| Friday, September 19, 2014 |
| Mississippi State to Break Ground on New Baptist Student Union | |
 | Mississippi State University students will find relief from the Baptist Student Union's growing pains when they break ground next month on a multimillion-dollar building, located closer to the center of campus. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Participants scheduled for the event include MSU President Mark Keenum, Vice President for Campus Services Amy Tuck, MSU BSU Director Michael Ball, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board Executive Director Jim Futral, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board Associate Executive Director Barri Shirley and Mississippi Baptist Collegiate Ministry Director Weaver McCracken. |
| Michael Hingson survives 9/11 with best friend | |
 | Michael Hingson and his service dog Africa have a meet and greet with Mississippi State University's mascot. Hingson is at the College of Veterinary Medicine to share a powerful story of survival with help from his former most loyal friend Roselle. "She was a dog that knew when the harness went on it was time to work and when the harness came off she could play and be like any other dog," Hingson said. Roselle would go to work at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and what a day that would turn out to be. Hingson was in an office on the 78th floor of the north tower when a plane struck 18 floors above. He shares his story of survival and the special bond that can be had with animals across the globe. |
| Longtime admissions director says goodbye to Bulldog nation | |
 | The executive director of enrollment at Mississippi State University's Office of Admissions and Scholarships will depart MSU at the end of this month to join the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College staff as the dean of services and enrollment management. Phil Bonfanti said he is excited about the new position and the opportunity to continue to work with students. "My wife and I are both from New Orleans and are both looking forward to the opportunity to return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast-New Orleans area...," Bonfanti said. His most memorable experience in the last 15 years was MSU's response to Hurricane Katrina. "I was fortunate to participate as part of the Bulldogs in Response effort. I think it was our university's finest moment and a personal experience I will never forget," he said. |
| Clothesline with a message at Mississippi State | |
| It's healing in the form of a t-shirt. That's the goal of The Clothesline Project which returns to the Mississippi State University campus. More than 3,000 t-shirts with unique messages are found on a clothesline. The Clothesline Project is a national program designed to address assault against men and women on college campuses. "Students have said that it's helped them in their healing process. It helped them to be able to look at the shirt, walk through and know that people are going through something similar that they have experienced," said project coordinator Leah Pylate. |
| Kellie Pickler Performs at MSU Riley Center | |
 | A country music star visited downtown Meridian Thursday night for a big performance. Kellie Pickler performed in front of a large crowd at the MSU Riley Center. She is busy touring the country, promoting her fourth album release, titled "The Woman I Am." Pickler won ABC'S "Dancing with the Stars" this past year. She sang one of the songs from her most recent album: "Little Bit Gypsy" when our cameras were rolling. |
| Honors College to present play in outdoor 'Greek' style at Mississippi State | |
 | Love, lust, revenge and tragedy will overtake Griffis Hall next week as part of the Shackouls Honors College's Classical Week at Mississippi State University. "Medea," the Greek tragedy by Euripides will be performed at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and 25 on the patio behind Griffis Hall in Zacharias Village. The story centers around Medea, a woman seeking recent for the deeds of her husband, said director Donna Clevinger. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Exhibit by Chicago Artist Now Featured at MSU Gallery | |
| Works of a visiting artist-in-residence are on display through Nov. 8 at Mississippi State's Visual Arts Center Gallery on University Drive. Free and open to the public, the university exhibition titled "Migration and Other Natural History Phenomena" features nature-inspired illustrations by Chicago-based watercolor artist Peggy Macnamara. In addition to serving since 1990 as artist-in-residence at the internationally famous Field Museum of Natural History, Macnamara is a professor of scientific illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. |
| MSU Extension Award Honors Lincoln County Businessman | |
| A new endowment at Mississippi State University honors the life and work of Brookhaven resident Franklin Theodore Burns. Burns' children, Jill Logan and Ted Burns, created the Franklin T. Burns Outstanding Extension Community Resource Development Award at MSU. The endowment will provide a financial stipend to an outstanding professional with the MSU Extension Service. The award will be presented at the Extension Annual Conference held each October on MSU's Starkville campus. |
