| Tuesday, September 23, 2014 |
| Women's Health, Fitness Day this Week at Mississippi State | |
 | National Women's Health and Fitness Day will be celebrated Wednesday at Mississippi State. Open to campus and area women of all ages, the free, three-part program is designed to promote basic exercise and personal training. Local activities begin with a 6-7 a.m. yoga class at the Sanderson Center, followed with a 1-3 p.m. Fitness Fair on the Drill Field featuring representatives of local health and fitness vendors. The Black Light Zumba dance and aerobic program is scheduled 7:30-9:30 p.m., also at the Sanderson Center. "This event is important because physical activity for women not only benefits their physical health, but their mental health as well," said Lindsey Grant, a departmental graduate assistant. |
| Watercolor art on display at Mississippi State | |
 | Works of a visiting artist-in-residence are on display through Nov. 8 at Mississippi State University's Visual Arts Center Gallery. "Migration and Other Natural History Phenomena" features nature-inspired illustrations by watercolor artist Peggy Macnamara of Chicago. In addition to serving since 1990 as artist-in-residence at the Field Museum of Natural History, Macnamara is a professor of scientific illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition and related programs are made possible through a Mississippi Arts Commission grant and support from the Starkville Area Arts Council and the university's colleges of veterinary medicine and architecture, art and design. |
| MSU's fall ZZ Top concert rescheduled for spring | |
 | The ZZ Top concert scheduled for fall at Mississippi State University has been postponed after one of the band members was injured. Bassist Dusty Hill reportedly suffered a recent hip injury, disabling him from taking the stage at the October 30th concert. However, the university says the show will go on at the Humphrey Coliseum on April 10. |
| Hay to be in short supply due to weather, insect predation | |
 | High demand for hay last winter, a wet spring and heavy insect pressure have all challenged the state's pastureland, which means hay may be scarce this winter. Rocky Lemus, forage specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said these factors pushed the state's hay inventories 20 percent lower than the three-year average. John Michael Riley, Extension agricultural economist, said hay stocks remain limited, and poor 2014 production will keep supplies tight moving into winter. Blake Layton, Extension entomologist, said armyworm populations have been high in Mississippi since early June and caused significant loses in bermudagrass hay fields. Central and south Mississippi were the hardest hit. |
| Study Helps MSU Scientists Make Best Recommendations | |
| The thousands of dollars farmers invest in equipment, seed and labor to produce row crops, such as soybeans, cotton and corn, is wasted if they do not have quality soil. "Everything ties back to how well the soil is maintained," said Bobby Golden, an agronomist and researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at Stoneville. "If we didn't have a strong, stable foundation, which is the soil, the crop yields we produce wouldn't exist." Golden is one of a team of Mississippi State University researchers and specialists conducting a study to determine if soil-testing recommendations need revision. |
| Downtown Meridian Continues To Grow | |
 | The momentum continues in downtown Meridian, where new businesses continue to open their doors. There are several developments that have recently opened or will soon, including a brand new restaurant. Local officials say the major arts and education emphasis in the Queen City's downtown is attracting a variety of new business. Meridian Main Street Executive Director Karen Rooney says with major excitement already provided by the MSU Riley Center, the MSU-Meridian Business School and the upcoming Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center, momentum is building. |
| Local woman's cowbells hit Walmart shelves | |
 | A Golden Triangle woman is selling cowbells in Walmarts across the Southeast. Her name is Lisa Ulmer and it began via a fundraiser for her daughter. In 2011, Ulmer's daughter, Alaina, was chosen to dance in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. The teenager, who was a senior at Caledonia High School, had been offered a spot in the parade the previous three years, as well. Each time, Ulmer was unable to send her daughter because of the expense. However, in 2011, Ulmer decided no matter what she had to do, her daughter was going to dance in the parade. So she and her daughter and two friends began selling cowbells. "We were just trying to come up with something that would sell quick," Ulmer, 49, said. "We were State fans and the girls were going to go to State so we just came up with the idea to do cowbells." |
| Man caught in attempted burglary of Starkville school | |
| Starkville police caught a man in the act of an attempted burglary at a school on Sunday. Officers say they responded to the Henderson Elementary School around 1:17 a.m. Sunday in reference to a burglary alarm. When police reached the scene, an officer heard a loud noise on the school campus and found a man breaking the glass to the main entrance door of the Ward Stewart School. Authorities say the suspect breaking the glass, 21-year-old Terry Lee Coggins Jr., ran from the officer but could not escape the area. Coggins was taken into custody for attempted burglary and disorderly conduct. |
