| Tuesday, February 22, 2022 |
| Bob Dylan to perform at MSU Riley Center April 8 | |
 | The Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts announced Monday a unique opportunity to experience a living legend up close and personal. Bob Dylan will perform in concert on Friday, April 8 as part of his "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour. "Bob Dylan's influence on American arts and culture is undeniable, and to have someone of his caliber perform in a historic venue in Meridian, Mississippi, is a rare opportunity," said Associate Vice President and head of Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus Terry Dale Cruse. "Add to that Dylan's connection to Jimmie Rodgers, and the significance is even more notable." Meridian has staked a place in American music history as the birthplace of Rodgers, who is hailed as the Father of Country Music for blending blues, folk and early jazz music to create an entirely new genre. Dylan has often acknowledged Rodgers' impact on him as an artist. He even assembled an all-star lineup of musicians to join him in recording a tribute album to Rodgers in 1997. Dylan's tour features songs from his most recent studio album, released in 2020 and also called "Rough and Rowdy Ways." The title is understood to refer to the 1929 Jimmie Rodgers song "My Rough and Rowdy Ways." The inside covers of the "Rough and Rowdy Ways" vinyl album and CD feature a cropped, colorized version of a famous photograph of Rodgers and the Carter Family, the legendary folk music group that also influenced early country music. Tickets for the show start at $70 and go up to $140. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, February 25, at 9 a.m. and can be purchased online at msurileycenter.com. |
| Music legend Bob Dylan coming to Meridian in April | |
 | The Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts announces a unique opportunity to experience a living legend up close and personal. Bob Dylan will perform in concert on Friday, April 8. With just over 900 seats, the center's Victorian-era Grand Opera House theater is expected to be the most intimate venue on Dylan's "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour. "Bob Dylan's influence on American arts and culture is undeniable, and to have someone of his caliber perform in a historic venue in Meridian, Mississippi, is a rare opportunity," said Dr. Terry Dale Cruse, Associate Vice President and head of Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus. "Add to that Dylan's connection to Jimmie Rodgers, and the significance is even more notable." Dylan's performance coincides with an arts and culture renaissance in Meridian's historic downtown. Next door to the MSU Riley Center, the boutique Threefoot Hotel, housed in a fully renovated 1920s Art Deco skyscraper, celebrated its grand opening earlier this year. A few months before that, a full-scale remodeling converted the nearby Merchants & Farmers Bank building of the same era into the Threefoot Brewing brewpub. Just blocks away, the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, a $14 million interactive museum, opened in 2018, showcasing the stories of Mississippi artists and musicians who have shaped American culture. "We are thrilled to be a part of downtown Meridian's continued evolution as an arts and culture destination," said Cruse. "The opportunity to have such a legend in our theater is only possible because of the incredible support of The Riley Foundation. We are the smallest venue on this tour, and without the foundation's support ticket prices would be unattainable." |
| MSU professor's artwork is featured on U.S. stamp | |
 | A Mississippi State University professor's artwork could end up in your mailbox. Alex Bostic is an art professor at MSU. The United States Postal Service commissioned him to do the artwork for its Edmonia Lewis Commemorative Forever stamp, the 45th in the Black Heritage Series. Lewis was the first African American and Native American sculptor to achieve international recognition. Bostic says it was an honor to pay tribute to her work. "To do another artist that wasn't recognized in her time. But I got to see some of her work. You would swear Michelangelo did it. That how good she was," he said. Creating this artwork for a postage stamp has special significance for Bostic. He says attending the unveiling of the stamp was truly a full circle moment for him. "During the ceremony, I wore my mother's post office sweater. My mother worked for the post office for over 30 years. And that paid for me to be an artist and go to school and all that stuff. So, I paid homage to my mom, Evelyn Bostic." The Edmonia Lewis Forever stamp is available now at your local post office. |
| MSU Physician Assistant students to offer free health screenings | |
| Physician Assistant students at Mississippi State University-Meridian are helping people in the community check their health by hosting a Community Health Day Saturday. The free, family-friendly event will offer basic health screenings including auditory, vision, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Educational booths will offer information on diet planning, sexual health, sleep aid, family bonding, and more. Physical Assistant Studies is a new program offered at the University. "We're just looking for a way to give back. Being health care providers that's what we do, it's why we came into this field, to be able to help our community. It's a good way, a simple way but an effective way to not only show off what we're doing here, what we're learning but also to help the community. If you don't know something is going on, how will you ever know that it needs to be looked at? Basically, free events like these are so big for the community simply because they allow you to find out a little more about something that you may not have gotten checked regularly," said MSU-Meridian student, Cody Guidry. MSU's Community Health Day will be held Saturday, February 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kahlmus Auditorium on MSU- Meridian's College Park Campus. |
| New home construction activity soaring across the state | |
