| Monday, April 23, 2018 |
| White House selects Mississippi State's Mark Keenum to chair BIFAD | |
 | President Donald Trump has designated Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum as the next chairman of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD). Keenum said in a media release that during his tenure at MSU, the university has continued to build on its longtime reputation as one of the top agricultural schools in the nation. "As an agricultural economist, I have long recognized the challenge facing our planet with both a growing population and serious challenges to future food supplies," Keenum said. "Finding ways to enhance food security is literally a matter of life and death. It is important to preventing conflict among nations and is in our own national security interests. It is also simply the right thing to do and in keeping with my very personal and deeply-held religious values." U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker's office said in a statement that Wicker and former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran wrote to Trump in July 2017 to offer their strongest possible recommendation of Keenum for this appointment. |
| MSU President Mark Keenum chosen as chair of international ag board | |
 | Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum knows a thing or two about agriculture. He's held several positions relating to the field, serving as under secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2006 to an appointment in 2014 to the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research before accepting the MSU presidency. Keenum can now add to his laundry list of designations in the field after the White House announced this week President Donald Trump named the MSU president as chairman of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development. The board was created under Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act in 1975 with a mission to draw on higher education's scientific knowledge to advise U.S. international assistance efforts. State leaders in agriculture lauded Keenum's appointment. |
| President Trump appoints Mississippi State's Mark Keenum to agriculture board | |
 | President Donald J. Trump has named Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum as chairman of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development. The university said the White House announced the appointment this week. The board was created in 1975. Board members are primarily from universities and provide advice on U.S. international assistance efforts in areas such as global food security and world hunger. |
| Senator Roger Wicker Applauds Mark Keenum Appointment | |
 | U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Friday issued the following statement regarding the appointment by President Donald J. Trump of Dr. Mark Keenum, President of Mississippi State University, as Chairman of the Board for International Food and Agriculture: "Dr. Mark Keenum is an outstanding choice to serve as the Chairman of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development. Mark is uniquely qualified for this role and has worked diligently throughout his career to solve the global food security crisis that threatens to affect the entire world in the coming years. I am proud to have recommended Mark for this appointment, and I applaud President Trump's decision." The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development advises the U.S. Agency for International Development on agriculture and higher education issues pertinent to food insecurity in developing countries. |
| Innovation Challenge gives young entrepreneurs a head start | |
 | Jacob Miller sat at a table at Mississippi State University Friday with a group of four 14-year-old entrepreneurs. He listened as the Armstrong Middle School students described their plans for "Robo Drone," a system that would deliver water in famine areas, eliminating the need for the long daily treks to wells. Miller, 20, is a sophomore marketing major from Lucedale at MSU. And for the next week, Miller is serving as mentor for the four boys, who are among the nine finalists in a pilot program called The Innovation Challenge, a competition for middle and high school students to develop marketable business ideas or prototypes. The competition is being conducted by Mississippi State's Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach and is sponsored by The Partnership in Starkville and a $5,000 grant from International Paper. Jeffrey Rupp, former mayor of Columbus and now the director of outreach at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach at MSU, said he's been "blown away" with the response to the challenge. |
| Former Rhode Island chief justice to address Mississippi State grads | |
| Former Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams will be the commencement speaker for Mississippi State's three graduation ceremonies taking place next month. Approximately 3,200 students will receive degrees during May 3 and May 4 ceremonies at Humphrey Coliseum. Williams, a noted historian and current president of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, has played key roles in making MSU one of the nation's leading centers for study of the American Civil War. Last year, Williams and his wife, Virginia, donated their collection of Abraham Lincoln and Civil War memorabilia, valued at nearly $3 million, to the university. |
| Longtime Mississippi State department head to step down, take full-time faculty role | |
| A longtime Mississippi State professor and administrator will step down from a leadership role next year to spend more time focusing on teaching, research and family. John Forde, professor and Head of the Department of Communications, announced at a monthly faculty meeting that he would step down as department head as of July 1, 2019 and assume a full-time faculty position. He has served as department head since 2004. Forde told the Starkville Daily News he wanted to spend more time with his family and looked forward to continuing his work teaching public relations classes in the department. "I've enjoyed being department head, I've enjoyed the time, but I'm eager to transition to devote more time to family." |
| Panda pee unlocks conservation clues for Mississippi State researcher | |
| Giant pandas are fluffy, cuddly looking bears and are listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Mississippi State University researchers are trying to find ways to increase their overall success in breeding, and Abbey Wilson, a postdoctoral associate at MSU, is looking for ways to help them succeed through an unusual method: decoding the chemical markers in the panda's urine. "It's thought that scent marks and urine contain chemical cues that are used to communicate with other pandas about things like kinship, identities and reproductive status," Wilson explained in an MSU news release. By analyzing urine samples, Wilson hopes to determine what each of the chemicals communicates about individual pandas. |
| MSU Extension offers therapeutic riding program | |
| The Mississippi State University Extension Service offers therapeutic horseback riding to children with a wide range of disabilities as well as veterans through their Equine Assisted Therapy Programs. The programs benefit children of all ages with different disabilities and conditions, including but not limited to autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, learning disabilities, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, visual and hearing impairments, cardiovascular accidents and strokes, brain injuries, amputations, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy. Program Coordinator for the MSU Extension Equine Assisted Therapy Programs Cassie Brunson said programs for veterans were recently started too. |
