| Monday, September 19, 2022 |
| Portion of Hardy Street sidewalk closing for repairs | |
 | A portion of the sidewalk along the east side of Hardy Street will close from 6 a.m. Monday [Sept. 19] through 5 p.m. Sept. 30 as workers repair new Americans with Disabilities Act-complying ramps along the road's crosswalks and entrances. The affected area includes infrastructure from Blackjack Road to the Richard A. Rula Engineering and Science Complex. Please contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at 662-325-2005 if you have any questions. |
| Honors College production of 'Phormio' to headline MSU Classical Week | |
 | In the center of the room, students adorned in togas and other traditional Roman attire address each other with language and phrases that seem somewhat out of place today. The vaulted ceiling echoes their every word. After the voices recede, applause takes its place. It is not time travel, though. It is simply the students of the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University in the midst of preparing for Classical Week 2022.Classical Week, which is a celebration of Greek, Roman and other cultures of the ancient world, will see the students staging a production of "Phormio," a Roman Comedy by Terence. The cast and crew is made up of 13 students from the honors college, a majority of which are freshmen. The casting for the play took place shortly before classes began, and rehearsals began immediately after. Despite the tight schedule, the experience has been a positive one for the students involved. "I am having a lot of fun at rehearsals," said Alexander Ketzle, a freshman playing the titular role. "Phormio is such a hilarious character to play, and I think the audience will really enjoy that." There will be two performances, on Tuesday and Wednesday, both at 6 p.m. The play is free to attend and will be held in the Zacharias Village Courtyard on MSU's campus unless it is raining, in which case it will be moved to Bettersworth Auditorium. |
| New Starkville building code aims to address dilapidated structures | |
| Aldermen on Tuesday will host a second public hearing on revisions to the city's unified building codes, one of which would require property owners to repair boarded up buildings within 180 days. While City Planner Daniel Havelin said most of the changes to the codes -- last approved in 2019 -- are typo corrections and minor changes, a requirement for citizens to board up exposed structures and repair them within a certain time frame is among "one of the bigger changes." If approved, the new UDC would require anyone whose property is damaged extensively enough to need boarding up to obtain a permit from the city and board it up as quickly as possible. From there, the property owner has 180 days to make necessary repairs and remove the boarding. This would apply to residential and commercial properties. "We're trying to help eliminate the chance for vagrants, wild animals and children to get into these structures," said city building official Stein McMullen. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the current UDC has no requirements for adding or removing boards to exposed properties, and such properties not only cause a health and safety hazard but also negatively impact the value of surrounding properties. Failure to comply with the ordinance, if passed, could result in charges in municipal court. "Be a good neighbor," Spruill said. "That's really the crux of it." |
| Smoke shop owner jailed for selling weed gummies | |
| A person's adverse reaction to consuming THC gummies led to the Friday arrest of a local business owner. THC is the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana. Akeed Abdo Ahmed Saleh, 38, is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and operating without a city business license. He was arrested after Starkville police executed a search warrant at his business, Bulldog Smoke Shop at 303 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and found he was offering THC gummies and vape cartridges for sale that contained THC. Bulldog Smoke Shop is not a licensed cannabis dispensary, and the products contained higher THC levels than the .03 percent allowed by state law. A Starkville police press release said the products came to the department's attention after a reported adverse reaction. This is one of multiple recent reports of adverse reactions after consuming THC gummies, the release said, and incidents have not been isolated to Bulldog Smoke Shop. The release also advised consumers of such products to check packaging to make sure what they are buying is legal and from a known source. |
| Waterfront restaurant and seafood market waiting on lease | |
| Red tape continues to delay the finalization of a lease agreement between Thomas Genin of Ajax LLC, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Lowndes County Port Authority, further pushing a deal to sell the former Woody's on the Water building at the Columbus Marina. A new lease for the land owned by the Corps at 233 Marina Drive is still under review, Army Corps Manager of Operations Jonathan Johnsey said. He told The Dispatch the Corps is waiting for approval on a final version of the lease which includes revised dimensions for a downstairs seafood market and hours of operation. "We're waiting to hear back from the Office of Counsel in the District Office about the lease agreement," Johnsey said. The building sits on property owned by the Corps, which leases it to the Port, which itself subleases to tenants such as the adjacent marina. Genin, who also owns the Blind Tiger, an open-air bar and restaurant in Bay St. Louis, has been working with the Corps and the Port since February to iron out a lease before he will close on a separate deal with the city of Columbus to purchase the building itself. While the Corps and the Port lease and sub-lease the land, the city has owned the structure since February 2020, when then-owner John Young gifted it to the city. Genin's attorney, Lindsay Clemons, told The Dispatch they did not initially expect the lease agreement to take this long, noting when three parties are involved in the sale of one building, it becomes complicated. "This deal involves not only the city of Columbus but the Port Authority and the Corps of Engineers," Clemons said. "Jumping through all of the hoops of all of those different agencies has taken longer than we anticipated." |
| Company to create 60 direct jobs in Neshoba County | |
