| Monday, May 3, 2021 |
| Monday Profile: Longtime MSU fan the first to bring truck for seating to Left Field Lounge | |
 | The first afaapermanent truck to be used for seating at Mississippi State's Left Field Lounge at Dudy Noble Field arrived by pure happenstance, the way Starkville resident Russ Rogers tells the story. Rogers, a 1976 Mississippi State graduate, moved to Starkville in 1980 after he finished law school and opened a law firm in town with William Ward. The firm represented a local bank, which Rogers met with every Friday morning. He recalls sitting in the conference room, glancing out the window at the back of the parking lot and noticing a red, beat up truck. "It was really an old piece of junk out there," Rogers said. Rogers asked what the bankers were going to do with the vehicle, which had been repossessed. The truck was inoperable, so the bank planned to sell it for scrap. There were around three months of college baseball season left, and Left Field Lounge seats were first come, first serve for a spot at that time, so Rogers hatched an idea. "I asked if I could borrow it," Rogers said. "They said, 'Sure, hook it up and take it out there.' That's what we did. When the season was over, we brought the truck back and they sold it." The next few years, Rogers and his friends found an old truck, had it delivered to the Left Field Lounge to be used for college baseball season, then sold it in the offseason. |
| MSU looks to continue mask mandate on campus | |
 | On May 1st, the city of Starkville's mask mandate lifted, but on the Mississippi State campus, that may not ring true. Meena Raju is in her third year at Mississippi State University (MSU). She along with her fellow Bulldogs will still have to wear masks while in the classroom on campus. Masks will be optional in some indoor places, but required in classrooms, laboratories, and studios. Vy Yadav just finished her freshman year at MSU and feels masks are part of her normal routine in college. "I feel like I would be okay with not wearing it when it's like low capacity, not as many people," she said, "but if I am crammed in like the auditorium with like 200 other people, I would feel safer wearing one." Both Yadav and Raju are international students at State and haven't seen their families in months. Because of this, Raju had a message for her classmates complaining about wearing masks. "Whenever you feel like removing your mask and being with your friends or socializing, just remember your family," she asked. "Your family needs you and you need them." |
| 76-year-old man receives diploma at MSU graduation ceremony | |
 | An Oklahoma man returns to Starkville to take part in a special moment. Usually, in four years, college graduates receive their diplomas. But for one 76-year-old Oklahoma man, he's waited nearly 54 years to get his. "I've seen our kids graduate from college and I never got to do this. I thought this is something I'd like to do," said Jackson. James Carson Jackson graduated from Mississippi State University in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. After completing his courses, Jackson immediately began work at Philips Petroleum Research Center in Oklahoma, later owning his own business. He married his wife,Donna, and raised their children. As years went by, Jackson realized something was missing. That's when it hit him- one of the most memorable experiences in a lifetime, his college graduation ceremony. |
| Biomedical engineering student wins prestigious national award | |
 | Covington resident Kaylee Bundy has earned the C. William Hall Scholarship from the Society For Biomaterials at Mississippi State University, where she has been performing research into cardiovascular disease. Bundy, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, was presented with the award at the society's virtual annual meeting on April 22. "During his lifetime, Dr. Hall managed research on the production of artificial organs," Bundy said. "I used to say my dream job would be to help construct artificial organs, so reading his story was very encouraging and inspiring," she said. Bundy earned the prestigious award based on her outstanding scholastic achievement and her stated objectives for future research. During her time at Mississippi State, she has researched in the lab of LaShan Simpson, an associate professor of agricultural & biological engineering within MSU's Bagley College of Engineering. The Society for Biomaterials is a professional society that promotes advances in biomedical materials research and development by encouragement of cooperative educational programs, clinical applications and professional standards in the biomaterials field. |
| John Grisham talks new basketball novel 'Sooley,' 30th anniversary of 'The Firm' | |
 | He's known for legal thrillers like "A Time to Kill," "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief." Now, John Grisham is trying his hand at basketball for his newest novel "Sooley." "It was so much fun," Grisham told WTOP. "I had two football novels, 'Bleachers' and 'Playing for Pizza,' then a baseball novel 'Calico Joe.' ... I love sports. ... It's a great diversion. I'm not going to get away from the legal thriller for obvious reasons. They're very popular and have been very good to me ... but I like to go in other directions." The story follows 17-year-old hoopster Samuel "Sooley" Sooleymon from South Sudan. After graduating from Mississippi State University, Grisham attended the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He practiced criminal law for about a decade and even served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from Jan. 1984 to Sept. 1990. "I didn't think about writing," Grisham said. "I was going to be a lawyer or a judge, but got the urge to write. ... I started playing around with a novel, very much on the quiet. Nobody knew it but my wife. I was afraid to show anybody what I was writing." The result was his debut novel "A Time to Kill" (1989), which wasn't successful. “I finished the first book in three years and it was a total flop,” Grisham said. “The book didn’t sell anywhere. … I vowed to write one more book and if the second book flopped like the first book, I was going to forget that little hobby. … The second book was ‘The Firm,’ which came out 30 years ago in March of ’91 — and that changed everything.” |
| Aldermen consider master plan to make parks, open spaces more accessible | |
