| Wednesday, July 5, 2023 |
| Umble Coffee Co. opens new headquarters, coffee shop in Starkville | |
 | At Umble Coffee Co.'s new headquarters in Starkville, customers can enjoy a cup of coffee in the same room it was roasted in. The building is split into three parts -- coffee shop, roastery and production studio. Most entrepreneurs venturing into the coffee business open a shop and eventually ease into roasting their own beans. But with Umble Coffee Co., it was the other way around. "We were looking for a different business model," Umble Coffee Co. founder Dr. Kenneth Thomas said. "Our model, ultimately, is we want to sell wholesale coffee, whereas the majority of people who get into coffee, their end goal is to have a coffee shop." Umble's roasting production has doubled every year since the business was started in 2017, necessitating a bigger space. "We wanted to move into somewhere that was industrially zoned, so it just made sense to come into town," Thomas said. "But the fun twist was we wanted a place that we could showcase the brand, and so we got with the City of Starkville and said, 'Think about it like a microbrewery in Nashville.' You go take a tour; they have shop fronts." The result of that vision is Umble Coffee Co. coffee shop, which opened to the public June 2. With wholesale customers like Mississippi State University Dining Services, Ole Miss Dining Services and various local grocery stores across the northern part of Mississippi, the roasting business is ever-expanding. Thomas wants to show people the entire process, from viewing live roasting to trying "coffee cupping," a method used to evaluate the taste and aroma of a coffee roast. |
| SOCSD looks to borrow up to $87M for building upgrades | |
 | In an effort to be prepared for future projects, the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District board approved a resolution of intent Thursday to borrow up to $87 million in bonds for improving or building school facilities. Superintendent Tony McGee said after the special-call meeting facilities studies over the next year will determine the district's specific facility needs as well as estimated costs. "We're going to look at everything from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade then decide moving forward what we'll do," McGee told The Dispatch. "We'll look at everything from safety and security to facilities. ... The district wanted to make sure that we had the most flexibility possible as we start to assess the physical needs of the high school campus and facility. We haven't locked ourself into any specific course of action or committed to issue any specific amount of bonds." Board member Sumner Davis said the district is taking the first measures to get set up to pay for improvements while capitalizing on the law that officially consolidated the Starkville School District and Oktibbeha County School District in 2015. The law states SOCSD can "issue negotiable bonds in one or more series" to improve the district's facilities and equipment through upgrades or creating new facilities. The law is for a period that began July 1, 2015 and ends July 1, 2024. |
| Trainer concerned OCH 'can't compete' without changes | |
| Oktibbeha County District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer had a clear and urgent message for the administration and Board of Trustees for OCH Regional Medical Center: Get your hospital in order or we'll do it for you. This came on the heels of the discussion about the 2022 audit, which showed the county-owned hospital operating at a $3.3 million deficit for the fiscal year, during a joint meeting between the two boards Thursday. The hospital showed a profit of $4.7 million in 2021, according to the presentation. "I'm of the opinion that if we are going to be in the (hospital) business, we need to get in business, and if we are not going to be in the business, we need to get out," Trainer said. "If we are going to support this hospital, right now, I just don't see how you all are going to be able to compete without the county having to help you. We need to have a strong conversation about that if we want to compete in the hospital business. Will it take more taxes to compete, or do we need to look at our options? ... We can rock and roll here forever, but we will not be able to compete." The 2022 deficit, according to OCH CEO James Jackson, is the result of several factors, one of which is the decrease in patients admitted to the hospital. |
| Record participation pushes Parks and Recreation space capacity | |
| The city's Parks and Recreation Department is reporting record highs of participation and revenue for the fiscal year. General Manager Brandon Doherty reported during a Friday aldermen work session the high demand may soon exceed the department's current facilities. He also presented aldermen an annual review from Sports Facilities Management, the private firm that started overseeing parks management in October 2021. Doherty said participation in parks programming is up from 2,000 participants last year to more than 3,000 this year. Doherty also told The Dispatch revenue has grown from about $300,000 in Fiscal Year 2022 to roughly $400,000 this fiscal year. "It's the most revenue Starkville has seen in Parks and Rec," Doherty said. "And ... we still have another quarter to go." Doherty said the growth of citizens' participation is partially due to marketing tools provided by Sports Facilities Management since the third-party contractor took over the department's oversight. But Doherty said the department has also diversified its programming and expanded its sports leagues while waiting for Cornerstone Park to open, giving citizens more ways to get involved in park activities. This included a new soccer program and a growing adult softball league. |
| MHP reports 4 fatal crashes during Independence Day enforcement period | |
 | The Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) has concluded the Independence Day Holiday Travel Enforcement Period, reporting 4,458 citations issued across the state in two days. From Monday, July 3 at 6:00 a.m. to midnight on Tuesday, July 4, the MHP made 49 arrests for impaired driving and investigated 76 crashes. During that time, 30 injuries were reported, along with four deaths as a result of four fatal crashes. The crashes occurred in Chickasaw County, Panola, Marion, and Itawamba Counties. All four incidents are currently being investigated by the MHP. |
