| Monday, March 9, 2015 |
| State employees face smoking fine | |
 | Mississippi State University allows smoking areas under its own school smoking policy. But just over 25 feet away from the smoking areas are university offices inside of buildings like McArthur Hall where smoking is prohibited. Now MSU, along with the other public colleges and universities in Mississippi, is adopting a health insurance surcharge of $50 on each employee who signs a form admitting that he or she smokes. The employee must sign that form by May 1. "The $50 surcharge was implemented by the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration. The surcharge alone doesn't discourage tobacco use, since tobacco use is an addiction," said Kim Thomas, the associate director of human resources at Mississippi State. |
| 3Qs: Steve Martin, Extension Center | |
 | Steve Martin, head of the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona, sat down with the Daily Journal's Joe Rutherford to talk about the effects of the recent winter weather on crops in the region. |
| Equine group donates to Mississippi State's Therapeutic Riding Center | |
 | A state horse-owner organization's recent $1,500 gift is helping support operation and outreach activities of the Mississippi State University Extension Service's 4-H Therapeutic Riding and Activity Center. The Mississippi State Equine Association is an affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based American Horse Council. A statewide network, MSEA works to improve the quality of life for both animals and riders through education and information programs. Because the Extension-funded program is provided as a free public service, "there are a lot of expenses that come with it," said center coordinator Cassie Brunson. TRAC is an ongoing partner with the ACCESS program of MSU's Division of Student Affairs. |
| Mississippi State weed science prof to hold Hartwig endowed chair | |
 | An award-winning Mississippi State weed science professor is receiving another high honor, this time in the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Dan Reynolds has been selected to hold the Edgar E. and Winifred B. Hartwig Endowed Chair in Soybean Agronomy. Reynolds, a cropping systems researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, focuses primarily on weed science and agronomy in his research. |
| Starkville's McBroom takes Mississippi Collegiate Arts 'Best in Show' | |
| The "best" entry and seven other top award-winning works by Mississippi State art majors are on display through March 13 at The Arts Center of Mississippi in Jackson. Now in its 65th year, the Mississippi Collegiate Arts exhibit is part of statewide juried competition involving submissions by student artists enrolled in the various four-year colleges and universities. This year's contest drew more than 700 submissions from nearly a dozen institutions. Of that number, 54 entries by MSU art majors were among nearly 140 judged worthy of inclusion in the arts center exhibit. Best in Show honors went to senior Thomas M. McBroom of Starkville for an oil painting titled "Pig 3." |
| Collinsville Community Development Club Hears from MSU-Meridian Recruiter | |
 | Candy Adams, a recruiter for Mississippi State University, Meridian, presented a program on the facts of MSU-Meridian to the Collinsville Community Development Club at the club's February meeting. Founded in 1972, MSU-Meridian is an offsite instructional facility of MSU in Starkville. MSU-Meridian has two campuses -- College Park and the Riley. Adams said that 600 students currently attend MSU-Meridian. Non-traditional students make up 60 percent of the population. These are students who continue to work and to support their families. The majority of these students transfer from community colleges in the area. Academic scholarships include a variety of local and university scholarships, as well as the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship, Community College Recognition Scholarship and Riley Scholars. |
| New drone training center opening | |
 | A new drone training center will be opening in Raymond next month. Hinds Community College adjunct instructor David Young said the military uses of drones are just one way to capitalize on this machine. Hinds will use its new hanger to train students as part of a new agreement with Mississippi State University to offer a four-year program in flying and maintaining drones. |
| $6M bond bill would fund new MHP substation | |
| A bill working its way through the Mississippi Legislature would, if approved and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant, provide funding for a new Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop G headquarters in Oktibbeha County. As authored by state Rep. Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, HB 1452 calls for a $6 million-maximum bond to construct, furnish and equip the new Troop G station in Starkville. The station is expected to be constructed in Cornerstone Park, a mostly empty industrial park located south of Starkville on Highway 25. The Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, which controls land within the park, previously donated a parcel to the MHP in 2013. |
| Heiselt to lead Starkville school board into consolidation | |
| The Starkville School District Board of Trustees unanimously named Eric Heiselt, the director of educational outreach and support programs within Mississippi State University's school of engineering, school board president for the year. Heiselt, who replaces former board President Lee Brand Jr., will lead the board as SSD merges with Oktibbeha County School District during July 1's state-mandated consolidation. The board also voted to name Jenny Turner as vice president, Keith Coble as secretary and Juliette Weaver-Reese as assistant secretary. Brand still remains with the five-person board. He was unanimously reappointed to the board by aldermen last month. |
| Mississippi gets funds for healthy schools initiative | |
