| Friday, March 12, 2021 |
| Mississippi State becomes vaccine distribution site for university employees | |
 | Mississippi State has been making plans to serve as a COVID-19 vaccination site and now will administer a limited supply of Pfizer vaccines. The university announced today [March 12] that vaccine distribution will begin for qualifying employees on Tuesday [March 16], and MSU will continue to request additional doses until all MSU employees wanting the vaccine receive it. A formal request has been submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Mississippi State Department of Health to allow Mississippi State to administer vaccines not to just employees, but to students as well. However, employees and students are encouraged to continue to receive the vaccine from any authorized provider once they are eligible. The university is following MSDH guidance for a phased rollout until more vaccines become available. Those who meet current eligibility criteria may register for a vaccine at https://covidvaccine.msstate.edu with their MSU NetID and NetPassword. Please wait until your eligibility group is announced by the MSDH before accessing the website or visiting the vaccination area. Online registration is required. |
| Mississippi State University has large financial impact on the state | |
 | The state of Mississippi is enjoying the fruits of the labor at Mississippi State University. A recently released study from an international economic modeling company found MSU has a 1.8 billion dollar impact on the state. The study shows the university supports more than 29-thousand jobs. Other areas of impact include MSU alumni whose impact is more than 935-million dollars, student spending at 45-million, and visitor spending at more than 42-million dollars. The study also shows the university's work with local and state economic development officials helps with recruitment and retention efforts. The study is based on data from the fiscal year 2018-2019. |
| Mississippi State University to hold in-person graduation ceremony | |
 | Mississippi State University will hold in-person graduation this spring on the Starkville and Meridian campuses. The University made the announcement this morning. The Starkville campus will have four ceremonies, two each on April 29 and 30 in Humphrey Coliseum. MSU-Meridian will celebrate commencement on May 3 at the MSU Riley Center. Multiple viewing options will be available for those who wish to watch these events remotely. MSU will require masks for anyone attending including graduates, guests and university employees. Sanitizing stations will be available, and special seating and distancing protocols will be in place. The school is limiting attendance on April 29 and 30 in Starkville will be limited to four guests per graduate. The Athletic Ticket Office will provide electronic ticketing for contactless entry. Tickets will be distributed in early April. Each ceremony at Humphrey Coliseum will honor 600-750 graduates and have a guest capacity of approximately 3,000. The Hump under normal conditions seats more than 10,000. |
| Mississippi State says students can apply for coronavirus relief | |
| Mississippi State University students can now apply for coronavirus relief. The university says $8.9 million in federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act funding will go directly support students. The money will help students with exceptional financial need or emergency costs due to the ongoing pandemic. These costs can include tuition, food, housing, healthcare and childcare. The deadline to apply is March 21, at which point MSU officials will review applications and begin working to distribute funds to students as quickly as possible. Instructions for completing the three-question online application will be sent to eligible students via email and text messages. Students must certify that they have experienced financial need and/or have emergency costs due to the pandemic and also certify they are a U.S. citizen. The amount of funds distributed will vary by student, with awards being made until the money runs out. |
| MSU Virtual Ragtime and Jazz Festival, New JSU Scholarship and 2021 Ezra Jack Keats Awards | |
 | Mississippi State University recently announced that its annual Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival will take place in a virtual format on March 26 and 27. The 15th annual event is free and open to the public and will include two shows, one on each day, which MSU will stream live at 7 p.m. on Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo, as well as on MSTV for CSpire Fiber and MaxxSouth Broadband customers. Streaming links will be available at festival.library.msstate.edu/schedule prior to each show. The March 26 program will include selections from ragtime and jazz musicians featured at previous festivals from 2010 to 2020. Performers include Reginald Robinson, Brian Holland, Adam Swanson, Carl Sonny Leyland, Steve Cheeseborough, Stephanie Trick, Paolo Alderighi, Mimi Blais, Eddie Erickson, Martin Spitznagel, Virginia Tichenor, Richard Dowling and Frederick Hodges. MSU Libraries will also present the seventh annual Keyone Docher Student Achievement Award to MSU junior music education major Eli Denson of Decatur, Ala. Event sponsors include MSU Libraries, the Charles H. Templeton Sr. Music Museum, MaxxSouth Broadband, the City of Starkville, the Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves signs bill barring trans competition in women's sports, but cites no examples | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Thursday designed to prevent transgender girls and women from competing against female athletes in public schools and colleges, though he could not cite any instance of that occurring in the state. Reeves, a first-term Republican, said the bill was needed because Democratic President Joe Biden early in his tenure signed an executive order making it easier for transgender athletes to compete in female sports. At no point during the legislative process this year could a supporter of the bill pinpoint a time in which this issue has come up at any educational institution in Mississippi. On Thursday, Reeves said the legislation was needed to protect Mississippi girls -- such as his three daughters. "It sends a clear message to my daughters and all of Mississippi daughters that their rights are worth fighting for," Reeves said during a bill signing ceremony on the second floor of the state Capitol. The governor was joined by Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, the author of the legislation, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, House Speaker Pro Tem Jason White, R-West, and other legislators. |
