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Dining locations at Murray State have been recently closed by Racer Dining because of multiple positive COVID-19 tests among employees.

This was reported to The News by an employee who wishes to re-main anonymous and who also said Racer Dining has put them in a peculiar situation that is unfair.

The week of Oct. 25, Steak ‘n Shake was closed in the Thorough-bred Room after two employees tested positive for COVID-19 in two sep-arate T-Room venues. Racer Dining immediately contacted its employ-ees over the course of the next day.

The anonymous employee was alert-ed on Oct. 26 that she had been ex-posed to someone who tested posi-tive for the coronavirus. She said she was told that she would have to take two weeks off without pay during this time, even if she tested negative.

“I was like ‘this is the job I use to buy groceries with, pay part of my bills, so I can’t go two weeks without pay,’” she said. “And unemployment is not an option because I’m not a full-tim-er, I’m a student worker, so even if I tried to apply for it I wouldn’t get ap-proved for it within the two weeks off.”

The Steak ‘n Shake location has since reopened. She said the ex-act situation happened at Chick-fil-A earlier in the semester when the location also temporarily closed.

She said she was told by Cristy Vi-tale, a retail manager for Racer Dining, that Sodexo couldn’t do anything for her and that she and any other employ-ees would not be paid for the time off unless they tested positive for COVID.

“Everyone’s just kind of upset and we don’t feel like it should be a legal thing to happen to be forced off for those two weeks,” she said. “And a lot of people are scared that it’s going to happen to them next before school gets out… I wasn’t expecting [this] so I didn’t have a plan in place to be shut down for two weeks and not being allowed to go back to work even if I provide a negative test.”

However, Jim Halcombe, general manager for Racer Dining, said stu-dents signed off on a COVID-19 policy when they returned to school.

“We have communicated our COVID-19 process to our employees and the community,” Halcombe said. “Employees signed off on a COVID-19 policy as they returned to work in Au-gust. We have held safety meetings to provide updates and reminders in-cluding an employee newsletter re-minding them to follow procedures.”

Given that students don’t get paid vacation time like full-time employ-ees, student workers do not have any other way to financially supplement their income for those two weeks.

There are a plethora of guidelines that employees must follow in order to help combat the spread of COVID-19.

Halcombe said Sodexo Dining and the University have taken additional precautions related to the pandemic as listed below which were commu-nicated to students and the commu-nity via the Racer Dining website.

·Requirement for employees to stay home if feeling ill or have symptoms

· S i g n a g e r e m i n d i n g o f h a n d w a s h i n g p r o c e d u r e s

·Additional hand sanitizing sta-tions in each dining location

·Mask requirement for staff and guests· F l o o r s i g n a g e t o

s h o w 6 ’ s o c i a l d i s t a n c i n g· To-Go oppor tun i t i e s ex-

p a n d e d ( n u m b e r o f t o - g o meals for the week not limited)

· Major locations with seat-ing (Winslow and Thoroughbred Room food court) close for 30 min-utes between meal periods so our staff has an opportunity to deep c lean and sanitize the facil ity

Racer Dining employee discusses effects of COVID-19 outbreak

Photos courtesy of Murray State UniversityDr. Irvin (left) sent an email to faculty speaking out against Provost Tim Todd (right) moving the spring semester registration dates.

Daniella TebibNews [email protected]

A Murray State history profes-sor has questioned a decision by Pro-vost Tim Todd to move up advanced registration for spring semester.

Aaron Irvin, associate professor of history, emailed the faculty Oct. 28 to express concerns about Todd’s deci-sion to move up scheduling for win-ter and spring terms by three days and a perceived lack of communica-tion from the Provost’s office to fac-ulty. Scheduling began Wednesday.

“The Provost’s office authorized the release of the spring schedule but left it to deans and department chairs to inform faculty and students that the information was incorrect and incom-plete, even while in harangued depart-ments to quickly make corrections,” Ir-vin said. “The Provost sought the input

of the deans in changing the start date for registration, then promptly ignored their input when only two of the six deans agreed. The change to registra-tion dates was made late in the day on Oct. 23, with yet again chairs and deans given the responsibility to communi-cate with faculty, and students not no-tified until 9 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26.”

Todd said the scheduling time-line was accelerated to ensure stu-dents would have enough time to schedule their courses before the end of this shortened semester.

“Overall, the move-up of three-busi-ness days for student registration was done to give students a little more time to get registered for the spring,” Todd said. “The pandem-ic and probable state budget cuts make it crucial for our spring se-mester to be as strong as possible.”

Irvin’s concerns about the course registration timeline were not only

regarding the lack of communication and the effects it had on faculty, but also about how it will affect students. Irvin said advising and registration is a time for professors to both check in with students and schedule classes.

“We check in with our students who might not be in our classes that semes-ter and see how they’re doing, how their classes are going, how is their mental health, do they need help with mon-ey or housing, what are they looking towards after graduation and so on,” Irvin said. “Even when it comes to scheduling classes, we consider things like work schedules, daycare schedules, that students might not be able to take classes during certain days of the week or during certain periods of the day.”

Irvin said these concerns are not un-common among Murray State students as he goes over these questions with all

Professor speaks out against Provost

see SCHEDULE, page 4

NewsOpinionSportsFeatures

page 2page 5page 8page 10

Residents re-elect eleven City Council members, one new

Soccer gets green light to take field

Absentee ballots and early voting: Should Kentucky

keep these options permanently?

Senior art students show off

final exhibit

page 2 page 5 page 8 page 10

see SCHEDULE, page 4

News2 Nov. 5, 2020

Ciara BenhamStaff [email protected]

The twelve members who will serve on the Murray City Council have been announced following the election results on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Sixteen candidates were on the ballot this year, including currently serving members of the city council and new members.

The City of Murray is governed by the mayor and twelve public-ly-elected city council members who serve four and two year terms, respectively.

Council members are the legisla-tive body of the local government. A member of the legislative body must be at least 21 years old, be a qualified voter in the city and be a resident of the city throughout the term of office.

The winners of the City Council

election are Dan M. Miller, Johnny Bohannon, John Mark Roberts, Linda Cherry, Alice Rouse, Rose Ross Elder, Jeremy Bell, Patricia Seiber, Burton Young, Monty Mc-Cuitson, Danny, O. Hudspeth and Wesley S. Bolin

Eleven of the twelve winners were candidates who were up for re-election. Of the twelve who were elected, Hudspeth, Bell and Cherry were the top vote-get-ters, with 3,086, 2,684 and 2,674 respectively.

Miller has been a councilman from 1994-98 and 2001-pres-ent. He is the chair of the Health Insurance Committee. Roberts has been a member of the council since 2017.

