Tuesday, April 5, 2022 |
Speaking Center hosts Snack & Chat | |
The Speaking Center at Mississippi State University recently hosted its student open house and reception, Snack & Chat, in collaboration with MSU's Public Relations and Integrated Student Media Agency (PRISM), to welcome a new student resource to campus. The event was held April 1 at the Dawg House in the Colvard Student Union. The purpose of the event was to encourage MSU students wanting to improve their speaking skills to take advantage of The Speaking Center's helpful services. "Public speaking is one of the greatest anxiety-inducing activities for many students during their college education and beyond. According to the Washington Post, over 25 percent of Americans claim that their greatest fear is speaking in front of a crowd. The Speaking Center is an excellent resource to help students gain confidence in their presentations for classes, job interviews, and more," said Anna Wilkinson, PRISM agency director. Over 300 students attended the event, which aimed to raise awareness and inform students about the resources available through The Speaking Center, including access to personalized consultations for speeches, presentations and other types of oral communication. The Speaking Center was founded in the fall of 2021 to assist students, faculty and staff with public speaking skills. It is located on the third floor of Old Main Academic Center at Mississippi State University in Room 3290. | |
High school students share ideas on solving food insecurity | |
A group of bright Mississippi youth once again convened at Mississippi State University to fight food insecurity at the World Food Prize Mississippi Youth Institute on April 1. Students from Starkville Academy, the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Mendenhall High School and the Hamilton Attendance Center presented research papers that tackled specific problems impacting food security in developing countries across the globe. At the event, hosted by MSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the students were designated as Borlaug Scholars. Scott Willard, CALS dean and director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, spearheaded the establishment of the Mississippi Youth Institute in 2017. Willard said providing a forum for high school students to engage in meaningful dialogue with global food security experts benefits more than the students. "These scholars represent the future of global food security. As the world population grows, their ideas and insight will contribute to solutions to feed, clothe and fuel the world," Willard said. The Mississippi Youth Institute is hosted by Mississippi State University with the generous support of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Barry L. and Lana B. White and the Madison Charitable Foundation. | |
Fishing industry focuses on new fisheries, education | |
For Mississippi's commercial fishermen, stress is part of daily life, but the typical stressors they face have been intensifying for more than 10 years. Environmental disasters, global markets, strict fishing regulations and the increasing average age of working fishers is bearing down on the industry, threatening its long-term viability. All of these factors have Ryan Bradley concerned for the future of the Mississippi fishing industry. So, he is taking action to help fishers stay in the industry and draw young people to the business. "This is a proud industry. We work hard. But it is a high-stress profession, and you have to be a thick-skinned person to do this job," said Bradley, who is a fifth-generation commercial fisherman and the executive director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the common interests of the state's fishermen, fishing industry and seafood consumers. Bradley wants to see the industry thrive, and he is one of several people taking various steps to make that happen. Along with other industry partners, he has helped organize an educational program for prospective young fishers. The program teaches high school students about the industry and pairs them with boat captains for hands-on internships, which can prepare them to work in the industry. Marcus Drymon, Extension marine fisheries specialist at Mississippi State University, said fishermen training programs are an important part of bringing new people into the commercial industry. He and his colleagues at MSU and other institutions have put together a guide to training opportunities around the U.S. Shrimp and oysters are historically two of Mississippi's largest fisheries. In fact, commercial fishing is significant to Mississippi's economy, said Ben Posadas, a marine resources economist with the Extension Service and a researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. | |
Oktibbeha supes tap Pickering firm for federal project assistance | |
Supervisors approved a contract Monday with an engineering group to assist the county in procuring federal funds. Oktibbeha County has contracted with Flowood-based Pickering Engineering Firm, a full-service engineering and architectural firm, to conduct studies on improvements for the Oktibbeha County Lake Dam, but has also worked with the group for the last two years to attempt to pursue federal funding for other county projects. While Pickering is not a lobbying firm, the group works with local entities to provide clients with advice on new project specifications, along with assisting in acquiring federal and grant dollars. The board approved a $45,000 contract at its regular meeting Monday for Pickering to help with particular strategic initiatives and projects. After intense discussion of which projects to partner with Pickering on, the board unanimously approved moving forward with trying to procure funds for improvements to the Oktibbeha County Lake Dam through a National Resources Conservation Service grant. By a series of 3-2 votes -- with District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery and District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller opposing -- the board also authorized seeking funds for building a rural development community center, drinking water and wastewater improvements and an Eastern Federal Access Program for rehabilitation on Bluff Lake Road. | |
Starkville sign ordinance takes effect in one month | |
The clock is ticking for some businesses in Starkville. Those that haven't complied with the city's sign ordinance now only have one month to make the necessary changes. May 5th is the deadline to replace all pole-mounted signs with a lower profile, monument-style signage. The city is in the process of surveying affected areas to see which businesses are not yet up to code. "We are now at the point of taking pictures of the signs that are around town that have not come down yet, and we will be sending out letters out to them individually. When May 5th rolls around, we will be sending out letters along with a picture of the sign, and so hopefully they will have 30 days before we begin a summons process," said Mayor Lynn Spruill, Starkville. The sign ordinance passed in 2011, and businesses were given 10 years to comply. That 2021 deadline was extended by another year because of the pandemic. | |
Mississippi legislators work to approve state spending plans | |
Mississippi legislators on Monday were approving parts of a state budget for the year that begins July 1, and it is substantially larger than the budget for the current year. The biggest state-funded portion of the new budget is nearly $6.3 billion general fund. With money from the Education Enhancement Fund, a Capital Expense Fund and two funds connected to Mississippi's lawsuit against the tobacco industry in the 1990s, total state spending will top $7.3 billion. For the current year, the general fund is about $5.8 billion and total state spending is about $6.7 billion. The budget for the new year includes money to pay for a teacher pay raise plan that Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law last week. It also includes enough money to cover the increased cost of state employees' health insurance, so the employees themselves won't have to pay for the extra cost. One big expense is $54 million for the Department of Human Services to buy a new computer system to replace one that's long outdated, said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg. The federal government will also spend $95 million for the computer system, said House Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Sam Mims, a Republican from McComb. | |
Mississippi Legislature passes appropriations bills, but more to come | |
The Mississippi Legislature worked until late Monday attempting to pass all of the state's appropriations bills, however, there remain several dozen measures that have not yet been addressed. Lawmakers are also working to spend part of the state's $1.8 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Senator John Polk of Hattiesburg presented Senate Bill 3060, which cleared both chambers. It will provide grants for hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. "The first [part of this bill] is $12 million for our hospitals that increase the number of ICU beds and their negative pressure beds," says Sen. Polk. "The second part of this is the $25 million appropriation for a local provider innovative grant program. And this will ensure that doctors, hospitals and clinics will be able to increase the ability of telehealth." Funding is also being allocated to address the state's aging water infrastructure, and lawmakers estimate it will account for half of the state's ARPA spending this year. Two measures that have cleared the house include a bill to fund rural water programs through the Department of Health. And Representative Karl Oliver of Winona presented another bill that will fund additional water improvement projects. Rep. Oliver says "They will be administered through the Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ. They will handel, set up the portal to receive the applications from the different cities, municipalities and counties that have projects that they want to submit to it." Lawmakers will return to the Capitol today to pass the remaining appropriations bills and spend ARPA funds. | |
