| Monday, May 17, 2021 |
| TVA, Mississippi State flight research lab collaborate on inspections | |
 | The Tennessee Valley Authority and a Mississippi State flight research laboratory have agreed to collaborate on expanding the company's use of unmanned aircraft systems for inspections in order to improve safety and lower costs. The partnership between TVA, which supplies electricity to nearly 10 million people across seven Southeastern states, and Mississippi State's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory draws from the flight lab's expertise in evaluating unmanned aircraft systems, known as UAS, and its associated technologies. MSU's Raspet Flight Lab was designated in 2020 as the Federal Aviation Administration's UAS Safety Research Facility, placing the lab at the helm of studying and developing safety and certification standards as UAS become increasingly integrated in the U.S. national airspace system. "Future FAA-approved implementation of detect–and–avoid systems will allow UAS to operate safely beyond visual line of site -- a necessary step for these systems to reach their full potential," said Tom Brooks, director of the Raspet Flight Lab. "We're eager to work alongside TVA in evaluating UAS technologies and determining how they align with TVA's present and future operational needs." |
| Johnny Cash honored with Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker in Starkville | |
 | In the early morning of May 11, 1965, country legend Johnny Cash just wanted to pick flowers on the side of the street in Starkville after playing a show at Mississippi State University, but Starkville police were not fond of that idea. Cash was arrested for public intoxication and booked in Oktibbeha County Jail. After his night behind bars, Cash notably memorialized his experience through song. Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Mississippi Country Music Trail Commission and Visit Mississippi honored Cash and his experience in "Starkville City Jail" with the 35th Mississippi Country Music Trail marker, unveiled Friday near the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and North Jackson Street. The Mississippi Country Music Trail commemorates country music singers through their contributions and stories all across the state. Visit Mississippi Director of Tourism Craig Ray said he knew now was the time to honor the "Man in Black" at the "largest outdoor museum in the entire world." In attendance was Grammy Award-winning country artist Marty Stuart, a native of Philadelphia, Mississippi. He created the original concept for the Mississippi Country Music Trail, Ray said. Stuart got his start performing in Cash's backup band. He honored the late Cash, who passed away in 2003, at the ceremony by performing "Starkville City Jail" with Cash's own guitar. |
| Johnny Cash receives Mississippi Country Music Trail marker | |
 | The Man in Black is now being honored on the Mississippi Country Music Trail. A new marker dedicated Friday memorializes a night Johnny Cash spent in the Oktibbeha County Jail. In the early hours of May 11, 1965, Cash was arrested for public drunkenness after he was found picking flowers at a private home after a show at Mississippi State University. He spent the night locked up, and that served as inspiration for his song, "Starkville City Jail." He performed the song for inmates at San Quentin Jail in 1969, and it was included on the album, "Live at San Quentin." "I'm so delighted that Mr. Cash did not realize it was the Oktibbeha County Jail," Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said. "That wouldn't have been a good song. I'm delighted that he called it Starkville." The marker is at the corner of Mississippi Highway 182 and Jackson Street in Starkville. It is the 35th marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail. |
| That Time Johnny Cash Was Arrested in Starkville, Mississippi | |
 | Before "country music outlaw" became just another outfit for would-be badasses to try on, Johnny Cash made it a job description. But among the seven arrests he accrued during his most tumultuous years, from the late 1950s to 1967, none was quite like the time he was arrested in Starkville, Mississippi while picking flowers on May 11th, 1965. The way the Man in Black told the story of his mishap in the song "Starkville City Jail," from his 1969 live album Johnny Cash at San Quentin, he was innocently picking dandelions and daisies when the sheriff pulled up and carted him to jail, where he spent the rest of the night and paid a $36 fine. Of course, like many stories, he left out a couple of details -- like the public drunkenness and indecent exposure charges they stuck to him in addition to trespassing onto private property to pick those flowers. On Friday, the Mississippi Country Music Trail commemorated Cash's night in the Oktibbeha County Jail -- which is incidentally still a dry county, although he could legally have a drink today inside city limits -- with a historical marker in Starkville. |
| Aldermen receive update on Starkville park finances, new hours | |
| Starkville Parks and Recreation Executive Director Brandon Doherty updated the board of aldermen on the department's finances, upcoming projects and amended park hours at a board work session Friday. Currently, Parks and Recreation has outlined 90 projects to complete over the next few years. These plans include building a bathroom at the J. L. King pavilion, replacing the gym floor at the Outlaw Center and installing cameras, gates and lights at Moncrief Park. Doherty said the department examined each park and figured out the needs of them individually. "We're continually trying to do as much as we can in house, so we can do more things," Doherty said. "So, we've really reduced our contract labor, and that's why you've seen us accomplish so many things this year." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in material costs, Doherty said Parks and Recreation has struggled to find affordable pricing for some projects he wants to accomplish, such as a renovated parking lot at the Starkville Sportsplex. Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk said she understands that while prices may appear high, everyone is grappling with this issue currently. |