| U.S. expands war against Islamic State with airstrikes in Syria | |
 | The United States and several Middle East partners pounded Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday with waves of warplanes and Tomahawk cruise missiles in an aggressive and risky operation marking a new phase in the conflict. In brief remarks outside the White House hours later, President Obama stressed that "this is not America's fight alone" and vowed to press the battle against "these terrorists" in concert with U.S. allies. A statement issued by the U.S. Central Command early Tuesday said a "mix of fighter, bomber, remotely-piloted aircraft and Tomahawk" cruise missiles destroyed or damaged multiple Islamic State targets in Syria. |
| No big changes seen for Common Core | |
 | The leaders of Mississippi's legislative education committees do not expect dramatic changes to be made to the Common Core State Standards in the 2015 legislative session. The Common Core is a new set of guidelines for math and language arts instruction designed to be more rigorous and to better prepare students for colleges and careers. Mississippi is among 43 states using the standards. House Education Chairman John Moore and Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, however, each said on Monday that any immediate changes made to the standards likely would be small. "I'm not in the mood to go in and try to redo a new set of standards," said Moore, R-Brandon. "Changing the standards or changing the assessment is not something you can do overnight." |
| Bryant to visit Olive Branch; governor touting economic development | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is returning to DeSoto County this week, but instead of talking about flood relief, the state's chief executive will be touting economic development instead. Bryant is scheduled to appear at the Williams-Sonoma distribution facility, 7755 Polk Lane in Olive Branch at 11 a.m. Friday. A spokesman for the governor's office Monday could only confirm that Bryant would be in Olive Branch Friday for an economic development announcement at 11 a.m., but could not provide any further details. He did add that a media advisory on the visit would be released later in the week. |
| Conservative Action Fund asks to join McDaniel appeal | |
 | The Conservative Action Fund is asking to file an amicus brief in Chris McDaniel's appeal to the state Supreme Court over dismissal of his election lawsuit against incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran. A specially appointed judge dismissed McDaniel's lawsuit, saying he waited too late to file it, based on the 1959 "Kellum" decision by the state high court. The lower court judge said McDaniel should have filed his appeal within 20 days of the June 24th GOP runoff he lost to Cochran. McDaniel filed his challenge 41 days after. CAF in its filing says the Kellum ruling would interfere with the U.S. Constitution's provision that state legislatures regulate federal elections. |
| Legislative group: Parole Board faces backlog | |
| Mississippi prison officials say they're working to erase a backlog of parole cases that are up for consideration, as recommended by a legislative watchdog group. The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review released a report Monday that said some inmates are not receiving parole hearings the first month they're eligible, and that is causing the state to spend thousands of dollars a month to keep people in prison longer than necessary. The report recommended that the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Parole Board work together to produce up-to-date lists of inmates who become eligible for parole. The agencies said, in response, that they're doing that. |
| Backers seek expansion of civil rights death law | |
| There has only been one prosecution under the Emmett Till Act, even though the law was passed with the promise of $135 million for police work and an army of federal agents to investigate unsolved killings from the civil rights era. Some deaths aren't even under review because of a quirk in the law. Still, proponents are laying the groundwork to extend and expand the act in hopes it's not too late for some families to get justice. In nearly six years since the signing of the law, named for a black Chicago teenager killed after flirting with a white woman in Mississippi in 1955, only one person has been prosecuted: A former Alabama trooper who pleaded guilty in 2010 to killing a black protester in 1965. |
| Religion in public life: another political divide that's growing | |
 | American politics is filled with divisions, dysfunction, and growing polarization. One area where that is increasingly evident is over the role of religion in public life. Almost three-quarters of Americans -- 72 percent -- believe the influence of religion is waning in the public square, according to the Pew Research Center. At the same time, a growing segment of the US population wants religious figures to speak out on political and social issues -- now 49 percent, up from 43 percent in 2010. "The findings reflect a widening divide between religiously affiliated Americans and the rising share of the population that is not affiliated with any religion," the Pew report says. |
