The Murray State News

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THE MUR R AY STATE

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April 8, 2021 | Vol. 95, No. 23

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NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

FEATURES

Racers Helping Racers continues amid pandemic

Open Records Act under attack

Baseball earns comeback win over Bellarmine

Racers Empower shines light on health

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Faculty Senate votes on COLA, discusses graduation Gage Johnson Editor-in-Chief gjohnson17@murraystate.edu At the Faculty Senate meeting on Wednesday, April 6, President Bob Jackson announced a special Board of Regents meeting which will look at enrollment and the fall semester.

Senators discussed spring graduation ceremonies and voted to pass a tiered cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Jackson said the Board of Regents meeting will be at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, April 23. The board will discuss tuition and fees for the next fiscal year, as well as housing and dining rates.

Jackson said building the next budget is a top priority and there will also be items that clarify pensions.

He also said 71% of the 2021-2022 budget comes from enrollment.

Jackson said the goal is to make the 2021 fall semester much more reminiscent of the 2019 fall semester while still offering hybrid and online courses for those who may not feel comfortable attending or teaching in person.

In regards to incoming students, Jackson stated that there will be plans in place for students arriving on campus that may not have been able to be vaccinated because of availability.

Provost Tim Todd also spoke to the faculty senate, discussing upcoming graduation dates. There are still four planned ceremonies, but because of sign up, there is a chance that a fifth ceremony could be added for 5 p.m. on May 7.

“Within about 35 minutes of going live on the signup sheet, we had 435 students register for commencement and we had already reached capacity at 11 o’clock and two o’clock within just an hour,” Todd said.

J ac k s on w i l l n o t s h a k e a ny hands at graduation ceremonies.

The senate voted unanimously in favor of the Faculty Caregivers’ Accommodations proposal. The proposal will next go to Provost Tim Todd.

The senate discussed the tiered cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment to the University Budget Advisory Committee. Faculty senator Jan Super said the COLA adjustment attempts to provide some relief for lower-paid faculty but not exacerbate the pay compression.

The Facult y S enate voted unanimously in favor of the recommendation.

Jill Rush/The News Bottle caps and other items will be collected at the Blackburn Science Building and Murray State Recycling Center for a memorial recycled bench.

Remembering Sarah Pre-Vet students plan to collect recyclable materials to create memorial bench for Townsend Emery Wainscott Contributing Writer ewainscott@murraystate.edu The Animal Health Technology/Pre-Vet Club plans to memor ializ e Murr ay S tate stud e n t S a r a h To w n s e n d b y building a recycled bench.

The bench will be made out of recycled bottle caps. Once these are collected, the caps will be sent to Green Tree Plastics, where they will be sorted, weighed and cleaned before being melted down.

Two students, junior Emmalee Storm and senior Kylee Harden, came up with the idea after some members of the PreVet Club suggested different ways to memorialize Townsend.

S torm said she volunteered to help Harden with the bench because they ’ve both had exper ience with building rec yc led benches in high school.

As far as a timeframe, Harde n s a i d t h e c l u b d o e s n’t e x pect to have the bench done by t h e e n d o f t h i s s e m e s t e r. “ T h e c o m p a n y G re e n Tre e P lastics offers three different bench sizes,” Harden said.

“So if the club votes on a bigger siz e, a bigger amount of plastic caps will need to be collected and the longer it may take. Our goal is to collect 250 pounds of bottle caps. In one weekend we have managed to collect about 30 pounds worth.”

Photo courtesy of Melissa Coleman The memorial bench for Sarah Townsend, who was a pre-veterinary major, will be at Carmen Pavilion.

Located west of the main campus, the A. Carman Pavilion Animal Health Facility is located near the William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center. The facility offers courses related to animal health technology and the pre-veterinary medicine program.

The club plans for the bench to be located outside Carman Pavilion with a tree planted next to it. They have yet to vote on a color, size and exact location.

To collect materials, the club is volunteering to collect bottle caps at Murray State’s North Farm recycling facility’s monthly “Recycle Saturday,” as well as

distributing collection bins. Storm said the club is planning on setting the drop-off locations around the Residential Colleges and hopefully at Carman Pavilion as well.

The club contacted President Bob Jackson and Department Head of Animal Health Technology and Pre-Veterinary Medicine Terry Canerdy to approve the idea for the memorial. The idea was passed onto Dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture Tony Brannon, who offered to pay the fees for the bench.

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News

April 8, 2021

Julie Boeker/The News

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12:21 A.M. Hester College

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7:37 A.M. Off Campus

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3:31 P.M. Regents College

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10:06 A.M. CFSB Parking Lot

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10:50 A.M. 14th and Olive Lawn

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Racers Helping Racers employees continue to donate food to students through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trish Lofton, the administrative assistant for student life, said employees were extremely busy serving students stranded on campus after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When campus shut down, the pantry workers started the Curbside Pantry, which allowed online orders to be filled. They served students this way until classes resumed in August 2020. Now they serve students through curbside at the Curris Center and through their location in the Blackburn Science Building.

COVID-19 has affected food pantries around the country. According to a brief by Feeding America, a hunger-relief organization, food insecurity problems have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic because of numerous factors.

“The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is impacting vulnerable households in various ways,” according to the brief. “Many food-insecure individuals have characteristics that put them at a higher risk for severe illness associated with COVI D-19. ” Business increased at food donation sites around the country. Several of the food donation sites around Murray continued work throughout the pandemic and Racers Helping Racers was no exception.