| Golden Triangle gains a coffee shop, eatery this month | |
 | Two Starkville items this week. A rue21 is opening in Starkville later this year. A spokesperson for the Pennslyvania-based discount retailer of casual apparel confirmed to The Dispatch on Wednesday that the shop is slated to open in November. It will be located at University Crossing Shopping Center. And Starkville gained an eatery this month. Aunt Marti's Bakery opened Sept. 5. It is located in College Park Shopping Center on Russell Street. Each morning, the eatery's three employees -- Marti Weaver, owner; Barb Yoder, manager; and an associate -- show up about 3 a.m. and begin baking. By the time the doors open at 7 a.m., there are cinnamon rolls, pecan sticky buns, muffins, cookies, homemade breads and yogurt parfaits. On Fridays and Saturdays, they make donuts. For lunch everyday there are deli sandwiches. |
| Focus on Starkville Parks' finances increasing into next fiscal year | |
| Starkville Parks Commission Chairman Dan Moreland will get a $60,000 bailout to meet payroll, retirement and bill payments this month, but aldermen expect the autonomous department to pay the money back and balance its revenue shortfalls with increased sports participation fees next year. Starkville aldermen approved the bailout Tuesday after Moreland sent a letter to the board and mayor stating SPC would fall $56,986.23 short for the month. Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker, the lone board member who criticized Parks' management and shortcomings before news of its financial troubles broke last week, motioned that Moreland step down from his position. |
| An Infamous Art Forger on His Most Convincing Works | |
| When, in 2011, the Times first told the story of Mark Landis -- the prolific art forger who, over the course of 30 years, duped nearly 60 American museums into accepting his facsimiles of art works -- the article raised as many questions as it answered. A pair of young filmmakers, Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman, decided to find out. Their documentary, "Art and Craft," which opens tomorrow in New York, finds a surprisingly candid Landis in his native Mississippi. |
| Natchez Trace Parkway to involve public in focus on safety | |
 | The Natchez Trace Parkway is seeking help from its neighbors for a safety campaign. "Historically, there have been a couple of fatalities with bicyclists on the road," said Mary Risser, Parkway superintendent. "This summer, we had a couple of motorcyclists who died on the road." Risser said the "flurry of fatalities" also involved people in vehicles. "We want to solicit public opinion and user opinion on different ways we can enhance safety for everyone who uses the parkway," she said. In 2013, some 6 million people visited the Natchez Trace, which is part of the National Park Service. When commuters in the Tupelo and Ridgeland areas are included, the total reaches 14.7 million users. |
| MBJ's Mississippi Marketplace begins Friday as it celebrates 31st year with new name | |
 | The MBJ Business Marketplace gets under way today at the Mississippi Trade Mart at the fairgrounds in Jackson with a new name and new features. Formerly the Mississippi Business & Technology EXPO, the revamped and renamed Marketplace still is the largest business-to-business gathering in the state. Now in its 31st year, the event continues to grow and improve to give participants -- the general public and the vendors -- a chance to network while vendors showcase their products and services. |
| McDaniel attorneys prep to file appeal arguments | |
 | A defeated Senate candidate in Mississippi is arguing that a state court judge was wrong to dismiss his lawsuit that sought to overturn his Republican primary loss to incumbent Thad Cochran. Attorneys for the tea party-backed candidate, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, filed legal arguments with the Mississippi Supreme Court late Thursday, hours before a midnight deadline. Cochran campaign spokesman Jordan Russell has called McDaniel's lawsuit "baseless." |
| Will blogger Johnson appear before grand jury? | |
 | It's unclear whether California political blogger Charles C. Johnson, who raised claims of vote buying against U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, will be appearing before a Lauderdale County grand jury next week. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jim Hood said the AG's policy is to neither confirm nor deny the issuance of a grand jury subpoena or related investigation. But she said in general, regarding subpoenas, "anyone who fails to follow an order to appear in court can be held in contempt of court." It appears any grand jury investigation would be into whether people lied about vote buying rather than the vote buying allegations. Johnson's bombastic reports and accusations on the Mississippi Senate race drew national attention. |
| One qualifies, others intend to run for Brown's Senate seat | |
