| Monday, April 11, 2022 |
| MSU leaders encourage students to stay in the state after graduation | |
 | Students at Mississippi State University pitch ideas once a month in front of members of the E-Center on campus in an effort to get money to support their entrepreneurship ideas. Some students already have their businesses off the ground and just need the funding to make their mark throughout the state and beyond. Recent research shows that many college graduates leave the state for jobs and money and a better quality of life. Educators are looking to find ways to keep the younger generation at home. "It's not just jobs, it's not just education, it's also creating a place where it's socially attractive for them to stay," said E-Center coordinator Jeffrey Rupp. "One way to do that is entrepreneurship. We have over 100 student start ups here at State worth over 30 million dollars and most of them have stayed in the state, gone back to their hometowns, and opened up their business and created jobs and economic churn in the community," said Rupp. In 2022 alone MSU has raised over 70 thousand dollars for young entrepreneurs looking to fund their ideas, and it's not just students that Rupp wants to support. "We want to get folks who come to visit and come to school here. We want to get them thinking this is a place to stay, a place to stay because the quality of life, because of the cost of living, and it's a good place to raise a family," said Rupp. |
| Mississippi Stories: Hagan Walker and Anna Barker | |
 | On this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey catches up with entrepreneurs Hagan Walker and Anna Barker. A year ago, Ramsey sat down with Walker and Barker, the founders of the Starkville-based company Glo, to discuss their company, entrepreneurialism, how their products went from a way to liven up parties to sooth autistic children at bath time and their newly renovated historic corporate headquarters. This time, they share how the disruption in the Global Supply Chain nearly prevented them from having products for Christmas. But in a story that is almost like an action thriller, Walker and Barker tracked down their shipment and helped navigate all the obstacles thrown up by the new normal. It's a story of grit, resilience and a touch of Mississippi charm. Their story was recently featured in the March 31, 2022 edition of The New York Times in a story by Peter S. Goodman. |
| Will Smith's slap shows 'honor culture' is alive and well | |
| Mississippi State University Associate Professor Colleen Sinclair writes for The Conversation: After witnessing the "slap heard around the world" during the 2022 Oscars, I wasn't surprised when the internet split into two camps: #TeamWill and #TeamChris. As a social psychologist who studies aggression, I also wasn't surprised to see support for Will Smith -- who slapped comedian Chris Rock after Rock joked about Smith's wife's alopecia -- involve similar justifications: namely that the actor was "doing what needed to be done" to protect his wife, and that doing so made him "a real man." These defenses contain elements of what social scientists call a "culture of honor," which is prevalent in certain regions, ethnic groups and subcultures around the world. Cultures of honor require men to aggressively defend their reputations against insults or threats, and this imperative extends to protecting their spouses, children and property. To not lash out at slights makes one less of a man. This concept can be confused with "toxic masculinity" -- which is a brand of anti-feminist hypermasculinity that promotes independence, emotional blunting and aggression to establish dominance over men and women. In fact, recent research finds the two concepts are distinct, with a culture of honor more closely tied to benevolent attitudes toward women and notions of chivalry. However, these two concepts can overlap, particularly in more traditional cultures. |
| Starkville Community Theatre musical is a sellout | |
 | The cast and crew of "9 to 5 -- The Musical" worked overtime and that hard work paid off. Starkville Community Theatre's third production since the pandemic shutdown in 2020 was officially a sellout. Featuring a large cast of veterans and newcomers, and directed by Paula Mabry, the musical written by Dolly Parton and Patricia Resnick is based on the 1980 hit comedy "9 to 5." Mabry and many of the cast have not just been waiting two years for live theater to return, they have been waiting two years for this very production. The musical's cast was in rehearsals when pandemic shutdown occurred. When the theater opened back up in November 2021, Mabry got back to work. She retained her four leads and some of the other characters, but had additional auditions to recast roles of people no longer able to perform in the show. That need for replacements led to several completely new theater volunteers. Newcomer Montari Johnson, who plays "Joe," enjoyed his first experience with SCT. The recent Mississippi State University graduate plans to pursue a graduate degree in vocal performance, but for now he said he is excited to share "9 to 5 -- The Musical" with the audience. "This is a fantastic and hilarious show, and the whole cast is amazing," Johnson said. Community Theatre's next production is the Mississippi debut of "The Legend of Georgia McBride," by Matthew Lopez. Directed by Pattye Archer, the comedy runs May 17-21. |
| Mississippi unemployment at all-time low, experts weigh in | |
 | Mississippi governor Tate Reeves has spent the past few weeks touting the state's lowest unemployment rate in its history. He also has been open about Mississippi's shrinking workforce, blaming the federal government for the problem. Payroll employment in Mississippi this year increased to its highest rate since 1995. That puts the job recovery in Mississippi ahead of the U.S., as payroll employment for the nation in March was an entire percentage point below the February 2020 level for the nation. "I would attribute the faster rate at which Mississippi recovered jobs to the speed and timing of the state's reopening (after the COVID-19 pandemic) as well as the fact that the pandemic and the measures to contain it impacted employment in service sectors more than the rest of the economy," said Corey Miller state economist. Service sectors are proportionally a more minor part of employment in Mississippi than in most states. "Our latest forecast is employment will increase 1.4% in 2022, less than in 2021 but well above annual increases prior to the pandemic," Miller said. "That translates to growth of about 16,000 jobs this year." Reeves believes all those numbers have Mississippi on the fast track for jobs and economic development. This week, biomass producer Enviva announced it is opening its fourth facility in the state by locating manufacturing operations in Stone County. "I just did a video for Foreign Direct Investors, and Mississippi is on their map," he said. "One of the main reasons is that we have worked with the leaders in the Legislature to create and fund Accelerate Mississippi such that our job training programs are in line with our competitors." That said, employment has not returned to its pre-pandemic levels in all sectors in Mississippi. |
| The 2022 legislative session adjourned. Here's what happened -- and what didn't. | |
 | Both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature adjourned Tuesday night, capping off one of the most consequential yet chaotic legislative sessions in recent years. Over the course of a few months, lawmakers slashed state taxes, reshaped political power through redistricting and established a medical marijuana program. "When you contemplate the number of issues that we had before us, it was pretty staggering at the beginning," Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said. Despite lawmakers agreeing on most of the issues on their agendas, the session was still marred by political infighting and hardball negotiations, often using the press to publicly air grievances instead of working together. Nevertheless, lawmakers were able to negotiate a historic teacher pay raise plan, create a way to set aside funds for conservation areas and pass an equal pay law. "Clearly, by any stretch, the Mississippi Legislature performed this year," Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said. The fight over cutting the state's individual income tax dominated the legislative session. Infighting even forced the session to be extended by about a week. |