“In 2020, we served on average 18 students a month through our walk-in food pantry and our online Curbside service,” Lofton said.

The pantry only requires a Racer ID and the pantr y employees ask students to fill out a basic information form. The pantry keeps student information confidential and only uses statistical information from the form.

The food pantry has a variety of items that students may need, including prepackaged food, toiletries and more. The food pantry receives donations from multiple sources in order to remain stocked.

Shelby Parker, an employee at the food pantry, said anyone can make a donation. The food pantr y receives a lot of food from different organizations, undergraduate classes assigning extra credit and the parking services office from students who get tickets.

The parking office mentions the Pay It Forward program on its website. Students who have to pay a parking fine can bring non-perishable food items to the parking office and have one eligible citation waved per semester.The site also includes a list of food items students can bring and a list of eligible citations.

The pantr y contains shelves full of donated food and toiletries. There are three full shelving units and numerous cabinets and drawers filled with items. “ We u s e d t o h a v e l i k e four hundred jars of peanut butter in here,” Parker said.

Parker said they donated a lot of the peanut butter because nobody really used it. They donate food that they cannot use themselves or that is a few months b e f o re i t s e x p i r a t i on d a t e t o Need Line, a local food pantry.

Construction on the Blackburn Science Building provides an additional challenge for the pantry.

Parker said one day she could not get into the building because the doors were being replaced.

T h e wo rk e r s fi n a l l y m o ve d for her, but she was not sure if students would be able to get in if they needed.

Parker hopes more awareness of the food pantry spreads on campus because she thinks more than half of students do not know it is an option.

She has had students call and not know where the building is. She had not heard of the food pantry herself until she got hired to work there.

Despite these struggles, the pantry has continued to grow. When Parker first started two years ago, only some of the cabinets were full, but while working there, she had to clean out and stock many more.

Blessing boxes are another source of h e lp in the loc al community. These are enc losed boxes, usually outside, where people can take or leave supplies. Supplies often include non-perishable food, toiletries and clothes.

Murray has blessing boxes all around the community. Locations include local schools, parks and churches. The Christian Community Church has partnered with the Calloway County Collective Facebook Group to establish more locations around the community.

Currently, Murray State does not have a blessing box on campus. Parker said she thought a blessing box on campus would be a great way for college students to get involved. She said some people might be ner vous coming into the pantry, so a blessings box might be a more anonymous way to get food if they need it.

Racers Helping Racers welcomes donations of all kinds. Parker said toiletries are a good donation because they are hard to keep in stock.

Students who wish to use the pantry can place an order online and pick it up curbside at the Curris Center. Students can also go in person to the Blackburn Science Building in room 244 and receive supplies. More information on the food pantry can be found at murraystate.edu/campus/CurrisCenter/racershelpingracers.aspx

An individual was in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The subject received a citation.

6:32 P.M. College Courts

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Erinn Finley Contributing Writer efinley1@murraystate.edu

1:02 P.M. 15th and Olive Parking Lot

8:39 P.M. CFSB Center

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Racers Helping Racers continues amid pandemic

An individual was in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The subject received a citation.

8:00 A.M. Stewart Stadium

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Racers Helping Racers is serving students curbside at the Curris Center and Blackburn Science Building.

10:17 P.M. Elizabeth College

7:49 A.M. Stewart Stadium

Theft was reported after a bicycle was stolen from the bicycle rack. The subject received a citation.

The Murray City Police Department investigated an off-campus shooting involving two adults and one juvenile.

An unattended vehicle was struck by an unknown vehicle. The subject failed to notify the owner of the damage. The investigation is still open.

Criminal Mischief was reported after an individual reported their vehicle had been damaged on March 20. The investigation is inactive.

A face mask sign was removed. The case remains open.

Assault was reported after an individual struck someone after an argument.

Theft was reported after a purse and tumbler were taken.

Charges are being pursued after four burColton glaries and a trespass occurred atColglazier/The StewartNews Stadium. Stolen items have been recovered and multiple suspects have been identified.

Theft was reported after parking cones were taken from the Stewart Stadium parking lot. The investigation is still ongoing.

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

News

April 8, 2021

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Meet the President

SGA president plans for mental health, diversity initiatives Ben Overby Staff Writer boverby2@murraystate.edu Junior Ian Puckett sat down with The News to discuss his ambitions as Student Governm e n t A s s o c i a t i o n Pre s i d e n t .

Puckett said he got involved in SGA somewhat late in his college career.

His path to joining SGA included joining the summer orientation team as a freshman, and becoming a lead counselor as a sophomore, becoming interfraternity council president, and eventually becoming government relations chair in SGA. Puckett later became chief of staff and the idea of running for president entered his mind.

“I thought about it a lot, and prayed about it a lot, and talked to a lot of people,” Puckett said. “I thought, you know what? I think I’ve got great ideas.

I can help out the campus and I’m going to run. I put all my chips on the table and ran unopposed. So, yeah, a very unconventional way to get in.”

Puckett said the main purpose of SGA is to advoc a t e f o r t h e s t u d e n t b o d y.

“It’s called the Student Government Association for a reason,” Puckett said.

“It’s run by students and it’s for the students. In SGA we do our best to bridge the gap between the student body and the administration here on campus.”

Puckett said while the administration at Murray State is fantastic, there are so many aspects to operating a university that students’ interests can sometimes be overlooked.

