| Wednesday, September 4, 2024 |
| MSU commemorates All-Steinway School status with public ceremony | |
 | Music filled the air Friday as Mississippi State celebrated its achievement of the prestigious All-Steinway School status with a public ceremony. Now among an elite group of institutions holding the acclaimed distinction globally, MSU is one of less than 250 conservatories, colleges, universities and schools solely using pianos designed by Steinway & Sons for practice, instruction and performance. "This is a historic day for Mississippi State to be designated as an All-Steinway School," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "All the things we're doing here at Mississippi State are because of the great people we have here as part of our university. That makes today even more of a celebration for all of us. "Making Steinway pianos the standard of our music department lets prospective and current students know that we are serious about music at Mississippi State and that we are serious about quality at Mississippi State. This gives our students an opportunity to have access to the finest and best instruments in the world," Keenum added. MSU has acquired 50 Steinway pianos with more than $3.5 million in funds from 142 donors. "We would not be here today without the generosity and support of our alumni and friends who were passionate about this effort," Keenum said. |
| NOAA Expands HPC Capabilities with $100M Investment in Rhea Supercomputer | |
 | Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced that $100 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act has been awarded to General Dynamics Information Technology for NOAA's newest high-performance computer (HPC) system, called Rhea. Rhea will advance research on weather, climate, ocean and ecosystem prediction. Rhea will be installed in a new modular facility as part of the NOAA Environmental Security Computing Center (NESCC) in Fairmont, West Virginia. Rhea features graphics processing units that will accelerate NOAA's use of AI/ML in a range of areas, including monitoring marine life species, weather forecasting and modeling of specific environmental phenomena such as atmospheric rivers, fire weather, and hurricane intensification using Earth observations. The new computing capacity will also be used for weather and climate model development to improve drought, flood, and wildfire prediction and forecasting. Once online, Rhea will be part of NOAA's Research and Development High Performance Computing System, which includes four other research and development (R&D) HPC centers. The other sites are located in Boulder, Colorado; Princeton, New Jersey; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. |
| Water, sewer rates won't change ... for now | |
| Water and sewer rates are staying the same, for now at least. During its regular meeting Tuesday, the board of alderman unanimously voted to table the request to raise water and sewer rates until its next meeting, with plans to discuss the topic during a Sept. 13 work session. The board agreed a rate increase is needed, but the size of the increase dampened their enthusiasm. "I don't think anybody up here would question at all whether or not there was a need for this," Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk said. "I think what we all struggle with is making sure the amounts that we choose are reasonable and prudent and allow you the money that (the utilities department) needs to move forward with these projects." Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp asked the board during its Friday work session to raise the base and variable rates for sewer and water to help generate funding for Starkville Utilities' capital improvement plan. The plan requires at least $2 million in additional sewer revenue, plus $1 million more in additional water revenue each year each year. Capital improvements under the plan include replacing six aerators in Starkville Utilities' wastewater treatment plant that failed in 2019. Revenue from increased rates would also help fund a new production well. |
| Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson meets with county officials in Wayne County | |
 | Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson met with poultry producers, members of the Wayne County Board of Supervisors, economic developers and bankers in Waynesboro last week to give an update on a pending ad valorem tax increase. The tax increase could impact Mississippi poultry houses. Gipson offered a short-term solution for counties currently updating tax valuations and discussed the need for a permanent legislative solution. "The Mississippi Department of Agriculture has been working diligently on this issue since I was first informed of the issue on August 2," said Gipson. "This ad valorem tax increase coupled with record inflationary pressures farmers are currently facing would be highly detrimental to our farmers, forcing some out of business while others could take years to recover." Gipson also discussed recent guidance by the Mississippi Department of Revenue which provides a short-term solution for counties currently in the process of updating tax valuations for 2024. These counties can request a one-year delay in the proposed increases, allowing time for a legislative solution. |
| How Immigration Remade the U.S. Labor Force | |
 | The U.S. is experiencing its largest immigration wave in generations, driven by millions of people from around the world seeking personal safety and economic opportunity. Immigrants are swelling the population and changing the makeup of the U.S. labor force in ways that are likely to reverberate through the economy for decades. Since the end of 2020, more than nine million people have migrated to the U.S., after subtracting those who have left, coming both legally and illegally, according to estimates and projections from the Congressional Budget Office. That's nearly as many as the number that came in the previous decade. Immigration has lifted U.S. population growth to almost 1.2% a year, the highest since the early 1990s. Without it, the U.S. population would be growing 0.2% a year because of declining birthrates and would begin shrinking around 2040, the CBO projects. The surge in immigration has been controversial, because most migrants didn't come through regular legal channels. Less than 30%, or 2.6 million, are what the CBO counts as "lawful permanent residents," which includes green-card holders and other immigrants who came through legal channels, such as family or employment-based visas. In addition, the CBO estimates the nonimmigrant foreign population, which includes temporary workers and students, has grown by about 230,000 since the end of 2020. |
