| Wednesday, February 2, 2022 |
| Use slow cookers properly to avoid food-borne illness | |
 | Slow cookers are winter workhorses in many kitchens, helping serve everything from breakfast to dinner. But no matter the dish, cooks should be sure to follow some basic food safety guidelines. When used properly, these small, countertop appliances are safe and convenient. "Slow cookers cook foods slowly at a low temperature, generally between 170 and 280 degrees, over several hours," said Natasha Haynes, a family and consumer science agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Rankin County and host of the Food Factor. "The combination of direct heat from the cooker, lengthy cooking time and steam destroys bacteria, making the slow cooker a safe way to cook foods." The same general food safety rules apply no matter what cooking method is used -- clean, separate, cook and chill. Janet Jolley, an Extension family and consumer science agent in Marshall County, said cooks should always be mindful of the temperature danger zone, which is between 40 and 140 degrees. Bacteria that can cause food-borne illness can grow rapidly in this temperature range. Cold foods should be stored at or below 40 degrees, and hot foods should be held at or above 140 degrees. |
| 'Spirit of Coast' winner is a champion of business development and progress in Mississippi | |
 | He's helped South Mississippi weather storms and championed business development on the Coast. And on Tuesday, Anthony Wilson was presented with the 2022 Pat Santucci "Spirit of the Coast" award. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi. About 600 people attended the event. Wilson is president of Mississippi Power and a native of D'Iberville. "I'm very proud of my Mississippi roots," Wilson said in a 2015 opinion piece in the Sun Herald when he was named president of Mississippi Power. "This is home." He challenged others, saying, "Together, we can move our region forward, attract new business, grow our economy and make this place we call home even better." He developed a program for utility lineman at each community college in Mississippi Power's service territory and established an internship program with the state's historically Black colleges and universities. As chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council, he worked to ensure the Coast counties were the primary recipients of hundreds of millions of BP Settlement Funds. While he was chairman of the Mississippi Economic Council, the organization spearheaded the campaign to support legislation that changed the divisive state flag. Wilson has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. |
| State director of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks retiring after nearly 30 years | |
 | Sam Polles, the longtime director of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks, announced on Tuesday his retirement from the agency after 29 years of service. Polles, in a message to the MDWFP employees, said that he considers his service to the agency some of the best years of his professional life. Deputy Director Lynn Posey will temporarily oversee agency operations until a permanent director is named. But Posey hopes that he will become the new permanent director. A leadership transition comes at a time when state legislators are looking to overhaul the state parks system, which has been in disrepair for years. A recent legislative report criticized the management of state parks and how they were maintained. Still, Polles, in remarks to department employees, praised the agency's handling of the parks system. "Despite continued budget cuts, record storms, aging infrastructure, and a lack of external support, we have managed to maintain our State Parks and continue to provide Mississippians and visitors alike with affordable recreational opportunities," Polles said. Mississippi senators have proposed giving MDWFP around $55 million in federal stimulus money to rehab the state parks. Posey told the Daily Journal that if the MDWFP receives any federal stimulus money from the Legislature, they would use it strictly in improving water, sewage and electricity infrastructure upgrades to the state parks system. |
| Mississippi Senate unveils proposal to reduce some taxes | |
 | Mississippi Senate leaders unveiled a tax cut proposal Tuesday that they described as a sustainable way to reduce what people pay to the government while maintaining enough money to pay for schools and other services. The plan would reduce the income tax, but it would not eliminate that tax as House leaders are proposing. The Senate plan also would reduce the grocery tax from 7% to 5% and eliminate some of the fees that people pay on car tags. It also includes a one-time rebate of up to $1,000 for people who pay income taxes. "This is ... a priority for us to do something that is responsible and durable," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Josh Harkins, a Republican from Brandon. The Senate plan will compete with a proposal that the House passed last month. The House plan would take more money out of the state budget by eliminating the state income tax over several years. It would reduce the grocery tax from 7% to 4% and reduce the cost of car tags. The House plan also would increase the sales tax on clothing and many other items from 7% to 8.5%. House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican, said Tuesday that his goal remains elimination of the income tax. He said legislators and the public should compare the House and Senate plans. "People can decide for themselves," Gunn said. |
| Senate leaders reveal $446 million tax cut plan, setting up competition with House plan | |
| Senate leaders on Tuesday unveiled a plan to cut some state taxes by reducing the grocery tax slightly, doing away with state fees on car tags and eliminating an income tax bracket. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, told members of the press that the plan was a responsible way to reduce the tax burden placed on Mississippians while continuing to allow key government services to function. "Mississippi has had a record year in terms of revenue, so it was imperative to me we develop a durable tax relief plan which returns taxpayer money to taxpayers without raising any rates," Harkins said. "The most important thing we can do as conservatives is get this right -- and this plan allows for a substantial cut while still balancing the budget." The Senate's move will likely set up a legislative battle with House leaders, who passed their own version of an income tax elimination bill in January. Under Harkins' plan, the 4% income tax bracket would be eliminated over the next four years, doing away with around $46 million in income tax collections each year, according to estimates from the Legislative Budget Office. The grocery tax would immediately be reduced from 7% to 5%. Mississippi has a tax deduction of $2,300 for a single person or $4,600 for a married couple. |
| Mississippi Senate proposes $316M in tax cuts, setting up showdown with Speaker Gunn | |
 | Mississippi Senate Finance Committee Chair Josh Harkins unveiled a plan to cut income and grocery taxes Tuesday, setting up a showdown with House Speaker Philip Gunn, who favors complete elimination of the income tax. Harkins' plan would eliminate Mississippi's 4% income tax bracket over four years, cut the state's grocery tax 2% and eliminate state car tag fees. Figures from the Legislative Budget Office and Mississippi Department of Revenue show Harkins' plan would result in a $316.6 million elimination of tax revenue for residents if the cuts become law. "We are enthusiastically supporting this plan," Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said. The plan also provides a one-time rebate for those who paid state income tax on their 2021 filing, with a minimum rebate of $100 and a maximum of $1,000. The rebates are based on a person's 2021 filings and would return about $130 million to taxpayers. Harkins, R-Flowood, said the proposed cuts would not result in any reduction of government services. "It does leave us room to do the things we've talked about," Harkins said. "Raising teacher pay, all the priorities we've set forth, it covers all that." The plan to gradually eliminate the 4% bracket comes in the final year of the 3% bracket phaseout lawmakers approved in 2016. The Legislative Budget Office estimates the state would lose $46,250,000 a year for four years until the 4% bracket is eliminated. |
| Senate unveils income tax cut plan, signaling battle among Capitol leaders | |
