| Monday, May 15, 2023 |
| City utilities staff share details on water and sewer upgrade project | |
 | During the Starkville Board of Aldermen's work session on Friday in preparation for their recess meeting this coming Tuesday night, Starkville Utilities general manager Edward Kemp and his capital projects manager Mary Williams provided the board with a presentation on time structure and details associated with the $2.5 million water and sewer upgrade project on Main Street that will begin later this month. The project will install new water mains along Main Street from Jackson Street to Washington Street and Lampkin Street from Washington Street to South Montgomery Street. The project will also replace and upgrade sewer components in the downtown corridor. "This will be a huge game changer type project for our community. I think it sets us up very well in the future and we're really, really excited about it," Kemp said to the board. "This project is about two to three years in the making, and we're getting very close to the point of seeing things on paper actually being implemented on the ground, and that's exciting." |
| Future of Felix Long site awaits feds, funding | |
 | Fran Brock remembers the mold. The county coordinator for the Oktibbeha County Extension Service spent eight years working in the 73-year-old former Felix Long Memorial Hospital building downtown before county leaders moved her office last May, along with Human Services and several others, to a more adequate home on Lynn Lane -- one that thankfully has heating and air conditioning. "It was a very old building," Brock said of the Felix Long facility. "... I can't say it was bad because it was all we had. ... It didn't have any structural issues or anything. ... But I can tell you this: It did have mold. And I think it was because of the leaks in the roof that were there years ago." Built in 1950 and dedicated to the son of the founder of Oktibbeha County Hospital who died working as a physician in World War II, the Felix Long Memorial Hospital began serving as a county office building after OCH Regional Medical Center opened in 1973. Empty the last 11 months, the Felix Long building's days are numbered. How high that number is, though, depends on the contaminants found inside. The county has dedicated $500,000 in bonded debt to tear down the facility, board of supervisors president Orlando Trainer said. Demolition has been delayed by assessments of the facility and likely contaminant abatements. The Golden Triangle Planning and Development District is using funds from a $500,000 Brownfield grant to pay for the assessments in two phases, GTPDD project analyst Phyllis Benson said. |
| USDA partnering with local farmers to strengthen food supply chain in the Delta region | |
 | Dozens of farmers around the state packed out the Mississippi Farmers Market, listening to United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on how the big announcement will benefit them. "You're also creating rural manufacturing jobs. That's the future. That is really the future of American agriculture," Secretary Vilsack said. The Delta Regional Food Business Center will help producers in the Delta region create new and expanded market opportunities, improving farm income, creating high-paying jobs, and building greater resilience in the overall food system. "It's an opportunity for individuals who are interested in developing local and regional food systems to get the technical and financial assistance to help build out the capacity to link local producers with local markets, a local producer, and a grocery store," said Secretary Vilsack. The USDA has allocated money through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program to help fund this new initiative. "We want to build out a greater and more resilient local and regional food center," Secretary Vilsack said. "To compliment that, we've also announced 420 million dollars that will be distributed to all 50 states." |
| Gunasekara to challenge Mississippi Supreme Court decision over candidacy | |
| Despite being ruled ineligible to run for public service commissioner in Mississippi's northern district, Mandy Gunasekara is continuing to defend her legitimacy as a candidate for the governmental position. Gunasekara, formerly an EPA official in the Trump Administration, is planninf to file an emergency stay before the U.S. Supreme Court after the Mississippi Supreme Court disqualified her from seeking public office due to her alleged failure to meet a residency requirement. According to Gunasekara, Mississippi's highest court chose to take a procedural route in determining her eligibility to run for office, basing their decision on a provision of the 1890 Constitution which requires a candidate to live in the state for five years before running for office. The former federal official finds the provision both antiquated and outlandish, specifically when used against someone who was raised in Mississippi, lived elsewhere for a brief period of time and returned with aspirations of improving the state. "At this point, this is less about my personal campaign and more about fixing the law that is currently a slap in the face for anyone who has left the state and wants to come back to bring the skills, the value, the relationships they've developed to make our state even better," Gunasekara said on Friday's episode of The Gallo Show. |
| Reeves far outpaces Presley in total campaign cash, but recent fundraising is competitive | |