| Mississippi gov signs bill limiting transgender athletes | |
 | Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Thursday to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women's sports teams. Mississippi is the first state this year to enact such a ban, after a federal court blocked an Idaho law last year. Mississippi's Senate Bill 2536 is set to become law July 1, although a legal challenge is possible. More than 20 states are proposing restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year. Chase Strangio, a transgender-rights attorney with the national ACLU, said the Mississippi bill "is very vague and seemingly unenforceable." "Unfortunately, there is already rampant discrimination against trans youth in Mississippi, which means people are already driven out of sport," Strangio said. Republican legislators who pushed the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in Mississippi schools or universities. |
| Mississippi governor signs year's first ban on transgender athletes in women's sports | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) on Thursday signed the year's first ban on transgender athletes participating in women's sports in public schools, a move dozens of other states are considering. Reeves and other Republicans have touted the law as necessary to level the playing field for female athletes, while critics have hammered the proposals as transphobic. Mississippi's ban is set to go into effect on July 1. The legislation, dubbed the Mississippi Fairness Act states that "Athletic teams or sports designated for 'females,' 'women' or 'girls' shall not be open to students of the male sex" in public K-12 and colleges and universities in Mississippi. Reeves said he wouldn't be surprised if Mississippi was sued over the legislation and that he was prepared to fight back against any legal challenges. "It wouldn't surprise me at all if we are sued," he said. "What I do know is that we will defend vigorously our rights to make these state laws." Reeves's signing comes as states across the country mull similar bills, as the debate over transgender athletes in public school sports emerges as a new front of the nation's culture wars. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves signs legislation banning transgender athletes from female teams | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation Thursday that bans transgender athletes from playing in girls or women's athletics. The Republican was flanked by more than two dozen mostly conservative lawmakers in the signing ceremony at the Capitol. Mississippi is the first state to enact this ban, though dozens of similar proposals have recently been filed around the country, even after a court blocked a similar law in Idaho last year. Reeves said Senate Bill 2536, the Mississippi Fairness Act, is necessary after President Joe Biden banned discrimination based on gender identity in school sports, the military and elsewhere. But neither he nor the bill's author, Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, could name a specific instance where a transgender athlete playing on a women's team has occurred in Mississippi. Hill, the bill's author, characterized her legislation as standing up for women. She referenced Title IX, the federal law that banned sex-based discrimination at public schools, including related to sports teams. But Hill said she did not know of any specific instances of transgender athletes trying out for women's sports. She did say that coaches have told her it is an "imminent problem in Mississippi, and that's basically all the details they were willing to give me." |
| Reagan economist Arthur Laffer endorses Speaker Philip Gunn's tax proposal | |
| Economist Arthur Laffer, an adviser to former President Ronald Reagan whose beliefs helped shape U.S. economic policy in the 1980s, has endorsed Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn's proposal to eliminate the state's income tax while raising sales, "sin" and other consumer taxes. "For decades, I've worked with state legislators to eliminate the tax that is the single greatest threat to state economic growth and prosperity -- the income tax," Laffer said in a statement in a Gunn press release. "My hat goes off to (Gunn) and his colleagues for their bold plan to make Mississippi more prosperous through income tax elimination and fiscal discipline. America is watching. Mississippi has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-position itself for economic growth." The House leadership's proposal, HB 1439, awaits action in the Senate, where reaction from Gunn's fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has been lukewarm and noncommittal. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who himself has proposed eliminating the state income tax, has said he opposes the plan's commensurate increases in other taxes, such as adding 2.5-cents to the state's 7-cents on the dollar sales tax. |
| Mother 'appalled' lawmakers drag Harper Grace's bill into medical marijuana fight | |
| Ashley Durval, mother of Harper Grace Durval, says it's "truly sick" that the state Senate is using her daughter's namesake bill to "undermine" the medical marijuana program Ashley helped get voters to put into the state Constitution. In 2014, the Mississippi Legislature passed "Harper Grace's Law," named after the then 2-year-old girl who suffered a rare form of epilepsy. The measure allowed physicians at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to conduct clinical research on the medical use of cannabidiol, or CBD, and related compounds. But ironically, because of state regulations, Harper Grace was not allowed to use the medicine produced for the clinical trial named after her. Ashley Durval filed the original paperwork that resulted in Initiative 65 -- to create a medical marijuana program and enshrine it in the state Constitution -- being placed on the ballot last year. Voters in November 2020 overwhelmingly approved it, although it is now being challenged in the state Supreme Court. Mississippi lawmakers, who for years balked at creating a state medical marijuana program even as a public groundswell for it grew, have this session been trying to pass an alternative program to Initiative 65. Proponents say it would only be a backstop if the high court strikes down Initiative 65. But many supporters of the initiative suspect it's a power and tax revenue grab by the Legislature and have opposed it. |