| State senator calls tax cut 'heartbreaking' | |
 | The Mississippi legislature ended its 2022 session with compromises on several key measures. Lawmakers passed a medical marijuana plan. They also passed a teacher pay raise and a major tax cut. Of course, not all lawmakers are happy with this year session. The legislature did not fix the state's referendum laws. Some long-time lawmakers, like District 7 State Senator Hob Bryan of Amory, says cutting the income tax means less money available for schools, health care, roads and other services. "The reason this is so tragic, and the reason I say that it is the most devastating thing that's happened since I've been there, is this practically cannot be undone. It's half a billion dollars forever indexed for inflation that will not be available for roads. They will not be available for water and sewer. They will not be available for public education," Bryan said. Senator Bryan was also one of a handful of lawmakers voting against pay raises for statewide and other elected officials like the governor, lieutenant governor and the attorney general. |
| State Rep. Zuber says stability of wind pool strengthened in 2022 session | |
 | During the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers debated how to utilize funds generated through surplus lines, or non-admitted carrier fees, for other purposes than to shore up the wind pool. One proposal in the Senate was to divert wind pool moneys to buoy the dwindling state employee insurance fund. That worried ratepayers in the state wind pool, mainly on the Coast, as those funds may not have been available for their intended use. State Rep. Hank Zuber, chairman of the House Insurance Committee, visited with Y'all Politics on Friday to give an update on how the debate ended and what will be done with those funds by way of HB 451. Zuber said those in the wind pool should be pleased with the compromise as should officials looking to fund rural fire trucks and first responders who also will see a benefit from the agreement. In the next few months, the Ocean Springs state representative plans to redouble his efforts to strengthen campaign finance laws and change how the Legislature operates. He would like to see lawmakers handle the state budget appropriations each year but limit general bills to every other year, allowing proposed legislation time to ripen and be fully vetted in a more robust manner. |
| 'Very disheartened': Jackson misses out on extra state funding for water and sewer system | |
| The Legislature established a special designated fund to address Jackson's water and sewer needs, but in the end, no money was allocated to the fund. "I was very disheartened by the city not being able to get the funding that it needs from the state now," said Charles Williams, Jackson's city engineer. House Bill 1031, authored by Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Hinds, created a dedicated fund to assist Jackson's beleaguered water and sewer system. The original plan was to decide a portion of Mississippi's $1.8 billion allocation from the American Rescue Plan to the fund. Yates co-authored a companion bill, HB 1064, that would allocate $42 million to the dedicated fund. That bill, however, died in committee. The legislature adjourned without sending money to the fund. Cities across Mississippi can request one-to-one matching funds from the state for water and sewer projects funded through ARPA funds they were directly allocated. Jackson received $42 million directly in ARPA funds and plans to use $25 million of that money for water and sewer infrastructure. "This is not the outcome many of us wanted, but it is what the end result was after much push back about setting aside more than a dollar-for-dollar match for Jackson," said Yates in an email. |
| Hyde-Smith, Corps officials agree pumps would bring meaningful flood protection to Yazoo Backwater area | |
| Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith isn't giving up her efforts to get the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA to reach an agreement on the last unfinished component of the Yazoo Backwater Area flood control project -- a pumping station. Responding to questions from U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) on the need for meaningful flood protection in the Yazoo Backwater Area, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials testified that "pumps are still in the mix" as the agency works to find a new path forward. At a Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review the FY2023 Army Corps budget, Hyde-Smith focused on how to overcome the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision in November to halt the Yazoo Backwater Area Pumps. During the hearing, Hyde-Smith asked Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, about the reality of being able to provide sufficient flood protection for the area's residents, businesses, and the environment without a pumping station to remove trapped floodwaters. "We are confident in our science. We are confident in our engineering that the pump station can be operated in a manner that protects these communities that you mentioned, but also protects the 38,000 acres of wetland that are in that area," said Spellmon, who noted the Corps had considered almost three dozen non-pump alternatives that were not practicable or economically feasible. |
| Ketanji Brown Jackson nods to history in first remarks after Supreme Court confirmation | |
 | Ketanji Brown Jackson fought back tears at times as she stood on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday and declared, "We've made it," in her first public comments after the Senate confirmed her as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. At an event with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and numerous Democratic lawmakers in attendance, Jackson thanked a long list of people who helped her on the road from federal public defender to federal trial and appellate judge, and soon to a seat on the country's high court. "It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we've made it," Jackson said, nodding as the crowd applauded. "We've made it. All of us. All of us." The event celebrated a historic moment for the country at the end of a Senate confirmation process that has grown increasingly partisan, and Jackson spoke of civil rights struggles that got her there. "So as I take on this new role, I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride. We have come a long way toward perfecting our union," Jackson said. "In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States." Jackson said that during the confirmation process she received thousands of notes from people across the country, including messages from children. "Our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America anything is possible," Jackson said. |
| China Is Accelerating Its Nuclear Buildup Over Rising Fears of U.S. Conflict | |