 | The state Senate on Tuesday unveiled its proposal to cut the state income tax, not eliminate it altogether as the House and governor propose. It would also reduce the tax on groceries, provide a tax rebate up to $1,000 for 2022 and reduce the cost of car tags. It also sets up a potential tax cut battle at the Capitol -- with Speaker Philip Gunn and Gov. Tate Reeves pushing for elimination of the state income tax over time, although they have disagreed on particulars. "This plan is simple, straightforward and sustainable -- all the things you want addressed," said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. "This addresses the inflation and cost of living increases hitting you at the grocery store and when you fill your gas tank, and it addresses teacher raises, infrastructure and health care needs we have as well." Gunn on Tuesday said he had not seen many details of the Senate plan, but said his support for eliminating, not just cutting, the income tax is firm. Gunn, the third-term speaker, has called his plan to eliminate the income tax the most important legislation of his political career. "We are not interested in a token tax reduction that returns only a portion to our citizens without eliminating it," Gunn said. "The governor has made similar statements. We will be coming forward soon with analysis showing the difference in the two plans. We still believe our plan is real, conservative tax relief." |
| Mississippi governor noncommittal on medical marijuana bill | |
| Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday that he has not decided whether he will sign a bill to legalize marijuana for people with debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease. The bill is expected to become law regardless of what the Republican governor does because the GOP-led House and Senate passed it last week by veto-proof majorities. Reeves told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol that his attorneys were still reviewing the bill. He said he was pleased legislators made some changes he suggested, including reducing the amount of marijuana available to patients each month. "The process doesn't always work, but the process has worked in this particular instance," Reeves said. The governor has a Wednesday deadline to act on Senate Bill 2095. He could sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature. Reeves said he likes that the bill requires parental consent and a doctor's permission for patients younger than 18 to obtain marijuana. "I don't think there's any doubt that there is potential brain damage that could be caused by having too much marijuana for those whose brain formations are continuing, and that's typically those under the age of 25," Reeves said. |
| Most all anti-COVID mandate bills die in committee as deadline day comes and goes in Mississippi Legislature | |
 | Despite strong public sentiment across the state against COVID-related mandates, nearly all of the bills that were filed to push back on vaccination and mask mandates by state and local governments, including school districts, as well as protect the individual interest of private sector employees died in the Mississippi Legislature on Tuesday. The one exception appears to be HB 1509 which was put forward by Speaker Philip Gunn (R). That legislation passed the House last week on a 75-41 vote and now awaits consideration in the Senate. Speaker Gunn's bill states that it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for a state agency, public official, state institution of higher learning, public community or junior college, county, municipality or other political subdivision of the state to refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any local or state services, goods, facilities, advantages, privileges, licensing, educational opportunities, health care access, or employment opportunities based on the person's COVID-19 vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport. Those entities are to discriminate against a person in compensation or in privilege of employment based on the person's COVID-19 vaccination status. The only mention of business interests and private employment in the bill is when it states that an employee of any public or private employer who has a sincerely held religious objection to receiving a vaccine for COVID-19 would not be required to receive a vaccine. That bill does not address mask mandates in schools or in local communities, leaving the matter unresolved as the Legislature's leadership seems unwilling to provide direct clarification on the matter. |
| Reeves, Hosemann post sizable 2021 campaign contribution totals | |
| Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has an overwhelming campaign finance advantage over people who have been rumored as potential challengers to his 2023 re-election bid, just as he did at the same time four years ago. In the annual 2017 campaign finance report released in January 2018, Reeves had $5.4 million in cash on hand. In the 2021 annual report filed earlier this week with Secretary of State's Michael Watson's office, Reeves has $4.8 million in cash on hand. This time four years ago, then-Attorney General Jim Hood, the Democrat who ran unsuccessfully against Reeves in the November 2019 November general election, had $656,393 in cash on hand, according to the Secretary of State's web site. This year Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley of Nettleton has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate against the Republican incumbent. Presley has $520,000 in cash on hand. As far as potential Republicans who might challenge Reeves in a party primary, House Speaker Philip Gunn has $1.03 million in cash on hand. In 2019, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice William Waller Jr. challenged Reeves in the Republican primary and forced a runoff. Four years ago in 2018, Waller was not raising funds for a potential gubernatorial bid. |
| Minority women most affected if abortion is banned, limited | |
| If you are Black or Hispanic in a conservative state that already limits access to abortions, you are far more likely than a white woman to have one. And if the U.S. Supreme Court allows states to further restrict or even ban abortions, minority women will bear the brunt of it, according to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press. The numbers are unambiguous. In Mississippi, people of color comprise 44% of the population but 80% of women receiving abortions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health statistics. In Texas, they're 59% of the population and 74% of those receiving abortions. The numbers in Alabama are 35% and 70%. In Louisiana, minorities represent 42% of the population, according to the state Health Department, and about 72% of those receiving abortions. Why the great disparities? Laurie Bertram Roberts, executive director of the Alabama-based Yellowhammer Fund, which provides financial support for women seeking abortion, said women of color in states with restrictive abortion laws often have limited access to health care and a lack of choices for effective birth control. Schools often have ineffective or inadequate sex education. To those who say that forcing women to have babies will subject them to hardships, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a white Republican, said it is "easier for working mothers to balance professional success and family life" than it was 49 years ago when Roe was decided. Fitch, who is divorced, often points to her own experience of working outside the home while raising three children. But Fitch grew up in an affluent family and has worked in the legal profession -- both factors that can give working women the means and the flexibility to get help raising children. That's not the case for many minority women in Mississippi or elsewhere. |
| Physical therapist's challenge of Mississippi certificate-of-need laws will move forward | |
| A Jackson physical therapist challenging a state law and regulations preventing him from opening a home health care business will get his day in court, a federal judge ruled. Charles "Butch" Slaughter has been a physical therapist in Mississippi for decades and has developed a niche for ankle and foot injuries. During the pandemic, patients were canceling their appointments to avoid potentially being exposed to COVID-19. He decided then that he wanted to open a home health agency so he could take care of patients directly in their homes, and was excited about how he'd be able to better serve Jackson's older population. "As people get older, they have a tendency to fall and break hips," Slaughter said. "And if we can prevent that in the beginning, then they won't have those big bills. We can keep people at home and they don't have to go to a nursing home. And most people don't want to go if they don't have to." But what Slaughter soon realized was there was a mountain of red tape to overcome before he could expand his business. A 40-year-old law bans the Mississippi Department of Health from issuing certificates of need (CON) to new home health agencies. There are only 50 CONs for these providers statewide, so Slaughter would have to buy one from an existing provider. If he were to open a home health agency without a CON, he'd face misdemeanor charges and a fine of $500 per day. The Mississippi legislature passed its CON law in 1979, and though Congress repealed the federal CON law in 1987, Mississippi's is still on the books. "These certificate of need laws are a relic of a failed experiment by the federal government to control health care costs that did not work," Aaron Rice, director of the Mississippi Justice Institute and Slaughter's attorney, said. |
