| Friday, February 26, 2021 |
| MSU-Meridian forms partnership with Alabama's Wallace Community College | |
 | Mississippi State University–Meridian and Wallace Community College are announcing a new Partnership Pathway to enable WCC students at both the Demopolis and Selma, Alabama, campuses to earn their undergraduate degree from MSU. The five-year agreement went into effect at the beginning of the spring semester and provides students degree-specific course plans tailored for each of the four degree programs being offered -- Bachelor of Applied Technology in healthcare services, BAT in event and hospitality management, as well as Bachelor of Accountancy and Bachelor of Business Administration. Willy Hill, a Demopolis resident and professor of marketing in MSU-Meridian's Division of Business, and Blaine Hathcock, director of WCC's Demopolis campus, initially discussed the possibility of an institutional partnership, and leaders at their respective institutions agreed that pursing the collaboration would be a worthwhile endeavor. "MSU-Meridian's commitment to expanding educational opportunities for our neighbors in West Alabama began in earnest in 2013 when the university implemented an out-of-state tuition waiver for students who reside in one of the six West Alabama counties of Sumter, Green, Choctaw, Hale, Marengo and Clarke," said MSU-Meridian Associate Vice President and Head of Campus Terry Dale Cruse. "We feel this new partnership with Wallace Community College will open the door to more and better opportunities in the future." |
| Temporary sidewalk closure between George Hall and YMCA beginning 7 a.m. March 1 | |
 | Beginning at 7 a.m. on March 1, there will be a temporary sidewalk closure between George Hall and the YMCA Building on Lee Boulevard due to renovations on the Class of 24 Monument project. The closure is expected to last approximately 90 days. Alternate detour is suggested. We apologize for the inconvenience of the closure, and appreciate your patience and support. Please contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at 662-325-2005 if you have any questions. |
| Petal chamber teams up with Mississippi State Extension Service for trash pickup | |
 | When officials from the Mississippi State Extension Service met with the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce to coordinate a cleanup program, it was with the intent to spend a day at Petal River Park beautifying the grounds. But after some talk, that endeavor was soon expanded to four days throughout February and March, when volunteers will get together to pick up trash at various spots around the Friendly City. The program is coordinated by Jessi James and will be held through the extension service's Inland Cleanup Program, with the help of zoology students from The University of Southern Mississippi. "The river park was probably not the priority, in terms of needs, because we really had a lot of other areas that (needed attention)," said Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce. "But then (James) came back with the ideas of different crews coming at different days to clean up several of our other locations that are in need. First of all, people refuse to keep their trash in their cars, and it's unimaginable to me -- but it is obvious -- that people don't respect highways and peoples' property and they throw their trash out. Then they expect somebody else to clean it up. Well, we just don't have the budget in Petal to have road cleanup crews out there on every street every month, so it falls upon volunteers." |
| Virtual expo educates students about aerospace, agriculture and architecture careers | |
 | As the Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo continues virtually, students in eighth through twelfth grade have been encouraged to learn about career opportunities in aerospace, agriculture and architecture/construction during the month of February. When it comes to the aerospace pathway, Donna McCullar, career coach at Saltillo High School, looks to expose students to all opportunities whether they are interested in flying drones, operating aircraft like planes and helicopters or working in the engineering side of the field. In the agriculture pathway, McCullar said a trend she's seen recently is more female students going into agriculture. Videos from experts like Dr. Bill Burdine, agronomy specialist for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, are available on the website where he explained to students that food production for eating and fiber production for clothing are the two basic tenets of agriculture, but there are so many more aspects like balancing trade with other countries and implementing new technology to grow and harvest crops, etc. |
| What Mississippi State students can do to avoid danger after armed robbery incidents at apartments just off-campus | |
 | Two incidents involving armed robbers at apartment parking lots near Mississippi State have students concerned. The Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department says two men robbed at least three college students at gunpoint sometime after midnight on Wednesday at the Helix Apartments. The students involved were not hurt but others are understandably shaken. Investigators say it was between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. when the attempted armed robbery at 21 Apartments, followed shortly by the armed robbery at Helix, took place. Both are just minutes away from the MSU campus. Cpl. Chantel Solis-McCoy with campus police teaches self-defense courses for students and says these are among the many safety precautions students should take. "Before you actually even get in your vehicle, check around your car, check and make sure there's no one under your car. Make sure that no one is sitting in your backseat," she said. If held at gunpoint, Cpl. Solis-McCoy says it is important to stay calm and not jeopardize one's safety by resisting. |
| Utility companies: Brace for high bills following freezing temperatures | |
 | Starkville Utilities Department has already begun sending out some bills that charge for power used during last week's freezing temperatures, and Director Terry Kemp said customers may be surprised by how high some of those charges are. "We've seen increases in some cases twice as much as normal, so it's considerable," Kemp said. Some of those bills also include extremely cold days from January and early February, he said. It's common for power usage to increase during extremely cold weather, as residents turn up their thermostats, crank up space heaters and find other power- or gas-generating ways to keep warm. "Usage is going to be up," said Brandon Presley, Northern District commissioner for the Mississippi Public Service Commission. "The issue is that we've had an almost-record -- close to a record -- cold stretch during this winter storm, and so naturally electric usage and gas usage are up, which translates into an increased bill." The freezing temperatures were compounded by icy roads that kept many people home, where they generated energy they wouldn't have if they'd gone to work, said Jon Turner, marketing and public relations director for 4-County Electric Power Association. "Some folks may double or triple their bill, depending on what kind of situation they're in," Turner said. |
| Winter storm prompts review of Mississippi's electric, gas, water infrastructure | |
| Mississippi's public service commissioners announced on Wednesday that they are launching a comprehensive review of the state's public utility infrastructure in response to the damages caused by last week's winter storm. The goal of the review, which will begin immediately, is to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure utility services across the state are reliable. The commission, which regulates the state's public utilities that offer electricity, water and gas, noted that the state's electric and natural gas utilities performed well during the winter storm, but that regulators still need to guarantee systems are in place to avoid costly and damaging large-area outages -- similar to what happened last week in Texas. "While Mississippi utilities are accustomed to extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes, winter storms are much rarer," the commission wrote in a press release. "The latest winter storm presented new challenges to Mississippi utilities that the commission feels must be addressed immediately and forthrightly." "It is our highest duty as commissioners to make sure that we not only solve problems but anticipate them ahead of time," Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said. |
| Could the southern snowstorm indicate a delayed, more severe tornado season? | |
 | The severe winter weather that hit the southern United States area is leading some meteorologists to believe it could mean not just a delayed tornado season, but one that is more severe. While peak severe weather typically runs from March through May, increased storms have recently been tracked across the plains starting in the middle of winter and early spring. "The last couple years, it was an early start to tornado season," said Reed Timmer, an extreme meteorologist in AccuWeather's spring preview. "We were already chasing during parts of January last year. That's because there were El Nino conditions in the tropical Pacific, so we had a very energized southern stream to the jet that was pumping moisture, bringing with it disturbances as well, early on in the year." This spring the weather may play out differently due to an influx of Arctic air, and a La Nina that is expected to influence weather patterns across the globe. Though every La Nina is different, the pattern in 2021 is similar to that of February 2011. That system produced over 700 tornadoes in total with 343 of those coming from a super outbreak that took place across the southern, midwestern, and northeastern portions of the United States from April 25-28. Four of those were rated EF5. |
