| Friday, October 11, 2019 |
| GUEST VIEW: Study finds international aid investments pay domestic dividends | |
 | Dr. Mark E. Keenum, chairman of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development and President of Mississippi State University, writes in The Meridian Star: Working to find solutions to the many problems posed by hunger and poverty have defined much of my professional life. As a former USDA Under Secretary and now as president of one of our nation's leading land-grant universities, I have seen first-hand the powerful difference American investment can make in addressing these significant global challenges. In just a few days during World Food Prize Week in Des Moines, Iowa, the presidentially appointed advisory board to USAID -- the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) -- will release the results of a study that show the strong benefits to the United States of international aid investments. |
| OUR OPINION: Positive impacts come in all shapes, sizes | |
 | The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: Spencer Kirkpatrick has a deep-down love for Mississippi State. The student body has now shown him what he means to the university by electing him MSU's 2019 homecoming king. Announced Tuesday, the honor culminated a four-year college experience that had allowed the Tupelo native to "grow in life," according to his father Kevan Kirkpatrick. Spencer, who was born with Down Syndrome, is a senior enrolled in Mississippi State's Access program, a four-year non-degree program for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities, as reported by Daily Journal staff writer Danny McArthur. MSU and other colleges and universities are changing the storyline that children with Down Syndrome can't go to college with their programs that foster self-help and independence. ... The support for Spencer has been far reaching and is indicative of an inclusive atmosphere at Mississippi State, which advocates for and embraces him. |
| Mississippi State Opens MaxxSouth Digital Media Center | |
 | Mississippi State University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new MaxxSouth Digital Media Center on Monday, Oct. 7, inside the Mitchell Memorial Library. MaxxSouth Broadband donated $440,000 to MSU to construct the digital media center and provided an accompanying endowment to support the facility's upkeep, MSU said in a release. MSU's Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Sciences and its department of communication, the University Television Center and MSU Libraries also contributed to the renovation. The MaxxSouth Digital Media Center will include an audio and video recording studio; a makerspace and multimedia lab with 3D printers, two sewing machines, and craft supplies for sewing, knitting, building and modeling; the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems Mixed Reality Studio, which features virtual reality stations with Oculus Rifts, Microsoft HoloLenses and two developmental computers; a television broadcast studio for class instruction and a weekly, live news show by broadcasting majors; and a collaboration studio for meetings and study for groups of five or more, as well as individual study areas. |
| Annexation challenged in Oktibbeha Chancery Court | |
 | A trial date has been set in the Oktibbeha County Chancery Court following a complaint to the court from 30 individuals and one business. The trial is scheduled for June 15, 2020. Other important dates for the procedure were outlined in court documents. The city of Starkville will have until Dec. 2 to provide information regarding any expert witnesses it will use for its case while objectors will have until Jan. 2, 2020 to provide the same information. Discovery, the process where opposing parties in a lawsuit present facts and information regarding a case, is set to be completed by March 1 of next year. A status conference that will provide updates before the trial begins is currently scheduled for May 6, 2020. Of the objectors, 12 will be represented by Oxford-based attorneys S. Ray Hill and David O'Donnell. The Retreat at Starkville, a subsidiary of Landmark Properties in Athens, Georgia, was the sole business listed as an objector and will be represented by Starkville attorney Charles Yoste. |
| More training space planned for new Army Reserve Center in Starkville | |
 | They have a variety of day jobs, from aircraft worker to law student, but they are all members of the U.S. Army Reserve, they all train in Starkville and they will have a new training facility in about 18 months. The Guy II and Will A. Jones U.S. Army Reserve Center has been at the intersection of Willow Road and Highway 12 since 1958. Its 14,000 square feet were meant to accommodate one unit, but four currently use it for monthly training drills. The new 25,000 square-foot building will sit on 15 acres in Cornerstone Park, and is scheduled for completion in May 2021. It will be more energy-efficient and "really what you would expect when you replace a 50s building with a 21st-century building," said Jeff Johnston, public affairs director for the U.S. Army Reserve's 81st Readiness Division. "This building will be designed for today's Army, not the Army of the Korean War," Johnston said. |
| Area legislators chart spending ahead of November election | |
| Thursday marked the deadline for periodic campaign finance reports with the Mississippi Secretary of State's office for candidates running for district and statewide offices, which saw legislators from the Golden Triangle area report contributions and spending leading up to the Nov. 5 General Election in Mississippi. One race for a House of Representatives seat will see a longtime incumbent face off against a political newcomer in November. Incumbent Rep. Gary Chism, a Columbus Republican, is seeking another term in the House, but will have to defeat to Libertarian Vicky Rose, of West Point, to do so. Chism, whose district covers parts of Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties, filed his periodic report on Oct. 1 and reported $13,200 in itemized contributions during the reporting period, which equals his total raised for the calendar year-to-date. Other than Chism, who represents a small stretch of Oktibbeha County, no legislative races will be contested on the November ballot. |
| U. of Southern Mississippi hosts Jim Hood, Tate Reeves in first gubernatorial debate | |
