| Monday, January 10, 2022 |
| MSU requires masks in indoor locations until Feb. 1 | |
 | Mississippi State University will require masks for at least the beginning of the spring 2022 semester. Effective Monday, all students, faculty, staff and visitors will be required to wear face coverings in all indoor locations until Feb. 1 where the university will reevaluate the requirement after the university receives guidance from the Mississippi State Department of Health and federal public health officials. MSU had lifted the mask requirement for indoor locations, with the exception of the Longest Student Health Center, classrooms, labs and studios during scheduled class times, on Oct. 29, but now the mask requirement is required in all indoor locations on campus. MSU employees may require masks to be worn inside their personal offices, and employees may remove masks in their personal offices. Mississippi University for Women will continue to require masks in all indoor locations on its campus as well. |
| Reeves attends grand opening for Threefoot Hotel | |
 | Gov. Tate Reeves joined with local and state officials at the official grand opening of the Threefoot Hotel in Meridian on Thursday. "The economic growth happening in Meridian has been nothing short of amazing," Reeves posted on Facebook following the ribbon cutting, which was hosted by the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation. "Today's grand opening of the Threefoot Hotel marks another major win for the city's tourism economy and is one more reason to visit the Queen City." After years of renovation, the new hotel further enhances the city's revitalized downtown, which is home to the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts and MSU-Meridian's Riley Campus. MSU President Mark E. Keenum was on hand for the grand opening, noting "The Threefoot Hotel is creating new economic and community development opportunities in Meridian and Lauderdale County, and Mississippi State University is so proud to be a part of this vibrant community." The hotel, which opened in November after years of anticipation, is a 16-story Art Deco structure built in 1929. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and designated a Mississippi Landmark in 2008. |
| How much candy do Americans eat in a whole year? | |
 | Mississippi State University Assistant Professor Rahel Mathews writes for The Conversation: From sweet treats to holiday indulgences, candy plays a big role in American culture, with consumption surging around Valentine's Day, Halloween, Easter and Christmas. Sugar, whether it's derived from sugar cane, sugar beets or corn, is a primary ingredient in all candies, partly because it can be masterfully crafted to all sorts of different sizes, shapes and textures. Whether you are nibbling on rock candy, chewing on taffy, munching on jellybeans or licking a lollipop, you're basically eating spoonfuls of sugar. The average American consumes an estimated 8 pounds of candy (3.7 kilograms) annually, with children eating even more. On a typical day, 1 in 4 eat at least some candy and almost all of us do it once a year. As a dietitian, I advise moderation, even on special occasions. That's because growing kids, and adults too, need food to have enough energy, maintain strong bones and muscles and help their bodies fight infections. ... Eating too much candy, drinking too many sugary beverages and consuming other sources of added sugar can leave you feeling tired and generally unwell in the short term. If you ingest too much sugar all the time, your risk for lifelong health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, will rise. |
| Mississippi agriculture reaches a record high | |
 | High commodity prices in 2021 pushed Mississippi agriculture to a sharp increase in total value -- a record estimated $8.33 billion -- despite a huge decline in government assistance aimed at coronavirus relief. Agriculture's estimated value is up 19% from 2020. Ag value is back to the high levels seen in 2012-2014. Commodities alone, without considering government payments, reached a record high of $7.88 billion, a 27% increase. Poultry, soybeans and forestry continue to rank first, second and third, respectively, in the state's agricultural economy. Will Maples, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said high prices were matched by mostly good yields. Strong exports added to the positive picture. "The main cause of the increase we saw in commodity values this year was much better prices across the board," Will Maples said. "It was a much better year for farmers, but we're coming off some years with pretty low prices." Poultry posted an estimated $2.65 billion value in 2021, up 39% from the $1.9 billion it registered the previous year. Broilers saw the highest increases, but eggs and chickens also had positive growth. |
| MSU Outstanding Achievement Awards | |
| Mississippi State University's Association of Retired Faculty recently named one MSU graduate and three current students as recipients of the association's outstanding achievement awards. The Association of Retired Faculty, which launched in 1986, presents awards that serve as tributes or memorials to colleagues and association members who made major contributions to student development during their careers at MSU, a release from the university says. Recipients each receive a $500 award. Honorees for the 2022 outstanding achievement awards include Mari-Todd Stidham Brown of Mathiston, Miss., who received the Charles E. Lindley Leadership in Agriculture Award; Lindsey B. Downs of Alabaster, Ala., who received the Peyton Ward Williams Jr. Distinguished Writing Award; Serena E. Liles of Ocean Springs, Miss., who received the Harry Charles Fleming Simrall Award for Engineering Excellence; and Alysia E. Williams of Kennesaw, Ga., who received the William L. Giles Award for Excellence in Architecture. For more information on MSU's Association of Retired Faculty, visit http://lib.msstate.edu/arf. |
| Register Feb. 1 for online Master Gardener classes | |
| The new year offers a new opportunity for garden enthusiasts who want to hone their craft and give back to their communities. The Mississippi State University Extension Service will offer the Master Gardener training and certification online again this year. Participants take 40 hours of instruction in consumer horticulture and related topics to become expert volunteers. Learn more and register for the first Master Gardener class of 2022 from Feb. 1-28 at http://msuext.ms/mg. Instruction for all classes is online and self-paced. The online class material is offered from March 15 to May 15. "The Master Gardener program grooms active volunteers who exchange the 40 hours of educational training they receive for 40 hours of volunteer service within one year of their training," said Jeff Wilson, Extension horticulture specialist and state coordinator of the Master Gardener program. "These Master Gardeners continue to be assets to their communities as, in future years, they continue to receive training and log a minimum of 20 community service hours a year to maintain their certified status," he said. The volunteer work of Master Gardeners helps local Extension offices reach a broader audience than is possible through just the efforts of Extension agents. |
| Starkville Area Arts Council kicks off 2022 with 'Time in Every Stitch' | |