| Senate seat in Iowa might turn on chicken poop and hogs | |
 | The race for the U.S. Senate in Iowa may come down to how voters feel about a chicken crossing into the wrong yard. Or whether Iowa hogs make a candidate especially qualified to deal with Washington pork. This too-close-to-call Senate race, one of a handful that will determine whether the Republicans win control of the Senate, is a very personal battle between Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley, a four-term congressman, and Republican Joni Ernst, a state senator and Iraq War veteran. The rules of Iowa politics are changing. For more than 30 years, Iowans kept electing Sens. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, and Charles Grassley, a Republican, who rarely see eye to eye on issues. But they share the same styles: Down home, friendly, familiar with every two-block town in the state's 99 counties. |
| John Correnti, Arkansas Governor Break Ground on $1.3B Big River Steel Mill | |
| Officials broke ground Monday on a $1.3 billion steel mill in northeast Arkansas that's being touted as a boon to the economically struggling Delta region and the largest single private investment in Arkansas' history. The ceremony at the Big River Steel site marks the beginning of work for the state's first "superproject" under a 2004 amendment that allows Arkansas to borrow money to help lure major employers. "Welcome to steel mill heaven," John Correnti, Big River Steel's CEO and chairman, said. The project still faces a legal hurdle. Nucor Steel, which operates two steel mills in Mississippi County, has filed a lawsuit in federal court aimed at blocking the project and revoking the company's air permit issued by the state. |
| Mercedes announces it will begin making hybrid cars at Alabama plant | |
 | Mercedes-Benz announced plans Monday to make plug-in electric hybrids in most of its major models, including the C-Class sedans and M-Class sport utility vehicles made at its auto assembly plant in Alabama. Thomas Weber, head of Mercedes' research and development, made the announcement Monday at a news event at the company's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The Vance plant, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, also started making C-Class sedans this year for sale in the North American market. |
| Ebola virus in humans may be here to stay; fatality rate is 71 percent | |
 | In a grim assessment of the Ebola epidemic, researchers say the deadly virus threatens to become endemic to West Africa instead of eventually disappearing from humans. "The current epidemiologic outlook is bleak," wrote a panel of more than 60 World Health Organization experts in a study published Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. "We must therefore face the possibility that Ebola virus disease will become endemic among the human population of West Africa, a prospect that has never previously been contemplated." |
| Giving Chickens Bacteria... To Keep Them Antibiotic-Free | |
 | You know those foods and pills that promise to supply your body with "good bacteria?" They may or may not make you healthier, but some of these "probiotics" do, in fact, appear to be effective in chickens. Poultry companies are turning to probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics, which have become increasingly controversial. "As we took antibiotics out of the feed, we put some other things in, such as probiotics," says Bruce Stewart-Brown, an executive at Perdue Farms. Perdue Farms has not gone completely antibiotic-free, but it has reduced or eliminated some uses of antibiotics in its operations, and it is expanding production of chickens that are raised completely without antibiotics. |
| Wednesday Table Talk to preview Welty Symposium at MUW | |
| The Friends of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library and Mississippi University for Women join forces on Wednesday, Sept. 24 to preview MUW's upcoming Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium. The theme of this year's event, "'Homesick for Somewhere': Displacement, Loss, and Longing in the South," is inspired by Eudora Welty's short story "Kin" from her collection, "The Bride of Innisfallen and Other Stories." Dr. Kendall Dunkelberg, who has overseen the Welty Symposium since 2008, is well-placed to discuss the event which presents the varied works of the visiting authors. He has directed poetry and fiction workshops at MUW since 1994 and is the director of Creative Writing at MUW. |
| MUW Hosts 5th Annual 'Charity Fitness Party' | |
| It was all about fitness for a cause Monday night in Columbus. The Mississippi University for Women hosted its fifth annual Charity Fitness Party. With the students in mind, the proceeds from the fitness party will go toward HEARTS after school tutoring. Participants engaged in Zumba, Pound and Taronga classes. |
| USM Police arrest man for social media threat | |
