| Thursday, May 9, 2024 |
| Sound of cicadas: Rare insect emergence brings buzz 'unlike any in nature' | |
 | What's that sound? Is it the eerie sound of an alien spaceship landing nearby? A white-noise soundtrack for people who have trouble falling asleep? Or is it the distinctive chorus of millions of cicadas emerging to culminate their life cycle? The answer is C, and Mississippi State University insect experts say the unusual ambient noise will likely be gone by summer. In addition to the insects themselves, the emergence of a periodical 13-year cicada brood has brought with it extra noise across the Magnolia State as males search for mates before dying off throughout June. "It's unlike any sound you hear in nature," said Blake Layton, an entomology specialist and Extension professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology. "To me, it sounds like the sound effect you hear from spaceships in an old Star Trek movie." "It's a whirring sound," added JoVonn Hill, MSU Entomological Museum director and insect taxonomy assistant professor. "It's a cacophony all through the day. Yesterday, I heard more of a buzzing noise, but today reminded me of white noise." "In addition to the noise, you might see more predators around. Cicadas are great meals for a lot of things, especially birds," Hill said. |
| MSU Meridian White Coat ceremony | |
 | Masters students at MSU Meridian celebrated a very special achievement. This evening, a white coat ceremony was held for the 2024 class of Master of Physician Assistant Studies students. Parents and other supporters came out to applaud the students as they were presented with kind words, a special MSU cowbell, and their white coats. Receiving the white coat represents a student's journey from didactic to clinical. Meaning each of these former students are now able to go out as licensed physician assistants and help fill the void in the medical field. "This has been 29 months of long training and education and tomorrow they get to graduate. So they can become certified physician assistants and so they can go into different areas of practice, whether it's emergency medicine, general surgery, family medicine, OBGYN ... it's all open to them, whatever field they want to pursue. We're so proud of them and congratulations they put in the work and the hard the effort and now they get to get the fruits of their labor." said Megan Hatch, program clinical coordinator. |
| Researchers capture video of great white shark off Alabama coast | |
 | Researchers report a new great white shark sighting off the Alabama coast and pictures to back it up. Video of the 8-foot juvenile shark called Miss Pawla was captured by researchers from the University of South Alabama who were monitoring fish movement near the Alabama's artificial reef zone. According to USA, Miss Pawla was first spotted with underwater cameras in mid-April during a survey in conjunction with researchers from Mississippi State University and Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. She was still roaming the same site 10 days later. But on Friday, May 3, she was gone, the scientists said. Great white sharks can live more than 50 years, and based on her size, the shark in the video is somewhere around 15 years old, researchers estimated. They say she won't reach maturity until she's at least 30 years old. Scientists say that great white sharks are becoming more common in the cooler waters off New England and California. White sharks have been reported from other areas of the Gulf of Mexico, usually in deeper, cooler waters. Recent reports of a white shark seen by divers in coastal Alabama, including one caught by fishermen and another washed up dead on a Florida Panhandle beach, suggest that the species may be more common in the northern Gulf of Mexico than originally thought, researchers say. |
| Library HVAC still kaput as summer approaches | |
 | Philip Carter turns off the portable air conditioner in his office in the Starkville Public Library before joining a Zoom. In just 45 minutes, the library's director said, the room temperature shot up to 83 degrees. And the discomfort extends across the building at the corner of University Drive and South Montgomery Street. All three of the building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning units are kaput, leaving the work of cooling the facility to nine portable air conditioners and several strategically-placed fans. Those provide "at least a little bit of relief," Carter said. Workers have even covered the building's front windows in a desperate effort to rebuke the rays from the afternoon sun. "Thankfully we haven't hit the dreaded summer heat yet," Carter wrote in an email to The Dispatch. "... Patrons, for the most part, have been very understanding and thankfully it's not gotten excessively warm." But for the library that sees more than 50,000 visitors per year, summer is right around the corner --- "easily" the library's busiest time Carter said, with expanded programming, especially for youth who are out of school. The summer reading program alone draws about 5,000 participants, he said. Both the city and the Tennessee Valley Authority are stepping up to help the library, but it could be months, maybe even early next year, before the building has a fully functional HVAC system. |
| Severe weather possible Thursday night | |
 | Lauderdale County residents will want to sleep with their weather radios on as potential severe weather is expected to move through the area Thursday night. The National Weather Service in Jackson forecast shows severe storms will move across central Mississippi overnight bringing the potential for damaging winds up to 80 miles per hour, hail up to golf-ball size and potential tornadoes. An enhanced risk of severe weather is being forecast for the central part of the state, stretching between Highway 82 in the north and Poplarville in the south. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency on social media encouraged residents to stay tuned in to the forecast throughout the day and make plans ahead of the storms. The agency also warned residents to prepare for potential power outages. Lauderdale County residents can sign up to receive severe weather alerts through the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency by visiting lemaonline.com or by texting their zip code to 888777. Meridian's public safety department also provides emergency alerts to those living or working in the city limits. Residents can sign up for city alerts at meridianms.org/government/public-safety/codered or by texting "MERIDIANMS" to 99411. |
| Damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes possible in Mississippi | |
 | Severe weather is expected to race across Mississippi Thursday night into Friday morning and Central Mississippi is in the thick of it. "Generally speaking, we're expecting a big wind event," said Mike Edmonston, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. "Wind is the primary threat. "This is a threat that could see in excess of 70 to 80 mile per hour winds. That's a very enhanced threat. Central Mississippi looks under the gun the most." Edmonston said winds like that during winter don't pose quite as much of a threat because most trees don't have leaves on them and offer less resistance. Now they are at greater risk of toppling. "We're into May now," Edmonston said. "Just about all the trees are in full foliage." Pine trees that were killed by complications of last year's drought also pose a risk. Edmonston said while they may not have needles on them, they are decaying and could easily be knocked down by strong winds. The greatest risk is from US 82 and south to below Hattiesburg. Coastal counties are at slight risk. Areas north of US 82 are at slight risk up to Tupelo and Clarksdale with areas above that being at marginal risk and little risk closer to the Tennessee state line. |