| 'Let them be kids': School resource officers in Starkville plan zoo trip for boys who rarely leave town | |
| When Tyrone Haslett was growing up in Chicago, he loved to go to the zoo. He and a particular group of friends all grew up in single-parent homes without much chance to get out of town or stay out of trouble, he said. Going to the zoo was their "way out." "That was a big part of my childhood," he said. "We took public transportation, and ... it opened up the idea of traveling once I got older." Now a school resource officer at Armstrong Junior High School in Starkville, Haslett wants to give some of the students he works with every day the same experience. He and Sammy Shumaker, chief SRO for Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, came up with a plan to take 40 AJHS boys to the Memphis Zoo in June --- to give the students an opportunity to get out of their hometown for a day and to help encourage them to stay out of trouble, they said. The plan came about as school and city officials are tackling an increasing number of violent crimes, including the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old on Easter Sunday. Many of the crimes have involved teenage boys. Haslett and Shumaker said they thought if they could arrange a trip for some of the eighth and ninth grade boys who don't have as much opportunity for travel or other activities outside Starkville this summer, they could dampen some of the gun violence that's plagued the community in recent weeks. |
| Despite Lumber Boom, Few New Sawmills Coming | |
 | North America's sawmills can't keep up with demand, which has sent wood prices on a meteoric rise. Don't expect new mills to start popping up though. Executives in the cyclical business of sawing logs into lumber said they are content to rake in cash while lumber prices are sky-high and aren't racing out to build new mills, which can cost hundreds of millions dollars and take two years to build from the ground up. In doing so they are breaking with conventional wisdom in the commodities business, which states that the cure for high prices is high prices. Usually when prices for raw materials rise, refineries and smelters ramp up, farmers plant larger crops, wells are drilled, mines dug. New supplies flood into the market and prices retreat. Mill companies including Weyerhaeuser Co. and West Fraser Timber Co. have set nine-figure budgets to boost efficiency and output at their existing mills, particularly in the South where there is a glut of cheap pine timber. Some forest-products executives said they are considering acquisitions with their fast-accumulating cash. But there aren't many new mills on the drawing board for North America. New mills in the pine belt between Georgia and east Texas have helped offset closures that have shrunk Canada's capacity, but there isn't much coming behind them. Idled facilities are restarting in Florida and Mississippi. A couple small mills are under construction out West. Four bigger mills have been announced but not begun in the South. |
| Mississippi justices toss voter-backed marijuana initiative | |
| Mississippi will remain in the minority of states without a medical marijuana program after the state Supreme Court on Friday overturned an initiative that voters approved last fall -- a decision that also limits other citizen-led efforts to put issues on the statewide ballot. At the heart of the ruling is the fact that initiatives need signatures from five congressional districts to get on the ballot, but because of Mississippi's stagnant population, the state only has four districts. Six justices ruled that the medical marijuana initiative is void because the state's initiative process is outdated. Three justices dissented. "Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of section 273(3) wrote a ballot-initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress," Justice Josiah Coleman wrote for the majority in the ruling Friday. "To work in today's reality, it will need amending -- something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court." |
| Mississippi Supreme Court overturns medical marijuana Initiative 65 | |
| The Mississippi Supreme Court on Friday issued a much-anticipated ruling that strikes down the Medical marijuana program enshrined in the state constitution by voters in November. The ruling also voids -- for now -- the state's ballot initiative process that allows voters to take matters in hand and pass constitutional amendments. The court ruled that the state's ballot initiative process is "unworkable and inoperative" until lawmakers and voters fix state law and the constitution. With six of the nine state justices agreeing, the court wrote, "We grant the petition, reverse the Secretary of State's certification of initiative 65 and hold that any subsequent proceedings on it are void." Besides derailing the medical marijuana program, the ruling also jeopardizes six pending ballot initiatives, including one to expand Medicaid and others to reinstate the state's 1890 state flag, allow early voting and to approve recreational marijuana use. The ruling also could open to challenge two constitutional amendments that voters have passed since they were allowed to do so in 1992, one limiting eminent domain powers over government to take private land and one requiring a government-issued ID to vote. |
| Medical marijuana decision deals blow to citizens' right to petition | |
| When the Mississippi Supreme Court announced Friday it had overturned a citizen-led constitutional amendment that would have established a medical marijuana program, Rob Roberson considered the ruling with mixed feelings. On one hand, as a representative in the Legislature, Roberson (R-Starkville) was pleased with the decision about a citizens initiative process he said is "a terrible way to run a government." But as an attorney, Roberson said the far-reaching implications of the supreme court's ruling could strip Mississippians of an important right. "I absolutely do believe in the right of the people to petition their government," said Roberson, referencing language in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "But there has to be a better way, a better process than the one we have now." In announcing the court's ruling Friday, Justice Josiah Coleman said the current outdated language in the constitution means there is no legal initiative process in the state. |