| Republican Gov. Tate Reeves boasts significantly more campaign dollars on hand than Brandon Presley, his Democratic opponent, providing the incumbent governor a substantial financial cushion over his top competitor. Reeves, according to his campaign finance report, raised over $1.7 million during the first four months of this year, bringing his total amount of cash on hand to more than $9 million from his Tate for Governor account and his legacy J. Tate Reeves account. Presley raised around $1.4 million this quarter, totaling $1.6 million that he has in cash on hand. While Reeves has far outpaced Presley with expendable cash, the two candidates vying for the Governor's Mansion raised close to the same amount of money this quarter. Campaign contributions often provide a snapshot into how aggressive a race will become, give voters an idea of which groups are backing a particular candidate and show what candidates are spending their money on. The governor's largest campaign contributor was $50,000 from the Mississippi Association of Realtors PAC. Other sizable donations include $35,000 from the mega lobbying group the Clay Firm, $40,000 from former state lawmaker Johnny Morgan and $25,000 from Gulfport Memorial Hospital CEO Kent Nicaud. Presley's largest campaign donor was a $250,000 check from the Mississippi Hospital Association. Other notable contributions include $50,000 from former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale, $25,000 from former Secretary of State Dick Molpus and $45,000 from the Mississippi Sierra Club PAC. |
| Order temporarily blocks appointed judges in mostly Black city and county in Mississippi | |
 | A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the appointment of four state court judges in the majority-Black county that is home to Mississippi's capital city -- appointments that drew protests from local residents who said white state officials were stomping on civil rights. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued the temporary restraining order at the request of the NAACP, and he set a May 22 hearing to consider extending the order. The national civil rights organization, its Mississippi chapter and its local chapter in Jackson filed a federal lawsuit April 21, hours after Gov. Tate Reeves signed laws to expand state policing in the capital city of Jackson, establish a court with an appointed judge and authorize four appointed judges to work alongside the four elected circuit court judges in Hinds County. Members of the majority-white and Republican-led Legislature who pushed for the changes said they were trying to curb crime in Jackson. Local residents protested that state officials were usurping power in Jackson and Hinds County, which are majority-Black and governed by Democrats. |
| Specialty crop producers seek farm bill recognition, support | |
 | House and Senate members writing the 2023 farm bill face pressure to do more to accommodate specialty crops, an array of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery plants and flowers that account for less than 10 percent of acres in production. The cause also has a powerful advocate in Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is quick to note Michigan's production of specialty crops ranging from apples to squash and who wants to expand the Agriculture Department services and programs available to the sector. Stabenow and ranking member John Boozman, R-Ark., along with House Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., and ranking member David Scott, D-Ga., are overseeing the effort to update the farm bill that expires Sept. 30. Unlike the commodity crops such as corn and soybeans that dominate agriculture policy and have publicly available benchmark prices, specialty crops are often produced and sold in niche markets or by contract. Production can be labor-intensive. Kam Quarles, co-chair of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance and CEO of the National Potato Council, said the farm bill overall doesn't reflect the farm gate value to the country from the basically 300 different crops that are under the specialty crop banner. He noted the importance of fruits and vegetables in dietary guidelines and events such as the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health that raised the profile of the industry. |
| Debt-Ceiling Talks' Late Start Amps Up Pressure on Congress | |
 | Time isn't on Washington's side. With the U.S. facing a potentially economy-shaking default as soon as June, logistical hurdles, disagreements on the scope of any talks, a tight legislative calendar and a late start are complicating negotiations over raising the debt ceiling. President Biden shouted "no" when asked Monday if there were updates regarding the talks with Republicans. He said over the weekend that the next meeting with congressional leaders could come Tuesday. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said the two sides remain "far apart" and that he would like a deal to be done by this weekend. Mr. Biden and congressional leaders didn't hold their first high-level talks on the matter until last Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the House passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending. The delay was the product of scheduling complications, a monthslong internal debate among GOP lawmakers about what should be included in their plan and longstanding resistance by Mr. Biden to negotiating with Republicans on the debt ceiling, which he says should be separate from talks on spending. The standoff also held up staff-level talks that both sides see as essential to reaching a deal, and paths forward are only now emerging. But with a deal still not in sight and a possible default edging closer, both sides blame the other for not getting started sooner. Getting to this point -- weeks before the deadline, with no deal -- has been a monthslong process of delays and political posturing. |
| AI presents political peril for 2024 with threat to mislead voters | |
| Computer engineers and tech-inclined political scientists have warned for years that cheap, powerful artificial intelligence tools would soon allow anyone to create fake images, video and audio that was realistic enough to fool voters and perhaps sway an election. The synthetic images that emerged were often crude, unconvincing and costly to produce, especially when other kinds of misinformation were so inexpensive and easy to spread on social media. The threat posed by AI and so-called deepfakes always seemed a year or two away. No more. Sophisticated generative AI tools can now create cloned human voices and hyper-realistic images, videos and audio in seconds, at minimal cost. When strapped to powerful social media algorithms, this fake and digitally created content can spread far and fast and target highly specific audiences, potentially taking campaign dirty tricks to a new low. The implications for the 2024 campaigns and elections are as large as they are troubling: Generative AI can not only rapidly produce targeted campaign emails, texts or videos, it also could be used to mislead voters, impersonate candidates and undermine elections on a scale and at a speed not yet seen. |
