| Tuesday, February 27, 2024 |
| Forbes ranks MSU only SEC school in Top 50 'America's Best Large Employers' list | |
 | Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters -- and that includes its people. MSU is the only Southeastern Conference school to make the 2024 Top 50 list of "America's Best Large Employers" recently published by Forbes. At No. 41, Mississippi State is one of only three universities in the U.S. ranked in the Top 50 -- joining the University of Notre Dame (20) and Purdue University (47). In the expanded Top 100 list, the SEC's University of Tennessee, Knoxville and University of Kentucky are No. 79 and 97, respectively. Mississippi's leading research university is among many other recognized and prestigious organizations from across the country, including Delta Air Lines, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Progressive and NASA. "Our faculty and staff's tremendous commitment to excellence in research, teaching and service makes our campus a rewarding and welcoming environment -- a place to call 'home,'" said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "We continue each day to look for new ways to grow and nurture relationships here on campus that further enhance our close-knit, vibrant university community." The annual Forbes ranking, produced in partnership with market research firm Statista, is a survey of employees at American organizations and companies. In 2023 and for the eighth consecutive year, MSU was honored by the national publication, The Chronicle of Higher Education, as a "Great College to Work For." |
| Is cryptocurrency a smart, viable investment? | |
 | During Monday's Starkville Rotary Club meeting, Bob Daniels, before introducing speaker Brian Blank, asked the assembly a question. "How many, raise your hands, own a Bitcoin?" he asked. Only two people raised a hand out of dozens present. Blank, professor of finance at Mississippi State University, gave Rotarians an introduction on Bitcoin and other kinds of cryptocurrency, which have the potential to revolutionize the way money changes hands, but also face several public relations issues. Cryptocurrency is a mostly unregulated digital currency that is separate from a government-backed currency, like the dollar. These currencies are held in digital wallets and are used for transactions. These transactions are publicly and permanently recorded using what is called a blockchain. "I confess, I do not own a Bitcoin," Blank said. "It turns out that Bitcoins, they're kind of expensive right now. They're worth a little bit more than I'm willing to invest." Since its founding in 2009, Bitcoin has risen to a value of more than $52,000 per coin, Blank said. It has led the way for a number of similar currencies such as Ether and Tether. Blank said cryptocurrency relies on peer-to-peer transactions, removing the need for an intermediary such as a bank. Cryptocurrency has also had plenty of negative news, such as the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange company FTX, which at its peak was worth more than $32 billion. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted last year on federal fraud charges stemming from the company's downfall. Cryptocurrencies are also subject to wild swings in value. Bitcoin for example, has ranged from roughly $19,600 to $52,000 per "coin" in the past year. These events, Blank said, have given cryptocurrency a volatile reputation. |
| Professor gives Starkville Rotary Club lesson in cryptocurrency | |
 | A Mississippi State University professor gave members of the Starkville Rotary Club a lesson in cryptocurrency. Dr. Brian Blank, who teaches finance, explained how the digital currency works. For example, crypto exists on computers assembled with codes with no tangible footprint. Blank specifically detailed the inner workings of Bitcoin, which is a specific type of cryptocurrency. WCBI asked the professor if he believed the United States would ever fully adopt a cryptocurrency model. "The Federal Reserve and the U.S. government are certainly researching this very carefully and thinking about the possibilities in the future. I think that it is likely that the currencies that we use in the future will be increasingly digital but I also think that's already true of the U.S. dollar and the way that we already use it. So, the need for the central bank to actually produce a digital currency is not yet obvious and I think that's one of the reasons that they're studying it. There are benefits but there are some challenges as well that we still have to work through," said Blank. Cryptocurrency is decentralized meaning there is no government or entity that oversees it. |
| Governor Reeves delivers State of the State address, calls on lawmakers to capitalize on opportunities | |
 | Governor Tate Reeves delivered his first State of the State address for this new term before a joint session of the Mississippi Legislature on Monday. Reeves, who said he would not be focusing on the differences between Democrats and Republicans during his address, cast a vision aimed at capitalizing on opportunities for Mississippians. "Our state has many challenges. We also have many opportunities. In fact, we have more opportunities than we have ever had before," Reeves told Senators and Representatives. "The task in front of us is whether we can roll up our sleeves and meet these challenges before these opportunities pass us by." Governor Reeves spent time highlighting Mississippi's success in attracting industries to the state over the last few years. In January 2024 alone, the state gained more private investments than in the 120 months before he became Governor. His vision centered on what he called the "fundamental nature" of Mississippi, saying agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, industry, tradesmen, craftsmen, cultivators and workers are the key to the state and a resource he hopes to see utilized even more. "We make things -- real things. We make fridges and fighter jets. We make cars and sow cotton. We make bullets and grow soybeans. You can touch our work, and know that highly trained, capable, proud Mississippi hands made those products," said Reeves. |
| Reeves focuses on economic development, ignores Medicaid expansion, in State of the State | |
 | Governor Tate Reeves challenged lawmakers to make investments that would spur economic and educational growth in Mississippi during the first state of the state address of his second term Monday night. The fiery rhetoric and red meat issues addressed in other speeches from Reeves were absent, with the governor instead focusing on workforce development. Speaking to a sparsely populated House chamber, Reeves celebrated the record-breaking amount of capital investment that has been secured for the state this year from Amazon Web Services and electric vehicle battery manufacturers. Reeves said lawmakers could help continue this trend by continuing to invest in transportation infrastructure like the state's railways, roads and airports. Reeves also proposed the creation of eleven new STEM-focused schools across the state that would be modeled after the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus. Eight of them would be for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and the other three would be high schools. Reeves also called for one of the high schools to be located in the old Central High School building in downtown Jackson. "Imagine hundreds of talented kids from all backgrounds, learning the skills they need to be successful as engineers, computer scientists and technicians at major tech companies," Reeves said. ... "It would be good for our capital city, and it would be great for those kids." |
| Republican Mississippi governor ignores Medicaid expansion and focuses on jobs in State of the State | |
 | Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he intentionally avoided hot-button issues and political conflict in his State of the State speech Monday, instead calling for legislators to support economic development by funding roads, ports and bridges. Reeves never mentioned one of the most-discussed issues so far this legislative session -- the possibility that Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the U.S., could extend Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands more of its residents He urged lawmakers to establish 12 magnet schools that concentrate on mathematics and engineering, and to create apprenticeship programs so high school students could develop career skills. Reeves, who was inaugurated for his second term in January, said government should interfere in people's lives as little as possible. "We must be prudent and cautious," he said. "We must demand lower taxes and regulations. Their money circulating in their towns will do more than any additional government program ever could." |
| Reeves avoids Medicaid, pushes economic development during state of state address | |