| One-car wreck in Starkville claims one life | |
| A one-car wreck in west Starkville Friday evening claimed the life of a senior citizen. The Starkville Police Department responded to the intersection of Highway 12 and Bluefield Road June 30 around 7:30 p.m. An SUV occupied by four individuals left the roadway. A 71-year-old passenger was declared dead on scene. The driver was flown to the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo for further treatment. A male and female passenger were transported to OCH Regional Medical Center in Starkville. The crash remains under investigation. |
| An Early Heat Wave Upsets the Rhythm of Life in the South | |
 | The drum line stood beneath a canopy of trees and rattled through rolls of sextuplets, with reddened shoulders glistening. As the sun blistered the parking lot, rows of trumpet, tuba and mellophone players marched back and forth, wiping sweat from their foreheads at the end of each passage of music. Temperatures here in Daphne, Ala., had climbed past 90 degrees, and the humidity made it feel at least 10 degrees hotter. Yet even as a record-breaking heat wave seared most of the American South this week, the members of the Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps chose to push on, not wanting to miss a moment of the intensive camp they had been waiting all year for. "The heat has gotten me once or twice this season," said Gracie Binns, an 18-year-old member of the color guard. "It's kind of worn me down already." But, she added, "I like the challenge of it." This is summer in the South. The heat is pervasive, and demands adaptation. Construction workers, landscapers and delivery drivers wear cooling rags underneath their wide-brimmed hats, and some even turn to Florida water -- a citrus-scented, alcohol-based cologne -- to help cool their necks. Dog walkers, joggers, farmworkers and almost everybody else know it's best to venture out in the early mornings or the evenings. "All we can do is better prepare for it because unfortunately it's here and it's not going anywhere," said Sonny Schindler, the owner of Shore Thing Fishing Charters in Mississippi, who has been waking up at 2:30 a.m., an hour early, for a cooler start. |
| Political candidates flocked to Jacinto to campaign | |
 | More than 50 political candidates spoke Tuesday at the Jacinto Festival. The festival is one of Mississippi's biggest political speaking events each year. "They can come out here and talk to them face-to-face, hear them, be right there with them and meet them and know what they're saying and understand exactly what they're planning to do," festival director Charlette Foster said of voters and candidates. Tuesday's speakers included candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is seeking a second term. "We're gonna continue investing in workforce development and job training and bringing better and higher-paying jobs to our state -- the best economic development run ever in the last three years because of conservative leadership and we don't wanna go backwards." Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is also seeking a second term. "We're gonna work on health care in Mississippi. We are suffering with health care in Mississippi. Starting in October, we're gonna start having hearings on health care so we can determine what the standard of care is throughout Mississippi. In addition to that, you'll see us continuing to support education." |
| State Courts Unprepared for Poor Defendants to Have Lawyers | |
| In April, the Mississippi Supreme Court changed the rules for state courts to require that poor criminal defendants have a lawyer throughout the sometimes lengthy period between arrest and indictment. The goal is to eliminate a gap during which no one is working on a defendant's behalf. That mandate went into effect Saturday. But few of the state's courts have plans in place to change their procedures in a way that is likely to accomplish what the justices intended. A survey of courts by the Daily Journal, ProPublica and The Marshall Project found that some local court officials are unaware of the new rule. Others have not decided how they will respond. Some officials suggested that their current practice of appointing lawyers only for limited purposes will fulfill the new requirement, even though those attorneys do little beyond attending early court hearings. That reporting suggests that impoverished defendants in many Mississippi counties are likely to remain deprived of meaningful legal assistance as they wait, often in jail, for prosecutors to decide whether to pursue felony charges. "There's really not a plan," said Chuck Hopkins, a judge in a county-level justice court in northeast Mississippi's Lee County. He fears that if officials don't come up with one, the court could be "hung out there waiting for a lawsuit to happen." |
| Mississippi Democratic Party boss resigns ahead of removal vote | |
| Tyree Irving, the chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party since 2020, resigned as dozens of the state party's executive committee members appeared poised to remove him from his seat in a July 6 emergency meeting. Irving's resignation, effective July 22 but announced on Saturday, comes less than a week after Mississippi Today published emails that some party officials feared would jeopardize a $250,000 donation from the national party. The emails, which included a nasty personal attack of the No. 2 leader of the state party and were sent to senior staffers of the Democratic National Committee, led the state party's executive committee members to begin gathering signatures to call a special meeting next week. The purpose of the meeting, according to a form being circulated, was to "address the long standing and repeated actions of malfeasance and misfeasance of the Chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party." Dozens of signatures had been gathered as of the weekend -- more than enough to both call the meeting and ultimately remove the chair, several sources on the state party's executive committee shared with Mississippi Today. |
| The Mississippi Democratic Party chair announced he will resign. What happens next? | |