 | New home construction is booming across the state, from North Mississippi to the Coast, with unprecedented demand for single family residences. But it's not all good news for busy homebuilders, who are confronting supply chain disruptions and rising costs of materials. Still, builders say, homes are in great demand and, even with the higher costs, buyers are lining up and ready to move in. "We are as busy as any of us has ever been or want to be, but this is a difficult time in our industry," said Bruce Kirkland of Kirkland Properties and immediate past president of the Home Builders Association of Jackson. "Projects are not being finished in a timely manner any more because there is a shortage of supplies," he said. Compounding the problems are rising prices and a labor shortage. "As far as the demand to buy new houses, it is a good time for our industry because there are buyers out there. The race to finish construction projects is a race against interest rates and further cost increases from suppliers. Also, having to wait on certain supplies increases the risk because of the time it takes to get supplies." Kirkland, who has been in the industry for 35 years, said he's never seen anything like the current situation. "When I first went into business we couldn't sell our first houses, we had to rent them. Now you can't put a price on them until they're finished. It's different times for sure." |
| Farm profits, up last year, may sink again as farmers' costs rise | |
 | You've probably noticed the rising costs of food in your grocery bill. The Labor Department reported that food prices were up 7% last month. But the extra dollars you pay aren't necessarily making it back to the farmers who help keep the shelves stocked. Ongoing problems in the supply chain have pushed up farmers' costs, and a wide range of products they use to grow crops are affected, according to Kevin McNew, chief economist at the online marketplace Farmers Business Network. "That includes seed, that includes chemicals, and it especially includes fertilizer, which is a really key bottom-line item on the budget for farmers," he said. Labor and equipment costs are surging, too. This comes after a relatively good year: Prices for commodities like soybeans and corn rose in 2021 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates farm profits grew by 25%. Those profits are predicted to drop back, said Patrick Westhoff, who directs the Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri. "Farmers' costs are probably going to be up more than their receipts are going to be in 2022," he said. |
| For White-Collar Workers, It's Prime Time to Get a Big Raise | |
 | White-collar professionals are reaping big pay gains as worker bargaining power spreads across the U.S. economy and shows early signs of durability. Wall Street banks are boosting compensation for employees. Consumer lenders are seeing their biggest pay bumps in more than a decade. Legal firms are raising wages aggressively as burned-out workers flee the industry. Pay for finance, information and professional employees rose 4.4% in January from a year earlier, outpacing 4% wage growth for all workers, according to the Atlanta Fed's wage tracker. Workers in higher-wage sectors experienced the fastest month-over-month earnings growth in January, Labor Department data showed. Wages in the professional and business services sector -- which includes jobs in management, law and engineering -- rose 0.8% in January from a month earlier. That was well above a 0.1% wage increase in leisure and hospitality. "For most of last year, wage growth was really strong for lots of low-wage workers," said Nick Bunker, economist at jobs site Indeed. "Now, the overall labor market is just tighter and that is boosting the bargaining power of the rest of the workforce." Pay is rising, in part, because companies can't find enough workers. The supply of labor shrank at the onset of Covid-19. It remains depressed because of an acceleration in retirements and millions of people sitting on the sidelines due to child-care issues, Covid-19 illnesses and burnout. |
| How much does Mardi Gras cost in New Orleans? From Hand Grenades to beads, prices soar | |
 | Carnival revelers have started trickling into New Orleans in recent days, and the ones that stopped at the Tropical Isle on Bourbon Street didn't blink at the $1-a-pop price increase for the bar's signature neon green Hand Grenade cocktail. Jason Fortner, who runs the five Tropical Isle outlets in the French Quarter, said he's hoping customers won't balk at the first price increase in more than a decade on the high-octane slushy drink. He had to raise the price from $10 to $11 this year to cover some of the across-the-board cost increases he's facing because of the recent nationwide surge in inflation. "We maybe could've gone up by a couple bucks on it, but I didn't want to do any more than I had to," he said. The Hand Grenade price bump is in line with the price increases for a number of Carnival goods and services, according to conversations with business owners, industry associations and pricing analysts. U.S. average alcohol prices are up nearly 7% since February, 2020. A king cake costs more, as does fried chicken. Krewes are paying more for beads, and prices for big ticket items like downtown New Orleans hotel rooms have also increased. The reason behind price rises is similar for most businesses: there are widespread labor and raw materials shortages at a time when people are starting to take more trips and spend more money going out. However, New Orleans business owners say they are wary of raising prices as they try to make up for two lean years since the last big Mardi Gras celebrations. And some, including musicians and others who have seen rising costs themselves, say they can't pass those costs along without losing out on work. |
| Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves' plan to improve military member's lives | |
 | Gov. Tate Reeves announced Monday the state would implement two executive orders to improve the lives of Mississippi military personnel and their families. Since 1997, the Mississippi Military Communities Council has worked to protect the state's military assets from the Base Realignment and Closure processes, Reeves said. "It is clear, in my view, that it is time to expand its mission and its focus," he said. The council was renamed Mississippi Defense Communities Development Council and will include more ways for the state to bolster its military reach and "to seize opportunities for Mississippi," Reeves said. "The council will continue to lead a community-based effort to strengthen the state's military installations and advise state and federal lawmakers on opportunities for new missions and new facilities." In addition, the council will have representatives from each of the state's 12 military installations and National Guard training centers. The Mississippi Development Authority will offer administrative support and the governor's Office of Military Affairs will coordinate and help direct the council's activities. The governor's other order establishes a Military Star Schools program for the state's K-12 schools. "When men and women in the military serve, their families serve also," said Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard. "Both of these initiatives address those needs." |
