| Monday, January 29, 2024 |
| Managing the land: Tribal communities nationwide gain GIS skills through MSU institute | |
 | A Mississippi State University research institute is helping to develop geographic information systems skills in tribal communities across the country. An online training program established by MSU's Geosystems Research Institute in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has provided GIS training for more than 500 individuals in tribal communities, boosting skills in land management, environmental conservation, community development and more. The program was launched in 2023 to help the Bureau of Indian Affairs meet GIS training needs, building on previous outreach carried out by the university's research institute. "The Mississippi State training partnership with the Branch of Geospatial Support has been extremely beneficial to the Bureau of Indian Affairs employees and federally recognized tribes," said David Vogt, chief of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Branch of Geospatial Support. "It allows us to have many more students in each class than we were previously able to provide and at a lower cost. This allows more BIA employees and particularly tribes to take trainings they wouldn't have had access to before." MSU's Geosystems Research Institute has a long track record of providing GIS training to public and private sector individuals through longstanding partnerships with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. |
| MSU-Meridian enhances police presence at downtown campus | |
 | Students, faculty and visitors to Mississippi State University-Meridian's Riley Campus are seeing an increased security presence as MSU's "Don't Walk Alone" program extends to downtown Meridian, providing officer escort support and encouraging more direct communication with students. Between dusk and 10 p.m., MSU-Meridian police and security are available at 601-934-0863 to walk anyone on the Riley Campus of MSU-Meridian to their car or apartment. The Riley Campus comprises the MSU Riley Center, the Deen Building and the Rosenbaum Building, all situated on Fifth and Sixth streets between 22nd and 23rd avenues. Parking lot escort services also are available at the College Park Campus on Highway 19 North. Even if students, faculty or visitors do not feel the need for an escort, campus police ask that they check in at the Deen Building security desk during these hours to raise awareness of where people are moving. "We can't see you if you don't report to the desk," said Officer Breonne Spikes. "So, make sure you report to the police desk as you leave the building. Often, I will just take off and walk behind them. I would rather be proactive than reactive." Terry Dale Cruse, associate vice president and MSU-Meridian head of campus, said as the downtown campus evolves with more students entering the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, the awaited Master of Science in Nursing program and the planned MSU-Meridian Behavioral Health Center, more students will be walking about campus. Security is at the forefront of that evolution, Cruse said. |
| Starkville police: Fight escalates to gunfire on University Drive | |
 | What started as a fight in Starkville escalated to gunfire. Now, a Greenville man is charged with aggravated assault. Shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, Starkville police responded to an incident on University Drive. According to police, a fight that began in the area of Coconuts led to shots being fired further up University Drive. No one was injured in the shooting, but a person's clothing was struck by a bullet. Police arrested 19-year-old Jackson Hughes of Greenville, Mississippi. Hughes was charged with aggravated assault. |
| Buc-ee's hoping to open South Mississippi location sooner than originally scheduled | |
 | Mississippi could get its first Buc-ee's travel center on I-10 near Gulfport before the end of the year. "Hopefully the site will be open by Thanksgiving," Bill Lavers, executive director of the Harrison County Development Commission, said Friday. The timeline isn't an official announcement, he said, but came from Buc-ee's as the goal they are working toward. The opening estimate at the September groundbreaking was spring of 2025. "The bridge should be finished by Oct. 10," Lavers said. Harrison County invested $15 million to rebuild the intersection at exit 24 of I-10. Work began in the summer of 2023. The Menge Avenue bridge over I-10 was demolished and a new overpass is being built. Entrance and exit ramps will be widened on I-10 and Firetower Road will be widened. The new intersection will accommodate the extra traffic created by Buc-ee's and other businesses that will locate in same area. The $50 million Buc-ee's in South Mississippi will be about 74,000 square feet, which Buc-ee's founder Beaver Aplin said at the groundbreaking isn't the biggest of the nearly 50 locations, but will be substantially bigger than many of the other locations. |
| MDAH approves more than $3 million in restoration projects at 17 historic sites | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has approved more than $3 million in grants to 17 preservation and restoration projects throughout the state. Funding for the projects was made available through the Community Heritage Preservation Grant (CHPG) program, which was created by state lawmakers in 2001. "The legislature has saved hundreds of significant Mississippi properties through this program," MDAH director Katie Blount said. "The Department of Archives and History is grateful for the Legislature's support and pleased to be able to help preserve these local treasures." CHPG serves to help schools, courthouses, and other Mississippi Landmark properties pay the costs incurred in preserving, restoring, rehabilitating, repairing, or interpreting such historic properties identified by certified local governments or owned by the state. Grant awards are paid on a reimbursable basis upon the successful completion of the entire project or at the time of the completion of pre-established phases of the project. Before application, all buildings must have been designated Mississippi Landmarks. A cash match of at least 20 percent is required. |
