| Thursday, February 4, 2021 |
| Amanda Gorman's poetry shows why spoken word belongs in school | |
 | Not long after Amanda Gorman recited one of her poems at the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Jan. 20, three of her forthcoming books skyrocketed to three of the top four spots on Amazon. She was also selected to recite an original poem at Super Bowl LV. Here, three scholars of poetry, including Mississippi State University's Kathleen M. Alley, explain why the writings of the 22-year-old Gorman -- who became the country's national youth poet laureate at age 17 -- and her rise to fame represent a prime opportunity for educators to use spoken word poetry as a lively way to engage students. Kathleen M. Alley, associate professor of literacy at MSU: When I heard Amanda Gorman recite her poem, "The Hill We Climb," at President Biden's inauguration, I instantly decided to throw my plans for the week out the window. I hope teachers throughout the nation will similarly be willing to put their regular lesson plans aside in order to seize the opportunity to use the poetry of Gorman to engage with students who are not much younger in age. I am a teacher-educator, which means I help prepare the teachers of the future. My students are on track to become elementary and middle school teachers in about a year. |
| Brewpub discussion bogs down in 'nuance' | |
 | Confusion and uncertainty over the effects of a proposed ordinance change to remove the food sales requirement from brewpubs citywide has aldermen again rethinking the scope of what they should allow. Now it seems likely the board may apply the rule change to brewpubs and small craft breweries only within the city's Leisure and Entertainment District, which includes downtown, Russell Street and the Cotton District. Aldermen in January held a first hearing on a rule change that would allow only brewpubs in the Leisure and Entertainment District an exemption to a city ordinance that required food to account for 25 percent of sales for businesses serving on-premises alcoholic beverages. They reset the hearing process on a new draft of that ordinance Tuesday, holding the first of two hearings on an amendment that would apply that rule change citywide. Even if the rule change is dialed back to the Leisure and Entertainment District, it would still allow Spring Street Cigars to operate a cigar lounge and brewpub in the former Mugshots restaurant building on Main Street. |
| Christine Williams trying again for Ward 1 alderman seat | |
| Christine Williams qualified Tuesday to run as a Democrat in the Ward 1 alderman race. If she gets through the Democratic primary to the general election, she could face a rematch with Republican incumbent Ben Carver, who edged her by 19 votes in the general election four years ago. Williams, 48, has lived in Starkville for 15 years, all in Ward 1, and is a lecturer in the department of communication at Mississippi State University. She holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and sociology from the University of Georgia, a master's in public policy and administration from MSU and is a doctoral candidate for that program, according to an email announcing her candidacy. Williams told The Dispatch there is a "definite need" for accessible leadership in her ward and an accurate voice that represents the majority of its residents. In her announcement, she outlined neighborhood flooding, residential sewer issues, youth criminal justice reform, building a strong community and COVID-19 economic recovery as priorities. The deadline to qualify is 5 p.m. Friday. |
| Attorney General: Candidates must live in ward for 2 years to run for city office | |
 | With the deadline to qualify for the upcoming municipal elections just days away, Mississippi's chief legal agency has released a last-minute opinion that could cut short some campaigns before they even begin, drawing the ire of Mississippi's top election official. The office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Monday released an official opinion offering the view that, under a 2019 law, candidates running for ward offices in city government must have been a resident of the ward they're looking to represent for at least two years. This clashes with a view some municipal clerks and the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office have taken of the new law. Secretary of State Michael Watson in a statement to the Daily Journal said that his office has conducted hours of municipal training based on advice from Fitch's office, "which includes a video produced by the AG's Office indicating the two-year residency requirement did not apply to wards, and fielded hundreds of questions about the municipal residency requirement." "We are all extremely concerned about the impact this will have on candidates who have spent their time, money and other resources on campaigns that will come to a screeching halt due to this opinion," Watson said. "The timing of this opinion, issued just days before the qualifying deadline, is inexcusable." |
| Corps of Engineers chief of operations recounts effects of historic 2019 flooding | |
| On Feb. 27, 2019, Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Operations for Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Justin Murphree was on his way home from work when he got a call from his navigation manager telling him there was a problem on the waterway. The month had seen historic flooding, and now that the water level was starting to drop again, a boat had gotten hung up on a huge sandbar that had appeared just south of the Aberdeen Lock. "When we first saw it, we knew it was going to be bad," Murphree told the Columbus Rotary Club during its weekly meeting Tuesday at Lion Hills Center. It would be 30 days later before a dredge -- special equipment designed to remove the sediment deposits and clear the waterway -- could arrive from Mobile, Alabama, and begin to dig out the sandbar. It wasn't the only such blockage along the waterway's roughly 234 miles of channel that year, but it was one of the biggest. Usually, engineers on the waterway dredge about 400,000 cubic yards of materials a year, Murphree said. In 2019, they dredged 1.2 million yards. Recreationally, he said, the Corps of Engineers had to clean washed-out campgrounds and damaged infrastructure affected by the flooding. But the bigger impact was on industry. The waterway itself closed to traffic for two and a half months. The closure affected local industries like Tronox, which temporarily switched to trucking to move their equipment and goods while barges were unable to traverse the waterway. |
| Freeport names veteran CEO Richard Adkerson as chairman, reinstates dividend | |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc named long-time Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson as chairman of the board, the U.S. miner said on Tuesday. Adkerson, 74 and CEO since 2003, said he has no plans to retire and is healthy. The company also said Gerald Ford would retire as director upon the end of his current term in June. Ford would step down as non-executive chairman of the board. Freeport added it has reinstated dividend on its common stock at an annual rate of $0.30 per share, an increase of $0.10, prior to suspending the payments in April last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves extends mask mandate for 75 counties | |