 | During a lightly attended State of the State address Monday at the Mississippi Capitol, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said he intends to use his final term to push lawmakers to establish new agencies to promote economic development, new schools to garner corporate interest and investment in ports to increase commerce. Reeves, who claimed what he called a hard-won race against former Democratic challenger Brandon Presley last year, set several priorities for his last three-plus years in the governor's office, surrounding what he considers to be core attributes of economic development and inspiring future private investment in the state. Reeves made no comments on two separate bills filed in the Senate and House, which both seek to expand Medicaid for the state's working poor. Last week, Reeves publicly commented on X, formerly known as Twitter, about his discontent toward expanding the state's Medicaid program. "We have attracted more private investment in the first month of this term than we had in the 120 months before I became Governor. And believe me when I tell you that all this movement toward Mississippi has gotten noticed. The people who decide where to locate or expand companies in America see the activity and they are checking us out. Success creates more success and momentum breeds even more momentum." |
| Gov. Reeves doesn't mention Medicaid expansion or health care crisis in State of the State address | |
| With momentum growing in the Mississippi Legislature to expand Medicaid, Gov. Tate Reeves said nary a word Monday evening during his annual State of the State address about the issue he has opposed for more than a decade. Republican House Speaker Jason White has filed legislation to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to primarily poor working Mississippians. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, also has indicated that his leadership team will take up the issue this session. Instead of urging legislators not to expand Medicaid as he did during last year's State and of the State speech, the Republican governor focused his speech on how he said Mississippi could be the new manufacturing hub for America. Some were disappointed, though, that Reeves did not address the health care crisis facing the state. Rep. Timaka James-Jones, D-Belzoni, has been outspoken on the need for state officials to address a lack of hospitals and access to medical care in areas like her district in the Mississippi Delta. James-Jones, a freshman lawmaker, said she hopes the governor will take serious steps to find bipartisan solutions to all of Mississippi's issues, but she said it was "problematic" for the governor not to mention the state's health care crisis in his speech. "We definitely need to have a candid conversation about health care," James-Jones said. "I don't know why he's not addressing that issue. Folks want to hear what the state is doing about our health care statistics. Don't avoid the issue. Just work with the people." |
| Senate, House pushing separate education funding formulas for public schools | |
| Mississippi lawmakers have passed a bill to modify the state's public education funding formula through the Senate Education Committee, while a separate bill has been filed in the House to completely scrap the current objective funding formula. State Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, introduced Senate Bill 2332 to lawmakers, which, if passed by both chambers, would tweak the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding to bring it closer to full funding. During the committee meeting, Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, asked DeBar about House Bill 1453, dubbed the Inspire Act, which would totally eliminate MAEP, it's objective formula and allow for lawmakers to annually decide how much to fund and where to send those funds among the state's school district. The bill was filed mid last week by House Education Chair Rob Roberson, R-Starkville. If passed, that bill would establish a new funding formula based on student population in school districts, the current independent funding and educational needs of students and includes a proposed base student cost of $6,650. The funding formula in the bill would act as a recommendation to help lawmakers determine funding rather than an objective funding law, Roberson told the Clarion Ledger last week. |
| Attorneys argue over whether Mississippi legislative maps dilute Black voting power | |
| Mississippi legislators diluted the power of Black voters by drawing too few majority-Black state House and Senate districts after the most recent Census, an attorney representing the NAACP and several residents told three federal judges Monday. But during opening arguments in a trial of the redistricting case, an attorney representing state officials told the judges that race was not a predominant factor in how legislators drew the state's 52 Senate districts and 122 House districts in 2022. Legislative and congressional districts are updated after each Census to reflect population changes from the previous decade. Mississippi's new legislative districts were used when all of the state House and Senate seats were on the ballot in 2023. The lawsuit, which was filed in late 2022, says legislators could have drawn four additional majority-Black districts in the Senate and three additional ones in the House. Tommie Cardin, one of the attorneys for state officials, said Mississippi cannot ignore its history of racial division, but: "The days of voter suppression and intimidation are, thankfully, behind us." Cardin said voter behavior in Mississippi now is driven by party affiliation, not race. |
| HHS secretary, Thompson address rural health care during meeting at Tougaloo | |
| Members of the Biden administration are making the rounds across the nation, including stops in Mississippi. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson teamed up Monday with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to learn ways they can improve the health of rural communities in the state. Doctors from several counties, including Washington, Noxubee and Coahoma, attended a roundtable meeting where they shared stories about their experiences as medical professionals. Most physicians said they have to watch their patients struggle to get quality health care. They also discussed the lack of recruitment and retention of physicians in Mississippi, along with effective medical care transportation and funding for hospitals to remain open. Becerra said many of the issues discussed can be repaired if the state chooses to expand Medicaid. "To not expand Medicaid, to not expand access to post-partum care is simply telling your families, 'We don't care enough to keep you healthy," Becerra said. "Every county is medically underserved. That means not enough health professionals to go around to address the health challenges that are there. Not enough kids that are choosing medicine as a worthy profession come back, so we are challenged," Thompson said. |
| Biden Summons Lawmakers to White House as Shutdown Deadline Looms | |
 | President Biden will try to break through a deadlock on Capitol Hill over keeping the government running and providing aid for Ukraine and Israel as he convenes the top four leaders of Congress at the White House on Tuesday. Lawmakers are running out of time to strike a deal to avert another partial government shutdown. The first batch of funding will run out on Friday at midnight, while funding for some agencies including the Defense Department will expire on March 8. Separately, Mr. Biden will ask the leaders to pass critical emergency aid for Ukraine. The administration has spent months pushing for additional funding, arguing that Ukraine is running out of artillery, air defense weaponry and other munitions. The bill also includes billions in security assistance for Israel as it tries to wipe out Hamas after the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. Keeping the federal government open, however, appears to be the first order of business. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader; Speaker Mike Johnson; Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader; and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, will attend the meeting at the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris will also attend. The White House has ramped up pressure on Mr. Johnson in recent weeks as Ukraine observed the second anniversary of Russian invasion over the weekend. Mr. Biden continues to stress that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is a global threat. |
| 4 things to watch in Michigan's primary, where cease-fire protesters are boycotting Biden | |
