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Mike Boozer “Biden didn’t get the time to speak that Trump’s party agreed to period. It was wrong, this was not moderated well they should have cut off Trump’s microphone when he repeatedly spoke out of turn. BIDEN 2020.”

Vanessa Ervin Lyons “I don’t know who won, but America lost.”

Photo courtesy of NBC News

Biden VS. Trump

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Oct. 1, 2020 | Vol. 95, No. 6

Community discusses presidential debate Gage Johnson Editor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu As the general election on Nov. 3 approaches, the citizens of Murr ay voiced their opin ions on the first 2020 Presidential Debate on a Facebook post from The Murray State News. The debate garnered national attention, as Democratic candidate and former Sen. Joe Biden and while Republican cand i d a t e a n d c u r re n t Pre s i d e n t Donald Trump went back forth t h row i n g j a b s a t on e a n o t h e r and tackling major issues such a s e l e c t i o n i n t e g r i t y, c l i m a t e change, racial justice, taxes, job creation, COVI D-19, healthc a re a n d t h e S u p re m e C o u r t . Multiple people across the Murray, Kentucky, community showed their appreciation for Biden, including Robert D uncan who made it clear that he’s for the democratic c andidate. “Biden had some speech difficulties, which we already knew about,” Dunc an said. “O ver al l, I think he did wel l. Tr ump was his usual nasty self, a bully. Biden by a l on g s h o t i n w h a t a m o u n t ed t o a midd le sc hool deb at e on the playground. Vote blue.”

However, Jason Cummings— who studied psychology at Murray S tate—feels that Tr ump is much more qualified to run the countr y af ter the first debate. “ B i d e n b l a m e d Tr u m p f o r COVID’s racism against black people,” Cummings said. “Perhaps misstated, he’s incoherent and he and his sons are nationa l t r a i t o r s . A s we l l a s B e r n i e, Clinton, and Obama. Biden has no clue how to run anyt h i n g , m u c h l e s s a c o u n t r y. ” Some felt as though the m o d e r a t o r — Fox ’s C h r i s Wa l lace—did a less than adequate job hand ling the debate. “President Trump had to debate Biden and Wallace,” said Debbie Vance. “Wallace was very biased.” Murray resident Vanessa Lyons was impar tial when referring to a favorite candidate in h e r e ye s a f t e r t h e d e b a t e a n d was quite frank that there was no real winner in the debate “ I d on’t k n ow w h o won , b u t America lost,” Lyons said. The two candidates will meet in Miami, Florida, for the next presidential debate, set f or 8 p.m. CT on Oct. 15. Mike Pence and K amala Har ris will face off in the vice-presidential debate a week prior on Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Presidential Debates When: Oct. 15, 8 p.m. CT. Where: Miami, Florida

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times Jill Dearing Kaylor “Biden 100%. Without having a microphone kill-switch, there wasn’t much Wallace could do to stop Trump’s constant childish outbursts.”

When: Oct. 22, 8 p.m. CT. Where: Nashville, Tennessee

Vice-Presidential Debate

Debbie Vance “President Trump had to debate Biden and Wallace. Wallace was very biased.”

When: Oct. 7, 8 p.m. CT. Where: Salt Lake City, Utah

Comments from The News Facebook page Brooklyn Burnett/ The News

News Sports Features

page 2 page 4 page 6

Murray State dining partners with Grubhub page 2

NCAA makes it mandatory for student athletes to have Election Day off page 4

Alumnus named Paducah assistant principal page 6

News

Oct. 1, 2020

9/10

5:39 P.M. Elizabeth College

Possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were reported. The subject received a citation.

2:15 A.M. Off Campus

Rape was reported after unwanted sexual contact occured. Subject was referred to other police jurisdictions.

6:15 P.M. Residential College

Rape was reported after unwanted sexual contact occured on Feb. 29. No criminal complaint was received.

7:40 P.M. Residential College

Rape was reported after unwanted sexual contact occured on March 29. No criminal complaint was received. Paige Bold/The News Students can now use Grubhub to order their meals in advance.