| President Biden's address on pandemic anniversary culminates day of firsts | |
 | President Joe Biden culminated a big day of firsts for his presidency with an expression of optimism about the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic -- if Americans get vaccinated and play by the rules. Biden began his Thursday night address by reflecting on the loss of lives and lost opportunities of the past year -- the foregoing of birthdays and weddings and even first dates -- since the coronavirus crisis was declared a pandemic exactly one year ago. The president pulled out a card with his daily schedule that included the count of American lives lost to the virus to date. It read 527,726 on Thursday. "Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do," Biden said. "In fact, it may be the most American thing we do." It was Biden's first prime-time address to the nation as president, and though it began as so many of his remarks over his many decades in public life have -- with a recognition of loss -- he took the opportunity to pivot to a way forward. Biden signed his first major legislation earlier in the day, a sweeping $1.86 trillion coronavirus relief package that emerged from Congress looking remarkably similar to what he had originally proposed -- especially given the peculiarities of the budget reconciliation process that Democrats used to advance it from bill to law without Republican votes. |
| Trump dives into battle for Senate | |
 | Donald Trump sounds like he's ready for a GOP civil war. But he's also eager to play a leading role in Senate Republicans' battle for the majority. The former president is dialing up GOP senators to back their campaigns and talk strategy, weighing how to approach primaries in critical open seats and making sure he leaves an imprint on the midterm elections. Trump's involvement, revealed in interviews with a dozen GOP senators, shows how far the 50-member conference has come two months after they weighed a clean break with the former president following the insurrection at the Capitol by his supporters. These days there's a growing recognition that the Senate GOP and Trump need each other as Republicans fight to win back the majority and Trump mulls another run for the White House. His behind-the-scenes engagement also contrasts starkly with his public break from Republican campaign committees, including the Senate GOP's, which received cease-and-desist letters from attorneys asking them to stop using Trump's name. In reality, the GOP's worst-case scenario would be running campaign operations at odds with Trump in must-win states across the country next year. With that in mind, Republican senators are making a fresh effort to ensure they and Trump are aligned as much as possible. |
| A 'wake-up call'? Bible teacher Beth Moore, Black pastors cut ties with Southern Baptists | |
 | Popular Bible teacher Beth Moore may be the most high-profile Southern Baptist to publicly cut ties with the conservative evangelical denomination in the last year, but she is not the only one to go. Some say a string of recent departures should serve as a wake-up call for the Nashville-based network of churches. "Southern Baptists need to do some soul searching of why so many African-American leaders have left and now why their most prominent woman leader has left," said Ed Stetzer, a Southern Baptist pastor and executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. The Southern Baptist Convention goes to war with itself every few years and people tire of the infighting and public relations missteps, Stetzer said. Southern Baptists are currently grappling with the influence of partisan politics and the treatment of women and people of color within the church. These major tension points contributed to Moore's decision to leave as well as those of Black pastors like the Rev. Joel A. Bowman Sr., who announced in December that he was cutting ties with the convention. It is unclear whether Southern Baptists have a willingness to do any soul searching about why people are leaving. But a potential bellwether is just months away. Southern Baptists are expected to elect the next convention president when they gather in June for their annual meeting, which is being held in Nashville. Stetzer called the election "a pivotal moment for the future of the convention." |
| ACT scores rise, but Mississippi students still fall short of national benchmarks | |
| Department of Education officials announced annual average ACT scores on Thursday, which indicate that the majority of high school juniors in the state are not college ready. While average ACT scores rose slightly for juniors across the state from 17.6 in 2019 to 17.7 in 2020, 90% of students are not hitting all four ACT benchmarks, which are used to gauge whether a student is likely to pass college courses that correspond to these test sections such as Algebra, Biology or Social Sciences. This is a 1% improvement from 2019, when 91% of students missed benchmarks for the ACT. "As we look at [these benchmarks] we see a close connection to college readiness for students," said Nathan Oakley, Mississippi Department of Education Chief Academic Officer. Where ACT recommends that students score at least an 18 on English, 22 on Math, 22 on Reading and 23 on Science, Mississippi students on average scored 16.8 on English, 17.5 on Math, 17.9 on Reading and 18.2 on Science. Teachers and school administrators have said that lack of resources and fatigue from state testing often contributes to lower ACT scores. |
| Sorority members face online backlash for photo of diversity and inclusion team | |
