| Thursday, May 10, 2018 |
| Making the final deadlines: Journalism instructor Frances McDavid retiring after 30 years at MSU | |
 | Frances McDavid has been through dozens of last classes in her 30 years at Mississippi State University. But this one was different. The class, on April 25, was the last one before exams, and also happened to be McDavid's last regular class before her retirement. McDavid said some professors do last class lectures, but she hadn't planned to do anything more than a quick review for her students' take-home exam. She asked if anyone had any questions, and things evolved from there. "That day you have your last class meeting before you retire and you ask your students if they have questions," she wrote. "That's when their attention turns to life -- yours and theirs -- and to what the future holds for us all. That's the day I had. It was unplanned, but that's a good way to end 30 years of teaching." McDavid is retiring Tuesday, following a 30-year career as a steadfast member of MSU's Communication Department. |
| Hannah Ward recognized as MSU-Meridian's Outstanding Teacher Intern | |
 | Hannah Ward, an elementary education major from Philadelphia, was recognized by the College of Education as MSU-Meridian's Outstanding Teacher Intern. She received the recognition based on her resourcefulness, initiative and effectiveness throughout her teacher internship at Union Public Schools. Ward, a recent graduate of MSU-Meridian, will begin her teaching career this fall at Union Elementary School. Ward is the daughter of Barry Ward and Tonia Holley. |
| They're coming for you, Mississippi: How to fight gnats | |
 | What's Mississippi buzzing about? Well, it's not mosquitoes -- yet. It's the invasion of the black fly -- often called the buffalo gnat or turkey gnat. And it's enough to get your attention if bitten. Red welts are common, and the desire to scratch can be intense --- for days. Fever, nausea and allergic dermatitis are also possible. Heavy rains and flooding this year, in particular, have proved extremely conducive to the little devils along the Pearl River in central Mississippi, according to the Mississippi State University Extension Service. But, gnat outbreaks are being reported by media outlets in several states. University extension services are getting more than their usual number of inquiries, too. |
| Stanley Falkow, Father of Molecular Microbial Pathogenesis, Dies | |
 | Stanford University microbiologist Stanley Falkow, famous for his work on bacterial resistance to antibiotics and known by his colleagues as the "father of molecular microbial pathogenesis," died on Saturday. He was 84. The American Society of Microbiology wrote it was "saddened to learn of Stanley Falkow's passing," in a tweet. In addition to his research contributions, Falkow was known for his dedication to educating future generations of scientists. Members of the microbiology community have been taking to Twitter these past few days on learning of his death. Jeffrey Dean, head of the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University, writes that Falkow was "one of the kindest professors I met during my freshman year on campus and it was always a pleasure to chat when we bumped into each other in the halls of the old Medical Microbiology department." |
| Bt Beans on Hold: Monsanto Halts Plan for Bt Soybeans in US | |
| Monsanto has shelved a longstanding project to bring Bt soybeans to the U.S. by the turn of the decade. The company cited low grower demand, but U.S. insect resistance to the proteins in its Bt soybean product is more likely the culprit, entomologists told DTN. Mississippi State University Extension entomologist Angus Catchot said the Southern U.S. would benefit from a Bt soybean product. Southern soybean growers are facing high populations of soybean loopers and soybean podworm (also known as the cotton bollworm and corn earworm), along with growing insecticide resistance. "Both pests are resistant to pyrethroid insecticides, and soybean loopers are starting to show resistance to diamide insecticides," Catchot explained. "So we're putting tremendous pressure on the diamide class of chemistry in all crops. If we lose them, the demand for Bt soybeans, in the absence of new chemistry, would be extremely high." |
| SOCSD Board approves joint-use agreement with city | |
 | A long-discussed partnership came to fruition Tuesday night, when the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees approved a joint-use agreement between the city and the district. The agreement will keep district playgrounds and other facilities open during the summer and provides for a security presence, maintenance and liability insurance. It will also allow the city to use district facilities, including school gyms. In earlier interviews, Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said she hoped such an agreement would come about during her time as mayor. Superintendent Eddie Peasant said interim Starkville Parks and Recreation Director Gerry Logan and district Athletic Director Cheyenne Trussell formulated the agreement. |
| OCH begins meetings with affiliation partners | |
