Monday, October 22, 2018   
 
New $12M, 500-vehicle parking garage announced at Mississippi State
On Thursday, Mississippi State University announced a project that could help solve some longstanding issues on campus. The university officially announced the construction of a $12 million, 500-vehicle parking garage on the north side of campus. The garage will help alleviate some of the growing university's parking woes upon its completion. Currently, MSU's enrollment is the highest in the school's history with more than 22,000 students. The project was approved by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees Thursday. Mississippi State Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said the garage has long been a goal of MSU President Mark Keenum. "Obviously with continued growth in enrollment and in the number of students who have vehicles on campus, parking is and has been a rather constant challenge for us here on campus," Salter said. "The construction of this 500-space parking garage on the north side of campus will help us in several ways."
 
Mississippi State, C Spire launch software development curriculum
Mississippi State University's Center for Cyber Education has taken its first step in helping move the state toward a K-12 computer science curriculum. The center is an integral part of the Software Development Pathway Program that's launched in university partnership with Ridgeland-based telecom company C Spire. State officials and C Spire executives announced the program at a press conference in Ridgeland earlier this week. Shelly Hollis, assistant director for the Center for Cyber Education, said the center is working with state community colleges and school districts to determine where to implement the program. "We've looked at the community colleges that already have a programming path in place," Hollis said. "There are nine of those, so we've looked at what school districts feed into those community colleges to approach first to participate.
 
C Spire, Research and Curriculum Unit launch coding pathway
The Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit will add more to its efforts to teach coding and computer science in Mississippi thanks to a $550,000 grant from its longtime partner C Spire. The grant was announced Wednesday in a press conference at C Spire's headquarters in Ridgeland. The funds will be used to begin a new program called the C Spire Software Development Pathway. It is a public-private partnership between C Spire and the RCU's new Center for Cyber Education. MSU President Mark Keenum discussed the importance of the partnership to the university and the RCU. "This wonderful gift will be a tremendous asset to provide cyber education K-12 all the way through high school, and then working in tandem with our community colleges to provide a pathway for students to gain an associate's degree with software development," Keenum said.
 
NSPARC secures grant to fight opioid abuse
The National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC) at Mississippi State University has received a grant to help combat a major problem in Mississippi and across the country. The center has received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Health Services Administration, which will be used to create a plan to leverage data on the opioid crisis in 67 rural counties in Mississippi and two counties containing eligible census tracts. With this project, NSPARC is part of a consortium of agencies statewide with interests in ending the opioid crisis. Other agencies involved include the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy, Mississippi Department of Human Services, Mississippi Public Health Institute and Mississippi Department of Employment Security. "The impact of opioids in Mississippi is thoroughly severe, and the purpose of this grant is to develop a plan to address the opioid crisis," said NSPARC postdoctoral research associate Michael Spanbauer.
 
Mississippi State Opens Community Garden
Mississippi State University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Community Garden on Monday, Oct. 15. The ceremony also served as the launching point for the university's Green Week, which included activities focused on recycling and sustainability, as well as the cleanup of a local stream. Cory Gallo, an associate professor of landscape architecture at MSU, is in charge of the Community Garden. The garden is in the courtyard of the landscape architecture facility, next to a rain garden that the university created in 2017 with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The garden will also serve as an outdoor laboratory for sustainable and healthy food courses at MSU and as a research site for the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.
 
Students Aren't Just Building Robots... They're Building A Brighter Future
The Humphrey Coliseum at Mississippi State University played host to the annual Best Robotics competition Saturday. Teams from all over Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee competed for a chance to move on to Regionals. Over 550 students competed in the competitions. However, the event wasn't just focused on building robots -- it was also helping to build a brighter future for the students involved. "It's a perfect opportunity for students to gain transferable skills, they get project management skills, they work with the engineering design process model, they're learning so many skills that are going to be needed in Academia and in the workforce," says Program Director Dr. Vemitra White.
 
