| Thursday, April 29, 2021 |
| More Than 200 Participate In Walk At Lunch | |
 | Dozens of people took advantage of the sunny spring day to take a walk. Starkville company Camgian hosted its annual "Walk At Lunch Day" Wednesday in the Thad Cochran Research Park. The company partnered with other businesses and organizations for the two-hour event to promote healthy living. Vendors were set up throughout the park with information on healthy lifestyle choices. Participants also donated canned goods to be distributed to Starkville food banks. Around 250 people participated in the walk. This is the fourth year Camgian has hosted the event. |
| Clair Huff, Derron Radcliff to join Hardin Foundation board | |
 | The Phil Hardin Foundation, Mississippi's oldest education philanthropy, recently named two new members to its Board of Directors. Clair Huff, a longtime educator, and Derron Radcliff, a career nonprofit executive, will join the board of the Meridian-based foundation in June. Both are Meridian natives. Huff is currently Assistant Director of Education and Programming at the Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian. A graduate of the University of Mississippi with a Master's in Educational Leadership from Mississippi College, she spent 20 years as a teacher and administrator for Meridian Public Schools. Radcliff has served as Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of East Mississippi since 2018. A Mississippi State University graduate, he holds an MBA from Alcorn State University with a concentration in Hospitality Management. He served from 2006 until 2018 as Manager of the MSU Riley Center's Box Office and Patron Services and prior to that managed a Meridian restaurant for several years. He is currently an undergraduate instructor/facilitator at Mississippi State University-Meridian. |
| Starkville partners with TVA on solar energy initiative | |
 | Starkville Utilities Department has partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to become the first municipality in the state of Mississippi to sign an agreement to create local renewable energy. Through the Green Invest agreement, SUD bought 30 megawatts of a potential 200 offered, which will equal to 15 percent of Starkville's annual electricity consumption. SUD General Manager Terry Kemp said this agreement will be a part of the company's dedicated portfolio for the Starkville power supply and provide a clean and cost-effective renewable energy option for customers. Kemp said Green Invest will not cause prices to increase for customers or drastically affect the utility's cost to purchase power from TVA, but it could help alleviate potential costs in the future. TVA spokesperson Scott Fiedler said Green Invest generates economic development in cities that adopt the agreement. He said a primary goal of companies that want to relocate is sustainability. Green Invest allows cities to invest in solar energy, and in turn makes their communities more attractive by giving some of their energy to companies that want to relocate there. |
| Former CVS employee arrested for threat against Starkville store | |
| A former employee of the CVS pharmacy in Starkville faces a felony charge for posting a terroristic threat toward the store on social media. Orson Shelton, 53, of West Point, was arrested Saturday for "unlawfully and willingly" making threats on social media after he had resigned from the Starkville store on Highway 12 on April 20. According to the arrest affidavit, Shelton's post read, "When a person is passed over or feels unappreciated on their jobs, a work place shooting may be eminent. OK?" Both the Starkville and West Point locations closed Thursday due to the threat, but both were reopened the next day. Store management at the locations would not comment to The Dispatch and CVS corporate media relations did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Shelton is being held in Oktibbeha County Jail with bond set at $100,000. |
| US economy accelerated at a robust 6.4% rate last quarter | |
 | Powered by consumers, the U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate last quarter -- a show of strength fueled by government aid and declining viral cases that could drive further gains as the nation rebounds with unusual speed from the pandemic recession. Thursday's report from the Commerce Department estimated that the nation's gross domestic product -- its total output of goods and services -- accelerated in the January-March quarter from a 4.3% annual gain in the final quarter of 2020. Growth in the current April-June period is expected to be faster still, potentially reaching a 10% annual pace or more, led by an increase in people willing and able to travel, shop, dine out and otherwise resume their spending habits. Economists say that widespread vaccinations, the reopening of more businesses, a huge infusion of federal spending and healthy job gains should help sustain steady growth. For 2021 as a whole, they expect the economy to expand close to 7%, which would mark the fastest calendar-year growth since 1984. A major reason for the brightening expectations is the record-level spending that is poised to flow into the economy. |
| 'Relic from the past': Lawmakers examine Mississippi felony voting prohibitions | |
 | House Judiciary B Chair Nick Bain, R-Corinth, questions the logic of why at least some of the people convicted of felonies permanently lose their voting rights unless they are restored by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature. "People convicted for bad checks -- why do they have to jump through hoops to get their rights back?" Bain asked. Bain hopes to explore that question and others during hearings of his Judiciary B Committee before the Legislature convenes in January for the 2022 session. Bain said he is not sure how he feels about the provision in the state constitution that permanently disenfranchises people convicted of some felonies, but not those convicted of some other crimes. But he said people convicted of at least some of the lesser crimes should not face lifetime disenfranchisement. Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Water Valley, agrees. "A person can lose his voting rights at 18 for stealing a lawnmower and not have that right back at 81 unless it is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature," said Reynolds, who nearly every year files legislation to end the lifetime disfranchisement for many convicted of felonies. While that 18-year-old would lose his voting-rights forever, under the Mississippi Constitution people convicted of some other crimes, such as being a major drug dealer, could continue to vote even while incarcerated. |
