| Monday, March 1, 2021 |
| Mississippi State names Teresa Jayroe dean of College of Education | |
 | A former elementary school teacher is now the new dean of the College of Education at Mississippi State University (MSU). MSU named Teresa Jayroe the college's dean, the university announced Friday. Since joining the MSU faculty in 1997, Jayroe has served as a lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor and professor. Prior to MSU, she taught kindergarten through second grade for 13 years in the Louisville Municipal Separate School District and the Philadelphia [MS] Public School District. "Dr. Terry Jayroe has served our university faithfully for a number of years, and I am looking forward to her ongoing leadership in this role as she provides a visionary path for our College of Education," Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw said. "Dr. Jayroe is known for her excellent work ethic and her unfailing dedication to students at all levels---from the K-12 schoolchildren to our own undergraduate and graduate students, she wants to see scholars learning and growing at every stage." |
| Why do flowers smell? | |
 | Richard L. Harkess, a professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University, writes for The Conversation: Imagine walking through a tropical forest as a sweet scent wafts through the air. A little farther down the path, the putrid stench of rotting flesh makes you catch your breath. Upon investigation, you find that both odors originate from flowers -- but why do flowers smell like anything at all? It's actually part of a strategy that helps flowering plants reproduce themselves and spread their species. Certain scents help these flowers solve a big problem. Plants flower to produce seeds that can go on to become new plants. To make a viable seed, pollen from one part of the flower must fertilize the ovules in another part of the flower. Some plants can self-pollinate, using their own pollen to fertilize the ovule. Others require pollen from another plant of the same species -- that's called cross-pollination. So how does one plant get some other individual plant's pollen where it needs to be? |
| Mississippi receives $5.26M for rural health, education projects | |
 | On Friday, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and U.S. Representative Michael Guest (R-Miss.) announced the award of more than $5.26 million to boost rural telemedicine and distance learning capabilities across Mississippi. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development awarded grants for 10 Mississippi projects to improve health and education responses to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The grants are funded through the CARES Act and other congressional appropriations. "These investments from the USDA will help connect more Mississippians to telehealth and distance learning opportunities," Wicker said. "I look forward to increasing access to these vital resources for all Mississippians." A total of $5,266,706 in Rural Development grants for Mississippi includes: Mississippi State University, Starkville -- $421,350 to support access to distant learning through the RELIANT (Reliable Internet Access for Networked Telecommunications) project, which involves 89 sites in all 82 Mississippi counties. |
| Shackouls Honors College takes 'Twisted Tales of Poe' to radio | |
 | When COVID-19 forced the Mississippi State University Shackouls Honors College to take their annual classical play to radio airwaves this past fall, the response was positive. So much so that, as pandemic restrictions persist into the spring semester, the students will again present a radio drama on the air. "Twisted Tales of Poe" is a dramatization of some of Poe's most well-known and frightening stories. The radio presentation will be released to listeners beginning March 1 and through March 6, on the honors college website, honors.msstate.edu. Admission is free and open to all. Eleven honors college students are participating in the play, representing a cross section of campus majors including Animal and Dairy Science, Business, Computer Science, Education and various engineering majors. |
| Partnership reflects on unconventional year at virtual awards ceremony | |
| The Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Starkville's community development organization, hosted its 20th-anniversary award ceremony virtually Thursday morning. Typically an in-person banquet, the Partnership held this pre-recorded event due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep the community safe, said Paige Watson, Partnership special events and projects coordinator. The online presentation featured a celebratory video with multiple hosts, interviews and award announcements. Partnership CEO Mike Tagert said the organization has shifted its focus from in-person marketing to finding supportive revenues that small business operators could use, such as the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program that provides loans to help businesses during the pandemic. He said the Partnership members have adapted to these changes. "It has been a challenge, but the organization and the community have stepped up in various ways, and that was evident in the awards ceremony today," Tagert said. "You can see the leadership, involvement and commitment of our community." Tagert stepped into his current position in January, about two months before the COVID-19 pandemic made it to Mississippi. He said assuming this role during such an unconventional time has been difficult, but with the support of the Partnership board, he is embracing the challenges and is looking forward to a future without COVID-19. |
| Black farmers see possibilities in agricultural roots, but historical inequities pose hurdles | |
 | The feed Kurt Spragin's shoveling out the back of a trailer at his farm off County Road 154 isn't getting any cheaper, but the cattle have got to eat. "It's good for the corn producing farmer," Spragin said about feed prices. "For the corn consuming farmer, it's not good." It was a cold day in early February as Spragin made the rounds on a farm that has been in his family 73 years. The cattle, about 200, including the yearlings, needed tending. The 52-year-old Spragin is Black, one of the few Black farmers in Lee County, according to federal data. He wants to see that number change and increase. He thinks it's a matter of economic opportunity, especially for younger members of a rural community facing limited job prospects if they stay put. Spragin's roots in agriculture go deep; his experience in the realm of public policy is recent. In January, Spragin appeared before the Lee County Board of Supervisors to speak on behalf of a proposal to bring an extension agent into Lee County from Alcorn State University, the oldest historically Black land-grant university in the nation. The cost to Lee County would have been $40,000, though much of that could have been covered by an unused appropriation created for the county's extension program with Mississippi State University. Gerald Jones is the director of county operations for Alcorn's extension program. Speaking to supervisors in January, Jones explained the university's vision. "Back in March 2020, just as the pandemic was coming here in Mississippi, our president asked our dean, Dr. Edwin Butler, to look at considering expanding the extension program into other regions of the state," Jones said. "We started looking at underrepresented farmers." |