| Immigration reform is key to continued U.S. leadership in science, says new report | |
| A broken U.S. immigration system threatens the country's status as a global leader in research, according to a new report by a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The report calls for allowing more immigrants with advanced degrees to remain in the country, which relies heavily on foreign-born scientists. The report also criticizes the China Initiative, a now-defunct Department of Justice (DOJ) effort to prevent Chinese economic espionage that led to few prosecutions but was widely regarded as targeting scientists of Chinese descent. The panel urges the government "to take measures to address the lingering chilling effects of the China Initiative." Gisela Kusakawa, who leads the Asian American Scholar Forum, calls the critique a "milestone" for a NASEM report. The panel was asked by the Department of Defense to examine the international competition for scientists and, in particular, China's myriad talent programs, which aggressively recruited U.S. scientists for more than a decade. But its chair, Mark Barteau, chair of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, says the group quickly decided it also needed to examine U.S. immigration policy and the supply of domestic STEM talent. "When you look at what we need to do to be competitive for high-level talent," Barteau says, "you have to address the impediments as well as any future incentives that might be created." |
| As RFK Jr. fights to get off ballot in some states, his team files to get him on Mississippi's | |
| Since his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsement of former President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed to have his name removed from the ballot in swing states -- even suing North Carolina to try to force removal. But his team in Mississippi is still working to get him on the ballot here. On Friday, ahead of a Sept. 6 deadline, Kennedy's campaign filed paperwork, including 1,000 registered voter signatures, to put Kennedy on the Nov. 5 ballot as an independent candidate in the Magnolia State. The ballot is still pending approval of candidates and their paperwork by the Mississippi State Board of Election Commissioners -- comprised of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state. The deadline for the secretary of state to publish a sample ballot for Mississippi is Sept. 11. Kennedy earlier this year was fighting legal hurdles that would have prevented him from being on the ballot in several states. Since his withdrawal from the race, he said he would push to have his name removed from the ballot in swing states, fearing he would be a "spoiler" that could hurt Trump and saying, "I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues." Kennedy's team has said it's not concerned about him staying on the ballot in predominantly blue states, where he's unlikely to hurt Trump's performance. It's unclear what the strategy would be for him being on the ballot in reliably red Mississippi. |
| Raise taxes on the rich or cut them? Harris and Trump differ on how to boost the US economy | |
 | Donald Trump is betting that Americans crave trillions of dollars in tax cuts -- and that growth will be so fantastic that it's not worth worrying about budget deficits. In short, he's hoping that most economic analyses of his ideas are dead wrong. Vice President Kamala Harris believes that big corporations and the ultra-wealthy should pay more in taxes -- and wants to use those revenues to help spur the construction of 3 million homes and offer tax breaks for parents. She's hoping to deliver on the types of policies that President Joe Biden has been unable to secure in a lasting way. The two presidential nominees are using the week before their debate to sharpen their economic messages about who could do more for the middle class. Harris will discuss her policy plans Wednesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, while Trump will address the Economic Club of New York on Thursday. The economy has historically been a dominant issue in presidential elections. In an August survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, Trump did narrowly better on the economy with 45% saying he would handle it better and 38% saying Harris would. There are high stakes in this showdown because the winner of November's election could rewrite much of the federal tax code next year, when parts of Trump's 2017 tax cuts are set to expire. |
| Trump Wants to 'Drill, Baby, Drill,' but Can He Cut Energy Prices? | |
| Donald Trump says he can rapidly cut Americans' energy costs by 50% or more, a welcome prospect for inflation-weary voters. It is easier said than done. The Republican presidential nominee says he will rely on a favorite campaign slogan to accomplish the feat: Drill, baby, drill. Trump says faster permitting, weaker environmental regulations and other measures will unleash more production of oil and natural gas and push down prices at the pump and on electricity bills. But many drillers don't share Trump's gusto for more drilling. They are more focused on returning cash to shareholders than on growing production. Meanwhile, energy prices are shaped by complex global and regional markets that don't respond quickly to executive orders. Electricity costs in the country's disjointed power system can swing based on events such as nearby weather patterns driving demand and far-off wars constricting fuel supplies. "It's mostly just bluster, because the president actually doesn't have any direct control," said Michael Webber, a professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin. Many of Trump's energy proposals are on the wish list of the oil-and-gas industry, and his agenda has helped attract millions in donations from oil tycoons. Trump has promised to make deep cuts at environmental agencies and issue faster permits and leases for drilling on federal lands, along with streamlined approvals for pipelines. |
| JD Vance's Catholicism helped shape his views. So did this little-known group of Catholic thinkers | |