| OCH Regional Medical Center's Board of Trustees began a trio of meetings with possible affiliation partners on Tuesday. OCH, an Oktibbeha County owned system, began looking at affiliation amid a hard-fought campaign in 2017 county supervisors set in motion to try to sell the hospital and its clinics. Voters in November, however, opted to keep OCH publicly owned. An affiliation would create a partnership of shared resources between OCH and a larger system without giving that system ownership rights. Three health care systems have proposed affiliation to OCH -- Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Services, North Mississippi Health Services of Tupelo and the Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center. OCH board chair Linda Breazeale told The Dispatch on Tuesday that the meetings are follow-ups to presentations the board received and reviewed in March. |
| Mississippi man pleads guilty in timber fraud scheme | |
 | A Mississippi man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a fraud scheme that prosecutors say took in well over $100 million and victimized more than 300 people, including U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker. Arthur Lamar Adams pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court in Jackson in an agreement with prosecutors after earlier waiving indictment. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is pursuing a separate civil suit against Adams, says he began defrauding investors as early as 2004. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves set sentencing for Aug. 21. Adams faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Prosecutors say they also want Adams to forfeit his gains and make restitution. He remains confined at home. |
| First lawsuit filed in $100M ponzi scheme | |
| Arthur Lamar Adams has only a high school education but devised a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that attracted at least 300 wealthy investors to pour in more than $100 million into the scheme, a prosecutor said in court. Now the first of what could be hundreds of civil lawsuits have been filed by an investor against Adams' company, Madison Timber Properties LLC. On Wednesday, Adams, 58, pleaded guilty in federal court in Jackson to one count of wire fraud in a plea agreement. He is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud, carrying a maximum combined sentence of 70 years in prison if convicted. Sherri Hughes, who owns Highway 22 LLC in Madison County, said in her civil lawsuit that she is one of the defrauded investors. She filed suit in Madison County Circuit Court against Adams; his business partner, William McHenry; and Madison Timber Properties. |
| Robert DeNiro Raises Money for Dem in Mississippi US Senate Race | |
| Actors Robert DeNiro and Alec Baldwin are giving some fundraising help to a Democrat hoping to unseat Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Howard Sherman is one of six Democrats in the June 5 primary. He is married to actress Sela Ward, and they have a home near Meridian, Mississippi, where she was raised. The couple previously lived in Los Angeles. Sherman's campaign spokesman David Davis confirms that DeNiro and Baldwin helped host a cocktail party Tuesday in New York, with suggested campaign donations of $1,000 to $5,400 per person. Wicker faces one challenger in the GOP primary. He sent out his own fundraising email Wednesday, calling DeNiro and Baldwin "mega liberals" who have insulted President Donald Trump. |
| Mississippi Democrats fighting for Sen. Roger Wicker's seat want to legalize pot | |
 | David Baria isn't the only Democrat running for U.S. Senate who supports the legalization of medical marijuana. At least three other Democrats favor legalization of the drug. When Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, held a town hall by telephone last week, a caller asked where he stood on the issue, the Jackson Free Press reported. The leader of the Democratic Caucus in the Mississippi House then became the highest profile candidate in the six-person field for the June 5 primary to publicly back legalization. His House colleague Omeria Scott, D-Laurel, has introduced a bill the past two years to license and tax the retail sale of marijuana. Both times the bill died in committee. |
| GOP braces for more brutal Senate primaries | |
 | This much we can say: Mitch McConnell is less toxic than a criminally convicted coal baron who was blamed for the death of 29 people in a mining disaster. But the Senate majority leader's headaches in 2018 are far from over. Less than a day after triumphing over Don Blankenship in West Virginia, the Republican leader is bracing for a flurry of anti-McConnell barrages in two critical primaries in Arizona and Mississippi that will test whether McConnell can effectively be used as a foil by conservative candidates. Candidates there are already attacking him and using his name generously to raise money. The Arizona race is top of mind: McConnell has made no secret that he prefers Rep. Martha McSally over pardoned ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio and hard-charging former state Sen. Kelli Ward, according to confidants. After that, the GOP leader will turn his sights to Chris McDaniel, a state senator in Mississippi. |
| Trump offers hero's welcome to three Americans freed by North Korea | |
 | Three Americans held captive for more than a year in North Korea arrived at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington well before dawn Thursday to a hero's welcome featuring President Trump, Vice President Pence and first lady Melania Trump. Shortly before 3 a.m., in pitch black skies, a U.S. government plane made its approach to the runway with Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, having been preceded by a jet carrying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A large American flag suspended by two fire engine cranes was arranged on the tarmac, which was lit by banks of spotlights. The arrival of the men was the culmination of a whirlwind 20 hours since the three were freed in a dramatic diplomatic moment. |
