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Jan. 28, 2021 | Vol. 95, No. 14

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Cady Stribling/The News Murray Independent School District Superintendent Coy Samons adresses the media after the ‘shots fired’ call on Monday, Jan. 25.

Students react to threats at local high school Gage Johnson Editor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu Threats made against Murray High School this week brought anxiety to Murray State students, including those who survived the 2018 Marshall County High School shooting.

L o c a l l a w e n f o rc e m e n t re ceived notification of a possible shots fired incident at Murray High School at 8:54 a.m. Monday.

Josh Eaton, a junior at Murray High, was about to pack up his things before the substitute teacher came around to sanitize their desks, which happens five minutes before the bell every day, when it was announced the school went into lockdown.

Eaton’s class had been in a Google Meet with their teacher, who was working from home because of the coronavirus, and most students

were finishing up classwork or getting ready to leave for their next class.

“I thought nothing of it because we usually have drills right before transition periods,” Eaton said. “I noticed that the lockdown was lasting a little longer than a drill and the frantic nature of our sub as she tried to cover up one of the two windows in the room, whose blinds weren’t falling, kind of keyed me into how something might be askew. It wasn’t until 15-ish minutes after we went into lockdown that I checked my phone and saw in a group chat with my friends what the theories for the lockdown were.”

Eaton said he wasn’t scared initially because he didn’t hear gunshots.

Despite the quick and effective response by school staff at Murray High to go into lockdown, it didn’t stop him from thinking “what if ?”

“I did start to think about what I would do if someone started knocking

down our door without announcing they were law enforcement,” Eaton said. “I was in a classroom with a window, so I was pretty confident in my ability to escape if I needed, but I also thought about what we could use to barricade the door if needed.”

Eaton and his classmates went into a modified lockdown and finished their assignments once law enforcement had cleared the school campus. Those students were allowed to leave for the day following the modified lockdown.

Meanwhile, at Murray State’s campus, word began to spread with no Racer Alert to be found. For students like Gabe Steffen, freshman musical theater major who was a sur vivor of the Marshall County High School shooting, the news hit all too close to home.

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see THREATS page 2

‘How do we stop the next Gabe Parker?’

Students reflect on MCHS shooting experiences three years later Cady Stribling News Editor cstribling1@murraystate.edu Editor’s Note: One of the students quoted in this story wishes to remain anonymou s given the nature of the stor y. T he News respects the source’s wishes and refers to them as ‘the student.

It’s been three years since the deadly shooting at Marshall County High School and two students sat down with The News to share what that cold January day was like from the inside of the Commons.

The morning began like any other as students f looded into the commons area, waiting in their friend groups for the day to begin.

The student said it was 7:55 a.m. and classes were to begin in f ive minutes when he heard a boom.

“This was a boom like a balloon popping in the air,” the student said.

“I didn’t think much at first, and then I heard a second one and everyone got quiet for a split second in the air. Then I saw this kid named Gabe (Gabriel Parker), who I had an English class with, in pistol stance.”

At that moment, the student said he knew what was happening. He jumped over a booth, dropped his phone and hurried out the door. “ It was l i ke a herd of cat t le swarmed up onto the right and

News Opinion Sports Features

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Professors test wastewater to prevent COVID-19 spread

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left doors,” the student said. “I ran at the fastest speed I think I’ve ever accomplished. I made it to the forest by the time I could g a t h e r w h a t h a d h a p p e n e d .”

This past summer, Parker received two life sentences for the murders of Preston Cope and Bailey Holt and 70 years for 14 assault charges.

The anonymous student s a i d a l t h o u g h P a r k e r ’s s e n tence f it the crime at face value, he doesn’t necessa r i ly feel better that Parker is in prison.

“I don’t think that this person’s life should be over because of this large mistake, but it isn’t a victimless crime,” the student said.

“I do not feel better about putting him in prison… [but] I do feel he should be in prison for the betterment of the victims’... lives, [which] he changed due to his actions.”

The student said he now constantly thinks about routes of escape in case of a f ire, who he might have to take down if there were another shooting or what w o u l d h a p p e n to h i s f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y i f h e d ie d to d a y.

“I think about the families of those injured and those who lost their children,” the student said. “Why them?

I do think every once and a while about the shooting: How I could have stopped it? What should I have done differently? Would some compassion

Are lockdown browsers worth it?

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and care towards Gabe Parker in the past stop him from committing the actions he did? How do we stop the next Gabe Parker in the future?”

Gabe Steffen, freshman musical theater major, was a high school sophomore at the time of the shooting. Sitting in the commons area with his friends Jared and Kelsey, the three were hanging out and waiting for school to begin when they heard gunshots.

“A l l of a sudden, I just hear ‘bang,’” Steffen said. “Then I look over and the shooter is right here.”

Steffen said Parker was roughly three feet away from him and his friends. Steffen said he immediately got up and ran across the school to the weightlifting room where he found his friend Kelsey.

“I called my mom and was like, ‘Mom, you’re never going to believe what just happened,’ because I was frantic, adrenaline was everywhere,” Steffen said. “Eventually [administrators] said ‘you guys need to get into the weightlifting room’ because right then we were all just congregated outside.”

