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@MurrayStateNews Sept. 16, 2021 | Vol. 96, No. 4

@TheMurrayStateNews

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

LIFESTYLE

Graduate’s thesis published in journal

Informing students of COVID-19 exposure

Exhibit honors former president’s daughter

page 2

page 4

Football takes first loss of the regular season page 5

page 7

Dionte Berry/The News A bov e is A ssistant P hilosophy P rofessor, Michelle P anchuk preparing to teach her ethics class.

Faculty express concerns about campus COVID-19 precautions who have families they go home to that they could possibly infect.

N ew s Editor For some professors, social media db erry1 1 @murraystate.edu has become a tool to share their feelWith COVID-19 vaccination ings about COVID-19 prevention.

History Professor David Pizrates rising, pandemic precautions are not as stringent as they were z o took to Twitter in the belast year. However Calloway Coun- ginning of the fall semester to ty is still in a highly transmissible share how COVID-19 has alzone, and although there is a vac- ready invaded his department. “ I t ’s d a y t w o . D e p t i s s o cine safety net there the risk remains.

COVID-ravaged I had to man the Students are not the only campus demographic being poten- front desk for several hours, half a tially exposed to COVID-19, fac- dozen students out with COVID ulty and staff can be potentially exposure,” Pizzo wrote. “A colexposed as well. Professors come league who runs one of our prointo contact with sometimes hun- grams in France had a stroke, but dreds of students a day while teach- could not get a real hospital bed. ing. These are the same people Dead. The first of many I fear.”

D ionte B erry

The Twitter thread received a lot of attention and is just one way that professors have shared their feelings.

A s s i s t a n t Pr o f e s s o r o f E n glish Ray Horton commented on The News’ Facebook concerning indoor masking on campus.

“A v a c c i n e r e q u i r e m e n t would be better and has been implemented at other coll e ge s , a n d u n i ve r s i t i e s ac ro s s the countr y, but this is a good st e p f o r w ard , ” H o r t on w ro t e.

After being back to classes for five weeks, Horton said he wishes there were more steps being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19.

see COVID-19, page 2

Graduate’s thesis published in journal

Erinn F inley Contributing Writer efinley1@murraystate.edu

A re c e n t g r a d u a t e o f M u r ray State presented her thesis at a national conference and published it in a peer-reviewed journal.

Amanda Swift, a 2020 marketing major graduate, presented her thesis at the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice 2020 conference. Because of COVID-19, Swift presented her thesis through Zoom instead of in person.

“I’ll admit that it was a bit disappointing to not be able to present in person,” Swift said. “There were only a few people who logged on to watch.

I was still very nervous though and practiced quite a bit beforehand.”

Assistant marketing professor Ismail Karabas was Swift’s thesis advisor. He worked with her to prepare her thesis and later to get it published.

Karabas says when he is helping students prepare for their defense, his goal is to make sure they are in the driver’s seat. This was the role he filled at first for Swift’s thesis.

“My role for the thesis is to guide and advise without too much input that overrides the student’s work, effort and room to grow,” Karabas said. “After defense, my role switched from being an advisor to the role of a co-author.”

Swift wrote her thesis on how consumers view corporate-owned, non-profit foundations compared to when corporations sponsor a non-profit organization.

see Thesis, page 2

Photo courtesy of Tandfonline.com The cov er of the j ournal Sw ift had her w ork published in.

NEWS

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Sept. 16, 2021

Thesis, from page 1

Photo courtesy of I smail K arab as A ssistant Mark eting P rofessor I smail K arabas and 2 0 2 0 graduate A manda Sw ift at Sw ift’s thesis defense pre- pandemic.

COVID-19, from page 1 “I’ve been told that one of the things holding us back from that is that all state universities in Kentucky want to be able to take action together. When Murray State implemented a mask mandate, it was within around a day of other universities in Kentucky implementing mask mandates,” Horton said. “I imagine if a vaccine mandate goes into place, it’ll be because all the universities of Kentucky got on the phone together. I would like to see us act on our own, because of how deeply in the red we are here in Calloway.”

Although he is happy to be back in class Horton said the risk of COVID-19 is hindering his teaching.

“One wrong move, and I’m bringing this deadly virus back home to my kids. There’s this weird tension where if I’m able to kind of get in the zone in the classroom and really concentrate on what we’re doing I’m extraordinarily happy to be back,” Horton said. “Then there’s a minute I drift out to realize the reality of where we are, and we’re in the red zone.”

Horton’s way of teaching is interactive and group oriented, but with COVID-19 he’s altered his teaching style in order to lessen COVID-19 transmission possibilities.

Compared to last fall, Horton said it is almost as if people are putting on blinders to avoid seeing the problems and spread of COVID-19.

Horton has two children who are not yet old enough to get vaccinated, and the last thing he wants to do is bring back COVID-19 and accidentally infect them. To defend against the virus, Horton is vaccinated and al way s wears a N95 mask while teaching.

In response to COVID-19, Horton wishes a vaccine mandate were put in place, but sees the incentives as a step in the right direction.