| New storms pummel the South as a week of deadly weather marches on | |
 | A wave of dangerous storms began crashing over parts of the South on Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes killed at least three people in the region. A heavy line of storms swept into Atlanta near the end of the morning rush hour. Busy hub airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, reported delays. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center cited an "enhanced risk" for severe weather from Texas to South Carolina. The storms continue a streak of torrential rains and tornadoes this week from the Plains to the Midwest and, now, the Southeast. At least four people have died since Monday. The weather comes on the heels of a stormy April in which the U.S. had 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-most on record for the month and the most since 2011. Nearly a quarter-million homes and businesses still lacked power Thursday in several Southern states after storms the night before, according to PowerOutage.us. One in Tennessee damaged homes, injured people, toppled power lines and trees, and killed a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, north of Knoxville, officials said. A second person was killed south of Nashville in Columbia, where officials said a likely tornado blew homes off their foundations. |
| State of the Region: Lewis Whitfield wins Jack Reed Sr. Award, Bradley Roberson speaks on public school accountability | |
| Educators must be free to innovate in order for Mississippi's public schools, and the students in them, to thrive. That was the message from Oxford School District Superintendent of Education Bradley Roberson, keynote speaker at the CREATE Foundation Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi's annual State of the Region meeting on Wednesday. In Roberson's address, he spoke on how educational models have failed to change alongside a changing society and how schools can adapt to better prepare modern students for college, the workforce, and society. "Schools are a microcosm of our communities, and if schools don't step up and make the changes that need to be done, then society will not change," Roberson said. "Sustainable change has to come through the public education system." The programming arm of the CREATE Foundation since 1995, the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi strengthens the regional community and cooperation through regional-community development. Other speakers at the event included CREATE president Mike Clayborne, Commission Chair Kyle Smith, CREATE's Director of Development P.K. Thomas and CREATE Senior Consultant Lewis Whitfield. There was also a panel discussion between key leaders from CREATE's community affiliates. Starkville Community Foundation's Alison Buehler, PACE's Gus Clark and LEAD's Amanda Angle all took part. |
| WTVA parent company lays off 12% of workforce | |
| As part of restructuring move by parent company Allen Media Group, WTVA recently laid off several staffers, including popular news anchor Alyssa Martin. Martin, who joined the station in 2019, has been recognized by the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters, having been twice awarded for her work as an anchor for small market television stations. WTVA was among 11 TV stations acquired for $210 million in 2019 by Allen Media Group and owner Byron Allen. The privately-owned AMG currently owns 36 ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and 12 24-hour HD television networks including The Weather Channel. The company said the layoffs were necessary to better prepare it for future growth, while also insisting that its brands have done well. The New York Post reported that the layoffs will affect 12% of the firm's workforce, about 300 of its 2,500 employees. It is the company's first round of layoffs since its establishment. |
| Mississippi accepting applications for program aimed at exploring agricultural opportunities | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce is accepting applications from potential partners and collaborators for the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). According to Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, partners and collaborators may be private or public, for-profit or nonprofit entities. FSMIP is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and provides matching funds on a competitive basis to state departments of agriculture, state colleges and universities, and other appropriate state agencies. The purpose of the program is to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the U.S. agricultural marketing system. Proposals must fit into one of the four project types: Agricultural Product Distribution -- the handling, storage, processing, transportation, and distribution of agricultural products. Cooperative Development -- the cooperation among Federal and State agencies, producers, industry organizations, and others in the development and creation of research and marketing programs to improve the distribution processes of agricultural products. Economic Research -- to clarify marketing barriers and opportunities, including regulatory compliance costs. Agricultural Product Development -- innovation and enhancement of agricultural products, practices, and methodology. |
| Income tax, Medicaid expansion on the table for lawmakers in 2025 | |
| Now that the 2024 session is over, some Mississippi lawmakers are already looking to address major issues in the 2025 session, including considering legislation to continue phasing down personal income tax. House Speaker Jason White, R-West, who finished his first session as the head hancho of the state's lower chamber last week, told the Clarion Ledger he plans to work throughout the year poring over the state's tax code. His hope is to find areas to cut down on income tax and find other areas to "improve." "You will see us pivot next year and spend a lot of time in the off season conducting an in-depth study of our tax structure in Mississippi," White said. "It's not just about cutting the personal income tax, but our overall tax structure in Mississippi, everything from tax credits, income tax, sales tax, gross tax or gas tax, things like that. We'd like to get some method to move away from the personal income tax and more toward consumption tax. (We want to) look at all tax credits that are out there and the special exemptions and those kinds of things and see the best way to run state government on people's money going forward." On the other side of the Capitol building, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann told reporters the first item he plans to address next year is finding middle ground between the House and Senate on Medicaid expansion. "In my mind, we've left 74,000 people working that could have had health care coverage in Mississippi," Hosemann said. "We didn't give them that. So, Bill No. 1 coming back here, that's going to be that." |
| Effort to expand Children's Promise Act law failed this session | |