| The mask mandate that covers most of the state has been extended until March 3. Under the updated mask mandate put in place Wednesday by Gov. Tate Reeves, 75 of the state's 82 counties will be under a mandate to wear a mask in outdoors when social distancing is not possible, and indoors in public places. The mandate also requires that masks are worn statewide on school grounds. Reeves' executive order also limits crowd size at indoor gatherings to 10 and at outdoor gatherings to 100. The only counties not included in the mandate are Adams, Issaquena, Jefferson, Lawrence, Quitman, Sharkey and Wilkinson. Though the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the state has decreased in recent days, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has stressed that the state still has a long way to go to overcome the coronavirus that he said is still placing stress on many of Mississippi's hospitals. Many experts also have expressed concern that social gatherings during this weekend's Super Bowl could lead to another spike. |
| Teachers and first responders next in line for vaccine, officials say, though timing is unclear | |
| Officials said Monday they cannot say when teachers and first responders will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are next in line. "I do believe our teachers and first responders are currently slated to go next," said Gov. Tate Reeves, noting that the current group receiving vaccines contains the most vulnerable individuals. Reeves went on to say that currently, the "demand far exceeds the supply" and that there is no way to estimate how long the current phase will last before more Mississippians, including teachers, become eligible. Despite an original model from the Mississippi Department of Health that included teachers alongside individuals over 65-years-old, other essential workers, and those with certain pre-existing medical conditions, the vaccine is currently only available to health care workers, those above 65 and those with certain conditions in Mississippi. Health experts, including State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, have continually cautioned that vaccine rollout depends completely on the allotment of vaccines the state receives from the federal government. |
| Why a small but growing number of Louisianans are driving to Mississippi for coronavirus vaccines | |
 | When people 70 or older became eligible in Louisiana for the coronavirus vaccine in January, New Orleans resident Phil Costa started calling around for an appointment. He turns 70 this month, and wanted to get vaccinated as soon after his birthday as he could. When he tried local hospitals, he was told he needed to wait to schedule an appointment. Instead, after reading on social media that some Louisiana residents were heading to Mississippi for a shot, he drove the two hours to Laurel, Miss. He was in and out with his first dose in 25 minutes. "I have to wait eight more days to make an Ochsner appointment," said Costa, a lawyer. "By that time, I'll have had both vaccines in Mississippi." A small but growing number of Louisiana residents are making the short trip into Mississippi for the coronavirus vaccine. By mid-January, 271 people from Louisiana had received a shot in Mississippi, according to data from the Mississippi Health Department. Within two weeks, that number had increased to 820. In total, 5,337 vaccines have been given to people with an address outside of the state. When asked if Louisiana residents were eligible for vaccines in Mississippi, Liz Sharlot, a spokesperson for Mississippi's Department of Health, said in an email: "If you live in Mississippi or work in Mississippi, you may be vaccinated. We have no identification requirements." Sharlot said that people traveling to Mississippi for the vaccine were "not a concern." |
| Drug Overdose Deaths Explode in Mississippi and Nation. Some Experts Blame COVID-19. | |
| COVID-19 may be propelling an explosion in drug overdose deaths in Mississippi and nationally. It's been "like pouring gasoline on a fire," as one law enforcement official said. Drug overdose deaths soared nationally to the highest number ever recorded. In Mississippi, they rose 26% in the 12 months ending in May 2020. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 81,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, which included early months when cities were in lockdown because of the coronavirus. In Mississippi, deaths rose from 360 between June 2018 and May 2019 to 453 between June 2019 and May 2020, the Mississippi Department of Health reported. Dr. David Vearrier, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and toxicologist with UMMC's Mississippi Poison Control Center, explained that the trends in Mississippi mirror the nation's sharp increases in cocaine and methamphetamine deaths. "We have a greater increase in methamphetamine deaths and a lesser increase in cocaine deaths," he said. UMMC has seen an increase in deaths from illicit opioids---fentanyl and fentanyl analogs---but not to the same extent as seen nationally, he said. "Prescription opioids still cause more deaths than synthetic opioids in Mississippi, which is different from what you see on the national level," Vearrier added. |
| College sexual assault bill back before lawmakers as a way to 'protect our students' | |
| All Mississippi colleges and universities would have to adopt comprehensive sexual assault response policies under a House bill called the "Sexual Assault Response for College Students Act." Mississippi is one of numerous states considering such legislation. The bill would require schools to adapt to new federal laws and policies to combat a major, often-ignored group of crimes. Mississippi schools now have a hodgepodge of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual exploitation and stalking policies. Some do relatively well, while others provide scant opportunity for survivors to report crimes or to get physical, mental and other help. House Judiciary A Chairwoman Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia, has introduced the bill year after year, only to see it die without a vote in the Senate. Cockerham has worked with student assault survivors, parents and university officials for years and hopes this year it will pass. The measure would also require school policies to define what consent to sex means -- and when it cannot be given -- and applies to rapes and assaults on and off campus. |
| Bill aims to strip authority over Medicaid from governor | |
| Medicaid, the state agency with the largest budget, will be removed from the control of the governor and placed under an independent commission under legislation that has cleared committee and is now before the Mississippi House. "What we are doing with this bill right here is allowing some transparency, allowing some open meetings," said Rep. Joey Hood, R-Ackerman, who explained the bill to members of the Appropriations Committee. The committee approved the legislation Tuesday. Tuesday was the deadline for the bill to be passed out of committee in the chamber where the proposal originated. The full House will have until Feb. 11 to consider the proposal. When asked about potential problems with the legislation that would make dramatic changes to the governance of the agency, Hood said, "There are problems, but we are going to work through those during the process." Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday he is not familiar with the legislation that could strip away a sizable amount of his authority in the area of health care, but said he would be updated on the proposal by his legislative team in the coming days. |
