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Sept. 10, 2020 | Vol. 95, No. 3

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McGrath to visit Murray Gage Johnson Editor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu

Murray State reports low COVID-19 case count Daniella Tebib News Editor dtebib@murraystate.edu Despite last week’s 29 newly reported cases, Murray State has one of the lowest overall total number of COVID-19 cases among the eight Kentucky public institutions of higher education.

Murray State has reported 72 positive cases on campus since Aug.1. The only universit y that had f e wer c ases was Morehead State University, which has reported 58 cases.

Since students have returned to campuses, 31 private and public colleges and universities in Kentucky have reported positive COVI D-19 c ases as of Sept. 9. The full list, which was compiled by the Kentucky Depar tment for P ublic Health, can be found on TheNews.org.

According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health, as of press time, there have been 1,786 positive student cases and 73 positive faculty/staff cases in Kentucky colleges and universities.

“I hope every school wants to give regular daily updates so any parents who made decisions about remote learning or in-person learning can make the best informed decisions or changed decisions,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “I think that’s part of our duty to those parents.”

Postsecondary institutions are required to report the number of positive cases on campus every week day to their local health department. Local health departments then pass the information

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along to the Kentucky Department for Public Health where the numbers are verified.

Howe ver, numbers repor t ed from the Kentucky Department for Public Health may vary from local health departments and other reported numbers because of the verification process.

The News analyzed the data that each public university has posted on its COVID-19 section of the institution’s website.

University of Kentucky has detailed sections on its COVID-19 Data Dashboard describing what each section of their data includes. The University has a total of 789 positive student cases out of the 28,157 tests conducte d s i n c e J u l y 2 0 . U K ’s d a t a was last updated on S ept. 5.

One policy UK has implemented to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 is requiring all students and employees to complete a daily COVID-19 screening if they are going to campus.

According to the University’s COVID-19 site, 68 percent of students and 40 percent of employees are completing the daily screenings. The screening gauges whether or not individuals have experienced COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive.

W hile UK has reported 789 positive cases, the Kentucky Department of Health reports 1,221 for the institution. The discrepancy comes as UK only reports cases collected at the University.

Western Kentucky University has recorded positive COVID-19

Media literacy becomes prevalent in COVID-19 era page 2

cases within the WKU community since July 1. As of Sept. 8, they have reported 491 cases on their Reported Cases page out of 2,590 conducted tests. Cases reported by the Barren River District Health Department and individuals who self report are included in the data.

University of Louisville has reported a total of 297 positive COVID-19 cases on campus, out of the 20,014 tests that have been performed on campus since Aug. 10, according to the University’s COVID-19 Testing Dashboard. Based on the number of positive cases compared to the total number of tests performed, University of Louisville has a 1.48 percent positivity rate. However, the results displayed on its COVID-19 Testing Dashboard only include testing performed at Campus Health and Bluewater Diagnostic Lab testing sites. UofL Health and offcampus testing are not included.

Eastern Kentucky University has several graphs detailing case information including whether or not the cases included residential or non-residential students on its COVID-19 Data Dashboard. EKU has had a total of 88 cases since Aug. 1.

Kentucky State University’s data shows it’s had a total of 86 cases since March on its COVID-19 reporting website. Information regarding positive COVID-19 results of student and employee cases, located on and off KSU’s campus, are provided by individuals or public health agencies appropriate to KSU campus officials. KSU’s data was last updated on Sept. 2.

On Saturday, Sept. 12, democr atic Kentuc ky S enate c andid a t e Am y M c G r a t h w i l l m a k e her way to the Higgins House in Murray to host a voter registration event geared toward students.

The retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel will focus on registering people to vote, h ow t o vo t e i n No ve m b e r a n d the impor tance of the election for college students specifically.

This marks McGrath’s second visit to Murray in recent months, as she visited Soup for the Soul on June 20 to discuss the pandemic, food insecurity and the continued protests for racial justice.

This visit was made prior to the primary election, in which she secured the democratic nomination for senate over Charles Booker.

Photo courtesy of Amy McGrath’s Facebook Page Amy McGrath visited Paducah, Kentucky, on Sept. 1.

McGrath is a major advocate f or lower ing the cost of higher education. One way she hopes to tackle the issue is by creating a voluntar y, paid National Service Program allowing students to earn a debt-free higher education.

C i t i z e ns and st u d e nt s i n t h e Murray State community can find more on the program on the student debt page under the “on the issues” tab on McGrath’s website.

McGrath hopes to also expand the student loan forgiveness program, increase funding public universities at the federal level and increase funding for HBCUs in her efforts to make higher education more affordable.

Other policy positions of McGrath include lowering the cost of prescr iption dr ugs and

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see CAMPUSES page 2

New Racer One jockey Helmick is ready for action page 4

see MCGRATH page 3

Bipartisan election agreement puts Kentuckians’ health first

Alumna competes on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

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News

Sept. 10, 2020

Media literacy becomes prevalent in COVID-19 era Dionte Berry Contributing Writer dberry11@murraystate.edu With the continuing pandemic, nationwide protests for the Black Lives Matter movement and an upcoming presidential election, there has been an overload of information in the media, as well as an increase in misinformation.

