| Monday, February 19, 2018 |
| Mississippi State to get $67 million private dorm complex | |
 | A private company is approved to begin building a $67 million development of student apartments and stores at Mississippi State University. The College Board approved plans Thursday in what university President Mark Keenum calls the first development of its kind in Mississippi. The university is leasing 34 acres where Aiken Village apartments formerly stood to EdR for 40 years. |
| Roses and thorns: 2/18/18 - Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees | |
 | The Dispatch gives a rose to the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, which approved a partnership that will increase the availability of much-needed residential options for Mississippi State University students The partnership between MSU and Memphis-based Education Realty Trust (EdR) is an important step in the development of a $67 million College View mixed-use university village. The development will be built on an approximately 34-acre piece of land on the northwest edge of campus, where the Aiken Village apartments were formerly located before their demolition. The planned project is a multi-phase development and will include 656 beds for upperclassmen in its first phase, according to the release. The project will also include 46,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, recreational amenities, an outdoor entertainment zone, a 7,000 square-foot day care center and parking. |
| Mississippi State using federal money to plan new road | |
| Mississippi State University is planning a new road meant to alleviate congestion around the east side of its campus. College Board trustees on Thursday gave approval for the university to spend $1.4 million in federal money to design what it's calling Bulldog Way. President Mark Keenum says the university hopes to obtain federal funding to build the road, which would provide another outlet for congested traffic in a rapidly developing area along Blackjack and Oktoc roads south of campus. Now, traffic must flow west to reach the campus and Starkville's commercial areas. |
| Mississippi State researchers, aerial applicators looking at drone tech | |
 | The frequent roar and rush of streaking yellow airplanes during the Mid-South growing season is often taken for granted. For those on the ground, taking to the skies to deliver vital pesticides and nutrients may look effortless. Aerial applicators, though, know the hard truth. "Up there, we're multi-tasking like you can't believe," says Ike Brunetti, a veteran aerial applicator in Shelby, Miss. "Don't misunderstand, I really enjoy what I do. But handling the aircraft, worrying about our payload and the associated stress that comes with each application means we are constantly under the gun." Now, the aerial application industry must add another factor to their ever-changing environment: drones. Two years ago, the Mississippi Aerial Applicators Association (MAAA) was approached by Mississippi State University's Precision Agricultural Department and Geosystems Research Institute. That initial meeting has expanded to Brunetti working with other MSU researchers looking into unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology. |
| MSU writer-in-residence to promote appreciation for reading | |
 | Jess Walter, a New York Times best-selling fiction author and National Book Award finalist, will read from his works during a public program at Mississippi State University on Thursday. Walter's 7:30 p.m. reading is sponsored by the university's Institute for the Humanities. Held in Taylor Auditorium in McCool Hall, the event is free and open to the public. Serving as MSU's Writer-in-Residence, Walter will participate during his four-day visit in a variety of activities to increase appreciation of literature, reading and writing. He will meet with individual students during his office hours and visit an advanced fiction workshop. Walter also will offer opportunities for students to meet informally with him for lunch or coffee breaks. |
| C Spire, Microsoft bring new computer science program to Mississippi State | |
 | A computer science program supported by C Spire will now take hold in Mississippi classrooms, with some involvement from Mississippi State University. The Technology Education And Learning in Schools (TEALS) program, which was formulated by Microsoft Philanthropies, will be presented in Mississippi, in conjunction with C Spire. The program is centered on teaching computer science in Mississippi, with efforts aimed at improving teacher skills, professional development and high school computer science instruction in Mississippi. "Essentially what this is is an agreement, a letter of intent to cooperate, partner together on this initiative in Mississippi," said C Spire Media Relations Senior Manager Dave Miller. |
| Delegate officers named for MSU Alumni Association | |
| The Alumni Delegates organization at Mississippi State University last week named its newest leaders, which includes two students that are Mississippi natives and one each from Louisiana and Tennessee. The 40-member group helps the university and MSU Alumni Association maintain ties with nearly 140,000 living graduates of the university. Alumni Association Associate Director and delegate adviser Libba Andrews expressed the organizations excitement for the new group of officers. "They are an integral part of our association, and we are grateful for their service and dedication to our university and our alumni," Andrews said. |
| Worth the drive: Classics of all kinds will highlight MSU Riley Center season | |
| Classics will rule the stage as the MSU Riley Center presents its 2018 Spring/Summer Performing Arts Series, starting April 14 with a concert by the powerhouse rock band Jefferson Starship. Classic rock and soul, classic American roots music, a renowned classical ballet and even a family-oriented musical version of a classic fairy tale make up the Spring/Summer Series. The nine-show season runs through Aug. 18. "Each of our performers and productions in the Spring/Summer Series has, in some exceptional way, stood the test of time," said Dennis Sankovich, the Riley Center's executive director. "What better fit could we have for our Victorian gem of a theater? It made its grand debut in 1890, regained its youthful vigor in 2006, thanks to a loving restoration, and has since inspired the ongoing revival of Meridian's historic downtown." |
| Merit Badge University at Mississippi State | |
