| Tuesday, October 31, 2023 |
| Education: Mississippi State announces 2023 Homecoming Court royalty | |
 | Mississippi State students have chosen a new group of Bulldog royalty to represent the university in its 2023 Homecoming Court, which will be presented formally during halftime of the MSU vs. University of Kentucky football game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. This year's reigning Homecoming King and Queen are Cole Ray of Indian Springs, Alabama, and Carrington Davis of Columbus. Ray is a senior marketing and supply chain logistics double major, and Davis is a senior elementary education major. This year's Miss MSU is senior political science major Ann Olivia Radicioni of Clinton, and Mr. MSU is senior communication/public relations major Matteo Mauro of Gulf Breeze, Florida. Additionally, each undergraduate class is represented by two maids. For more on 2023 Homecoming Week activities, follow the MSU Student Association on Facebook @MSUStudentAssociation, as well as @MSU_SA on Twitter and Instagram. For more information on MSU gameday activities, visit www.hailstate.com/gameday. |
| Community Profile: New Hope graduate to be recognized as MSU Homecoming Queen | |
| The Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program provides a free education for teaching students, but there is a catch: To qualify, the student has to make a commitment to stay and teach in Mississippi for five years. That didn't seem like much of a demand for Carrington Davis, a senior elementary education major at Mississippi State from Columbus. "I truly love Starkville and I truly love Columbus," Davis said. "So I certainly wouldn't be opposed to staying close to home, not at all." By her own admission, Davis is something of a homebody. On Saturday evening when Mississippi State hosts Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium, the homebody will have another title: Homecoming Queen. "I just get chills thinking about it," said Davis, who emerged from a field of eight candidates to win the election, which was announced on Oct. 10. "I feel like it's the culmination of all the amazing experiences I've had and the people I've met over the past three-and-a-half years. It's about all the emotions and feelings and love that I have for Mississippi State." Her parents, Todd and Angela Davis, drove over to hear the results of the election, which was announced on the steps of Lee Hall. Davis said her mom, who had been a Junior Maid at MSU, was especially thrilled to hear the outcome. "I think she was probably more excited about it than I was, if that's possible," Davis said. |
| Mississippi State University Opens Nation's First Agricultural Autonomy Institute | |
 | The farm of the future is being created at Mississippi State University. MSU officials on Thursday [Oct. 26] officially opened the Agricultural Autonomy Institute, the nation's first and only interdisciplinary research center focused on autonomous technologies to enhance on-farm precision and efficiency. The Agricultural Autonomy Institute builds on and expands MSU's longstanding precision agriculture efforts and history of innovation in the field. The institute serves as a hub for researchers across campus interested in technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and remote sensing that have potential to increase agricultural precision, production and profitability. Alex Thomasson, Agricultural Autonomy Institute director and head of MSU's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, said autonomous technologies can reduce the impact of labor shortages by making farm workers more efficient with the aid of novel systems. "Autonomous systems multiply the productivity of a single farm worker such that they can oversee multiple machines and operations simultaneously," Thomasson said. "Overall, the goal of the institute is economic development. We want to attract agricultural equipment companies, and we want to conduct research that leads to technology-based startup companies. We want to develop a new workforce that will have the ability to work in this new world of robotics, mechatronics and computer coding. I really hope to see Mississippi become the Silicon Valley of agricultural autonomy." |
| Prolonged drought has reduced hay production | |
| Mississippi hay growers harvested at least 28% less hay this year than usual because of the drought that reached extreme levels in parts of the state. Brett Rushing, Mississippi State University Extension forage agronomist, said hay producers in the state typically get three cuttings a year, and often four if they manage well and the weather cooperates. "This year, you were truly blessed to get maybe two," Rushing said. "A lot of the second cutting was delayed by quite a bit of rain in June and July. We had drought conditions after that, and although growers kept waiting to get a third cutting, the forage never could get going." Brian Mills, an Extension agricultural economist working at MSU's Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, said as of Oct. 19, the U.S. Drought Monitor has 100% of Mississippi's hay acreage in some level of drought and 31% in the most severe drought. "Pasture and range conditions in Mississippi are the worst they have been in the last five years," Mills said. Rocky Lemus, Extension forage specialist, said during a drought, hay and livestock producers should critically evaluate alternative feed sources that may be available for their cattle. "Hay is the most often used option but may not be the most economical," Lemus said. "Producers should look at all available crop residues such as corn stover, rice straw, peanut residue, soybean residue and other possible feeds that can help stretch tight feeding supplies." |
| Richard C. Adkerson Inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame | |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) today announced Richard C. Adkerson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has been inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the global mining industry. Adkerson is a long-standing member and past chair of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), where he has championed initiatives to strengthen environmental and social performance in the mining industry. Adkerson was the chief architect of the $26 billion "dream come true" purchase of Phelps Dodge Corp. in 2007, at the time the largest mining acquisition in history which created the modern Freeport. Commenting on Adkerson's induction, former Board member, business partner and personal friend, Dr. Henry Kissinger, said, "Richard is a preeminent candidate for the National Mining Hall of Fame. He has an extraordinary combination of knowledge about the mining industry, together with its relevance to our national purpose." Adkerson graduated from Mississippi State University with a B.S. degree in Accounting with highest honors and an M.B.A. degree. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Mississippi State. He also completed the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School in 1988. Prior to joining Freeport-McMoRan in 1989, he was Partner and Managing Director in Arthur Andersen & Co. where he headed the Firm's Worldwide Oil and Gas Industry Practice. From 1976 to 1978, he was a Professional Accounting Fellow with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. He was named National Alumnus of the Year of Mississippi State University in 2011 and The Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy is named in his honor. |
| Less boo for your buck: For the second Halloween in a row, US candy inflation hits double digits | |