| "Time in Every Stitch," a Starkville Area Arts Council exhibit featuring the work of Rowan Haug, will be on display from Tuesday through March 27 in the Greater Starkville Development Partnership lobby. An opening reception will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday at the lobby. The exhibit is hybrid, meaning it can be viewed in-person at the downtown Starkville facility or at the SAAC website, http://www.starkvillearts.net. Haug, who has been a Mississippi State instructor since 2010, has a master of fine arts degree from Florida State University and a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. She specializes in quilting, textiles and fiber arts. The exhibit will feature a sample of Haug's abstract quilt pieces. "My work ... looks at traditional modes of quilt-making and what we traditionally think of as 'women's work,'" writes Haug. "Women's work is a labor of love, it marks time in its every stitch. These stitches and seams tether me in time and place." The reception will be catered by a local restaurant and wine is provided by SAAC and Scotty's Wine and Spirits. |
| Cliett, Easterling, Jones qualify to run for circuit court judge | |
| Three West Point attorneys have qualified to run for circuit court judge. Mark Cliett, Michelle Easterling and Bennie L. Jones Jr. have all qualified through the Mississippi Office of the Secretary of State to run for circuit court judge for the 16th district of Mississippi. The 16th district, which includes Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties, has three circuit court judges, one from each area of the district -- one from Lowndes County, one from Oktibbeha County and one from Clay and Noxubee counties. Circuit court primarily handles felony criminal cases. Cliett, Easterling and Jones will all run for the Clay and Noxubee judge position. Current judge Lee Coleman said he has chosen not to run for reelection. Incumbent James T. Kitchens Jr. is the only individual who has qualified for the Lowndes County judge position. Lee J. "Jay" Howard, son of current judge Lee Howard, has qualified for the Oktibbeha County position. He said he will issue a press release in the coming weeks regarding his reasoning for running for judge. The circuit court judge general election will be Nov. 8. |
| Halfway through fiscal year, Mississippi state revenues exceeding estimates by over half a billion dollars | |
 | Halfway through the 2022 fiscal year, the Mississippi state revenues continue to outpace budget estimates. For the month of December 2021, total revenue collections were $106,793,974 or 21.22% above the sine die revenue estimate. Fiscal YTD revenue collections through December 2021 are $545,257,648 or 19.31% above the sine die estimate. Fiscal YTD total revenue collections through December 2021 are $325,173,198 or 10.68% above the prior year's collections. The FY 2022 Sine Die Revenue Estimate is $5,927,000,000. December General Fund collections were $110,079,934 or 22.01% over December FY 2021 actual collections. Sales tax collections for the month of December were above the prior year by $25.3M. Individual income tax collections for the month of December were below the prior year by $4.3M. Corporate income tax collections for the month of December were above the prior year by $83.7M. |
| Health officials warn of 'painful' few weeks for hospital system as omicron surges | |
| Nearing the end of a week in which Mississippi recorded a record number of COVID-19 infections, a majority being the heavily infectious omicron variant, state health officials are warning of the weeks to come and emphasizing the need for residents to stay up to date on their vaccinations. "We know we've got some weeks ahead of us of severe stress, and the health system especially, is going to be going through a lot of pains," State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during a Friday press conference. Currently, around 73% of positive tests being sequenced in the state are showing omicron infections. State Epidemiologist Paul Byers said that while an omicron infection does produce milder illness than the delta variant, the sheer number of cases the state is currently seeing will translate to increased hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks. This problem is almost certain to be exacerbated by the low number of monoclonal antibody and antiviral pill treatments the state is receiving. Some Mississippi patients have had to be transferred out of state since the omicron wave began due to the lack of open, staffable beds. If this wave of infections overwhelms the hospital system like delta, health officials said it's unlikely the system will be propped up by the travel nurses and field hospitals utilized during that wave. |
| Dobbs: Increased COVID deaths in 2021 were mainly among the unvaccinated | |
| Total deaths in Mississippi (including those from the COVID-19 pandemic) decreased from 2020 to 2021, but ones related to the COVID-19 pandemic increased during that same time. The Mississippi Department of Health charted 5,499 COVID-19 deaths where the virus was a contributing cause and 4,759 with the virus as an underlying cause. In 2020, there were 5,044 deaths where COVID-19 was a contributing factor. The state also lists 4,472 underlying cause COVID-19 deaths. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that reason for the uptick in COVID-related deaths between the first year of the pandemic and the second is simple: The unvaccinated. "We certainly know for a lot of history that Delta (the strain) is a bad actor. And you know there's still some debate out there about the severity of illness and stuff, but you talk to the doctors and everything they'll tell you, it was really bad," Dobbs said during a Mississippi Department of Health press availability via Zoom. "The Delta surge was primarily folks who were not immune because they haven't been vaccinated." The Omicron strain, which MSDH says case counts are rapidly rising in Mississippi, now accounts for 73 percent of COVID cases in Mississippi, according to Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist. The good news is that the number of deaths due to the new strain isn't as many as in previous waves, but it is far easier transmitted than previous iterations of the virus. |
| Will Mardi Gras parades roll on the Coast during COVID surge? 'We can't live in fear.' | |
 | A number of the annual Mardi Gras celebrations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are set to carry on despite the rapid spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 omicron variant. Health officials say large gatherings are the surest way to transmit COVID, so the Gulf Coast's extensive upcoming slate of parades, balls and Mardi Gras celebrations are likely to spread the virus, health officials say. The city of Biloxi and Gulf Coast Carnival Association, two of the largest Mardi Gras parade planners on the Coast, said they plan to move forward with their celebrations while keeping a watchful eye on local COVID numbers. "As of now we're moving forward with everything," Gulf Coast Carnival Association executive director Jennifer Schmidt said. "We've got to get back to life, we can't live in fear. While we are being cautious and monitoring daily. It could change tomorrow, or in 15 minutes. It just all depends." South Mississippi's Mardi Gras festivities began Wednesday in Biloxi with the Twelfth Night Celebration, which follows the Coast and New Orleans' cancellation of festivities in 2021 because of the pandemic. "As of right now, no cancellations nor postponements of Mardi Gras parades have been announced by the city," Biloxi spokesperson Cecilia Dobbs Walton said in a statement to the Sun Herald. "Mayor Gilich is continuing to watch the daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations." |