| By his own account, Ohio Sen. JD Vance's 2019 conversion to Catholicism provided a spiritual fulfillment he couldn't find in his Yale education or career success. It also amounted to a political conversion. Catholicism provided him a new way of looking at the addictions, family breakdowns and other social ills he described in his 2016 bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy." "I felt desperate for a worldview that understood our bad behavior as simultaneously social and individual, structural and moral; that recognized that we are products of our environment; that we have a responsibility to change that environment, but that we are still moral beings with individual duties," he wrote in a 2020 essay. His conversion also put Vance in close touch with a Catholic intellectual movement, viewed by some critics as having reactionary or authoritarian leanings, that has been little known to the American public until Vance's rise to the national stage as the Republican vice presidential nominee. The professors and media personalities in this network don't all agree on everything -- even on what to call themselves -- but most go by "postliberal. Postliberals do share some longstanding Catholic conservative views, such as opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. But where Catholic conservatives of the past have seen big government as a problem rather than a solution, the postliberals want a muscular government -- one that they control. They envision a counterrevolution in which they would take over government bureaucracy and institutions like universities from within, replacing entrenched "elites" with their own and acting upon their vision of the "common good." |
| Meet the evangelicals trying to make a case for VP Harris | |
 | Donald Trump won the support of more than 80% of white evangelicals in 2016 and 2020, but a new group is trying hard to push some of those voters toward Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. The political action committee Evangelicals for Harris is running a series of digital ads, including one that shows an archival video of the late evangelical preacher Billy Graham, in which he asks, "Have you been to the cross and said, 'Lord, I have sinned'?" Those words are juxtaposed with a video of Trump being asked during a public appearance in 2015, "Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?" Trump responds, "I'm not sure I have. I just, I don't bring God into that picture. I don't." Evangelicals for Harris is also running an ad on various digital platforms, including YouTube, that features Kamala Harris speaking about her beliefs. It's called "Fruits of the Spirit" and includes Harris saying, during a speech, "Faith motivates action. It lifts us up and it gives us purpose." In addition to these online ads, the group is working with local activists to hold in-person events in swing states. Among Evangelicals for Harris's key issues are health care, poverty and the environment. The group's founder, The Rev. Jim Ball, calls these "family values" because they support real families. And he selected those values because the Bible tells him so. Still, many conservative Christians are pushing back against Evangelicals for Harris. |
| Republicans pushing Christianity into public schools are hitting resistance -- even in red states | |
 | Florida now allows chaplains in public schools. Oklahoma and Texas are looking to infuse Bible lessons into curricula. And Louisiana wants to set up Ten Commandments displays in classrooms. But these efforts to push Christianity into public schools are hitting a wall of hostility in conservative-led states, including lawsuits, protests and resistance from local officials. The clash of religion, politics and local control represents an unusual challenge for a spreading education policy model led by influential conservative leaders. And it's sparking a legal fight over the separation of church and state that could end up before the conservative-controlled Supreme Court. Republican officials including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Oklahoma state school Superintendent Ryan Walters are welcoming legal challenges, defending their policies and demanding local schools fall in line. Even former President Donald Trump has offered support for posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. "What we're trying to do, honestly, is protect the religious freedoms of all of our students ... from being improperly indoctrinated by teachers or by schools," said Rob Miller, superintendent of the Bixby Public Schools district near Tulsa, Oklahoma, who is defying orders from Walters to incorporate the Bible and Ten Commandments into school curriculum. "There's enough court precedent and historical evidence to show that the separation of church and state has worked well for quite a long time." |
| Antony Blinken Dragged US Diplomacy Into the 21st Century. Even He's Surprised by the Results | |
 | Here's a flash of Antony J. Blinken's turn as US secretary of state: In his first year, he navigated America's messy exit from Afghanistan. In his second, he tried to rally the world to Ukraine's side following Russia's invasion in February 2022. His third and, now fourth, have been defined by the Israel-Hamas conflict. In between, he has tried to box in rising Chinese aggression in Asia and slow Iran's march toward a nuclear weapon, even as the Islamic republic has (repeatedly) plotted to assassinate his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, for his role in killing Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani. Don't forget either about the normal mix of crises, coups, summits, treaties, global elections -- more humans will vote in 2024 than in any year in world history -- and, this summer, the biggest prisoner swap with Russia since the end of the Cold War. He has visited roughly 90 countries in the past three and a half years, including 15 trips to Israel. In many of those trips and meetings, technology has been top of mind. In 2022 Blinken created a Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy to lead the nation's overseas efforts on cybersecurity and the vital intersection of economic security and technology. And this May he flew to San Francisco to give a keynote at the RSA conference, a security industry event, where he joked, "'Move fast and break things' is literally the exact opposite of what we try to do at the State Department." |
| 10th year of Mississippi Book Festival to bring big names, stories, workshops on Sept. 14 | |