| GOP fears Trump's problems with suburban women will only get worse | |
 | Former President Trump increasingly looks like the favorite to win the GOP's presidential nomination, but that strength masks what many Republicans see as a huge weakness against President Biden: Trump's problems with suburban women. All of Trump's vulnerabilities with the key demographic were on high display during a rowdy town hall last week with CNN, where at one point the former president called moderator Kaitlan Collins a "nasty person." Trump also mocked a woman who won a civil lawsuit against him for sexual battery and defamation, and he dodged questions on abortion -- a top issue that has increasingly been a strength for Democrats since the Supreme Court, which includes three justices who Trump nominated, overturned Roe v. Wade. When asked if he believes the jury's verdict would deter women from voting for him, Trump said: "No, I don't think so." And his critics say it likely will not in a Republican primary. "It's incredibly misogynistic and damaging, but it's also old news," said Jennifer Horn, former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee and co-founder of the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project. "This is who Trump has always been, and the Republican Party has embraced it." Suburban women voters have also largely turned their backs on Republicans since the former president was elected in 2016. |
| Can a Vice President Harm a Reelection Campaign? | |
 | Nikki Haley is not going to win any awards for subtlety when it comes to raising doubts about the president's reelection bid. In speaking about Joe Biden's age last month, Haley said: "I think that we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden you really are counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely." She's not the only Republican to go after Vice President Kamala Harris. After calling Biden "142 years old," Sen. Ted Cruz ridiculed the notion of Harris confronting Chinese President Xi Jinping or Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event that she is elevated to the presidency. It's the specter of Biden's age -- the actuarial data that looms over his candidacy -- that throws the "Harris" question onto center stage. There's no question the vice president will face serious scrutiny in 2024, and fairly or not, she's struggled to win over Washington and much of the public. Particularly if the GOP sees Harris as a weaker figure than Biden, the attacks on her as a potential president will only increase. There are reasons to doubt the Biden campaign will be able to fend off such an assault, but it can look to at least one comforting fact: Throughout American history, attempts to make a running mate the target of a presidential election have usually been ineffective. |
| GOP state lawmakers try to restrict ballot initiatives, partly to thwart abortion protections | |
| With other state lawmakers seated around her in the Ohio House, Democratic state Rep. Tavia Galonski got to her feet and began to loudly chant, "One person, one vote!" The former Teamster's cry spread quickly through the visitors gallery, then began to rise from the throng of protesters gathered outside in the statehouse rotunda. Struggling to be heard over the din, the Republican speaker ordered spectators cleared from the chamber. Last week's striking scene came as Ohio joined a growing number of Republican-leaning states that are moving to undermine direct democracy by restricting citizens' ability to bypass lawmakers through ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments. The Ohio proposal will ask voters during an August special election to boost the threshold for passing constitutional amendments to 60% rather than a simple majority. It also would double the number of counties where signatures must be collected, adding an extra layer of difficulty to qualifying initiatives for the ballot. The Missouri Legislature failed to approve a similar measure on Friday, but Republicans vowed to bring the issue back in 2024 in an attempt to head off a citizens' attempt to restore abortion rights in the state through a constitutional amendment. A similar measure will be on North Dakota's ballot next year, while one in the works in Idaho would ask voters to increase signature requirements imposed on petition gatherers. |
| City and University partner for Community Read | |
| The Community Read Committee has selected Clint Smith's "How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America" as its Community Read for the 2023-24 school year. Amanda Clay Powers, professor and dean of Library Services, said the Community Read was renamed for this year in an effort to attract people from the city of Columbus and the Golden Triangle. She said the selection of "How the Word is Passed" by the Community Read Committee fits with the mission of Mississippi University for Women and the Community Read to foster intellectual curiosity and broaden our understanding of our world, our community and our neighbors. "For the last several years, starting with our choice of 'Just Mercy' by Bryan Stevenson (which was the 2021 Community Read) we have been getting more interest and participation from the larger community in Columbus," Powers said. "We love the energy and excitement this brings to our Community Read, so we have reorganized our group, bringing in community members to the Committee, and choosing a book that resonates on campus and in the wider community." Powers said the Community Read Committee is excited to partner with the city of Columbus for the event. Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin attended a meeting at Friendly City Books in downtown Columbus last month where Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) students reported on their reading of "How the Word is Passed" through their African American History class led by Chuck Yarborough. He said it was most impressive and that he believes the Community Read project is a timely endeavor for citizens in Columbus. |