| Governor signs orders to create Military Star program for schools, expanded bases | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday issued two executive orders aimed at bettering the lives of Mississippi military members and their families. "Mississippi's military families, including the children of these families, deserve the utmost respect for the innumerable sacrifices they make," Reeves said. "I want to be sure our military students are supported and successful as they transition into new schools." The first executive order directs the Mississippi Department of Education to administer a new program -- Military Star Schools Program -- to award public schools a Military Star designation if they have certain resources in place to accommodate children of military members. A school will be eligible to apply for a Military Star designation if they appoint a staff member as a military ambassador, maintain a peer-to-peer transition program to assist students transitioning into the school because of the military. Col. Cynthia Smith at the press conference on Monday said that children of active duty military personnel often change schools between six and nine times before graduating, and it can be difficult for them to acclimate to constantly changing school environments. Smith, the commander of the 186th Air Refueling Wing at Key Field Air National Guard Base in Meridian, told a personal story of how she approached the principal at her child's new school and asked her to look over him while she left for several months of duty. The principal agreed. "However, it was several years later that she (the principal) approached me and admitted that she didn't fully grasp the challenges," Smith said. "Not until her own son was deployed to the Navy." |
| Governor announces programs to help military families, expand installations | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday announced two executive orders aimed at helping children of military families, and helping protect and expand the state's military installations and supporting industries. "As long as I am governor, Mississippi will do everything in our power to support our military members and their families," Reeves said at a press conference, flanked by state military leaders. One order Reeves signed creates the Military Star Schools Program, to help military family school children who have to frequently change schools when their parents receive new postings and who deal with other issues such as parents being away for deployments. Reeves said there are about 7,300 school-aged children of active duty military families in Mississippi. State Superintendent Carey Wright said many Mississippi schools already provide support to military families and she expects "our schools and districts will jump at the chance to join this program." Reeves also signed an order creating the Mississippi Defense Communities Development Council -- overhauling a council that has worked for years to prevent military base closures in Mississippi during federal cutbacks and realignments. Reeves appointed Tom Williams, president of the Meridian Airport Authority, to chair the new council. |
| Is Department of Revenue responsible for car warranty robocalls? Brandon Presley thinks so. | |
| Everyone recognizes the calls when they flash across a phone screen. Sometimes it's a random number from an unknown town. Other times, it's from a familiar town. The routine is so familiar it's almost become a part of daily life. A phone rings, someone answers it, and a voice on the other end says, "We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty." The receiver of the call invariably hangs up the phone in anger and swears under their breath about robocalls. But an inquiry by one of the state's utility regulators spurred an interesting discovery: The genesis of some of those calls could be the Mississippi Department of Revenue, a state agency responsible for collecting tax payments. Brandon Presley, the state's northern district public service commissioner, and his office received thousands of complaints about auto warranty calls, so he started investigating the calls to unravel the issue. After serving subpoenas on call center organizations, investigators found a complex series of business transactions that started with an organization named "Fat Al." Fat Al bought the data from Exact Data, who bought the data from Acxiom, who bought the data from R.L. Polk, who initially purchased the data from the state revenue department, according to Presley, adding that DOR's information sale is legal under current laws. "It is wrong for state agencies to take personal information and sell it to the private sector with no safeguards in place to make sure that information is iron clad to only be used for legitimate purposes," Presley told the Daily Journal. |
| Commissioner Presley advocates for broadband expansion | |
 | Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley believes a piece of state legislature will help rural areas in Mississippi get high-speed internet. He spoke with the New Albany community on Monday evening at the Union County Courthouse. He said just about the entire county is serviced by the city of New Albany in electricity. "Unfortunately, a law that's on the books all the way back to the 1930s that prevents the city from providing broadband," Presley said. "Of course, in 1930 nobody had heard of internet service." He believes Senate Bill 2474 could allow cities like New Albany to provide high speed internet to the rural areas that it serves, as well as within the city. "We've got legislation right now that's already passed the Senate," he said. "It's in the Mississippi House of Representatives now that would allow the city of New Albany, Okolona and Holly Springs to provide broadband service." Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory is one of the bill's authors. |