Cherry, a member since 2007, is the chair of the Cemetery Com-mittee. Elder has been a member of the council since 2019.

Bell, a member since 2007, is

the chair of the Transportation Committee. Rouse, a member since 2019, is the chair of the City Beau-tification Committee.

Seiber, a member since 2019, is the chair of both the Downtown Revitalization Committee and the Long Range Planning Committee.

Young, who has been a member of the council since 2015, is both the chair of the city council and the chair of the Murray State Universi-ty committee.

McCuiston, a member since 2019, is the co-chair of the Down-town Revitalization Committee.

Hudspeth served as interim mayor from 2009-10 and has been a councilman from 1988-2009 and 2011-present. He is the chair of the Personnel & Finance Commit-tee and the Public Works Commit-tee.

Bolin, a member since 2016, is the chair of the Public Safety

Committee.Bohannon was the only newly

elected member who will join the eleven members serving on the City Council who were re-elected.

Bohannon previously served on the council in the late 90s and returned to his position from 2015-18. After an unsuccessful re-election in 2018, Bohannon has reclaimed his spot on the council.

City legislators must be elected at a regular election. They serve a two-year term that begins on Jan. 1 of the following year.

In a mayor-council form of gov-ernment, the city council may only act as a whole body. Individual city council members may not make de-cisions or act on behalf of the body.

City council meetings are held the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. The council meetings are televised the following day at 10 a.m.

Nigel WaltonContributing [email protected]

COVID-19 has caused prob-lems since March. The Calloway County Democratic Party fell victim to it when their election night gathering event was can-celed.

Gov. Andy Beshear said Ken-tucky has had a total of 103,305 cases of COVID-19. Sixty-eight counties were designated as “red zone” counties because of the number of COVID-19 cases currently, including Calloway County.

Shannon Davis-Roberts was the Democratic candidate for 1st District state representative and couldn’t host her election event on Nov. 3.

“Well, we just thought about the COVID numbers and the guidelines about not having gath-erings right now,” Davis-Roberts said.

“Do not host or attend gather-ings of any size” is one of the “red zone” county recommendations, according to Kentucky Public Health.

The Democratic Party’s plans were to gather, eat some food and watch the results.

“For me and my campaign I was just going to make some curry for everyone up there,” Roberts said. “We were just going to wait for the numbers to come

back and talk about all the work we did.”

While the Democrats canceled its party, the Republicans still held its party.

The Republican election party was held at Pagliai’s in Murray at 6 p.m. The election night was filled with excitement and enthu-siasm for the outcomes.

Those in attendance ate pizza as they watched Fox News. The crowd, consisting of people of all ages, cheered when a state flashed red on the screen.

Very few in attendance wore a

mask. Overall many viewed this elec-

tion different from previous years. “It is really different this year,”

said Mary Beth Imes, 5th Dis-trict state representative elect. “Always before when my husband Kenny Imes has run, we have gone door-to-door. That wasn’t a good thing to do with the COVID and all.”

No matter the results, Roberts wanted everyone to come togeth-er despite the cancellation of the Democratic gathering.

“Win or lose I am going to be

working on the same issues that I have highlighted; my role in that will be decided by the race,” Da-vis-Roberts said. “No matter the side you have to continue to be an active part of healing for your community, neighbor and world.”

The results came out Tuesday night, and Republican Rep. Mary Beth Imes won. Imes won 65 percent of the votes while Rob-erts won 34 percent of the votes.

Davis-Roberts said despite the results, she will be content in knowing her party gave it all they had.

Democrats cancel local election party with safety concerns

Paige Bold/The NewsPresley Woodrum interviews Greg DeLancey at a Republican election viewing party. They didn’t cancel its party unlike the Democrats.

Residents re-elect eleven City Council members, one newGage Johnson/TheNews

3Nov. 5, 2020 News

Emily ShepherdContributing [email protected]

Family Circuit Court Judge Stephanie Perlow re elected Stephanie Perlow secured her position as the family court judge in Kentucky’s 42nd Judicial Cir-cuit 1st division for Calloway and Marshall counties Tuesday with 68 percent of the vote over Mar-shall County attorney Ryan Yates.

Perlow received 19,241 votes to Yates’ 9,230. Perlow earned 10,660 votes via Calloway Coun-ty, while Yates received 4,142 from Calloway County voters.

“I’m here to make families stronger and better,” Perlow said. “I want to do what I can to help with that by being a family court judge. Every thought that I have when I’m not in the courtroom, is centered on reaching out to people, how I can talk to people, let them know about my experi-ence, let them know about why I would best be suited for the job.”

Before Gov. Andy Beshear ap-pointed Perlow in March, she spent 12 years practicing law and has served more than 2,000 family law cases exclusively in Marshall and Calloway coun-ties. Perlow filled the unex-pired term of Rob Mattingly, who retired in November 2019.

“This has been a year and a month and a half in the mak-ing,” Perlow said. “I knew this was my time, this was my goal, this is something I have dreamed of, I always knew that I was meant for the field of family law.”

Perlow, a Murray attorney spe-cializing in family law, graduat-ed in 2002 from Murray State University. Perlow later earned

her law degree from the West-ern Michigan University Thom-as M. Cooley School of Law.

“It feels good that all my hard work towards showing people who I am and what I’m about paid off,” Perlow said. “I look at everything with an open mind, an open heart, open eyes. I want to look at every-one equally when they come into that courtroom… that ’s what a judge is supposed to do.”

Perlow said she is passion-ate about helping the commu-nity and is excited to continue serving the families of Cal-loway and Marshall counties.

Perlow’s opponent, Yates, is a private practice attorney in Marshall County. Yates handles cases involving personal injury, bankruptcy and criminal defense.

Yates started his education at the University of Kentucky and then graduated from the University of Memphis and the Southern Illinois Uni-versity School of Law. Yates was admitted to the Ken-tucky Bar Association in 2006.

“We had great support and great voter turnout,” Yates said. “We ran the campaign that we envisioned from the begin-ning, being that our primary goal was to honor God, honor my family and honor the com-munity. I feel like we did that and I look forward to con-tinuing to aggressively advo-cate for my clients, not only in family court but in civil, crim-inal and bankruptcy court.”

According to kycourts.gov, cir-cuit court judges serve eight-year terms and are selected in non-partisan elections. In the event of a mid-term vacancy such as

what happened in this race, the governor may appoint a replace-ment from candidates recom-mended by the Kentucky Judi-cial Nominating Commission.

Family court uses a case man-agement process that distinguish-es it from other trial courts. Cas-es are presented in a single court, allowing the same judge to hear all matters involving a particu-lar family. This reduces the stress that can arise when individu-als are shuttled between courts to resolve a variety of issues.