 | University of Southern Mississippi Police Department have arrested Brandon Hardin, 20, in conjunction with Monday morning's social media threat. Hardin, a business major from Carriere, is being charged with posting a computer threat to cause injury, a felony offense, according to a USM press release sent Monday night. Hardin is accused of having made an anonymous post on the social media application, Yik Yak, Monday morning that threatened members of the university community at Joseph Greene Hall. "We are pleased that we are close to a resolution in this case," said University Police Chief Bob Hopkins. USM Police said earlier Monday that Yik Yak officials were cooperating with the investigation. |
| Carriere student, 20, arrested in USM threat investigation | |
 | A 20-year-old business major from Carriere was arrested Monday in connection with a social media post that threatened members of the university community at Joseph Greene Hall on the University of Southern Mississippi's Hattiesburg campus, according to an Eagle Alert e-mail. Brandon Hardin is accused of posting a computer threat to cause injury, which is a felony offense. The anonymous threat was posted on social media site Yik Yak, spokesman Jim Coll said. Coll also made a point to mention that similar threats have occurred at other universities across the country recently. |
| USM renovating facilities for new home of College of Health | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi plans to renovate Joseph Greene Hall and part of its Chain Technology Building for its College of Health. The College Board approved an architect to plan the renovation, projected to cost $7 million. USM's College of Business plans to vacate Greene Hall early next year for the new Scianna Hall. That would free space for the College of Health and its five departments, now scattered across several buildings. |
| Drone photographs USM campus for geographic survey | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi announced Monday afternoon that a drone would be flying over the campus as part of a geographical survey done by a private company. The company has agreed to supply some of the photos taken to the university. The drove flew over campus between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. USM notified students so that the campus would not be alarmed. |
| Lawsuit against Jackson State's athletic director thrown out | |
| A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a former Jackson State University employee who had alleged he was retaliated against after reporting he witnessed Athletic Director Vivian Fuller sexually harassed an assistant. Jerry Lewis, who was assistant director of athletic operations, filed the lawsuit in April 2013. His lawsuit claimed once Fuller realized Lewis, the assistant director of athletic operations, had witnessed the incident, he was ridiculed by Fuller in front of his colleagues, excluded from meetings and from department-wide correspondences, and fired Jan. 31, 2012. Fuller and JSU denied the allegations. Two other former JSU employees, Fredrick Robinson and Dalandus Henderson, have lawsuits still pending in federal court. |
| U. of Alabama investigating second threat made against campus | |
 | University of Alabama officials say a second social media threat of violence was made against the campus, this one less than 24 hours after a dorm was placed on lockdown because of a threat. The second threat was made around 10:30 a.m. "This is not a new post. It is 12 hours old," UA spokeswoman Cathy Andreen said in a statement. "UAPD continues to aggressively investigate the situation. UA is prepared to respond to any situation that impacts the campus." Screenshots of a purported threat spread on social media Monday night, showing a threat against the university's Bryce Lawn community made by an "Arthur Pendragon," the same name students said the first threat came from. |
| Alabama officials address rampant rumors following threats of campus violence | |
| University of Alabama officials have clarified a number of rampant rumors circulating the community after anonymous threats of campus violence sparked a dorm lockdown and search. Despite officials giving the all-clear late Sunday night and campus operations continuing as normal, students and family members have had difficulty sifting through large amounts of misinformation on social media. On Monday, the campus community received an email from officials specifically denying a number of rumors spreading on Twitter and other social media sites like Yik Yak. |
| U. of Alabama police investigating threats of gun violence at Tutwiler Hall | |
| Threats of gun violence posted on social media prompted a late night lock down at one of the University of Alabama's largest dormitories. Tutwiler Hall residents were asked to stay in their rooms or not allowed to enter while police searched the 13-story dorm from around 11 p.m. until 11:45 p.m. Sunday. The lockdown was in response to rumors and social media posts, not actual witness accounts, according to official statements released by the university. "No weapons or unauthorized individuals were found in Tutwiler or in the vicinity," UA President Judy Bonner wrote in a campus-wide email sent Monday morning. "Students were never in danger." |
| Auburn University Theatre opens season with 'Hedda Gabler' | |