| Aldermen received a bike- and pedestrian-friendly master plan at their work session Friday and will be looking at future ways to make the city more accessible. Representatives with Memphis-based planning and design company Kimley-Horn presented an extensive master plan with recommendations for improving residents' access to parks, bike lanes and open space. A National Recreation and Park Association grant paid for the plan. "One way to increase quality of life in a city is to provide residents walkable access to parks, open space and other open roads," said Mike Hammond, a landscape architect with Kimley Horn. Hammond also presented recommendations for various bike lanes throughout the city. "It's a really lofty goal for the city of Starkville, but we want this bike lane to be a really aspirational plan," Hammond said. "... (It can be something) the city can really use for decades to implement all of these pieces and potentially revise this plan as the city grows outwards." Mayor Lynn Spruill supported the plan but said the city will have to look at which recommendations it can afford. "We're going to be looking at this for the next 30, 40, 50 years as we go forward, but we'll be looking at it every five or so years to see where it might change and what we've succeeded in doing and checking the box," Spruill said. |
| Starkville Utilities Customers to Benefit from Clean Renewable Energy | |
| Starkville Utilities has agreed to purchase 30 megawatts of solar energy, which is equivalent to 15% of Starkville's annual electricity consumption. In addition to providing a local, clean and cost-effective renewable energy option for customers, the utility's participation in Green Invest will help maintain the city's Valley Sustainable Communities gold status. "Green Invest is part of Starkville Utilities' Future FOCUS initiative to ensure our customers have safe, reliable, affordable electricity that includes renewable options," said Terry Kemp, general manager of Starkville Utilities. "This announcement represents a positive step forward in our partnership with TVA that will help us build a more diverse energy portfolio to power Starkville's growth well into the future utilizing renewable energy." Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill agreed. "As we transition into a cleaner future, the long-term partnership between Starkville Utilities and TVA demonstrates the leadership needed to bring more renewable energy to our community," she said. "Renewable energy is something that more businesses want, and having it available makes Starkville more competitive for development." |
| Tornado hits Tupelo, Calhoun City, Pontotoc County | |
 | A severe storm Sunday night produced a tornado that left a trail of damage in Lee, Calhoun and Pontotoc counties. The storm passed through Tupelo about 10 p.m. Entering from the southwest and going northeast, the storm caused extensive damage throughout the city. A Mississippi Department of Transportation camera captured a photo of the tornado near I-22 west of Veterans Boulevard. There were reports of trees, power lines, fences and signs down throughout the city. Some of the damage occurred along Elvis Presley Drive in the east section. Roofs were destroyed on several houses and trees were knocked down across the street. Emergency workers spent most of the night cleaning debris from the streets. There were no reports of injuries. There also were reports of damage in southeastern Pontotoc County. In Calhoun County, Sheriff Greg Pollan said on his office's Facebook page that Calhoun City had been hit hard. "Light poles have been snapped off. Trees in a few homes. Trees on vehicles. Damage to several businesses," he said. "Fortunately, we have had no reports at this time of injuries." |
| Extensive damage reported in Yazoo County following suspected tornado | |
 | Mississippi is recovering from a series of storms that spawned several tornadoes and straight line winds Sunday night, leaving damaged properties and broken tree limbs in its wake. Officials from the National Weather Service in Jackson say they have sent teams out to various locations in central Mississippi to assess the damage and confirm tornado reports. A tornado caused extensive damage in Tupelo as it ripped off roofs and knocked down trees and power lines at about 10 p.m., according to media reports. There were reports of at least two tornadoes in Yazoo County which caused some property and tree damage just outside Yazoo City, said Latrice Maxie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Another tornado was spotted in the Byram/Terry area of south Hinds County as it traveled northeast into southwest Rankin County. Most of the damage from the storms occurred in isolated pockets across the region, Maxie said, noting there was no widespread damage reported. There were no reports of injuries Monday morning. |
| Mississippi governor removes most COVID-19 restrictions | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday erased most restrictions he had set to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor left one restriction in place -- a mandate for students who are 6 or older to wear masks in schools for the rest of the current academic year. The school year ends within the next few weeks in most parts of the state. The governor's new executive order removes capacity restrictions for sports events. Previously, indoor arenas could only fill two-thirds of their seats to allow for social distancing. School sporting events and other activities were limited to 50% capacity for both indoor and outdoor events. Now, both indoor and outdoor school activities are no longer under capacity restrictions. Reeves had already removed mask requirements in public spaces and all capacity restrictions for restaurants, bars and other businesses. The governor said he still encourages people to wear face coverings, maintain social distance and wash their hands while around other people. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves lifts COVID-related restrictions on gatherings, classroom masking requirements remain | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Friday that he's lifting all capacity restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings, but masking requirements inside K-12 classrooms will remain through the end of the 2020-21 academic year. The governor cited consistently low statewide COVID-19 infection numbers, hospitalizations and ICU/ventilator use, along with progress in vaccinating Mississippians, as his reason for lifting the restrictions as graduation season approaches. "Getting our kids back in school last August was one of the most important decision of the pandemic," Reeves said. "Even so -- our class of 2021 has not been afforded a normal senior year. I want every one of them to attend their graduation, and I want everyone in their family to be able to join them!" "You can attend graduation," Reeves said, adding "masks are not necessary for anyone at outdoor venues on K-12 campuses." |