 | China has accelerated an expansion of its nuclear arsenal because of a change in its assessment of the threat posed by the U.S., people with knowledge of the Chinese leadership's thinking say, shedding new light on a buildup that is raising tension between the two countries. The Chinese nuclear effort long predates Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the U.S.'s wariness about getting directly involved in the war there has likely reinforced Beijing's decision to put greater emphasis on developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent, some of these people say. Chinese leaders see a stronger nuclear arsenal as a way to deter the U.S. from getting directly involved in a potential conflict over Taiwan. Among recent developments, work has accelerated this year on more than 100 suspected missile silos in China's remote western region that could be used to house nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the U.S., according to analysts that study satellite images of the area. American leaders have said the thinking behind China's nuclear advance is unclear. Independent security analysts who study nuclear proliferation say they are also in the dark about what is driving Beijing after exchanges between Chinese officials and analysts mostly dried up in the past few years. The people close to the Chinese leadership said China's increased focus on nuclear weapons is also driven by fears Washington might seek to topple Beijing's Communist government following a more hawkish turn in U.S. policy toward China under the Trump and Biden administrations. |
| In the Palm Sunday Mass, Pope Francis pushes for peace in Ukraine | |
 | Pope Francis opened Holy Week Sunday with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to "make some sacrifices for the good of the people." Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass before crowds in St. Peter's Square for the first time since the pandemic, Pope Francis called for "weapons to be laid down to begin an Easter truce, not to reload weapons and resume fighting, no! A truce to reach peace through real negotiations." Francis did not refer directly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the reference was clear, and he has repeatedly denounced the war and the suffering brought to innocent civilians. During the traditional Sunday blessing following Palm Sunday Mass, the pontiff said leaders should be "willing to make some sacrifices for the good of the people." "In fact, what a victory would that be, who plants a flag under a pile of rubble?" During his Palm Sunday homily, the pontiff denounced "the folly of war" that leads people to commit "senseless acts of cruelty." After two years of celebrating Palm Sunday Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica without a crowd due to pandemic distancing measures, the solemn celebration returned to the square outside. Tens of thousands pilgrims and tourists clutched olive branches and braided palms emblematic of the ceremony that recalls Jesus' return to Jerusalem. |
| Accounts deceivable: Email scam costliest type of cybercrime | |
 | A shopping spree in Beverly Hills, a luxury vacation in Mexico, a bank account that jumped from $299.77 to $1.4 million overnight. From the outside, it looked like Moe and Kateryna Abourched had won the lottery. But this big payday didn't come from lucky numbers. Rather, a public school district in Michigan was tricked into wiring its monthly health insurance payment to the bank account of a California nail salon the Abourcheds owned, according to a search warrant application filed by a Secret Service agent in federal court. The district -- and taxpayers -- fell victim to an online scam called Business Email Compromise, or BEC for short, police say. The couple deny any wrongdoing and have not been charged with any crimes. BEC scams are a type of crime where criminals hack into email accounts, pretend to be someone they're not and fool victims into sending money where it doesn't belong. These crimes get far less attention than the massive ransomware attacks that have triggered a powerful government response, but BEC scams have been by far the costliest type of cybercrime in the U.S. for years, according to the FBI -- siphoning untold billions from the economy as authorities struggle to keep up. For years both BEC scams and ransomware attacks were treated largely as a law enforcement problem. That's still true for BEC attacks, but ransomware is now a key national security concern after a series of disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure like the one last year against the biggest fuels pipeline in the U.S. that led to gas shortages along the East Coast. Nothing close to those efforts has been deployed against BEC fraud despite the huge financial losses. |
| Alice Walker to be featured at Mississippi Book Festival | |
| Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker has been tapped to speak at this year's Mississippi Book Festival. This year marks the 40th anniversary release of Walker's acclaimed novel, "The Color Purple." It was first published in 1982 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the following year. "We are thrilled to have Alice Walker back in the city where she once lived and the place where her daughter was born," said the event's executive director, Ellen Daniels. "Her appearance will be a homecoming of sorts for her and we are honored that book lovers and festival-goers will have the opportunity to share in that moment." After two years of hosting the festival virtually, the free festival returns to the state capitol grounds in Jackson on Saturday, Aug. 20. "After the past two years, we are all looking forward to being back together in person to celebrate literature at this year's festival," Daniels said. Organizers plan to announce other attending authors soon. |
| 'They're just not staying': Mississippi loses college graduates, state auditor urges Jackson to fix issues | |
 | College graduates continue to move away from Mississippi for job opportunities elsewhere, according to a new report from the State Auditor Office. And the city of Jackson may hold the key to turning that trend around. A report released by the state this week found that half of all Mississippi college students who graduated between 2015-2017 left the state within 3 years of receiving their diplomas. Students who attend larger public universities such as Mississippi State University and University of Mississippi were most likely to seek employment elsewhere, according to the report. When excluding out-of-state students, Mississippi is still seeing close to a third of its graduates leave their home state, said Shad White, state auditor of Mississippi. said he's heard from nursing home executives and business owners concerned about what he calls the "brain drain" of college graduates from the state. "Chemical engineers ought to be employable here in the state of Mississippi," White said. "We're producing folks with the skills that we need. They're just not staying." The report found evidence that graduates are attracted to larger cities. Of those staying in Mississippi, 30% reside and work in Hinds County. The next closest county is coastal Harrison County, with 6% of recent graduates. "So the Jackson metro area is really a hub for talent in Mississippi in a way that almost no other place is," White said. However, White said more must be done to make Jackson an attractive alternative to Nashville or Birmingham. "We are the per capita homicide capital of the United States. We have infrastructure issues, water issues, and the schools in the Jackson public schools are F-rated for the most part," White said. "We have to figure out how to fix our capital city because it is going to be the biggest magnet for keeping talented, college-educated workers here in the state." |
| Pharmacy professor's dedication, enthusiasm earns him UM's top teaching honor | |