| Expect Iran to react with cyberattacks now that nuke deal is dying, experts say | |
 | U.S. banks, utilities and airports may want to buckle up for retaliatory Iranian cyberattacks following the U.S. pullout from a nuclear accord with Iran, cyber researchers said Wednesday. Iran has a history of unleashing its hackers at moments of geopolitical tension and has displayed a willingness to deploy broadly destructive attacks. "It's American businesses that are likely to bear the brunt of that," said Levi Gundert, a former Secret Service agent who is vice president of threat intelligence at Recorded Future, a Somerville, Massachusetts, cybersecurity firm. Iran's offensive cyber program geared up in 2009, around the time that U.S. and Israeli cyber warriors launched what became known as the Stuxnet worm that caused hundreds of Iranian centrifuges at its Natanz facility to spin out of control and shatter, a major blow to its nuclear program. |
| Government Will Test And Collect Data From New Drone Programs In 10 States | |
 | Here's a hypothetical: How tolerant would you be of a drone flying over your head or zooming through your backyard, if it were carrying life-saving medicine to the scene of a hard-to-reach accident? The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to collect the answers to questions like this, and a slew of other data, in a new test project called the Integration Pilot Program. After combing through 149 applications from state, local and tribal governments seeking to partner with some of the world's leading technology companies, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the winners Wednesday. The purpose of the two-and-a-half-year program is to help the DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration craft new regulations that will allow drones to fly at lower altitudes and along high-traffic flight paths. |
| Walk of a champion: Stricken student from Mantachie gets second chance, earns UM degree | |
 | Three years ago, Seth Dickinson was just another University of Mississippi freshman enjoying time off for spring break. That is, until an unexpected hemorrhagic stroke left him comatose on his bedroom floor. When Dickinson awoke from his coma nine days later, the Mantachie native was paralyzed and mute. Gone were his ability to read, write, speak and walk. Worst of all was being told that he would no longer be able to pursue his education at the university. Fortunately, Dickinson's story has a happy ending. Through his own determination and with strong encouragement from a supportive university staff member, he recovered, returned to school and will be walking across the platform Saturday in The Pavilion at Ole Miss to receive his degree in public policy leadership. |
| Wasted food on move-out day sparks idea for grad student | |
| Julie LaBerge has called Oxford home for six years while attending Ole Miss and now before she returns home to Georgia, she wants to leave the LOU community better than when she moved here to start her college career. LaBerge, who is receiving her master's degree in integrated marketing communications Saturday, lived at the Retreat student living development in her junior year. "I was the last one to move out of the house, and I had three trash bags filled with food that the others left behind," LaBerge said. "One was filled with food that could have still been eaten." Without knowing where to bring the food, she wound up throwing it away. "That stuck in the back of my head for a long time," LaBerge said. Since then, she's volunteered at the Empty Bowls fundraiser for The Pantry, and she learned there is always a "drought" of food donations during the summer months. |
| New CEO of UMMC Grenada and Holmes County named | |
 | A local hospital administrator is now in charge of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Grenada and UMMC Holmes County. Wes Sigler has been named CEO of the two facilities. He will begin his duties on May 14. He comes to UMMC from North Mississippi Medical Center's Eupora hospital, where he has served as administrator since October 2014. Sigler is a graduate of the University of North Alabama and Mississippi State University. |
| USM Honors Man Repeatedly Rejected for Admission | |
 | Clyde Kennard, a Hattiesburg native and Korean War Veteran, applied to attend the University of Southern Mississippi three times in the 1950's. Each application to the segregated institution at the time was denied. Kennard was studying at the University of Chicago when his stepfather died. He returned to Mississippi to help his mother with their farm. USM Professor Sherita Johnson directs the Center for Black Studies. "His attempts were not politically motivated necessarily. He was active in the local NAACP. But this wasn't a campaign to integrate the university. This was simply a personal initiative to complete his education," said Johnson. Friday, the University of Southern Mississippi will posthumously grant Clyde Kennard an honorary doctorate degree. USM's Dr. Eddie Holloway is Dean of Students. "It did take a long time. But we're happy and hopefully this will be apart of the healing of such a tragic story," said Holloway. |