 | Spooked by the high price of Halloween candy? There's not much relief in sight. For the second year in a row, U.S. shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. Candy and gum prices are up an average of 13% this month compared to last October, more than double the 6% increase in all grocery prices, according to Datasembly, a retail price tracker. That's on top of a 14% increase in candy and gum prices in October 2022. Weather is the main culprit for the higher prices. Cocoa prices are trading at 44-year highs after heavy rains in West Africa caused limited production in the season that began last fall. Now, El Nino conditions are making the region drier and are likely to linger well into the spring. "There may be no price relief in sight, at least through the first half of 2024," said Dan Sadler, principal of client insights for Circana, a market research firm. Kelly Goughary, a senior research analyst with Gro Intelligence, an agricultural analytics firm, said Ivory Coast -- which produces around 40% of the world's cocoa -- is already showing the signs of one of its worst droughts since 2003. Meanwhile, global sugar prices are at 12-year highs, Goughary said. India, the world's second-largest sugar producer after Brazil, recently banned sugar exports for the first time in seven years after monsoon rains hurt the upcoming harvest. Thailand's output is also down. Those costs, combined with increases for labor, packaging, and ingredients like peanuts, are pushing up prices for all kinds of candy. |
| Why the urban legend of contaminated Halloween candy won't disappear | |
 | Halloween is one of the most dangerous holidays of the year for kids. It has more child pedestrian deaths than any other day of the year. Kids also get tangled in their costumes and injure themselves. But there's something that isn't a real problem: strangers giving trick-or-treaters apples with razor blades, poisoned candy or drugs. For decades, Halloween-safety public service announcements and police officers have advised parents to inspect their children's candy before letting them eat it. Generations of kids have been told bad people want to hurt them by tampering with their Halloween candy. "This is absolutely a legend," said Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, who has studied contaminated candy since the 1980s. "It's not a particularly great legend ... but it lives on." When Best was in graduate school in the late 1960s, the fear of tainted candy was already a widespread concern. There were also moments when that fear spiked, like after the Tylenol killings in 1982. Seven people died after being poisoned by painkillers laced with cyanide. This led to speculation that Halloween candy would be dangerous that year. But there was no wave of Halloween poisonings. The topic would come up with Best's students and friends. They were outraged that he didn't think the candy danger was real. So he started digging through newspapers, searching for cases of it happening. "I have data going back to 1958, and I have yet to find a report of a child that's been killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating," said Best. |
| Study: Candy corn is Mississippi's favorite Halloween candy | |
| Candy corn is back on top in the Magnolia State. After a one-year absence from the No. 1 spot in Instacart's annual report on Halloween candy, the controversial candy corn is once again the preferred buy for Mississippians during the month of October. According to the report, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia were the only states that buy more candy corn than the national average. While other states such as neighboring Louisiana are in favor of Tootsie Pops, residents of the Magnolia State seem to keep it classic when it comes to trick-or-treaters. The report also revealed that chocolate is still king on a national basis. The three top Halloween candies in the U.S. were Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut M&Ms, and regular M&Ms. Hershey's Milk Chocolate came in at No. 6 while KitKats came in at No. 9. |
| Bogue Chitto Cotton Gin provides accessibility, opportunity for farmers | |
 | It's harvest time in North Mississippi, and farmers are working hard to get crops out of the field and onto processing. In Noxubee County, the Bogue Chitto Cotton Gin is hard at work cleaning and separating its 12th cotton crop since its opening. From the fields to the gin, harvest season is in full swing at the Bogue Chitto Gin in Noxubee County. General Manager Aaron Litwiller said the gin processes cotton for over 100 farmers. "We clean it, separate the lint from the seed, and we pack that lint into a 500-pound bale that gets sent to a warehouse and eventually milled to be made into clothing and different items," Litwiller said. Since its opening in 2012, the gin has been able to grow and serve several surrounding counties and parts of Alabama. "It gave them [farmers] the opportunity to have that diversity on their farm and raise cotton. And it's been helpful to this community because there is a lot of trucking. A lot of work and parts go into a cotton gin. So, the numbers that are always said is that cotton turns a dollar about seven times. Whereas some of the grain only turns about one time," Litwiller said. The gin allowed farmers to not only make money but also save money. "I think with transportation costs as high as they are, having a local gin that right here that they can stop in, check how things are going, check on their cotton, and the process of what their cotton is being ginned. I think they do appreciate that. And it's nice to work within the community," Litwiller said. Litwiller said they want to take in about 80,000 bales of cotton this year. And so far, the dry weather has been helpful to its customers. |
| Artisan pizza in the Delta. It's worth the drive | |
 | Marisol Lena took some well-deserved time off recently, which gave her an opportunity to reflect on the first six months of being the owner of Lena Pizza and Bagels in Cleveland. What she discovered is that the new artisan pizza venue in the heart of the Mississippi Delta is going very well. Lena's opened to much fanfare in the spring along historic Cotton Row in downtown Cleveland. Since then, the restaurant has been full virtually every day. Born and raised in Mexico, Marisol didn't work with dough until starting a bagel company a few years ago. She also studied at the prestigious Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Napoli, Italy, and completed a stage at Scuola di Pizzaiolo outside Naples. "We have worked every day for six months and then six months before that to get ready to open. So, we thought now was a good time to recharge our batteries a little bit," said Lena, who reopened the restaurant this past weekend. With more than two decades in the restaurant industry, this is her first brick and mortar location. She met her husband, Rory Doyle, in Arizona and they moved to Cleveland because of an opportunity for him to work at Delta State University. While he is associated with the restaurant and helps with many facets including social media, Doyle is a freelance visual journalist. "I knew nothing about Mississippi at the time except that there was Delta State and the river was close by," Lena said. "We eventually grew to love Cleveland. It's small enough that you get to know people, and it has a really cool downtown. We made friends and we have stayed." |
| Mississippi voters removed from active rolls offset new registrations leading up to election | |
 | Over 30,000 Mississippians have registered to vote in the past six months, but just as many have been removed from the active-voter rolls and another 40,000 have been purged from the rolls altogether. Statewide, from April 1 through Oct. 1 of this year, new voter registration was offset by the number of voters moved to "inactive" status, according to data the Daily Journal obtained from the secretary of state's office via a public records request. During the period reviewed, about 33,000 new voters registered. Around 300 were rejected, and over 32,000 other voters were marked inactive. As a result, the active voter count stayed about the same, increasing by 334 or 0.02%. Another 40,000 voters already on the inactive list were purged from the rolls completely. Mississippi has about 1.92 million active voters as of Oct. 1. Another 154,000 voters are on inactive status. Their circuit clerk should have sent these voters notices of their status change, after which they have four years to confirm they are still living at their registered address. Voters who fail to return the notice are purged from the rolls. Inactive voters who show up to the proper precinct on Election Day or to the circuit clerk's office during absentee in-person voting in the weeks leading up to the election may submit affidavit ballots. The ballots are reviewed by local election commissioners to determine if they may be counted and the voter returned to the active list. |