| Economists: GDP, income, population would drop from Gov. Tate Reeves' income tax elimination proposal | |
| A new report from economists with the state's university system says Mississippi's economy, personal income and population would decline under Gov. Tate Reeves' proposal to phase out individual income tax over a decade. The analysis, led by state economist Corey Miller for the University Research Center division of the state Institutions of Higher Learning, used economic modeling to analyze Reeves' proposal to phase out the state's individual income tax. The report was conducted before the proposal the state House passed this week to phase out the income tax while increasing sales and other taxes, but the URC did include a separate analysis of raising the state sales tax to cover reductions in income taxes. That showed "slightly positive" effects on gross domestic product, income and population over the same period. Meanwhile, an analysis commissioned by the conservative policy group Empower Mississippi released Thursday says either Reeves' straight income tax phase out or the House swap from income to consumption taxes would yield positive benefits for the state economy and people's income. |
| House leadership quietly crafted income tax overhaul, lawmakers scrambled ahead of vote | |
| As late as Tuesday morning, only hours before a 2 p.m. gavel time in the House of Representatives and a vote on a lengthy bill to eliminate the state income tax, some lawmakers themselves were still racing to get up to speed. "It's a whole lot to wade through on that bill," Rep. Jerry Turner, R-Baldwyn, told the Daily Journal Tuesday morning. Turner, a fourth-term lawmaker, backed the intent of House Bill 1439: cut the personal income tax within a decade and raise sales taxes to compensate. But though the concept of cutting the income tax has been "talked about in theory for years," Turner said, the Republican caucus in full was only first briefed this session on the "nuts and bolts" of HB 1439 during a GOP caucus meeting on Monday afternoon. "That was before the bill was printed and carried to committee," Turner said. That committee, Ways and Means, approved the bill in short order, with House leadership bringing the 308-page to the floor for a full vote in less than 24 hours. An amendment would stretch it to 317 pages, ultimately. "The concept is a great idea. But getting it all worked out is a big thing," Turner said, hours before he cast a vote in favor of the bill. "When you do these shifts like this, you can expect nothing less than everybody being affected by it. This goes from top to bottom, from side to side. Everybody is going to be affected by it, and to what degree, we don't know." |
| Farmers discuss bill that would raise several state taxes | |
 | Legislators, agriculture leaders, and local farmers voiced their thoughts on a bill that would affect Mississippi's farming industry. House Bill 1439 proposes to raise the sales tax on farm tractors and parts from 1.5 percent to 4 percent. Those at the forefront of the agriculture industry said they may consider going across state lines to purchase essential items that are part of their way of living. Clay Adcock, who is a farmer in the South Delta, said, "You would assume that if I could drive 30 minutes across the state line and purchase a big tractor and save myself the difference between $7,500 and $20,000, I would go over there and do that." Along with the increase to almost all sales tax, the bill would also cut the grocery tax in half. According to data, agriculture brings in at least $7 billion to Mississippi and employs approximately 29 percent of the state's workforce. |
| Education groups rip Speaker Philip Gunn's massive tax proposal | |
| Mississippi's leading education advocates are unanimously critical of a massive House plan that would fundamentally change the state's tax structure, expressing concern that it cuts public education funding in the long run. The proposal, which would eliminate the state's personal income tax and raise the state's sales tax, among other things, was introduced less than 24 hours before House members were asked to approve it. The House on Tuesday passed the bill, which will now move to the Senate for consideration. Describing the proposal as "reprehensible," "reckless," and a "political ploy" that holds teachers "hostage," education advocates have more questions than answers after what they say was a rushed and secretive process. "It was kept under wraps," said Nancy Loome, executive director of The Parents' Campaign, whose organization sent an email to members warning them of similar tax cuts in Kansas and Oklahoma that resulted in decreased school funding and, in some school districts, the transition to a four-day week. |
| Historians to lawmakers: Please don't politicize Mississippi's archives and history board | |
| Forty-six Mississippi historians have signed a letter urging state lawmakers to reject a proposal that would let politicians choose who oversees the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. "(W)e are asking that you not interfere with the independence of an entity that has done so much good work for our state," said the letter, distributed to House members Thursday. "To improve this invaluable Department, what is needed is an increase in funding. Please do not politicize its Board of Trustees." Senate Bill 2727 would turn the agency's nine-member board into a panel appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor rather than one that selects its own members, as has been the case since 1902. The legislation quietly cleared the Senate on a party-line vote earlier this month and now awaits consideration in the House. Since its passage the proposal has garnered increasing scrutiny and opposition from historians and archivists who say they are concerned about potential political interference at MDAH. The group of historians who publicly opposed the legislation hailed from the Mississippi Humanities Council and many of the state's colleges and universities, though they noted they were not representing those institutions with their letter. The letter praised the agency and board for its work creating the Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History, as well as the agency's work shepherding last year's committee that chose a new state flag. |
| 'We Cannot Go Back': Historians Urge Lawmakers Not to 'Politicize' Mississippi History Board | |
| Mississippi's history board should remain free from political interference, historians from across the state are telling House lawmakers, asking them to oppose Senate Bill 2727. The bill, which Mississippi senators passed on a partisan 34-14 vote earlier this month with only Republican support, would grant the governor and lieutenant governor control over appointments to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's nine-member board of trustees. Currently, board members nominate new additions, and the Senate approves their picks. "Senate Bill 2727 would strip this nominating power from the Board and transfer it to the Executive Branch of the State of Mississippi. The Society of Mississippi Archivists condemns this action in the strongest possible terms and urges members of the Mississippi House of Representatives to vote 'no' on this action," the Society of Mississippi Archivists said in a Feb. 18 statement. The organization, led by historians from across the state, harshly criticized the legislation, noting that, though the state founded the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in 1902 "to protect the 'Southern identity' and preserve the records of the Civil War," it is now a revered institution that preserves history without political or partisan influence. In a letter to House members this morning, 46 historians from colleges and universities across the state joined calls for legislators to oppose the bill. |
| Electric car chargers are scarce in Mississippi. New legislation could change that. | |
| Electric car owners would find more places to plug in around Mississippi over the next three years if legislation that passed the House this week wins final approval. The Magnolia State has among the fewest public charging stations in the country, with most spaced far apart in only the largest cities and towns. House Bill 1441 aims to incentivize construction of more stations by doling out as much as $30 million in total tax credits to companies that build them over the next three years. "Over the next 10 or 15 years, the expectation is there's going to be a lot more of these vehicles on the road," said Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville. "Mississippi does not have a whole lot of charging locations, and the intent of HB 1441 is to make that happen." The bill, authored by Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, passed the House on an 89-25 vote on Wednesday and now heads to the Senate for more work. "If you looked at Mississippi right now from 30,000 feet, we're almost a desert when it comes to being able to charge vehicles like this," Roberson said. U.S. electric car sales have surged in recent years, with the trend expected to continue. |