| Does Medicaid expansion in Mississippi have a chance? See what lawmakers say | |
 | Only four weeks into the state's 2024 legislative session, lawmakers have already filed 21 bills aiming to change the state's policy on Medicaid, and according to several legislators, expanding it could be on the table. Republican Rep. Sam Creekmore, serving Union County, who chairs the House's Public Health and Human Services Committee, told the Clarion Ledger he is open to the idea of expanding Medicaid in the state. His first step toward that will be forming a taskforce of fellow lawmakers to seek information related to the pros and cons of expanding Medicaid and looking at other alternatives for expanding healthcare insurance availability for the state's working poor. "My plan is to form a task force to plans that have been done and then lay it all on the table," Creekmore said. "We'll just see what we can do to craft something that makes sense." Fellow Republican Rep. Missy McGee, who chairs the House Medicaid Committee, declined to comment beyond stating she and her committee plan to explore several options for healthcare expansion. "I don't have anything to say about that at this time," McGee said. "The Speaker (Jason White, R) has made it a priority to provide health insurance for the working poor and that's a priority for this committee. It might not even be Medicaid." Last year, McGee was also one of the leaders in changing a state law to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage from two months to a full year. |
| Republican legislatures in some states are trying to keep abortion off the ballot | |
 | Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the efforts are evidence that Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents are trying to undercut democratic processes meant to give voters a direct role in forming state laws. "They're scared of the people and their voices, so their response is to prevent their voices from being heard," said Laurie Bertram Roberts, executive director of Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund. "There's nothing democratic about that, and it's the same blueprint we've seen in Ohio and all these other states, again and again." A proposal passed Wednesday by the Mississippi House would ban residents from placing abortion initiatives on the statewide ballot. Mississippi has among the toughest abortion restrictions in the country, with the procedure banned except to save the life of the woman or in cases of rape or incest. In response to the bill, Democratic Rep. Cheikh Taylor said direct democracy "shouldn't include terms and conditions." "Don't let anyone tell you this is just about abortion," Taylor said. "This is about a Republican Party who thinks they know what's best for you better than you know what's best for you. This is about control. So much for liberty and limited government." |
| How are Black communities in the rural South dealing with digital redlining? | |
| In today's economy, broadband internet is virtually essential. It affects people's ability to apply for jobs or work from home, pay bills, turn in schoolwork or use telehealth services. But in many communities across the rural South, residents don't have reliable and affordable internet access. Black households in the South suffer the most; 38% of Black residents don't have home internet, according to a 2021 study. Some residents pay exorbitant prices for spotty broadband service or rely on community resources like local businesses and libraries for internet access. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden administration allocated more than $42 billion toward broadband infrastructure through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. It's goal is to bring affordable, high-speed internet access to millions of unserved and underserved Americans. Aallyah Wright, the rural issues reporter for Capital B News, traveled around Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi to document the effects of digital redlining for the series "Disconnected: Rural Black America and the Digital Divide." She spoke to Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal about how the digital divide disrupts the everyday lives of Black residents. |
| 3 American Soldiers Killed in Drone Strike in Jordan, U.S. Says | |
 | Three U.S. service members were killed in Jordan on Sunday and at least 34 others were injured in what the Biden administration said was a drone attack from an Iran-backed militia, the first known American military fatalities from hostile fire in the turmoil spilling over from Israel's war with Hamas. The attack happened at a remote logistics outpost in northeast Jordan called Tower 22 where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Jordan converge. The one-way attack drone hit near the outpost's living quarters, causing injuries that ranged from minor cuts to brain trauma, a U.S. military official said. But the deaths of U.S. service members, most of whom were military reservists, will almost certainly increase pressure on President Biden to retaliate more forcefully as strife grows in the Middle East after the Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people in Israel. Congressional Republicans who have criticized Mr. Biden's dealing with Iran and its proxies seized on Sunday's attack to demand that the administration take more forceful action. "We must respond to these repeated attacks by Iran and its proxies by striking directly against Iranian targets and its leadership," said Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee. "The Biden administration's responses thus far have only invited more attacks." |