| First passed in 2019, the Children's Promise Act provides an incentive to businesses who donate to qualifying independent schools or foster care organizations in the form of a tax credit that lowers the business' tax liability. A bill this session would have increased the total amount of tax credits that could be taken under the Children's Promise Act. However, the legislation died on the Senate floor late in the 2024 session. State Rep. Trey Lamar's (R) House Bill 1988 aimed to increase the aggregate cap on tax credits businesses could claim when donating to qualifying independent schools and non-profit foster care organizations. "The best tax credit programs are the ones that have a great purpose and also are really good for the taxpayers. And I don't know of one that is better than the Children's Promise Act," Lamar told Magnolia Tribune. Lamar said the money that goes to eligible schools or foster care organizations are private donations. "There's not one dollar of state money appropriated to private schools or foster care organizations because of this Act. Not one dollar," the House Ways and Means chairman added. HB 1988 sought to increase the current aggregate cap on tax credits from $18 million up to $48 million. The current cap in total eligible donations is split equally between two categories: $9 million in qualified donations can be made to non-profit foster care organizations and $9 million can be made to independent schools that meet certain requirements. |
| Mississippi governor approves bill allowing electronic search warrants | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a bill into law allowing for a more digital-friendly method of issuing and receiving search warrants. Now that it's enacted, House Bill 295 authorizes electronic signatures to be utilized for search warrants. Law enforcement officers can now use an electronic platform on the scene to request a search warrant with the judge being able to sign remotely. It's intended to speed up the process when searching homes, businesses, automobiles, and mobile devices. If a warrant is executed on a suspected criminal, the individual would have the chance to submit a digital version of an affidavit to a judge. However, HB 295 states that the affiant must be under oath, understanding that the signature is made under penalty of perjury and in compliance with state law. According to the bill, there would be no legal grounds to deny electronically requested warrants and signatures used throughout the process, meaning digital signatures would have full legal standing just as written ones currently do. The new law will go into effect on July 1. |
| Mike Hurst tapped to be next Mississippi Republican Party chairman | |
| Mike Hurst could soon have a new title -- chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. That word came Wednesday morning after current party chairman Frank Bordeaux made it known Tuesday that he would not seek re-election at the state convention on May 11th. Bordeaux has led the state GOP since October 2020. Hurst must be formally approved as chairman by members of the Mississippi State Republican Party Executive Committee, but he does have the support of Governor Tate Reeves, which is key. In a statement shared by Hurst on Wednesday, he said he was humbled and honored to be asked to serve as chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. "I want to thank Governor Reeves for his support, Chairman Frank Bordeaux for his incredible leadership, and the staff of the MSGOP, raising our party to new heights and achieving so much for our conservative principles over the last number of years," Hurst said. "Our future is bright in Mississippi, and I hope I can play a small role in making our state and our party even better in the future." In a letter to Governor Reeves, Bordeaux said he was proud of the work of the party in recent years, including initiatives to reach Mississippians of all backgrounds with their conservative message and shared values. Bordeaux also backed Hurst as the next chairman. |
| MSGOP Chair Bordeaux stepping down. Mike Hurst endorsed as successor | |
| Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Frank Bordeaux announced on Wednesday that he will not seek reelection to his post and endorsed former U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst to succeed him. Bordeaux, an insurance executive, wrote on Facebook that he's had a great tenure as the party's chairman, but it was time to "pass the torch" to a "new leader with a fresh perspective." "We've seen a lot of success," Bordeaux said. "We've elected more Republicans in the last few years to local, state, and federal offices than at any point in history. With every election, we've gained seats and put more conservatives in positions to improve the lives of Mississippians." Hurst has been involved in state and national Republican politics for years. He is currently a partner in the Phelps Dunbar law firm's Jackson office. Hurst served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi under President Donald Trump's administration from 2017 to 2021, and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney. Prior to his presidential appointment, Hurst was the founder and director of the Mississippi Justice Institute, a division of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He also previously served as a legislative director and counsel to then-U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, and served as counsel to the Constitution Subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. |
| Presley launches new PAC to advance Democratic candidates, causes | |
| After suffering defeat in his bid to become governor last year, Democrat Brandon Presley is launching a new political action committee to engage with voters on the local and state level. The announcement of the PAC came on the heels of Presley's top campaign priority -- Medicaid expansion -- dying in the Legislature this session. According to the Mississippi Secretary of State's office, the Save our State Political Action Committee, or SOS PAC's organizational paperwork was signed on Friday and processed in their office on Tuesday. Speaking with Presley Tuesday afternoon, he told Magnolia Tribune that an announcement of the PAC's board would be forthcoming "probably in a week or so." The immediate focus of the new PAC, according to Presley, is next year's municipal races. State Rep. Cheikh Taylor, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, believes the new PAC is integral to the future success of the party. The Democratic Party Chairman said their candidates are going to come from "every hamlet and village" in the state, all 82 counties. "That's what we're offering, a restructuring of politics in the state of Mississippi, and Brandon Presley is a major part of that with this PAC," Taylor said. Presley has committed to donate $50,000 to the new PAC. He confirmed to Magnolia Tribune that the funds would come from his gubernatorial campaign, saying, "That's right. We'll move it over to that [PAC]." |
| EPA absolves MDEQ, Health Department of discrimination in funding Jackson water | |
| About a year and half ago, on the heels of Jackson's infamous water system failure, advocates and politicians from Mississippi began publicly questioning the funding mechanisms that are supposed to support such systems. In October 2022, U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson and Carolyn Maloney wrote Gov. Tate Reeves, grilling him over an apparent disparity in how federal infrastructure funds were allocated to Jackson versus other parts of the state. Then days later, the Environmental Protection Agency's civil rights office opened an investigation into two state agencies -- the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Mississippi Department of Health -- in response to the NAACP's claims of discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits discrimination -- based on race, color or national origin -- in providing federal assistance. On Monday, though, the EPA announced it had ended the probe after finding no evidence the agencies had short-changed Jackson's water system. In its investigation, the EPA looked at the funding amounts and racial demographics of cities that received water funding from MDEQ and the Health Department and determined there was no correlation between the two factors. "The evidence overwhelmingly shows that the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality did everything right," MDEQ Executive Director Chris Wells said in a press release following the EPA's announcement. |