| Mississippi lawmakers consider doing away with prescription requirement on pseudoephedrine | |
| Mississippi is one of only two states still requiring a prescription for medicines containing pseudoephedrine. But the legislature is weighing the option of allowing you to buy medicine like Claritin-D or others containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine without a prescription. "Pharmacies would have to use some software that tracks the amount you've purchased," described Senator Joey Fillingane who filed Senate Bill 2119. "You can't just jump from pharmacy A and B and C and D and just stockpile. There's a limit of 3.6 grams a day that you can purchase in Mississippi or 7.2 for the whole month. So, you can't pharmacy hop and stockpile it for yourself." It's those type precautions that have led to a long-time advocate for the prescription requirement Senator Brice Wiggins to change his mind. "I always understood people's desire to be able to access ephedrine and pseudoephedrine," described Wiggins. "My personal belief has been there are other cold medicines out there. But I realize and I've heard the people. That being said, I wasn't prepared to go along with it until I knew the precautions were in place." |
| Bill that would expand scope of practice for optometrists passes Senate | |
| The Senate passed an amended House bill Thursday that could give optometrists the ability to prescribe medication and perform procedures that were previously prohibited to them. The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee put a strike-all amendment earlier this week on House Bill 1302, which passed its originating chamber 90-24 on February 3. The bill passed the Senate by a 47-5 margin and will go back to the House, which will have to approve the changes. State Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said the strike-all was a compromise agreed upon by the optometrists and ophthalmologists. The bill would allow optometrists, who are not medical doctors, to prescribe medications to treat diseases of the eye or eyelid. They will also be able to order laboratory tests but would not be allowed to inject or implant any medication into the eye itself. State Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, is an optometrist and said present law leaves Mississippi behind neighboring states. He said that the limits on practice in present law convinced some of his optometry school classmates from Memphis to pursue opportunities outside the state. |
| Mississippi auditor: Man stole from poverty housing program | |
 | A Mississippi man is charged with embezzling more than three-quarters of a million dollars from a program designed to help low-income residents repair their homes in a county with a long history of entrenched poverty, the state auditor said Thursday. Mardis Lanell Jones, who ran the nonprofit Tunica County Housing Inc., was arrested Wednesday after being indicted in an embezzlement case, Auditor Shad White said. Jones was released within hours on a $50,000 bond. Tunica County was long one of the poorest counties in the United States. It experienced an economic boon after casinos started opening there during the 1990s, but the riches failed to extend to everyone. Some still struggled with run-down housing and the county board of supervisors put tax dollars into a program to help people make repairs. Jones was supposed to connect needy residents with contractors to improve their homes. He was also supposed to make sure the contractor did the work and got paid. White said only about 19% of the money in the program went toward that purpose. |
| Legislation could help cities manage bond debt, reduce borrowing costs amid COVID-19 | |
| A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate could give cities like Jackson a boost in fixing its roads, water and sewer systems. U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R) and Debbie Stabenow (D) have introduced the Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidation for Infrastructure Act of 2021. The bill, also called the LOCAL Infrastructure Act, would re-authorize "advance refunding" to allow states and cities to refinance their existing bond debt and reduce borrowing costs for public projects. Advance refunding options have been unavailable for state and local governments since 2017. The measure is being introduced to help state and local governments shore up finances and continue investing in public needs during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the announcement also comes as cities like Jackson struggle to recover from the recent winter storms. The storms wreaked havoc on municipal water systems and have led to calls for the federal government to step in and help cities make improvements. "Over the past year, I have heard firsthand from local leaders about the strain the COVID-19 crisis is putting on state and local budgets," Stabenow said. "That's why I partnered with Sen. Wicker to introduce the LOCAL Infrastructure Act, which will make it less expensive for state and local governments to invest in hospitals, roads, schools and other critical infrastructure." |
| Lawmakers blame SolarWinds on 'collective failure' to prioritize cybersecurity | |
 | The leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee on Friday will call for immediate changes to how Congress handles cybersecurity in the wake of a massive hack of the federal government, blaming the breach on a "collective failure" to prioritize cybersecurity. "Our collective failure to make cybersecurity a central component of our national security -- and invest in it accordingly -- contributed to the success of the campaign and the difficulty we face in understanding its impact," Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) will say as part of opening remarks at a joint hearing with the House Oversight and Reform Committee on the SolarWinds breach. "In short, past warnings of what could come failed to trigger a meaningful shift in our approach to security," he will stress. The hearing is being held less than a week after a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the SolarWinds breach, and two months after the House Homeland Security and the House Oversight and Reform panels announced a joint investigation into the incident. Thompson will stress that a key priority of the ongoing dual committee investigation is to "move beyond admiring the complexities of this campaign" and instead "chart a path forward." |
| Acting Capitol Police chief tells lawmakers militia groups seek to 'blow up the Capitol,' targeting President Biden's speech | |
 | Yogananda Pittman, the acting chief of the United States Capitol Police, told lawmakers Thursday her agency was reviewing threats from militia groups present during the Jan. 6 riot and warned they seek to "blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible," possibly targeting President Joe Biden's speech to a joint session of Congress. Pittman said the continued threats made it "prudent" for the Capitol Police to maintain their increased level of security at the Capitol. "We know that members of the militia groups that were present on Jan. 6 have stated their desire that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible, with a direct nexus to the State of the Union," she said. In the coming weeks, Biden is expected to give his first formal address to Congress -- similar to a State of the Union address. The date of the speech has not yet been scheduled. Her remarks came during an at-times heated hearing before a key House panel overseeing funding for the Capitol Police. Lawmakers questioned Pittman and Timothy Blodgett, the acting House Sergeant at Arms, on security failures, intelligence breakdowns, and lapses in communication leading up to and during the Jan. 6 riot. |
| Republican leaders split while CPAC prepares to unite around Trump | |
 | Jason Smith was, quite literally, caught in the middle of his party's tug of war this week. The Missouri Republican lawmaker stood at the microphones alongside House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for their weekly news conference, usually a staid affair where GOP leaders project unity before a dubious Capitol Hill press corps. Then Smith watched McCarthy and Cheney clash over Donald Trump's role in their party -- all live on C-SPAN. Should Trump be speaking at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando? McCarthy offered an immediate "yes." Cheney said it's up to CPAC, but then forcefully restated her position against the former president "playing a role in the future of the party, or the country." Asked later if it was awkward to witness his leadership give such conflicting visions on Trump, Smith replied: "Hasn't that been happening all year?" The episode perfectly captured the civil war raging inside the not-so-post-Trump GOP. And those divisions will be on full display this weekend during CPAC, an annual party gathering where the action of late has become very much about one man -- Donald John Trump -- and very little about conservatism or policy or much of anything else. |
| A culture war has been brewing at the Capitol for years. Now it's at a boiling point. | |