| House passes career and technical education reform bill despite threat of veto | |
 | House members unanimously passed The Comprehensive Career and Technical Education Reform Act. The bill requires all public school students take the ACT WorkKeys between 9th and 11th grade. The WorkKeys measures foundational skills for success in the workplace and would be weighted the same as the ACT college entrance exam. Workforce Development Committee Chair, Republican Donnie Bell of Fulton, says he received word the governor would veto the bill just as he did last year. "Last year when the governor vetoed this bill he told us the policy was good. He agreed with the policy but that it violated federal law and jeopardized the Perkins funding for K-12," said Bell. Bell says attorneys for the legislature reviewed the measure and found it didn't violate federal law. He added they sought clarification from the governor's office and the state department of education about the issue and didn't receive a response. He urged members to support the House bill. Bell contends the measure will change the way career technical training is viewed. The act allows students to pursue technical careers and take challenging academic courses or pursue dual enrollment in a community college. Schools districts are also required to include skills such as social graces, interpersonal communication and teamwork training. |
| Tom Vilsack: Meatpacking processing may be expanded to avoid another crisis | |
 | President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Agriculture Department told members of Congress on Tuesday that he would consider expanding the nation's meatpacking processing capacity to avoid another supply chain breakdown. Tom Vilsack, appearing in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee at his confirmation hearing, said that, if confirmed, the USDA will "take a look at ways in which we can provide incentives or resources that could potentially expand the amount of processing facilities in the country so that we're not faced with the disruption that we've seen in the past, we're not faced with market distortions that we've seen in the past, and we're not faced with farmers and ranchers believing they're not getting a fair shake." Vilsack also promised to "take a very close and detailed look at every tool USDA has available to it to ensure more openness and more fairness and more transparency in our markets. He added that the department will collaborate with the Department of Justice "if there are issues related to antitrust that need to be explored in greater detail." |
| Sen. John Boozman: Vilsack doesn't have authority to create carbon bank | |
| Sen. John Boozman, incoming ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, indicated Tuesday he may put up a fight against the Agriculture Department bypassing Congress in using the Commodity Credit Corporation to create a carbon bank to pay farmers for capturing carbon in soil. Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden's pick to lead the USDA, may leverage the $30 billion fund to help farmers play a role in combating climate change. At his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Vilsack noted that former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue "had great flexibility" in using the CCC to offset some financial pain caused by the Trump administration's trade wars, and he hopes Congress will grant him that same flexibility. But Boozman, speaking with reporters after Vilsack's testimony, said there is "a difference of opinion" whether Vilsack has the authority to set up a carbon bank without Congress' approval. "I feel like that's outside of the range of their ability to do that without legislation," the Arkansas Republican said. Boozman's comments set up a sharp disagreement with incoming Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow who said last week she believes Vilsack has the ability to move forward with the carbon bank idea. |
| Two Biden Priorities, Climate and Inequality, Meet on Black-Owned Farms | |
 | Sedrick Rowe was a running back for Georgia's Fort Valley State University when he stumbled on an unexpected oasis: an organic farm on the grounds of the historically Black school. He now grows organic peanuts on two tiny plots in southwest Georgia, one of few African-American farmers in a state that has lost more than 98 percent of its Black farmers over the past century. "It weighs on my mind," he said of the history of discrimination, and violence, that drove so many of his predecessors from their farms. "Growing our own food feels like the first step in getting more African-American people back into farming." Two of the Biden administration's biggest priorities -- addressing racial inequality and fighting climate change -- are converging in the lives of farmers like Mr. Rowe. The administration has promised to make agriculture a cornerstone of its ambitious climate agenda, looking to farmers to take up farming methods that could keep planet-warming carbon dioxide locked in the soil and out of the atmosphere. At the same time, President Biden has pledged to tackle a legacy of discrimination that has driven generations of Black Americans from their farms, with steps to improve Black and other minority farmers' access to land, loans and other assistance, including "climate smart" production. |
| Republicans rally to keep Liz Cheney in power | |
 | The establishment wing of the GOP won a rare and dramatic victory Wednesday night when Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) beat back an attempt by Donald Trump's staunchest allies to knock her from power as retribution for voting to impeach the former president just three weeks earlier. The 145-61 vote in favor of keeping Cheney in leadership, conducted by secret ballot, followed a marathon closed-door "family discussion" in the basement of the Capitol Visitor Center, where dozens of House Republicans lined up to voice their frustrations with the Wyoming representative, the most powerful GOP woman in Congress, and called for her removal as conference chair, a role that entails leading the party's messaging efforts. The vote was the latest -- and most dramatic -- manifestation of the civil war raging within the GOP over the direction the party should take in the post-Trump era, a debate that has become increasingly contentious following the deadly attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. GOP lawmakers also spent a good chunk of the meeting grappling with how to handle Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a past QAnon conspiracy theorist who has come under fire for a host of violent and racist social media posts she made in recent years. |
| House To Vote On Stripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene From 2 Key Committees | |
 | Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene faces a House vote Thursday that could strip her from her committee assignments, following uproar over her history of trafficking in racism, anti-Semitism and baseless conspiracy theories, along with her support for violence against Democrats prior to taking office. The vote comes a day after the House Rules Committee advanced a resolution, put forth by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., to remove Greene from her assignments on the Budget and the Education and Labor committees. Greene has been rebuked by Democrats and many in her own party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called rhetoric like hers a "cancer" on the GOP. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy released a statement Wednesday night condemning Greene's past comments but didn't indicate that any party disciplinary action would be taken against her. For her part, Greene has touted a particular ally in her corner: former President Donald Trump. She tweeted Saturday that she had a "GREAT call" with him and that she is grateful for his support. |
| 'He's clearly laying groundwork': Josh Hawley paves 2024 path | |
| The face of the Biden resistance is taking shape in the Senate: Josh Hawley. In a prelude to a widely expected 2024 presidential bid, the Missouri Republican is the only senator to oppose every one of President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees -- a distinction sealed Tuesday when he voted against confirming new Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Hawley briefly held up the confirmation of another Cabinet official, for the Department of Homeland Security. Even before Biden became president, Hawley initiated his bid for the Trump wing of the party by becoming the first senator to announce he would vote against the Electoral College results certifying the new president's win, thrilling the outgoing president and his followers. Hawley, whose Senate seat is up for election in 2024, has said repeatedly that he isn't running for president. "All I can say is no," Hawley said in an interview on Wednesday, denying he has an overarching plan to oppose Biden's nominees. "What can I say? That's clearly not my focus." But aside from Hawley's allies, no one familiar with presidential politics or the U.S. Senate is taking the 41-year-old at his word -- especially after several Democratic senators used their opposition to early Trump appointees as a springboard to 2020. |
| Report: Apple may partner with Kia in Georgia to make driverless car | |
| Technology giant Apple is close to finalizing a deal with Hyundai to manufacture autonomous electric vehicles at Kia's assembly plant in West Point, according to a media report. The maker of iPhones would make Apple-branded vehicles of its own design at the Kia factory in Georgia through a contract manufacturing agreement, CNBC reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. State officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations said they were aware of the possibility of an Apple tie-up, but stressed the arrangements had not yet been finalized. Rick Douglas, a West Point-based spokesman for Kia, declined to comment on Wednesday night. Marie Hodge Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, also did not respond. Hyundai, the South Korean company that owns its namesake car brand and a minority stake in Kia, began talks with Apple last year about making driverless, electric vehicles through a contract-manufacturing arrangement, The Wall Street Journal reported in January. |
| UM administrator Afton Thomas announces run for Board of Aldermen | |
 | Afton Thomas, associate director for programs at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, entered the race for a seat on the Oxford Board of Aldermen last week. Running as a Democrat, Thomas will face Republican incumbent Mark Huelse to represent Ward II. Thomas said she decided to run after being encouraged by members of the community to run based on her involvement with various nonprofit organizations in Lafayette County. "I was asked, 'Have you ever considered it?' and I hadn't considered it. I said, 'You know, now you have me thinking about it,'" Thomas said. Thomas is married to associate professor of sociology James Thomas, who has been a controversial figure in the university community for several years because of his social media posts. James Thomas is also currently suing state auditor Shad White for defamation after White began investigating him for violating Mississippi's no-strike law. Afton Thomas said that her marriage should not be a point of consideration in the election, and she noted no other candidates are receiving criticism based on their spouse. "James -- in my house is what he is known as -- is not running for alderman," Thomas said. "Afton is running for alderman, and I would ask those individuals (who criticize her if) we are talking about the spouses of anyone else. And if we are not, then this is a moot point." |
| UM program targets Ecru, Pontotoc for second phase of development initiative | |
| Students from the University of Mississippi will help beautify and promote portions of Pontotoc County as part of an ongoing community service initiative. The town of Ecru and the city of Pontotoc are partner communities for Phase 2 of the M Partner initiative with the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi. Both communities have identified priority projects to promote economic development, elevate local history, expand education enrichment, create public art and encourage visitors to the Tanglefoot Trail, according to a press release from the university. The pilot phase of M Partner addressed economic development, educational attainment, community health and wellness, and beautification in Charleston, Lexington and New Albany. Phase 2 will run through August 2022. Pontotoc County was selected for this phase of the partnership to continue the work promoting the Tanglefoot Trail in the New Albany area begun during the pilot phase, according to Pontotoc Mayor Bob Peeples. |
| USM Veterans Center gets $10K grant for food gift cards | |
 | The Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families at the University of Southern Mississippi has a new way to help veterans get nutritious food. The center is providing dozens of gift cards for military students and veterans, which will be used at Corner Market. Each card is valued at $150 and they're funded with a new grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. It's also part of a collaboration with the Mississippi Community Veterans Engagement Board (CVEB). "We actually received a $10,000 donation to fight veteran food insecurity," said Michael McGee, veterans outreach coordinator for the USM Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families. "Now, that's not just dealing with hunger, but it deals with hunger also, but it most typically, it deals more with the availability of quality, high-quality food." Meanwhile, construction continues on the new Southern Miss Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families on Pearl Street. Work began about three months ago on the 5,500 square foot facility. |