 | Republican Lt. Governor Tate Reeves and Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood met for their first gubernatorial debate at the University of Southern Mississippi Thursday night. Both candidates are on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election. Their debate focused on issues like equal pay, gun control, healthcare and the state flag. But, the topic of respect also came up. One of the moderators asked both candidates what they respected about each other. Reeves said he respected Hood's dedication to public service while raising small children. Hood, on the other hand, said he respected Reeves ability to raise campaign funds. "He's raised $11 million in campaign money and he's done it by giving away our tax money," Hood said. "You've got to give him credit for it." "The way in which (Hood) chose to answer the question, that's up to him," said Reeves. "I'm focusing on offering conservative solutions to Mississippi's problems." |
| Jim Hood, Tate Reeves square off in fiery debate | |
| In a debate that saw heated moments and sharp jabs aplenty, gubernatorial candidates Jim Hood and Tate Reeves tangled over things like healthcare policy, teacher pay, infrastructure spending, gun sales and judicial appointments all while relentlessly hammering each other with accusations of corruption, dishonesty and evasion. Hood, a Democrat, and Reeves, a Republican, met on a debate stage at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg Thursday night. The two men aired significant differences on policy views, most of which have been major themes of the campaign trail thus far. Healthcare provided some of the starkest divides between the two men. Hood wants to take federal money and expand eligibility for Medicaid to those he describes as "working folk," a policy he believes will keep rural hospitals open. Hood, the incumbent attorney general, thinks this expansion can be done without a massive infusion of public dollars in the state. In response to the state's difficulties involving healthcare access and affordability, Reeves instead proposes an array of policies to incentivize doctors to locate in rural areas while also boosting the availability of so-called "telemedicine." |
| Tate Reeves and Jim Hood clash on teacher pay, roads, health care | |
 | Mississippi's Republican lieutenant governor and Democratic attorney general debated teacher pay raise plans, road repairs, health care and taxes as they clashed for the first debate in the governor's race. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Attorney General Jim Hood met Thursday at the University of Southern Mississippi as they compete in Mississippi's most competitive governor's race since 2003. The two are scheduled to meet in a second debate before votes are cast Nov. 5. Hood argued Reeves had his chance to make improvements during his eight years as lieutenant governor and that voters shouldn't keep him, saying Mississippi's economic growth is lagging and people are leaving the state. About 250 people in the 300-seat auditorium in Hattiesburg watched the debate, sponsored by Jackson television station WJTV-TV and broadcast statewide. Some spectators were supporters of each candidate, at times cheering and jeering despite effort by moderators at control. |
| Tate Reeves, Jim Hood go on the offensive in first debate for Mississippi governor | |
 | The gloves came off. Attorney General Jim Hood and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday night repeatedly attacked each other in their first televised debate. Both accused each of distorting the facts on key issues such as Medicaid expansion, a frontage road project near Reeves's home, fixing roads and bridges, and more. Hood, the Democrat, accused Reeves of being beholden to big-money campaign contributors, while Reeves, the Republican, fired back that Hood was in the pockets of out-of-state trial lawyers. Both candidates at times ignored questions from the moderator. Instead they took shots at each other and accused each other of dodging questions. The debate was televised live Thursday night from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The candidates have agreed to at least one other televised debate, scheduled for Monday in Columbus. |
| In fiery first debate, Jim Hood and Tate Reeves weave in policy proposals, but personal attacks take center stage | |
| The years-long political rivalry between Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood and Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves was on full display Thursday night during the gubernatorial nominees' first debate of the 2019 governor's race. About 150 people -- mostly elected officials and political insiders -- gathered inside the Joe Paul Theater on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi to watch the two lob personal attacks for a statewide television audience. In anticipation of a 2019 governor's race bout over the years, Hood has long blistered Reeves for focusing too much on tax incentives for corporations and less on funding for public services, while Reeves has worked hard to label Hood a liberal in the mold of national progressives. On Thursday night, the two didn't steer their debate strategies in any other direction on any of the 15 or so questions asked about a range of issues. |
| Voters react to candidates Reeves, Hood and find creative ways to engage with debate | |
 | In efforts to get more voters engaged with the debate Mississippi Today and the Political Science department of Millsaps College put on a watch party at the Barrelhouse in Fondren. While Tate Reeves and Jim Hood take the stage in Hattiesburg to persuade their ideas for Mississippi's future, people all across the state will be watching and here in Jackson are finding creative ways to engage. Instead of watching alone on the couch voters left Thursday's governor debate pleased with both candidates' approach. "Tate Reeves, in my opinion, was able to express more facts than what he did in the primaries against Waller and Foster," Nathan Gatlin said. "Jim Hood was superb I thought," Ben Lewis said. "He came in on the offense and I was very impressed with that." From education to healthcare, infrastructure and more, most were pleased to see their biggest issues brought up. |
| GOP runoff cuts Tate Reeves' cash, but Democrat Jim Hood still trails | |
| A contested Republican primary and runoff dented the cash cushion of Tate Reeves, but the lieutenant governor still has more money than Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood as the two wrestle for the governor's chair. Reeves burned through $5.8 million between July and September to win the GOP nomination, including $3.2 million he dug out of his savings accounts, cutting his once-towering cash pile. Reeves fought off state Rep. Robert Foster and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. in the Republican primary and runoff. Reeves was down to $3.3 million on hand as of Sept. 30, but he still had more money for the stretch run to the Nov. 5 general election than Hood, who had $1.3 million on that date. The heaviest-spending governor's race in Mississippi history was the 2003 contest in which Republican Haley Barbour evicted one-term Democrat Ronnie Musgrove from the governor's mansion, beginning a period of GOP rule that has now stretched 16 years. |