| Guns. Masks. Conspiracy theories. Contentious issues brewing for months, and even years, between political parties and lawmakers now seem to be at a boiling point on Capitol Hill. Tensions in Congress have been high in the past, but the rhetoric of the last few months is not business as usual. Julian Zelizer, a professor of political history at Princeton University, told USA TODAY the current climate is "definitely one of the bad moments in American history." Compared to the periods before the Civil War, in the 19th century, and in the 1960s, Zelizer said, today is "at least like those, and in some ways it's worse." Though members may not be "literally attacking each other physically as they did in the 19th century, sometimes it feels like they're getting awfully close." Now, points of contention have seemed to reach a crescendo -- and amplified by the Capitol riot. Mask-wearing and other preventative measures have become a partisan flashpoint over the course of the pandemic, with some on the right saying the health measures infringe on their civil liberties. And despite at least 64 members of Congress testing positive for the coronavirus or its antibodies, wearing a mask remains a contentious issue nearly a year into the pandemic. |
| Texas' ag industry faces hundreds of millions in losses after deep freeze | |
| Weather has returned to normal in Texas -- it was even sunny and 75 most of the week. But the state is still dealing with some interruptions in commerce from the Presidents' Day freeze. Grocery stores are getting restocked and many are almost back to normal, although some are still limiting the quantities of milk and eggs that people can buy. The freeze hit the agriculture industry hard. Preliminary estimates put the cost to Texas farmers and ranchers at hundreds of millions of dollars. "We're going to have a lot of farmers go bankrupt from this freeze," said Sid Miller, Texas' agriculture commissioner. He said farmers are on tight margins even without natural disasters and did what they could to prepare for the storms. "You know, the tractors got antifreeze and block heaters," Miller said. "We've got generators to run the dairy barn, but everybody else wasn't ready. The milk processors went down, you know, the trucking companies and egg processors went down." Miller said dairy farmers had to dump 14 million gallons of milk because they couldn't get it to processing plants. A lot of poultry farmers lost power for days and couldn't get more fuel for their generators. "The baby chicks that just hatched that are, you know, going to be on your store shelves in three months, a lot of them froze to death," Miller said. |
| U.S. Unemployment Claims Fell Sharply Last Week | |
 | The jobs market appears to be returning to growth, with new applications for unemployment benefits falling to the lowest level since November amid other signs hiring is picking up. Initial weekly unemployment claims decreased by 111,000 to a seasonally adjusted 730,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was also the biggest drop in new applications for regular state programs since last summer. The latest figures came as storms disrupted business in parts of the country and at least one state is adjusting for attempted fraud filings, factors that could have affected the totals. Still, weekly claims have dropped significantly since an early January peak above 900,000 and the four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility in the weekly figures, dropped to 807,750. "It was a big drop, but I think the trend is going to continue because people are going out and spending more," said Michelle Holder, a Ph.D. labor economist at John Jay College in New York. The decrease in jobless applications is consistent with vaccination efforts giving Americans confidence the pandemic will end and signs that hiring is picking up, she said. |
| 'It's bittersweet': Students, faculty reflect on college in the time of COVID | |
| Yasmine Brown was running an errand outside Indianola, her hometown, on Jan. 6 when her roommates called. A positive test result had confirmed it: The exhaustion they were feeling was COVID-19. Brown, a senior at the University of Mississippi who had been preparing to leave for Oxford in the next week, couldn't believe it. "I was caught off guard, in disbelief, shocked. Like, dang," she said, "they really tested positive.'" It was not how the 21-year-old double major had pictured the start to her last semester of undergrad. But then again, college in general had not gone the way Brown had hoped it would since the coronavirus pandemic started nearly a year ago. The previous spring semester, Brown struggled to pay for groceries after her on-campus job cut her hours. Then, in the fall, the monotonous grind of online classes caused her to rarely leave her room. A self-described "over-thinker," she felt on the brink of a mental breakdown. Before the pandemic, Brown wanted to pursue a master's degree immediately after graduating. Now she was day-dreaming about taking a gap year. Like many people struggling during the pandemic, Brown said she was starting to realize "I need a year or a semester off to figure out what I'm truly passionate about." In the weeks since Mississippi's eight public universities reopened for the spring semester in mid-January, Mississippi Today spoke with students and faculty across the state about their college experience in the time of the coronavirus. |
| U. of Mississippi asks students, faculty how willing they are to receive the vaccine | |
 | The Office of the Provost sent a COVID Vaccine Administration Survey via email on Thursday to measure University of Mississippi community members' willingness to receive the vaccine, as well as how many people on campus have already received the vaccine. Students, faculty and staff were asked to fill the survey out. "It will take less than two minutes of your time," the email read. The survey will default to anonymous, but people can also opt in to join a standby call list. "We plan to create a standby list of people willing to get a vaccine at a moment's notice toward the end of the day," the survey said. The survey also asked questions pertaining to 'primary roles on campus,' if students have any classes on campus and if they work for the university in any capacity. The student survey consisted of three parts, with the last being about the standby call list. Contact information was not requested if the person answered "no" to the question. UM Public Relations also sent out an email on Wednesday informing students and faculty that the Mississippi Department of Health opened new COVID-19 vaccine appointments for facilities across the state, including Lafayette County. "If you are eligible, we encourage you to get the vaccine as it becomes available to you," the email read. |
| Ole Miss Family Says Goodbye to Former First Lady | |
| Margaret Mason Denton Khayat, the wife of former University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat, died Monday surrounded by her family. She was 78 years old. Born to Ira and Margaret Denton of Memphis, she attended Ole Miss after graduating from Hutchison School. It was at Ole Miss during her freshman year where she met Robert while he was a senior and an Ole Miss football player. She was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. They were married in 1962 and lived in Washington, D.C., and Moss Point, Mississippi, before settling in Oxford, where she was active in her children's lives, friendships, her church, and other community support efforts, according to her obituary. After raising two children, she re-enrolled at the University of Mississippi, earning her degree in 1993 in sociology. From 1995 through 2009, Margaret served as the First Lady of the University of Mississippi, hosting countless events and refurbishing and enhancing the interior and grounds of Carrier House, the chancellor's home. "On behalf of the University of Mississippi, Emily and I extend heartfelt condolences to Margaret Khayat's family and friends upon her passing," said UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce in a statement. |
| Southern Miss earns high rank for military friendliness | |
| For the fifth consecutive year, the University of Southern Mississippi has earned a prestigious Military Friendly School Gold Status designation. "Our measure of success is our students: their transition to becoming a USM Golden Eagle, (their) academic progress, social awareness and, ultimately, job placement," said Jeff Hammond, director of USM's Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families. "We joyfully consider it a blessing and honor to serve student-veterans, their families and others who cared enough in their lifetime to protect the freedoms of our sacred constitutional republic." Now in its 20th year, the Military Friendly Schools list has come to set the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses. This prestigious list provides a comprehensive guide for veterans and their families using data sources from federal agencies, veteran students and proprietary survey information from participating organizations. |
| Black History Month exhibit on display at Hattiesburg Kress building | |