He said running a university is difficult and it involves a lot of tough decisions. He said it’s important to have

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Townsend was a student in the Hutson School of Agriculture and was majoring in pre-veterinary medicine and veterinary technology. She was also a Residential Advisor at College Courts Apartments and previously worked at Lee Clark Residential College.

Junior Kiara Jones first met Townsend in her chemistry class during freshman year. Jones was also her classmate in a couple of pre-veterinary medicine classes and knew Townsend as a desk worker in Clark College, where Jones lived during her sophomore and junior year.

“Sarah was so kind and caring,” Jones said. “In class she always helped me if I had questions, which was pretty often, so I know I had to have annoyed her a little bit. But she never complained and always explained things to me or helped me with a smile.

Every time I would come to the dorms and she was working at the desk she would always say hello.”

Jones said what stood out to her about Townsend was her love for animals, which was evident from her passion and her excitement in class. Jones said her favorite aspects of Townsend was the constant smile on her face, her friendliness around campus and her love for Rue. “I want her family to know that Sarah was an amazing person and always so kind to everyone,” Jones said. “I am so grateful for the kindness, compassion, and friendship she showed me in the time we spent together.

Even though I may not be able to see Sarah in class or at the

a voice that advocates for students while these decisions are being made.

Puckett said there are three main issues he hopes to address as SGA President. The first is the COVI D-19 pandemic.

Puckett said he is excited about the availability of vaccines at Murray State, and by the idea of returning to some form of normalcy soon. However, he said students need to be careful not to try to rush back into normalcy.

“We have to be sure we transition into normalcy, not jump into normalcy,” Puckett said. “That’s for the safety of every student on this campus.

That may make me seem like a bad guy to some people. That may make me seem like I’m not fun, or I’m too cautious, but I would much rather from the start of my presidency to the end of my presidency have every student that is here under me come with me to the end of my presidency than lose some just because we decided to jump back in and be unsafe.”

Puckett said mental health is another issue that’s important to him.

He said while mental health has always been a prominent issue, it’s become even more prevalent due to the isolation of the pandemic. Puckett hopes to be able to get more funding for mental health resources and revamp the Racers Empower program, as well as help destigmatize mental health by opening dialogues about it.

The third issue Puckett hopes to address is diversity and inclusion.

He said while these issues have always been important to him, the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor opened his eyes even more to the significance of diversity and dorms, I know I will be reminded of her through the kindness of others. I hope to spread the kindness and compassion she showed to me through my work in the future as a veterinarian.”

Both Storm and Harden weren’t close to Townsend but have learned about her through the memorial. Harden said the memorial has given her the opportunity to feel close to Townsend and show that there are many people who love and care about her.

Storm said she hopes that the memorial can represent Townsend’s memory in a unique way that involves both the campus and the Murray community.

“From hearing professors at Carman Pavilion or some of her friends speak about her, Sarah had an amazing and kind soul and I want this bench to encompass that when you see it,” Storm said. “I want future Murray State students to walk into Carman Pavilion past this bench when they start their education and leave with what I’ve heard Sarah encompassed. I believe this world needs more people who were like Sarah and I hope this bench reminds people to be like she was.”

The club is accepting plastic lids, medicine bottle caps, toothpaste caps, deodorant caps and bottle caps as donations. More specifically, the accepted plastics are low-density and high-density polyethylene as well as polypropylene.

A drop off location will be set up soon at the EES Office 334 in Blackburn Science Building. Drop them off the 1st Saturday of every month Anyone interested in helping can contact Harden at kharden1@murraystate.edu or Storm at estorm@murraystate.edu.

Jill Rush/TheNews Student Government Association President Ian Puckett cautions against a rush back to normalcy among the student body, advocates for mental health initiatives for students and plans for inclusion in student organizations.

inclusion. Puckett said he was heartbroken not only by their deaths, but by fact that justice was not being adequately served in response to them.

“I’ve always tried to be as conscious a person as I can be in regards to diversity and inclusion, but I really wanted to help even more so than I’d been trying to do after those events transpired,” Puckett said.

Puckett said there are many organizations at Murray State that do great work with diversity like the Black Student Council, the International Student Organization and the LGBTQ office.

He said that Murray State is inevitably

a predominantly white institution because of its location. He said while there’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, he hopes to help build bridges between white students and underrepresented minority student organizations.

“I would love, during my time as SGA president, to build a bridge to various student organizations and send a strong and clear message to every university in the nation, especially to the commonwealth, that this is an institution that is inclusive,” Puckett said. “We include everyone. We are one big happy Racer family and we all work together.”

JavaTalk BARISTA SPOTLIGHT: KALI

Kali is a barista here at Future Grounds. She is a Junior at Murray State majoring in Marketing. She is originally from Cadiz, KY. Kali has hopes of becoming an event planner.

Her favorite drink at Future Grounds is a Mango Green Tea with Strawberry and Peach. Her hobbies include reading and playing soccer. That’s Kali!

Opinion

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April 8, 2021

Open Records Act under attack The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board Gabe Steffen Opinion Editor gsteffen@murraystate.edu The free speech of Kentuckians is under attack and here is why you should care.

On March 25, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Kentucky Kernel, the student newspaper at the University of Kentucky, in an open records lawsuit filed by the University of Kentucky. UK filed the lawsuit after refusing to disclose records to the Kernel about a sexual misconduct case from five years ago.

UK’s argument for denying the requested documents was to keep the identity of the victims safe but the ruling found that went against the Open Records Act. Was the Supreme Court ruling just, or should the court have ruled in favor of the university?

