| Friday, April 14, 2023 |
| Polk statue, new mascot to be unveiled during 37th Super Bulldog Weekend | |
 | Super Bulldog Weekend is about to take over the city for its 37th year. Today through Sunday, Mississippi State University's campus will be packed with fans, alumni and visitors to enjoy events put on by the university and businesses in the city. The weekend will revolve around sports, especially the spring Maroon and White spring football game at noon on Saturday and the Bulldogs' three-game baseball series against Ole Miss at Dudy Noble Field. The football game, along with all women's tennis, softball and volleyball games will be free to spectators throughout the weekend. But university officials are also planning other events to get people in the spirit. Prior to the first game against Ole Miss on Friday, university officials will be unveiling a statue of Ron Polk in the Adkerson Plaza of Dudy Noble Field at 3 p.m. The university will also be unveiling its new live mascot Saturday, with the Passing of the Harness from former mascot "Jak" to Bully XXII, "Dak," during the spring football game at Davis Wade Stadium. Later Saturday, MSU baseball fans can experience an on-field concert after the game ends at Dudy Noble. Headliner Brett Eldredge, a country music star, will be playing on the field after the final inning of the Ole Miss game, with no additional ticket cost. But the university is not the only one celebrating Super Bulldog Weekend. Starkville businesses are also trying to get in on the action by sprucing up, decorating, and hosting sales throughout the weekend. |
| Mississippi State to unveil Ron Polk statue Friday afternoon | |
 | Mississippi State will be unveiling a statue in honor of legendary baseball coach Ron Polk Friday afternoon. Polk, known as the "Father of Southeastern Conference Baseball," coached Mississippi State from 1976-1997 and then again from 2002-2008. During his 29 years as top dog in Starkville, Polk compiled a 1,373-590 overall record while leading the Bulldogs to six College World Series appearances. Polk, who now serves as a special assistant to Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon, also holds the record for most SEC wins with 419. He has been inducted into six different Hall of Fames, including the National College Baseball Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. The bronze statue of Polk will be unveiled outside the Adkerson Plaza Entrance of Dudy Noble Field at 3 p.m. CT just hours before the Bulldogs take on rival Ole Miss -- a team he went 90-55 against when wearing the maroon and white. |
| Small satellite project could prove giant leap for MSU | |
| A group of 35 Mississippi State University students is planning to put the state's first-ever satellite into orbit. CubeSat MSU is a team of aerospace engineering students aiming to launch a small, cube-shaped satellite into space through the NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative, a national program that provides the opportunity for educational institutions to launch small satellites. The satellite the club plans to build will cost about $70,000, and it will use light imaging to detect wildfires from space. According to Statista, a data collection website, there are more than 5,645 satellites in orbit. The United States owns 3,433, but none of those come from Mississippi. CubeSat MSU president Bentley Hillis and Jake Parr, leader for the groups guidance, navigation and communication team, told The Dispatch they and their colleagues decided to start the project in 2019 for two reasons: There wasn't a student program at MSU to build satellites, and they wanted to be the first in the Magnolia state to do it. "Mississippi is one of about six states that have yet to launch their own satellite and we wanted to fill that role and be the first one that comes from our state," Parr said. "The main objective for us is to educate our members and launch the first satellite from the state of Mississippi. So it's always kind of been a State pride goal." |
| A STEM Professional's Journey: Navy's First Female Supercomputing Director | |
| Naval Oceanography is home to the U.S. Navy's first female Director at the Navy DoD Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC), Ms. Christine Cuicchi. Considering the vast amounts of data collected, analyzed and distributed around the globe through Naval Oceanography's unique capabilities and techniques, the agency is fortunate the tall order of business and technical skill to manage and store that data rests in the hands of Cuicchi. Upon first look at her professional accomplishments of operating the DoD's largest supercomputer; or challenging leadership roles where Cuicchi shepherds 30 petaFLOPs of computing power to over 3,000 RDT&E, S&T*, and acquisition professional throughout DoD -- it is obvious her professional posture is grand and proven. Yet, the full extent of Cuicchi's superpowers exceed beyond technical skills; it's her effect on people that seems to be as impressive as her professional-self. The Aerospace Engineer and Mississippi State University graduate wrote an inspirational detail of her journey as a STEM professional into the world of military and defense. The written piece was featured with the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis and Women in High Performance Computing. |
| Mississippi city faces tough road rebuilding after tornado | |
 | The scent of the Mississippi Delta's soil took hold of Charlie Weissinger's psyche at an early age, and he has chased it ever since. Weissinger, 37, works at a bank to support his farming addiction in Rolling Fork, where his family has grown cotton, corn, soybeans, rice or wheat since 1902. "It's something about the lifestyle, of being able to watch something that you're able to create from start to finish," he said. "It's so strange that you can do everything right, and then Mother Nature can take it away. And so it's a constant battle of man's will versus Mother Nature, of trying to see how well you can do in the face of adversity." Weissinger's farm was mostly spared when a deadly tornado tore through Rolling Fork last month as it carved a path of destruction through parts of western and northern Mississippi. But many in the predominantly Black farming community weren't as fortunate. The twister killed 13 of Rolling Fork's roughly 1,700 residents, destroyed about 300 homes and businesses and laid waste to entire blocks, leaving many to wonder whether their small-town bonds and shared heritage will be enough to convince one another to stay and try to rebuild. |
| Q&A: Why preventing flooding in Mississippi's Yazoo Backwater is easier said than done | |