Steffen said once he was in the weight l if ting room, he helped a s t u d e nt w ho h a d spra ined her foot, telling her he was sure the ambulance

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see PARKER page 3

Men’s soccer club looking to grow

page 5

Murray State’s Newest Racer, Bernie Sanders page 8

News

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Jan. 28, 2021

s Our preliminary findings suggest that spikes in viral levels detected in the wastewater samples precede increases in cases of COVID-19 as detected by clinical testing by five to seven days and might serve as a predictor of community outbreaks. This information can better inform local administrators to enact policies that might help to slow the spread of the virus.

- Gary Zeruth, associate professor of cellular and molecular biology

Photo courtesy of Murray State Assistant professor of analytical chemistry Bikram Subedi testing wastewater in the lab at Murray State.

Professors test wastewater to prevent COVID-19 spread Levi Brandenburg Contributing Writer lbrandenburg@murraystate.edu A w a s t e w a t e r t e s t i n g p ro ject for Mayfield, Kentucky, is h e l p i n g t o t r ac k a n d i d e n t i fy potential COVI D-19 outbreaks before the infected even begin showing symptoms.

The project started in November and is a partnership between the Graves County Health Department, Murray State, Mayfield Electric and Water Systems, the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the University of Louisvil le Co-Immunit y Project.

The process begins in Mayfield, where the wastewater samples are collected by Mayfield Electric and Water Systems at their wastewater treatment facilities. From there, it is sent to Bikram Subedi, assistant professor of analytical chemistry, and Gary Zeruth,

THREATS From Page 1 Steffen — the opinion editor for The News — was in his dorm room when he learned about the reports of a possible active shooter at Murray High School through The News’ staff. Steffen said he immediately turned on the police scanner to see if it was true.

“Eventually I heard someone say potential active shooter, and I went ‘Okay, I guess we’re going full storm,’” Steffen said. “My anxiety went up and my adrenaline kicked in and I was like ‘Okay, I gotta do this, I gotta do my job.’ I thought I was going to cry because I know the experience, and I was like ‘Jesus, not again.’”

Steffen said he was worried the potential shooter would come to Murray State. W hen Steffen learned it was a false alarm, he felt ver y relieved.

“I was happy that it didn’t happen, but the big thing is the fact that counties all around us went into lockdown, including Marshall County, which had just had their mark three days ago, and yet Murray State, despite not even being a mile away from Murray High School, didn’t go into lockdown,” Steffen said. “They didn’t take any lockdown precautions, and that really kind of rubbed me the wrong way because the thing is campus knows that they now have students who were present at the Marshall County High School shooting.”

Steffen said if there had truly been an active shooter, this could have made the PTSD cases worse for the students who we re a t M a r s h a l l C o u n t y, a s

associate professor of cellular and molecular biolog y, for testing.

“Dr. Subedi receives samples of wastewater from Mayfield Water and Electric that he processes to extract RNA,” Zeruth said.

“I receive the extracted RNA from Dr. Subedi and quantify how many SARS-CoV-2 viral particles are present in the samples.”

Zeruth said the genetic material of the virus is an indicator of an early stage viral infection of COVID-19.

It is able to detect outbreaks days before the first symptoms appear or even if they don’t appear at all.

According to a press release

by Murray State, the wastewater analysis is beneficial for testing even if a person is asymptomatic. Results from this testing can be used to inform local officials about potential virus outbreaks.

“Our preliminary findings suggest that spikes in viral levels detected in well as a potential for new people to go through a horrific event.

M u r r a y S t a t e Po l i c e C h i e f Jeff Gentry said there wasn’t a need for a lockdown at Murr a y S t a t e ’s c a m p u s a n d t h a t there are plans in place if a lockdown would need to be enforced.

“The decision was made to not impose a shelter in place on campus because it was quickly determined that shots were not fired and that there was no imminent threat to our campus,” Gentry said. “The University follows shelter in place procedures, which is a concept that allows members of the community to find a place of refuge during a variety of emergency situations” Murray High received a bomb threat at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, one day after the lockdown. While a Racer Alert was sent out to the Murray State community, Eaton said he thought the high school was having a precautionary drill after Monday’s threat.

“Right after announcements, we were told to leave our stuff and go to the track, which is on campus but away from the building. I thought it was a drill,” Eaton said.

“I thought, ‘Oh, there was a threat yesterday, maybe we need to be prepared for more serious threats like this so we’re practicing.’ After all, we had never actually done our bomb threat procedure in a drill, only talked about it. I didn’t think something was wrong until the busses pulled up next to the track and the students who rode the bus to school were told to board.”

Multiple law enforcement agencies searched the building Tuesday morning, and school administrators dismissed the s t u d e n t s . Po l i c e c l e a r e d t h e building shortly after 11 a.m.

the wastewater samples precede increases in cases of COVID-19 as detected by clinical testing by five to seven days and might serve as a predictor of community outbreaks,” Zeruth said. “This information can better inform local administrators to enact policies that might help to slow the spread of the virus.”