| Eager for Economic Wins, Biden to Announce Billions for Advanced Chips | |
 | The Biden administration, eager to highlight a signature economic initiative as elections approach, is expected to award billions of dollars in subsidies to Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, and other top semiconductor companies in coming weeks to help build new factories. The grants are part of the $53 billion Chips Act, intended to reshore production of advanced microchips and fend off China, which is fast developing its own chip industry. The slow pace of implementation of the 2022 bipartisan law has frustrated some. More than 170 firms have applied but, to date, just two tiny grants have been made, to makers of less advanced chips. Industry executives familiar with negotiations said the forthcoming announcements are for much larger sums, in the billions of dollars, and aimed to kick-start manufacturing of advanced semiconductors that power smartphones, artificial intelligence and weapons systems. The executives expect some announcements to come before the State of the Union address scheduled for March 7, when President Biden, a Democrat, will seek to showcase his economic achievements as the presidential campaign picks up steam. Former President Donald Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination. "There is pressure obviously to get the big names funded before things start really heating up," said William Rinehart, a senior fellow for technology and innovation for the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank. |
| Where Southerners Go to Fill the Tank and Feed the Family | |
| New York City has its bodegas. The South has its gas stations. When you stop for motor oil in Mississippi, you can also grab fried chicken on a stick. In North Carolina, you can buy a steamy bowl of pozole along with a batteries and a five-pound bag of White Lily flour. There might be shawarma next to the shotgun shells, or wedges of mild hoop cheese and packets of saltines for sale at the counter along with lottery tickets and pecan pie that the owner's sister made. Documenting these independent Southern temples of commerce and community has become a singular focus for the photojournalist Kate Medley, who, like most kids raised in Mississippi, grew up eating at rural gas stations. Now living in Durham, N.C., Ms. Medley, 42, has spent more than a decade collecting images for her book of photographs, "Thank You Please Come Again," which the digital magazine The Bitter Southerner published in December. The book began with a journalist's curiosity, but ended up as a way for a daughter of the Deep South to make sense of the beautiful, brutal, complicated place she came from. It dawned on Ms. Medley that you could study a region by way of its food in 2005, when she landed at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where she began a master's program in Southern studies. Hurricane Katrina hit the day after she started. She spent the next several months traveling the state to cover the devastation for The New York Times, her journeys fueled by rural gas stations. |
| Mississippi's college graduation rate lower than US average | |
 | Data released in late 2023 shows that overall graduation rates at Mississippi's public universities are lower compared to national averages. The six-year graduation rate nationally is 64% (for first-time freshmen in the fall 2014 semester). At Mississippi public universities under the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), the graduation rate was 57.1%. According to IHL data, only two public institutions in Mississippi have a six-year graduation rate above the national average: Ole Miss and Mississippi State University (MSU). Among freshmen who started in 2014, those are the only two schools that have a majority of students graduating in six years. Three of the four public universities with the lowest graduation rates are historically black colleges and universities. The average ACT score was 20.3 nationally in 2021. Only half of the IHL's public universities -- Mississippi University for Women (MUW), The University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and Ole Miss -- have ACT scores of entering freshmen higher than the national average. |
| MUW will announce new name no later than Feb. 14 in the wake of 'Brightwell' backlash | |
 | Mississippi University for Women (MUW) will announce its new name no later than Feb. 14. The university -- which is also known as "The W" -- sent an online survey to students, staff and alumni on Jan. 26. The survey listed three potential names: Wynbridge, Welbright, Wynbright. All three names will incorporate some version of "Mississippi" and "University." The university provided the following explanations: "Wyn" comes from the Old English word for the letter W. "Bridge" symbolizes the bridging of the past and future. "Welbright" comes from the word "wellness" and a university motto: "We study for light to bless with light." "Wynbright" is a combination of both explanations. A name change taskforce will next meet on Tuesday, Jan. 30 to review the feedback. State lawmakers must approve any name change. The goal is to have the new name take effect on July 1. |
| MUW survey solicits feedback on 3 name options | |