 | When Joe Biden moved Michigan up on the primary calendar, he could not have anticipated a protest vote over the Israel-Hamas war. But now that the president is facing significant political fallout from that conflict, the vote in Michigan has suddenly become a test for him. A coalition of Arab-American and Muslim leaders alongside progressives in the state are urging Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in the primary as a form of protest against Biden. The outcome could send an important message to Biden: Either convincing the president that he's not paying a price for rejecting an immediate cease-fire or prompting further calls for a course correction. In the last three weeks, volunteers made tens of thousands of phone calls and organized protests on college campuses, while picking up endorsements from Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke. "Voting uncommitted isn't just symbolic," Layla Elabed, the "Listen to Michigan'' campaign manager, said in a memo. "It represents the electoral margins that could determine President Biden's electoral fate in November 2024." In her memo, Elabed said her campaign would be watching turnout closely in Dearborn and metro Detroit, home to large populations of Arab-Americans, the highest concentration in the country. The same is true of college towns, like Ann Arbor or East Lansing, where the "Listen to Michigan" campaign held a handful of protests on campuses in recent weeks. The "uncommitted" campaign is looking to bring in young voters who strongly disapprove of Biden's handling of the issue and who turned out to vote in larger numbers in 2022 than in other states. |
| RNC member: 'Totally misleading' to spend campaign funds on Trump legal fees | |
 | A member of the Republican National Committee (RNC) said it would be "totally misleading" for the committee to spend campaign funds on any candidate's legal fees, including former President Trump. Henry Barbour, an RNC member from Mississippi, floated two draft resolutions over the weekend that would prevent the committee from paying Trump's legal fees and ensure it stays neutral in the GOP primary. He said in a Monday interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "Inside Politics" that the RNC should use its funding to help win elections, not pay off anyone's outside fees. "Well, I certainly am willing to take a stand that may not be popular with some right now. The RNC has one job, Dana, and that's to win elections. And we should spend our finite resources on political operations and actually winning elections, and paying any candidate's legal fees -- or frankly, any other outside fees or expenses -- is not the RNC's job," Barbour said. Barbour, a longtime member of the RNC, said it would be "misleading" to ask voters to contribute to a campaign fund and then for the RNC to spend it on legal bills. "When the RNC sends out solicitation, it says, 'Hey, do you want to take the White House back and get the country back on track?' Donors send in their $28 or whatever it is ... it would be totally misleading to take that money and then go and spend it with some big fat law firm, you know, legal fees for stuff that has nothing to do with winning the election," Barbour said. |
| Haley Defiant as Campaign Braces for Blowout Loss in Michigan | |
 | Nikki Haley, facing another expected humiliation in Michigan's Republican primary on Tuesday, has a simple answer when asked why she is still campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination when former President Donald Trump appears to be the inevitable nominee. "I'm doing what I think is right," she said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "I'm doing what I believe 70% of Americans want me to do." That number references polling showing seven in 10 Americans want an option other than Trump versus President Biden in this year's presidential election. The former South Carolina governor, who was also the first United Nations ambassador in the Trump administration, has pledged to stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5, when 15 states hold contests. Trump could be positioned to gain the delegates needed to secure the nomination by a week or two after that. Haley held two campaign events in Michigan on Sunday and Monday after losing to Trump Saturday in her home state by 20 percentage points. Trump last visited Michigan on Feb. 17 and was expected to remotely participate in local media interviews on Tuesday. In a show of her determination, Haley's campaign has outlined a grueling travel schedule in the coming days that will include stops in Colorado, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina and Massachusetts. Haley warned that the Republican Party will continue to see electoral failure if it follows Trump and that his selection as the GOP nominee will result in Biden's re-election. |
| Supreme Court grapples with state social media content laws | |
 | The Supreme Court appeared reluctant Monday to issue a ruling that would shake up how social media companies operate during oral arguments in two cases challenging how state laws in Texas and Florida could regulate internet giants such as Meta and Google. The justices spent nearly four hours grappling with free speech issues presented by the laws, how social media companies operate and how that interacts with a federal law that provides internet companies immunity from lawsuits for content posted by users in most cases. Decisions in the cases could ripple far beyond the two state laws at issue, impacting the tools Congress could have to address harms caused by social media, including harm to children. The lawyers who argued Monday laid out a range of options for the justices, including a route that would keep the status quo and send the case back to lower courts to explore a wider range of legal questions. The justices are expected to decide the cases before the conclusion of the court's term at the end of June. The arguments on both sides "present a very hard question for us," Justice Neil M. Gorsuch said at one point, as the justices debated how to handle the differing state laws and the complicated procedural nature of the two cases. Texas Solicitor General Aaron L. Nielson told the justices that social media companies control so much debate that "there will be no public square to speak of" if the state didn't step in. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and others on the court pushed back on that idea, pointing out that social media companies are private entities not covered by the First Amendment. |
| Alabama justice's ties with far-right Christian movement raise concern | |
 | In the days since Alabama's Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered "extrauterine children," the involvement of that court's chief justice with a once-fringe Christian Nationalist movement has come under renewed scrutiny. Tom Parker, a Republican who joined the court in 2005, wrote a concurring opinion that quoted at length from sources such as the Book of Genesis, the Ten Commandments and Christian thinkers of centuries ago, such as Thomas Aquinas. But comments he has made in other media have raised questions about his seeming espousal of "Seven Mountains" theology, a concept that some experts consider to be Christian extremism. "God created government. And the fact that we have let it go into the possession of others, it's heartbreaking for those of us who understand. And we know it is for Him," Parker said on a recent podcast hosted by Christian activist Johnny Enlow. "And that's why He is calling and equipping people to step back into these mountains right now." Parker's remarks on the podcast were released the same day that the Alabama Supreme Court issued its ruling on IVF embryos. His appearance on the show was first reported by Media Matters for America, a liberal media watchdog organization. The Seven Mountains Mandate urges adherents to establish what they consider to be God's kingdom on Earth by taking control of seven areas of society: family, religion, government, education, arts and entertainment, commerce and media. Once relegated to a fringe of the Christian conservative movement, it has gained followers in recent years as the ranks of nondenominational, neo-charismatic Christians have grown in the U.S. |
| While the World Was Looking Elsewhere, North Korea Became a Bigger Threat | |
| In March 2022, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walked out of a massive hangar wearing a bomber jacket and dark sunglasses. He pointed to the sky and launched his biggest missile yet. "This miraculous victory is a priceless victory," Kim said. It was classic North Korean theater. But behind it were developments that together have made Kim's regime a genuinely more capable and more threatening antagonist. Its ability to unleash some form of nuclear attack on the world has never looked so credible, so prone to misperception and so resistant to dissuasion. Kim has developed new weapons in the past five years designed for regional warfare and seen Russian soldiers recently use some of them in fighting with Ukraine. In January, he abandoned hopes of reunification with South Korea and embraced more combative goals. He has given up on talks with the U.S. after President Biden took office, and his ongoing courtship of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to visit Pyongyang soon, elevated North Korea on the global agenda higher than it had been in years. The dictator has exploited a fractured global order to harden North Korea into a menacing nuclear state -- a potent new complication for a world already enmeshed in wars in Europe and the Middle East. Particularly troubling, security experts say, is how sure-footed Kim looks, despite widespread food shortages, a more confrontational South Korean administration and a U.S. that is rotating nuclear assets into the region more often. |