| McConnell looks to turn down the temperature on Supreme Court fight | |
 | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is looking to dial down the drama as he plots his party's strategy for the upcoming Supreme Court fight. McConnell is navigating complex political headwinds. He's got conservative firebrands, including some GOP senators with White House dreams, who could use the nomination to garner attention from the party's base. Meanwhile, a handful of Republicans are viewed as swing votes, meaning there's no guarantee the caucus will ultimately be unified. McConnell is warning President Biden against making a pick that caters to progressives, but also indicated Republicans will keep the upcoming confirmation battle civil and focused on qualifications of the nominee, who is expected to be the first Black woman selected for the Supreme Court. "I think you would anticipate the Senate Republican minority ... treating the nominee with respect and going through the process in a serious, thoughtful way," McConnell told reporters. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a McConnell ally, summed up how he sees the upcoming fight by contrasting it to the vitriolic battle over Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation: "It won't be a replay of Kavanaugh." McConnell spoke with Biden, whom he cut deals with during the Obama era, on Tuesday about his forthcoming Supreme Court pick as the White House ramps up its outreach to Republicans. The looming decision will be the first time since McConnell led Senate Republicans to nix the 60-vote hurdle for Supreme Court nominees in 2017 that he won't be in control of the Senate, allowing Democrats to use his own rules change against him. |
| Why Lindsey Graham is going all-in on Biden SCOTUS pick | |
 | Lindsey Graham was at the garbage dump this weekend when he got some unsolicited input on his favored Supreme Court nominee: Judge Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina. "Three guys in pick-up trucks came up to me and said she 'seems like a nice lady. I'm tired of this Harvard-Yale stuff.' The great equalizer is the garbage dump because everybody's got to throw out garbage," Graham said in an interview Tuesday. "I was just struck by what they thought." The South Carolina senator has often seemed like President Joe Biden's biggest antagonist over the past couple years, calling for investigations into his son and aligning himself at times with former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But at this moment, on the critical issue of the upcoming high-court vacancy, Graham might be Biden's best Republican ally. Graham is stumping hard for Childs, arguing her public state school education pairs well with Biden's pledge to nominate a Black woman. He's the most likely Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to align with Democrats on a Supreme Court pick and send the nominee to the Senate floor with bipartisan support. And he's condemning his party's idea to try to block Biden's nominee from moving forward by obstructing a committee vote: "I just don't think it's good for the process." Those moves have raised the specter that Graham, who once lavished praise on Biden "as good a man as God ever created," may be making a political shift back to the deal-cutter who worked on immigration reform and defused a brutal Bush-era battle over judges. At a minimum, Graham still seems to believe in deference to presidents on nominations, despite his fury at how Democrats handled the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and his swing from vociferous Trump critic to ardent defender. |
| Biden sending more troops to Europe amid Ukraine tension | |
| President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of American commitments to allies on NATO's eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the soon-to-deploy U.S. forces are intended to temporarily bolster U.S. and allied defensive positions and will not enter Ukraine. The newly announced U.S. troop deployments are in line with expectations based on Biden administration efforts to reassure allies and demonstrate U.S. resolve without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. The U.S. already has several thousand troops in Poland, and Romania is host to a NATO missile defense system that Russia considers a threat to its security. Biden notably has not sent American military reinforcements to the three Baltic countries on NATO's eastern flank -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- that are former states of the Soviet Union. Of the 2,000 deploying from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, about 1,700 are members of the 82nd Airborne Division infantry brigade, who will go to Poland. The other 300 are with the 18th Airborne Corps and will deploy to Germany as what the Pentagon called a "joint task force-capable headquarters." The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its military buildup at Ukraine's borders. |
| Fear, anxiety follow third wave of bomb threats targeting HBCUs | |
 | For the third time in just a month, Howard University warned its campus on Tuesday of a bomb threat. Each time, a law enforcement search found no sign of the threatened explosives. But as students spilled out of academic buildings and headed to their next classes, or lined up for burritos at a nearby Chipotle, the campus was still on edge. "Most of us are feeling anxiety," said Troix McClendon, a 19-year-old freshman. "There's not really a lot of information." The bomb threats at Howard are part of a wave to hit historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) this year. On Jan. 4, at least eight HBCUs were threatened. On Monday, at least six were. Tuesday's threats, most coming early in the morning on the first day of Black History Month, broadened and deepened the sense of unease: At least 16 universities closed or swept their campuses. In all, more than two dozen have faced similar threats this year. No bombs were found, and law enforcement agencies did not identify possible motives. But the threats weigh heavily on many, particularly given the emotional attachment and deep loyalty many students, faculty, staff and alumni feel for the campuses -- a haven, a calling, a family. On Tuesday, the schools targeted included: Rust College, Tougaloo College, Jackson State University and Alcorn State University in Mississippi, as well as Mississippi Valley State University. While law enforcement have not identified suspects or named their motives, the recent threats evoked the long history of intimidation and violence against Black schools, said Greg E. Carr, chair of Howard's Afro-American studies department and associate professor of Africana studies. |
| Bomb threats reported at five Miss. HBCUs as Black History Month begins | |
| Before students and staff arrived at campuses this morning, five HBCUs in Mississippi received a code black -- a bomb threat. Many schools began reporting the threats Tuesday morning on their social media channels. Dr. Thomas Calhoun with Mississippi Valley State University says his campus got the notice at 4 a.m. "And so as soon as we got the call, it went to our chief of police who then notified the president and me and another vice president, and subsequently, the emergency management team, all of whom responded very quickly." Dr. Calhoun says students living on campus were immediately evacuated to safe areas, and staff was informed not to come to campus until it was deemed secure. Police and K-9 units completed careful searches and did not find any bombs or potential threats at MVSU or any of the other campuses. "We have every expectation to be back to business as usual tomorrow." These threats come on the first day of Black History Month -- something Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, believes is no coincidence. Thompson said the threats deserve a full investigation. "I have engaged with the FBI and DHS about these threats to HBCUs and am committed to working with HBCU leaders to get them the answers they deserve," he added. |
| UPDATE: Alcorn cleared of bomb threat; dozen others schools received threats nationally | |
