| Monday, February 19, 2024 |
| Black Alumni Weekend: Merging the past and present at MSU | |
 | It's Black Alumni Weekend at Mississippi State University. A variety of events have been hosted to celebrate Mississippi State University's Black alumni. The biannual Black Alumni Weekend, a four-day event, is an effort to provide support to current and future Bulldogs. Co-Chair of Black Alumni Weekend Candance Gates, says they also hope to connect the past with the present. "The ultimate goal is to connect the African American community with the greater alumni associations at Mississippi State. So just making sure we are increasing engagement and participation, as well as mentoring our undergraduate students so that they know they have this connection once they graduate," Gates said. A gala, a luncheon and brunch, speaking panels, and more have were just some of the events that took place. Camille Young is an alum and past president of the alumni association and has been involved in this event since it began in 2016. "It has grown tremendously. Our alumni are really getting more involved in not just black alumni weekend but in all aspects of the university and this is a weekend that allows them opportunities to learn more about the different things that are going on within the university, within their respective colleges, and it provides a great opportunity to be mentors for students and just to be more involved in the place that shaped all of us into the people who we are," Young said. |
| Black History Month: MSU's first Black students built 'community' at YMCA | |
 | Despite living just west of campus, Harvest Collier had never visited Mississippi State University before he became one of the first Black students there in 1968. "I had no sense of what it was like growing up and living in a totally segregated environment," he said. "So you could imagine the cultural change that I had to figure out in arriving to campus." MSU had admitted its first Black student for the first time only three years before Collier had enrolled, but segregation and racism were still prevalent. Collier said he quickly discovered he was unprepared for the cultural experiences he encountered after stepping onto the campus for the first time. Dealing with culture shock made Collier anxious. He remembers sitting in classes, unable to stop his left leg from shaking during the instruction. The usual challenges students face on a college campus -- like finding a sense of belonging or identity on campus -- were exacerbated for Collier as the only Black student in most of his classes. Having to find a lab partner was always a particular challenge, he remembered. In another classroom, Robert Barnes was having a similar experience with two empty seats on either side of him. Even in large classes, white students would rather stand against the wall than sit beside a Black student, he said. The campus YMCA building was a sanctuary for Black students on campus after the school was integrated. It was there that Collier, Barnes and other Black students built a community, or as Barnes describes it, "found comfort in uncomfortable places." |
| MSU partners with DoD SkillBridge program to give military members experience in university research | |
 | Mississippi State University is now an official partner of the U.S. Department of Defense's SkillBridge program, offering active military members a chance to explore post-military careers at the university's research centers and institutes. The SkillBridge program grants active service members the opportunity to spend up to 180 days working and learning in civilian career areas related to military work experience at employers like MSU, helping to bridge the transition to civilian life. Michael Navicky, who went through the SkillBridge program when retiring from the U.S. Air Force, serves as the primary point of contact for MSU's SkillBridge partnership. "Our research centers and institutes already work closely with Department of Defense partners on research that is focused on national security priorities," said Navicky, director of MSU's High-Performance Computing Collaboratory. "We are excited to offer this opportunity for individuals exploring their next steps following active-duty service." In addition to programs based on the Starkville campus, MSU is offering a SkillBridge program in Biloxi as part of the Mississippi Cyber Initiative. |
| Rendon named executive director for Veterans and Military Affairs at Mississippi State | |
| A longtime Mississippi State University student affairs administrator and Mississippi Army National Guard colonel is the university's new executive director of veterans and military affairs. Andrew S. Rendon began his new role Jan. 1. He is responsible for the overall development and enhancement of university services for U.S. service members, veterans and their dependents. His oversight encompasses the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans at Nusz Hall and Army and Air Force ROTC programs. Rendon expects to earn a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from MSU in May 2024, and he is a 2019 Master of Strategic Studies graduate of the U.S. Army War College. He has a master's degree in public policy and administration from MSU and an undergraduate degree in political science. His extensive military leadership experience includes supervising hundreds of officers and soldiers and an expansive budget. He has been on multiple deployments, including service in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt said Rendon's MSU experience, dating back to his time as an MSU Army ROTC Bulldog Battalion cadet, coupled with his military experience and ongoing leadership training, make him ideally suited for the position. |
| Manginsay appointed director of MSU Poultry Research and Diagnostic Laboratory | |
| Officials at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently appointed Dr. Natalie Manginsay as director of the Poultry Research and Diagnostic Laboratory. For almost nine years, Manginsay has served as an associate clinical professor of avian medicine for the PRDL, which is located in Pearl and is one of four laboratories in the Mississippi Veterinary Research and Diagnostic Laboratory System. The PRDL plays an essential role in supporting the poultry industry in the state through disease detection and surveillance along with contributing to global research. The industry also relies upon the expertise of PRDL veterinarians for advice and guidance. In her new position, Manginsay will lead the lab to fulfill its service, teaching and research missions. She will continue to participate in the lab's diagnostic and field service, teaching and applied research work while also spending up to 50% of her time on administrative endeavors such as managing relationships with poultry industry stakeholders. "Dr. Manginsay has shown leadership in the lab and that she can lead the poultry section, so we feel like this is just a natural step forward for her," said CVM Head of Pathobiology and Population Medicine Dr. Bill Epperson. |
| What's it like to be homeless? MSU Drill Field simulation aims to raise awareness | |