Lawmakers near finish line on spending unprecedented state and federal funds | |
Legislators worked late Monday night to fund state government at an unprecedented level and also to spend the bulk of $1.8 billion in federal pandemic stimulus provided to Mississippi by Congress. The overall state support budget that has been agreed to by legislative leaders and is being rubberstamped by the full membership is expected to be $7.32 billion, or 9.2% more than what was appropriated for the current fiscal year. Work continued late Monday to finalize the budget for the new fiscal year than begins July 1 and to spend the federal American Rescue Plan Act money. Legislators have a midnight Tuesday deadline to complete the process. Because of an April 5 deadline and because legislators are limited in their impact over the budgeting process, most of the about 100 budget bills presented by the leadership were being approved Monday with little or no debate. Referring to the state support budget, Senate Appropriations Chair Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, said, "To keep government services at the level we expect them to be we have to spend a little extra money to keep up with inflationary costs. I think we have done that in a responsible way in this budget." Hopson said the budget for most state agencies grew by an average of 3.1%. But the budget, which was still being finalized late Monday also will include other significant spending -- sometimes one-time spending. | |
Prospects for reviving initiative process look dim as session ends | |
As the 2022 legislative session comes to a close, the likelihood of lawmakers reviving the process that allows Mississippians to bypass the Legislature and place topics directly on a ballot looks dim. Rep. Fred Shanks, R-Brandon, is the lead House negotiator on restoring the state's initiative process. He told the Daily Journal the House and Senate are still at political loggerheads over the issue. "I just don't think it's going to happen," Shanks said. The political impasse appears to be over the number of signatures needed to place an issue on a statewide ballot. The House argues that the number of signatures should be equal to 12% of the people who voted during the last statewide election for governor. The Senate wants the signatures to be equal to 12% of the registered voters -- including those who did not vote -- on the day of the last presidential election, which is a much higher threshold. The required number of signatures of registered voters needed under the House plan would be about 106,000. Under the Senate proposal, it would be about 238,000. If legislative leaders cannot agree on how the state should restore the initiative process, it would mean that citizens have no way to circumvent state government to place items directly on the ballot. | |
Senate approves more money for transportation | |
The Mississippi Senate Monday advanced a $230 million plan to invest in roads, bridges, and other infrastructure across the state. House Bill 1630, which is the Mississippi Department of Transportation's (MDOT) budget bill, will next receive consideration from the Governor. Under the legislation, the state's Emergency Road and Bridge Repair (ERBR) program would see a boost of $100 million. Other allocations in the bill are as follows: $40 million to MDOT to match federal funds from the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act; $45 million toward accelerating MDOT's three-year maintenance schedule; $35 million toward accelerating MDOT's "capacity" schedule, which relates to additional lanes for increased traffic; and $10 million to ports through the Mississippi Development Authority. These funds are in addition to other one-time and recurring funds the Legislature provides for roads and bridges, including $80 million in recurring dollars from lottery proceeds. Infrastructure projects are usually funded through bonds which increase the state's total indebtedness. Instead of incurring debt this year, the package included in House Bill 1630 will be funded with unanticipated additional revenue. The state will also pay off $249 million in principal on past bonds. | |
Mississippi joins states limiting outside election funding | |
Mississippi is the latest Republican-led state to ban election offices from accepting donations from private groups for voting operations -- a movement fueled by conservatives' suspicion of donations by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2020. Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1365 on Friday, and it will become law July 1. It says state or local officials who conduct elections cannot solicit or accept donations from any private group for "voter education, voter outreach or voter registration programs." Reeves said in a video posted to Facebook on Monday that he was "deeply disturbed by big tech's attempt to influence the 2020 elections." Jessica Anderson is executive director of the conservative Heritage Action For America, which has pushed for such bans. She said in a statement Monday that the new law will prohibit the use of "Zuck Bucks." "Mississippians deserve to have fair elections free from the outside influence of Big Tech billionaires," Anderson said. Zuckerberg and his wife, Patricia Chan, donated $400 million for elections operations across the U.S. in 2020 as officials were trying to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. | |
MFlex tax incentive heads to Governor for signature | |
The bill creating MFlex authored by Senate Economic and Workforce Development Chairman David Parker (R) was passed last week and now heads to the Governor for consideration. MFlex established under SB 2159 allows a tax credit against any state tax liability and combines several current incentives aimed at spurring economic development into one simplified option. The amount of the tax credit is calculated by considering the business's investment in equipment and infrastructure, the number of full-time jobs created, and wages and benefits paid out to employees. "This program, which streamlines incentives to spur economic growth, has been several years in the making. The hard work of Chairman Parker and so many of our local economic developers have seen it through to fruition," Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann said. "As a performance-based -- not promise-based -- program, MFlex will make Mississippi even more competitive in the region." In order to participate in MFlex, a business must create at least 10 full-time jobs and have a capital investment of $2.5 million. Those that do qualify for the program must report the amount of investment, jobs created, average wage of employees, benefits provided and other information to the public. | |
Committee votes on Ketanji Brown Jackson's bid for Supreme Court | |
The Senate Judiciary Committee moved Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson closer to the Supreme Court on Monday, when senators aired grievances over the confirmation process and then deadlocked along party lines in a vote on her nomination. The Senate voted 53-47 on a procedural vote late Monday night to bring Jackson's nomination to the Senate floor and a final confirmation vote later this week. Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday that confirming Jackson this week "remains the highest Senate priority so far." Jackson, who would become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, is expected to be confirmed with the backing of the entire Democratic caucus and at least three Republicans. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced her support Wednesday, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah announced their support Monday. "This committee vote today is nothing less than making history, and I am proud to be part of it," Judiciary Chair Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said ahead of Monday's tied 11-11 committee vote. Romney, in announcing his support for Jackson on Monday, called her a person of honor. "While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity," Romney said in a news release. | |
Build Back Center: Biden plows a revamped lane for the midterms | |
After taking office promising sweeping legislation and transformed government, Joe Biden is poised to fight the midterms the same way his two immediate Democratic predecessors did: trumpeting moderation and a center-left agenda. Underscored by his budget last week, Biden's emerging election-year blueprint is to emphasize police and defense spending, accentuate federal deficit reduction and propose higher taxes on the ultra-rich. It's the early centerpiece of a platform that Biden's defenders note he's deployed consistently over his long career. But gone is his early-presidency emphasis on bold deficit spending and revamping the social safety net to achieve long-sought Democratic priorities. In its place is an increased focus on domestic and international security and stability. Biden's approach, which has been evident in recent speeches and described in further detail by advisers and close allies, is the clearest sign yet that the White House is trying to reestablish his broader competency ratings, which have taken sustained hits going back to the fall. And it follows months of calls from within the party for the White House to more aggressively chart a path for what promises to be a bruising fall election cycle. "Political reality just didn't support the expansive view of progressive possibilities," said Bill Galston, the former Clinton administration official now at the Brookings Institution. "If you put an ideological template on it, you have to say the correction is to the center." | |
In Simi Valley, Justice Barrett says Supreme Court decisions aren't politically driven | |
