Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy What may be even more problematic than the monetary cuts in Gov. Matt Bevin’s budget proposal is his proposed shift to performance funding. Performance funding involves tying some of the state contribution to performance metrics. One common and largely uncontroversial version involves increased funding for increased enrollment. More involved Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed budget has sent a shock wave through the Murray State community. His proposals could be devastating to Murray State, but there are actions that we can take. The proposed budget is hitting Murray State in three ways. First is a 4.5 percent reduction in revenue Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy How many times has a fellow student asked you “What’s your major?” It’s an easy icebreaker when meeting people around campus. How many times have you been asked “Why did you choose that major?” It is a follow-up question that requires some reflection and information. Unfortunately, it is also a Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy After major terrorist attacks the most common reaction is fear. Individuals become fearful for their lives, governments fear instability and disorder, investors fear monetary losses. Actions taken while in fear are rarely based on facts or sound policy. They are usually designed to assuage our emotions regardless of the Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy This semester I have been teaching Murray State students in Regensburg, Germany. As part of the program, we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. Dachau was used to imprison political, social and ethic enemies of the Nazi government. Like many such camps, the prisoners were slaves, forced to work to Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy On June 17, 2015, nine people were killed in an Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The suspect in the case allegedly told police he committed the act to try and ignite a race war. Angry about race relations, he went into a church with a Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy It’s become a movie cliche for a character, during a heated debate, to declare that they don’t want to “just debate semantics.” The implication is that debates about the meanings of words are trivial and unnecessary. After all, it seems to be assumed, we all agree about the meanings of Read More
Column by John Muenzberg, Lecturer of philosophy This summer Kim Davis, the county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, has attracted national attention for her refusal to issue marriage licenses. While she refused to issue licenses to any couple, she stated that her refusal was due to a religious objection to same-sex marriage. Yet having a religious objection Read More