Family court employs full-time judges with the same qual-ifications as those who serve the other divisions of circuit court.

Besides the family matters heard in circuit court, fam-ily court judges also handle family law matters that were traditionally decided in Dis-trict Court. Family court

jurisdiction is defined by KRS 23A.100 and 23A.110. According to kycourts.gov, Kentucky launched a new project when Jeffer-son County began a family court pilot program in 1991.

The family court model ex-panded beyond Louisville to suburban and rural areas across the commonwealth. The proj-ect ’s success prompted efforts to make family court a per-manent part of the Kentucky Constitution. Kentucky voters gave family court a resound-ing victory in November 2002 when the amendment passed in all 120 counties with more than 75 percent of the vote.

According to kycourts.gov, Kentucky’s family court serves 3.2 million citizens in 71 Ken-tucky counties and is considered a national model for family courts.

Alumni win in local races

Photo courtesy of Elect Stephanie Perlow Family Court Judge Facebook pageStephanie Perlow traveled to Frankfort, Kentucky on Dec. 30, 2019 to file to be on the official ballot.

Gage [email protected]

Winning 22 of the 24 counties, in-cumbent Chris McNeill will remain the judge of the Court of Appeals in the 1st Appellate District and 1st Di-vision after defeating Jenny Hines.

Across the 24 counties vot-ing, McNeill received just over 54 percent of the votes with a to-tal of 93,966 votes, while Hines received nearly 46 percent of the votes with a total of 79,120. The al-most 14,000 vote difference when the results are finalized Friday, Nov. 6, will bring McNeill back to the bench after his appoint-ment at the beginning of the year.

McNeill, a Murray State alum-nus, had a 830-vote advantage with 7,133 votes in Calloway County. Hines, a Murray State alumna and current staff attorney for the Ken-tucky Court of Appeals, earned 6,303 votes in Calloway County.

McNeill said he is pleased to resume his role as the judge of the Court of Appeals.

“It’s gratifying that voters rec-ognized my experience and com-

mitment to the law,” McNeill said.While not pleased with the overall

results, Hines said she takes solace in that she ran a solid race and is grateful for those who voted for her. She said this won’t be the last time voters see her name on the ballot.

“I trust God and his timing,” Hines said. “I will hold my head high because we ran a very good race. Thank you to everyone I was able to meet and who supported my campaign. I hope to meet many more in the coming years. It was a close race and I’m grateful for the opportunity to run again in 2022.”

McNeill, a Fulton County native, graduated from Murray State with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, and later completed a master’s degree in organizational communication.

The former Student Govern-ment Association president and student regent said his time at Murray State has played a huge part in helping him grow and get him to where he is today.

“Well, certainly the education I got at Murray State prepared my entire work life, including go-ing to law school,” McNeill said. “Then on the other side of the

coin, the contacts and the friends I made while attending Murray State include people that I am close friends with even to this day and it includes friends that helped me greatly in this election in mul-tiple counties across the district.”

After graduating from Mur-ray State, he attended Salm-on P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky Universi-ty, where he also worked for the Office of Inspector General.

In practicing law for over 20 years, McNeill has served as a staff attorney for the Kentucky Court of Appeals and has been the di-recting attorney of the Paducah office of the Department of Pub-

lic Advocacy for the past 16 years.In April 2020, Gov. Andy Beshear

appointed McNeill to the judge of the Court of Appeals for the 1st Appellate District, where he will continue to serve for the next three years following his election.

With the victory, citizens can expect a hard-working judge hop-ing to continue to put his expe-rience practicing law to work.

“I am committed to follow-ing the letter of the law,” Mc-Neill said. “I know that is the job of the legislature to make the law. The job of the judge is lim-ited to interpreting it and apply-ing law. It is not the judge’s job to make law from the bench.”

Photo courtesy of Chris McNeill for Court of Appeals’ facebook pageAlumnus Chris McNeill posted a picture of he and his son voting in McCracken County.

Family Circuit Court Judge Stephanie Perlow re-elected

Chris McNeill to retain position as judge of the

Court of Appeals

News4

SCHEDULEFrom Page 1

of his advisees. Irvin said professors have to ensure students know what courses they need and what courses are going to be offered to determine if alternative routes need to be taken.

“The mismanagement of the sched-ule and registration doesn’t affect fac-ulty,” Irvin said. “It affects you, the stu-dents, and it affects our ability to work with you and help you achieve your goals and get you the courses, resourc-es and opportunities available here at Murray State for you to succeed.”

Because of the changes in the sched-uling timeline, some students and pro-fessors said they noticed some errors with the courses listed on myGate throughout their advising and schedul-ing sessions. Some courses were listed as Zoom-only courses, while they were ac-tually only offered as in-person classes.

Todd said scheduling for the spring semester is clearly different from how students, faculty and staff are used to, so a few errors are to be expected.

“There is no fault or blame to be placed,” Todd said. “Some depart-ments that have limited classroom size are offering one section in-per-son and one section via Zoom at the same time. The class is being offered both ways. Other classes are in-person one day and Zoom the next. Students are seeing classes listed in ways they never have before. The departments have proofed their schedules, but there have always been tweaks made after a schedule is posted. That is not a new thing, and the schedule is general-ly in place by the start of registration.”

Before scheduling began, profes-sors were required to decide what format their courses would be—in person, Zoom or a hybrid form.

“This is nothing new,” Todd said. “The only difference is Zoom has entered the scene as a major play-er. We are trying to give students the clearest picture of how their class-es will be offered. Of course there may be changes, but that is to be ex-pected in this time of challenges.”

Todd said 1,448 in-person classes, 613 Zoom classes and 605 web classes will be offered in the spring semester.

In Irvin’s plea for support, he dis-cussed how the University has con-tinuously asked for “flexibility” from faculty members throughout these unprecedented times. The full let-ter can be read at TheNews.org.

“We have turned ourselves inside out in meeting with the realities the pres-ent situation has forced upon us,” Irvin said. “We have reinvented how courses are taught and redesigned curricula in their entirety. We have innovated new ways of utilizing old technology and integrated new technology into our classrooms and lessons. We have con-verted homes into offices. We have tak-en time away from family, from friends and from ourselves. We have made ourselves available to our students at virtually all times. We have done all of this without additional support from the University for resources or even a basic cost in living adjustment.”

Ir vin asked for better com-munication from the University.

“I think we’ve been pretty flexible, and I think we deserve better treat-ment than what we’ve received,” Irvin said. “At a minimum, shared gover-nance demands basic communication between the different aspects of the University. Undoubtedly, the Provost feels his seemingly arbitrary rule by fiat to be justified and indeed perhaps it is. If there is a justification though, he has not bothered to present it, instead treat-ing us as if we serve at his beck and call.”