| Two coastal restoration projects totaling $68.5M get approval | |
 | Nearly $70 million has been approved for two restoration projects on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that will help improve water quality and enhance the coastal habitat for fish and wildlife. Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that the RESTORE Council approved a plan that includes the two restoration projects for Mississippi, as well as five additional projects in the Gulf of Mexico that will also benefit the coast. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is managing the two restoration projects, which include the Coastal Nearshore Habitat Restoration and Development Program, and the Water Quality Improvement Program for Coastal Mississippi Waters. "I am pleased the RESTORE Council is moving forward with these restoration projects including two projects in Mississippi. These projects will improve our Gulf Coast's water quality and enhance coastal habitat for fish and wildlife that are so vital to commercial and recreational opportunities," said Reeves. The Coastal Nearshore Habitat Restoration and Development Program will receive $34.6 million. The remaining $34.25 million will go towards the Water Quality Improvement Program for Coastal Mississippi Waters. |
| Most of Mississippi's 65 and older population is vaccinated | |
| Almost two-thirds of Mississippi residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, state health officials said Wednesday. Still, overall numbers of inoculations are lagging in recent weeks -- a reflection of a lack of buy-in on the vaccine from young people. "We knew that we were going to have trouble getting younger folks immunized," said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, who described the effort as a "continued uphill climb." More than 132,000 people in Mississippi were vaccinated the week of Feb. 27, according to the state Department of Health. Since then, numbers of vaccinations have dropped each week. Last week, around 74,400 were vaccinated in the state. Nearly 770,000 Mississippi residents are fully vaccinated, over one-third of whom are over 65, according to the department. Fewer than 200,000 are under the age of 40. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said the state is seeing minimal increases in the number of coronavirus cases. The state's latest seven-day average was about 240 cases a day, an increase from a daily average in the low hundreds earlier this month. |
| Mississippi gives go-ahead for Johnson & Johnson shots | |
| Mississippi state health officials say they will allow clinics to continue using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because they believe the benefits outweigh any potential risk. WJTV-TV reports that health officials on Wednesday said hospitals will distribute fact sheets to those signed up for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine regarding side effects and options for other vaccines. U.S. health officials recently lifted an 11-day pause in distribution of the vaccine to investigate rare cases of people getting blood clots after receiving it. "The important piece of that is to make sure people are aware of the small risk that has been seen primarily in women 18-49 years of age," State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. "Make them aware there are other vaccines." Almost two-thirds of Mississippi residents 65 and older have now received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Still, overall numbers of inoculations are lagging in recent weeks, reflecting a lack of buy-in on the vaccine by young people. |
| Former Trump aide targets Black farmer debt relief with lawsuit | |
 | An organization led by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller is suing the Agriculture Department over the definition of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers that Congress used to create a $4 billion debt relief plan for minority farmers. Republican opponents of the debt forgiveness plan that was included in a March pandemic recovery law had warned that excluding whites would lead to a lawsuit. Supporters of the debt forgiveness provisions acknowledged that a legal challenge was possible, but said forgiveness of 120 percent of debts was necessary to redress the cumulative effects of discrimination that limited opportunities for Black and other minority farmers to run or expand their operations. The Agriculture Department is in the process of moving forward with the debt provisions and using $1 billion to expand and build the network of institutions and organizations to work with minority farmers. The lawsuit challenges Sections 1005 and 1006 of the pandemic relief law as unconstitutional for using a 1990 farm bill that defines socially disadvantaged agricultural producers as those "subjected to racial or ethnic prejudices because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities." Producers who are African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Asian or Pacific Islander are covered. |
| Many Americans are lactose intolerant. A federal lawsuit challenges USDA dietary guidelines on dairy. | |