 | Loss of home, relocation and rebuilding have become a part of life for residents in the area, but coming up with a solution has been controversial. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced they would work together on a pumping system that could prevent flooding, but would also devastate the surrounding environment. The Vicksburg Post has been covering the situation and how it could impact residents. Anna Guizerix, the paper's managing editor, spoke with the Gulf States Newsroom's Danny McArthur to discuss how the South Delta got to this point and what's at stake. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. |
| Some Are Jailed in Mississippi for Months Without a Lawyer. The State Supreme Court Just Barred That | |
 | Poor defendants in Mississippi are routinely jailed for months, and sometimes even years, without being appointed an attorney due to the state's notoriously dysfunctional public defender system. The Mississippi Supreme Court now says this practice must end. The state's highest court approved a mandate on Thursday that criminal defendants who can't afford their own attorney must always have one before an indictment. Across the state, defendants facing felony charges lose their appointed attorneys after their initial court appearances, where a judge rules whether they can be released from jail before trial. In many counties, defendants aren't appointed new lawyers until they're indicted, a process that can take years. Justice system reformers call this gap the "dead zone." In the Mississippi Delta's Coahoma County, Duane Lake spent almost two years behind bars without bond and without an attorney while waiting to be indicted on triple murder charges following a brutal killing. After he was indicted, he spent four more years in jail before he was acquitted at trial in November 2021. There are others like him, trapped in a system that leaves defendants who can't afford their own attorneys with no advocate to ask a judge to reduce their bonds or dismiss their cases as they wait in jail to be indicted. Meanwhile, prosecutors face no deadlines to bring cases before a grand jury. But in February, a three-member committee of the Mississippi Supreme Court requested public comments on a proposed change to the state's rules of criminal procedure. It would require that defendants who can't afford their own attorneys be represented the entire time they're awaiting indictment. The Supreme Court approved the rule change Thursday. It takes effect in July. |
| Brett Favre says the welfare agency didn't help satisfy his volleyball pledge, but Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Buffett and others did | |
| NFL legend Brett Favre says Mississippi's welfare department didn't help satisfy his pledge to fund a new volleyball stadium at University of Southern Mississippi. But current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a charity started by Margaritaville-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and former Gov. Phil Bryant's political action committee did. Favre has made national news in recent years for tapping his home state's welfare agency to raise funds for the stadium, but an email Mississippi Today recently obtained shows he also raised at least $180,000 for the facility from at least four charities. These are organizations that claim to increase economic, educational or workforce opportunities for families in need. One of the key allegations against Favre in Mississippi's welfare scandal is that he personally benefited from a scheme to divert federal funds intended to help poor Mississippians to build a volleyball stadium at his alma mater. Mississippi Department of Human Services, which is suing Favre and dozens of others to recoup the misspent funds, draws this conclusion because, they allege, Favre personally committed funds to the project, so any welfare money used to offset that obligation was a financial benefit to Favre. In Favre's latest reply to MDHS in early April, his attorneys accuse MDHS of using legal fallacies in its civil charges against Favre. |
| Mitch McConnell will return to the Senate next week, more than a month after concussion | |
| Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is returning to work Monday, more than a month after he was hospitalized for a concussion after a fall, he said on his Twitter account. McConnell said Thursday he would return to the U.S. Senate next week. He was released from the hospital a few days after his fall, but underwent rehabilitation, which could have lasted up to two weeks, a source familiar with his condition previously told USA TODAY. "I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday. We've got important business to tackle and big fights to win for Kentuckians and the American people," McConnell tweeted. McConnell stayed in touch via text message with the No. 2 Senate Republican, Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., but they had not spoken directly. The announcement comes four days after the shooting in Louisville's Old National Bank and the GOP leader said he and his wife, Elaine Chao, were sending prayers to the victims and their families. He also praised the work done by the Louisville Metro Police Department. |
| Welcomed in Ireland, 'Cousin Joe' Biden jokes of staying | |
| In Ireland this week, well-wishers have lined the streets to catch a mere glimpse of President Joe Biden. Photos of his smiling face are plastered on shop windows, and one admirer held a sign reading, "2024 -- Make Joe President Again." No wonder Biden keeps joking about sticking around. Back home, Biden's approval rating is near the lowest point of his presidency. And even some fellow Democrats have suggested he shouldn't run for reelection. On trips within the U.S. to discuss his economic and social policies, Biden often gets a smattering of admirers waving as he drives by, and friendly crowds applaud his speeches. But the reception doesn't compare with the overwhelming adoration he's getting here in the old sod. Expect more of the same on Friday, when Biden wraps up his visit to Ireland by spending a day in County Mayo in western Ireland, where his great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt lived until he left for the United States in 1850. He'll also visit a hospice center there. The locals have been abuzz for weeks with preparation for Biden's visit, giving buildings a new coat of paint and hanging American flags from shopfronts. It's a dynamic that most of Biden's predecessors also have faced: The world abroad tends to love American presidents. Back home, not always. Not so much. |
| Guardsman Is Charged Over Leaked Documents | |