Media literacy is the ability to understand the medium often online news a n d e v a l u a t e i t s l e g i t i m a c y.

Research and Instruction librarian and liaison for the College of Business Dana Statton Thompson discussed the importance of media literacy with The News.

“Being aware and reflecting on your news consumption habits is the first step to becoming media literate,” Thompson said.

Becoming literate means understanding the ne ws, where it ’s coming from, who’s writing it and for what purpose as well as noticing bias.

“Having media literacy means you can look past bias and get to see both sides of a stor y to tr y to figure out what is the tr uth or the agenda of that agenc y,” Thompson said.

Beyond awareness there are other steps one should take to understand the media they are c on s u m i n g a n d i t s l e g i t i m a cy. Mike Caulfield, director of Blended and Net work lear ning at Washington State University, developed “Four Steps and a Habit ” to educate readers on how they should view news.

The f our steps f or e valuat ing an article are to check for p re v i o u s wo rk , u p s t re a m t h e source, read laterally and circ le back. Thompson also said it ’s important for the reader to check the emotions of the media.

“If anything illicting a ver y strong emotion either happiness, anger, pride or vindication, you may automatically want to share it because you think it ’s right,” Thompson said. “ You should take a pause and reconsider what you’re reading because it may play into our confirmation bias.”

C o n fi r m a t i o n b i a s i s w h e n people are more likel y to accept something as true bec ause they want to belie ve it as such which is a variable in the creation of fake ne ws. “ W hen we read things that already agree with our political worldview, it ’s a lot easier

CAMPUSES From Page 1 Of the 72 total cases reported on Murray State’s campus since Aug. 1, seven have been faculty or staff members and 65 were students.

The positivity rate cannot be calculated because the total number of tests that have been performed is unknown. Students can be tested at Health Services on campus, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital or a private provider’s office. The University’s COVID-19 Reporting site can be found at https://murraystate.edu/racerrestart/reporting.

M o re h e ad S t a t e U n i ve r s i t y has reported cases related to the University since July which includes a total of 58 cases. MSU shows individual case counts for employees, on-campus students

for us to share those kinds of things without doing the research,” Thompson said.

Media literacy is important in light of fake news.

If people were to pause and follow the four steps and a habit, then the dissemination of fake news may not be as common.

“A l o t o f t h e t i m e f a k e news sources will use a real image but use it in the wrong context,” Thompson s a i d . “ We a r e t r a i n e d t o b e lie ve what we see or to think that photographs represent

t r u t h w h e n t h e t r u t h is re ally contextual and depends on a lot of different factors. ” Senior public relations instructor Elizabeth Thomas is also familiar with checking the legitimacy of news and making sure she avoids misinformation.

“I tr y to avoid going to rand o m F a c e b o o k o r Tw i t t e r posts that have some outrageous headline,” Thomas said.

Tw i t t e r a n d F a c e b o o k are among several othe r s o cial media platforms that

have been known to have copious amounts of fake news.

“Facebook and Twitter just uncovered around a million Russian bots that were publishing under a fake publication that looked legit,” Thomas said. “It was fake news designed to sway our election.”

Thomas has seen firsthand how easy it is for fake news to catch traction.

“A couple years ago some Murray State students made a fake post saying there were sharks in Kentucky Lake,” Thomas said.

and off campus students on its COVID-19 Dashboard. MSU’s data was last updated on Sept. 8.

Unlike other universities in the state, Northern Kentucky University only provides COVID-19 case data on their COVID-19 Regional Statistics page rather than cases specific to the campus.

Beshear discussed his concerns with the rising numbers of positive COVID-19 cases on college campuses after The News submitted a question to the governor for his daily press briefing on Sept. 9.

“I’m concerned because at some point, we’re going to have to prove we can or can’t do this,” Beshear said. “ That ’s separate from the question of what to do with an outbreak right now versus at this moment without a vaccine, can we reasonably do this without knowing that there’s going to be

outbreaks? It is possible and are we being reasonable as decision makers to believe this many college kids can come together and not do things that will spread the virus?”

Beshear also said the threshold for sending students home and returning to a completely virtual college experience should not be based on deaths or positive patients in need of ventilators.

“For a university, I don’t think it can be based on deaths,” Beshear said. “It certainly shouldn’t. We don’t want to lose any students or faculty. It shouldn’t be based on how many people we have an ICU or on a ventilator, we don’t want any students or faculty on that.

It’s got to be based on something else where we say we have just hit the level where it’s not working and we don’t want to to continue seeing increased caseloads.”

Beshear said he will discuss the new colleges and universities reporting dashboard and the information that the institutions will be posting on Monday, Sept. 14 during his daily press briefing.

“When we create a dashboard, we try to put the most important information on it,” Beshear said. “I would encourage, if it’s the student body or the faculty or others who would like to see more information, whether it is on the dashboard or otherwise available, I think that’s an important conversation to have.