4-H'ers receive congressional awards in Jackson
Two Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H members in Lowndes County were recognized during the annual Mississippi Congressional Award Ceremony Oct. 14 in Jackson. Haileigh Brooks and Hunter Brooks of Columbus received their bronze certificate and medal presented by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper at the Old Capitol Museum. They are among 43 young people in Mississippi to receive awards for their completion of the national award program. This year's ceremony marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership between the Congressional Award Program and the Extension Service 4-H Program. Extension Director Gary Jackson and Linda Mitchell, regional Extension coordinator at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, helped commemorate the milestone occasion. "It is very much an honor for Mississippi State University and the Extension Service to be a part of this celebration," Jackson said.
 
The risk of 'cascading' natural disasters is on the rise
Farshid Vahedifard, CEE Advisory Board Endowed Professor and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Mississippi State, writes for The Conversation: In a warming world, the dangers from natural disasters are changing. In a recent commentary, we identified a number of costly and deadly catastrophes that point to an increase in the risk of "cascading" events -- ones that intensify the impacts of natural hazards and turn them into disasters. Multiple hazardous events are considered cascading when they act as a series of toppling dominoes, such as flooding and landslides that occur after rain over wildfires. Cascading events may begin in small areas but can intensify and spread to influence larger areas. This rising risk means decision-makers, urban planners and risk analysts, civil engineers like us and other stakeholders need to invest more time and effort in tracking connections between natural hazards, including hurricanes, wildfires, extreme rainfall, snowmelt, debris flow, and drought, under a changing climate.
 
Golden Triangle to run cellular service tests
Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley came to Starkville Thursday afternoon to talk to local agencies about conducting cellular service tests throughout Northern Mississippi. The tests will determine areas which lack cellular service to ultimately preserve federal funding to improve service in those areas. Agencies from Oktibbeha County and Lowndes County gathered for the presentation at the Oktibbeha County 911 Conference Room Thursday, where Presley went through the steps agencies can take to participate in the study. Presley said reaching out to local law enforcement, fire departments and 911 centers is essential to the study because cellular service is a public safety issue. "This is an issue of public safety," Presley said. "I mean, 911 does you no good if you can't dial it, so I just appreciate the sheriffs and the fire coordinators for helping."
 
He 'stole' a story he heard 30 years ago for new novel, John Grisham admits
John Grisham "stole" a story for his latest novel. He admits to the literary larceny, saying it's a story he heard three decades ago as a Mississippi lawmaker, where he often drank coffee and listened. "There were some big-time storytellers there," he said. His new novel, "The Reckoning," opens -- just as the story he heard -- with a prominent man fatally shooting another prominent man three times, driving back home and waiting for the sheriff to arrest him. And when the sheriff arrived, the man said, "I have nothing to say." For Grisham, the new novel, "The Reckoning," varies from the 39 other books he has written. "I have a lot of loyal fans. They want to be entertained with a fast read," he said. "This is very different. That's been the reaction." John Evans, owner of Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson, believes that Grisham's latest novel is a breakthrough. "It's his most literary work since 'A Time to Kill,'" Grisham's first novel, he said.
 
Retirements draw packed field in Chancery 14
A spate of retirements means Chancery Court District 14 will see all new judges after November's elections. With three open posts within the chancery district to be vacated by retiring incumbents, a crowded field of candidates are jostling for the attention of voters, virtually ensuring a runoff. The 14th Chancery Court District includes Chickasaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Webster counties. In Post 1 of Mississippi's 14th Chancery Court District, five candidates are running to replace incumbent Kenneth Burns: Elizabeth Fox Ausbern, Gene Barton, R. Todd Bennett, Rodney Faver and Lee Ann Turner.
 