 | A federal agency has just been sued for urging Americans to go big on milk, cheese and other dairy. Three doctors filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its guidance in December suggesting that Americans consume three servings of dairy each day. The doctors allege in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that the dietary guidelines contradict current scientific and medical knowledge, harming the quarter of Americans who are lactose-intolerant. They also suggest that the USDA is looking out for the interests of the meat and dairy industries rather than the health of Americans. A spokesman for the USDA said the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has sued the USDA after the release of the past two dietary guidelines, called the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are issued every five years, and that the lawsuits have been dismissed. |
| 'America is not a racist country,' Tim Scott says in Republican rebuttal to Biden's speech | |
 | U.S. Sen. Tim Scott defended the country's record on race as one of opportunity and optimism on Wednesday in response to President Joe Biden's first joint address to Congress. The 15-minute speech by Scott, the only African American Republican in the Senate, comes at a pivotal moment for the GOP as they are looking to find holes in Biden's initial popularity while chipping away at Democrats' narrow majorities in Washington. Biden didn't shy away from discussing the open wounds in the country in terms of racism, saying the greatest threat to the homeland is white supremacy. Scott didn't downplay the country's racial and ethnic differences, but said Democrats ignore the country's strides over the past century for political and financial gain. "Hear me clearly," he said. "America is not a racist country." Scott used the GOP rebuttal to continue a theme he started earlier in the week about how there is unity in the country's diversity, claiming that Republicans have supported policies that have reformed the criminal justice system and opened the economy to all Americans regardless of race. Scott being chosen as the lawmaker responding to the president comes at a critical time for the country and the South Carolina senator, who is in the spotlight as the lead GOP negotiator for a proposal to overhaul police procedures. |
| Rudy under fire: Former mayor's New York home and office raided by the Feds | |
 | The Justice Department sharply escalated an investigation into former President Donald Trump's longtime confidant and lawyer Rudy Giuliani Wednesday by executing search warrants at his Manhattan home and office. The actions were part of a long-running probe into Giuliani's dealings with a shadowy cast of characters in Ukraine during Trump's presidency. The FBI also arrived Wednesday morning at the D.C.-area home of another attorney who had dealings with Ukrainians and remains close to Giuliani and Trump, Victoria Toensing, and took her cellphone pursuant to a search warrant, according to a person familiar with the episode. Toensing's home was not searched and officials indicated that she is not a focus of the probe, the person said. The raids are a highly unusual intrusion into a former president's inner circle and a rare case of law enforcement deploying such aggressive tactics against attorneys. The high-profile moves appeared to signal the end of a months-long disagreement between federal prosecutors in Manhattan and officials at Justice Department headquarters in Washington about whether to intensify the investigation of Giuliani. |
| USM prepares for in-person graduation ceremonies | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Hattiesburg plans to hold an in-person graduation in May 2021. Dr. Amy Chasteen, executive vice provost at USM, said staff and students showed great resilience throughout the 2020-2021 school year. "Everyone has pulled together to make sure that students continue learning and faculty continue researching, and we can all maintain that community feel that's so important here," she stated. Last year, Southern Miss held a virtual ceremony for graduates due to the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm definitely thankful for the university by taking the proper measures throughout the rest of the year, so we can be able to do something like this for our graduating seniors," said Dr. Chasteen. Chael Williams, a senior at USM said, "It definitely means the world to me that my mom and my sister and my fiance are going to be able to support me, and it's not going to be through a computer screen." The school's graduation ceremonies will be spread out across multiple days with different time slots for graduates to walk across the stage. Social distancing and face masks will be required at the events. |
| USM College of Nursing to hold recognition and pinning ceremony at Hattiesburg church | |
 | Nursing students at the University of Southern Mississippi eagerly await graduation next week, but it's not just the graduation ceremony they look forward to. "We have what we call a recognition and pinning ceremony," said Dr. Elizabeth Tinnon, director of the USM School of Professional Nursing Practice. USM officials say they were unsure how the ceremony would look this year, but a Hattiesburg church is lending a helping hand due to its large space. "We thought that we were going to be limited this time, but Temple Baptist Church, we reached out to them," Tinnon said. "We're actually going to do our recognition and pinning there." Tinnon says the ceremony is a special moment for graduating nurses. "There is a very special, sacred moment when you receive your nursing pin from USM and your recognition," Tinnon said. She notes though some faculty members will not be at graduation because of COVID-19 restrictions, students are excited they will be there for the pinning ceremony. "There's that moment when it's nurse to nurse because it is their faculty that is giving them the pin," Tinnon said. "And it's like passing that on. So, it's a very special moment and our students said that is the one thing they really want their family to see." |
| 'Frightened To Death': Cheerleader Speech Case Gives Supreme Court Pause | |