First, why did UK file the lawsuit against the Kentucky Kernel? In 2015,former professor of entomology James Harwood was accused by multiple men and women of sexual assault and harassment. Before Harwood could be tried in a sexual misconduct hearing, he resigned from his job at UK. In 2015, the Kernel wanted to write an article explaining the misconduct, as the UK community deserved to know what was happening on their campus. To do this, the student journalists needed access to the university’s records concerning the case.

The 112-page record contained the details of the case against Harwood and about three years worth of allegations against the professor. Upon realizing that the university had withheld certain records, the Kernel confronted the university’s administration, which led to the university taking the student media organization to court.

The attorney general at the time, Andy Beshear, ruled that the documents should be public, which allowed the Kernel to access the records. After that ruling, attorneys for UK filed the lawsuit against the Kernel even though the newspaper had a policy in

Cade Utterback/The News

place not to identify the victims in its reporting unless given explicit permission from the victims themselves. You would think the university would already know this, as this is its own student newspaper. If they did know the policy, why would they try so hard to cover up the names of the victims?

The Open Records Act was established by the General Assembly in 1976 and allows access to public records. All public records, no matter where they are stored, are available to the public and open for viewing unless they are under certain exemptions listed in the act itself. This is important to every citizen, especially journalists. Journalists request access to public records all the time, as this is how we get most of our information for our editorials.

The Open Records Act ensures that crimes such as sexual assault can’t be covered up by public institutions. The UK administration claims they were trying to protect the victims’ identities, but the victims say otherwise. The victims claim that the university was trying to protect themselves and Harwood, which wouldn’t surprise a lot of people. There have been many universities that have covered up sexual assaults so as

CHEERS....

Editorial Board

CHEERS

JEE

to student organizations being able to tailgate on the football field this weekend!

to not damage the university’s reputation.

This case was not only a win for the Kernel but for all journalists and student journalists in the Commonwealth, including The News. Journalists are expected to be watchdogs when taxpayer funds are being used, whether that be from politicians, police officers or a public university’s administration. The Open Records Act protects our ability, our free speech (and yours) by allowing access to public documents and records. Could you imagine what would happen if no one was keeping an eye on those who serve our communities?

Senate Bill 48, which recently passed in Kentucky, restricts access to public information about current or former police officers, judges, prosecutors and their immediate family members.

If an officer wanted to, he or she could request their public record be scrubbed of property tax records, vehicle registration, marriage records, birthdate and employment locations and assignments. At a time in our country when people need to know the truth, the media will not be able to access certain information on these public servants if they so choose to have their records

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&

JEERS

redacted now that the bill has passed. This would make corrupt police officers, judges and prosecutors virtually untouchable by the public media,and render them unable to dig up the dirt when it needs to come to light.

How is this supposed to promote equality among all citizens that the country desperately seeks right now?What would this have meant for the officers involved in George Floyd and Breonna Taylor deaths? Is SB 48 supposed to protect the individuals in these roles? If so,why? Why should a police officer or judge’s information be redacted in public records, but mine and yours are fair game?

We here at The News call upon Gov. Andy Beshear to veto SB 48, as did the Kentucky Press Association, an organization we are members of. We took one step forward with the Kernel win against UK but two steps back with SB 48. Your right, our right to know and access documents that are vital to a free society is at risk. This bill goes well beyond the media and directly impacts those in the banking industry, the public’s right to know information about candidates running for office, among others. You can read the bill in its entirety at TheNews.org.

JEERS....

to only a few newspapers left for this semester.

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 Pam Goodwin Breanna Kinder Chief Copy Editor Ad Sales Manager

pgoodwin1@murraystate.edu msunewsads@gmail.com

Kalea Anderson Simon Elfrink

Chief Videographer Sports Editor kanderson29@murraystate.edu selfrink@murraystate.edu

The News welcomes commentaries and letters to the editor. Sub-

missions 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.

Contact Us 2609 University Station Murray State University

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.

April 8, 2021

Sports

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Baseball earns comeback win over Bellarmine Simon Elfrink Sports Editor selfrink@murraystate.edu Murray State baseball kicked off a five-game homestand with a single game against Bellarmine University, taking a 12-8 victory over the Knights.

Bellarmine faced off against what seemed to be two totally different Murray State baseball teams, as a mid-game explosion from the Racers’ offense powered them to a commanding victory.

Bellarmine’s starter sophomore right-hander Matt Craven got off to a good start on the mound, keeping the Racers scoreless for his two innings pitched. Craven would own the mound longer than any pitcher during the game, except for senior righty Blake Wheeler who also pitched two innings for the Knights. Between the two teams, 16 pitchers planted off the rubber through nine innings of play.

Head Coach Dan Skirka explained the coaching staff ’s decision to rotate so many different arms on the mound against the Knights.

“We had a lot of guys ready to go so we decided to just script it out and give everyone a chance to get in the game and compete,” Skirka said.

“Six guys put up zeroes in their innings so [we’re] happy with them.”

Bellarmine got on the board early, loading the bases in the top of the second before a bases-clearing single from senior third baseman Josh Finerty gave the Knights an early 3-0 lead. A double from junior first baseman Jacob Mulcahy scored another run, making the score 4-0.

The Knights added three more runs in the top of the fourth. Meanwhile, the Racers only managed to answer with a single run off an RBI single up the middle from redshirt junior designated hitter Alex Crump.

Crump finished the day with three hits, affirming Head Coach Dan Skirka’s decision to incorporate him into the lineup despite Crump not taking a spot on the field defensively.