 | Local scouts gather on Mississippi State's campus to improve their skills. On Saturday, more than one hundred boy scouts from all over North Mississippi had the chance to move up in ranks at the annual merit badge university. A local scouting mom says today means more than just earning a badge its also about preparing young men for adulthood. "It's a safe place to learn to make mistakes and learn from them so that when they get ready to be grown they've got a lot more skills in their back pockets," said Scout parent Becky Smith. |
| Higher Education Notes: NCTA, Mississippi State form poultry partnership | |
 | The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture and Mississippi State University will link to train workers for the poultry industry. The joint venture includes three semesters at the Curtis, Nebraska, college. Then the students will spend a semester at Mississippi State's department of poultry science. Upon completion, students will earn an associate degree in applied science in ag production systems with a concentration in poultry science. Completion of the 77-hour program is designed to help students enter the workforce in management positions in the industry. |
| Melissa Luckett resigns from SOCSD Board | |
| The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District is now down a member following this week's resignation of assistant secretary Melissa Luckett. Luckett had served on the school board for slightly less than a year after being appointed by the Starkville Board of Aldermen last February. Luckett was chosen over current school board member Debra Prince by a tie-breaking vote from former Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman. She filled the seat left vacant by Jenny Turner after the end of her term. Luckett told the SDN she was stepping down after a move outside of the Starkville city limits. "Because of my family's move outside of the Starkville corporate limits, I am no longer eligible to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Starkville Oktibbeha School District," Luckett said. "This was a very difficult decision for me because I have enjoyed my service with the board and district administrators. However, I look forward to supporting the district and being involved in one way or another in the future." |
| Plan tries to slow brain drain from Mississippi | |
| Mississippi has a bright-lights-big-city problem, with a significant numbers of college graduates earning their degrees in this mostly rural state and then departing for bigger paychecks and expanded cultural opportunities in Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville and beyond. Not everybody packs the car and heads out once they have a diploma in hand. But brain drain is common enough that some policymakers are starting to recognize it as a long-term problem for the economic well-being of Mississippi, which has long been one of the poorest states in the nation. House Bill 1550 passed the House with broad bipartisan support last week. It offers tax breaks to people who earn bachelor's degrees or professional degrees and then either stay in Mississippi, or move into the state, to work. If the bill becomes law, grads could essentially skip paying state income tax for three years. The breaks could extend two more years if those people buy real estate, start a business that employs at least two people or work as K-12 teachers. |
| Upcoming week pivotal for transportation in 2018 session | |
 | With a key deadline looming Wednesday, neither chamber of the Mississippi Legislature has passed a proposal that would address the state's transportation system. And, at this point, it does not appear House leaders, who have been the most vocal in expressing the need to address the issue, plan to bring forth legislation. "I don't think we will" pass legislation, said House Transportation Vice Chairman Steve Massengill, R-Hickory Flat. "I think we should do something, but I am not in charge." Various sources have indicated that the plan put forward by House Transportation Chairman Charles Busby, R-Pascagoula, will not be taken up this session. That proposal was to increase the fuel tax for transportation while cutting the income tax that goes to such entities as education, public safety and health care. |
| How much state funding should schools get is the biggest debate raging in the Legislature | |
| Opponents of changing the way Mississippi funds its public schools say that all schools will come out poorer under a proposed new formula than if the current one were fully funded. Only twice in 20 years have lawmakers provided the entire amount demanded by the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program. Last month, representatives approved House Bill 957, which would replace the current formula with one that Republicans say would be more transparent and affordable. The measure awaits Senate action, which could come soon after Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves assigned the bill to the Senate Education Committee on Friday. Sen. Hob Bryan, an Amory Democrat who helped write the existing law, said that the bill's promise of increasing funding by $107 million after a seven-year phase-in falls short of what schools should get if the current formula was completely funded and grew modestly. |
| Underfunded MAEP produces more funds for local school districts than new plan | |
| Based on past legislative appropriations, an underfunded Mississippi Adequate Education Program would provide more state funds for local school districts than the proposed funding formula that has passed the House and is pending in the state Senate. The MAEP, which provides the state's share of the funds to operate local school districts, has been underfunded about $2.2 billion since 2008. Still, based on the average level of increase in funding annually for the past six years, the Adequate Education Program would provide $130.6 million more in funding than the new House proposal when it is fully enacted in 2025. Numbers compiled by the pro-public education advocacy group, the Parents Campaign, show that if funding for the MAEP continues to increase at the same rate it has for the past six years it would provide a total of $2.44 billion in state funds for the local school districts in 2025. The new House proposal would provide $2.31 billion. |
| Legislature spends week on appropriations | |