 | Two companies that make equipment to support the lumber industry are investing $8.14 million to open a facility here and will create 60 new jobs, officials announced Friday morning. The companies are The New York Blower Company, an industrial fan manufacturer, and Kiln Drying Solutions & Components, a company specializing in both hardwood and southern pine markets with leading-edge kiln drying technology systems. In making the announcement, Gov. Tate Reeves said, "New York Blower and KDS' new facility in Neshoba County will bring not only good-paying jobs but also new opportunities to the area's residents and local community. "We welcome them to Mississippi and look forward to the bright economic future of these companies and our state." The two companies manufacture batch and continuous lumber drying kilns, wood waste heat plants and industrial air movement products. New York Blower and KDS selected Mississippi as the location of its new Southeast operations due to the numerous sawmills that have announced new locations or expansions in Mississippi recently, officials said. The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for building improvements. The city of Philadelphia, Neshoba County and the Tennessee Valley Authority also are providing assistance with the project. |
| Heritage Foundation ranks Mississippi 6th overall in nation for education freedom, 1st in regulatory freedom | |
 | The Heritage Foundation released its 2022 edition of the Education Freedom Report Card to serve as a guide for assessing education freedom in each state. The report card measures four broad categories: School Choice, Transparency, Regulatory Freedom, and Spending. The categories encompass more than two dozen discrete factors. "This report card sets a high bar for achieving and maintaining education freedom in the states," the Heritage Foundation said. "Our goal is that this annual ranking of states will not only inform parents and policymakers of what their states do well and where they need improvement, but that it will spur necessary and lasting reform." In the 2022 edition of the Education Freedom Report Card, Mississippi is ranked 6th in the nation for education freedom. Mississippi ranked at the top of the list -- first overall among the states -- in regulatory freedom. A solid 40 percent of teachers in the state found their way to the classroom through alternative teacher certification options, and Mississippi allows full reciprocity of teacher liscensure. Heritage reported that no school districts in the Magnolia State employ a "chief diversity officer," and Mississippi does not use Common Core–aligned tests. Mississippi ranked at the top of the list – first overall among the states – in regulatory freedom. A solid 40 percent of teachers in the state found their way to the classroom through alternative teacher certification options, and Mississippi allows full reciprocity of teacher licensure. Heritage reported that no school districts in the Magnolia State employ a "chief diversity officer," and Mississippi does not use Common Core–aligned tests. |
| Climate change: What Mississippians can expect | |
 | Mississippi has 75,000 people living in regions at risk of coastal flooding. An additional 13,000 more could be at risk by 2050 because of the rising sea level, and that doesn't include residents living inland who've already withstood repeated devastating flooding. Those are conclusions in a report released in 2021 by The Climate Reality Project, founded by former Vice President Al Gore, and echoed by the Environmental Protection Agency. At the same time, some of the communities hardest hit by hurricanes, floods and wildfires are not getting government assistance to adapt to climate change or move out of harm's way, an analysis of federal data on natural disasters and related aid by Columbia Journalism Investigations and its partners. Diana Bernstein, assistant professor in the Division of Marine Science at the University of Southern Mississippi, said in Mississippi, the results of climate change, have been more flood-producing storms; more extreme weather events, such as tropical storms; and measurable sea-level rise in the Gulf of Mexico. On a planning level, Bernstein said she believes Mississippi's leaders need to do much more to account for many areas of Mississippi, especially along the coast and in flood-prone areas, becoming uninhabitable in the coming decades, and possibly sooner. "We also need to stop burning fossil fuels now if we want to have any realistic chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, especially in Mississippi," she said. |
| Voter challenges, records requests swamp election offices | |
 | Spurred by conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, activists around the country are using laws that allow people to challenge a voter's right to cast a ballot to contest the registrations of thousands of voters at a time. In Iowa, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller had handled three voter challenges over the previous 15 years. He received 119 over just two days after Doug Frank, an Ohio educator who is touring the country spreading doubts about the 2020 election, swung through the state. In Nassau County in northern Florida, two residents challenged the registrations of nearly 2,000 voters just six days before last month's primary. In Georgia, activists are dropping off boxloads of challenges in the diverse and Democratic-leaning counties comprising the Atlanta metro area, including more than 35,000 in one county late last month. Election officials say the vast majority of the challenges will be irrelevant because they contest the presence on voting rolls of people who already are in the process of being removed after they moved out of the region. Still, they create potentially hundreds of hours of extra work as the offices scramble to prepare for November's election. The voter challenges come as activists who believe in the election lies of former President Donald Trump also have flooded election offices across the country with public records requests and threats of litigation, piling even more work on them as they ready for November. |
| Panels in both chambers to take up presidential elector overhauls | |
 | With the calendar winding down on a 117th Congress that began with rioters storming the Capitol, lawmakers in both chambers on Friday announced plans to take up bills that overhaul a 135-year-old law governing the counting of presidential electoral votes. The House Rules Committee will take up a still-unseen bill Tuesday dubbed the Presidential Election Reform Act, and Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said on Thursday a floor vote could happen next week. Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif, and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., members of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attempt by then-President Donald Trump's supporters to stop Congress from counting electoral votes declaring Joe Biden won the election, have said they were working on a bill to overhaul the Electoral Count Act of 1887. The Senate Rules and Administration Committee also announced Friday it would mark up a bipartisan bill later this month revamping the 1887 law and clarifying what happens during presidential transitions. Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and ranking member Roy Blunt, R-Mo. said in a joint release the markup would be on Sept. 27, days before the Senate is due to leave town until after the November election. The panel previously held a hearing on the bill and heard from experts who suggested technical corrections and clarifying language. |