 | Mississippi University for Women is pitching three final suggestions for its new name: Wynbridge, Wynbright and Welbright. The university sent surveys to alumni, employees and students Friday that included the three names. The survey also seeks to gauge how people think each name sounds, and how well each name reflects a university with a rich history that provides a high-quality and would empower students. The survey will close Jan. 29 before midnight. "We appreciate and value the feedback and discussions we've had with many of our constituents, as well as many creative suggestions that have been shared with the Naming Taskforce," the survey said. "This group has listened, considered many suggestions, and deliberated many hours to narrow to three names that will support the continued branding of the university as The W." The university drew the three "finalist" names from 237 suggestions from alumni, 61 suggestions from faculty and staff, 17 from students and 18 from Chernoff Newman, the communications agency assisting with the process. MUW posted all suggested names on its website. Among the other names faculty, students and alumni suggested were Columbus University, Mississippi Wonderful University, Wise State University, Mississippi Warrior University, Walleye University for Mississippi, Founding Waters University and Athena University of (for) Wisdom. |
| Ole Miss School of Education's National Center for School-University Partnerships hosts conference | |
| School officials from across the country were present Friday to discuss issues with students who are absent. The University of Mississippi School of Education's National Center for School-University Partnerships held a conference for its partners from across Mississippi and the nation to address the chronic issue of absenteeism. In the conference, which ran all day Friday, Jan. 26, attendees brainstormed strategies to address the issues of chronic absenteeism nationwide and poor math proficiency among students with special needs in Mississippi. NCSUP leaders chose chronic absenteeism and math proficiency among students with special needs as their "common problems of practice" to focus on because of their relevance. "Since COVID, chronic absenteeism across the country is through the roof," said Bradley Roberson, Oxford School District superintendent and program coordinator for the NCSUP. Plus, "about 25% of (Mississippi) students who receive special services are proficient in mathematics," Roberson said. This leads to longer-term issues, "because mathematics proficiency is, obviously, a driver for high school graduation." |
| IHL: Over 70% of MVSU students don't graduate | |
| Data released in late 2023 by Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) revealed abysmal graduation rates for a college in the Delta. IHL data shows that six-year graduation rates at Mississippi's public universities are 57.1%, roughly 7 percentage points lower than the national average of 64%. However, graduation numbers within six years from Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) are at 27.4%. That is almost 30 percentage points lower than the state average and over 36 points lower than the national average. Put another way, more than seven in ten Delta Devils do not graduate. Based on IHL data, there is a general correlation between freshman class ACT scores and overall graduation rates. Despite MVSU's low numbers, there has been a considerable increase in students who graduate on time. Delta Devils who started college in 2014 were over 52% more likely to finish college on time than those who started in 2007. Only 10.5% of those students finished undergrad in four years. |
| PRCC financial aid administrators say students should delay filling out FAFSA | |
 | The subject of federal financial aid for college has been in the news lately. Students and colleges have been dealing with delays in the roll-out of a new simplified, Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Usually, students can fill them out applications beginning in October, but the 2024-2025 version became available just last week. Financial aid administrators at Pearl River Community College said students should consider postponing filling out the FAFSA for a few more weeks. "We're still encouraging our students to maybe wait until around March to fill it out, let the (Department of Education) get through some more of the issues that are going on right now," said Jaime Missimer, PRCC Office of Financial Aid director. "In the meantime, our students can create their FSA ID's, so that way, they'll be ready to complete it later on. Community colleges usually have later deadlines than universities, but even at the university level, a lot of them are pushing back their deadlines, because we're all in the same boat right now. Nobody has the information yet, We're just waiting." Missimer said about 70 percent of students at PRCC use some sort of financial aid to attend school. |
| University holds AI informational session -- On the Pl(AI)ns | |
| The Biggio Center, in partnership with the Office of the Provost IT, the Office of Information Technology and the AI@AU Initiative, hosted an "AI playground" for students from 9 to11:00 a.m. on Jan. 25. Held in the Melton Student Center, On the Pl(AI)ns taught students about the possibilities of incorporating AI into their academic and future careers. A long line of students waiting to attend On the Pl(AI)ns stretched past the Foy Information Desk as attendants scanned them in. Before entering the rooms, sponsors offered student attendees breakfast items, t-shirts, stickers, hats and pens. On the Pl(AI)ns hosted representatives from Microsoft and Salesforce in the student center and the Academic Classroom and Laboratory Complex to show students, staff and faculty how the university can incorporate AI into daily activities. The event follows a recent surge in the development of AI technologies. Programs like Chat-GPT took over classrooms and academia in late 2022, leaving many institutions scrambling to adjust to rapidly evolving AI technology and regulate student use. Chelsy Hooper, the instructional technology specialist at the Innovation and Research Commons in the Ralph Brown Draughon Library, hosted the first presentation. She demonstrated new AI tools by the Adobe Creative Cloud and showed students how to sign up for an Adobe Creative license, which is included in tuition. |