 | Mississippi public schools will be able to compete for money to help improve the safety and quality of cafeteria food thanks to a $382,328 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture The federal agency announced the award Friday thorough its National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Fund program, which this year awarded $30 million nationwide. Mississippi's portion doubled from the amount it received last year. Funds go the Mississippi Department of Education, which awards the money to individual schools through a competitive grant process. Schools can request as much as $17,000, said MDE spokeswoman Patrice Guilfoyle. |
| Deadline nears for electrical upgrades for Neshoba County Fair cabins | |
| Neshoba County Fair cabin owners have until April 15 to upgrade to a new electrical code. Fair president Gilbert Donald said the fair board passed the new code in 2013, so cabin owners have had two years to comply. "A lot of these cabins are old, and when they were built they didn't have air conditioners, washer and dryers or water heaters," Donald said. "We need to get the cabins upgraded so they can handle the volume of electricity people are using now." Donald said about 180 cabin owner have yet to comply. "I know a lot of the electricians around town are very busy right now," he said. |
| Two candidates enter 1st District congressional race | |
| Two more candidates have entered the 1st District congressional race, including a Tishomingo County attorney and a Columbus businessman. Daniel Sparks and Boyce Adams announced this week their intentions to run in the May 12 election to fill the term of U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee, who died Feb. 6 after a battle with cancer. Adams currently serves as president of TheBiz, a Mississippi-based software technology start-up. Since 2009, Adams has served as vice president for marketing and sales for its sister company, BankTEL Systems. Sparks is a graduate of Belmont High School and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He also received accounting and economics degrees and a masters of taxation. |
| Two Columbus candidates seek U.S. House seat | |
| Two Columbus residents have announced their intent to run for Mississippi's vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Business owner Boyce Adams announced during a press conference in Columbus on Friday his intent to run in a May 12 nonpartisan special election to fill the late Rep. Alan Nunnelee's (R-Tupelo) vacant 1st district House seat. Another local candidate, Danny Bedwell, began his campaign last month. Both Adams and Bedwell said they had collected nearly all the signatures they need and would formally qualify "soon." |
| Tax cuts winning versus increasing state services in Mississippi | |
 | The next time Mississippi lawmakers say the state can't afford something, don't believe them. If there's anything this year's debate over tax cuts has laid bare, it's that Mississippi state brings in as much revenue in the future as Republican leaders predict, there are a lot of things the state could afford. It's been clear since last summer that the current session was setting up to be a battle of tax cuts versus increasing funding for state services. So far, tax cut proposals are winning in a rout. But the decisions made could last far longer than through 2015 re-election campaigns. House Speaker Philip Gunn's plan, in particular, is ringing alarm bells among education advocates. University presidents reacted, sending out a letter suggesting that helping more Mississippians earn college degrees might do more for the state's economy than tax cuts. "As our economy rebounds, let's invest now in our public universities because our future depends upon it," wrote the eight presidents, including incoming Higher Education Commissioner Jim Borsig. |
| Tax-cut decisions ahead for legislators | |
| Legislators of all political persuasions will have some difficult choices to make related to a possible tax cut during the final month of the 2015 session. Both chambers -- by overwhelming margins -- have passed broad-based, but vastly different, tax-cut proposals. And before the session ever began, Gov. Phil Bryant proposed a more modest cut in the income tax primarily for low- to- moderate income workers. But Bryant seems more than willing to jump on board with the much bigger proposals passed by the House and Senate. With the three Republican leaders behind the general concept of cutting taxes, it seems highly likely that a deal will be struck. Of course, for many who believe education should be fully funded according to the formula in law (it appears that it will be underfunded more than $200 million for the sixth session in a row) and believe the state should make a significant commitment to pre-kindergarten funding, hardly any tax cut seems acceptable. |
| Bill would give break to 'Good Samaritan' drug offenders | |
| A person possessing or under the influence of illicit drugs, but who helps ensure an individual suffering from a drug overdose gets medical help, wouldn't face any prosecution under a legislative measure. The "Mississippi Medical Emergency Good Samaritan Act" has passed the Senate and has been passed in the House Judiciary B Committee. It is awaiting full House action. State Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who authored the bill, said the Mississippi Prosecution Association supports it. Senate Bill 2780 says any person who in good faith seeks medical assistance for someone who is experiencing a drug overdose shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for a drug violation if there is evidence the person is under the influence of a controlled substance or in possession of a controlled substance. |
| Wicker urges Obama to drop oil revenue plan | |
| Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker and other Gulf Coast lawmakers wrote to President Barack Obama this week urging him not to pursue a plan to steer millions in oil and gas revenue away from the region. The administration's fiscal 2016 budget, released Feb. 2, proposes to "redirect" the revenue to the Treasury to use for national programs. Under the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas and certain counties in those states receive 37.5 percent of revenue from offshore oil and gas drilling. The states use the money for coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects. |
