Wednesday, March 31, 2021   
 
Mississippi State receives additional COVID-19 vaccine doses
Mississippi State University is receiving additional COVID-19 vaccines for MSU employees and students. Schedule vaccines now by visiting https://covidvaccine.msstate.edu. These appointments will take place at the Humphrey Coliseum on campus. Students and employees should bring their ID and appointment confirmation when arriving. The university will be offering 1,170 appointments for the Pfizer vaccine and 300 appointments for the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine. The Janssen vaccine only requires one dose. Students who will not be in Starkville the last week of April should consider taking this vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine requires a second dose to reach maximum protection. The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be offered the week of April 26 and May 3. Mississippi State encourages everyone who is eligible to consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals should consult with their physician to discuss questions or concerns about COVID-19 vaccines. More information is available at www.msstate.edu/covid19/vaccine/faq.
 
Starkville-based online retail company receives $100K to grow team, expand marketing
Starkville-based company Rocketing Systems, with its popular online marketing product, Buzzbassador, has received a $100,000 investment to expand its team and marketing strategies. Chief Marketing Officer and one of the Rocketing Systems founders, Shelby Baldwin, said Rocketing Systems contracts with retail businesses to automate influencer marketing, and the company has steadily grown over the past year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment comes from Innovate Mississippi, a nonprofit geared toward cultivating innovative technology and entrepreneurship. Baldwin said the Rocketing Systems has primarily targeted small to medium-sized businesses, but with this $100,000 Seed Fund contribution, it can reach out to larger businesses such as corporations and enterprise-level companies. She said the company also plans on expanding the team of developers in software engineering. Baldwin, along with classmates Calvin Waddy, chief executive officer, and Brandon Johns, chief operations officer, created the idea for Rocketing Systems at Mississippi State University Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach in late 2019. Their original concept began as an online clothing store but eventually grew into the retailer automation software it is today.
 
Former Columbus mayor to soon be Starkville alderman
A former mayor in the Golden Triangle is back in politics. This time, he's running for another office in another city. Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, April 6. Starkville Ward 3 alderman candidate Jeffrey Rupp is unopposed in the primary election and in the June general election. This means he'll soon serve on the Board of Aldermen. He'll replace current alderman David Little. Rupp previously served as the mayor of nearby Columbus. He left office in 2006 during his second term to work for Mississippi State University in Starkville. "Each of those communities has their own personality and their own identity and their own set of strengths and challenges," he said. "So, I'm approaching this a lot differently than I did in Columbus." Rupp plans to work on lowering taxes and fixing infrastructure in his ward.
 
Northeast Mississippi jobless rates falls to 5.2% in February
The unemployment rate in Northeast Mississippi dropped slightly to 5.2% in February, one-tenth of a percentage point lower than January. Estimates by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security showed the state jobless rate last month was 6.1%, down from 6.2% a month earlier. Nationwide, the unemployment rate was 6.6%, down from 6.8%. In the 16 counties comprising Northeast Mississippi, Lafayette County led the way at 4.3%, which was the second-lowest figure statewide. Of the top 10-lowest jobless rates in February, six were in Northeast Mississippi. Joining Lafayette were Union (4.4), Pontotoc (4.6), Itawamba (4.7) and Tishomingo (4.7). Every region in the county was below double digits. Only Clay, at 8%, Benton (6.8), Chickasaw (6.6) and Marshall (6.2) were above the state average. For February, the labor force in Northeast Mississippi -- the number of those employed or actively seeking employment -- was 228,630, or roughly 2,000 more than a month earlier. Nearly 217,000 were employed last month in the region, or about 2,500 more than in January. Oktibbeha County's rate was 5.5%.
 
Belief in American exceptionalism brings Brit to Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Douglas Carswell admits there's some irony to becoming the head of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. The United Kingdom native served in the British Parliament from 2005 to 2017 and helped organize and lead Brexit, the UK's movement to separate from the European Union. Speaking to the Columbus Rotary Club at its weekly meeting Tuesday, he referenced the Battle of Yorktown, which ended the American Revolutionary War against Carswell's home country in 1781. "Talking a little bit about Brexit while I was up for re-election, it comes across that I'm absolutely passionate about liberty, about self-determination," he said. "I wanted for my country what you guys got for your country at Yorktown." Those ideals -- along with a strong belief in American exceptionalism -- led Carswell to Jackson, where he became president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank promoting deregulation and other policies limiting government intervention. Carswell said he had wanted to move to the United States and work in public policy. He looked at some jobs in Washington, D.C., he said, but ultimately took the position in Jackson because he felt he could be more effective on the state level, which he said is where many of the country's best policies have begun.
 