Ir vin’s final appeal to facul-t y members for fur ther sup-port was by discussing the prec-edent this situation could set.

“I understand though that not ev-eryone will be willing or able to pro-test these recent actions, and some

might not even see them as prob-lematic,” Irvin said. “Every decision, every action, creates a precedent and I am unwilling to stand aside during this time when we all have worked so hard and done so much to keep this great institution, and allow the prece-dent to be set that at one of our mo-ments of greatest stress, hardship and sacrifice on behalf of our students, that we will allow ourselves to be ig-nored, bypassed and abused without even a word of notice or justification.”

Irvin said he has spoken with o t h e r f a c u l t y m e m b e r s w h o ag reed w i th h i s s en t iment s , but some felt it was too harsh.

“The feedback has been over-whelmingly positive for making these grievances known, and the administration of the University making a greater effort to commu-nicate with faculty and involve us in decisions that affect us and the students directly,” Irvin said. “With that said, Provost Todd has been here at Murray State for some time and has a number of people in var-ious positions who are personal-ly loyal to him and took my letter as a personal attack against him.”

Irvin said his intentions were not to personally attack Todd, but to make the campus com-munity aware of the situation.

“I do want to emphasize that I’ve got nothing personal against Tim Todd, and while I don’t know him personally I have no doubt whatso-ever that he is a fine person,” Irvin said. “I know that the grievances I’ve expressed are not unique among the faculty, and unless someone stands up and says something, there’s no reason to think that anything is sim-ply going to change. There doesn’t seem to be any good reason why that someone shouldn’t be me.”

Original ly, Ir vin planned to speak at the Faculty Senate meet-ing on Nov. 10. However, he is un-able to as he requested to speak at the meeting in too short of notice.

David Roach, president of the Faculty Senate and professor of mathematics, said in order for someone to bring an item up for discussion at a Faculty Senate meeting, a motion must first come

from one of the subcommittees or a senator. For the motion to be placed on the agenda, it must be forwarded to the Executive Com-mittee by 3:30 p.m. one week pri-or to a Faculty Senate meeting.

Roach said he personally sup-por ts the change in the reg-i s t r a t i o n t i m e l i n e b e c a u s e o f t h e s h o r t e n e d s e m e s t e r.

“I support Provost Todd and appreciate his efforts to work with faculty to overcome the nu-merous obstacles we have faced t h i s s e m e s t e r, ” R o a c h s a i d .

While Ir vin is unable to of-ficial ly be added to the agen-da for the Nov. 10 meeting, he hopes to ask Todd questions af-t e r he addre s s e s the s ena te .

“It is my hope to, at the very least, receive a reasonable expla-nation for the issues already not-ed, and communicate to the pro-vost the necessity of involving, listening to, and communicating with faculty, especially in times of stress and crisis,” Irvin said.

Melony Shemberger, faculty regent and associate professor of mass com-munication, said she understands the frustrations of both Irvin and Todd.

“As a faculty member, I started advising sessions with students two weeks ago because I knew my virtual conference schedule was going to be busy, along with other meetings that I was scheduled to attend,” Shem-berger said. “I wanted to make sure students met with me via Zoom to discuss their spring options. I still am advising students this week. I do not know how the decision to move up scheduling was made, but I under-stand the frustrations on both sides of the matter. Faculty are stressed and have been all semester, more than usual because of the pandemic. We take our advising responsibilities seriously. The provost’s office also is trying its best to make sure students have time to register in advance for their spring classes before the end of the shortened fall semester.”

The News will have a reporter on the Nov. 10 Faculty Senate Zoom meeting, which will be held at 3:30 p.m. Stay tuned to The News for updates regarding this meeting.

DININGFrom Page 1

· A d d i t i o n a l s e a t i n g a d d -ed to enable social distancing

· A l l c u p s a n d s i l v e r -w a r e a r e d i s p o s a b l e

·Al l se l f - se r ve s ta t ions a re now operated by an attendant

·Contact-free transactions with newly designed Racer Card; mobile ordering with Grubhub (retail) and Bite for Universities (resident dining)

The anonymous employee said to her knowledge everyone is following these guidelines, but anything can happen.

“Everyone has been wearing a mask to my knowledge when I work,” she

said. “We don’t really take it off un-less we’re eating away from some-one and things like that. They do tell us to keep our hands washed and try to keep us distanced within a working venue, but things happen.”

She recognized that these mea-sures are safe, but no compen-sation for those workers who must take off she said is unfair.

The employee did express one addi-tional concern, that being the rotation of employees from location to loca-tion across campus by Racer Dining.

“It’s not like they’re keeping students in one venue and at a set schedule,” she said. “I personally started in Einstein Bagels, then because campus was so slow I moved to Subconnection and I

also work in Market 22 and Fast Track and I’m with all other employees.”

Despite the protocols Halcombe said are in place, the employee feels as though Racer Dining won’t be as careful as they should after em-ployees return from quarantine.

“After the two weeks I don’t think they’re going to ask any questions,” she said. “I was told yesterday that they were not going to provide any testing for us and that it was all on our own to go get tested, which is fine because it is free for Murray for now, but they’re not doing anything other than taking the precau-tions of putting us all off for two weeks.”

Halcombe said safety is Racer Dining’s number one priority and that there are avenues of testing available employees.

“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our employees, the students, faculty, staff and visitors of Murray State University,” Hal-combe said. “We are aware of four employees who tested positive for COVID-19 and we are following guidelines and protocols for report-ing and contact tracing while work-ing closely with the University to continue to monitor and provide support. Employees have access to testing through Murray State Uni-versity Health Services and the Cal-loway County Health Department.”

The News will keep its readers updat-ed as the story develops. Stay tuned to The News’ social media pages on Twit-ter and Facebook for future updates.

Sam Stewart/The NewsSteak n’ Shake was recently closed because of COVID-19 cases among employees.

We have converted homes into offices. We have taken

time away from famly, from friends and from

ourselves. We have made ourselves available to out

students at virtually all times. We have done all

of this without additional support from the University

for resources or even a basic cost in living

adjustment.

- Aaron Irvin, professor of history

Nov. 5, 2020

5Nov. 5, 2020 OpiniOn

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Editorial Board Gage Johnson Cady Stribling Dr. Stephanie Anderson Editor-in-Chief FeaturesEditor [email protected] [email protected]@murraystate.edu

Jenna Carnes Allison Manning Jillian Rush Contact UsChiefCopyEditor AdSalesManager PhotoEditor 2609 University [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] MurrayStateUniversity Murray,Kentucky42071-3301Kalea Anderson Elizabeth Erwin John O’Neill TheNews.org ChiefVideographer PublicRelationsManager OnlineManager [email protected]@murraystate.edu [email protected]

In the wake of COVID-19, the U.S. implemented early voting nationwide, which started as early as Oct.13. Those who didn’t feel comfortable going out and voting in-person due to COVID-19 were able to request an absentee ballot: a ballot which is sent to your place of residence and allows you to vote via the postal service.