Emptying the bench: State sees exceptionally large number of judicial retirements
When Mississippi trial courts return to session in January, one-third or more of the benches could be occupied by brand new judges. Retirements, along with contested races in next month's non-partisan elections, could reshape the makeup of the state's county, chancery and circuit courts. Of the state's 52 chancery court judges, 20 are retiring. Another three contested races could mean that 44 percent of the chancellors will be new. In the circuit courts, there are nine contested races and seven of the 57 incumbent judges are not running for their current seats. Most are retiring. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Weill Sr. stepped down to run for a spot on the Court of Appeals. The largest turnover percentage could be in county courts. Only 22 of Mississippi's 82 counties have county courts – which fit between justice courts and circuit courts. They also handle youth court cases. Retirements will open up nine of the 32 statewide slots. Since another six races are contested, as many as 47 percent of the judges could be new after the elections.
 
How Mississippi Senate candidates feel about Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court judge
The nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was a partisan and gender polarizing event for the U.S. Senate and country. Accusations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh more than three decades ago prompted Senate hearings, further FBI background investigation and heated debate. Appointed interim Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defended Kavanaugh, criticized the accusations against him as unfounded and voted to confirm him. Her Republican opponent state Sen. Chris McDaniel also defended Kavanaugh and said he supported his confirmation. Democratic candidate former U.S. Rep. Mike Espy says he's not so sure and would likely not have voted to confirm given the information he has seen. Here's what the candidates had to say about Kavanaugh's confirmation.
 
Mississippi Democrat Says He'd Be 'Senator for Everybody'
Mike Espy is doing a balancing act as he runs for U.S. Senate in Mississippi. As an African-American Democrat, Espy needs a strong voter turnout among black people, who make up 38 percent of the state's population. But he can't win without some white support in a conservative Southern state where voting patterns tend to break along racial lines. While most black votes go to Democrats, the white majority leans Republican. Even as prominent African-American politicians, including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, have traveled to Mississippi to endorse him, the 64-year-old Espy says he is reaching out to all audiences with a unifying message. "I don't care about race or religion or gender or party or sexual orientation or disability," Espy told a diverse group of supporters at a recent reception in his Jackson campaign office, carefully pausing between each category. "I'm going to be the senator for everybody," he said.
 
David Baria Donations Top All Dem Nominees in Mississippi Since 2008
David Baria raised more money than any Mississippi Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate since 2008, fundraising numbers released on Tuesday reveal. Baria brought in more than $317,000 in the third fundraising quarter that began July 1 and ended Sept. 30, bringing his total since March to nearly $850,000. "David's numbers reflect the excitement we have seen around this race," Baria campaign manager Alyssa Miller said in a press release. "For too long, Democrats in Mississippi have watched their candidates turn themselves into a 'Republican-lite' version of themselves, by refusing to run an authentic campaign." Baria, who serves as the house minority leader in the Mississippi House of Representatives, is challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker. Wicker, who is known as a robust fundraiser, netted nearly $434,000 in the third quarter, bringing his total for the cycle to just under $5.8 million.
 
GOP Tracker Impersonates JFP Reporter at Espy Event, Campaign Says; PAC Denies
A tracker apparently working for the right-wing America Rising PAC impersonated a Jackson Free Press reporter at a campaign event Friday, a campaign staffer for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy says. The tracker, Frank B. Lawler of Jackson, is now denying that he claimed to be someone other than himself at the event. At an Oct. 19, 2018, event at the Washington County Convention Center in Greenville, Miss., Espy campaign communications specialist Othor Cain was scoping the room for press when he saw a man filming who was wearing khaki shorts, a red jacket and an Ole Miss cap. "Mike was speaking, and this guy was in the audience filming," Cain said. "I thought he was you, but then I went up to him to him and I asked, 'Hey, who are you with?' He said, 'I'm Ashton Pittman from the Jackson Free Press.'" Alas, he was not Ashton Pittman from the Jackson Free Press. Ashton Pittman from the Jackson Free Press was in Hattiesburg all day Friday, where he -- that is to say, I -- wrote this news article.
 
Social issues, role of government on minds of East Mississippi voters
When some East Mississippi voters head to the polls on Nov. 6, they won't be thinking of specific candidates or political parties. Some will vote based on how they feel about social issues, education and the role of government in society. A sampling of several voters interviewed by The Meridian Star intend to vote based on how policies affect their livelihoods or personal lives. Some, for example, view government as a hindrance in solving social problems. Another sees a vital role for immigrants in American society, and another is worried about the effect of tariffs on his industry. This is the third installment of The Meridian Star's Pulse of the Voters project, an initiative that gauges the political mood in our community.
 