| Misery lingers for many without water in Mississippi capital | |
 | Water for flushing toilets was being distributed at seven sites in Mississippi's capital city -- more than 10 days after winter storms wreaked havoc on the city's water system. The sites were open in Jackson on Sunday because the system is still struggling to maintain consistent water pressure, authorities said. The system has not been able to provide a sustainable flow of water throughout the city, city officials said. "Our system has basically crashed like a computer and now we're trying to rebuilt it," Jackson Public Works Director Charles Williams said at a Sunday briefing. The storms have become "a financial nightmare" for some Jackson families, Democratic state Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. said on social media. "A lot of people didn't work for over a week because of water and power issues," he wrote. "On top of that energy and gas bills are going to be higher because of the extreme cold weather last week." "Most working families don't have savings, so people are in survival mode right now," Crudup added. |
| How coronavirus stimulus funds helped one state create a 'broadband miracle' | |
| When Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and lawmakers in the Mississippi legislature got $1.2 billion in federal money from the first stimulus bill in March, they decided to do something different. They used a portion of the funds to supercharge the rollout of high-speed broadband to the most underserved areas of the state in an effort to close the digital divide. They went to rural electric co-ops -- private, independent electric utilities owned by the members they serve -- many of which were left gobsmacked by the offer, according to David O'Bryan, general manager of Delta Electric Power Association, which now serves Carroll and Grenada counties with broadband. Many of these co-ops had been preparing to deploy networks but lacked the cash to begin a major project, especially in the most remote and sparsely populated parts of their territories. The result has been an acceleration in broadband deployment that could make Mississippi one of the most connected states in the nation within the next five to six years. That's a huge leap for the state, which last year ranked 42 out of 50 in BroadbandNow's 2020 connectivity rankings. The Federal Communications Commission says that at least 35% of rural Mississippians lack access to broadband. |
| Mississippi State Department of Health reports 199 new COVID-19 cases | |
| The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) on Monday reported 199 additional cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths. The statewide total number of cases since March 11, 2020 is now 294,994 with a death toll of 6,681. As of this week, around 273,437 people are presumed recovered from the virus. The seven-day moving average for new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi is 19 per 100,000 people, as of Feb. 27. In Mississippi's 1st Congressional District, the seven-day moving average is 15 per 100,000 people. MSDH also reported 70 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Several counties in the Daily Journal's coverage area reported new cases: Alcorn (1), Itawamba (3), Lafayette (3), Lee (4), Monroe (1), Oktibbeha (4), Pontotoc (1), Tippah (2), Tishomingo (2) and Union (2). |
| Analysis: Mississippi leaders try big, quick tax changes | |
| When then-Gov. William Winter wanted to make substantial changes to Mississippi's education system in the early 1980s, he and his staff spent months building support for their proposals. They traveled the state, held hearings and leveraged the power of public opinion to persuade recalcitrant legislators to adopt the Education Reform Act of 1982. The law set compulsory attendance rules, created public kindergarten and set quality standards. That kind of effort to build support outside the Capitol is not happening now as Gov. Tate Reeves and state House leaders push separate proposals to substantially change Mississippi tax laws. Reeves wants to phase out Mississippi's personal income tax. House Speaker Philip Gunn and his top allies in the Republican-controlled chamber rolled out a complex plan last week to increase some taxes and decrease others. |
| Legislature closes in on critical deadline with bills that reform the ABC system and state income tax still alive | |
| The Mississippi Legislature's annual session is down to its final month and there are plenty of issues still in play, including reform of the state's alcohol distribution system, a first step toward the elimination of the state's income tax and several more that deal with the occupational licensing. The next deadline on the general bill calendar is Tuesday, which is the final day when committees can report bills from the other chamber. Any bill that isn't reported out of committee is dead. As for the finance bill calendar, the next deadline is March 16, when appropriations and revenue bills from the other chamber must receive a floor vote. Here are some of the more interesting bills that are still alive: House Bill 1439, the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act, would set new deductions for both individuals ($47,700) and married couples ($95,400). HB 997 authored by state Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, would end the practice of the state being the wholesale distributor for wine and spirits and govern the issuance of wholesaler permits. Senate Bill 2536, also known as the Mississippi Fairness Act, would require schools to designate sports teams for either one biological sex or the other, with the exception of co-ed teams. HB 1030 is known as the Mississippi Intercollegiate Athletics Compensation Rights Act. It would provide that student athletes might earn compensation for name or likeness rights and obtain a certified agent strictly for that compensation. |
| Historians oppose bill to change archives board nominations | |