| Terry Brown's predecessor in the Mississippi State Senate has qualified to run for the rest of his term, while at least two others have confirmed they also plan to do so. Bill "Doc" Canon, whom Brown replaced in 2003, was certified for the race Thursday afternoon. Ward 6 councilman Bill Gavin and retired insurance agent Bobby Patrick also confirmed to The Dispatch on Thursday that they plan to turn in qualifying papers next week. Brown died Sept. 4 after a battle with cancer. He was 64. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant announced Monday that a special election to fill the vacant seat will be held Nov. 4. |
| Common Core test trouble bodes ill for program | |
| Difficulty inking a long-term contract for testing likely spells trouble for the embattled Common Core education standards in Mississippi and elsewhere. The state Board of Education in a closed-door meeting Thursday approved an emergency $8.4 million one-year contract for testing students under Common Core. The Department of Education had withdrawn a four-year contract with Pearson PLC for approval after learning it would likely be rejected by the state's contract review board. John Kelly, chairman of the state Board of Education, said several school districts are set for testing the first week of December, so the board had to approve the one-year stopgap. |
| Report: Mississippi has worst child poverty rate in U.S. | |
| The Children's Defense Fund analysis of new 2013 state data released by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals child poverty rates remain at record high levels, and Mississippi leads the nation in impoverished children. Children are the poorest age group, and the poorest are children of color and those under 6, according to the Children's Defense Fund. Mississippi led all states with a child poverty rate of 34.0 percent. Only New Mexico (31.2 percent) and Mississippi had a child poverty rate of more than 30 percent. Seven of the top 10 states with the worst child poverty rate are located in the Southeast. |
| U.S. Tracks Threats Against West by Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria | |
 | The U.S. is tracking multiple terror plots based out of Syria that target the West---threats that current and former intelligence officials say have been traced to al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate and not to Islamic State, the extremist group that has seized the world's attention. Disclosures about the plots, which include bombings, are raising new questions about whether U.S. military strategy focusing on Islamic State militants could end up missing part of the threat Western countries face from Syria. The U.S.-driven focus on Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, already has prompted questions from some senior military and intelligence officials as well as independent experts and analysts. |
| In decisive vote, Scotland rejects independence, sticks with the U.K. | |
 | Given a historic chance to go it alone as an independent nation, Scottish voters chose to stick with the United Kingdom following a campaign that was marked by extraordinary turnout and profound division. Final results showed Friday that the "no" side won an overwhelming advantage, with a 55 percent majority compared to 45 percent for the "yes" camp. Unionist leaders proclaimed that Scotland had clearly voted to remain part of the United Kingdom. Supporters erupted in raucous celebration. A "no" vote breathes new life into a 307-year union that had appeared in grave danger of breaking apart. The unionist victory was quickly heralded by relieved British officials who had come perilously close to having to preside over a messy and humiliating divorce. |
| U.S. Aims to Curb Peril of Antibiotic Resistance | |
 | The Obama administration on Thursday announced measures to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, outlining a national strategy that includes incentives for the development of new drugs, tighter stewardship of existing ones, and improvements in tracking the use of antibiotics and the microbes that are resistant to them. The actions are the first major White House effort to confront a public health crisis that takes at least 23,000 lives a year, and many experts were pleased that a president had finally focused on the issue. But some said the strategy fell short in not recommending tougher measures against the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, which, they argue, is a big part of the problem. |
| Forget GMOs: The Future of Food Is Data... Mountains of It | |
 | Inside a squat building on San Francisco's 10th Street, packed into a space that looks a lot like a high school chem lab, Hampton Creek is redesigning the food you eat. Mixing and matching proteins found in the world's plants, the tiny startup includes a team of recently hired mathematicians building an online database that one day could catalog the behavior of practically every plant protein on earth -- a collection of digital information that could allow Hampton Creek to model the creation of new foods using computer software. The project highlights a movement, spreading through many industries, that seeks to supercharge research and development using the kind of data analysis and manipulation pioneered in the world of computer science, particularly at places like Google and Facebook. |