Murray State dining partners with Grubhub your RacerCard. Select the loMason Galemore c a t i on yo u wo u l d l i k e t o o r Contributing Writer mgalemore@murraystate.edu der from, put your meal in the cart and checkout. Finally, go to To save time and help social the store to pick up your meal. distancing, Murr ay S tate has For Chick-fil-A, students can partnered with the popular app check in when they arrive; for Grubhub, joining 300,000 oth- the other locations, no check er dining ser vices and restau- in is necessar y. In the meanrants in partnership with the app. time, Grubhub sends that orGeneral Dining Staff Manag- der to the kitc hen of whic her Jim Halcombe is in charge of e v e r r e s t a u r a n t w a s s e l e c t e d the Grubhub-Murray partnership. a n d t h e s t a f f f i l l t h e o r d e r. Many students believe “Racer Dining wanted to bring a mobile ordering solution to t h i s n e w a d d i t i o n i s c o n campus for the convenience of our v e n i e n t a n d u s e r f r i e n d l y. “I use Grubhub frequentguests,” Halcombe said. “Particularly in the current COVID-19 ly,” said freshman Hayden Terclimate, we felt it was import- ry. “It allows me to get my food ant to provide an option that faster and more efficiently, eswould allow for touchless pay- pecially when I am in a rush.” There were few students ment while minimizing contact and improving speed of service.” w h o h a d a n y t h i n g b a d t o Grubhub was the only avail- s a y a b o u t t h e a p p . M o s t o f able platform approved by Chick- t h e m p r a i s e d t h e a p p’s v e r fil-A, so that is what Racer Din- satilit y and user fr iend liness. ing chose for its retail locations. “ I use Gr ubhub e ver y time I “We worked with our Univer- eat at Chick-il-A,” said sophsity partners as well as Grub- omore Meagan Pratt. “ The app hub to plan the implementation seems flawless and I never have process,” Halcombe said. “ We any problems when using it. ” Halcombe is optimistic determined which locations we wanted to feature on Grubhub.” a b o u t t h e n e w d i n i n g a p p s . “ The feedback for GrubOnce that was decided, Halcombe and his staff sent in menus hub has been mostly positive, and hours of operation for each from students as well as facullocation, installed hardware, in- ty and staff,” Halcombe said. tegrated the Grubhub ordering “ We a r e t h r i l l e d t h a t m a n y platform with the R acerCard students, faculty and staff are system and tested transactions. c u r r e n t l y u s i n g t h e G r u b They first launched Grubhub hub app, and we hope to grow at Chick-fil-A, which was fol- t h a t n u m b e r i n t h e f u t u r e . ” lowed by Einstein Bros Bagels, T h e d i n i n g s t a f f w i l l b e Starbucks, Steak ‘n Shake, Tres r u n n i n g p r o m o t i o n s i n t h e Habaneros and Subconnection. n e x t f e w we e k s o f f e r i n g d i s To use the app, you must fol- c o u n t s t o t h o s e u t i l i z i n g t h e low a few simple steps. F irst, a p p ; s t u d e n t s c a n s t ay t u n e d d ow n l o ad t h e a p p. T h e n , s e t t o t h e i r s o c i a l m e d i a o u t l e t s u p a n ac c o u n t a n d l i n k i t t o @ R a c e r D i n i n g f o r u p d a t e s .

10:35 P.M. Wellness Center

Theft was reported after a wallet was stolen. The wallet was later located.

12:30 A.M. Hester College

Assault was reported after an individual was shoved by another person. Prosecution was declined.

10:23 A.M. Fraternity House

Property was damaged at a fraternity house. Subject was referred to other police jurisdictions.

6:48 P.M. College Courts A fire was reported after an accidental stove fire occurred.

1:12 P.M. Hester College Theft was reported after two bicycles were stolen on Aug. 15.

Police Beat is compiled with material from the Murray State Crime and Fire Log. Not all dispatched calls are listed. Colton Colglazier/The News

News

Oct. 1, 2020

‘Grand Conversations’ Murray State to hold diversity talk Sarah Mead Staff Writer smead@murraystate.edu Murray State is holding a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Virtual Symposium on Friday, Oct. 2. The event will serve to educate students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of Murray’s community on issues related to race and ethnicity. The symposium begins at 9:30 a.m. with welcoming remarks by University officials. Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, will begin his keynote address at 10 a.m. After lunch, two conversation panels will be available for public viewing at 1 p.m. and at 2:30 p.m. The symposium will ser ve as a part of President Bob Jackson’s agenda to advance diversity and inclusion on campus. “At Murray State University we value diversity, equity and inclusion and strive to have a community where our students feel welcome, safe and supported,” Jackson said in an email to students. “We have worked to promote these important tenets and realize that we still have more work to do.” Subtitled “Grand Conversations,” the symposium is designed to endorse discussion. State and national leaders in education and diversity have been invited to speak at the symposium. Many of the panelists are alumni of Murray State, including current Regents Leon Owens and Don Tharpe. Students and faculty are invited to attend the two discussions to hear their advice on these topics.