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker Receives Farm Bureau Golden Plow Award for Ag Leadership
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today received the Golden Plow award from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Mississippi Farm Bureau. The Golden Plow is the highest honor the AFBF gives to sitting members of Congress. "I appreciate the American Farm Bureau for their tireless work for our nation's farmers and rural Americans," Wicker said. "I am honored to accept the Golden Plow award, and I will continue to work to expand opportunities for the hardworking people in our agricultural communities." "Our nation needs more leaders like Senator Wicker who stand up for agriculture because our food supply must be protected," AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. "The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how just how important that is." During his tenure as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Wicker worked as a tireless advocate for increasing broadband access to rural communities. "Reliable internet service helps our families stay connected to loved ones and business partners," Duvall continued. "Improved broadband access will help increase the use of precision agriculture technologies to make our farmers and ranchers even more sustainable and competitive in the global market."
 
Mississippi: No extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage
An effort to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage has failed in Mississippi, a state with high rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality. The state's program usually has two months of coverage for women after giving birth. Physicians recommended extending coverage to a full year to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies. Senators approved the extension earlier this year, but the provision was not included in the final version of a Medicaid bill that the House and Senate both passed Tuesday night. "Unfortunately, over on the House side, they didn't have any appetite for it," said Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from DeSoto County. Blackwell said Mississippi has the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S. with just over nine deaths per 1,000 births. He said the state has the 21st highest maternal mortality rate, with about 22 deaths per 100,000 women in the first few months after giving birth. A Kaiser Family Foundation Medicaid Budget Survey found that about 67% of all births in Mississippi in 2017 were covered by Medicaid.
 
Legislature passes home delivery of alcohol. Liquor privatization dead
Lawmakers have passed a measure that would allow home delivery of beer, wine and liquor, similar to grocery deliveries that have become popular, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But a push to privatize Mississippi's liquor warehousing and distribution died this session. House Bill 1135, now before the governor who has not indicated whether he'll sign it into law, would allow home delivery of alcohol from liquor stores and other retailers within 30 miles of the stores. Delivery would not be allowed to any "dry" areas where alcohol sales are prohibited and would be allowed only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, not on Sundays nor on Christmas day. Purchasers would have to be 21 or older, as would delivery drivers. If signed into law, it would take effect July 1.
 
Legislature adds more than $24 million in unrelated projects in conference to Institutes for Higher Learning bond bill
Each year, the Mississippi Legislature usually passes a "Christmas tree" bond bill loaded with earmarks for various districts. This year, the conference committee shoehorned those items into a bill that would fund capital projects at the state's institutes of higher learning. They also removed language that would've started a phaseout of the state's income tax. Senate Bill 2971 would issue $86 million for projects at the state's universities and $35 million for the state's community and junior colleges. In addition to those funds, taxpayers will also be borrowing more than $24 million for projects including Chickasaw Heritage Center in Tupelo will receive $16 million, which is to be matched by the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation, $2 million to build an amphitheater and song writers' museum in Gautier on the grounds of the former Singing River Mall; $1.425 million for repair and renovation of the Columbus City Hall and associated buildings; $1 million for the restoration and renovation of the Old Wesson School in Wesson; and others. That adds up to more than $145 million in new debt for taxpayers. This year's appropriation for debt service will be more than $439 million, which is more than that for the Department of Corrections (more than $323 million) or the Department of Mental Health's general fund appropriation ($214 million).
 
Mississippi proposal would expand the possibility of parole
Mississippi legislators are sending Gov. Tate Reeves a bill that could make more inmates eligible for the possibility of parole in a state one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation. On Tuesday, the Senate voted 35-13 and the House voted 91-25 to pass the final version of Senate Bill 2795. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans, but supporters of the bill said they did not know whether the Republican governor would sign it. Mississippi has some people serving long sentences for nonviolent offenses, and the state's prison system came under Justice Department investigation last year after outbreaks of violence among inmates. Current state law says inmates convicted of some crimes after June 30, 1995, are ineligible for parole. The House Corrections Committee chairman, Republican Kevin Horan of Grenada, said the bill that passed Tuesday would allow the possibility of parole for people convicted of armed robbery.
 
Mississippi lawmakers pass parole reforms, but will Gov. Tate Reeves approve?
Mississippi lawmakers passed bipartisan parole reforms Tuesday that could make about 2,000 inmates newly eligible for release, but Gov. Tate Reeves has not indicated whether he will sign the legislation after rejecting a similar proposal last year. Senate Bill 2795 loosens Mississippi parole regulations, which are among the strictest in the nation and date to the tough-on-crime 1990s. The restrictive laws led to a surge in the prison population, with about two-thirds of Mississippi's 17,000 prisoners still ineligible for early release. "It's just a tool we're using to help (the Mississippi Department of Corrections) to manage behavior, and give these individuals hope," Senate Corrections Chairman Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg, told reporters of the bill. "When people get hope, they tend to do better. "A lot of people are incarcerated because they didn't have no hope in life," Barnett added. "They had nobody to believe in them. So I think a lot of people resort to crimes because there's no other direction." Beyond giving prisoners hope, both Barnett and House Corrections Chairman Kevin Horan, R-Grenada, argued the reforms would save state taxpayers money thanks to a smaller inmate population.
 