| Gov. Tate Reeves ends previous COVID-19 restrictions, keeps school mask mandate | |
| More than 14 months after COVID-19 reached Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves has rolled back all COVID-related restrictions except one. Reeves' new executive order, issued Friday, essentially returns the state to the way things were before the pandemic. The only remaining statewide order that remains in place is the requirement that masks be worn inside school buildings through the end of the 2020-2021 academic school year. Seating caps for collegiate sporting events and K-12 extracurricular activities are being lifted by the new order. On Twitter, Reeves cited upcoming graduation ceremonies as a motivator for removing capacity restrictions. Reeves repealed most COVID-related restrictions in early March. Reeves has drawn criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over his handling of COVID-19 in Mississippi, with some decrying any COVID-related executive order as "tyrannical" and others panning his patchwork approach to mask mandates. The Mississippi State Department of Health reported on Friday that 949,833 people in Mississippi -- about 32% of the state's population -- have received at least their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Just over 788,000 people have received both doses since the state began distributing vaccines in December. |
| Analysis: Mississippi legislators sidestep some division | |
| Mississippi lawmakers grabbed national headlines this year by banning transgender athletes from competing on girls' or women's sports teams. They walked away from some other divisive issues during their three-month session. Republican Sen. Angela Hill of Picayune argued in favor of the transgender sports bill, and she stood behind Republican Gov. Tate Reeves as he signed it into law. Hill filed a separate bill that would have prohibited hormone treatments or surgery from being performed on transgender minors. Senate Bill 2171, the "Transgender 21 Act," died because it was not brought up for votes in the Senate Public Health Committee and the Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee. Arkansas legislators passed a similar bill this year, pushing it into law over the veto of Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Hill also sponsored Senate Resolution 56, which died when it was not brought up for a vote in the Senate Rules Committee. It would have had the Mississippi Senate express disapproval of "critical race theory," which examines the ways racism affects culture, politics and law. |
| Mississippi politicians are capitalizing on loopholes in state's campaign finance law | |
| Former Mississippi Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall was already retired from public service by last year, but he continued spending a significant chunk of campaign cash accumulated over a long career in elected office. In January -- about a year after his last day on the job --- the Republican terminated his campaign account, which still showed a balance of $106,479.85. In his final report to state elections officials, he did not specify what he would do with the leftover money. "I'm going to be able to spend this money however I want to spend it," Hall told the Daily Journal this week. "Some of it is going to be able to go to charities, it already has. But I'm going to be able to have that flexibility." Hall's actions highlight two loopholes in the state's notoriously loose and confusing campaign finance laws. First, politicians can legally use their campaign funds for personal reasons as long as it's money they raised before 2018, when reforms took effect banning the practice. Many veteran lawmakers and other politicians have large sums of this old rule-free money stashed away, as the Daily Journal has previously reported. The second loophole --- which has never before been publicized --- allows a politician to stop filing disclosure reports with the Mississippi Secretary of State even if they have funds remaining in their campaign account. |
| Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker back bill that could provide Jackson with millions to restore water system | |
| Mississippi Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker were among the 89 members of the U.S. Senate who voted in favor of a bill that would reauthorize a series of federal water and wastewater infrastructure programs that could benefit the capital city. On April 29, the Senate approved S.914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. The bill was approved on an 89-2 vote and was passed a day before Jackson experienced yet another crisis at its O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant. Early Friday, an electrical fire broke out at the Ridgeland facility shutting down two high-service pumps. The fire took place in one control panel, but as a precaution, officials shut down the entire system and issued a boil water notice because of the loss in pressure. Pressure across the system dropped as a result, and some 43,000 customers were again put under a precautionary boil water notice. The fire represents the second time operations at the plant have been hampered this year. In February, the plant was crippled when two winter storms ripped across the area, causing equipment at the plant to freeze up. It took weeks for the city to restore water to all residents and businesses following that storm. S.914 would allocate some $30 billion in funding for clean water and drinking water revolving loan funds and an additional $6 billion for grant programs, according to NBC News. |
| Warren Buffett touts U.S. economy's unexpected strength as Berkshire rebounds | |
| Warren Buffett said on Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) is being lifted by a U.S. economy faring far better than he predicted early in the coronavirus pandemic, though investor euphoria is making it hard to deploy cash. Speaking at Berkshire's annual meeting, Buffett said the economy has been "resurrected in an extraordinarily effective way" by monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and fiscal stimulus from the U.S. Congress. "It did the job," Buffett said. "This economy, right now, 85% of it is running in super high gear." Buffett lamented how an influx of so-called special purpose acquisition companies and inexperienced investors hoping for quick riches have made markets feel like a casino, making it hard for Berkshire to deploy more of its $145.4 billion cash hoard. But the 90-year-old retained his optimism for the future of the company he has run since 1965, including after he's gone. "We've seen some strange things happen in the world in the last year, 15 months," Buffett said. "It has reinforced our desire to figure out everything possible to make sure that Berkshire is, 50 or 100 years from now, every bit the organization and then some that it is now." |