“The incentive is better than nothing. I’m glad they’re doing it, I really do applaud everybody in the Student Government Association who’s been taking the lead, who are

really working hard to encourage their peers to get vaccinated,” Horton said.

However, Horton looks to other schools that have more stringent policies and thinks Murr ay S tate could benefit from m o r e COV I D - 1 9 p r o t o c o l s .

Horton said a possible new protocol could be routine COVID-19 testing so there can be a better picture of what the case rates on campus look like.

With the vaccine card uploads, Horton questions whether the percentage of uploads will be reflective of actual campus numbers, and if that information will ever be made public regarding the vaccination rate.

“One of the first questions I had for my department chair when the semester began was, ‘Will we ever get any information about what percentage of the campus is vaccinated?’ ” Horton said. “Because Calloway County we know is maybe around 50%? Is Murray State also the student body like around 50%?

Or is it more like, you know, 85%?”

The incentive is better than nothing. I’m glad they’re doing it, I really do applaud everybody in the Student Government Association who’s been taking the lead, who are really working hard to encourage their peers to get vaccinated.

— Ray Horton, assistant professor of English

Assistant Prof essor of P hi losophy Michelle Panchuk also said more needs to be done in order to combat COVI D-19.

Panchuk is unsure if incentives will be enough to get Murray State to an 80% vaccination rate.

“I think that many of the people who still remain unvaccinated today are unvaccinated because they have either ideological or scientific concerns about the safety of the vaccine,” Panchuk said. “If someone is either not convinced

Swift said Karabas sent her research to Professor Sky King at Weber State University in Ogden,Utah, to review and revise. Karabas and King worked together to edit and format Swift’s thesis for journal publication.

“After Amanda completed her thesis with the help of the third co-author, Dr. Sky King, we revised it for the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing,” Karabas said.

“Although we all contributed to this work, Amanda is the first author because this is a product of her thesis.”

Karabas said the process to get the thesis published was straightforward. Karabas and King revised the thesis and then submitted it to the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing. They received the first decision after a few months, and revised based on the reviewers’ suggestions before resubmitting.

Karabas and King worked diligently on the reviewers’ comments and then resubmitted within a couple months.

After another couple of months they received the final acceptance decision.

Karabas said some papers can go through as many as four rounds of revisions. He says on average, papers go through two rounds of revisions, but they were fortunate enough to only have to do one revision for the journal.

Swift says that from the beginning Karabas told her he wanted her thesis to be about more than a grade.

“He talked about presenting at a conference and getting it published from day one, so that was always our goal,” Swift said. “I think it made me work harder and take more pride in the work that we were doing.”

Karabas said he encourages his students to set goals of presenting and publishing their theses. He says

completing a thesis is good, but the difference on the job market is what a student has done with their thesis.

Karabas says he was very exc i t e d t o s u b m i t t h i s p a p e r.

“I was very happy and proud when we received the acceptance notice,” Karabas said. “This is my first paper with an undergraduate student whom I mentored. Having published with my PhD advisor, it was a dream of mine to one day publish with my students and it came true.”

From this experience Swift said she learned to not talk yourself out of tr ying.

“What this experience has taught me is to not exclude yourself from something because you think you’re too young or too inexperienced,” Swift said. “Right now you may be saying ‘I’m just a college student I can’t do that,’ but you’re so much more than that. Learn to embrace it because you might just find that you can exceed your own expectations.”

Swift is currently working as a paralegal in Louisville, Kentucky.

Swift said that although being a paralegal was not what she initially planned, she put her marketing skills to use. She created a new website for the law firm and helped them prepare for a conference. She says she hopes to find a marketing-based job in the future.

“It is rare for undergraduate students to publish at quality double-blind peer-review journals,” Karabas said. “This is the main reason why I think Amanda accomplished a big goal, and I hope it is an inspiration to other students. A productive research agenda can help both for an industry job and an academic job.”

Swift’s article can be found in the August 2021 edition of the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, or at https://doi.org/1 0.1080/10495142.2021.1941499.

G rap hic courtesy of the C D C The county CO V I D - 1 9 map show s that all of K entuck y is a highly transmissable z one.

that COVID is real, or at least not a real health threat or they think that the vaccine poses a threat to their health, I have doubts that the incentives are going to overcome that sort of reason.”

Since the beginning of the semester, Panchuk has been exposed a couple of times and has had to get tested as a result. Like Horton, she also wears a N95 mask while teaching.

Despite having to get tested multiple times, Panchuk was glad to finally see her students in-person.

“I am so happy to be back in the classroom. Teaching on Z oom wasn’t as difficult as I thought that it would be and i t w e n t m u c h b e t t e r, ” P a n c huk said. “ It ’s not t he same as being in the classroom, f e e l i n g t h e e n e r g y f rom s t u dents getting the sort of visual cues from body language about how students are interacting with the information.”

Panchuk compared her classes from Fal l 2020 and Fal l 2021. Most of her classes were on Zoom and now many of her c lasses hard l y have any empty seats, but Calloway County

is still a red zone the only difference is the vaccine roll out.

W ith the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine being FDA approved, Pa n c h u k t h i n k s i t w o u l d b e a good step for the university to issue a vaccine mandate.