 | Facing its biggest student speech case in a half century, the Supreme Court seemed to be looking for a narrow exit door on Wednesday. At issue was whether schools may punish students for speech that occurs online and off campus but may affect school order. The case has been billed as the most important student speech case since 1969. That landmark ruling came at the height of the Vietnam War. Mary Beth Tinker and four other students went to court after they were suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the war. By a vote of 7-to-2 the high court ruled at the time for the first time that kids do have First Amendment free speech rights at school, unless school officials reasonably forecast it will cause disruptions. Wednesday's case did not involve such serious speech. It was brought by Brandi Levy, a 14-year-old high school cheerleader, who failed to win a promotion from the junior varsity cheer team to the varsity. Brandi's post hit school like a small town, social media bomb; the school deemed the post disruptive to cheerleader morale and suspended her from the team for the rest of the year. The ACLU took her case to court, claiming that her free speech rights had been violated. And on Wednesday, the Supreme Court faced a question that did not exist in 1969: Can schools punish students for their online but off campus speech? |
| AU reports 7 new COVID-19 cases as vaccines increase | |
| Auburn University saw only seven self-reported COVID-19 cases between April 12-18, under half of the reported number from the previous week. All seven cases occurred on Auburn's main campus and were reports from student, staff, and other faculty members. There were 427 COVID tests conducted through the University's sentinel testing program from April 12-18 which returned with a 0.2% overall positivity rate. The previous three weeks had seen the same results in terms of positivity. For the week of April 12-18, an average of 1.5 students were in quarantine housing, while an average of 0.5 students were being placed in isolation housing. In the previous four weeks, an average of zero students were in quarantine housing, with isolation numbers fluctuating. Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Med Clinic, released his last COVID update before the summer begins. "This semester has gone better," Kam said. "We are in good shape right now." As graduation approaches and relatives travel to Auburn to see their loved ones, Kam encouraged people to continue to distance themselves from others, sanitize their hands, and wear a mask whenever possible- whether indoors or outdoors. |
| How an LSU board proposal has prompted new fury from F. King Alexander, past LSU officials | |
 | Former LSU President F. King Alexander, former Athletic Director Joe Alleva and a group of past and present members of LSU's Board of Supervisors are relitigating 2013, pointing fingers at one another over who bears the blame for the university's eight-years-long burial of sexual harassment allegations involving former head football coach Les Miles. Disagreements among LSU's former brass and legal counsel have been escalating since LSU's release last month of a report from the law firm Husch Blackwell about the mishandling of sexual misconduct on campus, including the Miles scandal. The shock waves have pulsed across the country: Under pressure, Alexander resigned from his new job as Oregon State University president, Miles "parted ways" with the University of Kansas and the Baton Rouge law firm Taylor Porter was fired after 80 years of representing LSU. But while the current LSU board attempts to manage the fallout, former university officials have said in interviews with The Advocate | The Times-Picayune and in emails and documents that they are frustrated with how things have played out. One new measure in particular has ruffled feathers: an LSU board resolution that would express disapproval of the three former LSU board members who participated in the 2013 investigation -- Hank Danos, Stanley Jacobs and Bobby Yarborough -- and who did not tell the rest of the board at time. The resolution, which is still being drafted, won't name the three former board members, but will spell out that in the future, all board members will have to be notified of such information. |
| Fulbright statue, designation at U. of Arkansas, Fayetteville need to go, panel says | |
| A University of Arkansas, Fayetteville committee has recommended the removal of a statue of former U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright from its campus location and that his name be stripped from the university's arts and sciences college. The committee -- comprised of students, faculty and staff members, and alumni -- also recommended that the name of a former Arkansas governor, Charles Brough, be removed from a campus dining hall. A committee review of their legacies included examining Fulbright's stance on integration and civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, and Brough's role in the 1919 Elaine Massacre. In a statement posted Wednesday on UA's website, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz said the next steps for the campus include "gathering feedback on the recommendations, considering additional input and perspectives from a wide range of university stakeholders, including faculty, staff, alumni and students." A university statement said the feedback process will conclude in late May and that any name changes must be approved by the university system's board of trustees. |
| Tensions Over Campus Sexual Assault Roil U. of Arkansas | |