| Johnson slams Biden's 'senior moment' on Israel aid | |
 | Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he felt betrayed by President Joe Biden after learning that he is willing to withhold offensive weapons to Israel and accused the president of reneging on the deal they made to pass aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan last month. Johnson also said he hoped that Biden's threat to cut off American weapons, made in a CNN interview, was "a senior moment." And he revealed that even before that, he had privately reached out to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fact-check reports that weapons were being delayed to send a political message, contrary to what Biden administration officials had told him. The speaker reacted just moments after he learned about Biden's comments during an exclusive hour-plus interview with POLITICO Wednesday night. The sitdown also came just hours after Johnson survived an attempt at a parliamentary coup by a far-right faction of House Republicans who said Johnson "aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country." The speaker was in a buoyant mood after defeating the attempted putsch as he sat in his Capitol office suite beneath an enormous painting of Ronald Reagan. In a wide-ranging conversation for a forthcoming episode of the Playbook Deep Dive podcast, he touched on topics that included his relationships with Biden and former President Donald Trump, the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and the future of democracy. |
| Pause in arms to Israel over Rafah offensive reverberates on Hill | |
 | The Biden administration's pause in a shipment of high-payload munitions to Israel reverberated through Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with Democrats largely backing the move as necessary to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to hold off on military actions in the Gaza Strip and Republicans warning Iran might conclude U.S. backing of Israel is no longer ironclad. The administration last week "paused" one shipment of near-term assistance consisting of 3,500 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds and 500 pounds, said a U.S. official, who was not authorized to be quoted. It was the first known instance of the administration holding back security assistance to Israel in the seven-month Israel-Hamas war. Republicans were quick to blast the administration for sending a signal to the region that U.S. weapons support isn't always guaranteed. "You said in response to a question today that no final decision [on the weapons shipment] has been made," Senate Appropriations ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, said to Austin. "I would suggest to you that pausing or delaying the delivery of weapons to Israel is a decision and it's a decision that most members of Congress would take issue with." Added Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.:"Does this not send the wrong message to our ally Israel and embolden Iran and Iranian-backed groups? We should not be signaling to [Israel's] enemies that our support is conditional." Iran is the main government supporter of Hamas and also backs other proxy groups to destabilize the region. |
| Nikki Haley Is Huddling With Donors and Won't Endorse Donald Trump Yet | |
 | Nikki Haley is easing back into public life after dropping out of the Republican presidential race in early March, but has no immediate plans to endorse Donald Trump. The former South Carolina governor is attending a retreat in Charleston, S.C., on Monday and Tuesday to thank about 100 of her biggest donors, a person close to Haley told The Wall Street Journal. She isn't expected to discuss her political future or encourage them to give to other campaigns. The person said there is no pending endorsement of Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee. The two didn't speak when she got out of the race on March 6 and haven't done so since, this person said. Eric Tanenblatt, a longtime GOP fundraiser and strategist in Georgia who plans to attend the donor meeting, said he hopes the 52-year-old Haley runs for the presidency again. "Sometimes it takes more than one run to secure the nomination. Look at John McCain and Mitt Romney," he said, citing two past GOP nominees who took more than one try. "She created something of a movement and built a coalition of Republicans and independents and even some conservative Democrats." Even after suspending her campaign, she has continued to receive support in Republican primaries. On Tuesday in Indiana, Haley got close to 22% of the vote, highlighting a vulnerability for Trump among critical suburban voters. Haley scored her biggest Indiana vote shares in urban and suburban areas, as well as in the county that is home to Purdue University. |
| UM professor: Data suppression needs more guidelines | |
| New research from the University of Mississippi calls into question the methods that online shopping services use to keep users' data private. Online companies -- including social media, online shopping or online portal for medical facilities -- collect data from users, which they use to create personalized advertising or refine marketing strategies. Often, they sell this information to other parties after making the data anonymous. Charles Walter, assistant professor of computer and information science, and recent Ole Miss graduate Thomas Cilloni found that efforts to make this data anonymous can sometimes be reversed. In a study published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore, they used machine learning to reveal personal data from an anonymous data set with up to 80% accuracy. "Your data identifies you," Walter said. "It's incredibly important to recognize this as a problem in order to fix it. That's why we conduct studies like this -- to identify problems we need to fix." |
| Olympic athlete Allison Schmitt to speak at UGA's 2024 graduation | |
 | The University of Georgia will host Spring graduation ceremonies on Thursday and Friday with a total of 8,318 students receiving degrees. UGA Today, an online media outlet for the university, reported that the ceremony for 6,627 undergraduates will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Sanford Stadium. The graduate ceremony for masters and specialist degrees, begins at 10 a.m. Thursday in Stegeman Coliseum. The doctoral ceremony is at 2 p.m. Parking is free, but a clear bag policy is in effect for those entering the stadium. Graduation ceremonies at many colleges and universities across the U.S. have had their venues changed due to pro-Palestinian protests. A pro-Palestine event is planned in Athens on Friday at the Arch in downtown Athens, where others have been staged in recent days. The UGA ceremony has not changed from its original announcement. The graduation address will be given by Allison Schmitt, a UGA alumna, and decorated American athlete, who is a mental health advocate. She has spoken widely abut her personal struggles with depression, according to UGA Today. Schmitt is the American record holder in the 200-meter freestyle and was a 10-time Olympic medalist in swimming. |
| U. of Tennessee posts new information, uses blue light system to make announcements to pro-Palestine demonstrators | |