| Southern Miss graduate school to continue waiving some test requirements for spring admission | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi Graduate School will waive requirements for GRE and GMAT standardized test scores for many spring 2022 graduate program admission applications. The school has employed test waivers over the last year for most graduate program applications to accommodate applicants faced with challenges accessing graduate or professional program admission testing due to restrictions or closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. An English proficiency exam is still required for international applicants; however, the international admissions office will continue to accept the iTEP, which offers at-home testing. Scores of 4.0 will be accepted to meet the university's English proficiency requirement. |
| USM online degree program gets high ranking from U.S. News & World Report | |
| An online degree program at the University of Southern Mississippi has been ranked as the best in Mississippi and among the top 40 in the country. USM's online bachelor's degree in business has been named No. 1 in the state and No. 39 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It's the first year for that publication to rank baccalaureate-level online courses in business. USM's online master's degree in Business administration ranked 94th best in the nation. "It's been a labor of love," said Bret Becton, dean of the College of Business and Economic Development at Southern Miss. "The degree has been around for quite a while, but this was the first time that U.S. News & World Report ranked those kinds of programs, so we were very happy that we were in the top 40." U.S. News & World Report also ranked USM's online bachelor's degree programs at No. 75 nationally. |
| Jackson State creates scholarship in honor of alumnus Sekou Smith | |
 | Jackson State University has established a scholarship in honor of the late Sekou Smith, a former Clarion Ledger reporter and Jackson State University alumnus. Smith, 48, who wrote for NBA.com and provided analysis on NBA TV, died Jan. 26 due to COVID-19 complications. The Sekou Smith Journalism Award will help students who are wanting to follow in Smith's footsteps achieve their goal of getting a higher education. According to a news release, Smith's family was overwhelmed with calls and texts from people wanting to give their support. Smith's youngest sister, Ayanna, said the best way to honor her brother was to help someone go to school. "To truly keep his legacy alive, why not do what Sekou was about?" Ayanna Smith said in the release. "Which was helping and mentoring young and old to do what he was passionate about, which was writing and reporting. It felt like the natural step." A Grand Rapids, Michigan, native, Smith graduated from Jackson State in 1997. |
| Meridian Community College, William Carey sign transfer agreement | |
 | Meridian Community College and William Carey University officials signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday allowing career and technical students at MCC to earn a four year degree. The new partnership will allow students with technical degrees from MCC to transfer credits toward a bachelor's degree in general studies at William Carey. Ben Burnett, executive vice president at William Carey, said the agreement allows students to use technical and career credit hours as elective credits. The degree at William Carey can be completed online, he said. "We want to emphasize that our career and technical graduates have a pathway to go and to finish," Burnett said. MCC President Tom Huebner said students will have to meet admissions requirements to take part in the program. "Anytime we can help provide an opportunity for our students, whether they are a university transfer student or a career technical student, it makes a difference," he said. "It just opens another door for students." |
| Former UF associate professor Lin Yang indicted for fraud, not disclosing China ties | |
 | A former University of Florida associate professor and researcher who is a resident of China has been indicted on allegations of fraudulently getting a $1.75 million federal grant by concealing support he got from the Chinese government. Lin Yang, 43, is charged with six counts of wire fraud and four counts of making false statements to a U.S. agency, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported in a news release Wednesday. Other UF faculty members have come under scrutiny for possibly running afoul of disclosure requirements. Yang reportedly created a company in China that was going to profit from his UF research funded with the National Institutes of Health grant. The grant went toward Yang's work to develop an imaging and information processing tool for muscles called MuscleMiner, the release said. Yang was required to disclose his foreign research support and financial conflicts of interest including ownership of a foreign company. The indictment alleges Yang concealed the information so he could keep his job at UF and continue to receive NIH grant money. |
| AU/UGA medical students to help deliver COVID-19 vaccines | |
 | Medical students at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership will begin helping administer the COVID-19 vaccine through an arrangement with the Clarke County Board of Health. The students recently completed an injection skills lab and all CDC vaccination modules to become qualified to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. The medical students will be working at Department of Public Health COVID-19 testing sites administering the vaccines and monitoring patients for vaccine reactions. They will also be assisting in other areas such as recruiting patients for vaccines and completing clerical work. Eventually, students will administer vaccines through the Medical Partnership Mobile Clinic/Athens Free Clinic to help vaccinate the underserved communities they regularly serve through their Community and Population Health course. "With the vaccine rollout ramping up statewide, we felt the need to turn our focus where we are needed most," said Campus Dean Dr. Michelle Nuss. "We need all hands on deck to fight this pandemic, and having our students equipped to join in that fight is so rewarding for our medical students." |
| Inside MU Health Care hospital system's plan to vaccinate 4,000 patients this week | |
 | Brad Myers, University of Missouri Health Care's executive director of pharmacy and laboratory services, is confident in the hospital's ability to complete its largest COVID-19 vaccination effort to date. MU Health was one of three hospital systems in the region to receive additional vaccine supply this week under Missouri's new vaccination plan. The hospital center has received its shipment of 4,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Health officials plan to administer every dose during clinics from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Saturday at the Walsworth Family Columns Club at Memorial Stadium. If needed, clinics will continue early next week to ensure every dose is used. "We will ensure we get all shots in arms -- all 4,000 -- by next Tuesday," Myers said. "We've been provided guidance by the state that it's our responsibility. We're accountable for making sure these doses are in arms." MU Health will also host vaccination clinics at Memorial Stadium for each patient's second dose in four weeks. |
| Loyola, Tulane will hold class on Lundi Gras. Will it discourage Mardi Gras partying? | |