| Future of Mississippi voter initiative process rests with Legislature | |
| A Mississippi Supreme Court ruling will not only ignite political dispute over the future of medical cannabis in the state but also over the future of the voter initiative process itself. Supporters of medical marijuana were quick to voice displeasure with a Friday ruling that voided the results of the Initiative 65 election. But voices also began to emerge calling for efforts to revive the ability of citizens to directly place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. These voices included Northeast Mississippi's Brandon Presley, a Democratic Public Service commissioner. "Mississippians deserve the right to DIRECTLY impact their state government through the initiative and referendum process of gathering signatures to amend the state constitution, no matter the issue or whether I agree with the cause," Presley wrote in a statement on Facebook. Under the ruling of the Supreme Court majority, the current constitutional provisions for a voter initiative only allow a valid initiative to occur when the state has five congressional districts. The state has had only four congressional districts for 20 years now, and will continue to have four districts for at least the next decade. |
| Delbert Hosemann talks economic plan at DeSoto Council Luncheon | |
 | Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann was the keynote speaker at a membership luncheon of the Desoto Council held this week at the Landers Center. Hosemann highlighted the legislative high points from the 2020 year. Which included $300 million in funding for small business relief, $200 million towards education and distance learning, the reorganization of the state workforce board, and funding to hospitals to help with COVID-19 complications. One of the aspects of the 2021 economic plan includes a teacher pay raise. Hosemann said that this is a critical aspect for quality education. In addition to the pay raise, the state has also allocated funding to help pay for teachers' loan payments. Mississippi is also taking part in college athlete compensation programs. This initiative will allow college athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness. The program also allows Mississippi to be more competitive in recruiting athletes to its universities. Hosemann said the program will be very beneficial to the athletes affected by it. "Those kids deserve to take advantage of such a great economic opportunity," Hosemann said. |
| Former Mississippi lawmaker Greg Snowden named to new state courts role | |
| Greg Snowden, the former House speaker pro tempore and a 20-year veteran of the Mississippi Legislature, has been named the next director of the Administrative Office of Courts. Snowden, 67, of Meridian, has been a practicing attorney in Mississippi for more than 40 years. He served the Mississippi House of Representatives for 20 years representing Lauderdale County, including seven years as House Speaker Pro Tempore. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Randolph said Snowden's record of leadership and experience working on government budgets makes him well-suited for the role. "He has a proven track record in governmental performance-based budget planning," Randolph said in a news release. The Administrative Office of Courts, AOC, is responsible for the administrative business of the state trial and appellate courts including budget, finance and personnel. The director of AOC also assists the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the chief administrative officer of every court in the state. |
| Supreme Court will hear direct challenge to Roe v. Wade | |
 | The Supreme Court on Monday said it will review Mississippi's ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, taking up a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade just a few months after its newest conservative justice joined the bench. The Mississippi ban, which has been blocked by lower courts since it was enacted in 2018, will be one of the first reproductive rights case argued before the Supreme Court since Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed in October, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority that is widely expected to curtail abortion access. The court will consider the heart of Roe by hearing arguments on whether all bans on abortion prior to the point of fetal viability are unconstitutional. While the court recently took another abortion-related case out of Kentucky, the justices during those arguments will focus on a procedural question rather than consider the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. The court in recent has largely shied away from abortion-related cases in recent years, to the frustration of some conservatives on the bench. Accepting the Mississippi case indicates they're ready to reexamine Roe and other cases that could result in new curbs on the procedure. |
| Supreme Court to consider Mississippi 15-week abortion ban with new conservative majority | |
 | The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to Mississippi's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, giving the court's new conservative majority a chance to weigh in on the polarizing issue for the first time in a major case. Despite the addition of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which gave conservatives a 6-3 edge, the justices had been considering for months whether to take the case, potentially suggesting deep divisions. The court limited the case to a single question: Whether pre-viability bans on abortion such as Mississippi's are constitutional. Both sides of the abortion debate had been closely watching whether the court would take the case, attempting to parse meaning from the longer-than-usual delay. Some had speculated the court was eager to avoid taking up such a controversial case so soon after former President Donald Trump named three new justices to the bench. Opponents of the law, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, argued that pregnancies at 15 weeks are not viable, so abortions at that stage are permitted by court precedents. "Before viability, it is for the pregnant person, and not the state, to make the ultimate decision whether to continue a pregnancy," they wrote. |
