| Monday, February 8, 2021 |
| MSU African American Studies program hosts 28 Days of Service challenge | |
 | The African American Studies program at Mississippi State University is sponsoring a 28 Days of Service challenge to enhance community engagement and inspire students, faculty, staff and others to participate in service projects and assist community organizations. During Black History Month, the AAS program is encouraging participants to meet as many of the following weekly goals as possible. Participants are encouraged to tag the African American Studies program in social media posts documenting their community service. Follow on Facebook @MSUAAS and Instagram @msu_aas. For more information on the 28 Days of Service initiative, contact Morgan Alexander, MSU AAS public relations and programming coordinator, at 662-325-0587 or mea190@msstate.edu. Learn more about MSU's African American Studies program at msstate.edu. |
| 5 alderman races contested in Starkville | |
| Four new candidates qualified in aldermen races on Friday, including two Republicans in Ward 5. Friday was the final day to enter the 2021 municipal races. Anna Chaney and Brady Hindman both filed last-minute paperwork before the 5 p.m. deadline. They will face off in a Republican primary in Ward 5, where the Democratic primary will feature incumbent Hamp Beatty and Joe Evans. Chaney, 32, is a Booneville native who has lived in Starkville for about 10 years. She has served as a full-time instructor of interior design for three semesters in the Mississippi State University College of Architecture, Art and Design. Before that, she was an adjunct instructor and designed commercial furniture for Flexsteel. Hindman, 28, is the owner of the Commodore Bob's Yacht Club restaurant and Bob's Bottle Shop liquor store, both in the Cotton District. The West Point native has lived in Starkville for seven years. Brice Stubbs qualified Friday as a Republican in Ward 2, making him the third candidate to enter that race. In the general election, he will face the winner of the Democratic primary between incumbent Sandra Sistrunk and Jimmy Joe Buckley. Stubbs, 39, has lived in Starkville for more than 20 years and is the retail sales manager at Triangle Drywall Supply. He volunteers extensively with the Scouts of America. Santee Ezell qualified in Ward 6 and will face seven-term Democrat Roy A. Perkins, who serves as vice mayor, in the April primary. The primary winner will claim the seat, since there is no Republican or independent running. Ezell, 33, is a Calhoun City native who has lived in Starkville for eight years. She works at MSU in the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness overseeing domestic violence prevention. She founded the nonprofit Black Girls Rock of MS, which supports young girls through workshops, outreach and community service. |
| Democratic challengers file in Ward 2, 5 races | |
| Two Democrats qualified Thursday to challenge incumbents in primaries for separate wards. Jimmy Joe Buckley is running for Ward 2 alderman, while Joe Evans filed to run in Ward 5. Buckley will attempt to unseat Sandra Sistrunk, while Evans is challenging first-term alderman Hamp Beatty. Buckley, 62, is a retired electrician and veteran of the U.S. Army and Mississippi National Guard. He served in 1991 in Operation Desert Storm and retired from the military with the rank of staff sergeant. He is a Starkville native and son of one of the first female officers hired at Starkville Police Department. He volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and has assisted with projects for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society. Joe Evans, 50, teaches vocal music privately and plays local gigs professionally. He volunteers with programs at Mississippi State University, including the annual Summer Scholars theater camp. He said he's thought about running for office since he was a newspaper reporter covering city government 15 years ago. Evans holds bachelor's degrees in educational psychology and musical education, as well as a master's in counseling, all from MSU. Party primaries are April 6 and the general election is set for June 8. |
| Starkville doctor explains why people who are fully vaccinated still need to wear masks and practice social distancing | |
 | The Mississippi State Department of Health issued a reminder on Wednesday that people still should keep taking proper safety precautions even after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 7.5 percent of Mississippians have received at least one dose of the vaccine while 0.9 percent have gotten two. "I know it's annoying that we still have to do all the same stuff, but we just are not there in the process where we can let everything go," said Dr. Emily Landrum of the Family Clinic in Starkville. Dr. Landrum says that while vaccinated patients themselves are protected from the coronavirus, the same cannot be said for the thousands of others still waiting. "(They are) certainly unlikely to get the severe disease but there is still some potential that someone could come in contact with the virus and carry it around enough that they still could transmit that to others," she said. Dr. Landrum and medical experts across the country say 70 to 80 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to create the necessary head immunity to the virus. The latest numbers from the CDC say approximately 8 percent of the U.S. population has gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. |
| As Covid-19 Vaccines Raise Hope, Cold Reality Dawns That Illness Is Likely Here to Stay | |
 | Vaccination drives hold out the promise of curbing Covid-19, but governments and businesses are increasingly accepting what epidemiologists have long warned: The pathogen will circulate for years, or even decades, leaving society to coexist with Covid-19 much as it does with other endemic diseases like flu, measles, and HIV. The ease with which the coronavirus spreads, the emergence of new strains and poor access to vaccines in large parts of the world mean Covid-19 could shift from a pandemic disease to an endemic one, implying lasting modifications to personal and societal behavior, epidemiologists say. "Going through the five phases of grief, we need to come to the acceptance phase that our lives are not going to be the same," said Thomas Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "I don't think the world has really absorbed the fact that these are long-term changes." Endemic Covid-19 doesn't necessarily mean continuing coronavirus restrictions, infectious-disease experts said, largely because vaccines are so effective at preventing severe disease and slashing hospitalizations and deaths. But some organizations are planning for a long-term future in which prevention methods such as masking, good ventilation and testing continue in some form. Meanwhile, a new and potentially lucrative Covid-19 industry is emerging quickly, as businesses invest in goods and services such as air-quality monitoring, filters, diagnostic kits and new treatments. |
| Coast bars set to benefit from NOLA Mardi Gras closure | |
 | Feelings of shock, anger and hope reverberated throughout the Gulf Coast Friday. The shock and anger were in New Orleans where Mayor LaToya Cantrell said bars must lock their doors the five days leading up to Mardi Gras. The hope is in South Mississippi. Some local bar owners think they can salvage Carnival by capitalizing on what they consider the Big Easy's blunder. Nolan Keith is a bartender at The Wilbur Bar in Ocean Springs and believes that the closure in New Orleans will have two effects on Coast establishments. "I think the local crowd that would be headed over to New Orleans will be showing up in full force, and we will definitely get some crowds over from New Orleans, Bay St. Louis, all those areas," Keith said. "Obviously not many restrictions over here, so people have been searching it out all year." The lesser restrictions are a critical factor, as some in the restaurant business have seen an increase in traffic from big cities throughout the year. "Just in the past year. NOLA policies have been a little more strict with how they're dealing with it, and obviously that has kind of benefited the Coast as we have seen an influx of traffic driving over from New Orleans and patronizing our bars and restaurants," said Murky Waters owner Brandon Atwell. That influx has thrust money into several local businesses, furthering the hope that New Orleans' loss is South Mississippi's gain. |
| No COVID-19 variant cases found yet in Mississippi | |