 | Alcorn State University was among more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities that received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning, the first day of Black History Month. Law enforcement agencies are reportedly investigating threats made at Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, and Alcorn's Natchez and Lorman campuses in Mississippi as well as at Kentucky State University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, Fort Valley State University in Georgia, Philander Smith College in Little Rock among others that were threatened on Monday and Tuesday. Natchez Police Chief Joseph Daughtry said his department had been called to assist with doing a sweep of Alcorn's Natchez campus and found nothing to raise alarm. The agency issued an "all clear" by 10 a.m. Tuesday, however all Alcorn campuses remained closed to students and staff other than emergency personnel, according to a social media post the university made. "Due to today's anonymous bomb threat, all campuses will operate virtually," the post states. "There will be no in-person student activities and all classes will continue by virtual instruction on Canvas. The dining hall will serve brunch from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and dinner from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. No retail locations will be open. "All employees, except for emergency personnel (police, fire, EMS, and dining), will work remotely today, Tuesday, February 1, 2022. Alcorn State University takes all threats seriously and remains vigilant in our efforts to maintain the safety of our campus community. Please stay tuned to the Alcorn website, email, and social media accounts for updates." |
| Rust College among multiple Black schools to receive bomb threats | |
| Multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities throughout the United States, including five in Mississippi, received bomb threats on Tuesday, the first day of Black History Month. Rust College, the only HBCU located within Northeast Mississippi, was among the schools to be threatened. Tiffani Perry, Chief of Staff at Rust College, said the school received a phone call between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Tuesday in which the caller stated they had placed bombs around the perimeter of the campus. The caller also used racist language before ending the call. The Holly Springs Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff's and Fire Department, Desoto County Sheriff's Department and FBI responded and issued a shelter-in-place for the entire campus community. Bomb detection canines were called in to sweep the entire campus and to ensure the Bearcat Community was not in any imminent danger. Law enforcement issued an all clear and that the campus was safe and secure as of 10 a.m. School officials say there will be an increased law enforcement presence on campus throughout the week and increased security measures are in place as students, faculty, and staff enter and exit the campus. |
| JSU student featured in New York during ringing of The Closing Bell at NYSE | |
| If you're watching the ringing of The Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, expect to see a young, fresh face. Jackson State University junior, Jay'La Manor, is representing the school in a new FedEx-HBCU Student Ambassador Program. It connects students with FedEx executives to shape their leadership skills. "I am excited!" Manor smiled. "As a business entrepreneurship major, the opportunity to network with fellow HBCU students and fortune 500 CEOs will allow me to increase my knowledge base and prepare me for life after college." Holding a 3.5 GPA, Manor is the only student from the university who will be featured alongside JSU President Thomas Hudson, but they join a select group of individuals from seven other HBCUs nationwide. FedEx leaders, school presidents, and students will participate in a special ceremonial presentation during the ringing of The Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET launching the program with a nationwide celebration of Black history. "We thank FedEx for their commitment to building a diverse talent pipeline," President Thomas Hudson said. "It's reflective of the type of meaningful relationships we must continue to foster between corporate America and our institutions." |
| Gift honoring late professor supports special education | |
| The slow pace of sheltering at home the last two years during a global pandemic gave Luetta Ford, a 1967 University of Mississippi alumna, time to think about the influential people in her life and make decisions about how she wants to be remembered. As a result, the Lady Lake, Florida, resident established the Luetta W. Ford Scholarship for Special Education, which pays tribute to the late James W. Mann, a professor in the UM School of Education. "Professor James Mann was my mentor while I attended Ole Miss, and he offered me a full fellowship for my senior year and for a master's degree, with the stipulation that I teach a year in between, which I did in Southaven," said Ford, who also received a master's degree from the University of Memphis. "I can't do what Dr. Mann did for me, but I hope this scholarship will do two things: inspire students to go into special education and inspire classes in other areas of special education." The support from Ford is a blended gift, with $30,000 establishing the scholarship and another $133,000 committed through a planned estate gift that will supplement the endowment. "Blended gifts like Ford's exemplify one of the goals of the university's newly launched $1.5 billion fundraising initiative, Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss," said David Rock, dean of the School of Education. Mann joined the Ole Miss faculty in special education in January 1965 and retired in 1999 after 34 years of service. He is credited with establishing the North Mississippi Regional Center and working with then-Gov. Bill Waller to develop a statewide plan for Mississippi to improve services for adults, youth and children with disabilities. |
| What we know about Gov. Bill Lee's $6M civics institute coming to U. of Tennessee | |
| Gov. Bill Lee wants all Tennessee students, in both K-12 and higher education, to be "informed patriots." To do that, he's reworking civics education in part by creating a new institute at the largest public university in the state. Lee is budgeting $6 million to create an "Institute of American Civics" at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The institute will be located within the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, and is still in its infancy stage. "This will be a flagship for the nation -- a beacon celebrating intellectual diversity at our universities and teaching how a responsible, civic-minded people strengthens our country and our communities," Lee said. The center will "support and enhance statewide efforts to highlight the role American institutions play in resolving conflict, advancing human dignity and making public policy," UT System President Randy Boyd said in an announcement. "We appreciate Gov. Lee's support and welcome the opportunity to extend civic knowledge and the foundations of America's fundamental political and economic institutions," Boyd said in the announcement. The announcement comes amid a national political debate about critical race theory, and Lee has already expressed his concerns about the academic discipline. Earlier this month, the University of Memphis canceled a grant for social justice programming after Lee criticized the program as a use of "taxpayer dollars" to fuel a "divisive, radical agenda." |
| Civics, charters and classical ed: What to know about Hillsdale College's K-12 efforts in Tennessee | |
| As some K-12 school districts are removing books from established curriculum, Gov. Bill Lee sees an opportunity to add curriculum with an emphasis on civics. Lee announced in his State of the State address on Monday he is working to formalize a partnership with Hillsdale College, a private institution in Hillsdale, Michigan, that has become widely known for its politically and religiously conservative values. Lee's office said it plans to outline more details about the partnership in the coming weeks. But details from Hillsdale indicate the partnership will be an opportunity to further the K-12 education initiatives the college has been exporting outside Michigan. "When Governor Lee visited Hillsdale College, he was impressed with the College's ongoing efforts in supporting charter schools with its K-12 curriculum and teacher training," Kathleen O'Toole, Hillsdale's provost for K-12 education, said in a statement. There are about 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at Hillsdale, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, a database of information that colleges and universities report to the federal government. The college was founded by Baptists and has preserved its Christian identity, which it has infused with intellectual, cultural and political conservatism, said Adam Laats, a history professor at Binghamton University and an expert on institutions like Hillsdale. |