| Blooms signal busy bee season | |
| Spring is the busiest time of year for bees and their beekeepers. Queens begin laying their eggs, scouts head out of the hive to find food to replenish diminished stocks, and the rest of the workers shoulder the load in raising more brood. For beekeepers, late summer and autumn are the primary harvest periods for honey, while winter provides a pause for equipment cleaning and repair. Spring is all about honeybee regeneration, says Jeffrey Harris, a research professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. "Bees are seasonal animals that depend upon flowers," Harris says. "You can't grow a brood without pollen, and there's only a discreet amount of time available for blooming." |
| Mississippi State Holds Inaugural Animal Shelter Education Conference | |
 | It was the first of its kind for Mississippi State University. The university's College Of Veterinary Medicine hosted it's inaugural Animal Shelter Education Conference. Animal shelter workers from all over the Southeast gathered near Mississippi State's campus for a meeting of the minds. "It's offered to workers in animal shelters at no cost to them. It's designed to give people who work in animal shelters very practical cost effective ways to improve the care of the animals that come into their shelter," said event organizer Dr. Phil Bushby. The two-day conference touch on topics that shelter workers experience on a daily basis while on the job. |
| Thousands come home for Cotton District Arts Festival | |
| Since its inception in 1996, the Cotton District Arts Festival has grown exponentially, drawing locals, alumni and students to the District for food, drink and fun in the spring. The 2018 festival was held on Saturday and brought thousands of and attendees out to enjoy the festival and the mild weather. Several in attendance each year have ties to Starkville or Mississippi State University, and return for the festival and other events sharing the weekend, including the Super Bulldog Weekend Maroon and White football game, two Bulldog baseball games against the Arkansas Razorbacks and other festivities. While a student at MSU, Matthew Kavanaugh, who graduated last year and currently lives in Tupelo never made it to the festival, and was attending for the first time. "I was always working or something like that," Kavanaugh said. Kavanaugh said he tried to regularly make it to Starkville events, and was enjoying his time at the festival. |
| Duffy Neubauer receives statewide award | |
| A local Civil War historian and living history enthusiast has been honored with an award of merit from the Mississippi Historical Society. Duffy Neubauer, curator of the Starkville Civil War Arsenal, received the award at the society's meeting in Jackson. Neubauer was unable to attend, so Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library Executive Director and Managing Editor John F. Marszalek received the award on his behalf. Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director of Programs and Communication W. Brother Rogers presented the award to Neubauer on Tuesday, April 17, at the Grant Library on the Mississippi State University campus. Rogers, who also serves as the historical society's secretary-treasurer lauded Neubauer's contributions to Civil War history in Mississippi. |
| More Highway 12 work begins | |
| As the second phase of work along Highway 12 progresses, work on a new Mississippi Department of Transportation project is underway, and another one will be sent out for bids in the summer. Work has started on a $1.3 million overlay project on Highway 12 bypass by Highway 182 in east Starkville. The project is seeing pavement laid out along the highway from where it passes by Mississippi State University out to near where it merges onto Highway 82. The project, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Jace Ponder, is under contract for 43 working days, which means it should be completed in mid-summer, depending on the weather. As part of the project, Highway 182 is being paved from the west ramps onto Highway 12 to the east ramps onto Highway 12. Work on the ramps, intersections and shoulders should be completed next week. |
| Airbus finds new market for Lowndes-made chopper | |
 | A new version of an increasingly popular civilian helicopter could mean increased job stability 200 workers at a Lowndes County industry. Airbus Helicopters Inc. has delivered a new Airbus H145, made at its plant adjacent to Golden Triangle Regional Airport, to San Diego Gas & Electric, a major Southern California public utility company, which has put the aircraft to use supporting its vast electric transmission and distribution network. This helicopter is the first H145 in utility service in the U.S. Other operations of the modern twin-engine helicopter include law enforcement, air medical transport, offshore oil and gas, and private business aviation. "The highly versatile Airbus H145 is quickly becoming one of the most popular helicopters in North America, and the entire Airbus organization greatly appreciates this endorsement of our aircraft by an outstanding company like San Diego Gas & Electric," said Chris Emerson, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc. |
| Preparations for Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience enter final stages | |
 | With the highly anticipated Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience opening in Meridian in just a few short days, the museum remains a hotbed of activity as workers scramble to finish last-minute touches. "You'll come back tomorrow and everything will look completely different," Mark Tullos, the president and CEO of the Max, said. The final exhibits are expected to arrive from New Orleans on Monday, Tullos said. The trucks carrying the exhibits will return to New Orleans with tools and equipment used during the building's construction, he said. Fire alarms continually rang out Wednesday as the Meridian Fire Department tested alarms before issuing a certificate of occupancy for the building. Inside, workers scrambled to adjust the lights on a juke joint exhibit, place signs outside of conference rooms and bathrooms, finish painting display boxes and test interactive exhibits. |
| District 3 candidates from diverse backgrounds | |
 | A diverse field of candidates, ranging from Jackson-area-professionals, to small town business owners to east Mississippi chicken farmers, are vying for the 3rd District U.S. House seat. While much of the statewide election focus has been on the special Senate election to replace 80-year-old Thad Cochran, who resigned earlier this year for health reasons, the 3rd District race also will be a key Mississippi contest because it is the only U.S. House seat where the incumbent is not seeking re-election. Republican Gregg Harper of Pearl, who has served four terms as the 3rd District congressman, opted not to run again. At a recent candidate's forum at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, hosted by multiple agriculture-related groups, including the influential Farm Bureau, most of the six Republican candidates tried to align themselves with Trump. |
| Chris McDaniel 'demands' stations pull ad calling him a trial lawyer | |
| Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel is sending a letter to TV stations to "demand" they stop airing ads by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calling him a trial lawyer. The Chamber, which is opposing McDaniel and supporting interim Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, is sinking $750,000 on ads in the race. "Think Again," it's second ad, calls McDaniel a trial lawyer who "made money suing Mississippi businesses, making things harder for folks trying to just earn a living." "Think you know Chris McDaniel?" the ad says. "Think again ... Politician, trial lawyer." McDaniel on Friday fired off a letter to state TV stations calling the ad "a blatantly false claim about his role as an attorney." McDaniel ends his letter to station managers with: "We demand that you pull the ads immediately." |