 | Health officials have not yet identified any cases of the new and highly contagious U.K. coronavirus variant in Mississippi, even as the variant has appeared in neighboring states, State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said Friday. Six cases of the U.K. variant of the coronavirus were identified in Alabama, the Alabama Department of Health announced Thursday. One 35-year-old Alabama man was reported to have died of the variant earlier in the week. Louisiana has identified at least five cases of the variant, and Georgia has reported 23. Byers said Mississippi regularly sends samples of the coronavirus tests administered in the state to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so they can search for variant cases. "So far we haven't identified one, but that doesn't mean that we haven't had any in Mississippi," Byers said Friday during a virtual conversation with the Mississippi State Medical Association. "We just haven't picked it up yet." Byers said the state plans to expand its surveillance of COVID-19 testing to more geographic locations in the state. |
| Revenue reports stay high at 14.31% over sine die estimates in January 2021 | |
 | Despite worries from lawmakers that the first months of the year would be low, collections are way up for FY 2021 and January. Total revenue collections for the month of January FY 2021 are $121,009,993 or 30.21% above the sine die revenue estimate. Fiscal YTD revenue collections through January 2021 are $446,283,343 or 14.31% above the sine die estimate. Fiscal YTD total revenue collections through January 2021 are $317,238,064 or 9.77% above the prior year's collections. The FY 2021 Sine Die Revenue Estimate is $5,690,700,000. |
| AG's 'last-minute' opinion on candidate residency requirements leaves election officials puzzled | |
 | A last-minute opinion by Mississippi's attorney general could affect whether some candidates stay on the ballot in this year's municipal elections, and some legal experts are concerned it could cause mistrust in the state's electoral process. "You can't defend the timing, no matter what the circumstances," said Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Tyree Irving, citing an opinion from AG Lynn Fitch that changed candidate qualifications four days before the state's qualifying deadline. Fitch wrote that the two-year requirement for city and county candidates also applies to municipal wards as well. The change caught Secretary of State Michael Watson by surprise. "The timing of this opinion, issued just days before the qualifying deadline, is inexcusable," Watson said in a statement to 3 On Your Side. "Our office is in the process of notifying as many municipal officials and candidates as possible of this last-minute change." He said the AG's office basically reversed course on its position without warning. That opinion will likely only lead to more confusion among municipal election commissioners across the state, Irving said. |
| Analysis: Capitol action could affect wallets and leisure | |
| Mississippi legislators are making decisions that could affect people's wallets and change some of their leisure activities. Teachers could get a pay raise. Senate Bill 2001 would give $1,000 to most teachers and $1,100 to newer ones as a way to bump up the base pay. The bill has passed the Senate and has moved to the House for more work. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said during his State of the State address that he will sign any teacher pay raise bill that lands on his desk. Another proposal to make teaching more attractive is a college loan repayment program. Under Senate Bill 2305, the state would pay off part of the student loan for any person who teaches up to three years in a Mississippi public school, with higher payments made to those teaching in areas with critical needs. The bill has passed the Senate and moves to the House. Two bills that are awaiting consideration --- House Bill 1030 and Senate Bill 2313 --- would allow college athletes to be compensated for their own name, image and likeness. That would affect fans' leisure activities, and the athletes' wallets. |
| Oxford lawmaker's bill supporting education for students with dyslexia passes Mississippi Senate | |
 | The Mississippi Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Nicole Akins Boyd, a Republican from Oxford, that would ensure students diagnosed with dyslexia receive interventions and support required by federal law. The intent of Senate Bill 2307, according to Boyd, is to eliminate confusion among school districts regarding what accommodations students with dyslexia are entitled to under state law. Conversations with the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) assisted in the crafting of legislation to clarify how children with dyslexia and other related disorders can receive assistance through Individualized Education Programs (IEP), which provide a student with extra instruction and educational interventions, and 504 Plans, which provide general accommodations like extra time on testing or assistance with note-taking. Boyd said her goal is to help children with dyslexia receive the instruction and accommodations they need and to which they are entitled. "We know that children with dyslexia are very bright, highly intelligent, and with just a little bit of assistance, we can make sure that these children are successful in the classroom," Boyd said. |
| Move to privatize state parks halted -- for now -- amid heated debate | |
| The state Senate on Friday approved a year-long study of the efficacy of privatizing some state parks and giving others to local governments. But even the study drew fierce criticism from some lawmakers who say the state's neglected parks should be spruced up, not given away or leased. "It's heartbreaking to hear serious discussion of, instead of doing the sensible thing, talking about privatization," said Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory. "... Anyone who thinks (the parks study) isn't an attempt to privatize state parks is mistaken. Look at where it's coming from ... We give billions and billions and billions of dollars away to the well connected, and billions of dollars to out-of-state corporations, but when was the last time we focused on the core functions of government? The pattern plays out -- we neglect something, then let a bunch of big boys come in and take over and make a bunch of money. "These public lands belong to all of us," Bryan continued. Mississippi's state parks have suffered from years of neglected maintenance and budget cuts to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks. |
| Mississippi lawmakers say more research of state parks privatization needed | |
| Lawmakers halted legislation to partially privatize and overhaul Mississippi's state parks system this year, but one Northeast Mississippi lawmaker warned his colleagues and the public on Friday that such a drastic step is likely still coming. "Anyone who thinks this isn't an attempt to privatize the state parks is naive," said Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory. Senators on Friday passed legislation to create a study committee to research how best to improve Mississippi's parks system, which has been in disrepair for years thanks to chronic underfunding. Under Senate Bill 2486, five senators and five representatives would gather information and research various problems with the parks system before offering policy recommendations before the 2022 session. But Bryan argued many lawmakers already have their minds made up: They want to privatize some state parks and give others away to local governments in order to save the state money. The original version of SB 2486 would have done just that, he pointed out, before concerns from the public and local officials pushed lawmakers to pause the legislation and possibly study the issue further. Bryan urged Mississippians to watch the parks issue "like a hawk." "People who care about keeping the parks available for public use, either free of charge or at low rates, need to watch this proposition as it goes through," he said. |
| Legislation would let you easily find out who's donating to your mayor or supervisor | |
| Mississippi lawmakers advanced legislation this week that would make it easier to find out who is donating campaign money to your mayor or county supervisor. House Bill 718 would let the public search online for the campaign finance reports of local elected officials and candidates. As it stands now, those reports must be requested in-person from the county or city clerk, who may charge a fee to make copies. Campaign finance reports show who donates money to politicians and what they spend it on. The bill unanimously passed the House on Thursday with little discussion. It now heads to the Senate. The bill's author, Rep. Timmy Ladner, R-Poplarville, said the measure is all about government transparency and accountability. "I mean, it's a public record," Ladner told the Daily Journal. "Why not give the public access to it?" Municipal campaign season is getting underway, but it would not be impacted by this legislation, which, if it becomes law, would not go into force until July. |
| Doctors, Nurse Practitioners Spar Over Medical Authority in Mississippi | |