| With a passion for statistics and commitment to student learning, John Bentley, professor of pharmacy administration at the University of Mississippi, is the winner of the 2022 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. This award recognizes one Ole Miss professor each year who embodies teaching excellence and exceptional student engagement. "I was shocked and had some doubts when I first heard the voicemail that I listened to it multiple times," Bentley said, referring to the message UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce left to tell him the good news. "It's awe-inspiring. I just didn't think I would be considered on that level. "There are incredible people on this award list, several I have interacted with as either a student in their class or as a research collaborator. To be recognized as worthy enough to be one of them for something you really love doing, that's pretty cool." Bentley, also director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management, was awarded the honor at the university's annual Honors Day Convocation on Thursday (April 7) in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. In presenting the award, Boyce called Bentley "an outstanding teacher who engages, encourages and inspires his students." |
| JSU alumni association hosts Blue Tie Gala | |
| Jackson State University's National Alumni Association held its 5th Blue Tie Gala on Saturday. JSU alum and comedian Rita Brent hosted tonight's sold-out event at the Jackson Convention Complex in downtown Jackson. The red carpet fundraising event recognized 15 JSU legends, and 30 students received scholarships to attend the university. |
| U. of Alabama honors top achievers at Tapping on the Mound | |
 | The University of Alabama on Friday recognized the achievements of outstanding students and faculty during the Tapping on the Mound, a UA tradition since the early 1900s. The event culminates Honors Week at UA. This marked the first time in two years that Tapping on the Mound was held at its traditional location on the Mound at the west side of the Quad. Last year, the threat of inclement weather moved the ceremony to Foster Auditorium and in 2020 the event was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rosalind Moore-Miller, who serves as UA's assistant vice president for student Engagement, said she believes the Tapping on the Mound ceremony is a "lovely tradition" for UA students and faculty. "This is an amazing event because it gives us an opportunity to shine a light on the very exceptional students that we have here at the University of Alabama," she said. "We're super-excited about it today because we have not been outside at the traditional Mound ...for a (couple of) years. And so it's just really a great opportunity for us to acknowledge our seniors and really send them into the next frontier." Students and faculty were recognized and presented awards in such categories, including outstanding students, outstanding alumni, Black scholars, living legends and more. |
| These are the highest paying bachelor's degrees at the U. of Alabama | |
 | If you're planning on going to the University of Alabama and want to earn a decent paycheck a few years after you graduate, you might consider going into engineering. Eight of the top 10 highest paying bachelor's degrees five years out from graduation at UA involve some type of engineering, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. No. 1? Mechanical engineering. Data from the Census Bureau's U.S. Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes program, an experimental dataset that looks at outcomes and earnings for people who graduated from selected colleges in the United States in recent years, shows University of Alabama graduates with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering saw median earnings of more than $88,000 per year after five years with the degree. It was one of six bachelor's degrees from UA where the average degree holder could expect to earn more than $80,000 per year after five years, and five of those six involved some kind of engineering. Chemistry takes over as the new number one at the 10-year mark. The median chemistry bachelor's degree holder from UA earned nearly $115,000 per year by that time, the highest of any degree. That's likely because people with a bachelor's degree in chemistry went on to earn other degrees, many becoming doctors. At the 5-year mark, the median chemistry degree holder from UA earned just under $57,000 per year, or around half as much as the median number for 10 years out of college. |
| LSU suspends fraternity for hazing after alleged 'Hell Week' kidnapping, assault | |
 | Louisiana State University suspended one of its fraternities after a probe into hazing allegations found that the organization engaged in numerous "Hell Week" activities between 2017 and 2020, including an instance in which some members kidnapped and assaulted one of their own. According to a letter provided to The Advocate that was sent to the fraternity by LSU's Division of Student Affairs, the school suspended its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter through May 31, 2023, after it found the organization forced pledges to engage in "various levels of personal servitude," including having them run errands, buy food and clean members' homes and cars. Pledges were also forced to eat condiments and do lineups and calisthenics, the document says. The letter, which was dated March 24, also claims that on Oct. 18, 2020, a "large group" of individuals "kidnapped and assaulted an active member" of the fraternity during a traditional initiation practice. As a result, the school determined that Sigma Alpha Epsilon "violated the policies of coercive behavior, endangerment and hazing," wrote Kyrsti Wyatt, assistant director of LSU's Student Advocacy and Accountability Office. Louisiana state law requires that hazing policy violations result in automatic suspension. Greek life at the school has seen an overhaul in recent years following the 2017 death of Max Gruver, an 18-year-old freshman who died in an alcohol-related hazing ritual while pledging Phi Delta Theta fraternity. |
| Why State Lawmakers Want to Fire All of This University's Trustees | |
 | Tensions between state lawmakers and the University of South Carolina's Board of Trustees hit a boiling point over the past week with the introduction in the legislature of a bill that would dismiss every board member and cut its membership nearly in half. With multimillion-dollar coaching buyouts, concerns over campus-building names, and a divisive presidential search that led to scrutiny from an accreditor, the flagship campus, in Columbia, has been mired in negative publicity over the last few years. And lawmakers have put much of the blame for that on the trustees. The legislature's proposal to shake up the board, which passed the House this week, 113 to 1, followed a string of terse interactions between trustees and lawmakers. During hours-long hearings on March 28 and 29, a panel of legislators grilled current board members about those controversies, and ultimately refused to approve the reappointments of five longtime trustees. The College and University Trustee Screening Commission, which includes the Senate president and House speaker, is charged with reviewing proposed campus trustees. Its decision not to endorse five trustees -- C. Dorn Smith, the current board chair; Thad Westbrook, the vice chair; C. Edward Floyd; John von Lehe; and Charles Williams -- for re-election leaves their future membership in limbo even if the board-restructuring bill doesn't pass. |
| Texas A&M University Abruptly Shuttered a Climate Lab, Citing Security Risk | |