 | Photos of Mississippi civil rights leaders, political posters and artifacts from acclaimed Hattiesburg washerwoman-turned-philanthropist Oseola McCarty are on display this week in the storefront of the old Kress Department Store in downtown Hattiesburg. It's all part of a Black History Month exhibit put together by the Hattiesburg Downtown Association and the University of Southern Mississippi. "I walk downtown every day, and I saw someone looking in the window and I thought if we can educate and inspire one person, we've changed our community," said Leigh Ann Underwood of the Hattiesburg Downtown Association. "We were thrilled we got the opportunity to do it because we don't always have a space where we can get our materials out and this is an important topic for us," said Lorraine Stuart, an associate professor who is head of University Archives' Special Collections and curator of historical manuscripts and archives at USM. "We have a lot of civil rights collections. We have about 150 different civil rights collections." |
| New Belhaven Track Facility, JSU Campus Energy Network and USM Black History Month Displays | |
| Jackson State University recently selected 15 students for its new Campus Energy Network, a career exploration program that aims to connect high-achieving college students with mentors from the energy sector. JSU announced the CEN program in partnership with the Center for Energy Workforce Development and the National Utilities Diversity Council. The CEN program is part of a collaboration with the American Association of Blacks in Energy. JSU plans to use the program to help students engage with energy professionals from the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Entergy and others to learn about industry career opportunities and professional development essentials such as networking, building a personal brand and navigating office etiquette. Faculty and staff from the University of Southern Mississippi's University Archives recently partnered with the Downtown Hattiesburg Association to produce window exhibits in honor of Black History Month. The exhibits are located in the front windows of the building that once housed the Kress Department Store on 500 N. Main St. in Hattiesburg, and will remain on display until the end of February. The window exhibits images from the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, political campaign memorabilia from Black Mississippians who sought elected office and material from the University Archives' Oseola McCarty collection. |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College opens new performing arts center at Harrison County campus | |
 | South Mississippi has a new state-of-the-art performing arts center at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and it will be the new home of the Gulf Coast Symphony. The Steinway Concert Grand piano is the binding force between MGCCC's new theater and the Gulf Coast Symphony. When the college was building the 54,000-square foot facility, they knew they wanted to have the best piano available, but it wasn't affordable. The Symphony needed a new home while the Saenger Theater was being renovated. $185,000 later, both had met their needs. "Many members of the symphony contributed to that, and we raised enough money in a very short time to have the piano, the piano's here, it's beautiful," said Peggy Schloegel, Gulf Coast Symphony past board member. "It will be played at the first concert which will be in this building March 13." The Immersive Media Performing Arts Center at the college's Harrison County Campus will be much more than a 1,200 seat auditorium. It will be the home of the school's newest curriculum, Live Entertainment Technology. |
| U. of Alabama nursing students help administer COVID-19 vaccinations at Good Samaritan Clinic | |
 | The Good Samaritan Clinic in Northport partnered with University of Alabama nursing students on Thursday to administer 100 doses of COVID-19 vaccinations. The vaccines were administered in a one-day, all-day event at the clinic with a focus on the clinic's most vulnerable patients, said Lynn Armour, the Good Samaritan Clinic's executive director. "We have been calling our most vulnerable patients and giving it to them today," Armour said. Patients who received their first dose of the vaccine at the clinic will return to the clinic at a later date to receive their second dose. Partnering with UA Capstone College of Nursing students both provided experience for the student-nurses as well as helped with the flow of administering vaccinations, Armour said. Nurses with the clinic provided the educational information about the vaccine to the patients and the UA nursing students administered the vaccine. "It's just so exciting and such an amazing opportunity to be a part of history," said UA nursing student Lexie Kimler. "This vaccine wasn't available a year ago and now here we are getting the vaccines and hopefully one step closer to getting back to normal." |
| Auburn Plainsman, university's student newspaper, prints final edition; goes online only | |
 | The Auburn Plainsman, the student newspaper at Auburn University, has printed its final weekly edition and will move to an online publication. "Going forward, the vast majority of our time and effort will be focused on producing content for our website, our podcasts, our videos, our newsletter and our social media accounts," Jack West, editor-in-chief, said in a Thursday morning column. West said the newspaper reached a "breaking point" during the coronavirus pandemic. "The COVID-19 pandemic, along with its subsequent economic crisis, has put an immense amount of stress on, among many things, local news organizations. We have not been immune," West said. "The lack of foot traffic, the overall cost of printing and the general trend of the journalism industry have consistently challenged us to justify our weekly schedule." However, West said the staff also recognized that many readers already accessed the product digitally and that the change will better prepare staffers for a modern workplace. |
| Auburn University received 700 vaccines last week, Med Clinic director says | |
| Auburn University received 700 new doses of the COVID-19 vaccine late last Friday afternoon, according to Dr. Fred Kam, director of the AU Medical Clinic. Just one day before, the University alerted the Auburn community that they were pausing vaccinations as their supply ran out. Most of these doses are going in arms today, Feb. 25. Kam said in an email to The Plainsman that all of the 700 doses received will be administered today as second doses for those who were unable to get them previously or were scheduled for their second dose today. Kam said that the new allotment of vaccines were transferred from East Alabama Medical Center and expects the next shipment to come through the Alabama Department of Public Health. "ADPH and EAMC have been consistent loyal partners in helping us make the Auburn University and greater community safer," he said. "We are very thankful for what they have done and given us so far." |
| Veterans, puppies rake in money from Auburn University fundraiser | |
 | Auburn University's Tiger Giving Day was a success, again. The seventh annual event raised money online for 24 hours Wednesday for 40 projects on and around campus, ranging from a math boot camp for veterans matriculating into Auburn University, care packages for seniors in assisted living communities, support for minority students studying natural resources and agriculture, and funding for state 4-H programs to teach students how to reduce food waste. Final tallies aren't available yet, but it appears that one of the day's biggest earners was Support Scholarships for Veterans, organized by student veteran Justin Schwab. It collected $119,045, or 1,190 percent of its goal for the day. "Most of these men and women have earned educational benefits to lean on. However, since the post-9/11 GI Bill was signed into law in 2008, we have come to recognize that one size does not fit all. There are significant deficits, especially to those of us who may have families, reduced benefits, or in some cases not qualify for any benefits at all," Schwab stated in his appeal to donors. The veterinary college also did well, raising $34,476 -- 137 percent of its goal -- to purchase a customized trailer to transport puppies to the university's Puppy Development Classroom. |
| Georgia professors not included with teachers on vaccination list | |
| Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday college professors will not be included among the expanded list of groups eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, although teachers can soon get the shots. Kemp said in response to a question during a news conference to announce the expansion of the vaccination groups that he had a few reasons for not adding professors and other college employees to the list at this point. "From our perspective, college and university employees are dealing with an older population. They have a lot of different options per the University System for the way they handle their classes, social distancing. With early care learning, if a parent doesn't have a place to drop their child, they can't go to work. And that does not allow them to protect their livelihood, care for their family and that's why we included these early care teachers and staff," Kemp said. Matt Boedy, conference president of Georgia's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said he's happy the list has been expanded, but thought campus employees would be included. "Like thousands of my colleagues on college campuses, I will just have to wait a bit longer," he said. |
| U. of Tennessee renames dorms to honor civil rights leaders | |