 | It's hard to believe that this is the tenth year of the Mississippi Book Festival. From the inaugural 2015 event that featured a kickoff by John Grisham and Jackson State's Sonic Boom of the South (a classic pair if there ever was one) to this year's varied and eclectic lineup of over 50 panel discussions and workshops, the celebration of Mississippi's literary heritage continues to impress, inform and delight. The Festival's website is a must in order to plan your visit: msbookfestival.com. This year, there's a handy Schedule Flipbook to make choosing your panels easier. You're able to see what's happening where and when at a glance. At 2:45 p.m., you'll have to make the choice whether to hear Erik Larson in conversation with Margaret McMullan in the Galloway Sanctuary (though this will also be live-streamed at msbookfestival.com), the K-12 award-winning student poets from throughout the state in State Capitol room 201-A for the Mississippi Youth Poetry Project presentation hosted by Mississippi Poet Laureate Catherine Pierce, a Mississippi author Brad Watson memorial panel made up of his friends, his longtime editor, and one of his students. There's not enough space here to mention the remaining 40-plus panels, all of which are packed with talented writers and knowledgeable moderators. |
| Electric plane startup partners with UMMC, MSU and Jackson airport | |
 | BETA Technologies, a Vermont-based electric aviation company, is entering into a partnership with the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi State University to explore using electric aircraft for medical transport and emergency response. Sam Hobbs, a business developer at BETA says that while new technologies are typically prohibitively expensive, the operating costs for electric aircrafts are around one third that of traditional aircrafts. Hobbs says those savings come from electricity being a lot cheaper than jet fuel and electric motors being cheaper to maintain than other plane engines. "That allows them to fly maybe more missions that they wouldn't otherwise use an aircraft for," Hobbs said. "But also just drive down the cost of care, ultimately, and provide more service where they might not otherwise provide it." Marc Rolph, Director of Communications at UMMC says the hospital is partnering with BETA because of the technology's potential to aid in things like air ambulance flights and organ transplant deliveries. "Our overarching goal is to foster a healthier Mississippi," Rolph said. "If there's new technology, especially in regard to transportation, that is going to help us with that, then we want to be on board." |
| Governor's Job Fair returns to the Communiversity | |
| Employers from throughout the region will be on hand Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Communiversity to accept applications and interview job seekers during the 2024 East Mississippi Job Fair. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security is hosting the event, along with the Governor's Job Fair Network of Mississippi. "The goal of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security is to help Mississippians find jobs," Governor's Job Fair Network Director Adam Todd said. "The Governor's Job Fair Network is an excellent tool to help connect the dots for local business/industry with the excellent talent pool the Golden Triangle has to offer. Simply put, we create the environment that facilitates the hiring process. Here you will be able to meet and chat with those individuals who take part in the hiring process. All you need to bring with you is a smile, multiple copies of your resume and an open mind. You may find a potential job you never considered before. We thank (EMCC WIOA Career Services Director) Greta Miller and East Mississippi Community College for asking us to come to the Communiversity." The job fair is free and open to the public. |
| ECCC hosts event to bring awareness for suicide and mental health | |
 | Tuesday, ECCC started their Suicide Awareness and Prevention Events. They are committed to raising awareness about mental health issues and preventing suicide on college campuses. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-29 year old's in the world, according to World Health Organization. On World Suicide Prevention Day, ECCC will host a series of events all week aimed at engaging students, faculty, and the broader community in important conversations about suicide prevention. My job here is to make sure that each student has a healthy mental health. it's important to me to be a resource to our students because we never know what the other person may be experiencing and what they're going through. and so this is important for us as a college, So that the college knows that they do have a support system here within us and we try to be available. We plan many activities with our student services as a whole - we plan at least one activity a week so we're all out there and we want the students to get to know us so that they are comfortable in coming to see us," said counselor Jennifer Savell. |
| As Louisiana's Hispanic population grows, this program drives students toward college | |
 | Ilse Salas walked into a college classroom for the first time in fall 2022 with one thought in mind: "Am I supposed to be here?" As a senior at Hammond High Magnet School who immigrated with her family from Durango, Mexico, at 2 years old, she had little help navigating the college application process and felt lost about her future. But she signed up for a program at Southeastern Louisiana University's campus that's designed to prepare Hispanic students for secondary education. Now a sophomore with a full scholarship to Pomona College in California, Salas says the program was the push she needed to get her degree. "I didn't even allow myself to think, 'You can apply to these things and you can do this,'" Salas recalled. "Having that program be there gave me the momentum I needed to finally take action and allow myself to actually be inspired." Southeastern's Young Hispanics Pre-College Preparation and Leadership Program, now in its fourth year, teaches high school students who are first- and second-generation Latin American immigrants how to pursue a college degree. The program's leaders say its importance has only grown in recent years as Louisiana's Hispanic population continues to increase as the state's overall population shrinks. But as schools fill with more first- and second-generation immigrant students, they continue to suffer from low college enrollment and high dropout rates. |
| UF staffers working remotely under Sasse racked up more than $200K in travel costs | |
