Student falls from Fine Arts Center, community in shock
Austin Ramsey News Editor
Jacob Derting, 21, male student fell to his death and was found outside of the Price Doyle Fine Arts Center, around 9:30 a.m. today. In a University statement released this afternoon, officials say initial investigation indicates the incident was an apparent suicide.
The Murray State Police and emergency management services responded and cordoned off the area from a mass of students in front of Waterfield Library minutes after Derting fell.
The area blocked off leads to the Zen Garden where the body was found. Several administrators and a detective are on site. A University official has reported the Derting has died. The Calloway County Coroner’s Office responded shortly after 10 a.m. The body was taken away around 10:17 a.m. Police used a blankets and a vision shield to hide the student as they moved the body by stretcher to the waiting ambulance.
In an email sent to all students and as a message highlighted at the top of the University’s website, President Randy Dunn said the incident has impacted the University community. In that statement, the President’s Office canceled classes for the remainder of the day.
“We are a tight knit campus family and this impacts us all,” Dunn said. “I encourage students, faculty and staff to utilize the campus resources available. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
Students are being encouraged to talk to professionals confidentially regarding the Fine Arts building incident this morning. They can visit the Counseling & Testing Center in room 104C of the Applied Science Building.
A crowd of people gathered in front of the library, many with hands over their mouths, in shock of the incident.
Will Propes, sophomore from Paducah, Ky., said he had just walked up when three Murray State police cars were pulling up beside the Fine Arts building.
“I just saw him laying there,” Propes said.
Sally Ortman, sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., said she was walking to the library when she came upon a group of people standing in the mall area between the Library and Fine Arts.
“I walked up to my friend who said she saw a guy on the ground after she heard a scream.”
Several witnesses have been interviewed by police, and the University is yet to release an official statement.
Staff writers Meghann Anderson and Olivia Medovich contributed to this report.
A GROUP OF STUDENTS LOOKS AT THE SCENE WHERE A STUDENT FELL TO HIS DEATH FROM PRICE DOYLE FINE ARTS CENTER THIS MORNING. || PHOTOS BY ALLIE DOUGLASS/THE NEWS
FROM LEFT, MARSHALL SHANK, GRADUATE STUDENT FROM OWENSBORO, KY., JORDAN MITCHELL, JUNIOR FROM IRVINGTON, KY., AND BRYCE NORRIS, GRADUATE STUDENT FROM SALISBURY, KY., STOP A MOMENT IN THE CROWD OF STUDENT ONLOOKERS TO SAY A QUICK PRAYER. A STUDENT FELL TO HIS DEATH FROM THE PRICE DOYLE FINE ARTS CENTER THIS MORNING.
Well, a cold Record Store Day does not mean a bad one necessarily, but it doesn't make for a fun one if you want to see bands playing at Grimey's like most of us tend to. Since I've been recovering from strep throat, I decided not to brave the weather and crowds there. I instead made a late appearance at the Great Escape on Charlotte where I had mad luck last year snagging all the RSD releases I wanted, plus made off with about forty other releases for pretty cheap. Spent over $100 total, but well worth it. This year, I spent $18 exactly and scored a big FOUR 7"s... Only two were RSD titles: Ramones/Red Hot Chili Peppers split of Havanna Affair and the Smoke Fairies 7". Here's the list of titles I wanted, but DIDN'T get: both of the Bad Brains releases, Beth Ditto EP, Daft Punk - Score from Tron 2, Fela Kuti 7", (wouldn't have minded) the Fleet Foxes 7", Michael Jackson 7", OFF! Live 7", (wouldn't have minded) the Peter Tosh 7", Pink Floyd '66/'67, Rush 7", Syd Barrett, Television 2x LP, The Cars 7", The Flaming Lips 1992-2002 5 album boxed set, Wild Flag 7", any of the Nickel Creek LPs, Bouncing Souls, but I gave no fuck about the Rancid release. Guess I lose punk rock credibility after naming all those wiener titles then dissing Rancid. Yeah? FUCK RANCID. I saw them at Warped Tour. Yes Warped Tour. That corporate fest where you get to see four punk bands you kind of care about play for thirty minutes and have to deal with all the Hot Topic teens and their parents giving you dirty looks for stepping on their kids toes while you're running across whatever parking lot you're in so you can catch the last fifteen minutes of the NOFX set because you decided you'd rather see Reel Big Fish. Who cares if it's corporate? If I had a chance to get paid to tour across the country, while having to pretend to support the other bands, not mind playing to a crowd of fifty kids who were too fat to walk with their friends who are watching The Ataris (who USED to be good) or some rando metal/screamo/hardcore/chug chug band that is the new flavour of the month, well I'd... I'd... I think I just talked myself out of it. Let's see who is playing this year at Warped Tour... HERE So out of the 100+ bands playing on the entire tour (this does not mean that if you take your cousin to the show you will have the chance to see even half of these bands), I RECOGNIZE a whopping sixteen of the bands' names, of those I've actually ever heard at least one song by Less Than Jake (the only one I would actually want to see or could even recognize by hearing a song), Simple Plan, Lucero, Paramore, Against Me!, Relient K, and the Blacklist Royals. The last two I mentioned are "from Nashville." HA. I won't even go off on that because that's way beside my point. So yeah, what was my point? Oh, yeah. I don't really care for Rancid. Too sloppy and not really my style of punk. Back to the original topic: RSD...