 | Two dorms at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will be renamed to honor civil rights leaders from Tennessee -- Theotis Robinson Jr. and Rita Sanders Geier. Orange Hall will be renamed Geier Hall, and White Hall will be renamed Robinson Hall, the board of trustees voted Thursday. The dorms were built in 2016 and given "placeholder names," UT System President Randy Boyd said, with the intention of giving them permanent names at a later date. Now, they will honor two Tennesseans who fought for equal education opportunities for Black students. "Each of them broke barriers and showed so much courage to do it," said Chancellor Donde Plowman. "Both of them are people who looked around at their world and said it can be better -- we can be better. They moved the world forward." Robinson was the first African American undergraduate student, along with two other African American students, admitted to UT in 1961. After first being denied enrollment at UT, he met with the university's deans and President Andy Holt before bringing his case before the board of trustees and finally winning admission to UT. In 1968, Geier brought a class action lawsuit against the state of Tennessee, saying there were not equal higher education opportunities for Black students and faculty. The lawsuit brought about change and new investment in higher education from the state of Tennessee. |
| U. of Missouri will hold in-person graduation ceremonies this spring | |
 | Students who graduate from the University of Missouri this spring will have in-person ceremonies, the university announced Thursday. There will be precautionary measures in place. "We are excited to celebrate our recent alumni and new graduates after a year that has tested all of us," said Mun Choi, University of Missouri system president and MU chancellor, in a news release. "I look forward to recognizing these special individuals, while taking a variety of safety measures, and I am delighted they will have the opportunity to be recognized for their extraordinary efforts." The commencement ceremonies for 2020 and May and August 2021 will take place over three weekends in April and May. Students who graduated in 2020 will be honored April 23-25. May and August 2021 graduates will participate in ceremonies the weekends of May 7-9 and May 14-16. Details are still being finalized, but the ceremonies are expected to be held in Mizzou Arena and the Hearnes Center. Students can receive tickets to invite up to six visitors who will be grouped together and distanced from other visitor groups. Face coverings will be required. The ceremonies also will be live-streamed to accommodate others who want to view them. |
| Black students trust college leadership less than white peers | |
 | Students of color have "substantially less trust" in their colleges compared to their white peers, according to a new report by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. Kevin Fosnacht, associate research scientist at the center and co-author of the report, said the college trust gap between Black and white students, at 0.47 standard deviations, was particularly large. The disparity in perspectives was described in the report as being "of sizes rarely seen in education research." There was an even larger gap (0.58 standard deviations) between Black and white students' "out-group trust," which in this case refers to their trust in individuals who are of different races than themselves, the report said. To measure the trust gap, the researchers used white students' responses as a baseline, then determined how far above or below the average trust levels of students of color were from this baseline. Based on prior higher ed research, standard deviations of less than 0.10 were marked as "trivial," differences of 0.10 to 0.29 as "small," 0.30 to 0.49 as "medium," and greater than or equal to 0.50 as "large," Fosnacht said. |
| Publisher Pearson tries to tackle systemic racism in higher ed | |
| Pearson yesterday published editorial guidelines addressing race, ethnicity, equity and inclusion, becoming one of the first major textbook publishers to make such guidelines publicly available. The document is intended to help authors, reviewers and editors at London-based Pearson promote diversity and avoid propagating harmful stereotypes. The guidelines identify several key challenges to address. These include the underrepresentation of minority ethnic groups in text, images and references; descriptions of people of color that exaggerate negative associations and stereotypes; missing stories of the achievements of people of color; and the idea that social and economic disadvantages are the result of personal circumstances and decisions rather than systemic injustices and inequalities. Pearson employee groups in both the U.S. and Great Britain began developing the guidance over a year ago. Increased awareness and support for movements such as Black Lives Matter and the decolonization of K-12 and college curricula in the past year have raised questions about a lack of diversity in the publishing industry -- a sector predominately staffed by people who are white and middle class. |
| The Covid Effect: Most Colleges Will Keep Test-Optional Policies for Good | |
 | Most colleges that temporarily suspended their ACT and SAT requirements during the pandemic do not plan to reinstate them. But a mass movement to adopt test-blind policies -- in which colleges remove scores from evaluations of all applicants -- is unlikely in the near future. Those are two key takeaways from a new report commissioned by ACT Inc., which owns the ACT exam. The findings -- based on survey responses from 207 enrollment officials at a mix of public and private institutions -- provide a snapshot of how Covid-19 turned the testing realm upside down, forcing colleges to adapt their policies and practices for the 2020-21 admissions cycle. Yet, as the report makes clear, many colleges rely on ACT and SAT scores for many purposes that go well beyond evaluations of applicants. That complicates predictions about the role of testing in higher education a few years down the road. Though a long-term move to test-optional policies was well underway before last March, school shutdowns and testing cancellations forced many institutions to adopt test-optional policies for at least a year out of necessity. About 60 percent of respondents had no plans to drop ACT and SAT requirements before the pandemic; the rest either planned to do or were seriously considering it. |
| ACT admits that test-optional admissions isn't going away | |
| Janet Godwin, ACT's CEO, published a blog post Thursday that admitted that test-optional admissions policies are likely here to stay. "It is somewhat unlikely that institutions who adopted temporary or pilot test use policies in response to COVID will return to test-required in the near term," she wrote. Those words are not a surprise to the hundreds of colleges that have gone test optional in the last year, as the pandemic made it much more difficult to take the ACT (or the SAT). But the acknowledgment is a stark concession by the testing company that the current trend lines will not be reversing any time soon. Godwin said the analysis was based on a report that ACT commissioned from EY-Parthenon, which conducts a lot of work in higher education. Godwin said it "wanted to learn from our colleagues in higher education about how they are using ACT test data for admissions, what they value as they seek to evaluate applicants, and how ACT can better work alongside them to ensure a fair and equitable testing and admissions process." She said the growth in test-optional policies was steady prior to March 2020, but "the global pandemic resulted in an abrupt and significant spike in test optional policy adoption." |
| Too Much for Students to Handle? Why One University Decided to Do Away With RAs | |
| During his first semester as a resident adviser at George Washington University, Drew Amstutz comforted foreign students struggling with culture shock, reassured freshmen panicking over failing grades, wrote some students up for underage drinking, and found a referral for another who thought she'd been slipped a date-rape drug at a party. Keeping students masked and six feet apart might have been added to his duties, had the university not paused its RA program this year. An RA was expected to be "a jack-of-all-trades," Amstutz said. "You had to be everything to everyone, from counselor to academic adviser" to social director and rules enforcer. "Absolutely no one can meet all of those demands and be excellent in all of them." Since Covid-19 broke out, the stresses of the RA job have hit a breaking point at campuses across the country. The role, which traditionally comes with free room and board, had already grown to include responding to crises, from sexual assault to mental breakdowns, at all hours of the day and night. Now, in a deadly pandemic, George Washington decided it was time to pull the plug. The university announced on Thursday that professional, live-in staff members will take on the first-responder role that RAs have filled in the past. |
| Iowa regents create permanent free speech committee, expect more changes | |