| Lindsey Graham Defends Abortion Proposal Despite GOP Worries | |
 | Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) defended his proposal to ban doctors from performing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, even as concerns continued to rise among fellow Republicans worried about the proposal's impact on the midterm elections. "I'm pro-life, even in an election year," Mr. Graham said on "Fox News Sunday." "And to those who suggest that being pro-life is losing politics, I reject that. So, listen to what I'm saying and you decide today who you're with." In June, the Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion, leaving the matter to the states and setting off a flurry of new abortion-related laws in state capitals to restrict or protect access. The ruling came as Republicans are hoping this fall to win back the Senate, currently split 50-50 and controlled by Democrats. About a dozen seats are considered competitive in the November contests. Mr. Graham introduced his bill on Tuesday, and it swiftly drew criticism from Democrats, who have rallied around abortion access following the court's ruling and termed his proposal a national abortion ban. Some antiabortion Republicans also gave the bill a chilly reception, saying that the proposal, which has no chance of passage, simply served to motivate Democratic voters and that Congress should stay out of the matter for now. Last week, several top Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), said abortion policy should be left to the states. Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.) echoed those comments Sunday. |
| Bill Clinton says GOP will find 'some new way to scare the living daylights out of swing voters' | |
 | Former President Clinton on Sunday said Democrats could maintain control of Congress, but Republicans will "just scare people" in the lead up to the midterms. "We could hold both these houses," Clinton said during an appearance on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS." "But we have to say the right things, and we have to note the Republicans always close well," the former president continued. "Why? Because they find some new way to scare the living daylights out of swing voters about something." Clinton told Zakaria the world is facing a battle against divisive populism, comparing the concession speech given by his wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election to former President Trump's refusal to concede in 2020. The former president warned of what he expects Republicans to make in their closing argument leading up to the midterm elections, now less than two months away. "That's what they did in 2021 -- where they made critical race theory sound worse than smallpox," Clinton said. "And it wasn't being taught in any public schools in America. But they didn't care. They just scare people." |
| Biden on '60 Minutes': 'The pandemic is over' | |
 | President Joe Biden said "the pandemic is over" in discussing Covid during an interview that aired on Sunday evening on CBS' "60 Minutes." "The pandemic is over," the president told Scott Pelley as they talked last week at the Detroit Auto Show. "We still have a problem with Covid. We're still doing a lot of work on it ... but the pandemic is over. if you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing." Biden's insistence on Sunday night that the pandemic is over caught several of his own health officials by surprise. The declaration was not part of his planned remarks ahead of the "60 Minutes" interview, two administration officials familiar with the matter told POLITICO. Later in the interview, Biden was clear that he didn't take the overall effects of the pandemic lightly. Biden's statement was the most definite one he has made about the pandemic since assuming the presidency in January 2021. He was less definitive when asked whether he planned to seek reelection. "Is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen," Biden said, saying he would make his decision after the November midterms. He did qualify his remarks by saying it had always been his "intention" to seek another term and explained that "election laws" would come into play if he were to announce his candidacy at this juncture. |
| Biden, in London, honors the queen and avoids diplomatic disputes | |
 | President Biden visited Westminster Hall here Sunday to view Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, his first official act of condolence during a brief visit to the United Kingdom to attend the funeral of Britain's longest-reigning monarch. As he stood before the coffin, Biden took a deep breath before making the sign of the cross and then placing his hand over his heart. With the visit, the president and first lady Jill Biden, became the latest -- and highest profile -- visitors to the royal lying in state that has drawn thousands of people in queues stretching for miles. "She was the same in person as her image," Biden said Sunday after signing a condolence book for her. "Decent, honorable and all about service." Biden's itinerary is being closely watched by the British public, from his arrival on Air Force One on Saturday night, to which British officials he chooses to engage, to his use of the presidential limousine known as "The Beast" while other world leaders are relegated to buses. With a new monarch in King Charles III and a recently installed prime minister in Liz Truss, the United Kingdom is experiencing an "extremely rare" period of political transition, and Britons see the "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States as a source of continuity and stability, said Brian Klass, associate professor of global politics at University College London. White House officials said Biden's trip would largely be a show of respect for the queen and the British people rather than a political or diplomatic mission, even as the gathering of hundreds of heads of state and dignitaries could surface a number of global flash points and highlight emerging tensions between London and Washington. |
| Trump rallies for Vance -- and himself -- in Ohio | |
| Former President Donald Trump on Saturday rallied for J.D. Vance in the key battleground state of Ohio, seeking to shore up his standing among Republicans with primary season over and a slew of candidates tacking to the middle ahead of the November midterms. After hailing Vance as an "incredible patriot who will take the fight to Biden and the radical left media every day," the former president quickly went on the offensive over reporting Saturday that Republican Senate candidates were trying to keep the former president at arm's length. Vance "is kissing my ass," Trump said, before touting his own support in the state he won by 8 points over Joe Biden in 2020. Trump also rallied for Vance in Ohio's Delaware County in April. Vance faces Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan to fill the seat vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. A USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll released Monday showed Vance and Ryan virtually tied. Speaking for nearly 2 hours in Youngstown's Covelli Centre, Trump was in turns bombastic and measured in his delivery, targeting transgender students in sports and calling for the death penalty for drug dealers and human traffickers while contrasting his vision of America with Democrats' on immigration, crime and abortion. Trump also talked at length about the ongoing investigations into his own conduct since leaving office, notably the seizure of classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago residence. |