| Audit probes potential misuse of state property by MBN director, sources confirm | |
| Two sources with direct knowledge of a state audit of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics say part of the probe is focused on potential misuse of state property by the agency's director, John Dowdy. The probe began as a routine check of agency accounting conducted by the state auditor's office. Asked about the audit Thursday, Dowdy said in a text message, "It is a routine compliance audit that is incomplete and ongoing at this time." The state auditor's office declined to comment. Confirmation of the audit came just hours after news broke that Dowdy's chief of staff, Allison Killebrew, had resigned Tuesday. She claimed in a resignation letter that she was forced out of her job as MBN's top attorney and suggested Dowdy had been pressuring department attorneys to act like his own personal lawyers. One source said Killebrew's resignation is believed to be linked to the audit. |
| Farmers Sticking By Trump Even As Trade Wars Bite | |
 | Most farmers haven't had a good year since President Trump took office and his policies on trade, immigration and ethanol are part of the problem. Yet farmers, who broadly supported Trump in 2016 are largely sticking with him as the impeachment inquiry moves forward. And if they did abandon him, it may not matter. Farmer Luke Ulrich says he works at least 12 hours a day, almost every day, tending his crops and cattle near Baldwin City, Kan. Ulrich anticipates a fairly decent corn and soybean crop this year. But his expenses are so high, and the prices he's getting for his crops and cattle are so low, he's budgeting less than $25,000 in income for the whole year. President Trump is partly to blame for low grain prices. China retaliated against his tariffs by all but closing a giant export market for Ulrich's soybeans. "I'd probably be lying if I said some of us aren't scratching our heads every once in a while," Ulrich says. "I sometimes wonder if [Trump] didn't bite off a little more than he could chew." But, Ulrich is not mad at Trump. He loves Trump's hands-off approach to environmental regulations. And he appreciates the $28 billion aid package that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has distributed to compensate farmers for what they're losing in export sales. |
| After 'Lock him up' chant, Trump describes Democrats' impeachment probe as 'crusade' | |
 | President Donald Trump on Thursday night painted House Democrats as "desperate" and cashing in an "insurance policy" by launching an impeachment inquiry in a last-ditch effort to block him from securing a second term. "Democrats are on a crusade to destroy our democracy," the president said to boos from an arena crowd in Minneapolis. "We will never let that happen. We will defeat them." Referring to the impeachment probe, he predicted Democrats' "brazen attempt to overthrow our government will produce a backlash at the ballot box, the likes of which they have never, ever seen before in the history of this country." Political strategists and pollsters on both sides of the aisle agree that next year's election will likely come down to which general election candidate can bring out base voters to the polls in the six or seven battleground states expected to decide the Electoral College. Trump and his campaign are increasingly zeroing in on House Democrats and former Vice President Joe Biden, one of his party's 2020 front-runners. |
| Trump's children take in millions overseas as president slams Joe Biden's son | |
 | Eric Trump sounded shocked that Hunter Biden hadn't drawn more criticism for his lucrative business deals in Ukraine and China while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president. "Can you imagine if I took 3 cents from the Ukraine or 4 cents from China?" President Trump's second-oldest son asked in a recent Fox Business appearance. Eric Trump and his older brother, Donald Trump Jr., run the Trump Organization, which conducts business -- and takes in tens of millions of dollars annually -- around the globe and is still owned by the president. The company is forging ahead with projects in Ireland, India, Indonesia and Uruguay, and is licensing the Trump name in such turbulent areas as Turkey and the Philippines. Their sister Ivanka is a senior advisor to the president. She kept her international fashion business going for 18 months after she was given a loosely defined White House portfolio that includes interacting with heads of state and working with domestic and international corporate chiefs on economic programs. Time and again, Trump's children have blurred the lines of family, nation and business. |
| Belmont University in Nashville to host presidential debate in 2020 | |
 | Belmont University will host a presidential debate in 2020, according to a source familiar with a planned announcement Friday morning. The Commission on Presidential Debates selected Belmont from a pool of six finalists. The announcement was celebrated by a bipartisan slate of local officials, including Nashville Mayor John Cooper, Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper. Belmont previously hosted a presidential debate in 2008, when U.S. Sen. John McCain and former President Barack Obama met there in a town hall format. The university was selected as an alternate for a presidential debate in 2016. Belmont President Bob Fisher has made attracting high-profile debates a priority during his tenure. When Belmont was selected as a finalist for a 2020 slot, Fisher said he was "confident in Belmont University's ability -- with the support of the Nashville community -- to execute an extraordinary event for the Commission on Presidential Debates, the candidates and all of the accompanying media and visitors." |
| Keynote author opens Welty Symposium at MUW by reading memoir written to his mother | |