 | What happens next for the Mississippi Democratic Party would be pure speculation now that party chair Tyree Irving announced his resignation, effective July 22, one party official said. "Even though his resignation has been tendered, we still haven't officially done anything," Congressional District 1 Chair Andre DeBerry said in a phone interview Monday. Mississippi Today broke the news of Irving's resignation on Sunday, less than a week after the party chair came under fire by Secretary of State Candidate Shuwaski Young for writing emails to some National Democratic Committee staffers criticizing Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Director Andre Wagner. Neither Irving nor Wagner responded to requests for comment. Regardless of whether the party decides to accept Irving's resignation, state Democrats will move forward, DeBerry said. "The party is more than one or two or three or four people," DeBerry said. "It's an organizational piece, so I would think that, if they would, in fact, change the (party) head, I don't think it would really impact the party itself because of the organizational structure that's out there. That's not predicated on who's at the top." Mississippi Democratic Party leaders still plan to meet Thursday to discuss Irving's letter of resignation, DeBerry said. |
| Inside the House GOP's plan to go after FBI and DOJ | |
 | House Republicans are taking their fight with the FBI and Justice Department to a new level -- weighing punitive steps against both agencies that would have been unfathomable a decade ago. Half a year into their majority, and with an increasingly restless right flank, the House GOP is ready for a confrontation after a spate of recent decisions it sees as either anti-Trump or pro-Biden. At the top of the list: Hunter Biden's plea deal with federal investigators and Donald Trump's indictment over his handling of classified documents. That push against the FBI and DOJ will become a cornerstone of Republicans' agenda in a chaotic back half of the year. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has already threatened to explore impeaching Attorney General Merrick Garland. Conservatives have also gone after FBI Director Christopher Wray, weighing whether to force a vote recommend booting him from office. Additionally, some conservatives who believe the agencies have targeted Republicans are eager to cut the law agencies' budgets. Then there's the long-brewing congressional fight over a soon-to-expire warrantless surveillance program that has sparked bipartisan accusations of abuse by the FBI. Whether they prevail in the form of budget cuts, impeachment, or other measures remains to be seen. Conservative efforts could backfire, instead exposing tension with centrist and more establishment Republicans who embrace the party's pro-law enforcement roots -- the prevailing sentiment inside the GOP before Trump came along. |
| House, Senate majorities putting their stamps on earmarks | |
 | The fiscal 2024 appropriations process has just begun, but some patterns in the distribution of earmarks by the majorities in their respective chambers are starting to emerge. Across four bills containing earmarks that the House Appropriations Committee has approved, the new GOP majority is proposing to increase earmarked dollars above levels included in initial fiscal 2023 House bills last year. Despite a push to hold overall spending below the current fiscal year, funding devoted to earmarks in House bills has grown by more than 20 percent -- from less than $1.6 billion to over $1.9 billion -- in the Agriculture, Energy-Water, Homeland Security and Military Construction-VA bills. Earmarked funds in the House's Military Construction-VA and Homeland Security bills, even with larger overall allocations, would decline from the previous year's versions. The growth is driven by Agriculture earmarks -- up a whopping 154 percent despite a 7 percent overall spending reduction from the House's fiscal 2023 bill -- and Energy-Water earmarks, up 20 percent. Both parties are getting more earmarked funds in this year's Agriculture bill as part of the nearly $300 million increase over last year's, despite Republicans' proposed $1.9 billion cut below levels House Democrats included for fiscal 2023. But growth really took off on the GOP side, nearly quadrupling dollars set aside for their members in last year's House bill. Leading the charge is Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., who's changed his tune under GOP leadership after signing a 2021 "no earmarks" pledge. Harris tops the list in his bill with $11 million in district projects out of a combined $485 million. |
| Republicans' New Border Plan: Send Military Into Mexico | |
 | Republicans running for president and in Congress are coalescing around a controversial way to wage war against illegal drugs -- sending the U.S. military into Mexico. Former President Donald Trump, who has previously called for building a wall along the southern border and giving drug dealers the death penalty, has also proposed creating a naval blockade of Mexico to prevent drugs like illicit fentanyl from entering the U.S. His leading opponent in the 2024 GOP nomination race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, promised last week to use "deadly force" against anyone caught smuggling drugs across the border. On Capitol Hill, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and John Kennedy (R., La.) have both voiced support for military operations in Mexico. Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) said in a recent interview on NBC that cartels should be considered terrorist organizations, meriting a military response. And Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas) and Mike Waltz (R., Fla.) have sponsored a bill that would formally declare war on the cartels -- meaning the military would be authorized to drop bombs on cartel targets. There is a simple reason the idea of a military intervention keeps cropping up---it is popular, and not just with Republicans. In an NBC poll taken in late June, sending troops to the border to stop drugs was the single best-liked of 11 GOP proposals tested with Republican primary voters. And it was the only one that gained support from a majority of all registered voters. |
| Injunction blocks Biden administration from working with social media firms on 'protected speech' | |