 | The Auburn University Theatre in the College of Liberal Arts is set to open its 2014-2015 season with the drama "Hedda Gabler" on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on the main stage of the Telfair Peet Theatre. "I find 'Hedda Gabler' to be Henrik Ibsen's most explosive play," said director Chris Qualls, associate professor of theatre in the College of Liberal Arts. "His earlier masterpiece, 'A Doll's House,' seems positively tame compared to this conflagration of emotion and violence. Hedda is both deeply sympathetic and simultaneously horrifying. |
| U. of South Carolina fraternity closed until fall 2018 | |
 | The Delta Tau Delta fraternity at the University of South Carolina has been closed until fall 2018 for multiple violations, university officials said Monday. The fraternity was charged with violations including dangerous behaviors and dangerous conditions, as well as alcohol violations that occurred Aug. 16, according to a university website. Wes Hickman, a university spokesman, said by email Monday the fraternity was suspended for violating fraternity council policies related to alcohol-free recruitment events in connection with the Aug. 16 incident. The USC chapter already was on social probation and conduct probation. |
| UGA student who made social media threat suggesting violence to have bond hearing | |
 | The University of Georgia student accused of causing a scare on campus Friday afternoon by issuing a threatening post on social media is scheduled to appear at a bond hearing today in Athens-Clarke County Magistrate Court. Authorities arrested Ariel Omar Arias, 19, of Martin Luther King Parkway, and charged him with two counts of making terroristic threats several hours after the social media post prompted police to clear out the Zell B. Miller Learning Center on the UGA campus. Police said Arias mentioned firearms in the threat, but nothing related to weapons is noted in the arrest warrants. Arias allegedly posted the threat on the Yik Yak mobile app, which allows users to send anonymous comments. |
| UGA cancels emergency notification system test scheduled for Tuesday | |
| The test of the University of Georgia's UGAAlert emergency notification system originally scheduled for 10:45 a.m. Tuesday has been canceled. Due to the activation of the UGAAlert system on Friday for the reported threat at the Miller Learning Center, the UGAAlert system will not need to be tested since important feedback and data were obtained from the actual alert activation. |
| U. of Florida, other campuses set voter registration drives | |
 | Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, and University of Florida's Bob Graham Center for Public Service already is getting high marks for registering students to vote. According to a recent tally by TurboVote, an online voting platform, UF is fourth among schools nationwide for registering students using its online registration service. UF had 407 registrations, ahead of the University of Chicago with 349 registrations, and behind Miami Dade College with 439, Elmhurst College with 532 and Harvard University with 539. |
| Records: Louisiana Board of Regents spent $8,000 on interviews | |
 | The Louisiana Board of Regents spent more than $8,000 last week on meetings in Kenner at which it interviewed five candidates for state higher education commissioner. The board has not identified any candidates for the position aside from the three finalists named and would not say last week how many it had "informal conversations" with during back-to-back meetings at the Hilton hotel across from the New Orleans airport. But a spreadsheet, which The Advocate obtained Monday through a public records request, shows four candidates were flown to New Orleans, where the state board had three conference rooms for the meetings, and a fifth was interviewed by phone. That document, for the first time, shows how many people interviewed for the job, but the board continues to cite open records exemptions in withholding the identities of two people who were interviewed but who have not been identified as finalists. |
| U. of Missouri System picks new chief of staff | |
 | The University of Missouri System filled another vacant position Monday morning. Zora Mulligan, executive director of the Missouri Community College Association, will join the UM System as the new chief of staff Oct. 20. MCCA represents all 12 community college systems and campuses across the state. In her new role, Mulligan will work with the strategic planning process the system oversees and serve as a liaison between the president's office, the system's general officers and the Board of Curators. Her office is also responsible for public records requests. Mulligan's starting salary is $165,000. |
| U. of Missouri presents construction plans to Boone County Commission | |
 | More sounds of construction equipment soon could be echoing off the limestone and brick walls of University of Missouri's campus buildings, according to an MU vice chancellor's report to Boone County commissioners Monday afternoon. Gary Ward, chief operating officer and vice chancellor of operations for MU, outlined a 50-page MU master plan that details possible construction projects across the 1,262-acre campus. More than 30 buildings need to be replaced or remodeled, but Ward said the lack of money is holding the campus back. Ward described it as "one of the biggest issues facing MU." Ward said MU's long-term plan is to line East Stadium Boulevard with "beautiful, state-of-the-art (athletic) facilities," financed by private donations. |
| Building a Better Major-Gifts Officer | |