 | A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested in connection with a leak of purported highly classified intelligence documents was charged on Friday morning as federal prosecutors assembled their criminal case against him. Prosecutors charged Jack Teixeira with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, in a brief hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Mr. Teixeira, 21 years old, was ordered to be held in custody until a detention hearing next Wednesday. Mr. Teixeira, shackled and wearing a tan prison jumpsuit, had entered the courtroom in Boston shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, and conferred with his public defender ahead of the hearing. A person in the courtroom yelled, "Love you, Jack," as he was led away after the hearing. Federal agents on Thursday arrested Mr. Teixeira in Dighton, Mass., capping a fast-moving investigation into the disclosure of sensitive documents, a security breach that posed a threat to U.S. ties to some allies and efforts to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Mr. Teixeira holds the rank of airman first class in an intelligence unit of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and is a junior Air Force communications specialist, according to his service record. Attorney General Merrick Garland, in announcing the arrest on Thursday, declined to elaborate on how a junior airman would have gained access to some of the U.S. government's most closely guarded documents. |
| Russia's commando units gutted by Ukraine war, U.S. leak shows | |
 | The war in Ukraine has gutted Russia's clandestine spetsnaz forces, and it will take Moscow years to rebuild them, according to classified U.S. assessments obtained by The Washington Post. The finding, which has not been previously reported, is among a cache of sensitive materials leaked online through the messaging platform Discord. U.S. officials attributed their assessments to Russian commanders' overreliance on the specialized units, which have been put to use as part of front-line infantry formations. Those formations, like the Ukrainians, have suffered massive numbers of dead and wounded. Typically, spetsnaz personnel are assigned the sorts of stealthy, high-risk missions -- including an apparent order to capture Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky -- for which they receive some of the Russian military's most advanced training. But when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion last year, senior commanders eager to seize momentum and skeptical of their conventional fighters' prowess deviated from the norm, ordering elite forces into direct combat, according to U.S. intelligence findings and independent analysts who have closely followed spetsnaz deployments. The rapid depletion of Russia's commando units, observers say, shifted the war's dynamic from the outset, severely limiting Moscow's ability to employ clandestine tactics in support of conventional combat operations. U.S. officials believe that the staggering casualties these units have sustained will render them less effective, not only in Ukraine but also in other parts of the world where Russian forces operate, according to the assessments, which range in date from late 2022 to earlier this year. |
| Got Milk? Not This Generation | |
 | To the marketers trying to reboot milk as a sports drink for Generation Z, Yvonne Zapata seemed like the perfect ambassador. An exuberant 24-year-old marathoner from Brooklyn, she describes herself as a proud Latina runner. Her nickname is Miss Outside. The Milk Processor Education Program signed her to its 26.2 project, an ambitious effort to provide training, gear, advice and other support to every woman who runs a marathon in the United States this year. In March, Ms. Zapata's face lit up a giant Times Square billboard. She starred in her own video. Her portrait is one of several anchoring the Gonna Need Milk website. There is only one problem: Ms. Zapata would rather drink oat milk. "Dairy milk is good," she explained in an interview, "but I feel like realistically it's unhealthy." Ms. Zapata is part of the Not Milk generation, teenagers and young adults who grew up ordering milk alternatives at coffee shops and toting water bottles everywhere. Turned off by the no-fat and low-fat milks served at school, worried about climate change and steeped in the increasing skepticism toward the dairy industry on social media, many of them have never embraced milk. Last year, members of Generation Z bought 20 percent less milk than the national average, according to the consumer market research company Circana. The dairy industry isn't banking on nostalgia to save the day. It has embarked on a full-frontal marketing assault intended to do what the "Got Milk?" mustaches on celebrities like Taylor Swift and Dennis Rodman did for previous generations. |
| Ted Koppel remembers 20th anniversary of Iraqi conflict | |
 | Twenty years after the United States invaded Iraq, Gen. Buford Blount and award-winning journalist/war correspondent Ted Koppel were on the campus of University of Southern Mississippi to reflect on those events in 2003. "I remember that it went much more smoothly than I think anyone dared to hope when we began," Koppel said. Hundreds joined Blount and Koppel for their lecture detailing the U.S. decision to invade Iraq, claiming that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction; a decision Koppel says he believes was not necessary. "The Iraqis did not have weapons of mass destruction," Koppel said. "And, if they did have some, which we never found, they didn't use them." The insight was part of a USM lecture series. Koppel said in his more than 50 years covering the U.S. military, there was a lesson he wanted those in attendance to learn. "The lesson that has to be learned, I think, is before we send our precious young men and women into combat, we need to be awfully sure that they are going for the right reason," Koppel said. |
| What could make a hoax call reporting a school shooting worse? Social media | |
 | It was 9:47 A.M. on Feb. 22 when the dispatch center of the Twin Falls Police Department in Idaho got the call. There were shots fired at Canyon Ridge High School, just a few miles north of the station. At least one person was injured in a classroom, and the shooter was still on the loose, according to the man on the other end of the line. "Officers were there onsite immediately," Lt. Craig Stotts told NPR. "And our goal is to, first of all, stop the killing and then stop the dying. And we go in and take care of the threat." Officers quickly set up a base of operations at the Church of the Nazarene about 500 yards from the school and got to work coordinating with the Sherriff's Office, the Fire Department, Magic Valley Paramedics and their ambulances and helicopters, the SWAT teams, and, eventually, a horde of panicked parents. For the next hour, citizens of Twin Falls endured the sheer trauma of waiting. The school's 1,200 or so students cowered in classrooms and bathrooms, texting parents and friends and posting on social media. Law enforcement teams swept the school's two floors three times But to everyone's shock, police found nothing. By nearly 11 a.m., Lt. Stotts was confident: there was no shooter. Twin Falls was the latest victim of what's called swatting -- a hoax emergency call designed to trigger a massive law enforcement response to an imaginary threat. Swatting isn't necessarily a new phenomenon. But the call to Twin Falls doesn't appear to be an isolated incident, and it doesn't appear to have originated locally. According to a series of previous reports from NPR, these kinds of fake bomb threats and hoax school shooting calls have been happening for nearly a year at hundreds of schools across the country -- and they share a pattern similar to what happened at Canyon Ridge. |