 | Alpha Phi sorority members are facing backlash on social media after the Ole Miss Alpha Phi Instagram account posted a photo of the sorority's diversity, equity and inclusion team in which all members of the team appeared to be white women. The photo began to gain attention after integrated marketing and communications major Isabelle Monnin tweeted a screenshot of the post with the caption "alright girls here we go again." As of the time of publication, the tweet has received over 5,200 retweets and over 57,600 likes. UM's Alpha Phi chapter also made its Instagram account private today after the tweet started to gain attention. "My point in tweeting their post wasn't that it's a negative thing for them to be creating a diversity team," Monnin wrote in a followup tweet. "I just know as a former sorority member there is a way to be diverse without making an all white team of women for the cause, just actually rush the interested (women of color)." The responses to the tweet range from support for the women in the photo to attacks on their appearance with several remarking that the only diversity in the photo is in the diversity of their hair color. Arthur Doctor, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life, said there is a desire to ostracize and vilify students on campus who are not minorities for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. |
| Mississippi's telemedicine demand increases in rural communities | |
 | Telemedicine has been a part of health in Mississippi for years, but in the last year, it's gotten a robust workout due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Before the pandemic in 2019, there were almost 12,000 telehealth visits. From 12,000 last year, it went up to 132,000. So that's a 10-fold increase in telehealth visits in just the ambulatory setting," said Chief Telehealth Officer Dr. Saurabh Chandra at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). Chandra said the pandemic made it clear: patients need more care at home. For those with a chronic disease, the power of telemedicine can mean the difference between life and death. "When we have patients in rural areas that we put on the monitoring devices, we send them a kit, a tablet that has SIM devices so they can connect to the cellular network if they don't have Wi-Fi. So, we are trying to find means around that, but of course the challenges still remain." UMMC is one of the only two federally designated Centers of Excellence in the country for telehealth. |
| Delta State's Spring conference for the Helping Professionals set to return | |
| Delta State University's F.E. Woodall Spring Conference for the Helping Professionals is set return for its 39th year, virtually, on March 26. Hosted by the Division of Counselor Education and Psychology, the annual conference serves both students and professionals by providing essential information, support and networking opportunities to counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other helping professionals in the region. Registration for this year's virtual event is open now at www.deltastate.edu/woodall. Up to seven continuing education units (CEs) are available to attendees. Dean of DSU's College of Education and Human Sciences Dr. Leslie Griffin said that while the format may be new, the conference's high-quality experience remains. This year's virtual event will be highlighted by a keynote address, entitled "The Counselor's Journey of Wellness and Resilience," by Dr. Gerard Lawson. Lawson is a professor in the School of Education at Virginia Tech and was the 66th President of the American Counseling Association, serving from July 2017 to June 2018. |
| Cost-effective path to good career offered by state's community colleges | |
| Mississippi community colleges are the most cost effective post-secondary education that offers a direct pathway into a career, said Dr. Andrea Mayfield, executive director, Mississippi Community College Board. "And that is important," Mayfield said. "Nobody wants to finish college at any level owing a lot of money and not having any real job prospects. That is something our state really can't afford." Mayfield said at the community and junior colleges, affordability is a priority. And community colleges are open-access institutions meaning regardless of how much education you have had in the past, there are opportunities available. Some higher education experts say the country is seeing a decade's worth of change in education in just one year as a result of the pandemic. Mayfield agrees with that. "A good example is pre-COVID, we had a face-to-face format for workforce training," she said. "We had to react quickly when everything shut down and we were faced with challenges that now require social distancing and other measures. As a result, we have the online workforce college. That is a consortium of all 15 community colleges. It is still skill-based training that culminates in certifications, and it is all available online. These training modules were developed by companies nationwide." |
| 'It's exhausting.' A year of distance learning wears thin | |
| At first, many schools announced it would last only a couple weeks. A year later, the unplanned experiment with distance learning continues for thousands of students who have yet to set foot back in classrooms. Comfortable homes and private tutors have made it easier for those with access. Expectations are higher at some schools than others. And growing numbers of students are being offered in-person instruction at least part time. But students of all backgrounds have faced struggles with technology, the distractions of home life, and social isolation. The Associated Press followed four students on a typical day to find out how they're coping a year into the coronavirus pandemic. It's not quite 9 a.m. and Kristen King is on her living room couch, a Chromebook propped on a TV tray. "It's been challenging," says the 17-year-old junior at Americus-Sumter High School in Georgia. "I like hands-on help from my teachers. We can't really see our friends, like our school friends. We can't really socialize with them. We can't really do anything." |
| U. of Alabama to hold one-day wellness break for students | |