| Iowa's Board of Regents on Wednesday adopted a string of recommendations aimed at ensuring its public universities uphold free speech values -- addressing concerns from Republican lawmakers, who've threatened this session to pass laws eliminating tenure and increasing government oversight if that doesn't happen. "The Board of Regents and our universities absolutely support free speech and open dialogue on our campuses," Board President Mike Richards said during the regents meeting. "We must also be honest and recognize that there have been times when this expectation has not been met. "In these cases, we have and will continue to act quickly to recognize what has occurred, take corrective action and educate those involved." Recommendations the board accepted Wednesday aimed to address free speech in the classroom; prevent punishment for viewpoint expression; and require annual free speech training for faculty, staff and students. The board also is creating a "permanent free speech committee" that will -- among other things -- take infringement complaints from across the campuses and review them, along with the board. |
| How to Teach Professors Humility? Hand Them a Rubik's Cube. | |
| Sandy Roberson sent a note to professors at Furman University and Denison University in mid-December with a simple message. "Failure is not an option," she wrote on a discussion board frequented by a few dozen other academics. Three weeks later, the veteran Furman accounting professor reconsidered and abandoned her assignment. She had been bested by a Rubik's cube. Ms. Roberson was among roughly 30 faculty members from the two schools who had signed on to a winter-break challenge: learn to solve the cube-shaped puzzle in five minutes or less, within six weeks. And, in the process, learn to become better instructors by being reminded what it's like to be a novice. "After you do something for a very long time, it just becomes second nature," said Lew Ludwig. The math professor at Denison, in Granville, Ohio, runs the school's Center for Learning and Teaching and coordinated the challenge with a counterpart at Furman, in Greenville, S.C. The schools are members of an organization for faculty development at small colleges. "The brain does not like new stuff," he said. "Learning is hard." He said seasoned colleagues lament how little students seem to know but don't recall how challenging the subject matter was when they first started out themselves. It's a phenomenon known as the expert blind spot. |
| How much are students really learning this year? | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant clinical professor in the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University, writes: In looking back on the educational impact the last 12 months has had on student achievement, it is critical that educators and parents alike ensure that their students not only completed the assignments and watched the videos or interacted in the virtual lessons, they must be certain that the students understood and learned the material. Critical to validating the understanding is student grade evidence; however, one must be very careful not to allow the grade to be used as the only evidence, absent of other more essential factors, which could lead to the perception of learning without the reality. For example, many lessons in textbooks are accompanied by the infamous worksheet or even work packet, to be completed by students, often in isolation, and then turned in for a grade. Certainly, student practice is a constructive exercise to familiarize one with the types of problems they need to master or the types of questions they need to be able to answer; however, it is but one tool. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State women's basketball extends winning streak over LSU to nine games | |
| Mississippi State erased a halftime deficit for the second time in as many games, this time coming from eight down to beat LSU 68-59 on the road Thursday night. Just two days after needing to turn it around against Auburn at home, the Bulldogs (10-7, 5-6 SEC) found themselves in a similar situation in Baton Rouge against the Tigers (8-12, 6-8). Redshirt junior point guard Myah Taylor was Mississippi State's only reliable producer of offense in the first half. She scored nine points. The next highest MSU scorers, junior center Jessika Carter and sophomore guard JaMya Mingo-Young, had four apiece. That changed in the second half. Sophomore guard Aliyah Matharu made three 3-pointers as Mississippi State outscored LSU 25-8 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs outscored Auburn 21-8 in the third quarter Tuesday. "We said we want to come out and hold this team to under eight to 10 points this third quarter, and we did that," MSU coach Nikki McCray-Penson said. |
| Aliyah Matharu, Myah Taylor pace Mississippi State women's basketball to crucial bubble win over LSU | |
| As Aliyah Matharu went Thursday, so too did Mississippi State. In a first half that mimicked a familiar tone to losses of months past, Matharu didn't muster a single point on either of her two field goal attempts in the opening two frames. But as has been the case throughout her young Bulldog career, the Washington, D.C., native caught fire in a split second. Draining one of her four second-half 3-pointers on the Bulldogs' first possession of the third quarter, Matharu notched a game-high 19 points, all of which came in the final 20 minutes, to give MSU a gutsy 68-59 win over NCAA bubble resident LSU in Baton Rouge. "We started off the third quarter, I got my first shot, and I just knocked it down from there," she said postgame. "I was like, 'OK. I'm in rhythm now, I can do this." For Matharu, there's always been an ease to her offensive ability. One of just a handful of Bulldogs that can consistently create her own shot, she's quick, twitchy and deadly when she gets rolling. But as was the case under Vic Schaefer a season ago, head coach Nikki McCray-Penson has challenged her to improve her defense, while also finding a patient balance to her offensive flow. |
| Poor shooting again dooms LSU women; Tigers fall to Mississippi State 68-59 | |
 | The LSU women's basketball team issues haven't been hard to pinpoint. Whether it's a quarter, or a half or game long, the Tigers' shooting woes have been their downfall. That was never more evident Thursday when Mississippi State overcame a 10-point deficit to score a 68-59 victory, handing the LSU its fifth consecutive loss in the season finale at the Maravich Assembly Center. After a 3-point basket with 8:27 left in the third quarter put LSU up 38-28, the Tigers were outscored 22-3 the rest of the quarter as the visitors flipped the lead and control of the game. LSU made only three of 13 shots in the third quarter and committed seven turnovers in 12 possessions in watching their hopes for an NCAA tournament berth all but extinguished. "They got after us defensively which allowed them to get their transition game going," LSU coach Nikki Fargas said of her team's third-quarter woes. "We weren't able to score enough. It's hard to set up pressure when you're not making baskets. We had too many breakdowns in defensive awareness in the second half. We were giving them transition and 3s. It's really difficulty to guard a team when you leave players wide open." |
| Mississippi State shortstop Kamren James finds offensive stride ahead of Tulane series | |
| Mississippi State shortstop Kamren James may have found his groove ahead of the Bulldogs' weekend series. No. 5-ranked Mississippi State hosts Tulane for a three-game series this weekend. Game one begins today at Dudy Noble Field at 4 p.m. James, a second-year freshman due to COVID-19, struggled in Mississippi State's opening weekend series in Arlington, Texas. He finished the weekend 1 of 13 from the plate with his only hit coming in his last plate appearance. He turned that around on Wednesday, when he went 4 for 5 at the plate against Jackson State with a double, home run and three RBI. With his four-hit game, he pulled his batting average up from .071 to .263. "I had a good spring and I was putting good swings on balls and barreling balls," James said on Wednesday. "I only struck out twice against Texas and none against TCU and Texas Tech. I was seeing the ball well but that's just the game of baseball. You'll be really good one weekend and might struggle the next. You just have to keep going and stay confident." |
| Mississippi State's Jake Gautreau flamed out in professional baseball. Now, he's advising the next era of Bulldog draft prospects. | |
| Jake Gautreau felt the pain from his toes to his torso. His body ached. Forget swinging a bat. Tying his shoes was hard enough. "It felt like every bone in my body was broken," Gautreau, Mississippi State's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, said of the variation of arthritis he'd developed. Gautreau has heard the cliche for years: baseball has a way of telling you when it's time to move on. A once-slick fielding infielder armed with a potent bat, he belted 58 home runs in three years at Tulane and captained the Green Wave to its first-ever College World Series appearance in 2001. Amid the march to Omaha, the San Diego Padres made him the 14th pick in the MLB draft. Talent was never a question. His body became one. A decade-long bout with ulcerative colitis contributed to his arthritis. He battled through the pain. But a man can only fight for so long. Time, baseball's grim reaper, always wins, after all. At 29 years old, the former first-rounder retired from professional baseball without so much as a cup of coffee at the MLB level. Now, however, he channels his experiences into helping his players manage the torment of lofty expectations and professional aspirations. "Whether or not you like it," Gautreau said of retirement, "you kind of understand it." Standing just behind the home dugout at Dudy Noble Field, Gautreau slips a pair of Polaroid sunglasses off his eyes and lays them to rest on the brim of his maroon ball cap. Along the wall, sons Liam (8) and Weston (5) meet him for a pregame chat. Giving his boys a quick hug, Gautreau looks 15 rows up in section 110 where his wife, Erin, sends him a right-handed wave. |