| Faculty senate to investigate dean after faculty, staff allege misconduct | |
 | The University of Mississippi's Faculty Senate will be creating an ad hoc committee to investigate concerns that have been raised regarding the conduct of the Dean of the School of Applied Sciences, Peter Grandjean. The decision comes after the senate convened for an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday. An extraordinary meeting was called after faculty from the School of Applied Sciences submitted two resolutions to be considered by the faculty senate. The first was concerning a violation of the university's hiring protocol. The resolution states that on Feb. 5, a search was initiated to hire a chair of communication sciences and disorders. The dean of the School of Applied Sciences appointed only two full-time professorial faculty members, when university policy stipulates that the committee must be comprised of "a minimum of three full-time professorial faculty members from the department searching for a chair, a student majoring in the field of study, and one faculty member from another department selected in consultation with the department faculty." According to university communications, such policies exist to ensure fair and transparent hiring processes. In addition, the resolution states that a job posting was not made on the primary job posting location for Communication Sciences and Disorders until March 29, days before the first campus visits were made. Further, two more faculty members were added to the committee on April 12 "long after campus visits were made." |
| UMMC receives $2 million to study newborn health | |
| The National Institutes of Health is awarding the University of Mississippi Medical Center about $2 million to study how to improve health outcomes for newborns. UMMC will work with 14 other health centers across the country for the next seven years as part of the Neonatal Research Network. The health systems, which include Duke University, Emory University and Stanford University, will collaborate to conduct studies and trials on infants. "UMMC has received international recognition by joining this group of other reputed academic centers across the US," said Dr. Abhay Bhatt, professor of pediatrics and director of research in UMMC's Division of Neonatology and the study's principal investigator, in a press release sent Thursday. "Our faculty and trainees will get the opportunity to collaborate with their counterparts in other institutions, and our scientists, in collaboration with our newborn faculty, will get the opportunity to develop funded translational research studies involving newborns." The network, funded by the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, was formed in 1986 to properly evaluate newborn care, especially those admitted to neonatal intensive care units upon birth. The network studies infant mortality, preterm birth rate and low birthweight rates -- all areas in which Mississippi ranks the lowest in the country. |
| Nearly 6,000 Mississippians have been approved for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program | |
 | The US Department of Education reports more than 488 million dollars of student loan forgiveness has been granted to public employees in the state. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offers debt relief to those who serve as teachers, first-responders, certain medical personnel and non-profit workers. Coshunda Ellis of Jackson has served as both a teacher and a healthcare professional. She says she got a letter last week stating that her remaining student loan debt had been forgiven. "I'm passionate about being in education. I desire to do things for our youth." she said. "I can now explore so many more opportunities, just because I don't have those loans hanging out there." Those that qualify are required to make 120 monthly payments before the remainder of their debt is forgiven. Ellis says public employees like teachers are deserving of the program because they "wear so many hats" in the workplace. "Of course, being a teacher, it's not like you have the highest salary," she said. "but you have so many hats and so many roles... there's always going to come a time when you're going to ask yourself, is it worth it?" |
| AU aims to keep talented students in the area with immersive summer internship experience | |
 | The City of Auburn and Montgomery have partnered together to collectively provide an immersive summer internship experience for 50 college juniors and seniors in their communities. The Auburn Montgomery Internship Experience was created to provide students opportunities that motivate them to pursue a career in the region after college. From June to August, AIM participants will join weekly meetings to learn how to serve, socialize and develop in the city. Auburn and Montgomery will select 25 interns. There is no cost to be a part of this program. Applicants must answer a series of questions and submit their resume. The deadline is May 24. Amy Brabham, Auburn's workforce development director, said this is brand new program that has been brought to Auburn by Fuel Alabama, a talent attraction and retention program of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. It's a partnership with Innovate Alabama. Nicole Thompson, executive director of The Lab on Dexter in Montgomery, added that this will be an immersive project for students. The 25 students participating in the program in Montgomery will be introduced to the capital city's businesses, nightlife and social opportunities as well as take a few visits to Auburn. "I'm super excited for the collaboration. Because with Auburn being so close to us -- about a 45-minute drive -- I think it provides students both ways equally to see another city that's viable and within a very short driving distance," Thompson said. |