| Iowa agriculture summit splits GOP 2016 field on subsidies, immigration | |
 | A day-long forum on agriculture here, where likely Republican presidential candidates courted Iowa's farming industry, revealed sharp policy differences among the contenders, from immigration to energy subsidies. The nine White House aspirants used their turns on stage Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds to blast President Obama and his administration as being heavy-handed and indecisive, arguing that a change in leadership is necessary to stimulate agricultural growth. Fuel subsidies became a point of contention as agriculture businessman Bruce Rastetter tried to draw support from a new generation of presidential hopefuls. While many of the prospective candidates said they backed the subsidies, the event was notable for the number of dissenters, with Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) being the most explicit. |
| Obama, at Selma Memorial, Says, 'We Know the March Is Not Yet Over' | |
 | As a new generation struggles over race and power in America, President Obama and a host of political figures from both parties came here on Saturday, to the site of one of the most searing days of the civil rights era, to reflect on how far the country has come and how far it still has to go. Fifty years after peaceful protesters trying to cross a bridge were beaten by police officers with billy clubs, shocking the nation and leading to passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, the nation's first African-American president led a bipartisan, biracial testimonial to the pioneers whose courage helped pave the way for his own election to the highest office of the land. |
| Islamic State appears to be fraying from within | |
| The Islamic State appears to be starting to fray from within, as dissent, defections and setbacks on the battlefield sap the group's strength and erode its aura of invincibility among those living under its despotic rule. Reports of rising tensions between foreign and local fighters, aggressive and increasingly unsuccessful attempts to recruit local citizens for the front lines, and a growing incidence of guerrilla attacks against Islamic State targets suggest the militants are struggling to sustain their carefully cultivated image as a fearsome fighting force drawing Muslims together under the umbrella of a utopian Islamic state. |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory's new 3D printer may be world's largest | |
 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory has a new supersized 3D printer -- perhaps the largest in the world -- and plans to shift its research on additive manufacturing over the next few years to emphasize working with metals such as steel and aluminum. The goal is to lower the cost and increase the speed to make 3D printing a viable alternative for large-scale, mainstream manufacturing. It's capable of printing components up to 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 6 feet tall, according to Lonnie Love, head of the lab's manufacturing systems research group. The Oak Ridge lab has rapidly become a world leader in additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. |
| Auto industry expansion across South Carolina causing economic tidal wave | |
 | Friday's announcement that Mercedes-Benz's parent company will pump a half-billion dollars into a new Lowcountry van-making plant -- coupled with the prospect of a huge Volvo factory in the vicinity -- will send an economic tsunami across the entire state, experts say. There are 401 companies in South Carolina that produce automotive parts, according to the S.C. Department of Commerce. That's up from 305 in 2008. And each could profit from new automakers. "The multiplier effects are stronger in the automotive industry than any other sector in South Carolina," said University of South Carolina research economist Joey Von Nessen. |
| International Author and Attorney to Speak at MUW | |
 | Human rights attorney and senior editor of "The Islamic Monthly" Arsalan Iftikhar will be the featured speaker for the Nell Peel Wolfe Lecture Series presented by the Ina E. Gordy Honors College March 26 at 6 p.m. in Poindexter Hall, Connie Sills Kossen Auditorium. The author of "Islamic Pacifism," Iftikhar also was a contributing author to "Taking Back Islam," winner of the 2003 Wilbur Communications Award for Religion Book of the Year. Iftikhar first rose to prominence when, two days after the attack on 9/11, he wrote an open letter to America that was carried by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, among others. A graduate of Washington University School of Law, he was then working with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. |
| Ole Miss profs' invention offers help for stutterers | |
| An estimated 3 million Americans stutter, and three University of Mississippi professors have created a device that might help many of them. "We call it a stuttering prosthetic," said Paul Goggans, professor of electrical engineering. "We call it that because we want to emphasize that it's not a cure: It's an aid." The device uses an "accelerometer" to pick up vocal vibrations, filter them and amplify them through a tiny vibrator that can be held, put in a pocket or attached to skin such as under a watch band. |
| Thomas Duff committed to advancing higher education | |
 | Tommy Duff's heart may bleed black and gold, but the University of Southern Mississippi supporter is committed to improving higher education statewide. Duff was one of four men recently tapped by Gov. Phil Bryant to fill four seats on the College Board. "Mississippi's public universities are incredibly important to the current and future success of our state as they are providing the research and instruction necessary to bring about the jobs of tomorrow," said Duff, 58, of Columbia. "That is my primary goal -- to make sure our public universities are fully prepared and well-positioned to provide a high-quality education to students now, and in the future." Named to a southern district seat, Duff succeeds Robin Robinson of Laurel. He -- along with Glenn McCullough Jr., Chip Morgan and Dr. Alfred McNair -- was appointed to a nine-year term on Feb. 19. |