| Thomas Huebner resigns as president of East Mississippi Community College | |
| Thomas Huebner has resigned as president of East Mississippi Community College, EMCC Board Chairman Jimmie Moore confirmed Wednesday. "Dr. Huebner resigned Monday night at our regular board meeting," Moore said. "His formal effective end date is June 30, but he has leave that he's taking. After (Tuesday), he had no more duties with EMCC." Moore said that while Huebner did not state a reason for his resignation, he understood that the decision was prompted by Huebner's status as a finalist for the Meridian Community College presidency. EMCC Vice President Paul Miller, the first of the five finalists for the Meridian Community College president's position, remains at the school, Moore said. Huebner, who has been president at EMCC since 2015, was not available for comment. |
| EMCC President Thomas Huebner resigns, pursues MCC leadership role | |
| After nearly three years with East Mississippi Community College Thomas Huebner announced Wednesday he would be resigning as president of the college. "We appreciate his service for the last almost three years to our institution," Jimmie Moore, the EMCC Board Chairman, said. Moore said Huebner gave the board a letter of resignation Monday night at the scheduled board meeting and the board accepted it. Meridian Community College named Huebner as one of five final candidates on April 24 after inviting Huebner to interview for the position. Huebner's public forum tentatively has been scheduled for May 30, the final of five public candidate forums. Huebner could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. |
| Radio personality Tom Joyner will speak at Hinds CC Utica graduation | |
| Tom Joyner, a nationally syndicated radio and TV host based in Dallas, will be the graduation speaker at the Hinds Community College Utica ceremony May 13. Hinds CC Utica was selected by the Tom Joyner Foundation as its June 2018 School of the Month, one of only two two-year HBCUs selected. Joyner's foundation supports historically black colleges and universities through fundraising, scholarships and endowments. Fundraising efforts include a monthly day of giving, church and community outreach programs, a donor reception and a visit from Joyner. All donations received during the campaign will be used for student scholarships at Hinds CC Utica. |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College to host graduation today, Friday | |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College will host commencement ceremonies today and Friday at the Bonner Arnold Coliseum. Tonight's ceremony will be for graduates receiving degrees in Health Sciences. Friday's ceremony will be for Associate of Arts, Associate of Applied Sciences and Certificate graduates. Both ceremonies will begin at 7 p.m. with lineup starting at 6 p.m. Family and friends who are unable to attend, may watch Northeast's commencement exercises live and in high-definition on NEMCCTV.com. |
| Itawamba Community College graduation ceremonies slated for this weekend | |
| Approximately 630 students will participate in two commencement ceremonies, which are scheduled for Saturday in the Davis Event Center at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus. This year the two ceremonies will be split according to the alphabet and not by degrees/certificates awarded as in the past. The 11 a.m. ceremony will include graduates whose last names are A-L, and the 3 p.m. ceremony, M-Z. Associate of Arts and Associate of Applied Science degrees as well as certificates will be awarded at both ceremonies. The speaker for both ceremonies will be ICC alumnus and Tupelo native Dr. Ketra Armstrong of Ypsilanti, Mich., a tenured professor in the school of Kinesiology in the Department of Sport Management at the University of Michigan. |
| Education task force named to examine state testing | |
| A wide group of teachers, legislators and other education officials were named Wednesday to a new task force to study student testing, the Mississippi Department of Education announced. In a release, the department announced the members of the Mississippi Student Testing Task Force, which State Superintendent Carey Wright said last month will be charged with studying local and state testing. High school seniors will also have the chance to serve on the task force. The Department of Education will ultimately choose four students from each of Mississippi's congressional districts to serve and participate in discussions about how "to ensure the state prepares them for college, the work force or the military," according to the release. Members of the public can send their comments on testing to testingtaskforce@mdek12.org. |
| Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition to boost payments for students' tuition, fees | |
 | Families holding contracts with Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition plan will see a 7 percent increase in what program pays for tuition and fees this fall. State Treasurer and chairman of the PACT board Young Boozer announced the increase Wednesday. This follows an 8 percent increase last year and a 6 percent increase in 2016. PACT, created by the Legislature in 1989, was intended to pay the full cost of tuition and mandatory fees at state colleges. Parents and grandparents bought PACT contracts years in advance to make college more affordable for their children and grandchildren. The PACT Program currently has 17,720 active contracts. The program stopped selling new contracts in 2008. |