| Mississippi may soon have a new class of independent primary-care providers, if the Legislature elects to end a long-standing oversight requirement for its nurse practitioners. The deregulation move would affect more than 4,250 general practitioners across the state, reducing the costs to practice and potentially aiding the state's widespread primary-care deserts. State law would no longer require all nurse practitioners to enter into a collaborative relationship with a licensed physician if House Bill 1303, which passed the House on Wednesday, Feb. 3, on a bipartisan 78-38 vote, ultimately succeeds. The legislation would sever the state mandate that requires a relationship with a physician paid to review 10% of a random selection of a nurse practitioner's cases each month -- or 20 total, whichever is less -- to guarantee a quality standard of care. In place of the contractual obligations, new nurse practitioners -- and other advanced practice registered nurses, all of whom have the equivalent of a master's degree in nursing -- would instead have to complete 3,600 "transition to practice" hours, during which they would still require the oversight of a licensed physician or trained nurse practitioner. After that period of time, nurse practitioners would be allowed to start totally independent practices, with no further direct oversight, much like any licensed physician. Rep. Donnie Scoggin, R-Ellisville, the author of the bill and himself a nurse practitioner, told the Mississippi Free Press in an interview that independent nurse practitioners could alleviate some of the state's critical health-care needs. |
| Cutting red tape or endangering people? House wants to deregulate nurse practitioners, massage therapists, optometrists | |
| With measures aimed at cutting red tape and bureaucracy, the state House this week moved to strip or lessen oversight and regulations for nurse practitioners, optometrists, massage therapists, wigologists and others. "The Mississippi House had a historic day, passing four significant regulatory reforms to improve the state's work environment and expand access to quality healthcare at a price people can afford," said Russ Latino, president of Empower Mississippi, one of the groups pushing for the deregulation. Many people and groups have for years complained Mississippi is awash in regulatory rules, licensing fees and oversight boards that stifle access to services and competition and end up driving up costs of services. But opponents warn that some of the deregulation could harm patients or consumers. The measures now head to the Senate, which also has some mirror legislation to the House bills. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, said he is "conceptually in agreement" with cutting "regulatory burdens," and expects such measures to get a full hearing in the Senate. Leaders of the Mississippi State Medical Association say allowing nurse practitioners full practice authority would endanger patients, would not improve access to care, and has even been shown to increase costs, with lesser-trained NPs ordering costly, unneeded tests and procedures that doctors would know were not needed. |
| Mississippi could erase licensing for some types of jobs | |
| Mississippi could do away with licensing requirements for certain professions, a move supporters say could eliminate barriers to more people entering the workforce. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are considering several bills dealing with occupational licensing. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Thursday that he has not read the occupational licensing bills that are being considered in the House, but he believes the Senate and House are "in unison on reducing the regulatory burden." "The regulatory burden is an economic burden," Hosemann said. "We intend to address it every time that it comes forward." Hosemann said that could mean eliminating regulations or eliminating state commissions that are setting regulations. House Bill 1315, sponsored by Republican Speaker Philip Gunn, would remove licensing for art therapists, massage therapists, auctioneers, interior designers and people who size and fit wigs for customers. House Bill 208 would remove a requirement that psychologists complete a one-year postdoctoral fellowship to receive a license after obtaining a doctorate. |
| USDA projects farm income to flatten in 2021 | |
 | The Agriculture Department expects U.S. farm income to drop by nearly $10 billion this year as the government pares back historic levels of taxpayer support for the industry. USDA's forecast for lower earnings in 2021 comes as crop prices and exports begin to rebound from years of trade headwinds and supply chain disruptions during the pandemic. The department expects farmers to receive more money for their commodities -- but not enough to offset higher production costs and the much smaller amount of aid expected from Washington this year. Meanwhile, government farm payments are seen falling from a record $46 billion in 2020 to just over $25 billion this year. That's largely because Congress and the Biden administration are not likely to pour the same amount of money into pandemic relief programs for agriculture now that the industry is getting back on their feet. USDA still has to distribute most of the $13 billion in agricultural aid that Congress provided in December. The Biden administration is also considering new financial programs, such as payments for climate-friendly farm practices, that could offer producers a new source of income as soon as this year. |
| Lawmakers lay blame on Trump over riot as second impeachment trial looms | |
 | Republican and Democratic members of Congress on Sunday weighed in on the second impeachment trial of former President Trump, set to begin in the Senate this week. While some Republicans laid blame on Trump for encouraging a mob to storm the Capitol last month to contest his 2020 presidential election loss, they continued to question the legality of an impeachment trial of a former president. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump's most vocal supporters during his presidency, affirmed his opposition to a trial, citing Trump's having left the White House. "I think I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to end the impeachment trial because I think it's blatantly unconstitutional," Graham said on CBS's "Face the Nation." However, the South Carolina senator suggested history would hold Trump responsible for the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), meanwhile, called the trial a "meaningless messaging partisan exercise." He said impeachment was not meant to be used to hold someone accountable who was no longer in office. "Now, if there are other ways, in the court of public opinion, or if some criminal charge dawns on some prosecutor, perhaps here's another avenue there," Wicker told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. |
| Senate Republicans back Trump as impeachment trial nears | |
| Donald Trump's defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president's fiery speech before the U.S. Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of Jan. 6. "If being held accountable means being impeached by the House and being convicted by the Senate, the answer to that is no," said Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, making clear his belief that Trump should and will be acquitted. Asked if Congress could consider other punishment, such as censure, Wicker said the Democratic-led House had that option earlier but rejected it in favor of impeaching him. "That ship has sailed," he said. Many senators including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell immediately denounced the violence and pointed a finger of blame at Trump. But with Trump now gone from the presidency, Republicans have shown little political appetite to take further action, such as an impeachment conviction that could lead to barring him from running for future office. On Sunday, Wicker described Trump's impeachment trial as a "meaningless messaging partisan exercise." |
| Trump impeachment trial to open with sense of urgency, speed | |
| Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial is opening this week with a sense of urgency -- by Democrats who want to hold the former president accountable for the violent U.S. Capitol siege and Republicans who want it over as fast as possible. Scheduled to begin Tuesday, just over a month since the deadly riot, the proceedings are expected to diverge from the lengthy, complicated trial that resulted in Trump's acquittal a year ago on charges that he privately pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on a Democratic rival, Joe Biden, now the president. This time, Trump's Jan. 6 rally cry to "fight like hell" and the storming of the Capitol played out for the world to see. While Trump very well could be acquitted again, the trial could be over in half the time. So far, it appears there will be few witnesses called, as the prosecutors and defense attorneys speak directly to senators who have been sworn to deliver "impartial justice" as jurors. Most are also witnesses to the siege, having fled for safety that day as the rioters broke into the Capitol and temporarily halted the electoral count certifying Biden's victory. |
| Supreme Court Rules Against Calif., Doubles Down On Religious Rights Amid Pandemic | |