| Mississippi University for Women halts rebrand attempt for now | |
 | The Mississippi University for Women, which announced a name change just a week ago, will not be using that new name after all. The decision comes after a yearlong process that ended with the much-derided selection of a first name change. The reaction to the original name change then led to a second name change announced this month. The rebranding process has now been put on hold until at least next year. But a letter sent to the campus community and alumni via email Wednesday suggests that idea flopped as well. Nora Miller, the university's president and an alumna, said in the letter that the institution would be taking "a strategic pause" in order to "give our entire community time to regroup and consider all perspectives." But in an interview with Inside Higher Ed, Miller clarified that the university was essentially forced to put the rebranding on hold because it didn't have enough sway in the state Legislature to pass the bill required to formalize a name change. The overwhelming opposition to both the first and second name changes by alumni was enough to make a significant number of lawmakers pull their support. |
| Senate bill proposes relocation of MSMS to MSU | |
| Two bills proposed in the state Senate last week could deeply impact Mississippi University for Women. One calls for moving the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science to Mississippi State University. The other proposes closing three of the state's public universities by 2028. Under SB 2715, sponsored by District 43 Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, the State Board of Education would develop a plan to relocate the school by the 2026-2027 school year. The bill has been referred to the Senate Education Committee, which DeBar chairs. The bill also would require the residential high school for gifted juniors and seniors to collaborate with Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District "as needed." Sen. Chuck Younger, R-Lowndes County who represents District 17, said he does not support relocating MSMS to MSU and is hopeful the bill will die in committee. MUW President Nora Miller said keeping MSMS on the W campus, which has housed the school since its opening in 1988, is very important to the university. With The W having a much smaller campus and student population, Miller said the school is well-equipped to keep MSMS students safe. MSU Vice President for Strategic Communications and Director of Public Affairs Sid Salter told The Dispatch the university has not influenced the relocation of MSMS. However, as the state's highest-rated research university -- as well as its science, technology, engineering and math resources -- he believes MSU would make a suitable home for the residential high school if the legislature sees fit. Salter said he is unsure about the viability of the bill, and called it an "attention-getting filing" that could be indicative of some legislative concern about the future of MUW. He also pointed to a strong relationship between MSU and MUW. |
| Students that stay: Why are alumni getting UM jobs immediately post-graduation? | |
 | In fall 2023, there were 2,607 staff members associated with the University of Mississippi. Of that number, 1,018 -- around 39% -- earned degrees at the university. These numbers beg the question: Why do so many students return to work for the university after graduating from it? Savannah Dye became a staff member of UM in August 2021 as a special events assistant within the Alumni Association. In May of that same year, she received a Bachelor of Science at the university in integrated marketing communications. "I entirely believe that my experience as a student set me up for success in my staff role at the university," Dye said. "It was a smooth transition, as I already knew campus traditions and was familiar with departments and schools at Ole Miss." While some students choose to continue living in Mississippi after earning their degrees, the majority of graduates opt to relocate. Christian Carew graduated from the university in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater arts with an emphasis in acting for the stage and screen. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the University of Mississippi," Carew said. "I never considered staying to work at the university, mostly because the point of getting a college degree for me was to get the means and education to move out of Mississippi and follow my dreams and aspirations." After graduating, Carew viewed his education as a jumping point from which he would explore career opportunities across the country. |
| Mississippi Historical Society recognizes UM Slavery Research Group | |
| The Mississippi Historical Society recently honored the University of Mississippi Slavery Research Group for its work in telling the stories of enslaved people across the South. The historical society recognized the research group -- along with 15 other groups working to preserve Mississippi history -- with "Awards of Merit" at its annual meeting on Friday, Feb. 23, at The Inn at Ole Miss. Charles K. Ross, professor of history and African American studies, and Jeffrey Jackson, chair and professor of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, created the interdisciplinary research group in 2013. Their goal was to discover the history of enslaved people at the university. "We thought there might be a few people interested," Jackson said. "But what we had was an outpouring of people from many departments across campus." Over the last decade, that group has grown to include 58 faculty members and students from 17 academic departments. Through historical records, the group has identified the names of more than 34 (and counting) enslaved people out of the hundreds who worked on campus between 1846 and 1863 or on properties that the university has since acquired. The society also recognized the ongoing Behind the Big House project for its work to interpret the history of slavery. Jodi Skipper, associate professor of anthropology and Southern studies, and Carolyn Freiwald, associate professor of anthropology, were among those who accepted the "Excellence in History" award on behalf of the project. |
| Willie Morris Award winners to read, sign books in Oxford | |
| Three writers who incorporate universal themes of art, landscape and family in their latest works are being honored as winners of this year's Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing, housed at the University of Mississippi. North Carolina-based writer David Joy wins in the fiction category for his novel "Those We Thought We Knew" (Penguin, 2023); Alabama native Cassandra Jackson takes the nonfiction prize for her memoir, "The Wreck: A Daughter's Story of Becoming a Mother" (Penguin, 2023); and Lauren Crawford, a native of Houston, Texas, gets the nod in poetry for "Galveston." All three winners will participate in a discussion and reading at the annual Oxford Conference for the Book, set for April 3-5 across the Ole Miss campus and the Oxford Square. The session is slated for 4:30 p.m. April 5 at Off Square Books. A national panel of judges selected this year's winners from hundreds of nominations, said Susan Nicholas, the program's coordinator. "What these works share is the powerful impact they leave on the reader, reminding us of the gravitational pull the tradition of Southern storytelling has on us all," Nicholas said. |
| 1st African American students at William Carey reflect on integration | |
 | In 1965, 17-year-old Rowan High School Graduates Vermester Jackson Bester and Linda Williams Cross were preparing to pack their bags and leave the Pine Belt for college. At the time, higher education options for Black students were limited. "When I got out of high school, I couldn't go to any of the schools here," said Bester. "I couldn't go to William Carey, I couldn't go to USM, and one person went up and said, 'You couldn't even go to Pearl River.'" Bester received a scholarship to attend college in Carbondale, Illinois, and Cross was headed to Mississippi Valley State. Then, a call came that neither of them expected. Their parents met with Rowan High School Principal Mr. N.R. Burger and William Carey President Dr. J. Ralph Noonkester. "When they came back, they said we want to talk to you about something and the decision is up to you," Bester said. "They told me, 'They want you and Linda to integrate William Carey.'" The young women would be the first Black students at William Carey College. Neither of them knew what this experience would bring. |
| More US high schools now require personal finance courses | |