| Florida Bill May Shield University Presidential Searches From the Public | |
 | Florida legislators are building support for a new law that would shield the identities of all but the top contenders for public college and university president jobs -- a measure that's drawn criticism from advocates for transparency and shared governance. The proposed law, which will soon be heard by the full state Senate, would require colleges to conceal applicants' identities until 21 days before a candidate is chosen. It would also exempt from Florida's open-records laws meetings that disclose identifying personal information of those who don't become finalists for the job. (A House version of the bill has been amended to keep applicants' identities under wraps until 14 days before finalists are chosen.) The bill is in an effort to attract more applicants to top leadership positions at Florida's public universities, according to the Senate bill's sponsor, Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican. "Florida has some of the broadest public-records laws in the country," said Brandes. Those laws could be a deterrent to candidates who are fearful their employer may find out, he said, or who fear it could be a blow to their reputation if they don't make the final cut. If passed, the bill would go into effect immediately, potentially influencing presidential searches already underway. Presidents at four of Florida universities -- the University of South Florida, the University of Florida, Florida International University, and the University of North Florida -- have announced their resignation within the past few months. |
| Family of hospitalized U. of Missouri student sues Fiji fraternity over alcohol poisoning | |
 | The parents of Daniel Santulli have filed a lawsuit against the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity for the October hazing event that landed the 18-year-old University of Missouri student in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. MU withdrew its recognition of the fraternity, also known as Fiji, for multiple violations. The incident spurred student protests on campus. Santulli was found unresponsive in the fraternity house. The lawsuit states that Santulli, a pledge to the fraternity, on Oct. 19, 2021, was given a bottle of vodka he was expected to consume. "By midnight, Daniel was severely intoxicated, passed out on the couch and by the time anyone attempted to assist him he had stopped breathing," a news release from the parents' attorney states. "No one called 911." Instead, two fraternity members drove him to University Hospital, where he was in cardiac arrest on arrival, the release states. Santulli remains unresponsive and unable to communicate due to permanent brain injuries, the release states. "There seems to be no end to these illegal and dangerous hazing traditions at fraternities all over the country, but this is the worst one I have seen in more than 30 years of representing hazing victims." said David W. Bianchi, the family's attorney who specializes in hazing cases, in the news release. |
| Push in Oregon for gender-neutral retired faculty titles | |
 | Professor emeritus or emerita -- the gender-dependent title some faculty members are awarded upon retirement -- signals esteem, accomplishment and, often, continued involvement in campus life. But does it have to signal male or female? Professors at two Oregon institutions think that it doesn't, and that it shouldn't. So they're asking their colleagues to consider adopting a gender-neutral alternative. One such idea is "professor emerit." "Why should the title have anything to do with gender? It's not a demographic category, it's a professional title," said Jennifer Freyd, who retired from the University of Oregon's psychology department last year and uses the title professor emerit. "It's time to be a little more enlightened." Freyd is a co-sponsor of two resolutions before the University of Oregon Senate. The first motion calls for the university to "use non-gendered language to refer to retired faculty" in all formal policies and websites. It argues that gendered language in professional titles contributes to gender discrimination and that binary gender choices force nonbinary people to choose one or the other. Other examples of gendered terms, which are already falling out of use, according to the motion, include "chairman, alumnus, fireman, stewardess, and even just 'man' to mean human." The second motion before the University of Oregon Senate is about whether "professor emerit" is the appropriate replacement for "professor emeritus" or "emerita." |
| State Board of Regents to announce required free speech training | |
| University of Iowa students, staff, and faculty will need to complete a free speech training by the end of the spring semester, President Barbara Wilson announced in an email on Tuesday. Wilson wrote that all members of the university community will receive an email on Wednesday from Mike Richards, the state Board of Regents President, and Greta Rouse, chair of the regents' Free Speech Committee, announcing the release of the new free speech training module. The training will be administered to all three public universities in Iowa, including Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. "All faculty, staff, and students are expected to complete the training prior to the end of the spring 2022 semester," the announcement reads. "This training is required by Iowa law, is being provided on all three university campuses, and is important to our efforts in educating the campus community about First Amendment rights to free expression." Free speech issues in higher education were a central focus of Republican lawmakers during the 2021 legislative session. The House Government Oversight Committee held hearings on a student who said he was threatened with discipline for remarks made in a College of Dentistry email thread, and the Legislature passed multiple bills relating to free speech on campus. |
| 'Beloved' campus officers killed in Bridgewater College shooting were a 'dynamic duo' | |
 | Family and community members on Wednesday were mourning the deaths of two campus officers described as a "dynamic duo" who were shot and killed Tuesday at Bridgewater College in Virginia. Campus police officer John Painter and campus safety officer J.J. Jefferson were close with each other and the college's students, said David Bushman, the school's president, in a statement. "John was J.J.'s best man in his wedding this year," Bushman wrote to the campus community. "They were beloved by students, faculty and staff. I hurt for their families and loved ones, as I know we all do." The officers were fatally shot while responding to a report of a suspicious person on the campus of the small liberal arts college Tuesday afternoon. The suspect, who was injured in the shooting, was arrested and charged with murder and other crimes, police said. The suspect, Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, is being held without bond at Rockingham County Jail on charges of two felony counts of capital murder, one felony count of first-degree murder, and one felony count of use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, authorities said. Bridgewater College is located in the rural farming area of Rockingham County and is religiously affiliated with the Church of the Brethren, which is grounded in nonviolence, peace and simple living. |
| Colleges face IT brain drain driven by COVID, pay disparities | |
| Michael Boehm blames COVID for the IT staff attrition he has experienced as chief information officer at Virginia's Averett University. He has lost four staffers on his 10-person team in recent months, two of whom did not want to comply with the campus's COVID vaccine mandate. Boehm believes heavy workloads during the pandemic and the fact that many higher-paying corporate information technology jobs now offer the flexibility of working from home -- which was once exclusively a perk of working in academia -- have contributed to the cascade of staff departures. People with technical skills are generally in high demand, Boehm said, making it possible for IT workers to cherry-pick jobs based on flexibility and pay. Mark McCormack is senior director of analytics and research for Educause, the nonprofit association that seeks to advance higher education with information technology. He said Educause has been tracking higher ed IT staff burnout for some time, and he believes much of the staff attrition---for which he does not yet have firm statistics---is due to the unique pressures IT staff faced when transitioning campuses from in-person classes to fully remote during the pandemic. "Over the last two years, those staff and those leaders at the institution have taken on a much more visible and strategically and operationally important role," McCormack said. He added that this new status "led to increased stress and burnout among the staff and leadership because we were still in that reactive space ... That's not a sustainable work environment." |
