| Monday, November 12, 2018 |
| Week of events at Mississippi State will honor America's veterans | |
 | As part of national Veterans and Military Families Month, Mississippi State University will host several events to honor America's veterans. Among other events, MSU will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 2 p.m. on Monday. "Mississippi State prides itself in the care and consideration given to our men and women who have bravely worn the uniform to defend our freedom," said Brian Locke, director of MSU's G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans. "In recognition of that sacrifice, I encourage everyone to attend the various events scheduled throughout the week of Nov. 12th through the 17th." Including dependents, the veteran community at MSU comprises 2,810 students. Recently, MSU has worked with the Mississippi National Guard to create a free tuition program for Guard members enrolled full time at MSU, and the university has waived application fees for undergraduate and graduate student veterans. |
| Workforce offers new opportunities for veterans | |
 | Hunter Stanfield was trained to build and manage internet connections. When his contract ran out in July, the 22-year-old, like many young Mississippians, needed training in order to make a career change. Stanfield traded his dress-blue Marine Corps uniform and internet routers for a welding torch and mask in Itawamba Community College's career and technical program. Across the state, there is a strong job market for those who can obtain the employable skills available at community colleges. This Veterans Day in Northeast Mississippi, former members of the armed services are using the holiday as a break from classes they are taking to increase their employability in the workforce. As Stanfield learns to weld with a background in computers, Nick Dye is at ICC to study forestry with a background under the hood. The 37-year-old joined the Army in 2009 and spent most of his five active-duty years as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic. After finishing up at ICC in the spring, he plans on continuing his forestry studies at Mississippi State University. |
| Mississippi State's 'Sweet Potato Drop' offers food to area organizations | |
| Dozens of volunteers came to Mississippi State University early Saturday morning to bag and distribute 12,000 pounds of sweet potatoes to area food organizations. Society of St. Andrew program coordinator Andy Lemmon said the organization usually pulls together 20,000 pounds of sweet potatoes for the MSU drop each year, but due to a bad growing season, half of the normal haul was rustled up this year. At 7:30 a.m., the first truck arrived and dumped several thousand pounds of sweet potatoes in a parking lot outside Dorman Hall on the MSU campus. Kauthar Gober, an MSU student volunteer who works with Volunteer Starkville, helped organize the event with the university and the city of Starkville, and said over 60 students had signed up to work as volunteers. "They had a rough growing season, and with the holidays coming up, some farmers are having difficulty meeting the demand for sweet potatoes at the grocery stores," Gober said. |
| Gertrude C. Ford Foundation gift helps Mississippi State autism clinic expand | |
| Mississippi State University is receiving support from the Ridgeland-based Gertrude C. Ford Foundation for autism and developmental disabilities research and treatment services. Specifically, a gift of $125,000 makes possible renovated facilities and expanded services for more clients of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic in MSU's College of Education. "Mississippi State University is committed to taking a leadership role in addressing autism and developmental disabilities by changing the lives of children and families, and a partnership with the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation will advance our efforts," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "We are grateful for the foundation's confidence in our level of expertise in this area and their willingness to help us train the next generation of mental health practitioners who can combat this critical need in our state." A portion of the gift is helping the clinic expand from its existing space to a newly renovated location on Blackjack Road, making possible services for more clients with additional treatment space. |
| Jazz historian to visit Mississippi State for book discussion Tuesday | |
| Historian, performer and teacher of Africana studies Rashida K. Braggs will bring to life her experiences in music and culture when she visits Mississippi State Tuesday, Nov. 13 for a book discussion. In collaboration with the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center's International Education Week, the Institute for the Humanities is hosting the free lecture, open to the public, at 4 p.m. in Giles Auditorium. Parking will be available at Giles Hall. Patrons also can use the S.M.A.R.T. Central Route, which stops at Giles Hall. The talk is made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council. Braggs' new book, "Jazz Diasporas: Race, Music and Migration in Post-World War II Paris," analyzes the post-WWII migration of African American musicians to Paris joining the jazz scene. "For a place like Mississippi, the 'birthplace of America's music,' Dr. Braggs' talk will be especially powerful, touching on race, rhythm and movement," said Julia Osman, director of the Institute for the Humanities. |
| Presidential Library at Mississippi State University | |
 | Did you know Mississippi has a direct connection with two of the most famous American presidents? WJTV 12'S Walt Grayson has more. Here's the sign for both the Grant Presidential Library and the Lincolniana collection. I wanted to hurry up and say 'Lincolniana'" because I can't remember how to pronounce it very long, both at the Mitchell library on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville. Dr. John Marszalek, the executive director of the Grant Library, says "And particularly he said, to the South. Because he thought Southerners would appreciate this and would benefit from this more than any other place in the country." What's in the Lincoln collection? Ryan Semmes is an archivist at the MSU libraries and says we'd be amazed. Semmes says items include "The original broadside for the play Lincoln was going to see the night of the assassination, to an original wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth and his conspirators." |