 | Colleges are increasingly reliant on the big gift. More than three-quarters of all higher-education fund raising came from the top 1 percent of donors in 2011, up from 64 percent just five years earlier. So it stands to reason that colleges are also increasingly dependent on their major-gifts officers, particularly the ones who are really good at landing such donations. With that as a backdrop, the company, known as EAB, undertook research to home in on the traits most often found in the most successful gift officers. It then put them together in an attempt to identify the kind of person who would be ideal for the job. |
| Wesleyan orders fraternities to become coed | |
| ties with houses on campus to become coeducational within three years, a move it says is not just about bad behavior but also equality. Wesleyan follows Trinity College in Hartford, which began the transition starting in 2012, citing problems with drinking and drug use in Greek organizations. It also comes less than a month after Wesleyan closed the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house after a woman attending a party there was seriously injured after falling from a third-floor window. But school spokeswoman Kate Carlisle said the changes are not a response to any one incident. |
| Berkeley journalism school considering $10,000 tuition increase | |
 | A proposal to raise tuition at the University of California at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism has some faculty members, alumni and students worried about destroying the school's distinctive character. Faced with a half-million-dollar budget gap, Dean Edward Wasserman announced plans to recommend a tuition increase for the 2016-17 academic year in a memo to campus members earlier this month. He said the increase is necessary given the school's financial standing, and that the amount students pay doesn't actually cover what it costs to provide that education. Students speaking about the proposal online and in interviews for this article said that affordability was one of the major reasons they chose Berkeley's two-year master's degree program. "We're here because we care about social justice, and we want to tell good stories," said Mara Van Ells, a first-year student. |
| Miss America officials acknowledge winner was kicked out of her sorority, reportedly for hazing | |
| Beauty pageants are frequently a source of controversy after the fact, and Miss America is no exception. Barely a week after Miss New York Kira Kazantsev won the crown, pageant officials acknowledged that she had been kicked out of her college sorority at Hofstra University last year. Why? They would not discuss the matter, but their statement appeared to confirm a new report that she was involved in hazing pledges. Yes, in case you're wondering, this is the new Miss America whose social cause is protecting women against domestic violence. |
| OUR VIEW: Win over LSU puts Mississippi State in spotlight | |
| The Dispatch editorializes: "So far, so very good. Although it hardly rates as 'breaking news,' Mississippi State's 34-29 win over eighth-ranked LSU Saturday night in Baton Rouge is certain to remain a hot topic in these parts for at least another week. ...Of course, no one is ready for a coronation of that sort yet, but the Bulldogs' win does signify MSU, 4-0, is more than capable of holding its own in the ridiculously brutal SEC West. ...Clearly, this was no fluke. That MSU was the better team was clearly obvious and obvious from the start. State went into the game unranked. Today, the Bulldogs are ranked 14th in one poll, 16th in the other. ...a third of the way through its season, MSU is looking good. Very good." |
| CHARLIE MITCHELL (OPINION): Plenty of election options for Hosemann to offer Legislature | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "There are no gaping flaws in Mississippi elections. This Chris McDaniel stuff is just that: stuff. All that's required for honest elections is honest people. All that's required to pervert the process is the absence of an ethical compass. That said, Delbert Hosemann, Mississippi's forward-looking secretary of state, says he will invite legislators to consider some options when they convene in January. To that end, he has assembled a 51-member citizen panel to talk about options. If there is a problem in election rules today it is that Mississippi voters are expected to follow an honor code, of sorts. This point has been discussed, cussed and litigated. Understanding it starts with the fact that Mississippians enroll to vote as voters; they don't enroll as Democrat voters, Republican voters or independent voters. They are voters." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Prescott, Beckwith win SEC honors | |
| Mississippi State junior quarterback Dak Prescott was named Southeastern Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week, while senior offensive lineman Ben Beckwith was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. The honors marked the first time in school history MSU was awarded with both accolades in the same week. "I'm really proud of the way our kids played, how we performed,'' MSU coach Dan Mullen said in the aftermath of Saturday night's thriller. |
| Mississippi State and Texas A&M kickoff set for 11 a.m. Oct. 4 | |