| Supreme Court to review Mississippi abortion law that advocates see as a path to diminish Roe v. Wade | |
 | The Supreme Court on Monday said it will review a restrictive Mississippi abortion law that opponents of the procedure say provides a clear path to diminish Roe v. Wade's establishment of the right of women to choose an abortion. Abortion opponents for months have urged the court's conservatives to seize the chance to reexamine the 1973 precedent. Mississippi is one among many Republican-led states that have passed restrictions that conflict with the court's precedents protecting a woman's right to choose before fetal viability. In accepting the case, the court said it would examine whether "all pre-viability prohibitions on abortion are unconstitutional." That has been a key component of the court's jurisprudence. The Mississippi law would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. But both a district judge and a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said that could not be squared with decades of Supreme Court precedents. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves wrote in a 2018 ruling that the Mississippi legislature's "professed interest in 'women's health' is pure gaslighting." "The State chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional to endorse a decades-long campaign, fueled by national interest groups, to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade," Reeves wrote. |
| MUW's RN to BSN program named 'Best in the South' | |
| Mississippi University for Women's RN to BSN Degree Program has been named "Best in the South" by Intelligent.com. "This ranking continues to demonstrate the ongoing hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and students. The W's RN to BSN program faculty work diligently with each student to enhance their opportunities for success," said Dr. Tammie McCoy, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The site ranked The W's program No. 15 nationally in The Top 66 RN to BSN Online Degrees Intelligent.com produces an Intelligent Score that ranks each university or college from 0 to 100. The site states, "the highest scoring universities are highly-regarded for their RN to BSN programs and relatively wallet-friendly, making it easy to earn back the cost of your degree." "What an honor for our RN to BSN program to receive this recognition of excellence. This is a true testament to our dedicated faculty, staff and students. Our priority is to offer a high-quality education at an affordable rate and this ranking is just one more confirmation of that," said Dr. Maria Scott, chair of the department of baccalaureate nursing. |
| USM organization holds candlelight vigil for Robert Brent | |
 | The Vietnamese Student Organization at The University of Southern Mississippi, the organization Robert Brent was with when he tragically drowned at Dauphin Island a few weeks ago, held a candlelight vigil in his honor this evening on campus. Friends of Brent came up and shared stories of the good times they have had with him while holding their lit candles. After everyone had a chance to share their stories, a presentation of videos and pictures of Brent was shown to remember the good times they all shared with him. "It's great to see everyone's support. Giving their love, good prayers and respect to Rob," stated Nam Tran, a friend of Brent's. "He was just a happy person and I think everyone has that part of Rob in them." Brent's memorial service will be on May 21 for teachers and students looking to pay their respects. |
| 'Sins of our past': Apologies for 1970 Jackson State shootings | |
| The mayor of Mississippi's capital city and a state senator both apologized Saturday for shootings 51 years ago by city and state police officers that killed two people and injured 12 others on the campus of a historically Black college. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and state Sen. Hillman Frazier of Jackson spoke during a graduation ceremony for the Class of 1970 of what was then Jackson State College, now Jackson State University. Lumumba apologized on behalf of the city to the families of the two men whose lives were cut short by the violent police response to the protest against racial injustice. Killed were 21-year-old Jackson State student Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and 17-year-old James Earl Green, a high school student who was on campus while walking home from work. Jackson State's 1970 commencement was canceled because of the bloodshed, and graduates that year received their diplomas in the mail, if at all. On Saturday, 74 of the 400-plus 1970 grads donned caps and gowns and stood in the sunshine to receive the recognition denied to them a lifetime ago. |
| Officials Apologize for Deadly Police Shooting at a Black College in 1970 | |
 | They waited more than 50 years to put on their caps and gowns: That rite of passage had been denied to the members of the Class of 1970 at what is now Jackson State University in Mississippi, after a deadly police shooting at the historically Black college that spring brought their college years to an abrupt end. Their graduation was canceled. But on Saturday, the group of more than 400 former students had the chance to hear their names called and to walk across a stage. They received more than their diplomas: City and state officials apologized for the violence that had claimed the lives of two people and wounded a dozen others after local police and state highway patrol officers opened fire while responding to campus protests over racial injustice on the night of May 14, 1970. State Senator Hillman T. Frazier, who was a student at Jackson State at the time of the shooting there and whose district includes part of Jackson, said he had left the campus to get food on the night of May 14, 1970, and otherwise might have been shot. "If you think back, the State of Mississippi never apologized for the tragedy that occurred on this campus on that night, never apologized," said Mr. Frazier, who is Black. "So since I'm here representing the State of Mississippi in my role as state senator, I'd like to issue an apology to the Jackson State family for the tragedy that occurred that night." |