| Starkville reps voice support for restaurant tax increase request | |
| State representatives last week affirmed their support of Starkville's planned request to the Legislature for a 1-percent increase in food and beverage taxes when the next legislative session begins in January. District 38 Rep. Cheikh Taylor (D-Starkville) promised to push for legislation to enact the tax raise when the Legislature convenes. "This particular tax is one that allows us to capitalize on a lot of the tourism that Starkville experiences," Taylor said. If the tax increases make it through the Legislature and are signed into law, the matter will then return to Starkville for a referendum, which will need 60 percent of the vote to pass. District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) said the city's efforts to strengthen its economy through boosting recreation tourism made supporting legislation an easy decision. District 37 Rep. Gary Chism, who sits on the House of Representatives' Local and Private Legislation Committee, said he doesn't foresee any trouble with the legislation passing because it will include an election to let Starkville's voters decide whether to approve the tax. |
| Plea agreements incentivize defendants to admit to crimes, keep justice system moving | |
| Starkville resident James Bardwell had a choice. He could go to trial for sexual battery and two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon. Or, he could accept a plea agreement from the state to confess to the weapons charges, spend the next 18 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections and not have to register as a sex offender when released. Bardwell took the plea deal earlier this month during the most recent term of Oktibbeha County Circuit Court. As a habitual offender, he isn't eligible for parole, meaning he will spend every day of his sentence in prison. It's a high prison sentence for weapons charges, said District Attorney Scott Colom. But from the prosecutors' standpoint, it made sense. There was plenty of evidence supporting the weapons charges and less supporting the sexual battery charge, which prosecutors felt deserved a significant sentence. The deal is always "a better deal than they would get if they proceeded to trial," said Donna Smith, a public defender in Lowndes County. Plea agreements are an essential part of the criminal justice system, both Colom and Smith said, saving the courts the cost and necessity of a trial in a system that is increasingly bogged down with pending cases. |
| $60,000 in wildflowers mowed down on Coast highway | |
 | Beautification supporters nearly three years ago painstakingly planted $60,000 in wild irises in medians on seven sections of a state highway in a conservation landscaping project. The flowers on Mississippi 603 apparently were mowed down in late September before Cruisin' The Coast. Their disappearance left many to wonder what happened and why, and drew criticism on social media from Bay St. Louis and Waveland residents. The mostly dark-blue, purplish wildflowers, which grow to 4 or 5 feet tall and have spear-like leaves, were cut down by a county work crew, Mayor Mike Favre confirmed Friday. "They were cut down last year and they came back and looked good this year," Favre said. Weeds had become a problem, horticulturist Christian Stephenson explained. "Essentially, cutting them is a method for weeding them," said Stephenson, who works for the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Bay St. Louis. But will they re-grow? "These plants grow from bulbs," Stephenson said. "They're designed to die and grow back. They are absolutely going to re-grow. They're not going anywhere." |
| Legislative leaders expect modest revenue growth next fiscal year | |
 | State revenue is projected to grow 2.6 percent during the upcoming fiscal year, beginning July 1, according to legislative leaders and Gov. Phil Bryant. The 14-member Legislative Budget Committee and Bryant adopted the estimate Thursday morning in advance of the 2019 legislative session. The revenue estimate must be adopted before the work of crafting a budget for the next fiscal year can begin. If growth reaches 2.6 percent, as anticipated, then legislative leaders will have $5.8 billion in general fund revenue for various state programs, ranging from education to health care to law enforcement. The 2.6 percent would mean about $146 million more for the next fiscal year than officials project collecting in general fund revenue for the current fiscal year. |
| Congressman-elect Michael Guest sets priorities: Farmers, infrastructure, healthcare, immigration | |
 | Michael Guest, the newly elected U.S. House Rep. for Mississippi's Third District, has four priorities for his upcoming term, which begins in January: a farm bill, a comprehensive infrastructure package, a plan for addressing healthcare and a plan for reforming immigration. "So many in the Third District work to provide the food we eat every day," Guest said. "There needs to be a push to reauthorize the farm bill to provide protections to our farmers." Guest succeeded Rep. Gregg Harper, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Harper endorsed Guest, who carried 61 percent of the vote in Lauderdale County alone. Guest, the district attorney for Rankin and Madison Counties, is no stranger to politics and indulged in a familiar election tradition earlier this week: holding signs with his wife on the same Brandon corner on both Monday and Tuesday, asking people to vote. "And then after the election, we hold up one that says, 'Thank you,'" Guest said. Part of that thank you is advocating for the district in Washington. |
| Analysis: Candidates need motivated voters for Senate runoff | |
 | Candidates in Mississippi's U.S. Senate runoff are competing with college football, Thanksgiving turkey and the mad dash of Christmas bargain hunting as they try to hold voters' attention. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Mike Espy are on the ballot Nov. 27, and the winner will get the final two years of a six-year term started by longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran. Both candidates acknowledge that motivating people to return to the polls will be a challenge. "I want everyone to have the best Thanksgiving they can possibly have. But don't you eat a bite if you're not looking at the person next to you, making sure they've got to go vote," Hyde-Smith told cheering supporters at a Nov. 6 election night party in Jackson. Espy hosted a gospel extravaganza Nov. 5 at Anderson United Methodist Church in Jackson. He talked to the mostly African-American audience about honoring the legacy of those who sacrificed in the struggle for civil rights -- Fannie Lou Hamer, who was beaten for her activism, and Medgar Evers and Vernon Dahmer, who were killed. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith criticized for 'hanging' remarks during Nov. 2 campaign stop | |