| Biden administration restricts travel from India amid calls for further U.S. aid to fight COVID-19 | |
 | The Biden administration is imposing new restrictions on travel from India as members of Congress call for further assistance to help the country battle a devastating spread of COVID-19. New travel limitations take effect on May 4, the White House confirmed Friday. "On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration will restrict travel from India starting immediately," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. "The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India." The announcement of the travel restrictions, which CNN reported would restrict the ability of foreign nationals to enter the United States if they have been in India in recent weeks, came after Psaki was asked about the scope of U.S. assistance to India. The U.S. government has sent two military cargo flights of supplies to India in the last 24 hours, which is just part of what the press secretary said would be provided. Psaki noted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in contact with his Indian counterpart, but she said no decision has been made regarding possibly easing patent protections to help bolster vaccine production abroad. |
| U.S. Restricts Travel From India; Students Eligible for Exemptions | |
 | President Biden added India to the list of countries affected by coronavirus-related travel restrictions, but students and certain academics participating in exchange programs will be eligible for exemptions. "Students subject to these geographic COVID proclamations due to their presence in India, China, Iran, Brazil, or South Africa, may qualify for a National Interest Exception only if their academic program begins August 1, 2021 or later," the State Department says on its website. Students with valid F and M student visas who are starting or continuing academic programs that start Aug. 1 or later do not need to contact an embassy or consulate to seek an individual national interest exception to travel; they can enter the U.S. no earlier than 30 days prior before the start of their studies. Students who are applying for new visas who are found to be otherwise qualified for F and M visas will be automatically considered for a national interest exception to the travel restrictions. |
| U.K. Covid-19 Variant's Hold in U.S. Has Silver Lining: Vaccines Counter It | |
 | The highly contagious U.K. variant of the Covid-19 virus, now the dominant virus strain in the U.S., is making the pandemic harder to control. But it also comes with a silver lining: The authorized vaccines work well against it. The variant, called B.1.1.7, is better able to exploit lapses in mask wearing and social distancing, and requires more people to develop an immune response to slow it down. Yet vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE , Moderna Inc., and Johnson & Johnson , along with safety precautions, still remain effective, and health authorities say the shots are starting to slow down Covid-19 cases in the U.S. "If we did not have this background of vaccination, we would be completely overwhelmed right now," said Joshua Schiffer, an associate professor in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The virus's increased contagiousness "makes it much, much harder to contain," he said. The B.1.1.7 variant first appeared in the U.K. late last year, spurring a deadly new surge in cases and another round of strict lockdowns. It jumped to several other countries, including the U.S., where it rapidly became the most common viral variant. Nearly 60% of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. could be attributed to the variant by early April, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
| Reaching 'Herd Immunity' Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe | |
 | Early in the pandemic, when vaccines for the coronavirus were still just a glimmer on the horizon, the term "herd immunity" came to signify the endgame: the point when enough Americans would be protected from the virus so we could be rid of the pathogen and reclaim our lives. Now, more than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable -- at least not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever. Instead, they are coming to the conclusion that rather than making a long-promised exit, the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers. "The virus is unlikely to go away," said Rustom Antia, an evolutionary biologist at Emory University in Atlanta. "But we want to do all we can to check that it's likely to become a mild infection." The shift in outlook presents a new challenge for public health authorities. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves still hasn't made key appointments to college board, board of education | |
| Two key state education boards may not have enough members to carry out their duties, and Gov. Tate Reeves, who is responsible for filling most of the vacancies, still hasn't said when he might make the necessary appointments. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning starting Friday will have just eight members -- exactly enough for a quorum. The Board of Education currently has five members -- exactly enough for a quorum. This means that the state's top education boards cannot legally meet if one member is absent or has to recuse themselves, which is a regular occurrence on both boards. Reeves has made no public comments on when he will name appointments for the vacancies. Because he did not make the appointments before the end of the 2021 legislative session, there are questions of whether he can make the appointments without calling a special session of the Mississippi Senate. The terms of four members of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, which oversees the state's eight public universities, will expire on May 7, leaving the panel with just enough members to constitute a quorum under the board's guidelines. Reeves' office did not respond to questions from Mississippi Today on when he might fill the four college board seats. |
| Habitat's CEO challenges Ole Miss grads to pursue purpose | |