 | The University of Florida spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on travel for highly paid Republican hires of then-President Ben Sasse, who permitted them to work from home in other states while commuting periodically to the school's campus, according to newly released records. The new figures add to mounting questions about unusually high expenditures of public money by the university president's office until Sasse's unexpected resignation in July. More than half the $211,824 itemized expenses attributed to six of his senior UF hires working remotely over 17 months was for airfare or train tickets, plus nearly $50,000 more for hotels. The costs included all their work-related travel, not just back and forth to UF from their home states -- including Nebraska, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. The university finally turned over more than 1,500 itemized expense entries for these employees in response to requests filed July 30 under Florida's public records law. More than half the travel expenses specified that they covered campus visits. Others did not always indicate any destination, citing costs for "trip" with no other detail about locations. In a possible signal over concerns about the spending, UF has announced that, going forward, all expenses paid out of the university president's office will be reviewed twice each year and will be the subject of a formal report to the school's board of trustees. |
| Rising depression and anxiety: How Kentucky universities are meeting students' emotional needs | |
 | Nationally, instances of depression, anxiety and suicidality have steadily increased among college students over the past decade. The percentage of students reporting depression and anxiety has doubled since 2013, according to the Healthy Minds Survey, which examines the mental health and well-being of college students across the country. And though more students are seeking help, the number of students reporting mental health concerns continues to grow, said Sarah Lipson, an associate professor in the Department of Health Law Policy and Management at Boston University and a principal investigator of the Healthy Minds Network. The good news, Lipson said, is that colleges and students alike better understand how to identify and treat mental health needs. And the stigma around seeking help continues to recede. The same is true in Kentucky. The Herald-Leader contacted 16 colleges and universities across the state to discuss what resources are offered to students, and campus leaders largely agreed that needs were increasing. But so, too, are the resources available. And those college administrators insist the job is not yet done. "I think we still have this weird way of separating mental health from other aspects of our life, and so oftentimes students don't make this connection between a negative experience -- maybe I was discriminated against, or I had some trauma -- and now I can't concentrate in class," said Tina Bryant, acting executive director at the University of Kentucky's counseling center. |
| U. of Austin Enters Its First Academic Year | |
 | University of Austin, a new higher ed institution founded by high-profile conservative figures, officially welcomed its inaugural class on Monday. The university, sometimes referred to as UATX, markets itself as an institution born out of alarm over the "rising tide of illiberalism and censoriousness prevalent in America's universities" and says it is committed to "the pursuit of truth." In his speech at convocation, President Pano Kanelos, who formerly served as president of St. John's College, described the university's 92-student cohort as "pioneers." "As I look across this room, I do not see students or faculty or staff or loved ones," Kanelos said. "I see a room filled with the courageous, the bold, with pioneers, with heroes. I see a room filled with those who have said, emphatically, 'We will not accept passively what we have been handed, the givens are not good enough, we will create anew.'" "We have come together, all of us, as founders," he added. Provost Jacob Howland told students in his opening remarks that launching the university involved trekking through "rough terrain." The university is not accredited but received approval from the state of Texas to grant degrees, which allowed it to begin accepting applications last November. |
| Housing Woes Abound as Fall Semester Begins | |
| Another academic year, another set of universities struggling to fit all their students into campus housing. It's almost a cliché at this point: Universities miscalculate student housing needs for myriad reasons, ranging from big enrollment booms to unforeseen facilities issues. As a result, students are forced to live in accommodations that can range from quirky to unpleasant, such as dingy dorm basements or cramped hotel rooms. This year, some administrators have said that the chaotic rollout of the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid made matters worse, leading to incorrect projections of how many new students would enroll at their institutions. Michael Fisher, senior director of research for the higher education consulting firm EAB, said many factors can lead to campus housing shortages. Dorms can take years to design, plan and construct, and it's not uncommon for enrollment to surge before a new residence hall designed to accommodate the influx is completed. As the fall semester begins, some campuses are at least temporarily adjusting their existing housing infrastructure to accommodate the high demand. That might mean placing upperclassmen in dorms designed for freshmen -- or vice versa -- and housing three students in dorm rooms designed for two. |
| Parents struggle to let go as kids head to college | |
| Many first-year college students from different states, backgrounds and majors have one thing in common: stressed-out parents struggling with the separation. Parents have grown more involved in, and more anxious about, their kids' lives. That's changing the experience of going to college -- and growing up. They're using tech to track their kids, micromanaging orientation week and even having dorm sleepovers. Headlines and stats detailing a worsening teen mental health crisis and pandemic-induced learning loss are stressing parents out. "When your kid is having stress or anxiety or depression and they're living away from home, it's heartbreaking," says Lisa Heffernan, an author and the founder of a popular parent Facebook group called Grown and Flown. On top of that, parents are just closer to their young adult kids than they used to be, she notes. "Some parents are holding onto a level of involvement that's maybe healthy for a toddler deep into their kids' teen years, when it maybe becomes unhealthy," says Mathilde Ross, a senior staff psychiatrist at Boston University. "All of the messages out there are, 'Look out for this! Look out for that!' There are no messages like, 'Hey, your kid can do this.'" "So, for a lot of parents, it's unclear where the off ramp is." |
| Can You Teach Free Speech? These Colleges Are Trying. | |