| A climate-science lab at Texas A&M University has been shut down after its ties to a Chinese university were deemed a security risk. The International Laboratory for High-Resolution Earth System Prediction, or iHESP, was formed in 2017 between Texas A&M, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Colorado, and the Qingdao Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, in China. The three institutions had agreed to share funding, experts, and computing power to develop fine-grained computer models predicting how climate change would affect the Earth. The first phase of the partnership was set to last through 2023. But in December 2021, the project was unexpectedly terminated, effective immediately. The closure was attributed in part to financial troubles with the Chinese partner. The Qingdao laboratory hadn't delivered on a promised $2 million payment to fund iHESP, said Kelly S. Brown, a spokesperson for Texas A&M. Even had the lab not defaulted on the money, however, it would have faced another barrier: The Texas A&M University system had marked the iHESP contract for termination. The lab was on a list of foreign agreements that the system wanted the College Station campus to terminate because of national-security fears. The Texas A&M system did not respond to The Chronicle's questions about how the system determined iHESP was a security risk, and did not address questions about other contracts on its list for termination. The Texas A&M University system had evaluated Chinese and Russian agreements of all kinds, including "animal-use, study abroad, gifts agreements, book publishing agreements, nondisclosure agreements," Brown said. It made individual decisions about which such partnerships posed risks that scientists might steal technological know-how, to the military or economic benefit of another country, she said. |
| A&M students rally in an effort to 'Take Back the Night' in honor of Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Month | |
 | Texas A&M students were able to "Take Back the Night" during a gathering of multiple university groups to raise awareness about sexual assault and survivor organizations in honor of Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Month. Thursday night drew more than 150 students and volunteer groups to Rudder Plaza to show their commitment to the cause and support the message that the Aggie community values prevention education. It also showcased the work local response agencies do to help survivors in the Bryan-College Station area, according to Denise Crisafi, health promotion coordinator with A&M's Offices of the Dean of Student Life. "We want this to be an event that happens every year around this time; it is something we have had to reorganize our efforts just because of the [COVID-19] pandemic," she said. "I came into this job in 2018 and many of my colleagues and I really wanted to do this because our students were asking to do it in a bigger way ... we worked to make this as big as possible to where it can be student driven." Students later gathered to do an Awareness Walk from Rudder to Academic Plaza, where they carried glow sticks and candles and held signs regarding awareness to sexual assault. |
| U. of Missouri working toward solutions for Ukrainian student, girlfriend | |
 | Vlad Sazhen on Thursday at the University of Missouri's Speakers Circle wound up and powerfully launched an egg, splatting it squarely in the middle of Seth Thompson's chest. Thus, Thompson made his small sacrifice for Ukraine. Thompson, a freshman from St. Peters, served as a target for thrown eggs several more times that day. "It's the least I could do," he said. The air had turned chilly Thursday afternoon. "It's so cold," Thompson said, shivering. He got lucky when a thrower missed him entirely. Or maybe the thrower was just being kind. The egg-throwing was a fundraiser organized by Tori Copto, a freshman nursing student from Kansas City. It benefits the not-for-profit United Help Ukraine, she said. "I'm a nursing student, so I wanted to focus on medical supplies," Copto said. She said she wanted to help somehow. "My grandmother in Fayette has been getting the news articles about Vlad," Copto said, referring to coverage of the Ukrainian exchange student and his family. The week brought a potential ideal solution to a deadline facing Sazhen at the end of the semester. As an exchange student, his time at MU was to conclude at the end of the semester. Meanwhile, he's also trying to help his girlfriend, Alina, get out of Ukraine. "Of all my family members, she's most afraid of everything," Sazhen said. "Poltava is being shelled right now." He sought help from MU, and International Student and Scholar Services is trying to find a way he can stay and Alina can come to MU. "Mizzou has biomedical engineering and she's a biomedical engineer," Sazhen said of Alina's area of study. The plan is still a work in progress, he said. |
| Long-time U. of Missouri administrator who oversaw campus buildings retires without fanfare | |
 | After 16 years of service at the University of Missouri, Gary Ward has quietly retired as the vice chancellor of operations. In that role, Ward oversaw the management and renovation of many older buildings, as well as the construction of many new facilities, including the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Institute. Ward's retirement, which was effective Feb. 28, was marked only by the announcement of his replacement and a couple of congratulatory memos from UM System President Mun Choi. Ward will be succeeded by Sarah Chinniah as the vice chancellor of operations and strategic initiatives, the Missourian reported. Ward first announced his retirement last fall, according to a memo sent out by Choi. In the memo, Choi expressed gratitude to Ward and listed some of his accomplishments. He cited Ward's management of the renovation of older buildings and his work establishing the Sustainability Office. Choi also noted Ward's oversight of the construction of new projects like the Sinquefield School of Music, the Patient Centered Care Learning Center and the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building. "Gary has ensured our beautiful campus is always ready to serve the needs of our community," Choi said in a blog post Feb. 24. "His forward-looking vision has also prepared us to do even more for future generations of both Tigers and Missourians." Retirement from MU is not the end of administrative life for Ward. Choi also mentioned in his blog post that Ward is moving on to a position at Love Columbia, a nonprofit organization that helps area residents with homelessness, car repairs, job searches and other needs. |
| Jury finds Chinese U. of Kansas professor guilty of fraud | |
 | In one of the tiny fraction of federal China Initiative–related cases to make it to trial, a jury last week found University of Kansas chemical engineering professor Feng "Franklin" Tao guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements. For the China Initiative's many critics, the Tao verdict did little to nothing to redeem the now-discontinued counterintelligence program. Michael German, a national security fellow at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice and a former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who has written critically about the initiative, said in an interview, "I don't think anyone doubts that the Chinese government engages in a number of different problematic and criminal activities in the United States, including national security espionage as well as academic espionage." Yet "the problem with the China initiative from its initiation is that it moved the locus of investigations from economic espionage and other state-authorized criminal activities into an area that they called research integrity, which tried to mirror the way national security agencies look at the transfer of national security information into, or onto, fundamental research -- which isn't intended to be enforced by borders." Peter Zeidenberg, Tao's lawyer, has said that the federal judge who oversaw Tao's trial was concerned enough about the verdict to order a briefing about the government's evidence and to delay scheduling a sentencing hearing. |
| The Conservative College That's Expanding to Charter Schools | |