| Historians are opposing a bill that they say could politicize the board that governs the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Since the nine-member board was established in 1902, its members have nominated their own successors and those nominees have been confirmed by the state Senate. Senate Bill 2727 says the Archives and History board could recommend nominees, but the governor or lieutenant governor could ignore those recommendations and nominate any person they want. The nominees would still need to be confirmed by the Senate. Forty-six scholars who teach history at Mississippi colleges and universities signed a letter praising the Department of Archives and History and saying the method of selecting board members should not change. The letter was distributed to House members and news outlets on Thursday. The bill has passed the Senate and awaits consideration in the House. |
| Clay Joyner named acting U.S. Attorney for Northern District of Mississippi | |
| Clay Joyner has been named acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi following the resignation of USA William C. Lamar announced that, upon his resignation, Joyner, currently the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, will take on the additional responsibilities effective Feb. 28. "Clay is well-respected by law enforcement, the defense bar and our community, and he will do an outstanding job as Acting U.S. Attorney," Lamar said. "I want to personally thank him for his counsel and his hard work, and I wish him all the best in this role. He will do an excellent job for the citizens of the Northern District of Mississippi." Joyner thanked Lamar for his three decades of service to the district as both an AUSA and USA. He pledged to continue the office's mission until President Joe Biden's new appointee is confirmed. Joyner is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the Mississippi College School of Law. He began his legal career in 1996 as a Special Assistant Attorney General in Mississippi. |
| House appropriators officially bring back earmarks, ending ban | |
 | House Democrats are officially resurrecting earmarks, ending a decadelong prohibition on congressionally directed spending and giving lawmakers new tools to "bring home the bacon." The announcement Friday marks a new era for congressional influence over how the federal government spends some of the $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending approved every year. But House Democrats detailing how the process will work in that chamber is just one piece of the puzzle. The Senate has yet to announce when and how it will bring back earmarks, and Republicans in both chambers are struggling with whether to remove party rules that bar them from participating in the process. "We are in good faith negotiations with the House and my Senate colleagues to bring back congressionally directed spending in a transparent and responsible way, and those discussions are ongoing," Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement. "I believe there is bipartisan support to restore the power of the purse to Congress and I am continuing to work toward that goal." House Democrats' earmarks plan will cap the total amount of money that can be spent on earmarks to 1 percent of total discretionary spending. |
| Justice Brett Kavanaugh dismays conservatives by dodging pro-Trump election lawsuits | |
 | Justice Brett Kavanaugh dismayed conservatives this week when he cast what appears to be the deciding vote preventing the Supreme Court from taking up pro-Trump election lawsuits. Kavanaugh's apparent break with the court's three staunchest conservatives -- Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch -- seemed to catch his colleagues by surprise, and provoked ire among some on the political right who viewed the move as an act of betrayal. Thomas in a dissent said he was "befuddled" by the court's reluctance to take up the disputes, given that four justices -- including Kavanaugh -- had signaled in late October their view that the pro-Trump challengers were likely to win on appeal. Alito and Gorsuch wrote separate dissents from the court's denial on Monday, but made clear they agreed with Thomas. The dissenting justices indicated the disputes would not have disturbed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. As is typical practice, the justices did not provide the public with a complete view of how they voted on the petitions, or their reasoning. But the dissents by Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch strongly suggested that Kavanaugh lost his appetite to engage with the election-related disputes. |
| Trump's fundraising keeps him at the center of GOP politics | |
| Taking to the stage for the first time since leaving office, former President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Republican unity at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He also dropped strong hints he might like to run for president again. Trump may have been out of the spotlight for the past few months, but his role as a political fundraiser remains strong: He never stopped raising money. He pulled in cash from donors to fight his election loss and, since then, "Trump launched a leadership PAC that raised over $30 million in just a matter of months," said Karl Evers-Hillstrom, who monitors money and politics for OpenSecrets.org. "The Republican Party is increasingly reliant on Trump to actually raise money," he said. "We've seen some corporate interests are not as interested in donating to them after the Capitol riot." Trump's supporters, on the other hand, still seem game to donate to the president and his allies. There were even rumors after the election he might start a third political party. "What he's done is actually a lot more interesting," said Jennifer Heerwig, a political sociologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. "He said, 'OK, I have this kind of asset, which is my fundraising prowess, and my donor list, and the ability to connect with people who maybe ordinarily wouldn't donate. And so I'm going to use that and turn it into a formal organization that the GOP has to pay attention to.' " |
| Bill Cassidy warns it's dangerous for GOP to 'idolize' Trump | |
 | Sen. Bill Cassidy on Sunday warned that the GOP's continued embrace of Donald Trump would cost Republicans elections up and down the ballot in the coming years, and predicted that the former president would not become the party's 2024 nominee. "Over the last four years, we have lost the House, the Senate and the presidency," Cassidy (R-La.) told CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview. "Political campaigns are about winning. Our agenda does not move forward unless we win," he continued. "We need a candidate who can not only win himself or herself, but we also have to have someone who lifts all boats. And that's clearly not happened over the last four years." Cassidy said Republicans could triumph in the 2022 midterm elections as well as the 2024 White House race by "speaking to those issues that are important to the American people," not "putting one person on a pedestal and making that one person our focal point." He added: "If we idolize one person, we will lose. And that's kind of clear from the last election." The senator's remarks stand in stark contrast to the fervently pro-Trump rhetoric that has been on display in recent days at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. --- where prominent Republican officials have promoted the former president as the future of the party and sought to embrace his legacy. |