| The chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International on Saturday challenged University of Mississippi graduates to "pursue purpose, and not just success" as their collegiate careers end and they enter their varied professions. Jonathan T.M. Reckford gave the Convocation address to about 10,000 people gathered at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss for the 168th Commencement, the university said in a news release. "Ultimately success will not be measured by what you've achieved, but by who you are, by your character," Reckford said. "Studies have shown that there is very little correlation between wealth and happiness. You can be rich in so many ways. Service is a doorway by which we enter so many positive places together. In my experience, serving others and connecting to something larger than ourselves is where we find true joy." Reckford said the commencement ceremony was his first in-person event since the pandemic began more than a year ago. "I am thrilled to be able to offer you my congratulations," he said. |
| Class of 2021 celebrates graduation at the U. of Alabama | |
 | The University of Alabama's 2021 spring graduating class includes 636 first-generation college students, as well as notable athletes such as Miami Dolphins' quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and former NBA star Robert Horry. UA held 10 commencement ceremonies spread over Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Coleman Coliseum. The staggered ceremonies were part of an effort to ensure social distancing, along with other COVID-19 precautions like mandatory mask-wearing. A total of 6,158 degrees were set to be conferred this weekend, according to UA's commencement website. That total includes 4,747 students who earned undergraduate degrees, while 1,300 earned master's degrees and 111 earned doctoral degrees. The class of 2021 graduates came from 30 nations spanning the globe. Forty-nine of the 50 United States were represented in the pool of graduates, with Wyoming being the only state not represented. Graduates came from 61 of Alabama's 67 counties. The Culverhouse College of Business graduates were set to receive their degrees in three Sunday ceremonies and spring commencement was scheduled to conclude with the School of Law ceremony Sunday night. |
| Auburn's Safe Harbor, Green Dot programs seek to proactively, reactively respond to sex assault survivors | |
| Over a decade ago at Auburn University, Safe Harbor was born, an addition to the existing staff of administrative support, directors, and counselors focused on survivor response. What started as a grant-funded project from the U.S. Department of Justice with three volunteers has now grown into a multi-faceted response team for cases of sexual assault and abuse. Judith White is the new coordinator for violence prevention and survivor advocacy at Safe Harbor. White acknowledged that each case they receive is unique, so Safe Harbor works to tailor a response to their individual needs. "We kind of let them take the lead and get that autonomy back," White said. Resources that are available to survivors include Student Counseling and Psychological Services, the Auburn University police precinct, short-term and long-term academic aid, Office of Student Conduct and medical care. Within the first 72 hours after assault, the survivor can also receive a forensic exam. While Safe Harbor focuses on the reactive portion of responding to survivors, five years ago Green Dot was created to be the proactive piece. Green Dot is a bystander training program, which the staff at Auburn hopes to push more in the upcoming fall semester. |
| UGA provides update on spring graduation, announces no limit on guests | |
 | As part of a return to normal operation, graduates can sit on the field for the University of Georgia spring commencement ceremonies, officials announced Saturday. UGA said that due to a change in state COVID-19 regulations, plans for spring graduation have adapted. If they choose, graduates can sit on Dooley Field during the ceremony. Before, it was required that they sit in the stands with their guests. There will also be no limit to the number of guests in the stands, a change from previous restrictions. Masks will be "strongly encouraged." In February, UGA President Jere W. Morehead announced that the university would hold its graduation ceremony in person with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in place. Maria Taylor, ESPN reporter and UGA graduate, will be the commencement speaker. Commencement will begin May 13 and end May 15, taking place in Sanford Stadium, and will be held over four ceremonies to comply with social distancing guidelines. Three of these will be for undergraduate students and the fourth ceremony will be for the masters, specialists and doctoral degrees. |
| Multiple Black professors have resigned in recent years over racism | |
| Alena Allen earned promotion to full professor this academic year at the University of Memphis's Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law -- the first woman of color to do so within the program. But she's leaving the institution before the promotion takes effect in July over ongoing concerns about racism on campus. Allen shared those concerns in a resignation letter that has since been circulated and endorsed by multiple student groups on campus, including the Black Law Students Association. Allen declined an interview request, saying she hadn't meant for the letter to become public and that she felt uncomfortable talking about her case. In her letter, she describes soul-searching in the months since George Floyd's death at the hands of police, including about her own experiences at the law school. Referencing alleged comments by Provost Thomas Nenon at a recent law faculty meeting on raising tenure and promotion standards, Allen said Nenon claimed he'd done applicants this year -- meaning her and another professor -- a "favor." Allen also said that Nenon declined to hire highly qualified Black candidates as law deans during the past two searches, describing his comments and actions as part of a "disturbing pattern." Nenon apologized for his comments about this academic year's promotion cycle in emails to Allen and other faculty members. Allen said in her letter that Nenon's apology fell short. |
| Lots of Jobs Await the Class of 2021. So Does Plenty of Competition. | |