| CPLS, MUW Fant Library to partner for Banned Books Week | |
| The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System (CLPLS) and Mississippi University for Women's Fant Memorial Library have partnered together, in addition to the MUW Department of Languages, Literature and Philosophy to focus on Banned Books-Week. Banned Books Week is held annually, with 2022's Banned Books Week taking place from Sept. 18-24. Programs at the MUW Fant Library include a Banned Books Scavenger Hunt that will take place throughout the week; a Banned Books Hybrid Read-A-Thon from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday in the Fant Library Tiered Classroom; Mini Banned Book Art in the Fant Library lobby on Tuesday; and a Banned Book Panel with a reception to follow on Wednesday, at 6 p.m., in the Fant Library Multipurpose Room. Participants will be able to create mini book covers of banned books and transform them into their own creations from bookmarks to earrings. The banned book panel was inspired by recent violations of library patrons' right to read across the country. "Banned Books Week is a celebration of our right to create, share, and have access to the diverse experiences, thoughts, and feelings of all peoples of the world," said Allene Nichols, assistant professor of English at MUW."The week serves as a way to combat information suppression by highlighting the books that have been challenged or banned. We, as a group of librarians and educators in Columbus, Mississippi, encourage everyone to participate in Banned Books Week and celebrate our freedom to communicate without censorship." |
| William Carey University hosts first Rural Health Summit | |
 | Physicians from across Mississippi gathered together with medical school students at William Carey University for a first-ever conference on rural healthcare. Organizers of the inaugural Rural Health Summit at WCU hope it will improve care in areas such as diabetes and mental health. The event began Friday night and wrapped up Saturday afternoon. "Most of our state is rural and the issues we face in rural America (are) different that we're going to face in urban areas, so it's important to set the table to have these kinds of conversation," said Italo Subbarao, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at WCU. The summit featured presentations by various physicians. More than a dozen different presentations and workshops took place during the event. "Whether I'm learning about healthcare differences, socio-economic status, I think all of those factors play a really big role in healthcare, and that's what we've been learning here during the summit," Monica Daswani said. It also included hands-on workshops. "Conferences like this really expose or highlight the importance of bringing in expertise and sharing it with the rest of the community, so that the population together with the school can actually promote health," said Stephen Farrow, executive director of the National Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute. |
| Chuck Karr named president at U. of Alabama in Huntsville | |
 | A former University of Alabama engineering school dean will now lead the University of Alabama in Huntsville on a permanent basis. The University of Alabama System trustees on Friday unanimously approved the appointment of Charles L. "Chuck" Karr as UAH president, a role he has filled on an interim basis since November 2021. "Furthering the success of UAH is a top priority for the University of Alabama System and the board of trustees," UA System Chancellor Finis St. John said in a news release. "Dr. Karr's sustained leadership will bring positive momentum and a strategic, unified vision to UAH as it continues its trajectory as a preeminent doctoral research university in one of America's fastest-growing and most robust regions." St. John said that during his tenure as interim president, Karr earned the backing of UAH faculty and staff, community leaders, elected officials, and other constituents. "The enthusiastic support within the institution and throughout the broader community is a proven testament to Dr. Karr and the success he has already achieved at UAH," St. John said. UA System leaders point out that 73% of UAH alums reside in Alabama, meaning that UAH supplies a highly educated workforce to the state and fills the community's workforce pipeline. |
| Alabama Supreme Court hears Young Americans for Liberty college student free speech case | |
 | A campus free speech case brought by a conservative student group at the University of Alabama at Huntsville was heard before the Alabama Supreme Court Thursday. The case is the first challenge brought under a 2019 state law that prohibits university policies from restricting "spontaneous speech" and from limiting speech activities to specific areas of campus. In July 2021, the UAH Young Americans for Liberty chapter and student member Joshua Greer filed a lawsuit against the university and UA System, claiming that its new campus speech policy was in violation of state law. "The bureaucrats in the University of Alabama system have made it clear that they view their students' rights to free expression as secondary to their own desire for control," JP Kirby, director of Student Rights at YAL, said in a statement Wednesday. The university's grounds use policy, created in 2020 and revised in Sept. 2021, enforces some speech restrictions that it says are "viewpoint neutral" and are designed to prevent disruption on campus. The school requires students to obtain a permit no less than three days in advance if they wish to organize an event on university grounds. It also defines specific areas of campus where protests or other demonstrations may be held without advance approval -- but only if the activity doesn't disrupt teaching and learning. According to court filings, Greer had never claimed to have actually been stopped from protesting on campus, but YAL members feared being disciplined individually or as a group if they violated the policy. |
| Sound of gunfire captured on surveillance camera during LSU student's killing; roughly a dozen gunshots heard in new recording | |