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Monday that judges are not deciding cases to impose a "policy result" but are making their best effort to determine what the law and the Constitution require. Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Barrett appeared to acknowledge that expected court decisions on reproductive rights and gun control would be seen through a political lens and lead to more division in a nation splintered by partisanship and racked by incivility. She urged Americans to "read the opinion" and consider the court's reasoning before making judgments about the outcome. "Does [the decision] read like something that was purely results-driven and designed to impose the policy preferences of the majority, or does this read like it actually is an honest effort and persuasive effort, even if one you ultimately don't agree with, to determine what the Constitution and precedent requires?" she asked. Americans should judge the high court -- or any federal court -- by its reasoning, she said. "Is its reasoning that of a political or legislative body, or is its reasoning judicial?" she said. The program was briefly interrupted by a heckler. Barrett said afterward: "As a mother of seven, I am used to distractions and sometimes even outbursts," which elicited a round of applause from the capacity crowd. | |
Supreme Court makes it easier to sue the police for malicious prosecution | |
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday made it easier to sue police and prosecutors for malicious prosecution. But the decision still leaves in place other barriers to such lawsuits. At the center of the ruling is a case of diaper rash. Yes, diaper rash. Larry Thompson was living with his then fiancée (now wife) and their newborn baby when his sister-in-law, who apparently suffered from mental illness, called 911, claiming that Thompson was abusing the baby. When EMT officers arrived, they were admitted to the apartment by the sister-in-law, but Thompson, unaware of her 911 call, told them they must have the wrong address. The EMT officers left, but returned to the apartment with four New York City police officers. This time Thompson answered the door and refused to admit them unless they had a search warrant. The police then threw Thompson on the floor and handcuffed him while the EMTs examined the baby. The only marks they found were diaper rash, but the baby was taken to the hospital where the diaper rash diagnosis was confirmed. Thompson, however, was tossed into jail for two days and charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. Prosecutors would eventually offer him a plea deal in which his record would eventually be wiped clean, but he refused, and prosecutors subsequently dropped all charges without any explanation. Thompson sued, alleging malicious prosecution. But under the federal appeals court precedent in New York, Thompson had to prove that his innocence had been "affirmed." The dropping of charges without explanation was not enough. On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with Thompson in declaring that he did not have to show an "affirmative indication of innocence." The vote was 6-to-3, with three conservative justices -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett -- joining the courts three liberals in the majority. | |
Stacey Abrams reaches millionaire status before 2nd campaign | |
When Democrat Stacey Abrams first ran for Georgia governor in 2018, her lackluster personal finances and a hefty bill from the IRS gave Republicans fodder to question how she could manage a state budget when she struggled with her own debts. As she launches a second bid this year, that's no longer an issue. Abrams now says she's worth $3.17 million, according to state disclosures filed in March. That's compared with a net worth of $109,000 when she first ran four years ago. Her rapid ascent into millionaire status corresponds with her rise in national politics. Since her 2018 defeat to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams has become a leading voting rights activist. She was considered as a potential running mate to President Joe Biden and is widely credited with organizing voters in Georgia to help him become the first Democrat to carry the state in the presidential vote in 28 years. Along the way, she has earned $6 million, mostly driven by $5 million in payments for books and speeches. That wealth has exposed her to a different line of criticism from Republicans, who hope to portray Abrams this year as an elitist out of touch with average Georgians. In an interview, Abrams said it was ironic for Republicans to criticize her financial success, something the party often praises as the result of hard work. Many politicians build their wealth after they reach high office. That's not the case for Abrams, whose loss vaulted her to a level of celebrity unusual for someone whose highest office so far is minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. | |
Could the U.S. have weakened its financial clout by using it to sanction Russia? | |
The sanctions just keep right on coming: Last week, the U.S. Treasury said it's applying them to 21 "entities" and 13 individuals connected to the Russian tech sector, the idea being to prevent that country from accessing advanced technology from the U.S. This is on top, of course, of blocking Russia from the SWIFT system of interbank messaging, freezing the assets off Russia's central bank and a long list of other sanctions on Russian banks and businesses. Now, one reason the U.S. levied these sanctions is because it could. The U.S. dollar is the most widely used currency internationally and the U.S. financial system touches just about every corner of the globe. But could actions by the U.S. end up hastening the arrival of the day when those things are not as true and the U.S. doesn't have as much power to actually impose worldwide sanctions? Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has pushed the levers of its financial power to nearly full tilt, even going so far as to freeze the reserves that Russia's central bank held around the world. "That's really the nuclear option in this game," said Ken Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard. That, he said, was a shock -- not just to Russia, but to China as well. "And the Chinese, they're not saying anything, they're going to move very quietly. But I can assure you behind the scenes, they are talking about how they can move faster than they were planning." Move faster to establishing Chinese currency -- traditional or digital -- as a global leader, particularly in Asia. And move faster to fortify its own payment system. Russia's internal payment system, for example, protected its domestic credit card industry from U.S.-led sanctions. It's reportedly seeking to export that system to Venezuela and Iran. | |
As Russia retreats from Kyiv, U.S. sees uglier fights to come in Ukraine | |
Russia's apparent retreat from Kyiv and retrenchment into Ukraine's easternmost regions marks the latest sign that the war is at an inflection point -- one that U.S. officials believe could portend even uglier fighting to come. "The next stage of this conflict may very well be protracted," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday during a news conference, as he outlined new U.S. assessments indicating Russia is "revising its war aims" in the face of significant opposition. The ferocious resistance has claimed Russian materiel, momentum and troops' lives in quantities that far exceeded expectations -- forcing Moscow to scramble so much that now its armed forces have largely sapped readily available reinforcements in Ukraine, according to military analysts. That leaves Russian commanders in the short term to fight with the resources at their disposal. U.S. officials believe that about two-thirds of the units that had been focused on Kyiv, the capital, are heading north, back to Belarus and Russia, for expected repositioning in Donbas. The turn of events has presented Ukraine with an opportunity, observers say, to seize the upper hand. But doing so may come at a steep price, as Moscow shows no signs it is willing to abandon President Vladimir Putin's ultimate goal, which U.S. officials believe is to "weaken Ukraine as much as possible," Sullivan said. | |
Ukraine's Zelensky Addresses U.N. With Claims of Alleged Russian War Crimes | |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday after warning that newly uncovered atrocities following the withdrawal of Russian forces near Kyiv could be worse than those in the city of Bucha, where he said more than 300 civilians have been tortured or killed. The scale of the killings prompted Western leaders to vow a wide-ranging investigation into alleged war crimes and impose further penalties on Moscow as international outrage grows. President Biden on Monday called for a war-crimes trial over the accounts of rape and the killing of civilians in Bucha and other towns that had been occupied by Russian forces, saying that President Vladimir Putin must be held accountable. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, departing for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting in Brussels, said the U.S. was continuing to review intelligence and gather information on the alleged massacre in Bucha. "The reports are more than credible, the evidence is there for the world to see," he said. "This reinforces our determination and the determination of countries around the world, to ensure that one way or another, one day or another, there is accountability for those who committed these acts, for those who ordered them." | |
UMMC's battle with Blue Cross Blue Shield is impacting patients | |