| When 10 p.m. hit on the University of Tennessee Student Union lawn, an announcement rang out from the nearby blue light system. The announcement warned that the reservation of the lawn was over and demonstrators must exit the area. Demonstrators had already begun exiting the area on Tuesday night when the final announcement began playing. The blue light system also read a 15-minute warning announcement, ending the first day the demonstrators have had clear-cut permission to gather from the university. Since nine pro-Palestine demonstrators were arrested on May 2 in front of the UT College of Law, the group has gathered across Cumberland Avenue in front of the Student Union. Calling themselves the "People's School for Gaza" -- a group compiled of students and community members who host outdoor classroom style study sessions despite not being registered as an affiliated student organization. Registered student organizations are permitted to rent space from the university. Based on new information posted by the university on a sandwich board sign in front of the Student Union, the university has reserved the space for free expression from the "People's School for Gaza." |
| U. of Tennessee looks to break parking habits, starting with freshmen | |
 | Endless circling for student parking during peak class times and traffic jams have forced administrators to take a hard look at how sustainable it is for all students to have cars in the heart of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus. They're aiming to break the cycle by forcing new students and those who are able to walk to class to use remote lots, or not bring a car at all. "The truth is, we've been stressed on parking for the last year or two," Chancellor Donde Plowman said. "And so I'm excited about this first big step. Now, it's a cultural change to think about, 'Oh, I might not get to park right next to my dorm or right next to my building where I take my first class.' We're going to be helping students with that." Employee passes will stay the same, with designated spaces in the new periphery zones. UT will add approximately 500 new spaces on the main campus for employees under these recommendations. Employee permit prices won't increase until fall 2025 and then will increase every two years. UT wants to increase visitor parking on campus with designated spaces in Neyland Drive garage, Volunteer Hall garage and West Campus garage, as well as with street parking in the south and west portions of campus. If plans are approved, the university would add around 1,200 hourly parking spaces with scan-to-pay technology. UT has 19,883 parking spaces. Commuters, noncommuters and staff purchased 23,735 parking permits last year, as of Oct. 4. |
| Gov. Abbott instructs Texas universities to ignore rewritten Title IX rule | |
| Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is encouraging universities and colleges across the state to ignore recent revisions of Title IX signed by President Joe Biden. Title IX refers to the law that protects students from discrimination based on sex. In April, the Biden administration expanded the rule to apply to students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. The move came after Biden promised to dismantle rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who added new protections for students accused of sexual misconduct. In a letter sent to universities on Wednesday, Abbott encouraged noncompliance with the new revisions, citing concerns about the impact the new rule may have on women's collegiate sports. As alluded to in the letter, Wednesday's letter follows Abbott instructing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to disregard the rewrite last week. Abbott's order to TEA came the same day Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he was suing the Biden administration to block the changes to Title IX. Paxton's lawsuit joined Texas with a growing number of Republican-led states that have criticized the new rules, setting the stage for a legal fight over LGBTQ+ student protections. States suing the federal government say the administration misinterpreted the intent of Title IX. |
| Study finds no unexplained pay gap among U. of Missouri faculty | |
 | A recent study shows a 14% pay gap among women and minorities in the University of Missouri's tenured and tenure track faculty, which officials say can be explained by a variety of factors. The gap has changed little in the nine years since the university last conducted such a study. The study found no statistically significant gaps in the non-tenure track faculty. It also found no evidence of salary compression, which occurs when junior faculty are paid almost as much as their more senior peers. On average, tenure-eligible male faculty members make 14% more than their female peers; white and Asian tenure-eligible faculty make 14% more than their minority counterparts. That's about $18,000 on average. Those differences can be explained by such factors as years of experience, rank, length of service and administrative assignments, officials say. "We currently do not have a pay gap in faculty across the university for any reason that can't be explained," Christian Basi, university spokesperson, said. "By that, they mean, do we have individuals who have less years of experience? Do we have individuals who have different credentials? Those salaries are justified at the experience and skill set that they are currently at." The study, released April 15, was conducted by an independent researcher, Robert K. Toutkoushian of the University of Georgia. |
| Closed colleges are rising from the dead online, taking applications | |
 | Stratford University says it will prepare students to "Be the Boss." But applicants hoping a Stratford education will ensure that future are headed for disappointment: The Virginia school closed two years ago this fall. Instead, Stratford is one of at least nine shuttered colleges whose names have been resurrected on the web. None of these zombie universities are accredited or cleared to receive federal financial aid -- hurdles that signal legitimacy. And their motives are cloaked in a mystery no federal oversight agency seems to have tried to solve. Kari Kammel, who heads the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection at Michigan State University, was perplexed by the counterfeit sites. At USA TODAY's request, she reviewed them and said she suspected identity theft could be at play for some. "They figured out a way to post something, get students to apply, take application information, take credit card information, take financial aid information," Kammel said. Some of the imposter websites are tied to colleges that shut down long ago, like Morrison University in Nevada, which closed its doors in 2014, or Jones International, one of the first schools to offer college courses online, which followed in 2015. Others focused on institutions whose demise came recently, including the private Catholic Marymount California University, which closed nearly two years ago. Brian W.G. Marcotte, the real Marymount California's final president, was troubled to learn of the new website from USA TODAY. He also was confused: Why would anyone spend so much time and energy creating a replica of the school? |
| Medical residents are starting to avoid states with abortion bans, data shows | |
