage decisions and presents alternative approaches.

“I find newsroom leaders want to do right by the community,” Henderson said. “Oftentimes, they just don’t know where to start because everyone at the decision-making table is like-minded.”

S he said this is why diversit y of thought and life experience is so critical when covering the news.

Henderson advises people aspiring in their careers to seek professional mentors since they will give you honest feedback and insight on possible opportunities.

“Be willing to learn from others who are not of the same race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or ethnicity as yourself,” Henderson said. “It will broaden your perspective of the world, which in turn will help you better report or edit stories.”

She suggests for aspiring journalists to connect to their local Society of Professional Journalists chapter because they are always willing to help student journalists succeed.

Henderson said there are four organizations specifically for journalists of color: the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Asian American Journalists Association and the Native American Journalists Association.

Photo courtesy of Felecia Henderson Felecia Henderson conducts diversity trainings.