| Will Mississippi's efforts to prevent biological males from participating in women's sports survive federal rule making? | |
| In 2021, State Senator Angela Hill authored the Mississippi Fairness Act. The law prohibits biological males who identify as female from competing in women's sports in public schools and at the university level. Hill said the vote on the Fairness Act was "the simplest litmus test of how far left and how out of touch with [Mississippi] somebody is, especially a woman, voting against keeping men out of women's sports." Governor Tate Reeves then signed the bill into law. "I'm the father of three girls. They all play sports. I refuse to sit back and allow biological males to take opportunities from them and other girls. In Mississippi, boys will play boys' sports and girls will play girls' sports. It's just common sense, and it's why I was proud to sign the Fairness Act into law," Reeves told the Magnolia Tribune in October. The bill originally sparked conversation after the President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to include gender identity questions within the federal prohibition against sex discrimination. This caused concern for many conservative leaders when it came to the protection of women and girls' sports from biological male participation. The discussion over transgender rights and competition on boys' and girls' teams in school sports continues to climb to a federal level. |
| House Republicans unveil $14.3B stand-alone Israel supplemental | |
 | House Republicans released a $14.3 billion stand-alone bill Monday dedicated solely to aiding Israel, decoupling it from aid for Ukraine and border security as the White House had proposed in its own emergency funding request earlier this month. The legislation seeks to offset the Israel support by clawing back $14.3 billion in IRS funding that Congress passed in last year's reconciliation measure, a frequent target of Republicans. The proposal could lead to a showdown with the White House and Senate, where leaders have expressed support for the Biden administration's broader $106 billion package, which includes further aid for Kyiv, the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Mexico border. The House Rules Committee is slated to consider the bill on Wednesday. Delinking the aid for the Israeli and Ukranian war efforts has been a focus for some Republicans across both the House and the Senate, with proponents arguing that political divisions associated with continuing to arm Ukraine could hamper efforts to expeditiously deliver support to Israel. While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has repeatedly stressed the two are interrelated and should move together, there are clear divisions among his own members, four of whom last week introduced a $14.3 billion stand-alone bill seeking to "immediately" boost Israel's defenses. |
| Mitch McConnell Hopeful New Speaker Mike Johnson Will Back Ukraine Aid | |
 | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said he is optimistic that newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson will back more U.S. aid to Ukraine, as the House moves this week to advance a funding bill that provides $14.3 billion to help Israel to fight Hamas but no money for Kyiv in the war against Russia. "I'm hopeful that he will decide that it was important to support Ukraine, as well," said McConnell, adding the two would talk about the issue later this week. McConnell and Johnson met for the first time Thursday, a day after the Louisiana Republican's surprise election as speaker ended three weeks of intraparty wrangling in the House. In an interview Monday, McConnell stressed his support for tying aid for Ukraine and Israel together in a much larger emergency-funding package that also would include funding for Taiwan and U.S. border security. "I think it's all connected," he said. "And if we don't stand up to these challenges now, they will cost us a lot more in the future." The Biden administration is calling for $106 billion in emergency funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and to manage the flow of migrants at the U.S. border. The proposal includes $14 billion for Israel, $61 billion for Ukraine, about $9 billion for humanitarian assistance to both conflict theaters, about $2 billion for security assistance in the Indo-Pacific and $14 billion for the border. The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the Biden administration's request Tuesday. |
| Harris had a contingency plan for campus protests over Israel | |
 | Former aides to Kamala Harris' 2020 presidential campaign are collecting signatures for a letter urging the vice president to "seek an immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, and calling Israel's Gaza campaign a "genocide." The draft letter, which was obtained by POLITICO, amounts to an attempt to dial up pressure on one of the Biden administration's most familiar faces. It encourages the vice president to support a ceasefire resolution introduced by Rep. Cori Bush as well as "independent investigations of human rights violations in Gaza." Harris' office did not comment on the signature gathering effort, but two supporters who worked for her in the past dismissed it as an unhelpful stunt that unfairly targets her. The letter's existence, even in draft form, illustrates the degree to which the conflict in Gaza has become a political tinderbox, pitting traditional Democratic constituencies against facets of the party's elected leadership. It's a dynamic that could impact future plans Harris has as she, as part of the Biden reelect, tries to reach disaffected younger voters. It's already affected current operations. Harris has largely echoed President Joe Biden's response to the attacks on Israel. Still, the fighting in Gaza and Israel -- and the administration's approach to it -- has inflamed progressives, who have demanded that Biden and fellow Democrats take a tougher line. The letter being drafted by Harris campaign alums mirrors similar efforts from former campaign officials targeting the likes of Sen. Elizabeth Warren. |
| Marjorie Taylor Greene says 'we'll see' on future presidential run | |
| U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has fast become one of former President Donald Trump's most prominent defenders at locations around the country, be it the Iowa State Fair, a Milwaukee GOP debate or outside the Fulton County Jail. The trend continued this week in New Hampshire, home to the nation's first GOP primary in January. The Rome Republican made a stump speech for Trump on Monday. She blamed Democrats for the "dirty, nasty, disgusting" swamp in Washington, D.C., and warned GOP activists that he has a long memory. The New Hampshire visit wasn't Greene's first foray into national politics. She has become a mainstay at Trump rallies around the nation, and recently served as his surrogate at the first GOP debate in Milwaukee. Trump declined to participate at that event, and Greene spoke on his behalf to reporters and the public both before and after the other candidates made their arguments onstage. Greene could have her own ambitions in mind, too. She has openly jockeyed to serve as Trump's vice presidential running mate and hasn't ruled out a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2026. A Senate run could mean a GOP primary showdown with Gov. Brian Kemp, another possible contender. She told reporters in New Hampshire she may run for president one day, too. "Maybe. We'll see what happens," she said. "I certainly love my country, and I'll do everything I can to protect it." |