| Masks no longer required for the vaccinated at UGA under new COVID guidelines | |
 | As spring semester wraps up, the University of Georgia has announced new COVID-19 guidelines. Vaccines will be strongly encouraged while masks are no longer required "effective immediately" for those fully vaccinated, according to a new return to campus letter released Friday to staff and faculty. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new recommendations concerning COVID-19, including that vaccinated people do not need masks or to socially distance except in certain situations. The University System of Georgia also issued new guidelines to campuses later that day. In response to USG's new guidelines, UGA announced a transition over the next several weeks to pre-COVID operations in preparation for fall semester. In March, university officials announced UGA would resume normal operations this fall. The UGA guidelines aim for a goal of June 14 for all employees to be back to work in person, though it does allow for some flexibility. |
| Regents decide no raises for Georgia university presidents | |
| For the second year in a row, presidents in the state's public university system did not get raises. The Georgia Board of Regents met earlier this week to approve the salaries, deferred compensation and allowances for all 26 presidents, which take effect July 1. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution received the total compensations Friday through the Georgia Open Records Act. The presidents at Georgia's four research institutions -- Augusta University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State and the University of Georgia -- continue to top the list, all near or above total compensations of $1 million. Augusta University President Brooks Keel topped the list at nearly $1.2 million. Nearly all of the other presidents in the system will make between $200,000 to $300,000. A few University System of Georgia presidents, like Georgia State's Mark Becker, are leaving in the coming months and their replacements will negotiate their own salaries and compensation. System officials said Keel received the only increase, made to his deferred compensation. Keel did not have deferred compensation in 2019, the last year University System presidents received raises. |
| Can't tell when fruits and veggies are going bad? UF researchers want to help | |
 | Raise your hand if you've ever had an avocado that was too hard and under ripe one day and become too squishy seemingly overnight. Or maybe you wanted a sandwich for lunch, but the lettuce that seemed fine at the supermarket was suddenly soggy and old. Post-harvest researcher Tie Liu, an assistant professor with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, knows the struggle. And he wants to help. Liu is studying the possibility of creating a handheld or wearable device to test food freshness beyond what human senses are capable of finding. "I've seen this many times in my refrigerator. Sometimes you just bought a vegetable and then forget it, and just a few days later, it's all yellow," he said. "Personally, I feel very wasteful. We need to have a better idea of how to manage it and reduce vegetable waste." And his insight won't just help shoppers. Monitoring decay can help farmers know when to ship their harvests, suppliers decide what to ship and stock first and stores track what produce is good for sale, Liu said. Combining all four stops along the chain, tons of food waste and loss can be prevented. |
| Kentucky universities make plans for returning to on-campus operations | |
| As Kentuckians celebrate the end of the mask requirement for fully vaccinated Americans, the commonwealth's universities are taking the change into account as they plan for the fall semester. The University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University both made amendments to their mask policies following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Thursday announcement that fully vaccinated people can safely stop wearing masks and maintaining a certain distance from others inside most places. University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton said as of Friday afternoon, the school has not yet modified any policies with respect to masks. "We will be evaluating in the coming days given the new guidance," Blanton said in an email. UK President Eli Capilouto announced on Friday details regarding the school's plan to "return to normal operations," including plans for staff to begin transitioning to on-site work July 1. "The bottom line is that yesterday's announcements, and other recent developments, give us even more confidence about ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our employees as they return to physical spaces," Capilouto wrote in an email to UK employees. |
| Texas A&M professor: Housing costs climb with supplies lagging | |
 | An increase in home renovations and a lagging supply of building materials during the pandemic has led to higher costs of lumber, wood products and homes. Randy Birdwell, a construction science professor at Texas A&M with 40 years of industry experience, called the rise in homebuilding and renovations since the summer a boom in an already healthy industry. "There was a demand for building products that wasn't anticipated by the lumber mills and the Home Depots of the world, so basically, they just run out of inventory," he said, adding that suppliers and manufacturers did not reopen fast enough to meet the increased demand. The simple supply-demand situation has resulted in the price of a home, nationally, being about $36,000 more now than last year, he said, citing the National Association of Home Builders. "[Homebuilding] really came out of the gates strong in 2020, COVID hit, and a lot of the manufacturers shut down and liquidated their inventories, so now there's no inventory of product, and they're shut down, and homebuilding quickly recovers," Birdwell said. |