| Dems, GOP at odds over Biden's proposed science agency | |
 | Bipartisan support for one of President Joe Biden's pet health projects is crumbling as Republicans home in on spending and Democrats split over its structure. Emerging resistance to Biden's idea of a multibillion-dollar new agency to tackle some of health care's biggest challenges reflects a widening gap over what used to be a cross-party island in a divisive sea -- funding medical research. And an already adversarial tone among many Republicans critical of top federal scientists like Anthony Fauci was amplified by the sudden recent departure of Biden's close science adviser, Eric Lander, a champion of the president's research initiative. Democrats, meanwhile, are scrambling to sort their own key questions about a new agency. Biden recently announced that former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins would serve as a temporary science adviser, filling one of Lander's key roles to help shepherd some of the White House's most ambitious health priorities. But installing Collins may actually complicate efforts to create the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health because he, like Lander, is a strong proponent of housing the agency in NIH -- and an increasing number of lawmakers are against that idea. There rarely has been heated disagreement about increasing the NIH's budget or backing new research into conditions, like cancer and Alzheimer's disease, impacting scores of Americans. But the GOP anxiety over ARPA-H reflects a larger culture battle that could come into sharp focus with midterms in November, seriously jeopardizing slim Democratic congressional majorities. Democrats also are having internal disputes about where the new agency should live, renewing a debate from last year that could extend the timeline for finalizing legislation to create ARPA-H. |
| Angry and abused, health care workers still overwhelmingly love careers, poll shows | |
 | Heading into the third year of a wearying pandemic, America's health care workers report significant levels of burnout, even anger about the complications of politics and rising incidents of abuse from patients and their families. But three-fourths of them still say they love their jobs, an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll of doctors, nurses, paramedics, therapists and others finds. It is a show of resilience, not without some costs, among those who have been on the front lines of fighting COVID-19. "The pandemic has actually made me realize how important this career is, and how I really do make a difference," said Christina Rosa, 33, a mental health counselor from central Massachusetts who has had to close her office and see patients remotely. "I still love it." Even so, one in four report they are likely to leave the health care field in the near future, an exodus that would represent an enormous loss of medical expertise. Half say they are burned out. One in 5 report feeling angry. Younger workers report significantly higher levels of stress than older ones. Among those under 30 years old, nearly a third, 31%, feel angry. Twice as many, 61%, feel burned out. Those emotions are less prevalent among those 50 and older, although they are still high: 18% feel angry and 45% burned out. "For health care workers joining the sector in the last five to seven years, COVID provided a brutal exposure to the intensity of life on the front lines," said Steve Girling, president of Ipsos Health Care. Workers of all ages "were pushed to the brink of despair by COVID, delta and omicron variants. They are also some of the most resilient workers in the U.S. economy." |
| Netflix CEO donates $10 million to Tougaloo College | |
| Tougaloo College announced a $10 million donation to fund scholarships for low-income students from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin as part of the pair's efforts to financially support historically Black colleges. The donation will be shared equally with Brown University, Carmen Walters, Tougaloo's president, said at a press conference on Monday. Tougaloo will use its portion to bolster its $22 million endowment and set up a need-based scholarship for low-income students. The remaining $5 million will create a scholarship fund at Brown University in Rhode Island to support students who participate in the long-running academic partnership between the two colleges. Hastings' donation is the largest that Brown-Tougaloo Partnership has received in its 58-year history. The partnership began in 1964 after state lawmakers attempted to revoke Tougaloo's charter during the civil rights movement. The donation is "transformational" for Tougaloo, said Sandra Hodge, the vice president for institutional advancement, and will "significantly (bolster) the college's ability to provide scholarship support to current students and also allow the college to recruit more talented students who might not otherwise be able to attend." |
| Mississippi HBCU gets $10M from Netflix CEO and wife | |
 | A private, historically Black college in Mississippi is getting $10 million from the head of Netflix and his wife, a film producer. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings visited Tougaloo College on Monday to talk about the donation from himself and his wife, Patricia Quillin, news outlets reported. "This $10 million donation is really just a small bit of what's needed to provide kids the opportunities that Tougaloo can offer," he said, according to WAPT-TV. Hastings said that in the past five years he and his wife have focused on giving to historically Black colleges, after years of giving to programs for kindergarten through high school. "HBCUs have been so successful in producing Black lawyers, Black doctors, engineers, dentists -- all the professional classes. And it's a less well-known story in white America," he said. In 2020, Tougaloo received $6 million from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott, and said it was the largest amount it had ever received from a single donor. |
| U. of Alabama VP's arrest part of undercover sting to fight human trafficking | |