| Dear college graduate: Congratulations! The good news: You're entering one of the hottest job markets on record in recent years as the U.S. economy pulls out of its pandemic lockdown. The bad news: The competition is ferocious. Many of your peers who graduated last year are still trying to find their first big break. People who went back to graduate school to put off job hunting in 2020 are hitting the market alongside you, too. "The picture for younger workers is complicated," says Luke Pardue, an economist for Gusto, a payroll and benefits company used by more than 100,000 small-business clients. "They are facing stiff competition from people who have been terminated. Workers on the sideline will come back and compete for these jobs." Workers under the age of 25 were terminated during the spread of Covid-19 at rates 79% higher than older workers, according to Gusto data from March 2020 through March 2021. That is partly because the last people hired into a company are often the first ones cut when times get tough. At least grads now have new positions to vie for. Job postings, which languished through 2020, reached pre-pandemic levels earlier this year, according to job-search platform Indeed. The top industries looking to hire new grads were the pandemic's big winners: tech, financial services, education and professional services,. |
| 'Yes, You Belong Here': An Expert Explains the Importance of Supporting Student Parents | |
 | Nicole Lynn Lewis was living on stale Pop-Tarts in a Motel 6 when she learned that she had been accepted by the College of William & Mary. "It was as if someone had just opened a door to a high-powered rocket ship," she recalls, "and asked me to step inside." But Lewis wouldn't make the journey alone: At the time she was eight months pregnant with her first child, Nerissa. Like many parents who attend college while raising children, she had to navigate a system that wasn't built with her needs in mind. At orientation, Lewis, who is Black, felt out place walking around the predominantly white campus in her Walmart flip-flops: "My feet didn't belong. ... I was different, and my situation left little room for error." Lewis describes her experiences in her new book, Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families. The vivid memoir explores big questions about systemic racism, generational poverty, and how higher education often marginalizes young parents instead of nurturing them. |
| A 'Record-Breaking Year' For Gifts To HBCUs | |
 | The nation's largest HBCU is having a blockbuster year for fundraising. North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro has raised $88 million since its fiscal year began last summer. That's almost six times what the university typically fundraises annually -- and the fiscal year isn't even over yet. "There has not been a year like that ever in our history," says Todd Simmons, N.C. A&T's associate vice chancellor for university relations. "Nor has there been a year like that in the history of nearly any other public HBCU in America." Other HBCUs have also seen stellar fundraising this year. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which advocates for public and private funding for public HBCUs, has reported hefty donations to many of the universities it represents. "It was a record-breaking year," says Thurgood Marshall College Fund President Harry L. Williams. "We have never, ever seen anything like this for HBCUs." Williams says donations started to pick up last summer, from both private donors and large corporations. "With the social unrest with George Floyd, we have seen an uptick in the amount of support for our HBCUs in this country, and one of the major supporters has been MacKenzie Scott." |
| President Biden aims to increase college success with $62 billion investment | |
| Details surrounding President Biden's proposed investment of $62 billion to support student completion and retention in higher education are scarce, but experts say there's potential for the program to be the most transformative of the administration's postsecondary proposals. The grant program would offer funding to colleges and universities that serve high numbers of low-income students, particularly community colleges, to adopt success solutions that help students stay enrolled and earn a degree. "This, to me, seems like the most revolutionary and has the most potential to really address equity gaps and get resources to schools and students that need them the most and that haven't gotten them historically," said Amy Laitinen, director for higher education at New America. The $62 billion proposal is a part of Biden's American Families Plan, released last week, which includes a total of $290 billion in higher education spending to offer tuition-free community college, support for historically Black colleges and other minority-serving institutions, and increased Pell Grant awards. According to a fact sheet for the plan, states, territories and tribes would receive grant funding to allocate to colleges "that adopt innovative, proven solutions for student success," including wraparound services, emergency basic needs grants and transfer agreements between colleges. |
| Mississippi population loss no trivial matter | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: The South rose again, but not Mississippi. Well, in population anyway. Last week the Census Bureau released its 2020 population figures for each state. "The South region of the United States led the nation in population growth with an increase of 10.2% from 2010," explained the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. But, Mississippi (joined by West Virginia and Illinois) headed the other way. The state's population loss wasn't terrible, just over 6,000 from 2010. However, the Journal editorial pointed out, "when you look at the rest of the country, it reveals an alarming reality." "The closest comparison to Mississippi – from population, demographic and economic standpoints -- would be Arkansas. It saw a population increase of 3.3%, surpassing Mississippi's population for the first time in more than 100 years." You see, population losers tend to have significant underlying problems -- poverty, underperforming schools, few good jobs, declining quality of life, and so on. Population winners, on the other hand, tend to have good things happening. |
| Speaker Philip Gunn, often guided by his faith, does not see Medicaid expansion in religious terms | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Health care advocates, many health care providers and others who desperately want to see the state expand Medicaid to cover primarily the working poor blame Gov. Tate Reeves for blocking the effort. But on the issue of Medicaid expansion, Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn, who have had their share of disagreements in recent years, are in lockstep. Gunn deserves as much of the blame or credit, depending on one's perspective, for blocking Medicaid expansion as Reeves. Because Gunn was ahead of nearly all of the state's Republican leadership in support for changing the state flag to remove the controversial Confederate battle emblem from its design, and is generally credited with leading the effort to accomplish that feat, many have assumed that the third-term speaker would eventually come around on Medicaid expansion. That has not occurred. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves says there is no systemic racism in the justice system. The numbers say otherwise. | |