| Thirty five states now require students to take a personal finance course in order to graduate from high school. That's 12 states more than two years ago, according to report out this week from the Council for Economic Education. The number of states with such a requirement has been creeping up since the late 1990s, with a bump during the Great Recession. That means 72% of students in the US. are now mandated to take these classes. One reason for the recent increase? There's research showing personal finances courses work. "What we see is that 4, 5, 6 years out, young people tend to have higher credit scores, if they took a required course. They tend to have lower credit card debt," said Christopher Caltabiano, chief program officer with the Council for Economic Education. "If they're making a decision to attend college, and if they choose to take out loans, those loans tend to be on more favorable conditions." One big challenge now? Finding enough qualified educators. "Teachers tend to be asked to teach or 'voluntold' to teach personal finance, sometimes without any background," Caltabiano said. "Certainly, they know how to be a good teacher . . . But sometimes the content knowledge is what they're lacking." |
| Court documents shed new details in killing of nursing student at U. of Georgia | |
| The suspect in the killing of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus used an object as a weapon in the crime and he's also accused of "disfiguring her skull," according to newly filed arrest affidavits. Jose Ibarra, who faces multiple murder and assault charges, is also accused of dragging 22-year-old Laken Riley to a secluded area on Thursday, according to one of the affidavits obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. The allegation that he dragged Riley's body was filed to support the charge of concealing the death of another person. The affidavits, filed in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, state that the crimes were committed between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday. Ibarra, 26, is a Venezuelan citizen who immigration authorities say unlawfully crossed into the United States in 2022. Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University's Athens campus, after starting her college career at the much larger Athens campus of the University of Georgia. She was found dead Thursday after a roommate reported she didn't return from a morning run in a wooded area of the University of Georgia campus near its intramural fields. Hundreds of students and faculty members gathered Monday afternoon for a vigil for Riley organized by her sorority sisters at the University of Georgia campus. Many people cried and members of Alpha Chi Omega held carnations, a symbol of the sorority. |
| After Laken Riley's death, UGA students, parents point to safety concerns | |
| University of Georgia students returned to class Monday assured by school leaders that police had arrested the man charged with murder in the death of Laken Hope Riley. But a sense of unease still permeates Athens amid demands UGA do more to ensure safety on a campus that, before Riley's death on Thursday, hadn't seen a homicide since 1996. Several online petitions have called for enhanced safety measures, such as emergency call boxes. Police on Friday arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, and charged him with murder in the death of Riley. He has no known affiliation with the university and investigators don't believe he knew Riley. Over the last several days, UGA administrators have sought to assure worried students and parents. The university has invested an additional $16 million over the last eight years to boost security. The day before the homicide, President Jere Morehead approved $1.7 million on technology upgrades such as cameras and lights. "Safety is an ongoing process which there's no achievable end goal. So we can't promise perfect safety, but we have to always strive to be safer, which is certainly what the administration and our community expects," said Dan Silk, associate vice president for public safety, in a Monday interview. Safety has long been a concern for many of Georgia's largest universities. Georgia Tech has had trouble in recent years with students being robbed on sidewalks on busy streets alongside the Midtown Atlanta campus. Georgia State University has attempted to increase security around its campus in downtown Atlanta. A 21-year-old man died Sunday after being shot close to a gas station near off-campus student housing. |
| Slaying of Georgia student becomes part of U.S. immigration debate | |
 | The killing of a Georgia nursing student allegedly by a Venezuelan migrant has quickly intensified the country's immigration debate as President Biden and leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prepare trips to the border this week. The body of 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley was found in the woods near a jogging trail Thursday on the University of Georgia campus, and her death is one of several cases in recent years that Republican politicians have highlighted to depict migrants as dangerous. On average, immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born U.S. citizens, data show, but Republican leaders have been galvanized by record numbers of illegal border crossings since Biden took office in 2021. "It's just outrageous," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, told Fox News on Monday. "People are so frustrated. And this is something that we've been talking about for years now, about the porous southern border." The slaying catapulted a shaken and grieving college campus into the national political spotlight, reviving a familiar campaign theme for Trump, who is widely expected to face off against Biden in the November election. Trump on Monday called Ibarra a "monster" on social media and vowed to immediately "seal the border" if elected president. The White House extended condolences Monday to Riley's family. "People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty," said Angelo Fernández Hernández, a White House spokesperson, in a statement. |
| Clinical trials for new drug to treat strokes and based on UGA research soon to get underway | |
 | A new therapeutic for stroke based on University of Georgia research will soon enter clinical trials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the new drug, known as AB126, to enter a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial, which is expected to begin in the first half of 2024 and will require significant funds to complete. This is the first stage of the trial and will test the safety and efficacy of the therapeutic in ischemic stroke patients. Ischemic strokes are caused by clots that reduce or block blood flow to brain tissue, preventing the brain from getting adequate oxygen. These strokes are a leading cause of long-term disability and mortality worldwide. Participants in the first phase of the trial will first undergo surgery to remove the clot that caused their stroke and then receive three infusions of the new treatment via IV. After the drug clears this phase, the goal is to use the new therapeutic as the primary treatment in those patients who can't access or don't qualify for other treatments. "Our drug acts differently than current treatments in that it's not removing the clot; it's reducing the inflammation in the brain caused by the stroke," said Steven Stice, director of UGA's Regenerative Bioscience Center and co-founder of Aruna Bio, the company behind the new treatment. |
| Author to speak on how Arkansas shifted from Democratic to Republican leadership at UA Clinton School | |
| The executive director of the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History will talk about a book he wrote on how Arkansas went from being one of the country's most solidly Democratic states to one of its most ardently Republican in just a few years. The presentation by the Pryor Center's John C. Davis, author of "From Blue to Red: The Rise of the GOP in Arkansas," is scheduled for noon on March 4 at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. Davis is an associate teaching professor in the Fulbright College political science department at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Previously, Davis taught at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He was also its director of governmental relations, coordinating the university's legislative initiatives at the local, state and federal government levels, and serving as institutional liaison to the Arkansas General Assembly, governor's office and state agencies. His speech in Little Rock is part of the Clinton Presidential Center Presents series, a partnership between the Clinton Foundation, Clinton School of Public Service and Clinton Presidential Library. The event will be held in-person and live-streamed. |
| Ukraine must remain free, U. of Missouri students say on anniversary of invasion | |