And especially those...that are on campus, if there’s information that you believe would keep you safer, I hope the administration will listen.”

The News will continue to follow and report on COVID-19 case numbers on Murr a y S t a t e ’s c a m p u s a n d o t h er universities across Kentucky.

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Sept. 10, 2020

News

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MCGRATH From Page 1 and helping provide affordable health care for all Kentuckians.

McGrath also hopes to strengthen the VA, put a halt to its privitization and invest in preventing veteran suicide. In order to further help veterans, she also wants to legalize medical marijuana to improve health care outcomes and help treat ailments said veterans and other citizens might have.

Hoping to strengthen the economic stability of communities across the state, McGrath also wants to create more jobs with livable wages and allow citizens to be able to do more than “just get by.”

McGrath is running against incumbent Kentucky Senat o r M i t c h M c C on n e l l i n t h e upcoming general election on Nov. 3. For more information on s om e o f h e r p o l i t i c a l p ositions, people can visit her website and c lick the “on the issues” tab to find more information on her stances regarding COVID-19, foreign policy,national security and much more.

LITERACY From Page 1 When evaluating the val i d i t y o f on l i n e n e w s T h om as refers to Snopes.com.

“If you’re in doubt about an article you can take the headline or website of an article and go to Snopes.com and search it up and fact-check it,” Thomas said.

Growing up in a highly digital culture, students have their own sources they trust and ways to evaluate their news.

Photo courtesy of Amy McGrath’s Facebook Page Amy McGrath speaks to supporters at a recent campaign stop. McGrath is scheduled to visit Murray Saturday to participate in a voter registration event at the Higgins House on Main Street.

Alistair Majors, sophom o r e T E S O L m a j o r, g e t s all of his news online and avoids misleading news by evaluating the source.

“Getting to know the person who is telling the news is a good star t to seeing if it is credible or not,” Majors said.

W hen hear ing about popu lar issues in the media Majors is sure to do his own research.

“It ’s important to go beyond and research what is happening because I want to have the objective view,” Majors said. “I want to see all sides of the story.”

Along with Majors, Sophia Nardi, sophomore international studies major, also gets all her news online, primarily from Twitter.

“Twitter is where news appears first,” Nardi said. “Famous news organizations all have Twitter accounts and give constant updates.”

W h e n c o n s i d e r i n g w h a t ’s credible and what ’s not, Nardi follows sources that are verified. For a source to be verified on Twitter they have to meet multiple standards, one o f t h o s e b e i n g a u t h e n t i c i t y.

Nardi stays away from sources that aren’t verified by twitter.

S he is also war y of repor ting bias and confirmation bias. “ Pe o p l e c a n b e v e r y b i ased,” Nardi said. “Even if something is false they will believe it because it goes along with their beliefs.”

For those who may need help evaluating media and safel y researching there is a “ Research Guides” tab on the Murray State Librar y webs i t e a t l i b. m u r r a y s t a t e . e d u / . “ T h e m e d i a i s n’t b a d o r e v i l , ” T h o m p s o n s a i d . “ I t ’s w h a t yo u d o w i t h t h e m e d i a that determines its intent.”

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Sports

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Sept. 10, 2020

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics/Dave Winder

New Racer One jockey Emily Helmick saddles up with Racer One.

Carrying on a tradition New Racer One jockey Helmick is ready for action Jakob Milani Contributing Writer jmilani@murraystate.edu

Every school has its own traditions, no matter if it’s in sports or around campus. For Murray State, perhaps the biggest is that of the University’s beloved mascot Racer One. From being part of the equestrian team to running around the track on race day, Racer One, also known as Vegas, is very busy year-round.

While the horse is an important part of the tradition, the jockey is just as important. That’s where senior Emily Helmick comes in.

Helmick is a pre-vet and veterinary technology major with a chemistry minor. She participates in the vet tech and pre-vet club, as well as the competitive equestrian team. After college she plans to attend graduate school in order to get a doctorate in veterinary medicine and become a vet.

Being the jockey for Racer One

is a pretty big deal. So how did Helmick become the new jockey?

She says her fascination about the job goes back all the way to freshman year.

“My freshman year, I was friends with the jockey,” Helmick said.

“So I got to live kind of vicariously through her. I got to go into the games and watch her run and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.”

After her freshman year, Helmick wanted to give the jockey position a shot herself.

“As a sophomore, I submitted an application and did an interview and got on the Racer One team, which are kind of like the bodyguards,” Helmick said. “They make sure the track is clear so that we don’t run over anyone.”

After she had lived the Racer One team experience, it was finally Helmick’s turn to saddle up.

“In November of last year I had to go through the process again,” Helmick said. “I sent in an applica-

tion, got an interview, but for jockey I have to do a riding portion so they can see that I’m fit to ride the horse and handle it… I had a pretty quick turn around to find out I was the next jockey.”

After this long process, Helmick was finally named the next Racer One jockey and couldn’t be happier.