| Tuition at Alabama's two-year colleges to be increased starting this fall | |
 | Students at the state's two-year colleges will see a tuition increase this fall. The Alabama Community College System board of trustees approved a tuition increase of $10 per credit hour at its regular monthly meeting Wednesday in Montgomery. In-state tuition at Alabama's community and technical colleges will go from $119 per credit hour to to $129 beginning in the fall 2018 semester, according to the recommendation approved by the board. The increase will provide about $14 million in additional revenue for the ACCS. Local funds provided by the tuition increase will go toward renovations and construction projects, technology advancements and safety enhancements, according to the document. |
| Six from Auburn awarded prestigious National Science Foundation Research Fellowships | |
| Five Auburn University students and an alumna are recipients of the 2018 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and five others received honorable mention. The fellowship program helps ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce in the United States. This year's fellows from Auburn are: Dalisa Kendricks, Steph Courtney, Elijah Johnson, Breanna Sipley, Jill Joffee and Kristin Zuromski. Their research topics include the effects of environmental neurotoxins; communicating climate change; enhancing spatial thinking; interaction of parasites and their hosts; detecting hidden improvised explosive devices; and protein quality control in cells. "The number of Auburn University students applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program continues to grow each year," said Paul Harris, associate director for National Prestigious Scholarships in the Honors College. |
| Auburn University employee files race discrimination suit against AU and his supervisor | |
| Cameron Boozer Sr., a supervisor of security at Auburn University, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the university and its interim executive director of the Campus Safety and Security Department, claiming he was denied a promotion due to his race. Identified as an African-American male in the lawsuit against Chance Corbett and Auburn University, Boozer contends he was denied the position of associate director of campus security despite his belief that he was "better qualified" than Tony Dean, "a Caucasian male from predominantly white Faulkner University." Dean was hired for the position in October, 2017. Boozer's lawsuit is the second in less than a month filed by an Auburn University employee against the university for racial discrimination. |
| Beverly Davenport firing: Some insist U. of Tennessee move was result of outsourcing call | |
 | A week after University of Tennessee Chancellor Beverly Davenport was fired from the top job, members of UT's faculty and United Campus Workers staff continue to maintain her termination was retaliation for her opposition to the proposed outsourcing plan. Her firing has done more than ruffle feathers, as some faculty openly question UT System President Joe DiPietro's leadership of the state's flagship institution. On Monday, DiPietro said the outsourcing decision was not a factor in Davenport's termination and that the issue would not be reconsidered. He reiterated that in a statement to the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee on Wednesday. Gov. Bill Haslam also said last week that outsourcing played no part in Davenport's dismissal. Jon Shefner is head of UT's sociology department and a faculty senator. He said it's pretty clear Davenport was fired because of her opposition to outsourcing and her firing was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of the lack of trust between faculty and the administration. |
| Ex-LSU instructor hopes to take discrimination claims to Supreme Court | |
 | A former LSU instructor who filed a federal lawsuit against the university for gender discrimination now plans to take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Plaintiff Margaret "Margot" Herster was hired in 2009 to work in the digital arts program of the university's Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technology and Research Initiative, known as AVATAR. Herster claims LSU paid her less than half what it paid nine other AVATAR full time faculty -- all men -- who also received benefits and other privileges Herseter said were denied to her. Herster's lawsuit accused LSU and several people in the art school and human resources department of unlawful retaliation, as well as state and federal labor law violations by discriminating against her based on her gender. |
| U. of Florida engineers invent 'Skim Reaper' to detect card skimmers | |