 | University of Missouri students with connections to Ukraine expressed weariness, anger and resolve as they reflected this past week on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of their country. The interview inside Gateway Residence Hall at MU took place as Congress had left Washington without approving further aid to Ukraine and Avdivka in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, had fallen to Russian control. The war in Ukraine began with Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. "I struggle to speak on this on account of the fact that I am exhausted from the bad news," said MU student Alissa Skorik. "And you know, when you're overloaded with it, it's hard to keep up. But what I will say is that in December, we experienced in Kharkiv the worst attack I think ever at this point." Skorik sometimes uses Fidelman, her mother's maiden name, as her last name. Skorik was born in Canada, but her family is from Kharkiv, 20 miles from the Russian border. Also participating in the interview were students Vlad Sazhen and Alina Rohulia. The couple is from Kharkiv. "It's horrific because the people who are there are constantly living under fear, no matter what," Skorik said. "They might be as brave as you like, but they are always living under fear. Because you don't know what is going to fall from the sky today." And people like her, living away, don't know what news they may receive on their phones when they wake, she said. |
| Aggie Robert Bishop named Texas A&M's Dean of Engineering | |
 | For the first time in almost three years, Texas A&M University has a permanent dean for its College of Engineering. A&M's Board of Regents approved Robert Bishop, A&M Class of 1979 and current dean of engineering at the University of South Florida, to become the university's next Vice Chancellor for Engineering and Dean of the College of Engineering during a special telephonic meeting Monday afternoon. Bishop has been the dean of engineering at South Florida since 2014. A nonprofit start-up was started under his watch at USF and has been awarded over $100 million in contracts from the Department of Defense. With over 30 years in academia, Bishop also has professional experience working at and with NASA. "Returning to Texas A&M to help build the future of this outstanding program is an opportunity I have worked toward all my life," Bishop said in a statement. "I can't wait to get started. From working with NASA to build the Texas A&M Space Institute, to working with the Department of Defense and the Army Futures Command to protect our nation, to finding and developing the brightest minds in Texas with our Engineering Academies, there is just so much potential here." In fall 2023, there were 24,607 students among 15 departments in A&M's College of Engineering. U.S. News & World Report's Best College Rankings for 2024 ranked A&M's College of Engineering 13th overall in the nation and seventh among public universities. In 2013, A&M began its "25 by 25" initiative, which sought to grow the university's College of Engineering to 25,000 students by 2025. |
| George Mason Shares Syllabi With Governor's Administration Amid Tension Over DEI-Related Courses | |
 | George Mason University, a public institution in Virginia, shared the syllabi of courses that would go toward fulfilling a new diversity, equity, and inclusion-related core-curriculum requirement with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration, the university confirmed to The Chronicle on Monday. Starting next fall, undergraduate students at George Mason will be required to take two courses that have a "Just Societies" designation, according to the university's website. Upon completing those courses, students will be able to, among other things, "define key terms related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as related to this course's field/discipline." Some courses have already been approved, and others are under consideration. In an emailed statement, Christian Martinez, Youngkin's spokesman, called the "mandate" a "thinly veiled attempt to incorporate the progressive left's groupthink on our students." He did not answer The Chronicle's questions about reviewing syllabi, but said that the governor's administration had "heard concerns" about the requirement from some members of the university's Board of Visitors. The request to review course syllabi comes at a time when conservative lawmakers are intensely skeptical of anything DEI-flavored on a college campus, including in the curriculum. Youngkin has said that he thinks the concept of DEI has "gone off the rails." |
| University of California Lifts Ban on Online Degree Programs | |
| The University of California is ending a ban on allowing students to study for their degrees entirely through online courses. The UC Board of Regents voted 10 to 1 on Feb. 14 to repeal a year-old decision by the Academic Senate. That 2023 decision essentially banned online degrees from the university system, requiring anyone seeking an online degree to get an exception to that "campus experience" requirement. The vote has raised issues about the balance of power between the regents and the Academic Senate. "It's within the board's authority to make a decision in the area of degree requirements, but the way it was carried out was damaging to shared governance," said James Steintrager, chair of the Academic Senate. Steintrager said there are no immediate plans to respond to the regents' reversal, adding that the Senate does not have the power to override the decision. But, he said, there will be a response about the regents' decision-making process. "I was taken aback in the way they did it, because they listened to the argument but had no meaningful Q&A," he said, referring to the lack of questioning during his presentation at the meeting. "They seemed to have a willingness to act without being informed." |
| Traveling to Mexico? See these travel advisories before booking your spring break trip | |
| A woman was murdered in Tulum, a popular vacation resort for tourists in the Quintana Roo State. The American tourist, identified as 44-year-old Los Angeles native Niko Honarbakhsh, was shot and killed in the crossfire of a drug deal gone wrong. The Feb. 9 incident involved an alleged drug dealer from Belize, according to ABC News. Tulum has had previous incidents with tourists dying as a result of drug and gang-related activity. The U.S. State Department warned travelers on their website to beware of where they're going if visiting Mexico. Last year, the department issued "do not travel" for parts of Mexico for spring break. The department cites kidnappings, gang violence and other crimes that travelers need to be aware of. As of now, Quintana Roo is under an exercise-increased-caution advisory. U.S. citizens are encouraged to enroll in the State Department's free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and to prepare contingency plans for emergencies. |
| Weather disasters hit college students hard. Climate change is making it worse | |
| In August 2016, Maameefua Koomson had just moved into her dorm at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Sophomore year was shaping up to be excellent. Koomson was a strong student, she was pursuing her dream of studying creative writing and she had landed a plum job as a Resident Assistance, or RA, in an honors dorm. "I was, like, I'm going to be the best RA to these freshmen," she remembers. "I did a Sponge Bob-themed hall. I had events planned out." And then, just a few days before classes began, it started to rain. At first it seemed like just another rain storm in a part of the country where heavy rain is normal. But then it turned into something else entirely. A record-shattering deluge that drowned much of the greater Baton Rouge area in multiple feet of floodwater. Koomson's dorm stayed dry. But her family's home in nearby Denham Springs was destroyed. It was one of more than 100,000 local homes damaged in the flood. And, even though Koomson wasn't living at home anymore, the disaster affected her college experience, and her broader life, in profound and lasting ways. Within a year, she had lost her beloved RA job and changed her major. By the time she graduated, her ideas about what career opportunities were open to her had shifted dramatically, with long-term financial and personal consequences. New research suggests Koomson's experience is common. As severe floods, wildfires and hurricanes get more frequent due to climate change, economists and sociologists are beginning to study the effects of those disasters on people who are in financially and socially formative college years. And the results are sobering. |
| Your College's Top Lawyer Has Never Been More Powerful | |
| Once upon a time, administrators on college campuses would gather in corner offices to write new policies or start new programs. When their work was done, someone would say, "run this past the lawyer" to make sure all the legal t's were crossed and i's were dotted. That lawyer was seldom found down the hall, but in some downtown office building. Today, the lawyer is not only in the meeting, but increasingly casts a deciding vote. General counsels wield considerable power atop campus organizational charts, sitting in on nearly all high-level meetings and shaping colleges' responses to everything including Supreme Court rulings and how much of the endowment should be spent. A whisper in the president's ear or a timely memo to the board chair can scuttle a program, send another administrator packing, or even shift a college's direction. The growing power in the counsel's office can have negative consequences. Caution about legal vulnerability can lead campuses to overreact to restrictive laws, or even shield allegations of abuse from public scrutiny. It has led to the prevalence on college campuses of what one critic calls "repressive legalism." But as regulatory mandates continue to roll out -- both political parties have plans for increased regulation of higher education -- and as societal pressures mount, the number of staff lawyers and their authority are likely to keep expanding. |