The big question is what if Kentucky were to implement early voting permanently? How would this affect the political realm, and what would this mean for Ken-tuckians?

Absentee voting allows voters to cast their votes in their home district rather than where they currently reside.

For example, a student at Mur-ray State might request a ballot to vote in their hometown of Louis-ville, Kentucky rather than re-reg-istering in Calloway County.

According to communication from the Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office, approximate-ly 933,000 Kentuckians voted in-person before Nov. 1, and 575,000 Kentucky voters turned in their ballots, coming to an aston-ishing 42% of Kentuckians who had already voted before Election Day.

While many have voted absen-tee for years, some say that the process has gotten more efficient over the years. Now, the Kentucky government will send you an email when your ballot has been processed through your county clerk. Some even look forward to

the days where you can track your ballot through the mail and know exactly when it will arrive in your mailbox.

But, sometimes absentee voting can raise concerns. One of those concerns has to do with the post-al service. As many people know, mail doesn’t always come on time. With the postal service, it’s usu-ally a gamble on when your mail will get to you.

According to the USPS FAQ column on their website, the volume of mail fluctuates daily, therefore delivery times are not guaranteed. While the postal ser-vice is usually very efficient about getting mail to its patrons, things can and will happen.

There have been times when people send in their ballots only to be notified after Election Day that their ballot was not received.

But despite all of that, many people agree that the implemen-tation and advertising of absentee voting this year has been more positive than negative.

Voter suppression is a topic that has also come to the attention of many. Within the span of twelve hours, every American is expected to go out to a polling station, cast their vote, and go home. This is voter suppression, point-blank.

As stated before, people can’t always get out of work to go vote, which is a big problem in Amer-ica.

If you look at other democratic countries, they treat Election Day as a holiday, allowing their citizens

to get out of work and school to vote, as it is seen as a duty for the people.

Meanwhile in the United States, voting used to be seen as a duty by the American people. Instead, it now is seen as a nuisance, as no one has the time to go out and vote.

So, based on those facts alone, early voting is an amazing thing that was implemented across the country, as of 2020.

According to a graph made by the United States Election Project, over 100,000,000 people in the United States voted in the 2020 Election, a huge turnout com-pared to the mere 47,000,000 who voted in 2016. The reason for this is because of the different options

available to eligible voters, rang-ing from absentee ballots to early in-person voting. This has given the American people more than 12 hours to vote, which has given people more reason to go out and vote.

It has come to the attention of many, that in the wake of COVID-19, the implementation of early voting caused a surge in voter turnout, and has been seen as a rousing success by the major-ity of the American people. This access to more than one slot of 12 hours on a random Tuesday in November decreases the amount of voter suppression that this country has been facing for years, and increases the amount of peo-ple having time to go vote.

Absentee ballots and early votingShould Kentucky keep these options permanently?

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

Cade Utterback/The News

to the end of all the campaign ads clogging up our news feeds, videos and television shows!!!

&JEERSJEERS

JEERS

CHEERS

to STILL not knowing who is the next president of the United States!

CHEERS.... JEERS....

News6 Nov. 5, 2020

Right: Students Madi-son Wathern Jr. (blue mask), Sophie Weber (pink), Jordyn Krueger (gray) and Meghan Ide (striped shirt)gatherd on the corner of 12th and Chestnut holding up signs in support of presidential candidate Joe Biden. (Jillian Rush/The News)

Left: Presley Woodrum interviews Vickie Travis. (Paige Bold/TheNews)Above: Vote here signs were set up at all four of the polling locations in Calloway County. (Jillian Rush/The News)

Above: Larry Ball shows his support for Trump and McConnell. (Paige Bold/The News)

Left: Work-ers remained behind pro-tective shields on election day. (Kalea Anderson/The News)

Right: COVID-19 guidelines were on dis-play at South-west Calloway Elementary School. (Ol-ivia Under-wood/The News)

ELECTION DAY

7Nov. 5, 2020 NewsLeft: Presley Woodrum interviews Mary Beth Imes at a Republican election viewing party. (Paige Bold/The News)

Right: Socially distanced voting booths were set up at East Calloway Elemen-tary School in Murray. (Dionte Berry/The News)

Left: A citizen fills out his ballot at North Calloway Elementary School. (Simon Elfrink/The News)Above: Socially distanced voting booths were available to voters at North Calloway Elementary School. (Simon Elfrink/The News)

Above: At a Republican election viewing party, people anxiously await results.(Paige Bold/The News)

Left: Vote here signs sat outside the Cur-ris Center encouraging citizens to come make their voice heard. (Sam Stewart/The News)

Left: The CFSB Center served as one of four polling locations on Election Day. (Sam Stewart/The News)

Above: A citzen places his vote on Election Day at Southwest Calloway Ele-mentary School. (Olivia Underwood/The News)

Jakob MilaniStaff [email protected]

After training during when they would typicallly play its fall season, Murray State Soccer will play in the spring.

The Murray State soccer team will have a season this academic year, even with COVID-19 still in the air.

The team will play a 10-game, con-ference-only schedule this year, split-ting home and away games evenly.

Murray State’s season opener will be an away match on March 2 at Morehead State. The team’s home opener will be on March 5 against Eastern Kentucky.

Following these two matches is an away match at UT Martin on March

9, then will play back-to-back home matches. The first match of the two will be against Belmont on March 12, and the second match will be on March 16 against Austin Peay.

After those matches, the Racers will travel to Jacksonville State on March 19, then play at home against Tennessee Tech on March 23, and then play back to back away matches. The first match of the two will be at SIUE on March 26, and the second will be at Southeast Missouri State on April 2.

The Racers end their season at home this year. That match will be against Eastern Illinois on April 6.

The season is shorter than usual, but that is to be expected after the pandemic put a halt to all college athletics.

SportS8 Nov. 5, 2020

Soccer gets green light to take field

Murray State Rifle upsets No. 8 Wolfpack

Simon ElfrinkStaff [email protected]

Murray State Rifle upset No. 8 ranked North Carolina State University on Sunday, Nov. 1, out-scoring the Wolfpack 4671-4647 at the University of Kentucky Rifle Range in Lexington, Kentucky.

For the third match in a row, sophomore Mattias Kiuru placed first among the shooters in all three categories, scoring a high

1176 aggregate after shooting 584 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle. Kiuru’s aggregate average is the highest on the Racer roster at 1176.3.