| Hoping to make it more difficult for students to join Mardi Gras celebrations that could become coronavirus superspreader events, Tulane and Loyola universities will break with tradition and hold classes on Lundi Gras this year. Loyola's decision came after a spike in new coronavirus infections at the Tulane campus next door. Tulane suspended six Greek organizations and issued tighter restrictions for the entire student body after officials blamed the rise on unmasked partying. "Seeing all the reports of large parties and gatherings this past weekend, we have decided that it is not prudent to schedule a four-day weekend," Loyola Provost Tanuja Singh wrote last week to the roughly 4,550 students at the university, where classes are offered both in-person and online. Dillard University, which also has in-person classes, is off Lundi Gras, but is having its 1,200 students return on Ash Wednesday. That's normally a holiday. In the meantime, Tulane officials are considering an extension of universitywide restrictions that ask students to cancel activities outside of in-person class and forbid dorm visitors or in-person programs, such as intramural sports, on campus. The suspensions, harsher restrictions and scheduling of classes on what are traditionally holidays offer a glimpse at how the city's universities are attempting to reign in or prevent questionable behavior while New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell struggles to contain large crowds and stop businesses from flouting the city's restrictions. |
| Covid-19 Leaves Colleges Short on International Students -- and Money | |
 | Australia's decision to close its borders protected it from the coronavirus. But that policy is wreaking havoc on the country's universities, which relied on lucrative tuition from foreign students who are stuck overseas. Experts say it will take years for the schools, among the best in the world, to recover from the economic damage. Already, Australian universities have cut more than 17,000 jobs, according to industry group Universities Australia. It said operating revenue fell 4.9% last year and is expected to fall another 5.5% this year. "As students finish and we haven't got new ones coming, we're yet to hit the bottom basically," said Peter Hurley, a policy fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy, which forecast that the country's universities could lose up to $15 billion in international tuition through 2023. Leaders all over the world have needed to balance protecting their populations from the virus with the economic damage that those policies can cause. But with a vaccine rollout expected to start in Australia soon, pressure is ramping up on conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison to provide clarity on how and when international students could return. |
| How people without college degrees can find higher-paying jobs | |
| Some jobs lost during the pandemic will never come back. In part, that's due to automation -- something that was happening long before the coronavirus emerged. "Firms were automating, but in some cases, they've accelerated that process during this pandemic because machines don't get viruses," said Patrick Harker, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, in an interview with Marketplace's David Brancaccio. It's happening in the sectors you might think of as hard-hit by automation, like manufacturing, but also less-obvious sectors like retail and hospitality. People of color are being impacted particularly hard by automation-related job loss. Harker's team at the Philadelphia Fed has developed a new online tool, the Occupational Mobility Explorer, to help workers without bachelor's degrees (whose jobs are most vulnerable to automation) identify "opportunity occupations": new jobs they could do with only modest training or upskilling that pay significantly more than their old job. People around the country can use the tool to find opportunity occupations in their area. "This is a tool not just for employees looking to upskill, but also for public officials looking at developing programs, community colleges, job training programs to really focus in on: Where are the jobs of the future? Where are the jobs that are growing that can move people into the middle class?" Harker said. |
| You've Received the College Financial-Aid Offer. Now What? | |
| The financial-aid process can feel like a black hole for families of first-time college applicants. Once the necessary forms are submitted, you are sucked into the unknown, waiting as each school considers aid eligibility. But many of these families will be busy soon enough. Families with aid offers should take the next few months to weed through and compare the details before accepting any of the packages on the table. Additional tasks might be necessary in some cases to receive promised aid, or to address recent reversals in financial circumstances. Some families that are disappointed might consider applying for a review of their financials, especially in cases where circumstances have changed. Families that receive aid offers from multiple schools should start by looking at how much free money is being offered through scholarships and grants, as opposed to loans that have to be repaid. It's essential to know what it will cost to attend each school after that free money is applied, taking into account direct costs, such as tuition, student-activity fees and on-campus room and board, as well as indirect costs, such as books, supplies, transportation and off-campus housing. |
| Miguel Cardona confirmation hearing marked by lack of fireworks | |
 | President Biden's nominee for education secretary, Miguel Cardona, appears to headed for confirmation by the Senate after a hearing Wednesday free of fireworks, save for whether transgender girls should be competing against cisgender girls in high school sports. Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top Republican on the Senate education committee, called Cardona "eminently qualified," as the committee's hearing for the Connecticut education commissioner came to an end. Burr said he would work with Democrats to "expeditiously" move Cardona's approval through the Senate. Senator Patty Murray of Washington State, the Democratic chairwoman of the committee, said she would schedule a vote as soon as possible to send Cardona's nomination before the full Senate. The hearing was light on specifics. Focusing on Cardona's rapid ascent from a first-generation immigrant growing up in Connecticut's housing projects to becoming an elementary school teacher, principal and then the state's top schools official, the hearing was a marked contrast from the contentious questioning Betsy DeVos, education secretary during the Trump administration, faced during her confirmation hearing before the same panel. |
| Rand Paul claims transgender students competing will 'destroy girls sports' during hearing | |