| What Removing Sociology as a Core-Course Option Means for Florida's Students | |
 | Ask a sociology professor what students get out of the discipline's introductory course, and you're likely to hear that they gain an understanding of the way social dynamics shape behavior and learn how scholars use data and evidence. One syllabus from a recent iteration of the course at the University of Florida at Gainesville sums its purpose up by saying that, by allowing students to critically examine their connections to others, "sociology helps us in becoming informed and responsible global citizens." An alternate view has been championed of late by Manny Diaz Jr., the Florida commissioner of education, who proposed in November removing introductory sociology from among the options for college students to meet one of the state's general-education core requirements. The governing bodies of the state's college and university systems each voted this month to remove it, swapping in an American history course. What do students learn by taking sociology? What is lost if fewer students do? It struck John Reynolds, a professor of sociology at Florida State University, that these are the kinds of questions his discipline can help answer. While the Board of Governors overseeing the state's public universities on Wednesday voted against a proposal to pause and collect more evidence to assess the impact before taking its vote, the "budding social scientists" in his "Sociology of Education" course were learning the very skills needed to conduct such research. So he walked students through the process in class on Thursday. |
| UGA study: Seemingly minimal benefits of Alzheimer's drug might be worth the risks | |
 | Last summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approved the first drug shown to slow the progress of Alzheimer's. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests that patients and caregivers may not experience any benefit from the drug in their daily lives. The drug, Leqembi, became eligible for coverage through Medicare, making it more affordable for the millions of Americans in the early stages of the disease. But experts remained skeptical that the drug provided enough benefit to justify the cost and potential harms of the drug. A new study from UGA's Mark Ebell systematically reviewed 19 publications with more than 23,000 participants that evaluated eight monoclonal antibodies, including Leqembi. "We focused very clearly on patient-centered outcomes," said Ebell, who is a physician and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in UGA's College of Public Health. "We found that even after 18 to 24 months of treatment, the differences in function and cognition between treated and untreated patients were so small that a patient or their caregiver generally wouldn't notice the difference," said Ebell. "For example, the Mini-Mental State test has 30 possible points, but the difference seen in the studies was less than a third of a point. To be noticeable to a patient or their family, that difference would have to be at least 1 to 3 points." |
| Utah joins list of states to pass a bill banning diversity programs in government and on campus | |
| Utah's legislature became the latest in the U.S. to pass a bill Friday prohibiting diversity training, hiring and inclusion programs at universities and in state government. The bill that cleared the state House and Senate by wide margins now heads to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican who has said he is likely to sign such a bill into law. Headed into the final year of his first term as governor, Cox has shifted right on "diversity, equity and inclusion." After vetoing a ban on transgender students playing in girls sports in 2022, Cox signed a bill in 2023 regulating discussion of race and religion in public schools to ban, for example, the teaching that anybody can be racist merely because of their race. Under the Utah bill, universities and government would not be allowed to have offices dedicated to promoting diversity. They also could not require employees to submit statements of commitment to DEI. "It ensures academic freedom on university campuses where all voices will be heard," the bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Keith Grover, said shortly before Thursday's final 23-6 Senate vote in favor of the bill. Already this year, Republican lawmakers have proposed about three dozen bills in at least 17 states that would restrict or require public disclosure of DEI initiatives, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural. |
| When Junior Heads to College, Helicopter Parents Turn to Empty-Nest Coaches | |
| Kenny Hayslett recalled bittersweet feelings when his oldest child left for college. But he didn't expect the profound sadness when his middle child said goodbye last year. "They all sting, but this one hurt," the 56-year-old said. Helicopter parents get accustomed to tracking their children's every move via smartphone, keeping activities tightly scheduled, scrutinizing homework and grades, exchanging miles of texts. For a certain cohort of hands-on parents, getting their teens into college marks the finish line. Then comes the coup de grâce. Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! See you at Thanksgiving! The kids are fine. It's parents who need help. The exit of high-school seniors leaves many feeling like "they're being fired from a job they've had for 18 years," said Jason Ramsden. He has made a name for himself on TikTok as The Empty Nest Coach. Empty-nest coaching is a growing livelihood -- with training certification, support groups and $250-an-hour private-counseling sessions. Demand is driven by parents who feel an emotional and logistical vacuum after years of shepherding children from one moment to the next. "Even though you know it's coming to an end, it is such a shock," said Ramsden, who ushered his last child out the door a little more than two years ago. Empty-nesters get plenty of unsolicited advice from friends and family: Get a job. Get a hobby. Get a life. Empty-nest coaches say such suggestions aren't helpful first steps. Parents have always felt wistful when their children went off on their own. But those feelings seem amplified among moms and dads who devoted much of their time to shepherding children through sports, play dates, lessons, tutoring and the college applications. |