| Disinformation Fuels Distrust And Even Violence At All Levels Of Government | |
 | One day before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January, thousands of miles away in northern California, anger began to boil over at a meeting of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors. "This is a scamdemic, it's a plandemic, and it's a damndemic. We're sick of it!" one woman shouted. Again and again, residents railed against public officials for enforcing social distancing rules. Some warned of "civil war" and possible violent resistance from militias and other groups. The potential consequences of false ideas played out in deadly form on Jan. 6, when extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump -- inspired by his lie that the November election was stolen -- attacked the Capitol. But widespread acceptance of disinformation is shaping the political process at all levels of government. Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said growing disenchantment with the political process, fueled by widespread misinformation, can breed political violence and insurrection. Another danger, Gillespie said, is bad policy – promoted through false narratives. |
| Fall 2021 semester to 'return to normal,' UM chancellor announces | |
 | Chancellor Glenn Boyce announced via email on Friday that all University of Mississippi campuses will "return to normal" by the fall 2021 semester. The announcement was also published on all of the university's social media accounts. "The growing adoption and distribution of multiple vaccines against the COVID-19 virus enables us to plan for a full resumption of in-person classes for Fall 2021 and fully return our campus to pre-COVID-19 operations," the email read. The email said that the availability of the vaccine in the state will allow the university to plan for a fall semester that will resume operations as they were before the pandemic. "As we remain committed to doing all we can to operate similar to Fall 2019, we will monitor the distribution of the vaccine closely as well as other relevant indicators," Boyce said in the email. Policies for summer classes will come later, but a specific date was not mentioned. |
| Ole Miss students react to plans for full in-person classes in the fall | |
| Students at Ole Miss will soon see a little bit of normalcy on campus, that means in person classes. "I'm excited," Mark Karnegay said. Just like Karnegay, many students are counting down the days until things finally go back to normal. On Friday the University announced that the fall 2021 semester is offering fully in person and on campus. "I'm really excited because we have missed out on so much over our first two years of college," Karnegay said. "It's just really important to us to get to experience college like normal." Not only is Karnegay looking forward to the fall, but so are some juniors. Mia Dimeo is a junior in college. When she heard the news, she was excited to know that her senior year will be one to remember. "So to have that full experience back senior year, that's what we came to college for, that's why we are at Ole Miss." Dimeo said. "Just to get all those opportunities before we make it into the real world." |
| 'Change is in the air': SMBHC dean to resign after 19 years | |
| After almost 20 years in the position, Douglass Sullivan-González, dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, announced on Thursday that he will step down from the position in August 2021. "My passion and skills call me to pour my time into writing and research, and I cannot do justice to the demands of the SMBHC deanship in this historic moment," he wrote in an email to students. Sullivan-González plans to return to the history department in the fall to write, research and teach about Central America. He is currently working with a team of researchers to understand the driving causes of Central American migration to the United States. He was appointed as the interim director of the honors college in July 2002 and has served as dean since 2003. His departure will mark his 19th year in the role. Sullivan-González said he believes that a new dean will be able to move the SMBHC forward, academically and programmatically. He said next fall offers the perfect opportunity for a new dean to step into the position. |
| Seymour's Career Closet offers free clothing to USM students: Here's how you can donate | |
 | A University of Southern Mississippi student decided to clean her closet during the early days of the pandemic shutdown. The move has led to the creation of Seymour's Career Closet. The free closet, located on the first floor of Bolton Hall on campus, was scheduled to open Monday. It allows USM students to choose donated professional wear for internships and interviews. "I didn't want them to go to waste and wanted the clothing to be reused," Arien Faucett, a fourth-year doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology and Nutrition, said of her few bags of clothes. The closet, Faucett added, will help remove an unneeded barrier. "If clothing is that one thing that they need to look as professional as they are, then we need to make sure that we have a supportive space where that can actually happen." Faucett was connected with the Office of Sustainability to help launch the closet, also brought to campus by the Graduate Student Senate and The Division of Student Affairs. |
| Auburn women take safety into own hands | |
| From a young age, many women are taught the many things they have to do and the ways they have to act in order to protect themselves from safety concerns: Never walk alone. Clutch your keys in the parking lot. Lock your doors immediately after getting to the car, among many other things. These lessons are not given without reason. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, there is an elevated risk of sexual violence for women aged 18–24 -- the "college years." Even further, women that are enrolled in college are 20% more likely than non-students to be at risk for sexual violence. Auburn, Alabama -- The Loveliest Village on the Plains -- is not excluded from these statistics. Women enrolled at the University are taught to be just as aware of their surroundings as they would be anywhere else. "I think in today's world, girls always have to be on guard and won't feel safe, but that's just because of everything going on, not just Auburn specific," said Oakley Holmes, sophomore in public relations. To help communicate these dangers, that up until now have only been spread by word of mouth, Holmes created a GroupMe specifically for women to share any threats that they personally experience on or around campus. |