| Mississippi University For Women Students Await Scotland Independence Vote | |
| Several students from Mississippi University for Women gather around a television. It's not just for a class assignment. They spent time in Scotland on study abroad recently, and now they are taking a personal approach to politics in the United Kingdom. "We had a group of students over in Scotland this past summer and we saw a lot of the pro and independents and pro union argument. The students really emerged themselves in the culture of Scotland and understood the stakes," says Brian Anderson. History major Collin Damms is hoping the country remains connected to the U.K. |
| Dangerous synthetic drug making rounds through Oxford | |
| A dangerous and potentially deadly synthetic drug is making its rounds around a popular Mid-South college town. Agents with the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit report that two people have had to go to the hospital because of synthetic LSD, or 25i, in the past month. Agent Gage Vance said it's hard to tell the difference between synthetics and the LSD that's been around since the 1960s. People in town and Ole Miss students said they hadn't heard about the drug being used in the area. "I know there's drugs around Oxford, and there's kind of an underground drug scene I guess, but honestly I hadn't heard about synthetic LSD in town, I didn't know it was an issue," said Paul Katool, a recent Ole Miss graduate. |
| Flu shots mandatory for UMMC employees | |
| If you want to work, or keep working, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, you're going to need a flu shot. For the first time, UMMC is making flu shots mandatory for every employee. "Employment is contingent on you receiving your flu shot," Dr. Skip Nolan said. Nolan is the Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UMMC. He said in years past, they made the vaccination voluntary and last year -- only 60% of employees got the flu shot. And that's not enough. "It's a patient safety issue," Nolan said. The medical center plans to offer the flu shot, free to employees, when they get the vaccine, which could be around the first part of October. |
| USM officials say students better prepared for college | |
 | University of Southern Mississippi freshman Colin Cameron's grade-point average in high school was 4.11. A Luckyday Citizenship Scholar, the 2014 Petal High graduate also earned a 26 on his ACT. Cameron, one of 14,845 students enrolled for the fall 2014 semester, is exactly the type of exemplary student Southern Miss administrators want to attract. This fall's enrollment is slightly below fall 2013 when the university had 15,249 students, but administrators say they are pleased with the quality of students -- despite the 2.6 percent decrease. Denis Wiesenburg, Southern Miss provost, said ensuring students are academically prepared for the coursework is a goal of the university. |
| Bowsher first colloquia speaker of semester at Delta State | |
 | The Delta State University Colloquia Distinguished Speakers Lecture Series kicks off the fall semester featuring a speaker with extensive experience in our nation's capital -- Charles Bowsher, former Comptroller General of the United States. Bowsher's speech, titled "The State of Our Nation's Finances: An Insider's View," will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Jobe Hall Auditorium on campus. The presentation is free and open to the public. Delta State President William N. LaForge established the colloquia program when taking office in 2013. |
| East Central Community College plans homecoming 5K run/walk, kids' fun run | |
 | The annual East Central Community College 5K Run/Walk and Kids' One-Mile Fun Run will kick off Homecoming Day activities scheduled Oct. 11 on the Decatur campus. The run/walk gets under way at 7:30 a.m. on the North Campus Fitness Trail. Entry fee is $20 and includes a t-shirt for each participant. For more information, contact Dr. Stacey Hollingsworth, executive director for Foundation and Alumni Relations |
| U. of Alabama plans budget of $785 million for 2015 | |
 | Committees of the University of Alabama System board of trustees approved a $785 million operating budget for the Capstone in the upcoming fiscal year and budget revisions for demolition projects on the Bryce Hospital campus. The resolutions will be considered by the full board on Friday. The UA operating budget for fiscal year 2015 would be an increase of about 6.4 percent over 2014. Revenues from all funds for UA are expected to be $875 million. "A lot of it on this campus is just growth," said Ray Hayes, the system's executive vice chancellor of finance and operations. |
| Auburn's 2014 Ag Roundup set for Sept. 27 | |
 | Auburn University head basketball coach Bruce Pearl will be among the hundreds of Auburn fans stopping by Ag Heritage Park homecoming Sept. 27 for the 2014 Fall Roundup and Taste of Alabama Agriculture. The event will open at 10 a.m. and wrap up at 2 p.m., one hour before kickoff for the Auburn-Louisiana Tech football game. Pearl will officially welcome Ag Roundup attendees at 11 a.m. at the park's Alabama Farmers Pavilion and then mingle with the crowd. In addition to the abundance of food, Ag Roundup includes children's activities, informative displays and silent and live auctions that raise money for College of Agriculture scholarships. |