 | The commander of a task force said the sting that led to the resignation of the University of Alabama's vice president of student life is part of a strategy to fight human trafficking. Myron Pope, 50, was one of 15 men arrested Feb. 17-18 on charges of soliciting prostitution during an undercover operation in Northport. After his arrest, Pope resigned as vice president of student life, a post he had held at UA since May 2020. Capt. Phil Simpson, commander of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, said the two-day operation was geared toward the suppression of commercial sex buyers. "If buyers were not seeking commercial sexual services, sex trafficking would no longer be profitable," Simpson said in a Monday news release. "We hope these operations targeting buyers show that we take this very seriously. Our goal is to prevent future exploitation of human trafficking victims who are forced or coerced into prostitution," he said. Law enforcement officials have said that Tuscaloosa is a prime spot for human traffickers because it's right along a major interstate and because there's a market for it. The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force was created in November 2018 after Tuscaloosa, Northport and the University of Alabama police departments along with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office reached a mutual aid agreement. UA's Division of Student Life web page lists Steven Hood as the division's interim vice president. |
| Poll: U. of Missouri faculty support shared governance, reversal of salary cuts | |
 | University of Missouri faculty overwhelmingly supported measures related to shared governance and reversing faculty salary cuts. Mun Choi, MU chancellor and UM System president, said in his response that the option for faculty salary cuts would remain. The Faculty Council voted last month to circulate the measures among MU faculty members. One was in the form of a petition, asking Choi to rescind the section he added to the system's "Collected Rules and Regulations," with the Faculty Council calling it a "new, secretive, system-wide policy that could reduce tenured faculty salaries by 25%." On that measure, 782 approved, 110 didn't approve and 112 abstained, for an approval rate of just under 78%. There were 1,045 responses received among 2,229 sent, for a response rate of 45%. "Clearly, I think folks are not happy with the ability to cut salaries," said Kathleen Trauth, chairwoman of the Faculty Council, on Monday. The other measure calls for Choi and Provost Latha Ramchand to commit to practicing shared governance, including publicizing changes to the "Collected Rules and Regulations" when they are made and scheduling open forums for faculty for institutional priorities. It received approval from 912 faculty members, with 60 not approving it and 73 abstaining. The approval rate was 87%. The response rate was just under 47%. |
| Mizzou students protest fraternity hazing during Greek life 'Week of Kindness' | |
 | As tour groups of prospective students walked past Speakers Circle Monday, they were greeted by two distinct points of view. The visitors received free Starbucks coffee and Starburst candy from Tri Sigma sorority members celebrating a "Week of Kindness." But as they accepted the treats, they were also met by protesters holding signs warning about hazing involving fraternities in the University of Missouri's Greek life community. The protesters were members of Stronger Together Against Relationship and Sexual Violence. The protest was in response to the most recent incident of hazing at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, also known as FIJI. Daniel Santulli, 18, has been unresponsive since he was taken to the hospital Oct. 20 in a fraternity brother's car, according to a lawsuit filed by Santulli's family in Boone County Circuit Court. Throughout the school year, the STARS group hosts interactive events on campus in an effort to educate the MU campus about issues of relationship and sexual violence. Although Phi Gamma Delta is no longer recognized as an organization of the university, continuous claims of misconduct in multiple fraternities reveal a culture of abuse often disguised by the traditions of brotherhood, protesters said. MU junior Noura Alhachami, president of STARS, argues that freshmen who seek opportunity and friendship through pledging for fraternities are instead subjected to a gradual system of abuse. |
| UT Austin President Jay Hartzell defends faculty tenure | |
| University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell said Monday that removing tenure for faculty would hurt the university's ability to hire the best professors, countering a proposal from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last week to eliminate tenure for new hires at all public universities in Texas. "Removing tenure would not only cripple Texas' ability to recruit and retain great faculty members, it would also hurt Texas students, who would not be able to stay in state knowing that they will be learning from the very best in the country," Hartzell said in a letter to the university community. "It would also increase the risk of universities across the state making bad decisions for the wrong reasons." On Friday, Patrick had laid out a proposal for the 88th Legislative session that would end tenure for new hires and add the teaching of critical race theory, a university discipline that studies how race and racism have impacted social and local structures in the United States, as grounds to revoke a professor's tenure. Conservatives over the past year have used "critical race theory" as a broad label to attack progressive teachings and books in college and K-12 schools that address race and gender. Hartzell did not address that proposal in his letter. But he said broadly that said tenure is what keeps high quality professors at the university and "gives them the security and long-run horizon to tackle hard problems." "This kind of attack is precisely why we have faculty tenure," said Michael Harris, a professor at Southern Methodist University studying higher education. "The political winds are going to blow at different times, and we want faculty to follow the best data and theory to try to understand what's happening in our world." |
| College faculty are fighting back against state bills on critical race theory | |