| As an eighth grader at a predominantly white Catholic school in Jackson in the 1980s, Kiese Laymon said he and fellow black friends sometimes had to remind themselves and each other they were "abundant." Reading from his memoir "Heavy: An American Memoir" at Mississippi University for Women's Poindexter Hall Thursday night, Laymon said he and his best friend used to intentionally mispronounce and make inside jokes out of the previous year's vocabulary words. After their mostly black school closed because of lack of funding, the two were some of a handful of students sent to the predominantly white school where his friend's favorite vocabulary word, abundance, was one Laymon began to use to refer to black people when one of their white teachers would make them feel "less than" or "gross." On the first day of school, Laymon said, he and his friend were sent to the principal's office after his friend used a plastic knife to cut grapefruit, prompting Laymon to remember advice from his mother, who Laymon addresses specifically in the book. "'Be twice as excellent and be twice as careful from this point on,' you said," Laymon read. Laymon and more than 10 other authors will participate in further Welty events today at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. |
| Ole Miss Foundation, College Board gridlocked over $500K of new Chancellor Glenn Boyce's salary | |
| Some board members of the largest foundation associated with the University of Mississippi are at an impasse with the state college board over the salary of newly appointed Chancellor Glenn Boyce. The University of Mississippi Foundation, a nonprofit organization with 37 board members, typically contributes a large percentage of the chancellor's annual salary. This year, the Institutions of Higher Learning, which oversees public universities, has asked the foundation board to contribute $500,000 of Boyce's proposed $800,000 salary. However, in recent days, some foundation board members have expressed reservations about providing the supplement in the wake of Boyce's controversial appointment. Boyce did not respond to an interview request for this story. After this story originally published, a spokeswoman for IHL emailed a statement to Mississippi Today, which the agency subsequently distributed as a news release. "Any rumors of the Board of Trustees considering replacing the membership of the governing board of the UM Foundation are simply false," said the statement from IHL spokeswoman Caron Blanton. |
| Glenn Boyce not bringing Confederate symbols back, Provost Noel Wilkin says | |
 | At a Monday afternoon meeting in the Lyceum, Provost Noel Wilkin told the deans of the academic schools that newly appointed chancellor, Glenn Boyce, would not entertain the idea of flying the Mississippi state flag on campus, keeping the Confederate statue in the Circle or re-instituting Colonel Reb as the university's mascot, according to a source present at the meeting. Wilkin also told the deans that Boyce would not be hiring Chip Pickering, former U.S. congressman, as part of his administration. When Boyce was announced as chancellor on Oct. 4, Pickering was initially rumored to be one of Boyce's first hires. Pickering applied for the position of chancellor but was not invited back for an interview. Before Tuesday night's Faculty Senate meeting, Wilkin told The Daily Mississippian that he did not want to come across as speaking for Boyce. |
| U. of Mississippi Associated Student Body plans reaction to IHL | |
| Students voiced their opinions and concerns on Thursday night to members of the Associated Student Body who are planning a resolution in regard to the Institutions of Higher Learning's process of selecting Glenn Boyce to be the university's new chancellor. At ASB's All-In forum, ASB Attorney General Austin Fiala stood alongside ASB President Barron Mayfield and helped answer questions that students asked. "I know that many students are frustrated with the events of the past week, and I can assure you that we have been working tirelessly to reach out to students and other campus constituencies to create a path that is strategic, thoughtful and appropriate," Mayfield said. Mayfield said he had the opportunity to meet Boyce on Monday, and said that he believes that he is capable of leading the university. "He made a commitment to a student-centered approach," Mayfield said. "I look forward to holding him accountable to that commitment." |
| Ole Miss sends letter to students about Halloween costumes after blackface incident | |
 | The University of Mississippi issued a letter to students requesting they avoid culturally inappropriate costumes during the Halloween season. The letter, titled "My Culture is Not a Costume," was issued on Tuesday. The university says a student self-reported to the Bias Incident Response Team that he or she posed in blackface. "The student recognized the immediate impact of this behavior, reached out to staff, expressed remorse, and has already begun engaging in a voluntary educational process that includes curricular, experiential, and reflective components," the letter stated. The university provided tips and questions for students to consider as they prepare for events and parties. One tip reads, "Is my costume intended to be funny? Is it funny because it is making fun of real people, human traits, or cultures?" "While we are encouraged by the fact that the student self-reported the image, we decided to make this incident and its outcome public to show our commitment to be transparent about BIRT reports that have potential community impact." |
| Ole Miss student posts photo in blackface | |
 | An Ole Miss student recently admitted to posting a photo in blackface on social media. In response, the university is reminding students "culture is not a costume." The student, identified only as a male enrolled in the honors college, "self-reported his post and acknowledged the racist and hurtful impact of his poor judgment," according to an email sent to honors college students Tuesday. The student was wearing an honors college shirt while in blackface. The date of the photo was not given. According to the email, the student is currently working on a "Restorative Justice Plan," and school officials "believe the student is remorseful and eager to engage with appropriate groups on campus." In a separate email to all students, titled "My Culture Is Not A Costume," Katrina Caldwell, vice chancellor for Diversity & Community Engagement, and Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, wrote, "As we enter the season of costume parties, please avoid culturally inappropriate behavior. A recent post reinforces why this is important." |
| Dixie Darlings celebrate 65th anniversary at USM homecoming | |