| $1,000 Veterans Day scholarship drawing now open for Mississippi students | |
| College Savings Mississippi will be awarding a $1,000 scholarship to a Magnolia State student who comes from a military family. Treasurer David McRae announced that the contest will run from now until Veteran's Day, which is November 10. The contest is open to all military veterans or active duty service members. Students eligible to win the scholarships should have at least one parent who is a military veteran or active duty service member. Only students who are legal residents of Mississippi are eligible to participate in the contest. Members of the immediate family of employees of the Mississippi Office of the State Treasurer are not eligible. "When our men and women in uniform sign up to serve, their families serve right beside them," McRae said. "This scholarship is simply a small token of our thanks for the sacrifices made in service to our nation. On behalf of the state of Mississippi, I want to say thank you to all who served as well as their families." The scholarship will be delivered in the form of a Mississippi Affordable College Savings account -- a tax-advantaged education savings account that can be used for tuition at colleges, private secondary schools, and private elementary schools. |
| The men behind the desk: Ole Miss' living chancellors | |
 | As UM celebrates its 175th anniversary, it is important to acknowledge the chancellors that have contributed to the success of the university. Over the years, many chancellors have made a significant impact on the university by forming meaningful connections with students. "Any chancellor who is going to succeed is going to have to realize that they're going to have to deal with faculty, they're going to have to deal with their individual boards, they're going to have to deal with alumni -- but the focus of their leadership has to be the good of the students on campus," retired Dean of Students Sparky Reardon said. Chancellor Gerald Turner served the university from 1984 to 1995. As one of the youngest chancellors in UM history, Turner made several contributions to Ole Miss. His most notable accomplishment was his fundraising campaigns, which accumulated $25 million for academics. Robert Khayat, chancellor from 1995 to 2009, is best remembered for the way he connected with students and other members of his community outside of the office. After Khayat, Daniel W. Jones served as chancellor from 2009 to 2015. Donations to the university reached record highs during his tenure, and he now conducts research on obesity with the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Chancellor Jeffrey S. Vitter led the university from 2016 to 2019. "When I was chancellor, we began a contextualization process. We opened it up and got suggestions from everyone who wanted to send them," Vitter said. In October 2019, current Chancellor Glenn Boyce took office and in his time as chancellor, Boyce has led the university to record numbers of student enrollment. |
| Panel at USM dives into statewide health problems | |
 | The Center for Health Care Quality and Payment Reform shows that 34 of Mississippi's 74 Rural Hospitals are struggling financially and at risk of closure. This was one of the big topics today at the health literacy panel at the University of Southern Mississippi. Students asked questions about rural health care and panelists gave examples of challenges Mississippi Delta residents are facing. "Overcoming social determinants, like transportation, making sure they got their medicine, making sure they got to the specialist," said Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney. "I can't tell you how many times someone would come back, they were supposed to have seen the cardiologist and they haven't even got an appointment yet." Healthcare professionals from across the state visited to inform students and those in the community about being aware of what's going on with their health. "As we invest in our infrastructure which includes hospitals and clinics, we also have to invest in our people, but it all works together to bring good to the people of MS and the economy of MS," Edney said. "These bad outcomes where we lead the nation in virtually every outcome, they are incredibly expensive to the economy of Mississippi," he said. |
| State's first family medicine obstetrics fellowship hopes to increase access to maternal care in rural areas | |
| The state's first fellowship to train family physicians to care for pregnant and postpartum women is poised to start next July. The proposed fellowship will train two to three family physicians a year in obstetrics, which the medical community hopes will provide rural and underserved areas with prenatal, delivery and postpartum care. More than half of Mississippi's counties are considered maternity care deserts, meaning there are no practicing OB-GYNs and no hospitals that deliver babies. For family physicians looking to practice obstetrics, the lack of training programs and difficulty getting affordable malpractice insurance coverage are challenging. Aside from two hospitals that have been able to cut through the red tape and use family physicians in maternal care, nearly all pregnancies are handled by OB-GYNs, who are in short supply in Mississippi and mostly practice in urban areas. The state is an outlier when it comes to how little it uses family physicians in obstetrics. Across the country, family physicians play a significant role in providing obstetric care to expectant mothers. Neighboring Alabama, for instance, boasts five fellowships in obstetrics for family physicians. Dr. James Lee Valentine and Dr. Melissa Stephens of EC Health Net, a family medicine residency program in Meridian, are designing the new one-year training program to focus on increasing access to rural maternal care. "The fellowship will train family physicians to be able to go into some of our rural, underserved communities, and provide obstetric care for these women close to home, who may have limited access and are facing challenges," Stephens said. |
| Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education | |
 | Home schooling has become -- by a wide margin -- America's fastest-growing form of education, as families from Upper Manhattan to Eastern Kentucky embrace a largely unregulated practice once confined to the ideological fringe, a Washington Post analysis shows. The analysis -- based on data The Post collected for thousands of school districts across the country -- reveals that a dramatic rise in home schooling at the onset of the pandemic has largely sustained itself through the 2022-23 academic year, defying predictions that most families would return to schools that have dispensed with mask mandates and other covid-19 restrictions. The growth demonstrates home schooling's arrival as a mainstay of the American educational system, with its impact -- on society, on public schools and, above all, on hundreds of thousands of children now learning outside a conventional academic setting -- only beginning to be felt. "This is a fundamental change of life, and it's astonishing that it's so persistent," said Nat Malkus, a senior fellow and deputy director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. The rise of home schooling is all the more remarkable, he added, given the immense logistical challenges many parents must overcome to directly supervise their kids' education. "The personal costs to home schooling are more than just tuition," Malkus said. "They are a restructuring of the way your family works." |
| A jet engine powered by switchgrass? UGA project is looking at the biofuel possibilities | |