| UGA boasts record enrollment | |
 | Final figures aren't in yet, but the University of Georgia already has set a new enrollment record this year. As of Sept. 9, the university's combined graduate, professional and undergraduate enrollment stood at 34,988. That was right after UGA officials sent out notices to students that they had been dropped for nonpayment of tuition. But enrollment always goes up after that point in the process as students pay up to remain enrolled, said UGA Registrar Jan Hathcote. "That's generally the pattern," agreed UGA Vice President for Public Affairs Tom Jackson. |
| UGA engineering enrollment doubles in two years | |
| Enrollment in the University of Georgia's College of Engineering doubled in two years. It's a growth rate faster than many expected. The college now has UGA's fifth-largest undergraduate enrollment after passing the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and the School of Public Affairs this year. "There's a lot of demand for University of Georgia engineering," said Donald Leo, the school's dean. As of Sept. 9, the college had enrolled 1,233 majors this fall, up exactly 300 more than a year ago. |
| Regents name three finalists for Louisiana higher ed commissioner | |
 | For two days, members of the Louisiana Board of Regents met with an unknown number of people interested in becoming the state's next higher education commissioner at the Hilton across from the New Orleans airport. They weren't considered "candidates," "applicants" or "semifinalists" -- as far as the board is concerned -- so the state higher education arm isn't revealing their identities. But after finishing up the last of the so-called "informal conversations" Thursday, the board quickly named three finalists for the job: West Liberty University President Robin Capehart, Community College of Rhode Island President Raymond Di Pasquale and Joseph Rallo, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the Texas Tech University System. |
| Expert on Islam speaks at U. of Florida | |
 | Hate is a growth industry, said John Esposito, a religion professor at Georgetown University and founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. From 2008 to 2011, philanthropic foundations gave $119 million to the likes of Jihad Watch and other anti-Islam groups and websites, Esposito told an overflow crowd at the Pugh Hall Ocora at the University of Florida Thursday night. That kind of extremism does not help the current global crisis or promote understanding between the West and the Muslim and Arab world, he said. Esposito was keynote speaker for a two-day conference held by the newly minted Global Islamic Studies Center at UF. |
| LSU tackles African-American male achievement at summit | |
| LSU is looking to expand educational opportunities and success for African-American boys and men in Louisiana, and a Thursday panel of experts weighed in on what works and the complex hurdles that exist. Based on U.S. Department of Education statistics, African-American males lag significantly behind their white counterparts, white females and black females in obtaining college degrees. Baton Rouge native and deputy director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges & Universities Ivory Toldson noted that Louisiana has the lowest rate in the country of African-American males with college degrees. "We have to try to figure out why Louisiana is the worst of the worst," he said. |
| Arkansas' Higher Education Enrollment Down 1 Percent | |
 | The number of students enrolled in higher education in Arkansas is down 1 percent from a year ago, according to enrollment numbers on the 11th day of classes. In all, there were 168,816 students enrolled at both public and private institutions, according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. That's compared to 170,505 students last fall. Enrollment at four-year universities was up 0.3 percent, down 4.7 percent at two-year colleges. Enrollment at public institutions was down 1.5 percent. Shane Broadway, ADHE director, said final enrollment numbers won't be available until the semester's end. But he doesn't expect significant changes. |
| U. of South Carolina high bidder for nearly 300 acres on riverfront | |
 | The University of South Carolina ended up the surprise high bidder for 300 acres of clear-cut riverfront property in U.S. bankruptcy court Thursday, after a nearby mining company decided not to ante up. USC plans to put in intramural playing fields, a practice golf course and other amenities for students on the flood-prone land -- perhaps by next school year, said Russ Meekins, director of the USC Development Foundation. Early in Thursday's daylong hearing before Judge David Duncan, it was clear that Vulcan Materials Co. had backed off the expected bidding war with USC for the land just a quarter-mile from its Columbia quarry. |
| Gov. Rick Perry hails impact of vaccine manufacturer at College Station groundbreaking | |