| Mississippi students may no longer have to take an exit exam if an amendment to the House appropriations bill lands on the governor's desk as part of the state budget. District 55 Rep. Oscar Denton, D-Vicksburg, said the amendment introduced by Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, would prevent the Mississippi Department of Education from receiving state funding unless the department removes the requirement that all students pass the end-of-the-year exit exams. The amendment was passed by a voice vote, Denton said. He called the exit exam "one of the craziest" ideas from the Department of Education. The Miles amendment was one of several financial matters as the House examined the preliminary budgets of state agencies. In a related education matter, House Bill 1550, which would allow recent college graduates to file for a tax deduction after graduating from a four-year college or university was sent to the floor by the House Ways and Means Committee. |
| Sen. Sally Doty offers conservative platform on congressional campaign | |
| On a campaign stop in Starkville Saturday, state Sen. Sally Doty, a candidate in the race for Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District seat, sat down with the SDN. Doty currently serves in the state Senate, representing District 39 as a Republican and resides in Brookhaven. In the Senate, Doty is chair of the Senate Energy Committee and serves on the Judiciary-A committee. She is currently in her second term in the Mississippi Senate. She holds an undergraduate degree from the Mississippi University for Women and a law degree from the Mississippi College School of Law. Doty said she hoped to bring what she had learned in Jackson to Washington. |
| Conservatives urge Trump to grant pardons in Russia probe | |
 | After months of criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, President Donald Trump's supporters are issuing increasingly bold calls for presidential pardons to limit the investigation's impact. "I think he should be pardoning anybody who's been indicted and make it clear that anybody else who gets indicted would be pardoned immediately," said Frederick Fleitz, a former CIA analyst and senior vice president at the conservative Center for Security Policy. The pleas for mercy mainly extend to the four former Trump aides who have already been swept up in the Russia probe: former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. But they don't stop there. |
| How Unwitting Americans Encountered Russian Operatives Online | |
 | They were politically active Americans scattered around the country, dedicating their spare time to the 2016 presidential campaign or various causes. And the seeming fellow activists who called them to rallies via Facebook, or joined in the free-for-all on Twitter, appeared unremarkable. Except that their English sometimes seemed a little odd. An indictment filed in court on Friday by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the election, laid out for the first time, in riveting detail, how Russia carried out its campaign on social media. And while the indictment did not suggest any involvement by President Trump or his associates, it did say many Americans engaged with the Russian trolls without knowing who or where they really were. |
| Ranking Homeland Security Democrat rebukes FBI over Florida shooting | |
 | The ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee issued a statement criticizing the FBI on Friday after the bureau admitted it failed to follow standard "protocol" when it received a tip earlier this year about the suspect accused of killing 17 at a Florida high school on Wednesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) called for oversight on the FBI's information-sharing systems in a statement calling the agency's failure to act on a tip from a public hotline tragic. The Mississippi Democrat went on to call for a congressional investigation of the FBI's tip-sharing practices as well as legislation regulating the sale of assault rifles like the AR-15 rifle allegedly used in the Parkland, Fla., attack, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, and other mass shootings that have occurred in the past few years. |
| Playwright-hand man: Award-winning MUW professor writes what he knows | |
| Kris Lee's office on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women was formerly a custodian's closet. While that term -- and this specific room -- are generally associated with terms of cleaning and upkeep, Lee is a custodian himself. A caretaker. A steward and keeper of the written word he crafts so well. "People still come in here looking for a mop, though," Lee, 41, said laughing. Looking around the room, which once housed suds and sponges, chemicals and compounds, Lee has modeled a modest supply of books and bibelots in their place. There's no window, but that's fine. Lee makes his own portal outward putting pen to paper. Writing under the name T.K. Lee, his talents have garnered him multiple awards for playwriting. |
| Kempker, Shrestha are The W's HEADWAE honorees | |
| Erin Kempker, chair of the Mississippi University for Women Department of History, Political Science, and Geography, and Lisa Shrestha, senior biology student, will represent The W at the Higher Education Appreciation Day, Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) Appreciation Day in Jackson Tuesday. One student and faculty honoree are annually selected from each of the 34 Mississippi public and private universities and colleges to participate in the Appreciation Day event and luncheon. Honorees will begin the day with a visit to the State Capitol where they will be recognized by the Senate and House of Representatives and given a tour of the Capitol. |
| The W to hold public dedication of Pioneers Plaza Friday | |
| Mississippi University for Women will dedicate a new campus space, Pioneers Plaza, which honors individuals who have contributed to shaping the university's history, on Friday, Feb. 23 at 10:30 a.m. The first six African-American students who enrolled at The W in 1966 will be recognized on this day. They included Diane Hardy, Barbara Turner and Laverne Greene as undergraduates and Jacqueline Edwards, Mary L. Flowers and Eula M. Houser as graduate students. All were from Columbus. "We are excited about this new space on campus, which is a visible way for us to honor the rich history of our university," said MUW President Jim Borsig. "Pioneers Plaza is an opportunity for us to recognize the courage of those individuals whose actions marked major turning points in our history." |