| Homeless people in Starkville often struggle for the most basic of resources. A simulation event scheduled Tuesday is designed to raise awareness of that struggle and give participants insight into what the homeless face. Starkville Strong, a community nonprofit, and students with Mississippi State University's social work program are holding a homeless experience simulation from 6 to 8 p.m. at Mississippi State University's Drill Field. Anyone is welcome to participate. Brandi Herrington, Starkville Strong's executive director, told The Dispatch the simulation is a way to continue raising awareness about the plight of the homeless, especially after brutal freezing weather the area experienced in January. Warming stations in both Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties provided the homeless and others refuge from temperatures that fell to single digits. Herrington said she wants to keep the issue visible and came up raising awareness through a simulation-style experience. Annabelle Sharpe, a junior social worker student at MSU and member of Starkville Strong's advocacy committee, said she jumped at the chance to help Herrington's idea come to fruition and connected her with the social work program. Sharpe said she has a personal investment, as her and her family experienced homelessness when she was a child. Having to couch surf, she said, is a reminder that homelessness isn't always visible to bystanders. |
| LINK asking city for tax exemption for $9.5M business expansion | |
| The Golden Triangle Development LINK is asking the city to boost a business's expansion with a tax exemption. Joe Max Higgins, CEO for the LINK, told the board aldermen at its Friday work session that the expansion -- dubbed "Project Squeeze" -- is worth $9.5 million and will create about 20 jobs. Higgins confirmed to The Dispatch following the session that the tax exemption request is for an existing business, but he declined to name the business or what it does. He asked the board to consider granting the business a 10-year exemption on ad valorem taxes, also known as property taxes. He said he will ask the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to do the same. Aldermen placed the request on its consent agenda for Tuesday's regular meeting, meaning it can pass without further discussion. Higgins plans to pitch the request to county supervisors Tuesday afternoon. Higgins also told the board the LINK had secured $2.5 million in state grant funds for a new 200,000 square foot pad at NorthStar Industrial Park. The new pad would be located off U.S. 82 near the Louisville exit and be marketed to new businesses. NorthStar currently has one active tenant, Garan Manufacturing. Amazon is also preparing to open a "last mile" facility in the park. There is an unused 100,000 square-foot pad in the park as well. |
| Runners race to support Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum | |
| Some ran, some walked, but everyone supported. For the first time, Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum hosted a 5k race titled "Museum Miles." Nate Greve, the 5k run organizer said this run was a good approach to encourage people to learn about Starkville's history. "We were hosting the 5k event for the museum so that we could try to get more advertisement for the museum," said Greve. "We are trying to get people more interested in the museum and the history of Starkville, where they are at, and where they are coming from." Giles Jones crossed the finish line first. "It is nice, and it is always fun to come across the line and be the first one to do it," said Jones. "It makes that training what it is, and it makes it all worth it to just win." Whether you're first or last, Stephen Cunetto, President of the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, said it was his pleasure to connect people's passion for recreational activities, the arts, and history. "We would love to see more races in Starkville," said Cunetto. "It was good to see people out exercising and supporting the museum." |
| Magnolia Independent Film Festival announces 27th annual lineup | |
| The Magnolia Independent Film Festival announces the film lineup for its 27th annual event being held Feb. 22-24 at the UEC Starkville Hollywood Premiere Cinemas. The 2024 festival will feature 6 world premieres, 2 U.S., and 25 Mississippi debuts. In total, the MAG will show 36 films from 10 countries and 12 different states. The full lineup includes 3 narrative features and 24 shorts spanning all genres including documentaries, music videos, animated, dramas, comedies, thrillers, student-produced and films produced during the MAG's 2nd annual 48-hour Film Competition held in October. In addition, 7 films will play as part of the family-friendly screening on Saturday morning. This year's festival will see the largest turnout of filmmakers to showcase their films and be available for question and answer sessions after their screenings. Throughout the 3-day festival, the MAG will present film programs featuring up to 10 films and running between 3.5 to just over 4 hours at the UEC Starkville Hollywood Premiere Cinemas in Starkville, 101 Hollywood Blvd. Along with the film screenings, the MAG will offer free educational opportunities. |
| Hosemann confident Medicaid expansion plan with work requirement will pass legislature | |
 | With Monday's deadline to introduce legislation quickly approaching, both chambers of the Mississippi legislature are planning to drop bills that would expand Medicaid in a state that continues to suffer from a widely publicized healthcare crisis. As opponents of Medicaid expansion vouch that the idea is nothing but another avenue for welfare, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann argues the opposite. The Republican leader said the Senate's bill would expand coverage to roughly 230,000 working adults with that being the key word -- working. "You'd have to be making higher than the federal poverty rate to be eligible for this," Hosemann said, adding that he would also want to see a requirement for participants to make a contribution toward their health insurance. "It's not just a gift program for people who are not working. Those people, quite frankly, are already covered. This is aimed strictly and solely at working people that are making in that $20,000 to $40,000 range." Hosemann revealed that the idea of expanding Medicaid in Mississippi was solidified in his mind after he saw Louisiana's success with it. At first, there were concerns over people jumping from employer group coverage to enroll in Medicaid. He said that's been virtually a non-issue for Mississippi's westward neighbor. As for how Mississippi would pay for its share of Medicaid expansion -- another argument critics have stood on -- Hosemann believes the idea is to get the federal government to help. |
| 'The Lord did that': Former Speaker offers insight on historic vote to change state flag | |
| Nearly four years after the fact, former House Speaker Philip Gunn is still asked about the vote to change the state flag. And despite being one of the few Republican lawmakers to come out in support of doing so early on, he doesn't take credit. "It was the women, the wives, the children, the grandchildren of the legislators. They thought about history, they thought about their legacy. They talked about 20 years from now, people are going to look back [at] this vote, and they're going to want to know what Grandpa did," he said. Gunn was the guest of honor Thursday at the Mississippi Press Association's annual Celebrity Roast. The former lawmaker was the target of several jokes on everything from his football career at Baylor University to his trademark short hair. Gunn, whose hair was shorter than usual Thursday night, took a few minutes to reflect on his two decades in office and shared more insight into the 2020 vote on H.B. 1796. The bill, which was signed by Gov. Tate Reeves, retired the former state flag and created a commission to design a new one. But just 10 days out from the historic vote it was unclear whether the measure would have enough support to pass. The bill eventually passed 91-23, with Gunn saying 48 Republicans voted in favor. Days later, the 1894 flag was retired during a ceremony on the Capitol grounds. |