 | According to new statistics from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), for the second year in a row, students graduating from U.S. medical schools were less likely to apply this year for residency positions in states with abortion bans and other significant abortion restrictions. Since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, state fights over abortion access have created plenty of uncertainty for pregnant patients and their doctors. But that uncertainty has also bled into the world of medical education, forcing some new doctors to factor state abortion laws into their decisions about where to begin their careers. Fourteen states, primarily in the Midwest and South, have banned nearly all abortions. The new analysis by the AAMC -- exclusively reviewed by KFF Health News before its public release -- found that the number of applicants to residency programs in states with near-total abortion bans declined by 4.2%, compared with a 0.6% drop in states where abortion remains legal. Notably, the AAMC's findings illuminate the broader problems that abortion bans can create for a state's medical community, particularly in an era of provider shortages: The organization tracked a larger decrease in interest in residencies in states with abortion restrictions not only among those in specialties most likely to treat pregnant patients, like OB-GYNs and emergency room doctors, but also among aspiring doctors in other specialties. |
| Education Department boosts FAFSA outreach efforts to close completion gap | |
| In its continued effort to remedy the series of snafus marring the rollout of an updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, the U.S. Department of Education announced Monday more technical and outreach support to help high schools, states, and private and nonprofit organizations boost FAFSA completion rates for high school seniors. At the center of the announcement is a $50 million investment to organizations already working with schools and districts to expand college college access and enrollment. ECMC, a student loan management nonprofit company, will lead the FAFSA outreach effort. Colleges use FAFSA applicant information to determine students' financial aid packages. The funds will go toward building the organizations' capacity to make more advisers, counselors and coaches available to support students and partners through the FAFSA application process. That could include holding FAFSA application appointments and events for extended hours during evenings, weekends and summer. The percentage of high school seniors completing the FAFSA for college enrollment in the 2024-25 school year was down 24.3% compared with the class of 2023, as of April 26, according to the National College Attainment Network's FAFSA Tracker. Whereas 48.2% of high school students had completed the FAFSA by that date last year, just 35.6% of this year's seniors have done so, the tracker shows. |
| Report: Increasing Numbers of Community Colleges are Offering Bachelor's Degrees | |
| More community colleges in the U.S. are beginning to offer bachelor's degrees in addition to their usual offerings, and many of them serve minority populations, according to a recent report from The Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) and higher ed consulting firm Bragg & Associates Inc. According to the report, a CCB college is defined as a school that presently or historically confers mostly sub-baccalaureate degrees -- such as associate degrees -- and confers less than 50% of their total degrees at the baccalaureate level. The report also looks at only publicly funded and regionally accredited community colleges. As of last December, there are 187 community colleges that meet the requirements of being a CCB college in the nation. West Virginia was the first state to have one in 1989. Most CCB colleges (62%) are located on the West Coast, a statistic that the report's authors associate with the distance from and access to institutions of higher ed. On the West Coast, there is "less density" of higher ed and longer commutes, the report notes. Most of the CCB degree-offering programs in general are in business, followed by health professions, education, and nursing as other prominent contenders. |
| How Parents of College Seniors Are Reacting to Campus Disruptions | |
 | The college experience for many of the parents of the Class of 2024 did not begin with the quintessential moment of loading up the car to drive to campus. Instead, parents wished their freshly minted college students luck as they logged on to classes online. The pandemic meant that for many, there had been no high school graduation ceremonies. Now, some of the families who had to forgo college traditions are facing a graduation season that has been thrown into chaos by a wave of student-led protests sweeping colleges across the country. Bunting and school banners have been replaced with tents and barricades as students have faced off with chants and dialogue that occasionally has veered into antisemitism, leading to police crackdowns and student suspensions. Some clashes between protesters and counterprotesters have even turned violent. Many parents interviewed this week said they had been worried about their children's safety on campus, while others were proud of their participation. Regardless of parents' politics or feelings about the Israel-Hamas war, many are furious at how administrations have responded -- by bringing in the police to tamp down protests, canceling events and communicating sporadically, if at all. Regardless of their stance on the protests' merit, many parents just wanted to be able to mark this moment with their children. |
| Yes, the Encampment at Your College Could Help Trigger a Federal Investigation | |
 | College leaders who're wondering whether chaotic protests on their campuses could trigger federal investigations now have a more explicit answer. On Tuesday, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights released a "Dear Colleague" letter that spelled out in greater detail what sorts of episodes could trigger investigations into alleged discrimination "based on race, color, or national origin." The list of Title VI investigations has steadily grown in the aftermath of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza. Colleges have been criticized for becoming sites of antisemitic and other discriminatory rhetoric. Tuesday's letter, penned by Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary of civil rights, may serve to remind colleges of the consequences of inaction. "OCR is letting schools and the public know that they're watching," said Howard Kallem, a former chief regional attorney for the OCR. College leaders have struggled to respond to encampments that have sprung up on their campuses. One factor in their decision-making is the legal risks associated with allowing continued protests that violate campus rules. Tuesday's letter could underline those legal risks further. |
| Reflecting on a 'Tumultuous' Year for Higher Ed | |
 | One moderator introduced her panel at the Gallup and Lumina Foundation's annual State of Higher Education event on Wednesday by reflecting on higher ed's "tumultuous year." But the issues that defined the conversations throughout the day, and which seem poised to have a significant impact on the sector moving forward, were two ongoing crises: the pro-Palestinian student protests and the range of administrative responses they've provoked, and the bungled rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) form. The former threatens to upend colleges' approaches to longstanding values of campus speech and academic freedom; the latter has disrupted admissions and financial aid calendars, threatening to undermine years of progress on expanding college access. And the ongoing enrollment crisis -- the primary feature of last year's Lumina event -- hummed beneath it all. Courtney Brown, Lumina's vice president of strategic impact and planning, kicked off the event by calling attention to a data point in Lumina's new survey with Gallup: Among adults not currently enrolled in postsecondary programs, nearly 90 percent said they considered at least one degree or certificate "extremely" or "very" valuable, and 59 percent said they'd thought about enrolling in the past two years. There is some reason for optimism. Enrollments are beginning to recover; the National Student Clearinghouse reported in January that in fall 2023, undergraduate enrollments rose by 1.2 percent---the first increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. |