| Chris McDaniel could jeopardize GOP hold on Mississippi Senate seat: Poll | |
| Republicans could lose their decadeslong hold on a Mississippi Senate seat if state Sen. Chris McDaniel emerges as their standard-bearer in the special election to replace former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, a fresh public opinion poll warns. The Mason-Dixon survey showed McDaniel and Democratic former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy neck and neck, with Espy leading McDaniel 42 percent to 40 percent, in a hypothetical matchup. That's too close for comfort for Republicans in a solidly conservative Mississippi. In the same survey, Espy trailed Cindy Hyde-Smith, the other Republican running in the special election, 46 percent to 34 percent. Hyde-Smith's double-digit advantage highlights McDaniel's potential vulnerability in the contest, should he emerge from the November open primary and represent the GOP in the expected runoff. |
| 3 candidates for Cochran's US Senate seat officially qualify | |
| Three top candidates have filed official qualifying papers to pursue Mississippi's U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Thad Cochran. The Secretary of State's office says former state Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith filed papers Friday. Hyde-Smith is a Republican appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to take Cochran's place until the November election. Election officials say Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy of Ridgeland filed papers Thursday. They're both Democrats. Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who sought to defeat Cochran in a 2014 primary, has also signaled he'll run. |
| Democratic Party leader quashes effort to disqualify Howard Sherman | |
| State Democratic Party Chairman Bobby Moak told the party's executive committee members on Thursday that they would not consider a petition to disqualify U.S. Senate candidate Howard Sherman. Jackson attorney Sam Begley, a longtime Democratic voter and operative, filed a petition on Thursday with the state Democratic Party, saying that Sherman is violating the state Democratic Party's constitution and should be barred from the race. Six Democrats have filed for the party's June 5 primary that will select a challenger to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker. "I double checked with the Mississippi Secretary of State to confirm that the candidate qualifying deadline was March 1, 2018," Moak said in a text message to the executive committee members on Thursday afternoon. "Therefore the ten (10) day rule for a challenge passed on March 11, 2018, so the petition is out of time and will not be considered by the committee." |
| 'I Was Trump Before Trump Was Trump:' Republican candidates parroting the president | |
 | In Republican races across the country, candidates are parroting the president as they try to prove to voters that they are cut from the same cloth as he is. They recite the Trump lexicon, spouting his trademark phrases and slurs like "Drain the swamp," "Build the wall," "rigged system," "fake news" and "America first." They are channeling Mr. Trump's belligerent and profane style of speaking, seeking to capture that essential but elusive quality that matters so much to voters these days -- authenticity. Marsha Blackburn, a congresswoman from Tennessee, wants it known that she will pick the same fights as the president. For some Republicans, it is not enough to merely talk like Mr. Trump or say they will fight with him. They want to take credit for his style. "Someone told me the other day that I was the first Trump, the Trump for Mississippi," Chris McDaniel, a candidate for Senate in Mississippi, said recently. |
| House Republicans prepare to battle for leadership slots | |
 | Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) retirement plans haven't just set off a shadow campaign for Speaker between his top deputies, Reps. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Steve Scalise (La.). A slew of other ambitious Republicans are now eyeing slots on the leadership ladder, including the majority whip and conference chair posts. No one has made any official announcement that they're running for leadership jobs, but lawmakers are putting out feelers, quietly gauging how much support they would have for a bid after the Nov. 6 election. Colleagues have approached Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the conference secretary, about a possible bid for GOP whip, the No. 3 job, while Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is reaching out to friends about a bid for policy chairman, GOP sources said. There are also about a half-dozen Republicans said to be angling for conference chair, the No. 4 leadership spot. |
| Barbara Bush's life celebrated at emotional funeral attended by 4 former presidents | |
| Barbara Bush, the wife and mother of U.S. presidents, was laid to rest Saturday following an emotional funeral service where she was affectionately remembered as a tough but loving family matriarch who believed in giving back. Former President George H.W. Bush attended the service at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, as did several other former presidents and first ladies: George W. and Laura Bush; Barack and Michelle Obama; and Bill and Hillary Clinton. First Lady Melania Trump attended, as well. They were among more than 1,500 invited guests to turn out for the 90-minute service at St. Martin's, the Bushes' longtime place of worship. After the service, the Bush family motorcade passed through Houston's Memorial Park en route to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center and Museum in College Station. More than 700 Texas A&M Corps of Cadets stood at attention as the motorcade entered the presidential library grounds along Barbara Bush Drive. |
| Mississippi rotates in new College Board president | |
| Mississippi public colleges and universities will now be overseen by a new state College Board president. Mississippi Public Universities say trustee and president C.D. Smith passed the gavel to incoming president Shane Hooper on Thursday. Hooper served as vice president to Smith during his term. Trustee Hal Parker will succeed Hooper as vice president. Hooper will officially take office May 8, when Smith's year-long term expires. Board presidential terms last one year, in an effort to give most board members an opportunity to serve as president during their tenure. |
| Tollison named interim provost, vice president for academic affairs at MUW | |
| Scott Tollison, the university's senior academic dean, is being named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Mississippi University for Women. Tollison, a native of West Point, will assume the position July 1, pending approval by the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning. He will fill the role held by Thomas Richardson, a longtime respected administrator and faculty member, who will return to scholarship and research. MUW President Jim Borsig said, "Dean Tollison is a superb administrator and faculty member. He has an effective collegial style. He is well-respected throughout the university community. I am grateful for his willingness to serve." |
| MUW's Thomas Richardson to step down, continue long-term research | |