“We already have vaccine mandates for colleges and schools around the country, it wouldn’t be unprecedented to require vaccines in order to attend an institution of education,” Panchuk said.

Along with Horton, Panchuk would like to see more transparency when it comes to the reporting of vaccine percentages, so there could be a firmer idea of what precautions need to be taken.

Panchuk said students have an important voice that wil l be listened to when it comes to the pandemic. “ The student population has a re a l l y i m p o r t a n t v o i c e a n d role to play as we seek to get these sor ts of changes made,” Pa n c h u k s a i d . “ I t h i n k t h a t students who are concerned about the current situation co u l d d o a l o t by u si ng t h e i r voice to express what they think the universit y needs to b e d o i n g t o k e e p t h e m s a f e. ”

OPINION

Sept. 16, 2021

3

The News Reviews: ‘The Windsor Knot’ P am Good w in Chief Copy Editor p goodwin1 @murraystate.edu When one thinks of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, one is likely to picture an old woman in a brightly colored dress and matching hat. Behind closed doors, however, the little old lady in the hat knows far more than she lets on. Her Majesty spends her days doing her boxes, attending public engagements and preventing her children from uprooting the entire monarchy with many, many scandalous secrets. In “The Windsor Knot,” S. J. Bennett imagines a world in which one of the monarchy’s many secrets is, in my opinion, not the most scandalous secret they have.

The novel opens at Windsor Castle in 2016, the morning after a dine-and-sleep hosted by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. HRH has invited several Russian nationals, including a billionaire and his wife, a 24-year-old pianist with an anti-Putin blog, two ballerinas and the Russian ambassador. At the same time, the Governor of Windsor Castle is hosting a small group of experts on Chinese foreign policy in hopes of uncovering China’s true intentions behind their new trade plan, the Belt and Road.

The morning af ter the dine-and-sleep, Her Majest y ’s Private S ecretar y, S ir S imon, informs her that the pianist, Maksim Brodsky, has been found dead in his room of what appears to be an accidental suicide. Brodsky was found in a wardrobe with a tie around his neck, a c ase of autoerotic asphyxiation gone wrong. Howe ver, the police investigation finds that the knot was haphaz ard l y tied, leading to a suspicion of foul play.

Because of Brodsky ’s anti-Putin side blog, MI5 is convinced that P utin ordered a hit on the man through a sleeper agent in the Royal

Household. But Her Majesty isn’t convinced. In secret, she launches her own investigation via the ser vices of her Assistant Private Secretar y, Rozie Oshodi. Oshodi then travels all over England, inter viewing Brodsky ’s friends and old classmates to find out who might be responsible for his death.

As Oshodi conducts interviews, the Q ueen learns that one of the members of the Chinese trade experts, Rachel Stiles, has been found dead in her apartment of an apparent overdose. Just a little while later, one of Brodsky ’s old school friends, Anita Moodie, is also found dead. MI5 dismisses both of these deaths as simply tragic, but Her Majesty isn’t convinced. She sends Oshodi to investigate the connection between the two women, and what she discovers is a plot twist that rivals those of Agatha Christie.

Through Oshodi’s interviews and a former police officer named Billy MacLachlan, Her Majesty discovers the truth behind Brodsky ’s death.

Rather than take her findings to the MI5 officers herself, she has MacLachlan slowly feed her information to the officers in order to convince those officers that they, not the Q ueen, solved the case. In an inter view with the investigation’s leaders, the Q ueen “ learns” the three deaths were not wholly unrelated. “ The W indsor Knot ” has a 3.58/5 star rating on Goodreads, and I can see why.

The idea of Q ueen Elizabeth II being some sort of secret “Sherlock Holmes” is intriguing, and what made me pick up this book in the first place.

Bennett ’s writing is wonderful and feels real, and it ’s abundantly clear that she’s done a lot of research into the inner workings of the monarchy.

But, this novel focuses ver y heavily on the crime itself, and not so much on the characters. In the few conversations the Q ueen has with

Photo courtesy of A maz on ‘ The Windsor K not’ by S. J . B ennett, is published by HarperCollins in 2 0 2 0 .

others, she’s always talking about or thinking about the murder, and the reader doesn’t get a real sense of who the Q ueen is as a character. She’s almost relegated to the background, like a boss who stays in their office all day and has someone else do most of the work.

The Q ueen isn’t the only character who falls into this hole. We learn a lot about Rozie Oshodi through her conversations with Brodsky ’s friends and one of the Q ueen’s former APMs, but I honestly cannot tell if she has a personality of her own.

Oshodi does about 97% of Her Majesty ’s sleuthing for

her, and MacLachlan does the other three. This doesn’t feel like the myster y-solving, Nancy Drew-esque Q ueen Elizabeth II I expected, but it absolutely makes sense in context with how the real monarchy functions. I give this novel a solid 4/5 stars.

Despite its flaws, this novel has an intriguing plot and is well-written. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes a cozy, feel-good myster y, or someone who wants to see the Q ueen in a new, exciting way.