Former Meridian CAO Mike McGrevey named to state lottery board
Mike McGrevey, the former Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Meridian, was among five people appointed on Friday to the Mississippi Lottery Corporation Board of Directors. McGrevey, who was Meridian's CAO from 2014-2016, serves as Deputy Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, and has an extensive financial management background in the military, government and private sector. At Mississippi State University in Starkville, he served as the Chief of Staff, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President of Finance and Administration. McGrevey, who resides in Decatur with his wife, Ada, holds a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Southern Mississippi and a doctorate in education from MSU. Other members include Cass Pennington, former superintendent of the Indianola and West Tallahatchie School Districts; Philip A. Chamblee, the executive director/CEO of the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association and the Mississippi Propane Gas Association; Kimberly LaRosa, president and CEO of Renaissance Community Loan Fund and Gerard Gibert, CEO of Venture Technologies.
 
What Migrants Displaced By The Dust Bowl And Climate Events Can Teach Us
The World Bank predicts climate change could create as many as 143 million "climate migrants" by 2050. The result would be a mass migration twice as large as the number of refugees in the world today. Though the size of potential displacement is unprecedented, the relationship between migration and climate has played out on a smaller scale throughout the history of North America, say historians Nathan Connolly and Ed Ayers. Connolly, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, points to long-lasting droughts from the 12th and 13th centuries that caused relocations of indigenous communities in the American West. Centuries later, drought, economic depression and devastating dust storms created the perfect conditions for migration in the 1930s, away from the southern Plains states and towards the west, says Connolly. Facing millions of dollars of crop losses per day in the Dust Bowl, millions of residents from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri had no choice but to move or starve. They packed their bags, with many traveling west to California.
 
New York Times bestselling author reflects on career, legacy at MUW's annual Welty Gala
Brad Meltzer is a bestselling author whose work spans genres from nonfiction to mystery, comic books, television and children's books. His first published novel, completed when he was 27, hit the New York Times Bestsellers list, as have most of his 12 novels. His most recent, "The Escape Artist," debuted at No. 1 on the Times bestseller list earlier this year. Yet for all his extraordinary achievements, Meltzer focused on the power of the ordinary during his keynote address Friday at the Eudora Welty Gala at the Trotter Center in downtown Columbus. "Ordinary people change the world," he said. "Or, I should say, ordinary stubborn people change the world." Meltzer, 48, highlighted this year's gala, a fundraiser Mississippi University for Women hosts during the Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium every year to raise money for scholarships.
 
MUW's Department of Theatre to present 'Dancing at Lughnasa'
The Department of Theatre at Mississippi University for Women will present Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa" Thursday, Oct. 25 through Saturday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Cromwell Theatre. "Dancing at Lughnasa" takes the audience back to the summer of 1936 and into the world of the five Mundy sisters. The Mundys live in a small cottage village outside the turbulence of a changing Ireland where it is known to be at a "wistful and mad crossroads," a parallel to the lives of the Mundy sisters. Throughout the play's journey, the family searches for potential love, stability and above all hope. The sisters find joy and complete self-expression in music and dance. But eventually, guests will find out that the hardships of life can cripple even these powerful and courageous women, and by the end of that summer, hope fades and tragedy intervenes. The play shows the strength and bravery of five sisters before they change forever.
 
Madison County businessman in $100M Ponzi scheme gave Ole Miss more than $400K
The man who pleaded guilty in a $100 million Ponzi scheme gave Ole Miss Athletics more than $402,000 in the last decade. And the federal receiver appointed to recover investors' money wants it all back. The amount is detailed in the second report, released Friday, by New Orleans attorney Allyson Mills, the federal receiver appointed in the Securities and Exchange Commission case against Arthur Lamar Adams. Mills said in her first report that she advised Ole Miss that the gifts by Adams were made with stolen money and she intended to take any and all action necessary to return that money to the receivership estate. Adams said in court that his business was a Ponzi scheme. Mills said she requested the accounting by the University of Mississippi, which reflects the university received $402,100 to the Athletic Foundation and $400 to an academic scholarship fund in the last 10 years.
 