| Christopher Roberts recognized as AU president in traditional installation ceremony | |
 | After nearly a year in office, Christopher Roberts was installed as president of Auburn University Thursday afternoon at the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center. Roberts hit the ground running as the 21st president of Auburn University in May, following the exit of Jay Gogue. Thursday's installation ceremony was a part of a long-standing academic tradition. "For me, today's ceremony is not about the presidency." Roberts said in his speech. "Its about the university. It represents an opportunity to recognize our culture of excellence and the impact that we intend to have on the world." The installation was officiated by Gov. Kay Ivey and Bob Dumas, the president pro tem of the Auburn Board of Trustees. Ivey, a 1967 graduate of Auburn, said it was "indeed a good day for our beloved Auburn University." Roberts took the time to outline Auburn's next strategic plan. He introduced three pillars that he plans for the university to focus on in the coming years. The first is for Auburn to be known for creating the best student-centered experiences in the nation. The second is elevating Auburn University's impact through research extension and outreach. The third is a commitment to a culture of excellence. Roberts also stated his goal over the next few years is to double the university’s research enterprise. |
| U.S. Sen. Warnock promotes farm bill on tour of UGA Iron Horse farm | |
 | U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock found himself in the cab of a John Deere tractor Thursday morning riding a straight path across a field. The tractor drove itself and didn't need help from Warnock or his passenger. The self-driving tractor ride and a demonstration of drones took place at the University of Georgia's Iron Horse Farm in Greene County, a place recognized by most travelers along Georgia Highway 15 for the legendary 12-foot-tall statue of the Iron Horse that has been in place since the 1950s. Warnock visited the farm as part of his promotion of a national farm bill as he gathered input on the Precision Agriculture Act, a piece of legislation he is promoting to include in the 2023 Farm Bill that Congress will discuss in the near future. Warnock, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, heard from several area farmers about their experience with precision agriculture technology during what was billed as roundtable discussion. The new technology is GPS based and is used on tractors, and more recently on drones, in farm work that can cut the cost for such practices as fertilizing, watering and pesticide use. Scientists from UGA's agriculture and engineering departments were on hand at the event to explain to Warnock the research underway at the farm. |
| UF Chief Financial Officer Chris Cowen to resign this summer | |
| Chris Cowen, UF senior vice president and chief financial officer, will resign from the university July 1. He will trade his current job for a similar one at Cornell University, according to a UF press release. "I am honored and grateful for the opportunity the Board of Trustees and the president provided me to contribute to such a wonderful institution for the State of Florida and nation," Cowen said in the press release. "Once a Gator, always a Gator, so I will continue to admire what I am certain will be tremendous accomplishments at UF going forward." This marks another decision to leave UF from a high-profile, administrative position in the past few months as the university continues its searches for a new provost, honors director, vice president of advancement and law school dean. He spent three years as CFO, during which he oversaw university finances and served on the Board of Directors at UF Health. Previously, he had 30 years of experience in investment banking for Bank of America; Goldman, Sachs and Co. and other firms. Cowen is a skilled and steady financial leader who will be an asset to Cornell, UF President Ben Sasse said in the press release. |
| 'Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion' Is Stripped Out of Florida's Higher-Ed Reform Bill | |
 | Florida's state senators edited out some of the most contentious provisions of a much-discussed higher-education bill advancing through the legislature on Wednesday. Lawmakers scrapped all references to "diversity, equity, and inclusion," eliminated the ability to subject professors to tenure review at any time or for any cause, and shelved language that would have given hiring authority to governing boards. HB 999 and its complement Senate Bill 266 were first filed in February after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that changes to public higher education would be a policy priority of his this year. In modifying the bill, Florida lawmakers signaled that some of DeSantis's most aggressive proposals on higher education may not be realized this year. Senators removed all of the bill's references to "diversity, equity, and inclusion," rewriting the bill to ban curricula based on "theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities." Universities would also be prohibited from using state funding to promote, support, or maintain campus programs or activities that are based on these theories, the bill states. The bill's sponsor said the DEI language was removed due to concerns that it could affect accreditation of some courses and programs, according to the Miami Herald. The latest version also strips out previous language that would have banned specific majors and minors. |
| Tennessee law prohibits use of TikTok on campus internet | |
| On Thursday, Gov. Bill Lee signed a law that prohibits public colleges and universities from allowing access to video platforms headquartered in China on campus internet networks, a measure that targets the Chinese-based social media giant TikTok. The law went into effect immediately. As early as Friday morning, students reported opening the TikTok app on UT wi-fi to see that nothing would load. Under the law, students, staff, faculty and the general public will be blocked access to TikTok and a slate of other Chinese apps, like WeChat and Sina Weibo, while on campus networks. The law does not prevent students from accessing TikTok on a personal internet connection or third-party network. The ban comes after states like Mississippi, North Carolina, Louisiana and Wisconsin banned the app on state-owned devices. Other universities have also made the move to ban the app on campus including Auburn, Arkansas State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Idaho State and Iowa. The Tennessee law recognizes several exceptions if Chinese apps are necessary for law enforcement activities, investigations, audits and other legal functions of a public institution of higher education. |