 | With only 1,500 students on a small-town campus in southern Michigan, Hillsdale College is far from the power corridors of government and top-ranked universities. But it has outsize influence in the conservative world, with strong ties to the Washington elite. Republican leaders frequently visit, and Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the 2016 commencement address, calling Hillsdale a "shining city on a hill" for its devotion to "liberty as an antecedent of government, not a benefit from government." Now the college is making new efforts to reach beyond its campus, this time with an even younger audience. The college is fighting what it calls "progressive" and "leftist academics" by expanding its footprint in the charter school world, pushing the boundaries on the use of taxpayer money for politically tinged education. Hillsdale has ambitious plans to add to its network of classical public charter schools, which focus on "the centrality of the Western tradition." And Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee recently invited the college to start 50 schools using public funds, including $32 million set aside for charter facilities. Hillsdale's network currently includes 24 schools in 13 states. The college has also developed the "1776 Curriculum," which sets out to portray America as "an exceptionally good country." During a time when education has become inflamed by divisive cultural debates, Hillsdale has been criticized for its glossy spin on American history as well as its ideological tilt on topics like affirmative action. Educators and historians have also raised questions about other instruction at Hillsdale's charter schools, citing their negative take on the New Deal and the Great Society and cursory presentation of global warming. |
| 'Breaking Ranks' is a new book that attacks 'U.S. News' | |
| Steven S. Koblik gave a gift to subsequent presidents of Reed College: in 1995, he declared that the college would no longer cooperate with U.S. News & World Report on its college rankings. Colin Diver, who succeeded Koblik, writes that when he arrived at Reed in 2002, he thought, "I'm no longer subject to the tyranny of college rankings. I don't need to worry about some newsmagazine telling me what to do." In a book being published tomorrow, Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules Higher Education and What to Do About It (Johns Hopkins University Press), Diver describes his experience as a college president (and previously as a law dean at the University of Pennsylvania) in dealing with rankings. He absolutely agrees with the decisions Reed made about the rankings. And he believes that rankings aren't going anywhere but that colleges can, and should, fight them. Diver writes that Reed's "rebellious stance" on U.S. News was part of what attracted him to Reed in the first place. "I took it to be a statement that Reed viewed education as a path to a genuinely fulfilling life, not just a ticket to a high-paying job." In an interview, he said that his perspective on rankings came nearly as much from his experience as a law dean as it did from his experience as a president. (He is currently the Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Professor of Law and Economics Emeritus at Penn.) |
| Psaki: Student loan borrowers likely to have to pay debt 'sometime' | |
 | White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that she suspects student loan borrowers will have to start paying their debt at some point during the Biden administration. "I suspect that sometime you will, but again, we are going to continue to assess every month, every few months on where things stand, both looking of course at Covid, but also economic data and where we need to continue to help give the American people some breathing room," Psaki said on "Fox News Sunday." The Biden administration formally unveiled a fourth extension on the monthly loan payments and interest last week, pushing the date to Aug. 31. The White House also announced plans to expunge the defaults of millions of student loan borrowers who fell behind before the pandemic, to allow these payers to have a "fresh start." President Joe Biden's latest extension fell short of a range of Democrats' calls for the administration to continue the pandemic relief for borrowers through at least the end of the year -- after the November midterm elections. Beyond the pause, there's growing pressure on Biden to use executive authority to eliminate at least $10,000 in student debt for every borrower. |
| Demise of ballot initiative reveals the power of one in Legislature | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: The failure of the Legislature to restore the initiative process that allows citizens to place issues on the ballot for voters to decide could be seen as a case study on how a handful of people or even one lawmaker can determine whether a proposal lives or dies. In this case, the legislator was Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Chair John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, who near the end of the just-completed 2022 session demanded a key change be placed in the final agreement restoring the initiative. That demand resulted in the demise of efforts to restore the initiative. The change Polk proposed was to more than double the number of signatures needed to place an issue on the ballot. Whether rank-and-file members of the Legislature would have agreed with Polk's proposed change will never be known. Polk never proposed the change for legislators to publicly debate. Instead, he tried to make the change at the end of the session in closed door negotiations. Polk is far from the first and will not be the last member of the Legislature to exert such influence. But there is a certain degree of irony that Polk exerted that influence on a proposal designed to give citizens the right to bypass the Legislature and place issues on the ballot. |
| Either way, Bryant looks bad | |
| The Greenwood Commonwealth's Tim Kalich writes: What should we believe about Phil Bryant in light of recent revelations about his past ties to a speculative pharmaceutical venture that auditors claim illegally received more than $2 million in welfare money? Reading the investigative reporting of Mississippi Today and the partial transcript of an interview the former Mississippi governor gave to the news outlet two days before its bombshell story broke, there are two conclusions one can draw. Either Bryant was in on an effort to divert welfare funding to purposes for which it was not intended, with the hopes of later cashing in personally. Or Bryant was one of the more distracted and naive governors to ever occupy the office. He would like us to believe the latter. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Lemonis: 'We're just not playing a high-level brand of baseball' | |
| A hush fell across the crowd on Masters Sunday, but this mass was assembled 400 miles west of August National Golf Club. This crowd was at Dudy Noble Field, a stadium prided on rich tradition and an environment unlike most in collegiate baseball. But it was quiet Sunday with No. 19 LSU in town. A deafening silence. The Tigers' runs were piling on in the 13-3 win, and the Bulldogs' opportunities were continuously slipping. The silver lining of "it's still early" concerns were slipping away as Mississippi State fell to 4-8 in conference play following a weekend sweep. The roar of crowds celebrating electric walk-offs against Alabama just two weeks ago was nowhere to be found. Instead, the soft echo of plastic seats folding back into position surrounded a disappointing performance. "We're just not playing a high-level brand of baseball right now," MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. Auburn comes to Starkville next weekend after winning a series against No. 16 Vanderbilt this weekend. "We've had tough times here before and fought through it," Lemonis said. "We're just gonna have to fight through it." |
| 'It's huge': Auburn baseball takes series over No. 12 Vanderbilt | |