 | U.S Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is taking criticism for an off-color remark she made earlier this month during a campaign stop in which she cracked a joke about public hangings. Numerous news outlets on Sunday linked to a video taken at a Nov. 2 political event in Tupelo in which the Brookhaven Republican told supporters if cattle farmer Colin Hutchinson "invited (her) to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row." Political observers and social media users immediately condemned the remarks, made in the state that led the nation in lynchings of black citizens with almost 600 hangings reported during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras, according to data maintained by the Tuskegee Institute. Hyde-Smith is facing Democrat Mike Espy, a black man who once served as a cabinet member in the Clinton Administration, in a special election runoff on Nov. 27. Danny Blanton, Espy's campaign spokesman, told media outlets Hyde-Smith's comments were "reprehensible." |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith blasted for 'public hanging' comments; she calls criticism 'ridiculous' | |
| A video featuring Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is spreading rapidly across social media as critics say her comments invoke Mississippi's violent history of lynching. The video was first posted just before 8 a.m. on Sunday by Lamar White Jr., the publisher and founder of The Bayou Brief, a nonprofit news organization based in Louisiana. The website calls White "one of Louisiana's most acclaimed online journalists and prominent progressive activists." According to White's post, after a supporter praised Hyde-Smith, she said to a crowd gathered in Tupelo: "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row." In an interview with Mississippi Today, White said he did not take the video, which he says was recorded on Nov. 2 -- before the election -- and has been viewed close to 90,000 times on Facebook. White added that he has not seen the full recording. Hyde-Smith said she was referring to an invitation to a speaking engagement. For many in Mississippi and beyond, the mention of public hangings stirs memories of Mississippi's history of racist violence. |
| State's Chief Justice William L. Waller stepping down | |
| Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice William L. Waller Jr. will step down on Jan. 31, after completing 21 years as a member of the state's highest court. Waller, 66, has served as chief justice of the nine member court since January 2009. Under state law, the justice with the longest tenure assumes the post as chief justice -- not only presiding over the Supreme Court but also serving as head of the entire state judiciary. When Waller retires, Southern District Justice Michael Randolph of Hattiesburg will be the longest serving justice. Waller's term does not end until January 2022. Gov. Phil Bryant will appoint someone to complete Waller's eight year term. n announcing his retirement from the judiciary, Waller gave no indication that he might pursue another elected office, but said he would remain active as a senior status judge, meaning he would be available to hear cases and that he would continue to be involved in efforts to improve access to justice. |
| State Chief Justice Bill Waller to retire in January | |
 | State Supreme Court Chief Justice William Waller Jr. announced Friday he will retire at the end of January but in an interview with the Clarion Ledger did not rule out seeking another office. "I have elected to tender my resignation and retire from public service effective Jan. 31, 2019, completing more than 21 years of service on the Mississippi Supreme Court and 10 years as chief justice," Waller said in a statement. "It has been my highest privilege to be elected as a justice of the Supreme Court and serve as chief justice of Mississippi." When asked Friday about rumors he would possibly run for governor, Waller didn't rule it out. "I'm not closing any doors at this time," Waller said. "I will decide after I retire Jan. 31." Waller, 66, said he felt the time was right to announce his retirement, citing improvements in the court system, including electronic record keeping in circuit and chancery court districts. "I appreciate the support of the people, the trial judges and the (Mississippi) Bar over the last 10 years," Waller said in a phone interview. |
| Is high-speed internet service a state law change away for rural Mississippi? | |
| Residents in rural Mississippi lacking access to high-speed internet may be able to look to their local electric cooperative for service. Mississippi lawmakers just have to agree to change state law. The Public Service Commission on Tuesday unanimously issued a resolution requesting state law be changed in the 2019 legislative session to allow rural electric cooperatives to provide high-speed internet service. Mississippi is the only state in the nation with a law prohibiting rural electric cooperatives from providing the service. Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley has been promoting the idea as a means of solving the broadband internet problem in rural Mississippi. Over the last few months, he has held citizen task force meetings in all 33 counties in the northern district over the issue. |
| Sen. David Blount: Mississippi's burdensome absentee voting process resembles poll tax | |
| Mississippians living out of state, such as college students, who want to vote in the Nov. 27 runoff election for U.S. senator will have a short time period to do so. And it is not altogether certain they can accomplish the feat, said state Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, who held a news conference Friday at the Hinds County Courthouse with Circuit Clerk Zack Wallace to discuss the issue. "We believe that the more people who vote the better government you have," Blount said, adding voting should be made easier. "If we want our young people to participate, we need to make our process better," he said. He also said the current process "resembles" a poll tax, that once was levied to prevent African Americans from voting. He said in many places it costs to have a document notarized. In addition, he said to be safe during the Nov. 27 runoff, it would make sense to pay extra postage to expedite the arrival of the ballot at the clerk' office. |