| Women administrators' salaries at U. of Missouri trail men's by 25 percent | |
 | A Missourian analysis of University of Missouri administrators across each academic unit and central administration shows women's salaries average 25% less than men's. It is the first examination of MU salary equity since a 2015 study found a 15% pay gap between men and women. At that time, MU administrators said additional studies were needed to ensure equity, but no follow-up studies occurred. This Missourian analysis was inspired by a more limited examination of MU administrator salaries done by Art Jago, a retired emeritus professor in the Trulaske College of Business, in November 2020. Jago's data analysis found a gender pay gap of 20%, and in response, the Missourian worked with MU spokesman Christian Basi to assemble a more complete data set. A traditional argument to explain such compensation gaps is that male professors typically have more years of experience. Rebecca Graves, the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Committee chair on MU Faculty Council, rejects that argument. "People have been trying to get equal pay for long enough that we should have more women that are full professors," Graves said. "For long enough that you shouldn't have to look at the data and say, 'Oh, well they've been here longer.' It should have worked its way out of the data." |
| Study finds that public research universities recruit out of state at private high schools | |
 | Where do public universities recruit students? Most universities would like the public to think that they focus on their states, visiting every possible high school, particularly those with talented disadvantaged students. But that's not what Karina Salazar of the University of Arizona, and Ozan Jaquette and Crystal Han, both of the University of California, Los Angeles, keep finding out. Two years ago, they found that public universities focus on high schools that are out of state and more likely than not to be high income and largely white. Further, a disproportionate number of the high schools visited are private schools. They have returned to the subject with a new paper, published Friday, in The American Educational Research Journal. Its conclusion: "Results reveal socioeconomic, racial, and geographic disparities in recruiting patterns. In particular, most universities made more out-of-state than in-state visits, and out-of-state visits systematically targeted affluent, predominantly white localities." They also fault much of the current research on the college search process. "College access is an outcome that depends on interactions between students looking for colleges and colleges looking for students," they write. "How do students and colleges find one another? Most scholarship analyzes the process by which students search for colleges. A massive 'college choice' literature highlights many factors that influence students' decisions about where to apply and where to enroll ... By focusing on the characteristics and behaviors of students, families, and K-12 schools (the 'demand side' of higher education), the college choice literature largely views colleges and universities (the 'supply side') as passive recipients of students." |
| American Attitudes Toward International Students Are Warm but Wary | |
 | Despite the isolationist, pull-up-the-bridges rhetoric of the past four years, public attitudes toward international students have been warming, with Americans saying their presence on college campuses increases global understanding and improves U.S. competitiveness. Yet a survey just released by the American Council on Education also contains unwelcome news for advocates of international education. Four in 10 Americans believe international students are displacing domestic students in college classrooms, according to the poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted in February. And those surveyed said they feared international students might have motives in coming here beyond earning a degree -- to steal American innovation and intellectual property. Suspicion of students from China, the largest group of international students on American campuses, runs especially deep. For college leaders, the challenge is how to absorb, interpret, and act on those mixed messages. They must do so at a time of unprecedented crisis for international enrollments. With flights largely grounded and visa processing mostly halted, the number of new international students plummeted 43 percent during the pandemic, more than that of any other demographic group. |
| At Washington and Lee, name change conversation continues | |
| Washington and Lee University is -- in part -- named after Robert E. Lee. Four months after the commander of the Confederate States Army surrendered at Appomattox, he was invited to be president of what was then called Washington College, a role he filled for five years. He is revered by many for his work at the university, which was renamed to honor him in 1870. Lee's presence at the university goes beyond the name. His body is held at the campus's Lee Chapel, and there are portraits of the general across campus. Before 2016, the chapel was the final destination of the annual Lee-Jackson Day parade, part of the Virginia state holiday honoring Lee and fellow Confederate general Stonewall Jackson. The university has made some changes. It's removed Confederate flags, canceled visits from Confederate groups and changed the way it talks about its history. This year, the campus hired its first associate provost for diversity and inclusion. In the past four years, 46 percent of faculty hires have been people of color. But the fight over Lee's legacy at the university has continued, as the administration is pinned between vocal alumni and parents who want to see traditions continue, and students and faculty who feel that change is long overdue. |