| Mississippi State will go for two straight wins against top 10 teams Oct. 4 against Texas A&M. The kickoff will be at 11 a.m. on ESPN, the Southeastern Conference announced on Monday. The matchup will feature two top 15 opponents. Mississippi State debuted in the rankings at No. 14 after its win at No. 8 LSU. Texas A&M is ranked No. 6 with four first place votes. Mississippi State will get an extra week of preparation with a bye this Saturday. Texas A&M hosts Arkansas. |
| Bulldogs' center denies attempts to injure | |
| While Mississippi State center Dillon Day has denied intentionally stepping on players in Saturday's 34-29 win at LSU, losing coach Les Miles said he has sent video of two incidents to the SEC office. Day addressed the situation in an open letter to Mississippi State fans on Twitter. "I have been wrongfully accused of intentionally stomping on players," Day wrote. "I never go into a game or play with the intention of hurting anyone. I apologize that it has been perceived that way." Day was not penalized on either play. |
| Group targets Mississippi State's religious practices | |
| The Freedom From Religion Foundation is investigating the religious habits of Mississippi State about a week after the group questioned Ole Miss. The non-profit organization, focused on ensuring the separation of church and state, filed an open records request to Mississippi State on Sept. 11, 2014. The organization requested information from Ole Miss on Sept. 3. "We're trying to trace that and see the extent of the first amendment violations at a number of state schools around the country right now," FFRF staff attorney Andrew Seidel said. Mississippi State didn't comment regarding the situation. |
| Mississippi State baseball brings in nation's sixth best recruiting class | |
 | Mississippi State boasts a top-10 class of freshmen for the second straight year. Coach John Cohen and Company signed the sixth best recruiting class in the country according to Collegiate Baseball. The Bulldogs welcome 12 players who were either All-Americans in high school or in junior college. Mississippi State's class last season was ranked second in the country. Cohen has put together back-to-back top-10 classes for the third time in school history (1985-86, 1990-91). |
| C Spire now offering new Blast Motion technology for athletes | |
| Ridgeland-based C Spire and Blast Motion are offering a new motion detection and smart video capture technology for athletes at all levels to track vital sports metrics, harness their power and improve performance through motion sensor and user-friendly fitness apps on smartphones and tablets. C Spire is initially offering three Blast Motion products -- Blast Golf, Blast Baseball and Blast Athletic Performance -- for competitive athletes at all levels (youth, high school, college and professional). This technology fuses the Blast mobile app and motion sensor technology to detect, capture and sync motion with video. The Blast app automatically creates video highlights with integrated metrics from a variety of important athletic actions. |
| Southern Miss declares Saturday Ray Guy Day to honor new Hall of Famer | |
 | The Southern Miss Department of Athletics will hold Ray Guy Day this Saturday, in conjunction with its Conference USA opening game against Rice at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m. The celebration will be in recognition of Guy's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Guy, a graduate of Southern Miss, is the first true punter to receive this honor. The Ray Guy Day festivities begin at noon as Ray Guy will be on hand from noon- 2 p.m. at the Ogletree House on campus for a meet and greet with fans. |
| Reveille handler getting boots and Aggie ring paid for after throwing block | |
 | By 5 p.m. Monday, Reveille VIII made it known she was finished with the media for the day with a rare bark just five minutes into an interview. The long day started at 4 a.m. with a trip to Houston for an interview on Fox & Friends, but she wasn't the one doing the talking. The First Lady of Aggieland's spotlight traveled up the leash to her handler, Ryan Kreider, who delivered a potentially life-saving sideline nudge to SMU wide receiver Der'rick Thompson during the second quarter of the Aggies-Mustangs matchup in Dallas on Saturday. Kreider maintains he was simply carrying out his duties as mascot corporal in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and protecting her, but the sophomore from College Station quickly became the water cooler talk of the country. |
| Drones Will Transform Sports Photography... Once the FAA Gets Out of the Way | |
 | For more than 50 years, the dramatic shot from a blimp floating high overhead has sent a clear message to TV viewers: You are watching a big-time event. Now, a new generation of photographers with drones is ready to bring that same technology to all levels of sports while giving audiences a perspective they've never seen before. It helps that capturing breathtaking images with a drone has never been cheaper or easier. But there's a problem. Fly a drone over a sporting event and you may be running afoul of Federal Aviation Administration regulations. But the line between commercial and hobby use is thinning, and the FAA is racing to keep up with the pace of change. |
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