| Lawmakers working to give voting rights to ex-cons: 'It's just frustrating' | |
 | When Benny Ivey, co-founder of Strong Arms of Mississippi, went to prison for the first time in the 1998, losing his right to vote wasn't among his chief concerns. Fourteen years since his final day in prison, Ivey turned his life away from crime and has been running a program to steer minors in the Jackson metro area from his past life. Yet, he still cannot vote in local, county, statewide or national elections because of the crimes he committed years ago. Now, more than 26 years after his first stint of incarceration, he cares very much. He isn't the only one frustrated. Over the last three years, according to the Mississippi Legislature website, more than 42 suffrage bills have been filed in both the Mississippi House and Senate, but all died in committee before a proper debate on the subject could be had. There were also 47 individual requests for suffrage from people seeking their voting rights back, but only seven were approved, and they were not signed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. According to several sources that spoke with the Clarion Ledger, new Republican leadership in several committees is now open to the idea of expanding suffrage back to previously convicted felons, and some, such as new Republican House Speaker Jason White, are also positive about the legislation, House Constitution Committee Chair Price Wallace, R, said. |
| Charles Sallis, 89, Dies; Upended the Teaching of Mississippi History | |
 | Charles Sallis, a Mississippi historian who collaborated on a high-school textbook that revolutionized the teaching of Mississippi's troubled history, died on Feb. 5, at his home in Jackson, Miss. He was 89. His death was confirmed by his son Charles Jr. Until "Mississippi: Conflict & Change," which Mr. Sallis wrote and edited with the sociologist James W. Loewen, was published in 1974, high school students in the state had been fed a pablum that omitted the horrors of slavery, lynching, the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow and largely skipped over the civil rights movement. Mr. Sallis, a native of Mississippi, had grown up bathed in his state's conventional racism. But he had long realized that most of what he had been taught was wrong. In 1970, as the most active phase of the civil rights revolution neared its end, Mr. Sallis, a history professor at the relatively liberal Millsaps College, along with Mr. Loewen, who was then teaching nearby at the historically Black Tougaloo College, sat down to rethink their state's past, joined by a small team of students and faculty from both schools. Over the next four years, the group of nine produced a ninth-grade history textbook so vigorous, frank and unsparing in its review of the state's grim history that the Mississippi State Textbook Purchasing Board barred its use in schools almost as soon as it appeared. In 1976, the book won the Southern Regional Council's Lillian Smith Award for best nonfiction book about the South. But it would take five years of struggles in court against stubborn state officials, a trial and a federal judge's order in 1980 that Mississippi accept the book for it to make its way into the state's schools. |
| Labor Secretary Su meets with Latino poultry industry workers facing abuse, threats | |
 | The acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor visited with Latino workers and organizers in Mississippi's poultry industry last week to discuss abuses and threats levied against them -- as well as how the federal agency can better protect them. The roundtable, which was attended by dozens of workers and community members from across the state, was held at the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity in west Jackson, where many expressed familiarity with the conditions leading to 16 year-old Duvan Tomas Perez's death at the Mar Jac poultry plant in Hattiesburg last July. For more than an hour Su spoke openly with the workers in fluent Spanish about their experiences. "These are very, very difficult jobs, and they're jobs where too often workers do not bring home the pay that they're supposed to be paid. They are fearful of whether they're going to get injured on the job, lose a finger and even die," Su told MPB News. Agricultural and meat processing plants in Mississippi and the Southeast have long relied on immigrant workers from Latin America to fill gaps left in their labor force as it grew, and especially after African American workers began organizing for higher pay and improved workplace conditions. Between 1990 and 2000, Scott County's Hispanic population increased by more than 1,000% – and following an advertising campaign targeting Latino migrant communities in south Florida, Texas, Mexico and Central America, more than 5,000 moved to the area surrounding Morton and Forest in the span of a few years for work in chicken plants as the South became the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic population. |
| FBI Director Says China Cyberattacks on U.S. Infrastructure Now at Unprecedented Scale | |
 | As intelligence chiefs and policymakers gathered for this city's annual security conference focused on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation urged them not to lose sight of another threat: China. Christopher Wray on Sunday said Beijing's efforts to covertly plant offensive malware inside U.S. critical infrastructure networks is now at "a scale greater than we'd seen before," an issue he has deemed a defining national security threat. Citing Volt Typhoon, the name given to the Chinese hacking network that was revealed last year to be lying dormant inside U.S. critical infrastructure, Wray said Beijing-backed actors were pre-positioning malware that could be triggered at any moment to disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure. "It's the tip of the iceberg...it's one of many such efforts by the Chinese," he said on the sidelines of the security conference that has been dominated by questions over Ukraine and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. China, he had earlier told delegates, is increasingly inserting "offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right." Wray's comments are the latest in a string of public warnings by senior Biden administration officials to animate their fears about China's advanced and well-resourced hacking prowess. Western intelligence officials say its scale and sophistication has accelerated over the past decade. |
| US lawmakers raise alarms about failure to compete with China in biotechnology | |