 | A judge on Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about "protected speech," a decision called "a blow to censorship" by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri. Their lawsuit alleged that the federal government overstepped in its efforts to convince social media companies to address posts that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or affect elections. Doughty cited "substantial evidence" of a far-reaching censorship campaign. He wrote that the "evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian 'Ministry of Truth.' " The ruling listed several government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, that are prohibited by the injunction from discussions with social media companies aimed at "encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech." |
| China puts export controls on 2 metals used in semiconductors and solar panels | |
 | The Chinese government has announced buyers of two metals used in computer chips and solar panels will need to apply for export permits, starting on Aug. 1. The metals, gallium and germanium, are also used in military applications. The U.S. has been imposing trade limits for several years to try to restrict China's access to semiconductor technology. In a statement, China's Commerce Ministry said the new controls on exporting the metals are to safeguard China's national interests. "These controls aren't a ban," notes NPR's Emily Feng, reporting from Taipei. "But it's possible China could reduce the amount it sells as retribution." That's a scenario the U.S. and allied countries have long been worried about -- not just for these two fairly obscure metals, but f0r the many minerals produced and processed in China in large quantities. China produces 60% of the world's germanium and 80% of the world's gallium, according to the Critical Raw Minerals Alliance. It also dominates supply chains for rare earth minerals used in many high-tech products, as well as the lithium, cobalt and graphite used in batteries. Beijing's move comes shortly before U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to visit China. |
| Army recruiting crisis: These $200M fit camps get soldiers into shape | |
 | Patricia Limbaga's recruit-cute moment happened at her lowest point. She'd failed her military entrance exam eight times and her dream of joining the Army felt like it was slipping away. That's when her DoorDash route took her to Brig. Gen. Richard Harrison's driveway last summer. "She approached me, and she says, 'Oh my God, you're a sign from God," Harrison recalled. "It kind of struck me like, 'Why?' I've got three kids and a wife, and no one's ever called me a sign from God." Whether providence or coincidence, the meeting between a prospective entry-level soldier and Army general was propitious. The Army, the largest branch of the U.S. military, has been desperate for recruits, and the 23-year-old from Chesterfield, Virginia, desperately wanted to join its ranks. Two problems: Limbaga couldn't pass the military academic test, and she didn't meet height and weight standards. The military needs smart troops to operate sophisticated, expensive weapons, and young people fit to fight. Limbaga had a lot of company -- fewer than one-in-four young people qualify academically or physically to join the military. With a booming jobs market even fewer young people consider the military an option. The result: the worst recruiting environment in the 50-year history of the all-volunteer military. |
| Eubanks has 'experience of lifetime' during study abroad opportunity in Spain | |
| Olivia Eubanks aspires to be a teacher. Part of Eubanks' plan involves returning to her hometown of Leakesville, Mississippi, in southeastern Greene County, and helping her students learn a foreign language and develop an appreciation for a new culture. The Mississippi University for Women rising senior is putting her plan into action a little early on a study abroad opportunity at the Universidad de Alicante in Alicante, Spain. Not only is Eubanks immersing herself in the Spanish language and culture, she also is experiencing things that will help her realize her dreams. "It is the experience of a lifetime," Eubanks said in an email from Alicante, Spain. "The past two weeks of immersion have taught me more than I ever thought I could learn when it comes to customs, etiquette, celebrations, traditional family dynamics and even making forever friends who do not share your native language." Eubanks is part of a group of students that accepted an opportunity to travel and study in a foreign country through The W's Study Abroad Program. Eubanks said the experience has lived up to all of her expectations and she highly recommends every student at The W take advantage of the chance to study abroad. |
| Dr. Daniel Ennis: Takes the Reins as Delta States Ninth President | |
| Dr. Daniel J. Ennis officially stepped into his role as Delta State University's ninth president on June 1 after being officially hired in March. Ennis comes to DSU from Coastal Carolina University, where he most recently served as Provost. He takes over for DSU Interim President, E.E. "Butch" Caston. When asked about his first week on the job, Ennis says, "I'm so pleased. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful. I've been surrounded by people wishing me luck, asking what they can do to help. It has been quite remarkable." Ennis admits he didn't know much about Delta State University initially, but he threw himself into learning as much as he could about the school...and the state of Mississippi and its culture and history. "I studied hard," he says. "And, had my first interview in Jackson. Before that, though, on my way to the interview, I made a detour and 'snuck' into Cleveland, including the DSU campus, the Grammy Museum and some other places for about four hours, walking around in a golf shirt and khakis -- I loved the vibe. I wanted to get a first-hand feel of what I was possibly getting into, and it was so wonderful -- I felt at home. No one had a clue who I was or what I was up to, but they were so nice to me. They made a big difference." Ennis said that he has been quite impressed by the community's investment on and off campus -- both the actual Delta State faculty and staff community, and the people of Cleveland and Bolivar County. |
| State education board promotes Alcorn State vice president to serve as interim leader | |