| DeSantis defunds diversity and inclusion programs at Florida colleges | |
 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law Monday barring the state's colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and limiting how race can be discussed in many courses. The move comes amid a larger conservative attack on higher education DEI programs, which DeSantis and others say reinforce racial divisions and promote liberal orthodoxy. Supporters of the programs say they are critical to serving the nation's increasingly diverse student populations. "If you look at the way this has actually been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination," DeSantis said at a news conference at New College of Florida in Sarasota. "And that has no place in our public institutions. This bill says the whole experiment with DEI is coming to an end in the state of Florida." Florida's new law prohibits public colleges from spending state or federal money on DEI efforts. These programs often assist colleges in increasing student and faculty diversity, which can apply to race and ethnicity, as well as sexual orientation, religion and socioeconomic status. The law also forbids public colleges from offering general education courses -- those that are part of a required curriculum for all college students -- that "distort significant historical events," teach "identity politics," or are "based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, or economic inequities." |
| U. of Tennessee plans to keep tuition steady, but these fees will increase | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville's proposed budget continues a four-year trend: Tuition will not increase for students. The last increase for tuition came in 2020, where it rose 2%. It has stayed stagnant from 2021 through this upcoming academic year. Annual tuition is $11,322 for in-state students and $29,522 for out-of-state students. Two fees, however, will increase. The facilities and transportation fee will increase by $240 total, which is projected to create $9.2 million in revenue for the university. The hikes bring up the total cost to $13,484 for in-state and $31,974 for out-of-state. The fee increases also affect graduate, college of law and college of veterinary students. The combined budget is for the Knoxville campus, Space Institute and Institute of Agriculture. A huge change for tuition at the Space Institute is for out-of-state students from Madison County, Alabama. Students from that county will be charged the in-state tuition rate of $11,468 instead of the out-of-state rate, saving $18,188. The overall proposed budget reaches almost $1.92 billion. It is $157.9 million more than last year's budget. The educational and general fund expenses make up the majority of the budget at nearly $1.23 billion. This pays for instruction, research, scholarships, public service, student services, institutional support, operation and maintenance, transfers and academic support. |
| Police release more details of UGA student injured when tree fell on her | |
 | Numerous people rushed to help a University of Georgia student trapped helplessly under a fallen tree during a recent powerful storm on campus. Several people responded by helping to lift the tree off the 20-year-old student, who was seriously injured, according to a UGA Police Department report released late Friday. The fallen tree injured Mia Wei Corte, a student from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She remained hospitalized on Friday at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center with head and abdomen injuries. The tree fell in a storm that had a powerful wind gust of 64 mph shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to the report. The oak tree, located at East Campus Road and Field Street near the Poultry Science building, fell on the student who was walking in the area, according to police. UGA police officer Marlin Ewings responded to the area with the first dispatch being that of a tree down on the roadway and upon nearing the location at 5:17 p.m. he was flagged down by "several frantic individuals." Those people told the officer there was a woman trapped under the tree and a UGA employee told the officer she saw the tree fall and called for assistance, according to the report. The officer and those at the scene began lifting the tree, while a student who is also an off-duty medic, began assessing Corte's condition, the officer reported. "While I was holding Corte's head, she lost consciousness at least three more times for approximately a minute at a time," the officer reported. When she regained consciousness, she was able to communicate with the officer and explain she was feeling pain in her head and neck, according to the report. |
| Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets adds leadership level | |
 | Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets has added a new battalion/group leadership level to its cadet unit structure, which has been implemented for the 2023-24 academic year and will fall in between the Corps Commander's staff and major unit commanders. Beginning in the fall, the Corps' structure will consist of four major units -- artillery, brigade, combined band and wing -- that report to the Corps commander and Corps staff, according to Lt. Col. John Fleming, the Corps' assistant Commandant for operations and training. The four major units will have two or three battalions or groups report to a major unit commander and staff. Each battalion or group will have three to five company size units or outfits report to them. This new format will more align with where the military is and has been for a number of years as the Corps continues its March to 3,000 this decade, said Commandant and Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis. Fleming added it is similar to the Corps' structure that existed from 1978 to 2004. The former model had been in place since 2004. In the early 2000s, former Commandant Gen. John Van Alstyne went away from a traditional military structure because of smaller senior class sizes. Around that time, major units were expanded from four to eight. Michaelis said he would've made a similar decision to Van Alstyne's. Twenty years later, though, the Corps is up to 10 major units and the additional direct reports have had an effect on efficiency, Michaelis said. |