Coordinated by Don Robertson, vice president of Student Affairs, and S.G. Carthell, executive director of Multicultural Initiatives, the symposium will provide students with a safe environment to engage in positive cross-cultural and cross-racial dialogue. The symposium is guided by Jackson and the University’s seven guiding principles to promote and celebrate diversity: champion inclusion, enhance opportunities, increase cultural opportunities, increase cultural competence, encourage involvement, understand history and endorse discussion. At Murray State University we value diversity, equity and inclusion and strive to have a commumnity where our students feel welcome, safe and supported. We have worked to promote these important tenets and realize that we still have more work to do. - President Bob Jackson

The University is already planning for future diversity symposiums and is hoping to have the event available to an in-person audience next fall. Students can register at TheNews. org to receive additional information on the virtual symposium and access to additional resources relative to diversity, equity and inclusion. The keynote and Grand Conversations will be livestreamed. The link for the livestream can also be found at TheNews.org.

Jill Rush/The News Students are now able to check in other students who reside in on-campus housing.

On-campus students allowed to visit other Residential Colleges Staff Report Murray State moved into the second phase of visitation guidelines detailed in the Racer Restart Initiative, allowing hall to hall visitation. As of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, students living in the residential halls are now allowed to visit residents in other halls on campus. With the new phase comes additional restrictions to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. If a student chooses to invite a guest from another residential hall into their room, the guest will be required to swipe their Murray State ID card to confirm their on-campus residency. Similar to past visitation regulations, once their on-campus living assignment is ver ified,

the guest and resident of the hall have to complete the guest check-in process and leave their ID cards at the front desk. Visitors must also be escorted by their hosts at all times while checked into the residential hall. Unlike previous visitation guidelines, visitation hours will begin at 8 a.m. and end at midnight, requiring all guests to leave by midnight each night. Additionall y, residents can only check in one resident at a time, r ather than t wo as they were allowed in the past. As the University administration monitors the reported cases on campus, the new visitation policy could be revoked in the future if deemed necessary. For the full list of visitation guidelines, visit TheNews.org.

Sports

Oct. 1, 2020

Photo courtesy of the CFSB Center/Facebook The CFSB Center will be one of four polling locations in Calloway County on Election Day.

College athletes voices to be heard NCAA makes it mandatory for student athletes to have Election Day off Jakob Milani Contributing Writer jmilani@murraystate.edu

Voting has been the focal point of conversations among many athletes at the professional level, and now the NCAA is giving college athletes their chance to go vote and make their voices heard. In a recent decision, the NCAA mandated that all Division I athletic programs give their student athletes Election Day, Nov. 3, off. Programs will not be allowed to hold any practices or competitions on Election Day. The decision goes into effect this year and will continue for years to come. Murray State is one school that is affected by the recent decision and had already declared Election Day as a holiday for the University. The University is one of many OVC universities to do this, hoping that not just the student athletes but all college students will go out to exercise their right to vote. Murray State Athletic Director Kevin Saal talked about the recent decision and his beliefs on the matter. “We believe strongly in developing the young people in our program ‘The Racer Way’... as students, persons, players and eventually professionals,” Saal said. “As tomorrow’s leaders, we encourage our Racers to use their voice and exercise their right to vote on Nov. 3.” In addition to this recent deciPhoto courtesy of the OVC sion, Murray State coaches and The OVC is one of many conferences across the country to encourage its student athletes to vote. administrative staff will educate of becoming a voter. The CFSB locations in Calloway County for room for social distancing during student athletes on the process Center will be one four polling Election Day, providing plenty of the current pandemic.