| Passage of farm bill has high stakes for Sen. Pat Roberts | |
 | Sen. Pat Roberts will have to shepherd Congress' farm bill to passage -- and fast -- if he wants to prove he's still a viable candidate for Senate in 2020. Roberts, 82, survived a primary challenge against a political newcomer in 2014 with less than 50 percent of vote. He needed a flood of national money to win his general election campaign. It's unlikely the Kansas Republican will be able to avoid another primary challenge in 2020 if he runs. And Kansas Democrats -- who won the governor's office and a congressional seat last week -- may put up a serious candidate for the Senate seat for the first time in decades if they view Roberts as vulnerable That's why the farm bill matters. Passage of the bill, which will reauthorize the country's $867 billion food and agriculture programs for the next five years, offers a test of Roberts' clout before he makes the final decision on another run in a state where agriculture is one of the main industries. |
| Democrat Stacey Abrams files new suit in Georgia governor's race | |
| Stacey Abrams' Democratic campaign filed a federal lawsuit Sunday asking a judge to delay vote certifications in Georgia unsettled governor's race by one day and to make officials count any votes that were wrongly rejected. If successful, the suit would prevent officials from certifying county vote totals until Wednesday and could restore at least 1,095 votes that weren't counted. The campaign said thousands more ballots could be affected. Republican Brian Kemp's campaign didn't have any immediate comment on the lawsuit, filed over alleged problems in populous Gwinnett and DeKalb counties in metro Atlanta. But Kemp aides previously said Abrams has no path to victory and called her refusal to concede a "disgrace to democracy." |
| Ole Miss's Chancellor Will Step Down More Than a Year Before His Contract Expires | |
 | The University of Mississippi's chancellor, Jeffrey S. Vitter, will step down in January 2019, the institution announced on Friday, six months after rumblings about his departure were first heard. Vitter, who has held the job since January 2016, will remain a tenured professor in the School of Engineering's department of computer and information science, the state's Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning said in a statement. The statement offered no explanation for the chancellor's decision. Vitter's leadership has "moved the university forward in numerous ways, and we are grateful for his service," Shane Hooper, the board's president, said in the statement. |
| Three and out: Vitter steps down after years of wrestling with Ole Miss' image | |
 | An era that was ushered in by a Sugar Bowl victory and a Carnegie academic research honor came to a close on Friday with the state education board's announcement that Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter will step down from his position in January 2019. Vitter will resign as the shortest-tenured Ole Miss chancellor since George Holmes retired from his position as the first head of school in 1849, a year after the university's founding. Vitter's time at the university is often classified as one of change. Other Ole Miss community members have been disappointed with Vitter's efforts in addressing Confederate symbols on campus, but for different reasons than those Benson cited. A group created earlier this semester named "Stand Fast Ole Miss" has taken a vocal opposition to what its members see as Vitter's progressive agenda when it comes to campus symbolism. "Our goal is to bring Ole Miss back to a place where the Lyceum has as much regard and respect for defending conservative stances as it has demonstrated for more extreme liberal postures," wrote Hayes Dent, the group's founder. |
| Jeff Vitter out as Ole Miss chancellor, will return to teaching | |
| After January, Jeffrey S. Vitter will no longer serve as chancellor of the University of Mississippi and will return to the faculty, according to the state college board. Shane Hooper, president of the board, known officially as the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said Vitter, "made substantial contributions to the University of Mississippi during his three years as chancellor." On Jan. 1, 2016, his first day on the job, Vitter hoisted Ole Miss's first Sugar Bowl trophy in half a century. The raucous fans that took over his hometown of New Orleans had more than a football game to celebrate: After consecutive years of enrollment growth, record-setting fundraising and increased academic prestige, they seemed assured that the good times would continue to roll. Three years later, the university is losing students, minority enrollment is down, private donations are flagging, and the football program is gasping under stringent NCAA sanctions. |
| Winning Ohio candidate credits MUW for providing 'foundations' of her career | |
| As recently as four years ago, Ohio was just a place on a map and politics wasn't even on the radar for Allison Russo. But on Tuesday, Russo was elected to represent Ohio's 24th District in the statehouse, winning her first political campaign as a Democrat in her suburban Columbus, Ohio district. Russo credits her career working in public health policy for inspiring her to run for office, but her preparation for that role began far earlier, stretching back more than 20 years to the training she received in the "other" Columbus. More specifically, it was her four years as a student at Mississippi University for Women that laid the groundwork for her new job in politics. "My time (at The W) really provided so many foundations for me," said Russo, who was known on campus by her maiden name, Allison Davis. "It taught me to be a critical thinker, to use my voice. The W really empowered me there. Being surrounded by so many women, I think so many of us, we learned to be engaged and to have a voice." |
| MUW music professors release a duo piano CD | |