 | U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America's failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. But as the two countries' rivalry expands into the biotech industry, some say that shutting out Chinese companies would only hurt the U.S. Biotechnology promises to revolutionize everyday life, with scientists and researchers using it to make rapid advances in medical treatment, genetic engineering in agriculture and novel biomaterials. Because of its potential, it has caught the attention of both the Chinese and U.S. governments. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to bar "foreign adversary biotech companies of concern" from doing business with federally funded medical providers. The bills name four Chinese-owned companies. The debate over biotechnology is taking place as the Biden administration tries to stabilize the volatile U.S.-China relationship, which has been battered by a range of issues, including a trade war, the COVID-19 pandemic, cybersecurity and militarization in the South China Sea. Critics of the legislation warn that restrictions on Chinese companies would impede advances that could bring a greater good. "In biotech, one cannot maintain competitiveness by walling off others," said Abigail Coplin, an assistant professor at Vassar College who specializes in China's biotech industry. She said she was worried that U.S. policymakers would get too obsessed with the technology's military applications at the cost of hindering efforts to cure disease and feed the world's population. |
| McConnell has a good week in battle to retake Senate majority | |
 | On policy and politics, it was a good week for Mitch McConnell. First, the Senate Republican leader, who has long opposed an isolationist approach to foreign policy, helped shepherd a $95 billion bipartisan foreign aid package through a thicket of GOP opposition fomented by former President Donald Trump. Then McConnell's quest to regain control of the Senate received a boost, first from news that his preferred candidate in Wisconsin, Eric Hovde, would be getting into the race to challenge Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, and then when a candidate he preferred not to see run, Rep. Matt Rosendale, dropped his Montana Senate bid. That cleared the way for the McConnell favorite, businessman Tim Sheehy, to mount a challenge to Sen. Jon Tester. McConnell's behind-the-scenes push to convince Larry Hogan to jump into Maryland's open Senate seat also yielded fruit last week when the popular former governor entered the race. An Emerson College poll released Thursday showed Hogan tied at 42 percent support with Democratic Rep. David Trone, even as the state's voters preferred President Joe Biden over Donald Trump, 55 percent to 32 percent. McConnell's positive week stands in contrast to headaches endured by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who saw his already slim majority grow even slimmer following a Republican loss in New York's 3rd District, the defeat of another rule on the House floor and a delay in holding votes on legislation to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It's a shift of political fortunes for McConnell, who turns 82 next week and had faced questions about his health following two episodes of freezing on camera last summer, in addition to sharp divisions within the Senate Republican Conference and sometimes withering criticism from Trump. |
| For President Biden, Nothing Beats a Weekend in Delaware | |
| If it is the weekend -- and sometimes even when it isn't -- President Biden is probably in Delaware. Biden has traveled to his home state nearly half of the weekends of his presidency, spending all or part of 254 days there during his first three years in office. And more often than not, he extends his visits beyond the typical weekend enjoyed by most Americans, arriving on Friday and departing on Monday. Biden's travel to Delaware is on par with Donald Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago and his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. In his first three years in office, Trump spent all or part of 259 days at his Florida and New Jersey properties, according to former CBS News reporter Mark Knoller, who compiles data on presidential travel. That is five days more than Biden spent in Delaware in the same period. Overall, Biden has spent more time outside of the White House on unofficial or semiofficial travel than any president since George W. Bush. When weekend travel, vacations and trips to Camp David are combined, Biden spent all or part of 408 days away from the White House in his first three years in office, compared with 291 days for Trump, 135 for Barack Obama and 478 for Bush in that same period, according to Knoller. Biden's regular jaunts to Delaware -- his connection to the state runs so deep that his re-election campaign is headquartered there -- come as he is facing criticism from Republicans that he is out of touch with voters and isn't up to the job because of his age. Presidents of both parties have long faced criticism over their leisure time. Republican Party operatives kept a tally of the number of days Obama spent on the golf course, and Democrats did the same for Trump. |
| Generations after its heyday, isolationism is alive and kicking up controversy | |
 | Not so long ago, if you overheard a political conversation about isolationism, you assumed it was about the past. Popular in the 1920s and 1930s, the idea of America going it alone in the world -- politically, economically, militarily -- was discredited after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor forced the U.S. into World War II in 1941. Pearl Harbor prompted such leading isolationists as Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, R-Mich., to reverse themselves and become advocates of what he called "international cooperation and collective security for peace." That conversion "took firm form on the afternoon of the Pearl Harbor attack," the senator wrote. "That day ended isolationism for any realist."That was conventional wisdom for more than 70 years, embraced by Democratic and Republican presidents alike. But the term and the concept of isolationism are not consigned to the past anymore. That is why on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed an international security conference in Munich, Germany, and repeatedly referred to isolationist sentiments as resurgent in the U.S. "These are questions the American people must also ask ourselves: Whether it is in America's interest to continue to engage with the world or to turn inward," she said. While she did not name former President Donald Trump in her public remarks, Harris left little doubt as to her ultimate target. In a sense, Trump and his supporters in Congress and in parts of the media have been updating and restating the misgivings expressed by generations of Americans in the past. |
| Proposed revisions to Mississippi financial aid could expand help available to students | |