Freshman Allison Henry placed second overall with a score of 1172, a whole 10 points higher than her average of 1162. Henry’s outstand-ing day marked her career highs in all three numerical categories, as she went 582 in smallbore and 590 in air rifle.

Fourth overall was junior Anna

Scheer, who after having a solid 1168 aggregate against the Univer-sity of Tennessee at Martin pulled her average down a few points to 1163.7 with an 1162 aggregate on Sunday. Still, Scheer placed fifth in smoothbore with a score of 577 and seventh in air rifle with a score of 585.

The fifth overall shooter of the match was senior Dana Buesseler, who shot 574 in smallbore, earn-ing her the sixth place spot in that category. Buesseler also shot 587 in

air rifle, placing fifth there as well. Buesseler’s aggregate score was 1161.

Other notable Racer shooters that day were freshman Abby Zinsmeyer, who placed ninth in air rifle with a 581, and junior Emily Fitzgerald, who placed 10th in smallbore, shooting 553 in that category.

The Racers will have only a few days to prepare to host Jacksonville State University on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Pat Spurgin Rifle Range.

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Brooklyn Burnett The News

Photo courtesy of Racer AthleticsMattias Kiuru lines up his shot at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range.

Photo courtesy of Racer AthleticsMurray State will open its season in March 2021, with its first home game on March 5 against Eastern Kentucky University.

Gage Johnson/TheNewsSenior forward Rebecca Kubin drives the Racers offense up the pitch against EIU.

9Nov. 5, 2020 SportS

Rachel EssnerContributing [email protected]

After COVID-19 halted play in the fall, the Murray State volleyball team is now set to play a 16 game season against opponents in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Coach Dave Schwepker, entering his 23rd season as a coach, shared the schedule, setting to start in February 2021.

Each game will be played with a travel partner team, with Murray State partnering with Austin Peay. This means when Murray State plays a team on Sunday, Austin Peay will play that team on Monday, and the team Austin Peay plays on Sunday Murray State will play on Monday. In addition, there will be occasional mid-week games against Murray State’s travel partner.

The season beginner will be on Feb. 2 or Feb. 3 against Austin Peay in its home gym for the First Financial Bank Battle of the Border contest.

The home opener for the Racers is Feb. 8 and they will host Eastern Kentucky.

On Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 Murray State will travel away to play Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois Univer-

sity-Edwardsville.Then, the Racers will travel back

home for two back-to-back weekends in the Racer Arena. The team will take on Southeast Missouri and UT Martin the weekend of Feb. 21 and Feb. 22. The following weekend they will face off against Tennessee Tech on Feb. 28 and Jacksonville State on March 1.

The team will continue its season by travelling down to Nashville, Ten-nessee, on March 7 and March 8 to play Tennessee State and Belmont followed by a midweek game (March 9 or 10) against Austin Peay in the Racer Arena. The week will be fin-ished with a game at Morehead State on March 15.

The Racers will again face Eastern

Illinois on March 21 and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on March 22 in Racer Arena.

To finish up the regular season, the Racers will hit the road to play against UT Martin and Southeast Missouri on March 28 and March 29.

The OVC tournament has not yet been determined and will be an-nounced at a later date.

Murray State volleyball releases 2020-21 schedule

Racer basketball preparing for 2020-21 seasonGage [email protected]

With the 2020-21 NCAA basketball season quickly approaching, Murray State men’s basketball Head Coach Matt McMahon and women’s basket-ball Head Coach Rechelle Turner met with the media via Zoom for the first time since the abrupt cancellation of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Men’s basketball

With specific guidelines relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the way things have been handled with men’s basketball is much different.

One immediate challenge the Racers have faced is making their schedule, which is reportedly going to be released later in the week.

“It’s a disastrous time here in college basketball,” McMahon said. “My good friend Coach Konkol down at Louisi-ana Tech and one of the top coaches in the game, they released their schedule yesterday. They were the 20th school out of 357 to complete their schedule and I believe we’re 26 days now from opening night.”

The new schedule will go from 18 to 20 games. Games from Nov. 10 to 25 will be lost and some non-conference games have been affected. However, games at Middle Tennessee and SIU remain on the schedule, with three more home games needing to be finalized.

McMahon said even with all the challenges, they are just focusing on themselves and letting everything that they can’t control play out.

“It’s obviously very different and every program in the country is experiencing that,” McMahon said. “But the way we’ve tried to build our program is we focus on controlling the things that we can control. We have our core values and our team standards that we live by and those things don’t change.”

Despite this challenging time period, McMahon feels as though it’s given players and coaches in the program room to grow exponentially.

“Our message to the team was through that 144-day window and I obviously hate to circumstance this, but I think it was an opportunity for self-motivated players, self-motivated coaches, to separate themselves from the

competition,” McMahon said. “I think some of our guys really took advantage of that window. They had to get creative. Some of them had different access to gyms, weight rooms and so forth.”

A few of those players took advantage of that time in the offseason, one being returning sophomore Demond Robin-son.

After making an immediate impact as a freshman and starting in 24 games for the blue and gold, McMahon said Robinson is poised to make a big leap this season.

Sophomore DaQuan Smith is an-other player McMahon thinks will take a big leap, preparing to shift positions and becoming a bigger voice in Murray State’s locker room.

The team enters the season remain-ing in a “bubble’”of sorts since stepping on campus, helping stop the spread of COVID-19. As of now all Murray State players are 100 percent healthy and ready to get going.

“I’m just excited the season’s here,” McMahon said. “We’re about to get to play college basketball. We’ve got great players, we’ve got high character in our locker room and I think we have all the makings of what you need to have a great team.”

Women’s basketball

As many coaches and players are across the OVC, Turner said her staff

and players are ready to compete again amid a season that isn’t exactly a normal one.

“We’re really excited about the 2020-21 season,” Turner said. “We have a great mix of veteran players and newcomers that we feel like we’ve filled the voids we have had in the past. Our 2020 recruiting class was outstanding. We had high hopes for them and since they’ve arrived on campus they haven’t disappointed.”

Getting players to full health has been key and multiple players with injuries have made full recoveries. Some includes First Team All-OVC member junior guard Macey Turley, and redshirt-sophomore forward Macie Gibson.

“They’re doing extremely well,” Turner said. “Both are in full participation in work-outs and everything that we’re doing. Just really pleased with how they’ve come along with their setbacks and everybody else’s beat up little injuries are better. That’s the hope is if we can stay healthy we feel like that we can really make some noise this year.”

Some other notable players from the Racers recruiting class include freshmen forward Katelyn Young, who Turner thinks is a program-changing player.