“It’s tough, him and Booth basically split our catching duties,” Skirka said. “Sometimes it’s matchups, sometimes it’s who’s going better.

That’s why I DH’d him yesterday; I knew he was short on some at-bats because of that so I wanted to make sure he got his hitting in

Photo by Simon Elfrink/The News Redshirt junior catcher Tanner Booth celebrates a big fly against Bellarmine with redshirt junior first baseman Trey Woosley.

and didn’t have to do the catching.”

The Racers still couldn’t contain the Knights’ hitting, which tallied yet another run in the top of the sixth, forcing Murray State’s hand with a 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

Murray State’s offense exploded in the bottom of the sixth, flipping the switch and turning the tides on the Knights.

The Racers saw a window of opportunity when the first two batters of the sixth inning got hit by pitches, putting runners on first and second for redshirt junior third baseman Bryson Bloomer who drove one run in with a single to left field.

A wild pitch allowed Bloomer and the runner ahead of him to advance to second and third, butting two more men in scoring positions for Crump. Crump delivered again with another RBI-single, lightening the lead to just 8-3. The Racers’ bats kept after the Knights’ pitcher, muscling another runner across home plate with a single from redshirt junior first baseman Wes Schad. A fielder’s choice brought in another run, making the score 8-5 with a runner on for senior center fielder Jake Slunder. Slunder put an exclamation mark on the inning with a home run in the left-field corner to close the deficit to a single run.

Bellarmine’s offense hit a wall

Photo by Simon Elfrink/The News Senior outfielder Jake Slunder crosses home plate after his home run against Bellarmine.

in the seventh inning, but the defense looked to maintain the one-run lead after the stretch.

However, the Racers had other ideas as senior second baseman Jordan Cozart led off the inning with a single up the middle. Senior outfielder Brock Anderson followed his classmate with a big fly to straightaway center, giving the Racers a 9-8 lead in dramatic fashion. Redshirt junior catcher Tanner Booth jumped at his opportunity to contribute, blasting a two-run shot to left field.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cozart hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in another run, giving the Racers a 12-8 victory over Bellarmine. Skirka said the difference in his team’s offense throughout the game is a testament to the sport as a whole.

“That’s baseball,” Skirka said.

“You can’t run out the clock, you can’t kneel on the ball, so for our offense our goal is to score as many runs as possible within 27 outs. Obviously, we’d like to do it a little bit earlier, but at some point we’re going to break through and we’re confident in that.”

Anderson’s homer in the seventh marked his 10th of the season and his 24th RBI. Cozart drove in 31 runs and boasts a .340 average on the season. Crump’s two RBIs on the day pushed his total of runs batted in to seven. While he’s only appeared in 17 games for the Racers this season, Crump is one of the team’s most consistent hitters with a .345 batting average.

The Racers will compete next against the SEMO Redhawks at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 5, at Johnny Reagan Field for a three-game series.

Tennis dominates Skyhawks on the road 7-0 Andrea Jameson Contributing Writer ajameson1@murraystate.edu The Murray State women’s tennis team shut out the University of Tennessee at Martin 7-0 on Friday, April 2 in Martin, Tennessee. The Racers now lead the OVC with a 3-0 record in conference play.

Doubles players sophomore Marit Kreugel and senior Stasya Sharapova swept the court with a 6-0 score. Contributing to the win, freshman Gabrielle Geolier and senior Anja Loncarevic made a close match of 7-5, securing the doubles point for the Racers. Freshman Sarah Bureau and senior Sara Loncarevic barely missed their doubles point 6-3.

The Racers dominated singles play against UT Martin. Sharapova won two of her three sets

(6-2, 3-6, 6-2) to add another point for the Racers. Geolier also took her opponent three rounds (6-4, 4-6, 6-1).

Anja Loncarevic brushed court five with scores of 6-0 and 6-2.

Kreugel followed suit with the same score on court four with her singles win, along with freshman Sarah Bureau on court three with sets of 6-3 and 6-0. Sara Loncarevic won her sets by opponent retirement with four sets on court one with set points of (6-4, 4-6, 2-0) The Racers will look to continue their excellence in conference play when they go head-to-head against SEMO on Wednesday, April 7, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for another OVC matchup.

The Redhawks are 3-0 in conference play and are on a six-game winning streak.

SEMO is also 10-4 overall.

Photo courtesy of Dan Hasko/Racer Athletics Senior Stasya Sharapova returns the ball with a backhand volley.

Sports

6

April 8, 2021

Photo courtesy of Dave Winder/Racer Athletics Redshirt senior Malik Honeycutt leaps and catches a pass against Austin Peay.

Football’s perfect season ruined by Austin Peay Jakob Milani Staff Writer jmilani@murraystate.edu After a slow first half, the Murray State football team failed to out-duel the Austin Peay Governors in an exciting second half, losing 34-31.

The Racers dropped their fourth straight game against their rivals despite taking the Governors down to the final few seconds of the game.

The Racers started the game with the ball but struggled to gain momentum early. The Racers were forced to punt after just three plays on both of their starting drives in the first quarter. The Governors managed to get the ball moving on their second drive when freshman quarterback Draylen Ellis completed a 13-yard pass to senior wide receiver Baniko Harley. The pass set up a 40-yard field goal for the Governors, giving Austin Peay a 3-0 lead with 8:52 left in the quarter. The Racers finally got the ball moving later in the quarter when junior quarterback Preston Rice completed a 26yard pass to graduate wide receiver Malik Honeycuttd. Thepass set up a 41-yard field goal for graduate kicker Aaron Baum, tying the game 3-3 to end the first quarter.