| Last session, a bill to revise Mississippi's financial aid program for college hit snags. Lawmakers are hopeful they can overcome those obstacles this year. Representative Donnie Scoggin has filed a bill, HB 994, that, if signed into law, would expand the Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant program. The bill passed out of the House's Universities and Colleges Committee this week and now heads to the Appropriations Committee for consideration. Proponents argue the changes represent one more tool in efforts to prepare Mississippi's workforce for tomorrow. "MTAG, was created nearly 30 years ago in 1995, and it has served the state well, with nearly three-quarters of a million Mississippians benefitting over the years. Over that time, tuition has more than tripled, and the costs of housing, food, and books has increased by more than five times, but MTAG has not changed," said Jennifer Rogers, Director of Student Financial Aid for the Mississippi Department of Financial Aid and Executive Director of the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board. "The award amount remains the same as it was in 1995, and the state's neediest students remain excluded. This proposal aims to make MTAG relevant for today's Mississippi students and meet today's workforce needs." |
| Righting a monumental wrong: With the help of a young actor, city and county leaders seek to memorialize Black soldiers who died in WWI | |
| On the Lowndes County Courthouse lawn in October, Dylan Wiley portrayed a man named Charles Williams for the second time. It was part of a "Community Read" partnership between Columbus and Mississippi University for Women meant to highlight local Black history. The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science senior, and Raymond native, donned the uniform of a U.S. colored soldier in the Civil War to passionately, convincingly deliver Williams' story. A Lowndes County native and son of a free man of color who owned The Haven on Second Avenue North, Williams served in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a colored unit made famous by the 1989 film, "Glory." Wiley spoke about how WIlliams was wounded in combat and lived the rest of his life disabled in Ohio. He read 21 other names of Black soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Then, as Wiley puts it, he "pivoted," pointing out the World War I memorial monument on the courthouse lawn and reading 12 more names, all of Black soldiers, that don't appear on its edifice. "Mississippi has a history of hiding some of the better parts of our (history), including those great men," Wiley told The Dispatch on Friday. "... I wanted to tell the whole story." Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin, in the audience that day, was "blown away." Since October, Gaskin has met with MSMS history teacher Chuck Yarborough and District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith to "start the conversation" for righting the wrong. The men have invited Wiley to reprise his performance on the courthouse lawn at 10 a.m. Feb. 24, partly as a Black History Month celebration and partly to raise awareness for the need to recognize those soldiers. |
| Black History Month Keynote explores racism through environmental history | |
 | The University of Mississippi Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement welcomed keynote speaker B. Brian Foster on Tuesday, Feb. 13 in honor of Black History Month. A former UM professor, Foster is now an associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. He is also an ethnographer, multimedia storyteller and author. Foster delivered the keynote address on his new book, "Ghosts of Segregation: American Racism, Hidden in Plain Sight." "If we imagine the land as an archive, it places a little bit of responsibility on us to imagine ourselves as archivists who are curious about our history and are willing to do the work to preserve and try to interpret our history," Foster said. "What happens when the histories that the land is keeping tell us things about ourselves that maybe don't put us in the best light?" Published on Feb. 6, the book is a collaborative project between Foster and award-winning photojournalist Richard "Rich" Frishman. Through a collection of photo essays, they showcase the landscapes and memories that speak to America's history of racial oppression. His history with UM is not the reason Foster agreed to deliver the address. To Foster, the opportunity brought the chance to reconnect with Mississippi as a whole. |
| Wild hogs chomp and stomp their way through $90 million worth of Louisiana crops | |
 | Feral hogs are trampling, digging and eating their way through a growing number of farms, causing more than $90 million worth of damage to Louisiana-grown rice, sugar cane and other crops each year. Louisiana's growers reported the highest increase of wild pig activity among southern states over the past three years, according to a new study led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While half of farmers surveyed in the 11-state study area reported some increase, about 87% of Louisiana farmers said pig sightings and damage had grown since 2020. That's no surprise, said Michael Salassi, an agricultural economist with the Louisiana State University AgCenter. "The hogs are increasing pretty fast," he said. "Just to keep the population level, we'd need to kill 70% of them every year. Obviously, that's not happening." Hunters manage to kill only a third of the state's feral hogs every year. Current estimates put the number of hogs at about 900,000, making their population larger than New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette combined. LSU scientists recently patented a new feral hog bait that comes packed with a poison the hogs' sensitive snouts can't easily detect. Distributing the bait isn't easy. Another hurdle is getting federal approval to begin trials on the bait. LSU applied for an experimental use permit about a year ago, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been slow to give the greenlight. |
| The Rise and Fall of DEI at the U. of Oklahoma | |
 | In the spring of 2015, members of the University of Oklahoma's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter broke into song as they rode a bus accompanied by their dates. The lyrics, chanted to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It," included racial epithets and references to lynching. A brief video from the bus circulated online, and the outrage was swift. "I felt disappointed. It wasn't that I didn't know things like that could happen," said Suzette Chang, founder and chief executive of Thick Descriptions, a progressive education-reform group based in Oklahoma, said recently, reflecting on the moment. "It was how blatant the incident was." Because Oklahomans "see ourselves as being polite," Chang said, "we confuse that with being incapable of being truly racist." Within a day of the video's emergence, the university announced the closure of the fraternity house, and within a month it hired a vice president for the university community. His duties closely resembled those of diversity, equity, and inclusion officers being hired across the country. The move satisfied many who had been clamoring for change on the campus, but Chang and other people of color were cautious in what little optimism they held around the appointment. "It was a good move in a better direction," she said of the establishment of the Office of University Community, which later became the campus's DEI office. But Chang worried the university wasn't doing enough to confront the culture of racism that led to the racist fraternity chant. |
| City Council to vote on partnership with U. of Missouri Truman School of Government and Public Affairs | |