SPORTS
| Jordan Named Finalist For Ferriss Trophy | |
| Mississippi State outfielder Dakota Jordan has been named one of five finalists for the 2024 Ferris Trophy presented by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and Pearl River Resort., it was announced Tuesday (May 7). The Ferriss Trophy is named in memory of former Major League star and longtime Delta State baseball coach Dave "Boo" Ferriss and is presented annually to the most outstanding college player in Mississippi. The winner will be announced at a luncheon held at the Golden Moon Casino at Pearl River Resort on May 20th. In the 19-year history of the award, seven Diamond Dawgs have earned the Ferriss Trophy on eight different occasions, with Jake Mangum (2016 & 19) the only MSU student-athlete to earn the award twice. Tanner Allen (2021), Brent Rooker (2017), Hunter Renfroe (2012), Chris Stratton (2012), Ed Easley (2007) and Thomas Berkery (2006) have each walked away as Ferriss Trophy winners. The eight winners of the award are the most by any school in the state of Mississippi. Over his sophomore season at MSU, Jordan has shined for the Diamond Dawgs. Entering the series at Arkansas, he leads the team in home runs (16) and RBIs (56). Jordan has the seventh-best batting average in the SEC hitting .367. |
| Bulldogs entering series against Arkansas on red-hot streak | |
| No. 15 Mississippi State is playing baseball about as well as anybody in the SEC right now and the Bulldogs have the statistics to back it up heading into a series against No. 3 Arkansas starting Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Bulldogs (32-16, 14-10 SEC) have won 10 of their past 12 games overall and 7 of 9 in SEC play to pull within striking distance of the SEC West-leading Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7) with six games left in the regular season. While Arkansas was going 5-4 in its past three SEC series against South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky, the Bulldogs gained two games while sweeping Auburn and winning 2 of 3 games against Vanderbilt and Alabama. "It's going to be a great series," Mississippi State Coach Chris Lemonis said. "Obviously Arkansas is one of the top three teams in the country and they're probably No. 1 in the country if they could just play at home." Indeed, Arkansas is 31-2 at Baum-Walker Stadium, having a 29-game winning streak at the venue snapped in a 9-5 series-ending loss to Florida on April 27. The Bulldogs had finals this week like the Razorbacks and resumed practicing Wednesday. They are scheduled to practice at Baum-Walker today. "Mississippi State is as hot as anybody around," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn told the audience at the Swatter's Club on Monday. "They can pitch, they can flat-out hit and they can play defense." |
| Where Mississippi State baseball sits in NCAA Tournament predictions: Will Bulldogs host? | |
| There was a hint of postseason play in the air at Dudy Noble Field last weekend as Mississippi State baseball hosted a series against Alabama. There were large crowds. MSU drew a combined attendance of 37,023 across the three games. On Saturday, the Bulldogs had 14,273 fans in attendance – marking the 10th-largest crowd for an on-campus baseball game in NCAA history. Mississippi State now owns 24 of the 25 biggest on-campus crowds. The weather also provided a glimpse of life in the NCAA Tournament. With temperatures sitting in the mid-to-high 80s, it was evident meaningful baseball is on the horizon. As Mississippi State (32-16, 14-10 SEC) looks to increase its hopes of hosting a regional, the series against Alabama -- in which the Bulldogs took two games -- was only the start of what coach Chris Lemonis wants. "Some of our guys were monkeying in our dugout, and I told them it was 82 (degrees)," Lemonis said Saturday. "You get a regional or super regional, it's 100. We're going to have to get used to the heat." Could Mississippi State earn a hosting bid? Here's what the latest projections say before No. 15 MSU opens its series at No. 3 Arkansas (40-9, 17-7) on Friday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+). |
| Mississippi State Advances to the NCAA Championship | |
| Mississippi State advances to the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive season after finishing the Bermuda Run Regional in fourth place. The team finished with a season-best score of 861 (-3), led by stellar performances from Surapa Janthamunee and Julia Lopez Ramirez. State opened the tournament on fire with a season-best five-under opening round as a team that saw four Bulldogs finish par or better. They would never go above par the rest of the tournament, as they were one of five teams to finish under par. Janthamunee had a career tournament at the Bermuda Run Country Club. The sophomore earned her third-career top-10 placement after finishing tied for 10th. She opened the regional with two bogey-free rounds of 69 (-3), which marked the first time she ever recorded back-to-back rounds in the 60s. Her three-day total of 211 (-5) tied the best performance of her career. She carded a season-best 39 pars throughout 54 holes. SJ shot 5-under on par 5 holes at the regional, which ranked 8th among the field. Lopez Ramirez stayed under par all three rounds of the Bermuda Run Regional to finish tied for third. The Bulldogs will be appearing in their fifth NCAA Championship in program history. In just three full seasons as head coach, Charlie Ewing has set a new program record for consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. Going into the week, Ewing had led the team to a record-breaking fourth consecutive regional. This year's NCAA Championship is set to take place at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. The tournament will begin on Friday, May 17, and last until Wednesday, May 22. |
| Bulldogs Falter Late Wednesday Night At SEC Tournament | |
| No. 17 Mississippi State's SEC Tournament run ended late Wednesday night as the Bulldogs fell, 8-4, to South Carolina. Thanks to two record-breaking extra-inning affairs earlier in the day, State (33-18, 12-12 SEC) didn't take the field until after 10 p.m. CT, and the game did not end until Thursday morning. South Carolina jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings, before a pair of doubles from Ella Wesolowski and Matalasi Faapito put the Bulldogs on the board. After a four-run fifth inning for South Carolina, Madisyn Kennedy answered with a three-run homer to left in the bottom of the frame. "I think we didn't come out with our best game, and, obviously, Aspen Wesley was a little bit off, especially from what we've seen from her lately," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Our goal was to come out and try to have her back the way she's had our backs so many times before. I thought Delainey [Everett] did a great job of that pitching. She really kept us in the game and gave us a chance to fight back. Madi [Kennedy] had a huge two-out swing for us, but going into the postseason we know we have to come out stronger, more locked in and focused, from the first pitch on -- not letting the delay or the late start time be an excuse because it's the same for both teams." "For us, it's shake it off," Ricketts added. "Get back to work, and use it as motivation as we wait to see what Selection Sunday holds for us." |