| Thomas Richardson will step down as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Mississippi University for Women effective June 30 to continue a long-term research project while on sabbatical next spring. While focusing on this research effort, he will remain a member of the faculty as professor of English and continue to hold the Eudora Welty Chair in the Humanities. Richardson, who has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs since 2016, joined The W 30 years ago as professor of English and head of the Division of Humanities. He has served in a variety of capacities, including interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College of Art and Sciences. Richardson's research on John Gibson Lockhart will culminate with the publication of the first scholarly edition of the Scottish writer's work by Edinburgh University Press. He will serve as series editor. |
| The W celebrates Earth Day during week ahead | |
| Mississippi University for Women is organizing events April 23-27 to celebrate Earth Day and to support campus sustainability projects. On Monday, a Recycle Kickoff is planned. Labels will be placed on recycling bins that are already on campus to encourage people to recycle. A campus-wide cleanup is set for Wednesday. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in cleanup projects such as collecting litter, power washing and planting trees from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Friday, the campus community is encouraged to turn off lights during the lunch hour. "The goal for this year's Earth Day is to bring awareness to our campus sustainability projects, particularly our recycling program. We also know that facilities does a great job to keep our campus beautiful; however, this is an opportunity for everyone to get involved. If they see trash on the ground, pick it up," said Andrew Moneymaker, director of Housing and Residence Life. |
| UM Celebrates Earth Day with Master Plan Green Spaces | |
| The future of the Ole Miss campus is shaping up to be a walk in the park, according to recent updates of the UM Master Plan. As part of Green Week at Ole Miss, the university's Office of Sustainability held a lunch and learn titled "UM Master: Planning for a Pedestrian Friendly Campus." The event featured university architect Ian Banner, who is also director of sustainability and facilities planning, as well as parking and transportation director Mike Harris. Banner and Harris shared their thoughts on the UM Master Plan as it relates to transportation and mobility on campus. "What we noticed when looking across the campus is, not much of the University of Mississippi is green, and how we should protect that greenness, in my opinion," Banner said. |
| Rape suspect Dustin McGee: Another alleged victim shares story | |
| The deceptive thing about many rape survivors is their scars usually don't show. On her Facebook page, the 19-year-old from Brandon is smiling, beautiful, active. But she sometimes fights dissociation and other emotions over what she says is a rape she's kept secret for four years. After seeing coverage in mid-April of an Ole Miss student allegedly raped by another Ole Miss student, Dustin McGee, 20, her high school classmate, the woman decided she needed to tell her story that she says involved the same man. The Clarion Ledger does not identify by name victims or alleged victims of sexual assault. McGee, according to police and multiple other sources, was known to some from his high school as "Date Rape McGee." The woman from Brandon said she was there when McGee first got that nickname. |
| U. of Southern Mississippi's Marine Education Center now open | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi celebrated the opening of its $16.1 million Marine Education Center Monday with a dedication and ribbon-cutting at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory's Cedar Point site in Ocean Springs. "This facility is the crown jewel of marine education at USM," said Monty Graham, director of the School of Ocean Science and Technology. "I have been to many marine laboratories around the world and the MEC is by far the best of all of them. "It will catapult us far ahead of some very prestigious marine education powerhouses." Situated on 100 acres, the new facility serves as the education and outreach arm of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and provides an immersion experience for participants in a coastal setting. The complex was constructed primarily with funding from a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, administered by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. |
| USM grad student Abagail Williams receives prestigious federal award | |
| Abagail Williams, a doctoral student at the University of Southern Mississippi, is one of only 60 graduate students in the country to receive a prestigious Graduate Student Research Program award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The award provides opportunities for graduate students to conduct part of their graduate thesis research at a federal facility, in collaboration with a Department of Energy scientist. The research projects undertaken are expected to advance the graduate awardee's overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the government's labs. Williams has spent the past year working in the lab of Southern Miss polymer assistant professor Jason Azoulay. As an award winner, she will begin work in June at The Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. |
| Itawamba Community College, Northeast among beneficiaries of bond bill | |
| Both Itawamba Community College President Jay Allen and Northeast Mississippi College President Ricky Ford say the bond funds their schools received during the 2018 legislative session are needed, but they have not decided on which building projects the revenue will be used. Gov. Phil Bryant recently signed into law a bond bill totaling about $260 million to finance, over a period of years, construction projects on state-owned buildings and for the universities and community colleges. Included in the total bond authorization of $260 million are $50 million in bonds to repair subpar county-owned bridges. The bill, which passed in late March near the end of the 2018 legislative session, includes $25 million in bonds for the community colleges, including $1.4 million for Booneville-based Northeast Mississippi Community College, $2.1 million for Senatobia-based Northwest Mississippi Community College and $1.8 million for Fulton-based Itawamba Community College. The eight public universities received $82.3 million, including $14.2 million for the Starkville campus of Mississippi State and $15 million for the University of Mississippi Oxford campus. |
| Pearl RIver Community College student Said Otwane wins prestigious transfer scholarship | |
| A Pearl River Community College student is the third in four years to win the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Transfer Scholarship. Said Otwane is one of 47 scholars nationwide to achieve the $40,000 per year award to further his education. "I am still in a state of shock because this is a dream come true," Otwane said in a news release. "It means that I can confidently walk down the path that I have chosen in life. "It means that I can show my mother that the sacrifices she has made were not in vain. Doors that seemed sealed shut have now been flung open for me." Otwane, 20, is a native of Mombasa, Kenya. He graduated from Petal High School before choosing to attend PRCC. Otwane's major is computer engineering. He is not exactly sure where he will transfer, but Princeton is high on his wish list. |
| Auburn Board of Trustees moves forward with South College Street parking deck | |