If you’re interested in “ The W indsor Knot,” you can find it on Amazon.com or you can check it out through the Calloway County Public Librar y.

The News Reviews: The Met Gala Fits Some of us found AOC's dress to be a power move, while others thought it was performative.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's outfits were off the mark for the theme of American fashion.

Lil Nas X looked good in gold on the Met Gala carpet.

Our favorite at the Met was Quannah Chasinghorse.

Her outfit reflects Indigenous culture through the Navajo jewelry she is wearing, which represents protection, guidance and love.

Kim Petras' outfit was a unique take on the theme, and we thought it was camp.

Dionte Berry, Emery Wainscott/The News

OPINION

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Sept. 16, 2021

Informing Students of Exposure The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.

G abe Steffen/ The News

Gab e S tef f en O pinion Editor gsteffen@murraystate.edu

W

e’ve been living with the COVID-19 virus for over a year now.

Most of us are experts in dealing with exposure and keeping each other safe. Despite this, it’s come to the attention of us here on the Editorial Board that Murray State University doesn’t have a policy indicating what faculty should do if a student exposes their class to the virus.

What should be done in order to inform students of their exposure? Should faculty be obligated to inform their students of exposure?

First, we need to look at the policy that Murray State does have with COVID-19. According to the University website, all individuals, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, must wear face masks indoors. They also recommend getting vaccinated, and if a student or someone other than faculty or staff have been exposed to the virus, they are asked to quarantine at home… and that’s it. Other than the Racer Safe and Healthy Guidelines, faculty or staff have no idea whether to inform their students if they have been exposed. What would happen if a student who was exposed caught the virus, and didn’t know? They would then expose even more people, leading to a ripple effect of infection. That is not only dangerous, but irresponsible on the University’s part.

Now, we know that knowing they’ve been exposed can cause fear and terror among students.

This is a scary thing, but it’s better to know and take precautions and be scared for the time being than being unaware of your exposure and spreading it to more people because you weren’t informed of exposure.

We aren’t saying that faculty won’t tell their students if they are exposed, but it could happen.

There could be a faculty member who doesn’t see COVID-19 as a big deal, and could continue

CHEERS....

coming to class after exposure, thus exposing each of their students to the virus. This would be unacceptable and would cause our already high case number to rise even further. Being exposed is scary, but having the virus and unknowingly spreading it to others is even scarier.

Faculty should be obligated to share this information with their students. Whether or not there is a policy in place, all faculty should understand the risks that are caused by continuing an in-person curriculum. Despite

JEERS....

CHEERS

JEE

to most Kentucky schools keeping their mask mandate in place! Gotta keep the kids safe!

RS

wearing masks, it’s unknown who could be carrying the virus, and it can transmit in other ways, including papers carrying bacteria or lending a pencil or pen to someone who doesn’t have one. We here on the Editorial Board call upon the University to implement a policy that would have faculty and staff inform students of their exposure if they have been exposed.

It makes the University safer and gives us a higher chance of eradicating this virus and ending the pandemic.

&

to my last paper as the Opinion Editor. This is Gabe Steffen, signing off.

JEERS

THE

Murray State

NEWS Editorial Board

@themurraystatenews

@MurrayStateNews

www.thenews.org

The Murray State News

Dionte Berry News Editor dberry11@murraystate.edu

Emery Wainscott Lifestyle Editor ewainscott@murraystate.edu

Gabe Steffen Opinion Editor gsteffen@murraystate.edu

Pam Goodwin Chief Copy Editor pgoodwin1@murraystate.edu

Kate Manley Ad Sales Manager kmanley2@murraystate.edu

Sam Stewart Photo Editor sstewart26@murraystate.edu

Joey Reynolds Chief Videographer jreynolds38@murraystate.edu

Jakob Milani Sports Editor jmilani@murraystate.ediu

Dr. Carol Terracina-Hartman Faculty Adviser cterracinahartman@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 gsteffen@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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The News is an independent weekly student-run newspaper published at Murray State. The content does not reflect the opinions of the Murray State journalism and mass communication department.

Sept. 16, 2021

SPORTS

5

Photo courtesy of D av e W inder/ R acer A thletics J unior q uarterb ack Preston R ice av oids p ressure from the C incinnati defense late in the game. The B earcats defeated the R acers 4 2 - 7 on Saturday, Sep t. 1 1 .

Football takes first loss of the regular season J ak ob Milani Sports Editor j milani@murraystate.edu The Murray State football team took its first loss of the Fall 2021 season on Saturday, Sept. 11, when they fell to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats by a score of 42-7.

Despite a tied score of 7-7 at halftime, the Racers were unable to hold on as they allowed 35 unanswered points in the second half.

Head Coach Dean Hood praised the team’s first-half play.

“It was a tale of two halves,”he said.

The Racers started with the ball on their own 23-yard line and began a long drive up the field. Junior quarterback Preston Rice got the drive going with an 11-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Deshaun Britten, then followed it up with back-to-back complete passses to sophomore wide receiver Jacob Bell. After a false start call moved the Racers back five yards, Rice found Bell again for a 11 yard gain.

