Daily News Digest (Mississippi State University)

Thursday, November 5, 2026


Garrison named MSU's latest Rhodes Scholarship finalist
Mississippi State senior Evan Garrison is the university's latest finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. An aerospace engineering/astronautics and mathematics double major from Webb City, Missouri, Garrison now advances to the Nov. 13-14 interview phase in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Scholar and member of MSU's Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College. "Evan truly fits the characteristics expected of Rhodes scholars. He excels academically, leads and inspires others in both his research endeavors and extra-curriculars, collaborates locally and globally, and works tirelessly in all his pursuits but especially on his passion for resolving the orbital debris crisis," said Professor David Hoffman, director of MSU's Office of Prestigious External Scholarships. With Garrison's selection, MSU students have been named Rhodes finalists for six years in a row, with 13 MSU Rhodes finalists over the last 13 years.

Mississippi has an unexpectedly close Senate race but no recount procedure
The Mississippi Senate race could be headed for the courts, as two candidates are locked in a tight contest with no recount procedure on the books. The election between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom remained too close to call as of Wednesday evening, with Colom leading by less than a quarter of a percentage point. That's fewer than 2,000 votes. The final margins may well determine what happens next. A wide swing in either direction could soften the chance of legal challenges, but a close result could have the loser's lawyers racing to court. That's where things get tricky. "In some states, you know, a really close election automatically triggers a recount. That's not true in Mississippi," said Ronald Rychlak, a professor at the University of Mississippi Law School. "In fact, a candidate does not have an automatic right to a recount, even if they offer to pay for it in Mississippi." When it comes to federal offices like the U.S. Senate, nothing in Mississippi law provides an express way to contest the general election. It effectively leaves it up to judges to determine how disputes are resolved in any push by either side.

DeSoto County asking SpaceXAI to increase buyout offers
DeSoto County Board of Supervisors is encouraging SpaceXAI to increase their buyout offers to homeowners who have been impacted by the noise stemming from the company's power plant off Stateline Road. SpaceXAI is looking to purchase over 400 homes near the former Duke Energy power plant on Stanton Road, specifically targeting neighborhoods like Colonial Hills. The area is part of a proposed class action lawsuit brought by a handful of residents who claim the noise from the plant has lowered their property value and disrupted their lives. Supervisor Ray Denison said he has been told by residents in the affected areas that representatives from MZX Tech LLC, a subsidiary of SpaceXAI, are not offering enough money for their homes to make it worth relocating. "This is one of the biggest snowball jobs I've ever seen in DeSoto County," Denison said. "The people have lived there their entire lives. They can't just go and buy one. That's a half-hearted offer." Denison said there is no question that people are being disrupted by the data centers. Offering 110 percent above appraised value is not sufficient for affected residents to be able to afford to purchase a new home.

Trump brags about his White House ballroom and seeks to deflect blame for GOP midterm drubbing
President Donald Trump reacted Wednesday to Republicans' midterm election losses by showing off the White House ballroom he's building as he demonstrated the kind of detached behavior that voters around the country said was a key reason they opted to punish his party. In an extraordinary scene, Trump summoned reporters to the hulking construction site that he demolished the East Wing to make room for and the Republican president spoke for nearly 20 minutes about minute building details. He did not mention his party losing control of Congress after defeats in some of the country's deepest GOP strongholds, including Texas and South Carolina, or voter concerns about the high cost of living and federal corruption that helped cause the election losses. Presidents usually speak with reporters the day after the midterms. It's normal for those whose party endured big losses to shoulder publicly at least part of the responsibility. But not Trump. He began the day with a schedule that showed only private meetings, then suggested he had decided at the last minute to invite the press to watch as the final steel beam -- topped with a small evergreen tree symbolizing growth and luck -- was hoisted into place on the ballroom roof. Trump eventually took questions at the ballroom site and attempted to duck responsibility for the broad Republican losses.

Does MAGA have a future? After anti-Trump backlash in midterms, it may not
"Pretend I'm on the ballot," President Donald Trump repeatedly urged, as he crisscrossed the country ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Voters frustrated by President Trump's practices and policies -- including a costly war against Iran that has fueled inflation -- did just that, seizing the opportunity to vote against him by pulling the lever for Democrats. And despite Mr. Trump's urging, many Republicans, including adherents of his Make America Great Again movement, or MAGA, stayed home. The result, a massive backlash against the Republican Party that handed Democrats control of Congress and a majority of governorships, was the biggest "wave" election in the modern history of U.S. midterms when measured by the vote margin, Democrat vs. Republican. Already, with two years to go in the Trump presidency, political observers are gaming out the future of his MAGA movement. Signs point to profound changes, as the unique figure at its center -- Mr. Trump -- navigates the final phase of his tenure. "Unless there are other very high-profile candidates who can generate some coattail effects, I don't think there's a future for Trump's movement post-Trump," says Jennifer Lawless, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. Jockeying for the 2028 presidential race is gearing up -- and with it, clear signs of a post-Trump era in the works.