| U. of Mississippi lobbies state legislature for additional funding | |
 | The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning has lost more than $107 million in state-appropriated funding since July 2016, and the University of Mississippi has joined the fight to reel that money back into the state's education budget. Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter visited the state Legislature with presidents from the seven other IHL-affiliated schools last month to request an additional $85 million be appropriated to the IHL this upcoming fiscal year. The IHL has gained 15,205 in full-time equivalent students across all eight schools since 2009, and lost $2,085 in appropriations per student. Vitter said the sought-after $85 million would bring the IHL's budget closer to where it was two years ago, allow for faculty pay raises and reduce reliance on money generated from tuition. |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College campuses given all clear after threats | |
 | All three campuses of Northwest Mississippi Community College were placed on lockdown late Friday afternoon due to a potential threat by a student, according to a Northwest spokesperson. "All three of our campuses were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure," Julie Bauer, spokesperson for Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia. "We just received a Ranger alert in the last few minutes that we have been given an all-clear and that we can resume normal operations." Northwest has campuses located in Senatobia, Southaven and Oxford. "Our police are investigating a potential threat," Bauer said. When asked if the threat was specific or if an individual was being targeted as a result of the information, Bauer said she did not have all of the details. "They just told me it was a student," Bauer said. |
| U. of Alabama English professor earns writing award | |
 | Award-winning author and University of Alabama English professor Trudier Harris has been named winner of the 2018 Clarence E. Cason Award in Nonfiction Writing. She is a distinguished research professor in UA's department of English. Her work focuses on the experiences and writings of women and African-Americans in the Southeast United States. Harris, a Tuscaloosa native, received an undergraduate degree from Stillman College and a doctorate from Ohio State University. She is the author or editor of more than two dozen books as well as the recipient of multiple awards in writing and teaching. Cason founded UA's department of journalism in 1928. The University of Alabama bestows the honor on a recipient each year with a strong connection to Alabama whose writing has made a critical contribution to the journalism and literature of the South. |
| Auburn University's Dixon Center chosen for national Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program | |
 | For the first time in its history, the national Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program is providing training in the eastern United States, and it is doing so at the Auburn University Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center in Andalusia. The training course, also known as WFAP, dates back to 1989 and is traditionally held in Sacramento, California. WFAP has trained more than 2,000 apprentices in wildland firefighting and prepared them for a future as fire managers. Wildland firefighters are dispatched to fight wildfires in national forests throughout the nation, including Alabama's four national forests -- Bankhead, Conecuh, Talladega and Tuskegee. In early February, 48 wildland firefighter apprentices gathered for the first WFAP academy at Auburn's Dixon Center. The Dixon Center's 5,300-plus acres features fresh water springs, longleaf pine forests, cypress swamps, frontage along the Conecuh River and the national forest. |
| Six U. of Tennessee employees violated sexual misconduct policies | |
 | In the last two years, the University of Tennessee Knoxville made determinations in six cases of sexual misconduct by faculty or staff that led to those employees resigning or disciplinary action being taken. The cases include a faculty member who made suggestive comments to a student in his office after a night of drinking and a staff member at John C. Hodges Library who would ogle a co-worker and make comments about her body and clothing, including a suggestion she carry a concealed weapon in her bra. The six complaints made between November 2015 and November 2017 represent only accusations involving faculty or staff -- not between students -- that the university said were substantiated by the Office of Equity and Diversity. The total number of complaints involving faculty or staff was not available, and the university said coming up with a number "is not easy because of the various ways issues are reported and addressed." |
| Lawyers question U. of Arkansas logo sharing with Razorback Foundation | |
| The Razorback Foundation has free use of University of Arkansas, Fayetteville trademarks that others must pay to display, an arrangement set by "oral" agreements and university policy that outside attorneys find lacking. The foundation bears the "Razorback" name, and UA's "Running Razorback" emblem is the centerpiece of its official logo. A side silhouette of a forward-charging hog appears on the foundation's website, fundraising documents and communication with donors. UA and foundation officials have cited the nonprofit's independence --- it is governed by its own board of directors -- and have said it receives no public money, so they can withhold from public release documents about foundation business that overlaps with the state's largest university. |
| Parents who lost children to college hazing to meet in South Carolina | |
 | They have bonded together over a shared experience no parent wants to have. Combined, they have lost 16 children, including one -- Tucker Hipps -- who went to Clemson University. Young adults they sent to college with the brightest hopes for their future, only to get the unimaginable news they had died in what was supposed to be the fun process of joining a fraternity. Next weekend, the parents of children who lost their lives in college hazing incidents will come together for a meeting in South Carolina. They hope to share their pain with each other, and plan for what they might be able to do next if they work together. The meeting is being hosted by Cindy Hipps, whose son Tucker died on a fraternity run at Clemson on Sept. 22, 2014. His family thinks hazing led to Tucker's fatal fall from a bridge over Lake Hartwell that morning. |