Also picked up a Countdown to Oblivion/They Live 7" split from Ugly Pop Records and the Hedgecreep self-titled from Wrecked 'Em Wreckords still with the original sticker! I'm an odd record collector as I try to keep my trips to record stores minimal. It's not that I don't want to spend hours searching/finding/discovering forgotten treasures, quite the contrary. I just always end up spending "more than I should." I would have loved to have picked up the Some Chicken - New Religion 7", a Chelsea 7", and the Marilyn - Sex Means Nothing When You're Dead 7", but went the cheap route instead. I remember seeing the O/TY split last year at Great Escape in the expansive shoebox size crate of punk 7"s they have, so I gave it a spin and decided to splurge for the $3 piece of wax. So yeah. I would have dropped a lot more coin if I wasn't saving up for a big move I'm making in three months....
I guess now is as good a time as any to announce that the Backchannel Broadcast will be off Nashville's airwaves three months from now. It has been such a great honour to be on "the greatest station in the nation" for the past (almost) two years playing punk rock jams to Music City and beyond, but I've got to be travellin' on now. What the fuck? I just quoted Freebird. Now I know I HAVE to get out of the south. ha. I am working on getting hooked up with a radio station at my next destination, and if that happens, this blog will stay alive. I may even update this every so often even without the show to share any new finds I've made. No matter what I do or where I go, I will ALWAYS continue to support WRVU and try to help keep 91.1 on the FM dial until the end of time. I know that as long as WRVU exists it will continue to be one of the country's best and most important college radio stations. Again, it's so unbelievable that I have even been allowed to step through the doors of the station, let alone had the honour of my show being dubbed a "specialty show" on the station which has allowed me to basically have free-will as to what I play. I've been in Nashville for four years, and there are many things I will miss about it (Yazoo, the Predators, the Flying Saucer, honky tonkin', bombing Broadway on my bicycle, Halcyon Bike Shop, Love Circle, Monday nights at the 5-Spot, all the rad house show spots and "legit" venues, the Belcourt, and of course all the great people I've met here). I'd be lying if I said that I'd miss WRVU more than my Nashville friends, but I would put it above all the other things I've mentioned above. WRVU is such a special part of what Nashville is to me. So, thank you to all the people who have allowed me to become a part of WRVU. Anyhow, that was waaaay too sappy, but I guess it kind of evened out all the pissed-off punk talk of above.
Before I wrap this up, I've got to mention that yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the death of the King of Punk Rock, Jeffry Ross Hyman, AKA Joey Ramone. Tonight, I'm gonna jam some Ramones tunes in honour of that great, great man. A million things can and should be said about him, but I'm just going to let his music do the talking tonight.
Last but not least, I must mention that if you haven't yet, make it a point in between any other activities you may be partaking in on 4/20 to go see Better Than Something: Jay Reatard. Check out the write up from the Nashville Scene HERE.
Anything else, you can probably find if you search hard enough. As always, I play the record (or CD or cassette) when possible, but do love technology for being able to find so much shit so easily. Here's the complete PLAYLIST from the show. Listen to it HERE.
So the Freakin' Weekend came and went. I saw a grand total of two bands. ha. Yeah, I guess birthday weekends can do that to you. It helped I was pumped full of alcohol before going on Friday by my friends, and once at the show my roommate was told she couldn't go back into Exit/In because she was too drunk. Too drunk for Exit/In?! WHATTHEFUCK?! Other things got in the way for the other nights... like a radio show and recovering. I'm a bitch. So yeah. I had a blasty blast on Friday, though. Good friends and good beers made my night and the rest of the weekend. Make sure you check Nashville's Dead for a recap of the wknd along with this week's upcoming shows.
So if you missed my radio show because you were raging at The End on Saturday, you can listen to it all this week. LISTEN Yes, I know you have to play it through Real Player, but you know it's totally worth it! PLAYLIST If you did catch the show, you heard me mention meeting a rad guy named Nic who had a rad punk band back in 1981 called THE ZITS. Click on the link to check out the story of THE ZITS along with a couple mp3s from the 7" he so graciously sent me. It's a perfect punk rock story of a band that lasted all of four months. Thankfully in that short amount of time they scraped together enough cash to put out a piece of wax. I found this obscure mention of THE ZITS on collectorscum.com
That's all I gots for now. Check out this random shit now:
FROM LEFT, MARSHALL SHANK, GRADUATE STUDENT FROM OWENSBORO, KY., JORDAN MITCHELL, JUNIOR FROM IRVINGTON, KY., AND BRYCE NORRIS, GRADUATE STUDENT FROM SALISBURY, KY., STOP A MOMENT IN THE CROWD OF STUDENT ONLOOKERS TO SAY A QUICK PRAYER. A STUDENT FELL TO HIS DEATH FROM THE PRICE DOYLE FINE ARTS CENTER THIS MORNING.