| "Still kicking after all these years." It's the slogan of the University of Southern Mississippi's Dixie Darlings. The precision dance team is still kicking -- as it celebrates its 65th anniversary at Southern Miss homecoming Saturday. About 70 Dixie Darling alumnae are expected to join the current 38-woman team as they perform with the Pride of Mississippi at the Eagles vs. University of North Texas game. The Dixie Darlings are known for their precision kicks and jazz dance moves, and they will be showing off plenty of both at homecoming, said Director Tracy Smith. "We're called the 'Rockettes of the Gridiron,'" Smith said. "We perform before the game and at halftime and are visible on campus all game day." The Dixie Darlings were created in 1954 under Southern Miss' fourth president, Robert Cook. It all began when university band director Raymond Mannoni wanted to start a drill team of young women to perform with the then-Mississippi Southern College band. He wanted a group patterned after the Texas Community College Kilgore Rangerettes. |
| NBA legend Magic Johnson raised and donated more than $100K for 'well deserving' JSU students | |
| L.A. Lakers and NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson spent Thursday in the Capital City raising money in support of Jackson State University students. The entrepreneur traveled to the Magnolia State to give deserving students the funds needed to stay in school and reach their goals. Magic Johnson played auctioneer during the JSU First Lady's Scholarship Luncheon at the Jackson Convention Complex, raising more than $130,000. The former Lakers point guard donated $100,000 to the fund and praised Jackson State First Lady Deborah Bynum for her efforts. The money is designated for "well deserving academically sound" students. "Dr. Bynum and his wife came out to see me and I told them I wanted to come give back, be part of the community, part of the campus of course, Jackson State University," said Johnson. "I'm just happy and proud of the work that they're doing, and I just wanted to add to that." Johnson moved from basketball to owning various businesses including SodexoMagic, a food service and facilities management company that provides dining and catering services throughout JSU's campus. |
| Tennessee colleges see slight attendance jump | |
| College enrollment across Tennessee increased slightly this fall, with the University of Tennessee system seeing the most pronounced growth. Overall, 1,541 more students enrolled in Tennessee's colleges during the fall semester, bringing total enrollment to 225,885 -- or 0.7% student population increase over fall 2018. Tennessee Higher Education Commission executive director Mike Krause characterized the jump as a "shallow enrollment increase." He said in several states surrounding Tennessee, enrollment is down. "A slight increase in this environment, where there is declining enrollment in other states, is a positive indicator," Krause said. With the state increasingly focused on graduating students, Krause said to lawmakers on Thursday during a presentation that enrollment is still important for the schools the commission helps oversee. "Our fiscal health depends on enrollment," Krause said. |
| U. of Tennessee freshman finds 1966 calendar behind shelf in Reese Hall dorm room | |
 | When Alex Anastasi moved into her University of Tennessee dorm room back in August, she had her mind on the future, as is typical for a freshman. But the student from Franklin quickly got a glimpse into the school's past. What she found behind a shelf in her dorm room in Reese Hall was a one-page, poster-style calendar with detailed daily lists of former school activities and events of interest to UT students. They were not from last year, or even the year before, but from the 1966-67 school year. "I said, 'Holy cow,' that shows how old this dorm is," said Anastasi, laughing over the shocking discovery. She said she had already been in her dorm room a few weeks when she saw what she thought was a little piece of paper sticking out between the backing of the shelf above her desk and the wall. Curious, she pulled on it, and it turned out to be something different from what she originally thought. "It was a giant piece of paper folded over in half," she said. "I definitely wasn't expecting to find a calendar." |
| Donald Trump Jr. speech met with cheers, jeers at U. of Florida | |
 | UF keynote speakers Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle spoke to 800-plus students inside University Auditorium, often interrupted by cheers of "USA!" or demands that they "shut up!" Chants and jeers from hundreds of protesters and supporters of President Donald Trump echoed off the dark timbers of University Auditorium on the campus of the University of Florida on Thursday evening as even more rallied outside, drawn to a talk by the president's son. It's wasn't a shout-down but it displayed the sharp political divisions seen across the nation. Yellow caution tape led up to University Auditorium. Hundreds in line waited to be waved over with metal detectors. A sea of protesters blocked the street in front of the UF University Auditorium, their chants and police sirens echoing out of the heart of campus at Turlington Plaza. The hour-long speech, hosted by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, from first Guilfoyle and then Trump Jr., largely focused on political hot-button topics like unemployment, welfare and the divide between Republicans and Democrats. |
| Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk to speak at UF | |
| Charlie Kirk is scheduled to speak at on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in the University Auditorium. The visit is part of his "Culture War" tour at college campuses around the United States. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is expected to speak at the University of Florida on Nov. 12. The event follows an ACCENT Speakers Bureau event featuring Donald Trump Jr., which was met with student protest. Kirk is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. in the University Auditorium. The visit is part of his "Culture War" tour at college campuses around the United States. Donald Trump Jr., who made an appearance at UF Thursday, is a guest speaker at some of Kirk's events but is not scheduled to speak at the UF event. Turning Point USA is a conservative student group with chapters at universities and schools. The UF chapter participates in student activism through setting up booths at events, attending student meetings and painting 34th Street murals, said Anthony Leonardi, the Turning Point USA at UF social media director and political science senior. |
| Arkansas Scholarship Lottery haul rises to $36.2M, but net proceeds for scholarships fall off in September | |