| Patrick Traynor, a cybersecurity expert, was in New York in February working with police to help identify a way to detect credit card skimmers on ATMs when he got a financial fraud alert: his own information had been stolen while he was in town. It wasn't the first time. In five years the University of Florida computer information science and engineering professor had his personal information stolen by credit card skimmers -- devices illegally installed on ATMs and gas station pumps that "skim" consumer credit card numbers -- a half-dozen times. "I've got 15 years of experience in the field of information security. If I can't protect myself reliably, who else possibly can?" Traynor said. After three years of study, Traynor and two Florida graduate students invented a device they call the "Skim Reaper," a credit-card thin gadget that slides into card reader slots and can easily and quickly detect if an ATM or gas pump has been compromised. The New York Police Department is testing the Skim Reaper with some early success in its effort to rid the streets of the pervasive devices. |
| U. of Kentucky frat brothers could go to prison over campus drug-sale plan | |
 | Three Lexington men are scheduled to be sentenced Friday in a complex case involving University of Kentucky fraternity brothers, a traffic stop in Kansas, an unlawful imprisonment and a conspiracy to transport 18 pounds of marijuana from Colorado to Lexington to sell on campus. John "Porky" Cooper, 37, Zachary Costin, 22, and Ethan Hatfield, 21, pleaded guilty this spring to amended charges in connection with an assault, theft and holding a man against his will at a $2.5 million house near Hartland Estates, and then releasing him naked. Costin and Andrew Ward, 22, the fourth defendant, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to trafficking marijuana. Ward's sentencing is scheduled for May 18 before Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis. |
| Final provost candidate visits U. of Missouri | |
 | The fourth and final candidate seeking the provost post at the University of Missouri fielded questions from faculty, staff and students Wednesday at the Reynolds Alumni Center. Craig Benson, dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Virginia, is seeking to replace Garnett Stokes, who left MU this year to become president of the University of Mexico. Undergraduate vice provost Jim Spain has been the interim provost since Stokes left. Benson was also a distinguished professor, chair of civil and environmental engineering, chair of geological engineering and director of sustainability research and education for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Mizzou should be the university of choice for every young person in the state of Missouri," Benson said. "A guiding principle is always looking forward. We need to look at where the world is going and align ourselves." |
| Duke Administrator's Complaint About Music Apparently Got 2 Campus Baristas Fired | |
 | Larry Moneta's usual visit to the Joe Van Gogh coffee shop on Duke University's campus last week went sour when he heard a rap song that two baristas were playing, reports Indy Week. Moneta, vice president for student affairs at Duke, complained to the executive director of dining services, Robert Coffey, after he heard the song "Get Paid," by Young Dolph, playing on the shop's speakers. The music was "playing quite loudly," Moneta told The Chronicle, and he found some explicit lyrics "inappropriate for a working environment that serves children, among others." "I expressed my objections to the staff with whom I've always had a cordial relationship," Moneta wrote in a statement. "I insisted on paying for my purchase and left the store. I then contacted the director of Duke Dining to express my concerns, and that was the end of my involvement." Two baristas were fired, according to Indy Week. |
| Yale police called on black graduate student who was napping | |
 | A white Yale University student called the campus police this week upon finding a black graduate student taking a nap in the student's dormitory common room. The police came and the black student needed to get her identification card to show that she belonged in the building. Napping in common areas of dormitories (not to mention libraries and elsewhere on campus) is hardly unusual at Yale or most colleges, especially at the end of a semester, when many students are feeling pressure to finish assignments. So the incident has become the latest in which minority individuals are subjected to the police for behavior that goes unnoticed when white people do it. Concerns on these issues also extend to black faculty members, who have described local or campus police in college towns who seem to doubt that these professors could in fact be teaching at the institutions that employ them. |
| AAUP Says U. of Nebraska Denied Due Process to Grad Student Who Heckled Activist | |
| The University of Nebraska at Lincoln did not provide due process to a graduate student who was removed from her teaching duties after giving the finger to an undergraduate and calling her names during a political protest, according to the American Association of University Professors. Instead, the public university appears to have bowed to political pressure. The protest happened last August on a plaza outside the student union. Kaitlyn Mullen, a sophomore, was handing out political paraphernalia and signing up students for Turning Point USA, a conservative organization that wants to take the reins of power on campuses. |
| Education Department to revisit regulatory restrictions on religious colleges | |