 | One University of Missouri graduate student could work with the Columbia City Council if the city's partnership with the MU Truman School of Government and Public Affairs is approved Monday. The assistantship would allow a Truman School graduate student to work closely with the mayor, City Council and the city manager's office to provide support with communications and planning, according to a service agreement signed by City Manager De'Carlon Seewood. In the agreement, the city allocates $15,729 to the university each semester for services from the student. The pay includes an $8,650 stipend, $2,579 for health insurance and $4,500 for tuition based on nine credit hours. The council realized the need for an intern during the fiscal year 2024 budget work sessions when support for policy research and other administrative tasks was discussed, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said in an email. "By welcoming graduate students into our City Council and mayor's office, we're not only offering invaluable hands-on experience, but also embracing fresh perspectives and innovative ideas," Buffaloe said in an email. "It's a new program and I'm excited to see how it might evolve." The student could assist with policy research, communications and scheduling; write a literature review on a particular policy issue; and scan procedures implemented by other local governments around specific policies. The selected student is expected to work an average of 20 hours per week throughout the semester. |
| 'Completely Shut Out': A Shuttered Building and Reports of Chemicals Rattle N.C. State | |
| The presence of toxic chemicals in a now-shuttered academic building at North Carolina State University has raised intense questions about whether faculty's working conditions made them sick, and whether the administration has mishandled the crisis. The health crisis -- which has reportedly affected both students and employees -- has created what one former graduate student calls a "really palpable sense of fear of the unknown, among everyone." Meanwhile, critics of the administration say it has been tight-lipped and distant. The university closed Poe Hall, which houses the psychology department and the College of Education, in November after preliminary tests found that five rooms in Poe were contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at levels up to 38 times greater than federal-safety standards, according to NC Newsline. The chemicals, whose manufacture was outlawed in 1979, have been linked to a host of medical conditions, including cancer. In the months since, reports have swirled identifying dozens of people who worked in Poe Hall who contracted cancer. The local television station WRAL, which has aggressively covered the story, reported this month that it had "received 101 reports of cancer" from people who spent time in the building. The diagnoses are only one part of the controversy. |
| Most veterinarians are white. This historically Black college will be 2nd to train vets | |
 | When Kaila Tyree-Castro was 13, her pet geckos got sick. The closest vet was an hour away from her Bowie, Maryland, home and didn't have an appointment available for two weeks. Tyree-Castro, now 19, felt helpless as she watched her lizards get sicker and then pass away. That episode left her wanting to become a veterinarian herself ‒ and now, as a first-generation college student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, hoping to join the inaugural class at her university's planned new veterinary school. Last month, UMES received state approval to create a school of veterinary medicine that will become just the second among the nation's more than 100 historically Black colleges and universities. Tuskegee University in Alabama has the only other veterinary school in the country's historically Black universities and there are fewer than three dozen veterinary programs in the entire U.S. "I have big dreams and if I get accepted and can continue my studies right here, my head would be so big..." Tyree-Castro said, her voice rising. In a best-case scenario UMES' new veterinary school will be accredited by 2025 and will have as many as 100 graduate students taking classes a year later, said Moses Kairo, the university's agricultural and natural sciences dean. UMES' vet school will "change the landscape," Kairo said, and fill multiple needs in a profession where Black people make up only 3% of the workforce. |
| College Leaders Crack Down on Student Protests | |
 | As college and university presidents face growing backlash from state and federal lawmakers for their responses to student protests against the war between Israel and Hamas, higher education leaders are cracking down on student demonstrations -- particularly those that support Palestinian people. In the last week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology became one of several institutions that have suspended student groups for violations of campus protest rules, and Stanford University threatened to take disciplinary action against students who occupied a campus plaza for nearly four months. Institutions across the country have taken steps to more clearly outline or strengthen policies about when, where and how students can express their views in the wake of protests that have rocked campuses. Although administrators say the restrictions align with pre-existing university regulations that ensure campus safety and mitigate hate speech, free speech advocates are concerned and urging universities to uphold their obligation to protect students' rights of expression. Zach Greenberg, senior program officer of campus rights advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment advocacy group, said colleges have struggled to identify the line between free speech and conduct such as harassment or disrupting classes. "As a result, they're cracking down on free speech and they're censoring protesters," he said, adding that college administrators' recent efforts to rein in student protests restrict "a wide array of expressions protected under free speech standards." |
| Students and parents are frustrated by delays in hearing about federal financial aid for college | |
| For many students, the excitement of being accepted into their first-choice college is being tempered this year by a troublesome uncertainty over whether they'll get the financial aid they need to attend. The financial aid decisions that usually go out with acceptance letters are being delayed because of a later-than-expected rollout of a revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the form commonly known as FAFSA that schools use to compute financial aid. The result: Students and their parents are putting off their college decisions. "We are not going to make a decision without knowing what we're committing to financially; it would be irresponsible to do that," said Jenny Nicholas of Keene, New Hampshire. She wants to make sure that her son, a high school senior, goes to a college that is most affordable for their family. The Education Department said the form would be easier for parents to fill out and used a new formula to compute eligibility for aid that took inflation into account. But it wasn't ready in October, when the forms for the coming school year are usually released. During a soft launch in December, it was difficult for many people to access the form. And the initial release didn't include the updated inflation tool. Just this past week, Virginia Tech, for example, said it had moved its admissions deposit deadline for first-year college students to May 15. "Understandably so, families are concerned about the FAFSA process this year, and they are telling us that they need more time to make fully informed decisions," Juan Espinoza, interim vice provost for enrollment management, said in a statement. |