Now that Blue Cross Blue Shield dropped UMMC from its list of covered medical facilities, hundreds of patients are making tough choices regarding their well-being. On April 1, thousands of people covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield and who are patients at the University of Mississippi Medical Center were forced to make an almost impossible decision --- to choose between their hospital or affordability. 16-year-old Erin Wilson and her mother are currently trying to decide. Erin was diagnosed with Graves Disease in 2018, a condition that causes her to both overproduce and underproduce thyroid hormones. It has caused numerous issues that UMMC specialists have helped her manage. According to a statement from UMMC, certain patients with "a specific ongoing medical condition or conditions based on federally determined qualifying criteria" will be covered until July. But Erin's mother, Vernita Wilson, said her daughter isn't one of them. Instead, Wilson is having to choose to either spend more money to remain with UMMC specialists or go to another hospital and start over. Wilson says the lack of warning before insurance renewals were due is the most frustrating because it puts many in a very difficult position. "Blue Cross did send me an email to say back in November your premium will go up. Why not say we're considering an abandonment of our contract with your UMMC, or vice versa? It was done, and we're left to deal with their decision," Wilson said. | |
Benefactors' estate gift will support UM students in law, education and medicine | |
An estate gift to the University of Mississippi will ultimately provide scholarships for students in the schools of Law, Education and Medicine. The gift's benefactors are the late Taylor Webb, a 1950 graduate of the Ole Miss School of Law, and his wife Sue Webb, of Leland. "My husband and I never had children, so we decided a number of years ago to make a gift to Ole Miss after our lifetimes," said Sue Webb, a Taylor native who grew up in Oxford. "We decided it would be divided between the School of Law and the School of Education because Taylor practiced law and also believed very strongly in public education." Taylor Webb practiced law for 40 years, focusing on estate and land title litigation. His wife worked as his secretary all those years, and they retired together in 1990. When Taylor Webb died in July 2017, his wife decided to include the UM Medical Center in their estate plans. "I'm very encouraged by the things I read about UMMC, and I think the state of Mississippi needs a good teaching hospital like that," she said. UMMC, the state's only academic health sciences center, relies on the generosity of donors, said Dr. Loretta Jackson-Williams, vice dean for medical education at the School of Medicine. "Gifts, such as this one from the Webbs, open opportunities for students who are training to be tomorrow's health professionals," she said. "We greatly appreciate their thoughtful generosity in sowing into the lives of future physicians." | |
USM launches historic fundraising campaign | |
The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) launched its largest fundraising campaign in the school's history. Coordinators hope the campaign brings in $53.5 million in new or enhanced scholarships, $14 million in Eagle Club scholarships for student athletes and six newly named professorships for distinguished faculty members. The funds will also go toward entrepreneurial training, athletic faculty enhancement and other schoolwide programming. To date, the school has raised $109,445,458, reaching 73% if the fundraising goal. The following celebrities will serve as ambassadors for the fundraiser: Natalie Allen, global correspondent; Jimmy Buffet, singer, songwriter; Brett and Deanna Favre, NFL Hall of Famer and author; Chuck Scarborough, anchor; and Adalius Thomas, Super Bowl XXXV champion. The fundraising effort is titled Give Wing: The Campaign for Southern Miss. | |
USM Jazz Band to perform with special guest Tuesday | |
Trombonist Marshall Gilkes will join the University of Southern Mississippi's Jazz Lab Bands for a concert on Tuesday. Gilkes is considered a virtuoso performer, composer and arranger. "Marshall is one of those people who generates a lot of interest in the instrument playing and so I heard him play and I was just blown away and I thought about getting him," said Larry Panella, USM director of Jazz Studies. "Our trombone professor, Ben McElwain, contacted him, and the rest is history." Gilkes is in demand as a performer, playing lead with the Village Vanguard Orchestra and The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. He has also performed as a guest with the West German Radio Big Band, the UMO Jazz Orchestra, the Airmen of Note and Pershing's Own -- The Army Blues, along with numerous college and university jazz ensembles. The concert is set for 7:30 pm and will take place at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center on USM's Hattiesburg campus. | |
Millsaps Building Water Wells for Campus | |
Millsaps College is taking steps so it will no longer have to rely on the city of Jackson as its primary source of water. The college is moving ahead with a plan estimated to cost $3.5 million to $4 million to dig two water wells and add a water tower on the west side of the campus. The severe winter storm in February 2021 that affected not only the campus but the entire city of Jackson and shut down the city's water system led the college to consider plans for its own water system. Water pressure is a challenge on the Millsaps campus when the city's system loses pressure because the campus sits on the highest elevation in the city and the state, Pearigen said. That's not a problem at Belhaven University, just a few blocks away from Millsaps, where there are no plans to become independent of the city's water system. The Windgate Foundation, which funded half of the new $6 million Windgate Visual Arts Center on campus, has committed $1.5 million to the project, provided the college can raise $1 million, Pearigen said. Millsaps will join the ranks of some of its neighbors that include the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi Baptist Medical Center that do not rely on the city water system. A $1 million water well system was recently built at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds to make the fairgrounds independent of the Jackson water system. Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson decided the fairgrounds needed its own well when the February 2021 water crisis meant many of the Dixie National Rodeo events had to be canceled due to no access to water. | |
Edward Gay Apartments, longtime home to LSU families, international students, set to close | |
When she received the email that said she would have to be out of her apartment by next summer, LSU doctoral student Aswathy Anakkhatil Pradeep said she felt a mix of surprise and stress. "I'm in my third year, which means I'm completely involved in my research and writing," she said. "This is a really bad time for me to relocate with all my stuff." According to an email LSU sent to Anakkhatil Pradeep and other residents of her building, the university plans to permanently close the Edward Gay Apartments on June 1, 2023. Built in 1966, the apartment complex has traditionally served as the on-campus home to graduate students, international students, married students or students with children. Current residents will be allowed to renew their lease for the 2022-2023 school year and stay until the June 1, 2023, closure date. But the university will not be accepting new lease applications. Peter Trentacoste, the executive director of LSU Residential Life, said demand for family housing is down significantly. And the cost maintaining the apartments to a standard the university finds acceptable is too high to justify keeping the apartment open for new residents beyond next summer. "I looked at our occupancy over the last four years and it's been a loss collectively of about $500,000 for the facility," he said. "And the needs of the facility are, in the short term, upwards of $2 million just to keep it band-aided to hobble along." | |
U. of Kentucky ends testing requirement for unvaccinated | |
The University of Kentucky said a weekly testing requirement for students and employees who are vaccinated against the coronavirus would end Monday. The move comes amid high vaccination rates at the school and lower rates of the virus on campus and in the Lexington community, news outlets reported, citing an email from UK President Eli Capilouto. "Our high vaccination numbers coupled with the steady decline in positive cases indicate the success of our efforts to keep our community safe," Capilouto said. "These numbers also signify that now is the appropriate time to adjust the policy around testing." UK's vaccination rate was over 92% at the end of March and there were five active COVID cases as of March 30, according to the most recently available data. It's a major step for the school, spokesman Jay Blanton said. "We've taken a pretty methodical and conservative approach to this, all in an effort to keep our community safe. It's one more sign we think of good things about a return to more normal operations," he said. | |
Broken sprinkler causes evacuation at U. of Kentucky dormitory. More than 50 students displaced | |
A broken sprinkler head inside a dorm room in Holmes Hall at the University of Kentucky Monday evening caused dozens of students to be displaced and left multiple rooms damaged, a UK spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. The incident happened shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, according to Jay Blanton, a UK spokesperson. Blanton said the entire residence hall was evacuated per the school's safety procedures. About 55 students were not able to return to their rooms as a result of the damage, Blanton said. Ten of those students moved into temporary housing. The others will now stay with friends and family, Blanton said. The other approximate 520 students were able to return to their room once fire and facility officials deemed the building safe to return. "We will continue to offer temporary housing in another residence hall, if they need it, while we are cleaning and repairing any damage, Blanton said. Blanton estimated it will be a few days before necessary repairs and cleaning are completed. | |
Accreditation Changes Could Cause Headaches in the State of Florida | |