| Mississippi's top college board has approved an appointment that promotes Alcorn State University's vice president for student affairs and enrollment management to interim president. Starting July 8, Tracy Cook will replace Ontario Wooden, who is leaving the school after three years to focus on his family. The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, which governs all of Mississippi's public universities, approved Cook's appointment Friday, according to a statement. Alfred McNair, the board of trustees' president, said the board is pleased with the selection of Cook, who also served as Alcorn State's chief of staff in 2015. "Dr. Cook will keep the university moving forward and building on its rich heritage," McNair said. Cook is a graduate of Alcorn State, earning a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics and a master's degree in agronomy and educational administration and supervision. He went on to earn a doctorate and specialist degree in educational leadership from William Carey University in Hattiesburg. |
| ICC hosts inaugural boot camp for incoming nursing students | |
| Incoming nursing students at Itawamba Community College got a taste of the college experience during a boot camp designed to promote student engagement and success this week at ICC-Tupelo. Dr. Dana Walker, director of ICC's Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program, said the inaugural two-day event was attended by 78 students, which is more than 60% of the incoming class. Students met faculty, participated in skills training, learned testing strategies, and got hands-on experience in clinical and simulation labs on campus during day one. Day two included a panel discussion with former graduates and faculty, along with a tour of the North Mississippi Medical Center. "We're looking for ways to engage students early and try to help alleviate stress and help them feel comfortable with us," Walker said. Orientation can be overwhelming, so they're eliminating the fear of the unknown before what would normally be students' first time on camps, Walker said. "We're looking at student success, of course. We want to retain students," Walker said. "Because with the nursing shortage, we've got to graduate nurses to get out into the workforce." |
| Ransomware criminals are dumping kids' private files online after school hacks | |
| The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy -- even suicide attempts. "Please do something," begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser at a school in Minneapolis. Other victims talked about wetting the bed or crying themselves to sleep. Complete sexual assault case folios containing these details were among more than 300,000 files dumped online in March after the 36,000-student Minneapolis Public Schools refused to pay a $1 million ransom. Other exposed data included medical records, discrimination complaints, Social Security numbers and contact information of district employees. Rich in digitized data, the nation's schools are prime targets for far-flung criminal hackers, who are assiduously locating and scooping up sensitive files that not long ago were committed to paper in locked cabinets. "In this case, everybody has a key," said cybersecurity expert Ian Coldwater, whose son attends a Minneapolis high school. Often strapped for cash, districts are grossly ill-equipped not just to defend themselves but to respond diligently and transparently when attacked, especially as they struggle to help kids catch up from the pandemic and grapple with shrinking budgets. |
| Former Auburn president Jay Gogue named interim chancellor at New Mexico State | |
 | Former Auburn University school president Jay Gogue is back at work again, named Friday as interim chancellor at New Mexico State University. Gogue served as NMSU president from 2000-03 before arriving at Auburn. NMSU announced that the school's board of regents had agreed to a mutual separation with the school's former chancellor, Dan Arvizu. Gogue is set to lead the NMSU school system as the university searches for a permanent replacement. Gogue returns to help NMSU in a bind in much the same way he returned to serve as school president at Auburn for a second stint recently. Gogue worked as president at Auburn from 2007-17, then after the ill-fated tenure of Steven Leath, returned to his role as president from 2019-22. Between NMSU and Auburn, Gogue worked as the president and chancellor for the University of Houston system from 2003-07. "Susie and I are pleased to be back at NMSU," Gogue said in a statement put out by NMSU. "My plan is to hit the ground listening. No two institutions of higher education are the same. Just because something worked at Auburn doesn't mean it will work at NMSU. In the coming days, I intend to meet with as many people as I can to get a better understanding of our overall landscape." |
| Texas counselors work to convince students of color they still belong in college | |
 | Brown. Tufts. The University of Southern California. Heading into her senior year, Sydney Vallair had zeroed in on her top choices and felt "ahead of the game" when it came to applying for college. The 17-year-old spent her junior year learning the ins and outs of the application process and how she could best position herself to leave southwest Houston for a top-tier university. With the help of EMERGE, a nonprofit that works to get high-performing students from underserved communities to selective schools, she went on campus tours and met with college students with similar backgrounds. Her personal statement was basically finished, she scored high on multiple Advanced Placement tests, and she racked up extracurriculars inside and outside of school. But when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision declaring the use of race in college admissions as unconstitutional, her confidence was initially shaken. "Affirmative action is very important for me as a Black student," Vallair said. The ruling, however, left her confused about how it would "affect not only my admission process but those after me." As colleges and universities rethink their approaches to admissions, students of color are having to rethink everything from the subjects of their essays to the schools they're targeting. Meanwhile, the Texas counselors helping them say they must double down on their messages of encouragement. One thing remains unchanged, they're telling students: These schools still want you. |
| How elite schools like Stanford became fixated on the AI apocalypse | |