“I definitely cried when I received my email to say that I was going to be the next jockey,” Helmick said.

“And I promise you the first time I go around that track, there will be tears in my eyes.”

While Racer One is most known for taking off around the track of Roy Stewart Stadium, there’s a lot that goes on throughout the year for the whole Racer One team.

“So obviously football games are the most public thing we do,” Helmick said. “We also [walk in] the homecoming parade. We do various meet and greet events here around campus. Sometimes people will come to us and meet us out

on the field in front of the equine center. One thing we’ve done quite frequently is the eighth grade class from one of the local schools comes and does a scavenger hunt around campus, and the last thing they find is Racer One.” Despite the pandemic causing abrupt changes to a typical season for Racer One and Helmick, she said it will definitely be a busy time for her come spring.

“With the equestrian team, all of our shows have been postponed to the spring as well,” Helmick said.

“So I’ll have all of that on top of my football games, but obviously those football games will take priority…

So I may have to miss a couple days here and there but hopefully I can plan ahead.”

To Helmick, the life of the Racer One jockey is a busy one, but a fun one as well. Racer One has been racing around the track after Murray State touchdowns for four decades and isn’t going to stop galloping any time soon.

McLemore to join baseball as volunteer assistant Simon Elfrink Staff Writer selfrink@murraystate.edu

As Murray State baseball prepares for its upcoming season, Seth McLemore joins the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant.

After McLemore applied for several coaching positions, Head Coach Dan Skirka connected with him and deemed him to be a good fit for Racer baseball.

“I’m excited to be here,” McLemore said. “I’m excited to learn from the coaching staff and excited to work with these guys. It’s been a really good experience so far. The guys want to get better, they want to learn and the coaching staff is just awesome to work with.”

McLemore spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Southwest Tennessee Community College before moving on to Central Baptist College for his additional two seasons as an upperclassmen.

McLemore became Central Baptist’s starting third baseman right away and was named Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive All-Conference in 2015. McLemore hit a solid .293 that year, tallying 44 RBIs and four home runs.

His senior year, McLemore broke the school’s record for RBIs in a single season with 65. He also had 11 home runs that season, hitting an electric .341 in the process. He was named All-Conference, NCCAA All-Region and NCCAA All-American in 2016.

After his collegiate career came to a close, McLemore stepped into professional baseball for a single season.

In the summer of 2016, McLemore played for the Alpine Cowboys, a prominent team from Alpine, Texas, in the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs, a decade-old professional league spread throughout the western United States.

McLemore found success at the plate for the Cowboys, hitting .328 with a .405 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage to boot. McLemore hit five home runs and drove in 43 runs as a third basemen for the Cowboys. However, a leg injury during his last game with the team forced him into foul territory to do some coaching.

McLemore returned to Central Baptist after his injury and served as a student assistant coach while getting his bachelor’s degree in history. In December 2017, McLemore gave high school ball a try at First Assembly Christian School in Memphis, Ten-

nessee, before moving on in May 2018.

McLemore also wore several hats in the Beach Collegiate Baseball League in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was first a head coach, then a recruit and finally the general manager of the divisional champions, the Little River Lagoon. 2019 continued to be a big year for McLemore, who spent several months as the associate head coach of the Spearfish Sasquatch in Spearfish, South Dakota.

McLemore also assisted Central Methodist University from 2018 all the way up until his employment at Murray State. He expects to receive a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in athletic administration in December 2020.

McLemore believes his wide variety of coaching experiences around the country will be useful to him going forward.

“The best part about it is getting to teach a bunch of different [players] from different backgrounds,” McLemore said.

Given all his previous experience, McLemore believes that his opportunity at Murray State has the potential to be the most beneficial of all during his career.

“The biggest thing for me is getting

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Seth McLemore joins the Murray State baseball staff after multiple years of coaching experience.

my foot in the door at the Division I level,” McLemore said. “That was an easy no-brainer in the decision-making process. I know that it’s going to be more beneficial to my career and more beneficial to me growing as a coach.”

Sept. 10, 2020

Sports

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Morant wins NBA Rookie of the Year Gage Johnson Editor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu

After being the frontrunner throughout the NBA season, former Murray State guard Ja Morant has claimed the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Morant was drafted at No. 2 overall by the Grizzlies in the 2019 NBA Draft and proceded to show exactly why.

The three-time Rookie of the Month led all rookies in points per game (17.8), assists per game (7.3), double-doubles (15) and triple-doubles (2). Morant appeared in 67 games this season and played 31.7 minutes per game. Morant had also set the Franchise single-season assist record and season assist average record en route to a 34-39 record before having their postseason dreams cut short by the Portland Trailblazers.

The high-flying guard received 99 out of 100 first place votes, while 2019 No. 1 pick Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans finished with one first place vote. Williamson played in 24 games, averaging 22.5 ppg and 6.3 rpg Morant joins elite company in Damian Lillard (2013) of Weber State University, Larry Johnson of UNLV (1991), David Robinson (1989) of Navy University, and Larry Bird of Indiana State University (1980), as one of only five mid-major collegiate athletes to go on to win NBA Rookie of the Ja Morant earned 99 of 100 first place votes to win 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Year since 1979.