 | Although the University of Alabama has canceled its traditional spring break this semester, classes won't be held Monday to allow students a one-day "wellness and study" break. UA President Stuart R. Bell said in a message to students earlier this week, "... as you continue to prioritize your academic focus this semester, don't forget Monday, March 15, is a non-instructional wellness and study day. It's important to set aside time to rest and reflect so you can recharge and finish the semester strong." Two UA students said Thursday that they would use the one-day break to do some relaxing. Kayla Patel, who is an online student from Columbus, Mississippi, said she will spend the day at home but still might do a little school work while taking it easy. "... It's just another day for me," said Patel, who decided to take classes virtually this semester because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "(I) might binge a Netflix show or a movie marathon with my sisters." Saskia Dammersmith, a member of the UA rowing team originally from Balwyn, Australia, said she appreciates the short break. UA's offices will remain open Monday. |
| Tuition freeze for Alabama community colleges: In-state costs will remain $133 per credit hour | |
 | Alabama's community college students won't see tuition increases this fall as the system attempts to resume normal, in-person instruction on its campuses. The Alabama Community College System announced the plans on Wednesday after its monthly board of trustees meeting. The tuition rate freeze applies to both residents and out-of-state students, System spokesperson Rachel Bunning said. Tuition for in-state students will remain $133 per credit hour for the fall. Rates for non-residents will stay at $266 per credit hour. Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker cited the state's struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic during the past year as he made the announcement. The chancellor noted the declining number of new reported COVID-19 cases and expanding access to vaccines while making the simultaneous announcement that the system anticipated its 24 campuses would resume normal, on-campus operations this fall. The announcement by the two-year system comes a week after the University of Alabama System said it would return to traditional in-person instruction in the fall. |
| Florida lawmakers debate political bias on college campuses | |
| Young conservatives fear being ostracized on college campuses, where school officials may be imposing an environment that promotes liberal views while stifling conservative thought, according to Florida Republicans who are spearheading a legislative effort that they argue would protect free speech at the state's public universities. Florida lawmakers are hardly the first in taking up the fight, which critics say could lead to the amplification of dangerous hate speech. Over the past three years, seven states have enacted measures over free speech on college campuses -- not to mention about a dozen states that are currently debating such legislation, according to a database kept by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The proposal wending through the Florida Legislature would require public universities to survey the prevailing political views on their campuses. It would also allow lawmakers to see if students are being presented with opposing ideas on campus. Critics of the proposed Florida legislation questioned what lawmakers would do with the results of the proposed surveys of campus populations. "It's great to have the information about how students feel but there's a danger that it could be used as a tool or a weapon basically by state lawmakers to withhold appropriations," said Clay Calvert, a law professor and director of the University of Florida's First Amendment Project. Calvert said lawmakers might move to cut funding for different universities based on the survey's findings. |
| It's official: U. of Tennessee plans to have a fully in-person fall semester | |
 | Next school year is going to look a lot different at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Administrators said students can anticipate a normal college experience semester when they return in the fall. That means an in-person class schedule, campus housing at its regular capacity, reopened dining halls and in-person campus events, as well as increasing capacity at sporting events, according to a news release Thursday from UT. "As case counts continue to drop and vaccines become more readily available, we are nearing a turning point in this pandemic," Chancellor Donde Plowman said. "We've heard time and again from students and members of our faculty how much more effective and meaningful learning can be when we are together in person. I look forward to safely providing that experience again this fall." Until then, the university will continue following local, state and federal health guidelines, Plowman said. That includes a mask mandate and social gathering restrictions. "There is nothing more important to me than the health and safety of our campus community," she said. "We will listen to experts and remain flexible and adaptable throughout our planning as we decide what protocols to put in place this fall." |
| U. of Arkansas, Fayetteville music professor wins Grammy | |
| Jeffrey Murdock, a music professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has won the 2021 Grammy Music Educator award. The award comes with a $10,000 honorarium and a matching grant for the UA Department of Music. "Every learner, every day should have access to high-quality music education -- no matter who they are, no matter where they're from, no matter what age they are," Murdock said in a statement. "My passion is for leveling the field of music education and I'm passionate about increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in the field." Murdock conducts the university's Inspirational Chorale and Razorback Chorus. As an associate professor and associate director of choral activities, Murdock also teaches choral music education courses. Murdock's win was announced Thursday on a national television broadcast of CBS This Morning, where he described his personal background and perspective on teaching. He said he began playing piano at age 5, helped by a family friend who paid for lessons. Murdock, who is Black, praised those around him, including Black music teachers, for helping him early in life. |