 | Paul Edwards, a Stanford University fellow who spent decades studying nuclear war and climate change, considers himself "an apocalypse guy." So Edwards jumped at the chance in 2018 to help develop a freshman class on preventing human extinction. Working with epidemiologist Steve Luby, a professor of medicine and infectious disease, the pair focused on three familiar threats to the species -- global pandemics, extreme climate change and nuclear winter -- along with a fourth, newer menace: advanced artificial intelligence. On that last front, Edwards thought young people would be worried about immediate threats, like AI-powered surveillance, misinformation or autonomous weapons that target and kill without human intervention -- problems he calls "ultraserious." But he soon discovered that some students were more focused on a purely hypothetical risk: That AI could become as smart as humans and destroy mankind. To prevent this theoretical but cataclysmic outcome, mission-driven labs like DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic are racing to build a good kind of AI programmed not to lie, deceive or kill us. More recently, wealthy tech philanthropists have begun recruiting an army of elite college students to prioritize the fight against rogue AI over other threats. Open Philanthropy alone has funneled nearly half a billion dollars into developing a pipeline of talent to fight rogue AI. At Stanford, Open Philanthropy awarded Luby and Edwards more than $1.5 million in grants to launch the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative, which supports student research in the growing field known as "AI safety" or "AI alignment." Critics call the AI safety movement unscientific. They say its claims about existential risk can sound closer to a religion than research. And while the sci-fi narrative resonates with public fears about runaway AI, critics say it obsesses over one kind of catastrophe to the exclusion of many others. |
| Study: Chinese scientists increasingly leaving U.S. | |
 | When the Department of Justice announced its China Initiative in 2018, it said protecting national security was a goal. But a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests the initiative's investigations may have caused valuable researchers of Chinese descent to leave the U.S. for China. The paper, "Caught in the crossfire: Fears of Chinese-American scientists," doesn't confirm causation between the initiative and the departures. Its data, from 2010 to 2021, shows that the annual number of Chinese-descent scientists leaving the U.S. was steadily increasing before 2018. But the trend greatly accelerated that year, the study found. "The migration has increased during those 12 years, from 900 scientists in 2010 to 2,621 in 2021, with an accelerated departure rate (75 percent higher) in the last three years ... coinciding with the launch of the China Initiative in 2018," the authors wrote. The Justice Department, which didn't comment for this story, ended the initiative in early 2022. The authors wrote that there are questions over how much "the formal dropping of the 'China Initiative' name has been accompanied by substantive changes in the government's practices that address the chilling effects." |
| Activists spurred by affirmative action ruling challenge legacy admissions at Harvard | |
| A civil rights group is challenging legacy admissions at Harvard University, saying the practice discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair boost to the mostly white children of alumni. The practice of giving priority to the children of alumni has faced growing pushback in the wake of last week's Supreme Court's decision ending affirmative action in higher education. The NAACP added its weight behind the effort on Monday, asking more than 1,500 colleges and universities to even the playing field in admissions, including by ending legacy admissions. The civil rights complaint was filed Monday by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston, on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England, alleging that Harvard's admissions system violates the Civil Rights Act. "Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations?" said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, the group's executive director. "Your family's last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit, and should have no bearing on the college admissions process." Opponents say the practice is no longer defensible without affirmative action providing a counterbalance. The court's ruling says colleges must ignore the race of applicants, activists point out, but schools can still give a boost to the children of alumni and donors. |
| The Supreme Court's Ruling on Admissions Exempts Military Academies. What's Up With That? | |
 | The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday delivered a tremendous blow to race-conscious admissions policies -- policies that selective colleges say have been a cornerstone of their efforts to bring racial diversity to their student bodies. But the court made an exception for one type of institution: military academies. The carveout was written in small print as a footnote at the bottom of the 30th page of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s 40-page opinion. The United States government, he wrote, "contends that race-based admissions programs further compelling interests at our nation's military academies. No military academy is a party to these cases, however, and none of the courts below addressed the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context. This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present." Potentially distinct interests. Roberts did not spell those out, adding a layer of complexity to the ruling that colleges across the country are now trying to parse and interpret. Some higher-education scholars were left scratching their heads about how to interpret the footnote. |
| What will Biden's new plan mean for borrowers set to begin paying back their student loans? | |