| Adam Ganucheau writes for Mississippi Today: Gov. Tate Reeves, the top elected official representing the blackest state in America, said on national television Thursday that systemic racism does not exist within the criminal justice system. In a Fox News town hall Thursday with several Republican governors, Reeves was asked to respond to President Joe Biden's comments this week about justice system racism and police reform. "There is not systemic racism in America," Reeves responded, garnering applause from the live Fox News audience. ... In some political circles, the term "systemic racism" is often misunderstood (or purposefully portrayed) as meaning that every individual within a system is racist. The opposite is true. The term means the systems, by the way they were originally designed and regardless of the intentions of the individuals involved today, disproportionately harm people of color. ... In America and in Mississippi, the numbers speak for themselves. Setting aside illustrative data in other sectors of society and government, here is just a sampling of data that shows vast racial disparities within the Mississippi criminal justice system. |
| Mainstream media weaponization of COVID yielding predictable backlash | |
 | Alan Lange writes for Y'all Politics: For many conservatives reading this, I know it's not a shocker, but the media has been particularly egregious in politically weaponizing COVID. Mississippi's media establishment is no exception. Their orders and piles of cash are coming from on high from billionaires, elites, mega-corporations, huge foundations and media conglomorates and the underlings are carrying their orders out with robotic efficiency. The "storytelling" is all through the lenses of how the media can most effectively use COVID to bash political opponents (read conservatives). First, let's get this out of the way. In my view, everyone should get COVID immunized. Full stop. It's actually more about math than it is "science." Immunizations work and these COVID vaccines that are readily available to everyone are 95+% effective with a super low adverse incidence rate. Back to the matter at hand. |
SPORTS
| Houston Harding shines in relief as No. 6 Mississippi State sweeps Texas A&M | |
| After another poor outing from one of its starters, Mississippi State turned to Houston Harding out of the bullpen to complete the sweep on Saturday afternoon. Harding entered the game in the third inning with two men on base and no outs, and the lefty pitched five scoreless innings as No. 6 Mississippi State beat Texas A&M, 10-5, to complete the weekend sweep. Mississippi State (32-10, 14-7 in SEC) won Game 1 on Friday, 8-7, and Game 2 Saturday afternoon, 3-2. It's the third conference sweep of the season for MSU, which sits only one game back of Arkansas for first place in the SEC. "To bridge the game like he did, I mean we were having a hard time with not a lot in the bullpen," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "So for him to give us five shutout there was probably the biggest piece of the game helping us win and helping us get a good bullpen late in the game." On offense, MSU had its best game of the weekend and scattered 17 hits across the diamond. Six players recorded multiple hits, including three hits each from both Brad Cumbest and Logan Tanner. |
| Texas A&M baseball team suffers SEC series sweep at No. 5 Mississippi State | |
 | Fifth-ranked Mississippi State took advantage of a two-out error in the seventh inning to score four runs en route to a 10-5 victory over Texas A&M, sweeping a Southeastern Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday. Mississippi State held on for a 3-2 victory in the opener as Stone Simmons pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings to earn his second save of the season. A&M pulled within a run in the seventh inning on Ray Alejo's two-out single that scored Taylor Smith, who had doubled, but Mississippi State's bullpen closed the door. The nightcap was a slugfest, and the Bulldogs pounded out 17 hits to complete the three-game series sweep. Logan Tanner and Brad Cumbest each had three hits, while Rowdey Jordan, Tanner Allen, Luke Hancock and Scott Dubrule each added two hits. The Bulldogs broke the game open in the seventh as Dubrule, Cumbest, Tanner Leggett and Jordan each had singles to build a 9-3 lead after a fielding error by Aggie second baseman Ty Coleman, the team's lone miscue of the game. MSU (32-10, 14-7) pulled within a game of SEC West-leading Arkansas (34-8, 15-6), while A&M (24-22, 5-16) slipped into a last-place tie with Auburn. |
| Gamecocks trying to find offensive spark after fifth loss in six SEC games | |
 | They thought they had it figured out. South Carolina's baseball season had mimicked the game in its ups and downs, but at the midpoint of the SEC season, the Gamecocks had settled in. With a 10-5 conference record, they had a strange-but-effective method of taking weekends: They would almost always lose the first game and almost always win the second and third. Following an opening 2-1 series loss at Vanderbilt, USC strung together four straight series wins, including a sweep of Florida. Their pitching, thought to be the strength of the team in preseason, was carrying them as their hot-and-cold offense would usually find a big inning, leading to a surge in runs. The streak ended last week against No. 1 Arkansas. At No. 17 Mississippi this weekend, USC got further away. The No. 12 Gamecocks lost all three games to a team that had lost four consecutive series. It's a bad time to be in a slump. Due to COVID, the NCAA will announce the host sites for the 16 NCAA Regionals the week of May 10 instead of waiting until after conference tournaments to see who best "earned" a site. The NCAA will announce 20 sites, with four eliminated after the conference tournaments. With No. 4 Mississippi State visiting Columbia next weekend, USC has a prime opportunity to break out of the skid and prove it deserves to host. |
| Mississippi State's Marquiss Spencer, Kylin Hill picked in NFL Draft | |