| Can human hair be used to repair bridges? Research team at U. of Kentucky working to find out | |
 | A team of researchers in the University of Kentucky College of Engineering are looking to an unusual source to create new building materials: human hair. The team is working on developing a sustainable construction material that can be used to repair bridges and buildings around Kentucky and beyond. While still in its first phase, the material uses human hair mixed with a natural resin to create forms that can be used in repairs, said UK engineering professor Issam Harik. Because the materials used are natural, they are more sustainable than traditional building materials. Harik acknowledged that human hair is not the first thing people think of when looking at construction materials. But materials like silk and wool have long been used to make clothing. "It's nothing new," Harik said. "Wool has been used throughout human history, and we are not the first ones to use hair in some application," noting an engineering study that used hair as a fiber for making concrete. Much of the work has been done by UK and Fayette County Public Schools students, who have been working on finding the best and strongest mixture of hair and resin, Harik said. "From the start, it was a student-led project," Harik said. "They did all the trials and adjustments to the process to get it to where we can use that hair with a natural resin." |
| Texas bills would end tenure, ban DEI offices | |
 | Texas senators are advancing three bills that would end tenure for future professors; ban what the legislation defines as diversity, equity and inclusion activities; and force colleges and universities to fire professors who "attempt to compel a student" to adopt a belief that any "social, political or religious belief is inherently superior to any other." All three only affect public institutions. That third bill, Senate Bill 16, passed the Senate 18 to 12 Wednesday and is now in the House of Representatives. All Democrats voted against it, all present Republicans voted for it and one Republican senator, Phil King, was absent. The other two bills, Senate Bill 17, on DEI, and 18, banning tenure, have already passed the Senate Education Committee. None of the bills' original lead sponsors returned requests for comment Thursday. The Texas Tribune, which has been reporting on the bills, said the University of Texas at Austin didn't respond to a question about its interpretation of the legislation's impact if it passes. Florida has garnered much attention for Republicans' targeting of DEI there, but Texas's recent legislation reinforces that another large Southern state is putting it in the crosshairs. |
| Texas Could Push Tech Platforms to Censor Posts About Abortion | |
 | When Robin Marty was writing her 2021 book The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The Complete Guide to Abortion Legality, Access, and Practical Support, people often asked her why she didn't just make it an online resource. "I said, 'Well, we can't guarantee that online is always going to be accessible for people,'" says Marty, who is director of operations at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa. Her concern that women might one day be restricted from reading about abortion online proved prescient. State lawmakers in Texas are considering a bill introduced last month that would make it illegal to provide information on how to access abortion. The bill would also require internet service providers to block websites offering content like that in Marty's book, allow prosecution of abortion pill "distribution networks," and permit anyone to sue a person who shared anything about how to access a medical abortion. The proposal borrows from a Texas law passed in 2021 that offers a cash bounty to citizens who sue a person who helped facilitate access to abortion care. The Texas proposal to restrict information about abortion follows a recent flurry of attempts to limit reproductive rights in the US, with a particular focus on medical abortions -- that is, abortions induced by medication. Experts worry that if passed, the bill could incentivize platforms and internet service providers (ISPs) to censor abortion-related content more broadly for fear of costly court cases. |
| Nutrition, Exercise: Medical Schools Boost Teaching of Healthy Behaviors to Fight Chronic Disease | |
| An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure, but medical schools have traditionally given little weight to instruction on how to help patients live healthier lives. The future could look different as schools and residency training programs have begun to embrace a field known as lifestyle medicine, weaving teaching on nutrition, exercise and other healthy behaviors into the core curriculum of medical education. This new push aims to provide doctors with tools to tackle chronic but often preventable conditions such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes that affect six in ten adults in the U.S. "Incorporating lifestyle medicine into medical-school curricula can resolve the inadequacies that exist in preparing physicians for the growing challenge of chronic disease," says Jennifer Trilk, professor of biomedical sciences and director of lifestyle-medicine programs at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, which in 2017 became the first medical school in the U.S. to incorporate more than 80 hours of lifestyle-medicine training over four years of undergraduate education. A number of U.S. medical schools have begun to adopt lifestyle medicine or embed some of it in their programs. Among them are those of Brown University, Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Oklahoma, historically Black colleges and universities including Morehouse School of Medicine, and schools of osteopathic medicine. |
| College Presidents Are Less Experienced Than Ever -- and Eyeing the Exit | |
| The average tenure of the college president has shrunk. Yes, again. Typical presidents have been in their current job for 5.9 years, according to the results of the American Council on Education's latest survey of the profession, published on Friday. That's down from 6.5 years in 2016 and 8.5 years in 2006. What's more, a majority of those currently serving don't think they will be in their current role in five years. And those presidents planning to depart aren't leaving for some other college's top job. Instead, they are looking at possible consultant roles, returning to the faculty, or working in a nonprofit outside of higher education, according to the survey, which ACE conducts every five years. The survey was emailed to presidents at 3,091 colleges and universities, with 1,075 responding. That response rate was down 15 percentage points, which the survey's authors attributed to its being out to presidents for a shorter time than in previous years and no paper copies mailed. Among the reasons for leaving, according to the survey: The Covid-19 pandemic and the growing political polarization in higher education have taken a toll on presidents. "Covid was hard on presidents," said Linda A. Livingstone, president of Baylor University. "There's a lot of political pressure from all sides. It just wore out some presidents. It's a challenging world to function in." |