| William Carey music therapy degree program hits right chord | |
| In the early 1970s, William Carey College student Helen Driskell happened upon a medical journal article about special education and music therapy. "I thought it was quite interesting, and it looked like a great field," said the now-married Driskell-Chetta, who did some research and learned Florida State University offered a music therapy degree. "I had planned to transfer to Florida State but mentioned the degree program to an administrator who told me to give Carey a chance." Carey eventually accommodated Driskell-Chetta and brought on Paul Cotten to head up the new program. And in 1974, Driskell-Chetta, a former music education major, became the first student to earn a degree in music therapy -- but definitely not the last. |
| State boasts high rate in college degrees | |
 | Mississippi has the fourth-highest rate of community college students completing degrees, according to a nationwide survey. Each year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center releases the results of an annual study about the rate of students completing degrees. Statewide, 46 percent of full-time students earn their community college degrees. The national rate is 39 percent. The study does not break down the figures by institution, but last year, the success rate at Copiah-Lincoln Community College was 56.3 percent. Co-Lin President Ronnie Nettles said comparing that figure with the national study is like comparing apples to oranges. |
| History of Alabama barbecue closely linked to politics, civil rights | |
| At various times in Alabama, barbecue has served as a social event bringing together rural communities, a political tool, civil rights backdrop and an avenue for entrepreneurship. "What I found really interesting was, over the course of the state's history, barbecue has really served as an occasion and a vehicle to bring people together who don't always spend a lot of time together," said Josh Rothman, professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Alabama. The history of the cooking style is the subject of an essay by UA graduate student Mark Johnson, which was edited by Rothman and published as part of the state tourism department's Year of Alabama Barbecue campaign. "Pork Ribs and Politics: The origins of Alabama barbecue" was published as a multimedia website presentation by the Southern Foodways Alliance, a nonprofit organization based at the University of Mississippi that documents and celebrates the food cultures of the South. |
| U. of Alabama investigates allegations of police bullying | |
 | University of Alabama officials are investigating allegations of bullying, unfair treatment and racism within the campus police department. The unsigned letter was sent to several media outlets, the UA board of trustees, administrators, the Alabama Ethics Commission, the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General last month. The letter claims that officers are held to different standards and that some have been fired or demoted without reason. UA administrators are investigating the anonymous complaints, according to a statement released Friday by Deborah M. Lane, associate vice president for university relations. |
| Auburn Hackathon sparks new ideas to improve community | |
 | Do you need a real time traffic detector that uses a motion algorithm to display choke points in Auburn and Lee County? Or do you want to know when Toomer's Corner is being rolled? There could soon be apps for that. More than three dozen individuals -- many of them college students -- gathered last month at Auburn University for the Auburn Hackathon, a two-day event where students formed teams and developed apps and other technology with the goal of bettering Auburn and Lee County. Several other hackathons were held in America and throughout the world that same day. "Many eager minds came out for the event and learned new things throughout the weekend," said Robert Skelton, an Auburn senior and president of the university's Linux Club. |
| Universities work to battle culture of drinking | |
 | Every weekend, around 11 p.m., the pilgrimage begins. Students at Vanderbilt University spill out of dorm rooms and apartments and make their way to a cluster of dimly lit watering holes a few minutes from campus. It's a weekend ritual repeated at popular college nightspots across Tennessee. Many factors drive drinking among students -- a newfound freedom from parental supervision, peer pressure and a cultural expectation that college is the place to drink. College students' troubling relationship with alcohol is nothing new, but a recent surge of high-profile sexual assaults and violence linked with alcohol abuse has triggered renewed focus -- and frustration -- for administrators and law enforcement across the country. Universities have taken a range of approaches to try to curb underage and excessive drinking. |
| UGA fundraising setting a record pace | |
 | The University of Georgia seems on track to set a new annual fundraising record. "We have gone over the $100 million mark already, which is substantially ahead of last year," President Jere Morehead recently told members of the UGA Staff Council. Four more months remain in the fiscal year that ends June 30, so UGA might exceed last year's mark, he said. Last year's FY 2014 total of $126.4 million set a fundraising record at UGA, university officials said. UGA fundraisers this year focused more on snagging major gifts from corporations, like a recently announced gift from the Delta Air Lines Foundation. |
| LSU cancels $54M Skanska contract for engineering building renovation | |
 | The state has canceled Skanska's $54 million contract for the renovation and expansion of Patrick F. Taylor Hall and instead will move forward on the project with Lemoine Co. A Skanska-MAPP Construction joint venture announced the team had won the contract in June. Skanska's piece of the contract was valued at $54 million, with the total contract valued at $77 million. Meghan Parrish, a spokeswoman with the Louisiana Division of Administration, said the project hasn't been canceled, just the contract with Skanska-MAPP. The contract with the joint venture differed from the usual process. The state selected Skanska-MAPP as a construction manager at risk, but the guaranteed maximum price the team came in with was higher than the funds available for the project, Parrish said. The state had the choice of accepting or rejecting the price. The state rejected the price. |