Jackson wanted $47 million for water crisis. Lawmakers are providing $3 million
The city of Jackson's request for $47 million from the state for water and sewerage repairs has fallen on deaf ears as lawmakers ink final spending plans for the coming year with only $3 million of $356 million in projects statewide earmarked for a city water plant. But legislative leaders said they're not ignoring the capital city's water crisis. They said tens of millions in federal dollars coming to Mississippi from the COVID-19 American Rescue Act can go to overhauling Jackson's crumbling infrastructure. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the $3 million for the Jackson water plant is one of the largest individual city projects funded by the state for the coming year. Lawmakers have approved a $298 million "Christmas tree" bond bill to borrow money for dozens of projects and economic development grants statewide, including $121 million for colleges and universities projects. They also approved $58 million in projects from the state capital expense fund. Besides the $3 million water project, there are about $1.6 million in smaller city of Jackson projects, such as $500,000 to upgrade the Pete Brown Golf Course. Another lawmaker from Jackson, Sen. John Horhn, said he believes Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's recent public criticism of the state's GOP leadership played a role in the city not receiving more from the state. Horhn unsuccessfully challenged Lumumba for the mayor's seat in the 2017 Democratic city primary.
 
How a 'Radical' Southern Mayor Ran Up Against Reality
On a chilly Friday morning in March, a couple of days after a winter storm swept through the city, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba strode into a parking lot behind city hall, fist-bumped assembled members of the fire department and made his way to a clear podium set in front of four red firetrucks. The weather felt more like London than Mississippi, and Lumumba dressed the part: skinny navy pants, brown houndstooth jacket and matching vest, with beige monk-strap shoes. It had been a rough several weeks for the city. This morning, however, Lumumba had a more pleasant task: "christening" the city's new firetrucks, which he called symbols that "represent the protection of life and property." After a short prayer from a local pastor, the city fire chief picked up a dusty red hose that snaked from a water truck in the back of the parking lot, aimed it squarely at the shiny red fire engines, readied himself for a gush of water, and then, well, nothing. The water didn't come out. In one sense, the moment seemed fitting, even predictable, for Jackson. Economically, the city has been in a long, slow decline for decades. For the mayor in the perfectly tailored outfit, though, the failure of those hoses represents a kind of test.
 
Thousands sign petition calling on Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to repent for Sunday voting comments
More than 11,000 people have signed a petition demanding U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith repent for her comments on Sunday voting, which recently sparked controversy. Faithful America, a Christian social justice organization, launched the petition Friday in response to Hyde-Smith supporting a proposal in Georgia to limit voting and other electoral activities on Sundays. The Rev. Nathan Empsall, campaigns director for the organization, said the senator's comments were clearly targeted and accused Hyde-Smith of using religion for hateful and selfish purposes. "When you target Sunday voting, it's Black and brown voters you're targeting, and there's no way the senator doesn't know that," he said. "If she doesn't know her facts about who votes when, she's derelict in her research and shouldn't be a lawmaker." During a Senate committee hearing on the For the People Act Wednesday, Hyde-Smith suggested people in Southern states kept to strictly religious practices on Sundays. She also cited a Biblical passage that states people should "Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy." Black clergy members in Mississippi and Georgia have denounced the comments because many of their churches traditionally host "Souls to the Polls" events, where congregations march to polling locations following Sunday services.
 
President Biden to propose $2 trillion infrastructure, jobs plan funded by corporate tax hike
resident Joe Biden will unveil a $2 trillion plan Wednesday to rebuild the nation's aging infrastructure, support electric vehicles and clean energy, and boost access to caregivers and their pay in a massive undertaking that would be the centerpiece of his economic agenda. The White House is billing the proposal, dubbed the American Jobs Plan, as a domestic investment not seen in the U.S. since the construction of the interstate highways in the 1950s and the Space Race a decade later. Biden wants to raise taxes on corporations to pay for the eight-year spending package, according to an administration official. He will propose increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% -- resetting to the level before passage of President Donald Trump's tax cuts in 2017 -- and overhauling how the U.S. taxes multinational corporations by increasing the minimum tax on U.S. corporations to 21%. Biden faces a giant challenge politically to find Republican support in Congress for his legislative package, even as infrastructure generally has widespread bipartisan support. Republicans have balked at the suggestion of tax hikes and warned they would oppose a package that strays from core transportation infrastructure and tackles climate change and social justice.
 
Holy days arrive for the faithful as pandemic eases in US
For Christians across the United States, Easter services on Sunday will reflect an extra measure of joy as the nation experiences rising optimism after a year of pandemic. Even if still observing restrictions, many churches may draw the largest numbers of in-person worshippers in months. It's a season of major holy days for other faiths as well, occurring in a brighter mood than a year ago. Jews are observing Passover this week, and Muslims will enter the holy month of Ramadan in about two weeks. In Houston, the Rev. Meredith Mills is eagerly anticipating a return to in-person worship Sunday in the sanctuary of Westminster United Methodist Church. Except for a few Christmastime services that drew a handful of people, the church has been worshipping on its front lawn since October. "Many of our people are two weeks past their second shot of vaccine, so the comfort level is a lot higher now," said Mills, who had her own bout of COVID-19 in January. "It almost feels like we've been in Lent for a year, and we are ready for Easter."
 