| Newly uncovered audio captured the moment someone fired a barrage of bullets at an LSU student while she was stopped at a railroad crossing. The attack left 21-year-old Allison Rice dead early Friday morning. Police found her around 2 a.m. inside the bullet-ridden car, stopped on the eastern side of the tracks on Government Street, just east of I-110. Someone who lives nearby told WBRZ on Friday they heard gunshots as the train was passing through. Glass and other markings at the scene suggested Rice's vehicle was turning around when someone fired through her windshield. Audio obtained a day later by The WBRZ Investigative Unit -- recorded on a nearby surveillance system -- captured the shooting. The attack was not seen on video, but in the nearly minute-long recording, about a dozen shots can be heard as a train passes through. After the hail of gunfire stops, the sound of a car's tires screeching can be heard. As of Saturday, the Baton Rouge Police Department had little information to give publicly about the investigation and said they were still chasing down potential leads. |
| New campus creamery up and running in Aggie Park | |
 | An old staple of Texas A&M University has returned in a new way at the recently opened Aggie Park across from Kyle Field -- a campus creamery. The Moore Family Creamery opened its doors Sept. 2, when Aggie Park debuted. The creamery serves a number of sweet treats, from classic ice cream cones to milkshakes and ice cream sandwiches. It is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. When plans for Aggie Park were announced, Moore said he joked maybe his family could have restrooms named after them. After talking with staff at The Association of Former Students about which park components needed fundraising, Moore said he and his son, Casey, stopped when the creamery came across the list. The new creamery hark back to a creamery open on A&M's campus for most of the 20th century. "It seemed like it would be a fun place and that it's bringing back a tradition that was here," Moore said. "It just seemed like the right spot for what our family wanted to do. And we got some restrooms in the deal, so it worked out." A campus creamery was a part of A&M since the early 20th century, according to The Battalion archives. In 1956, the creamery moved from west campus to a new building next to Evans Library. Milk for the creamery's ice cream came from cows at A&M's former Dairy Cattle Center on a 450-acre complex off F&B Road northwest of campus. The creamery was open until 1992 when it closed due to construction of the Evans Library Annex and was destroyed in 1995 to make room for the Central Campus Garage. |
| U. of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine celebrates $30 million addition | |
 | The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine's diagnostic laboratory will receive a roughly 34,000-square-foot addition, university officials said at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday afternoon. The $30 million project will aim to provide adequate biosecurity and biosafety protocols to meet current standards, according to written information provided at the event. The addition is set to open in 2024 for student and faculty use. The College of Veterinary Medicine's diagnostic laboratory, or VMDL, was constructed in 1974 and is around 21,000 square feet. The lab is considered a Level One laboratory in the National Animal Health Network. The health network tracks diseases that could be dangerous to livestock and people. As a Level One laboratory, the VMDL serves as the "boots on the ground, making sure (the state of Missouri doesn't) have disease outbreaks that get out of control," said Carolyn Henry, dean of the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. The university plans to hire more faculty, specifically people to work in vaccine development and bacteriology, UM System President Mun Choi said Friday. |
| Oakes family, VCU reach agreement that will change fraternity, sorority life | |
| The Adam Oakes family and Virginia Commonwealth University have reached an agreement that identifies changes to fraternity and sorority life. Both sides hope that the changes will become a "national model" for colleges across the U.S. "Approved today by the Fairfax County Circuit Court, the agreement also provides for the family to receive a monetary settlement of $995,000 from VCU and the Commonwealth of Virginia," according to a VCU news release on Friday. Oakes died from alcohol poisoning while he went through an underground pledging process for the Delta Chi chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University in February 2021. "I definitely think that allows for a more precautionary measure and not anybody can just do something like that," Evan Reed, a student at VCU, said. "It's basically just preventative measures to not allow something to happen like that so I think it's good." In a statement to NBC12, Adam's family said no amount of money is going to bring back Adam, but they feel VCU is making changes to prevent what happened to Adam from happening to anyone else in the future. |
| What admissions directors think of affirmative action, SATs, legacies and more | |
 | The 2022 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College and University Admissions Directors arrives at a time of significant change for admissions, with more change coming soon: The Supreme Court will hear two cases involving affirmative action next month. Standardized testing's importance in admissions is greatly diminished due to the pandemic (and the potential of the Supreme Court to rule against affirmative action). And a new way of doing admissions, in which students provide a portfolio but don't actually apply to colleges, is gaining favor among the majority of colleges that are not competitive in traditional admissions. At the same time, most colleges continue with their efforts to build their classes, going after groups of students they want. And colleges continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 36 percent of admissions officers report that their institution met its student enrollment goals this year prior to May 1. A little fewer than half of admissions officers expect their enrollment to be higher in the fall of 2022 than it was in fall of 2021. Only about one-fourth of admissions officers expect it to be lower. Of admissions officers whose institutions changed to test-optional or test-blind admissions, most want their college to remain test optional or test blind permanently. |
| Yeshiva University cancels all clubs after it was ordered to allow an LGBTQ group | |
 | Yeshiva University says it's pausing all student clubs on campus just days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a lower court ruling that ordered the school to recognize an LGBTQ group. In an unsigned email to students, the New York City school said that, considering upcoming Jewish holidays, "the university will hold off on all undergraduate club activities while it immediately takes steps to follow the roadmap provided by the US Supreme Court to protect YU's religious freedom. Warm wishes for a Shannah Tovah." Earlier this week the Supreme Court told Yeshiva to go back to New York state court to continue its legal battle with the YU Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ student group that wants to be officially recognized by the university. The YU Pride Alliance sued the school last year after Yeshiva refused to officially recognize it, claiming that it conflicted with the school's interpretation of the Torah. A New York state court ruled that the university had to recognize the club, and the Supreme Court has left that ruling in place for now. |