| Campus escorts a reminder of last fall's anxiety at U. of Florida | |
 | They sit with reflective green vests on, holding walkie-talkies and waiting for signs of trouble. Or to be asked to go for a walk around campus as the sun goes down. Michelle Tapia, a freshman journalism major, and Megan Colwell, a junior health education and behavior major, are members of Walk Safe, which provides campus escorts at night for University of Florida students. The program started last September after a string of assaults on young women on and around the UF campus sent fears soaring. Today, the escorts are the most visible reminders of those weeks in which dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies flooded the UF area searching for a man with a distinctive height and all-too-common clothing. |
| For those who didn't make the cut, an alternative route to UF | |
| Andy Moore's daughter was hoping to get into the University of Florida in the fall. Instead, she was offered a spot in UF's new Pathway to Campus Enrollment program, or PaCE, along with 3,100 other high school students who didn't receive letters admitting them to the traditional fall term. The program offers students who aren't accepted initially an opportunity to enroll in UF Online as degree-seeking students before transferring to the traditional bricks-and-mortar classrooms. At first his daughter was disappointed because she was hoping for the traditional college experience, he said. But he warmed up to the idea. |
| Alum donates $1 million to U. of Florida journalism | |
| A $1 million gift from a University of Florida graduate who grew up in Gainesville and went on to great corporate success could help students who are the first in their families to go to college and need extra financial help to get a degree in journalism or communications. The gift to the university from Gale V. King, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Nationwide Mutual Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, stipulates that it go to the College of Journalism and Communications. "It is just a fund for excellence," said Diane McFarlin, dean of the journalism school. The college is still determining how best to use the money, but a share definitely will go to students who need the financial support, she said. |
| U. of Arkansas eVersity's Moore Wants Path to Hard Work To Be Easy | |
 | Michael Moore's office shelves are crammed with books on business startups and online learning and psychology and statistics and digital analytics, and he's using all of them as he plans the launch of the University of Arkansas eVersity. The vice president for academic affairs for the University of Arkansas System borrows ideas like "fail fast" from the Silicon Valley startup culture, and he divides the colleges of the future into three categories: brick, click and brick-and-click. "College should be hard," Moore says, "but going to college should be easy." The statistics that transformed baseball, as described by Michael Lewis in "Moneyball," have arrived in higher education, he says, and it's time to take advantage of digital analytics to help students succeed. |
| Texas A&M takes another step to help build world's largest telescope in Chile | |
 | Texas A&M's role in the construction of the world's largest telescope took another step forward last month when the Board of Regents approved $50 million in support for the Giant Magellan Telescope construction. Crews are expected to begin building the 200-foot tall structure later this spring at the Las Campanas Observatory in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. The regents amended and restated their founders' agreement and commitment during a regular meeting in February, when the agreement was unanimously approved. Texas A&M will contribute about $25 million in additional funding to the project, which was spurred by late Aggie benefactor George P. Mitchell and his wife Cynthia Woods Mitchell. |
| Aggies spend weekend collaborating on inventions | |
| Texas A&M junior Tim Paulsen has three exams in the coming days, but rather than invest in studying over the weekend, he -- along with his teammates -- spent 48 hours competing in a project for which he won't earn any academic credit. When the mechanical engineering major said participating in Aggies Invent is well worth the risk, he is speaking from experience: Last fall, his team won first place by combining six tools commonly used by first-responder crews into one multi-purpose device. Nearly 65 students took part in the third Aggies Invent program over the weekend in the Engineering Innovation Center at A&M. |
| U. of Missouri System revamps federal lobbying efforts | |
 | After six years, the University of Missouri System is reopening its lobbyist office in Washington, D.C. With the new office comes some reshuffling of resources in the government relations office, including the hiring of a new, full-time person to run the D.C. office, after years of requiring the federal lobbyist commute between Missouri and Capitol Hill. "Recently we made the strategic decision to rekindle our efforts in Washington, D.C.," UM System spokesman John Fougere said, adding that the "strategic" move will benefit all four campuses. "Doing this properly requires constant presence in D.C.," Fougere said. |
| Missouri Students Association to meet with Muslims, veterans about screening of 'American Sniper' | |
 | University of Missouri student leaders plan to meet with veterans and members of MU's Muslim community on Monday to sort out a growing dispute over screening the film "American Sniper" on campus. Showings of the movie are scheduled on April 17 and 18 as part of the regular film series this semester in Wrench Auditorium in Memorial Union. The movie is about the Navy SEAL who is credited as being the most lethal sniper in American military history. In the last week, the plan to screen the movie has prompted letters and debate about the way Muslims and Arabs are portrayed. Both veterans and Muslims have taken sides in the matter. Monday's discussion is intended to help resolve the differences and determine whether the film will be shown. |