Mississippi health officials: Churches should hold off in-person worship
Mississippi health officials are recommending that churches and other religious organizations continue to hold off on hosting indoor worship services during the coronavirus pandemic, even after Gov. Tate Reeves relaxed regulations on other kinds of social gatherings. "To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the vulnerable, the safest options continue to be virtual or outdoor services," the state Health Department said in a news release this week detailing new guidelines for faith-based gatherings and worship. Earlier this month, Reeves, a Republican, rolled back mask mandates on the state level and all capacity regulations for restaurants. As for worship services, health officials say they recommend everyone 65 and older or 16 or older with high-risk medical conditions be fully vaccinated against coronavirus before attending indoor services. All congregants should wear a face mask at all times during in-person services and Sunday school classes and maintain 6 feet of separation from people who don't live in the same house as them. People should not gather in close groups while entering or exiting the building and should use hand sanitizer.
 
Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine protects younger teens
Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall. Most COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults, who are at higher risk from the coronavirus. Pfizer's vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. But vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic -- and helping schools, at least the upper grades, start to look a little more normal after months of disruption. In a study of 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15, preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots, Pfizer reported. It's a small study, that hasn't yet been published, so another important piece of evidence is how well the shots revved up the kids' immune systems. Researchers reported high levels of virus-fighting antibodies, somewhat higher than were seen in studies of young adults. Kids had side effects similar to young adults, the company said. The main side effects are pain, fever, chills and fatigue, particularly after the second dose. The study will continue to track participants for two years for more information about long-term protection and safety.
 
Johnson and Johnson vaccine to be offered on UM campus
The University of Mississippi will begin offering appointments for the single-dose Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday, March 31. The Office of the Provost sent a campus-wide email on Tuesday, giving students, faculty and staff the opportunity to sign up. "Appointments are limited to the supply on hand," the email said. Provost Noel Wilkin wrote in an email that Alex Langhart, the director of university health services, requested the Johnson and Johnson vaccine from the Mississippi State Department of Health in hopes of giving students another vaccination option. "(He) requested it from the Mississippi State Department of Health knowing that students' time to get both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine administered before the end of the semester (because they require a waiting period between doses) is narrowing," Wilkin wrote. Pharmacy students and licensed physicians will administer doses at the Tad Smith Coliseum, and the only times mentioned in the email for Thursday's appointments are from 12:30 p.m. -4:30 p.m. The email also provided a link for anyone who wishes to get vaccinated off campus, and urged all members of the university community to get vaccinated as soon as they can.
 
Southern Miss celebrates Founders' Day
Students, faculty and alumni at the University of Southern Mississippi are celebrating 111 years of the black and gold in the Hub City. Tuesday was the annual Founders' Day celebration at USM. This year, it took place at the new Southern Station at Spirit Park. The Southern Miss Alumni Association hosted the event and it featured live music and other activities. March 30, 1910, was the legislative founding of USM.
 
Can vaccinated young adults still spread COVID-19? Study will pay UF students $900 to find out
The University of Florida is looking to recruit more than 1,000 students ages 18-26 for a nationwide COVID-19 Moderna vaccine study from the National Institutes of Health, officials announced Monday in a press release. Over 20 schools across the U.S. are contributing to the research, but UF is the only one in Florida. The study will determine if college students can still spread the virus after being immunized, and participants will be paid between $700-$900, said Kartik Cherabuddi, principal investigator and infectious disease specialist at UF. It was first announced Friday by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president. "It's so important," Cherabuddi said. "This is the one unanswered question with COVID." Eligible students in the age range can be undergraduates or graduates but cannot have had COVID-19 or been vaccinated already. They also must have regular access to the Gainesville campus as the study requires routine testing, he said. "Our path to normalcy is just getting vaccinated and answering this really important question. We're almost there," said Dr. Michael Lauzardo, deputy director of UF's Emerging Pathogens Institute. "We should be enrolling here very soon. It's a very exciting time to answer very important questions that I think we are all itching to know."
 
U. of Missouri to use NIH grant to look at other aspects of COVID in wastewater
While Marc Johnson and Chung-Ho Lin have been monitoring wastewater samples for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, a new two-year, $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will put the sampling to new uses. Johnson is a professor in the department of molecular microbiology and immunology and an investigator in the Bond Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri. Lin is an associate research professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. The virus can be detected in wastewater by measuring genetic material of the virus in samples. The method is a reliable predictor of COVID-19 trends in a community, because virus particles can show up in wastewater days before an outbreak. With the grant, the MU scientists will collaborate with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to determine how differing levels of the virus can appear in a community's wastewater. The total amount of the grant award will be shared with the state agency.
 