| Education Secretary Betsy DeVos plans to overhaul restrictions on religious colleges' access to federal student aid in the next round of deregulation at the Department of Education. What that means for particular federal programs, though, is unclear -- religious institutions are already among the biggest recipients of federal student financial aid, and the department did not offer any details Wednesday about its aims in revisiting federal rules, beyond the language contained in the release of its spring regulatory agenda. The department said it would appoint a rule-making panel to negotiate changes to those restrictions to student aid programs, according to the documents outlining that agenda, and the department itself could amend regulations involving federal grants or participation in state-run programs. |
| Time is right to bridge rural broadband divide in Mississippi | |
| Mike McCormick, the president of Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, writes: "Rural broadband is a critical pathway to global markets for agriculture and other industries. Farmers and ranchers depend on broadband, just as they do highways, railways and waterways, to ship food, fuel and fiber across the country and around the world. From a broader perspective, rural communities need access to health care, government services, educational and business opportunities. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 39 percent of rural Americans lack access standard broadband service, compared to only 4 percent of urban Americans, or an estimated 34 million people.There are some exciting activities taking place in Washington, D.C., right now on the topic of rural broadband." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State downs Troy in extra innings at Hoover Met | |
| While it may have taken longer than they would have liked, the Mississippi State baseball team found a way to put its final non-conference game of the season into the win column Wednesday night. Elijah MacNamee hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the 10th inning. He then scored when a bunt by Marshall Gilbert was thrown away at third base allowing the Bulldogs to escape Hoover Metropolitan Stadium with a 9-8 win over Troy. "You have to be proud of the kids," MSU head coach Gary Henderson said. "To come back and score in the ninth and then the 10th is impressive. We really needed this win, so it was a great that we found a way." MSU improved to 27-22 and can now focus its attention of a pair of Top 10 Southeastern Conference foes to wrap up regular season play. |
| With a regional on the line, Gary Henderson betting on long reliever | |
| "TBA" made its season debut last week for Mississippi State. The acronym, short for "to be announced," became something of a running joke on Twitter last season when Mississippi State was often unable to list its starting pitchers for a weekend series because of mounting injuries. Mississippi State (26-22, 11-13 SEC) needs to win its series against Kentucky (31-17, 11-13) this weekend to realistically stay in the picture for a regional -- D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Bulldogs in as a No. 3 seed in their latest rankings, respectively -- with six conference games left. |
| Despite connections to Kentucky, Gary Henderson wants to help MSU win games | |
| For more than a decade, Kentucky was the baseball home for current Mississippi State interim head coach Gary Henderson. From 2004 until 2016, Henderson was an assistant with the Wildcats before he spent his final eight years in Lexington as one of Kentucky's most successful head coaches in program history. This weekend, Henderson returns to play in Kentucky for the first time since he came to MSU prior to last season. He says it won't be some grand reunion though. Instead, it'll be a business trip. "We've got to go win baseball games," Henderson said. "It'll be like that. It'll just be about winning baseball games." Every victory is indeed vital for Mississippi State right now. The Bulldogs, who sit at 26-22 overall and 11-13 in Southeastern Conference play, are battling to stay in the field for the SEC Tournament, so it's no surprise Henderson is singularly focused heading into this weekend. |
| Bulldogs reach SEC Softball Tournament quarterfinals | |
| Texas A&M's Trinity Harrington took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but 11th-seed Mississippi State (36-20) broke through with three timely hits in the sixth to plate two runs to knock off sixth-seed Texas A&M, 2-0, to advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC Championship. The win is a milestone under the helm of head coach Vann Stuedeman as it is the first tournament win in her tenure. It is also the first time MSU has won a game in the conference tournament since 2005. "It was a really great game (Wednesday)," Stuedeman said. "Texas A&M is an incredible team and Trinity Harrington is an incredible pitcher. We knew it was going to be a lot of fun with two drop-ball pitchers in the circle. Our seniors are really going some big things for us, so far in this tournament." The Bulldogs (36-20) advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC Championship and will return to the field Thursday to battle No. 3 South Carolina at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network. |
| SEC softball tourney: Mississippi State wins, Ole Miss loses | |
| While Ole Miss saw its SEC softball tournament title defense end quickly on Wednesday, Mississippi State lived to fight another day. Ole Miss opened its tourney appearance with a 4-1 loss to LSU, in a rematch of last season's championship game. Mississippi State, meanwhile, opened with a 2-0 win over Texas A&M -- the first SEC tourney win for the Bulldogs since 2005. MSU (36-20) will play third-seeded South Carolina today at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network. The shutout was MSU's 18th of the season, a program record. |