 | The kinds of questions freshmen have to answer at orientation are typically mundane and uncontroversial: "Where are you from?" or "What do you think you'd like to major in?" or "Have you found the dining hall yet?" At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a group of first-years went past the small talk and swapped opinions on one of the most pressing topics facing higher education today -- free speech. At an orientation event last week, about 30 students stood in the middle of a room while Jed Atkins, dean of the university's School of Civic Life and Leadership, read several statements to them. Signs were posted in the room's corners that said "Agree," "Disagree," "Strongly agree," or "Strongly disagree." The students then walked to the sign that most closely represented their opinion on the matter at hand. Following a discussion, students could change their minds and move to a different corner. The statements posed to the students were ones that campus leaders themselves have grappled with as they've watched students shout down speakers or hoist signs that other students find offensive. In all, 130 students were selected to participate in a pilot orientation exercise hosted by the university's new, and somewhat controversial, School of Civic Life and Leadership. The hope is to make the exercise a requirement for all first-year students. The program is the most recent addition to a growing array of civil discourse, democracy, and free-speech programs at colleges across the country. |
| Campus Unrest Not Affecting Fall Recruiting, Hiring | |
| About 55% of employers expressed slight or no concern regarding the impacts of potential political or social unrest on college campuses, according to new research by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). "Our research found that the potential for student protests and unrest will not alter college recruiting as the demonstrations mostly involve only certain organizations, industries, or institutions," said NACE President and CEO Shawn VanDerziel, noting that nearly 80% of employers indicated they have no intention of adjusting fall recruiting plans. The NACE Quick Poll on Campus Protests and University Recruiting for Fall 2024 was conducted, from July 29 through Aug. 13, 2024, to assess ways that campus recruiting may be impacted after the increase in campus protests and lockdowns last spring. Respondents included 142 employers and 336 colleges. The poll found that only about 14% of respondents said they were extremely or very concerned, and most colleges (about 60%) indicated that -- while many have plans in place for campus unrest -- they did not experience mass protests last spring. "The bottom line for employers is that student activism overwhelmingly does not factor into hiring decisions as just 6% indicated that it does come into play," said VanDerziel. |
| Classes and protests resume at Columbia and other campuses | |
 | Students were lying in the grass at Columbia University on the first day of classes Tuesday, posing for photos with the furry lion mascot in the center of campus and lining up for free cups of lemon and raspberry sorbet. But as people were enjoying the sunshine on the steps of the school's administration building midday, someone splashed red paint onto the school's iconic Alma Mater sculpture. It dripped down like blood onto her face, over her carved robes and down the granite steps. Just outside the school's gates on Broadway -- one of the few entrances to the Morningside campus that wasn't locked, open only to people with a school ID and their preregistered guests -- dozens of protesters, some wearing kaffiyehs covering all but their eyes, marched to a pulse of heavy drumbeats. Chanting about the Palestinian territories and ringing bells, they yelled at people not to cross their picket line. Protesters asked students to put aside their excitement for the new school year: "WHILE YOU'RE LEARNING, GAZA'S BURNING," a line from a leaflet read in all-caps. In the months since the Ivy League school erupted into chaos this spring, galvanizing a national protest movement and federal scrutiny, thousands of students, faculty, alumni and lawmakers have wondered: What next? So far, the answer is more protests, such as those at the University of Michigan and Cornell University last week, that kicked off with the start of fall classes but were not nearly as intense as those that occurred at the end of last school year. |
| How Title VI Is Tripping Up Colleges | |
| Over the course of nearly a decade, Jewish students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reported more than 135 incidents of alleged antisemitism. In one, a student was reportedly targeted because he was Jewish, with the alleged attacker later telling him, "I wish my ancestors finished the job on you." In other incidents, an unidentified person threw a brick through a window of a Jewish fraternity house; another carved a swastika in a campus bathroom. Those are just a few of the incidents that the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights said Tuesday created a "possible hostile environment" for Jewish students that the university did not take effective action to address. OCR found the university also failed to examine whether a broader problem existed on campus for Jewish students -- a key obligation under federal law, and a step that other colleges have also failed to take. The University of Illinois isn't alone in falling short on its Title VI obligations -- particularly when it comes to assessing whether a hostile environment exists. Each of the six higher ed antisemitism investigations resolved this summer found universities coming up short on this score. Colleges across the country have faced a reckoning over campus antisemitism in the past academic year as students protested the war in Gaza. |
| Vance condemns student protesters for turning 'college campuses into garbage dumps' | |
 | Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) condemned pro-Palestinian protesters for turning college campuses into "garbage dumps" and calling demonstrators "crazy." Vance joined Fox News's Laura Ingraham on Tuesday to discuss the start of the school year at Columbia University, where earlier this year, a pro-Palestine encampment became violent and sparked a nationwide movement to call on the U.S. to stop sending arms to Israel in its war with Hamas. If elected, Vance said he and former President Trump will "enforce the law." "Nobody gets the right to harass their fellow students. Nobody gets a right to set up 10 encampments and turn their college campuses into garbage dumps. And nobody gets the right to block their fellow students from attending class," Vance said. "This isn't rocket science." The Ohio senator criticized university administrators for allowing students to break the law, harass other students and turn campuses into "dumps." "Just stop it. Enforce the law," he said. "Let everybody speak their mind, but do it without harassing your fellow students. It's not hard." |