| Analysis: Redistricting not as tough as it was 2 decades ago | |
 | Mississippi's current congressional redistricting effort is much less contentious than the effort was 20 years ago, when the state dropped from five U.S. House seats to four. The state lost a seat because the 2000 Census showed Mississippi's population had grown only slightly the previous decade, while several other states experienced rapid growth. Three Democrats and two Republicans represented Mississippi in the U.S. House in 2000. Democrats were still in control at the state Capitol, but Republicans were on the rise. That dynamic led to conflict as state legislators tried to draw new federal districts. There was broad agreement that the two congressional incumbents with the least seniority -- Democrat Ronnie Shows and Republican Chip Pickering -- would be tossed into a single new district and that some of their territory would be distributed to other districts. Shows had represented the 4th District, which included southwestern Mississippi, parts of the pine belt stretching over to Jones County and parts of the metro Jackson area. Pickering had represented the 3rd District, stretched from the eastern Jackson suburbs in Rankin County up to the Golden Triangle area of Columbus, Starkville and West Point. After legislators deadlocked without drawing a new congressional map, the redistricting battle moved to federal court. |
| Natchez State Rep. Johnson says courts ultimately will decide redistricting map | |
 | Just like 10 years ago, State Rep. Robert Johnson III predicts the courts will have the final say in how the state's redistricting map will look. As one of its first orders of business, the Mississippi House voted to approve a map that creates a sprawling second district, one that runs the length of the state on its west side. "I offered an amendment to take the four Southwest Mississippi counties -- Adams, Wilkinson, Franklin and Amite -- out of the second district. It does no good to have a district that includes half the counties in the state and nearly half the land mass," Johnson said. Johnson, a Democrat, represents Mississippi's 94th district in the state House of Representatives, which includes Adams County. The area for the second district recommended by the Joint Redistricting Committee does not serve the residents that the district would make up. The issue is a partisan one, led by the Republican majority in the State House. The Joint Redistricting Committee is composed of members who were appointed by Republican Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. The State Senate is expected to take up the redistricting issue next week. "All four of those counties --- Adams, Wilkinson, Franklin and Amite --- lost population, a total of 67,000 people together (over the last 10 years). It make more sense to add those in Hinds and southwest Madison. One of the criteria for redistricting is compactness of the district. The Joint Committee's recommendation isn't that." |
| Teacher pay expected to be discussed by state legislature this week | |
 | Mississippi state lawmakers joined in Jackson last week to begin the third session of the term. After a week of organization, assigning committee dates and other housekeeping tasks, this week is shaping up to be busy for the state legislature. "It's been mainly just the formalities of getting started, the opening announcements," said State Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-District 41. With the education committee being called, teacher pay may be the first topic on the agenda for the senate. "Out of the gate, I think we will talk about a teacher pay raise for the teachers across the state of Mississippi, the public-school teachers," Fillingane said. Medical marijuana may also be at the forefront of conversations. "There's a possibility that there will also be a vote taken on medical marijuana," Fillingane said. "I know that issue is still very hot right now and the governor's staff is meeting with the Senate and the House staff trying to work out the differences between the varying versions of that. But I do think you'll see probably out of the Senate some movement on medical marijuana." Both the House and Senate reconvene Monday at 4 p.m. |
| As clock ticks, headwinds build against passage of Mississippi medical marijuana | |
| For some time after the Supreme Court shot down a vote of the people to create a Mississippi medical marijuana, it appeared fait accompli that lawmakers would enact a program, per the "will of the voters." Legislative leaders got to work over the summer to draft a bill. Gov. Tate Reeves said he would call lawmakers into special session to pass it once there was general agreement on the plan. But it took a while to get such a draft together, and it wasn't until late September that legislative leaders told Reeves they had consensus on a bill. Then Reeves said he had problems with it -- particularly that it would allow patients to receive too much marijuana (even though the 4 ounces a month was less than the 5 ounces voters had approved in 2020). Law enforcement, religious, medical and other lobbies stepped up opposition to the measure. As the debate devolved into how many joints can be rolled from a gram of pot, the potential for a special session faded. Last week, the regular legislative session began, and whatever golden hour there might have been for medical marijuana after the 2020 passage of Initiative 65 appears to have faded. As time drags on, passage of a Mississippi medical marijuana program in a legislative session crowded with many other major issues becomes less assured , or even less likely. |
| Law officers begin effort aimed at crushing crime in Jackson | |
| Federal and local law officers are embarking on a new initiative aimed at curbing crime in Mississippi's capital city. Officials from several agencies outlined the Jackson program at a Thursday news conference. The "Violent Gun Reduction and Interdiction Program" has already begun, and law officers promised many more arrests in 2022. "Homicides in the city of Jackson have increased to record levels in the past two years," U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca said. "We're seeing businesses robbed at gunpoint, cars taken at gunpoint, disputes handled by gunfire." "This initiative will address the perpetrators of this violence and will be led by the FBI," LaMarca added. To combat the high crime rate, the FBI and its partners plan to saturate streets and prosecute people involved in gun crimes to the "fullest extent of the federal law," said Jermicha Fomby, special agent in charge of the FBI in Jackson. "Whether of use of guns for carjackings, business robberies, as well as other heinous acts... The bottom line is, that no matter who you are, no matter where you are, there are no jurisdiction lines that will prevent us from coming for you," Fomby said. As of Thursday, 13 suspects had cases pending or had been indicted in the federal system as a result of the program, LaMarca said. People arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office are tried in federal court. If they're convicted, they must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, with no option for parole or a suspended sentence. |
| Supreme Court weighs COVID mandates as virus surges | |