 | Appalled at efforts to limit what they can teach about race and other sensitive subjects, faculty leaders at prominent public universities around the country have rallied in recent weeks behind resolutions to reaffirm academic freedom and denounce legislation that would undermine it These declarations show that the heated debate over state regulation of lessons on race, centered so far largely on K-12 public schools, is rapidly expanding onto college campuses. In this case it pits politicians, mainly Republicans, who depict themselves as guardians of objectivity concerning "divisive concepts," against professors who say the state has no business meddling in the content of lectures, syllabi and seminars. The latest skirmish has erupted in Texas. On Monday, the Faculty Council of the University of Texas at Austin approved, on a 41-to-5 vote with three abstentions, a resolution rejecting "any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate the content of university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to racial and social justice." The resolution said the council will "stand firm against any and all encroachment" on faculty authority, including by the legislature. Afterward, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) denounced the resolution. "I will not stand by and let looney Marxist UT professors poison the minds of young students with Critical Race Theory," he wrote in a tweet. "We banned it in publicly funded K-12 and we will ban it in publicly funded higher ed." On Friday, Patrick said he would support ending the job-protection measure known as tenure for professors who teach critical race theory. |
| Yale Law School to Cover Full Tuition and Fees for Lowest-Income Students | |
| Yale Law School will begin covering full tuition for its lowest-income students next fall, as the elite graduate program aims to diversify its ranks and make obtaining a law degree more affordable. Students from families with income below the federal poverty line will receive annual scholarships of about $72,000, covering tuition, fees and health insurance. The students will still be responsible for their own living expenses, which the school estimates to be about $21,000 this school year. This year's federal poverty level is $27,750 for a family of four. The school says roughly 8% to 10% of current students would be eligible for the award, which will be known as the Hurst Horizon Scholarship. The move is akin to what some of the wealthiest U.S. colleges do for undergraduate students, promising families will pay no tuition, or contribute nothing to school expenses, if their incomes are below a certain amount. Medical schools have also stepped up aid offerings, with a handful now covering all expenses, or at least full tuition, for low-income students. Alumni donations will help endow the new scholarship, including $20 million from 1992 graduate Soledad Hurst and her husband, financier Robert Hurst. Ms. Hurst grew up in Oregon below the poverty line and helped support her family financially even while taking out loans to fund her education. She said she had to borrow $5,000 from the law firm that hired her after graduation so she would have enough money to move to New York and start the job. |
| Student loan scams are on the rise as the pause on payments is due to expire | |
 | Like millions of Americans, Emmy Ross has a bunch of student debt. So when she started getting phone calls from people offering to help have the loans forgiven, she was immediately interested. The problem? They were scammers asking for things such as her account details or credit card number. Ross figured out the con pretty quickly. But her mom, Jing Su, was also getting the calls. "I thought it was serious because they are so persistent," Jing Su said. "I said, 'I got a call again. So what is the story?' You know?" Ross tried to tell her mom they weren't real. "Every time we would get on the phone, she'd be like, 'Oh, did you call the student loan people yet?' And every time, I'd be like, 'Mom, it's not real. It's a scam,' " Ross said. Thankfully, the callers didn't get any information or payment details out of Ross or her mom. But not everyone has been so lucky. This winter, the Federal Trade Commission warned about an increase in student loan scams. Those scams prey on confusion. President Biden said during his campaign that he was open to forgiving some student debt, but that hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, the federal government put federal student loan payments on pause during the pandemic. With that pause now set to expire at the beginning of May, people are anxious and scammers are swooping in. |
| The Broken Ladder: Where Are the Women Presidents at R1 Institutions? | |
| Despite earning the majority of terminal degrees over the last 15 years, women are president at only 22% of the nation's elite institutions. Of those, only 5% are women of color. That's the findings from The Women's Power Gap at Elite Universities: Scaling the Ivory Tower, a study by the Women's Power Gap Initiative and the American Association of University Women. "I think a lot of people are shocked, frankly," said Andrea Silbert, one of the lead authors of the study and president of the Eos Foundation, an organization that promotes gender, equity, and diversity in leadership that runs the Women's Power Gap Initiative. "I think the thing that's shocking is, we hear a lot in the diversity universe about pipelines not being available but, in terms of gender, there is a pipeline," said Silbert. The study's results show men and women both seem able to traverse the academic career ladder from professor to academic dean and provost. Men hold roughly 60% of academic dean and provost positions, and women hold just under 40%. But the gender gap widens to 56 percentage points between men and women who go on to become presidents. |
| Can Congress and the FBI help stop the repeated bomb threats at HBCUs? | | |