| UGA Miracle raises more than $1M for children's hospital | |
 | More than 3,000 students representing dozens of student organizations gathered in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall on Sunday to celebrate raising more than $1.26 million for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. This is the third consecutive year UGA Miracle achieved a seven-figure fundraising total. Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, and continuing until the same time Sunday, the entire student center was filled with students, faculty and staff for UGA Miracle's 24-hour Dance Marathon. Throughout the night, participants danced, listened to live music and took pictures with Hairy Dawg. For the students, it's all about connections to the Miracle children and their families, and to each other. "There is never a day where I do not feel connected to this cause and this organization," said Davis Haines, UGA Miracle's communications director who lost his brother to cancer. |
| Campaign aims to raise binge drinking awareness at Texas A&M | |
 | Using free coffee, games, gifts and karaoke at Northgate, a group of Texas A&M students and staff with the Office of Student Life are working to combat binge drinking among students with a new campaign centered more on light-hearted fun than scare tactics. The LessThanUThink campaign was created by advertising students at the University of Alabama several years ago to spread the message of safe alcohol consumption in a friendly, humorous manner. In 2017, the Office of Student Life applied for a contract to have LessThanUThink implemented at Texas A&M, and a group of students have embraced the campaign and are trying to extend their reach in influencing classmates. About one-third of college students in the United States, including one-third of Texas A&M students, engage in binge drinking while in college, Student Life's Marigold Hudock said. Binge drinking is generally defined, she said, by consuming more than four to five drinks in less than two hours. Excessive drinking causes long-term organ damage, and can endanger someone in the short term with the possibility of alcohol poisoning and the risk of driving while intoxicated. |
| Mueller indicts Russian agency cited as origin of U. of Missouri disruption effort | |
 | The first organization listed in the indictment Friday of Russians charged with meddling in the 2016 election was the same group a U.S. Air Force officer identified as the likely source of efforts to spread fear and disinformation during the University of Missouri protests in 2015. Lt. Col. Jared Prier, author of "Commanding the Trend: Social Media as Information Warfare," identified the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, as the control organization for the Russian social media campaign. The organization, Prier wrote, is an "army of professional trolls" who sought to manipulate the public in the United States, Europe and elsewhere through social media. The indictment from Special Counsel Robert Mueller accuses the Internet Research Agency, two other organizations and 13 individuals with breaking U.S. law with their activities. The activity began in 2014, the indictment charges. |
| Proposed Education Department reorganization would merge higher ed-related offices, positions | |
 | A Department of Education reorganization plan whose broad themes were shared with employees last week would collapse multiple units with higher ed functions into one office whose leader would answer directly to the secretary. The plan also calls for eliminating the office of the under secretary, which has played a key role in shaping higher education policy during the previous two presidential administrations. Those moves would be part of a larger shake-up of the department that officials say is intended to make lines of decision making more clear, improve policy coordination and reduce the total number of political appointees. It would also be Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's clearest imprint yet on the agency after spending much of the last year reversing Obama administration initiatives. |
| After 2016 Election, Campus Hate Crimes Seemed to Jump; Here's What the Data Tell Us | |
 | In the charged weeks after the election of Donald J. Trump, analysts and advocacy groups noted a rise in reports of hate crimes. Colleges seemed to be seeing that rise as much as any public spaces. Anecdotal evidence suggested that acts of campus harassment and violence were on the upswing. (The Chronicle collected much of that evidence in a running roundup.) There was a grim logic behind the anecdotes: As spaces often populated by the religious and ethnic minority groups Trump pilloried during his bruising campaign, college campuses were natural incubators for conflict. Many campus incidents, in fact, involved references to the president-elect. But was there really a surge in hate-motivated episodes across public and private colleges and universities? That was hard to say until recently. |
| Leave for a president raises question of whether college leaders should hug employees | |
| Since early this month, President Ron Langrell has been on paid administrative leave from Bates Technical College, in Washington State. No one has said why he is on leave. But on Friday, The News Tribune revealed the reason. The college and its board are investigating charges that Langrell has been intimidating and demeaning employees. One of the charges is that he engages in "unwanted hugging," and the investigation was prompted by a complaint from an employee who described being hugged by the president in November when their paths crossed in a hallway. The interaction was caught on security cameras. Langrell and the college did not respond to requests from Inside Higher Ed for comment. But several experts on college presidencies did. While not commenting on Langrell, they said that, as a general rule, handshakes are a better default greeting for a president to use than a hug. There are situations where a hug may be appropriate, they said, but they are the exception. |