 | The Supreme Court grappled with whether the Biden administration has the power to order vaccine or masking mandates at hospitals and workplaces in a special oral argument on Friday, when the court's own COVID-19 rules stopped two attorneys from arguing in person. The justices are reviewing lower court orders that at least partially halted two Biden administration moves made on an emergency basis, each with their own set of legal issues. One is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule for larger businesses to either require vaccines or have a masking and testing policy early this year; the other is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services vaccination mandate for health care workers. The dynamic situation around the coronavirus pandemic, with a sharply increased number of Americans testing positive among the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant, played a significant role in the arguments about whether Congress needed to more specifically authorize such mandates. Over the course of more than three hours of argument, the conservative majority of the court appeared more skeptical of the broader OSHA rule than the CMS rule. The justices' expedited hearing on these COVID-19 cases hints that they are ready to act within days. |
| Federal agencies prepare to act against unvaccinated employees | |
 | Federal government agencies are preparing to take increasingly harsh steps against unvaccinated employees in order to implement President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers. Some agencies plan to send letters warning of possible suspensions to employees who have not complied with the mandate. Many are also prepared to fire employees who don't follow the rule, though such moves would be further down the road. The rate of compliance is high across the federal government, and agencies say they do not expect the suspensions or firings to cause disruptions. The White House in November told agencies to hold off on harsher penalties until after the new year and to focus on education and counseling for those who had not complied with the mandate. Now, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) says agencies can move forward with stricter measures at their discretion. The current rate of federal governmentwide compliance with the mandate is unclear because some agencies did not provide up-to-date data when reached by The Hill, but several agencies reported making progress since the November deadline by counseling employees who had not received their shots. The departments of Treasury, Transportation and Agriculture as well as the General Services Administration, Social Security Administration and Nuclear Regulatory Commission are all expected to begin suspending employees who are not complying with the mandate in the coming weeks. |
| A year into his social media exile, Trump is working to get back online | |
 | Former president Donald Trump's upstart social network is probably months away from being fully operational, potentially limiting his ability to influence the midterm elections, according to people familiar with the fledgling operation. The pace of development for Truth Social has at times frustrated Trump, who has discussed but ultimately turned down opportunities to work with other platforms in the fast-growing universe of right-wing social media sites, said three people familiar with the discussions, who like others in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He is holding out for his own venture, which he believes will be more lucrative and gives him more control, advisers say. Before he was kicked off mainstream social platforms a year ago, Trump had amassed one of the largest and most engaged online audiences of any public figure. Some political experts see his ability to motivate people and to garner tens of millions in micro-donations online as critical for the GOP's efforts to regain a majority in Congress this year. Over the summer, Trump turned down a multimillion-dollar offer to become the marquee name associated with Gettr, a social media platform led by former aide Jason Miller. He has also turned down offers from Parler, the people said. Gettr has continued to save his handle, in the hopes he might join, and the company says it now has 4 million users -- creating an uphill climb for his potential new site. Ultimately, the people familiar with Trump's plans said he believes a Trump-branded company will be a better option. |
| University exhibit explores U.S. response to Holocaust | |
| A special exhibit at the University of Mississippi explores the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans' responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and '40s. "Americans and the Holocaust," a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, is on display at the university's J.D. Williams Library through Jan. 14. The library is among 50 U.S. libraries hosting the exhibit. The touring display -- based on a special exhibition of the same name at the museum in Washington, D.C. -- began traveling to U.S. libraries in 2020. It arrived in Oxford on Dec. 1, 2021. Cecelia Parks, research and instruction librarian and assistant professor at the university, said being selected to host the exhibition is significant because there are not many opportunities for people in north Mississippi to engage with cultural programming related to the Holocaust. The exhibition explores the many factors -- including the Great Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism and antisemitism -- that influenced decisions made by the U.S. government, news media, organizations and individuals as they responded to Nazism. |
| University announces next writer-in-residence for spring | |
| An author whose debut novel in 2020 received awards and critical acclaim will write and teach at the University of Mississippi in the spring. Raven Leilani has been announced as the John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi. Her first novel, "Luster," won the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize." Luster" is about "a young Black woman striving for the right to make art and inhabit the full, complex spectrum of her humanity," according to a university press release. Leilani's work has also been published in Granta and The Yale Review literary journals and The Cut, a blog hosted by New York magazine. She is a National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree and recipient of the Kirkus Prize, Dylan Thomas Prize and NBCC John Leonard Prize. "Raven is a fresh, exciting new face in literary fiction, a writer whose career is just taking off, and we are honored to have her as our Grisham Writer-in-Residence for the spring 2022 semester," said Matt Bondurant, director of the University of Mississippi master's program in creative writing. |
| UMMC Pediatric Experts Encourage Masks, Vaccinations for Safe In-person Learning | |
| As schools around the state begin a new semester of in-person learning, University of Mississippi Medical Center pediatric experts and leaders from the state's pediatrician group encourages parents to protect their children from COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. "In the past two weeks, the number of children hospitalized at Children's of Mississippi because of COVID-19 has tripled," said Dr. Mary Taylor, Suzan B. Thames Chair and professor of pediatrics. "We know the importance of in-person learning for children and want schools to be open safely. We encourage parents to have their children wear face masks when in school or in public and to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19." Today, 19 children diagnosed with COVID-19 are hospitalized at Children's of Mississippi, the state's only hospital specifically for kids and teens. Four of those patients are in intensive care. "Most of our children admitted specifically for COVID-19 are unvaccinated or are younger than 5 years old and don't qualify for vaccination," said Dr. April Palmer, professor and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UMMC. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends vaccination against COVID-19 for children who are eligible. |