| Just 48 hours after Valentine's Day, Claflin University in South Carolina received a bomb threat that later was determined to be just that. However, the individual making the call succeeded in shutting down its campus for 24 hours, forced buildings to be evacuated and drove students to shelter in place in residence halls. Claflin is one of more than two dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities that has had to act swiftly to threats of violence since the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Insurrection. Despite the FBI announcing it was launching an investigation weeks ago, they haven't stopped. Two more occurred this week at Winston-Salem State University and Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Though some institutions have had to shut down for a day, most have managed to keep in-person learning going. Howard University has done so through five threats in the past two months. Claflin was back in business the next day. But the threats are getting exhausting for these transformative institutions. The manpower, the costs and the chilling effect it can have on students already suffering from the emotional ebbs and flows of the COVID-19 pandemic, from incidents like George Floyd's murder, are taking their toll. "For too many years, every ethnic group in the United States has been touched by the increase in domestic terrorism and hate crimes, many in the form of mass shootings," said Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas), chair of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, who spoke Thursday during a three-hour hearing on the Rise in Violence Against Minority Institutions. The bipartisan subcommittee is one of the many groups trying to stem the rising tide of hate speech and hate crimes. |
| Morgan State, Southern Poverty Law Center leaders testify on bomb threats against HBCUs | |
| Higher education and advocacy group leaders urged Congress to help prevent further bomb threats against historically Black colleges during a U.S. House committee hearing Thursday about the rise of violent threats against minority-serving institutions. The Southern Poverty Law Center's CEO and president, Margaret Huang, urged lawmakers to focus on the causes behind racist rhetoric, like the far-right extremism behind the country's uptick in domestic terrorism. Concerns resulting from the constant threats of violence have stretched resources thin and harmed students' mental health at Morgan State University, one of the HBCUs targeted by the bomb threats, according to the university's president, David Wilson. "There is a long history of underfunding institutions like ours," Wilson said during the hearing. "When you add the bombs threats, during the pandemic, leadership must take resources from operational efforts to give to mental health efforts." Dozens of higher ed groups on Monday called on Congress to look into the threats and discuss ways to stop them in the future. Higher education and advocacy group leaders testified Thursday before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, which held the hearing on the increasing violence against minority institutions, including HBCUs and places of worship. |
| Students compete for the title of 'Jeopardy!' College Champion | |
 | Raymond Goslow can't remember a time in his life without Jeopardy! When he was little, his dad taped the nightly trivia game show so the family could watch, he said. "It's been a part of my life for my whole life," Goslow said. "I'm the kind of person who likes to suck up all kinds of knowledge and trivia and hold on to it, so it seemed like a natural thing that one day, one way or another, I would get on the show." Now he has. Goslow, a senior majoring in geospatial sciences at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, is a finalist in this year's annual Jeopardy! College Championship, hosted by Mayim Bialik. So far, he's won more than $20,000. Tonight he competes with two other students for the winning title and top prize of $250,000. Goslow is one of the more than 26,000 hopeful college students from over 4,000 institutions who applied to be on Jeopardy! this year, according to the announcer at the beginning of the show. To be considered, students had to pass an initial 15-minute online test of more than 50 different clues, answering each in 15 seconds or faster. While Goslow can't give away any spoilers, he said the final game of Jeopardy! was intense. "I had the time of my life up there in the finals," Goslow said. "Just to be up there and represent my school was an amazing experience." Goslow will be attending a watch party hosted by Kennesaw State, where campus community members are invited to come cheer him on. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State baseball vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff first pitch moved up to avoid rain | |
| As rain pelts the Starkville area early this week, Mississippi State baseball has adjusted the first pitch for Tuesday's midweek game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The game will get underway at 11 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. in the hopes of missing most of the rain. According to the Weather Channel, there's a low chance of rain between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The game is still scheduled to air on SEC Network+. Coach Chris Lemonis said the Bulldogs (1-2) hoped to get the game in against the Golden Lions (1-2), who were traveling to Dudy Noble Field directly from their season-opening tournament in New Orleans. "We need to play," Lemonis said. "That's our only option this week to play." Lemonis said the two likeliest options to start for Mississippi State on Tuesday are right-hander Jackson Fristoe or left-hander Pico Kohn. Fristoe started 13 games as a freshman last year, recording a 5.69 ERA with 68 strikeouts to 37 walks. Kohn, a freshman from Verbena, Alabama, came to Mississippi State as the No. 55-rated high school MLB Draft prospect, according to Baseball America. |
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: UAPB | |
| No. 7 Mississippi State (1-2) returns to action as the Diamond Dawgs host UAPB (1-2) in non-conference action at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at Dudy Noble Field. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The series will also be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/plus. All students in attendance will earn twice as many Hail State Rewards points for cheering on the Dawgs. The Lions opened the 2022 season at the MLB Andre Dawson Classic in New Orleans and ended the weekend with a 1-2 record. UAPB began the weekend with a 9-3 loss to New Orleans, followed by a 15-7 defeat to Prairie View A&M on Saturday. In Sunday's weekend finale, the Lions notched win No. 1 on the campaign with an 11-7 victory over Grambling State. UAPB is hitting .308 as a team following the opening weekend of play, led by Aidan Martinez who has posted a .500 clip in three games. The Lions pitching staff allowed 31 runs in 26.0 innings this past weekend and enter Tuesday's game with a 9.35 team ERA. |