| Julia Mortyakova, chair and associate professor of the Department of Music at Mississippi University for Women, and Valentin M. Bogdan, associate professor in the Department of Music, have released a duo piano album. Titled "Journey for Two," the album features two-piano and piano four-hands works from the standard repertoire by composers such as Franz Schubert and Cecile Chaminade, some contemporary works written specifically for the duo and a few of Bogdan's own piano arrangements of Argentinean tango music. "This project is an opportunity for us to share the musical works we love with a broader audience," said Mortyakova. "These are fantastic pieces, which are not programmed in concerts very often, so we are thrilled to bring them to the general public." This is the first album released by the Mortyakova/Bogdan piano duo. |
| USM students react to Thousand Oaks bar shooting | |
 | Family and friends are in mourning two days after a gunman killed 12 people inside a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. When acts of violence like this happen, it may make you ask, "What if? What if this happened in my community?" Some University of Southern Mississippi students said they have the exact sentiment. "When things like that take place it's definitely something where it makes you see that we definitely need to come together more as a nation," USM freshman Jordan Lamb said. "Have more conversations with each other, talk about more of the necessary things." "And it's really scary that something as simple as going and having a drink with your friends can turn into all of your friends maybe passing away or you being put in that situation," USM junior Joplyn Roberts said. |
| U. of Alabama interim chancellor Finis St. John IV sets core principles | |
 | University of Alabama System Interim Chancellor Finis St. John IV on Friday presented a set of core principles to help guide the actions of the three-campus system. "After years as a trustee and a few months as interim chancellor, I believe the university system is at a crossroads," St. John said. "I think we have a choice. We have a choice to sustain the status quo, and the status quo has been pretty good. We have a lot to be proud of, but the alternative choice is to aspire to our full potential." St. John, who was appointed as the interim chancellor by his fellow trustees in July, recommended six core principles as part of his report to the board of trustees, which met for its regular November meeting Friday on the UA campus. The board did not vote on the principles, though it could choose later to formalize them if it wishes, St. John said. "It is up to the board to adopt a vision statement for the system, but this is what I am proposing that it be," St. John said. |
| U. of Alabama's modernized 'Merry Wives of Windsor' influenced by 'Dirty Dancing' | |
| In Shakespeare's day, comedy meant "not everyone dies, and there's a marriage or two at the end." His characters, characteristics and situations would have rung just as contemporary for audiences as topical references in a late-night comic's routine. Urging the failing, aging, bombastic knight Falstaff 400 years forward required stylized tweaking, said Seth Panitch, who's directing the "Dirty Dancing"-influenced adaptation of "The Merry Wives of Windsor," opening Tuesday in the University of Alabama's Marian Gallaway Theatre. "I wanted to pick a period we could look back on a few decades, where there was this hazy, sort of nostalgic glow," he said. Falstaff's a failed comedian, a casualty of the standup wars, being as there are no funny actual wars. "Falstaff was not kicked out of London by Henry V ... but kicked out off the Vegas stage." |
| U. of Tennessee Chancellor Wayne Davis condemns swastika painted on the Rock | |
 | Last week, a swastika was painted on the Rock at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus soon after being painted with a "message of solidarity," according to a statement from Interim Chancellor Wayne Davis. More students then painted over the swastika. The incident happened days after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh where 11 people were killed and seven were injured. UT Knoxville Hillel, a group for Jewish students, held a vigil on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the Rock following the shooting. Tara Bain, director of UT Knoxville Hillel, said at the vigil, the Pittsburgh Steelers logo along with the phrase "Stronger Than Hate" had been painted on the Rock. On Friday night, two students noticed two individuals painting the Rock. When the two students approached the Rock, the individuals who were painting left. |
| After food, housing and financial aid, how much do South Carolina colleges really cost? | |
 | Going to college is like buying a car. Very few people actually pay the sticker price. After tuition, students have to pay for housing, food and books. But all of those costs can be offset with financial aid. After all the numbers are added up, the actual cost of attending school can be much different than it looked at first. College officials often encourage students to look at the "net price" rather then tuition alone, as tuition doesn't tell the whole story. The difference is especially pronounced at private colleges, where tuition can be double that of other 4-year schools, but students end up with a comparable rate. In 2016, in-state tuition at the University of South Carolina was $11,856, but the net cost for in-state middle-class students was $19,581, data show. |
| Tennessee's next college goal is playing out in rural areas like Hardeman County | |
 | This year, state officials launched a $1.4 million grant program aimed at convincing people in Tennessee's poorest rural areas to pursue higher education. They targeted 19 counties that were designated as economically distressed by the Appalachian Regional Commission, including Hardeman. Funding will be used to nurture programs that give teenagers higher education experience before they finish high school. An ambitious long-term goal is to harness the power of those programs for adults by using those rural high schools to host college-level classes at night after the teenagers go home. It's a novel approach to fighting entrenched ambivalence toward higher education. Convincing many Tennesseans that college is necessary, or even possible, has been "a battle," said Lou Hanemann of the state's higher education commission, who is overseeing the grant program. "That is and continues to be one of the most difficult tides to turn," Hanemann said. "We still have a long way to go in changing the culture about valuing college." |
| Wreath laying honors U. of Missouri war dead | |