Emmett Till cousin set to speak at Delta State University
A cousin of Emmett Till is returning to Mississippi to speak about the 1955 abduction and killing of the black teenager, which helped galvanize the civil rights movement. The Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. is speaking at 7 p.m. Monday at Delta State University. Parker and Till traveled together from Chicago to Mississippi. Parker says he heard Till whistle at a white woman working at a rural Mississippi grocery store and later saw kidnappers take Till from a family home at night. Till was beaten and shot, and his body was found weighted down with a cotton gin fan in the Tallahatchie River. His mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago so people could see the mutilated corpse.
 
Greenville schools, Mississippi Valley partner to break down college access barriers
The daily 5:30 a.m. wake up is worth it to Quincy Wilson. A freshman at Greenville Public Early College High School, Wilson boards the bus every morning by 6:45 and gets off about 40 miles later at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena. "You can do your homework (on the bus) if you need to," Wilson said of the almost one-hour long bus ride. "We do have a lot of it so it is useful to have some time to do that on the bus." He's one of 26 students who will spend his high school career on MSVU's campus taking high school and college courses. By the time he graduates high school, he could earn up to two years' worth of college credit. "I chose it because I knew it was a great opportunity for me. I wanted to attend early college so I could get that head start," Wilson said.
 
William Carey president cuts ribbon on new school of pharmacy in Biloxi
The first class of William Carey University School of Pharmacy, and future students, now have a place to call home on William Carey's Tradition Campus in Biloxi. With a quick snip of a ribbon, William Carey University's President Tommy King opened the new Sanderson Hall School of Pharmacy Building on the Tradition campus. The three story, $7.5 million hall was years in the making, according to the Dean of the School of Pharmacy Michael Malloy. "Two years of birthing a program. It's been two years of waiting and today's the day we get an opportunity to at least show off what we've got," Malloy said. The design includes lecture halls, labs, study and conference rooms and much more. It's a pharmacy school that Governor Phil Bryant said will allow students to live the American dream: getting a great job in pharmacy right here in Mississippi.
 
U. of Alabama sets record with $224 million in donations
The University of Alabama saw another historic fundraising year with more than $224 million gifts and pledges from 62,300 donors, which topped last year's total by more than $100 million. "We are tremendously thankful for the devotion of our alumni and friends who have helped us reach such a historic milestone," UA President Stuart Bell said in a statement released by the university. "The 2017-18 fiscal year was truly remarkable and has created a strong foundation for the growth and development of current and future projects and programs at the Capstone." The $224.3 million includes gifts the university has received and gifts that have been pledged over several years. "There is no doubt that there is an incredible level of excitement toward all that the university is accomplishing but also toward the vision for the future of the institution," Vice President for Advancement Bob Pierce said.
 
Auburn, Alabama researchers team up for $2M project to make diesel fuel burn cleaner
Auburn University researchers are working on a bio-based additive to make diesel fuel burn cleaner as part of a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy project that will see researchers at the University of Alabama help test the blend. The $2 million project led by Auburn is part of about $10 million in funding from the DOE for the co-optimization of engines and fuels. The department is providing $80 million for 42 projects to support advanced vehicles technologies research. Cornell University, Virginia Tech and corporate partners Microvi Biotech Inc. and EcoEngineers are collaborating on the project. The project focuses on a process to efficiently produce a bio-based fuel additive called butyl acetate, an organic compound that occurs naturally in various fruit but can also be produced in a lab.
 