| New Guide Shows How Institutions Can Help AAPI Students' Mental Health | |
| In June, a committee of eight Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) experts met publicly on Zoom to discuss issues surrounding AAPI trauma and health. That's when they were "Zoom bombed." "We believe [it] was targeted," said Dr. Marcia Liu, a mental health specialist with Hunter College's AANAPISI Project (Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution Project), which works to build awareness of the mental health needs of AAPI students on Hunter's campus. "The Zoom bomber used language that was racist, misogynistic, and homophobic, providing yet another example of the anti-Asian hate we were discussing that day." The AAPI population in America is growing, as are incidents of hate. Since March 2020, when the coronavirus first appeared in China, the Stop AAPI Hate (SAH) website has tracked over 10,000 separate instances of hate speech or physical abuse. Estimates for nationwide impact show that almost 20% of AAPIs have experienced at least one hate incident since 2020. Often these moments are amplified at the intersections of religion, sexuality, colorism, and ability. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young AAPI people. To address the rising mental health crisis, the University of Michigan (U-M), the Steve Fund and the National Center for Institutional Diversity brought those eight experts together to create a guide for institutions to better understand and support the mental health needs of their AAPI students. |
| How the pandemic affected student engagement | |
| Students responded differently to changes in course delivery and other stresses posed by the pandemic, and their reactions differed based on age, gender and other factors, according to findings from the 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement, released Tuesday. The survey of more than 230,000 first-year and senior students at 337 colleges and universities unsurprisingly found that more students were in online courses in 2021 than in years past. The majority of first-year students, 65 percent, took mostly remote classes, 16 percent took mostly hybrid courses and only 7 percent took most of their classes in person. Similarly, 66 percent of seniors took most of their courses remotely, 13 percent were mostly in hybrid courses and only 11 percent were mostly taking classes on campus. A "dramatic uptick" in online learning during the pandemic wasn't "terribly surprising," said Alexander McCormick, director of the National Survey of Student Engagement. However, the consequences of the pandemic for students' mental wellness, especially among women, were a "big worry." The annual NSSE survey is a popular tool for college and university administrators to track the experiences of undergraduates, although some higher ed leaders have criticized the survey in the past and, more recently, have proposed alternative survey models. Kevin Kruger, president and CEO of NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, said the survey "reinforces the value of the student experience face-to-face." "One of the things that we have come to understand through these last couple years is the times students spend interacting with each other, whether that be informally at a late-night evening interaction at a residence hall or an on-campus job or a student activity of some sort, that these aren't frivolous, that they really connect very directly to students' well-being, but also to their academic success as well," he said. |
| One lecturer proves online learning can be a success with a little creativity | |
| In 1994, Susan Whitman received a package in the mail: it was a 12-week lecture series of VHS tapes for a university course on biochemistry, her very first experience with "asynchronous" learning. That almost-forgotten memory -- Whitman has since been a physician assistant, board certified wellness coach and instructor -- flashed in front of her during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the classes she has taught in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Vermont that have gone remote, one has been asynchronous: "Intro to Integrative Health." "We never met in person," Whitman says. "At the end of last semester, I said, I think I'm horrible at everything that I do right now. I don't know if anyone's learning anything. But then I said, wait, maybe I am doing something OK." Indeed, she was. Despite not having internet at her home, she managed at times to teach that course from the community kitchen she started and later from her minivan after she came down with COVID-like symptoms. She used her phone to be more engaging, a strategy forged from her own children's experiences with online learning. Her energy and the impact the class had on students earned her the university's 2021 Prelock Award for online course instruction. Despite the lack of real-time connection, Whitman was reaching students in part because of her delivery -- she was not simply lecturing to them -- and in part because her course encompassed and embraced self-care, something desperately needed during this time. |
| Biden's Student-Debt Pledge Stalls, Frustrating Supporters | |
 | Joe Biden said during his presidential campaign that he would reduce student debt for millions of Americans, but his allies remain divided on the issue, and some of his supporters are losing hope he will deliver. Melanie Kelley, 38 years old, of Denver, has $125,000 in student loans. When the Biden administration's pandemic-related pause on student-loan payments ends in May, she will owe $1,000 a month. "It's become this unmanageable beast for me," she said. "May isn't that far away. How am I going to figure this out?" A management consultant, she said she has worked as a DoorDash driver to supplement her income, but her debt has kept her from starting a family or buying a house. "A lot of people are not going to vote again because they feel like they're not being heard," said Ms. Kelley, who voted for Mr. Biden in 2020. Ms. Kelley is one of around 43 million Americans with student debt. As a candidate, Mr. Biden endorsed canceling $10,000 in student debt per borrower through legislation and proposed forgiving tuition-related federal debt for people who earned undergraduate degrees at public colleges and universities, as well as schools that historically serve Black and minority students. Mr. Biden has revealed little publicly about whether he plans to take additional action to forgive student debt. |
| Legislature deals with medical marijuana, but state's initiative process remains dormant | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: Mississippi lawmakers rather quickly and decisively agreed on a medical marijuana program that didn't earn universal agreement, but it did take the Legislature out of the unenviable position of not being responsive to the wishes of some 74 percent of state voters participating in the 2020 statewide elections. After having passed both the House and Senate by wide margins, the bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves, who can sign it into law, let it become law without his signature or veto it -- but the legislative margins on the measure suggest that a veto would likely fail. My bet is against a veto. Reeves impacted the final bill and got most of the concessions he wanted. So, if the medical marijuana question is settled for the time being, the legal developments that led to this flurry of legislative activity in the 2022 regular session are decidedly not settled. ... Now looms the more significant and more difficult task of giving Mississippi voters back their ballot initiative process. That will be easier said than done, for the entire ballot initiative process is counterintuitive to lawmakers who believe strongly in the primacy of the Mississippi Legislature as an institution. Few, if any legislators will publicly say so, but most lawmakers do not want to share the power to make state laws with the voters. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Launches Year-Long Title IX Campaign for 50th Anniversary | |