| As LSU prepares to release sexual misconduct review, survivors want 'serious consequences' | |
 | After months of questions of how LSU has handled allegations of sexual misconduct -- in cases that now stretch all the way up to former head football coach Les Miles -- some key answers could finally be coming soon. The report from Husch Blackwell, the law firm that LSU hired to probe the allegations, is expected to be released by the end of the week. Since November, the firm has been reviewing cases of sexual misconduct and domestic violence on campus that stretch back several years. Its report is expected to finally shed light on what actions LSU officials took when they received allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic violence that involved coaches, football players and nonathlete students alike. Cases involving Miles, former LSU running back Derrius Guice and former LSU wide receiver Drake Davis have all been probed as part of the review. "There were people intentionally and maliciously covering this up," said Samantha Brennan, a former LSU student who accused Guice of taking and sharing a partially nude photo of her in 2016 without her permission. Brennan filed a police report, but declined to pursue a criminal case against Guice and left LSU shortly afterward. "Those people need to have some serious consequences." |
| UGA 2021 spring commencement to take place over multiple days | |
 | University of Georgia graduates will get a spring commencement ceremony -- but with COVID-19 modifications. UGA president Jere W. Morehead announced Friday that the university will have not one, but four ceremonies for the spring 2021 graduates, including three undergraduate ceremonies and one ceremony for the master's, specialists, and doctoral degrees. The decision to split up commencement into multiple days would be to comply with social distancing guidelines. Additionally, this year's graduates will sit in the stands with their guests, and there will not be a formal processional. The commencement speaker has yet to be announced. For the undergraduates, commencement will begin on May 13 and end on May 15, taking place in Sanford Stadium. The commencement ceremony for the master's, specialists, and doctoral degree candidates is scheduled for Friday, May 14 at 10 a.m. in Sanford Stadium. This year, due to COVID-19, UGA will not provide transportation from remote parking lots to the stadium. Officials warn that, "visitors should be prepared to walk significant distances, up to 1 mile, from parking and throughout the Stadium," according to the commencement website. |
| U. of Tennessee will hold spring graduation at Neyland Stadium | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville will hold in-person graduation ceremonies at Neyland Stadium this spring. Ceremonies will take place May 7, 8 and 9 with five ceremonies over three days, Chancellor Donde Plowman announced Friday morning. Details are still be finalized, but the university currently plans to have 1,000 graduates at each ceremony with a limited number of guests allowed for each graduate. "We've learned to do a lot of things during the pandemic, learned to do things differently, including commencement," Plowman said in a video posted to Twitter. "So we're having commencement, we'll still have some of the restrictions that we've been having, such as facial coverings, social distance." At the ceremonies, students will be seated on the field and families will be in the stands, Plowman said. Social distancing and face coverings will be required, with ceremonies scheduled by academic. One of the ceremonies will be for graduate and professional students. |
| A 'dog' with a data-driven nose: How these U. of Missouri students are paving the way in robotics | |
 | There are probably robots in your future. They're here now, even if you haven't encountered any yet. At the University of Missouri, Dale Musser, associate teaching professor in the College of Engineering, is preparing students for what he calls "another technological revolution." "That is, in essence, around the corner," Musser said. Perhaps you've noticed the social media meme about Mars being the only planet inhabited only by robots. The introduction locally is coming from Spot, a robot dog produced by Boston Dynamics. Spot was donated and arrived in January. The robot was purchased using $98,400 in gift funds from the Dean's Fund for Excellence at the College of Engineering. Robots will be an increasingly common fixture in the coming years, Musser said. While most Columbia residents might not encounter any robots, Musser is based in San Francisco, where it's somewhat common to see a self-driving car on the street. Students now are "training" Spot using remote control. Even with remote control, the robot has autonomous actions. |
| Republican bill would force Iowa universities to hold in-person graduation | |
| Although the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa already announced their upcoming commencement ceremonies will be virtual -- and are well into planning them -- a Republican lawmaker is sponsoring a bill requiring Iowa's public universities to hold in-person spring graduations. House Study Bill 246, proposed this week by Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, would force the regent universities to hold traditional in-person spring commencement ceremonies during the regularly scheduled times in May and June -- two and three months from now. The bill requires the campuses allow at least two guests per graduate -- which could mean many thousands at some of the larger ceremonies, like for undergraduates of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "The universities may establish protocols for the control and prevention of COVID-19, as deemed necessary," according to the proposal. While the UI and UNI at the start of the spring semester announced their plans, Iowa State University has said it won't announce a decision until Monday. The campuses have reported thousands of positive COVID-19 cases this academic year and have offered a blend of virtual and face-to-face classes. |
| Fearing Covid-19 Surge, Florida Officials Crack Down on Spring Breakers | |
 | Nearly a year after some Florida spring breakers refused to let the coronavirus interrupt their parties and helped trigger a wave of lockdowns, Miami Beach is bracing for a fresh crop of revelers. Though many colleges have canceled spring break to prevent students from congregating in vacation spots, officials here are expecting a large influx over the coming weeks. Flights and hotels are cheap. Brutal winter storms in much of the country left people yearning for an escape. And Florida's pandemic rules on bars and nightclubs are more lenient than those in many states. Other Florida cities also are preparing for a surge of arrivals. Fort Lauderdale warned that police would enforce restrictions on alcohol, beach tents and scooters. St. Petersburg and Clearwater introduced a campaign to encourage safe behavior by asking visitors to sign a pledge to wear masks and spread out that will enter them in a prize drawing. Despite the restrictions in Miami Beach, party planners have been busy. Ticketing website Eventbrite is rife with events planned for the coming weeks, including a mansion party dubbed "Miami Gone Wild 2," a swimwear fete called "Bikini Palooza" and a "Booze Cruise" aboard a boat. The entrance to a big outdoor bar recently featured a sign reading, "Misbehavior Encouraged." |