Morant said he hopes young “For guys, kids who, you know, extremely grateful, but knows this athletes can view him as motiva- [are] not heavily recruited right is just the beginning of his young tion to keep pushing despite not now, this will give them a lot of career. being highly recruited to play Di- hope,” Morant said on TNT. “This is a blessing and definitely vision I basketball.

Morant continued, saying he is an honor because I put in a lot of

Photo courtesy of Bleacher Report

work day in and day out, but it’s all paying off,” Morant said on TNT. “I still have a lot of work to do. I always feel like there is room for improvement.”

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Opinion

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Sept. 10, 2020

OP-ED

Bipartison election agreement puts Kentuckians’ health first

Paige Bold/The News

Gov. Andy Beshear (D)

In the midst of a global health pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), as a Democratic Governor and a Republican Secretary of State we have proven that we can put partisanship aside to make our elections safer for our people.

We know that working across the aisle to reach a bipartisan agreement, regardless of where you live from Washington, D.C. to Frankfort, Kentucky, during any year, certainly an election year, is all too rare.

We don’t always agree, but we have no disagreement when it comes to protecting the health of Kentuckians during this pandemic, while making sure they are able to exercise their patriotic duty to vote.

On Aug. 14, we announced an agreement to give Kentuckians more options to vote safely leading up to and on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020.

We put politics aside – there was no political “horse-trading.” We knew we had to get this right for the people of Kentucky.

This was not the first time we’ve worked together for Kentucky’s benefit. Earlier this year when the

coronavirus was intensifying in the commonwealth, we jointly delayed party primaries and then quickly reached an agreement to allow those concerned about their health to vote absentee.

The result of our agreement, we had near record turnout. We had the commonwealth’s highest primary turnout in 12 years – with both Democrats and Republicans taking advantage of voting options that helped to keep them safe.

We believe the primary was largely successful because we worked together in a bipartisan fashion. That bipartisanship not only led to a better product, with concerns on both sides accommodated, but it also showed all voters that our new election rules were fair, legitimate and credible.

The plan was not perfect, but we learned from that experience.

Our plan for the general election keeps the best of what worked in the June primary, especially giving voters options to safely cast their votes, and it makes improvements where necessary, including pushing for more in-person voting locations and faster election results.

During this pandemic, Kentuck-

Sec. of State Michael Adams (R)

ians will have more than just 12 hours to vote at one polling place on Election Day. Our plan includes: Expanded absentee voting – Kentuckians who are concerned about in-person voting due to the coronavirus can request an absentee ballot online at www.

GoVoteKy.com or through other methods, all of which require voter identity verification. Voters can return their ballots by mail, or put them in drop boxes we’re distributing, a first for our state.

Early in-person voting – In order to reduce lines and further social distancing, we’re offering three weeks of early in-person voting, including Saturdays, also a first for our state.

Election Day voting – While not every precinct will be open on Election Day, because, for example, some of our regular voting locations are nursing homes, Kentuckians are stepping up to serve as poll workers so that we can open as many locations as possible. Our plan requires every county to have at least one vote center, where anyone from that county can go vote, regardless of his or her precinct –

E E R H S C JEE

CHEERS....to still being on campus during this global pandemic!

RS

Editorial Board

Photo courtesy of https://www.sos.ky.gov/

&

another reform for our state.

Finally, Kentuckians who are unable to get a photo ID to vote due to the pandemic – whether because of risk of exposure to COVID-19, or because their clerk’s office was closed – can sign a document explaining this concern, present non-photo ID and cast their ballots.

We know that there is still a lot of work ahead, including educating Kentuckians on their options and working with local election officials on the implementation.

With all the options available for Kentuckians to vote safely, we are confident that we will see high voter turnout in November, just as we saw in our primary.

In June, we created a national model both for how to enable people to vote safely and for how leaders should work together.

To forge the framework for a safe, successful and historic general election, we have already overcome the largest impediment – partisanship.

– Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams

JEERS....to Panera Bread still being closed!

JEERS

Gage Johnson Danilla Tebib Cady Stribling Dr. Stephanie Anderson Editor-in-Chief

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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.

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Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 John O’Neill

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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.

Sept. 10, 2020

Features

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Alumna competes on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu

Murray State alumna Chrishell Stause is competing on Season 29 of ABC’s “Dancing with The Stars” for the Mirrorball Trophy.

The cast was revealed live on “Good Morning America” on Sept. 2.

S tause, who graduated from the theater department in 2003, s a i d s h e d o e s n’t h a v e m u c h dance experience under her belt. “ I d o n’t t h i n k I c a n a t t r i bute any dance to Murray State,

but I don’t think they are going to want to take credit for it either,” Stause jokingly said.

The “Selling Sunset ” star said she had about three weeks to practice her dance moves, and although she doesn’t yet have it f u l l y m e m o r i z e d , s h e w i l l by t h e s h o w ’s s e a s o n p r e m i e r e .