At the Florida Board of Governor's meeting last Tuesday, board member Alan Levine said that he believes Gov. Ron DeSantis will move forward with signing SB 7044, officially changing policy across public post-secondary institutions that includes Florida's institutional accreditation standards. Beginning Sept. 1, 2022, institutions will be prohibited from being accredited by the same accrediting institution from a previous cycle. This means that, roughly every five years, institutions must begin the process of gathering information needed by new accreditors and apply. The Board of Governors promises to include leaders from Florida's public institutions in the conversations. They aim to have a more thorough plan for implementation by August. Dr. Christy England, vice chancellor for the State University System of Florida, said that the board has already begun the process of connecting with identifying accrediting agencies for their institutions and looking at the pros and cons of having more than one accrediting body in the state. Traditionally, institutions in Florida are usually accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). SACSCOC's accreditation spans the U.S. south and is one of six regional accreditors. SACSCOC accredits four-year, two-year, research one institutions, and community and technical colleges. SB 7044 bill could change the role SACSCOC plays in Florida, and scholars worry that the cost and labor of reaccreditation will potentially harm those institutions with fewer resources. | |
Florida's Colleges Must Administer 'Viewpoint Diversity' Survey. Don't Take It, Faculty Union Says. | |
After a federal judge denied an emergency request to stop an intellectual-diversity survey from being given at public colleges in Florida, a union representing faculty called for instructors, staff, and students to simply ignore it. Last year, Florida's Republican Legislature passed a bill requiring all public colleges to distribute an annual survey of political beliefs in order to "assess the status of intellectual and viewpoint diversity" on campuses across the state. The measure was motivated, in part, by conservative beliefs that institutions of higher education favor a liberal ideology. A copy of the voluntary survey obtained by The Chronicle includes 24 questions. Among other things, it asks how welcome free expressions of ideas, opinions, and beliefs are on campus. The 21-item version for students asks similar questions. In a news release, the United Faculty of Florida called the the survey an infringement on the right to free speech, freedom of association, and the basic right to privacy. "Florida's government has no right to know the thoughts, feelings, or political or religious beliefs of anyone, including the higher education community," the group's statement reads. "Privacy is the bedrock of democracy and a safeguard against autocratic control." Candi Churchill, executive director of the union, has said the survey is a surveillance tactic and part of a larger pattern of attacking academic freedom in Florida. The law calls for its results to be published by September 1. | |
Florida union urges nonparticipation in ideological survey | |
Florida deployed a controversial survey on campus ideological diversity to public college and university students, faculty and staff members this week, after a federal judge refused to grant an emergency injunction against it. Faculty groups, in particular, have criticized the survey as a political litmus test since it was first proposed in broader, Republican-backed "intellectual freedom" legislation, in 2019. Florida's statewide faculty union continued to oppose the survey even after it became part of the law last year, ultimately seeking an injunction on the grounds that it violated respondents' First Amendment rights, and that survey data could be used to target certain academic programs for funding cuts. This latter argument is bolstered by Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis's public comments about the bill, specifically about how institutions that are "indoctrinating" students aren't worth tax dollars. The union and other survey opponents further argued in court that the questionnaire -- while anonymous -- would ask for enough demographic information as to be traceable back to individuals, especially nonwhite respondents at small colleges. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker was unconvinced by these objections, however, and on Friday green-lighted the State University System of Florida to release the first annual survey. It did so early Monday. Now that the survey is live, the United Faculty of Florida union is urging professors, staff members and even students not to complete it. | |
UF graduate assistants protest for better wages | |
As cars drove past University Avenue, many honked their horns to support graduate assistants who were advocating for wage increases. People marched, chanted, held signs and used chalk to leave their message at Tigert Hall Friday. Graduate Assistants United at the University of Florida protested for increased wages after delayed attempts at bargaining. GAU normally reopens salary negotiations with UF at the beginning of every Fall semester, but the university has since delayed a deal twice, each for 90 days. About 70 people showed up for support, including City Commissioner David Arreola, and a few attendees walked up the building's stairs to give speeches on their struggles. For two hours, attendees chanted phrases like "Top 5 school, Top 5 pay" and "gator pay bites" in hopes the university administration would agree to another bargaining session. UF and GAU didn't make a wage increase deal by March 30. Instead, the university informed GAU Thursday that it would need a second delay lasting another three months to work out the numbers. It's a stalling tactic, said July Thomas, a 30-year-old UF physics graduate assistant and mayoral candidate. The university's refusing to meet in hopes that people lose interest. "What they're trying to do is they think if they wait long enough, it'll lose steam, and they're just making the situation worse for themselves," Thomas said. "Especially now that the inflation is through the roof." | |
Former diplomat discusses international challenges, opportunities in Bush School lecture | |
A foreign policy expert and former diplomat with more than 25 years of experience in international affairs told an audience in College Station on Monday that Russia is the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States. During a discussion hosted by the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Paula Dobriansky, who served as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs during the George W. Bush administration, said the U.S. faces challenges and opportunities from an era of a great power competition primarily caused by Russia and China. Beijing has also become closely aligned with Russia politically, economically and militarily, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked fear about whether China may advance toward Taiwan, Dobriansky said. "We've witnessed a lot of intimidation campaigns that have been waged not just towards Taiwan, but India," she said. "We're seeing intimidation campaigns waged against Australia and then Lithuania." But Dobriansky said Russia is a greater threat than China because of the number of nuclear weapons it holds as well as its ability to destabilize other countries. Unlike China, Russia does not derive its power from its economy, she said. | |
Staying motivated: Russian invasion inspires U. of Missouri students to work for their homeland | |
Irynka Hromotska (Kohut) grew up in Lviv, Ukraine. She described her hometown as a "city of culture." She misses Lviv's beautiful architecture, coffee shops and lively festivals centered around books, music and film. For the first time during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian missile strikes hit Hromotska's hometown of Lviv on March 18. Hromotska is one of five international students from Ukraine studying at MU. She is working toward a master's degree in photojournalism. While balancing academic and extracurricular responsibilities, Hromotska has been working to support her home country in the Russia-Ukraine war. Her work includes translating news articles, proofreading documents and promoting a fundraiser to provide humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Hromotska, a member of the Fulbright Scholar Program, has been working on promoting a fundraiser started by other Ukrainian Fulbright scholars at Washington State University. The fundraiser accepts donations from individuals in the U.S. and puts the funds toward humanitarian aid requested by volunteers in Ukraine such as medicine, first-aid kits and thermal blankets. So far, donations for the fundraiser have surpassed $12,000. | |
'This university is underfunded': On his second day, new U. of Memphis president Hardgrave looks far ahead | |
At the start of his second day on the job, new University of Memphis President Bill Hardgrave looked far ahead. By this time next year, he plans to lay out a strategic plan to guide the university through its next five years, as well as chart a strategic path through the decades ahead. "Most higher education (institutions) got caught in this trap of trying to just be everything to everybody," Hardgrave said. "We can't do that anymore." Research has suggested collegiate enrollment will continue on a decline after many universities have enjoyed years of substantial growth, but "those days are gone," Hardgrave told The Commercial Appeal Monday. He sees U of M in a place, where, like other institutions, it will need to continue on a strategic path forward by evaluating its current investments to thrive. This could mean changes for the already lean institution, said Hardgrave, most recently the provost at Auburn University. Like his predecessor, M. David Rudd, Hardgrave compared the U of M and its funding structure to that of University of Tennessee. "This university is way underfunded," Hardgrave said of U of M's $600 million budget. "We are one of two flagships in this state. We are not funded like a flagship. We're not. We're not even close." Hardgrave said he and other leadership should "do our best" to continue making tuition accessible. He sees opportunities to increase philanthropic budget funds. As for state funding, Hardgrave pointed to relationships with legislators in Nashville as among his priorities for the first 100 days of the job. | |