| House passes relief package that would send $40B to colleges | |
| The U.S. House of Representatives early Saturday morning approved another massive coronavirus rescue package, which would send about $40 billion in direct aid to colleges and universities. The 219-212 vote was mostly along party lines. The $1.9 trillion bill heads to the Senate, where lawmakers will consider and likely amend it, before sending that version to the House for another vote. The bill that passed Friday is largely unchanged from Biden's initial proposal, though it added more direct aid for colleges and enabled private nonprofit institutions to receive funding, which the first proposal did not allow. The education portions of the bill were also not substantially altered in House committees. The new round of relief money will be distributed through the same formula as the last major spending bill. It factors in headcount and full-time equivalent enrollment, enabling colleges with more part-time students to benefit. American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell urged the Senate to quickly take up the legislation, in an emailed statement to Higher Ed Dive. While the package is "vital and welcome assistance," Mitchell said, ACE has identified "at least $97 billion in critical needs left unaddressed" by the last emergency relief legislation, which was approved in December. |
| Federal Earmarks May Return. What It Means For Higher Education | |
| Federal earmarks may be returning. According to reporting in Axios and other sources over the weekend, the House Appropriations Committee is planning to restore a new version of congressional earmarks, which would give lawmakers the power to designate and direct spending to their districts to pay for special projects as part of approved appropriations bills. Historically condemned by critics as "wasteful, pork-barrel, pet projects," earmarks have been lauded by proponents as "congressionally designated appropriations" that properly redirect spending decisions from D.C. bureaucrats to elected officials and apply the grease that's sometimes necessary to break legislative gridlock and get things done in Congress. Even Donald Trump, Mr. "Drain-the-swamp" himself, mused to lawmakers in one of his many transactional moments, "Maybe all of you should start thinking about going back to a form of earmarks." Now with Democrats in control of the House and ever so narrowly in the Senate, earmarks may be poised for a comeback, albeit in revised form, as part of a strategy to cut more deals and get big legislation passed. And if earmarks do officially return, it could mean billions in funding for universities and colleges for a host of programs and projects near and dear to individual institutions' hearts. |
| U.S. doubles down on protecting university research from China | |
| A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, is set to vote Monday on its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to a recently published final draft, which also features numerous recommendations in areas including competition in artificial intelligence and the semiconductor supply chain. The fresh recommendations come as the United States pushes ahead with the prosecution of at least five Chinese researchers arrested last year in various cities across the U.S. on charges of visa fraud for not disclosing ties to the Chinese military. The NSCAI recommendations would require more disclosure on research funding and partnerships at universities. It also proposes creating a database of individuals and entities to flag risks in advance. |
| Global student survey focuses on mental health and financial and other pressures on students | |
 | More than half of students worldwide, and three-quarters in the U.S., said their mental health has suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey of nearly 17,000 undergraduate students across 21 countries commissioned by the nonprofit arm of Chegg, a controversial textbook rental and educational technology company. Chegg.org commissioned the polling company Yonder to interview 16,839 undergraduates across the 21 countries last fall, with sample sizes in the various countries ranging from 500 to about 1,000. Seventy-five percent of American students surveyed said their mental health had suffered due to the pandemic, second only to Brazil (76 percent) and similar to the percentage of Canadian students who said the same (73 percent). Worldwide, across the nearly two dozen countries where students were surveyed, 56 percent of students said their mental health had suffered during the pandemic. Among American students, 91 percent said their stress and anxiety had increased during the COVID pandemic, 30 percent said they'd sought help for mental health, 26 percent said they'd considered suicide, 12 percent said they'd self-harmed and 5 percent said they'd attempted suicide. |
| Why is there so much resistance to forgiving $50,000 in student debt? | |
| Although President Joe Biden has supported canceling $10,000 in student debt for individuals, some lawmakers are pushing him to go higher and forgive $50,000. But Biden and other influential figures argue that former Ivy League students and Wall Street financiers would be the main beneficiaries. At a CNN town hall last week, Biden said that forgiving $50,000 would be erasing the "billions of dollars in debt for people who have gone to Harvard and Yale and Penn." Similarly, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, once president of Harvard University and a partner at a hedge fund, said this subsidy would go toward high earners who work in finance. Experts and advocates say that forgiving student debt could stimulate the economy and help address the racial wealth gap. Currently, more than 45 million Americans collectively owe more than $1.7 trillion in student debt, with each carrying an average of about $38,000 in loans. "People in the U.S. will not have to spend hundreds of dollars every month. They'll be better able to plan for the future, to save, to buy things that they need in the meantime," said Naomi Zewde, an associate professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York whose research focuses on economic inequality. |