| The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, which is marking its 10th anniversary, saw its revenue in September creep up over what was collected in the same month a year ago. However, net proceeds -- the amount raised for college scholarships -- slipped from September's year-ago total. The lottery has helped finance more than 30,000 Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships during each of the past nine fiscal years. The total of scholarships awarded has dropped largely as a result of the Legislature cutting the amount of the initial scholarship three times since the lottery started. Total revenue in September increased from $35.1 million a year ago to $36.2 million, the lottery reported Thursday in its monthly report to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the Legislative Council's lottery oversight subcommittee. The number of retailers increased from 1,931 on Sept. 30, 2018, to 1,965 on Sept. 30 of this year, according to the lottery. |
| President Michael Young praises Texas A&M research, community in State of the University address | |
 | Calling the state of Texas A&M University "strong and vibrant," President Michael K. Young started his annual speech Thursday by showing the range of the university's research. In one day in September, Young toured the JOIDES Resolution ship, which is part of a research program that explores the Earth's history by drilling through sediment miles below the ocean, and met in San Diego with Pooneh Bagher, who is researching the physiological effects of the International Space Station's microgravity on the cardiovascular system. "At the end of that day, I realized based on those two examples from miles below the Earth's surface to 250 miles above the Earth -- the deepest depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space -- our university mission is driving education, research and discovery," he said. During his speech Thursday in the Memorial Student Center's Bethancourt Ballroom, Young announced the addition of a fourth strategic pillar for the university. As of Thursday, "community" will join the existing pillars of transformational education, impact on the state, nation and the world, and discovery and innovation. |
| Dismissed EPA science advisers gather in 'unprecedented' challenge to Trump administration | |
| What was billed as an extraordinary event launched Thursday morning in the most mundane of surroundings: a neutral-toned conference room that featured scientific researchers seated around a makeshift table. "We are here to talk about air quality," Chris Frey, chairman of the Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel, said at the outset of a two-day meeting that is effectively a rebuke to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) handling of a high-stakes review of the standards for a common, but dangerous, pollutant. Its 20 members, almost all of them from academia, had previously served on a comparable advisory panel for EPA, only to be summarily fired last fall by the agency's then-acting administrator, Andrew Wheeler. They have now regrouped to take on the same role, albeit unofficially, with the help of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a research and advocacy group critical of the Trump administration's approach to science that is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
| Employers, governors back federal aid for students in prisons | |
 | Advocates of prison education who want to overturn a quarter-century ban on federal aid for incarcerated students have spent much of the past year slowly building support in Congress. In the last week, those efforts have gained new momentum from outside Capitol Hill. Telecom giant Verizon Communications issued an endorsement of bipartisan legislation to reinstate Pell Grants for incarcerated students. And a group of GOP governors said they support federal aid for those students, among other changes to the Pell program, in a letter to key Senate lawmakers. While the prospects of Congress lifting the ban are still uncertain, the endorsements show the growing interest in prison education among industry and elected officials. Incarcerated students are receiving new attention from beyond their traditional advocates thanks to the broader criminal justice reform movement and to concerns over developing an educated labor force. |
| Study says when it comes to everyday mentoring and training in the sciences, postdocs are the new PIs | |
| Finding a doctoral adviser who isn't just a great scientist but also a skilled mentor is kind of a crapshoot. Yet while having a trainee-focused principal investigator, or PI, in the natural sciences is certainly beneficial, a new study says it's not essential to the development of scientific skills. Instead, the paper says, peer mentors within one's lab play a much more important role. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, effectively compares the primary mentor-mentee model of scientific training, or the "cognitive apprenticeship," with what's referred to as a "cascading mentorship" model. And the authors -- including lead author David F. Feldon, professor of instructional technology and learning sciences at Utah State University, and Josipa Roska, professor of sociology and education at the University of Virginia and co-writer of the book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses and more -- found that PIs' lab and mentoring activities don't significantly predict students' skill development. Peers' involvement really does. |
| To Protect Free Speech, U. of Wisconsin Is Poised to Double Down on Punishing Disruptive Protesters | |
 | The University of Wisconsin could soon impose mandatory punishments for students who disrupt speakers or prevent other people from exercising their free-speech rights -- a step further than most states and colleges have taken in their efforts to protect expression on campuses. The Wisconsin system's Board of Regents is expected on Friday to formally approve the punishments, which would require suspension if a student was twice found to have "materially and substantially disrupted the free expression of others." Three such incidents would result in expulsion. The board approved the current free-speech policy in 2017. That policy includes the same disciplinary consequences, but in order for the penalties to be permanently adopted and enforced, the board has to go through a rule-making process that includes public hearings and several layers of approval. |
| Georgia Southern students burn speaker's book after lecture | |