| Mentorship valuable tool for students, parents | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "The only thing that is constant is change is a saying that resonates throughout a child's educational experiences. While these changes begin immediately from pre-kindergarten, where naps are still the norm, to kindergarten, where order begins to rule the land, there is some degree of predictability to these changes. For example, anyone who has successfully matriculated through elementary school knows that the severity for forgetting things increases as the grades advance. Furthermore, advanced grades advance in homework variety and complexity. Eventually, one even gets to have some voice in the classes selected. However, how is a novice student to possibly learn such overwhelming complexities, especially given the pace at which they arrive? In order to successfully navigate the future, it is recommended that everyone discover a mentor." |
| Trumponomics may push national debt interest costs higher than Social Security, Medicare | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "Basic math and what the Wall Street Journal calls 'Trumponomics' are headed for a brutal collision. Here's why. The national debt is $20.6 trillion and rising. With rates low, annual debt interest costs averaged about $250 billion from 2011 through 2016. As the economy improved, interest rates slowly ticked up. But, now they are expected to surge as the stimulus jolt to an economy already at full employment from Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut package plus over $300 billion in added government spending drive up inflation -- and interest rates -- over the next ten years. Oh, those tax cuts and spending will also push annual deficits above $1 trillion for the foreseeable future, jacking up the debt even more as interest rates surge. Basic math says higher interest rates times huge and growing debt equals much higher interest costs. How high?" |
| Early intervention gets a great return on the investment | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: "Who wouldn't be happy with a 13.8 percent return on investment? A stockbroker who could do that would have investors beating down his door. Nobel prize winner economist James Heckman was in Jackson, Mississippi, last month presenting evidence that early childhood intervention can yield a 13.8 percent monetary return for the state of Mississippi. Lest you think this is a bunch of left-wing hokum, Heckman was introduced in the auditorium of the new Civil Rights Museum by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant who enthusiastically endorsed the use of daycare centers as early intervention platforms. ...Heckman has discovered two key things: First, you can indeed track and quantify the return on investment for different early education programs. Second, some work. Others don't. Those that work can confer a huge return on social investment." |
| Lawmakers praise 'local control' very selectively | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "A prime talking point for legislative advocates of charter schools this year is 'local control.' It sounds so very appealing, harkens to the day when there was no officious intermeddling (and it is often officious intermeddling) from Jackson and Washington, D.C. Yes, in the one-room schoolhouse good old days, all teachers knew the families of all students and all families knew all teachers. Indeed, one of the stated objectives in a makeover of Jackson Public Schools is to make each school building a center of community life. Not a talking point, however, is that most charters to operate local schools are awarded to multinational corporations that spend heavily -- campaign contributions and otherwise -- to lure state contracts they find extremely lucrative. But never mind about that. Today the aim is to talk about how selective legislators are in their respect for the ability of local folks to make the best decisions about their communities." |
| Trump plan won't fix Mississippi's potholes | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Anyone hoping President Trump's $1.5-trillion federal infrastructure plan would solve Mississippi's roads, bridges, water and sewerage woes was greatly disappointed Monday. For starters, the $1.5 trillion plan included only $200 billion in real money. The other $1.3 billion is theoretical money the $200 billion is expected to induce state and local taxpayers and private businesses to cough up. Secondly, Trump hasn't publicly specified how the $200 billion in federal spending would be funded, although he reportedly has floated the idea of a 25-cents-a-gallon fuel tax increase. That would be about as popular with the GOP leadership in Congress as it has been with the GOP leadership in the Mississippi Legislature. I expect Trump's team to walk this fuel tax talk back in coming days." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs clinch SEC Championship | |
| The chant started with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining. "S-E-C. S-E-C." It grew in momentum until all of the 9,933 inside Humphrey Coliseum were yelling in unison to acknowledge what soon would become reality: the Mississippi State women's basketball team was Southeastern Conference regular-season champion. Buoyed by a team-high 26 points from senior Victoria Vivians, No. 2 MSU defeated No. 17 Texas A&M 76-55 in front of the third-straight sell-out crowd at the Hump. The victory helped MSU (28-0, 14-0 SEC) clinch its first SEC regular-season championship. It also is MSU's first SEC title in any women's sport. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball captures first SEC championship | |
| When the game was over and Mississippi State beat Texas A&M 76-55 on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum, Vic Schaefer took a microphone and told the crowd this was the best team he has coached in 33 years. It's hard to debate that. Forget the comparisons now to last season; this group is clearly better than it was a year ago. No. 2 Mississippi State (28-0, 14-0 SEC) captured the SEC regular season championship outright. It's the first time in school history that any women's program has accomplished that. "Today was very special," Schaefer said. "To be able to do it tonight in front of our fans, it just doesn't get any better than that, y'all. |
| No. 2 Mississippi State women beat No. 17 Texas A&M to wrap up SEC regular-season title | |