| Following the Supreme Court's decision to effectively kill Biden's earlier student debt forgiveness proposal, the White House is trying again to ease the burden on those carrying student loans using a different legal approach. Biden's original plan would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. Of those, 20 million would have had their remaining student debt erased completely. With repayments set to begin in October, many borrowers are wondering if they still have to pay. Here's what to know about where the new Biden plan stands. Under the proposed approach, the White House is now planning to use the Higher Education Act of 1965 -- a sweeping federal law that governs the student loan program -- to bring about relief for student borrowers. Biden said the authority of the act will provide "the best path that remains to provide as many borrowers as possible with debt relief." The law includes a provision giving the education secretary authority to "compromise, waive or release" student loans. In its previous attempt to forgive student loans, Biden's White House appealed to a bipartisan 2003 law dealing with national emergencies, known as the HEROES Act, for the authority to cancel the debt. The court's 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the administration needed Congress' endorsement before undertaking so costly a program. |
| In Mississippi, SCOTUS affirmative action decision is of little public university impact | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: The Supreme Court of the United States last week reversed a longstanding precedent allowing race as a college admissions consideration that traces back to the late 1970s and that was reaffirmed in part in the early 2000s. The current case involved admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. In reaction to the high court decision, Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education Alfred Rankins Jr. said: "In general, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning undergraduates are admitted based on completing the college preparatory curriculum in high school, high school GPA, and ACT/SAT score. In consultation with the Attorney General's Office, we will review the Supreme Court's ruling and our general undergraduate, graduate, and professional school admission policies to determine if any changes are needed to ensure compliance with federal law." In broad, blunt strokes, Rankins stated Mississippi's college admissions standards -- standards that evolved in great measure out of the settlement of the protracted Ayers higher education lawsuit in the state. In 2002, the state and Ayers plaintiffs agreed to the settlement that would distribute $503 million over 17 years to Mississippi's three historically black universities -- Jackson State University, Alcorn State University, and Mississippi Valley State University. |
SPORTS
| Why Mississippi State baseball's Kyle Cheesebrough stayed put while holding volunteer role | |
| He was waiting at third base when Kellum Clark launched a ball to right-center that essentially clinched Mississippi State baseball's championship in 2021, and he was the first to hug coach Chris Lemonis when the final out of the decisive game against Vanderbilt was recorded. Kyle Cheesebrough has been at the center of perhaps the most memorable moments in MSU history, but it came in a volunteer assistant role. That is no longer the case for a crucial piece in Mississippi State's attempt to return to glory in 2024. As of July 1, the NCAA allows baseball programs to have a head coach and three full-time, paid assistants. "It's exciting," Cheesebrough told the Clarion Ledger last week. "It's only going to benefit the game -- getting an opportunity to get more guys out on the road and have a chance to get their feet wet in the coaching world and to recruit." The ruling also will open doors for young coaches. Many have been pushed away from the game due to financial struggles. With full-time salaries coming, that could change. "It gives them the opportunity to stay in the game that they love," Cheesebrough said. |
| Mississippi State Football Summer Series: Previewing Southeastern Louisiana | |
| Less than eight weeks stand between the rest of the college football offseason and the beginning of the first Mississippi State football season under head coach Zach Arnett. Arnett, who succeeded Mike Leach after Leach's death last December, was named MSU's new head coach on Dec. 15, 2022, after serving as the team's defensive coordinator since 2020. In his first game on Jan. 2, he led the Bulldogs to a 19-10 win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Arnett's regular season opener will take place this September in Starkville against an FCS opponent, Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs, who haven't lost a season-opener since 2016 against South Alabama, are paying the Lions $550,000 for the game, according to a public records request obtained by The Dispatch. Here is what to know about MSU's 2023 regular-season opener opponent. Mississippi State and SELU have met once in history, with the Bulldogs beating the Lions, 34-10, in a 2008 meeting in Starkville. MSU quarterback Wesley Carroll threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns during the game, while Anthony Dixon ran for 80 yards and two scores on 18 carries. |
| COLUMN: For Mississippi State, moving basketball student section came at the perfect time | |
| The Dispatch's Justin Frommer writes: Mississippi State Student Association president Ellie Herndon had barely been on the job in May when she was approached by athletic director Zac Selmon and his team with an idea for improving student-fan experiences at the Humphrey Coliseum. Herndon, who was elected in February, was all ears. She loved going to basketball games. Other students did, too. So, when MSU wanted to move the student section closer to the court, Herndon thought of two groups of people: incoming freshman and banana-suit wearers. "We have our standard crowd that always shows up at the game," Herndon told The Dispatch in a recent phone interview. " One of the examples that Zac and I talked about is we have these three students that always show up in banana costumes. Thinking about them being courtside, (with) other people that are at every single game cheering on the Bulldogs is exciting. I think it will draw in new students to come, but also give a special privilege for students who have showed up to every game and give them that opportunity to be courtside." It's no coincidence that MSU's athletic department was finally ready to make this move. |
| Brent Rooker, former Mississippi State baseball player, named All-Star for Oakland Athletics | |