| Bills to give NSF massive spending boost advance in Senate and House, but hurdles remain | |
| Two key congressional committees this week endorsed the idea of a sizable spending increase for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Separate pieces of legislation -- one approved by a Senate panel, the other by a committee of the House of Representatives -- would more than double NSF's budget over 5 years as part of a broader push to outinnovate China and the rest of the world through a massive federal investment in research. But research advocates aren't popping any corks yet. The two votes represent an important step in a 20-year push to bring the $8.5-billion-a-year NSF closer to parity with the $43 billion National Institutes of Health. However, legislators must still reconcile competing visions of NSF's role in maintaining U.S. global leadership in science in order for some version of either bill to become law. And then they would have to convince their colleagues to appropriate at least some portion of the additional money Congress has authorized. "Getting [the bills] out of committee is great news," says one lobbyist for higher education. "But there's still a lot of work that needs to be done." |
| President Biden's Plan for Free Community College Faces Resistance | |
| President Biden's plan to offer Americans the opportunity to attend community college for free is running up against political obstacles over who should pay for it and skepticism on whether it would broaden access to higher education. His proposal -- unveiled in April as part of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan -- would waive tuition for two years of public community college. It would also provide many students more cash to cover living expenses that often deter students from lower-income families from attending. As with other aspects of the overall Biden plan, the $256 billion community-college proposal represents a gamble on big social spending. It could reduce inequality and boost wages of lower-income households, as the White House envisions, or it might shovel more taxpayer money into a system that some academics across the political spectrum say chronically underperforms. Republicans and some academics on both the left and right say that community college is already inexpensive and making it free wouldn't sufficiently address deep-seated problems with the system: high dropout rates and entering students being unprepared for college-level work. |
| Reform and expand Medicaid to save lives | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Had a date with the "widow-maker" last week, but the Lord spared me, with help from government subsidized health insurance. The "widow-maker," as it is known, is a massive heart attack that hits when your heart's left anterior descending (LAD) artery gets totally or almost completely blocked. Mine was 85% blocked. But, I was able to get it fixed before it caused a heart attack. My Medicare coverage backed up by state retiree health insurance made the difference. A month ago I experienced shortness of breath while visiting my daughter in Southaven. I visited the hospital ER, there, and was instructed to avoid physical exertion and to visit a heart doctor upon my return to Jackson. That led to an echocardiogram followed by a nuclear heart stress test. The test showed potential blockage and a heart catheterization was scheduled. Before that occurred, however, tightness in my chest along with shortness of breath sent me to the ER. With my earlier history and tests in hand, the ER sent me promptly to the cath lab where a stent was inserted into my widow-maker LAD artery. I was fortunate. But only because I could afford all these visits and tests through my health insurance (premiums cost about $6,000 yearly). Many hard-working Mississippians who deserve good fortune much more than I are not so fortunate. These are the working poor who cannot afford health insurance premiums and do not qualify for Medicaid or Obamacare subsidized coverage. |
| Mississippi could help long-neglected poor with Rescue Plan payments | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: The state's political leaders who are cutting off federal coronavirus-related federal unemployment benefits could provide needy Mississippians cash assistance through another federal program. Apparently, a portion of the $1.8 billion the state is receiving from the American Rescue Plan, signed into law earlier this year by President Joe Biden, could be paid to Mississippians in direct payments. The law provides for "direct assistance to households and populations facing negative economic impacts due to COVID-19." The payments would be similar to the federal benefits sent out over the past year. Those federal checks have totaled $3,200 for most Mississippians. U.S. Treasury Department regulations, released last week, specified that the cash payments could not be significantly larger than the checks sent out by the federal government, but with more limitations to narrowly target those who need help the most. The language in the law appears to allow benefits to be paid to the families of people who died from COVID-19. ... The issue of the level of federal assistance is being debated against the backdrop of Mississippi having the nation's lowest per capita income. And Mississippi does perhaps less to help its low wage earners than any state in the nation. |
SPORTS
| Softball Earns 16th NCAA Tournament Bid, Bound For Stillwater | |