| A&M falls to Mississippi State at SEC softball tournament, 2-0 | |
 | Mississippi State's Holly Ward pitched a three-hitter as the Bulldogs snapped a nine-game losing streak in the Southeastern Conference softball tournament with a 2-0 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday. The 25th-ranked Bulldogs (36-20) advance to play third-seeded South Carolina at 11 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals. The 14th-ranked Aggies (40-16) lost their fourth straight game and dropped to 0-5 all-time at the SEC tournament. A&M's Trinity Harrington had a no-hitter through five innings in the tourney's opener, but Emily Heimberger opened the sixth with a single. MSU's Mia Davidson struck out, but Morgan Bell's RBI double into left-center field scored Heimberger. Sarai Niu grounded out, allowing pinch-runner Macey Petrey to reach third. Reggie Harrison hit a weak popup 25 feet in front of the plate with back spin that went for an RBI single as Harrington couldn't make a play. |
| SEC Tournament one step in whirlwind spring for ESPN announcers | |
| The life of an ESPN announcer has incredible perks: loads of travel, being an active part of history and, of course, making a living watching and narrating sports. It's also more demanding than many probably realize. Spring, in particular, is a gantlet as some of the network's most recognizable voices and faces bounce from calling basketball to softball to baseball with no discernable buffer. ESPN sent a quartet of high-profile, multi-sport talent to Columbia for this week's Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament: Adam Amin, Beth Mowins, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge. All were happy to share their realized dreams as sports broadcasters with the Tribune during the tournament's first round Wednesday. |
| SEC Track Championships to prepare Mississippi State for later | |
| It's the goal of the Mississippi State track program to get as many athletes prepared and qualified for the NCAA Nationals in five weeks in Eugene, Oregon. There is no better training ground for the Bulldogs than what they are about to experience at the Southeastern Conference Championships this weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee. "For us to have the opportunity to go to the SEC Championships, it prepares us against the rest of the nation way more," MSU head track coach Steve Dudley said. "The other conferences championships are good championships, but are nowhere near mentality-wise of the focus these kids have to bring to the SEC meet." The Bulldogs have experienced success in the SEC this season. They have seven men's individuals in the top 10 of the conference along with the fifth-fastest 4x400m relay. The top eight finishers in each event at the league meet will record points. |
| Ben Howland tabs Josh Pierre as new video coordinator | |
| A familiar name has resurfaced within the Mississippi State basketball program, one that will resonate with fans immediately. Pierre. But instead of Butch, it's his son Josh. On Wednesday, the 25-year-old Pierre was named MSU's new video coordinator. He joins the Bulldogs' staff after spending the previous year as director of operations at his alma mater, Arkansas State. "We are thrilled to have Josh joining our staff," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "He's been around basketball his entire life. He's extremely intelligent and has a great work ethic. He's going to be a huge boost to our program." Pierre, who played for Red Wolves from 2013-16, will oversee all video scouting and recruiting components and assist with the day-to-day operation of summer basketball camps. |
| Southern Miss football will face Alabama in 2021 | |
 | Southern Miss has added another future road game against Alabama to the slate. The Golden Eagles will travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 25, 2021, the Hattiesburg American has confirmed. The deal was first reported by FBSchedules.com. Southern Miss is already set to make the trip to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 21, 2019. The Crimson Tide will pay a $1.9 million guarantee to the Golden Eagles for the 2021 meeting, per FBSchedules.com. The 2019 matchup will bring about a $1.85 million payday. The Alabama game is the second non-conference contest scheduled for the 2021 season, as Southern Miss is scheduled to travel to South Alabama on Sept. 4. |
| NCAA rules are 'incomprehensible,' says Condoleezza Rice | |
 | Two weeks after the Commission on College Basketball's findings on the scandal-ridden men's game were met with criticism in the news media, Commission chair Condoleezza Rice defended the group's work in a telephone interview Wednesday while making a strong case that student-athletes in all NCAA sports should be able to make money from their names, images and likenesses. "We believe that students ought to be able to benefit from name, image and likeness but you can't decide a program until you know the legal parameters," Rice told USA TODAY Sports. "That was the point. I think some of the commentary suggested that we didn't really speak on this issue. I think we did speak on this issue, it's just that we understand there's a legal framework that has to be developed first." |
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