| Civil rights pioneer Les McLemore shares his truth 60 years after Freedom Summer | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Think about a powerful public speaker with the clarity and power of a Barack Obama. Then think about a distinguished educator who can capitative and motivate his students. Then imagine a politician unafraid to stand up for the rights of his constituents in the toughest political arena of all -- local politics. That's Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore. Tall, lean and dapper, he is still a triple threat. From humble beginnings 84 years ago in Walls, Mississippi, Dr. McLemore reminded Mississippi State University students that despite a long and distinguished career in both academics and public service it remains his status as a "living witness" to 1964's "Freedom Summer" that is his most important legacy. Last week, the MSU Libraries honored the 60th anniversary of 1964's Freedom Summer with an Aug. 30 lecture from McLemore in the John Grisham Room at Mitchell Memorial Library. McLemore received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Historical Society. ... During his days at the private Rust College in Holly Springs, McLemore started the college's chapter of the NAACP and became involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to help with voter registration. He was also a regional coordinator for the 1963 Freedom Ballot campaign. McLemore shared with MSU students his mother's reaction to him taking leadership roles in the NAACP and with voter registration efforts associated with the 1963 Freedom Ballot. He said his mother's long-ago question remains with him: "Have you lost your mind?" |
SPORTS
| What Arizona State game will provide Mississippi State football, first-year coach Jeff Lebby | |
| Mississippi State football scored on its third play from scrimmage on Saturday, a Blake Shapen 65-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Mosley in the 56-7 season-opening win against Eastern Kentucky. Arizona State did even better. It scored a pick-six on its second play of the season on its way to a 48-7 beatdown of Wyoming. Just like MSU, expectations entering this season were low for second-year Kenny Dillingham's Sun Devils, who won three games in 2023. Each team's preseason win total was set at 4.5 games by sportsbooks. Both teams, obviously, hope to exceed that mark and reach a bowl game. Winning on Saturday (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) could be crucial to accomplishing that. For Mississippi State (1-0), even if it loses, a lot can be learned, even more than from its Week 1 drubbing of FCS Eastern Kentucky. "For us, it's a great measuring stick to see where we are at," new MSU coach Jeff Lebby said Monday. "You look at Arizona State, the way they played in all three phases on Saturday night, really just an incredibly dominant performance over a well-coached, tough Wyoming football team," Lebby said. "They are a completely different football team than they were a year ago." |
| Breakout game worth the wait for Mississippi State's Jordan Mosley | |
| In a wide receivers room headlined by dynamic transfers Kevin Coleman and Kelly Akharaiyi and four-star freshmen Mario Craver, Braylon Burnside and JJ Harrell, it's easy to forget that Jordan Mosley was once as highly-touted as any of them. But Mosley's Mississippi State teammates talked about him as a potential impact playmaker throughout fall camp, and the redshirt junior wasted no time proving them right last Saturday. Mosley hauled in quarterback Blake Shapen's first completion against Eastern Kentucky for a 10-yard gain, then torched Colonels cornerback Vito Tisdale on the very next play for a 65-yard touchdown. "I've always known that Jordan is special," Shapen said. "He can stretch the field. He's very athletic, he's strong, and I've already known all those things. Seeing the work that he's put in over camp and spring ball has been fun to watch, and I'm glad he got to go out there and show some things." "It means a lot. Everything I've been through, a lot of injuries, a lot of adversity I've had to deal with, just to come out here and put it all on tape, put it on display," Mosley said. "It felt great. Felt like the hard work really paid off." |
| ASU's Dillingham wants 'best environment in college football' ahead of Miss. St. game | |
| The message from Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham is loud and clear: pack the stands Saturday at Mountain America Stadium for the school's game as the SEC's Mississippi State rolls into Tempe. After making a plea following last week's dominating 48-7 season-opening win against Wyoming to break the record for student attendance, Dillingham doubled down on his message to fans at his Monday news conference. "I think Arizona State has over 40,000 new students this year," Dillingham said. "I believe 17,000 of those people are true freshmen. And I think it was a record 9,000, something like that, for in-state student enrollment. I think all of those things, and the excitement with (first-year athletic director) Graham (Rossini) and the athletic department and what they're doing to hype up, is a huge advantage for our guys." The coach said the home field can be a major advantage. "When our guys run down the kickoff, and we defer and we get to run down to that student section, they have to start on their own 25-yard line and that student section is roaring, it's an unbelievable feeling," he said. "That's the challenge for the students -- you're part of this. And we want to break the record. I want to have more students that's ever been at a game. I want you guys to be part of the first time that Arizona State has ever won an SEC game. Come be part of history. Let's pack it out, from the fans to the student section, everything. Let's make this the best environment in college football this weekend." |
| Brandon High and Mississippi State Alumnus Will Rogers Makes Successful Debut as Washington's QB with Family in Attendance | |