Later on in the drive, Rice completed a pass to Britten for a 12 yard gain, moving the Racers up to the Cincinnati 24-yard line.

But, the Racers finished the drivewith a zero on the scoreboard after Rice overthrew a deep ball to Bell in the endzone, leading to Rice’s first interception of the game.

The Bearcats took over at their own 11-yard line, but the Racers defense managed to hold the Bearcats off and force a quick punt after just three plays.

The Racers took the punt up to their 35 yard line, where their next long drive began. On third down and seven, Rice completed a 16-yard pass to senior wide receiver Malik Honeycutt, his first

reception of the season. After another false start penalty, Rice found Britten downfield for a 23-yard catch, moving the Racers up to Cincinnati’s 28 yard line.

Following the Racers fourth false start penalty of the quarter, Rice kept the ball moving with a 12 yard rush that advanced the ball up to Cincinnati’s 16 yard line. The Racers ended the first quarter with a fifth false start penalty, adding up to five total penalties and 25 yards lost.

However, the Racers didn’t walk off the field empty-handed on this drive as Rice rushed in for a one-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, marking his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.

This put the Racers up with a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Following the touchdown, the Racers defense stepped up yet again, forcing another punt for the Bearcats and keeping the score at 7-0; however, on the next drive for the Racers, Rice threw his second interception of the game, giving the Bearcats the ball at Murray State’s 40-yard line.

The Bearcats made quick work of the defense with their field position. Senior quarterback Desmond Ridder started the drive with a 19-yard pass to senior wide receiver Alec Pierce, then junior running back Jerome Ford followed it up with an 11-yard rush to move the ball up to the Racers’ 10 yard line. Three plays later, Ridder completed a two-yard pass to graduate tight end Noah Davis for a touchdown, tying the game at 7.

Rice threw his third interception of the game on the next drive, giving the Bearcats another drive with good field position, but the Racers’ defense held them out of the end zone, to keep the score tied.

Neither defense was willing to give way for the rest of the half and the two teams went into the locker rooms at halftime tied 7-7.

The Racers controlled the ball for 21 minutes and 53 seconds in the first half, much longer than Cincinnati’s 8 minutes and 7 seconds of possession time.

The Racers also out threw the Bearcast with 134 passing yards to 38 passing yards in the half.

The switch was flipped in the second half as the Bearcats offense started to take over almost completely. On their first drive, Ridder completed two deep passes to Pierce and sophomore wide receiver Tyler Scott, setting up a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Ford to give the Bearcats a 14-7 lead.

Ford continued to rush through the Racers defense on the next drive, recording a 20-yard rush later on in the drive to put the ball on the Murray State 20 yard line. Two plays later, Ridder set the Bearcats up for success with a 17-yard pass to graduate wide receiver Michael Young. Ford capped the drive off with another rushing touchdown, this time from eight yards out to put the Bearcats up 21-7.

The Bearcats kept piling on the points in the half as Ridder found Scott downfield again later in the game for a 23 yard touchdown reception, extending the lead to 28-7. On the next drive, Ridder found yet another receiver open downfield as he completed a 48-yard pass to graduate wide receiver Tre Tucker. The deep pass helped set up a three yard rushing touchdown by Ford to push the score to 35-0.

The Bearcats brought in backup freshman quarterback Evan

Prater to finish out the fourth quarter and he was sure to put his name on the scoreboard.

After a fumble recovery on kickoff, Prater made short work of the Racers defense, completing an 18-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Payten Singletary on the first play of the drive. The touchdown boosted the Bearcats to a 42-7 lead where the score stood as the time wound down.

Hood compared the team’s solid first-half performance and their fall in the second half.

Hood said the turnovers were a major part of the loss for the Racers.

“We played really well in the first half, actually probably should have gone into halftime up six or three points. We left points out there on the field… In the second half, we just really didn’t play as well as we did in the first. We just turned the ball over and in a game with five turnovers and only one from them, it’s never going to be good no matter who you play.”

Hood also spoke about the team’s early success on offense in the first half. He said it was just part of the game plan for the Racers going in.

“We wanted to run the ball but we threw the ball more than normal early on,” Hood said. “We just felt like that’s where we had a chance to move the ball and the kids were catching the ball well, Preston was throwing the ball well, the defense was getting off the field quickly. The problem in the second half was the defense couldn’t get off the field.”

The Racers fall to 1-1 on the season and will look to bounce back on Saturday, Sept. 18, when they travel to take on Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Kickoff for the game is set for 4 p.m.

Racer Soccer drops OT match against Kentucky

R ach el Essner Staff Writer ressner1 @murraystate.edu The Murray State soccer team suffered a tough loss against the University of Kentucky on Sunday, Sept. 12.

The Wildcats were first on the board, finding the net with a penalty kick in the 25th minute. Graduate midfielder Izzy Heckman hit the equalizer goal in the 39th minute, making the score 1-1 to finish the first half.

The Racers were able to take the lead in the 12th minute of the second half when sophomore forward Chloe Barnthouse put the ball past the Wildcats’ goalkeeper, making the score 2-1. Just nine minutes later, the Wildcats were able to even the score, ending the 90 minutes at 2-2 and sending the teams into overtime.