Oct. 1, 2020

Sports

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Junior catcher Jonah Brannon swings at a pitch in Murray State baseball’s second weekend of intrasquad scrimmages

Baseball prepares for upcoming season Murray State holds two weekends of instrasquad scrimmages Simon Elfrink Staff Writer selfrink@murraystate.edu

Murray State baseball maintains competition with intrasquad scrimmages for the second weekend in a row. Since the OVC has discouraged any competitive play for fall sports, the Racers have to improvise to find a way to simulate the scrimmages they would usually play against other teams in the fall. Head Coach Dan Skirka’s solution was to pit his players against each other in scrimmages where the upperclassmen take on their younger teammates. After just five scrimmages, Skirka was pleased with how far his team has come in the two weeks the Racers have been scrimmaging. Skirka admitted his team is still in the early stages of “breaking the rust off,” but he is pleased with the improvement in such a short time. “Compared to the first weekend, you can see our hitters’ timing is better and our pitchers were around the strike zone more,” Skirka said. “Most of our guys haven’t played since we got shut down in March.” The upperclassmen’s squad, dubbed the Old Dudes, took both games of the weekend over the underclassmen’s squad, or Young Guns, winning 7-4 and 15-8, respectively. The Old Dudes struck first in the second inning when redshirt junior catcher Tanner Booth scored two on a single to shallow center field. The Young Guns answered with a pair of runs in the fourth after redshirt junior catcher Alex Crump got a base hit with the bases loaded. The first game was tied 4-4 going into the top of the seventh inning. Graduate outfielder Jake Slunder led off with a single to center followed by a pair of walks to load the bases. Slunder scored on a fielder’s choice. Redshirt senior outfielder Brock Anderson scored an additional run with a sacrifice fly to right field. The Old Dudes scored the final run of the first game

on a wild pitch making the final score 7-4. The Old Dudes’ pitching featured redshirt sophomore left-hander Shane Burns with the start, striking out a batter for each of his three innings and allowing only one hit. Graduate righty Alec Whaley picked up two innings on the hill, striking out a pair of batters and setting the stage for redshirt junior right hander Conner Holden to close the game with two no-hit innings and four strikes. Redshirt freshman Ryan Fender started on the bump for the Young Guns, going two innings and allowing only a single hit and one earned run, striking out three batters. Freshman Adam Weihe picked up a pair of innings, striking out a pair of batters and giving up one hit and one run. Redshirt freshman Malik Pogue pitched for two and one-third innings, allowing two runs and two hits, striking out one batter in the process. Redshirt freshman Jordan Naranjo took the last two and two-third innings, striking out four batters in that span. The second game of the weekend series featured a lot more offense as the Old Dudes tallied four runs in quick succession in the top of the first inning. Redshirt senior infielder Jordan Cozart hit a two-run double, followed shortly by a two-run homer from Anderson. The scoring never stopped for the Old Dudes, picking the bats up in the second inning to earn six more runs, four of which came from a grand slam from Perkins. Redshirt junior catcher Jonah Brannon hit a homerun in the fourth as well. The Young Guns’ offense was a little slower, scoring only one run in the first five innings thanks to a sacrifice fly from redshirt freshman Jacob Pennington. However, the bats came alive for the Young Guns in the sixth inning when they put up six runs. They put up another run in the seventh for a final score of 15-8 in favor of the upperclassmen.

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Murray State baseball held multiple intrasquad scrimmages between the Old Dudes & the Young Guns.

Skirka was pleased with how his older players are carrying themselves during the scrimmages, setting the tone for the whole team as they prepare for the new season. “Some of these guys have been here

four and five years now, and three of those years with me,” Skirka said. “Day to day they know how we should go about our business. Now they’re bringing the young guys with them which is awesome to see.”

Features

Oct. 1, 2020

Alumnus named Paducah assistant principal Ciara Benham Staff Writer cbenham@murraystate.edu While simultaneously running for state representative, a Murray State graduate has been named assistant principal at Paducah’s new Career and Technical Education Center. Corbin Snardon, who received his master’s degrees in school counseling and education administration from Murray State, earned the assistant principal position at the Paducah Innovation Hub. The Innovation Hub is a technical center that offers immersive education in technology, trades, healthcare, river industry and more to public, homeschool and private high school students in Paducah, McCracken County, Graves County and Livingston County. Snardon has been teaching in Paducah since his arrival in the city in 2011. After graduating with his bachelor of science in social studies from Western Kentucky University, Snardon came to Paducah for the first time. “A large part of what brought me here was that my scholarship director had very close personal ties to Paducah, and they were actively recruiting candidates of color,” Snardon said. “I had never been to Paducah before, but I am so glad that I made the decision to move to a wonderful system.” A f t e r t e a c h i n g a t Pa d u c a h Midd le S chool for nine years, Snardon took an interim position as assistant principal at the middle school. According to Snardon, the interim position helped him “learn the ropes of administration” that led him to his new position. In July 2020, Snardon took his new position as assistant principal at the Innovation Hub. Snardon credits his success to his own determination but also to those who helped him along the way. “Hard work, a lot of prayer and multiple doses of humility got me where I am today,” Snardon said. “I take my career very seriously and fortunately for me I have had some fantastic mentors along the way who have helped develop me and push me in education.” S nardon was “super excited ” to receive this new position and continue working with students in western Kentucky. Snardon said that he loves working with kids and young people because he gets to watch them grow.