 | The Auburn University board of trustees voted Friday in favor of project initiation and final approval for the construction of a parking deck at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Construction on the 600-space, five-level deck could begin as soon as July, with the target completion goal of March 2019. The deck, in the hotel's south parking lot, could be used during the day by faculty and staff, at night by students studying at the Ralph Brown Draughon Library, general use at the hotel, and future parking for the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center. It would add about 400 spaces to what is currently available in the hotel parking lot. Capital projects typically are approved by the board in a series of three votes: one to initiate the project, a second to approve architect selection, and a third to grant final approval on the project. The South College Street parking deck was presented in one motion to accelerate the construction of the parking structure and to have it in place prior to the start of the culinary science center project, which could be a year or less, said Dan King, associate vice president of facilities management. |
| In Maxwell Gruver hazing case, four ex-LSU students plead not guilty in Baton Rouge court | |
 | Four former LSU students pleaded not guilty Friday, one to negligent homicide and the others to misdemeanor hazing, in the alcohol-related death of 18-year-old Phi Delta Theta fraternity pledge Maxwell Gruver on the Baton Rouge campus last September. State District Judge Beau Higginbotham set a Sept. 6 trial date for Sean-Paul Gott, 21, Ryan Matthew Isto, 19, and Patrick Andrew Forde, 21, on the hazing counts. Matthew Alexander Naquin, 20, who is charged with the more serious felony of negligent homicide, will have a motions hearing on that date. Phi Delta Theta's national headquarters pulled the fraternity from LSU's campus after Gruver died. Less than a year before his death, the fraternity had been temporarily suspended for complaints about hazing and drinking. |
| U. of Florida campaign raises 7 tons for food pantry | |
 | The 12,900 donations to a University of Florida food pantry to forgive 2,600 parking citations will last beyond the spring semester, pantry staff said. UF held a campaign the first week of April in which parking citations would be forgiven with a donation of five items for the Field and Fork food pantry on campus. About 500 UF students can't afford a nutritious meal at some point during their time in school, said Anna Prizzia, program director and campus food systems coordinator. That's 10 percent of the student body and doesn't include the faculty or staff members who experience food insecurity, too. Food insecurity is a lack of reliable access to nutritious foods on a regular basis, Prizzia said. About 200 people visit the pantry each week, she said, and most are students. A survey showed 10 percent of the student body experienced food insecurity, Prizzia said, and the survey has recently been completed again. The results are to likely be available by the summer, she said. |
| U. of Arkansas, Fayetteville Declare Support for Wind Catcher Project | |
 | The University of Arkansas and the city where it's based, Fayetteville, have both rallied behind a $4.5 billion Oklahoma wind energy project that has been under fire from what its supporters call a deceptive TV advertising campaign. Fayetteville and the UA announced support of the project Thursday, saying the 2,000-megawatt wind farm and 360-mile dedicated transmission line, known together as the Wind Catcher Energy Connection, will help them reach their renewable energy and sustainability goals over the next few decades. The project will deliver wind power from the Oklahoma Panhandle to the Tulsa area, where the existing grid will carry it into northwest Arkansas. Southwestern Electric Power Co. of Fayetteville, which serves customers in Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana, will own 70 percent of the project. Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, a sister company, will own 30 percent. |
| UGA faculty group to continue study of Baldwin Hall, slavery | |
 | It's been more than a year since workers reburied remains from the graves of more than 100 presumed slaves and freed slaves found during an expansion and renovation project at the University of Georgia's Baldwin Hall. But UGA administrators are having a more difficult time burying dissent over how the university handled that process as well as the larger questions of how the university should acknowledge the role of slaves and slavery in the university's history. According to UGA, administrators consulted "several elected leaders of the local African American community" before proceeding, and followed the instructions of the Georgia state archaeologist in handling and burying the remains. But many in Athens' black community -- some of whom could possibly be related to the people unearthed at Baldwin Hall -- were incensed over the university's decision to rebury them off campus in privately owned Oconee Hill Cemetery, established before the Civil War as a cemetery for whites. |
| Texas A&M System regents approve $85M '21st Century Classroom' for flagship campus | |
 | The $85 million "21st Century Classroom Building" approved Thursday by the Texas A&M University Board of Regents will bring needed instructional space to Texas A&M's flagship campus in College Station. The roughly 121,000-square-foot facility to be built next to the Cain Parking Garage at the corner of Wellborn Road and Old Main Drive will add more than 2,200 classroom seats to the campus as the university continues to experience rapid growth. A large lecture hall, tiered classrooms, active learning classrooms and three teaching "arenas" that "embrace the concept of teaching in the round" will be housed in the building, as well as smaller study spaces. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in May, with substantial completion scheduled for May 2020. |
| Palestinian activists to speak at U. of Missouri | |
 | The University of Missouri will host two Palestinian activists Tuesday to talk about resistance against Israel as violence rages in Gaza and some push for MU to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism. The activists will appear as part of "From the Occupied Territories: Voices of Palestinian Resistance" at 6:30 p.m. in the Naka Hall auditorium. The program will include an abridged version of "Radiance of Resistance," a documentary focusing on Palestinian youth. The talk is happening as some members of MU's Jewish community ask the school's faculty to reconsider their definition of anti-Semitism to include events they perceive to be anti-Israel. Last week they met with faculty to urge them to adopt the U.S. State Department's definition of anti-Semitism after they feared a MU extension class taught by George Smith called "A Window Into Palestine" would feature anti-Jewish sentiment. |
| Judge hears final arguments in historic U. of Missouri grad worker unionization case | |
 | Are University of Missouri graduate workers employees with the right to unionize? To the nearly 100 graduate students and Columbia residents rallying Friday afternoon outside the Boone County Courthouse, the answer was a resounding yes. "We are employees," coalition co-chair Simona Simkins said determinedly into a microphone. She called for guaranteed access to health care, child care and livable wages for MU's graduate workers. However, inside the courtroom, that question was still up for debate as 13th Circuit Judge Jeff Harris heard final arguments in Coalition of Graduate Workers v. the Curators of the University of Missouri. The decision will provide further definition to employee rights under the Missouri constitution. It hinges on the interpretation of Article 1, Section 29 of the Missouri Constitution, which states "that employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing." |
| Endowment Tax Fight Not Over Yet | |