| ACE survey finds the college presidency diversifying, but slowly | |
| Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. When Pete Townshend of The Who penned those lyrics more than half a century ago, he almost certainly wasn't thinking about the state of the college presidency. But those words aptly summarize the results of the latest American College President Study from the American Council on Education, released today, which finds that despite some diversity gains, college presidents continue to be mostly older, white and male. Though racial and gender diversity has increased since the last study, conducted in 2016 and released in 2017, that progress is moving at a walk rather than a sprint. It is also failing to keep pace with the changing demographics of college students. Now in its ninth iteration, the ACE College President Study, first produced in 1986, offers various insights into those who occupy executive offices at institutions of higher education. Data for the survey were collected in 2022, meaning the results here reflect answers from the last year. The survey -- which was completed by more than 1,000 respondents last year -- tracks race, gender, age and numerous other data points that offer a glimpse into the makeup of today's college and university presidents. So who are they? According to the ACE survey results, their average age is 60, 67 percent are male and 72 percent identified as white. That means 33 percent of presidents surveyed are female, and 28 percent identified as nonwhite. |
| HBCUs level up: Funding pours in to tackle critical needs and rewrite history after George Floyd | |
| Since 2020, the year that saw both the murder of George Floyd and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spelman College has received an influx of philanthropic and federal money that has allowed it to take what one leader called transformational moves. The Atlanta-based historically Black college used over half of its $22 million in federal pandemic relief to provide student aid and implement measures needed to safely transition students back to in-person learning, according to Jessie Brooks, the college's vice president of institutional advancement. Spelman also increased its endowment and bolstered faculty development and recruitment, among other actions, thanks to a $20 million donation from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2021, Brooks said in an email. And the institution will provide 200 full scholarships for incoming students over the next 10 years through a $40 million donation from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, producer Patty Quillin. The Hastings-Quillin donation was "transformational since this will allow the institution to use other scholarship funding to support other deserving students," Brooks said. Spelman is but one example of the unprecedented largess that has gone to historically Black colleges and universities in the years following the start of the pandemic and the protests against police brutality and racism in the wake of Floyd's murder. Along with other colleges and universities, HBCUs have also received historic amounts of federal, and in some cases, state support to mitigate the effects of the COVID pandemic. |
| Supreme Court refuses to stop $6 billion student loan debt settlement | |
 | The Supreme Court will not stop a legal settlement which would cancel more than $6 billion in student loan debt from students who say they were misled by their schools, mostly for-profit institutions. The settlement is the result of a class-action suit from nearly 200,000 borrowers against the Department of Education in 2019, which accused schools of boosting enrollment through misleading advertisements and exaggerating the quality of their education and future job prospects. After years of litigation, the settlement was reached last year, but three institutions appealed the agreement to the Supreme Court, saying their inclusion was a "scarlet letter" and severely damaged their reputations. A total of 151 institutions have students impacted by the settlement and the three who challenged the suit -- Lincoln Educational Services, American National University and Everglades College -- have about 3,500 students eligible for loan relief. The decision is not related to a challenge to President Biden's attempts to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for 40 million Americans. That case is expected to be decided by the court this summer. |
| How gainful employment rules changed higher ed | |
| When the Obama administration released its plans to measure whether some graduates were gainfully employed, Katy Perry's "California Gurls" was the top song on the radio, Apple was on its fourth iPhone and for-profit chains ITT Technical Institute and Corinthian Colleges were still enrolling students. Nearly 13 years later, former president Obama's vice president is gearing up to release his own version of gainful employment regulations this month. Higher education lobbyists and analysts expect the proposed rule to be tougher than the one the Obama administration ultimately put into place, leading to more programs failing -- and possibly losing their access to federal financial aid. The issue, which has become a perennial political football, measures whether programs at for-profit institutions as well as nondegree programs in any sector are preparing students for employment -- largely by looking at a students' debt load and earnings. The rule -- finalized in 2014 -- was a key part of the Obama administration's efforts to hold for-profit colleges accountable, though only one year of data was ever released. Former education secretary Betsy DeVos stopped enforcing the rule and scrapped it altogether in 2019. Still, the decade-old notion and a 2014 policy that was never fully carried out have continued to leave a mark on higher education, from the federal data available on programs to the conversations about how to measure the value of a college degree. Before the gainful conversations, program-level earnings and debt data didn't exist. |