| My first Dudy Noble experience showed me why Lemonis came to Mississippi State | |
| Reporter Stefan Krajisnik writes for the Daily Journal: When Chris Lemonis left Indiana University, not too many people questioned it. Which is odd. Lemonis was helping Indiana baseball reach an unprecedented level of success within the program while coaching in the Big Ten. A coach of that nature at a school like Indiana suddenly leaving to head elsewhere typically triggers an unhappy response. I haven't formally introduced myself here, perhaps you've seen on social media, but I was a student reporter for the Indiana Daily Student when Lemonis left in 2018. I knew the success and stature of Mississippi State baseball, but still I wondered why the move happened. I had heard about Dudy Noble Field and seen on TV what hosting regionals looked like. A year later, one of my elder classmates Ben Portnoy accepted a job with the Commercial Dispatch, and I'd always see in our group messages how much he enjoyed the baseball experience in Starkville. But still, why leave a place like Indiana? This weekend, I got my answer -- which is why I hope Tuesday's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff doesn't get rained out. |
| How Mississippi State athletics managed its revenue and expenses in a pandemic-defined fiscal year | |
| The Mississippi State athletic department weathered the first full fiscal year under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic by cutting costs in several areas while receiving a major boost from the SEC. Mississippi State's total operating revenue for the 2021 fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 was $112,890,415, according to a copy of the program's NCAA financial report the Clarion Ledger acquired via public records request. The athletic department's total operating expenses came in at $92,075,898, resulting in the Bulldogs bringing in almost $21 million more than it spent. The Bulldogs cut their spending by about $11.6 million from the previous fiscal year, reductions mostly brought about due to the pandemic. The major decreases in spending came via recruiting visits, nonconference game payouts and other operating expenses, which included banquets, awards and non-team travel. But Mississippi State wouldn't have finished in positive territory if it hadn't received a helping hand from the conference. The SEC announced in May that each school would receive $23 million in supplemental revenue to help offset the loss in revenue due to the pandemic, with ticket sales decreasing and medical expenses rising. |
| Sanders joins 'Good Morning America' to talk about docuseries | |
| Coach Prime, a documentary series that takes an inside look at Jackson State football, premieres on Tuesday, February 22. In an appearance on Good Morning America, head coach Deion Sanders told Michael Strahan that the intent of the six-part series is to shine light on all historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). "This documentary is tremendous," Sanders told Strahan. "It shines light, not just on JSU but so many other HBCUs who are overlooked and underfunded. People take that for granted," Sanders said on GMA. "I'm seeing 100 or so kids smiling every day working their butts off because we're getting a new locker room. We've got the new football field. We have multiple uniforms. The helmet companies pitched in. We have several different helmets. We're giving them the same experience they can garnish at a Power Five at this HBCU." Episodes will be available on-demand once aired on Barstool Sports' digital, mobile, and social platforms. |
| UGA OL coach Matt Luke to resign after two seasons with Bulldogs | |
 | Georgia offensive line and associate head coach Matt Luke has resigned after two seasons on the Bulldogs' staff, UGA athletics confirmed on Monday. Luke is stepping down to spend more time with family, a release stated. "Today, after much prayer and conversation with my family, I have decided to step away from coaching and shift my focus to spending more time with my family," Luke said in the statement. "I want to thank Coach Smart, his wife Mary Beth, and the entire Georgia family for an incredible past two seasons. I also appreciate Coach Smart's support in my decision today. He's a great coach, and I'll always cherish his friendship. It has been an honor of a lifetime to be able to win a national championship with this staff and these players, and something I will never forget." Luke, 45, joined Kirby Smart's staff ahead of the 2020 season after spending eight seasons at Mississippi, the last three as head coach. During his time in Athens, Luke has been a prime recruiter at the OL position and the offense as a whole. This is the fourth on-field assistant to leave the program, joining defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae, wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton and defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. |
| Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard suspended for rest of regular season | |
| Michigan men's basketball coach Juwan Howard won't be on the sidelines for a while. Howard has been suspended for the remainder of the regular season by the school -- which the Big Ten backed -- and fined $40,000 for striking an opposing coach at the end of the Wolverines game against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday. Howard's suspension would not include the Big Ten tournament or any other postseason games. The Big Ten also fined Wisconsin men's basketball coach Greg Gard $10,000 for the altercation, while Michigan forwards Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II and Wisconsin guard Jahcobi Neath were all suspended for one game for throwing punches. "Big Ten Conference coaches and student-athletes are expected to display the highest level of sportsmanship conduct," conference commissioner Kevin Warren said in the released statement. Howard did not apologize for his actions, in his postgame news conference, but he did offer contrition Monday night after his suspension was announced. Michigan (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) has five regular season games remaining, four at home, then the Big Ten tournament as the team fights for its sixth straight NCAA tournament bid. |
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