Zeruth said another benefit of this detection method is that it is fairly comprehensive and does not rely on individuals submitting to testing.

“SARS CoV-2, the virus that c a u s e s COV I D - 1 9 , h a s b e e n shown to be shed into the wastewater from infected persons regardless of whether they exhibit symptoms,” Subedi said in the press release. “Detection and measurement of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater therefore ser ves as a comprehensive, non-invasive, near real-time and cost-effective approach to monitoring

COVID-19 infection within communities that is not dependent on individuals submitting to testing.”

This process of tracking C OV I D - 1 9 h a s b e e n o n g o ing across the country for some time, with the National Wastewater Surveillance System having been used histor ic al l y to track outbreaks of large-scale disease outbreaks such as polio, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

H o w e v e r, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e press release, this wastewater research has never been used in we s t e r n K e n t u c k y, on l y h a ving a prevalence in northern Kentuc ky and L ouisville.

This ongoing partnership with the University is supplying more lab facilities for testing, as well as opportunities for the Murray State community to assist western Kentucky in combating COVID-19.

Paige Bold/The News Law enforcement arrived to threats at Murray High School on Monday, Jan. 25 and Tuesday, Jan. 26.

“I definitely don’t think it was a coincidence,” Eaton said. “I think someone wanted to poke the bear and see what happened. Whoever it was has seen what they wanted to now and I don’t know what they’ll do with this info, but if the last two days have proven anything, they’ve proven that MHS and the Calloway County law enforcement are ready for both of these situations, God forbid they ever happen again. Or who knows, maybe someone didn’t want to take a test today. Regardless, I think that even if it wasn’t the same person, the two are related in how someone was being curious.”

Murray High School administrators have moved all classes to a virtual setting until Monday, Feb. 1, for extra precaution and while Eaton said he would much rather be physically at school, he understands the decision.

“I wish there was a way for school to keep going despite the possibility of threats and for us to show some resistance in this situation, but maybe this is how we do

that,” Eaton said. “Maybe us continuing online is how we present ourselves as untouchable to this new obstacle. After all, what keeps someone from canceling school every day with a bomb threat?”

The Murray Police Department continues to investigate both threats.

“The Murray Police Department and Murray High School did a great job handling this situation and I commend all first responders for their commitment to our community; all law enforcement agencies are committed to the safety of each individual,” Gentry said. “We conducted an active shooter training last year for faculty and staff which is on the Murray State Police Department website. Members of our campus community may also request an active shooter response training session from the Murray State Police Department by calling (270) 809-2222.”

The University website has the procedures for situations like a bomb threat or active shooter listed at www. murraystate.edu/headermenu/Offices/police/racerAlert/shelter.aspx.

News

Jan. 28, 2021

PARKER From Page 1

was on its way and that eve r y t h i n g w o u l d b e o k a y.

“I was just trying to check on everyone because, you know, we just went through a shooting,” Steffen said. “And as I was checking on people, I was about to go up to a teacher… and I was about to ask him if everyone was okay, ‘Do you know if there are any casualties?’ just trying to get any information that I possibly could, and right as I was about to ask him my question, I look to my left and the shooter was standing right there.”

Steffen said Parker thankfully did not have the gun in the weightlifting room. Later, Steffen learned from sources that af ter Parker opened fire, he ran out a door that led to the band room, threw the gun down, then went to the weightlifting room in an attempt to blend in with the other students.

“I saw him and I was like, ‘Okay, here’s what I need to do,’” Steffen said. “I tugged on the teacher’s shirt, trying to be all nonchalant, and said ‘you need to come outside with me right now.’”

When they went outside, Steffen informed the teacher that the shooter was in the weightlif ting room. O ther students were with him and confirmed that they had also seen Parker in the weightlif ting room.

The teacher asked Steffen if he knew the shooters’ name and what he looked like, and Steffen was able to identify him since they had had a computer class together the previous year. As the teacher alerted authorities, Steffen left through a gap in the fence outside the weightlifting room and left with an administrator in her car.

“Between the time I had told [the teacher] and the time that [Parker] had gotten arrested, I’m going to say maybe it was about five minutes [that had passed], not even that probably,” Steffen said.

“A bunch of people watched him get arrested, but I didn’t watch him get arrested because I was in the car on the way up to the faculty building at the top of the hill.”

S ince the shooting, S teffan was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. He was asked to testify against Parker in court but did not have to because Parker later pleaded guilty.

“I used to think a hitman was after me 24/7 because I thought, ‘oh my god, his family is going to find out I’m the one who ratted him out and I’m going to get hitmanned’ or something,” Steffen said. “Now that I think about it, it was a very—not stupid [thought]—but it was my mind processing things.”

Steffen said he has mixed emotions over Parker’s sentencing.

“I’m so happy that he got life, but the only thing that I don’t like is the fact that he got the

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Bryan Edwards/TheNews It has been three years since the Marshall County High School shooting.

possibility of parole,” Steffen said.