| Why Campus Life Fell Apart | |
| Three years after the pandemic's peak, its lingering effects continue to impede the full revival of student organizations -- a vital factor underpinning retention, graduation, and belonging. When Covid-19 shut down campuses in March 2020 and clubs moved online, colleges reported sharp drops in participation as institutions and students went into survival mode. Even as public-health restrictions receded and students returned to campuses, however, the fabric that kept the clubs operating and smoothly passing the torch from year to year remained frayed. Faced with the challenge of rebuilding what was once the beating heart of campus involvement, some colleges are rethinking their approaches to engagement in big ways. The cost of student disconnection is too high to ignore. Based on conversations with over a dozen experts in student affairs and engagement, here's an overview of how clubs fell apart during the pandemic, why it matters, and what some colleges are doing about it. |
| Biden Administration Looks to Clamp Down on Inclusive Access | |
 | The Biden administration wants to roll back an Obama-era policy that allowed a procurement model for digital textbooks and course materials to flourish -- a move that's alarmed publishers and institutions, but one that student advocates say would give students more choices. The Association of American Publishers says nearly half of all degree-granting institutions have adopted a version of the sourcing option known as inclusive or equitable access, in which students receive all required course materials -- offered for sale at below-market rates through deals struck between institutions, publishers and campus bookstores -- by the first day of class as part of their tuition and fees. The Education Department proposes to take away colleges' ability to automatically bill students for their books and supplies, with only a few exceptions. Instead, students would have to opt in. Publishers say the moves could deal a fatal blow to inclusive and equitable access systems. The change would make the models unworkable, they argue, because an opt-in approach could lead to fewer participants. For the programs to work, they say, a large bulk of students have to participate; without that, students could see higher costs for course materials. Kelly Denson, senior vice president of education policy and programs for the AAP, said changing the policy would have an "outsized and very negative impact" on college students. "Ironically, the Department of Education is doing this even as the Biden-Harris administration is on record for pushing for affordability and higher education, including through loan forgiveness," Denson said. "It's a little disconcerting to think that they would roll back the enormous progress made on course material affordability." |
| Presidential primary show won't make it to Mississippi | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: The national soap opera known as the Republican presidential primaries starring Donald J. Trump will likely be passe when it gets to Mississippi on March 12. It will definitely be over if Trump, as nearly all predict, clobbers Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina on Feb. 24. (Gosh, even Sen. Tim Scott, whom she appointed to the U.S. Senate while governor, has endorsed Trump.) That would make Super Tuesday on March 5 anti-climactic. So, March 12 in Mississippi will be like watching reruns. If Republican challengers in the second and fourth congressional district and U.S. Senate primaries in Mississippi hoped large turnouts might spur upsets, they will likely be disappointed. Interestingly, Third District Congressman Michael Guest, who barely got into a runoff two years ago, has no opposition. First District Congressman Trent Kelly also escaped primary opposition. ... On a side note, Mississippi University for Women will not become Mississippi Brightwell University. President Nora Miller is now working to find an acceptable name starting with "W." This is too reminiscent of President Claudia Limbert's failed effort in 2009. |
| How Mississippi's tax structure favors the wealthy and hurts the poor | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Mississippi has the nation's lowest per capita income at $46,248 annually and the highest percentage of people living in poverty at 18.2%. Yet the state's tax structure does little if anything to try to offset those statistics for the state's poorest citizens. In fact, the tax structure does more to harm the poor than to help them. Mississippi's low-wage earners pay a greater percentage of their income in state and local taxes than do the state's more affluent residents, a recent study found. A January report by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy found that Mississippi has the 19th-most regressive tax system in the nation, where low-income residents are forced to pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than the state's wealthier citizens. The study shows the income tax is the only tax that requires wealthy Mississippians to pay more than the poor. Gov. Tate Reeves wants to eliminate the income tax. The personal income tax already has been cut twice in recent years. In addition, multiple tax cuts for businesses also have been enacted or are being phased in. ... What makes the Mississippi tax system so punitive for the poor is primarily the state's sales tax. Mississippi's 7% sales tax on most retail items is among the highest in the nation. And the state's 7% sales tax on food is the highest statewide grocery tax in the nation. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Hosts No. 9/9 LSU On Monday | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball hosts the defending national champions No. 9/9 LSU for a nationally-televised matchup inside Humphrey Coliseum on Monday at 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Fans not in attendance can follow action on ESPN 2 with Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle on the call or through their Mississippi State radio station with Jason Crowder. LSU leads the series 50-15 overall and 20-8 in Starkville. Mississippi State has won nine of the last 12 meetings and three of the last five at home. LSU enters the contest 18-3 overall and 5-2 in the SEC. Behind double-doubles from both graduate student center Jessika Carter and senior guard Jerkaila Jordan, Mississippi State came home with an 89-77 win at Florida in its last contest on Jan. 22. Graduate student guard Lauren Park-Lane leads the SEC and ranks third nationally with 129 total assists this season. She is one of just three players in the country to rank inside the top eight for total assists each of the last two seasons. Park-Lane has led the team in assists in all six SEC contests and in 19 of 21 overall. Her current 6.1 assists per game would be the second-best single-season mark in program history. Mississippi State returns to action following its first bye week of the conference schedule. Monday will be the first of three contests this week for Mississippi State before it travels to face Kentucky inside Rupp Arena on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network. |
| Mississippi State's clash with LSU to feature multiple reunions | |
| Last year, Darrione Rogers was Aneesah Morrow's co-star at DePaul, with the duo helping the Blue Demons lead the Big East in scoring offense as Morrow finished second in the conference in points per game with Rogers in fourth. The Chicago natives have both found new homes this season in the Southeastern Conference, and will play against each other for the first time in their collegiate careers on Monday night when Rogers and Mississippi State host Morrow and No. 9 LSU. "I respect Aneesah as a player. We had a great relationship," Rogers said. "But we have not spoken or anything, so at the end of the day, I wish her nothing but the best. She's at LSU, I'm at Mississippi State, no bad blood. We're both competitors. When we step on the court, she's going to try to win and do what it takes for her team to win, and I'm going to try to lead my team to a victory." The defending national champion Tigers also added star point guard Hailey Van Lith from Louisville in the transfer portal, and Van Lith's time with the Cardinals overlapped with that of Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell, who was a longtime Louisville assistant coach before taking the MSU job in 2022. Purcell was the Cardinals' recruiting coordinator when Van Lith was going through her recruiting process, and the two have maintained a strong relationship. |
| Josh Hubbard nearly ended up at Ole Miss. Against Auburn, he was Mississippi State's basketball star | |
| There's a mean-mugging expression Josh Hubbard likes to show off after hitting a big shot, and his coach, Chris Jans, got a first-hand look at it Saturday inside Humphrey Coliseum. After sinking a 3-pointer to put Mississippi State basketball ahead by four against Auburn with less than two minutes to play, Hubbard turned to Jans. When the second-year MSU coach glanced at Hubbard, he was eye-to-eye with the signature look. "He looked at me like he scored on me," Jans said. "I'm like, 'Man, I'm with you. What do we got going here, man?' It was pretty stone-cold. It was pretty stone-cold, and it made me feel good inside." The 3-pointer capped a 17-point outing for Hubbard, fueling Mississippi State (14-6, 3-4 SEC) to a 64-58 victory over No. 6 Auburn (16-4, 5-2), and and its second top-10 win of the season. In those two games, against Auburn and Tennessee, Hubbard averaged 21 points and made 15 of his 31 shot attempts. "A lot of kids dream about moments like that -- sold-out crowds and playing in those types of environments," Hubbard said. "It's definitely fun. It's motivating." In front of the biggest crowds, playing against the SEC's toughest teams, Hubbard has given Mississippi State the signature wins it needs on its NCAA Tournament resume. However, the time away from sold-out arenas helped mold the freshman's mentality. |
| Hubbard's big week highlights Mississippi State takeaways | |
| What could have been a down week for Mississippi State ended up being one that gave a boost to its postseason resume. The Bulldogs were unable to keep up with Florida in a 79-70 loss in Gainesville on Wednesday night. However, the team bounced back in a big way on Saturday, beating No. 8 Auburn 64-58 at Humphrey Coliseum. The win over the Tigers marks the second Top 10 win of the season for Chris Jans' squad. It's the first time the Bulldogs have done so since 2001-02. The results, combined with the schedule ahead, have Mississippi State in position to make noise in the SEC. This past week taught us that there will be several keys to doing so. There was no bigger offensive catalyst this week than Josh Hubbard. The freshman from Madison had 26 points against the Gators, then 17 against the Tigers including a three-pointer with a minute and a half left to effectively put the game out of reach. Approximately 90 minutes before the Auburn game, Hubbard was notified that he'd be starting for the first time in his college career. He made that decision pay off right away. |