“My favorite part of teaching is the energy that kids give off and the potential they possess,” Snardon said. “I love seeing kids learn new things and grow.” Alongside his passion for education, Snardon is seeking to make a change by running for state representative of District 3. Snardon said he balances running a campaign very carefully with being an administrator. “I make a very clear distinction between Corbin Snardon, assistant principal, and Corbin Snardon, District 3 candidate for Kentucky State House of Representatives,” Snardon said. “It’s a delicate balancing act but also an exciting one.” Snardon was inspired to run for office because he wanted to represent Paducah and diversify Kentucky Legislature. He also thinks it is important to give a voice to education concerns. “I want to see a change,” Snardon said. “I want to make sure that my city is properly invested in and growing. I want to make sure that District 3 isn’t left out of the important conversations. Frankfort needs people that look like the populations they serve. Frankly, there are too few diverse candidates in the legislature. I, also as a public educator, want to make sure that students and education staff are represented at the highest state levels.” Snardon plans to keep his position as assistant principal even if he wins the election. He will be able to maintain this balance because state representatives do not meet year round, only when the Legislature is in session, in committee or special called sessions. Snardon ser ved on the Maiden Alley Cinema Board, previously Site Based Decision Making Council, for Paducah Middle School from 2012 to 2015 and is currently an Executive board member of the Paducah McCracken Co. NAACP. Snardon has also received several awards throughout his career including the 2018 NAACP NEXTGEN Leadership Development Program Graduate (Inaugural Class) Leadership Paducah Class #32 Graduate, the 2018 Paducah M c C r a c k e n C o u n t y N A AC P Member of the Year Award and was a finalist for the 2015 Ashland Inc. Kentucky Teacher of the Year. In a final statement, Snardon encouraged Murray State students to “register to vote by the voter deadline and vote in this year’s election.”

CHEERS....

Editorial Board

JEERS....

CHEERS

JEE

to the diversity symposium this week. We need it more now than ever. Be sure to attend!

Photo courtesy of Corbin Snardon Alumus Corbin Snardon was named assistant principal at Career and Technical Education Center.

to the first presidential debate...if that is what that was. Looked more like a spat between kindergarteners!

JEERS

Gage Johnson Cady Stribling Dr. Stephanie Anderson Editor-in-Chief Features Editor Faculty Adviser gjohnson17@murraystate.edu cstribling1@murraystate.edu sanderson37@murraystate.edu Jenna Carnes Allison Manning Chief Copy Editor Ad Sales Manager jcarnes2@murraystate.edu amanning4@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.

Jillian Rush Contact Us Photo Editor 2609 University Station jrush4@murraystate.edu Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 John O’Neill TheNews.org Online Manager joneill4@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.

Oct. 1, 2020

Features

Professor publishes article years in the making Cady Stribling Features Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu Iris Snapp Contributing Writer isnapp@murraystate.edu Alumnus and professor of history Brian Clardy recently had his article “Blood at the Root: A Historiographical Commentary on Lynching in America” published in “The Journal of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society.” With a history of its own, the scholarly article has been in the making for over 20 years with influences originating from Clardy’s time as a graduate student. At Southern Illinois University, Clardy said he was a graduate assistant for Julius Thompson, a professor who was doing research on the age of lynching in Mississippi. Clardy often gathered sources for Thompson, but even as a graduate student, Clardy said he was uncomfortable dealing with the topic of lynching as it was very painful for him. “I wanted to do something on lynching as a historian,” Clardy said. “I am a diplomatic historian by training, that’s true, but I’m also an African American male and I’m also a southerner. For me to ignore that history and not to at least help to contribute to the public’s understanding of that, I would have felt like a coward honestly.” Growing up, Clardy had heard of various lynchings or stories of racial violence in the past from areas close to him. Particularly, he had heard of a lynching that happened in the 1930s in a town fairly close by in Tennessee. Clardy had seen photographs of the victims that were ritualistically taken at the lynchings, and Clardy said these photographs—and seeing the mobs standing around the victims as if they’d done something great—were very disturbing. But mustering the energy to really focus on lynchings as a historical act, Clardy said, happened a few years ago after learning about the lynching museum in Montgomery,