| Some Georgia Southern University students reportedly burned copies of a guest speaker's book after her lecture at the university Wednesday evening, prompting accusations of racism on social media. The speaker, Jennine Capo Crucet, who is Latina, said she used her appearance to address white privilege but some objected to her remarks during the question-and-answer part of the lecture, according to the George-Anne newspaper. "I came here because I was invited and I talked about white privilege because it's a real thing that you are actually benefiting from right now in even asking this question," the newspaper quoted Crucet saying in response to a someone critical of her remarks on the subject. Hours later, video of the author's book burning was posted on Twitter. Georgia Southern spokesman John Lester said in an email to the George-Anne: "While it's within the students' First Amendment rights, book burning does not align with Georgia Southern's values nor does it encourage the civil discourse and debate of ideas." |
| Biggest student hub? Late night Sunday Mass | |
| It's 10 p.m. on a Sunday, and many college students are likely completing assignments, posting essays to discussion boards or otherwise preparing for classes the next day. On most campuses, it's a time for winding down after busy weekends and for getting ready for the Monday morning wind-up. But at Loyola University Maryland, 10 p.m. is a bewitching and beloved hour when a large number of students head to a popular nighttime Mass held in a residence hall lounge on the campus of the Jesuit institution. Hundreds of red, orange and yellow plastic LED-powered candles and an altar at the front of the room were essentially all that turned the lounge into a church. But for many students, the Mass is a more essential part of their lives than an actual church. The Hopkins Court Mass, as it is officially called, is named after the freshman dorm where it is held. It was started 15 years ago when a group of freshmen knocked on Father Rossi's door one Sunday night when he was living as a faculty resident in a student dorm The students asked if they could have a late Mass on Sunday nights. |
| Blue light isn't the main source of eye fatigue and sleep loss -- it's your computer | |
| Blue light has gotten a bad rap, getting blamed for loss of sleep and eye damage. Personal electronic devices emit more blue light than any other color. Blue light has a short wavelength, which means that it is high-energy and can damage the delicate tissues of the eye. It can also pass through the eye to the retina, the collection of neurons that converts light into the signals that are the foundation of sight. Laboratory studies have shown that prolonged exposure to high-intensity blue light damages retinal cells in mice. But, epidemiological studies on real people tell a different story. As an assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Optometry, I teach and conduct vision research, including work with retinal eye cells. I also see patients in the college's teaching clinics. Often, my patients want to know how they can keep their eyes healthy despite looking at a computer screen all day. They often ask about "blue-blocking" spectacle lenses that they see advertised on the internet. But when it comes to protecting your vision and keeping your eyes healthy, blue light isn't your biggest concern. |
| 8 key races that could give Mississippi GOP a 'super-duper majority' in the House | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: Mississippi Republican leaders are pretty confident they'll increase their ranks in the 122-member House in November from a supermajority to a ... super-duper majority. This would allow the GOP leadership to snuff out any initiatives or interference from the minority Democratic Party in the House and tighten Speaker Philip Gunn's control of the lower chamber. But Democrats are putting up a fight in some key districts and hope Attorney General Jim Hood, their first truly competitive gubernatorial candidate in the past few cycles, will provide some coattails for legislative races. Party leaders say there are some populist issues -- infrastructure, health care and education -- that the GOP hasn't adequately addressed that could halt the red wave that first swept the House in 2011. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State, Tennessee both seeking to find momentum | |
| Mississippi State's visit to Tennessee this week could feature a matchup of true freshman quarterbacks. Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer will make his second career start Saturday after delivering mixed results last week in a 43-14 loss to No. 3 Georgia. Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead isn't saying whether he will start Penn State graduate transfer Tommy Stevens or freshman Garrett Shrader, who both have played quite a bit this season. While Mississippi State wants to put the Auburn game in the past, Tennessee is hoping its loss to Georgia represents a turning point. Although Tennessee ended up getting blown out, the Vols played well in the first half and led for most of the second quarter. Mississippi State has the SEC's leading rusher in Kylin Hill, who has run for 596 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Hill has gained 344 yards after contact, also the most in the SEC. Handling Hill will be a challenge for a Tennessee defense that has given up 167.4 yards rushing per game. |
| Tommy Stevens or Garrett Shrader? What to expect Mississippi State at Tennessee | |
| he two head coaches in this week's Mississippi State versus Tennessee game have handled their respective quarterback situations very differently. Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt seemed confused when a reporter asked him who's starting for the Volunteers: junior Jarrett Guarantano or true freshman Brian Maurer. "Well, I mean, Brian will be the starting quarterback Saturday," Pruitt said at his press conference this week. "I mean, I think everybody would know that right?" Maurer made his first career start against No. 3 Georgia last week. Guarantano started the previous 18 games for the Vols. Maurer went 14-of-28 for 259 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception against UGA. Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead, meanwhile, won't say who's starting. It'll either be graduate senior Tommy Stevens, who has started all but one game for MSU this season, or true freshman Garrett Shrader, who has one career start under his belt like Maurer. Stevens said whoever gives Mississippi State its best chance to win will be the guy taking snaps Saturday. He'll likely have his shot to be that guy, but don't be surprised if Shrader gets his chance sooner than later in the ballgame, too. |