The Governors started moving the ball down the field quickly in the second quarter with senior running back Ahmaad Tanner

Soccer claims OVC regular season title Rachel Essner Staff Writer ressner1@murraystate.edu The Murray State soccer team traveled to Cape Girardeau, Missouri on Friday, April 2, to take on Southeast Missouri State University, where the Racers triumphed 3-1 to become the OVC Regular Season Champions.

The SEMO Redhawks were the first to score after sophomore defender Saraya Young was whistled for a handball inside the penalty box, sending SEMO’s junior midfielder Lauren Welker up to the line to shoot the penalty kick in the 11th minute.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Villacres deflected the shot, but Welker was able to put away the rebound, giving the Redhawks a 1-0 advantage.

Murray State fought back with a kick from Young to freshman midfielder Hailey Cole, who passed it to senior forward Rebecca Kubin to take the ball down the field and put the

leading the way. The Governors capped off the drive with a 26-yard pass from Ellis to junior wide receiver Eugene Minter for a touchdown, giving Austin Peay a 10-3 lead over the Racers with 11:17 left in the quarter. The Racers answered right back with a big play of their own when Rice threw a 41-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Jacob Bell, putting the Racers at the Governors’ one yard line.

Rice took the rush on the next play in for a touchdown to tie the game at 10 with 8:07 left in the quarter.

After the Racers touchdown, neither team scored again in the quarter as the defenses shut down any offensive movement. Going into halftime, the racers remained tied with the Governors with a score of 10-10.

At halftime, Rice was 3-9 passing for the Racers with 72 passing yards, 26 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, while freshman running back Demonta Withersponn had 24 yards on eight rushes. For the Governors, Ellis was 9-17 passing with 77 yards and a touchdown and Tanner had 42 yards on 11 rushing attempts.

The Governors started the third quarter with a bang as freshman running back CJ Evans rushed 52 yards all the way up to the Racers’ 11 yard line. Ellis rushed for 11 yards on the next play to get the touchdown and put the Governors up 17-10. The Racers answered with back-to-back rushes ball in the net for the equalizing goal.

The teams entered halftime tied 1-1, with Murray State outshooting SEMO 5-4 and each side earning one corner kick during the first 45 minutes.

Murray State took the lead four minutes into the second half when freshman defender Camille Barber passed the ball to sophomore forward Lilly Strader who found the net on a shot 13 yards out, giving the Racers a 2-1 lead.

Strader struck again with less than three minutes remaining when she put the ball in the top corner of the goal. This gave the Racers the final goal and a 3-1 lead in the 42nd minute of half two.

The Racers’ defense shut down the Redhawks, as they only allowed one shot in the second half while the Racers’ offense totalled eight shots.

Villacres had two saves on the night.

Kubin scored her 26th career goal to give her sole possession of the No. 5 spot on Murray State’s all-time scoring list, passing Jackie Thomas (2000-03) at 25.

Strader earned the first multigoal game of her career while Barber and Young collected their first career assists and Cole picked up her second career assist.

from Witherspoon for 45 combined yards. Those two plays set up a 28-yard touchdown pass from Rice to junior wide receiver LaMartez Brooks to tie the game at 17. The Governors came back with another impressive drive that started with Ellis connecting on three straight passes to senior wide receiver Deangelo Wilson for 56 yards. Those three plays helped set up a five-yard touchdown run from Tanner to give the Governors a 24-17 lead with 8:34 left in the quarter. The Racers still wouldn’t back down as they slowly made their way down the field for one more touchdown rush by Rice to tie the game at 24 at the end of the quarter.

The game came down to the fourth quarter for the Racers and they made their best attempt at taking the game.

The Racers made their way down the field in quick fashion and ended the drive with an 18-yard touchdown rush from Witherspoon to give the Racers a 31-24 lead, their first lead of the game. However, it didn’t take long for the Governors to tie the game up as they made their way down the field and threw a touchdown pass to Evans to tie the game at 31. The Governors’ defense shut down the Racers’ offense on the following drive, not allowing them to retake the lead and take over at their own four yard line. From there, the Governors ran 5:31 off the clock on their drive and kicked a field goal to take a 34-31 lead, leaving the Rac-

ers with just two seconds to score.

The Racers couldn’t do anything on their last play and suffered their first loss of the season. The Governors walked away victorious, defeating the Racers by a score of 34-31.

Ellis led the Governors to victory, throwing 21-34 in the game with 227 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Tanner finished with 122 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts, while Wilson had 99 receiving yards from 10 catches.

Rice was 13-20 in passing for the Racers with 192 passing yards, a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. Brooks had 94 yards and a touchdown from eight catches. Witherspoon finished with 95 yards and a touchdown off of 17 rushes. Junior linebacker Eric Samuta finished with 16 tackles and a tackle for loss in the game.

The Governors finished with 227 passing yards and 220 rushing yards in the game, while the Racers had just 193 passing yards and 151 rushing yards. The Racers’ defense had eight tackles for loss in the game compared to the Governors’ three.

The Racers suffered their first loss of the season, dropping to 5-1 overall.The Racers take on Jacksonville State University on Sunday, April 11 at 2 p.m. The game marks the first time the Racers will play for a conference title since 2002.

Photo courtesy of Racer Athletics The Racers were named 2021 Regular Season Champions following the win over SEMO.