| Attempts to Ban Books Are Accelerating and Becoming More Divisive | |
 | Attempts to ban books are accelerating across the country at a rate never seen since tracking began more than 20 years ago, according to a new report from the American Library Association. So far in 2022, there have been attempts to ban or restrict access to 1,651 different titles, the group found, up from challenges to 1,597 books in 2021, the year with the highest number of complaints since the group began documenting book challenges decades ago. Book banning efforts have grown rapidly in number and become much more organized, divisive and vitriolic over the past two years, splitting communities, causing bitter rifts on school and library boards, and spreading across the country through social media and political campaigns. Public libraries have been threatened by politicians and community members with a loss of funding for their refusal to remove books. Members of the Proud Boys, an extremist right-wing group, showed up at a school board meeting in Illinois, where book access was on the agenda, and at a drag queen story hour in California. Librarians have been accused of promoting pedophilia. In its recent analysis, the library association cited 27 instances of police reports being filed against library staff over the content of their shelves. With the approach of midterm elections, challenges to books and the conflicts that surround them are only likely to escalate. |
| A guiding beacon for policy making | |
| The Rt. Rev. Brian Seage, the 10th Episcopal Bishop of Mississippi, writes: One of the things I find most compelling about Jesus was his ability to see people beyond their stereotypical roles in society, and, in turn, his ability to challenge others to see their neighbors through a different lens. His primary vehicle for challenging the status quo in his day was through story. Sometimes this was through telling parables and other times it was directly challenging the assumptions held about the people right in front of them. For those of us who continue to count ourselves as Jesus' disciples, I believe it is essential that we also challenge ourselves to see our neighbors through the lens of their stories, and not the established societal stereotypes. As our state leaders and policymakers gather in September to consider the needs of Mississippi women and children and invite public input, I hope they will do this, too. It is easy to fall into the traps of paraded out tropes and stereotypes about low-income mothers and social safety net benefits. When we attend to the specificity of the individual stories, we are reminded that behind every number and statistic is a human being who was made in the image of God. As we move into these policy discussions, I hope the stories of mothers in Mississippi will be a guiding beacon to your policy making. I hope you will, like Jesus, allow the stories of those on the margins of our society, and those who are most often ignored, to challenge you to see the world through a different lens. For, when we listen to the stories of families, they defy the tired narratives and stereotypes. We see that there is nuance and individuality in each person's story and that our policies, often created in isolation and without knowing these stories, fail to take into consideration real-world consequences and can harm, rather than support families. |
| Sen. Wicker the only Mississippi Republican to weigh in on national abortion ban proposal | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker was the only member of Mississippi's Republican congressional delegation to respond to questions this week about a proposal to impose a nationwide ban on abortions after 15 weeks. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, recently proposed the 15-week ban in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the national right to an abortion in June in a watershed case from Mississippi. The ruling -- Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization -- meant the decision on whether to allow or to restrict abortions would be for each individual state to make. The fact that the state of Mississippi is in a real sense ground zero for the current abortion debate, thanks to the Dobbs case, makes the comments of the state's congressional delegation relevant. But were all silent -- except for Wicker. "The Senate Republican conference is unified in seeking as many pro-life protections as possible for all Americans, but this goal has historically shown to be most effectively achieved when legislated at the local level," Wicker said in a statement. Graham, of course, is touting national legislation on abortion. |
SPORTS
| Dawgs Upset Razorbacks, Anderson Breaks MSU Career Shutouts Record | |
| The unbeaten Mississippi State soccer program cruised to its seventh win of the season on Friday night, upsetting the #14 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-2-1), 2-0, off a pair of goals from reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Maggie Wadsworth. Junior goalkeeper Maddy Anderson also led the backline to record its seventh shutout of the season. The clean sheet successfully moved the Bulldog into sole possession of the MSU career shutouts record at 13 total. "[It was a] great way to start conference play – playing against a very good Arkansas team," head coach James Armstrong said. "I couldn't be prouder of the girls - we've still got a lot of things to work on, but we're going to enjoy tonight. I'm incredibly proud of the total team effort. [It was a] great home crowd as well, so overall, we're very happy." State's two Freshman of the Week honorees synced up in the first 25 minutes of the match to give the Dawgs the 1-0 lead. At the top of the box, freshman Alivia Buxton laid the ball off to Wadsworth who took one touch before firing a right-footed rocket that shot past the Razorback keeper, and into the back of the net. It would be the fourth game-winner of Wadsworth's young career as a Bulldog and the second assist of the season for Buxton. State will take close to a full week off before making its first conference road trip of the season next Thursday (Sept. 22) against the Texas A&M Aggies (5-2-2). That match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT. |
| Mike Leach: Mississippi State 'explosive but inconsistent' in loss at LSU | |