Job Cuts and Stagnant Salaries: A New Report Details the Pandemic's Toll on the Faculty
The number of faculty members shrank in the 2020-21 academic year compared with the year before, according to an annual survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, or CUPA-HR. Pre-pandemic, in the 2019-20 academic year, there was an overall increase in all types of faculty members, with full-time non-tenure-track faculty up the most, at 3.36 percent. But the pandemic reversed the trend of a growing professoriate. Hardest hit, according to the report, were adjunct faculty. Over all, their ranks fell nearly 5 percent. And master's, baccalaureate, and associate-granting institutions cut their adjunct work force by more than 6 percent. Tenure-track faculty fared the worst at associate colleges, with a 7.8-percent decrease among that group at those institutions. The disciplines of library science and leisure and recreational activities had the largest percentage of job losses; each saw their numbers fall by more than 13 percent. The two disciplines with the largest number of faculty members whose jobs were cut over the 2020-21 academic year were business, management, and marketing, as well as and biological and biomedical sciences.
 
Moody's Investors Service: Cyberattacks pose credit risks for higher education
An increase in cyberattacks against colleges and universities, which comes as institutions rely heavily on digital infrastructure to deliver online learning amid the pandemic, is a negative factor weighing on higher education's credit profile, according to Moody's Investors Service. The ratings agency published commentary on risks associated with cyberattacks this week, about two weeks after the FBI issued a warning about rising numbers of cyberattacks against colleges and universities. Attackers can steal sensitive information, block access to essential systems and demand payment before they return access. They have also been known to threaten to publish stolen sensitive information if institutions do not meet their demands. Cyberattacks have disrupted online learning at a number of institutions this year. The attacks pose social risks related to customer relations for colleges and universities when they affect service delivery, delay key events like registration or disrupt virtual classes. They can also pose a financial risk. "University wealth will continue to mitigate much of the financial harm of a cyberattack, but it highlights the attractiveness of the sector to cyber criminals," a Moody's report said. Universities operating large medical centers are also exposed to cyberattacks affecting health care, where attack-related costs are much higher than they are in education.
 
Movement against corporatized campus dining services renewed
Organizers for Real Food Generation, a national group that leads campus-based campaigns to push colleges to break contracts with the "big three" private companies that provide most campus food services -- Aramark, Sodexo and Compass Group -- are experiencing new energy behind their movement and getting results on some campuses. Their successes are occurring as colleges' partnerships with third-party campus dining services providers are attracting renewed scrutiny and criticism and have become intertwined with the national movement for racial justice being led in part by college students. Students and social advocacy groups have long pushed for fairer and more sustainable practices by these companies and called out their mistreatment of employees of color, as well as the connections large food corporations have to American and international prison systems. But the critiques have been amplified by the social justice movement and are resonating with students committed to changing various college policies and practices with which they take issue. The economic recession, widespread unemployment and campus closures caused by the pandemic have also prompted students to more deeply examine how and where their dining dollars are spent.
 
Should College Students Be Prioritized for Covid-19 Vaccines Now?
As the supply of Covid-19 vaccines begins to widen toward meeting the immense demand, some observers have proposed that policy makers put college students close to the top of the list. Christopher R. Marsicano, head of the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, argued in a recent op-ed that vaccinating college students would help protect everyone. "The broader principle in administering vaccine shots equitably is to diminish the risk for those who are most at danger to spread the virus," he wrote. "Vaccinating college students is an effective way to lower that danger, for two major reasons: College students are mobile and spread Covid-19 with them whenever they travel, and they live in congregate living facilities where infection rates are much higher than in other housing setups." Ohio's governor seemed to reference that idea in saying on Monday that the state would work with its colleges to ensure all students would be vaccinated before leaving for summer break (all residents over the age of 16 are currently eligible). Experts contacted by The Chronicle were mixed on whether policies that prioritized college students would be good for public health. The American College Health Association, which has pushed for college students to receive vaccines before the end of the spring term to prevent them from spreading the coronavirus as they disperse over the summer, is now advocating for an even earlier timeline, assuming there are ample doses available.
 
Where and how gender and caregiving intersect for professors during COVID-19
Numerous recent studies highlight the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate blow to female academics' productivity. Other studies highlight the pandemic's toll on academics who are caregivers. A new study of thousands of professors from Ithaka S&R, out today, highlights the particular struggles of female caregivers working in academe -- and what institutions can do to help them. First, a question: Why does another study on this topic matter, especially now that people are getting vaccinated and colleges are planning for a return to something like normal come fall? The answer? Experts say that given the time-consuming nature of academic research and the relatively prolonged academic publishing cycle, female academic caregivers are likely to be feeling the professional effects of the last 12 months for a long time. And while more data are almost always better data, as far as academics are concerned, each new paper hopefully encourages institutions to develop and honor meaningful policy changes. "Delays to planned research will inevitably delay research publications, which in turn will impact tenure and promotion prospects," said study co-author Christine Wolff-Eisenberg, manager of research and surveys at Ithaka. So while instruction and student learning "might look relatively more normal in the fall, trends related to research productivity and employment are likely to impact women and caregiver academics for years to come."
 