| Some Texas colleges keep spring break while others adapt due to pandemic concerns | |
 | As many Texas universities take the extraordinary step of canceling or significantly reducing spring break during the pandemic, some schools are hosting on-campus events and continuing the weeklong break in March despite concerns about college students using the time to travel and infect others. In the early weeks of the pandemic in March 2020, colleges across the state extended spring break and then moved to online-only classes afterwards largely due to initial fears about facilitating the spread of the coronavirus. Now, a year later, college officials face a dilemma with what to prioritize during spring break: keep students from spreading the virus or provide them with a mental health break. But spring break for many is now coinciding with Gov. Greg Abbott rescinding a statewide mask mandate and allowing businesses in the state to open up 100%. After Texas college towns initially emerged as coronavirus hot spots during the beginning of the fall semester, university officials are hoping the same won't occur after the spring break period. Multiple universities, including Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University, have decided giving students the opportunity to party during a sustained break in March is too risky. Instead, they are opting to have days off throughout the semester to provide a break without the chance for a weeklong vacation. |
| Mizzou Giving Day raises $8.6 million in 24 hours | |
 | After being cancelled last year because of the pandemic, Mizzou Giving Day returned, raising $8.6 million for the University of Missouri in 24 hours. "We're thrilled with our results," said Jackie Lewis, MU vice chancellor for advancement. Giving day was from noon Wednesday to noon Thursday. There were 3,624 individual contributions. The amount raised in 2019 was $13.2 million, Lewis said. "We are down this year," she said. "It's been a tough year." The best thing about Giving Day is the message of philanthropy, with friends and alumni showing their support for the university, Lewis said. "Any giving level is important," she said. "It makes a difference here." This year's theme was "Calling All Tigers" and initiatives included the College of Veterinary Medicine asking donors to contribute $75 and the School of Health Professions seeking $20 for its 20th anniversary. |
| Kansas university official says refunding tuition for online classes would be 'devastating' | |
| A proposal to require the state's public colleges and universities to reimburse students for tuition on days they took remote or hybrid classes would be "devastating," the president of the Kansas Board of Regents told legislators Thursday. The idea comes as all seven of the state's public institutions of higher education say they will be returning to a learning experience in the fall that resembles what students would have received before COVID-19, including in-person classes, commencement and sporting events. But legislators are still pushing a plan, included in the Board of Regents' budget last month, that would require students to get a full refund for any day when classes were canceled because of the pandemic. They would get half their money back for each day instruction was online. Blake Flanders, president of the Board of Regents, said the price tag would be hefty, however. He pegged the total cost at "well north" of $150 million and said it would cost the University of Kansas, the state's flagship school, $80 or $90 million alone. But Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, was unimpressed with the pleas of destitution from the universities. He recounted a recent college visit to Wichita State with his high school son and said it was "disappointing" most students were still taking virtual classes. |
| The new relief bill has $350B for local and state governments. Will colleges benefit? | |
| States widely took away money for postsecondary education during the Great Recession, forcing colleges to raise tuition to counteract funding shortfalls. Average in-state tuition and fees at public four-year schools rose by nearly 25% between 2008 and 2012. Similar patterns occurred during other periods of economic contraction. "Higher ed is the first on the chopping block, because it's a big area of spending and it's discretionary," said Jennifer Delaney, a higher education professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The same trends are playing out now. The first two rounds of federal relief funding helped protect colleges' budgets -- to a degree. They provided a combined roughly $37 billion in direct higher ed relief. But only the first measure offered local and state government aid, totaling $150 billion. That relief was beneficial, said Tom Harnisch, vice president for government relations at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. But he considers the local and state aid in the third package, the American Rescue Plan Act, to be "the most underrated higher education provision in the bill." SHEEO wrote to Senate leaders in early March urging them to support the inclusion of that aid. It's unclear how much of that money states would devote to higher ed, Harnisch said. But it will generally help stabilize their budgets and would avoid the most glaring cuts to public institutions, which three in four college students attend, he said. |
| Why colleges are racing to tell students they'll be open in person this fall | |