 | Amid a fresh wave of national attention on campus sexual assault, accusations are swirling at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where the official responsible for handling those matters has resigned, and student leaders say the administration has repeatedly failed to support victims. Campus outrage reached a peak last week when Gillian Gullett, a 2020 graduate, found out -- from a reporter, not the university -- that Arkansas had paid a $20,000 settlement to the now-former student she accused of sexual assault in 2017. Joseph E. Steinmetz, Arkansas's chancellor, agreed this week to five demands outlined in a petition prompted by news of the settlement, which called for hiring more trauma-informed staff to handle sexual-assault cases and more required prevention training for students, among other things. What's happening at Arkansas is emblematic of the debates gaining steam at colleges nationwide, as Title IX -- the gender-equity law that governs how campuses handle reports of sexual assault -- comes under scrutiny. Last month, Arkansas's fellow Southeastern Conference member, Louisiana State University, came under fire for widespread failures in handling sexual-misconduct reports, especially in athletics. |
| U. of Tennessee resumes Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine | |
 | After a two-week pause, providers across the country -- including the University of Tennessee at Knoxville -- have resumed use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. The single shot is an easier-to-use tool for fighting the pandemic in places like college campuses because patients are vaccinated in one shot. Dr. Spencer Gregg, director of UT's Student Health Center, told Knox News he hoped to vaccinate "as many people as possible" by the end of the spring semester using Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines. Exams end May 6. However, the temporary stop has made a significant difference in patients' willingness to get the vaccine and how the university will dole out doses. Gregg told Knox News that despite the low number of patients with problems, UT is "seeing some signs of hesitancy." Providers including Gregg have said that the pause was an example of the high standards of safety with the country's vaccine program and that the risk is rare. He said patients should seek information from their health care provider to make a decision that is right for them. |
| Undergraduate Enrollments This Spring See Steepest Drop Since Pandemic Began | |
| New spring enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show the steepest decline among undergraduates since the pandemic began. The data, which reflect enrollments through March 25, indicate that undergraduate attendance fell 5.9 percent compared with the same time last year. Overall enrollment this semester is down 4.2 percent from a year ago. While fewer undergraduates are enrolled in college this spring -- particularly at community colleges, which saw an 11.3-percent decline from a year ago -- graduate-student enrollment continued to grow. It's up 4.4 percent from the previous year. The drop in undergraduate attendance played out among all racial and ethnic groups, with Native American students -- a 0.6 percent share of enrollment this spring -- declining the most. The 13-percent decrease in Native American undergraduates from a year earlier outpaced the drop of Black, white, and Latino/Latina students, whose attendance fell 8.8 percent, 8.5 percent, and 7.3 percent, respectively, this spring. The center's enrollment results are based on 12.6 million students and 76 percent of the nearly 3,600 institutions that report to the clearinghouse. |
| Spring brings even steeper enrollment declines | |
 | Spring undergraduate enrollment fell 5.9 percent compared to this time last year, the largest drop since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Community colleges were particularly hard hit, with a double-digit enrollment decrease of 11.3 percent, down from 9.5 percent in fall 2020. The data, collected as of March 25, include 12.6 million students and incorporate 76 percent of higher education institutions. "These drastic shifts in enrollment are the latest example of how the pandemic has derailed higher education plans for students across the country, and exposed and deepened inequities along racial and socioeconomic lines," said Mamie Voight, interim president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy. The drop in community college enrollment in particular will "likely be felt for generations." Some groups of students had steeper enrollment decreases than others. Enrollment of students between the ages of 18 and 20, who make up about 40 percent of undergraduates, fell 7.2 percent, a larger drop than any other age group. At community colleges, enrollment by these traditional college-age students plummeted a dramatic 14.6 percent. |
| President Biden's Plan Would Make Community College Free. It Could Also Have Unintended Downsides. | |
| President Biden's plan to make two years of community college free, which could make college more affordable and accessible to millions of Americans, is being praised as a long-overdue step forward. But depending on how it's structured, some experts also caution that it could end up hurting disadvantaged students by diverting them to colleges where they're less likely to succeed, and that it could provide free tuition to those who can already afford it. The American Families Plan, which Biden unveiled on Wednesday and was expected to highlight in a speech before a joint session of Congress, includes $109 billion for two years of free community college, for "first-time students and workers wanting to reskill." Some experts also worry about the potential impact of giving students incentives to not start in a four-year college. They argue that students who start out in community colleges -- including minority and first-generation students -- are less likely to end up with four-year degrees, largely because many of their credits fall through the cracks when they transfer to a four-year institution. "If free community college is a reality, it's possible even more students will enter and even more students will be stymied in their pursuit of a bachelor's degree," said Loni Bordoloi Pazich, program director of the Teagle Foundation. |
| Higher education leaders praise President Biden's plans | |