“I never had a desire to be a dancer but that being said, I also think it ’s so fun to just try something new and push yourself out of your comfort zone,” Stause said. “What more fun way than to be on a show.”

Stause said there will not be

an audience this season because of COVID-19, but that won’t keep Racer Nation from w a t c h i n g a n d vo t i n g f o r h e r.

Elly (Wells) Boyd, also a 2003 Murray State graduate, said she met Stause their freshman year on the bridge between the academic and residential sides of campus.

“I stopped her because I saw her in a black box production and she was fantastic, so I had to tell her how amazing she was,” Boyd said.

“She had already faced so much adversity to get to that point, just to be in college. I admired her from

the start. Smart, funny, hard working, beautiful and so kind. She is an amazing friend and deserves the world, but I’ll settle on that Mirrorball for her temporarily.”

Other notable celebrities taking the stage this season are “Tiger King” star Carole Baskin, rapper Nelly and Super Bowl champion Vernon Davis.

Supermodel Tyra Banks will host this season’s show, which p r e m i e r e s l i v e o n M o n d a y, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. CT on ABC. Show Stause some Racer love and go vote for her on Monday!

Alumna chosen to display sculpture in Milwaukee Ben Overby Contributing Writer boverby2@murraystate.edu

Murray State’s very own alumna Maggie Sasso was chosen to display her sculpture, “ Too Much Sea for Amateurs—Marooned ” as a part of Sculpture Milkwaukee’s 2020 exhibition.

“Too Much Sea for Amateurs— Marooned” is a large, picturesque model of an art deco style light house, topped with a flag displaying a red bird. It is constructed primarily of steel and polyester fabric. Its earthy, neutral colors are inviting and the darker themes it explores take time to set in.

Sasso drew her inspiration from her own experiences at Lake Michigan.

“The sculpture is based off of a lighthouse that actually exists right off the shore of Lake Michigan called the Breakwater Lighthouse,” Sasso said.

Her husband’s profession brought them to Lake Michigan, and she said her first year there was a transitional period. Sasso’s husband is an engineer who conducted many dangerous tests for his job.

“I started to develop this interesting love and appreciation but fear of that body of water in particular,” Sasso said. “That’s where a lot of that inspiration came from.”

According to Sasso’s description on her website, “‘Too Much Sea for Amateurs’ (2016) investigates longing, loneliness, dependability and the certainty of death: universal realities reflected in maritime culture.”

Sasso, who grew up in Murray, has lived around bodies of water her entire life. Her fondest memories are of Kentucky Lake on pontoon boats and attempting to water ski but getting dragged under the water.

S asso and her husband have lived in several other cities with

lovely bodies of water. Yet, Lake Michigan gave her the unique inspir ation f or her sculpture.

“When we moved to the shore of Lake Michigan, I was especially enamored because it has such a beautiful horizon line,” Sasso said.

The Breakwater Lighthouse can be seen from a distance and acts, Sasso said, almost as a logo for Milwaukee.

Sasso was fascinated by multiple elements of the lighthouse, which drove the sentiment behind the sculpture.

In order to enter the Breakwater Lighthouse, you must ride a boat across the lake and jump from the boat to a ladder. Sasso said she was fascinated by the reality of how dangerous the journey and the structure is. The distance gave her a new perspective, especially for the people who lived at the lighthouse.

Sasso thought about the people working and isolated in the lighthouse who could see the city from a distance. Sasso said this was similar to the way people live in their houses, surrounded by other people yet alone at the same time.

Photo courtesy of Maggie Sassos Although Sasso originally made Alumna Maggie Sasso was selected for her sculpture to show in Milwaukee. this piece in 2016 as a more personal story, Sasso said this feeling of interior metal structure, and Sas- and that’s where I learned how to isolation has become more relevant so hand sewed the exterior fabric make things and why making things recently because of the pandemic. with a sewing machine in her studio. with precision is so important.”

M u r r ay S t a t e h ad a n e n o r Sasso said it is a large piece that “Now with the pandemic, I think it’s a lot more of a universal feel- has a very crafted feel to it so when mous impact on the way S asing that everybody is having, es- one gets a closer look they can see so thinks and the skills she utipecially at the beginning,” Sasso how many small details there are liz es as an ar tist, S asso said. said. “I think now we’re starting to make up the imagery as a whole. “We used to say at Murray State, to figure out how to maybe hang Her sculpture contains many ‘not only can you conceive of making out with some people but safely. universal themes but holds spe- a chair that gets screwed to the ceilWith masks and social distanc- cial meaning for the people liv- ing, but you can also make the chair ing, we’ve got a better handle, but ing in Milwaukee, which is where and screw it to the ceiling.’ That at the beginning it was so scary it currently stands outside of the was sort of the motto at the time.” to be isolated all of a sudden, and Northwestern Mutual building. Sasso said her sculpture will Sasso credits Murray State in likely stay there until late OctoI think that’s a very familiar feelpreparing her for this sculpture. ber or early November, although ing for almost everybody now.”