U. of Minnesota out to create new era of ag research | |
Improving health from the ground up -- that's the goal of a futuristic project centered in southeast Minnesota. The project, being led by the University of Minnesota, is being called FAARM -- Future of Advanced Agricultural Research in Minnesota . Brian Buhr , dean of the University of Minnesota's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences , says it isn't just about ag and it isn't just about Minnesota. "What we're constructing is a one-health concept," Buhr said. "Really trying to integrate soil health with plant health, animal health and human health." Doing whole health research across a broad range of grains and livestock won't be cheap. The project is projected to cost $220 million. The FAARM project has gotten a big boost from the Hormel Foundation with a $60 million investment. The Minnesota Legislature is being asked this session to also approve $60 million for FAARM. In return on that investment, in addition the research benefits, the project is expected to eventually employ 72 workers full time and have an economic impact of $33 million annually on the Austin area. "It will have a huge economic impact for the region," Buhr said. The research will be comprehensive but also starting small, looking at things like microbiomes and pathogens, constantly collecting data with remote sensors, and looking at details such as manure management and its effect on different soils and how it ultimately affects human health. | |
Colleges Are Trying to Re-Enroll Adult Learners Who Dropped Out. Here's How It's Going. | |
As colleges across the country try to turn around sagging enrollment rates, many are targeting one group in particular: the 36 million adults who left college without a degree. Undergraduate enrollment has decreased by about 8 percent during the pandemic, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That has made it even more urgent to bring those students back. Higher-education leaders, politicians, and education nonprofits alike are trying to find the best ways to do so. But how can they make sure students are better prepared to face barriers this time around? The majority of them are adult learners -- students over the age of 25 -- and have different needs than traditional college students. It can be hard for colleges to locate them. They might be struggling with finances and demands at home, like child care. Some might not feel like they belong in college at all. One of the groups trying to help fix that is InsideTrack, a nonprofit student-coaching organization that works with colleges. Throughout 2021, the nonprofit and its 25 partner colleges and universities contacted 27,000 students who dropped out, ultimately re-enrolling 3,000 of them for 2021's summer and fall semesters -- with nearly three-quarters of that group coming from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds. College leaders said the results were promising. | |
U.S. colleges that once championed surveillance virus testing are backing away. | |
Colleges and universities across the United States have relaxed campus requirements for coronavirus testing of vaccinated people in recent weeks, chipping away at some of the last widespread surveillance testing programs and dismaying public health experts, who say that robust sources of transmission data will be lost. Cornell University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and Duke University are among the major institutions that have already dropped regular testing requirements for fully vaccinated and boosted community members, or that plan to do so in the next few weeks. Institutions like those provided a "rich environment" to understand transmission in shared living areas, said Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist and adjunct professor at University of Arizona's College of Public Health. Most universities making the change will continue to require that unvaccinated students and staff members be tested regularly, though that is a relatively small population on campuses with vaccine mandates. Limiting surveillance testing to that group could make it harder to track the spread of the virus and the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2, experts said. Universal surveillance testing involves a lot of work and a lot of expense, so colleges are contending with questions of sustainability. | |
Jobless Benefits' Unintended Fallout: Reduced College Financial Aid | |
Unemployment benefits helped millions of people who lost their jobs in the pandemic, but now the payments may throw a wrench into the college financial aid process. The disconnect between a pandemic relief program and colleges that are figuring out financial aid could result in less aid for some applicants, student advocates say. Students from families that received jobless benefits in 2020 -- particularly if the family filed a tax return early in 2021 -- may want to check with college financial aid offices to make sure they are getting the maximum amount. To qualify for financial aid, students and their families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. The form is the portal to federal need-based Pell grants and student loans, and states and colleges use it to award their own aid. Normally, unemployment benefits count as income when calculating a student's eligibility for financial aid. But as part of its pandemic relief effort, the federal government allowed Americans earning less than $150,000 to exclude jobless benefits of up to $10,200 per recipient from their 2020 taxable income. The measure took effect on March 11, 2021 -- after many people had already filed their 2020 tax returns and reported their jobless benefits as income. | |
Free college didn't die with federal inaction. It moved. | |
When first lady Jill Biden stood before attendees at the Community College National Legislative Summit in February to tell them that a proposal for a federal free community college program was dead, the mood was somber. "Like you, I was disappointed. Because, like you, these aren't just bills or budgets to me, to you, right? We know what they mean for real people, for our students," she said. "It was a real lesson in human nature that some people just don't get that." Even though a federal initiative is off the table, energy for free college didn't die that day. It's been shifting and transforming, finding new life at the state and local levels. In recent months, a slew of initiatives covering tuition and other educational expenses have been proposed and enacted for certificate, two-year and four-year programs. Those include broad statewide programs, like one approved in New Mexico that will essentially make public college tuition free for almost any resident without a degree, but also smaller and more targeted projects. Six years ago, there were about 53 state and local "promise programs," which cover tuition costs for eligible students, said Rosye Cloud, senior leader at College Promise, a nonprofit that supports those programs. Now there are about 350, with eight launched in the last three months. | |
What the student loan payment pause has meant to Black women | |
For millions of Americans who took out loans to pay for college, the past two years have offered a chance to live without the burden of their education debt. The pause on federal student loan payments introduced and extended during the pandemic meant borrowers could redirect money -- potentially hundreds of dollars a month -- that would have gone toward repaying their debt to other needs. "It almost feels like a raise," said Lisa Jackson, 56, who owes $175,000 for her son and daughter's college educations. "With the money I would have given towards the loans, I paid off a little outstanding tax debt, which I don't know I could have done otherwise." The payment moratorium has touched the lives of many Americans, but it has perhaps meant the most to the group who stood the most to gain from it -- Black women, like Jackson, who shoulder a disproportionate share of the $1.7 trillion student debt burden. Women hold two-thirds of education debt, an analysis of federal data by American Association of University Women shows, but Black women have the highest average total at $41,466 for undergraduate and $75,085 for graduate school one year out from graduation. The study found that women overall borrowed an average of $31,276 -- for undergrad and $51,035 for graduate studies. "A lot of Black women are pursuing additional credentials, going back for graduate work and having to take on debt to do so," said Fenaba R. Addo, an associate professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It's a contributing factor to their debt levels." | |
Congress restores spending on earmarks -- but with rules to remove the odor | |
The $1.5 trillion spending bill enacted last month did more than fund U.S. government operations for the next 6 months. It also revived congressional earmarking -- the controversial practice of allowing legislators, often at the behest of powerful constituents, to allocate money for specific projects in their district or state that federal agencies did not request. Earmarks, such as a new bridge or refurbished airport, have traditionally given lawmakers a reason to vote for legislation they otherwise might not support, making the wheels of Congress turn more easily. But the U.S. higher education community is deeply divided over the practice. Many academic institutions have sought -- and won -- earmarks, seeing them as a quick and easy route to growing their research capacity. At the same time, the higher education organizations to which they belong have long argued that scarce federal dollars should be allocated based on peer review rather than the whims of a single powerful legislator. Lawmakers welcomed their return, inserting more than 4000 projects totaling $9 billion into this year's spending bill. Research-related activities comprise about 10% of both totals, according to an analysis by AAAS (which publishes Science). Retiring Senator Richard Shelby (R–AL), a master earmarker who topped this year's list with some $548 million in home-state projects, added a novel twist to the traditional funding for academic bricks and mortar with a $50 million endowment at the University of Alabama to attract and retain world-class faculty in the sciences. | |