 | A small crowd stood in the 30-degree cold on the east side of the Memorial Student Union archway to honor University of Missouri student and alumni veterans on Friday. The Student Unions Programming Board sponsored a wreath laying ceremony in the middle of the archway, which has the names of the 117 MU students, alumni, staff and faculty who died in World War I inscribed on its walls. The event was one of the last in a lineup of Veterans Week events at MU. Sunday is Veterans Day, although it will be observed on Monday. The fighting on the western front in World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918, the origin of the national holiday originally known as Armistice Day. MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said in a speech at the ceremony that it was fitting to honor the university's veterans on the approach of the 100th anniversary of the armistice. |
| APLU enlists 130 universities in collaboration on completion and equity gaps | |
 | A growing number of universities are trading notes on how to improve student success rates. And the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities wants to take this cross-institutional collaboration to the next level. Over the weekend the group released details on an ambitious project involving 130 universities and systems that have pledged to work together in 16 "clusters" to boost their student access and completion rates while also curbing equity gaps. "These are burning issues for everybody," said Rick Miranda, provost and executive vice president of Colorado State University, which is part of the effort. "Working together is a way to do it better." The APLU and participating universities helped shape the clusters, each of which includes four to 12 universities grouped around geographic and other characteristics. For example, the project features an urban cluster, a group of technology-focused institutions, a cluster of universities with high percentages of Pell recipients and one that will seek to integrate data collection systems across six universities. |
| New data on admissions, including application trends, early decision and admissions criteria | |
| The annual "State of College Admission" report is important for several reasons. One is that it dispels the myth -- propagated by many who write about college admissions -- that it's impossible to get into college. You know the articles about how one is more likely to be struck by lightning than to be admitted to Stanford. Perhaps true for Stanford. But as the report -- issued by the National Association for College Admission Counseling -- demonstrates, it's actually not hard to get into college. The average four-year college admits nearly two-thirds of those who apply, and this is true from year to year in the study, going up or down by a point or so. For fall 2016, the year covered by the report (for those data), the figure was 65.4 percent, down slightly from 66.1 percent the year before. And this doesn't count community colleges, which are open admissions. Sadly, the public seems to ignore that finding every year. |
| College Is Different for the School-Shooting Generation | |
| College-aged Americans -- most of whom were born in the late '90s -- don't remember a time when school gun violence wasn't a widely feared threat to young people. Their lives have been repeatedly punctuated by deadly mass shootings in schools: Though few remember Columbine, most remember Virginia Tech, Newtown, Parkland, and Santa Fe, among others. When a gunman at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, killed 12 people Wednesday night, one of the victims was Alaina Housley, a freshman at nearby Pepperdine University. Several survivors were also Pepperdine students, attending Borderline's "College Country Night" and celebrating birthdays. The raucous college social event interrupted by an act of terror is an awful but ever more familiar worst-case scenario. And the ominous possibility that it could unfold on any given campus on any given day has altered the American college experience. |
| Mary Baldwin U. closes art exhibit after two days when students said they found the art racist | |
| Mary Baldwin University last week shut down an art exhibit after some students said that the art was racist. The artists involved say their art wasn't racist at all -- but has been misunderstood. The exhibit, "RELEVANT / SCRAP," is about the monuments, common in much of the South, to Confederate heroes. The two artists are white people who grew up in the South, and they say that the exhibit reflects their awareness that these monuments -- glorified by some -- are deeply hurtful to others and contribute to distortions of U.S. history. The art features images from statutes, turned into other images and mixed with other materials. The current debates about such monuments, combined with "the current post-truth context in the U.S." add to the "complexity of the issue," the artists wrote in a document explaining the exhibit. (Three images from the exhibit are above.) The monuments that are the focus of the art are from Monument Avenue in Richmond, which includes statues of numerous Confederate heroes. |
| Planning key for post-secondary plans | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: When planning for next year, high school seniors have some serious decisions to make. Unlike their formative years when the curricula was provided for them and delivered in a more-or-less mandated manner, post-secondary plans vary widely. Whether students have aspirations for vocational-technical training, community college attendance, university enrollment, military service or a direct line to the world of work, plans must be put into place early to ensure the most positive outcome. As the adage goes, failing to plan translates into planning to fail. While many students have some vague idea what they might like to do eventually, most need guidance, support, and some subtle shepherding to ensure that they are working with a manageable and focused plan of action for their future. Entering into the post-secondary arena devoid of even the most remote idea of an end-of-day goal can often spell disaster as well as lost effort, frustration, and a high risk of ending other than where one imagined. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith will trump Mike Espy in run-off | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: The hand has begun writing on the wall. The not-so-slim lady is tuning her pipes. The Nov. 27 run-off between Cindy Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy is all but a done deal, with Hyde-Smith the clear winner. Barring a political miracle, that's what the numbers and political realities say. The numbers first. Espy needed a strong, above average showing last week. He got a surge over normal Democratic turnout, about 140,000 more votes than the mid-term turnout four years ago. But Republicans got a bigger surge, about 154,000 more votes. That left Espy with the usual Democratic vote percentage of 40 percent, about what David Baria got too. The candidate showing surprising strength was Hyde-Smith. She not only walloped fellow Republican Chris McDaniel by more than a two to one margin... |