 | Good news about the COVID-19 vaccine couldn't have come at a better time for college admissions officers. Dozens of colleges and universities have recently announced that they'll be open in person this fall after waiting weeks or months to go public with fall plans. Colleges' fall announcements started a few weeks ago as vaccination rates began to pick up, but student inboxes and news sites have been flooded with fall reopening news this month, due in part to the ongoing admissions season. Experts call March and April prime yield season, during which colleges and universities work tirelessly to build a strong incoming class. After a year of exhausting transitions, students are looking for certainty and normalcy, and promising those things could give institutions a leg up as admitted students decide where to enroll. Public universities and university systems have also been churning out in-person-fall announcements in recent weeks. The University of Tennessee announced Thursday it would offer a fully in-person campus experience this fall. The University of Alabama system also announced this week that it would return to fully in-person instruction with no classroom capacity restrictions this fall. East Stroudsburg University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona system, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University and the University of South Carolina were among those making similar announcements regarding this fall. |
| Is This the End of the Romance Between Chinese Students and American Colleges? | |
 | or years, it seemed that there was no warmer relationship than the one between Chinese students and American colleges. In the dozen years prior to the pandemic, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States soared by 450 percent, from 67,700 in 2006 to 372,500 in 2019. One of every three international students on an American campus was from China, drawn by the promise of a world-class education and a brighter future. Colleges embraced these students, both for the cultural diversity they brought to campus and the tuition revenue they added to the bottom line -- international-student dollars helped right recession-battered college budgets, studies have shown. Nor was their impact limited to campus; international students contributed nearly $39 billion to the American economy last year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. But that relationship may now be faltering: Early indicators suggest that Chinese-student interest could be slow to rebound after the huge declines in international enrollments caused by Covid-19. And the chill could be coming from both sides. Early data from the Common App show an 18-percent drop in Chinese applicants for fall 2021, even as applications from abroad increased over all. And for the first time, a majority of Americans support limits on Chinese students at U.S. colleges, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last week. |
| How do interns learn about the workplace in a virtual office? | |
| It's been about a year now since millions of workers left the physical workplace for a virtual one. Figuring out a whole new way to work has been complicated, especially for folks who've never really been in a workplace at all. Learning on the job, as many young people do through internships or apprenticeships, has become a whole lot more challenging with remote work. In those halcyon early days of 2020, Washington University student Laura Glanz was dreaming of how she'd spend her summer: She wanted to intern at the famous ad agency Ogilvy in Manhattan. "I was really excited," she said. "I had visited the Ogilvy office when I was in New York. It's just this beautiful skyscraper, and I absolutely love it there." She envisioned renting a little apartment with some friends, taking the subway and dressing to impress -- the whole "Mad Men" fantasy. "I've actually never watched it," she said. "I know I have to." To be fair, she was 8 years old when the show was on. But by spring her New York dreams had come crashing down like Don Draper from the 37th floor of the Time & Life building. She did get the Ogilvy internship, but instead of a skyscraper, she did it from the bedroom of her apartment in St. Louis, in a much baggier, comfier wardrobe. |
| Learning a second language can help drive success in life | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant clinical professor in the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University, writes: While there are a variety of opportunities to stretch a child's learning platform, one of the best may be the introduction and immersion into a foreign language at an early age. While there are a number of intrinsic cognitive benefits, there are also positive lifelong implications for the children. According to Ertheo Education & Sport, "bilingual children learn faster and easier, have improved problem solving skills and creativity, and have more career opportunities in adulthood. They also find it easier to connect with other cultures which makes them more open-minded and tolerant of diversity, and they are less likely to experience age-related mental illness as they reach old age. Most importantly, it's much easier to learn a second language at an early age." Teaching a second language to students early is also a proactive educational strategy as the linguistic diversity in the United States has begun to rapidly expand, particularly from 1980 to 2010, according to the National Library of Medicine which reported in 2014 that the number of people five years and older who spoke something other than English at home increased from 23.1 to 59.5 million. |
SPORTS
| Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State end Kentucky's NCAA tourney hopes | |
| Iverson Molinar scored eight of his 21 points in the final 3:07 to erase a five-point deficit and Mississippi State held off Kentucky 74-73 on Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Mississippi State made just 3 of 14 from 3-point range until Molinar sank 3s on two straight possessions to retake the lead at 72-71 -- after leading by as many as 15 earlier in half. He had a 3 roll off on their next possession and Olivier Sarr gave Kentucky a 73-72 lead at 1:18. Molinar, an 81% free-throw shooter, made two with 7.1 seconds left for a one-point lead. Davion Mintz dribbled it down the court and found a hot-shooting Dontaie Allen on the wing but the shot bounced off the rim. Mississippi State (15-13) advances to face top-seeded and No. 6 ranked Alabama on Friday. Kentucky (9-16) will not play in the NCAA Tournament, along with Duke -- marking the first time both programs missed it in the same year since 1976. Kentucky coach John Calipari was ejected after being issued consecutive technical fouls with 9:04 left in regulation |
| Mississippi State holds off Kentucky, advances to quarterfinals of SEC tournament | |