| Could this be the year political games end and MAEP is funded and fixed? | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: The Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which provides the basics for operating local school districts, was nearly gutted in 1997 just as it was beginning its long legislative journey. Then-Senate Appropriations Chair Jack Gordon, D-Okolona, passed an amendment to the legislation in his committee that essentially said the funding formula had to be fully funded only as money was available. The Gordon amendment was met with harsh criticism by the education community. Gordon soon backtracked and said he wanted to offer a new amendment on the Senate floor that would take the legislation back to its original intent, mandating that the Legislature "shall" fully fund the formula. But the Senate leadership wanted to take a different approach. Senate leaders sought out Sen. Jim Bean of Hattiesburg, a Republican and one of the more respected members of the chamber, to offer the amendment. Bean, who like many Republicans at the time supported the landmark bill, offered the amendment that was approved by his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike. Today, another Republican -- Senate Education Chair Dennis DeBar of Leakesville -- is trying to fix the important legislation and move beyond the political fights that have engulfed MAEP for years. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: Fifth-inning outburst fuels Sunday matinee win, series win for Bulldogs | |
| Sunday's opening weekend series finale between Mississippi State and Air Force was as big a game for two reasons; first, to decide a series, but also to watch sophomore Jurrangelo Cijntje make his season debut. The ambidextrous starter got the nod for the Bulldogs and aside from a potential injury concern in the third inning, shoved on the mound. Cijntje allowed one run in four innings, striking out eight Falcons in the process, but the damage for MSU came an inning later, a five-run fifth that broke a deadlocked 2-2 game wide open. From there, it was the Bulldogs bullpen who kept Air Force at bay, securing a series win with an emphatic 10-2 blowout victory. "I thought [Cijntje] was really good," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "It was pretty impressive. He made some great pitches against some outstanding hitters in their lineup." Where Mississippi State (2-1) couldn't produce runs on Saturday, runs were plentiful on Sunday as the Bulldogs didn't squander many chances with runners on base. The Bulldogs have their first mid-week action of the season coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday as Austin Peay comes to town. |
| Unpacking Mississippi State baseball's opening series vs. Air Force | |
| Mississippi State baseball started its season on the right note, beating Air Force 10-2 on Sunday to clinch an opening-series victory. The Bulldogs (2-1) got four innings of work from starter Jurrangelo Cijntje who allowed one run and struck out eight. He had a trainer come out in the third inning to look at his right arm, but the switch-pitcher stayed in to complete his final two innings of work. MSU's offense came to life in the fifth when it scored five runs on four hits. Five players pitched an inning of relief behind Cijntje. They did not surrender a run and allowed just one walk while striking out eight. Mississippi State won the opener 8-4 on Friday before losing 3-2 on Saturday. Air Force is 1-2. Here's what we learned about MSU from the weekend before its two-game set with Austin Peay starting Tuesday (4 p.m., SEC Network+). Purdue transfer Khal Stephen was the lone newcomer to start a game for Mississippi State in the opening series, and he proved to be a worthwhile pickup. Stephen allowed just one run in seven innings Saturday, though he ended up with a no decision. He struck out 11 and threw 59 of his 80 pitches for strikes. "What I really liked is he got better as the game went on," coach Chris Lemonis said. "You looked up at him and it's the sixth inning and seventh inning -- most velocity, the slider was better. Really competed out there." |
| Men's Basketball: Mississippi State grinds its way past Arkansas for third straight win | |
| Josh Hubbard's day got off to an inauspicious start. Mississippi State's star freshman guard picked up two fouls within the first minute and a half Saturday against Arkansas, quickly sending him to the bench and forcing the Bulldogs to run their offense through the interior. But Hubbard once again came through when his team needed him most, nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the key with less than a minute remaining to give MSU the lead for good. The Bulldogs' defense came up with a pair of late stops on the other end, with Cameron Matthews poking the ball away from Razorbacks forward Makhi Mitchell and Shakeel Moore recovering it for the steal. It all added up to a 71-67 MSU victory as the Bulldogs completed a sweep of their critical three-game stretch against Southeastern Conference bottom-feeders. "We were down with close to a minute left, and we just knew we had to get a quick bucket," Hubbard said. "We just read what the defense gave us and took the shot." Even with Hubbard, who scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, out due to the early foul trouble, MSU (17-8, 6-6 SEC) used a 10-0 run to surge into the lead. The Bulldogs scored their first 29 points either in the paint or at the free throw line, not even attempting a 3-pointer until after Hubbard returned to action nine minutes into the game. Now back in control of their own destiny as far as an NCAA Tournament berth is concerned, MSU hosts rival Ole Miss on Wednesday night to try and earn a split of the season series. The Rebels edged the Bulldogs 86-82 in Oxford on Jan. 30. |
| Why Mississippi State basketball's win vs. Arkansas proved Bulldogs thrive in must-win mode | |
| Mississippi State basketball coach Chris Jans wore the same level of confidence Saturday as he did two weeks ago. However, the circumstances of his postgame press conferences couldn't have been more different. On Feb. 3, Jans was sitting in the press room at Alabama's Coleman Coliseum, fresh off a 99-67 whupping -- as MSU forward Tolu Smith described it. Saturday, Jans was sitting in the Humphrey Coliseum press room after Mississippi State fended off Arkansas in a 71-67 win to secure a third-straight victory for the Bulldogs. Yet in both scenarios, Jans was confident the Bulldogs (17-8, 6-6 SEC) could succeed while in must-win mode to get back on the right side of the NCAA Tournament picture. "I still believed in this group and was shocked we didn't play better in that particular game," Jans said Saturday. "They stuck together. They didn't lose confidence. They kept practicing at a high level, and their energy and their vibe has been good." What Jans saw even in the face of defeat has come to fruition. The victory against the Razorbacks (12-13, 3-9) got Mississippi State to .500 in SEC play for the first time since Jan. 10. The last time MSU was .500 or better through at least 12 conference games was February 2022. Part of what heightened Jans' belief was the Bulldogs' experience – not their age, but instead what they've endured. Last season, Mississippi State lost seven of its opening eight conference games. Under Jans, in his first season after coming from New Mexico State, the Bulldogs went on to win seven of 10 SEC contests to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. |