Sasso received a grant in 2016 “The Murray State art depart- it is difficult to be certain with the that allowed her to work big- ment has a strong connection with chaos 2020 has brought about. ger than ever before. Because craft,” Sasso said. “It’s definitely an To l e a r n m o r e a b o u t S a s of a tight deadline, she worked art school, but there’s a strong em- s o a n d h e r w o r k s , v i s with her husband who built the phasis on making things really well it her website maggiesasso.com.

Mr. MSU goes wild west for 40th anniversary Ciara Benham Staff Writer cbenham@murraystate.edu

In its 40th year, the Mr. MSU pageant is going virtual in light of COVID-19. This pageant is one of Alpha Omicron Pi’s biggest philanthropy e vents, but this year the “The Wild Western Men of MSU” themed event met more obstacles than ever before.

Junior Katie Comeaux, the philanthropy chair of Alpha Omicron Pi, was in for a ride as she was tasked with organizing the 2020 Mr. MSU pageant. In March, Comeaux began preparing for the event by gathering nominations from the various fraternities on campus.

After the fraternities submitted their nominations, the contestants were contacted and Alpha Omicron Pi began building their show. The show saw a lot of changes as the summer progressed.

“We switched venues, we went from a live audience to a live stream to a completely virtual video, and we lost judges and contestants,” Comeaux said. “Virtual or online communication was what changed the most. Not being able to share the information and details in person with the contestants, my sisters, or other organizations made this the hardest event I have ever put together.”

In order to make a complete show that would be safe for all involved, each contestant was required to go through an online process.

“Every aspect of the show was personally filmed and sent to me,” Comeaux said. “ W ith the new Greek life and COVID-19 restrictions, this was the only feasible option to still have a show this year.”

The contestants were asked to send in three different videos and write an email interview that were compiled into the show’s final video.

First, Comeaux sent the contestants five different questions to help the judges better understand their personality and character. The contestant’s responses were then forwarded to the judging panel.

Next, each contestant had to film an introduction video that consisted of a few dance moves or poses.

“They also filmed their talents and the formal wear section of the competition,” Comeaux said. “This week we are compiling all of their videos along with some videos from our senior members and junior members to make the show.”

This year’s Mr. MSU has its fair share of similarities and differences to the show’s traditional format.

While Alpha Omicron Pi are still able to put on a show this year, they were not able to meet in person at all, which changes the whole show.

Tr a d i t i o n a l l y, t h e b o y s i n the show spend a fe w nights, along with the junior members,

learning a choreographed dance f o r t h e o p e n i n g n u m b e r.

“This year these parts weren’t able to happen,” Comeaux said. “This is also a wonderful week to spend time with your best friends and sisters and make many memories. With COVID-19, this was unattainable.”

Despite these obstacles, the virtual pageant does have its benefits. Since the show is now online, the event can reach beyond j u s t t h e M u r r a y c o m m u n i t y.

Anyone who purchases a general admission ticket can watch the show from the link that Alpha Omicron Pi sends out.

The 2020 Mr. MSU pageant will be on Friday, Sept. 11, and the link to the show will be sent out at 7 p.m. and will be availa b l e f o r v i e w i n g a ny t i m e a fter that. General admission and raffle tickets are available for purchase on Alpha Omicron P i ’s C r o w d C h a n g e w e b s i t e .

8

Features

Sept. 10, 2020

Photo courtesy of Timothy Michael Martin “New Normal: The Past Reflecting the Present” displays art that reflects the realities of COVID-19.

Exhibit showcases new normal Dionte Berry Staff Writer dberry11@murraystate.edu

With an ominous overtone and a sense of isolation, the “New Normal: The Past Reflecting the Present” art exhibition utilizes works from the past to comment on today’s reality of COVID-19 and social distancing.

The group showing is comprised of pieces from former Murray State students, professors from the art and design department and artists who have exhibited before and visited the school.

The art and design department had another exhibition planned but had to cancel it because of COVID-19. Timothy Michael Martin, exhibit curator and director of Murray State galleries as well as associate professor of art and design, had originally planned to do non-traditional exhibitions that would require hands-on audience participation, b u t t h a t w o u l d not have been

possible because of COVID-19 policies.

With the cancellation, Martin thought in its place he should set up something reflective of what’s happening now.

“We are going through a pandemic, so we used our current situation as inspiration for a show,” Martin said. “Using our collection at Murray State, we have over 1,500 pieces within the collection to choose from.”

Martin was inspired by a painting in the collection that was representative of the current situation.

“I stumbled across a piece with a figure in the darkness that’s wearing a mask over their face and that inspired the ‘New Normal’ exhibit,” Martin said.

The works chosen for the exhibition all share similar emotions.

Many of the pieces are depictions of empty spaces, figures alone in an ominous setting or people with their faces covered. All of these pieces have original meanings by the artists, but have been

Family Weekend will be all virtual Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu Andrea Jameson Contributing Writer ajameson1@murraystate.edu

Another Racer tradition is right around the corner, but, like most events this semester, it will not happen traditionally. Instead, Family Weekend will be virtual with similar family fun experiences.