Alabama. Clardy and his church visited the museum around the time that Clardy’s pastor asked him for a favor. “He texted me one day and asked me if I would lead a discussion over James Collins’ classic work of ‘The Cross and the Lynching Tree,’” Clardy said. “Oh, I’m not going to turn my priest down, so I told him I would and I got the book.” Around the same time, Clardy left for the lynching museum. “It was a very gripping monument,” Clardy said. “That and the Legacy Museum. Going on that trip for the first time gave me a whole lot of voice. It gave me my voice basically to really talk about and wrestle with the question of lynching.” Clardy soon returned to the museums with Murray State students during Spring Break in 2019. He said the museums still had the power to shock him and get him thinking about the legacy of racial violence. Clardy chose to deal with lynching through a historical lens by focusing on case studies in western Kentucky that had happened. He said he wanted to give the Jackson Purchase readers a digest of why and how lynchings happened, how they impacted western Kentucky and what the practical implications are for racial violence today. Clardy chose his title “Blood at the Root” from the Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit,” which he used as a guide as he worked through the article. He began his research by looking at two local lynchings: the 1908 racially-motivated murder of the Walker family in Hickman, Kentucky, and the 1931 murder of George Smith in Union City, Tennessee. Clardy heard about these murders growing up. “The first thing I did was look at the literature,” Clardy said. “I looked at the historical literature on lynching and looked at the popular works on it. There was a work done in the 1980s by a man who actually survived an attempted lynching named James Cameron. He wrote about his particular experiences in Marion,

Photo courtesy of Brian Clardy Alum and professor Brian Clardy’s historiographical commentary took over 20 years in the making.

Indiana, in the 1930s called ‘Time of Terror.’” Clardy examined works from wellknown and unknown authors, newspaper accounts and reports from the Equal Justice Initiative and the NAACP. Clardy said he even looked at various maps of where different lynchings happened, trying to find something that connected them. “I did find that there were some common threads among them,” Clardy said. “This view was that the person who was lynched had violated some social norm, that they were considered uppity, that they had committed an imagined crime or maybe even a real crime and were not given the benefit of due process.” The cases made Clardy feel more inclined to write a commentary on the history of lynching when he realized the people who had been attacked did not get their due process. These literatures and primary sources gave Clardy the idea on how best to construct the narrative he wanted to tell. Clardy took the research and information he found from the past and compared it to the racial implications it has today. “As it turned out, I did all of this long before George Floyd,” Clardy

said. “It was so interesting that George Floyd’s murder happened as I was in the process of revising this thing, and the parallels are very, very striking. What happened with Breonna Taylor and what happened with Ahmuad Arbery, all of this is happening as I’m finishing up the project. You talk about serendipity.” A struggle that went back over a quarter of a century, Clardy said he was glad he carried out the project for public reading and is glad that it’s a part of his scholarship record. As an addition to his research, Clardy gave presentations at the Calloway County Public Library and the history department research forum. Clardy said he does not enjoy studying racism, but it is a history that we need to understand. “The reality is that it does exist, so to be able to study and examine how and why there has always been this racialized element within American society [is important],” Clardy said. “We’re still going through that, but if there’s going to be any hope for America to become a truly multiracial and inclusive society, that is a history we need to wrestle with.”

Monk to Murray State

Monk travels to campus to spread message of compassion

Ben Overby Contributing Writer boverby2@murraystate.edu

Buddhist monk Tsering Phuntsok visited Murray State on Monday, Sept. 28, to speak about compassion and Buddhism. Phuntsok has been a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 34 years and has been visiting Murray State for 11 years. He works and resides in Dharamsala, India, the exiled home of the Dalai Lama. Phuntsok is an instructor in the monastery where he trained and worked on projects to help Tibetan refugees. In the last few years, he has also acted as a guide for students who come to Dharamsala to volunteer with local non governmental agencies to improve the lives of Tibetan refugees. He partners with American universities for study abroad opportunities and to advocate for Tibetan people in exile. Phuntsok also speaks at various universities in the U.S. and Europe. Phuntsok began his speech with a short healing ritual. It consisted of a chant as well as the use of many spiritual objects. Phuntsok said the type of healing the ritual focuses on is called Chöd. “Chöd means to take out your ego, take out your pride, take out your ignorance and take out your jealousy,” Phuntsok said.