| Sen. Rand Paul slammed policies allowing transgender students to compete in school-sponsored athletics in accordance with their gender identities during a confirmation hearing Wednesday for President Joe Biden's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education. Kentucky's junior senator, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, questioned Miguel Cardona on the issue of transgender students' participation in school sports. "Do you think it's fair to have boys running in the girls track meet?" Paul, a Republican, asked after claiming transgender participation will "destroys girls sports." Cardona, a former public school teacher who most recently served as education commissioner of Connecticut, said he has worked with both families "who share (Paul's) concern" and transgender athletes on the issue before and believes it is a matter of respecting students' rights. The debate over transgender students' participation in athletics is not new to Kentucky. State Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, introduced Senate Bill 106 in January to require Kentucky K-12 schools to "designate all athletic teams, activities, and sports based upon the biological sex." The bill, titled the "Save Women's Sports Act," would also apply to athletics and intermural activities at Kentucky's public and private colleges and universities. |
| Miguel Cardona pledges support for reopening schools | |
 | Education secretary nominee Miguel Cardona on Wednesday pledged to prioritize reopening schools and address learning disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic if confirmed. Democrats and Republicans alike emphasized the need for students to return to the classroom at Cardona's confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The panel's top Republican, Sen. Richard M. Burr, R-N.C., and other Republicans praised Cardona, an indication that the nomination will likely go to the floor with bipartisan committee support. "I expect by the end of this hearing I'll be able to support your nomination," Burr said. "And I will encourage all of my colleagues on my side to support you as well and to move as expeditiously to have you sworn in as the next secretary of education. I look forward to working with you." Cardona, who has advocated keeping schools open as Connecticut's education commissioner, promised to work towards President Joe Biden's goal of reopening the majority of K-8 schools in his first 100 days. Democrats and Republicans agree that schools must reopen, but the amount of federal aid needed to do so has been a sticking point in negotiations on the next round of pandemic relief. |
| Biden appointees to Education Department include equity expert, Warren and Sanders aides | |
| The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a slew of appointments to the Education Department, including well-known higher ed advocates, people who have worked on behalf of student loan borrowers, and several former aides to progressive Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Among those named was Michelle Asha Cooper, a longtime advocate for education equity. She was formally appointed as deputy assistant secretary for postsecondary education, and will serve as acting assistant secretary, as reported by Inside Higher Ed Wednesday. Julie Margetta Morgan, Warren's former senior education counsel and her domestic policy adviser during Warren's 2020 presidential run, was appointed senior adviser to the still-unnamed education under secretary, the department's top official on higher education issues. Melanie Muenzer, most recently associate vice president and vice provost for academic initiatives at the University of Oregon, was named chief of staff to the under secretary. Another longtime advocate of student loan borrowers, Joanna Darcus, was named senior counsel in the department's general counsel's office. |
| Justice Department Drops Suit Claiming Yale Discriminated in Admissions | |
| The Justice Department on Wednesday withdrew a lawsuit against Yale University that charged it with discriminating against Asian-American and white applicants, reversing a key element of the Trump administration's efforts to undermine race-based college admissions. The department brought the lawsuit last year on the grounds that white and Asian-American students faced stricter admissions standards. Its action on Wednesday suggested that the Biden administration might be prepared to take sharply different policies regarding affirmative action, but it does not mean the lawsuit against Yale is dead. Students for Fair Admissions, a group opposed to affirmative action, plans to pick it up and refile it under its name. The Yale lawsuit, filed in October, asserted that the university discriminated against both Asian-American and white applicants. The government said that race was the "determinative factor" in hundreds of admissions decisions each year, and that "for the great majority of applicants," Asian-American and white applicants have only one-eighth to one-fourth the likelihood of admission as Black applicants with comparable academic credentials. |
| In Iowa, Public Colleges Scramble to Ward Off Claims of Bias and Threat to Tenure | |
 | The rift between conservative politicians and public higher education has been growing for decades. In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, the gap is becoming harder to bridge. Case in point: Iowa, where Republican state legislators are mounting a serious effort to dismantle tenure at public colleges while berating university officials for what they see as anti-conservative bias on campuses. The hostility the state's public colleges face suggests uncharted territory for their peers in red states across the country. Hyperpartisan trends, especially among Republicans embracing former President Donald J. Trump's false narrative of a stolen election, may mean even greater assaults on treasured academic institutions like tenure. Bills to gut tenure have been introduced in Iowa each legislative session since at least 2017, though none -- including the current iteration -- have passed a full committee vote. Yet some lawmakers have linked the protections tenure affords with freedom to indoctrinate students with anti-conservative views. That could be a troubling development for tenure, an institution already under historic assault. |
| No 'Social Justice' in the Classroom: Statehouses Renew Scrutiny of Speech at Public Colleges | |
| Blocking professors from teaching social-justice issues. Asking universities how they talk about privilege. Analyzing students' freedom of expression through regular reports. Meet the new campus-speech issues emerging in Republican-led statehouses across the country, indicating potential new frontiers for politicians to shape campus affairs. This flurry of activity, in states like Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Iowa, shows lawmakers' intense focus on campus culture wars amid broader national clashes over how America's history is taught and remembered. "We're really seeing a direct intrusion into the classroom with some of these proposals, in a way that the prior wave of these student-speech laws did not," said Neal Hutchens, chair of the University of Mississippi's department of higher education, who specializes in legal issues. It all comes at a difficult moment. America's political parties are divided on how they perceive higher education. Public colleges are not only regulated by legislatures but funded by state appropriations, which risk being threatened by the coronavirus pandemic and its accompanying recession. Campus leaders may be torn between standing up for their institutional values and placating lawmakers, Hutchens said. "This represents a legitimate challenge. Institutional leaders, I have some sympathy for them. It's going to be difficult to navigate." |
SPORTS