The Wildcats were able to put the ball past junior goalkeeper Jenna Villacres, leading the Racers to a heartbreaking 3-2 loss after a total of 92 minutes.

UK outshot Murray State 21-13 with nine shots on goal compared to five from the Racers. The Racers shot nine corner kicks while the Wildcats shot seven. Meanwhile, both teams finished with eight total fouls.

Villares totaled six saves during the game while the Wildcats counted three. The Racers now sit at a 4-3 record.

With conference games starting in just two weeks, Muuray State looks to improve their record over the next few games and keep some momentum going. Murray State will return to Cutchin Field on Sunday, Sept.

19, to compete against Southern Illinois University at 1 p.m.

J ak ob Milani/ The News

SPORTS

6

Sept. 16, 2021

Photo courtesy of R acer A thletics Senior outside hitter Emily Matson recorded three spik es and four k ills in the R acers 3 - 0 w in ov er F I U .

Volleyball sweeps Eagle Invitational In Georgia

R ach el Essner Staff Writer ressner1 @murraystate.edu After a very successful weekend in Statesboro, Georgia, the Murray State volleyball team improved their record to 5-3 overall with two wins in the Eagle Classic on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11.

Game One Murray State opened the Invitational with a 3-0 win against Florida International University.

The teams stayed close in points in the first set, tying the game at 16 with kills from senior middle blocker Kolby McClelland, junior outside hitter Alysha Smith, freshman outside hitter Brooke Lynn Watts and sophomore middle blocker Darci Metzger. However, after a 6-2 run, the Racers were able to pull ahead to 22-18.

With two back-to-back kills from McClelland and Metzger,

the Racers took the set 25-21.

The Racers carried their momentum into the second set, taking the early lead at 14-4 with kills from Smith, McClelland, Watts and Metzger. In an effort to catch up, the Panthers went on an 8-2 run to make the score 22-18. However, with kills from Smith and McClelland, the Racers took the set at 25-21.

Murray State was quick to take the lead in the third set, using a 7-1 run for an 11-6 advantage.

The Panthers were able to come within two points of the Racers at 24-22, but a kill from McClelland closed out the set 25-22.

Senior libero Becca Fernandez led the defense with 22 digs while sophomore defensive specialist Dahlia Miller collected 12 digs. Freshman setter Bailey DeMier tallied 44 assists and seven digs.

Watts counted 15 kills, followed

by Metzger with 13 and McClelland with 12 kills. McClelland also added two service aces.

Game Two Fernandez and Watts were unstoppable against Georgia Southern University as the Racers took a 3-1 win.

The Eagles took the early lead at 10-7 in the first set, but with a 6-2 run, the Racers took control at 13-12.

The Eagles were never able to regain the lead as kills from Watts, Metzger and McClelland were able to help the Racers close out the set 25-23.

The teams kept the score close in the second set, tying at 11.

However, Georgia Southern was able to gain control with a 5-1 run, making the score 16-13. Kills from Watts, McClelland, Smith, Metzger and senior outside hitter Emily Matson brought the Racers within one point of the Eagles at 24-23, but Georgia Southern was able to close out the set 25-23.

Murray State jumped to a quick 10-4 lead in the third set with kills from McClelland, Watts and sophomore opposite hitter Jay-

la Holcombe. The Racers continued increasing the gap, as a kill from Watts and a service ace from Miller closed out the set 25-19.

A 9-2 run gave the Racers the advantage in the fourth set at 15-7. An 8-3 run from Murray State led the Racers to take the set 25-14, making it a 3-1 win against the Eagles.

Fernandez collected 19 digs, leading her to the top spot on Murray State’s All-Time Digs leaderboard, passing Kayleah Sauer (2008-11) with a total of 2,166 career digs. Miller and Matson respectively counted 14 and 13 digs.

Along with Fernandez,Watts was another record breaker with an astounding 34 total kills to break the Four-Set Single Match Kills Record. McClelland also reached double digit kills with 10 while DeMier tallied 53 assists.

With hopes for another successful weekend, the Racers will continue on the road to Evansville, Indiana on Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18, to compete in the Dunn Hospitality Tournament.

Photo courtesy of D av e W inder/R acer A thletics

Senior libero B ecca F ernandez brok e Murray State’s all time digs record on Saturday, Sept.1 1 agains G eorgia Southern U niv ersity.

Fernandez breaks Racers’ Digs Record

R ach el Essner Staff Writer ressner1 @murraystate.edu

On Saturday, Sept. 11, Murray State volleyball player senior libero Becca Fernandez broke the record for Murray State’s All-Time Digs during a game against Georgia Southern University.

The record was previously held

by Kayleah Sauer (2008-11) who finished her career with 2,165 total digs. Fernandez counted 19 digs against Georgia Southern to surpass Sauer by one, totaling 2,166 career digs and counting.

The Carol Stream, Illinois native began her volleyball career in fifth grade on her grade school team, the earliest she was able to. Fernandez said she continued playing on club teams all the way through her senior year of high school in addition to playing for St. Francis High School.