 | The dedication of a $91 million pandemic influenza vaccine-manufacturing facility Thursday was used by A&M officials and Gov. Rick Perry to praise Texas' emergence in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. The 100,000-square-foot facility is a partnership between the Texas A&M University System and GSK, a London-based pharmaceutical company. Antoon Loomans, senior vice president at GSK Vaccines, said the company has only recently realized Texas' potential for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The vaccine-manufacturing facility is part of the Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing, which is expected to bring more than $41 billion in expenditures to the state in the next 25 years and create 6,800 jobs. |
| Chancellor speaks of past, future U. of Missouri excellence at inauguration | |
 | Wearing a Jefferson medallion to signify his academic office, R. Bowen Loftin was inaugurated Thursday as the 22nd chancellor and chief executive officer of the University of Missouri. "I'm at home," Loftin told the crowd of nearly 1,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters at the Missouri Theatre. "I'm at home in higher education." The ceremony was part of a week-long celebration of the 175th anniversary of the university, founded in 1839 as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River. Standing at a lectern once used by Mark Twain, Loftin referenced the history of the university and the legacy he follows. "The university has been here for a while. Extraordinary people have been here, great things have happened here," he said. |
| U. of Missouri announces $10 million gift for journalism faculty | |
 | The University of Missouri School of Journalism announced a $10 million gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to support faculty fellowships. With this donation the Reynolds Foundation, the namesake for the Reynolds Journalism Institute at MU's journalism school, reached the $100 million mark of funds given to the university. This $10 million gift, along with matching funds being raised by private donors, will create the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Faculty Excellence Fund. The fund will support 50 faculty fellowships for associate and full-time professors at the journalism school. Donors who provide matching funds will name the individual fellowships. |
| Colleges now often rely on data, rather than gut, in hunt for students | |
 | A trio of senior college enrollment officials gave a peek into how they decide which students to recruit. The process now involves number-crunching students' demographic and economic information --- not just sending chipper ambassadors to every nearby high school, mailing glossy books to students' homes and relying on gut instincts. The discussion, during a session at the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, was one of many to take place about how to hunt for students. The search for students involves a web of data points, formulas and consulting firms that perhaps few parents and students are aware of. |
| White House Plans to Roll Out Campaign Against Sexual Violence on Campuses | |
 | Men who stay silent when their buddies assault women are about to get an earful, thanks to a national public-service campaign that President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will announce on Friday. It's called "It's On Us," and the "us" actually stands for everyone on a campus who can take steps to prevent sexual assault. But the campaign, which is being joined by student leaders at about 200 colleges, is urging men in particular to step in when threats of violence occur. The White House said the campaign is part of a multipronged effort to prevent sexual violence on college campuses. Joining the effort will be sports organizations, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and private companies. |
| Clemson suspends course over sex survey | |
| Clemson University tried to learn about the sex habits of its undergraduates in a course designed to prevent sexual assault, but the college decided Thursday to suspend the online program after complaints. The survey was part of a mandatory two-hour course on sexual assault prevention that Clemson undergraduates are taking for the first time this year. Clemson and the California company offering the course said survey answers were anonymous. But students were required to register online to receive credit. |
| Freshman deaths show risks of transitioning to college life | |
| At least eight freshmen at U.S. colleges have died in the first few weeks of this school year. The deaths have cast a shadow over the campuses on which the students spent too little time, but they're also a cross-section of the kinds of issues and decisions facing freshmen as they begin their college careers -- and of the choices some young students may not be prepared to make. Even colleges with the best approaches to educating students about mental health issues may have very little time to reach those who may be vulnerable. |