“She is everything we thought she was going to be,” Turner said. “She is a game changer to give us that true post presence. She is able to score on the low block, she is able to score 15-foot down and she can even make three-point shots. So she’s a three-level scorer, big body, really physical,

great rebounder and just a great get for us.”Racer fans will also see a familiar face take

the floor: Murray, native freshman forward Charlee Settle.

She’s expected to assume the stretch four role, with the occasional time at the three after playing all five positions in high school.

Getting comfortable as a team has been one challenge the Racers have faced, just like every other program in men’s and women’s basketball. However, Turner said the players have gelled together nicely thanks to virtual means and other ways of bonding.

“Per our own team, it was difficult not having them with us like we usually have them in the month of June,” Turner said. “That’s a big time for a new basketball team coming together. And so we had to rely on Zoom and virtual teaching of the things we wanted to do [like] begin working on our culture and our team bonding via Zoom which is so much different than in person.”

With new faces and much more depth than past seasons, Turner and company are ready to make some noise this season.

“The Depth is going to be some-thing that’s going to be a huge dif-ference for us this year,” Turner said. “Our kids are not going to have to play as many minutes, which is going to help cut down on injuries, but also help them be the best that they can be in the time that they’re out there… I think we have nine kids that realistical-ly could come in my office and argue to start.”

Photo courtesy of Racer AthleticsMurray State will open its season in February, with its first home game on Feb. 8, against Eastern Kentucky University.

Gage Johnson/The NewsSenior forward Laci Hawthorne is introduced as a starter in a 2019 season game.

features10 Nov. 5, 2020

Dionte BerryStaff [email protected]

With the semester’s end in sight, the art and design department is celebrating the work of its seniors with an exhibit emphasizing works in their focus from their journey as Murray State students.

The exhibition, titled “Unprec-edented,” features students’ best works over the course of their col-lege careers, works of diverse medi-ums and topics.

The installation was student-led with the help of Timothy Michael Martin, associate professor of art and design and director of univer-sity galleries.

“I assisted the students with plan-ning the exhibition, worked with them on the layout and mentored the process as they determined which works they were going to ex-hibit to spotlight their studio art ac-complishments,” Martin said.

Beyond showcasing their accom-plishments, the exhibit offers an ex-perience for students going through the process of setting up and select-ing pieces for an exhibition.

Setting up the exhibition did in-clude coming up with a name and the students wanted to find some-thing that didn’t limit the mediums on display.

“The students decided that they wanted a title that wasn’t limited to or specific to only one of their working styles and selected a title that reflected the current situation of the group,” Martin said. “Emma Mitchell suggested ‘Unprecedented’ because the word describes both the global COVID-19 pandemic and relates to the students graduating from Murray State and taking their next steps as artists into unknown territory.”

Mitchell is an art and design se-nior with an emphasis on ceramics. Her pieces on display use ceramics to make comments on the human body and how beauty and flaws are perceived.

“I make ceramic sculptures deal-ing with self acceptance,” Mitchell said. “The sculptures have flaws and bad spots as well as visually pleasing places.”

Mitchell has worked with clay since her sophomore year and en-joys the medium because of its rel-ativity to the human body and its naturalness.

This isn’t Mitchell’s first time be-ing exhibited in a Murray State gal-lery, but she values the experience it is giving her and her fellow artists.

“This is an awesome opportunity to learn about how art in the real world works gallery-wise,” Mitch-ell said. “This is also a great way to show off the seniors and all we’ve learned during our years at Murray State.”

Fellow art and design senior on display, Tia Whitaker is apprecia-tive of the experience the exhibit is giving her, but she also sees it as a celebration.

“The exhibit is a celebration of the four or five years that we have spent here as students at Murray State,” Whitaker said.

With an emphasis in printmak-ing, Whitaker has a series of litho-graphs that make a statement in-spired by Billie Holiday ’s song “Strange Fruit.”

“Being a person of color I enjoy making work about my communi-ty and our history,” Whitaker said. “I remember listening to the song ‘Strange Fruit’ and I decided to give a visual representation of the song.”

From a distance Whitaker’s piec-es look typical, one being a bowl of fruit, another being a tree and an-other being a sunny day by the lake. When given an up-close look, Black bodies can be seen as a way to make a statement on lynchings like the song does.

“One common thing in all of my pieces is that when you’re far back it looks different, but when you get close you notice the gruesome de-tails,” Whitaker said. “I wanted this to reflect my feelings on how a lot of things in Black history have been pushed to the side, and a lot of us haven’t learned about these grue-some things.”

Whitaker’s pieces share how cer-tain Black history, like lynchings, isn’t taught, but also how acts such as lynchings were so normalized in the south.

W i th a d i ve r s e a m ou nt o f statements and mediums used,

Martin is proud of what the stu-dents accomplished.

“Their works in the group exhibit really accentuates both the quali-ty and variety of the works creat-ed within the department,” Martin said. “The students did an excellent

job completing the design and layout o f the exhib i t ion as a group.”

The exhibit will be on display on the sixth and seventh floor galleries in the Fine Arts Build-ing until Nov. 12.

Dionte Berry/The NewsPictured above is a sculpture by senior Emma Mitchell and an illustration senior Tia Whitaker.

Senior art students show off final exhibit

Olivia Underwood/The NewsThe art exhibit “Unprecedented” highlights seniors’ best works over the course of their careers. The exhibit is in the Clara M. Eagle Gallery until Nov. 12 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

11Nov. 5, 2020 Features

Cady StriblingFeatures [email protected]

Senior Lauran Young has been accepted into the highly competi-tive Fulbright Student Program, a cultural exchange program meant to improve intercultural relations and diplomacy.

Young completed her TESOL major last May and returned this semester to complete a second ma-jor in Spanish. Young’s double ma-jors will come in handy as she trav-els to Nájera, La Rioja, Spain to be an English teaching assistant.

Young will travel to Spain in early January where she will work closely with the staff to plan for different language classes and help teach in either a preschool or ele-mentary classroom. Young said she will be working with the staff to provide excellent English materials and instruction until the program ends in June.

“I was drawn to the Fulbright Program because it is the culmi-nation of two of the things I am most passionate about—education and multiculturalism,” Young said. “This scholarship is built on the foundation of fostering deep cul-tural awareness and mutual respect through learning in order to create a more understanding and stronger community.”

Young said everyone is a lifelong learner and she cannot wait to not only continue her education as she learns more about Spanish culture but to also have the honor to en-courage and assist students in de-veloping their own learning goals and passions.

“I chose Spain because of its vi-brant culture and atmosphere,” Young said. “I had no idea how rich Spain’s culture was and hav-ing the opportunity to experience it and celebrate many national and local holidays was life changing. I am very excited to learn and expe-rience more there.”