 | A deeply divided Supreme Court doubled down on religious rights late Friday, ruling that California can no longer continue with a ban on indoor church services put in place to fight to the coronavirus pandemic. But the court said that the state, for now, can keep in place restrictions on singing and chanting inside. The two cases at the center of Friday's ruling marked a test of how far states can go to safeguard public health before running afoul of constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion. In response to suits brought by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and the Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, the court said California cannot bar in-person services altogether, but can limit attendance to 25% of capacity. Last year the high court, by a 5-to-4 vote, upheld such bans in California and elsewhere. But with the arrival of new Justice Amy Coney Barrett in place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the balance of power on the question switched, and this latest order is fresh evidence of the court's willingness to second-guess both epidemiologists and elected officials who are fighting a once-in-a-century pandemic when it comes to questions of religious liberty. Though the conservative wing of the court prevailed decisively in the case Friday night, it was sharply split, with the conservative justices filing four separate opinions. In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that federal courts owe "significant deference" to state officials when it comes to matters of public health, but he said such deference can only go so far. |
| Deb Haaland could make history for Native Americans with Cabinet post | |
 | More than a dozen years ago, Alvin Warren's phone rang. He was handling Indian affairs for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and knew all the key people in his field. "She said her name was Deb Haaland," Warren recalled. "I'd never heard of her." Haaland was volunteering for the presidential campaign of a senator named Barack Obama, and she wanted Warren to travel to the Laguna Pueblo, the Native American enclave Haaland hailed from, to speak to locals about the election's importance. When Warren arrived, he found potluck food and 20 people. Haaland apologized for the low turnout. He waved her off, impressed by the unknown activist's embrace of grassroots politics and tireless work ethic. Fast forward since then and the number of people who have heard of Haaland has grown exponentially. Now that same political savvy she used to mobilize Native voters in 2008 for a victorious Obama may help her once again make history. If Haaland, 60, is confirmed next month as President Joe Biden's next Interior Secretary, the Democrat New Mexico congresswoman, who took office in 2019, will become not just the most powerful Native American politician in the nation, but also the first one to run a department whose centuries of broken promises and benign neglect has contributed to the slow erosion of Indigenous culture. |
| George P. Shultz, Influential Cabinet Official Under Nixon and Reagan, Dies at 100 | |
 | George P. Shultz, who presided with a steady hand over the beginning of the end of the Cold War as President Ronald Reagan's often embattled secretary of state, died on Saturday at his home in Stanford, Calif. He was 100. His death was announced by the Hoover Institution, where he was a distinguished fellow. He was also professor emeritus at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Mr. Shultz, who had served Republican presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower, moved to California after leaving Washington in January 1989. He continued writing and speaking on issues ranging from nuclear weapons to climate change into his late 90s, expressing concern about America's direction. "Right now we're not leading the world," he told an interviewer in March 2020. "We're withdrawing from it." As secretary of state for six and a half years, Mr. Shultz was widely regarded as a voice of reason in the Reagan administration as it tore itself asunder over the conduct of American foreign policy. He described those struggles as "a kind of guerrilla warfare," a fierce and ceaseless combat among the leaders of national security. |
| 'We're excluding the highest need students': Most recipients of financial aid in Mississippi are from wealthier families | |
| In 2018, Jennifer Rogers warned a task force of lawmakers and college presidents that state financial aid had reached a "tipping point." The number of students qualifying for financial aid had shot up, but funding hadn't kept pace. The state's three main financial aid programs were at risk of running at a deficit. If the Legislature didn't act soon, students could start to see their aid cut, Rogers said. Heeding the advice of Rogers, who is the director of the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid (OFSA), the task force in early 2019 proposed four solutions to Mississippi's financial aid woes. Its most ambitious recommendation was to eliminate two of the state's primary grants -- the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG) and the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant (MESG) -- and expand the Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students (HELP) program. Not only would this proposal help the state afford its financial aid programs, but it would ensure money got to the students who need it most. Two years later, the Legislature has yet to act on a single recommendation from the task force -- and it has funded the state financial aid programs at a deficit for the second year in a row, according to statistics released this month in the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid's annual report. "We've tipped over," Rogers told Mississippi Today. |
| Most healthcare workers felt great sense of relief from getting vaccinated for COVID-19 | |
| Healthcare workers were first in line for vaccination shots to protect against COVID-19. Yet, partly because of safety concerns, across the country more healthcare workers than expected declined to get the shot when first available. But, overall, there has been good acceptance at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), said Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs. "We originally received about 3,900 doses of Pfizer vaccine, and were able to administer 4,200 because we were able to get more than five doses out of each Pfizer vial," Jones said. "We used all the vaccine we received. We vaccinated frontline workers first, followed by other healthcare workers and students who have clinical contact. There was a sense of relief." As of late January, the initial personnel vaccinated had received their second doses, and additional employees who weren't in the first round were requesting the shot. Jones said those workers will be given shots when the vaccine becomes available. "We will get them when other tiers are released," Jones said. "While we generally saw good acceptance, there was some resistance. We made it voluntary. We felt that was important because of the visibility in the media and some of hesitation if the new vaccines were fully tested. We do mandate flu vaccine, but that uses a methodology that has been around a long time and is generally accepted as safe and usually effective. We didn't want employees to get sense they were being forced to take something they had some skepticism about. But we did strongly encourage it." |
| A conversation with Dr. Brad Ingram on cannabis research | |
| Dr. Brad Ingram of Jackson is director of the Pediatric Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He grew up in Jackson where he attended First Presbyterian Day School and Jackson Academy. A graduate of the University of Mississippi who earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 2001, Ingram earned his medical degree in 2005 from UMMC. He completed multiple residencies at UMMC and a one-year fellowship at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, with an emphasis on epilepsy. The first pediatric epileptologist in Mississippi, Ingram is principal investigator of a clinical trial of a drug derived from marijuana that may offer hope to children whose seizures are otherwise uncontrolled by other means. "I came back to Mississippi to treat patients with seizure and also to teach a whole generation of Mississippi physicians about epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disease that's unpredictable and can be a part of health care everywhere from a primary care visit to a hospital to an ER. I'm passionate about our team offering cutting-edge options for Mississippi kids with epilepsy, but also having a whole health care system that isn't scared of seizures and engages with epilepsy with knowledge and compassion." |
| Hagans gift $1.1M to USM School of Social Work | |