| Mississippi State mom shows what it means to go above and beyond | |
 | A mom of a Mississippi State basketball player goes to every home game. Ruthie Matthews is known for her voice that is louder than any other fan most days. She is Cameron Matthews' mom. Ruthie commutes over two hours from Olive Branch, MS. It's a trip she makes multiple times a week for every home matchup. "Then we've got to drive back home and I get up and go to work the next day like it's nothing," Ruthie said. She does it all to show support for her son. After the Arkansas game, Cameron said the opposing players came up to him talking about his mom's passion for the game. "Every game...when there's nobody, always know she's gonna be there and I'll be able to hear her," Cameron said. Ruthie has always been a big supporter of her son. Even during his peewee football days she said, "if he runs by the time he ends up at the end. I'll be right down there. That's the kind of parent that I am." |
| Arizona to hire AD Desireé Reed-Francois amid budget woes | |
| The University of Arizona is expected to hire Missouri athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois as the school's next athletic director, sources told ESPN. The surprising move will be formalized soon, per sources, as Reed-Francois is expected to agree to a five-year deal. The hiring gives Arizona's athletic department, which is replete with financial struggles, a veteran leader who has spent nearly three years leading Missouri. The jump from the SEC to Arizona, which is entering the Big 12 next year, is an unexpected one within the college sport industry. Sources told ESPN that Reed-Francois' ties to Arizona, which include graduating from law school there in 1997, led in part to the decision. The move also comes just weeks after Missouri's Board of Curators voted to create the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee, a four-member committee to monitor Missouri athletics. Hiring a sitting SEC athletic director is a strong statement for Arizona president Bobby Robbins, who is dealing with significant financial issues at the school. There was skepticism of the caliber of athletic director he could land when he launched the search, as the school has been shrouded in negative financial headlines. She'll become the first female athletic director to hold the full-time position at Arizona. When Reed-Francois was hired at UNLV in 2017, she became the first Hispanic female athletic director at the FBS level. |
| How OU, Oklahoma State are trying to control NIL chaos: 'It needs to come in house' | |
| When it comes to the sweeping impact of name, image and likeness in college athletics, questions are many and answers are few, even for those in the highest positions on university campuses. Those in the state of Oklahoma -- athletic directors Joe Castiglione at OU and Chad Weiberg at Oklahoma State -- are watching intently as the evolving world of NIL spins at an ever-increasing rate. It has all happened so fast, particularly with the emergence of NIL coinciding with the unchaining of the transfer portal, that university leaders are fighting to keep up. Officials at Tennessee and Virginia have gone to court to fight NCAA infraction investigations regarding the use of NIL as a recruiting inducement. "I can't say I feel good about anything related to the structure because there isn't one," Castiglione told The Oklahoman. "I guess you could say by default, the market has filled the void created by the lack of forward thinking in this space. "It's created the most chaotic and disruptive environment in the history of college athletics, period. That is indisputable." Step one, in Weiberg's eyes, to bringing some control to the chaos, is giving the universities more power in NIL. As of now, the NIL collectives and other similar groups at each school must operate separately from the athletic department -- though those lines might be blurred a bit at many places, too. Still, giving the universities more involvement should help to add some transparency. |
| NCAA begins request for proposal process following adoption of NIL measures | |
| The NCAA has begun its request for proposal process following last month's adoption of NIL transparency and consumer protection measures, a source tells On3. The NCAA Division I Council formally approved the implementation of a voluntary registry for NIL service providers, mandatory disclosures of NIL deals, more standardized contracts and educational programs for athletes and NIL entities at January's annual convention in Phoenix. The measures are effective Aug. 1. The governing body has now started the proposal process, accepting bids for its agent registry, disclosure database and education program, a source tells On3. The source briefed on the process said the deadline to submit proposals is next Friday with a decision expected by the end of March. Vendors and different software platforms will be able to bid on the projects. Roughly four years ago, the NCAA went through a similar process to potentially work with third-party vendors to assist with the administration of activities related to the use of an athlete's name, image or likeness. This all comes as the NCAA is fighting a legal battle over its NIL rights as attorneys general in Tennessee and Virginia are seeking a preliminary injunction that would halt the governing body's ability to prohibit discussions about pay-for-play and NIL during the recruiting process. |
| College Football Playoff has not yet agreed to new TV contract, according to commissioner on CFP Management Committee | |
| The College Football Playoff has not agreed to a new television contract, according to at least one member of the CFP Management Committee. In a memo sent to his league administrators, MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher described reports of the CFP agreeing to or having concluded an extension of the media rights deal with ESPN as "incorrect." In fact, Steinbrecher, the longest-serving member of the 11-person management committee who often chairs the committee's meetings, told administrators that commissioners and their corresponding presidents on the CFP Board of Managers have not reviewed a draft of a potential new deal. Yahoo Sports obtained a copy of the email through an open records request. "Several news outlets are reporting that a new six-year television deal has been concluded for the College Football Playoff," Steinbrecher wrote in an email dated Feb. 13. "Be advised, these reports are incorrect. Neither the Management Committee (commissioners) nor the Board of Managers (presidents) have reviewed a draft agreement nor has any vote been taken." In typical protocol, the CFP Management Committee, the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director, would make a recommendation to the Board of Managers for the adoption of any CFP decisions. The Board of Managers is the highest ranking governance body of the CFP. While the CFP continues to work toward an extension with ESPN, no deal can be formally agreed to or signed because of a litany of unresolved matters related to the long-term |
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