 | Butch Thompson didn't say a word to his team. He didn't have to. On the power of Sonny DiChiara and the shoulder of Joseph Gonzalez, the Auburn baseball team bounced back to beat No. 12 Vanderbilt 8-2 on Sunday and take the weekend series at Plainsman Park. DiChiara finished with five RBI's, hitting a three-run homer in the second inning. Gonzalez pitched a complete game win, Auburn's first in SEC play since 2018. Auburn has now won three straight conference series. In all three, Auburn split the first two games before clutching up to win the rubber match in the series finale. Auburn beat Vanderbilt 5-1 Friday before everything fell apart Saturday in a 19-4 blowout loss. But there was no rah-rah after that one, Thompson explained. The head coach didn't chew the team out or give any sorrowful speeches. Auburn had won the big series finale before, and they just needed to go do it again. "I chose to say absolutely nothing to this team," Thompson laughed postgame on the Auburn Sports Network radio broadcast. "Right or wrong coaching move or not, it at least makes me feel good now that a game's been played that at least I hope the guys know that we showed them trust. All we did was prepare for today's starting pitcher. All we did was talk about the techniques and the sequences we needed to get to today." Auburn will first step out of conference play for a midweek game against Samford on Tuesday before playing at Mississippi State on Thursday. |
| Mike Leach: Mississippi State football's first spring scrimmage 'a good starting point' | |
| Mississippi State's offensive players had barely picked themselves up off the ground when the whistle blew again. Immediately, they threw themselves back to the turf. From there, the cycle repeated. The Bulldogs' offense, outfitted in maroon jerseys, was sentenced to plenty of up-downs as punishment for Caleb Ducking's fumble late in Saturday's scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium -- and perhaps its overall performance. On the other side of Scott Field, the white-clad defense looked on -- no extra exercise needed. Coach Mike Leach called the Bulldogs' first spring scrimmage "pretty even," but it was the defense that made some of the event's most memorable plays. "I thought our first group could have played better on offense," Leach said. Among the defensive highlights were Ducking's fumble, picked up by linebacker Nathaniel Watson and returned most of the length of the field for a touchdown, and a pick-six by safety Corey Ellington early on. Ellington seized a tipped pass thrown by redshirt freshman quarterback Sawyer Robertson and took it to the house. Mostly, though, what counted Saturday was the Bulldogs simply acclimating to an environment that will look a lot different on seven game days in the fall. "Exposure in the stadium is huge," Leach said. "That's why we do it every Thursday in the season." |
| How Mike Leach evaluated Mississippi State's first spring scrimmage | |
| Mississippi State football got off to a good, but not great start in its first scrimmage of the spring at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday, coach Mike Leach said. He said the Bulldogs played hard, but were inconsistent and at times, hesitant. And he expected more out of the offense. "I thought when (quarterback) Sawyer (Robertson) settled in, he played real well after his interceptions," Leach said. "I don't think Will (Rodgers) ever got into a rhythm and it's tough when you've got limited reps. I think our defensive front with the ones was a little better than the twos which creates a set of problems. I thought our first group could have played better on offense." Sometimes, it's a good sign if things don't go too far in favor of one side of the ball during scrimmages, Leach said. "One of the quickest signs of a decent scrimmage is if everybody's pissed," Leach said. "Because if one side's happy then something's wrong on the other side. But we had good effort." Leach said scrimmaging in the stadium is helping some of the new players get more comfortable. The Bulldogs have two more open scrimmages left in the spring, on April 16 (Maroon and White Spring Football Game) and April 23. |
| Three takeaways: Mississippi State football hosts first spring scrimmage | |
| Mississippi State had its return to life inside Davis Wade Stadium on Saturdays this weekend with an open scrimmage as an appetizer to next week's spring game -- though the spring game won't look much different. The Bulldogs experimented with a variety of players in various roles, including four quarterbacks lining up in Mike Leach's Air Raid offense. It wasn't the cleanest of performances for Will Rogers, which Leach says is as expected to some extent. With quarterbacks taking turns each drive, Rogers never found a groove -- though he had a nice 22-yard touchdown pass to Rufus Harvey. But there's little doubt Rogers is going to be State's quarterback entering next season. Sawyer Robertson's potential is evident, and his time is likely coming, but not yet. Leach's track record shows he works with experienced quarterbacks, and Robertson's growing pains were on display in the scrimmage. He closed out by finding his rhythm but not after a couple ugly moments. Robertson was intercepted by Corey Ellington on his opening drive. Ellington returned it for a touchdown. Soon after, Robertson threw an interception to newcomer Jackie Matthews. But once Robertson got going, he completed a pair of touchdowns. Leach credited State's defensive front with some of the issues created for Rogers and Robertson. |
| Five lessons from Mike Leach's insurgent warfare and football class at Mississippi State | |
| Mike Leach made his way to the stage at Mississippi State's Wingo Auditorium wearing a pink floral shirt and settled into his seat for a conversation on war. The class the Mississippi State football coach Leach taught Friday with former Washington state senator Michael Baumgarner was about football, insurgent warfare, and how they intersect. They discussed how resources can shape strategy, mused about which position Geronimo would play in football, and dished out homework assignments for the chance to win sideline passes to the Bulldogs' season opener against Memphis. Mississippi State quarterback Will Rodgers even made an appearance to break down what it's like orchestrating a comeback under pressure. By definition, an insurgent is a person who revolts against a government or civil authority. In football terms, that makes them an underdog, a team fighting in hopes of upstaging the traditional favorites. "Insurgents fight different from conventional warriors because they're typically underdogs," Baumgartner said. They typically have to go slower. And they're trying to overturn the existing conventional warrior so that causes them to fight different. Insurgents are revolutionaries." Insurgent tactics differ from traditional military tactics, in part because of the gap in resources between the authority and the group fighting it. |
| Insurgent warfare and football strategy: A class inside the football mind of Mike Leach | |
| Former Washington state senator Michael Baumgartner has met the brightest minds in national security. He's met and run against some of the top politicians to come through the United States, and he's seen firsthand the masterminds behind some of America's most important battles in the Middle East. Yet as he leans forward from his chair inside Mississippi State's Old Main Academic Center, the fascination runs across his face. His grin stretches further and further and his eyes continue to grow as he watches a man in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans speak. Through all the most complex minds, perhaps his favorite sits between the ears of his close friend and MSU football coach Mike Leach. And that mind, so fascinating and vastly filled will an abundance of knowledge, is so painfully simple. "This is this way. This is that way," Leach explained to Baumgartner as the man who once worked in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during the Iraq Surge struggled with his PowerPoint clicker. The two were back together Friday night in Starkville leading a lecture titled "insurgent warfare and football strategy," as they did at Washington State. It started with a trailer of Operation Mincemeat and a rehashing of the 1999 Cotton Bowl Caper. It ended with a look into the football mind of Leach -- a look rarely seen in press conferences in interviews. |