| Mississippi State, in conjunction with the Southeastern Conference, will honor the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX with a variety of initiatives throughout the 2022 calendar year. The year-long commemoration will highlight the passage of Title IX and what it has meant on a national scale, while celebrating and highlighting the success of women's athletics at Mississippi State. To celebrate, Mississippi State is launching several notable initiatives within the athletic department that will occur throughout 2022. "We are thrilled to begin this year-long celebration of 50 years of Mississippi State women's athletics," MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen said. "This is a tremendous opportunity to highlight the many extraordinary women of the past and present within our department, while also continuing our unwavering commitment to Title IX." The year-long campaign will kick off on Feb. 2, 2022, with the celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. This year, Mississippi State Athletics will highlight student-athletes from each female sport for video features that will be released on National Girls and Women in Sports Day (Feb. 2). Throughout the year, the department will recognize former MSU female coaches, student-athletes and others who have continued to further the legacy of Title IX. "As a former student-athlete, and now an administrator, it is great to see the countless ways MSU has poured into women's athletics," said Deputy A.D./SWA & Chief Diversity Officer Ann Carr. "It is our job to continue to lead the way for other young ladies and show them they can be whatever they choose to be." Mississippi State and the Bulldog Club will also join the campaign to leverage the historic 50th anniversary of Title IX. MSU's campaign will run through the Bulldog Club and aims to raise funds which will specifically support women's athletics at Mississippi State. |
| Mississippi State handles South Carolina as tough stretch looms | |
| Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland anticipated a "fist-fight war" against South Carolina on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs desperately needed a win after consecutive losses against top-15 opponents while sitting on the bubble of most NCAA tournament projections. South Carolina barely cracked the top-100 with its NET ranking, but was on a three-game winning streak to propel itself to just one loss back of MSU in the SEC standings. The stage was set at Humphrey Coliseum, but this fight was no Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. In this battle, Mississippi State was Ivan Drago to South Carolina's Apollo Creed, or Jake Paul to Nate Robinson or whatever one-sided fight suits your generation. Mississippi State dominated from the start to fend off a potential bad loss and secure a 78-64 victory in the midst of a brutal stretch of games. Six of MSU's final 10 games -- including those matchups with Arkansas, LSU and Alabama -- will be on the road. That's noteworthy for a Bulldogs squad yet to win a true road game this season. "Just win one game at a time," Brooks said. "We gotta have that mindset. We gotta be tough enough to get it done on the road, of course." Mississippi State was among the first teams out of Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology for ESPN. |
| Mississippi State basketball rebounds from two losses, runs South Carolina out of the Hump | |
| If there was a remedy for the consecutive losses Mississippi State basketball suffered on the road against top 15-ranked teams, it was facing South Carolina at home and running the Gamecocks out of Humphrey Coliseum. There was Garrison Brooks, who nearly outscored South Carolina by himself in the first half. There was Derek Fountain, who played a bigger role than he has in over month. There was Iverson Molinar, a staunch defense and a considerable rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs brushed off their past two losses in a 78-64 drubbing of the Gamecocks in Starkville, correcting the issues that cropped up against teams hoping for a deep tournament run. Mississippi State (14-7, 5-3 SEC) hopes to at least make the NCAA Tournament, and while a game such as Tuesday's won't sway the selection committee, a loss to South Carolina (13-8, 4-5) might've supplied all the reason to hold the Bulldogs out. "We needed to get a win, a convincing win," Brooks said. "It felt good to get a conference win, because going up to 5-3, I think that's really good for us." Brooks has shown it before, an aggression to take the ball and shoot from midrange whenever there's a glimmer of an opening. He did it against Ole Miss and Alabama before regressing to seven points against Texas Tech. So coach Ben Howland approached Brooks at practice Monday with a simple request: "Shoot more!" "That's a player's delight to have your coach telling you that," Howland said. |
| Mississippi State men handle South Carolina to snap two-game losing skid | |
| Cameron Matthews wanted one last block. The Mississippi State forward already had two to his name by the final seconds of Tuesday's game against South Carolina at Humphrey Coliseum. But he wasn't going to let the Gamecocks get an easy basket as the clock wound down, despite the Bulldogs' double-digit lead. So when Carolina's Jacobi Wright drove to the basket, Matthews -- playing with four fouls -- got his long arm in the way, altering the shot and sending the basketball out of bounds. He and Mississippi State apparently needed one final moment to flex their muscle. The Bulldogs (14-7, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) had plenty in a 78-64 win over the Gamecocks (13-8, 4-5 SEC) -- a score that belied MSU's dominance nearly all evening. "I feel like this was a great win for us," guard Rocket Watts said. "We just have to stay consistent and just keep moving forward and keep getting better day by day." Mississippi State's lead reached double digits barely seven minutes into the contest and never got below that benchmark. The Bulldogs led by as many as 23 points in the first half and, three times, led by 27 in the game. South Carolina made the final score respectable with a late 13-0 run but never threatened to take the lead or even get close, only getting within 12 points on a Jermaine Couisnard 3-pointer with 38 seconds to go. |
| SEC men's basketball is much improved. Ben Howland credits Greg Sankey for that. | |
| Greg Sankey and Ben Howland received new jobs within two weeks of each other in March 2015. On March 12, Sankey was named the next Southeastern Conference commissioner after 13 years working for the SEC. On March 24, Howland was hired as Mississippi State's head men's basketball coach. Almost seven years later, both men remain in their positions. And for Howland, Sankey's presence at the head of the country's foremost college sports conference has been crucial to the growth of SEC basketball. "The people they've hired to run the league have been excellent, but it starts with the commissioner," Howland said Monday. The man Howland called "Coach Sankey" for his long-ago experience coaching basketball in upstate New York has emphasized the sport in a league where another sport quite obviously springs to mind. "Of course football is always going to be king in the SEC, but they've emphasized men's basketball a lot more since his reign here as our commissioner," Howland said. This season, SEC men's basketball is in as good a shape as it has ever been. The conference boasts eight teams in the top 50 of the KenPom rankings. Seven SEC schools are projected by ESPN's Joe Lunardi to make the NCAA tournament, including No. 1 overall seed Auburn. The SEC came out on top in last week's Big 12/SEC Challenge, too. "Based on the 6-4 win, we're the best conference in the country, and I think that will actually prove out in the tournament," Howland said. |
| 'Pretty special spot': How Landon Sims has prepared to be Mississippi State baseball's ace | |
| The tempest hadn't found Landon Sims yet. He stood just off the mound at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, his hat in one hand and his glove on the other, his arms raised upright. He slowly spun, watching as the oncoming gale bore down on him. And then his Mississippi State baseball teammates hit him, dragging the closer to the ground in a heap to celebrate the first College World Series in program history. As opposed to some of Sims' previous displays -- the fist pumps and yells -- that World Series celebration was relatively tame, considering the circumstances. But as Sims' role changes for the 2022 season, shifting from the closer to the Friday night ace, that could become more of the norm -- dialing back the energy he shows between batters and innings, aiming for longevity rather than the short spurts to seal outings. "I'll need to bottle it up more," Sims said Tuesday. Beyond that, though, Sims isn't looking to alter much about his approach on the mound. He's coming off an exemplary season for a team coming off a national championship. There are questions around how Mississippi State will respond, and if a group without the likes of Will Bednar, Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan, among others, can return to Omaha as title contenders once more. |
| Mississippi State's Anastasia Hayes named SEC player of the week | |