| U. of Missouri faculty alleges pressure from leaders not to seek tenure | |
 | Several University of Missouri at Columbia faculty members within the last three years say leaders pressured them to withdraw their tenure and/or promotion applications, a faculty report says. A few more faculty members reported being pressured to apply for non-tenure-track positions before they even applied for tenure, the document says. It also says some reported pressure to delay applications for promotion. Over all, the Mizzou Faculty Affairs Committee report says 15 anonymously interviewed people "reported on events occurring since 2020 in four colleges." About three-quarters were women. "We decided that gender was about as much as we could report," said Charles Munter, the committee's chair and a tenured associate professor. "We didn't even report what college these folks were in because there was too much fear of being identified." Christian Basi, a university spokesman, contested the report. "Where is the concern in telling someone, 'Hey, it may not meet the standards right now; do you want to think about this'?" Basi said. "It is expected that department chairs and deans will have those kinds of conversations as dossiers are submitted," he said. "And it is, again, up to the individual professor, following those conversations, whether they're going to voluntarily withdraw or continue with the process." |
| Three days of ceremonies celebrate U. of Missouri graduates | |
 | Friends and family streamed into Mizzou Arena dressed in button-down shirts and sun dresses Friday as three days of scheduled commencement ceremonies got underway. The festivities kicked off at 1 p.m. Friday with a graduate school master's and education specialist ceremony. Other graduation ceremonies for the University of Missouri's 13 schools and colleges were scheduled for later on Friday, as well as Saturday and Sunday. Ceremonies were livestreamed for those who couldn't attend in person. At the graduate school ceremony, relatives and friends of the graduates cradled bouquets of flowers. Guests deliberated over which section to sit in, and occasional wolf whistles cut through the chatter as seats filled. "You've likely been pushed to your limits academically and personally, and you've been challenged to think critically, question everything and solve problems," Jeni Hart, dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate studies, told the graduates. "Most importantly, you have been inspired to make a difference in the world. And the world is a better place because of your passions, dreams, expertise and knowledge." |
| Indiana's Funding Ban for Kinsey Sex-Research Institute Threatens Academic Freedom, IU President Says | |
 | The decision to ban state funding for Indiana University at Bloomington's famed sex-research institute threatens academic freedom and sets a "troubling precedent" for legislative interference in research nationwide, the university's president, Pamela Whitten, said in a recent public statement. The ban, included in the state budget after a heated debate, was inspired by a conservative lawmaker's unproven claims, based on decades of circulated rumors, that the Kinsey Institute's founder had promoted pedophilia and that the institute endangered children. The state doesn't allocate any money directly for the institute, which receives the vast majority of its funding from grants and outside philanthropy, so the impact of this specific prohibition will be mostly administrative and symbolic. The state simply gives money to the university, which until now, it could spend on the institute. The institute was founded in 1947 at the Bloomington campus as the Institute for Sex Research. Its founder, Alfred C. Kinsey, was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology who had been teaching a college course on marriage and was surprised by how little his students knew about sexuality. After founding the institute, he and his team collected and studied thousands of sexual histories. Kinsey, who died in 1956, rose to national prominence after the publication of his books Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948 and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female in 1953. |
| Forget that $90,000 sticker price: College costs are actually going down | |
| The sticker price at America's priciest colleges is approaching $90,000, a milestone that has inspired fresh debate about whether college is worth the cost. But the numbers tell a different story. The "net" price of college, the amount students and their families actually pay, is going down. Almost no one is paying $90,000. The average student at a private, four-year college paid $32,800 in tuition and fees, room and board last fall, according to the College Board. Adjusting for inflation, the net price for private college has fallen by 11 percent in five years. At public colleges, the net price of attendance now averages $19,250. That figure has dropped by 13 percent in five years. "These schools, not only are they much less expensive than people think they are, they are getting less expensive," said Phillip Levine, an economics professor at Wellesley College who studies college costs. Those net price figures comprise tuition and fees, room and board, minus thousands of dollars in scholarships and discounts and grants, dispensed by schools and governments to recognize merit or need. Colleges give out so much grant aid that the advertised price of college has evolved into a largely fictional marketing tool, akin to the rack rates posted on hotel doors. |