| Mississippi State men's basketball adds game, will finish regular season at Auburn on March 6 | |
| Mississippi State finally knows when it will finish its regular season. The Bulldogs are scheduled to go to Auburn on March 6. Mississippi State and Auburn were originally scheduled to play Feb. 16, but the unprecedented winter storm across the south postponed the game twice. This is the third rescheduled date. The SEC announced a tip time and television information will be released at a later time. Mississippi State (13-11, 7-8 SEC) has won two games in a row. Coach Ben Howland's team aims to make it three straight Saturday when the Bulldogs host No. 7 Alabama (18-6, 13-2). Before MSU goes to Auburn (11-13, 5-10), a matchup with Texas A&M (8-7, 2-6) awaits Wednesday in College Station, as well. The SEC Tournament starts at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 10. |
| What Mississippi State softball can expect from its four opponents in Lone Star State Invitational | |
| On Wednesday, the Texas State softball team gave No. 7 Texas all it could handle in a 1-0, extra-inning Longhorns win in Austin. The game served as a solid preview of what Mississippi State can expect to face this weekend at the Lone Star State Invitational. The Bulldogs (6-1) play the first three of their five games from Friday to Sunday in the home ballparks of both the Bobcats and Longhorns. Mississippi State opens play with a doubleheader at Texas State on Friday in San Marcos before games at Texas and against Houston on Saturday in Austin. A Sunday contest at No. 23 Baylor rounds out the weekend. Texas State went 1-3 against ranked teams in 2020, losing to Kentucky and Auburn and splitting a pair of games with Minnesota. So far in 2021, the Bobcats swept a home doubleheader with Abilene Christian -- including a no-hitter in the first game -- before their loss Wednesday to Texas. Here's a look at what the Bulldogs can expect from all four of their opponents. |
| Jackson State-Mississippi Valley State game postponed due to COVID-19 | |
| This weekend's SWAC matchup between Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State has been postponed. After blowing out Edward Waters in Coach Prime's debut at Jackson State, the Tigers' first conference matchup was set to take place at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday. However, due to COVID-19 cases and contact tracing within the Delta Devil program, the game has now been pushed to March 14th. Saturday was supposed to be the season opener for MVSU as their 5-game conference slate begins. If they're not able to play next week, MVSU won't take the field until April 3rd against Arkansas Pine-Bluff. A matchup with Alcorn State was removed from the schedule after the Braves decided to opt-out of the spring season. Jackson State will be back in action next week as they travel to Grambling. |
| New Track and Field Facilities Ready for Use by Student-Athletes at Belhaven University | |
| Construction on the Belhaven University track and field is complete, and student athletes can now train and compete on the state-of-the-art, eight-lane track complex. Located on the north side of campus, the new facility extends from the Bitsy Irby building to the Belhaven Lake. "The completion of the new track and field opens up many more opportunities for our student athletes," said Vice President for University Enrollment and Marketing Kevin Russell. "When you combine our new facilities with our well-known academic reputation, you create a great option for serious competitors. We look forward to watching our track, field, and cross-country programs benefit and grow." The track has a synthetic all-weather running surface that is similar at past Olympic games. Belhaven Blazers can now compete in 21 collegiate track and field events. Sprints, hurdles, steeple chase, middle and long-distance races, relays, long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault will take place on campus. Belhaven's softball complex on Riverside Drive will accommodate other field events that include discus, hammer and javelin throw as well as combined events such as decathlons and heptathlons. |
| Q&A: Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk open to contract extension for Cuonzo Martin | |
| Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk met with local reporters in-person Tuesday night for the first time in nearly a year before the men's basketball game against Mississippi. The conversation covered about a dozen topics, including Sterk saying "it's that time" to start looking at an extension for Tigers head coach Cuonzo Martin. Sterk, in his fifth year as AD, also discussed the overall athletic program's finances and his thoughts about what a fall football season could look like. Q: You've mentioned the possibility of playing in front of full football stadiums in the fall. What's the current thinking on that? Sterk: "We're planning on it and then we'll have to pivot and adjust if we're not vaccinated enough and we don't have herd immunity by that time. We can't do anything but plan on not limiting our sales. So we're excited. I think the progress that's been made, and especially in the last two, three weeks of the positives going down and hospitalizations going down, we're trending very well, and hopefully that even improves by this summer." |
| Tennessee athletics expects $28M operating loss. Here's how UT will cover that deficit. | |
| Tennessee athletics expects to incur an operating loss of more than $28 million during the 2021 fiscal year, and it will rely on financial support from the university and the SEC to cover the deficit. The projected loss is primarily tied to a steep reduction in ticket revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic. UT Chancellor Donde Plowman detailed the financials during a Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday. The university has committed $12.5 million in institutional support from financial reserves to help cover the deficit, Plowman said. That support is not funded by tuition dollars, she said. Additionally, the SEC will provide financial relief, Plowman said. "I can't go into all the details about what that conference package is going to look like, but what I can tell you is, that (operating deficit) will be covered," Plowman said. "It will be close, but we're going to make it." "We're really fortunate to be part of the SEC, let me just say that," Plowman added. The latest financial projection outlines an expectation for Tennessee athletics to generate $90.32 million in revenue for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, and $118.58 million in expenses, for a $28.26 million operating loss. |
| Tennessee Senate GOP won't say if they'll try to cut funding if teams kneel during national anthem | |
| While Tennessee Republicans continue to condemn East Tennessee State University basketball players for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem last week, their tactics so far stop short of compelling the public university to act. Senate Republican leaders on Thursday declined to say whether they would consider pulling funding from schools where athletes have taken a knee as a form of silent protest at the start of games. In addition to the ETSU men's basketball team kneeling during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the University of Tennessee's Lady Vols basketball team has also done so. The Lady Vols have also remained in the locker room during the anthem. On Monday, all 27 members of the Senate Republican Caucus signed a letter to presidents and chancellors of the state's public colleges and universities urging them to implement policies to prohibit athletes from kneeling during the anthem. Asked whether legislators are interested in cutting funding from the programs if universities don't heed the request, top Senate leaders on Thursday declined to say. "Not ready to cross that bridge yet," said Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager of Kingston. |
| NCAA Tournament will be missing some teams fans love to hate | |
| With four consecutive wins, Duke has played itself off the NCAA Tournament bubble and into the field of 68, according to USA TODAY Sports' most recent bracketology breakdown. Amid historic inexperience, attrition and general ineffectiveness -- not to mention the daily roadblocks presented by conducting a season during the coronavirus pandemic -- the Blue Devils' normal expectations have been adjusted to meet one of the most challenging years in recent program history. "I think we're maturing," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "A lot of our veteran teams would not have won with this kind of turnaround." Several other college basketball blue bloods find themselves on similar postseason footing or worse, creating the potential for an NCAA Tournament bracket lacking some of the biggest names in the history of the sport. Among those teams joining the Blue Devils on the bubble are Michigan State, North Carolina and Kentucky. The possibility of a bracket short of historic blue bloods raises several concerns, none bigger than the impact on television ratings for this year's tournament without traditional brands in attendance. |
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