| The W celebrates 50th anniversary of national championship team | |
| There were no TV contracts in 1971, no corporate sponsorships and no Big Dance. Not even a Big Cotillion. And Selection Sunday was a series of invitations sent by mail. Yes, on paper, delivered by the Postal Service. The NCAA did not sponsor women's sports at the time; in fact, when it finally did a decade later it was only after a very contentious debate. And the corresponding women's sports association, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, was still a year away. But there was a national invitational tournament sponsored by the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, just as there had been for the previous two seasons. And after winning four games in four days in Cullowhee, North Carolina, Mississippi State College for Women claimed the de facto national championship. Now Mississippi University for Women, the school honored that championship team as part of its homecoming festivities, and four players and coach Jill Upton were at Pohl Gym on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their triumph. (It had been planned for last year, but it was canceled because of the pandemic.) |
| Why Tennessee's legal fees in NCAA investigation dropped as football program awaits findings | |
 | Documents show the University of Tennessee's legal fees dropped sharply once it ended its yearlong NCAA internal investigation into allegations that fired football coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff committed egregious recruiting violations. It suggests the university is in a holding pattern, waiting for the NCAA to rule while still paying minimal attorneys' fees. In January, Chancellor Donde Plowman told Knox News that Tennessee had not received a notice of allegations from the NCAA, a necessary step if the governing body pursues disciplinary action. UT spokespeople declined to provide an update or comment without review by their attorneys because they are prohibited by NCAA bylaws from discussing specifics about ongoing investigations. Some NCAA investigations can take months while others are adjudicated years later. Changes made earlier this year to the NCAA's constitution are designed to encourage self-reporting and limit punishing new leadership teams if violations occurred under previous leaders, a development that could bode well for Tennessee. Tennessee's legal fees have exceeded $1.12 million total. It still pales in comparison to the $12.6 million buyout the university declined to pay Pruitt when he was fired for cause over the allegations. |
| 'So honored': Eight new names added to Auburn's Tiger Trail downtown | |
| The Tiger Trail has eight more members. And Auburn has eight more ways to celebrate the legends of the past. A crowd of more than 100 gathered inside Neville Arena on Friday evening to welcome eight former Auburn University Tigers to the local version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Tiger Trail places engraved stones honoring former athletics greats in the sidewalk of downtown Auburn in a joint effort by the city and the university. At the ceremony, inductees offered remarks and pulled from a random draw the placing for their stone in the downtown sidewalks. The City of Auburn and its chamber of commerce held the event for the first time since 2018, honoring its biggest class since 1996, when it inducted 13 members in its second year of existence. "One of the things that I have really come to enjoy about being in Auburn is the town-gown relationship, and recognizing how important it is that the city of Auburn and Auburn University work in concert with one another," Auburn athletic director Allen Greene said. "And it's events like this, and ceremonies like this, inductions like these. It's the fact that we get to walk and see the names of famous, important student-athletes and those who are meaningful in our community." With the eight additions, the trail now has 140 names on it, including Charles Barkley, Bo Jackson, Frank Thomas and Pat Dye, among others. |
| Kentucky and other schools are joining a revived Sun Belt Conference for men's soccer | |
| The Sun Belt Conference announced Wednesday that it will restart men's soccer this fall, boosted by three new schools along with soccer-only members Kentucky, South Carolina and West Virginia. The nine-team men's soccer league will include new members James Madison, Marshall and Old Dominion. Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern and Georgia State are existing Sun Belt members. Marshall won the 2020 NCAA men's championship. West Virginia advanced to the national quarterfinals last fall. "These elite programs will lend instant credibility and help establish the Sun Belt as one of the nation's premier men's collegiate soccer conferences," Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill said in a statement. The Sun Belt Conference previously sponsored men's soccer from 1976 to 1995 and from 2014 to 2020. The league will now sponsor 18 NCAA Division I sports and have 14 members starting in July. Late last month, Conference USA agreed to allow Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss to expedite their move to the Sun Belt, while James Madison is moving up from the Colonial Athletic Conference. |
| Clemson football's Dabo Swinney talks transfer portal, NIL, coaching salaries and winning his way | |
| Like him or loathe him, Dabo Swinney doesn't mind speaking his mind, nor does he ever spend much time trying to be somebody he's not. Entering his 14th season as Clemson's head coach and 20th season overall, Swinney has steered the Tigers to the top of the college football world -- and he's done it his way. Clemson (gasp) failed to make the College Football Playoff last year for the first time after six straight appearances. Swinney joked that he's on the hot seat heading into the 2022 season. The Tigers hold their annual spring game on Saturday, and Swinney sat down with ESPN this week to discuss everything from lofty expectations, to nasty letters he received when he got the job, to his new-look staff, to name image and likeness, to the transfer portal, to former quarterback Deshaun Watson. |
| Scott Hamilton to cycle 444 miles in cancer fundraiser | |
| Scott Hamilton is back in action. No, the figure skating icon won't be lacing up. He'll be sitting atop a bike and cycling 444 miles Erase the Trace, a five-day ride along the Natchez Trace Parkway. The fundraiser that goes through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee is designed to raise $1.25 million in funding for a breakthrough glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cancer research grant to treat the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Inspired by the story of Scott Williams, who is a GBM patient and reached out to the 1984 Olympic champion's Scott Hamilton & Friends organization a year ago for help in fundraising. Not only did Hamilton put together a skating show to help in 2021, but he also rode the final portion of the initial Erase the Trace. Now, Hamilton will join Williams for the entire ride from May 2 to May 7. A cancer survivor himself, Hamilton never has completed a bike ride of this length or magnitude. He hopes to also attract friends, whether celebrities or not, to ride with him. Or to support the cause in any manner. So Hamilton has been working with Johnny Burrell, a Nashville-based craniosacral therapist and a record-holding cyclist. "I am grateful for the experience of Johnny Burrell, who has taken me out to the most difficult portion of the Natchez Trace to check out my physical ability to handle it," Hamilton added. "We rode for 44 miles and it went pretty well. Outside of that, I've been training on my exercise bike when limited by travel or weather, and getting out onto the Trace to practice as much as possible on my own. I am hoping and praying that I am strong enough to complete the ride." |
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