 | An ongoing study dedicated to identifying and accessing renewable energy source options suggested switchgrass could be a contender. "Switchgrass is a grass that is native to the United States," said Katrien Devos, research professor of crop and soil sciences at the University of Georgia. "It's a component of the tall grass prairies. Since the 1950s, it's been grown as a forage for animal feed. Around the 1990s, the (U.S.) Department of Energy looked into potential grasses for bioenergy production." Switchgrass thrives in many different soil types and land conditions, reduces soil erosion, is good at storing carbon in the soil, and can grow with less water, fertilizers, and pesticides than many crops, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Devos said when looking at different species of grass the Department of Energy had a specific criteria that included a number of variables. Devos is also a research professor at the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics as well as a plant biology professor. She landed at UGA in 2003. She started working on the switchgrass study circa 2008. The ways in which bioenergy is being used has changed over the years, according to Devos. "When I started working on switchgrass a lot of research was geared towards ethanol production for transportation fuel," she said. "In the next couple of years, everybody's going to be driving an electric vehicle. So now switchgrass research is geared towards the production of sustainable aviation fuel." |
| Texas A&M's Space Institute continues to lift off the ground | |
 | Former longtime NASA employee Rob Ambrose has been at Texas A&M University for two years. Ambrose serves as assistant director of the A&M Space Institute, which was approved and created by A&M's Board of Regents in August. He's yet to meet all of A&M's faculty and not sure if he ever will. A&M is that big. Still, Ambrose has an ambition to get as many of them together and collaborate among their respective fields as A&M's Space Institute continues to lift off. "We really need to bring them together," Ambrose said. "If A&M's going to write the winning proposals and go win these things, we've got to get our faculty that are in different schools working together because that really gives you strength in this." This collaboration reaches beyond the A&M universe, too. Last Wednesday, the Space Institute held a workshop at the A&M Hotel and Conference Center where universities from across the state came to College Station to discuss the various uses and needs for the planned $200 million space facility to be built adjacent to NASA's Johnson Space Center in south Houston. Representatives from the private sector also joined to share what they need from those in academia. Texas lawmaker have put a new emphasis on the space industry. In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 3447 into law, which created the Texas Space Commission (TSC) that will oversee planning for the state's space industry. The bill included $350 million for the TSC with $150 million going to the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund and $200 million to A&M to build its new facility. |
| Students Outrunning Faculty in AI Use | |
 | Faculty members have been slower than students to adopt artificial intelligence tools in the last year, despite the buzz across academia about ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, according to a new report released today. Nearly half of college students are using AI tools this fall, but fewer than a quarter (22 percent) of faculty members use them, the report from Tyton Partners finds. The study, sponsored by Turnitin, was conducted in September and included roughly 1,600 students and 1,000 faculty members across more than 600 institutions. On AI, "students seem to be more curious about it than instructors, and those using it daily are using it in and out of schools; that made us think it might be ubiquitous moving forward," said Cathy Shaw, a director at Tyton. "The differential between student use and instructor use will be one to watch." Faculty members who are familiar with AI acknowledge the importance of the technology: 75 percent of those regular AI users said they believe students will need to know how to use generative AI in a professional setting in order to succeed. Despite that, the faculty is taking its time with both adoption and setting policy, the report found. "I read it less as, 'I'm resistant, this isn't my job,' and I interpret it as, 'I'm still learning how to use the tool,'" Shaw said. |
| Employers Shift Back to In-Person Recruiting on College Campuses | |
| As schools and workplaces return to in-person post-pandemic, so is college recruiting, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The 2023 Recruiting Benchmarks Report examines survey data from a NACE survey conducted from April-May 2023. The association asked employers -- 334 organizations responded -- about their recruitment and hiring practices and preferences. The 204 respondents who agreed to be listed in the report's executive summary included groups such as Chevron, Dell Technologies, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, and Starbucks. Of those surveyed, more than 91% reported that they used direct, on-campus recruiting to recruit Class of 2022 students. This indicates an increase compared with last year and the years when the pandemic was in full swing, said Dr. Mary Gatta, director of research and public policy at NACE. "They still use virtual modalities but college recruiting definitely is up close and personal now, on campus," Gatta said. Findings showed that fewer recruiters are being tasked with the work this year compared to last, with 7.2 recruiters in 2023, down from 9.0 reported in 2022. However, budgets for more than 80% of these employers did not change much over the last year, the report noted. As for when job offers and rejections are being sent out, the wait from the time of the applicant's first interview was slightly shorter. The average number of days in-between first interview and offer/rejection notice in 2023 was 25.1, an improvement from 25.6 in 2022. |
| 1 in 4 US medical students consider quitting, most don't plan to treat patients: report | |
 | A new report on how medical students view the future of their careers has found that a quarter of aspiring physicians in the U.S. say they are considering quitting their studies, with many expressing concerns about their mental health and how they can find a study-life balance. The report "Clinician of the Future: Education Edition," which was released by the health science and journal publisher Elsevier, surveyed 2,212 students from 91 countries between April and May of this year. "Students are committed to and positive about their education, but with concerns about mental health, study-life balance, combined with external worries such as the rise of misinformation and looming clinician shortages, some are considering quitting their course altogether, while others are thinking about non- patient-facing roles once qualified," the report stated. Among the surveyed medical students, 60 percent said they were concerned about their mental health, 69 percent said they were concerned about their income, 63 percent expressed concerns about experiencing burnout and 60 percent were worried about how clinician shortages would affect them. Overall, 12 percent of medical students around the world said they were considering quitting their studies. Among U.S. students, this percentage more than doubled to 25 percent. More than half of medical and nursing students -- 58 percent -- said they viewed their current studies as a stepping stone to careers in health care that don't involve treating patients. |
| Jewish leaders to Biden officials: 'We've never seen anything like this ever' | |