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards wants higher ed officials to discuss college admissions
Gov. John Bel Edwards waded into the bickering between higher education officials by reiterating that the Board of Regents have the authority to set and enforce admission standards for public four-year universities. But, he also wants the officials to review those rules. In defending LSU's unilateral change to admissions policies, President F. King Alexander said Monday the Board that governs state public colleges, universities and vocational schools had no authority to punish the university for admitting too many applicants who failed to meet the "minimum admissions standards for first-time students" set by the Board in 2001. Speaking for the Regents, Commissioner for Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed responded that the 16-member board doesn't make rules they can't enforce.
 
Mold found in more U. of Tennessee dorms, over 100 students opt out of contracts
Testing for mold in the residence halls at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found elevated levels of different kinds of mold in seven dorm rooms in addition to Laurel Hall, which is closed for cleaning. Additionally, over 100 students have opted out of their university housing contracts after mold was found at Laurel at the beginning of October, according to a Friday news release from the university. After elevated levels of mold were found, UT announced it would be closing Laurel and relocating the 586 students who lived there. Mold was also found in South Carrick Hall, which houses 530 female students, but those students were not relocated during the cleaning process.
 
UGA teaches aspiring entrepreneurs what it takes to start a business
The fourth floor of Creswell Hall looks pretty much like your typical residence hall, but the students living here are far from typical. They are all entrepreneurs: risk-takers who want to turn their ideas into businesses. Many of them already have. These three first-year students are a part of the Launch Pad, a new living learning community created to spark innovation. Students applied to live in the Launch Pad this spring after being accepted at UGA, but before starting classes. They had to write a brief essay describing their entrepreneurial goals, and share stories about their own startups, if applicable. The group -- 14 men and 12 women---represent a wide cross section of campus. Many of them are engineering and STEM majors.
 
Corps of Cadets cybersecurity unit prepares Aggies to defend nation online
A special unit in the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets aims to prepare the next generation of "cyber warriors." Now in its second year, the Cyber Operations Special Unit trains cadets in cybersecurity and defense. Brig. Gen. Joe Ramirez, commandant of the Corps of Cadets, says he at first was skeptical when a group of cadets approached him a little over a year ago with the idea, but he soon realized the importance of preparing cadets for careers defending the military, government and businesses from cyber attacks. To put it in military speak, Ramirez said cybersecurity is the "battle space" society now lives in. "As we all know, cybersecurity affects everybody. It doesn't affect just the military," Ramirez said. "It affects the government, it affects businesses, it affects anybody that has a bank account or anybody that does shopping online. It affects all of us. And so now that we're considered a cyber institute as a senior military college, one of the things we're trying to do is wrap our hands around, 'What does that mean?'"
 
U. of Missouri dedicates dorms, atrium to black trailblazers
When Sharon Brooks was a kid, she never imagined her father, George C. Brooks, would rise to a leadership role in the University of Missouri's administration. That sort of thing just wasn't really possible if you were black, she said. Now, his name is etched into the concrete facade of a building on campus. MU dedicated two residence halls and an atrium on the south edge of campus to three African-American leaders who helped integrate the university. UM System President Mun Choi, MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and several university curators attended Friday's dedication ceremony, in addition to about 200 spectators. The three buildings now bear the names of George C. Brooks, Lucile Bluford and Gus Ridgel, three civil rights activists who played a critical role in clearing the path for black students to attend MU. The dedication coincides with the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Legion of Black Collegians.
 
Stumped by science? A new center at U. of Missouri will aim to change that
The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Missouri a $5.2 million grant that it will use over the next five years to create the Advancing Research and its Impact on Society Center, according to a news release from the MU News Bureau. The virtual center is intended to help the public become more aware of research being done at MU and what it means to them. While the public can become aware of breakthroughs in prescription drugs, for example, it might not understand how the science of how those drugs relieve symptoms. MU cited the drug Humira as an example. Humira alleviates pain for many people who suffer from arthritis, plaque psoriasis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The scientific breakthrough needed to create Humira was so profound that MU professor emeritus George Smith earned a Nobel Prize for it. Few people could explain the science behind the breakthrough and the research work Smith was doing, though. The new center will help change that by focusing on educational outreach and community engagement with scientific research.
 