| State leaders ignore crises for tax cuts | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Faced with one crisis after another, Mississippi's Governor and Legislature rise to the challenge with one consistent solution – cut budgets to cut taxes. Where to start? The antique condition of so many municipal and rural water systems, the federal court takeover of our mental health system, the continuing crisis in our prisons, child welfare litigation, the neverending story of our crumbling road and bridge infrastructure, our struggling healthcare systems, small business closures from the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing PERS unfunded retirement liability, inadequate flood control systems, the list goes and on and on. ... Nearly every agency budget pending before the Legislature received a cut by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee so they would fit within the revenue projection. That projection was set low due to feared impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is actual revenue collections, so far, are coming above projections. The unsettling news is state leaders' fervor to use these extra funds for tax cuts rather than restoring excessive budget cuts and targeting funds to address the crises debilitating our state. |
| Mississippi voter ID law could be struck down by anti-medical marijuana ruling | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Mississippi's voter identification requirement could be at risk if the state Supreme Court strikes down the medical marijuana initiative approved by voters in November. After all, the same process employed to put medical marijuana on the ballot was used in 2011 to enact a mandate that Mississippi voters must have a government-issued photo identification to vote. Would it not make sense that if one was improperly on the ballot then so was the other? Perhaps the Supreme Court could or would walk a tight rope and rule that it is too late to challenge the voter identification requirement since it has been in effect for a longer time. In the case of medical marijuana, the city of Madison filed a lawsuit before the November general election challenging the process used to gather the signatures to place the issue on the ballot. When the initiative process was placed in the Constitution in the early 1990s, Mississippi had five congressional districts. To successfully place an initiative on the ballot, signatures must be obtained equally from all five of those districts. The state now has four congressional districts making it mathematically impossible, the city of Madison contends in its ongoing lawsuit, to meet the constitutional mandate. |
SPORTS
| No. 5 Mississippi State baseball walks off with series win over Tulane | |
| Tanner Allen stood shirtless in shallow left field at Dudy Noble Field. His black Mississippi State jersey was left behind somewhere in the mayhem. It didn't matter to Allen. Not after what he just did. Not after striking out in three of his first four plate appearances only to lace a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth through the same patch of grass on which he'd soon celebrate in with his teammates. Minutes after surrendering a one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, No. 5 Mississippi State (5-2) emerged victorious by the same margin thanks to Allen's full-count heroics. The Bulldogs won 5-4 and sent a once-roaring and raucous Green Wave (3-4) team home in shocking fashion. Allen has "It don't matter" written on his glove. He looks at it often to remind himself baseball is a game of opportunity, but he knows he'll always miss the next one if he's looking behind him. Allen was looking straight ahead in the ninth. "The past is the past," Allen said. "It's about being in the moment. Like we say, right here right now. That kind of brought me peace in the batter's box for my last at-bat. Everything that happened before didn't matter. It was all about that moment right there. I was able to lock in and get it done." |
| Tanner Allen singles in ninth to give No. 5 Mississippi State second walk-off win, series victory over Tulane | |
| Perched in the right field grass just below a Ford advertisement adorning on the wall at Dudy Noble Field, Tanner Allen peered down at the wording on his glove. "It don't matter." Allen had the words emblazoned on his mitt as a friendly reminder for days like Sunday. It didn't matter that he'd started the day 0 for 4. It didn't matter that Luis Aviles had obliterated a mammoth home run in the top of the ninth inning to put Tulane ahead. It didn't matter that, on a weekend filled with MSU-induced blunders, the Bulldogs were just a strike away from losing their first home series since March of 2019. It did matter, though, that Allen sat back on a hanging fastball from Tulane reliever Zach DeVito and laced the pitch into center field for a two-out, two-run single that gifted MSU (5-2) its second walk-off win in as many days and with it, a series victory over the visiting Green Wave (3-4). "Everything that happened before didn't matter," Allen said, delivering a sermon of sorts on a memorable Sunday in Starkville. "It was all about that moment right there. I was able to lock in and get it done." That Allen came through Sunday is to little surprise. Head coach Chris Lemonis called him one of the best pure hitters in college baseball. Freshman outfielder Drew McGowan described him as a leader for the younger players to follow. In sum, he's an upperclassman who continues to cement himself into MSU lore amid a season that, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be playing in Starkville. |
| Tanner Allen's walkoff leads Bulldogs over Tulane | |
| There was more ninth-inning magic at Dudy Noble Field on Sunday afternoon. Mississippi State's Tanner Allen hit a two-run walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead No. 5-ranked Mississippi State over Tulane, 5-4. The Bulldogs won the weekend series, 2-1. Allen's walkoff hit came just one day after sophomore catcher Luke Hancock hit a walkoff grand slam to lead MSU over Tulane, 9-5. Allen was 0-4 at the plate before his at-bat with three strikeouts. "We joked in the dugout that I was going to pinch hit for him because he had struck out the last three at-bats," head coach Chris Lemonis said of Allen. "Which was just a joke. There's no way we would ever pinch hit for him. What a great at-bat. He worked the count to his favor and banged a ball. I'm proud of him." |
| Mississippi State baseball game vs. Southern Miss moves to Wednesday | |
 | Mississippi State fans in Jackson will have to wait one more day to see their No. 3 Bulldogs play in person. The Mississippi State (5-2) versus Southern Miss (4-3) game at Trustmark Park in Pearl originally scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. has been moved to Wednesday at the same time, MSU announced Monday morning. The Tuesday forecast in Jackson is cold and rainy with a high of 46 degrees and a 90% chance of rain according to The Weather Channel. Wednesday calls for sunshine and a high of 59 degrees. Mississippi State is coming off a series victory over Tulane. The Bulldogs took two of three against the Green Wave at Dudy Noble Field. The Golden Eagles won two of three over UConn at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. Mississippi State beat Southern Miss in two of three games when the two teams last met in 2019. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 83-42. |