| Colleges not ready for 'college ready' Common Core | |
 | The Common Core standards are supposed to get students ready for college. But colleges don't seem ready for them. Five years after states across the nation began to adopt the Common Core, colleges have done little to align their admissions criteria, curricula or educational policies with the new standards. And experts warn that the inertia could make for a bumpy transition for high school students moving on to higher education. "There's still a huge divide between K-12 and higher ed," said Cecile Sam, an education researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. |
| U. of Oklahoma Fraternity Closed After Racist Video Is Posted Online | |
| Sigma Alpha Epsilon, one of America's largest college fraternities, closed its chapter at the University of Oklahoma late Sunday after a video posted hours earlier appeared to show fraternity members singing a racist chant. The university administration said it was investigating. The video shows a group of young white people in formal wear riding a bus and singing a chant laden with antiblack slurs and at least one reference to lynching. A grinning young man wearing a tuxedo and standing in the aisle of the bus pumps his fist in the air as he chants, while a young woman seated nearby claps. The chant vows that African-Americans will "never" be allowed to join the campus chapter. The video was first reported by The Oklahoma Daily, a student newspaper, that said it learned about it from an anonymous tip sent by email on Sunday. |
| Who Spewed That Abuse? Anonymous Yik Yak App Isn't Telling | |
| During a brief recess in an honors course at Eastern Michigan University last fall, a teaching assistant approached the class's three female professors. "I think you need to see this," she said, tapping the icon of a furry yak on her iPhone. The app opened, and the assistant began scrolling through the feed. While the professors had been lecturing about post-apocalyptic culture, some of the 230 or so freshmen in the auditorium had been having a separate conversation about them on a social media site called Yik Yak. There were dozens of posts, most demeaning, many using crude, sexually explicit language and imagery. After class, one of the professors, Margaret Crouch, sent off a flurry of emails -- with screenshots of some of the worst messages attached -- to various university officials, urging them to take some sort of action. In the end, nothing much came of Ms. Crouch's efforts, for a simple reason: Yik Yak is anonymous. There was no way for the school to know who was responsible for the posts. Eastern Michigan is one of a number of universities whose campuses have been roiled by offensive "yaks." |
| Banning the American flag? Why UC Irvine flap might be glimpse of future | |
 | A decision by the student body government of the University of California at Irvine to ban the display of all flags -- including the United States flag -- has been vetoed. According to the Associated Press, the university's executive cabinet has voted to overturn the ban, which prompted outrage nationwide and led one state legislator to consider an amendment to the California constitution to ensure the American flag could be flown on the campuses of state schools. Yet the move, short-lived though it was, speaks to more than an only-in-California spasm of 20-something intellectual angst. More broadly, it points to a generational shift in the notion of what patriotism is. |
| UC Irvine didn't ban the flag, but that may not be what you read online | |
 | The news spread quickly on Friday, particularly on conservative news sites. From Breitbart, for example (accompanied by a photo of an upside-down flag, the signal of dire distress): "UC Irvine Student Gov. Bans American Flag from "Inclusive' Space." As it turns out, the flag wasn't in fact banned. And while a legislative committee of the student government tried for a ban, it would have applied only to the lobby outside student government offices. And by late Saturday afternoon, that effort had been quashed. But in part because of rhetoric in the resolution (and people perhaps not reading the limited space covered by the resolution), the story went viral, infuriating many Irvine alumni and others, and kept plenty of Irvine administrators busy. |
| Some States Put Parents in Charge of Student Spending | |
 | Imagine an education system where state funding goes directly to parents, who use that money to piece together customized instruction for their children. For some families in Arizona and Florida, this latest evolution in school choice is already the reality. Those two states are pioneering what are called education savings account programs, or ESAs. For some advocates, these programs represent the fullest realization of the school choice movement's ideals: near total parental control and customization, all while lowering the cost of educating students by encouraging parents to save money. Lawmakers in other states, such as Mississippi and Oklahoma, have been introducing measures this year to set up similar programs. But, much like school voucher programs, any initiative directing public money away from regular districts often gets strong pushback and raises serious questions that range from accountability to viability. |
| BILL CRAWFORD (OPINION): Leadership crumbling along with highways and bridges | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "'Somebody's going to be killed,' Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall stressed to The Clarion-Ledger, pointing to a study that shows Mississippi has 2,275 structurally deficient bridges. 'That's what's going to happen.' The huge tax cut wind howling out of the Capitol just flicked his spittle back at him. For several years, Hall has been clamoring about Mississippi's deteriorating highways and bridges. That's because studies show approximately 25 percent of Mississippi's 29,000 miles of state highways need immediate attention, in addition to the bridge crisis. Since it will take big money and new revenue to fix things, the Legislature doesn't seem to hear him. ...Legislative and business leaders cringing from gas tax increases in an election year reveals highways and bridges aren't the only things crumbling." |