Representatives owe constituents open and honest debate | |
Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Sometimes it's the juxtaposition of things that gets your attention. Without the timing that throws them together you might not consider them in context with each other. Last week a visit to the North Jackson Rotary Club reminded me of Rotary's transcendent motto, "Service above self; he profits most who serves best." This followed my contemplation of one of the Bible verses I receive by text each day, "Learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have His way with you" -- 2 Peter 1:6. This wording from The Living Bible caught my attention. Then there was the story in Mississippi Today headlined, "Rank-and-file legislators have no influence in budgeting process because they gave it away." That followed an earlier story suggesting House Speaker Philip Gunn uses closed GOP caucus meetings to strong arm members into supporting his positions. ... The Rotary motto and the Bible verse describe the ideal public-servant legislator for our representative form of government. At its best this form of government consists of selfless representatives voicing the interests of their constituents, working through contested issues, then coming together to make government serve the diverse interests of its people. At its worst this form of government yields power to special interests and enables autocrats to dictate policy and practice. The two stories in Mississippi Today portray a House of Representatives moving in that direction. |
SPORTS
Honoring a Legacy: 'All For Alex' Spirit Inspires MSU, SEC | |
Before the bus departed for the stadium on Saturday, the Mississippi State softball team gathered at the hotel to review film. Head coach Samantha Ricketts stepped to the front of the room to deliver a final message to the Bulldogs. Every game in the SEC is big, but their game against Tennessee in a few hours really did just mean more. Mississippi State was playing to honor the legacy of Alex Wilcox, a member of the 2018 MSU team who inspired the nation with her courageous fight against ovarian cancer before she passed away in the summer of 2018. From the Plains to Baton Rouge to Tuscaloosa, all 13 SEC programs joined together on Saturday to help raise awareness for ovarian cancer in the second annual "All For Alex" day. Teams across the country wore teal uniforms and posted messages on social media. But it was especially personal for the Bulldogs. They could feel Wilcox's presence in the dugout. They could envision her screaming words of encouragement and celebrating every great play they made. The inspiration helped carry MSU to an 8-3 win over Tennessee at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to even the series. The final score seemed like a bit of destiny. Wilcox wore No. 8. Her jersey was retired by MSU in 2018, making her the first female athlete in school history to receive the honor. "If Alex was out here, she would be pounding everything and making sure we were having fun and have a smile on her face," said MSU senior catcher Mia Davidson, whose home run in the third sparked the go-ahead scoring spree. "Knowing we get to do this for her is one of the most amazing feelings." | |
Diamond Dawg Gameday: UT Martin | |
Mississippi State (17-12) will open a nine-game homestand by hosting UT Martin (8-17) in midweek non-conference action at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 5, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. Tuesday's home game against UT Martin will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The midweek contest will be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/plus. Mississippi State enters the weekend with a 17-12 overall record over the first 29 games of the season, including a 4-5 record in SEC play following last weekend's road series at No. 2 Arkansas. The Diamond Dawgs are coming off a 5-3 victory over No. 2 Arkansas in a 12-inning thriller in the series finale on Sunday (April 3) in Fayetteville. UT Martin is led by head coach Ryan Jenkins, who is in his fifth season with the Skyhawks. UT Martin enters the week with an 8-17 overall record on the season. The Skyhawks are 6-10 this season in road games. UT Martin is hitting .233 as a team through 25 games, while the Skyhawks have hit 19 home runs, 40 doubles and two triples on the season. Offensively, UT Martin is led by Casey Harford and Jack Culumovic, who are hitting .295 and .291, respectively. The Skyhawk pitching staff has a 6.41 team ERA in 212 innings this season. Opponents are hitting .291 against UT Martin through 25 games. | |
'I feel like I've just gotten better every time': Fristoe providing bullpen boost for MSU | |
He says it was a simple adjustment. After his weekend struggles against Alabama, Jackson Fristoe didn't need a completely new approach to pitching in the SEC. He found his film, watched which pitches worked and which ones didn't and he made the "slight" adjustments needed. Most of those required bringing the ball down. The notes he took on his performances didn't require the help of State's staff. It was Fristoe who saw his own errors and improved them -- starting with three scoreless frames in a midweek win against Memphis. But that was Memphis, a 12-12 foe with an 0-3 record in the AAC. Fristoe needed to prove he could do it on a bigger stage and head coach Chris Lemonis makes it apparent he wants Fristoe to become a high-leverage arm. He turned down all doubts, for the time being, with a stellar performance Sunday at Arkansas. Fristoe hadn't taken the field for the Bulldogs in the first two games of the weekend series because the matchups were too lopsided. Arkansas was dominating MSU in every aspect of the game, so there was no point in Lemonis wasting his top bullpen arms. Sunday wasn't the same case, though. The Bulldogs were in a back-and-forth battle with their SEC rival, and Lemonis desperately needed his bullpen to step up in a way it hasn't this season. | |
'Give 'em hell, Robert Bell' -- Bell gave Meridian, MSU much more | |
Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: This was the late summer of 1967 at Meridian High's practice field where the first integrated Meridian High Wildcats football team was preparing for a historic football season. Morris Stamm, who was white and later played at Delta State, was lined up at offensive tackle and was supposed to block Robert Bell, who had just transferred from all-Black Harris High across town. Bell, who was not quite 6-feet tall and weighed about 260 granite-hard pounds, already had made an impact with his size, strength and quickness. You've heard the term "a man among boys?" Bell was one. Stamm knew the odds were against him. "I'll never forget," Stamm said last week, nearly 55 years later. "Robert was in the gap and my job was to move him inside. My mindset was, 'I can do this. I can move him.' Well, I hit him with everything I had. I hit him as hard as I could, right in his thigh pads. He didn't move even an inch. Meanwhile, I went down like a sack of potatoes." ... Robert Bell, who died at age 70 last week in Texas, made his mark, first at Meridian High and then at Mississippi State, where he and Tupelo's Frank Dowsing were the first two African-American football players. Now, more than half a century later, it has become easier to put in proper perspective what a difference Bell, Dowsing, Ben Williams and James Reed at Ole Miss and Willie Heidelburg at Southern Miss made in the integration of Mississippi schools and society. They showed thousands of people first-hand that Black and white people could work and play together and be all the better for it. It was obvious to anyone who watched, and thousands did. They made history is what those guys did. They were trailblazers. And they were not alone. It happened in small towns across Mississippi. | |
College baseball goes high-tech to send pitch calls to mound | |
When he's on the mound, Clemson left-hander Ryan Ammons will feel a little tingle on his right arm. No, nothing's wrong. It's not a tweak or twinge. Instead, it's a reminder telling him to look at the digital display on his wristband to find out the type of pitch to throw next and where to locate it. For a growing number of college baseball teams, the tradition of pitch signs sent by the catcher flashing his fingers and wiggling his hand is disappearing. It's being replaced by a coach in the dugout pressing numbers into a keypad corresponding to different pitch types and transmitting the information to the mound. A vibration in the wristband lets the pitcher know the call is in. The technology, Game Day Signals, was developed by a small Virginia software development company and approved for use for the first time this season by the NCAA. The impetus was to speed up pace of play, which has been a concern across the sport. It also eliminates the ability of the opposing team to steal signals. As of early April, teams using Game Day Signals were Clemson, Vanderbilt, Alabama, North Carolina State, Virginia, James Madison and Pacific. Among teams waiting for their orders to arrive are Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Penn State and Iowa. "It's a natural evolution of the game," American Baseball Coaches Association executive director Craig Keilitz said. "If it speeds it up and makes it easier -- and more difficult to steal signs -- go do it. I think it's great." | |
Learfield enters free-to-play gaming space with UK firm | |