| During Lynn Hagan's time as a student at the University of Southern Mississippi in the 1990s, Oseola McCarty's unexpected act of charity made global news. McCarty's generosity continues to inspire Lynn's philanthropic vision. Recently, she and her husband, Don, documented two bequests through a charitable remainder unitrust totaling $1.1 million. Their planned gifts will benefit two existing funds they established more than a decade ago through the USM Foundation. "Dr. Hagan exemplifies how graduates of our School of Social Work are serving their communities around the globe using the knowledge and skills instilled in them at USM," said Trent Gould, dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences. "We are grateful for the Hagans' benevolence to our college, which will continue Lynn's impact on the lives of others. These gifts will remove financial barriers that can slow down and sometimes stop students altogether from completing their degrees. By providing unrestricted support for the school, their contributions will also enhance the meaningful community engagement programs our faculty, staff and students administer." |
| USM Professor Jae-Hwa Shin publishes PR theory book | | |
| Jae-Hwa Shin, a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, has co-authored "Public Relations Theory: Capabilities and Competencies," the first authored public relations theory book in its field. Along with co-author Robert Heath, Shin offers a comprehensive overview of the major theoretical perspectives in public relations, considering the evolution, diversification and merger of approaches spurred by rapid changes in society, cultural boundaries, technology and media environments. It features both organizational and social theories of public relations, including cases and challenges to help students bring theory and research to bear on solving challenges in practice. Rather than advocate for a particular theoretical view or position, Shin said "Public Relations Theory: Capabilities and Competencies" instead explores the wide range of theoretical frameworks and themes for public relations and mass communication in a larger nexus and addresses diverse global, electronic and technologically evolving media through theoretical lenses. |
| Book-lover Beth Richard finds perfect fit at Copiah-Lincoln Community College library | |
 | The office of Library Director Beth Richard is at the heart of the quiet library on the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Campus in Natchez, close to where The Dart landed Friday morning. Richard said she has worked as a librarian for the last 17 years, but she said she first began working at Co-Lin in Natchez 20 years ago after moving from Sulphur, Louisiana. She said it her husband got a job at Callon Petroleum, which brought her to Natchez. Richard said it became her home, and it has stayed that way after Callon began moving out of Natchez. Richard said her husband Allen was one of the last few people working for the company until about a year ago. Richard said she first started working at Co-Lin shortly after moving to the area. Wanting a better job and to further her education, Richard started looking at master's degree programs. She said her challenge was balancing a full-time job, and raising a family while working toward the master's degree. Therefore, she decided to get her degree in library science online through the University of Southern Mississippi. "The online learning, even back then, added so much flexibility," Richard said. "When you are working full time and you have a family, you are fitting in the education around everything else you have to do. So that was a great opportunity." |
| Auburn University set to reopen campus Monday; top medical official feels prepared | |
 | Dr. Fred Kam and multiple others at Auburn University spent months preparing for the day Auburn's campus would safely reopen. "Those plans have been in the works for the spring semester back in the fall as far back as late September, October because you've got to put plans in place," said Kam, the director of the Auburn University Medical Clinic. "People have to register for classes, you have to know where you're going to have classes, whether the classes wanted to be in person or all remote and stuff like that." The university is finally set to re-open its campus for the first time in nearly a year after COVID-19 changed campus life drastically. Auburn University announced that it is resuming full on-site operation on Feb. 8. All optional remote instruction is set to end on Feb. 7 and university employees who are working remotely are preparing to return to campus by the next day. The decision to re-open Auburn's campus was made by multiple entities including an operations community and a senior leadership group. Kam spends each day speaking with East Alabama Medical Center officials to make sure Auburn University can operate safely. |
| Two Village residence halls to be dedicated to Black Auburn figures | |
| Two Village residence halls are set to be dedicated to Black Auburn alumni as announced at the latest Auburn University Board of Trustees meeting on Friday morning. Tiger Hall will be dedicated to Bessie Mae Holloway, the first Black member of the Board of Trustees. Eagle Hall will be dedicated to Josetta Brittain Matthews, the University's first Black graduate and its first Black faculty member. Holloway earned her doctorate degree in education from Auburn. She was appointed as a University trustee in 1985 by then-Gov. George Wallace and would go on to serve on the board for a full 12-year term in 1987. Matthews was both a 1966 and 1975 Auburn graduate, earning first a master's degree in education and later a doctorate degree in education. In 1972, she joined the College of Liberal Arts as a French and history instructor. Trustee Elizabeth Huntley, co-chair of a task force to evaluate structures and monuments on University property, revealed the namings as two of seven total namings that were approved. No other dedications were disclosed during the meeting. |
| LSU under federal investigation for 'safety practices' after sexual assault complaints | |
 | LSU is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education over how the university reports and investigates crimes on campus, a probe opened after a groundswell of students raised allegations that LSU mishandled their domestic violence and sexual misconduct cases. University officials acknowledged the investigation on Friday after The Advocate reported it, citing two sources close to the investigation. One source with direct knowledge told the newspaper that the Department of Education had notified LSU "that they will be investigating their safety practices." The investigation centers on possible violations of the Clery Act, a federal law that requires college campuses that receive federal funding to issue warnings about threats on campus and to make information public about crimes on campus. U.S. Department of Education officials wrote to interim LSU President Tom Galligan Feb. 2 to notify him that they were opening an investigation, and to inform him that LSU is required to start submitting a series of documents to the department by March 4. "This week, LSU was notified that the U.S. Department of Education would be conducting a campus crime program review related to Clery Act requirements," said LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard on Friday afternoon. "Campus safety and the well being of those at LSU is always our priority, and following Clery guidelines for reporting and notifying the campus community is an important part of crime prevention that we take extremely seriously." |
| U. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences research-fund rank rises; Arkansas-Fayetteville down a spot | |
| More federal grant money helped boost the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences upward by four spots in a national ranking of research expenditures, while the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville slid down one place. Increasing federal research activity at UAMS will be needed to achieve a National Cancer Institute designation for its Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, officials have said. No facility in Arkansas has such a designation, and these sites often are home to clinical trials that enroll patients in addition to serving as research hubs. At UA, an initiative that includes a new campus research facility is being funded with help from a $194.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. The latest data from the National Science Foundation shows UA's research expenditures ranking dropped to 127th nationally from 126th the previous year. "This isn't concerning -- expenditures can go up and down year to year, and they are trending up over the years," John English, UA's top research official, said in an email. The dip in rankings comes after four consecutive years in which UA saw its ranking increase compared to other research institutions. From fiscal year 2014 to fiscal year 2018, UA saw its ranking rise 10 slots. |