“Now, knowing him and knowing the families, they’re not going to let… him get (out) on parole. I don’t think he’s going to get out anytime soon but I wish he would’ve just gotten life without the possibility of parole.”

After years of therapy and after the sentencing, Steffen said he felt a little safer because he knew no one would go after him.

“You know, my friend died during the shooting, my friend Bailey,” Steffen said. “I just want her legacy to live on. That’s all I want.”

Murray State offers free and confidential mental health services for students. The Counseling Center

is located in Oakley Applied Science and will offer primarily remote services this spring. Call them at (270) 809-6851, email them at msu.couselingcenter@murraystate. edu or visit their websites at murraystate.edu/CounselingCenter.

The Psychological Center is located in Wells Hall and will be offering primarily in-person sessions this spring.

You can reach them at (270) 8092504 or visit their website at murraystate.edu/PsychologicalCenter.

Contact Murray State Police at (270) 809-2222 or call 911 if you are off campus. You can also call the 24-hour crisis hotline at (800) 592-3980 or contact the Cr isis Text Line at 741-741.

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION GET INVOLVED Student Government Association applications are available online www.murraystate.edu/sga and the ‘Get Involved’ tab Positions:

President - must be Junior by fall semester, 2.7 gpa Executive Vice President - must be Junior by fall semester, 2.7 gpa Vice President of Administration - 2.7 gpa Vice President of Finance - 2.7 gpa Senator At Large – 8 positions, 2.0 gpa College of Business – 3 positions, 2.0 gpa College of Education & Human Services – 3 positions, 2.0 gpa College of Humanities & Fine Arts – 3 positions, 2.0 gpa College of Science, Engineering & Technology – 3 positions, 2.0 gpa Hutson School of Agriculture – 3 positions, 2.0 gpa School of Nursing & Health Professionals – 3 positions, 2.0 gpa RCC Representatives, 2 per RCC – 16 positions total, 2.0 gpa RCA President - 2.7 gpa RCA Vice President – 2.7 gpa RCA Secretary/Treasurer, 2.7 gpa **ALL RCA officers must have lived in residential college 1 year prior to election

Applications due:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2021 at NOON online

Candidates Meeting: MANDATORY CANDIDATES MEETING 2/15 at 4 PM in Curris Center Ballroom Elections:

ONLINE VOTING, MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021 AT 12:01 AM THROUGH TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021 AT 11:59 PM

Results:

Executive Council in Curris Center Small Ballroom on March 10 at 5 pm, others should watch via Facebook Live on SGA’s page

Chair Applications due:

Elections/Ways & Means – 1 position, 2.0 gpa Publications & Public Relations, 1 position, 2.0 gpa University Affairs – 1 position, 2.0 gpa Government Relations – 1 position, 2.0 gpa Diversity & Inclusion – 1 position, 2.0 gpa Enrollment Management & Student Success – 1 position, 2.0 gpa WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 at NOON online

Judicial Board: Applications due:

10 members, must be a sophomore by fall semester, 2.0 gpa WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 at NOON online

Campus Activities Board: Applications due:

12 chair positions, 2.0 gpa WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 at NOON online

Senate Chair:

Opinion

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Jan. 28, 2021

Are lockdown browsers worth it?

The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board Just about everyone on campus has had an encounter with the dreaded lockdown browser. For those who have no idea what that is, a lockdown browser is a browser extension that is used for students who have to take online tests. The name of the browser is pretty self explanatory, as the browser “locks down” a computer or tablet, leaving a student unable to copy, print, access other applications or search on the web for answers. Despite this sounding like a good thing, Murray State students have something else to say about lockdown browsers.

Most lockdown browsers need you to allow access to your webcam, allowing your testing experience to be monitored and filmed for future viewing, and some applications even track your movements and flag actions that are deemed suspicious. Some of these actions include a student looking to the side to think or rest their eyes.

Even a small movement like that could be flagged as cheating.

Additionally, some students own computers which don’t allow access to lockdown browsers, like Chromebooks. Some teachers require lockdown browsers for their class curriculum, but what happens when a student is unable to download those lockdown browsers?

One thing that some teachers do is ask the student to take their tests on Murray State library computers.

While this is a great alternative when we’re not going through a pandemic, using a public computer in these times is not only disgust-

Cade Utterback/The News

ing, it’s dangerous. When a student cannot download the lockdown browser and refuses to use a public computer, what happens? Well, some teachers just say “tough luck!” and tell you to take the zero.

While this may seem reasonable in their eyes, most students find this extremely disrespectful and upsetting, as they’re basically told they’re going to fail the class unless they buy a new laptop or use a public computer, and this in itself is not okay.

Another thing that rubs students

the wrong way about lockdown browsers is what happens when you open up a test or quiz in a lockdown browser. First, when you download the browser, it requires a proctor, which slows your internet connection.

The browser then makes you go through some requirements, like taking a picture to make sure your camera is on or speak to show your microphone is on. This is irritating to students, mainly for the reason that the tests’ timer does not stop when you are directed through

the requirements, so while you’re setting up your browser and making sure you do everything correctly, you’ve already lost five minutes of time that could’ve been used taking the test. This, in turn, stresses the students out more and limits their ability to do good on their test.