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona suspends collection of 1 million federal student loans in default
The Biden administration on Tuesday halted the collection of more than 1 million federally guaranteed student loans, extending relief to a subset of the borrowers who have been left out of the government's unprecedented freeze on loan payments and interest over the past year. The Education Department said that it would pause the collection for all borrowers who have defaulted on student loans that are guaranteed by the federal government but held by a private entity. It also will set the interest rate to 0 percent on those loans. "Our goal is to enable these borrowers who are struggling in default to get the same protections previously made available to tens of millions of other borrowers to help weather the uncertainty of the pandemic," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. Cardona's action on Tuesday applies only to borrowers who have defaulted on their federally guaranteed loans made by private lenders under the Federal Family Education Loan program. It does not affect approximately 5 million borrowers who are not in default on their loans under that program.
 
As Pandemic Upends Teaching, Fewer Students Want to Pursue It
Few professions have been more upended by the pandemic than teaching, as school districts have vacillated between in-person, remote and hybrid models of learning, leaving teachers concerned for their health and scrambling to do their jobs effectively. For students considering a profession in turmoil, the disruptions have seeded doubts, which can be seen in declining enrollment numbers. A survey by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education found that 19 percent of undergraduate-level and 11 percent of graduate-level teaching programs saw a significant drop in enrollment this year. And Teach for America, which recruits recent college graduates to teach in low-income schools across the country, said it had received fewer applications for its fall 2021 corps compared with this period last year. Many program leaders believe enrollment fell because of the perceived hazards posed by in-person teaching and the difficulties of remote learning, combined with longstanding frustrations over low pay compared with professions that require similar levels of education. But the challenges in teacher recruitment and retention run deeper: The number of education degrees conferred by American colleges and universities dropped by 22 percent between 2006 and 2019, despite an overall increase in U.S. university graduates, stoking concerns about a future teacher shortage.
 
'I'm empty.' Pandemic scientists are burning out -- and don't see an end in sight
When not caring for COVID-19 patients -- her latest was a man with bacterial lung and blood infections superimposed on SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia -- Krutika Kuppalli has been helping oversee the rollout of pandemic vaccines at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where she's an infectious disease physician. She has also been meeting with vaccine-hesitant hospital staff, sitting on a committee that reviews all planned COVID-19 clinical trials at MUSC, applying for funding to study patients with Long COVID, and handling online harassment that has followed her numerous media appearances and two rounds of congressional testimony last summer. Asked recently during a Zoom interview how she is doing, she paused for nearly 20 seconds, struggling to regain her composure. "We have been busting our butts for 12, 14 months," she says. "I just feel I'm empty." From academic research centers to intensive care units (ICUs) to scientific journals to government agencies, scientists fighting the pandemic say they are hitting a wall, 15 months after the first report of a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, introduced the virus that would upend their lives.
 
Texas was Larry McMurtry's connection to Mississippi's Willie Morris
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: The passing of iconic Texas novelist, screenwriter and antiquarian bookseller Larry McMurtry at age 84 on March 25 will mean different things to different fans of his prolific writing life. Some will remember retired Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call from the 1986 Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lonesome Dove" novel and the series of books and television mini-series it spawned. Or the Latin inscription on the Hat Creek Cattle Company sign that eventually marks Gus's grave: "Uva Uvam Vivenda Varia Fit -- The grape changes its hue (ripens) when it sees another grape." Others will remember the tearjerker treatment of McMurtry's novel in the Academy Award-winning 1983 film "Terms of Endearment," starring Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson and Deborah Winger. ... For me, McMurtry's death brings to mind one of my favorite characters from contemporary American literature --- Duane Moore. The world met Duane in the 1966 novel "The Last Picture Show" as a high school bad boy in the small Texas town of Thalia. ... McMurtry was a prolific, gifted writer with varied interests and phenomenal reach in his professional and artistic pursuits. But his friendship with Mississippi author and editor Willie Morris was a springboard for some of his success. I met McMurtry in Oxford years ago at the Ole Miss Faculty Row bungalow occupied by Morris during his teaching days there. The connection between Morris and McMurtry flowed back to their days together when Willie -- a Rhodes Scholar -- edited The Texas Observer in the early 1960s and later when Willie was editor of Harper's. Willie had a keen eye for writing talent and nurtured good writers with assignments that helped them grow.


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State's Ashley Gilliam Set For 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur
Mississippi State's Ashley Gilliam will tee off for the first round of the prestigious 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur, played at the home of The Masters, on Wednesday. "It is such an honor to be able to compete in the Augusta National Women's Amateur," said Gilliam. "It has been a goal of mine since the tournament was announced, and I'm very excited for this week. I can't wait to represent Mississippi State and fulfill my dream of playing this course." Gilliam, currently No. 181 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), joins the competitive international field of 85 women amateurs for the second edition of this event. She will tee off at 6:45 a.m. CT on Hole 1. Fans can follow along with the updated leaderboard throughout the entire event. The event will run from March 31 until April 3 (one week before The Masters). The first and second rounds of the tournament will be played at the Champions Retreat Golf Club. The field of 82 will be cut to 30 finalists prior to the final round, which will be played at the world-famous Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday. All participants in the tournament will practice on the course on Friday regardless of the cut.
 