Students, faculty, staff and their families are welcome to participate this weekend, Sept. 11-12, in six virtual activities like the “Bring Your Family Along” scavenger hunt and the “Racer Fami l y R e w i n d ” v i d e o c h a l l e n ge.

“Bring Your Family Along” will be a photo scavenger hunt where each student can submit a completed task as an entry for Racer merchandise.

For one entry, students can take a picture in their room with a photo of their family, call their family and screenshot the call or take a picture with someone considered to be Racer family. For two entries, students can take a photo of themselves at the arboretum, take a photo at a store that offers Murray State student discounts or take a picture at their favorite off-campus restaurant in Murray. Photos should be submitted to @murraystateuniv using #BringYourFamilyAlong on Twitter.

The “Racer Family Rewind” challenges students to recreate an old family photo with similar poses, outfits and facial expressions with their family members or with their Racer family. The challenge invites participants to video themselves recreating the poses in the photo and to include a photo of the original picture. The video and picture can then be posted to social media using #RacerFamilyRewind.

Fa m i l i e s a r e a l s o w e l c o m e to participate in a Racer One Q-and-A, the vir tual JCPen ney S uit-Up e vent and more.

Peggy Whaley, director of student engagement and success, encourages families to engage with these virtual events. “ We hope to return to a faceto-face gathering, lunch on the great lawn and the football game grand experience in the fall of 2021, but for now we are encouraging virtual activities,” Whaley said.

W hale y said if these activities are successful they can be used for next year as well.

Families are still welcome to visit campus, but they must follow the Racer Safe and Healthy Guidelines. Visitation to the residential colleges is not permitted.

For more information on the Racer Family Weekend events planned for this semester, visit murraystate.edu/familyweekend.

Dionte Berry/The News The art exhibit has commonalities between pieces of shared emotions and people in empty spaces.

reconceptualized through the lens of life now.

“Their pieces may not conceptually be what the artist originally intended it to be,” Martin said. “They had no idea their works would be a reflection of our time of Zoom classes, social distancing and COVID-19.”

The pieces on display were created between 1910 and 1990 and are all two-dimensional works, including drawings, prints and paintings.

Martin said he was steered toward curating a two-dimensional exhibit in order to create an open space for guests to social distance.

Despite the age of the pieces, Martin doesn’t see their lack of modernity as relative to their impact.

“A painting or drawing is like a book; just because it wasn’t created yesterday or within recent time doesn’t mean it can’t be appreciated or interpreted or provide some form of commentary in the present,” Martin said.

Although this wasn’t the original plan, Martin is happy that the current pieces on display are giving the

audience something they can connect to.

“I enjoy when I can tell that the viewer has a connection to a certain work,” Martin said. “These works from the past have this activation of their space and how they were made and created that they can still connect with our contemporary viewers.”

Martin said he’s happy to see these works having an impact because some of them have been stowed away for decades out of public view.

The exhibit also serves as a symbol of how current emotions or moments can provoke creativity and serve as inspiration.

“The exhibit encourages people to think critically about our current condition,” Martin said. “It can also inspire and transform students’ emotive responses and help them obtain understanding of our current situation.”

The exhibit is located in the Eagle Upper Gallery on the seventh floor of the Price Doyle Fine Arts Center and will be on view until Sept. 16.

Paige Bold/The News Need Line will conduct its third annual dairy box Give-A-Way this Friday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m.

Need Line hosts Give-A-Way Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu

Need Line is hosting its third annual Dairy Box Give-A-Way on Friday, Sept. 11, and University students are more than welcome to join the Murray and Calloway County community and pick up a free dairy box.

Dottie Sager, Need Line caseworker, said the nonprofit is coordinating with Prairie Farms, who are providing the dairy products, to make the giveaway happen.

Sager said the dairy boxes are a thank you to the community.

The giveaway will be held in the parking lot of Central Park off of Arcadia Drive. As people enter the park, volunteers will direct cars to the back of the park to wait in a line that will trickle toward the front of the park.

Sager said the line moves quickly, and people shouldn’t be waiting for more than 15 minutes.

The Dairy Box Give-A-Way will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. or until the boxes are gone. Although the Give-A-Way is first come first serve, Sager said they will have 1,200 boxes for the community to collect.

Each box contains two gallons of milk, two pints of chocolate milk, two pints of strawberry milk, one sour cream, one cream cheese, one cottage cheese and one french onion dip.

Need Line is giving one box per family, but Sager said if people drive together and live separately, they can still collect a box for their household.

“Murray State has been wonderful to us,” Sager said. “I’ve been here for 40 years now and Murray State has been a part of us from the beginning, helping out and sending volunteers over. A lot of professors would have students come over and volunteer for extra credit, so we got to meet a lot of students that way. Of course with COVID-19, it’s a little different, but Murray State’s been wonderful.”