| PAUL HAMPTON (OPINION): Let's make every year an election year in Mississippi | |
| The Sun Herald's Paul Hampton writes: "Democrat David Baria wasn't buying it when the idea of eliminating the state's income tax hit the House floor, the day after Speaker Phil Gunn proposed the idea. Oh yes, the sausage factory churns that efficiently when there's a chance voters are paying attention. Baria allowed that if it was such a good thing to gradually phase out the state's income tax, why wait? He offered an amendment to start that party next year. Much hand-wringing ensued. How will we pay for schools, for roads, for bridges? Indeed. ...Trouble is, there is no conclusive evidence tax cuts bring jobs." |
| JIMMIE GATES (OPINION): A bill to nourish our brightest students | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Jimmie Gates writes: "It doesn't take a genius to know the better educated our students are, the better our state will be. There are a lot of bright, talented students in Mississippi. We need to nourish that talent. One bill that hasn't gotten much publicity is House Bill 646. The bill is still alive for now. It would create the Task Force on the Future of Gifted Education in Mississippi... I'm not a big fan of creating task forces because we have so many now, but I think this one has merit. The next great doctor, engineer, lawyer or whatever professional is in the making now. If this bill passes, one objective of the task force is to assess diverse offerings in other states and perhaps implement those in Mississippi." |
| GEOFF PENDER (OPINION): House has lobbyist-induced contortion over transparency | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Lawmakers talk a mean game about government 'transparency,' especially after some public official gets caught stealing a bunch of money or retirees get rooked on their pensions. They say things like 'sunshine is a powerful disinfectant' and vow to shed so much light on government that it's a wonder the average citizen doesn't go blind. But then they get to Jackson. Those who like to operate in much less ambient light, or in darkness, remind them over a steak dinner and cocktails how much money they could give or withhold from their campaigns or their opponents. And then, well, things start getting a little more opaque. The House leadership outdid itself with a lobbyist-induced contortion last week." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): UAW hits more roadblocks | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "The hits keep coming for the United Auto Workers labor union as they continue to fight to maintain relevance and attempt to infiltrate the foreign-owned automakers in 'Detroit South.' In recent days, a competing labor group -- the American Council of Employees or ACE -- has won limited organizing rights at a key Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. That's a significant impediment to the UAW's ongoing efforts at the VW plant. That came after another remarkable defeat for the UAW in Hamilton, Alabama's NTN-Bower Corporation plant voted for the fourth time to decertify the UAW from representing. The UAW has been certified at the plant since 1976. ...Despite cloaking the union push in Mississippi in the political vestments of the civil rights movement, union organizers should expect to encounter similar organized opposition in Mississippi at Nissan. Mississippi taxpayers are active partners in the state's emerging auto manufacturing industry and most remain wary of an expanded union presence in one of the state's real growth industries." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State men's basketball wins on Senior Day | |
| On Mississippi State's senior day, a junior stole the show. Craig Sword hit two critical 3-point baskets when the Bulldogs were desperate need of a lift. The shooting spree helped ignite a game-ending run as MSU pulled away to a 52-43 win over Missouri Saturday afternoon at the Humphrey Coliseum. "He made plays," MSU head coach Rick Ray said. "When the game is on the line, you expect your best player to make plays." MSU finishes the regular season at 13-18 overall and 6-12 in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs earn the No. 12 seed and will face Auburn at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the opening round of the conference tournament in Nashville (SEC Network). |
| Mississippi State's seniors win final game in Starkville | |
| Missouri's first visit to Humphrey Coliseum as a member of the Southeastern Conference was a 42-point win over Mississippi State in 2013. Its latest trip resulted in just 43 points total. The Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing skid with a 52-43 victory to complete the season sweep of the Tigers and send their four seniors out winners in their final home game. "I wanted to make sure that we went into the SEC Tournament on a positive note," said MSU coach Rick Ray. "I wanted to make sure more than anything that we had an identity on the defensive end." |
| Mississippi State ends season with momentum for postseason, next year | |
| With 37.7 second remaining, Roquez Johnson created his own curtain-call by recording his fifth foul. The Mississippi State senior walked toward the bench to a standing ovation in his final game at Humphrey Coliseum. Johnson's exit in MSU's 52-43 win against Missouri on Saturday, left next year's team on the court. A veteran backcourt of I.J. Ready and Craig Sword along with freshmen Demetrius Houston and Oliver Black will all be key cogs next season. "A lot of people say these guys aren't freshman anymore," MSU coach Rick Ray said. "But when you pick up the stat sheet and look at the roster, it still says they're a freshman." The youth complemented Ready and Sword throughout MSU's sixth Southeastern Conference win of the season. |
| Mississippi State can't close out San Diego to win series | |