He said these spiritual poisons, along with hatred and anger, need to be shed to gain wisdom. All of the other poisons stem from ignorance. “There are 84,000 poisons within us and Buddha focused on taking these out through chantings, meditations, mantras and all different kinds of practices,” Phuntsok said. Phuntsok spoke about the Buddhist perspective of compassion. He said everyone, regardless of their religious views or lack thereof, practices limited compassion in different ways. Phuntsok added that animals and perhaps even spirits practice compassion in the same manner. “Buddha introduced that we can practice compassion in an unlimited way,” Phuntsok said. “He said that genuine compassion is practiced without bias. This is the bigger compassion.” He talked about a story in Buddhist scripture that demonstrates this supreme compassion. Phuntsok said a former life of Buddha gave his body to feed a starving mother tiger with five cubs. The mother tiger was too weak to eat him and Buddha had to scratch himself with a branch so the tiger could lick up his blood. Phuntsok said this is a very uncommon compassion that has no ego. Phuntsok also mentioned his observances of compassion in the modern day. He talked about young climate activist Greta Thunberg as

Ben Overby/The News Tibetan monk Tsering Phuntsok visited campus to speak on the Buddhist perspective of compassion.

an example of a single person making change in the world. He also spoke about the importance of people showing compassion for animals and their suffering. Phuntsok pointed out the Buddhist notion of compassion to the sun. Just as the sun shines on everyone without bias, people should act with compassion in the same unwavering manner. Phuntsok talked about the different functions of monks in monasteries. While the chant he performed only lasted minutes, he said there are chants that last weeks or

even months. He explained that there are ritual sections of the monastery that spend the whole day chanting. “In our monastery they wake up at five in the morning. They are chanting a lot. They also go into the village as a social worker when there is physical or mental sickness to heal and perform blessings,” Phuntsok said. It is clear from Phuntsok’s speech that compassion plays a crucial role in Buddhism. However, its importance in the world transcends any single religion or belief.

Features

ways to stay 6 feet apart

Racer Style

Racer One

‘This year’s Racer One horse Vegas is sassy, energetic and the perfect visual for social distancing. “If we measured in length, I would guess Racer One would be about 6 feet long,” said Bailey Blackburn, a member of the Racer One team. Horses, usually measured in “hands,” actually measure 6 feet on average – the approximate length for social distancing.

Oct. 1, 2020

One Bicycle

If you ride a bike, you are rolling on 6 feet. Sounds crazy, right? One bicycle is equivalent to 6 feet. You can find these bicycles rolling on the bridge, on bike racks in front of residential colleges, academic buildings and around Murray.

Contributed by Ashli Craig, Molly Dowell and Mallory Unverfehrt

18 Chick-fil-A Sandwiches “I would guess 15 chicken sandwiches,” said Molly Yates, an elementary education major, when asked how far 6 feet of Chick-fil-A is. The fast-food chain is a newer restaurant featured on Murray State’s campus and has amassed a large fanbase. Measuring 4 inches long, it would take 18 Chick-fil-A sandwiches to fulfill a social distance.

One Murray State Bench Shelby Shank, senior animal science major, said it’s easy to visualize 6 feet in the classroom and T-Room with stickers and signs, but on the farm and outside, it’s much harder to tell. Scattered throughout campus are beautiful benches for studying, relaxing and (currently) visualizing 6 feet.

Two Shoe Trees

If you find your match then place a pair of shoes onto the iconic Shoe Tree. Just imagine the Shoe Tree has a match, and you can imagine 6 feet. It takes about two full shoe trees to maintain the social distancing requirements.

Eight Football Helmets

The Racer football season may be postponed but the tradition remains in the hearts and minds of students and faculty across campus, especially when it comes to social distancing. If about eight players lined their helmets in a row, the length would measure the equivalent of nearly 6 feet – the appropriate distance to stand from others in the time of COVID-19. Paige Bold and Gage johnson/The News