| It is safe to say no one in the world did what Wyatt Rogers did this weekend. The Brandon High offensive coordinator helped coach his team to a 60-34 victory over Picayune Friday night in Picayune, and afterward spent the night on the coast. After sleeping for three hours (1 to 4 a.m.), Rogers got up, drove to New Orleans and boarded a plane at 7 a.m. from the New Orleans airport for Seattle and arrived there around lunch time. He watched his son -- former Brandon High and Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers -- make his debut for the 2023 national runner-up Washington Huskies late last night, celebrated the victory into the night, got up this morning and flew back to New Orleans, then drove back to Jackson. Said Wyatt Rogers: "I've very blessed." Yes, he is. So is his son. Will Rogers, who set dozens of passing records in his four seasons at MSU, has a new home in the Great Northwest and had an impressive performance in his debut for the Huskies. The 6-foot-2, 216-pound Rogers completed 20 of 26 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown without an interception and led Washington to a 35-3 victory over Weber State in the Huskies' debut as a Big 10 Conference team. "Will is having fun and he's in a first-class organization, which at the end of the day is all you could hope for," Wyatt Rogers said. |
| UMMC hosting Friday Night Injury Clinic throughout high school football season | |
| High school football is back and the University of Mississippi Medical Center is hosting its Friday Night Injury Clinic to assist banged-up players. Located at the UMMC Pavilion on North State Street in Jackson, the clinic offers parents and student-athletes alike an opportunity to receive early treatment for various injuries sustained during a game. The clinic is open from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. each Friday during the regular season of high school football. The staff at the facility will be able to evaluate the extent of a patient's injury, take X-rays, perform various screenings, and give a reliable diagnosis. Dr. Derrick Burgess, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at UMMC, encourages those who suffered an injury on the field, specifically a head injury, to visit the clinic for an early diagnosis that could ultimately prove necessary. "Many times, after making a diagnosis early, you can start treatment -- especially with head injuries. You want someone to evaluate them that night, but you also have to monitor them moving forward," Dr. Burgess said. |
| Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart signs six-figure NIL deal with C Spire | |
| Jaxson Dart continues to add to his NIL portfolio. The Ole Miss quarterback has signed a season-long partnership with C Spire. The Mississippi-based internet company will work with Dart to promote improving lives through technology. The quarterback will appear in a series of ads on social media. The deal is estimated to be over $100,000 in value, On3 has learned. "I've had the right people in my corner who helped guide me through and make sure that I saw things for what they were instead of what was shown online," Dart said in a statement to On3. "By partnering with C Spire, I want to be able to help other people embrace that and grow each and every day." Dart is repped by ESM, which also works with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and defensive back Malaki Starks. Dart previously signed with Dick's Sporting Goods, with the total value of the deal estimated to be in the $100,000 range. He also partnered with Nicholas Air in February, making it the first partnership of its kind. With more than 143,000 social media followers, the quarterback is poised to continue capitalizing on his NIL brand. Along with deals with Ole Miss' The Grove Collective and EA Sports, he holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.3 million. |
| Do bowl games need a refresh? One exec has an idea | |
| Gary Stokan has seen it all in 40-plus years in the sports business. Stokan, CEO and president of the Peach Bowl, is experiencing one of his busier years in recent memory. The Aflac Kickoff game this past week saw No. 1 Georgia wallop No. 14 Clemson. Atlanta will also host the SEC Championship, Peach Bowl and CFP national title game over the next six months. And yet Stokan has some thoughts about future setups. "I would contend the conference commissioners ought to look at doing games in the front side of the season, like we've done with matchups between the [Power Four] conferences," he told SBJ. "Just like in basketball, where you have ACC versus Big Ten, schedule the Big Four -- the Big 12 plays the ACC, the SEC plays the Big Ten -- and schedule those games at the bowl sites at the beginning of the year, which would be tremendous for college football." Stokan's idea isn't without merit. Player opt-outs, a bigger CFP field and other issues have put bowl games in an increasingly precarious spot as they fight for survival amid college football's postseason changes. "I've told my bowl brethren that they should do this," Stokan said of featuring high-profile programs early in the season. "If you look at what's happening at the end of the year -- potentially even more so with the 12-team playoff -- how many more opt-outs are you going to get at the end of the season?" |
| Ahead of crucial House-NCAA hearing, leaders trying to establish new system to manage revenue sharing | |
| This Saturday, at college football stadiums across the country, games kick off to mark the second full weekend of the sport. Arkansas plays at Oklahoma State in an SEC vs. Big 12 duel, Iowa State battles Iowa in the CyHawk rivalry game and Tennessee meets NC State in a neutral site clash in Charlotte. In Ann Arbor, the biggest game commences: No. 3 Texas at No. 10 Michigan. While the eyes of the sport are focused on these high-profile matchups on the field, there are perhaps even more important battles unfolding off it -- most of them related to the NCAA's landmark settlement of the House antitrust case, an agreement expected to usher into the industry a new athlete revenue-sharing model next July. Far removed from the touchdowns and the field goals, there are legal games being played. Strategic moves. And crucial decisions that may impact the future of college athletics. There's a lot going on. Quietly, conference and NCAA leaders are working to establish a regulatory system to manage and enforce this new rev-share model. Seeking to hire outside entities to oversee the management and enforcement systems -- not the NCAA -- power conference officials have seen presentations from some of the world's largest professional service providers, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers. |
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