UM breaks total enrollment record, freshmen class shrinks
The University of Mississippi broke its previous enrollment record for the fourth year in a row with a 2% increase in overall enrollment. The freshman class size fell for the second consecutive year, but the decrease in first-year students was offset by transfers and increased retention. However, not all students see another record-breaking year of enrollment as a good thing. Junior exercise science major Trevor Goodbred from Oswego, Ill., is concerned that the university is not growing its infrastructure in proportion to its student population, which inconveniences students who are currently enrolled. "As a student, I think it's really interesting to keep increasing enrollment without having the housing or parking to facilitate that," Goodbred said. "Parking, especially, is already a nightmare. ... I just think they should be holding off on increasing (enrollment) until they have projects closer to completion to mitigate the increased need for parking and housing that comes with increased attendance."

UMMC to host high school visit day Nov. 6
The University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine will welcome high school juniors and seniors Nov. 6 for a day of admissions guidance, hands-on activities and conversations with medical students. The High School Visit Day begins at 8:30 a.m. at the School of Medicine, 2500 N. State St., according to UMMC's Office of Communications and Marketing. Morgan McCray, the third-year medical school class president, will offer a student's perspective A noon lunch will include a "High School to Medical School" student panel, with time for questions. The event ends at 1 p.m. UMMC said the program is intended to introduce prospective students to medical education and encourage careers in medicine and health care.

Southern Miss hosts national sales competition as Georgia Collins reaches finals
The University of Southern Mississippi College of Business and Economic Development is proudly serving as the host university for the 2026 Fastenal National Sales Invitational (FNSI), a virtual collegiate sales competition that brings together over 900 students from more than 50 universities across the country. Adding to the excitement, Southern Miss Business student Georgia Collins has earned a spot among the competition's 16 national finalists. Southern Miss earned the opportunity to host the 2026 competition after Southern Miss Business student So'Niya Thompson captured first place in the 2025 Fastenal National Sales Invitational. "Hosting a national competition of this magnitude is a tremendous honor for Southern Miss and a testament to the quality of our Professional Sales program," said Dr. J. Bret Becton, dean of the College of Business and Economic Development.

U. of Alabama students are surprised, excited by 2026 midterm results
The 2026 midterm elections took place on Tuesday, with the Democrats taking back control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with at least seven Senate seats flipping to Democrats. Makena Edwards, a University of Alabama junior majoring in food and nutrition, said she is happy with the results of the elections so far. "I saw that there was a bunch of diverse people who won, so I'm just really glad about some of those results," Edwards said. Edwards went on to say that there is still work that needs to be done, and that she felt there should be more voter outreach. "I think college campuses are great for the young people, but also, I think it's easy to get those people because of social media, but sometimes, the older populations, it can sometimes be hard to educate [them] on new things, or things that need to change in our country," Edwards said. Other students like Emma Harkins, a senior majoring in psychology, were disappointed by Tommy Tuberville's victory. "I just didn't see him doing much good for Alabama," Harkins said.

Texas colleges could see shift under Gina Hinojosa, but change will be a 'long game'
Wednesday was a good morning for many Texas professors. A year ago, Republicans took greater control over what can be taught at public universities, limiting race and gender and ordering professors to be terminated for speech deemed too controversial or liberal. Faculty said the changes created a chilling effect across the state, with many feeling like they had to self censor or leave. But after Election Day, when Texas Democrats swept into statewide offices for the first time in more than three decades, some academics felt more job security and hope than they had in years. Experts say Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa's win could have material changes on higher education from the regents she appoints to oversee public universities to the efforts she makes to restore faculty autonomy. But the still-conservative Texas Senate could pose challenges to her appointees and Democrats working to repeal laws, like the state's 2023 ban on diversity, equity and inclusion. Perhaps no year demonstrated the GOP's strength over academia more than 2025, when Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the firing of a Texas A&M University professor and president for teaching about gender identity in a children's literature class.

Republicans Had an Iron Grip on Texas Public Colleges. Then 'Poof.'
Texas Republicans have spent years trying to put the state's public universities on the bleeding edge of conservative reforms. Now they've hit a blue wall. In perhaps the most stunning string of midterm-election wins for Democrats, Texas voters on Tuesday handed near complete control of state government to the party, ending decades of Republican dominance. After years of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick exerting increasingly direct influence over public universities -- imposing restrictions on diversity initiatives, jumpstarting civic-thought schools, and making changes to faculty governance and academic oversight -- the incoming Democratic administration of Gina Hinojosa could mark a significant shift in the state's approach to higher education. But how much that shift translates into meaningful changes on campus remains an open question. While Democrats reclaimed the Texas House by a slim margin, they are outnumbered in the State Senate. Existing laws will remain on the books, and the governing boards overseeing Texas universities are largely composed of regents appointed by Abbott. "There's no way, given how high-profile these issues have become over the last six months to a year, that this incoming administration won't have remarkable influence over public universities," said Scott Schneider, an education lawyer and adjunct instructor at the University of Texas at Austin's law school. "It will be 180 degrees opposite of the influence that is being exerted on them now."