| Shortly after the final buzzer sounded Sunday in front of a near-capacity crowd of 9,933 at Humphrey Coliseum, Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer grabbed a microphone. The No. 2 Bulldogs had just wrapped up a 76-55 win over No. 17 Texas A&M. It was another ho-hum Southeastern Conference victory for Mississippi State (28-0, 14-0 SEC) outside of the fact that more history was made for Schaefer and company. A win captured the first-ever SEC championship for any women's team in school history and Schaefer's tearful response to the fanbase he helped built capped it. "I believed and dreamed of this day to share with you in this moment," Schaefer said. "This is what makes Mississippi State so special." A few days after clinching at least a share of the conference title at Vanderbilt, Mississippi State had no plans of coasting. The Bulldogs used an 11-0 run to start the game with two 3-pointers a piece from Victoria Vivians and Roshunda Johnson to jump out to a double digit lead they would hold on to most of the game. |
| Mississippi State athletics claims its 36th league crown | |
| Mississippi State has become Southeastern Conference champions once again. For the 36th time in school history, athletics has claimed a title in the SEC. The latest was achieved on Sunday when the Bulldogs defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 76-55 for the league's regular season women's basketball crown. It was the 25 SEC regular season championship for MSU sports. There have been 11 conference tournament titles. "To win a Southeastern Conference championship, it takes something special from everyone," State women's basketball head coach Vic Schaefer said. "(Sunday) was very special with these young ladies, my family and my Mississippi State family. |
| Defense hitting stride for Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs | |
| "Spectacular" isn't a word Mississippi State women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer has used very often -- if at all -- this season to describe his team's defense. But Schaefer didn't hesitate Sunday to use the superlative to highlight No. 2 MSU's performance on the end of the court that is near and dear to his heart in a 76-55 victory against No. 17 Texas A&M before a sold-out crowd of 9,933 at Humphrey Coliseum. "I thought we were just really spectacular with how we tried to defend," Schaefer said. MSU (28-0, 14-0 Southeastern Conference), which entered the game first in the SEC and 14th nationally in scoring defense (55 points per game), held Texas A&M (20-8, 9-5) to a season-low point total and a season-low field goal shooting percentage (18-for-57, 31.6 percent). It was third time this season the Aggies, who came in scoring 77.4 ppg., scored less than 60 points. The 31.6-percent shooting performance was the seventh time Texas A&M shot less than 40 percent. |
| Mississippi State breaks through, dominates Ole Miss | |
| Mississippi State had little success against Ole Miss in men's basketball over the last half decade coming into Saturday night. The Rebels were winners of eight of the last nine games in the series before Saturday's affair. None of that mattered this time. MSU put forth one of its best offensive showings of the season and cruised to a 79-62 victory over Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum. From beginning to end, it was an absolutely dominating performance for the Bulldogs (19-8, 7-7) over the Rebels (11-16, 4-10), and it was a satisfying victory for MSU after all the recent frustration against its instate rival. "It was good for us to end the four-game losing streak we had against those guys," Mississippi State guard Quinndary Weatherspoon said. "It's exciting to get the win and get back over the hump against Ole Miss." |
| Mississippi State's drubbing over Ole Miss was exactly what Bulldogs needed | |
| Mississippi State's Abdul Ado and Ole Miss center Dominik Olejniczak exchanged some probably-not-so-pleasant words near the basket with seven minutes left in the first half after both were whistled for fouls. Both players then retreated to their respective benches. In those brief few moments, Saturday's game at Humphrey Coliseum had an in-state rivalry feel to it. The drama was short-lived. Instead, this resembled what a game between one team battling for some sort of postseason against one with a head coach on his way out is expected to look like. In short, Mississippi State's 79-62 drubbing over Ole Miss was precisely what the Bulldogs needed. MSU was coming off back-to-back road losses and the final outcomes of those games were decided in the final seconds. Any hope for the NCAA Tournament was all but dashed -- the Bulldogs likely have to win their remaining four regular season games to dance. Therefore, this game was all about how the Bulldogs would respond. |
| Mississippi State jumps out early, beats Ole Miss 79-62 | |
| Quinndary Weatherspoon had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Mississippi State to a 79-62 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night. Nick Weatherspoon and Tyson Carter added 15 points apiece for the Bulldogs (19-8, 7-7 Southeastern Conference). Xavian Stapleton chipped in 10 points. "I think it was a great win for us as a team," said Quinndary Weatherspoon. "Being against our rival, it was good for us to break that four-game losing streak we had to those guys. It was good for us to get over the hump and now we want to start our own winning streak." With the win, Mississippi State moved to 17-1 at home this season and set a school record for home wins in a single season. |
| Bulldogs dominate first half, end skid | |
| After excruciating road losses to Missouri and Vanderbilt damaged Mississippi State's NCAA hopes, the Bulldogs were able to find relief Saturday night at the expense of their in-state rivals. They shot 12 for 23 from 3-point range en route to a 79-62 win before 9,002 fans at Humphrey Coliseum. MSU was just 5 for 23 from the arc -- 0 for 13 in the second half -- when it lost 64-58 to Ole Miss in Oxford on Jan. 6. The Rebels (11-16, 4-10 SEC) dropped their seventh in a row. "We played incredible defensively in that first half, really exerted our will. We took great shots and distributed the ball," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "To get back to even (in SEC play) after two bitter defeats is very important for us." |
| Strong start leads Mississippi State to rout of Ole Miss | |
| Mississippi State shot better made more than half its 3-pointers for the second straight game and sunk rival Ole Miss, 79-62, Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum. Quinndary Weatherspoon went 3 of 6 from 3 and finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyson Carter hit 4 of 7 3s and finished with 15. Nick Weatherspoon made his only 3 and went 7 of 7 from the floor and finished with 15 points. The Bulldogs snapped a two-game skid and four-game losing streak to the Rebels. MSU shot 55 percent from the floor and cleared 50 percent for the fifth time in seven games. "It's great to get over the hump against [Ole Miss]," Quinndary Weatherspoon said. |