| Mike Leach knows having an explosive football team can be a blast. "Explosive's fun," Leach said after Saturday's 31-16 loss at LSU. "Explosive, you can get on a run and hit a bunch of dingers on somebody." The baseball metaphor is fitting for a Mississippi State team used to making home-run plays. But in the second half Saturday, the Bulldogs swung for the fences and came up empty nearly every time. It added up to three straight touchdowns for LSU in the fourth quarter and MSU's first loss of the year. The consistency the Bulldogs had begun to find in two wins early in the season was suddenly gone. "We're explosive; we're just inconsistent," Leach said. "We've got to be a consistent team." MSU seemed that way when it followed up wins over Memphis and Arizona with two first-half touchdowns to get out to a 13-0 lead. Jo'quavious Marks ran for a 37-yard score in the first quarter, and Rara Thomas "Mossed" a Tigers defender in the second to put the Bulldogs up two scores. Then it began to unravel. MSU had two turnovers -- a fumbled punt by Austin Williams and an interception from Will Rogers -- as LSU scored 31 of the game's final 34 points. The Bulldogs' explosiveness had turned against them at the worst time. "That'll catch up to you if you're not consistent," Leach said. "We've got to coach consistency." |
| Mississippi State football's Austin Williams sets program record for games played | |
| When Saturday's matchup between Mississippi State football and LSU kicked off, a record was broken. MSU's Austin Williams has appeared in 53 games -- the most in program history. He is one of eight Bulldogs to appear in at least 52 games and one of 31 to play in 50. He entered the contest with six receptions for 32 yards and two touchdowns this season. In his career, he has 122 catches for 1,277 yards and 14 touchdowns. Williams, an inside receiver, joined the Bulldogs as an early enrollee in 2017 out of Ocean Springs High School. By redshirting his freshman season and using the NCAA's extra COVID-19 season, Williams is in his sixth season at Mississippi State. Mike Leach is the third coach Williams has played under in Starkville. He was recruited by Dan Mullen and stayed throughout Joe Moorhead's two-year tenure. Williams earned a finance degree in three years and is pursuing a second master's degree. |
| Bowling Green football upsets Marshall in overtime | |
| This time, it only took one overtime. Bowling Green, a week removed from the second-longest football game in the history of major college football, avoided the booby traps that doomed it against Eastern Kentucky to score a 34-31 upset over Marshall on Saturday night at Doyt Perry Stadium. "We found a way to win, plain and simple," coach Scot Loeffler said. "That's what's great about these kids ... there's no quit in this team, and I'm proud of them." It was another wild game, albeit a brief one by the Falcons' new standards. Bowling Green survived a rare penalty, a false ending, and an on-field melee to take down a team coming off a seismic upset of Notre Dame on the road. Senior quarterback Matt McDonald was the star, completing 27 of 45 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns. He added 38 yards on the ground in five attempts, picking up the slack on a day where the Falcons rushed for just 77 yards overall. His inauspicious start, however, gave no hint of coming attractions. McDonald completed just four of his first 12 passes. Bowling Green picked up a single first down in the first quarter, during which it was outgained 209-21. Gradually, however, the Falcons crept back into the game. |
| Deion Sanders says Grambling State attendance was 'pathetic' | |
| Jackson State put together a dominant second half against Grambling State on Saturday night, but Deion Sanders wasn't quite satisfied. He wasn't satisfied with his team's first-half performance, and he wasn't happy with the crowd at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in JSU's 66-24 win. At least the Grambling State crowd. "The Jackson turnout was phenomenal," Sanders said. "The Grambling turn out was pathetic." Sanders continued to explain his issue. "We always talking 'we got y'all and we're for the culture. Where they at?" Sanders asked rhetorically. "Then when we get up by two touchdowns, they runnin' for the cars. That's what I mean by this "traditional mess? Tradition, tradition...what tradition? When a team gets up on you leave? When we got up on Miami...I mean FAM...the band left? That's not tradition. That's front-runners. That's what's got to change." The Grambling State band released a statement on Saturday night explaining its departure was due to severe heat, as several members experienced heat exhaustion in the stands. Two weeks earlier Florida A&M's Marching 100 reported that it was not allowed back in the stands due to heat exhaustion during the Orange Blossom Classic. Final attendance numbers were not available at press time. Another thing that Sanders didn't like: his team's first-half performance. JSU led 21-17 at halftime, but he felt like it could have gotten more, from quarterback Shedeur Sanders in particular. |
| 'SEC Nation' to feature Southwest Classic | |
| The pregame show for SEC Network will highlight an Arkansas game for the second time in four games next week. "SEC Nation" will originate from outside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, prior to the Razorbacks' game against Texas A&M on Saturday. The two-hour show begins at 9 a.m. Arkansas (3-0, 1-0 SEC) is ranked No. 10 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll. Texas A&M (2-1) is ranked No. 23 ahead of its SEC opener against the Razorbacks. It will be the first time "SEC Nation" has aired from the neutral-site Southwest Classic since the show launched in 2014. Arkansas and Texas A&M have played in Arlington each season since 2014, with the exception of a 2020 in College Station, Texas. "College GameDay," the top-rated college football pregame show, will originate from Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday prior to a matchup between No. 11 Tennessee and No. 21 Florida. |
| Paul Finebaum on Auburn: 'The next coach will understand the SEC, unlike Bryan Harsin' | |
| It's not a question of if but when, according to Paul Finebaum. The SEC Network analyst was talking, of course, about the future status of Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin, who just saw his Tigers loss to Penn State 41-12. "By tomorrow, on our show and across the country, if Auburn comes up, it will not longer be, 'Is Bryan Harsin going to survive, the questions are now who will take his place?'" Finebaum said. "And, you'll get the usual suspects." Those would be, he said, Liberty and former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, who Finebaum said "would've gotten the job last February had they pulled off the coup." Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is another one to consider. "He's on the short list," Finebaum said. "Never seems to move to the top of the list, but he's on the short list. Finebaum also added Kentucky coach Mark Stoops. The pressure on Harsin has only increased. The loss to Penn State on Saturday was Auburn's fifth straight to a Power Five team. On top of the four turnovers, the Tigers' offense was unable to establish a consistent rushing attack and allowed a large amount of pressure in the passing game. "The next coach will understand the SEC, unlike Bryan Harsin," Finebaum said. Auburn hosts Missouri in its SEC opener Saturday. |