| Several prominent Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, gave Biden administration officials recommendations for increasing safety at schools after a spike in antisemitism on college campuses. During a closed-press meeting on Monday, a dozen Jewish leaders met in Education Secretary Miguel Cardona's Washington office to discuss steps the Biden administration is taking to counter antisemitism within K-12 and higher education communities. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Deputy Education Secretary Cindy Marten and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, were also in attendance. The meeting comes as the Biden administration looks for its role in addressing student demonstrations around the Hamas-Israel conflict that have roiled college campuses, and as groups say they've seen an uptick in antisemitism and Islamophobia. Several people commended Cardona's leadership in the meeting and noted that he directed his team to write down and take action on some of the recommendations made by the groups. "It was clear that this wasn't just a meeting to talk about what the Department of Education could do," said Julie Rayman, managing director of American Jewish Committee, who also attended the meeting. "It was a recognition that the administration sees that Jewish students are feeling vulnerable, that there are real security concerns, and that there's a united front in both care and action." |
| Biden Administration Details Plan for Broader Debt Relief | |
| The Education Department is proposing to cancel some or all of the outstanding student loans for certain categories of borrowers, including those who have spent more than 25 years in repayment or those who attended career-training programs that didn't pay off, according to a draft proposal released Monday evening. The announcement is the first look at specific debt-relief proposals since the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for Pell Grant recipients and eligible borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year. After the court's decision, Biden vowed to try again to provide some form of student loan forgiveness. "Today's announcement builds on the progress we've made so far, which has included approving $127 billion in loan forgiveness for nearly 3.6 million borrowers to date," Education Under Secretary James Kvaal said on a call with reporters Monday. "We know that there are still so many Americans out there who have been failed by the broken systems of the past, and we're committed to helping as many of them as possible." The scope of relief likely will vary depending on which category a borrower falls in. The department didn't provide a specific number of how many people would be affected by the draft plan. Biden's initial plan would have provided some relief to 43 million borrowers. |
| Mississippi's workforce system is improving, being noted by others | |
| John McKay, president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, writes: Mississippi has created significant momentum in the past four years to support and grow opportunities in the manufacturing sector across various fronts, but there is no space where more improvement exists than in our state's workforce development system. Since the beginning of this legislative term, our state's leaders renewed their focus on workforce outcomes and decided to act with urgency to implement change. A major overhaul of the workforce system during the 2020 legislative session spurred a generational opportunity to rethink how public resources have been deployed to prepare our people for the world of work. This work by state leadership created and empowered a new lead office, now known as Accelerate Mississippi, to quickly identify and build upon successful existing models, analyze the state's notable deficiencies, and reconstruct programs that simply haven't met the mark. This overhaul clearly envisioned a workforce system that encouraged more pathways for many more people to earn a better living, find jobs that are in-demand and reduce barriers to those who may have previously felt a better career was simply out of reach. While this wide-ranging mandate is an enormous task that will take years to realize its full potential, there are encouraging trends that are garnering attention outside the state of Mississippi. |
SPORTS
| No. 4 Seed Mississippi State Set to Take on No. 5 Seed Alabama in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals | |
| In an electrifying showdown that promises to be a highlight of the SEC Women's Soccer Tournament, the No. 4 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-4-4, 5-3-2) are set to clash with the No. 5 seed Alabama Crimson Tide (11-4-4, 5-4-1) in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, October 31 at 7:30 PM. Both teams have displayed remarkable skill and determination throughout the season, setting the stage for an intense battle on the pitch. Fans can expect a night of high-energy action, two stout defenses and some thrilling plays as these two powerhouse teams vie for a spot in the semifinals. The Bulldogs, under the leadership of Head Coach James Armstrong, have had an outstanding season. Their relentless dedication and strong defensive strategies have made them a formidable force in the SEC. The Bulldogs secured 17 points in the conference standings this season after winning five SEC matchups. The SEC recognized two standout players who donned the Maroon and White on the pitch this season prior to the beginning of the tournament on Sunday, naming them All-SEC. Macey Hodge has been a driving force behind the Bulldog's success this season as a team captain. The SEC named Maddy Anderson to the All-SEC second team goalkeeper spot. For the entire season, she has conceded a mere 11 goals, a testament to her exceptional goalkeeping prowess. |
| After record-setting regular season, it's postseason time for Mississippi State soccer | |
| The month of September ended with a bad taste in Mississippi State's collective mouths. After opening Southeastern Conference play with a win over Auburn, the Bulldogs gave up late goals in losses to Texas A&M and LSU. But their most deflating result came against Tennessee on Sept. 29, when MSU squandered a three-goal lead in the final 20 minutes and wound up with a disappointing draw. Then October rolled around, and as the weather cooled off, the Bulldogs (10-4-4, 5-3-2 SEC) heated up. "We were playing well. There were a few mistakes here and there that were costing us in games," MSU head coach James Armstrong said. "We've tightened up on a number of defensive things, and we're creating chances still and putting some of those away. It's a special group, we've known that all along, and now thankfully, their hard work is getting rewarded with some positive results. You want to be playing your best soccer come the end of the season." Now, it's on to the SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Fla., where No. 4 seed MSU will meet the fifth-seeded Crimson Tide in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night. A win would put the Bulldogs in the semifinals for the first time ever. MSU checked in at No. 21 in the latest RPI rankings, in good shape to host a first-round NCAA Tournament game. The Bulldogs hosted and defeated New Mexico State in the first round last season, then lost a neutral-site game in the second round to Memphis. This year, they drew a program-record 9,034 fans to the MSU Soccer Field, including 1,523 against Ole Miss. |
| '(It) comes down to more than just physical ability:' Arnett talks preparation, emotion as focus shifts to Kentucky | |
| Zach Arnett needs Mississippi State to be prepared for every game in three ways. The first is mental preparation, which comes from watching film and playing against the scout team in practice so that come game day, the Bulldogs can let their natural instincts take over. MSU also has to prepare physically, as football games often simply come down to which team can outman the other. But just as important, Arnett said, is emotional preparation. After Saturday's 27-13 loss to Auburn, Arnett said his team lacked intensity early on and that he and the Bulldogs' coaching staff could have done a better job getting the players into a better emotional state for the game. "You have to get yourself worked up into a state that is different from practice," Arnett said Monday. "Coaches and players, when you watch film, you can see a team that is emotionally jacked up to play, and you see times on film where it doesn't look that way. There's what your natural talent is capable of, and then there's what you are actually capable of, which is always a little bit more. That comes down to more than just physical ability." The good news is that MSU (4-4, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) should not have a hard time getting fired up for Saturday night's game against Kentucky. The Bulldogs are back home for the first time in nearly a month, it will be Homecoming in Starkville, and MSU is honoring the 1998 team that won the SEC West title and advanced to the program's only conference championship game. |