So while some teachers may find lockdown browsers to be beneficial to combat cheating and plagiarism, it’s likely that most students would prefer to never use a lockdown browser ever again.

Gabe’s Take: Lockdowns Gabe Steffen Opinion Editor gsteffen@murraystate.edu

Unbeknownst to most of the student body of Murray State, on Monday, Jan. 25, there was a false alarm for an active shooter at Murray High School. Schools in the surrounding area and even Marshall County High School, which just had the third anniversary of its shooting three days

Editorial Board

prior, went on lockdown. What isn’t understood is why Murray State itself didn’t go into lockdown, as Murray High is right down the road from campus.

The lockdown, or lack thereof, at Murray State struck a chord with me. As a survivor of the 2018 Marshall County High School shooting, it really appalled me when I learned that our campus took no efforts to lock

down classrooms or dorms when there was a potential shooting threat just down the road. While it may have ended up being just a false alarm, it still made me upset, as University administrators know they have students who went to Marshall County High School during the shooting, and yet the campus did not take any precautions. What would have happened if it was a real threat?

New students would be witness to the horrors of a shooting, and those who went to Marshall would be forced to live through another horrifying event. The next day, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, there was a bomb threat at Murray High School and while they may have warned students this time of the potential danger, it doesn’t nullify the fact that they did nothing the previous day.

Gage Johnson Cady Stribling

Dr. Stephanie Anderson Daniella Tebib Editor-in-Chief News Editor

Faculty Adviser Production Manager gjohnson17@murraystate.edu cstribling1@murraystate.edu sanderson37@murraystate.edu dtebib@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 Gabe Steffen Photo Editor Opinion Editor jrush4@murraystate.edu gsteffen@murraystate.edu

John O’Neill

Dionte Berry Online Manager

Features Editor joneill4@murraystate.edu dberry1@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.

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Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 TheNews.org

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.

Sports

Jan. 28, 2021

5

Photo courtesy of Bryce Robinson The Murray State men’s soccer club team poses for a picture after practice. Tryouts for the team will be on Feb. 1, Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.

Men’s soccer club looking to grow Tryouts will be held the first week of February they can travel and take on teams Gage Johnson from other schools across the counEditor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu try, they are waiting to be cleared to travel because of COVID-19.

In a normal season, the With sports progressively making its return throughout team would play 10 or more the country, an opportunity to friendlies against other colplay competitive soccer has aris- lege and university club teams.

But while games may be posten for students thanks to the Murray State men’s soccer club. poned, there’s still a lot the club Murray State graduate Aar- has to offer. There will be pracon Sexton helped create the tice three days a week and the club in 2018, but it has con- club is exploring the idea of havtinued to grow each year and is ing 3v3 tournaments and othnow led by senior Vice President er events on campus in order Bryce Robinson and sophomore to raise awareness of the club President Clayton Williams. and get together more often.

Despite COVID-19 throwing “It started off more of just some guys playing and some friendlies a wrench into plans, Williams— with SEMO and UT Martin who’s in his second year with the had a team at one point,” Rob- club—said they had their best inson said. “We were just playing turn out last fall and are hoping around here. It wasn’t until last to continue to carry that moyear that we actually got into a mentum and build each semester.

“This fall we probably had the league with other schools. With that we travel a little bit further, best tryouts we’ve ever had,” Wilso I think the furthest team we liams said. “The turn out was played was UT Chattanooga and probably four or five times the Northern [Kentucky University].” amount of the previous year. It Now sitting in a league where was quite surprising. That’s part

of the goal of the club to grow and hopefully in the next few years everybody on the whole campus will know we exist.”

With the team’s roster being capped at 22 players and multiple seniors graduating last December, there’s a lot of spots up for grab.

“We usually have three tryouts,” Williams said. “You only have to show up for one, but we encourage you to go out to all three. We’ll just take a look, we’ll run you through some scrimmages and simple drills and we’ll see how good you are.”

If you are interested in joining the team, the tryouts have been moved to 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Feb. 1, Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.

If you make the team the dues that cover travel costs, refs, apparel and much more will range from $200-250 and you will be guaranteed a roster spot for at least a year.

The comradery amongst team members and getting to play competitive soccer and have the feel of a real team as opposed

to intramurals is what Robinson loves the most about the club in his three years with them.

“Probably just traveling with everyone and getting to know each other,” Robinson said.

“Getting to hang out and spend time with the guys, it takes you back to those high school days where you’re not on the bus, but in the car hanging out with the boys and playing soccer.”

Williams agreed with Robinson, saying that if you want to come out and enjoy soccer with others who share the same passion for it, this team is the place to go.

“We’re continuing to try and grow the team,” Williams said.

“Everybody on the team is really competitive. We always want to get better. Practices are actually probably the best escape possible I can think of from everything school related.

Just to take your mind off the stress of homework for an hour or two is probably the best part about college for me at least.”