| One former Mississippi State baseball player was named to the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game this summer. Brent Rooker, an outfielder for the Oakland Athletics, was named a reserve selection to the American League All-Star game after being on pace for a career season through 84 games. He was selected as a reserve designated hitter. Rooker, who played for Mississippi State from 2014-17, has played 72 games for the Athletics this season, batting .243 with 58 hits, 14 home runs and 41 RBIs, leading to his first-career All-Star selection. In four seasons in Starkville, Rooker tallied 186 career hits, 37 home runs and 154 RBIs before being selected by the Minnesota Twins, where he spent the first two seasons of his career, with the 35th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. Rooker is the 12th former MSU player to be selected to the MLB All-Star Game, joining Will Clark and Jonathan Papelbon, who each received six selections, Rafael Palmeiro, a four-time selection, Dave Ferris, Buddy Myer and Brandon Woodruff, who each received two selections and Jeff Brantley, Sammy Ellis, Adam Frazier, Mitch Moreland and Bobby Thigpen, all one-time All-Stars. |
| MUW approved for NCAA Divison III membership | |
| Mississippi University for Women (MUW, The W) has been approved to become an active member of the NCAA Division III. The NCAA informed the university on June 28. MUW's membership will go into effect on Sept. 1. MUW had been competing as an independent institution without an NCAA or conference affiliation. The Owls will play in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). A tornado in 2002 forced the university to disband its athletics department. The department was reinstated in 2017. |
| Florida takes first step in $400 million Swamp makeover | |
| The Swamp is getting a makeover, a significant overhaul that's expected to cost at least $400 million and be a "multigenerational solution" for an aging and iconic stadium in the heart of Florida's campus. The Gators announced plans Monday to hire an architect for the design of its revamped Florida Field, the first public step in a process that's been ruminating for years. The school will open a formal selection window in July. Athletic director Scott Stricklin said it's "premature to speculate" on the final cost, seating capacity and a specific timeline. But he made it clear the project's main goal will be to transform the game-day experience for fans while maintaining a lot of what helped the Gators create one of the most daunting home-field advantages in the Southeastern Conference. The stadium first opened as a 22,000-seat facility in 1930. It has been expanded several times in nearly a century since, with capacity now at roughly 90,000, but it lacks many of the conveniences experienced in modern NFL venues. Proposed upgrades are sure to include wider concourses, less bench seating, more concession options, larger video boards, a new sound system and improved lighting throughout. Capacity is expected to be reduced by thousands. |
| Stephen A. Smith on ESPN layoffs: 'More is coming' and 'I could be next' | |
| "First Take" anchor Stephen A. Smith said ESPN colleagues who were laid off "deserved better." "ESPN just the other day laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent," Smith said on "The Stephen A. Smith Show" on Monday. "Friends of mine, actually, definitely respected colleagues who have done a phenomenal job and deserved better. But it's not Disney or ESPN that they deserved better from, they deserved better than the times we are living in." Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber, Keyshawn Johnson, Jalen Rose and Max Kellerman were among the on-air talent let go by ESPN in the latest round of layoffs last week as part of parent company Disney's cost-cutting measures. Smith said this isn't the end of the layoffs, adding, "more is coming." "Yes, ladies and gentleman, I could be next," Smith said. "My eyes are wide open now. I'm never comfortable. I never take anything for granted and I never assume that I am safe." |
| Rece Davis reacts to another GameDay member out at ESPN: 'No one helped me more weekly' | |
 | Rece Davis said there isn't any other single person who helped him prep more for "College GameDay" week in and week out than Gene Wojciechowski. On Monday, Davis said farewell to Wojciechowski, who announced earlier in the day he was no longer with ESPN. Wojciechowski was among those on-air personalities that were let go last week. "No one helped me more weekly with 'GameDay' prep," David tweeted Monday night. "Confidante. Journalistic guide. Sounding board. Brilliant writer and story teller. Integrity beyond reproach. Most of all a tremendous friend. Friday night quick dinner to talk it through one more time. What Gene has accomplished in this business and contributed to our show is beyond measure. Thank you Geno. WE are in YOUR debt." The cuts are part of the plan by The Walt Disney Co. to lay off thousands of employees -- including ESPN as part of a previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs this year. The job cuts include entertainment, ESPN, parks, experiences and products. |
| NCAA NIL subcommittee now tasked with developing a Plan B | |
| At the two-year anniversary of the NIL Era, industry leaders are increasingly voicing one question: If the NCAA's efforts to secure a federal NIL bill fall short, what is Plan B? Now the NCAA's NIL subcommittee has in fact been tasked with exploring a Plan B in case Congress does not act by passing a federal NIL bill. The NCAA Division I Council received updates on the work of the NIL subcommittee last Tuesday and Wednesday at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, a source with direct knowledge of the meetings told On3. The purpose of the meetings -- attended Tuesday and Wednesday by first-year NCAA President Charlie Baker -- extended beyond merely discussing NIL-specific guidance and interpretation. Rather, the source said, the purpose was to develop details around an NIL-specific proposal in case Congress doesn't act to pass a federal NIL bill. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of ongoing discussions, stressed the meetings do not reflect a pivot in strategy by the NCAA. The NCAA will continue to aggressively lobby Congress for a federal NIL bill while the subcommittee -- also known as the NIL Working Group -- explores potential backup plans. A larger stakeholders meeting is expected to occur at the end of July in Indianapolis to solicit additional feedback on a potential draft of an NIL-specific proposal. That could be in the form of a draft of a federal bill to present to Congress or new overall NIL-specific guidelines. Specific elements that will be included in a potential NIL proposal remain unclear. |
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