Getting to know the culture and history of Spain is the aspect Young is looking forward to the most. She said she cannot wait to explore the different cities and build connec-tions with people she meets.

While in Spain, Young said she will also work with the host com-munity to establish an after school literacy program with the local li-brary. The goal of the program is to provide educational programs, presentations and other fun activ-ities to engage local students. She hopes to reach out to local busi-nesses and museums to create ex-citing and engaging educational experiences.

“I cannot wait to get to know my students and build connec-tions with them and the staff at the school,” Young said. “I love teaching and I love students, so to be able to do it in such a beautiful place is incredibly exciting.”

Young said she fell in love with Spain when she studied abroad in Segovia last June heading into her senior year. While abroad, she took a literature and phonetics class and traveled to different cities like Sal-amanca, Madrid and Toledo.

Young also went on education-al tours around each city before exploring the city independently. She said she visited several muse-ums and bookstores, her favorite being the Pablo Picasso museum in Málaga.

In high school, Young studied abroad in Singapore for a semes-ter then traveled to Vietnam and Thailand. With her family, Young has also been to France, Monaco and Italy.

“The best part of traveling is having the opportunity to broad-en your horizons and build your own new cultural understanding while creating new relationships that could last a lifetime.”

Senior set to go to Spain for Fulbright

If you would like to see your event featured in the Calendar of Events, email the features editor at [email protected].

Martin Luther King Jr. Day No Classes

Campus Give Back Initiative@ 8:30-10:30 a.m. in Curris Center Banquet Room

Monday, Jan. 20:

Racer One Stop@ 8 a.m. in Curris Center Small Ballroom

Campus Lights Presents:“All Shook Up”@ 7:30 p.m. in Lovett Auditorium

Friday, Jan. 17:


Saturday, Jan. 18:


Sunday, Jan. 19:

If you would like to see your event featured in the Calendar of Events, email the features editor at [email protected].

Brooklyn Burnett The News

Land Between the Lakes BioBlitzNoon

Art Exhibit: BFA Senior Shows8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. @ 6th Floor Fine Arts

Thursday, Nov. 5:

Leadership Coaching Institute10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. @ MSU Faculty Development Center

Movie Night7 p.m. @ Curris Center Theater

Cinema International: Tazzeka7 p.m. @ Curris Center Barkley Room

Art exhibit: BA/BS Exhibition: UNPRECEDENTED8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. @ 6th Floor Fine Arts

Friday, Nov. 6:


Spring Orientation8 a.m. to 3 p.m. @ Curris Center

Spring Orientation8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. @ Curris Center

Canvas Studio9:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. @ MSU Faculty Development Center

Promotion and Tenure Session for Midway-to-Tenure Faculty12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. @ MSU Faculty Development Center

Five Years of Curiosity on Mars1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom

Tertulias (Spanish Coversation Table)1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom

Saturday, Nov. 7: Land Between the Lakes BioBlitzNoon

Sunday, Nov. 8:

Cinema International: Tazzeka7:30 p.m. @ Curris Center Barkley Room


Art Exhibit: BFA Senior Shows8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. @ 6th Floor Fine Arts

Art exhibit: BA/BS Exhibition: UNPRECEDENTED8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. @ 6th Floor Fine Arts

Photo courtesy of Lauran YoungSenior Lauran Young will travel to Spain on the Fulbright Student Program in Spain.

The best part

of traveling is having the opportunity to broaden

your horizons and build your own new cultural understanding while

creating new relationships that could

last a lifetime.

- Lauran Young, senior double major in TESOL and Spanish

Simon ElfrinkStaff [email protected]

Senior Autumn Brown gained sweeping attention on Twitter after posting their illustrated children’s book “New Names” on Oct. 12 for national Coming Out day.

Brown uploaded the book, which addresses diversity in gender iden-tities, as a thread on Twitter. Only hours later, the first tweet in the thread went viral with over 102,000 likes and 42,000 retweets.

“I was beyond excited,” Brown said. “It exploded the same day I posted it, and I remember being ecstatic when it reached 500 likes just a couple hours after posting it. Over the course of about three days it reached its peak of 102k likes and 42k shares. My phone was entirely unusable for that week.”

Brown said they have official-ly self-published “New Names” and has now sold over 300 copies, handling everything individually through direct messaging.

“It has definitely been very hard to balance while also going to school, but it’s been an exciting kind of crazy,” Brown said. “I honestly expected it to be like my other posts that get about 50 likes, and had I known that this would blow up the way it did I would have prepared the selling process differently.”

Brown, who is pursuing a bach-elor’s degree with an emphasis in drawing, said the book is officially an illustrated children’s book, but they encourage it for anyone who is willing to learn about gender iden-tity expression and inclusivity.

The book centers around charac-ters who are divided by a king into

two identities: “sneeps” and “morps.” As the story progresses, many of the characters do not fit into the char-acteristics of a “sneep” or “morp” and choose to identify with other names.

“The topic came naturally to me,” Brown said. “A lot of the zines I was making at the time were focused on the idea of arbitrarily categorizing things, drawing parallels to binary gender markers. A lot of that im-agery was more esoteric and funny than educational at a glance, so I made it a point to make the idea of defying labels something that even a child could easily grasp.”

Brown said the process of con-ceptualizing, drafting, writing and illustrating the book took about a month to complete. The early stag-es included a lot of sketching and drafting the story. Once the visuals were decided, the story adapted to take advantage of the imagery, as Brown wanted in order to make the book feel cohesive.

“The first part of conceptualizing ‘New Names’ was choosing a top-ic I wanted to talk about and what tone I wanted to approach it with,” Brown said. “A lot of my work cen-ters around the different facets of identity, and I was striving to make a more complicated or ‘intimidat-ing’ topic more approachable.”

The scans on Twitter and Insta-gram are from the original copy of the book, and Brown said “New Names” was entirely tradition-al from the beginning. Even the earliest writing and sketches were pencil in a notebook and the final product was watercolor and ink, Brown said.

Brown said they have wanted to be an author-illustrator since they

were young, so they are excited to keep selling copies as long as the demand is there.

Brown sa id they have been d r a w i n g a n d m a k i n g t h i n g s their entire life. As a kid, Brown said their favorite pastime was drawing cartoons they saw on TV, and as they got older they realized how powerful art can be

and wanted to use it to speak to people.

I f in te res ted in purchas ing Brown’s book, contact them on Twitter at @FreshlyPeeled or on Instagram at @AutumnNotGrace. They conduct all business through DMs currently but are looking to open an online storefront in the future.

Features12 Nov. 5, 2020

Cady Stribling/The NewsSenior Autumn Brown wrote and illustrated the book “New Names” that went viral on Twitter.

Student goes viral for book about pronounsSelf-published Senior

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