Cross country opens 2021 at Belmont Rachel Essner Contributing Writer ressner1@murraystate.edu After waiting for more than a year to compete, the Murray State men’s and women’s cross country teams kicked off their 2021 season opener on Sunday, Jan. 24, at Belmont University.

The meet consisted of 12 teams, including Belmont University, Austin Peay State University, Tennessee Tech University, Tennessee State University and Lipscomb University.

Junior Dani Wright, with a time of 18:20.257, and sophomores Kristin Dent (19:43.589) and Jessica Stein (19:33.219) recorded personal records, finishing 21st, 33rd and 34th, respectively, while junior Emma Creviston finished 31st with a time of 19:19.618 in the women’s 5K. Freshman Breanna Day made her debut for Racer cross country, placing 47th. Other notable Racers were senior Ashley Zimmerman, who placed 52nd at 21:15.870 and junior Sophie Grogan, who finished 57th place at 21:46.600. This pushed the Racers to 166 points and earned them sixth place overall.

Leading the Racers on the men’s side was senior Caleb Ka-

wasaki, placing 25th with a time of 27:06.380, followed by sophomore Benjamin Hall in 32nd with a personal best time of 27:46.2.

Freshman Nathan Quinn started his career by finishing 35th at 27:57.105. Sophomore Ryan Dent followed in 36th, recording a PR of 27:59.4. The last of the top five was junior Christian Slone in 39th at 28:51.349.

Other runners for the men’s team included junior Jordan Higgins in 40th place at 29:00.412 and senior Meyer Makensom in 41st, clocking in at 29:05.542. These men led the Racers to 167 total points and seventh place overall.

“I think overall the team did really well,” said Head Coach Adam Kiesler. “It was really fun to see them compete again since the men haven’t competed in 14 months and the women haven’t competed in over a year. It was good to see them get out and compete.”

Kiesler said he thought many of the runners performed very well, specifically mentioning Wright, Ryan and Kristin Dent, Stein and Hall, who all had PRs. “I think Ben Hall did well over winter break and carried that into practice the first few weeks,” Kiesler said. “He showed that he did the work and can continue putting in the work.

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Five Racers posted personal best times in the 2021 season opener at Belmont: sophomores Ryan and Kristin Dent, sophomore Jessica Stein, junior Dani Wright and sophomore Benjamin Hall.

Overall we are just working toThe Racers will compete next wards that March first date, when they host the Murray State which is cross country OVC, to Open at Miller Memorial Golf be able to do as well as we can.” Course on Friday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m.

Sports

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Jan. 28, 2021

Rebounding advanatage leads to Racers’ downfall

Austin Peay tops Murray 74-71

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics Freshman guard Bria Sanders-Woods drives inside against Austin Peay.

Jakob Milani Staff Writer jmilani@murraystate.edu

Because of a poor rebounding effort, the Murray State women’s basketball team lost a close game to the Austin Peay Governors by a score of 74-71.

Murray State got out to a great start as the team went on a 12-0 run for 3:33 of the first five minutes. The Governors eventually got their defense together, not allowing a field goal from the Racers for 4:30 after their run to start the game. During that time, the Governors scored 11 points, while the Racers made four free throws. After the Racers made a field goal to end their drought, they held their lead and ended the first quarter up 21-17.

The Racers started the second quarter by extending their lead, scoring the only three points of the first three minutes of the quarter. The Governors put a stop to the Racers’ scoring for a bit, going on a 6-0 run for 2:38, giving the Governors a 30-29

lead. The Racers kept it close toward the end of the quarter, but the Governors held their lead and went into halftime up 36-34.

The Governors led in rebounds by a large margin at halftime, grabbing 22 in the first half compared to the Racers’ 10. The Governors were also leading with points in the paint, scoring 18 of their 36 in the paint while the Racers scored just 10 in the paint.

Junior guard Macey Turley led all scorers in the game at halftime with 12 points on 3-4 shooting from three-point range and 3-4 shooting from the free throw line.

Despite a strong start to the third quarter, the Racers were held to a field drought that lasted 4:19, starting at the 6:16 mark.

In that time, the Governors only scored seven points, while the Racers made all six of their free throws. The Racers picked it up after the dry spell and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run over the last 1:14 of the quarter. Going into the fourth, the Racers were up 53-52 over the Governors.

The Racers’ lead didn’t last long as the Governors scored 11 of the first 15 points in the fourth quarter. However, the Racers managed to stay in the game, and after a layup from Turley the Racers were only down 65-64. Later, the Racers tied the game at 68 thanks to another layup by Turley. Despite their late push, the Racers weren’t able to take the lead. The Governors walked away victorious, defeating the Racers 74-71.

The Governors finished with every player who played scoring at least two points. The team was led in scoring by sophomore forward D’shara Booker, who had 18 points on a perfect 9-9 from the field. Senior guards Brianah and Brandi Ferby finished with 14 points and 12 points, respectively.

The Racers finished with four players in double digit points.

Turley finished the game with 21 points on 7-14 shooting and 4-8 from three-point range.