“I started on the freshman B-team at

my high school,” Fernandez said. “Not even the A-team, but in their defense I didn’t have contacts yet so I couldn’t see anything so I wasn’t very good.”

Fernandez joined the varsity team her junior year, where she played with many good athletes who also went on to play Division 1 college volleyball. Because of this, St. Francis won state in 2015 with Fernandez playing libero. However, during Fernandez’s senior year, St. Francis lost in Sectional Semifinals.

Despite the loss, Fernandez was still named to All-Area and All-Conference teams in both her years on the varsity team. Additionally, Fernandez was named Tournament MVP at the National Junior Classic in 2016 as well as being named to the All-Tournament teams of two other tournaments.

Fernandez said she had a lot of help on her way to becoming a Murray State record-breaker.

“I’m so thankful for all of my past teammates and current teammates,” Fernandez said. “I couldn’t do it without the block, the setter or anyone else in the back row. As much as this is a ‘me’ accomplishment, it really was a team accomplishment because it wouldn’t have been possible without everyone else.”

In addition to her teammates, Fernandez said her family has been her motivation on her journey to where she is now.

“They are my biggest supporters,” Fernandez said. “My parents and siblings all try to come to whatever they can and are the first ones to tell me congrats or the first ones to pick me up when I’m down.”

Fernandez, along with the whole team, have many goals for the remainder of the season. Fernandez said their biggest goal is to win the OVC Tournament and the NCAA Championship. How-

ever, Fernandez said there are still a few things to work out.

“Right now, especially preseason, we have tunnel vision of working out the kinks and everything we need to fix, making sure we make it through the weekend and figuring out baseline stuff,” Fernandez said.

As far as after her time playing for Murray State, Fernandez does not want to continue playing volleyball, but plans on finishing her master’s degree in business and is aiming for finding a job in June 2022 so she is able to work while going to school.

“I am perfectly at peace with leaving my [volleyball] career as it is,” Fernandez said. “I’m hoping to do something in business. I don’t know what that is yet, but as far as goals and aspirations, I have a ton of them, just not super specific yet.”

As for now, Fernandez will continue increasing her record and shining in the back row.

Sept. 16, 2021

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Exhibition honors former president’s daughter to do in her memory. She had a Mason Galemore passion for the arts, particularly Contributing Writer mgalemore@murraystate.edu in design and photography. She seemed to be a natural.”

Littlefield was the director of This year’s “The Magic Silver Show” celebrates the memory of the Foley Gallery in New York the late Elena Curris, the daugh- City from 2016 to 2019. She ter of Murray State’s sixth presi- curated projects featured in the dent Constantine Curris and his Pulse Art Fair, HuffPost and Whitewall Magazine. As a juror, wife Jo Curris. she was in charge of viewing and “The Magic Silver Show: The qualifying submissions.

Elena Diane Curris Juried PhoShe chose from over 800 photography Exhibition” features work from regional, national and tography and video submissions for this exhibition. She said the international artists. task was long and complicated.

Sherri Littlefield juried the “The exhibition is meant to exhibition and Director of encourage people to work in University Galleries T. Michael photography,” Littlefield said.

Martin curated the opening on Wednesday, Sept. 8. The event is “It is such a unique artform and currently on display in the Clara compared to other artforms, like painting, it is fairly new. PhoM. Eagle Gallery of the Price tography is everywhere and is Doyle Fine Arts Center.

Forty-five photographers from ubiquitous with everyday life.”

The work featured was from across the U.S. and from international locations qualified for the several different genres including event. “The Magic Silver Show” portrait, landscape, abstract and street photography. Littlefield has been part of Murray State’s said there was no main theme Fine Arts Department since the and she looked for photographs 1970s. that pushed the limits conceptuElena Curris received her ally and visually.

Bachelor of Arts in marketing, Some photographers told communication and photography from the University of Alabama. stories through their images.

She was an avid traveler and vis- The image “Subway Father” by ited Kenya and Western Europe, Claude Beller shows a father feeding his infant child on a subtaking photographs along the way in New York City. way.

Claudia Paul was featured with “She was really the daughter her “Faces of Resilience” project. of Murray State,” Constantine The project’s focus was healthCurris said. “With her unexcare workers on the frontlines of pected passing we thought long COVID-19. Each photo showed and hard about what we wanted

Mary Huffman/The News This year’s exhibtion honors the late Elena Curris, daughter of Murray State’s sixth president.

the faces of doctors and nurses and depicted their experiences as workers during the pandemic.

Several artists focused on the aesthetic of photography.

Todd Birdsong’s image “Currently 900” showed a tree with

digital glitches to create an artistic effect. Another image “Intensity” by Steve Barger showed the Northern Lights in Norway in 2019.

see Exhibition, page 8

Developmental program opens for children with autism Emery Wainscott Lifestyle Editor ewainscott@murraystate.edu The Early Childhood Program for children with autism or a delay in development had its opening ceremony on Friday, Sept. 10. Co-supervisor Sean Simons said the program was designed to meet a need in the community for more individualized therapy.

The program is staffed 1:1, primarily by Murray State students with supervising faculty.

Children must be between the ages of two and six years old.