Five schools that have been testing free-to-play digital gaming throughout basketball season have fully implemented the mobile technology for football season. North Carolina, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Texas A&M are offering customized gaming on their mobile apps and official athletic websites. While these games are free to play and do not provide cash rewards, they offer other types of winnings, such as an autographed ball or apparel. Perhaps most interestingly, the free-to-play games give the schools some foresight into what sports betting might look like one day if it becomes legal in college sports venues. "In my mind, this is a precursor to five years from now, 10 years from now," Sidearm Sports President and CEO Jeff Rubin said. "If and when there's legalized sports wagering, we've already got a captive audience. ... That's not the strategy today because you can't do it today, but why does Genius Sports have a relationship with the NCAA today? The answer is that they believe sports wagering someday will be legalized." Low6, a U.K.-based company that specializes in mobile gaming, is providing the platform for the free-to-play games. The firm has partnered with Learfield to help it scale its games because of Learfield's breadth of 180 collegiate properties. Sidearm, which produces official athletic websites and mobile apps, is a Learfield company. Jamie Mitchell, Low6's CEO, said Learfield's school relationships will facilitate the growth of mobile gaming. The company also works with the PGA Tour, UFC, a handful of pro sports teams in the U.S., and several European sport properties. College sports showed up on Low6's radar last year. "As we've grown into North America over the past six months, and we've added employees in the U.S., you really start to understand the collegiate landscape and see how passionate American sports fans are about college sports," Mitchell said. | |
LSU athletes challenged to speak up about 'more than x's and o's' in sexual violence training | |
After LSU pledged to do more to prevent sexual assault on campus amid the fallout from a law firm's blistering review of its past practices, a leading speaker on the topic urged LSU athletes and employees Monday to stop letting a minority of men "wreak havoc" on the rest of the community. The event was the first in a weeklong series of trainings for LSU athletes and athletics staff members on "healthy relationships, respectful behaviors, the promotion of social justice, and the prevention of sexual and domestic violence." The training is from the national group A Call to Men, which invites men to help root out sexual assault, domestic violence and workplace discrimination. "Our job becomes to ensure you've got a whole lot more to talk about than the x's and o's of a game," said Tony Porter, the CEO of A Call to Men, to a crowd in the LSU Pete Maravich Assembly Center. "We live in an epidemic of violence against women and girls...How is it that this many men are perpetrating this violence against women and girls in the presence of the rest of us?" The trainings are mandatory for all LSU athletes and athletics staff, and those who attended the Monday evening session included students from every team on LSU's roster, along with head LSU football coach Brian Kelly, head LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey and more. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome also attended, along with representatives from Our Lady of the Lake, who helped to put on the event. | |
Florida football nutritionist getting rave reviews: What's she got cooking for the Gators? | |
If you are what you eat, Gervon Dexter would have been a Twinkie. A 313-pound one, at that. He liked to snack away, comforted by the knowledge that the calories likely would melt away at football practice. And when you're 6-foot-6, you can carry a few more Twinkies than the average guy. But after two seasons, Dexter knew he needed more than bulk to play defensive tackle at an NFL-prospect level. He needed to get quicker. Enter Kelsee Gomes, the new queen of Florida's Kitchen. Her title is actually "director of sports nutrition -- football." When Billy Napier was introduced as head coach, he said he'd bring in an army to help revive the Gators' program. And you know what they say about that? An army marches on its stomach. Napoleon supposedly coined the phrase 200 years ago, long before Nick Saban started hiring individual chefs for offense, defense and special teams. Whether it's the French Imperial Army trying to take over Europe or Napier's army trying to capture the SEC, it all begins with happy bellies. Based on early reviews, the Gators' bellies are very happy with Gomes. "She's a rock star," strength coach Mark Hocke said. "She like oil for a car," Demarkcus Bowman tweeted, "so without that oil that car ain't gonna crank." The whole "sports nutrition" business has exploded in the past decade. Part of it is advances in science and technology, and better understanding of how a good diet leads to better performance. And part of it is the insatiable SEC desire to seek even the slightest advantage over the next guy. That's why Georgia has a director of nutrition, a performance chef for football and a culinary services manager for football. | |
'The premier conference': How SEC teams are leading a college gymnastics renaissance | |
SEC gymnastics is flying as high as ever. Four SEC teams will make up a whopping half of the eight-team field at nationals later this month. And, oh yeah, Oklahoma is on the way. Auburn ran the gamut this season, competing against some of the nation's top-scoring teams week in and week out, and by the end, the Tigers were surely stronger for the postseason. Auburn's regional last weekend had its own SEC flair: In the final, three of the four teams were SEC squads, and it was Florida and Auburn who eventually outlasted Kentucky and Denver to punch tickets to the NCAA national championship meet. Florida and Auburn will join Alabama and Missouri at nationals. Two teams at nationals will be from the Big Ten: Michigan and Minnesota. One team, Utah, is from the Pac 12, and the other, Oklahoma, currently hails from the Big 12. Give it a few years and the Sooners will be representing the SEC, too. Either way, with or without them, analysts see the SEC as a national leader right now during a college gymnastics renaissance. "As far as a conference, top to bottom, they're the premier women's collegiate gymnastics conference in the country, in my opinion," former men's gymnastics Olympian and ESPN analyst John Roethlisberger said last week before NCAA regionals. "The Olympics, every four years, gymnastics was always a big deal, but it would sort of disappear," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said Saturday. "Then, the SEC Network sort of took over." | |
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley clears up national anthem participation after report | |
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was answering a question about being the first Black coach to win multiple national championships Sunday night when she pivoted in her response. The two-time NCAA champion took time to explain that the Gamecocks not being on the court for the national anthem in previous games -- most recently in the Final Four win over Louisville -- was because of timing. "I think the national anthem was played at the 12- or 10-minute mark, and that's just not the time that we're out on the court because of our pregame ritual," she said after Sunday's game. "If the national anthem is at 0:00 like it was today, we were out there standing for the national anthem." Staley's remarks were in response to an article from the Business Insider that originally said the national anthem isn't played at Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina's home court. The report was later changed to say the Gamecocks are simply not on the court for the anthem at any home games but are for most of the away contests. Staley said the article, which circulated Saturday on social media, created a distraction ahead of the national championship game with players being "called all kinds of names." She added that she received comments on her accounts as well. "I can take the heat, but when you write something and it's during one of the most important times of our season, let it be factual," Staley said. "Let it be factual. ... And then the other articles come out from that, and then we're called unpatriotic, we're called -- some of the nastiness, and it's because we're a predominantly Black team." | |
New U. of Memphis president Bill Hardgrave addresses Liberty Bowl, NCAA investigation | |
The Bill Hardgrave era officially began April 1. That's when the former Auburn provost officially took over from M. David Rudd as president of the University of Memphis. His tenure begins as the school's athletic department is at a critical juncture. Memphis is still working to favorably position itself for the next wave of conference realignment. There's also the ongoing NCAA infractions case looming over the men's basketball program and the effects of the ever-evolving name, image and likeness landscape. On Monday, in an interview with The Commercial Appeal, Hardgrave addressed several of those topics. "Keep in mind, this is my second day on the job, (but) we've got decisions (to make) in athletics," he said. "There are some big decisions that have to be made." For instance: the men's basketball program remains embroiled in the Independent Accountability Resolution Process, which began in November 2019. The Notice of Allegations, which The Commercial Appeal obtained last month, show Memphis is facing at least four Level I violations and two Level II violations related to the investigation brought about by the school's handling of former star James Wiseman's eligibility status. Memphis, in its official response to the notice of allegations, vehemently denies the charges or argues they don't merit a Level I designation. For instance: the men's basketball program remains embroiled in the Independent Accountability Resolution Process, which began in November 2019. The Notice of Allegations, which The Commercial Appeal obtained last month, show Memphis is facing at least four Level I violations and two Level II violations related to the investigation brought about by the school's handling of former star James Wiseman's eligibility status. Memphis, in its official response to the notice of allegations, vehemently denies the charges or argues they don't merit a Level I designation. |
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