She also shot 3-4 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Bria Sanders-Woods finished with

17 points as she shot 4-10 from the field and 8-13 from the free throw line. Junior guard Manna Mensah finished with 12 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and 4-4 shooting from the free throw line. Freshman forward Katleyn Young scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Governors finished the game with 44 rebounds, while the Racers grabbed 23 rebounds with only four of those rebounds coming from the offensive end. The Governors also lead the game with points in the paint, scoring 42 points inside compared to the Racers’ 26. The Racers did have fewer turnovers than the Governors, turning the ball over 11 times compared to Austin Peay’s 14.

Murray State falls below .500 after the loss, now sitting with a 7-8 record and a 4-6 record in conference play. The Racers return to the CFSB Center on Thursday, Jan. 28, to take on the Tennessee State Tigers at 4:30 p.m.

Tennis loses two on the on the road in Missouri Simon Elfrink Sports Editor selfrink@murraystate.edu After an electric 7-0 victory over the University of North Alabama to start the season, Murray State tennis lost both games of a double header at the University of Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 23.

Despite falling short of a win during the trip to Columbia, Missouri, Head Coach Jorge Caetano said he was pleased with how his team competed against a good team.

“Playing an SEC school is always tough,”Caetano said.“They always have strong teams,they’re always deep in their lineups, but we competed really well.”

The first match looked promising for the Racers, who started the day by winning the number one doubles match, featuring sophomore Natalie Slezakova and senior Stasya Sharapova.

However, doubles matches went sharply downhill afterwards, as the second and third pairs bounced in Missouri’s favor. In singles, soph-

omore Marit Kreugel salvaged a point for the Racers by winning her singles match in straight sets (6-2, 6-0). The next three singles to finish ended in wins for the Tigers, giving them the 4-1 clinch over the Racers.

Because of the nature of the competition, the rest of the singles matches were unable to finish, which was something Caetano was frustrated with.

“Unfortunately, we were playing clinch-clinch, which means whenever we get to four points we have to stop the match,” Caetano said. “That’s a shame, because we were up on the individual courts.”

Caetano went on to mention players like redshirt senior Sara Loncarevic, who didn’t get to finish her singles match despite leading in the third set.

“She showed resilience to get back and put herself in the position to win at number one against an SEC opponent,” Caetano said.

The second match of the day yielded an identical 4-1 victory for Missouri.

Beginning with singles matches this

Photo courtesy of Dan Hasko/Racer Athletics Senior Stasya Sharapova earned the Racers a point by winning her singles match in the second half of the double header against Missouri.

time, the Racers dropped the first, third, fourth and fifth matches,allowing Missou to grab four points early and avoid doubles competition. Still, Sharapova continued to perform at the top of her game all day, winning the second singles match 6-3 and 7-5, respectively.

Despite the box scores on the day, Caetano was happy with how the Racers performed against the stiff competition. He said his players stayed with them the whole way and believed they could win.

“Of course, you always want to win,”

Caetano said.“But we know it was a good overall experience playing against a school at that level and being really competitive.

[I’m] really happy with the way we’re competing, especially mentally. Even the matches we lost in straight sets it wasn’t because mentally we weren’t there. It was just a few points here and there that went their way, and they ended up winning but we stayed with them the whole time.”

The Racers will get a couple weeks to prepare before they take on Marshall University at the Kenlake Tennis Center on Friday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m.

Jan. 28, 2021

Features

7

Former professor works on his second novel Ben Overby Staff Writer boverby@murraystate.edu Former Murray State English professor and current fiction editor of “Hyphen Magazine” James Han Mattson’s second novel “Reprieve” will be released on Oct. 5, 2021.

Mattson’s first novel, “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves” was released in 2017. It told the story of a young man struggling with his sexual orientation in a small town, who kills a classmate bullying him and then himself. The novel uses multiple points of view as well as emails and online chat room exchanges to explore the event and its aftermath.

“The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves” received great critical acclaim, including being a New York Post Required Reading selection and an Amazon Books Best of the Month pick. Though Mattson was pleased with the good reviews, he doesn’t let reception pressure him as a writer.

“When a book goes out in the world, you lose all control; it becomes a product to be consumed,” Mattson said. “I hope ‘Reprieve’ does well, of course, and I’m happy with the positive reception I received for my first novel, but ultimately what matters is that the book, in its final form, is something I believe in and stand by. Everything else is just business—I can’t think too hard about stuff like that or I’ll drive myself mad.”

In “Reprieve” Mattson delves into the horror genre. The novel, which he has been working on for five years, will tackle a number of social issues.

“It’s about a murder that takes place at a full-contact haunted escape room in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is narrated by three witnesses—an employee of the haunt, a ‘contestant’ and the perpetrator of the crime,” Mattson said.

“The book sweeps from Bangkok to Washington DC to Nebraska to San Francisco, and investigates themes of racial fetishism, racial injustice, misogyny, hate politics and capitalism.”

Telling a story through multiple points of view, as well as other departures from a traditional first person or third person narrative style, is a common thread in both of Mattson’s novels. He said writing

from different perspectives breaks up the tedium of the writing process, as well as creates a more expansive experience for the reader.