| President Biden is calling on Congress to fund a $109 billion program for tuition-free community college, an initiative that has gained support in recent years but still isn't a guaranteed legislative victory. The administration's American Families Plan unveiled Wednesday proposes billions of dollars in higher education investments. At the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, President Peter McPherson was pushing for more aid for four-year colleges and universities. "We appreciate many of the investments proposed in the American Families Plan to support higher education access, affordability and success. Increases to the maximum Pell Grant to get to President Biden's commitment to double Pell are crucial for low-income students. Similarly, we greatly appreciate the substantial support the plan provides for HBCUs and MSIs." But he added, "While these investments deserve much praise, the plan is unfortunately incomplete in our view, as it does not provide a broad strategy to increase access and affordability for public four-year university students. We strongly believe a federal-state partnership that provides free community college should, at a minimum, provide equivalent support to students attending public four-year institutions." |
| APLU Statement on President Biden's College Affordability Proposal | |
| Association of Public and Land-grant Universities President Peter McPherson today released the following statement on President Biden's college affordability proposal. "We appreciate many of the investments proposed in the American Families Plan to support higher education access, affordability, and success. Increases to the maximum Pell Grant to get to President Biden's commitment to Double Pell are crucial for low-income students. Similarly, we greatly appreciate the substantial support the plan provides for HBCUs and MSIs. We also look forward to learning more about the proposed program to boost college completion, which is a core focus for APLU through our Powered by Publics initiative and many other initiatives. ... While these investments deserve much praise, the plan is unfortunately incomplete in our view as it does not provide a broad strategy to increase access and affordability for public four-year university students. We strongly believe a federal-state partnership that provides free community college should, at a minimum, provide equivalent support to students attending public four-year institutions." |
| Marshall University president to step down next year | |
| Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert announced Wednesday that he is stepping down next year. Citing "a variety of personal and professional reasons," Gilbert said in a statement issued through the university that he told the Board of Governors he would not seek an extension when his contract expires in July 2022. "I am announcing my decision now to give the board ample time to make plans to search for the next president," he said. Gilbert became Marshall's president in January 2016. A Mississippi native with a background in biomedical engineering, Gilbert was previously provost and executive vice president of Mississippi State University. Under Gilbert, Marshall has increased its national profile and research funding. He has also overseen the addition of academic programs such as biomedical engineering, aviation, physician assistant and specialty agriculture, along with early assurance programs in the health professions that offer students a smooth transition from undergraduate work. |
SPORTS
| SEC Announces Appearance Schedule for 2021 Football Media Days | |
| The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday the appearance schedule at its annual Football Media Days, set to take place July 19-22, returning to the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., as previously announced. Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach and select student-athletes will take their turn at the annual event on July 21. The Wynfrey Hotel has been the site of the signature event 18 times in the last 19 occurrences. SEC Football Media Days was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was last held in July of 2019, also in Hoover. A more detailed daily schedule with full television information, rotational breakdown and student-athletes attending will be available prior to the event in early July. The SEC Network and ESPN will once again bring the four-day event to a national audience. |
| Five mock drafts, five Mississippi State prospects. Where will they land in this weekend's NFL draft? | |
| The 2021 NFL draft begins Thursday, and though no Mississippi State player is likely to hear his name called on the first night of the three-day event, the following two days could see a number of Bulldogs coming off the board. The first round starts at 7 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland, with Day 2 (Rounds 2-3) beginning at 6 p.m. Friday and Day 3 (Rounds 4-7) starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. Five Mississippi State players heard their names called on the second and third days of the 2020 draft, with Willie Gay Jr. in the second round the first Bulldog off the board. Jeffery Simmons, Montez Sweat and Johnathan Abram were all picked in the first round in 2019. Elgton Jenkins was a second-round selection, and Gerri Green was drafted in the sixth round. Projections indicate this weekend's draft will adhere more to last year's event than the 2019 draft when it comes to Mississippi State's eligible players. The Dispatch looked at five seven-round mock drafts -- NFL.com, Pro Football Focus, CBS Sports, Sporting News and WalterFootball.com -- to see where this year's crop of Bulldogs will find their new homes. |
| Bulldogs NCAA Championship Bound, Open Play In Baton Rouge Regional | |