| More than 130,000 comments pour in on Title IX transgender rule | |
| The Biden administration's proposed rule for transgender students goes both too far and not far enough, according to the more than 132,000 comments submitted ahead of today's deadline. The controversial rule, released last month, would prohibit blanket bans barring transgender students from participating in the sport consistent with their gender identity by amending regulations regarding Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX is a federal gender-equity law that protects students from sex or gender discrimination. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups say the rule would allow for discrimination against transgender students and urged the department to strengthen the rule to better protect transgender, nonbinary and intersex students. Other commenters want the department to reverse course altogether, citing worries that the rule would threaten women's sports, among other points. Those opposed also raised unfounded safety concerns and questioned the department's authority to carry out the change. "Under threat of denying essential school funding, the department's proposed regulation would attempt to coerce compliance with an uncertain, fluid, and completely subjective standard that is based on a highly politicized gender ideology," 25 Republican governors wrote in a joint comment. "Most troubling, the proposed regulation would turn the purpose of Title IX on its head and threaten the many achievements of women in athletics." |
SPORTS
| Recapping MSU baseball's series win at No. 2 LSU and what's ahead for Bulldogs | |
| In what could end up being a season-saving series, the Mississippi State Baseball team tallied back-to-back comeback wins at No. 2 LSU to keep itself in the postseason conversation. Once down 13-4 in Sunday afternoon's rubber match, the Bulldogs erased their deficit behind five RBIs from Dakota Jordan, a two-run homer from Slate Alford and a 10th-inning fielder's choice by Colton Ledbetter to win 14-13. MSU also scored eight runs after the sixth inning in Saturday's win over the Tigers, leading to its series win. With one SEC series left, the conversation for the Bulldogs shifts to how it can find a way into Hoover for the conference tournament. The road got a lot easier with this weekend's series win, but the Bulldogs still need a lot of help. The final spot in the tournament appears to be down to MSU and Missouri, after Ole Miss was eliminated from contention after getting swept by Auburn this weekend. After Sunday's win, the Bulldogs sit 2 games behind the Tigers, who walked off Georgia on Sunday to complete the weekend sweep, heading into next weekend's series against Texas A&M at Dudy Noble Field. The Tigers finish their regular season at Auburn next weekend. Since there was no head-to-head between MSU and Missouri this season, and the teams are in separate divisions, a potential tiebreaker would move to a "won-lost record of the two teams versus the No. 1 seed using common opponents", according to the SEC. |
| Unpacking Mississippi State baseball's series win at No. 2 LSU | |
 | It took a combined 419 pitches from 16 pitchers for Mississippi State baseball and LSU to end a marathon rubber match on Sunday. After 4 hours and 12 minutes of action, MSU came out victorious against the No. 2 Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Bulldogs secured a 14-13 win in 10 innings, coming back from a 13-4 deficit entering the sixth inning against LSU (39-12, 17-9 SEC). Behind 16 hits, four from shortstop David Mershon, Mississippi State (26-24, 8-19) clinched just its third SEC series win of the season. After getting run-ruled in the opener, MSU used a six-run eighth inning Saturday to even the series with a 9-4 win. Despite getting just two innings from starter Jurrangelo Cijntje on Sunday, Mississippi State outdueled a struggling LSU bullpen. Since firing assistant Scott Foxhall two weeks ago, MSU coach Chris Lemonis has had full reign of MSU's pitching. His decision to move Cade Smith out of the Friday slot may be why Mississippi State won the series. LSU's Paul Skenes has been the top pitcher in the SEC this season, and the Tigers have taken advantage -- winning in 11 of his 13 starts. Friday's matchup against MSU is included in that with Skenes allowing just one run in LSU's seven-inning 12-1 win. Beating Skenes, regardless of who opposes him on the mound, is a tough task. Lemonis elected to not waste his top starter in that matchup. Instead, Smith moved to Saturday where he allowed just two runs in six innings -- fueling Mississippi State to the victory. |
| LSU baseball's pitching implodes against Mississippi State | |
 | After a loss like this, it can be hard to have perspective. But that's what Jay Johnson made sure of Sunday afternoon. In its series finale, LSU cycled through nine pitchers against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, with one of the worst statistical offenses in the Southeastern Conference, erupted for 14 runs on 16 hits and erased a nine-run lead to win 14-13 in 10 innings in Baton Rouge. With the victory, the Bulldogs win the series in taking the latter two games at Alex Box Stadium. And they did it even after getting run-ruled in Friday's Game 1. And despite the Tigers' strong offensive Sunday, when eight Tiger starters recorded a hit and LSU cranked three home runs. Is that as painful as it gets? Johnson shut down that question after the loss, implying that yes, given the time of the year, there's always a worse loss out there. But that fact doesn't numb the pain of LSU's second series loss of the year, which arrived right on the heels of its first, a week earlier at Auburn. "Tough loss," Johnson said. "In the context of losing a game, probably as difficult as it could be. But we get an opportunity to move forward, and that's what we have to do." The Bulldogs (26-24, 8-19) scored most of their runs in the sixth and seventh innings off Christian Little, Blake Money, Nate Ackenhausen and Bryce Collins. Riley Cooper entered in the eighth frame and stabilized the rotation. Across the eighth and ninth, he allowed no runs and one hit. Given the options left in the bullpen by the bottom of the ninth, Johnson said he felt that LSU (39-12, 17-9) couldn't go into extra innings. |