| Ally Ewing Inspires The Next Generation On National Women And Girls in Sports Day | |
| It was fitting that on the day Ally Ewing spoke about National Women and Girls in Sports Day, she was in central Florida at a college golf tournament. Ewing, the winner of last year's Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee, is the volunteer assistant women's golf coach at her alma mater, Mississippi State University. That's because her husband, Charlie, recently took over the program as head coach. And Ally was available while Charlie searched for a full-time assistant. "It's been fun," Ewing said of her coaching debut at the UCF Challenge in Orlando. "At first (the college golfers) were pretty standoffish but I just let them know that I was there to help; there to answer any questions they have and help them be the best they can be." She loves the feeling. It takes Ewing back to her days as an All-American with the Bulldogs, supporting her teammates and being part of a program. She had similar feelings when she represented her country at the 2014 Curtis Cup and again in 2019 when she was on the U.S. Solheim Cup team at Gleneagles in Scotland. But before all of that, Ewing understood the importance of being a girl in sports. That's because she'd been doing it from the time she could walk. |
| How Mississippi State's Josh Hatcher, Rowdey Jordan and Tanner Allen turned draft night disappointment into fuel for 2021 season | |
| Mississippi State outfielder Tanner Allen's post-practice routine is simple. After helping shag balls and running through his necessary batting practice, he heads for the batting cages tucked in the underbelly of Dudy Noble Field to get in extra work. Swing after swing, he cracks baseballs. Some fly high; some are low; some are on a rope. But after a recent practice, as Allen wove beneath MSU's cathedral to college baseball, he heard the cracking of bats in the cages before he had arrived. It was a trio of freshmen taking extra reps. "Practice is a big part of our program," Allen said. "You've just got to come out and attack every day." In a normal year, neither Allen nor classmates Rowdey Jordan and Josh Hatcher would be playing in Starkville this spring. But with COVID-19 cutting the 2020 season short after just 16 games and the MLB draft being shortened from its usual 40 rounds to just five, all three return to an MSU roster poised for a legitimate run at the program's first national championship. "You come to school and you play and you expect to get drafted after your junior year, and then it kind of gets taken away from you," Jordan explained. "Plans change, but at the end of the day it is what it is. There ain't no changing it. It can be tough at times, but everything happens for a reason." |
| Mississippi State, Tennessee women's game postponed | |
| The No. 24-ranked Mississippi State women's basketball game with No. 18 Tennessee on Thursday has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Tennessee program, the SEC and university announced on Wednesday. No makeup date has been announced yet. Mississippi State (8-5, 3-4 in the SEC) will try to find an opponent to schedule on Sunday. The Bulldogs have not played since last Thursday, a 75-52 loss to South Carolina on Jan. 28. Mississippi State would have played Vanderbilt on Monday, Feb. 1, but the Commodores canceled their season due to COVID-19 concerns. The next scheduled game for Mississippi State is on Feb. 11 at No. 16 Arkansas. |
| Mississippi State Volleyball Season to Resume at South Carolina | |
| For the first time in its 46-year history, spring has sprung for Mississippi State volleyball. After its originally scheduled 2021 spring opener, set for January 29-30 against Georgia in Starkville, was postponed, MSU (2-6, 2-6 SEC) will begin the spring portion of its 2020-21 season with a two-match series at South Carolina (7-3, 7-3 SEC) Thursday and Friday (Feb. 4-5) at the Carolina Volleyball Center. The series will kick off a 14-match conference-only slate for the Bulldogs after they played to a 2-6 record during the fall, highlighted by a series sweep of No. 7 Texas A&M on the road in November. "We are really excited to open up the spring portion of our schedule. We took advantage of the extra time to train when last week's matches were postponed, and this group is so ready to compete against another team across the net. We enjoyed the opportunity to compete during the fall, and we are so grateful and excited about finishing up our season this spring. This group is special. There is a level of care for one another that I respect and admire. We have had some adversity, but they have handled it well and I am really looking forward to seeing them compete." Fans can watch the matches online via the SEC Network+ digital platform, with first serve of each contest coming at 6 p.m. CT. |
| Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb on Dak Prescott: 'Cannot wait to have him back' | |
 | Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb says he prefers to "stay in the shadows as of right now." Sure, his 935 receiving yards and five touchdowns this season place him more squarely in the limelight. But Lamb isn't trying to hide on the field so much as he's aiming to defer respectfully to members of the Cowboys organization regarding matters of contract negotiations ... like, the protracted negotiation of a long-term deal with quarterback Dak Prescott. On second thought, Lamb does have a few words on the matter. "It's no secret we want Dak back," Lamb told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "I trust that the guys in the office are definitely going to make the right decision. They know how much Dak means to us and how much we lean on him. "I cannot wait to have him back." The Cowboys and Prescott both publicly maintain their desire to strike a long-term deal. That desire wasn't sufficient to surmount impasses each of the last two offseasons, which led to Prescott playing out the final year of his rookie contract in 2019 and then signing a $31.4 million franchise tag in 2020. This season arguably only complicated the negotiations. |
| In a state football first, UA, ASU to meet in 2025 in Little Rock | |
| The University of Arkansas crossed a football milestone Wednesday, announcing it has scheduled a game against Arkansas State University in 2025 at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium. The Razorbacks and Red Wolves have never met in football, and UA scheduling guidelines before 2019 prohibited the Fayetteville school from facing in-state schools in any sport. The 2025 game at War Memorial Stadium is the centerpiece for a Razorbacks scheduling priority to play their SEC home games on campus in Fayetteville. "I felt like the timing is right as we opened up in-state competition with our sister schools in several sports two years ago to continue through this pandemic with many of our sports competing against Arkansas State and Central Arkansas," UA Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said in a video conference. "Obviously, it just makes sense at this point in time to enter into that football game with Arkansas State in 2025." The dialogue for playing the Razorbacks in football, a long-term goal for ASU Athletic Director Terry Mohajir, began soon after Yurachek's arrival in Fayetteville in December 2017. |
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