| Local high school students to be awarded 'Academic Book Scholarships' during MLK prayer breakfast | |
| Deserving local high school students will be presented scholarships from a chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., during the 16th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Ecumenical and Interracial Prayer Breakfast at the University of Southern Mississippi. The breakfast is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 17 at the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus. Admission is free, but seating will be limited and masks will be required, per COVID-19 protocol. The fraternity's Academic Book Scholarships will be awarded during the program to students from area high schools who plan to go to college next fall and have been recommended by their high school's academic counselors. "I am so pleased that we are able to resume the prayer breakfast in-person, and grateful to our fraternity brother, Dr. Rankins, for being our keynote speaker," USM Dean of Students Emeritus Eddie Holloway said. "We look forward to seeing all who can attend join us for a nourishing meal and a time of prayerful reflection, friendship, gratitude and goodwill that I hope will inspire the best in all of us for the new year." Presented by the Mu Gamma Lambda and Mu Xi chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the event will feature a keynote address by Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education, Alfred Rankins Jr. |
| Meridian Community College to host MLK commemorative celebration | |
| The Hon. Sumeka C. Thomas, the first African American female judge in Okolona and Verona and the first African American to be appointed Youth Court Judge for Chickasaw County, will present the keynote address for Meridian Community College's The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration on Thursday, Jan. 13. With the theme of "Don't Be Silent about What is Important," the event will get underway at 1 p.m. in the McCain Theater on the MCC Campus. Admission is free of charge, and community and campus are welcome. Thomas, a native of Okolona, graduated as valedictorian of her Okolona High School class and earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi and later her juris doctor degree from UM. She currently has a law practice in her hometown where she specializes in domestic relations such as divorce, child custody, support and guardianship, and criminal defense. In addition to Thomas' address, the program will include announcing the winners of a creative contest, the presentation of the MLK Program scholarship by the Charles L. Young family, and the Billy C. Beal Award. The Rev. Morris Thompson, rector of the Church of the Mediator, will offer the invocation; Deitra McKenzie, meteorologist and reporter for WTOK TV, will serve as emcee for the program. Musical offerings will be presented by Jeri Hill Johnson, teacher with the Newton Municipal School District, and Dr. Sheila Walker, Meridian Public School District, and Mitch Brantley, MCC guitar instructor. |
| U. of Alabama expert offers tips on keeping New Year's resolutions | |
 | When trying to keep a New Year's resolution, a University of Alabama expert advises people to have a realistic understanding of their goal and how to achieve it. "Having big goals like losing weight are fine, but sometimes big goals can be overwhelming," said John Burkhardt, an associate professor of behavioral psychology at UA. Burkhardt said that to avoid the disappointment of failure, people should set small goals throughout the process of achieving their bigger New Year's resolution. It's also important for people to treat themselves for their small victories along the way, he said. "I ask my patients, 'Have you tried (this resolution) in the past?'" Burkhardt said. "If they answer yes, you have to understand what didn't work in the past. How are we going to do something different this year? A lot of the time, that's one of the things they really don't know." Whether people trying to lose weight or master a new skill, Burkhardt recommends appreciating the journey and not just focusing on the end goal of the resolution. He said that people who struggle with keeping their New Year's resolution should keep in mind that ups and downs are part of the path toward reaching their goal. |
| Keep great ideas here: Auburn University and City of Auburn to host free workshops for entrepreneurs | |
 | Current and prospective small business owners in the Auburn-Opelika area have two opportunities to register for free entrepreneurial workshops hosted by Auburn University and the City of Auburn that will teach development of business models and analyzing markets, among other factors necessary to consider when launching a business. The Entrepreneur Pop-up Workshop will take place the morning of Jan. 27 at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce building, and a longer, five-week workshop, "Strategic Planning for Small Businesses," will be hosted online each Monday from Jan. 31-Feb. 28. The workshops are an effort by the university's Government and Economic Development Institute and the city to encourage the growth of locally based businesses, according to Caitlin Myers, the city's entrepreneurial and technology programs manager. Lakami Baker, associate professor in the Department of Management in Auburn University's Harbert College of Business, and David Mixson, associate director of the university's Government and Economic Development Institute, will speak at the in-person workshop. Baker will also lead the five-week planning workshop, which is more akin to a short-term strategy course for current businesses. Participants will be asked to evaluate competitive advantages, look internally at what's driving their business and externally at their industry and how competitors are managing. |
| Auburn graduate students express concerns about student service fee | |
| Graduate students are an integral part of Auburn University's functioning and impact. Through their various roles, both faculty and undergraduates are supported by the efforts of graduate students. Despite the necessary roles that graduate students take on for their entire academic community, they are loaded with a student service fee. This "hurdle" grew in the summer of 2021, unbeknownst to graduate students. At the start of the summer, the service fee increased by 66% from $350 to $582. In addition to completing their own course requirements and research tasks graduate students instruct many undergraduates. Benjamin Jackson, Ph.D. candidate in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, said graduate teaching assistants in chemistry teach all lower-level instructional labs and assist in the functioning of upper-level labs. "In other departments, graduate students are often primary instructors for lower-level lecture courses and play a direct role in the educational services of this university," Jackson said. According to Jackson, graduate students support the University in name and reputation through the performance of research activities within the institution. "This work alongside faculty and staff leads to the acquisition of grants and directly impacts the academic prestige of the University," Jackson said. Though $582 may seem affordable to some, it is not practical for all graduate students at Auburn University. |