In-State Foe Southern Miss On Tap For Midweek Tilt
The longest road stretch of the season continues for Mississippi State softball on Wednesday, when the Bulldogs head to Hattiesburg for an in-state contest. MSU will play at Southern Miss at 6 p.m. CT, and the game will stream for free on C-USA TV. The Bulldogs (15-14, 0-9 SEC) have returned to form, scoring 10 runs over their last two games. Fa Leilua and Mia Davidson have begun to heat up with both homering over the weekend. Leilua leads the team in on-base percentage over the last 10 games while Davidson is slugging .538 in that span. Davidson continues her run at the MSU career home run title for both baseball and softball. There are only two legendary student-athletes left that have outslugged her. The senior is one homer shy of Will Clark's 61, and she needs seven to match Rafael Palmeiro (67) for the all-time record. A pair of sophomores has helped spark the State lineup in recent weeks. Brylie St. Clair started every game at Arkansas this weekend and is hitting .318 on the year, which ranks fourth on the team. Paige Cook is the fifth Bulldog batting above .300 with a .306 mark that improves to a team-leading .333 in SEC play.
 
PREVIEW: Volleyball Welcomes Georgia to Close Season
The final chapter of a unique 2020-21 Mississippi State volleyball season will be written this week. Mississippi State (4-14, 4-14 SEC) will conclude its season when it hosts Georgia (7-13, 7-13 SEC) Wednesday and Thursday (March 31-April 1) in a two-match series in the Newell-Grissom Building. The series was originally scheduled for January 29-30, but was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Georgia program. Fans can watch both matches on the SEC Network+ digital platform, with first serve coming at 1 p.m. CT both days. The Bulldogs will look to continue to build upon the growth it has seen through this third year of the Julie Darty Dennis era. The 2020-21 season has seen ranked wins on the road at No. 7 Texas A&M in November, a breakout season from junior Gabby Waden and the addition of many talented newcomers. Georgia is coming off of a series sweep of Ole Miss, in which both matches went to five sets. Head coach Tom Black's group is especially strong at the net, ranking No. 4 in the SEC in blocks (2.18 per set).
 
UK Baseball narrowly defeats Bellarmine 4-3
Coming off a huge SEC series sweep at Auburn last weekend, the Kentucky baseball team returned to Lexington tonight to take on the in-state Bellarmine Knights. The Knights found the scoreboard first. Clayton Mehlbauer took advantage of the wind with a solo home run to left field in the first inning giving Bellarmine a 1-0 lead. The 'Cats wouldn't trail for long, though. John Rhodes smashed a two RBI bomb in the bottom of the inning to give Kentucky a one-run lead. It was a big night for Rhodes, who went on to drive in a third run in the bottom of the second with a SAC fly to left field that just barely stayed in play. Though Kentucky was picked to finish near last in the SEC, the gritty 'Cats have more than beat the odds thus far this season. Last weekend's trio of wins was the first conference sweep for UK since 2017, only the second road sweep since 2008 and just the 13th sweep of an SEC series since 2000. The Wildcats will face their biggest challenge of the season this weekend as they travel to Starkville to take on No. 7 Mississippi State, who dropped in the polls this week after being swept by No. 2 Arkansas.
 
ON A WING AND A PRAYER: Wood and Windham take Drake Waterfowl sky high
"Crack of dawn" winter mornings, miserable weather and freezing water -- nirvana to a duck hunter. Duck hunters themselves, Tate Wood and childhood friend Bobby Windham, Jr. earn their living making that hardiest breed of outdoorsmen comfortable in the foulest of conditions. You might say the two former high school football teammates are joined at the hip waders. Two self-professed "Mississippi Delta country boys", Wood and Windham grew up in the heart of the Mississippi Flyway, the bird migration route which starts in central Canada and runs right through the middle of North America along the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2001, the Greenwood native sons co-founded waterfowl hunting apparel and accessories company Drake Waterfowl on literally a wing and a prayer. Two decades later, Olive Branch-based Drake Waterfowl has expanded into fishing (Drake Performance Fishing), turkey hunting ('Ol Tom), deer hunting (Non-Typical), outdoors lifestyle (Casual) and college sports (Collegiate) apparel. The company carries hundreds of products, from hunting jackets and vests, to aluminum duck blinds and hip waders. None other than venerable outdoors magazine Field & Stream listed Drake Waterfowl as one of the publication's "Top Brands."
 
JSU football stadium study among state budget items
Mississippi lawmakers are in the final stages of the legislative session but have already approved millions of dollars for projects across the state. Included in the budget is nearly $300 million in bond projects, ranging from museums to roads. Also, $250,000 is now set aside to study the possibility of building new football stadium for Jackson State University. JSU plays football at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The university uses it but doesn't own it. The state has now approved a quarter of a million dollars to study what it would cost to build a new stadium on or right near the Jackson State campus. Seven years ago, JSU tried to push a dome stadium, and that failed. JSU President Thomas Hudson said a new open-air stadium would have multiple benefits for the city and the university. The state has long had plans for tearing down Memorial Stadium and developing a research park for the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The JSU stadium plan is still in the beginning stages, but a study would give them something to work with, and that includes who would pay for this stadium.
 