| WYATT EMMERICH (OPINION): Musgrove stands to win big in education lawsuit | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: "Ronnie Musgrove was more than a little peeved when I asked him how much money he was going to make from his education lawsuit. 'It's obvious y'all aren't interested in the substantive facts. You're just interested in what the lawyers are going to be paid. Imagine that!' he petulantly responded. He was speaking at the Stennis Institute lunch on the 19th floor of the Capitol Towers building in downtown Jackson. I never got an answer to my question. Instead, I got a long-winded discussion about how lawyers get nothing if they lose, how the state-sanctioned contingency formula works and how school districts can't afford to pay lawyers by the hour. Meanwhile, a lawyer sitting next to me, who no doubt would love to have Musgrove's business, passed me a piece of paper with the number $28 million, a number I later confirmed." |
SPORTS
| Opportunity for Mississippi State to make statement at No. 8 LSU | |
| Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen and his Bulldogs are saying all the right things entering their showdown against No. 8 LSU at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mullen, who is 0-5 in his career as a head coach against LSU, reinforced that during his weekly press conference, saying, "They are a top-10 team, and playing on the road on a Saturday night is a big challenge. We are going to have to play at a very, very high level to find a way to win." While that's true, the trip also is one of the biggest opportunities in Mullen's career. The Southeastern Conference opener for both teams has a different feel. It's something LSU coach Les Miles has noticed. "Dan has done a very good job there. This is a very quality football team," Miles said. |
| Key for Mississippi State is stopping LSU's run | |
| It's not a difficult game plan to figure out. LSU wants to run the ball. Mississippi State's defense is built with run-stoppers. More than 100,000 fans will witness strength vs. strength Saturday at Tiger Stadium. "That's exciting, coming in I love a physical game," MSU linebacker Beniquez Brown said. "Last week, I didn't really get that much action. They threw the ball around a lot. This week's going to be a downhill physical game, and we're ready for it." |
| Les Miles not taking Mississippi State lightly | |
| LSU is approaching this week's game with an increased emphasis on focus and concentration. The eighth-ranked Tigers are 3-0 on the year and enter their first conference tilt against Mississippi State on Saturday night hoping to garner early momentum in the perennially difficult Western Division. "We look forward to playing quality teams and this is a very quality team," Miles said. "We'll play them in our stadium and look forward to it. We're starting SEC play and these count. These are tremendously important games and frankly we'll have to play it best and better." |
| Mississippi State will try to atone for fourth quarter vs. LSU in 2013 | |
| Mississippi State defensive lineman Kaleb Eulls is a man of few words. But one subject that can get Eulls talking is MSU's defensive performance in the fourth quarter against LSU last year. The Tigers scored 28-straight points in the final quarter to turn a 31-26 lead into a 59-26 victory. Eulls said it was the lowest point of the season for MSU's defense. "We don't talk about it a lot, but it has come up," Eulls said. "This week, it's all about getting focused and making sure we do our job. It's not really about last year because that's in the past and we're all about the next game. But it's definitely something that's probably in the back of our minds." |
| Mississippi State's Chris Jones not satisfied with his play through three weeks | |
| Last year's game against LSU woke up Chris Jones. He wasn't in high school anymore. "I learned that very early in that game with the right guard. I think he's in the NFL right now," Jones said. "He dumped me on my head." Now a sophomore, Jones is looking to receive the same boost this weekend when Mississippi State travels to LSU. "I believe I've played sub-par," Jones said. "I feel like there's a lot of things I could have gotten better." |
| Dan Mullen: 'All our focus, everything is on beating LSU' | |
| Mississippi State released a hype video containing highlights from the Bulldogs 35-3 win last week against South Alabama. The video contained clips from MSU coach Dan Mullen's pregame speech as well as highlights from the game. All but four seconds of the one minute, 27-second You Tube video is dedicated to South Alabama. But at the 46-second mark, Mullen touches on LSU. "All our care, all our focus, everything is on beating LSU," Mullen said. |
| Already a legend in north Louisiana, Mississippi State's Dak Prescott takes aim at LSU | |
| Dak Prescott's commitment to Mississippi State seemed so unsteady in the fall of 2010 that his family and friends began switching sides. Tad Prescott told his brother, "Go to LSU." Even Peggy Prescott -- a known LSU "hater," Tad said -- had been convinced that LSU was the place for her youngest and most gifted football player. LSU coaches had turned up their recruiting efforts on Dak during his senior year at Haughton High. The quarterback took his official visit on the weekend that LSU beat Alabama 24-21 in Tiger Stadium -- a day that ended with Dak being paraded through a celebratory LSU locker room, his high school principal, Gene Couvillion, awestruck alongside him. "He was a kid, and I was taken in by it," Couvillion said. "I was enamored by it." A day later, Dak returned home to north Louisiana. "He came back and said, 'I'm a Bulldog,' " Tad said. |