SPORTS
| Gathering for 'One Night in March' documentary and panel discussion | |
| Monday, people gathered at the Starkville Public Library to view the documentary, "One Night in March." The film tells the story of a historic basketball game between Mississippi State University -- an all-white team at the time- and Loyola University -- an integrated team. As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, MSU had a powerhouse basketball program that earned conference titles, and national rankings. Despite their success, the Bulldogs could not play in the NCAA national championship because of an unwritten rule prohibiting all-white Mississippi collegiate sports teams from competing against integrated teams. However, Mississippi State University defied this rule and the state legislature to compete for a national championship and to redefine sports. Following the viewing, a panel discussion was held between the documentary producer and the 1963 ball club members. "It was a great opportunity to tell that story that was so courageous and so we thought well we still have that documentary and we still need to celebrate this incredible event and so we decided that this was a good time to bring that back out," said Rex Buffington, Co-Chairman of S.O.U.L. |
| Five Things To Know: State vs. No. 16 Kentucky | |
| Mississippi State men's basketball takes the ESPN Super Tuesday stage as No. 16 Kentucky visits a sold-out Humphrey Coliseum for a SEC showcase matchup. The Bulldogs (19-8, 8-6 SEC) head into the contest on a five-game winning streak featured by wins over Georgia (75-62), Missouri (75-51), Arkansas (71-67), Ole Miss (83-71) and LSU (87-67). The Maroon and White enter this week's action in sole possession of 7th place in the SEC standings, one game behind Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC) and Florida (19-8, 9-5 SEC) for a share of 5th place. State will look to snap an 18-game losing streak to the Wildcats in the regular season going back to the 2008-09 season. Overall, Kentucky possesses a 102-21 series advantage. The Wildcats claimed a 90-77 decision back in mid-January. UK's Antonio Reeves (27 points) and State's Tolu Smith III (26 points) were the game's top scorers for their respective teams. State's last win over the Wildcats was a 74-73 victory at the 2021 SEC Tournament in Nashville. Iverson Molinar led the way with 21 points followed by a Tolu Smith III double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. D.J. Stewart Jr. dished out 10 assists. |
| Mississippi State basketball vs. Kentucky: Scouting report, score prediction | |
| When Mississippi State basketball and Kentucky take the court at Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN), it'll be a chance for the programs to display a race for the SEC freshman of the year crown. For the Bulldogs (19-8, 8-6 SEC), guard Josh Hubbard is averaging 15.3 points per game, which ranks 10th in the conference. He's coming off a career-high 32-point performance at LSU. For the Wildcats (19-8, 9-5), guard Rob Dillingham is close behind, averaging 15 points per game off the bench. He put up 16 against Alabama on Saturday after scoring 23 at LSU a few days prior. "Dillingham is a special player," MSU coach Chris Jans said Monday. "You just put, 'Scorer' above his mantel. That's just what he does. He's not a one-trick pony. He can do it in a lot of different ways. He can go both directions. He can stop on a dime and pull up from three, pull up from two. He's very, very quick. He's fast. Even though he has all those great athletic attributes, he does it under control. You never feel like he's out of control when he gets downhill." Dillingham scored 16 points when the teams met Jan. 17 while Hubbard had only three. However, at home against ranked teams this season, Hubbard is averaging 18.7 points per contest. "I really believe that it was just a bad night for him," Jans said. "Not to say that (UK) didn't have anything to do with it. They certainly did, but only Josh knows how he felt internally in terms of the atmosphere, the court, etc., In my opinion, I don't think he's afraid of any big moment that he's ever been in." |
| Hubbard makes Mississippi State history with fifth SEC Freshman of the Week award | |
| Mississippi State freshman phenom Josh Hubbard has made program history. On Monday, Hubbard was announced as the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season. The latest accolade launches the point guard out of Madison-Ridgeland Academy past Jamont Gordon, who previously held the school record for winning it four times in 2005-06. After a slow start to the week with Ole Miss having Hubbard (5 points, 2 assists) circled nearly the entire game in the Bulldogs' 83-71 win last Wednesday, the true freshman bounced back in a big way against LSU on Saturday. Hubbard went off for a career-high 32 points in the team's 87-67 win over the Tigers. The effort was the second-most points scored by an SEC freshman this season and the most by a Mississippi State freshman since Raymond Brown had a 32-point game in 1984-85. For the season, Hubbard leads all SEC freshmen in scoring with 15.3 points per game. The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday against No. 16 Kentucky. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. from Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. |
| Diamond Dawgs Host Jackson State in Midweek Action | |
| The Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs return to action Tuesday afternoon for a midweek contest against Jackson State at Dudy Noble Field with first pitch is set for 3 p.m. The midweek contest will be broadcast on SECN+ and carried on Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand. Jackson State enters the midweek matchup with a 6-2 record. The Tigers were on a six-game winning streak before falling 7-3 to Mississippi Valley State on Sunday, Feb. 25. Jackson State ended last season with a 28-25 record. Joseph Eichelberger leads the Tigers with a .692 batting average with 18 hits and 16 RBIs through 26 plate appearances. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .324 and have three players hitting over .300 to start the season. The pitching staff has a 4.29 ERA and have struck out 78 hitters this season. MSU and Jackson State meet for the 63rd time on Tuesday when the Tigers travel to Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State last faced off against Jackson State April 19, 2022, and won 17-2 over the Tigers. Mississippi State leads the all-time series 54-8. The Dawgs have won the last five matchups. The first matchup between these two programs came during the 1976 season, when MSU won 5-3 on April 21. |
| Projecting Mississippi State football's depth chart under Jeff Lebby | |
| As March approaches, so does the first glimpse of what Mississippi State football will look like under coach Jeff Lebby. The arrival of spring practice is a critical period for the Bulldogs as the program gets set for its first season with the former Oklahoma offensive coordinator at the helm. Mississippi State is coming off a disappointing 5-7 season, one in which the Bulldogs failed to make a bowl game for the first time since 2009. First-year coach Zach Arnett was fired 10 games into the season and was replaced by interim coach Greg Knox before Lebby was hired. The early returns on the new first-year coach have been promising, with MSU locking up the nation's 28th-best signing class for 2024, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Mississippi State also signed the nation's 37th-best portal class to help overcome various departures, whether they be to exhausted eligibility or transfers. Here's at our projected starting lineup for MSU before the start of spring practice. |
| Mississippi State picks up 1,000th win in program history | |