| U. of Tennessee distributes COVID-19 vaccines to eligible employees and students | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville hopes to vaccinate about 700 employees and students by the end of the day Friday, administrators said. UT partnered with the Knox County Health Department to administer doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to eligible faculty, staff and students, Dr. Spencer Gregg, director of the Student Health Center, said during the weekly COVID-19 livestream. Vaccines were available for people who fall into phases 1a1 and 1a2 of Tennessee's vaccination plan. Early vaccination groups focus on those most at-risk for contracting COVID-19. "These are individuals who are likely to have direct patient contact or contact with potentially infectious material during the course of their daily work or training activities," Gregg said. Distribution was not based on any specific department at UT. It was open to those who may come in contact with COVID-19 or with infected materials, or those over the age of 70 in accordance with the state's plan, said UT spokesperson Owen Driskill. |
| No settlement reached in UF Preview lawsuit, case moves toward trial | |
 | A lawsuit filed against the University of Florida by four students and one mother of a student claiming UF illegally overcharged them for orientation fees is continuing toward trial after an unsuccessful court-ordered mediation Friday. Because a settlement was not reached, a hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 10 via Zoom with Circuit Judge Monica Brasington of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida. Brasington will go over UF's motion to dismiss the case and decide whether it can move to trial, said attorney Paul Rothstein, who represents the five plaintiffs suing UF. The lawsuit was originally filed in September 2019 by Lisa Browning, the mother of a UF student, on behalf of herself and all other families overcharged for Preview, the university's mandatory orientation. Browning and other plaintiffs are asking UF to reimburse everyone overcharged -- a hefty bill of $4.1 million, according to a state audit of the university published Feb. 28, 2020. Hessy Fernandez, spokeswoman for UF, said the university would not comment on an active lawsuit. |
| Tomorrow's homework: UF launches new diversity, equity and inclusion training | |
| Last week, students received an email alerting them to a new assignment. But it wasn't classwork from any of their professors. "Hate, bias, discrimination, and racism have no place at the University of Florida," the email read, inviting students to an online diversity, equity and inclusion training course. UF paid $34,000 to implement a diversity, equity and inclusion training program for students and faculty as a part of its anti-racism initiatives. The 40-minute training is recommended for all students, faculty and staff and covers topics such as discrimination, intersectionality, oppression, inclusion and identity. The course had a deadline of Jan. 31, but is still accessible as a resource. The course is being offered through EVERFi, an interactive online training platform, which UF previously partnered with to offer the required sexual assault prevention and alcohol education courses for students. "We view this course as a building block available to enhance students' education and awareness of new and familiar topics centered on inclusion that may support their cultural competency while at UF and beyond," Vice President for Student Affairs D'Andra Mull said. The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement this Summer prompted UF to reconsider its role in perpetuating racism. |
| U. of Missouri task force makes recommendations for Thomas Jefferson statue | |
 | A sign describing both Thomas Jefferson's accomplishments and shortcomings beside his statue on the University of Missouri campus is the main recommendation of a task force charged with putting the statue in context. The task force was created by UM System President and MU Chancellor Mun Choi in July 2020 after student Roman Leapheart launched an online petition to get the statue removed. Choi met with Leapheart, but Choi said the statue wouldn't be removed. Members of the UM System Board of Curators later said it was their decision, though the decision wasn't made in a public meeting. "I just hope they're moving in the right direction for everybody," Leapheart, a Kansas City sophomore, said when reached by phone on Friday. He hadn't read the report. Choi has forwarded the recommendations to the Board of Curators for its consideration, said MU spokesman Christian Basi. The MU Legion of Black Collegians in an email said they needed to learn more about the recommendations before commenting. The MU Black Faculty and Staff Organization also sought removal of the statue. |
| A Brutal Tally: Higher Ed Lost 650,000 Jobs Last Year | |
 | Colleges and universities closed out 2020 with continued job losses, resulting in a 13-percent drop since last February. It was a dispiriting coda to a truly brutal year for higher ed's labor force. Since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, the U.S. Labor Department estimates that American academic institutions have shed a net total of at least 650,000 workers, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted figures released on Friday. Put another way, for every eight workers employed in academe in February 2020, at least one had lost or left that job 10 months later. Across the broader economy, 9.9 million fewer people held jobs in January 2021 than in February 2020. The national unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent on Friday. At no point since the Labor Department began keeping industry tallies, in the late 1950s, have colleges and universities ever shed so many employees at such an incredible rate. All of the job losses between the department's November and December reports occurred in academe's private nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Estimates from last summer had suggested that the public and private sectors might see diverging recoveries, with private colleges seemingly faring better than public ones at that point. But since then, neither has been able to produce consistently positive job numbers. |
| Large institutions reporting fewer COVID-19 infections now than fall | |
 | Last August, as students were returning to campuses across the country, the United States was between two waves of COVID-19. Case counts across the country were fairly low, at least in comparison to where we've found ourselves now. Still, a number of large, mostly public, universities went through what seemed to some to be disaster situations. With thousands of students infected, some universities sent students home to family. Others soldiered on as cases rose -- over the loud protests of campus instructors. This semester, those institutions that put up the highest numbers for student case counts appear to be doing better. They have fewer cases and are, on the whole, performing more testing. While some of the numbers may still be worrisome, representing hundreds of students infected, they are often a far cry from the record-breaking tallies reported in the fall. The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, for example, had 2,184 student cases 22 days into the fall semester. This term, the university has reported only 591. |
| Study finds nearly 200 percent jump in questions submitted to Chegg after start of pandemic | |
| The number of questions asked and answered on the "homework help" website Chegg has skyrocketed since classes migrated online due to the pandemic, an increase that authors of a new study published in the International Journal for Educational Integrity link to a likely increase in cheating. Chegg, which has an honor code prohibiting cheating and which promotes itself as a site where students can get help on their homework, allows users to post a question to the site and receive an answer from a Chegg-identified expert "in as little as 30 minutes." (The site's posted average response time is 46 minutes.) The authors of the new study found that the number of questions posted on the site in five different science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines increased by 196.25 percent in April to August of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. "Given the number of exam style questions, it appears highly likely that students are using this site as an easy way to breach academic integrity by obtaining outside help," the authors write in the article titled "Contract cheating by STEM students through a file sharing website: a COVID-19 pandemic perspective." |
| Colleges have range of 2021 graduation plans but same goal: to connect with students | |