| Mississippi State's Jameon Lewis has a mighty big fan in Baton Rouge | |
| Roy Walker once had his framed LSU football jersey hanging in his office. He'll replace it soon enough with the jersey of his son, Mississippi State receiver Jameon Lewis. Walker, the principal at Baton Rouge's Belaire High, plans to put his son's framed jersey on his office wall soon. Good timing. No. 8 LSU (3-0) hosts Mississippi State (3-0) on Saturday in both teams' Southeastern Conference opener. The teams kick off at 6:06 p.m. on ESPN. "Other than this week," Walker said, "I bleed purple and gold." Walker, a strong safety at LSU in 1994-95, will be cheering on the Bulldogs on Saturday. Lewis is State's leading receiver and a dangerous return man. |
| In the spotlight: Mississippi State's Josh Robinson | |
| Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott gets all the attention, but junior running back Josh Robinson is quietly having a solid season for the Bulldogs. Robinson has rushed 46 times for 288 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 96 yards per game. In MSU's one road game -- last week at South Alabama -- he finished with 12 carries for 77 yards and two scores. More importantly, Robinson has been a big-play threat who will give LSU's linebackers their first test since they squared off against Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon in Houston. |
| Mississippi State's Niblett stays busy on social scene | |
| As Mississippi State's assistant director of media relations and social media coordinator, Kyle Niblett is part of the public face of the school's athletic programs, even if he's behind the scenes. An active member of MSU's social media machine, Niblett plays a key role in generating and enhancing publicity for MSU athletes. On Thursday, Niblett, who also is the primary media contact for MSU baseball and secondary contact for football, sat down with The Dispatch to discuss his role at MSU and the changing role of social media in collegiate athletics. |
| How Small College Stadiums Can Use Size as an Advantage | |
| When the media and the public talk about the facilities "arms race" in college sports, they tend to think about it in muscular terms: The biggest stadium, the highest capacity, the greatest number of (and most luxurious) suites. But as sports program administrators know, winning the arms race isn't about securing bragging rights. It's a race to attract top recruits; offer the best experience for athletes, donors and fans; and maximize revenue. Schools located in smaller markets can't win this race by brute force, since not every university athletic program is on equal footing, size-wise. For example, an institution such as Mississippi State University wouldn't approach improvements to 55,000-seat Davis Wade Stadium with an eye toward Tennessee's Neyland Stadium and its Southeastern Conference-leading capacity of 102,455 seats. To compete in the SEC, a medium-sized school with a more intimate stadium needs to be creative. |
| Kyle Field at A&M getting new grass after poor field conditions during Rice game | |
| A North Carolina-based company will replace Texas A&M's football field with another natural surface at the cost of $300,000, sources told The Eagle on Thursday. The move comes after torrential rains last Friday and Saturday when the Bryan-College Station area was inundated with 4.5 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, leading to sloppy conditions in Saturday night's game between Texas A&M and Rice. "After the game, the chancellor asked the staff and the Kyle Field redevelopment committee to look at options," said Steve Moore, the A&M System's vice chancellor of marketing and communications. "He wanted to know how to provide the best competitive playing surface we could going forward and that's what led to this process and the decisions that have been made." |
| Sewell-Thomas stadium expansion project at U. of Alabama could see budget increase | |
| The University of Alabama board of trustees is considering a proposal to increase the budget of the renovation and expansion of Sewell-Thomas stadium by more than $7.5 million. The Physical Properties Committee on Thursday approved the proposal to increase the budget from $35 million to $42.6 million and award a construction contract to Rabren General Contractors Inc., of Auburn, as the low bidder for the construction. The resolution will be considered by the full board today. The bulk of in the increases have been in construction costs. |
| Auburn fan hauls huge stuffed tiger collection to Kansas State game | |
 | Of the Auburn faithful who made the trip to Manhattan for Thursday night's showdown against Kansas State, it's possible no one gained more attention than the folks responsible for this majestic pregame display of stuffed tigers. According to the Wichita Eagle, Montgomery resident Coven Shivers is the Auburn fan responsible for the spirited tiger tailgate. |
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