Trump administration considers plan to end legal status of transgender students
The Trump administration has drafted policies for the Education Department and other agencies that enforce civil rights that eliminate the concept of a student being transgender, and potentially make it next to impossible for transgender students to raise complaints about treatment based on their gender identities. The New York Times revealed the plans Sunday. Under the draft policies for use in various federal agencies, the following definition would be used: "Sex means a person's status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth ... The sex listed on a person's birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence." Catherine Lhamon, who served as assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education under President Obama, said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed that the proposals, if enacted, would be "catastrophic to transgender students."
 
'It was really bad': 30 injured after floor collapses at apartment clubhouse in Clemson
Thirty people were injured when the floor of a clubhouse collapsed during a party at The Woodlands Apartments in South Carolina, the Clemson City Police Department said. Police received a call at 12:30 a.m. Sunday and responded to the apartment complex on Old Greenville Highway. Officers arrived to find more than two dozen injuries, although no one was entrapped and none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening, police said. Larissa Stone, a sophomore at Clemson University, said she arrived to the party about 20 minutes before the floor collapsed. She said a song played that "a lot of people liked." "So everyone was jumping. The beat was about to drop and literally the whole floor collapsed," she said. "It happened so quickly. I stood up, and everyone was trying to climb out. People are under other people. People are hurt. People are bleeding. I had blood on my sneakers. It was really bad." Joe Galbraith, Clemson University's associate vice president for strategic communications, confirmed that the party was hosted by the Clemson Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
 
'Degenerate and Murderous': California Campus Republicans' Platform Attacks College Culture
The California College Republicans' new platform says the state's campuses are rife with what the group considers "degenerate" behavior. The document takes aim at university funding of birth control and abortion, the legitimizing of transgender people, and institutional support of Mexican and Muslim student organizations that the group accuses of being "ethnonationalist" and anti-Semitic. The statewide group has chapters at several University of California campuses as well as at other prominent institutions, including Stanford University. Much of the platform is inflammatory, sure to provoke opposition from liberal, moderate, and even some conservative students. Jeffrey L. Kidder, an associate professor of sociology at Northern Illinois University who studies politics on campus, said the group's "combative tone" and objects of attack were noteworthy. Kidder wrote in an email that it was "remarkable" how at odds the platform was with conservative students as a whole.
 
Team concept can stimulate learning
Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: In athletic teams, games of chance, job selection, and investments there are clear winners. There are limited opportunities to gain the advantage and expansive options to lose that edge. However, schools should not be about making one student the clear winner and all other students the designated losers. This not only de-incentivizes the majority of the students toward learning, it disqualifies all that they did master. For example, for students learning their multiplication tables, some students grasp the concept much more readily than others. Some can quickly master all the multiples of one to 10 seemingly overnight, while others may struggle for months. However, mastery of multiplication is a paramount lifelong skill; therefore, a variety of strategies must be employed over time.
 
Unseemly politics belies Christian seeming Mississippi
Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: In 2017 Gallup reported Mississippi had retained its spot as the most religious state in the U.S., with 59% of residents calling themselves "very religious" and another 29% "moderately religious." A Pew Research Center report published in 2015 counted 83% of adult Mississippians as Christian. That would approximate 1.9 million adults. ...Pew reported 49% of adults attend religious services at least once a week. This suggests at least 1.1 million Christians attend church weekly in Mississippi. ...The same Pew report showed 44% of Mississippi adults considered themselves Republicans, 42% Democrats, and 14% leaned toward neither. Logically, that means the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats must be Christians, and should love each other. Yet our politics belies that -- the partisan voices hurling hate and vitriol and stirring up discord, the forces pitting Christian Republicans against Christian Democrats.


SPORTS
 
Defense keeps Mississippi State in game against LSU
When moving only on its own merit, LSU was incapable of scoring a touchdown on Mississippi State. The No. 5 Tigers (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) were gifted some of the best field position possible on the first possession, an interception return putting them three yards away from a score. It still took LSU three plays to score that touchdown, and that struggle was indicative of the 57 minutes to follow. LSU mustered a measly 239 yards on the No. 22 Bulldogs (4-3, 1-3 SEC), settling for four field goals. It was enough, as they beat MSU 19-3, a third instance of a heroic defensive performance against a conference opponent being outdone by offensive ineptitude. "We know we were the better team on the field tonight, especially defense," defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said. "We left plays out there tonight, even when we did hold them to field goals."
 