 | The fight over the Republican tax bill passed last December is far in the rearview of most colleges and student groups. But a group of private colleges still has its sights set on overturning a new endowment tax passed as part of that bill over the objections of higher ed advocates. The endowment tax was one of a number of punitive measures included in the legislation that either sought to generate new revenue from higher ed institutions or strip tax benefits for students and student loan borrowers. After intense lobbying from college groups and student organizations, almost all of those provisions were dropped from the final legislation. The endowment tax remained, however. And although the scope of the provision was seriously narrowed between the introduction of the bill and its final passage -- the number of affected institutions dropped from 250 to just 28 -- higher ed organizations see the tax as bad policy and precedent setting. |
| Syracuse Reels as Second Offensive Video Is Published of Now-Expelled Fraternity | |
 | Syracuse University on Saturday expelled Theta Tau, the fraternity it had suspended days before after the publication of videos showing members taking a racist oath and doing other offensive things. In a video statement, the university's chancellor, Kent Syverud, said individual students would also be subject to disciplinary action, including possible suspension and expulsion. "Yet we know this issue extends beyond one fraternity and one video," adding that the university has begun a "top to bottom" review of the Greek system. Later that day, the student newspaper published another video showing fraternity members pretending to sexually assault a disabled person. That prompted Syverud to release another statement in which he said that university officials had seen the video, and that there were other videos that had not been made publicly available. |
| Why Duke University Won't Honor Freshman Roommate Requests This Fall | |
 | Meeting your college roommate used to be one of the anxieties of the first week of school. But these days, many freshmen meet in advance online and arrange to room together. Now, some schools have decided to bring back largely random pairings in the interest of broadening their students' horizons. Duke University announced their change earlier this year. "We believe that you'll enjoy the opportunity to meet someone you've not previously known and will have a great opportunity to explore your roommate's history, culture and interests," read the university's announcement of the change from Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, and Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education. The university will stop honoring roommate requests and instead match roommates based on lifestyle habits, such as sleep schedules. |
| Facing the brutal facts | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "While most can appreciate a given student's hesitancy to share his report card with his parents, especially if his marks are less than stellar, few citizens pause to consider the ramifications when comparative state report cards are revealed via the Nations Report Card (www.nationsreportcard.gov). Most recently, the 2017 data was released. According to the collective interpretation, Mississippi fourth-graders demonstrated proficiencies lower than average for the nation's public school students in math. While the nation's proficiency was calculated at or above 40%, Mississippi data reported that only 31% of fourth-graders were at least proficient in grade-appropriate mathematical skills." |
| Take down Robert E. Lee's statue and put up a memorial to lynching | |
 | Jason Morgan Ward, a professor of history at Mississippi State University and author of "Hanging Bridge: Racial Violence and America's Civil Rights Century," writes in the Los Angeles Times: " As is common throughout the South, the lawn at the Clarke County Courthouse in Mississippi, is peppered with monuments. A granite marker lists the Ten Commandments, and a veterans memorial honors residents who fell in foreign wars. A Confederate soldier tops another granite monument installed over a century ago: 'Though Your Ranks Now Fast Are Melting,' the inscription reads, 'and the Stars and Bars Are Furled. Yet the South Will Live Forever In the Glory of Your World.' Now the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal advocacy organization in Montgomery, Ala., proposes to add another monument to the courthouse lawn: a six-foot-high, rust-colored steel column inscribed with the names of Ernest Green, Charlie Lang and eight other African Americans lynched in Clarke County. On Thursday, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice --- known, informally, as the lynching memorial -- opens to the public in Montgomery, the first capital of the Confederacy. " |
| Primaries for Gregg Harper seat coming June 5 | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "June 5 primaries to begin choosing who will fill the 3rd District congressional seat abandoned by Rep. Gregg Harper are six weeks away. Six candidates are seeking the Republican nomination, two the Democratic nomination. With no other significant races on the June ballots, turnout will be the key factor. That means get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities will be critical. While free social media plays an ever-rowing role, identifying supportive voters and getting them to the polls remain money-sensitive campaign functions. We got our first good look at the key money factors last week. Contributions show how well candidates have penetrated political givers, often key influence leaders." |
| Katherine the Tate is the most interesting choice for Congress | |
| The Dispatch's Slim Smith writes: "Monday in Starkville, the Oktibbeha County Republicans hosted a forum for the six GOP candidates who have thrown their hats -- tin-foil or otherwise -- into the race to replace Gregg Harper in the U.S. House of Representatives. By occupation, if little else, it was a diverse group -- a state legislator (Sally Doty), two health-care professionals (Whit Hughes and Morgan Dunn), a farmer/stock trader (Perry Parker), a district attorney (Michael Guest) and the incomparable Katherine Tate, who is referred to as an educational consultant but really defies description. Aside from that, the candidates generally fall into the sort of GOP orthodoxy you would expect. For much of the evening, listening to the candidates was like reading the magazines you find in a doctor's office -- dated, irrelevant, predictable. ...By far the most interesting of the candidates is Tate, aka, Katherine the Tate, whose comments and positions are often breath-taking." |
| Mississippi Senate candidates focus on money, muckety mucks | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Candidates for Mississippi's special U.S. Senate election will be asking for your vote, over and over and over again through Nov. 6. But right now, you, the voter are the trees. The campaigns are still mostly reconnoitering the forest -- trying to line up support from heavy hitters and muckety mucks and raise money, lots of money, the mother's milk and lifeblood of any modern U.S. Senate campaign. ...Of course, candidates will still have to sell themselves to voters, regardless of how much money they have to do so. But early on, a lot of strategy and fundraising has to take place. Candidates have to map out the forest before they can get to the trees." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs feast on No. 3 Hogs | |