| Why Zach Arnett believes Auburn loss won't linger for Mississippi State football vs. Kentucky | |
 | Mississippi State football had to make a decision last month on how it would respond to a bad loss against LSU. The Bulldogs find themselves in another tough spot, needing to find an answer to last week's loss at Auburn. Will the defeat linger or will the Bulldogs flush it and shift their focus toward the upcoming matchup? Coach Sam Arnett appears confident in the latter as MSU (4-4, 1-4 SEC) returns to Davis Wade Stadium for a matchup with Kentucky (5-3, 2-3) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network). "They were able to deal with the adversity of three losses and come back and string together two wins," Arnett said Monday. "I guess coming off one loss is not going to be so traumatic to their psyches. These are big boys. They don't need to be coddled. They know what it means to put in a week of work and go out and play. If you lose, you lose. And guess what? You've got to move on to the next one." While pressure builds on the first-year coach, he's aware of the blame placed on him. For Arnett, as has been the case throughout the season, finding wins is his go-to cure. "I'm responsible for everything," Arnett added. "There's no greater critic of myself or our program than myself. We've got four more games in front of us. If we show up every game ready to compete and play with maximum effort, and we make sure we have a good game plan ready for them, then we'll give ourselves a chance to win every single one of those games." |
| With Mississippi State series pausing, Kentucky looks to vanquish Starkville demons | |
 | Saturday marks the end of an era for Kentucky football. The ultimate tossup game is leaving the Wildcats' schedule for at least one year. After meeting every season since 1990, Kentucky and Mississippi State will not play in 2024 as the SEC drops its two-division format and adds Oklahoma and Texas to the league. Kentucky enters the final game with Mississippi State as its fixed opponent from the West Division with the all-time series tied at 25 wins each. The home team has won the last seven games in the series, and Kentucky has not won in Starkville since 2008. "Traditionally, we have had a tough time down there, so we have to get that fixed and have great preparation this week and go on the road and get an SEC victory," UK coach Mark Stoops said Monday. Twice during his Monday news conference Stoops declined to bite on a reporter's question about if there was anything that made Mississippi State's Davis Wade Stadium a particularly difficult place for Kentucky to play. Yes, the Bulldogs boast a unique environment thanks to fans bringing cowbells to the stadium (SEC rules allow the cowbells to be rung when the ball is not in play), but Kentucky has yet to win a road game at any SEC West program in the Stoops era. "If you listen to every SEC coach, it's probably the first thing they are going to say: Going on the road and winning in these venues is not easy," Stoops said. "We had a great atmosphere here this past Saturday (against Tennessee). I wish we could have delivered the victory for such a great crowd. It was a great atmosphere and a tough place to play and that is what we need. And Starkville is the same. They have a passionate fan base, and they have a team that is always long, physical, plays very hard. And it is a hostile environment. We will have our hands full, but that is what you have to prepare for." |
| Brett Favre defamation case: Judge dismisses NFL star's lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe | |
| A federal judge on Monday dismissed Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit against fellow retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe, ruling that Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre's connection to a welfare misspending case in Mississippi. U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett ruled that Sharpe, a former tight end, was using "rhetorical hyperbole" in saying on air that Favre was "taking from the underserved," that the former quarterback "stole money from people that really needed that money" and that someone would have to be a sorry person "to steal from the lowest of the low." Favre sued Sharpe in February, saying that the fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member made "egregiously false" statements about him on the Fox Sports talk show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed." The case was moved to federal court in March, and Sharpe left the sports show in June. Discussion of Mississippi welfare spending on "Undisputed" took place after extensive news coverage about allegations of Mississippi's largest public corruption case. Starrett wrote in his ruling Monday that Sharpe's references to "taking" and "stole" referred to diverting TANF money "for purposes other than helping the underprivileged." "Here, no reasonable person listening to the Broadcast would think that Favre actually went into the homes of poor people and took their money -- that he committed the crime of theft/larceny against any particular poor person in Mississippi," Starrett wrote. |
| Inside the first year at Auburn with athletic director John Cohen | |
 | He begins every day at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum at 6:30 a.m. in an Auburn T-shirt, shorts and his running shoes. He walks up to the concourse of the old basketball arena and begins to run laps, listening to a book or a podcast. He'll check his emails and respond to texts before his real work day begins. But by 7:30 on one cool October Wednesday morning, Auburn athletic director John Cohen finished his run and walked across the street to Neville Arena and into the Courtside Lounge. He joined a group of Auburn Hillel students and men's basketball head coach Bruce Pearl as they discussed the onset of the terrorist group Hamas' attack on Israel. Pearl is an outspoken Jew. Cohen is Jewish, too, but plays his beliefs much closer to his chest. Pearl went around the room for each person to introduce themself. At his turn, Cohen said he is Auburn's athletic director. He doesn't have an immediate connection to Israel beyond his faith, but said he hoped to be a resource if the group of Jewish students ever needed to talk. So he gave out his cell phone number. As he began reading off the digits, a student in the back of the room interrupted him. "What's your name again," the student asked. "John Cohen," he responded. Then Cohen pointed to Pearl. "He doesn't have that problem." It was a question so harmless, but quite indicative of the new life Cohen leads in his own home state in a different set of colors. On Halloween, Cohen reached the one-year anniversary of his announcement as Auburn's new athletic director. |
| Clemson's Dabo Swinney unloads on caller who questions salary, 4-4 record | |