| Three matchups to watch as Mississippi State takes on Tennessee | |
| The Bulldogs are back in action. Following a bye week, Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will head to Knoxville to take on a reeling Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) squad in the wake of plenty of on and off the field issues. While MSU is looking to right the ship after a dismal display at Auburn two weeks ago, Tennessee will look to get things rolling for the first time all year. That said, here are three matchups to watch on Rocky Top this weekend: MSU secondary vs. Brian Maurer/Jarrett Guarantano. MSU defensive line vs. Ty Chandler and Eric Gray. MSU quarterbacks vs. Tennessee defense. |
| Jeremy Pruitt feels the Vols are improving | |
| Jeremy Pruitt's tenure as Tennessee's head coach has been a mixed bag. Pruitt posted a 5-7 record during his first season on Rocky Top last year but did enjoy two victories against then-No. 11 Kentucky and No. 21 Auburn. Year 2, however, has been a major struggle for the Volunteers. Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) started the season with a 38-30 loss to Georgia State and its only victory came against FCS foe Chattanooga. Despite the slow start, Pruitt believes his young team is starting to turn the corner. "From the first day I walked into this building, we're a lot closer today than we were then," Pruitt said. "I see a bunch of guys who are hungry to have success and are willing to do what it takes to have success." |
| Getting to know the Tennessee Volunteers | |
| Blake Toppmeyer is in his third season covering the Tennessee Volunteers for the Knoxville News Sentinel and the USA Today Network. Toppmeyer took the time to speak with The Dispatch this week ahead of Mississippi State's game against Tennessee Saturday in Knoxville to discuss the Vols' quarterback situation, Jeremy Pruitt and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. A full version of the interview can be found on Bully Banter, a new podcast produced by The Commercial Dispatch. |
| How a fallen friend empowers Mississippi State football player Greg Eiland | |
| On his right arm, the same one he uses to tussle with tacklers as a starter on Mississippi State's offensive line, Greg Eiland has a tattoo of four letters: LLJB. The junior from Philadelphia, Mississippi, has a number inked alongside some magnolia flowers on the same arm: 3. At 6-foot-8 and 335 pounds, Eiland is one of the biggest Bulldogs on MSU's roster. The acronym and numeral, though, stand for something much larger than himself. Eiland's best friend for as long as he can remember, Josten Baxstrum, died on Nov. 24, 2018. Baxstrum wore No. 3 when he was Eiland's teammate at Philadelphia High School. Eiland, MSU's starting right tackle, has played with a heightened sense of purpose ever since Baxstrum's death. His motivation to keep prospering at Mississippi State is summed up by that one set of letters: LLJB. Long Live Josten Baxstrum. "It's made me want to make him live through me," Eiland said. "I try to do my best every day in football because he loved it. It's something he truly cared about. So just going out there on the field, I try to do everything for him because I know he's there every step of the way." |
| Team Westburg wins Bulldog World Series opener | |
| Bonus baseball was needed in the opening game of the 2019 Mississippi State Baseball Fall World Series, as Team Westburg built a four-run lead, only to see Team Foscue come back to tie the game in the sixth. After a scoreless seventh, head coach Chris Lemonis called for a modified version of the international tiebreaker and Team Westburg was able to scratch across the go-ahead run, before graduate student Spencer Price shut the door on a 5-4 series-opening win. An unearned run in the second inning opened the scoring for Team Westburg, before they added three more in the fourth to race out to a 4-0 lead. Team Foscue battled back with one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to knot the score at four, before Tanner Allen registered the game-winning RBI with the bases loaded groundout in the eighth. The game was scheduled for seven innings, however, with the score tied Lemonis used a modified version of the international tiebreaking rules, loading the bases with one out to start each half inning. The two teams will meet again on Friday at 10:30 a.m. for game two, while game three will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday. |
| Mississippi State women's soccer beats Auburn for first time in 8 years | |
| Mississippi State's MaKayla Waldner scored twice to push MSU past Auburn with a 3-2 victory Thursday in Starkville, giving the Bulldogs their first win in the series since 2011. "Anytime you play in the SEC and pick up points, it's a bonus," head coach James Armstrong said in a news release. "When you're playing at home, you're looking to get the 3 points, and thankfully today we did. Auburn is flying high right now, so to get 3 extra points there and just moving on to the next one now." Onyi Echegini opened the scoring with the first goal of her career in the 22nd minute. It was the first Bulldogs goal against Auburn (6-5-2, 3-2 SEC) since 2011. Waldner scored the final two MSU goals to seal the victory, including the go-ahead score in the 88th minute. With the win, Armstrong boasts the best conference record of any Bulldog head coach through his first five matches. State is off to its best five-match start to conference play since 2002 and has posted three consecutive seven-win seasons for the first time in school history. |
| Mississippi residents 'may skip church' to watch Saints-Jags | |
| The New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars are big in Brandon, Mississippi, these days. And not just because Saints linebacker Demario Davis and Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew have banners flying outside the high school football stadium there. Davis and Minshew will share the field Sunday when the Jaguars (2-3) host the Saints (4-1), and the matchup might draw as much interest as the Super Bowl in the 24,000-person town just east of Jackson, Mississippi. "There will be people all over town watching," said Randy West, a longtime assistant football coach and assistant athletic director at Brandon High School. "Everybody will be hurrying home from church. Some of them may even skip church to make sure they don't miss kickoff." All of them are clamoring to see Davis and Minshew in the first regular-season game involving two NFL players from Brandon. |
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