| Mississippi State's baseball team found a fine way to celebrate Super Bulldog Weekend, sweeping No. 3 Arkansas. The Bulldogs (22-19, 8-10 SEC) delighted a season-best crowd of 10,147 at Dudy Noble Field, winning 5-3 and 7-5. It's the first three-game sweep of the season for MSU, which won 6-5 on Friday night after trailing 5-0. "A great weekend for Mississippi State," MSU coach Gary Henderson said. "We showed a lot of growth and maturity. We really responded when things got tight in both games. You want a team to get better and you can see that from this team." Arkansas fell to 28-13 and 10-8 in the league, and the Bulldogs enter the final four weeks of the regular season two games out of first place in the SEC Western Division standings. MSU plays Ole Miss on Tuesday night in Pearl, then Texas A&M visits for a three-game set starting Friday night. |
| Mississippi State has best weekend of season in sweep of No. 3 Arkansas | |
| It took just one inning for Mississippi State to change the conversation of the Saturday night game against No. 3 Arkansas. It took just those few minutes to go from down two and struggling to scoring four runs and in control. Just like it took only one weekend for Mississippi State to change the feeling around this baseball team, even if just for a little while. The Bulldogs entered the weekend series 19-19 (5-10 in the SEC) and facing one of the best teams in the country. They wanted to rediscover some sort of groove, to begin finding some positives in a season known for off-season storylines and frustrating defeats. So Mississippi State swept Arkansas -- 6-5, 5-3 and 7-5, in order. It swept Arkansas by a shocking comeback Friday night, by controlling an entire game Saturday afternoon, then by another comeback in the second-leg of the doubleheader to cement a weekend this team needed so badly. Interim coach Gary Henderson said Friday the win was the most fun this team has had in a year. |
| Hogs swept away in Starkville | |
| Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn stood in a huddle of his players in the visitors dugout and spoke a little longer Saturday night. His team, which was in first place in the SEC West and ranked No. 3 in the country, had just been swept by the last-place team in the division entering the weekend. Mississippi State followed its 6-5 victory Friday night -- in which the Bulldogs trailed 5-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning -- with a doubleheader sweep of 5-3 and 7-5 on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field. When asked what he told his team, Van Horn said it was between him and his players. But he was ready to tick off the reasons why the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (28-13, 10-8 SEC) finds itself in the midst of its first three-game losing streak of the season. |
| Elijah MacNamee delivers for Mississippi State in sweep of No. 4 Arkansas | |
| Elijah MacNamee was bouncing around as the final out was recorded, screaming in celebration with the fans just feet behind him in right field, as he backed up in the direction of his fellow outfielders. They met midair in their own celebration, one that was followed with an extra slapping of hands with center fielder Jake Mangum, the latter junior's way of congratulating MacNamee on a job well done. The intensity on MacNamee's face began to fade to a jubilant smile weeks in the making. This is trademark MacNamee. The saxophone riff in his walkup song, his swing with more-than-adequate power and inability to run less than full speed in the outfield exude a player who has fun playing baseball and strives to make watching him play fun. Lacking an opportunity to do it was weighing on him, until he pictured what it would be like to get back to it. The visualizations came to reality in all of 24 hours. |
| Mississippi baseball teams celebrate huge weekend | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Hard to imagine a much better weekend for Mississippi's college baseball teams – other than, well, the weather could have been considerably better Sunday. As it is, Mississippi teams took a well-deserved day of rest after a remarkable Saturday, that included... Mississippi State's once given-up-for-dead Bulldogs swept a doubleheader from third-ranked (USA Today coaches poll) Arkansas, and, with that, swept the three-game series from the Razorbacks. The Bulldogs soared 17 spots to No. 43 in RPI ratings. After winning 6-5 on Friday, State won 5-3 and 7-5 on Saturday. A wise man once said that there are no upsets in baseball, but the Bulldogs' three-game sweep of one of the nation's best teams is close. ...State and Ole Miss will play each other Tuesday night at Trustmark Park in the annual Governor's Cup at 6 p.m. Ole Miss will try to even the season series after losing two of three games to State recently." |
| Joe Moorhead soaks in first game as Mississippi State head football coach | |
| Saturday felt much like a normal spring football event for most people associated with Mississippi State. For first-year head coach Joe Moorhead, it was an all-new experience. Moorhead has been in charge of the Bulldogs for the last five months. He's recruited. He's organized practices. He's done all the things head coaches do. He finally got a taste of game day Saturday though when MSU held its annual Maroon and White Game at Davis Wade Stadium in front of an announced spring-game-record crowd of 36,789. "It was surreal in a lot of ways," Moorhead said. "I've heard all about the cowbells and the fans and the Dawg Walk. You walk out here and start in the morning and the day is going 100 miles per hour. The next thing you know, you blink and it's pregame. Next thing, the game is going. I think I'll get the chance to reflect on all this a little bit, but this is what coaches dream about -- to get to be a head coach in the SEC." |
| Joe Moorhead enjoys successful spring debut | |
| Mississippi State's spring game may not have counted in the record books but Joe Moorhead certainly considered it a win. Less than five months after being hired, Moorhead coached the Bulldogs for the first time inside Davis Wade Stadium in front of a spring-record crowd of 36,789 and was grateful for the opportunity. "This is the thing that coaches dream about, being a head coach in the SEC," Moorhead said. "I kind of just took it all in and appreciated it. I was humbled by the experience." Moorhead's offense accumulated 590 yards and six touchdowns on the day with the Maroon team taking down their White counterparts, 28-10. With Nick Fitzgerald still limited after ankle surgery, Keytaon Thompson played quarterback for both teams during the first half. Thompson combined to complete 26 of 44 passes for 316 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. |
| Keytaon Thompson shows growth at QB in Mississippi State's spring game | |
| Austin Williams came off the line running an option route: against zone, he sinks to a hole in the zone and stays there, but he beats man-to-man with an out route. The man coverage forced Williams to the sideline, several yards into the end zone; it also forced a difficult window for quarterback Keytaon Thompson to hit. It was small demanded a very specific throw, a high one to a moving target with a defender in hot pursuit; the shrinking pocket around him made the footwork tricky. Still, Thompson fired -- just before an incoming defensive end poked at the ball from his blind side -- looping the ball over Williams and the man assigned to cover him. Thompson's environs did not suggest a highlight throw on the way, but that's what he delivered; the ball landed perfectly in Williams' path for the score. "Keytaon put it right on the money," Williams said. Much like the 14 spring practices that preceded it, Saturday's Maroon & White Game gave the soon-to-be sophomore from New Orleans an abundance of opportunity to showcase his skills and he did just that. |
| Austin Williams leads Mississippi State receivers | |