'Denying humanity': Advocates discuss law that bans trans athletes from female sports teams
In mid-March, Mississippi lawmakers passed a law banning transgender girls and women at public schools and colleges from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. It was necessary, Gov. Tate Reeves said the day he signed the bill, because Democratic President Joe Biden, by issuing an executive order banning gender-identity-based discrimination in school sports, was "encouraging transgenderism amongst children." The bill's author, Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, said several high school softball coaches told her they were concerned about trans female students participating on teams with cisgender girls. "They told me that it is imminent, that it's going to happen in Mississippi," Hill told the Picayune Item. Yet when asked by reporters, neither Hill nor Reeves could name a single instance of a trans student in Mississippi outcompeting -- or even playing on the same team as -- their cis female classmates. Mississippi Today recently spoke with five advocates for trans rights in Mississippi about gender identity and religion in the Deep South, the political origins of Senate Bill 2536, and their vision for a more trans-inclusive state.
 
Women's Basketball Coaches Association asks NCAA president for gender inequity commission
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association sent a letter to NCAA president Mark Emmert stating the external review he announced after disparities surfaced between the men's and women's basketball tournaments was "insufficient to meet the needs of the WBCA's member coaches." In the letter, obtained by ESPN, the WBCA instead asks for an independent "Commission on Gender Inequity in College Sports" to be led by individuals chosen by the WBCA and NCAA. "The scope of the commission's inquiry must include an in-depth review of the NCAA's organizational structure, its governance of women's and men's sports, and its administration of women's and men's championships with a focus on the documented inequities that exist with the treatment of women's basketball," the WBCA letter states. Last week, the NCAA announced it had hired a law firm to conduct an independent gender-equity review of its championships across all three divisions and for all sports. In a letter dated the same day the inquiry was announced, the WBCA fired back, noting the external review was insufficient.
 
Pac-12 commissioner search: Presidents open to conference structure 'seen in several professional sports leagues'
The Pac-12 presidents are open to hiring a commissioner who would transform the conference's business structure and implement a model used by professional leagues, according to the job description published by the search firm assisting the process. The description includes the following passage: "While historically intercollegiate conference offices have been focused on sport operations and the business of the 'collective,' the Pac-12 is open to a more modern conference structure and approach which can be seen in several professional sports leagues." The specifics of that approach focus on assisting campuses with opportunities "in their unique local markets" and are spelled out in the document posted on the TurnkeyZRG website. Turnkey was hired to lead the search following the Jan. 20 announcement that the Pac-12 would part ways with commissioner Larry Scott this summer, one year before the expiration of his contract. Overall, the job description is highly on-brand for the conference. The framing of the job description indicates that Turnkey, which assisted the ACC on its commissioner search last year, is pushing the Pac-12 presidents to cast the widest possible net.
 
Poll: Less than half of Americans feel comfortable attending sports in person
As Major League Baseball opens its new season under a lingering coronavirus cloud and NBA and NHL teams begin making a final push for the playoffs, less than half of Americans say they would feel comfortable attending a live sporting event, according to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll. Baseball's Opening Day is Thursday, and stadiums across the country will open their gates and welcome back fans with a range of restrictions and protocols in place, including mask mandates and caps on attendance. While 42 percent of Americans are comfortable attending a live, ticketed sporting event in general -- compared with 40 percent who are not and 18 percent who are unsure -- people say their own comfort levels vary widely based on conditions. About two-thirds say they would feel comfortable attending an outdoor event such as baseball (66 percent), but less than half as many (32 percent) feel comfortable attending an indoor event such as basketball. Nearly 2 in 3 people (64 percent) say they would feel comfortable if all attendees were required to wear masks, compared with 22 percent who would feel comfortable if there was no mask requirement.
 
Supreme Court's NCAA Case Could Sweep Beyond Athletics
The Supreme Court's long-awaited case examining NCAA limits on compensating college athletes has clear implications for the sports world, but could also test U.S. antitrust law at a time of national debate about whether courts and lawmakers should do more to protect competition. The justices on Wednesday will hear arguments in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's appeal of lower-court rulings that found the governing body of college athletics violated a core provision of antitrust law that bars all contracts and combinations that restrain commerce. Judges ruled the NCAA unlawfully suppressed competition for college athletes by strictly limiting the kinds of offers that schools could make for their talents. Those rulings didn't require the NCAA to remove all compensation limits, but did say the association must allow colleges to compete for athletes by offering them a broader array of school-related compensation and benefits, as long as they are tied to education. That potentially opens the door to additional benefits such as postgraduate scholarships, internships, computer equipment and study-abroad programs, or limited cash awards for academic achievement. The case comes amid a revolution for college sports, as the NCAA prepares -- regardless of the Supreme Court's decision in the case it hears this week -- to bow in the face of years of pressure and allow current college athletes to earn money from the use of their name, image and likeness. State legislatures are among those pushing for change and Congress also is considering the issue.



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