| Silver City seems full of hope | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: Silver City, being only 250 or so residents, has not gotten the attention of much bigger Rolling Fork, but it was equally destroyed by the recent EF-4 tornado. Bob Crisler, Ted Dinkins, Ron and Anna Katherine Scott and I traveled there for a day to serve 80 lunch meals and 180 dinner meals. Northminster Baptist Church and Greg Radar provided the funding. Ted brought an awesome smoking rig from his son's Starkville restaurant, Two Brothers Smoked Meats. Everyone was so appreciative and kind. We were one of many volunteers scheduled throughout the month. This is a great example of the love and kindness of the people of our state. ... We served just outside the Silver City First Baptist Church, which had become the de facto disaster headquarters under the direction of Pastor Childress. The Red Cross volunteers knew exactly how many meals we needed to prepare and almost every meal was consumed. ... Throughout it all, I sensed an indomitable spirit that can only come from God. Folks were fatalistic, yet upbeat, ready to rebuild and move on with their lives. Instead of cursing God, Silver City seems to be accepting this disaster as yet another character-building challenge. I found people full of hope, not mired in despair. |
SPORTS
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: Ole Miss | |
| Super Bulldog Weekend 2023 is finally here, as the Mississippi State Bulldogs welcomes the Ole Miss Rebels to Dudy Noble Field. The series begins on Friday at 6 p.m., continues on Saturday at 3 p.m., and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on SEC Network+, with Saturday's game airing on the SEC Network. The games will also be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/Listen. Ole Miss enters the weekend with an overall record of 19-14. They have a conference record of 2-10 with series losses to #6 Vanderbilt, #3 Florida, Texas A&M and #5 Arkansas. The Rebels' pitching staff enters the weekend with a 5.66 ERA. Ole Miss bats .299 as a squad. The Dawgs and the Rebels meet for the 468th time on Friday when they begin the three-game series. In last year's series, Mississippi State took two out of three against the Rebels, including an 11th inning victory win in game three. State leads the all-time series 260-208-5. The Dawgs have not dropped a series against Ole Miss since 2015. The first matchup between these two programs was during in 1892. |
| Ole Miss, Mississippi State renew historic rivalry in Starkville | |
| Despite it being a matchup of the bottom two teams in the SEC West, there's a lot on the line in this weekend's matchup at Dudy Noble Field between arch rivals Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Rebels (19-14, 2-10 SEC) and Bulldogs (20-14, 3-9) meet for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. The opener will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Ole Miss' record books have the Bulldogs leading the all-time series 252-213-5. Mississippi State's record book reads 260-208-5 in favor of the Bulldogs. Mississippi State is coming off its first SEC series win of the season, having won two of three in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, against the Crimson Tide. The Rebels, meanwhile, have yet to notch their first conference series win of 2023. The last two College World Series champions are fighting to get their seasons back on-track and ensure a trip to Hoover, Alabama, for the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State features a prolific offense averaging 8.3 runs per game, good for seventh in the SEC and 34th nationally. The Bulldogs are hitting .307 as a team (32nd nationally, fourth in the SEC) and are tied for 14th in college baseball with 59 home runs. Sophomore Hunter Hines leads Mississippi State with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs and is tied for second with a .341 batting average. |
| Softball Returns To Super Bulldog Weekend Slate Hosting No. 16 Alabama | |
| For the first time since the 2018 season, Mississippi State softball will play at home on Super Bulldog Weekend, MSU's annual spring homecoming. The Bulldogs will host No. 16 Alabama for three games at Nusz Park with the series finale on Sunday broadcast nationally on SEC Network. Super Bulldog Weekend, presented by Pearl River Resort, has historically produced some of State's largest crowds. 1,612 fans packed Nusz Park in 2016 to see the Bulldogs battle LSU over the course of 12 innings. That crowd stood as the MSU school record until the Bulldogs hosted Arizona in the Super Regionals last May and welcomed 2,000-plus fans on consecutive days. Alabama's last Super Bulldog Weekend appearance in Nusz Park came in 2014 when State took the series from the then-No. 3 Crimson Tide with a walk-off victory in the 10th inning of the series finale. The Bulldogs (23-16, 3-8 SEC) will again face a ranked team, and all of their remaining SEC foes are currently ranked inside the NFCA Top 25. If those rankings hold, State will set a new school record with 25 regular-season contests against ranked teams by season's end. The Bulldogs will remain at home for a midweek matchup against Memphis on Wednesday, April 19 at 6 p.m. CT. State then travels to Baton Rouge to meet No. 13 LSU. |
| Bulldogs Begin Final Homestand Versus No. 4 Georgia | |
| Mississippi State women's tennis will wrap up the regular season this weekend with two home matches as part of Super Bulldog Weekend festivities. The Bulldogs will host No. 4 Georgia on Friday at 4 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre before concluding things with 14th-ranked Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m. The first 100 fans at Friday's match will receive a rally towel. In case of inclement weather, matches will be moved indoors to the Rula Tennis Pavilion. n doubles, MSU's Maddie Bemisderfer and Gia Cohen earned their second win as a pairing over the 72nd-ranked LSU duo of Noor Carrington and Safiya Carrington 6-3 last Friday. The State tandem of Sydney Hrehor and Alexandra Mikhailuk claimed their first win as a duo over Texas A&M's Jeanette Mireles and Daria Smetannikov 6-3 last Sunday. In singles, Mikhailuk took the match over LSU's Nina Geissler to claim her 12th overall singles win and seventh dual match victory. Georgia comes into Friday's match with a 17-4 overall record and is 10-1 in SEC play. UGA topped No. 27 South Carolina 4-1 last Friday and defeated No. 17 Florida 4-1 last Sunday. |
| No. 5 Bulldogs Complete Round Two at the SEC Championship | |
| No. 5 Mississippi State women's golf completed the second round of the 2023 SEC Championship on Thursday. After 36 holes, State is in sixth place. Day two of the SEC Championship added the element of weather to the competition as cold and wet conditions fell over the Greystone Golf and Country Club on Thursday. Periods of rain and strong winds combined to create a tough golf atmosphere for the members of the Southeastern Conference in the Championship Event. The Bulldogs were led throughout the second round of play behind the play of sophomore Julia Lopez Ramirez. After facing some adversity throughout the second round, Lopez Ramirez birdied the last three holes to card 75 (3-Over) and is currently tied for fifth. The Bulldog's third-round tee time is set as they will tee off from Hole 1 at 8:50 AM CT. State will be paired with No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 19 Vanderbilt. |