| With the unveiling of the field Wednesday afternoon, Mississippi State women's golf earned a spot in the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in program history. The Bulldogs open competition in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hosted by the LSU University Golf Club on May 10-12. Six of the 18 teams will advance from each regional to the NCAA Championships, which run from May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The field for the Baton Rouge Regional consists of No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 12 Baylor, No. 13 Oregon, No. 19 Maryland, No. 21 Alabama, Oregon State, Houston Miami, North Texas, Purdue, Tulsa, Sam Houston State, Kennesaw State, East Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, and Quinnipiac. Mississippi State is coming off its best performance of the season, finishing second in the SEC Championship after beating two top-5 teams (No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Ole Miss) in match play. Shooting 15-under par during stroke play followed by going 2-1 in match play, the Bulldogs earned the best finish in program history at the event. Hannah Levi paced the MSU with an 11-under par for stroke play, tying her for fifth place. Her score was tied for third-best finish in program history, and it marked the best score by a Bulldog ever at the SEC Championship. |
| Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott elated with injury rehab progress: 'It's like a high' | |
| Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has celebrated the little wins since October. He was grateful when the compound fracture in his ankle avoided post-surgery infection in November, excited to show off a crutch-free hobble at Cowboys practice in December. Now, six-and-a-half months removed from the designed run that went awry, Prescott is creeping toward full availability for the 2021 season. And he's elated. "I don't even know if you can put into words the feeling throwing again," Prescott told USA TODAY Sports Wednesday over Zoom. "Not throwing sitting in a chair or throwing not moving, but actually dropping back and using your legs. "It's like a high. It's like a drug for me." Prescott balances the joy of practicing football moves again with the satisfaction in discovering a new physical freedom each day that he didn't enjoy the previous one. Walking in two shoes is no longer sufficient. In rehabilitation with Cowboys trainers and in voluntary offseason workouts, Prescott is active. Prescott -- who signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension in March -- joins a deep roster of injured offensive players expected to return for the Cowboys. Starters in All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith (neck), right tackle La'el Collins (hip) and tight end Blake Jarwin (ACL) also suffered season-ending injuries early in 2020 before the Cowboys tumbled to 6-10 in McCarthy's debut Dallas campaign. All are expected to fully recover in time to suit up for the 2021 season. |
| Ole Miss Athletics Restructures Senior Leadership Team | |
| Ole Miss Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter announced Tuesday a restructuring of his senior leadership team, including the appointments of Jennifer Saxon and Shannon Singletary as Executive Associate Athletics Directors. Saxon, who guides the social responsibility and engagement division, will also serve as the senior women's administrator and assume oversight of human resources and Title IX coordination. Singletary will supervise the business office and academic services in addition to continuing to direct the health and sports performance department. The Ole Miss athletics compliance office is now under the direction of Will Kava, who is in his fifth year working with the Rebels. Kava is being promoted to Senior Associate A.D., and moving forward, he will report to Paul McCarthy, Ole Miss' Senior Associate General Counsel/Athletics Compliance Officer. Other Rebel administrators with expanding roles include communications director Kyle Campbell, who will also spearhead licensing within the department and assume the title of Associate A.D. for Brand Strategy, and Neal Mead, who is being promoted to Associate A.D. for Event Management and will help facilitate new gameday experiences. In addition, the athletics leadership team recently grew with the elevation of Tiffany Edwards, Assistant A.D. for Human Resources, to senior staff and the hire of Daniel Zewde as Assistant A.D. for Digital Strategy and Analytics. |
| SEC, Sun Belt update COVID-19 protocols to ease testing among those who are fully vaccinated | |
| The SEC will not require fully vaccinated individuals who are asymptomatic to participate in the league's surveillance testing program, according to an updated version of its COVID-19 protocols. As long as they have approval from their local health authority, fully vaccinated SEC staff and players also will no longer have to quarantine following an exposure to someone with COVID-19. The SEC's Medical Task Force adopted the regulation on March 19, according to a league spokesman, making the conference the first in the Power 5 to change its testing protocol for anyone who has been fully vaccinated -- meaning at least two weeks past the final vaccination dose, and the individual is asymptomatic. The conference regulation still advises fully vaccinated people to "continue with mitigation strategies." While the ACC Medical Advisory Group hasn't made any changes to its current testing protocol, earlier this month it did tweak its guidance for quarantining. The regulation states that in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "fully vaccinated asymptomatic individuals are not required to quarantine following exposure to COVID-19." It notes that stricter requirements by local and state health departments "may supersede this guidance." |
| LSU's Alex Box Stadium moving to 100% capacity starting this weekend, school announces | |