| Karen Nedbal, executive director of the Association for College Conference and Events Directors -- International, a membership organization for staff members who plan campus events such as commencement ceremonies, said 2020 offered a range of completely virtual to "slimmed-down" versions of in-person graduation events, and she expects to see a similar variety this year. Some colleges arranged for masked graduates to individually walk into a room where the college president or other administrators are present, take a picture with the officials and walk out, as a replacement for the real thing, Nedbal said. While canceled in-person commencements have been disappointing, there has also been an upside -- at least for the colleges. The nontraditional ceremonies saved some institutions significant amounts of money on audio and visual resources, security, speaker fees, and renting chairs, tents and stages, Nedbal said. Some colleges saw cost savings in the "six- to seven-figure range," which is much needed during a time of economic turmoil for many institutions, she said. It's hard to draw conclusions about what will happen this year as the pandemic rages on and state governors or public health agencies continue to set and revise gathering limits, Nedbal said. But what's been consistent among college events administrators is their desire to create commencement ceremonies that provide students and their families with a sense of connection to the institutions, she said. "It's so important this year, after really feeling a lot of disconnect," Nedbal said. "That's top of mind." |
| Trump's controversial diversity training order is dead -- or is it? Colleges are still feeling its effects. | |
| An overturned executive order from President Trump focused on banning some forms of diversity training is still sparking debate on college campuses. Many universities scrambled to comply with the controversial order last year, which would have prevented the federal government and its contractors from offering diversity training that Trump had called divisive. Biden has since overturned the order, but it had already tapped into a live vein of distrust among right-leaning voters who fear colleges are not teaching their students, but rather indoctrinating them. Those in higher education, though, fear Trump's order and antagonism toward colleges more broadly may serve as a guidepost for state or local lawmakers looking to influence their local universities. And students at these institutions fear the attack on diversity training may translate to more overt racism. "Simply because the federal government has changed positions doesn't mean state governments are going to follow suit," said Peter Lake, a law professor at Stetson University that studies higher education law. "The executive order was more than just an executive order. It was a rallying cry." |
| Unchecked AI algorithms threaten civilization | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: "Have no doubt, algorithms can do all sorts of wonderful things. But, they cannot incorporate judgment or common sense into their processes." So I wrote in 2010 about our growing dependence upon algorithms. The rise of hackable, smart but fallible autonomous and semi-autonomous algorithms (AI) since 2010 has been breathtaking. Many say we have entered the "age of algorithms. Others, like the late physicist Stephen Hawking warn such systems threaten civilization. Back in 2010 former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker said algorithms designed by "not well-managed financial engineers" calculated values for complex credit swaps and derivatives of mortgage-backed securities that proved unreliable when markets collapsed. In 2013, the so-called "hack crash" on Wall Street resulted from a false Tweet on the hacked Associated Press Twitter account. Researchers Tero Karppi and Kate Crawford (no relation) published a paper in 2015, "Social Media, Financial Algorithms and the Hack Crash," that traced the problem to algorithms. |
| Some legislators see value of expanding Medicaid for prisoners | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: The Mississippi Legislature is considering a proposal to expand Medicaid -- for incarcerated people. The state's Republican leadership has long rejected efforts to expand Medicaid, as is allowed under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to provide health care coverage to as many as 300,000 Mississippians -- many of them the working poor who are employed in jobs that do not provide health insurance and who do not make enough to afford to purchase private coverage. While the Mississippi Legislature and Gov. Tate Reeves have rejected efforts to provide Medicaid coverage to the working poor, a proposal is making its way through the Legislature to allow chronically sick incarcerated people to be paroled to special facilities where they would be placed on Medicaid. Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, said the proposal is a good idea because if the prisoners are on Medicaid the federal government will be paying two-thirds of their health care costs. Currently, the state is spending at least $80 million annually on health care for prisoners, Wiggins said. |
SPORTS
| Letters from Art: Three handwritten notes connected Mississippi State football legend Art Davis from the past to the present | |
| You remember Art Davis standing tall, clutching a football in his massive right mitt. Movie-star coiffed hair. Chiseled jawline, protruding ever so slightly as a half-smile graces his face. The fading picture makes his jersey look closer to Alabama crimson than Mississippi State maroon, but there's no mistaking Davis' Bulldog roots. The photo of Davis, taken in 1955 for a spread in "Look" magazine, has circulated widely of late. It appeared in an article from the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 soon after the death of longtime MSU play-by-play man Jack Cristil as part of an ode to his and Davis' lifelong friendship. Recently, the photo reemerged as a reminder of days past and the harrowing realities of mortality. On Jan. 29, Arthur Ganong Davis died after a nearly four-year bout with Parkinson's disease. He was 86. Davis' legacy will forever be tied to his time on the Starkville gridiron. It's there in the faded maroon tops and white bottoms that he won Southeastern Conference and national player of the year honors as he rushed over, around and between would-be tacklers with his hulking frame. But in the Cristil household, Davis holds a more sacred place in the lexicon of lives past and present. |
| D.J. Stewart Jr. helps carry Mississippi State past South Carolina | |
| D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 29 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range and Mississippi State pulled away from South Carolina in the second half for a 75-59 win on Saturday. AJ Lawson's dunk with 13:44 remaining to brought the Gamecocks within 50-49. Mississippi State (11-9, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) responded with a 13-0 outburst over the next five minutes and South Carolina never recovered. The run started and ended with jump shots from Stewart. Iverson Molinar scored 16 points for the Bulldogs who finished 26-for-56 (46%) including 10 for 19 (53%) from 3-point range. With the win, the Bulldogs avoided a fifth-straight SEC loss, which previously has happened twice in head coach Ben Howland's six seasons at the Mississippi State helm. Howland now is 4-3 against Gamecocks coach Frank Martin. Saturday's game was the first in the last seven between the two teams where the victor won by more than six points. The Bulldogs head home to face LSU on Wednesday. |
| Mississippi State ends road slate on a high note, taking down South Carolina 75-59 | |
| An otherwise grueling four-game Southeastern Conference road slate ended on a positive note for Mississippi State Saturday. After dropping the first three road contests to Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas, the Bulldogs salvaged the finale of their long road trip, taking down South Carolina 75-59 in Columbia, S.C. "Our backs were against the wall," MSU forward D.J. Stewart said. "We were hitting rock bottom, so the only way we could go is up." Some big picture questions remain, sure. One game after committing a season-high 26 turnovers, MSU (11-9, 5-6 SEC) was still sloppy with the ball, committing 21 giveaways. But Stewart made the turnovers moot, setting a new SEC-career high with 29 points on a 10 of 17 shooting performance that included four 3-pointers. Stewart was three points shy of matching his career high, which he notched in a 32-point effort against Dayton earlier this season. MSU also suffocated South Carolina's offense the entire night, limiting the Gamecocks to 31.1 percent shooting from the floor and a whopping 5-of-25 beyond the arc while winning the rebounding battle 46-30. "D.J. was phenomenal today," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "You never want to take him for granted." |
| Mississippi State-South Carolina basketball: DJ Stewart bounces back in win | |