| COVID-19 and Florida universities: Here's how UF, FSU and UCF are fighting omicron | |
 | Students returning to Florida's public universities this month are coming face-to-face not just with classes, peers and teachers but the now repeated scenario of pursuing a college degree under the threat of a novel COVID-19 variant and surging cases. It's a new year and a new semester with the same serious question: How can students and campus communities stay safe amid the ongoing global pandemic? Marshall Criser, chancellor of the state's university system, and Syd Kitson, chair of the Florida Board of Governors, wrote a Dec. 29 letter to students, faculty and staff applauding group efforts and individual responsibility that helped make "a very successful fall semester." State legislation and orders from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis enacted throughout the pandemic have, however, placed limits on what policies and protocols universities can craft and enforce. The state also has said there is "no expectation" for universities to provide separate on-campus housing when students need to quarantine. At the University of Florida, which started spring classes Wednesday, there are no vaccination, masking or universal testing requirements. Instead, masks are "expected" inside all facilities for students, faculty, staff and guests. Testing is available at the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the Gainesville campus and strongly encouraged for everyone having symptoms or recent contact with someone with COVID-19. While most of the university's COVID-19 policy has remained the same, one change is that UF's COVID-19 dashboard is no longer updating as of the new year. |
| $25K prize awarded for middle school math lesson developed by U. of Arkansas professor | |
| A $25,000 prize for developing an innovative math lesson plan has been awarded to Chaim Goodman-Strauss, a math professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Goodman-Strauss won the 2021 Rosenthal Prize for Innovation and Inspiration in Math Teaching, a national contest held annually since 2012 to identify creative and hands-on lesson plans for students in upper elementary and middle school grades. "He put together a wonderful lesson plan that covers things that I think are engaging for kids, that they would like to do and enjoy doing," said Cindy Lawrence, executive director and chief executive officer of the National Museum of Mathematics, which awards the prizes. Eighth- and ninth-grade students at Thaden School in Bentonville and at the Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale have been taught the new lesson, Goodman-Strauss said. "I was able to prototype the lesson and try it out with them," Goodman-Strauss said. "It really, really works. It works so much better than I had really even hoped." The lesson involves folding paper with a printed design into an envelope shape and then making cuts along one side. |
| Texas A&M professor who predicted 'Great Resignation' explains potential factors of why theory came true | |
 | A record 4.5 million workers in the United States quit their jobs in November, according to a monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. The record number of workers quitting continues a nationwide trend of voluntary resignations. A Texas A&M University professor predicted the mass volunteer exodus last May with a theory he coined as "the Great Resignation." Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at A&M's Mays Business School, described the term in an interview with Bloomberg that predicted an unprecedented rise in voluntary resignations as the United States hopefully began to exit the pandemic. Klotz later explained the theory in more detail in an op-ed with NBC News. "At Texas A&M, I study employee resignations," Klotz said. "Not only why people quit their jobs, but how people quit their jobs, so I think about resignations a lot. I talk to my students about resignations. It's what I study, so I picked up on these trends a little bit early and I said in that Bloomberg interview the Great Resignation is coming and that's the article that went viral and sort of changed what I do on a daily basis." |
| U. of Missouri School of Music hall named after alumna Sheryl Crow | |
 | The University of Missouri School of Music has named a choral hall after famous alumna musician Sheryl Crow. The newly named Sheryl Crow Hall is a choral performance and rehearsal hall located inside of the Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Music Center. Crow received her degree in music education from MU in 1984 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree in 2011 for her achievements and musical success, the Missourian previously reported. The new name is in honor of Crow's support of the building's fundraising campaign according to a Facebook post from University of Missouri School of Music. Crow held a benefit concert in 2015, which the post noted was the highlight of the campaign. The Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Music Center was a $24 million facility that officially opened in 2020, the Missourian previously reported. Prior to the construction of the facility, the School of Music used a converted gymnasium and an old student dining hall, according to a news release from the School of Music. |
| Colleges extend remote instruction period due to Omicron | |
 | Colleges that temporarily shifted instruction online due to the surging Omicron variant of the coronavirus now face the question of when to resume in-person learning. For a growing number of institutions, the answer is not yet. While multiple California institutions announced these plans last week, Duke University made the move on New Year's Eve, delaying the end of remote instruction from Jan. 10 to Jan. 18. More colleges have since joined the ranks of institutions pushing back the dates of in-person classes, including Cornell University, the University of Southern California and others. Data collected and crunched by the College Crisis Initiative, or C2i, at Davidson College, show that more than 88 percent of the 502 schools in the research center's sample are returning to physical classrooms, with almost 12 percent opting for a remote spring semester. The research, completed last week, found that 98 percent of colleges plan to start on time. However, C2i assistant director Rylie Martin told Inside Higher Ed last week that she expected more colleges to fine-tune their plans in the coming days as the spring semester draws closer. Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University, has been critical of colleges shifting to remote instruction at this stage of the pandemic with vaccinations widely available. Oster said in an email that she was unsurprised by remote instruction extensions. "In at least some cases, when initial plans to be remote were announced, universities didn't clearly articulate why or what metric they would use to return. Given that, it isn't surprising that we see extensions." Oster has argued that colleges responding to Omicron by going online are overly cautious and overlooking other student needs. |
| Omicron forces short winter courses to go online at many colleges | |