| Mississippi State's softball program is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for its fourth consecutive appearance. The Bulldogs (33-23, 8-15 SEC) will start their road to Oklahoma City as the No. 2 seed in the Stillwater Regional. MSU will open the double-elimination regional on Friday, May 21 at 3:30 p.m. CT against Boston University at Cowgirl Stadium. Along with the Bulldogs and the Terriers, the Stillwater Regional features host Oklahoma State, which earned the fifth overall national seed, and Campbell. "We are excited to get on the road to Stillwater and get back to postseason after the shortened 2020 season," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Oklahoma State has had a great year. There's definitely a challenge in front of us with them, but we can't overlook Boston University or Campbell. They've had great seasons too with the success that they've had in their conferences. We're looking to continue what we've been doing in the month of May. That's taking care of the little things, timely hitting, pitching with our whole staff and taking care of the details. We're continuing to build out confidence at the right time of the year. We're excited to get going and get back to practice." The Bulldogs' first game of the regional will be aired nationally on ESPN3, which can be accessed online through WatchESPN or the ESPN app. Television assignments for the remaining games of the regional will be announced later this week. |
| Mississippi State softball earns regional bid, will travel to Stillwater | |
| Mississippi State softball's late-season surge has paid dividends. The Bulldogs earned their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance Sunday night and will be a No. 2 seed in Oklahoma State's Stillwater Regional. Their first matchup in the double-elimination tournament is slated against No. 3 seed Boston University at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Cowgirl Stadium. Boston University comes into the matchup with a 36-2 record but were knocked down to a No. 3 seed because of its strength of schedule. The other matchup Friday will be No. 1 Oklahoma State against No. 4 Campbell. Oklahoma State is the fifth seed overall nationally in the NCAA tournament. "We are excited to get on the road to Stillwater and get back to postseason after the shortened 2020 season," MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said. MSU comes into the matchup red hot, winning eight of its last 10 games. The NCAA tournament appearance is the 16th in MSU program history and its eighth postseason berth in nine seasons, as the Bulldogs come into the regional at No. 29 in the NCAA RPI. The Bulldogs played the eighth-toughest schedule in the nation, and 16 of its 22 losses came to teams ranked in the latest NFCA Coaches' poll. |
| No. 16 Men's Tennis Set For NCAA Sweet 16 Battle With No. 8 Texas A&M Monday Night | |
| With their minds locked in, hearts full, and hungry for battle, the 16th-ranked Mississippi State men's team (18-9) is set to face a familiar foe in No. 8 Texas A&M (18-8) in the 2021 NCAA Team Championship Round of 16. The Bulldogs will battle the Aggies at the USTA National Campus here Monday evening at 7 p.m. ET. Mississippi State punched its ticket to the Round of 16 by claiming victories in the first two rounds of the tournament at the same location where this week's national championship will ultimately be determined – the USTA National Campus. In an incredible weekend of tennis, 16th-ranked State ousted No. 39 Miami (4-1) and then upset No. 9 seed/regional host UCF (4-2) on May 8-9 in Orlando to pave the way to the program's 15th NCAA Championship Round of 16 berth. Texas A&M earned its way to Orlando with a pair of triumphs at home, the Aggies hosting the first two rounds as a national seed. In the first round, No. 8 TAMU ousted New Mexico 4-1 and followed with a victory over No. 27 Oklahoma by the same score. State and A&M are two of seven Southeastern Conference men's tennis teams competing in Monday's NCAA Round of 16 in Orlando, with the Bulldog-Aggie clash the only one featuring two of the league's teams squaring off against each other. |
| Texas A&M men's tennis team to face Mississippi State in Round of 16 at NCAA tournament | |
| Unfinished business brought Texas A&M men's tennis standout Valentin Vacherot back to Aggieland for another season despite his aspirations to turn pro. Before COVID-19 ended last season prematurely, the Aggies were 12-3 overall and 4-0 in Southeastern Conference play, while holding a No. 10 national ranking. Vacherot and his teammates were in Starkville, Mississippi, in March 2020 when the season was put on pause and eventually canceled. "It was a shock to everyone," Vacherot said. "Really sad moment, and we thought it was over for a few days, but things began to get more clear and I realized I had another chance. From that, I was looking forward to this." The Aggies (18-8) will get another shot at No. 16 Mississippi State (18-9) at 6 p.m. Monday, this time in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Championship in Orlando, Florida. The Aggies beat Mississippi State 6-1 on March 5 this season, which builds some confidence within the team, Vacherot said. However, Denton said, this late in the season, two different teams will square off at the USTA National Campus. "My message to the team is, we absolutely can't even consider what happened before," Denton said. "This team we're going to play is significantly better than when we played them early in the season. They're a young team and they've grown up." |
| Bulldogs Tee Off At NCAA Regional On Monday | |
| Mississippi State's men's golf program begins play at the Cle Elum Regional on Monday, May 17. State is playing in its 12th NCAA Championships, and it is the Bulldogs' third straight NCAA appearance along with the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The Bulldogs are set to tee off on the 10th tee at the Tumble Creek Golf and Country Club at 10:55 a.m. CT. "We look forward to a great test this week," head coach Dusty Smith said. "The golf course is very good and will test our mental toughness and discipline. We have a lot of belief in each other and our ability to do our job at the highest level." The 14-team field in Cle Elum, Washington, consists of No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 17 Florida and No. 20 Arizona as well as San Francisco, Iowa, Washington, ETSU, Utah, Oregon, Long Beach State, Denver and Sacramento State. The top five teams after three days of play will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 28-June 2 at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. |
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