| Changes proposed for Mississippi turkey seasons, new wildlife management area | |
 | Changes for turkey hunters and a new wildlife management area may be on the horizon after the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks made an initial vote in favor of them in Thursday's meeting. Proposed turkey season changes include elimination of the limited fall either-sex season, mandatory tagging and a later opening date. "If we go with what we're recommending, it could open as early as March 17 and as late as March 23," Adam Butler, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Wild Turkey Program coordinator said in an earlier interview. "It would always open on a Saturday. Making that move will help with hunt quality." The opening date for spring turkey season is currently March 15. Under the proposal it would be moved to the Saturday closest to March 20. It's the same structure that was in place from 1980-2004. Butler said the change would also better align spring break with youth turkey season and make youth season a full week each year. |
| NCAA lifts restrictions on athletes' official visits | |
| Prospects no longer will have limits on the number of schools they can officially visit during their college selection process. The NCAA announced Thursday that its Division I Council approved the policy change that will take effect on July 1. Prospects previously could make official visits to five schools. Official visits are defined as visits that are paid for by the college. Prospects can make one official visit to each school, unless that program has a head coaching change. In that case, a prospect could make a second official visit to the same school. In men's basketball, prospects will be permitted to make two official visits to the same school, as long as the visits don't occur in the same academic year. "For young people considering where to go to college, visits to campus -- both official and unofficial -- are an integral part of the decision-making process," Lynda Tealer, executive associate athletics director at Florida and chair of the Division I Council, said in a statement. "This was an opportunity to modernize NCAA rules in a way that provides greater and more meaningful opportunities for prospects going through the recruitment process." |
| Boom! Say hello to Uga XI as UGA X retires as Georgia's beloved Bulldog live mascot | |
| Georgia football is ushering in a new Uga for the 2023 season. Uga X is retiring after serving as the live English Bulldog mascot on the sidelines since the 2015 season including national championship seasons the last two years. Meet "Boom" who becomes Uga XI, the latest in a line of mascots started by the Seiler family in 1956. The nine-month old will be introduced Saturday at Georgia's G-Day spring football game in Sanford Stadium about 10 minutes before the 4 p.m. kickoff with the ceremonial collaring. That will take place in the 20-yard line of the northeast corner of the stadium. His predecessor, Que, was two and a half when he started as Uga X and is now approaching 10 years old. The school proclaims him the "winningest mascot," in school history. Yes, it's good to be the mascot for a team that is in its new glory days. His record was 91-18 with two SEC titles to go along with the two national titles. Que didn't make the cross-country trip to Los Angeles for the national championship game in January because of the stress of such a long journey and missed three other road games last season -- at South Carolina due to the heat and night games at Missouri and Mississippi State because they were late. Nine-month old "Boom" has been training to be Uga with the Seilers in Savannah. |
| Eli Gold, voice of Alabama football, shares latest on his cancer | |
 | Eli Gold, the longtime radio voice of Alabama football, has one more round of chemotherapy to go and plans to be back behind the mic for the start of the 2023 season, he told WNSP on Thursday. Gold missed the 2022 season with health issues, later found to be cancer. Gold, 69, has called Crimson Tide football games since 1988. Chris Stewart filled in for Gold during the 2022 season. "It's not been easy, it's not been simple by any stretch," Gold said. "I do have one more chemotherapy session to go. The doctors are really pleased, everybody is excited. If the doctors are pleased, then I'm pleased." For a while, the doctors didn't know what was going on. Gold had ongoing health issues since the spring of 2022 and was in the hospital for 186 days. "My legs stopped working way back over a year ago," Gold said. "I woke up one morning and my legs wouldn't work. I went to bed, I was walking, I walked into the bedroom. I wake up the next morning and my legs don't work." He didn't find out he had cancer until Christmas Eve. A "terrible case of the hiccups" helped reveal it. In mid to late December, Gold kept hiccupping to a degree he couldn't catch his breath. "It was awful and it was scary," Gold said. The doctor brought in to figure out the hiccups stumbled on the cancer. Finally, Gold had a diagnosis. He began chemotherapy on New Year's Eve. |
| Neyland Stadium Wi-Fi: Details on when Tennessee football fans will get better coverage | |
 | Work to enhance Wi-Fi at Neyland Stadium has begun, as Tennessee addresses a major complaint by football fans. UT has tried for years to fix the problem, but there wasn't an easy solution. It will take about a year to get to reach full Wi-Fi connectivity. According to a UT news release, the Wi-Fi will get better throughout the 2023 football season with limited capabilities. The project will extend into summer 2024 through multiple phases. Different areas in and around the stadium will get improved connectivity at different times. "We know Vol Nation has been looking forward to this," athletics director Danny White said. "And we appreciate everyone's patience. This is a very big, complex project. The bones of Neyland Stadium date back to 1921, and as it grew over several decades, no one could have planned for how we'd deliver a strong Wi-Fi signal through tons of concrete and steel. "But we have a great partner that knows how to get this done at a venue like this. It's exciting to get the ball rolling, because this will elevate the experience of every single fan who visits Neyland Stadium." The project will include 1,800 connectivity points. Each point will service approximately a 55-seat area and require the installation of cabling. UT, through the Christman Company, has partnered with MS Benbow & Associates to design, engineer and integrate a Wi-Fi network that will ultimately service the entire stadium and surrounding plazas. |
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