| Proposed Olsen Field renovation project at Texas A&M gets updated cost of $80M, start date FY 2026 | |
 | The proposed renovation project of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park received an updated cost of $80 million and start date of Fiscal Year 2026 from the Texas A&M Board of Regents on Tuesday as they approved the A&M System's FY 2025-29 Capital Plan. No plans are finalized to begin the renovations since the project is still in the proposed category. A&M Regents added the Olsen Field project to its Capital Plan in November 2022, but with a cost of $60 million and a start date of FY 2025. The Regents' agenda at the time said the renovations included the team's locker room, hitting and pitching facilities, weight room, team meeting spaces, bullpens and coaches' offices. Renovations to premium seating included the current club, concourses, restrooms, additional reserved seating and additional food service areas. The November 2022 agenda noted the current scoreboard, located behind the left-field fence, might be relocated and the current fire lane would need an update to accommodate an increased stadium footprint. Calls to renovate and expand Olsen Field have been made this season as home A&M baseball games have drawn an average attendance of 6,139 as the Aggies have ascended as one of the nation's top teams and are currently ranked No. 3. Olsen Field's listed capacity is 6,100. More large crowds are anticipated for the Aggies' final regular season series against Arkansas May 16-18 as the series is expected to be a top-5 showdown and could decide the Southeastern Conference Western Division champion. |
| Colleges, universities having trouble hiring, retaining athletic trainers | |
| Colleges and universities are having a difficult time hiring, recruiting and retaining members of their athletic training staffs because of a number of below-market conditions, a survey shows. The survey, by the National Athletics Trainers' Association and the American College of Sports Medicine, of 1,120 athletic trainers at all collegiate levels identified four areas of most common concern: compensation, organizational culture, burnout and increased work responsibility, according to a joint statement released Wednesday. Among the findings, more than 50% of athletic trainers were caring for more than 100 student-athletes and 65% had been given additional responsibilities without a pay increase. "They vote with their feet," said Dr. Bill Roberts, chief medical officer of the American College of Sports Medicine, by leaving the collegiate ranks for positions with occupational health, hospitals, the military and other positions that offer better pay and more regular hours. He said "addressing salary issues" is likely the most important change needed to allow schools to be competitive and retain athletic training staff. Other areas where the collegiate atmosphere has challenges include providing athletic trainers with a suitable work-life balance. That's a difficult proposition. |
| Growing fan interest doesn't mean better pay for women athletes. Yet. | |
| The WNBA draft isn't typically appointment viewing. But this year, more than 2.4 million people tuned in. That's four times the previous record. NCAA all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark took the stage dressed head to toe in Prada after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever. Clark is already bringing fans, media attention and money to the WNBA even before the May 14 start of its regular season. Demand to see her play has sent ticket prices soaring and prompted some teams to move their games hosting the Fever to larger venues. Many fans have found that hard to square with her rookie season salary of $76,535. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that's about as much as the average hotel manager, insurance adjuster or human resources specialist. Not everyone is surprised. "Welcome to the party. We've been trying to figure this out for some time," said Thayer Lavielle, executive vice president of The Collective, which advocates for women in sports and recently conducted an audit of the athlete pay gap. "What we found was that women athletes make 21 times less [on average] than men athletes on the field of play," Lavielle said. Many of those women need to boost their income with second jobs or by playing overseas. Alicia Jessop, who studies the business of sports at Pepperdine University, guesses it will take 10 years or more for growing fan interest to translate into multimillion-dollar salaries for the Caitlin Clarks of the world. But the true fandom and star power around Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and others in this highly anticipated rookie class could help move things along. |
| How formally paying athletes as employees could impact coaching salaries, staff sizes | |
| If college football goes the way of paying athletes as employees it could impact the salaries of coaches and staff sizes. On3's Andy Staples broke it down on Thursday's show, considering how coaches at the highest levels might not be affected. However, anybody below that, then those staffs could be drastically different. What do you care about more? The payment of the coaches or the payments to get better players? "And I do not think the best coaches will make less money," Staples said. "Kirby Smart just signed a new deal ... (He) is probably worth more than $13 million a year. He is the best coach in college football ... What I'm curious about is, will the replacement level coaches still get these massive deals? "Well, the guys who win seven or eight games a year at a place where the average coach wins seven or eight games a year, will schools bump them to $7 million or $8 million a year or will they say you know what? We can just put this money into buying better players and get another version of you for half the price. Because I think that's, if you're thinking about it realistically, what you could do." At that point, as Staples pointed out, do you want to pay athletes more money to get the better players or pay a coach a higher salary? |
| Republican congressmen introduce bill that would protect NCAA and conferences from legal attacks | |
| Two Republican congressmen introduced a bill Wednesday that would provide the NCAA, college conferences and member schools with federal protection from legal challenges that stand in the way of their ability to govern college sports. The Protect the Ball Act is sponsored by Reps. Russell Fry of South Carolina and Barry Moore of Alabama and is intended to provide legal safe harbor for the entities that run college sports, which has been under siege from antitrust lawsuits. Fry and Moore are members of the House Judiciary Committee. The NCAA and Power Four conferences are considering a settlement agreement that could cost billions. House vs. the NCAA seeks damages for college athletes who were denied the right to make money from sponsorship and endorsement deals going back to 2016, five years before the NCAA lifted its ban on name, image and likeness compensation. Almost as problematic for the NCAA are recent lawsuits filed by states that attack some of the association's most basic rules related to recruiting inducements and multiple-time transfers. The Protect the Ball Act would give the NCAA protection from litigation and allow the association and conferences to regulate things like recruiting, eligibility standards and the way college athletes are compensated for name, image and likeness. At least seven bills have been introduced -- some merely as discussion drafts -- by lawmakers in both the House and Senate since 2020, but none has gained any traction. |
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