| Life without Nissan, Ingalls, others would be difficult in Mississippi | |
| Scott Waller, president and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council, and Jay Moon, president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, write in The Clarion-Ledger: Let us, for a moment, imagine a Mississippi without Nissan. Or without Airbus, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Steel Dynamics, Chevron, Yokohama, PACCAR and Toyota. How different would our state be today? Some would like you to think it wouldn't be much different, or it might possibly be even better. The reality is the vast economic growth we have seen would not have happened without recruiting these companies to Mississippi. If the state had not competed for the Nissan project, would the company still have built its facility in Madison County and opened it in 2003? Not a chance. ...Economic development is vital in helping move our state forward, and we must have all the tools necessary to level the playing field with those we are competing against -- even if it means providing financial incentives. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State AD John Cohen contacts SEC about Saturday officiating | |
| Mississippi State Director of Athletics John Cohen told The Dispatch he has been in contact with the Southeastern Conference offices regarding the officiating from MSU's 24-0 loss to Alabama Saturday. "I've personally communicated with the coordinator of football officials, Steve Shaw, and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey," Cohen said. "Both of them assured me that Saturday's game with Alabama is being fully reviewed, and they also stated that the official issues will be identified swiftly and dealt with directly." Cohen told The Dispatch he did not believe any of the communication with the SEC offices to be unusual. He believes all athletic directors are in constant contact with the league office. "I think it's the norm, but I can only speak to my conversations with them," Cohen said. "I have tremendous respect for both of those guys. I know it's their goal to get it right. I really believe they always do a great job of reviewing and making sure the issues are identified and dealt with swiftly and directly." |
| Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen contacts SEC office over officiating | |
| Mississippi State lost 24-0 to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, but many -- including national analysts, journalists and college football enthusiasts -- believe it could have been much closer if not for a few suspect officiating calls. The Bulldogs' Director of Athletics John Cohen contacted the SEC regarding some of those questionable instances, per Brett Hudson of the Commercial Dispatch and Steve Robertson of Gene's Page. "I've personally communicated with the coordinator of football officials, Steve Shaw, and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey," Cohen told Hudson. "Both of them assured me that Saturday's game with Alabama is being fully reviewed, and they also stated that the official issues will be identified swiftly and dealt with directly." There appeared to be a fumble on Alabama's first possession of the game, but it was never reviewed. The Crimson Tide took a 7-0 lead minutes later. At the end of the first half, MSU sophomore running back Kylin Hill seemed to score a receiving touchdown. Junior receiver Deddrick Thomas, though, was called for an illegal block in the back. Thomas hardly touched the Tide defender, if at all. |
| Tyson Carter, Quinndary Weatherspoon fuel Mississippi State men's basketball's win over visiting Hartford | |
| Times have changed for Mississippi State men's basketball. The No. 19 Bulldogs beat the visiting Hartford Hawks 77-59 at Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. That margin of victory over a struggling non-conference opponent doesn't seem to cut it for head coach Ben Howland's team anymore. "We weren't that happy in the locker room after an 18-point win," Howland said. "It tells you we have high expectations internally." There were a lot of external expectations coming into the year for the 2-0 Bulldogs. The players said they didn't pay much attention to those, but Sunday's win didn't coordinate with the goals they have set for themselves. Howland noticed some areas in which his players could have done better. He wants his team to shoot more free throws than the opposition. Though the Bulldogs' total of nine was only two less than that of the Hawks, Howland would like to see his team be more aggressive. |
| No. 18 Mississippi State beats Hartford 77-59 | |
| Quinndary Weatherspoon continued his hot start to the season, scoring a season-high 22 points to lead No. 18 Mississippi State to a 77-59 victory over Hartford on Sunday. Tyson Carter added 14 points for Mississippi State (2-0), and Aric Holman had 12 points and eight rebounds. Nick Weatherspoon had 10 points. Jason Dunne led Hartford (0-3) with 17 points, and John Carroll added 16. "I am glad we got the win," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said. "Hartford won 19 games a year ago and they are well coached. Dunne shot it well for them and we had a chance to break it open a couple of times but couldn't quite do it. They are tough to defend and it was a good test for us." |
| Bulldogs breeze by Hartford | |
| No. 18 Mississippi State claimed its second victory of the weekend and the season on Sunday as it breezed past Hartford, 77-59. The Bulldogs trailed at the first media timeout but went on a 9-0 run immediately afterward and never let the Hawks within 11 points past the 6:59 mark of the first half. "We weren't that happy in the locker room after an 18-point win which tells you that we have high expectations internally -- the players do," said MSU coach Ben Howland. Quinndary Weatherspoon provided MSU with his second straight 20-point game to start the season. The senior guard scored 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting with six steals. Aric Holman added 12 points, Nick Weatherspoon scored 10 and Abdul Ado grabbed 10 rebounds. Tyson Carter also gave the Bulldogs 23 good minutes off the bench. The Starkville native scored 14 points and hit 4 of 7 shots from the perimeter. |