| The film from the 2017 season granted to the new Mississippi State football coaching staff gave it nothing on wide receiver Austin Williams. The freshman from Ocean Springs redshirted last season, and yet his reputation preceded him. "You've heard about his athleticism, you've heard about his speed and he's come out and done a really good job," MSU coach Joe Moorhead said. Williams left Saturday's Maroon & White Game as the leading receiver, catching five passes for 86 yards and consistently gashing the defense, with three of his catches going for at least 20 yards. The shortest catch he tallied as a two-yard reception -- that scored a touchdown. "Austin's a guy that can win in 1-on-1 coverage, he does it all the time," quarterback Keytaon Thompson said. Williams was a sought-after prospect coming out of high school, at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds and rated as one of the top 15 prospects in the state but did not crack the rotation as a freshman. Moorhead sees a perfect way to use him. |
| Notebook: Mississippi State sets spring attendance record | |
| For weeks, new Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead had been campaigning to break the school's spring game attendance record. Faithful fans of the Maroon and White answered his challenge by setting a new spring record with 36,789 on hand inside Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday. "I thought it was a great turnout," Moorhead said. "I would like to thank the fans for coming out. We kind of issued a challenge to elevate from good to great and break the record. They came out even with the baseball game change kind of splitting the crowd a little bit so that was awesome." The previous Maroon-White Spring Game record was 36,357 set in 2011. This year's game more than doubled the attendance from the 2017 spring game, which drew only 16,630. "It was a great atmosphere out here today," said MSU quarterback Keytaon Thompson. |
| Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead gets it in a way that Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt doesn't | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Hugh Kellenberger writes: "This is what Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead had to say after an announced crowd of 36,789 showed up for the Bulldogs' spring football game Saturday: 'First and foremost, it was a great turnout. I'd like to thank the fans for coming out. I issued a challenge to go from good to great and break the record and they came out even with the baseball game change splitting the crowd. ...It meant a lot to me, it meant a lot to the program.' This is what Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt had to say after an announced crowd of 65,098 showed up for the Vols' spring football game Saturday: 'To me, it's kind of like our football team for the fans. The ones that were here, I'm proud they were here. They're fired up, ready to get going. And then there were some people that weren't here, [but] they had legitimate reasons they couldn't be here. Then there were some people that weren't here, why weren't they here? It's kind of like our football team. I think we all need to look in the mirror and see who we want to be.' Jarring, isn't it?" |
| A day to celebrate: Starkville honors MSU Women's Basketball team | |
| Bulldog fans young and old from both far and near gathered in downtown Starkville Friday evening to recognize some hometown heroes who have helped bring Starkville to the world's stage. The Mississippi State University Women's Basketball team was recognized by the community and university with a ceremony Friday. Several local dignitaries spoke including Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill, MSU Athletic Director John Cohen, MSU President Mark Keenum and MSU Women's Basketball Coach Vic Schaefer. The team ended its 2017-2018 season with a 37-2 record, ultimately losing 58-61 to Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship on April 1. Schaefer thanked the Starkville and MSU communities for their support. |
| Mississippi State's Roshunda Johnson gets her shot with Liberty | |
| Roshunda Johnson became the third Mississippi State senior to get a shot at the WNBA as the shooting guard signed a training camp contract with the New York Liberty. Johnson joins Victoria Vivians, who was drafted eighth overall by Indiana, and Las Vegas training camp invitee Morgan William. Johnson spent three years in Starkville and two on the court after transferring in from Oklahoma City. The 5-foot-7 native of Little Rock, Arkansas appeared in 72 games and started 48 during her MSU career and averaged nine points, 2.3 rebounds. Johnson capped her career as the school's top 3-point shooter at 42.4-percent. |
| Mississippi State coach, Aggie Vic Schaefer addresses Brazos County A&M Club Muster | |
| One day 15 years ago, then-Arkansas women's basketball coach Gary Blair walked into his assistant coach's office and asked him about an opening at Texas A&M. Vic Schaefer, Texas A&M class of 1984, plays it cool while telling the story today, but it's easy to see Schaefer might have had a little bit of a bias in his response all those years ago. He said, "'Coach, you can win a national championship at Texas A&M.' And we did eight years later." Schaefer spoke at the Brazos County A&M Club Muster on Saturday night at the Memorial Student Center, and the idea of coming home to Texas A&M was a common theme throughout his speech. Now the head coach at Mississippi State and having led the Lady Bulldogs to the national championship game in each of the past two years, Schaefer said he lived his dream during his nine years as an assistant at his alma mater. From trips with his family to Kyle Field on fall Saturdays in the 1960s all the way up to his return to campus to speak at Muster on Saturday night, Schaefer told the estimated 850 in attendance about how much Texas A&M has meant to him throughout his life. |
| Auburn Board of Trustees approves $11 million in athletic facility upgrades | |
| The Auburn University Board of Trustees gave final approval for $11 million in athletics facility upgrades at Auburn Arena, Plainsman Park and Jane B. Moore Field on Friday. Auburn Arena, home to the school's men's and women's basketball teams, will receive enhancements to an existing 6,700-square-foot space that includes a new locker room entrance, expanded locker rooms, a player lounge area, team meeting spaces and improved graphics. The project will cost $3 million and will be funded by a combination of gifts and athletic department money. It is expected to be complete by October 2019. "I'm grateful to the board of trustees, President Leath and our director of athletics for continuing to invest in our basketball program," men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said in a statement. "As we gain credibility and competitiveness, we're attracting high level student-athletes and we need to provide the space and facilities to help train them. These improvements will go a long way toward that end." |
| Jeremy Pruitt to Tennessee Vols fans who didn't attend spring game: Where were you? | |
 | First-year Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt put the Vols' fan base on notice after Saturday's spring game. "I think we all need to look in the mirror and see who we want to be," Pruitt said. Tennessee announced a game attendance of 65,098. That figure appeared to be a farce. Actual attendance appeared closer to 40,000, with the lower bowl mostly full and the upper bowl empty. Admission and parking were free for the game. "The ones that were here, I'm proud they were here," Pruitt said. "They're fired up. They're ready to get going. And then there were some people that wasn't here that had legitimate reasons. They couldn't be here. Then there were some people that wasn't here that, why wasn't they here?" Pruitt compared his assessment of fan turnout to his analysis of the way his team played. He thought some of the Vols competed hard but said others "flat-out quit." |
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