| Kentucky notifies NCAA of violations for unperformed work | |
| Kentucky has self-reported violations to the NCAA following an investigation into athletes being compensated for part-time work that was not performed at the university hospital. The school asked that the violations be processed as Level III in the report, which was released Saturday but submitted Sept. 3 to NCAA reinstatement director Jerry Vaughn. The school began an investigation after learning in February of possible violations, which were found to have occurred between spring 2021 and March. It was limited to a "small number" of athletes who concealed their use of a clock-in/clock-out system while working in the hospital's patient transport department. The report does not specify which teams the athletes were from, but said the part-time jobs "could require physical strength and might be suitable for athletes." Players' names and how many were involved are redacted from the six-page document, which says a hospital supervisor denied knowing of athletes recording hours not worked. The hospital's human resources department became involved and worked with its chief nursing officer to suspend players from the hospital, along with the supervisor. Some but not all hours were recorded but not worked, the document noted. |
| Shane Beamer apologizes for reaction to Title IX recognition at South Carolina football game | |
| South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer apologized Sunday for shouting at women athletes being honored to get off the field during the Gamecocks' 48-7 loss against Georgia on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. During a TV timeout between the first and second quarter, South Carolina invited all of its female athletes to be recognized in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which occurred earlier this year. The large group was slow exiting the Gamecocks' end zone where the ceremony occurred, and ESPN's broadcast of the game showed a visibly aggravated Beamer shouting "Get off the field," at the athletes. Beamer said he wasn't told about the ceremony in the end zone and that officials told him to have his players lined up as soon as the TV timeout concluded. The Gamecocks had decided to attempt a fourth-down conversion on the upcoming play, and Beamer said he reacted emotionally because the delay allowed Georgia to see the offensive formation for several seconds before the snap. "We had a critical, critical fourth down decision to make ... the whole time I'm not even paying attention to what's going on down in the endzone," Beamer said. "We were so immersed in trying to make a decision on what we were going to do ... I was worried about what was going on in our own offensive huddle. I apologize to anyone that I offended. That was just my initial reaction." The clip of Beamer's response went viral after Gamecocks soccer player Jyllissa Harris responded on Twitter that criticized South Carolina for allowing the group of athletes to delay the game. |
| LSU says it's taking action after women's tennis player caught using racial slur | |
 | LSU says it is "taking immediate and deliberate steps" after a LSU women's tennis player used a racial slur in a video that was posted to social media, sparking outrage. Maddie Scharfenstein, a freshman walk-on from Slidell, was filmed saying the slur and later laughing about it with other people. Scharfenstein has not played in a match for LSU. The team's fall schedule began Friday with an invitational against Virginia. "We are aware of the social media post concerning one of our student-athletes, and we are taking immediate and deliberate steps to address it," LSU said in a statement released Saturday. "We will not condone behavior that is in violation of our core values and expectations of student conduct." An LSU official said the school is launching an internal review of the incident. LSU hired Taylor Fogleman as the new women's tennis coach this summer after former coaches Julia and Mike Sell left LSU in April to "pursue other opportunities." Some players had accused them of looking the other way when given reports of sexual abuse and domestic violence. |
| Oregon apologizes to BYU fans for profane, anti-Mormon chant | |
| The University of Oregon and its student section have apologized to Brigham Young University fans after they were subjected to an offensive chant during Saturday's football game. The Salt Lake Tribune reports some Ducks fans were filmed yelling a profane chant against Mormons during the second half of the 41-20 Oregon victory over BYU. The video was posted on social media, prompting Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to tweet, "Religious bigotry alive and celebrated in Oregon." The Pit Crew, which represents Oregon's student section, issued an apology on Twitter, saying, "We do not condone or support any hateful speech directed towards one's religion and are ashamed of those who participated." The University of Oregon also issued a statement apologizing for the chants. "There is no place for hate, bias or bigotry at the University of Oregon, said Kris Winter, the university's interim vice president for the Division of Student Life. "These actions are simply unacceptable. We will investigate, and we call on our students and campus community to refuse to accept or tolerate this type of behavior." |
| Biden to host World Series champion Atlanta Braves at White House | |
| President Joe Biden will host the Atlanta Braves at the White House on Sept. 26 to celebrate the team's 2021 World Series victory. Biden has hosted several championship teams at the White House since taking office last year, with cheerful apolitical celebrations that have departed from the style of his predecessor, who turned the ceremonies into cultural flashpoints. Donald Trump barred Steph Curry from attending a White House ceremony to celebrate the Golden State Warriors' NBA championship in 2017 after he expressed concern with the then-president's policies and rhetoric. And Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a celebration at the White House for the team's Super Bowl victory after most players and coaches said they would boycott the visit after he demanded that NFL players stand during the national anthem. The Braves, of course, are no stranger to political attention. After Georgia's Republican-led Legislature rewrote the state's election laws in 2021, Biden and other politicians pushed Major League Baseball to boycott the All-Star game if it was still held at Truist Park. When the league moved the game to Denver, Trump quickly called on his supporters to “boycott baseball” and other Republican officials lashed out at the league. Still, the former president attended Game 4 of the World Series, holding court in a suite with Senate hopeful Herschel Walker. |
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