| Like so many in the high school Class of 2020, Jennifer Madison lost the rituals of a milestone moment to the shutdowns of the coronavirus pandemic. Gone that spring were her prom, her graduation ceremonies and other festivities to mark the occasion. The Baltimore County teenager didn't relish the idea of going to college online either, so she took a gap year. Resuming her studies, Madison enrolled at McDaniel College in August and immersed herself in the fall term with about 1,800 undergraduates on the campus in Westminster, Md. She also signed up for a three-week course in January. Then came the omicron variant. The latest surge of coronavirus cases around the country is leading many colleges to shift their short winter courses online as a precautionary public health measure. These courses, variously described as January terms or intersessions, typically last a couple of weeks and are offered between the fall and spring at schools that run on a semester system. In an ordinary year, they would draw a modest portion of students back to campus before the spring term starts. Now, they are among the first examples of online pivots for higher education in 2022. Whether they foretell lengthier periods of online instruction remains to be seen. |
| Student-Facing College Workers, Contingent Faculty Face Exhaustion | |
| As students begin returning to campus amid Omicron's rapid spread, pushing some universities to pivot to all-online classes again, those who work in student affairs or teach as contingent faculty must once more navigate uncertainties and stresses of their jobs. "Once again, people are just exhausted with the unknown," said Jenny Connolly, associate director of academic advising at the University of Northern Iowa, a public institution. "It feels like we're on this rollercoaster with lots of hope, then not, lots of hope, then not. Students are asking if the semester will be normal, and nobody has any answers. That puts everyone on edge." With students coming back to her institution on January 20, Connolly said she and her colleagues in academic advising are trying to prepare for the different scenarios they and their students may find themselves in. "But you don't know what all the scenarios are," she added. "Most of us in higher education, especially at public institutions, are having to be back to normal as much as we can. And that's just hard and scary to do when no one knows what the next few months will look like." Throughout the pandemic, Connolly, who is a working parent with four kids in school, has been juggling the growing demands of her job and family. She said that support from her colleagues has been critical in managing her responsibilities. But even then, she's not sure what she will do this semester if she and her partner both become sick with COVID-19 and are out of the office. Connolly is not alone. |
| Yale, Georgetown, Other Top Schools Illegally Collude to Limit Student Financial Aid, Lawsuit Alleges | |
 | Sixteen major U.S. universities, including Yale University, Georgetown University and Northwestern University, are being sued for alleged antitrust violations because of the way they work together to determine financial-aid awards for students. According to a lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court late Sunday by law firms representing five former students who attended some of the schools, the universities engaged in price fixing and unfairly limited aid by using a shared methodology to calculate applicants' financial need. Schools are allowed under federal law to collaborate on their formulas, but only if they don't consider applicants' financial need in admissions decisions. The suit alleges these schools do weigh candidates' ability to pay in certain circumstances, and therefore shouldn't be eligible for the antitrust exemption. The suit seeks damages and a permanent end to the schools' collaboration in calculating financial need and awarding aid. College admissions practices are being challenged more broadly and pillars of the decades-old admissions system are crumbling. Colleges have been accused of anticompetitive behavior before: In 2019, an industry group representing college admissions officers agreed to allow more-aggressive recruiting practices, after the Justice Department threatened continued legal action over what it said was anticompetitive behavior. |
| Hosemann wants to shun the term 'Medicaid expansion.' Is he appealing to Gunn, Reeves? | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann believes a plea to Mississippians' better angels ultimately will lead to Medicaid expansion. Granted, Hosemann does not utter the phrase "better angels," but listen closely and it is obvious that he is appealing to them. He also does not want to use the term "Medicaid expansion." Instead, he would rather discuss everyday scenarios of working Mississippians who suffer, who die because they don't have access to health insurance. Hosemann said legislation to provide that health care access will pass "when we start focusing on real life Mississippians... who are really suffering who don't have to be, who are dying leaving their children motherless. I think we have a sense of values in Mississippi, and I think that will be energized by that discussion." Hosemann recently was asked by a reporter about the possibility of expanding Medicaid. "What is expansion of Medicaid? That is a lazy question," Hosemann retorted. "What you need to be thinking about is how are we going to cover people who are working in Mississippi who have catastrophic illnesses? That is the real question." Hosemann told media members they need to focus on real life consequences instead of "some nomenclature that is three presidents ago." |
| State facing nonsense vs. common sense cliffhanger? | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Listening to Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn the top issue for Mississippi's future is eliminating the personal income tax. That's a popular political perspective. Mississippi Economic Council president Scott Waller told legislators that no business leaders have voiced eliminating the income tax as a priority. He added that some fear it could have unintended consequences. That's a frank business perspective. Corey Miller, the State Economist, said changes to state taxes are unlikely to have any significant impact on the state's economic growth, employment, or population. That's an expert economic perspective. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has urged caution, saying that eliminating 32% of the state's tax base should be thoroughly vetted. That's a common sense perspective. Hmmm. All too often in Mississippi politically popular nonsense overrides realistic common sense. |
SPORTS
| Hayes nets 31 as short-handed Mississippi State women win SEC home opener | |
| With just seven players available, the Mississippi State women's basketball team recorded a second straight Southeastern Conference win Sunday, coming from behind to beat Vanderbilt 70-63 at Humphrey Coliseum. With leading scorer Rickea Jackson still out, guard Anastasia Hayes led the team with 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting, making several clutch shots down the stretch as the Bulldogs took control late in the fourth quarter. After a quiet first half, sophomore JerKaila Jordan scored 9 key points during the second and finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Caterrion Thompson hit big shot after big shot but none bigger than her 3-pointer that tied the game at 52-52 and sparked a 14-0 run to give MSU, which entered the fourth quarter trailing 46-45, an 11-point lead with fewer than four minutes to play. Defensively, the Bulldogs had to adjust throughout the game to accommodate for missing players and Vandy's size advantage, but they forced several key turnovers, especially in the final few minutes. The crowd of 4,417 clearly enjoyed the Bulldogs' effort, and the players responded to the crowd. "It's just a special place at the Hump," said Myah Taylor, who, despite three first-half fouls, finished with 6 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists. "They really just light up the Hump. Every home game, we're going to need them there, and I just know that we're going to keep playing hard for them. Shout out to the fans today, they really came through." |