| Mississippi State's final two days at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic were a mixed bag as the No. 25 Bulldogs held their own against No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday and picked up a solid win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday before coming up short against Fresno State. For a brief moment, it seemed as though MSU (11-3) might do the unthinkable against the three-time defending national champion Sooners, who have now won an all-time record 67 games in a row. But Auburn transfer Jessie Blaine put the Bulldogs out in front early with a two-run first-inning home run against Oklahoma's Nicole May. Kinzie Hansen evened the score with a two-run blast of her own in the bottom of the first, but Sierra Sacco's RBI single gave MSU the lead back in the second. That would be all the scoring the Bulldogs managed, though, as the Sooners chased Bulldogs starter Aspen Wesley after she allowed five runs in three innings. Oklahoma (14-0) continued adding on from there in a 9-3 victory. "I like the way we came out. I thought we were ready to play and aggressive from the jump," said MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts, a 2009 Oklahoma graduate who played for Sooners head coach Patty Gasso. "(Oklahoma) did a great job of staying under control and battling back. It was a good battle early on. We just can't give too many extra chances to a team like that." |
| Killing of Georgia nursing student out for a run highlights the fears of solo female athletes | |
| Carol Capps runs regularly in the forested area of the University of Georgia campus, where the body of a 22-year-old nursing student was found earlier this week after she was reported missing from a morning run. Capps, 24, said the trails around Lake Herrick always seemed safe, a place where she could get away from traffic and go into the woods for some mental clarity. But that sense of peace was shattered after authorities on Thursday found the body of Laken Hope Riley and arrested Athens resident Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, on suspicion of murder. The victim and suspect did not know each other, and University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark called the killing a crime of opportunity. "The scariest thing about it is it could have been me or one of my friends," said Capps, a store associate at Athens Running Company. "It feels like a place has been taken away from me." Riley's death has once again put the spotlight on the dangers female runners face. Previously, the 2018 death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts while out jogging prompted an outpouring from other women who shared their tales of being harassed and followed. Crime statistics indicate that these types of attacks are rare, but they underscore the hypervigilance women must take when going out, even for a run on campus. According to a survey by athletic wear company Adidas last year, 92% of women reported feeling concerned for their safety with half afraid of being physically attacked. More than a third of women said they experienced physical or verbal harassment, including sexist comments and being followed. |
| Alabama AD Greg Byrne calls for forfeits to stop field storming | |
 | Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne called for an end to field and court storming on Monday, after Duke basketball's Kyle Filipowski was injured when Wake Forest fans rushed on Saturday. Byrne, who has long been an advocate for stiffer penalties, said he'd like to see the home team forfeit the just-played game if its fans storm the playing field. Byrne, speaking Monday before an appearance at the Birmingham Tip Off Club, said he didn't think fines work to prevent fans from rushing after wins. "You have two kids run out there, no, but when you have a sustained rush like what just happened the other day at Wake, you lose the game," Byrne said. "That will get people to stop." Since the SEC started instituting fines for field rushes in 2004, Alabama football and Kentucky basketball have seen schools penalized seven times each for storms against them, tied for the highest in the league. Alabama has never received a fine for storming. Given the dangers of field stormings, Byrne said that's not enough to stop anyone, especially giddy students. "We had a student manager we thought was gonna lose an eye after a field storm in the last few years," Byrne said. "He ended up being concussed and the doctors were able to save his eye. We had a doctor, a female doctor, get pushed down and bruised up pretty bad. And something needs to be done about it." |
| College coaches, leaders call for court-storming regulations | |
| On Monday, Jon Scheyer, Bill Self and other college basketball leaders called for a ban on court storming in college basketball due to safety concerns and potential legal impacts for athletes and students. The conversation about court storming escalated over the weekend after Duke star Kyle Filipowski was bumped by Wake Forest fans who spilled onto the floor following the Demon Deacons' 83-79 win over the Blue Devils on Saturday. That incident unfolded just weeks after a fan ran into women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark after Iowa's upset loss at Ohio State. On the ACC media teleconference call on Monday, Scheyer said the ACC should implement a court-storming ban now and not wait to address the issue this offseason. He said Filipowski avoided major injury during the court-storming incident but was "a little bit sore" on Monday. Scheyer initially said Filipowski had suffered an ankle injury. The projected lottery pick in this summer's NBA draft was carried off the court by his teammates after the collision. In 2012, Self had to help referee Darron George off the court after he suffered a broken arm as Iowa State fans stormed the floor following an upset over the Jayhawks. In 2015, a Kansas State fan bumped former Kansas forward Jamari Traylor during another court storm after an upset of Kansas. "Let's get rid of it, totally," Self told ESPN on Monday. The coaches aren't the only ones steering the conversation. Brett Yormark, the Big 12's commissioner, told "Outside the Lines" on Monday that he and the other major commissioners plan to address court storming in the near future. |
| Replace the PMAC, rethink the River Center: Big changes to Baton Rouge live events proposed | |
 | In a change that could reshape live events in Baton Rouge, LSU athletics leaders have begun planning to replace the aging Pete Maravich Assembly Center and work with city-parish government to make the new arena the city's top venue for major events. As part of the agreement, the Raising Canes River Center downtown could be refocused as a space mostly for conventions -- potentially with a new hotel -- so as not to compete with the new arena for live events. "From my vantage point, this is the type of big-scale, exciting project that we need more of in Baton Rouge," Metro Councilman Rowdy Gaudet said. "The possibility and opportunity to attract a large-scale arena that will bring in the types of concerts and musical venues that we in Baton Rouge have been missing out on is extremely exciting." "We have an opportunity here in East Baton Rouge Parish to stand together as a whole community to bring a significant parishwide benefit to our residents with the development of a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment arena underway at LSU," Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement. The vision for the two buildings is laid out in a new ordinance scheduled to be introduced at the Metro Council on Wednesday. The Tiger Athletic Foundation has begun soliciting proposals from developers to finance and build the new venue, which the ordinance describes as a "best-in-class" arena for sports, music, and entertainment activities "for the greater East Baton Rouge region." "This is kind of the next step in the process of hopefully building a new arena on campus that's a community asset that makes Baton Rouge a more vibrant and exciting place to live," said Cody Worsham, LSU athletics spokesperson. |
| Charlie Baker issues letter to NCAA membership following NIL preliminary injunction decision | |
| In the wake of the preliminary injunction halting the NCAA's power to prohibit recruits and transfer portal athletes from negotiating their NIL, President Charlie Baker has issued a letter to his membership. In a memo obtained by On3 on Monday, Baker described the questions he received over the weekend asking what Judge Clifton L. Corker's ruling means. In light of the actions, Baker announced he plans to convene the Division I Board of Directors and the Board of Governors "to discuss next steps." The lawsuit led by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia was filed last month, the day after news broke the NCAA was investigating Tennessee athletics for multiple alleged NIL violations. While no direct guidance or ruling is included in the one-page letter, Baker wrote that delivering accurate information is essential. One source described the letter to On3 as a "wait and see" email. "As you may know, we made clear that the NCAA fully supports the rights of student-athletes to benefit from exercising their NIL rights, but expressed concern that granting this preliminary injunction would make what is currently a chaotic environment worse," Baker wrote on Monday. "You have many questions, and we know you need to hear from us. But given the significance and sweep of this decision, it's critical that our guidance to you and your colleagues on this ruling be accurate. "The ruling affects several NCAA bylaws and policies in Division I, and the NCAA is quickly developing guidance on which rules are enjoined by the court order." |
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