| A&M drops series finale to Alabama 11-0 after Crimson Tide AD pushes for game to be played | |
| By Sunday morning, Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle thought the Sunday rubber game against Alabama at Blue Bell Park was canceled. The field, at the time, had been deemed unplayable and both Schlossnagle and Alabama interim head coach Jason Jackson had agreed the safest thing for everyone involved was to not play. But ultimately, the game started seven hours after the scheduled first pitch and the Aggies took an 11-0 thrashing. The game took place, because Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne made a last-second push to have it played, Schlossnagle said. "I personally try and take into account everybody else that's involved including [media], people that work at the stadium, concessions and grounds crew," Schlossnagle said. "It's Mother's Day. I'm not trying to avoid a game. We needed to play and we needed to win and we didn't. I met with the players. I sent them home and apparently ... their athletic director got involved and the league put a hold on it." A&M has one last series to make its mark on the regular season against a Mississippi State squad that, though they hold a 7-19 record in SEC play, took a series from second-ranked LSU this weekend. With an NCAA RPI ranking of 39, the Aggies' chances of hosting a regional are non-existent. But Schlossnagle referenced the 2017 A&M squad that saw a super regional drop into Blue Bell Park thanks to a Davidson upset of national-seeded North Carolina. Schlossnagle challenged his veterans to continue working for the off chance that they too could get more games in Blue Bell Park. |
| Mississippi State Set To Begin NCAA Tournament At Morgan Hill Regional | |
| No. 18 Mississippi State is set to tee off at the Morgan Hill Regional on Monday at the par-72, 7,561-yard Institute Golf Club in Morgan Hill, California. The regional field consists of 13 teams, four of which closed the regular season in the Golfstat Top 25. MSU will compete against top-seeded No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 7 Florida State, No. 19 Arizona, Louisville, Baylor, Missouri, BYU, NC State, Cal, Charlotte, Grand Canyon and Northern Colorado. The top five teams and the lowest individual in the regional not on an advancing team will move on to compete at the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. State's starting lineup consists of Ford Clegg, Ruan Pretorius, Garrett Endicott, Hunter Logan and Pedro Cruz Silva. Austin Vukovits will serve as the alternate. Clegg, the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ended the regular season with a sub-72 season average (71.23) and 18 rounds of par or better, which is tied with Logan for the third-most on the team. The graduate saw four top-20 and three top-10 finishes, two of which were in the top five. Cruz Silva will be the first to tee off for Mississippi State at 9:30 a.m. CT followed by Logan, Endicott, Pretorius and Clegg in 11-minute increments. |
| Mississippi State softball misses NCAA Tournament for first time since 2016 | |
| A late-season push was not enough from the Mississippi State softball team to be selected in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs (28-25, 7-16 SEC) were not one of the 64 teams that heard their name called in Sunday night's selection show, marking the first time since 2016, and the first time under head coach Samantha Ricketts, that their season won't end in the NCAA Tournament. They were the only team out of the Southeastern Conference not to be selected. Last season, the Bulldogs won their first regional in program history before falling to Arizona in Super Regional play. MSU won four of its final six regular season games, which included a sweep of Kentucky and one win at Auburn, to get itself back in the NCAA Tournament conversation. However, the Bulldogs, the No. 12 seed in this past week's Southeastern Conference Tournament, fell 3-1 to Missouri, the No. 13 seed, ending their season. Ultimately, it was the Bulldogs' slow start in SEC action, which played a major role in their tournament snub. MSU, which finished with an RPI of 47, lost 14 straight league games from March 24 to April 23, before going on its late run. |
| Tori Bowie's Hometown Celebrates Her Life Amid Mystery of Her Death | |
 | Before she became a three-time Olympic medalist and before she earned the title of world's fastest woman, Frentorish Bowie welcomed a camera crew to her hometown, Sandhill, Miss. "This is where I found my strength," Bowie, who went by Tori, said of the small town 30 minutes northeast of Jackson. It was 2016, and at age 26 Bowie was about to make her Olympic debut as part of the U.S. sprinting team at the Rio de Janeiro Games. But first she stopped at Pisgah High School to visit teachers and staff and found herself wiping away happy tears. She loved being home. "One day I hope that I can come to Sandhill and there's this huge sign that says, 'Welcome to Sandhill, home of Tori Bowie,'" she said. On Saturday, the community that took such pride in Bowie was struggling for answers as it gathered for her funeral and mourned her recent unexplained death. She was 32. Her body was found on May 2 by Orange County, Fla., sheriff's deputies, who were conducting a wellness check after she had not been seen or heard from in several days. No cause of death has been released because toxicology tests are pending, and the office said the tests could take up to three months to complete. At Saturday's memorial service at True Vine Baptist Church in Brandon, Miss., a crowd of mourners tried to put aside their questions and focus on Bowie's athletic achievements, her faith and her effervescent moments. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