Mattson said many people tend to go through life-altering experiences with other people, so adding multiple perspectives makes that experience more comprehensive.

“It can also serve as a good exercise in humanity, imagination and empathy; if you inhabit, as best you can, perspectives and ideologies that don’t necessarily align with your own, you deepen your understanding of things like injustice and suffering,” Mattson said. “Perhaps when you’re done, you’ve become a slightly better person.”

Mattson’s time teaching at Murray State, as well as many other universities across the country, has contributed to his growth as a writer.

“Teaching has been instrumental in my writing, and there are many days I miss it,” Mattson said. “Critiquing and evaluating both published and student work has helped me critique and evaluate my own writing. Conveying the mechanics of craft to a classroom has helped me examine my own implementations.”

Mattson began to consider a career path as a novelist while living in California. After attending college in Minnesota, he hitched a ride with a friend to get out of the midwest. He got a job making course packets for professors at UC Berkeley during the day and worked nights at a small hotel in North Berkeley.

“There wasn’t much to do there but read and occasionally help the customers kill spiders, so I read novels from 7-11 p.m. three to four days per week,” Mattson said. “One night, as I was reading a particularly bad novel, a thought occurred to me: I could do this. So I asked my boss at the course packet company if I could stay after work and use the company computers to write. (I couldn’t afford a laptop at the time.) She said yes and four months later, I had a draft of a novel.”

Though Mattson said that novel was horrible, it proved to him that he could write one. He moved to Nebraska, worked odd jobs and took writing classes. He later went

Photo courtesy of the Murray State Blue and Gold Weatherly was performing with the Music City Drum Corps in Orlando, Florida, in 2019.

Photo courtesy of James Mattson’s website “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves” is Mattson’s first published novel.

Photo courtesy of James Mattson’s website More information is available on Mattson’s website, jameshanmattson.com

to grad school for creative writing and said the rest is history.

“Reprieve” is scheduled to release Oct. 5 from William Morrow/HarperCollins in the U.S.

and BloomsburyUK in the U.K. Mattson’s f ilm agent is currently pitching the novel to studios and production agencies for a possible future f ilm adaptation.

Trombone major wins competition Ciara Benham Staff Writer cbenham@murraystate.edu A sophomore music performance major at Murray State was triumphant in a Kentucky Music Teachers Association competition after submitting an audition in October.

L u k e We at he rl y, f rom Pa ris , Ten ne s s e e , won t he Bluegrass Brass Young Artist Comp e t i t i o n f o r a g e s 19 -2 6 f o r three solo trombone pieces.

Weatherly is a st udent of Li Kuang, professor of music, who informed him about the opportunity to compete in the KMTA competition. As an aspiring professiona l musicia n, Weat herly jumped on the chance to enter.

“I get to put myself out there i n t he sma l l world of music ,” We at he rl y s a id . “ T he c o u ntle s s hou r s of work i n g on details in the music and my sound pays off when I get to perform.”

T he K M TA compet it ion req u i r e d We a t h e r l y t o s u b m it t h ree v ideo record ing s of h is aud it ion pieces by Oc t.

30. Weatherly chose the pieces “ Trombonsil lo” by Carolina Ca lvache, “Hommage a Bach ”

by Eugene Bozza and “Parable XV III” by Vincent Persichetti.

The three pieces are written in different st yles and in different time periods, so it took a lot of preparation. Weatherly practiced

by listening to professional recordings of the pieces as well as practicing alone and with Kuang. “ I h a v e t o m a k e a n i n a n imate object sing, so ever y step of the way I’m focused on being as e x pressive as possible,” Weatherly said. “When I get on stage it becomes second nature.”

A week before Christmas, Weatherly received the resu lts of the competition while driving around Nashville, Tennessee, with a fellow trombone player. When he found out he won he felt reassured about his passion and talent.

“It gave me such a boost of conf idence and humilit y,” Weatherly said. “It always feels good to k now my pro c e s s is worki n g , s o it ’s a l l t h e m o r e i mp o r t a n t t h a t I k e e p g o i n g.”

Since coming to Murray State, Weathler y has been heavily involved in the music program as a member of a wind ensemble, jazz orchestra, concert choir and smaller ensembles. Weatherly said these experiences have helped shape his progress and success in music. “ Mu r r ay St ate h a s b e en e xtremely hospitable to me, and the music facult y has really helped push me leaps and bounds ahead of where I started just one and a h a l f y e a r s a g o,” We at he rl y said. “ The directors are smart, passionate and driven people; simply being around them ma kes me a bet ter music ia n.”

Features

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Jan. 28, 2021

SPOTTED ON CAMPUS

Murray State’s Newest Racer, Bernie Sanders

Graphic courtesy of Vanessa Lyons

Daniella Tebib/The News

Graphic courtesy of Lauren Morgan

Graphic courtesy of Christie McCoy

Graphic courtesy of Emily Evans

Graphic courtesy of Vanessa Lyons

Graphic courtesy of Vanessa Lyons