| For the first 13 games of the season, it was nearly impossible to find a weakness in Mississippi State's baseball team. Now it's impossible to ignore them. Seven days after cruising past Samford to win its 13th-consecutive game to open the season, No. 8 MSU is reeling after losing three of four games. The first loss was a 3-2 setback to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday. The second was a 2-1 loss to San Diego on Friday. The third was a 9-6 loss to San Diego on Sunday, a game MSU led 5-0. "The last four years we've done a pretty good job with the lead late in the game. We just didn't do a good job today," MSU coach John Cohen said. |
| Ex-Bulldog hopes to follow roommate's path to majors | |
| Kendall Graveman jogged to the mound from the right-field bullpen in Fenway Park last September. Two-time home run derby champion Yoenis Cespedes waited for the former Mississippi State Bulldog at the plate to begin the bottom of the eighth. As 35,667 sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" in unison, Graveman threw his first major league warmup toss. A month later, the moment -- his first major league appearance -- brought tears to his eyes. "It's one of those things that you can't really grasp unless you're there. I wish everybody had an opportunity to do it," Graveman said. "I really do. It's something that if you have a desire to play baseball, continue to play." Recently, he shared that wisdom with former MSU teammate Ben Bracewell. The two roomed together for the last five years in Starkville, including this winter. |
| Victoria Vivians thumb, 'It's pretty bad, but it's OK' | |
| Victoria Vivians stepped out of Mississippi State's locker room with dried tears under her ties. A blood-stained white cloth wrapped her right thumb. "It's pretty bad" Vivians said. "But it's OK. Media availability ended, the locker room was closed, yet the freshman answered questions regarding Mississippi State's 76-67 loss to Kentucky on Friday. Some athletes would have sneaked out the back door to avoid any further discussion of the Southeastern Conference tournament loss. Others would have blamed their injury -- in this case her fingernail ripped off -- for their second-half struggles. Vivians did neither. "I focused on the thumb instead of focusing on the shot," Vivians said. The Carthage native impressed throughout her first season in Starkville. Friday was the latest show put on by the first-year player. |
| Bailey's home run lifts Mississippi State past No. 8 Georgia | |
| Mississippi State junior softball player Kayla Winkfield frequently talks about her team's motto: "Win the late innings." The Bulldogs did just that Sunday at the MSU Softball Field. Sophomore catcher Katie Anne Bailey hit a game-winning home run in the bottom half of the ninth inning to lift MSU to an 8-7 win against No. 8 Georgia in the final game of a three-game Southeastern Conference weekend series. "This game shows what this team is all about," said Winkfield, the squad's shortstop. "We had our backs against the wall and we really needed something good to happen. All the time we talk about winning the late games and living one at-bat at a time. Today we showed how you do that." |
| McDonald leads Mississippi State to another top 10 finish | |
| Coming off a stellar second round Saturday, the Mississippi State women's golf team finished the Darius Rucker Invitational in seventh place, shooting 301 on the day. This marks the seventh tournament in a row the team has finished in the Top 10 of an event. "We gave it all we had but fell short of the win," MSU coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said, "We have a lot to work on before our next tournament, however there is several good things to take away from this weekend." Leading the way for the team was All-American Ally McDonald. |
| Ole Miss QB Kelly's community service topic of court hearing | |
| Chad Kelly's attorney says the Mississippi quarterback has been tending to a community college athletic field as part of court-ordered community service imposed after a fight with bouncers outside a Buffalo nightclub. Kelly's attorney is scheduled to detail Kelly's work before a Buffalo City Court judge on Monday. Attorney Thomas Eoannou has to show Kelly's complied with a January plea agreement that had him admit to disorderly conduct in exchange for 50 hours of community service. The nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly was arrested Dec. 21, days after signing with Mississippi. |
| Reports: Houston's Mack Rhoades will be U. of Missouri's next athletic director | |
| After five weeks of searching, Missouri has reportedly found its new athletic director. Mack Rhoades, who has headed Houston's athletic department since 2009, will replace Mike Alden at Missouri, according to multiple reports Sunday night. CBSSports.com first reported the news. The University of Missouri Board of Curators called a special meeting for Monday morning starting at 7:30 and will vote to move to executive session for "consideration of certain confidential or privileged communications with university counsel, negotiated contracts and personnel matters all as authorized by law and upon approval by resolution of the Board of Curators" shortly after call to order. |
| Academic fraud at Syracuse: NCAA suspends basketball coach, vacates 108 wins | |
| In 2005, following a season of poor academic performance from his players, Syracuse University's head basketball coach, Jim Boeheim, hired a new director of basketball operations and gave him an imperative: "fix" the academic problems of his athletes. The director's solution, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was for athletics staff members to access and monitor the e-mail accounts of several players, communicate directly with faculty members as if they were the athletes, and then complete coursework for them. This sort of fraud had lasted more than half a decade at Syracuse, finally coming to light after a lengthy series of investigations by the university and the N.C.A.A. On Friday, the N.C.A.A. announced a number of sanctions against Syracuse. The decision comes at a time when the N.C.A.A. is under increasing pressure to improve the academic integrity of big-time college sports. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