“Kubin came up big to equalize and then the two goals from Lilly Strader were just fantastic,” said Head Coach Matt Lodge.

“I think this is the best we have knocked the ball around all season.”

The Racers earned their fifth OVC Regular Season Championship title, previously winning in 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2017. With the Racers taking the No. 1 seed, the OVC Tournament will be held at Cutchin Field on April 15 and April 17, where the Racers will compete in hopes of winning their

fifth OVC Tournament trophy.

“It’s massive for us to have the tournament at home,” Lodge said. “We know how well we do at home but we have to remain smart because it is not a given just because it is at home.”

Murray State soccer finished the 2021 regular season with a 4-0 shutout over EIU on Tuesday, April 6. The Racers will compete in the OVC Soccer Championship semifinals on Thursday, April 15, against SEMO at 11 a.m. at Cutchin Field.

April 8, 2021

Features

7

Racers Empower shines light on health Mason Galemore Contributing Writer mgalemore@murraystate.edu Menta l hea lth has never been more i mpor ta nt t ha n now because of the turbulence COV I D-19 has caused in t he past year. To say life has become a twisted roller coaster would be an understatement and everyone has endured stress as a resu lt.

R a c e r s E mp o w e r h a s offered a way for students to ease t hei r st re s s t h rou gh re ad i ng.

T he org a n iz at ion w i l l hold a book discussion over the critic a l l y a c c l a i m e d n o v e l “ T h e Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Hor s e ” b y Ch a rl ie M a c k e s y.

The novel has received many awards including the 2019 Waterstones Book of the Year. The i l lu s t r ate d nov e l d e pic t s t he friendship between the four main protagonists named in the title.

The book discussion w il l b e he ld on A pr i l 2 6 at 11 a.m. Pa r ticipants can join v ia Zoom or in person at the Curr is Center Sma l l Ba l l room.

The event will be led by Student A f fa i r s coord i nator a nd Racers Empower leader Jennifer Smith. Smith said the event will serve as a reminder to take a deep breath and focus on sel f ca re.

“Mental Health is important year-round,” Smith said. “Taking care of our mental and physical health helps us function as hu ma ns . Pr ac t ic i n g s e l f-c a re a l lows us to do the things we have to do, whether it’s school or work, and it allows us to do the things we enjoy doing for fun.

COV ID-19 has impacted ever yone’s mental health. Events like these are ways to demonst r ate how a com mu n it y l i k e Mu r r ay St ate ’s c a n f i nd emp at hy a nd u nder s t a nd i n g for eac h ot her t h rough ha rdsh ip.

Smith said st udents and facu lt y m e m b e r s h a v e b e e n e xperiencing the same stress.

S h e s a i d C OV I D -1 9 h a s played a sig n i f ica nt role in

ma k ing us u ndersta nd t hat it is ok ay to fe el over whel med . “ We’re all dealing with stress from an unprecedented source, COV ID-19,” Smith said. “ We may have different issues causing the stress, but the commonality allows for us to show k indness and compassion to one another.”

Racers Empower intends to use that commonality of stress within the reading event and bring Murray State community members together by practicing the sha red e x per ience of read ing.

Reading has been widely proven to mentally strengthen people. Engag ing w it h a stor y ca n evoke t houghts a nd emotions within the reader and reduce st ress. Book s a lso ser ve as a way for t he reader to escape no matter where they are.

“Reading is an excellent way to r e l a x , a nd y ou c a n r e a d a book i ndoor s on a r a i ny d ay, o r o ut s i d e i n t h e s u n s h i n e ,” Smit h sa id. “ I l ike how reading a book ca n t ra nspor t you t o a n o t h e r p l a c e a n d t i m e .”

Smith said the event is a great w ay for t he c a mp u s c om munit y to build mental fortitude.

T he nov e l g iv e s p a r t ic ip a nt s t h e o p p o r t u n it y to r e l at e to the cha racters and the opport unit y to relate to each other.

T he Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a novel that focuses on k indness and the importance of self care. Smith said the book ’s message is ver y f itting to Racers Empower’s mission of promoting student health, bot h menta l ly and phy sica l ly.

“The event will focus on the message of kindness, and be a celebration of the semester and the last year, frank ly,” Smith said. “ We all need a reason to celebrate, and the fact that we, as a campus, have made it through the last yea r together is def in itely a ca l l for celebrat ion.”

S m it h s a i d t h i s e v e nt w i l l h e l p t h e c a m p u s c o m m u n ity feel less isolated and bring a sense of normalcy to ever yone.

Graphics courtesy of Racers Empower The book discussion will be on April 26 at 11 a.m.

“I think the most important thing for a person to feel or to know is that they are not alone,” Smith said. “We are here to suppor t a nd l i f t eac h ot her up.”

The in-person gathering for the event is limited to 40 peop l e . Fo r t h o s e w h o w i s h t o

attend virtually or when that capacity is reached there will also be a Zoom link on Murray State’s website under Racers Empower.

More information on the event and the featured novel can be found by searching “racers empower” in the search bar at www.murraystate.edu.

8

Features

April 8, 2021

Alumnus shares forestry experience Dionte Berry Features Editor dberry11@murraystate.edu Fresh from graduation, alumnus Nick Bohannon found himself taking on a job in the government with the U.S. Forest Service.

Bohannon graduated in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in conservation and wildlife biology law. He applied for this job in October 2019.