| Mississippi State women's basketball uses strong fourth quarter to beat Vanderbilt | |
| The Mississippi State women's basketball team used a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Vanderbilt 70-63 in Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday in Starkville. The Bulldogs made six of their last seven field goals to help outscore the Commodores 25-17 in the final quarter. The Bulldogs used seven players, which has become normal for the shorthanded team. The Bulldogs (11-4, 2-1 SEC) were led by Anastasia Hayes, who scored 31 points while playing all 40 minutes. Jerkaila Jordan added 11 points, and Caterrion Thompson added 10 points. Denae Carter brought down seven rebounds and Aislynn Hayes had nine points and six rebounds. The Commodores (10-6, 1-1 SEC) were led by Iyana Moore with 20 points, while Sacha Washington had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brinae Alexander had nine points and five rebounds, and Jordyn Cambridge had six points and nine rebounds. Mississippi State converted defense into offense, forcing 20 turnovers into 31 points but had only seven fast break points. Vanderbilt forced 16 turnovers but had 11 points off those. Mississippi State will travel to No. 20 Kentucky on Thursday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). |
| Hunters, landowners can join chronic wasting disease forum | |
 | Hunters and landowners in Mississippi are invited to an upcoming group discussion on chronic wasting disease. "White-Tailed Deer and Chronic Wasting Disease: Hunter and Landowner Group Discussion" will be hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service January 13 at the Extension office in Marshall County. MSU Extension faculty and specialists will gather input on how the deer disease affects hunting leases and land values through structured question-and-answer sessions with participants on their perceptions and experiences. The discussion will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end no later than 2:00 p.m. The MSU Extension office in Marshall County is located at 120 South Spring Street in Holly Springs. A free lunch will be included for participants. MSU is an equal opportunity institution. For disability accommodation and to RSVP, please contact Shaun Tanger at 225-397-6882 or email smt489@msstate.edu. The registration deadline is January 10 at 5:00 p.m. An RSVP is required to attend. |
| For This College Basketball Team, It Pays to Hit the Road | |
 | As November blew into December, the men's basketball team from Jackson State University arrived to face Marquette in its seventh consecutive road game, played in the sixth different state. The Tigers had been away from their Mississippi campus for 17 of the 23 days since the season began. And the traveling was far from over. By chance, the Tigers met the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the team hotel, where he jokingly admonished them to play defense and said "don't let your legs start shaking like you never played basketball before." It does not seem much of an exaggeration to say that Jackson was one of the few familiar faces the Tigers encountered over the first two months of the season. Jackson State travels on meager finances without so much as cheerleaders. Only a sprinkling of relatives, friends and alumni rooted on the Tigers against Marquette. As usual, the loudest clapping came from the players themselves. "It's always 15 of us against 15,000 of everybody else," said Darrian Wilson, 23, a graduate student guard. It is all but impossible for Jackson State and other historically Black colleges and universities in the Southwestern Athletic Conference to draw home games against basketball powers like Duke and Gonzaga and U.C.L.A., who have little to gain competitively or financially on the road against lesser opponents. A partnership between the SWAC and the Pac-12 Conference, beginning next season, will help to alleviate that disparity, at least temporarily. In the meantime, the SWAC has turned the sport's usual funding mechanism on its head. |
| Commissioners to report on CFP expansion talks to presidents | |
| The administrators who manage the College Football Playoff will report on the progress of expansion talks to a presidential oversight committee on Monday. The CFP management committee wrapped up about seven hours of meetings over two days on Sunday. Executive Director Bill Hancock said only that the group had made progress, but gave no indication on whether a consensus was reached on a new format. The board of managers, made up of 11 university presidents and chancellors representing each conference and Notre Dame, ultimately must approve any recommendation made by the league commissioners. "There'll be a statement after the presidents meet," Hancock said. The 10 conference commissioners that make up the management committee, along with Notre Dame's athletic director, all support expanding the playoff from four teams. The process bogged down throughout the fall and has now lingered into the winter as they wrangle over how and when. "They're narrowing in on some details," Hancock said. A proposal for a 12-team playoff has been on the table since June. |
| Alabama football's Million Dollar Band drum majors savor one last ride | |
| Drummers broke their drum heads, they were beating on them so hard. Someone in the marching band section smashed a chair. Everyone was jumping and ripping off their uniform clips. The Million Dollar Band is supposed to count off the fight song immediately after an Alabama football win. The delay was forgivable after Tua Tagovailoa's championship-winning pass to DeVonta Smith in January 2018. It broke Georgia hearts and Alabama equipment. In the middle of that chaotic euphoria, a freshman trumpet player named John Schumacher thought to himself: "That will never happen again." Four years later, Alabama has returned to the College Football Playoff three times, captured another championship and has a chance to win it all again Monday (7 p.m., ESPN) at Lucas Oil Stadium. John Schumacher's five-year Million Dollar Band career will end the same way it started -- an Alabama vs. Georgia championship -- but this time he'll be conducting. It's one last ride for Alabama's drum majors, who have witnessed the passing of time and the rotation of popular music selections. When the College Football Playoff era began, band director Kenneth Ozzello remembers playing Imagine Dragons music. This year, the setlist includes Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa. One constant remains: Alabama's dominance. "I didn't really care for football or sports, period, when I got here," senior Izzy Crumpton said. "Now I really love it all. Good football always makes a good band memory." |
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