LSU stonewalls Mississippi State, setting up Baton Rouge showdown with Alabama
Pull out the calendar. Mark the date. Tigertown is ready for a top-5 matchup. After a game that turned out to be less flashy than LSU's color-changing helmets, the No. 5 Tigers muffled No. 22 Mississippi State in a 19-3 win Saturday night in Tiger Stadium, locking in a showdown in the bayou Nov. 3, when No. 1 Alabama comes to town. It would be the first time LSU and Alabama will have met as top-5 opponents since 2012, when the Crimson Tide won 21-17 in Tiger Stadium. This time, LSU enters the Southeastern Conference-defining matchup having beaten three Top 10 opponents, four that were in the Top 25, including Mississippi State. LSU (7-1, 4-1 SEC) maintained its undefeated standing in the SEC West by stifling Mississippi State's conference-leading rushing attack to 201 yards and pulling away with four Cole Tracy field goals.
 
Mississippi State's Olivia Hernandez overcomes obstacles to get back on field
Physical rehabilitation is just part of a student-athlete's recovery from a serious injury. Through all of the pain that accompanies working to get back to 100 percent, learning how to deal with feelings of doubt and fear is part of the mental hopscotch that makes the challenge of returning to the field of play even tougher. Now imagine the added uncertainty a recent transfer would feel after getting hurt in a new place. Should she have left her first school? Would it be better to return home? Is it worth it to go through 10-11 months of rehabilitation? Olivia Hernandez faced all of those feelings and questions after she transferred from Arizona State to Mississippi State following her freshman season in 2016.
 
Second Mississippi deer tests positive for chronic wasting disease
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks announced on Friday afternoon that a second deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease. According to the department the positive test sample came from a 1½-year-old buck located in Pontotoc County on October 8. In a news release the department stated a sample will be shipped to the National Veterinary Sciences Laboratory in Iowa for an additional, definitive test. The first case of CWD in Mississippi was found in January. A hunter in Issaquena sighted the sick and emaciated buck and witnessed it die. It was then reported to MDWFP and two tests confirmed the animal was CWD-positive. In the most recent case few details have been released, leaving hunters on social media speculating about the circumstances surrounding the discovery.
 
Former Vols coach Butch Jones a focal point of Alabama's victory celebration
Nick Saban took one for the team Saturday and seemed fine with it. The Alabama football coach was asked about having ice thrown at him from the stands at halftime and dismissed the incident following the Crimson Tide's 58-21 victory over Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. "The ice doesn't bother me at all," he said. "I'd rather have somebody upset when we are playing on the road than happy about their circumstance because that means our circumstance wouldn't be very good." Saban had a different perspective on another hit job that occurred. In the waning moments of the rout, Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and running back Damian Harris commandeered a bucket of water. They snuck up on Alabama offensive analyst Butch Jones on the team's sideline and doused him. Jones joined the Crimson Tide this year after serving the past five seasons as Tennessee's head coach.
 
Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: College Athletics and Its Corporate Sponsors
To tune into major college sporting events is to see a parade of advertisements, many of them on the athletes' uniforms, for Nike, Adidas and other powerhouse apparel companies. Earlier this year, the N.C.A.A. made changes that are meant, in part, to increase transparency around just what corporate sponsors pay for. But in the eyes of many critics, more reforms are needed. In "University of Nike," Joshua Hunt trains his focus on the University of Oregon, arguing that it has damaged its mission through its relationship with Nike, a company run by Oregon alumnus Phil Knight. Mr. Hunt says that other schools have followed suit in building troubling partnerships, using the support of Nike and other major brands to make up for cutbacks in public spending. Below, the author talks about his initial interest in this subject.



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