Bohannon is a part of the U.S. Forest Service Region 9 Timber Strike Team. He is stationed at the Shawnee National Forest near Murphysboro, Illinois, and a part of what he does is going through the forests looking for trees that would be good for timber.

“It’s interesting what we do,” Bohannon said. “We do timber sales for a lot of the Eastern region of the Forest Service, which encompasses from about Minnesota to Missouri, and all the way east up to Maine.”

Forests have timber extraction goals they have to meet, and it’s a part of Bohannon’s job to determine what trees are best to become timber.

“My team goes into forests and marks trees that need to be cut, need to be left and boundaries of the timber sales, and we also measure trees to get an estimation of the volume of timber,” Bohannon said.

When determining which trees should stay and which should go, Bohannon doesn’t just pick any trees, but picks trees that appea r as t hough t hey may d ie soon or have irreversible damage.

“Rather than letting those trees go to waste, we want to use them to stimulate the economy a little bit while also meeting our goals we have for the piece of land,” Bohannon said.

“We have a civil cultural forester who gives us a prescription for the land and it will have goals saying how dense the area should be, how many trees to take per acre and what types of trees to leave, so this is basically our guide.”

Each forest is addressed differently by the U.S. Forest Service. Bohannon said some are managed for certain wildlife species or tree species.

Bohannon’s team goes by the forest’s plans when determining trees for marking. From that point Bohannon said private logging companies bid on the timber and the government chooses what company gets to work on the land.

Trekking through forests to seek timber-worthy trees is only one part of the job.The other is traveling across parts of the eastern U.S. into various forests to make tree determinations. However, much of it has been put on hold.

“We haven’t been traveling much because of COVID-19, so we were stuck on the Shawnee National Forest which is our home unit,” Bohannon said. “However, last month I got to go to the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri and now I am in Indiana doing work at the Hoosier National Forest.”

With different forests Bohannon said he has to think on the fly with what he and his team does because

each forest has a different market they are providing timber for.

Despite the hefty workload and the traveling, Bohannon enjoys the job and is happy he got the opportunity.

“It’s a fast-paced job,” Bohannon said. “We switch gears a lot, but it keeps things interesting.

There is something new everyday.”

When Bohannon f irst set foot onto Murray State’s campus, he did not expect his life to take this route.

“In wildlife biology you don’t hear much about forestry, but at Murray State I learned a lot about how forestry management can really help ecosystems across the nation,” Bohannon said. “I thought that was really cool that someone somewhere got to make decisions that could benefit forests for years to come.”

Bohannon said he jumped on the opportunity early because he didn’t know how long the processing would take since he was applying for a government agency.

Once Bohannon got the job, he started right after he graduated, and he rea lized he did not know what he jumped into.

“I thought it was some sort of recreation job, I had absolutely no idea what this job was until I started,” Bohannon said. “They handed me all these forestry tools and I had no idea what I was doing, but I had the knowledge from Murray State and my team to guide me.”

Upon graduation, Bohannon knew he wanted to work for the Forest Service, but he did not know exactly what he wanted to do with the agency.

During his senior year, Bohannon applied to multiple places for work in preparation for his upcoming graduation, and as he was in the middle of an application he got a call from the U.S. Forest Service. From there, an interview was arranged. In January, he was notified he got the job.

“I was ecstatic to get a permanent job especially right before COVID-19,” Bohannon said.

Bohannon originall y w a nte d to do l a w c on s e rv a t i o n l a w e n fo r c e m e nt a n d the idea is still in the picture.

“I still want to do conservation law enforcement, but the vision has changed a little bit mainly because I just like working with these trees so much,” Bohannon said.

In his early college years, Bohannon had the idea of working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and he worked with them over the summer in 2018. He found that they were not the fit for him though, and he felt as though a wrench was thrown into his plans.

Howe v er, i n t he su m mer of 2019 he got a seasona l job w ith Forest Ser v ices in recreation, and Bohannon described it a s “a l e s s g l a moro u s j o b.”

“We maintained trails, picked up trash and refilled toilet paper in the porta-potties, and they really pulled me with this job,” Bohannon said.

“It seemed like family, even though I was the guy that was changing the toilet paper they still treated

Photos courtesy of Nick Bohannon Bohannon surveys trees in the Shawnee National Forest.

me the same as one the foresters that have been there for 30 years.”

A f te r B oh a n non fou nd t he agency he wanted to be a part of, the next move was for him to f ind t he job he wa nted.

Although Bohannon enjoys where he is right now, he sees himself possibly moving around within the U.S. Forest Service because he still wants to explore the law side.

I still have that law enforcement side driving me, but I want to be a timber sales administrator,” Bohannon said. “They are the people that make sure logging companies are holding up their end of the contract, rather than enforcing the law they are enforcing the contract.”

D u r i n g h i s t i me a s a R a cer, Bohannon was ex posed to the idea of forest work which inf luenced h is c hoice of work .

“I took a class where we went to Land Between the Lakes and we were f lipping logs looking for little salamanders and I thought it would be so cool to get to work at a place like this,” Bohannon said.

T h is idea was st reng t hened t h e mor e B oh a n non l e a r n e d in his courses concerning topics such as wildland fires, forestry management and recreation.

A f ter g raduat ing Boha nnon is happy to see t he pat h that his passion is tak ing him a long a nd t h ink s it ’s impor tant for others to do the same.

Apply yourself to your passions and really follow what makes you happy,” Bohannon said. “I will never make the most money in the world working for the federal government, but I am happy every single day I go to work.”