| The streak is over. Mississippi State basketball was in danger of losing five SEC games in a row for the first time in four years, but the Bulldogs beat South Carolina 75-59 on the road Saturday afternoon. Mississippi State (11-9, 5-6 SEC) dominated South Carolina (5-7, 3-5) in many defining areas, including shooting percentage (46.4 to 31.1). The Bulldogs also outrebounded the Gamecocks 46-30. And that's not all. "We're playing as good of defense as we've played since I've been the coach at Mississippi State," MSU coach Ben Howland said. Redshirt sophomore guard D.J. Stewart Jr. followed up one of his worst games of the season with one of his best. Stewart had eight points and four turnovers in Mississippi State's loss to Arkansas on Tuesday. He scored a game-high 29 against the Gamecocks. As he normally does, Stewart led the team in minutes with 35. He played a vital role in MSU's win on both ends of the floor. "D.J. was phenomenal today," Howland said. "I never want to take him for granted. Twenty-nine points, three steals, great defensively. He was phenomenal today." |
| Men's Tennis Sweeps Sunday Twinbill With Memphis, Jackson State; Improves To 7-1 | |
| With a pair of victories Sunday, Mississippi State's men's tennis team improved to 7-1 overall in 2021. The Bulldogs held off Memphis (2-1) in a fierce 4-2 battle before ousting Jackson State (0-2) 7-0 later in the day. Both matches were played indoors at MSU's Rula Tennis Pavilion. State's win over Memphis was its 10th straight over the Tigers and the first meeting between the teams since 2016. MSU now leads the series with JSU 5-0. MSU ousted Memphis 4-2 in the day's first matchup in what was hotly contested battle that lasted over three hours. In the second match of the day, the Bulldogs swept all nine matches in a 7-0 victory over Jackson State. The Bulldogs welcome South Alabama to Starkville next Saturday, February 13. Following that affair, MSU opens 2021 SEC action, hosting Arkansas on Friday, February 19. |
| State Women's Tennis Shuts Out North Alabama, Moves To 7-0 | |
| The Mississippi State women's tennis team (7-0) continued its success Sunday as the Bulldogs handed North Alabama (1-3) a 7-0 defeat at State's Rula Tennis Pavilion. The shutout marks the fifth in 2021 for MSU, which has limited its opponents to just two points all season. The Bulldogs remained perfect against the Lions, now leading the all-time series 5-0. With the victory, State also improved to 7-0 to start a season for the first time since 2009, when the program began with an 8-0 record. State has not lost a non-conference match in Starkville since 2013, having won 45 straight such matches during that span. "I thought we were solid again today," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "The girls are doing a pretty good job playing with a sense of urgency. We are playing better every week, and the girls are working hard to continue that trend." The Bulldogs wrap up non-conference play next Sunday as they host Tulane in a Valentine's Day match beginning at 12 p.m. CT. |
| How grandmother's breast cancer fight inspired Mississippi State PG Myah Taylor | |
| Myah Taylor scanned the seats inside the gym at Southaven Middle School. She saw her mom, dad, aunt and younger brother. She didn't see the face she was truly searching for. Taylor's grandmother was supposed to be in attendance to watch one of her middle school basketball games for the first time. It was the seventh-grade district championship against Desoto Central. Taylor led Olive Branch to victory by scoring over 20 points. She celebrated the first of many championships she'd claim on the court in her hometown before graduating in 2017. The five years between the first triumph and her last at Olive Branch, though, were spent without her grandmother cheering her on. Taylor's grandma died of breast cancer the morning of the seventh-grade title game. That was the face Taylor was looking for. Taylor's parents wanted to wait to tell her and her younger brother, Wes, of their grandmother's passing until after the game when they were in a more conducive environment to deliver such news. Taylor beat them to the subject. Just as she searched for her grandmother hours earlier, Taylor searched for answers on the car ride home. |
| 'That's my cousin': Mississippi State softball's Aquana Brownlee has special rooting interest in Super Bowl LV | |
| Normally, when Aquana Brownlee tells somebody she's from Houston, they assume she means Houston, Texas. It's a fair assumption: the Lone Star State's Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country, is home to nearly 2.15 million people. Brownlee's hometown of Houston, Mississippi, is a fair bit smaller, ranking as the 86th-biggest city in the state. Its population? Just 3,371. Oh, and one Lombardi Trophy. That belongs to Kansas City Chiefs star defensive tackle Chris Jones, Brownlee's cousin, who won Super Bowl LIV last February while Brownlee watched with excitement in her dorm. And on Sunday, the Mississippi State sophomore softball player will be watching as Jones vies to bring home another trophy for their shared hometown. Technically, Brownlee and Jones aren't blood related. But that's never mattered. The two forged a connection through Brownlee's father A.Q., whose first wife was a first cousin of Jones' mother, Mary Woodhouse. With both families growing up around each other, it was automatically "What's up, cousin?" between Brownlee and Jones. "We've always claimed each other," she said. Houston has always claimed Jones, too, even though his family moved 45 minutes northeast to Nettleton for a few years when he was young. That, Brownlee said, engendered some small-town jealousy when Jones began to succeed in the NFL. |
| Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk says he's not leaving for same spot at UCF | |
| Speculation sprouted Friday about Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk being a top candidate for the same vacant spot at Central Florida. At 8:40 p.m. Friday, Sterk put an end to those rumors first circulated Friday morning, saying he wasn't a candidate in the search. Sterk expressed he has no plans to leave Missouri. "I do not normally comment on speculation on social media. But, over the last 24 hours several media members have indicated that I may be involved in the Athletic Director's search at the University of Central Florida," Sterk wrote in a statement shared with local media Friday night. "I am not a candidate at UCF. "We have great momentum at Mizzou and Mizzou Athletics, and I am looking forward to tomorrow's Top 20 basketball showdown in Mizzou Arena." By Friday afternoon, multiple outlets reported the possibility of Sterk making the move. The Knights are looking to replace Danny White, who was hired by Tennessee on Jan. 21 to be the Volunteers' athletic director. |
| Auburn University board approves $91.9M complex for football program | |
| Auburn University's Board of Trustees has approved a new, $91.9 million training complex for its football program. Planning for the 233,000-square-foot center, to be located at the corner of Samford Avenue and Biggio Drive, has been in the works since 2019. Trustees voted Friday to proceed with the project, which should be complete by late summer or early fall of 2022. The center was designed jointly by the HOK Architects of Kansas City and Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood of Montgomery. The firms previously teamed up for Clemson University's football operations center, a $55 million complex that opened in 2017 to much attention for its extensive training facilities, barber shop and a slide connecting the first and second floors. The project will be financed by university bonds, and the debt will be serviced by Athletics Department revenues. Athletics revenues have taken a hit since the March 2020 coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of last year's spring sports and severely limited seating (and ticket revenues) for Tigers' football and basketball programs. Some of those losses have been offset by the steep drop in travel and other expenses within the department, according to university officials. |
| Florida receives more SEC revenue in league's 2019-20 distribution | |
| The SEC announced its revenue for the 2019-20 fiscal year Thursday evening, dividing $657.7 million among its 14 member institutions. The total includes $637.7 million distributed from the conference office, as well as $20 million retained by universities that participated in 2019-20 bowl games to offset travel and other related expenses. Florida received $45.5 million along with each SEC program, excluding bowl money retained by participants. The average per-school distribution increased from $44.6 million in 2018-19. "We are proud of the support our 14 member universities are able to provide to our student-athletes as a direct result of the revenue distributed through the Southeastern Conference," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. "The SEC's conference-wide commitment to the student-athlete experience is profound and translates into superior instruction, training, equipment, academic counseling, medical care, mental health and wellness support and life-skills development." Currently more than 5,400 female and male student-athletes across the SEC receive financial aid, and counting non-scholarship participants, more than 7,800 total student-athletes participate in sports sponsored by SEC universities. |
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