| Andy Kennedy resigns effective immediately amid Ole Miss' tailspin | |
| Andy Kennedy's tenure as Ole Miss' basketball coach has ended sooner than expected. Kennedy on Sunday announced he's stepping down immediately with at least five games left in the Rebels' season counting next month's Southeastern Conference Tournament. His decision comes a day after Ole Miss fell at Mississippi State for its seventh straight loss -- the program's longest losing streak since also dropping seven straight during the 2005-06 season -- and nearly a week after Kennedy announced his resignation would come at the end of the season. Kennedy said his initial decision to resign Monday was made with the intent to lift a cloud of speculation hovering over the program about his job security in addition to allowing athletic director Ross Bjork to get a head start on his search for the Rebels' next coach while relieving any external pressure his players may be feeling. |
| Southern Miss sweeps No. 12 Mississippi State | |
| Andy Cannizaro knew his Mississippi State club had some question marks coming into this season. The 12th-ranked Bulldogs are replacing a barrage of offensive firepower and breaking in six new starters on defense. Both were problematic on opening weekend as MSU was swept by Southern Miss in front of a school-record crowd of 14,906 over the three-game series at Pete Taylor Park. The Golden Eagles finished off the weekend with a 5-2 victory on Sunday with State only generating three hits and committing a pair of errors. "We're not a very good baseball team right now," Cannizaro said. "We're going to continue to get better and this will be a good team. We've got a lot of young, inexperienced guys that had a baptism into college baseball this weekend." |
| Mississippi State's Cole Gordon has strong relief outing in baseball team's loss | |
| Time and structure has done Cole Gordon a lot of good. Last year, Gordon opened the season as a candidate to start at first base. He ended it by playing a key role as a starting pitcher and as a reliever on a Mississippi State staff that was decimated by injuries. Following an offseason to work on his craft, Gordon threw 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief Sunday in the MSU baseball team's 5-2 loss to Southern Mississippi at Pete Taylor Park. "I think having a year to get through it and going through fall with it made me get more into the mental aspect of pitching," said Gordon, who added that working with MSU pitching coach Gary Henderson was important. Gordon entered the game after MSU (0-3) allowed three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. He allowed one hit, walked three, and struck out two. |
| Southern Miss 'gets back at' Mississippi State, shows it's again ready to contend | |
 | National observers have questioned whether Southern Miss could come close to a repeat of last year's 50-win campaign with the departures of Kirk McCarty, Dylan Burdeaux and Taylor Braley to pro baseball. The Golden Eagles are only three games in, but they've already gained plenty of believers. USM topped Mississippi State 5-2 on Sunday to finish off a three-game sweep at Pete Taylor Park. It marks the first time that the Bulldogs have been swept on the opening week since 1996 in a New Orleans tournament. USM head coach Scott Berry played down the idea of the sweep as a big moment for his program, but it obviously mattered to his players. Berry returned to his role of head coach on Sunday after sitting out the first two games due to a suspension for his ejection from the 2017 season finale. |
| Mississippi State softball team beats Drake in Freezer finale | |
| After suffering its first loss of the season in extra innings against Drake on Friday evening, the Mississippi State softball team evened the score Sunday, beating Drake 1-0 to close the February Freezer at Nusz Park. Candace Denis had two of the five hits for MSU (8-1). The biggest one was an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning. Senior right-hander Cassady Knudsen (3-0) allowed four hits in 6 2/3 innings. She walked two and tied her career high with 13 strikeouts. Senior right-hander Holly Ward came on in the top of the seventh to force a groundout to third base for the second out of the inning before Knudsen returned to the circle to close the game. Knudsen and Drake's Nicole Timmons allowed just two hits and left three runners stranded in the first four innings. |
| Bryce Jordan visits girl hit by his grand slam ball in LSU's opening day win | |
 | The young girl hit in the mouth by Bryce Jordan's grand slam ball that helped spark LSU Baseball's comeback win over Notre Dame Friday got a special visitor on Sunday -- Bryce Jordan, himself. The meeting between the two happened Sunday afternoon after LSU wrapped up its weekend series with the Fighting Irish. Jordan's mother, Lori, shared a photo of Jordan and the young girl during their visit on her Twitter account Sunday evening. The girl was struck in the face Friday night when Jordan clobbered a 376-foot grand slam to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning to spark LSU's 7-6 comeback win. It was his first hit since 2016 following a knee injury that kept him out of the 2017 season. |
| Tigers set women's basketball attendance record, but journey isn't over yet | |
| When Robin Pingeton arrived at Missouri in 2010, her first home regular season game, a 53-30 win against the University of Tennessee at Martin, brought in a recorded crowd of 1,207 people. In Pingeton's first year in the Southeastern Conference, the team had a combined conference attendance of 15,421 in seven recorded games. One game was not recorded. On Sunday, the Tigers blew those numbers out of the water. A reported 11,092 fans filled Mizzou Arena. It set a Mizzou Arena record and a new program record. The last time the program saw a crowd of that size was on Feb. 9, 2002 when 10,321 people filed into the Hearnes Center. Before the game, Pingeton looked at the crowd from the tunnel and got emotional. So emotional in fact, that her assistants had to calm her down before the game. If it wasn't already obvious how far the program has come, Sunday's 77-73 win over No. 11 Tennessee, the team's second ever win over the Vols, was all the evidence needed. |
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