| Recapping Mississippi State softball's weekend at Lone Star State Invitational | |
| Over the weekend in Texas, the Mississippi State softball team faced perhaps the toughest competition it has seen since its 2019 Southeastern Conference slate. The Bulldogs played a doubleheader with a solid small-conference program in Texas State and faced ranked teams in Texas and Baylor, all on the road. They also faced Houston in a neutral-site game Saturday in Austin. And all in all, Mississippi State (8-4) turned in an uneven performance over the weekend at the Lone Star State Invitational. The Bulldogs split with the Bobcats in San Marcos, beat the Cougars and lost to the Longhorns and Bears for a 2-3 performance. "Four of the five games this weekend are true road games," Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said in a news release. "Playing four of five true road games really gets us ready to go into a tough Southeastern Conference schedule. ... They're not always going to be shutout, one-run ballgames. We're going to have to be able to bounce back, score some runs and hold the opponent down. I really think it's something we can move forward from if we're learning from the battle and the lessons we've had early on." On Friday in San Marcos, the Bulldogs were hurt by missed opportunities on offense. On Saturday in Austin, they nearly completed but couldn't quite finish a considerable comeback. On Sunday in Waco, early pitching struggles were too great an obstacle to overcome. |
| LSU women's basketball draws rematch with Mississippi State in SEC tournament | |
| Turns out, the LSU women's basketball team won't have to wait long for a shot at redemption against Mississippi State, which beat the Tigers 68-59 on Thursday in their regular-season finale. After Sunday's final round of Southeastern Conference games, LSU earned the No. 8 seed for this week's SEC tournament and will face the No. 9 seed Bulldogs in the early game Thursday. LSU (8-12, 6-8 SEC) didn't play Sunday because their scheduled opponent, Vanderbilt, opted out of the season because of COVID-19 concerns just three games into the SEC season. Because Vandy isn't playing, the SEC tournament begins Wednesday in Greenville, South Carolina, with a single first-round game: No. 13 Auburn at No. 12 Florida. The SEC game of most consequence Sunday was in College Station, Texas, where No. 3 Texas A&M held off No. 4 South Carolina 65-57 to earn the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed in Greenville. The winner of the LSU-Mississippi State game Thursday will play the Aggies at 10 a.m. Friday in the quarterfinals. |
| Mizzou athletics reports $9 million deficit for 2019-20 fiscal year | |
| Missouri athletics faced a deficit of just under $9 million in the most recent fiscal year, according to its annual NCAA financial report obtained by the Tribune this past week via Sunshine Law request. The report details the department's total expenses and revenues for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which spanned from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. The department reported expenses at $119.1 million compared to $110.2 million in total operating revenues. The main reasons for the deficit are the beginning stages of the coronavirus pandemic and last year's cancellation of the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk said. Missouri also cited $6.7 million (128% increase) in operating expenses not originally planned, including payments for the south end zone scoreboard at Faurot Field, additional taxes and buying out former head football coach Barry Odom. Missouri's football team generated more than $11 million for the school, with operating revenues totaling $39,646,114. A heavy majority of that total came from three sources: ticket sales, the Southeastern Conference's equal distribution of bowl revenue and media rights. Tiger football's operating expenses totaled $28,644,935. |
| GOP calls to restrict student athlete protests contradicts free speech law, expert says | |
| A letter sent to Tennessee universities about student athlete protests may violate a law the same senators supported years ago. State Republican senators sent a letter to nine public universities last week encouraging them to put in policies barring student athletes from being disrespectful toward what the flag and National Anthem represents. The letter says they support students' rights to protest individually, but not when in uniform representing a university. "The First Amendment very much comes into play here," Middle Tennessee State University Free Speech Center Director Ken Paulson said. Paulson said what's most puzzling about this letter is that it goes directly against a Tennessee law supported by many of the same lawmakers years ago. "I don't quite understand why they think this is even possible under the legislation already in place," he said. The Campus Free Speech Protection Act promises all students at Tennessee universities full support to free speech, including protests and demonstrations. It became law in January 2018 and was supported by eight of the same senators who signed this new letter. |
| Can sports fans catch COVID-19 in the stands? It's pretty unlikely local experts say | |
 | Sports fans are pretty safe socially-distanced in the stands, from Nashville Predators games to high school wrestling matches, according to Nashville health experts and Metro Health Department statistics. "They should feel pretty comfortable going to (games)," said Meharry Medical College internal medicine Dr. Calvin Smith, a leading Nashville voice in the fight against COVID-19. Statistics show no coronavirus clusters traced back to the Bridgestone Arena or to any college or high school sporting event in Nashville, Metro Health Department spokesman Brian Todd said. Measures such as severely restricting attendance, distancing fans, limiting or eliminating concessions and staggered arrival and departure times at sports venues have been effective, health experts agreed. Some, though, said statistics showing no virus clusters at sporting events should be taken "with a big grain of salt." Spectators aren't tested right before and after games, and most people get and spread COVID-19 without ever knowing they have it, said Dr. David Aronoff, Vanderbilt's Infectious Diseases Division director. "Not tracing to sporting events rings a bit hollow," Aronoff said. "Part of the reason we're not able to say for certain there's transmission at sporting events is that we're not really looking that hard." |
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