The program meets Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon in John W. Carr Hall.

“Children at risk for a developmental delay, especially autism, can be reliably diagnosed during the early childhood period,” said Simons, director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. “For autism, most children as early as 18-24 months can be reliably identified.”

The CASD has been able to raise funds for financial aid options. Those interested in donating to this fund can visit their page on Murray State’s website and click “Support Our Efforts.”

This program is one of the services offered through Murray State’s CASD. Other services include diagnostic evaluations for families who suspect their child may have autism or a developmental delay. Evaluations cost $250 and are supervised by a licensed psychologist. Workshops and training for parents are also available on a fluctuating schedule.

In the Early Childhood Program, those enrolled are able to participate in dramatic play, a sensory table, math, puzzles, writing, art and a building block

center. The children’s time is split between the play centers and individual work to achieve their targeted goals with a graduate assistant.

After arrival, children begin in the play centers, then go to the gym to strengthen their gross motor skills, which involve whole-body movements. After these exercises, the children meet back in the classroom to read stories and sing songs.

The program currently has four children enrolled. The classroom has the capacity to serve five full-time children, said Jessica Branch, co-supervisor for the Early Childhood Program.

“The age range of 2 years up to 6 years of age was chosen because this is a critical time in development,” said Branch, who also is the program coordinator for the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Program. “The majority of brain growth occurs within the first five years of a child’s life, and therefore it is the perfect time to provide early intervention.”

The program length will differ depending on the child’s and the family’s goals. At the end of each semester, the program’s teams and the family will evaluate the child’s progress, Branch said.

“The goal is to meet children where they are developmentally to provide individualized services,” Branch said. “We would like to see all children be successful in their future educational environments.”

The program was designed to accommodate parents who experience long wait times or who want a more one-on-one approach, Simons said.

“Dr. Branch and I are trained school professionals—her as an early childhood educator and myself as a school

Photo courtesy of Sean Simons The Early Childhood program’s classroom features multiple play centers for students to use.

psychologist—so we are advocates of our public school districts,” Simons said. “Our goal is to either transition children into a classroom setting when they are ready or, in some cases, private therapy that can better meet their needs long-term.”

Branch said she has been working with Simons for over a year and a half on the program, but it was in the works long before she was in the picture.

In their time on the project, they have received two grants to fund classroom materials and furniture. They looked at several different spaces before settling on Carr Hall, and then they set up a donor page.

“Dr. Simons and I have attended trainings out of state and have then trained the students who are working in the center,” Branch said. “Some of the obstacles that we face are finding ways to balance this service with our full faculty teaching loads and requirements.”

Simons earned his Ph.D. in school psychology from Oklahoma State University. He is currently a licensed psychologist and board certified behavior analyst.

Before coming to Murray State, he worked in public schools and the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, which is only one of five National Institutes of Health Autism Centers of Excellence in the world.

Branch, who directly supervises the classroom two days a week, earned her master’s in special education: mild to moderate and moderate to severe licensure from University of Toledo. Her Ph.D. is in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in special education from the University of Toledo.

She taught as an intervention specialist in a public preschool and then worked as a preschool special education director in Ohio prior to moving to Western Kentucky.

Parents who are interested in enrolling their children in the Early Childhood Program can visit murraystate.edu/autism and fill out a request form. A faculty member from the program will reach out once submitted.

For more information about the CASD and the Early Childhood Program, visit their page on Murray State’s website.

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Exhibition, from page 7 One theme explored during the exhibit was the personal aspect of photography, such as in the work photographer Deanna Dikeman’ exhibits. From 1991 to 2017, Dikeman photographed her parents waving goodbye from their driveway each time she left their house.

Each photograph of the project signified the passage of time. In one photo, Dikeman’s infant son is seen riding in the back of her car as her parents are waving goodbye.

In the next photo, her son is seen as an adult in 2015 waving goodbye to his grandmother.

“I never set out to make a series,” Dikeman said. “I just took these photographs as a way to deal with the sadness of leaving. As I accumulated these photographs, I found a story about family, aging and the sorrow of saying goodbye.”

In another photograph, Sandy Miller Sasso depicted a lace dress on a backdrop of trees. According

Sept. 16, 2021

to her website, sandymillersasso. com, Sasso was born on a cattle farm in North Carolina, where she frequently visited family in the Appalachian Mountains. Her experience of living around wide fields of farmland features prominently in her work.

Littlefield ended her presentation by explaining the importance of creating. As a photographer, it is important to reach out to independent photo agencies, she said.

“The more you create the more you see what’s working,” Littlefield said. “Keep having fun with your work. It should never feel like a chore and should be something that comes from the heart.”

The exhibition will be available to the public until Oct. 18. The Clara M. Eagle Gallery is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the College of Humanities and Fine Arts’s website at murraystatechfa. wordpress.com.

Mary Huffman/The News The exhibition displays w ork from 4 5 different photographers across the U S and internationally.

P hotos courtesy of Sandy Miller Sasso and C. Todd B irdsong Work from Sandy Miller Sasso (t op) and D ebi D anielson (b ottom) is on display at the exhibit.