| A 11-plus year streak was almost snapped Saturday, but not before Marquiss Spencer and Kylin Hill had something to say about it. The former Mississippi State players were picked inside of the last seven picks in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Their selections marked the 12th straight draft Mississippi State has had at least one player picked. Spencer went No. 253 overall to the Denver Broncos, and Hill went No. 256 overall to the Green Bay Packers. Mississippi State came dangerously close to leaving the weekend without any selections, but ultimately the Bulldogs keep a streak that dates back to the 2010 draft alive. Mississippi State secured two late draft picks a year ago, too. Quarterback Tommy Stevens was taken by the New Orleans Saints 240th overall. Safety Brian Cole went to the Minnesota Vikings 249th overall. Mississippi State had 14 players picked from 2018-20, including five in each of the last two drafts. Three Bulldogs – Montez Sweat, Jeffery Simmons and Johnathan Abram – went in the first round in 2019, marking the most first rounders selected in program history. |
| MSU's Kylin Hill , Marquiss Spencer drafted in seventh round | Mississippi State | djournal.com | |
| Former Mississippi State players Marquiss Spencer and Kylin Hill were both taken in the 2021 NFL draft on Saturday afternoon. Spencer, the first Bulldog taken off the board, was drafted by the Denver Broncos as the No. 253 overall pick. Hill was taken No. 256 by the Green Bay Packers. Hill, from Columbus, is the first MSU running back to be drafted since Josh Robinson was drafted in 2015. Hill played four seasons in Starkville and rushed 452 times for 2,535 yards and 16 touchdowns. He had a stellar junior season in 2019, where he rushed for a SEC-high 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to being named All-SEC. Spencer, from Greenwood, recorded 106 tackles, 22.5 tackles-for-loss, 7 sacks and 1 interception in his five-year career at Mississippi State. He is the first MSU player to be drafted this year and is the first defensive lineman to be drafted since Jeffrey Simmons, Montez Sweat and Gerri Green were drafted in 2019. Spencer had his best season in 2020, starting nine games and recording 30 tackles, 8 tackles-for-loss and 3 sacks. He also recorded his lone career interception along with a defended pass and forced fumble. |
| SEC dominates NFL draft yet gain | |
| As the NFL celebrated the conclusion of an in-person draft on the shores of Lake Erie that went swimmingly one year after a virtual event caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, several facts emerged. For sure, the Southeastern Conference is the place to be for college football players. From 12 out of the SEC in the first round --- six from national champion Alabama --- to a total of 65 through the seven rounds that finished Saturday in Cleveland, the SEC dominated the selections the way it tends to dominate the college game. Quarterbacks also were key because, well, the NFL has become such a QB-oriented league. Five were taken in the opening round, including the top three: Clemson's Trevor Lawrence to the Jaguars, BYU's Zach Wilson to the Jets, and North Dakota State's Trey Lance to the 49ers. Three more were taken on Friday, and two more went Saturday: Notre Dame's Ian Book to New Orleans, and Texas' Sam Ehlinger to Indianapolis. The high for quarterbacks in a seven-round draft is 17 set in 2004. Book was the best-known collegian selected on the third day of this draft. He went somewhere with a QB opening: New Orleans, which saw career passing leader Drew Brees retire. That doesn't mean Book, the winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history, will be stepping in to the starting lineup in the Big Easy. Indeed, he's more likely to be a developmental project behind Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston. |
| EMCC's Sharon Thompson selected to Mississippi State University's Sports M-Club Hall of Fame | |
 | Sharon Thompson, East Mississippi Community College's Director of Athletics and Women's Head Basketball Coach, has been selected to Mississippi State University's Sports M-Club Hall of Fame. The former All-SEC women's basketball standout for the Bulldogs, along with seven other new members of MSU's 2020 and 2021 Sports Hall of Fame classes, will be enshrined on Sept. 25 when the Bulldogs play host to LSU at Davis Wade Stadium. Thompson, a four-year starter (1995-98) on the hardwood for the Bulldogs, and football's Charlie Weatherly, who has served Mississippi State University for 58 years, comprise MSU's 2021 Sports Hall of Fame class. In addition, Mississippi State's six-member Class of 2020 features Billy Jackson (football), Bob Tyler (coach/AD), Ray White (men's basketball), Bobby Thigpen (baseball), Jackie Holden (women's tennis), and Claire Pollard (women's tennis). "It is a privilege to be selected to the Mississippi State University Sports M-Club Hall of Fame and to become a member of such a prestigious group of individuals. This honor would not have been possible without me having excellent coaches and teammates throughout my career at MSU." Thompson said. |
| 'It's going to be crazy:' As in-person visits return, college football coaches ready for flood of recruits | |
 | For more than a year, health and safety protocols have prevented programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision from conducting the in-person evaluations so essential to compiling team-specific recruiting boards -- the tiered, by-position ranking of prospects in a given recruiting cycle. Amid the unique circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic, the awkwardness caused by an inability to hold face-to-face meetings for most of the 2021 cycle was mitigated by several factors. For one, prospects in the 2021 class had been able to make unofficial visits to FBS campuses during the previous year, including up to the moment when the NCAA placed a moratorium on all visits as a result of COVID-19. In addition, every 2021 recruit had been able to provide game tape from an unabridged junior season, a luxury not afforded to many prospects in the 2022 cycle. With the pandemic winding down and COVID-19 vaccinations on the rise, the NCAA announced earlier this month a highly anticipated return to the normal recruiting calendar: Beginning on June 1 and running through the 27th, FBS programs will be allowed to host official and unofficial visitors on campuses for the first time since the NCAA enacted a dead period last March -- ending a 445-day stretch in which coaches and recruits made eye contact on Zoom and FaceTime or not at all. |
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