'Beaver' Aplin stars at fourth annual Texas A&M Architecture Showcase
Arch "Beaver" Aplin spoke on his student experience at Texas A&M during a question-and-answer session Tuesday at Rudder Theatre and noted that he came to A&M from Lake Jackson at the age of 17. It was at Texas A&M that Aplin said he grew up, and now he's at the point where he wants to give back to his alma mater. "It's a bit of a blur. Being a student here was a phenomenal experience for me. I grew up in a really small town and knew everybody in town. To come here and plop into a new town with tens of thousands of people your age all kind of in the same boat was just a phenomenal experience," Aplin said. "I thought I might miss home, but I quickly realized I didn't and it was wonderful and I loved it. I probably, in hindsight, was in too big a hurry. I graduated in four years and I should have drug that out a little longer, but it was a phenomenal experience. The people, the professors, the experience and the friends I still have to this day from Texas A&M University."

Some colleges reined in frats after rapes. Experts urge a bigger fix
For years, rapes and other sexual assault reports accumulated at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. There were so many complaints that Philadelphia magazine titled a 2014 story about the elite liberal arts school "Rape Happens Here." Then the issue hit a breaking point. In 2019, leaked documents from Phi Psi fraternity at Swarthmore captured members referencing a date rape drug and calling an upstairs bedroom of a frat house the "rape attic." Protests erupted including a four-day sit-in at the fraternity until the chapter voted to disband. The only other fraternity on campus, Delta Upsilon, agreed to shut down that same night. Swarthmore's president soon announced a ban on fraternities and sororities on campus that remains in effect today. Since then, the average number of sexual assaults reported each year has declined at the campus, but the rate of reported sexual crimes per student remains higher at Swarthmore than at most other U.S. colleges, federal data shows. "People think that because it's a small liberal arts college that doesn't have frats, that there's a certain element of safety or insulation from these problems," said Patricia Quimby-Moro, a junior who founded a student group to help survivors deal with sexual violence at Swarthmore. "But they still definitely happen." A national debate has unfolded over what colleges should do to prevent and respond to sexual violence since a woman filed a lawsuit in September alleging she was plied with drugs and alcohol and gang-raped at a Cornell University fraternity.

Community colleges rush to expand semiconductor training as labor shortage looms US chip industry
For three years, Ethan Mock worked part-time at a gym to make ends meet while taking on more than $100,000 in debt to pursue a degree in business administration. Earlier this year -- his fifth and final at Northern Arizona University -- he began looking beyond his major for a stable career. So in July, when he learned over the radio about a tuition-free, three-month semiconductor crash course at Rio Salado College, he signed up immediately, despite having no background in the field. The draw: the community college's new program offered students a chance to interview with major chipmakers in Arizona. Two months later, clad in protective gear inside a lab, Mock was operating advanced machinery used to turn thin slices of silicon into semiconductor chips that power smartphones, robotics and data centers. "I do want to be in a booming industry," said Mock, 23. Learning alongside him were a 64-year-old middle school teacher, a software developer in his 50s who recently was laid off, gig workers without degrees, and younger students considering alternatives to a traditional college degree. The cohort is enrolled in a highly specialized chip-manufacturing course that's part of a growing network of short-term, hands-on programs at community colleges. Their goal is to fill entry-level positions, such as technicians who maintain and service production equipment, more quickly.

The MAGA Campus Culture War May Be Over
It's been a blue-wave midterm election, which will surely dampen Republicans' efforts to overhaul public colleges across the country. But even in the months leading up to the vote, Republicans seemed to have decided that the college culture wars had outlived their usefulness as a campaign issue. Democrats swept seats critical to higher-ed policy this Tuesday, including in the North Carolina House, and the governorships of Iowa, Ohio, and Texas. Republican lawmakers in all of those states have made major changes to their public colleges, including banning diversity programs, establishing civics centers, and appointing conservatives to boards. Indeed, Republicans have used colleges as a rhetorical punching bag and policy example for the last half-decade or more. President Trump and Ron DeSantis, Florida's governor, both campaigned in 2024 on rooting out "wokeness" from universities. What does it mean now that the party is out of power in key positions? (Though not all key positions: Term limits kept DeSantis from running again this year, and Floridians voted for Republican Byron Donalds to replace him.) One clue may lie in the fact that candidates barely said anything about higher education this election cycle.

SPORTS


Men's Hoops Faces Northwestern State On Thursday
Mississippi State men's basketball continues its opening week homestand with a Thursday evening matchup with Northwestern State at Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs (1-0) are coming off a 106-88 season opening victory over Tennessee Tech on Monday where State matched its most points scored under Coach Jans and went over the century mark in a season opener for the first time since 2015-16. The Maroon and White had a balanced scoring attack with five players in double figures headed by Josh Hubbard (25 points, career-high 9 assists) and King Grace (career-high 23 points, career-best 8 rebounds, career-high 4 assists) who produced the top two scoring efforts on SEC opening night. State also received double-digit points courtesy of Tajuan Simpkins (15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) Thomas Bassong (tied career-high 14 points, 6 rebounds) and RJ Johnson (12 points).

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