| For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, LSU will allow full capacity in its stadiums and unrestricted tailgating on its campus. One day after Gov. John Bel Edwards lifted a statewide mask mandate and allowed outdoor events to operate without capacity limitations, the school announced Wednesday it will permit 100% capacity at its outdoor athletic venues. It also lifted tailgating restrictions, and LSU will not require masks outdoors. The new rules begin Friday night when LSU baseball starts a three-game series against No. 1 Arkansas. The modifications also applied to LSU softball's six remaining home games and the track & field team's final home meet this Saturday. "We are excited about the opportunity to welcome our fans back in full force this weekend," athletic director Scott Woodward said in a statement. "This move is another positive step for us a campus and community." So far this baseball season, LSU has averaged 3,318 fans at Alex Box Stadium. One of the biggest venues in college baseball, it holds 10,326 people, making LSU an annual leader in average attendance. Its largest announced crowd this year was 5,031 for a game against Mississippi State. |
| South Carolina's college athletes clear legislative hurdle in effort to profit off name, image, likeness | |
 | A bill allowing South Carolina's collegiate athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness cleared a major hurdle April 28 when the House gave its blessing to a plan proponents say will help with recruitment and retention. "I never thought we would get to this in college athletics but here we are," state Rep. Jackie Hayes, D-Hamer, said before a 113-15 vote to approve the proposal that squeaked out of the Senate by a single vote April 8. "But this is a very important bill," Hayes added. "If we're going to compete with everybody else in the country, we need to pass this." "It's not something anybody wanted to take up right now, but circumstances have put us here," state Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said. "We need this legislation, and we need to pass it clean. Hopefully, we'll never have to use it." South Carolina's name, image and likeness bill wouldn't take hold until a year after it's signed into law, giving the NCAA time to develop a uniform policy. But if that doesn't happen, lawmakers said the state needs to make sure it's staying competitive. Representatives of three large schools in the state have thrown their support behind the effort. Athletic directors from Coastal Carolina University, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina testified in favor of the provision during committee hearings earlier in the month. |
| Florida Legislature passes bill banning transgender women and girls from female sports teams | |
| Florida Republican leaders in the Legislature used some last-ditch maneuvering Wednesday night to revive and approve a controversial ban on transgender athletes participating in women's sports at the high school and college levels. The move sparked anger and emotional debate from Democrats in the House and Senate, surprised by the language added as a late amendment in the House to charter school legislation. The House earlier this month approved the ban -- but it failed to advance in the Senate, until made part of the charter school bill lawmakers were eager to approve before the session ends Friday. The Senate inbalked at moving forward with the ban after the NCAA warned it might move championships out of locations where they felt student athletes were not treated with "dignity and respect." Transgender female athletes would be limited to playing coed sports or on teams with male athletes under the legislation, which restricts female teams to individuals identified as female on their birth certificate. The bill applies to high school and college sports sponsored by public schools, including intramural and club teams. |
| No big backlash for states passing anti-transgender laws | |
| Five states have passed laws or implemented executive orders this year limiting the ability of transgender youths to play sports or receive certain medical treatment. There's been a vehement outcry from supporters of transgender rights -- but little in the way of tangible repercussions for those states. It's a striking contrast to the fate of North Carolina a few years ago. When its Legislature passed a bill in March 2016 limiting which public restrooms transgender people could use, there was a swift and powerful backlash. The NBA and NCAA relocated events; some companies scrapped expansion plans. By March 2017, the bill's bathroom provisions were repealed. So far this year, there's been nothing comparable. Not even lawsuits, although activists predict some of the measures eventually will be challenged in court. The extent of any emerging backlash to the anti-trans laws will hinge in part on the NCAA, which played a pivotal role in the North Carolina case. The NCAA's Board of Governors issued a statement April 12 expressing strong support for the inclusion of transgender athletes. |
| One-time transfer rule clears last NCAA step, starts in 2021 | |
| The NCAA Division I Board of Directors ratified a rule change Wednesday that will allow all athletes who have not yet transferred the ability to do so one time in a college career and be immediately eligible to play. The Division I Council adopted the proposed legislation earlier this month. The board took the last step to make the historic rule change official and the NCAA clarified some of the details in a news release. The one-time exception had been previously available to some athletes, just not those in football, basketball, baseball and men's ice hockey. Now it will be available to all athletes who have not yet transferred, starting with the 2021-22 academic year. This year, the date for all athletes to notify their current schools that they intend to transfer is July 1. Those dates will shift to May 1 for fall and winter sport athletes and July 1 for spring sport athletes in subsequent years. The one-time exception will count for athletes who transfer after graduating. Previously, NCAA rules permitted athletes who had graduated to transfer and be immediately eligible. |
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