| Jackson Academy grad ready to 'do whatever it takes' to get MSU baseball back to Omaha | |
| The 2023 season didn't go as planned for head coach Chris Lemonis and Mississippi State baseball. The storied program and 2021 NCAA College World Series champions barely secured a winning season, ending the year with a record of 27-26 and going two consecutive seasons with less than 30 wins for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. However, there were plenty of bright spots on a young and talented squad, with one being a standout freshman and Jackson Academy grad Dakota Jordan. Approaching a new year, Jordan says he and the Diamond Dawgs are entering the season full of confidence, aiming to take the program back to where it belongs -- the College World Series. "The confidence level is way up [compared] to last year. I feel like this team brings a lot of energy." the slugger said. "I expect big things for me. I'm ready. I'm getting the chills thinking about it." "We talk about going to Omaha every night, honestly," The JA grad added. "We envision it... I envision it every day. Whatever it takes, my goal is to get there to Omaha, and not just to get there, but to win it. That's how I feel and that's how my team feels. We're going to do everything in our power to get this program back to where it was." The journey back to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starts with an opening weekend series in Starkville against Air Force on February 16. |
| Five players with state of Mississippi ties for Super Bowl 58 between Chiefs, 49ers | |
| When the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers meet in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas, they will roster five players from the state of Mississippi. Two of them are former Mississippi State stars. Chris Jones has spent the 2023 season tormenting offensive lines for Kansas City. The defensive tackle registered 10.5 sacks this season. He's joined on the Chiefs by Starkville native Willie Gay Jr, who played for the Bulldogs. Gay, who missed the AFC Championship Game due to injury, has 58 tackles, three fumble recoveries and an interception this season. The Chiefs also roster Horn Lake product Darius Harris. The linebacker, who played his college football at Middle Tennessee State, has appeared in five games this season. They'll find defensive backs Charvarius Ward and Darrell Luter on the opposite sideline. Ward, a six-season NFL veteran and former member of the Chiefs, attended high school in McComb. He later moved on to Hinds Community College and Middle Tennessee State. He's had an outstanding season for the 49ers, with five interceptions to his name -- doubling his previous career total. Luter is a Hattiesburg product. He played at the junior college level for Pearl River before moving on to South Alabama. He's played in seven games as a rookie this season. |
| Auburn women's tennis coach Caroline Lilley abruptly fired after team makes ITA Indoor Championships | |
 | In a sudden change of course Sunday afternoon, athletics director John Cohen announced Auburn would be "parting ways" from women's tennis coach Caroline Lilley in a decision that would be effective immediately. Lilley's ousting comes at a questionable time as 14th-ranked Auburn is in the middle of its season and coming off a big win in Durham, N.C., where Auburn topped 15th-ranked Duke on Saturday, punching the Tigers' ticket to the ITA Indoor Championships. By Sunday afternoon, Lilley's name and image had already been removed from the team's page on Auburn's website. The team's associate head coach, Megan Falcon, was also removed from the team's website Sunday. However, Falcon resigned from her post and was not fired, an Auburn athletics spokesperson confirmed to AL.com. Falcon was brought on as associate head coach in 2021. "The program will be under the direction of members of the men's and women's tennis staff on an interim basis, as the search for a permanent replacement begins," Cohen said Sunday. "We will work closely with members of our tennis staff to ensure they have all the resources necessary to support our student athletes throughout the remainder of the 2024 season." |
| As college sports faces more change, is private equity money coming in? | |
| There are high-stakes lawsuits and labor relations boards, congressional hearings and an NCAA president's controversial overhaul plan. There's an angry school taking its conference to court over a grant of rights, and that conference preemptively striking against the school. There's the disruption of name, image and likeness, grumbling over essentially unlimited transfers and million-dollar portal acquisitions. There are Hall of Fame coaches in football and men's basketball sprinting to retirement. There's a yawning gap between the SEC and Big Ten and the rest of the leagues, with those Power 2 commissioners beginning to realize the power of leveraging their ascension above the fray. There are only two certainties in college sports -- sweeping change is coming, and no one knows what it will look like. Amid this backdrop, a new market force has emerged as potentially interested in the future of college sports. From email inboxes to Zoom meetings to glad-handing at high-end events, representatives from private equity and other types of outside financial entities have emerged as interested in the chaos of college sports. "What are you looking for if you are private equity?" asked an industry source. "You are looking for a poorly managed business that nevertheless has a strong market. That's the definition of college athletics." |
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