 | Dabo Swinney had a fiery response for a caller who dialed in to his coach's show Monday to ask why Clemson was paying Swinney "$11.5 million to go 4-4." "Let me tell you something, we won 11 games last year and you're part of the problem, to be honest with you," Swinney said. "Because that is part of the problem. It's people like you ... the expectation is greater than the appreciation." The Tigers, who fell to 2-4 in ACC play with a loss at N.C. State, are destined to miss the college football playoff for a third straight year after making six straight appearances from 2015-20. Swinney has been vocal in recent season about negativity from a faction of Clemson's fan base after losses. Recently, he estimated "1.5 percent" of the Tigers' fans are "part of the problem" with their negativity, and the program could stand to lose a few games to lighten the "bandwagon." The caller, identified as Tyler from Spartanburg, not only questioned Swinney's salary but made it personal by saying "something changed" in the coach's ways after his 2018 national championship. He accused Swinney of "arrogance," citing a proverb about "pride before the fall," and went on to question Swinney's penchant for promoting coaches from within and hiring ex-Clemson players. He also compared the head coach's relentlessly optimistic words following losses to the person Swinney replaced midseason in 2008. "It sounds a whole lot like Tommy Bowden," the caller said, "and I'll tell you one thing, Tommy Bowden didn't make the same amount of money you did." Swinney, who earlier in the show said he expected to coach another 15 years, said he works for "the board of trustees, the president, and the AD." "And if they're tired of me leading this program, all they gotta do is let me know and I'll go somewhere else, where there is an appreciation, alright?" he said. |
| How the creation of the BCS set the stage for the current playoff format | |
| Steve Spurrier loves to tell the story about playing golf years ago with then-North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith and then-Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams. It was sometime in the early 1990s, and the three coaches were at a charity event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "Are you guys going to get a playoff in football?" Smith asked Spurrier, who was only a couple of years into his tenure as Florida's football coach. Spurrier shrugged and said, "Aaah, I don't know. Everybody just sort of plays their season, then the bowls come in and pick the teams they want, and then after they play, they get a bunch of sportswriters together and they decide who the national champion is going to be." The Head Ball Coach then looked at his two Hall of Fame hoops counterparts and asked his own question: "How would you boys in basketball like it if you did it like that?" Smith looked at Spurrier and quipped, "We wouldn't, because that's stupid." So, 25 years ago, the Bowl Championship Series was created in an attempt to move beyond the polls and determine a clear national champion on the field. The BCS gave way to the College Football Playoff in 2014, but it was a major step in helping shape the postseason. That evolution takes another significant turn in 2024, when the playoff field expands from four teams to 12. As he looks back today, Spurrier, who won a national championship at Florida in 1996, wonders what fans would do if media members and active coaches still made the call on who walked away with the trophy. "Coach Smith was right," Spurrier said, "it was stupid. It took a while -- too long, really. But playoff sports is what America is about." |
| ACC releases new football scheduling model to add California, Stanford and SMU in '24 | |
| The Atlantic Coast Conference has unveiled a new scheduling model to incorporate new members California, Stanford and SMU for next year, which includes those schools facing each other as annual opponents while staying with a no-division format. The league announced its reworked scheduling plan Monday evening, which has all 17 football-playing members playing each other at least twice over a seven-season stretch through 2030. The model also protects 16 annual matchups, including multiple long-standing league matchups such as Florida State-Clemson or North Carolina-Virginia. That includes Cal and Stanford, which have been longtime Pac-12 peers, being paired together, as well as each having annual games with SMU from the American Athletic Conference. But travel miles will pile up: Stanford's first ACC slate includes trips to Clemson, North Carolina State and Syracuse; Cal's schedule includes games at FSU, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest; and SMU visits Duke, Louisville and Virginia. Syracuse athletics director John Wildhack said schools voiced their preferences on how many permanent matchups they wanted to preserve. "It's like a game of Jenga, right?" Wildhack said on Monday night's reveal show on the ACC Network. "One move can trigger like 72 other ramifications, in a sense." The move comes after the ACC voted in early September to expand to 18 members in most sports, with Notre Dame remaining a football independent. |
| Revenue sharing with student athletes is coming and could mean sports cutbacks | |
| An LSU athletics administrator predicted there's a "90% chance" a judge will rule in favor of former student athletes in a case that could result in schools sharing revenue with players. The federal lawsuit against the NCAA was filed by former college athletes seeking back pay for players' name, image and likeness (NIL) valuations between 2018 and 2020. Attorneys for the plaintiffs believe the compensation to be worth between $200 million and $1 billion, Front Office Sports reported. If the judge were to side with the former athletes, schools will likely shift toward revenue sharing, which could happen within the next few years, Taylor Jacobs, LSU's Associate Athletic Director for NIL & Strategic Initiatives, told the Baton Rouge Press Club Monday. Jacobs said such a shift could mean a reduction in staff or the number of teams a college fields. "As a former women's tennis player, it hurts my heart a little bit because I feel like we are going to see the loss of sports," Jacobs said. "You're going to see smaller colleges not be able to sustain that model." LSU's athletic department is currently discussing how to handle that possibility, Jacobs said. Much of the conversation has been about if and how the university can avoid making athletes employees. The other big topic is where to cut costs if revenue sharing becomes a reality. "Does it come from salaries of the employees?" Jacobs said. "Are we going to create much smaller staffs within the athletic department? Where are we going to cut back on what we're providing for student athletes?" |
| NLRB Joint Employer Test Key Factor in College Athlete Employee Fight | |
| Attorney Michael McCann writes for Sportico.com: The prospect of college athletes gaining recognition as employees became scarier for the NCAA last Thursday when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its final rule on when a business is a joint employer under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The new test, which goes into effect Dec. 26, will make it easier for a worker to claim a business owes them for their work -- and could have downstream effects for the NCAA and college conferences as the NLRB ponders whether USC athletes deserve employee designation. A joint employer shares responsibility for employment with another employer or employers. All of them must bargain with a worker and their union, and all can be deemed jointly liable if one commits an unfair labor practice or engages in other unlawful acts. Under the new test, so long as a business has the capacity to control a worker's essential terms and conditions of employment (hiring, wages, work hours, discipline, supervision, firing, etc.), the business can be deemed a joint employer -- even if its control is indirect and even if the business doesn't use that control. Under the current and now expiring test, a joint employer must directly and immediately control employment. The development poses significant ramifications for franchisors and franchisees. Their workers will become more able to assert they have two employers, a franchisor and franchisee, even if only one decides work schedules, pay and hours. ... Joint employment might seem far afield from college sports, given that college athletes aren't recognized as employees. That could change, however, through litigation or NLRB petitions, with colleges deemed athletes' primary employers. The NCAA and conferences could then be deemed joint employers of possibly hundreds of thousands of athletes. |
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