| Q Weatherspoon leads No. 18 Mississippi State past Hartford | |
| If nothing else, the opening minutes of Sunday's Mississippi State men's basketball game had a discernible rhythm: MSU would miss a shot and spend the next 30 seconds defending. Hartford milked every second of the shot clock on its opening possessions, attempting to keep an athletic opponent stagnant -- and it worked, as MSU attempted just four shots in the first three minutes, 15 seconds. Then the No. 18 Bulldogs took matters into their own hands. Or, more literally, the ball into their own hands. A team as dangerous as the Bulldogs (2-0) is best when those weapons are roaming free and fast, and when Hartford held the ball too long for them to do it, they simply took the ball away. Fifteen steals helped jumpstart the offense in a 77-59 win over Hartford Sunday. "We stick to our gameplan, we tried to speed them up while they're being patient because that's the pace we're used to playing at," said senior forward Aric Holman, who claimed one of those steals. |
| Vitter's legacy as Chancellor will be affected by Ole Miss' NCAA case | |
| On Jan. 3, 2019, Jeffrey Vitter will step down as chancellor of the University of Mississippi, marking the end of his three-year tenure as the leader of Ole Miss. For many, he will be remembered as Ole Miss' chancellor during the school's long-fought battle with the NCAA and its Committee on Infractions. Vitter's tenure as chancellor could easily be defined by the NCAA's case against Ole Miss. The Committee on Infractions issued its first Notice of Allegations against the university just 20 days after he took office, with the final verdict in the case coming only days before the announcement of his resignation. Vitter officially took office as the University of Mississippi's chancellor on Jan. 1, 2016, almost four years after the NCAA investigation into Ole Miss Athletics began. However, just three weeks into his tenure on Jan. 22, the university received the first Notice of Allegations from the NCAA Committee on Infractions, alleging violations in women's basketball, track & field and football. |
| Kyle Field's Chair of Honor sits empty in honor of missing service members and POWs | |
 | Even when all 102,733 seats in Kyle Field are filled, there will always be one seat left open: the Chair of Honor. Installed in Texas A&M's Kyle Field this fall, the Chair of Honor recognizes members of the armed forces listed as prisoners of war or missing in action. "The symbolism of it is never forget that there are those who can't sit in this chair anymore because they never came back, or they endured captivity to a point to where they didn't make it back," said Brig. Gen. Joe Ramirez Jr., commandant of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. "That's why I think it's important that chair stays right where it's at and nobody sits in it." "Always going to be there and always going to be empty," said Vincent Rosas Jr., an Army veteran. "The way I see it, hopefully, there's somebody who never made it back sitting in that chair. ... I really like to think that there's somebody in there that's never made it back to American soil sitting right there in that chair every game." |
| Renovations to Mal Moore facility approved by U. of Alabama board | |
| The University of Alabama System board of trustees approved plans Friday for a $14.6 million renovation of the Mal A. Moore Athletic Facility to expand sports medicine services to all student athletes and expand the football locker room. The trustees unanimously approved the preliminary scope of the project and waived the consultant selection process to execute an architectural agreement with Davis Architects of Birmingham for the project. The firm will be paid a base fee of 6.9 percent of the cost of construction, currently budgeted at $11.3 million, and $50,000 for additional services. The project is part of the Crimson Standard master plan and will be funded with future bonds. "Any more discussion? Nobody wants to tell Saban no? Chickens," joked Trustee James Wilson, the Physical Properties Committee Chairman. |
| Amid a miserable season, Louisville football fires coach Bobby Petrino | |
| Headed for its worst season since 1997, Louisville has fired head football coach Bobby Petrino with two games left, the school announced Sunday. The ouster came after a 54-23 loss at Syracuse on Friday, the team's seventh straight. Petrino was in the fifth season of his second tenure and will finish with a 77-35 record at Louisville. His team is 2-8 this year and will miss a bowl game for the first time since 2009, Steve Kragthorpe's last season. "I met with Coach Petrino earlier today in my office and had a discussion with him about where we are at the program and about expectations, about where we want to go with it, and why I felt compelled to make a decision today versus another date," athletic director Vince Tyra said. Louisville's firing of Petrino without cause means the school will owe the coach his salary for the rest of this calendar year and for three more. Assuming Louisville satisfies Petrino's Academic Progress Rate clause for the next three years, that figure will total about $14.26 million, approximately $4.5 million per year. |
| With Petrino Debacle, Not Being a Judge of Character Bites Louisville Again | |
 | Less than a year ago, Bobby Petrino was in a New York City ballroom waiting to see if his quarterback, Lamar Jackson, would win the Heisman Trophy. Jackson came in third, but that was O.K.: He had won it the year before, the first Louisville player to do so. And besides, in the previous four seasons with Petrino as their coach for the second time, the Cardinals had four winning campaigns, even as they joined the more competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. The highs Petrino achieved -- he is undoubtedly an offensive mastermind -- made the fall that much more stark. On Sunday morning, after a 54-23 shellacking by No. 12 Syracuse (8-2) brought the Cardinals to 2-8, Petrino was fired. For many fans, Petrino's name is synonymous with an ugly scandal that in 2012 ended his tenure at his next head coaching stop, Arkansas. There, a motorcycle crash led to revelations of an affair with a football staff member and related misdeeds, such as lying to his boss. |
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