| Mississippi State's Anastasia Hayes was named the SEC Player of the Week for women's basketball after helping the Bulldogs to blowout wins against Missouri and Texas A&M. Hayes joins freshman Denea Carter as Bulldogs that have earned SEC weekly honors this season. Hayes, a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was a significant part of the Bulldogs' perfect weekend in SEC play last week. Hayes led the team in scoring at 23.0 points per game while averaging 6 assists per contest. Hayes added seven rebounds and a steal to her totals. Hayes shot 52 percent from the floor, 75 percent from 3 and 89 percent from the free throw line. Hayes connected on 17 of 19 free throws, including 8 for 8 against Texas A&M. She also tied a season-high with 7 assists against A&M. In SEC games, Hayes averages 21.4 ppg to rank third in the conference. She also ranks third in free throw percentage (85 percent), while ranking in the top 5 in field goal percentage (51 percent) and the top 15 in assists per game (3.0). Hayes surpassed 1,800-career points with her 22-point performance against the Aggies, her 10 consecutive game in double digits. including six games with more than 20 points. |
| Despite strong recruiting class, Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin concerned players will 'go where they're paid the most' in NIL era | |
| After landing two of the most coveted transfers in college football, former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart and TCU running back Zach Evans, the Ole Miss Rebels have a Top 25 recruiting class heading into Wednesday's national signing day. But because of the transfer portal and new rules that allow college players to be paid for their name, image and likeness, Rebels coach Lane Kiffin said his program can't compete against some of the sport's elite teams. "We don't have the same funding resources as some of these schools do for these NIL deals," Kiffin said during a news conference on Tuesday. "It's basically dealing with different salary caps. Now we have a sport that has completely different salary caps and some of these schools have, whatever, five to 10 times more than everybody else in what they can pay the players. I know nobody uses those phrases, but that is what it is." "I joked the other day that I didn't know if Texas A&M was going to incur a luxury tax in how much they paid for their signing class," Kiffin said. Even though the Rebels announced the addition of 13 midyear enrollees from the transfer portal on Tuesday, Kiffin criticized current NCAA rules that allow players to switch schools once without having to sit out a season. "Like everything, this transfer thing is not over," Kiffin said. "Until they figure out how to do this better, you're going to see a whole other group after spring ball that leaves places. This is an ongoing thing." |
| SEC Law Schools Collaborate for Series on Future of College Athletics | |
| The 12 law schools in the Southeastern Conference are collaborating to host "A Series of Conversations on Name, Image and Likeness and the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics" throughout the academic year. Professors from each law school, as well as professionals within the athletics industry, will speak on a variety of legal topics surrounding the NIL policy for college athletes that took effect July 1, 2021. The NCAA policy allows college athletes to directly benefit financially from their own name, image and likeness. NIL activities include endorsements, appearances and autograph signings. "With the adoption of state NIL laws last summer, a wide variety of legal issues have emerged with participants and legal experts trying to figure out this exciting new landscape in intercollegiate athletics," said organizer Will Berry, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. "This conversation series will provide an important window into these issues for students, athletes, lawyers, athletic departments and members of the general public interested in the effect of state NIL laws on college sports." The first event of the semester will be held via Zoom at noon Wednesday (Feb. 2) on the topic of "NCAA v. Alston and Antitrust Laws," with panelists Thomas Lambert and Gary Myers, both professors at the University of Missouri School of Law, and Laura Phillips Sawyer, professor at the University of Georgia School of Law. |
| Council approves alcohol sales during Alabama athletic events at Coleman Coliseum | |
 | Beer and wine will soon be available for Alabama basketball and gymnastics fans at Coleman Coliseum. And pending the speed of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board's license approval bureaucracy, adult beverages could be sold as early as Saturday's 7 p.m. matchup with the University of Kentucky. The ABC Board must give final say on cold ones at the Coliseum now that the City Council gave its near-unanimous approval for the license -- only Councilman John Faile voted against it -- as sought by Levy Premium Foodservice LP, the University of Alabama's concessionaire. Only beer, wine and seltzers -- no hard liquor -- will be sold at Coleman Coliseum, and a representative for Levy Premium Foodservice said all employees and contractors involved with the sale of alcohol have undergone responsible vendor training. Two of the concession stands operated by Levy Premium Foodservice -- the Chick-fil-A stand and the Papa Murphy's location -- will not offer the alcoholic beverages, though there will be some kiosk-like locations to meet demand. Additional council action would be required, however, should UA decide to expand the sale of beer and wine at on-campus sporting beyond Coleman Coliseum. University of Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne said UA will be following state and SEC alcohol policies. But as of now, there is no word on whether Byrne or other UA officials will opt to allow the sale of these beverages during football games at Bryant-Denny Stadium. |
| NCAA revenue returned to $1.15 billion in 2021, but prospect of pandemic impacts looms | |
| The NCAA had $1.155 billion in total revenue for its 2021 fiscal year, as its finances returned to nearly normal conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the 2020 Division I men's basketball tournament, the association's new audited financial statement shows. But the statement, which the association released Wednesday, still shows the impacts of the pandemic, the association's steps to manage those impacts and the potential for major problems if another surge in the virus affects this season's basketball tournaments. In 2020, the NCAA's revenue dropped by $600 million because of the men's tournament's cancellation -- and that was with the association collecting $270 million from a loss-of-revenue insurance policy designed to cover the tournament. In 2021, according to the new statement's notes, the NCAA again had such coverage in place -- and it paid out $81 million "related to reduced ticket sales and additional costs for COVID-19 precautions" as the men's tournament was played entirely in Indiana and the women's tournament entirely in Texas. Normally, the events are played at venues across the nation. Now, however: "The NCAA's loss of revenue insurance expired at the end of fiscal-year 2020-21 and similar coverage is no longer available given the changes in the marketplace due to COVID-19. Management is exploring alternative solutions to pandemic risk management and will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 during fiscal-year 2021-22." |
| FBI advises athletes to leave their personal phones at home for the Beijing Olympics | |
 | Athletes on their way to the 2022 Winter Olympics have a new item to add to their packing list: a burner phone. In a warning issued Monday, the FBI advised athletes traveling to Beijing this month, as well as those competing in the Paralympics in March, to bring a temporary cellphone with them in lieu of their regular device in preparation for the risk of cyberattacks. Such attacks could include ransomware and malware, data theft, and distributed denial of service attacks, among others, according to the bureau. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, athletes at this year's games are required to download the My 2022 app to track their health while in Beijing or to utilize on a web browser, according to the FBI. However, the FBI warns that the app could pose a potential security risk to attendees, as could other commonly used programs like digital wallets. Such apps could be used by attackers to "steal personal information or install tracking tools, malicious code, or malware," the agency said. The FBI's warning echoes the findings of a report issued last month by researchers at The Citizen Lab, a group based at the University of Toronto. Their analysis found that the My 2022 app had the potential to be infiltrated by hackers, in addition to raising censorship concerns. Monday's release was issued on the same day that FBI Director Christopher Wray criticized the Chinese government for alleged repeated cyberattacks intended to steal information and technology from U.S. companies. |
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