The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Murray State News.
Students are back on campus this week and The Murray State News is ready for a new year. We have a new website with great content, so make sure to get online and see everything thenews.org has to offer.
The new staff here at The News would like to welcome everyone back with a new year of finals, myGate woes, terrible snow/wind storms as well as the occasional loud sirens that like to wake us up in the middle of the night for unknown reasons. And for those who live in the residential colleges make sure to prepare for the many random fire alarms at 2 a.m. You know, the usual here at Murray State.
Students new to the University may not notice some of the improvements across campus. But those of us who are seasoned veterans are glad to see many of the new additions. The main sidewalk looks (and feels) great and will be appreciated by the thousands of daily walking and bicycling students.
Even with all the construction and renovation about to start in Elizabeth College there is the promise of a more modern, livable campus to which students can look forward. We cannot help but be proud of the University in its strive to create an atmosphere of progress and comfort toward students.
So many other higher education institutions today forget about the welfare of the student body and fall short in their mission of building the next generation of college graduates.
Murray State is showing once again this year its priorities are in order in creating the best college experience it can possibly achieve for the student body.
We hope all students welcome the new faculty (and a few unexpected old ones) to campus and help them in making the University a place they will come to love and appreciate. The University cannot grow if it cannot retain its faculty. So make an effort toward all those first time instructors and professors, it will be worth its weight in gold at the end of the semester.
The city also expanded its support to alternative transportation last spring with the installment of “share the road” signs for bicyclists and has plans to build a new sidewalk down the busiest section of Sycamore Street. We hope the city keeps up this current mode of thinking. Nothing can be better for college students than to live in a healthy, active and sustainable community. Our lifestyle directly affects our academics. So make sure to start the new year off on a good note.
Across the town there are plenty of new sites and tastes, with new businesses finding their homes in Murray. Whether its a really good doughnut in the morning, a chicken sandwich for lunch or some great barbecue to finish off the day, this town is certainly growing for the better when it comes to food. And when it comes to food, do not forget the Saturday farmers market. Fresh local food can make the difference between a good meal and an awesome one. In college those can be a rarity.
Do not hesitate to partake in the many opportunities the city has to offer. Supporting a local business is one of the best choices we can make in a community that does so much to make this city feel like a home away from home. For many that is exactly what Murray is. We hope in time other students will feel the same.