| It took some late-game heroics from sophomore guard Iverson Molinar, but the Mississippi State men's basketball team finally beat Kentucky on Thursday morning. No. 9 seed Mississippi State beat No. 8 seed Kentucky, 74-73, in the second round of the SEC men's basketball tournament. The Bulldogs, now 15-13, advance to play No. 1 seed Alabama in the quarterfinals on Friday at 11 a.m. on ESPN. This is the first MSU win over Kentucky since 2009. The win ends a 15-game win streak in the series by Kentucky and is head coach Ben Howland's first win over Kentucky (9-16) while at MSU. "I'm really happy for our guys," Howland said. "We talked about the fact that we haven't beaten them since I've been there, and there's some games before that. They're the best program in our conference. ... This win today is really special for our team and our program." Molinar scored 12 of the last 14 points for the Bulldogs and scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half. He finished 8 of 10 from the floor. "I had a lot of confidence," Molinar said about his game-winning free throws. "I went to the line repeating to myself that I was going to make them. I just took my time and I was confident at the end that both of them were going to go in." |
| Mississippi State beats Kentucky for first time since 2009, advances in SEC Tournament | |
 | The streak is over. Mississippi State (15-13, 8-10 SEC) beat Kentucky (9-16, 8-9) for the first time since 2009 by the hair on the Bulldogs' mascot's backside. The No. 9 seed Bulldogs held on to defeat the No. 8 seed Wildcats 74-73 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville after losing the 15-point lead they built early in the second half. This is the first time in 16 tries that Mississippi State has topped coach John Calipari in his UK tenure, which began in the 2009-10 season. Mississippi State sophomore guard Iverson Molinar made two free throws with seven seconds left to give Mississippi State the lead and ultimately the win. Kentucky redshirt freshman guard Dontaie Allen had a look from 3-point range to steal a victory for the Wildcats, but it rattled off the rim and MSU senior center Abdul Ado snagged the rebound and sealed the victory for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Wildcats 46-30 and had a 46-22 advantage in points in the paint. Senior center Abdul Ado and redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith combined for 25 points and 20 rebounds. |
| At last: Bulldogs snap 15-game skid to Kentucky, win first round SEC tournament contest | |
 | Every Mississippi State basketball fan on the planet had seen this movie play out a time or two. Presented with any chance to beat Kentucky over the past 12 years, the tale always begins with an energetic MSU team racing out to a large lead. Which, of course, withers away and ends in disappointment. It played out this way in January. It felt destined to do so again Thursday in Nashville during the teams' first round SEC tournament meeting. Until it didn't. Downing Kentucky 74-73 to survive its first game of postseason play, MSU tore up the familiar script despite its best inclinations to repeat it. Kentucky ends its season at 9-16. John Calipari, who lost to the Bulldogs on Thursday for the first time since taking over the Wildcats program, will likely face the most tumultuous offseason he's endured in recent memory. "Our teams physically have always been roughhouse tough," Calipari said. "This team wasn't that way ... My teams historically played like if they lost, they were going to the electric chair. This team did not." But none of that is Ben Howland's concern. What is a quandary for the Bulldogs (15-13) is somehow making it past Friday's quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 seed Alabama. Both previous contests against the SEC champs this winter were tightly contested, single-digit MSU losses. By their standards, the Bulldogs have already pulled off one miracle in this SEC tournament. They'll try to make it two in Friday's 11 a.m. contest. |
| Alabama basketball has beaten Mississippi State twice. Could SEC Tournament quarterfinal be different? | |
| One benefit of a morning tipoff for Mississippi State on Thursday was it gave Bulldog coach Ben Howland some extra time to pump sunshine about No. 5 Alabama basketball. The Crimson Tide, top seed in the SEC Tournament, will face MSU on Friday at 11 a.m. CT. It will be the third meeting of the 2020-21 season, with Alabama winning both previous games. "They're the best team in our league," Howland told the SEC Network moments after the Bulldogs took a narrow 74-73 win over Kentucky. "I voted Herb Jones as both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. (Jahvon) Quinerly, in my opinion, was the sixth man of the year. Obviously Nate (Oats) has done a tremendous job. I love (Jaden) Shackelford. They have great personnel. They're really, really well-coached. They're very difficult because of how they space the floor and spread you out. Herb and (John) Petty are so good. Imagine having a team with two seniors like that who are going to make a lot of money playing basketball next year. Oats said on his Wednesday Zoom call that Mississippi State has "arguably the best backcourt in the SEC with (DJ) Stewart and (Iverson) Molinar." |
| Why Mississippi State baseball needs more from starting pitchers | |
| Three weeks into the Mississippi State baseball season, what was supposed to be one of the team's strongest suits has turned out to be one of its weakest links. The No. 3 Bulldogs' weekend pitching rotation simply has not impressed so far. Juniors Christian MacLeod and Eric Cerantola have an opportunity to right the ship this weekend as No. 4 Mississippi State (10-3) plays host to Eastern Michigan (4-2) in a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. MacLeod will throw out the first pitch. MacLeod was a machine in 2020. He pitched at least five innings in all five of his starts. He only allowed two earned runs in 21 innings. He struck out 35 batters and only walked six. 2021 has been a bit of a different story. MacLeod has yet to pitch more than four innings in three starts this season. He has only three earned runs in 9 2/3 innings. He failed to reach the third inning of his most recent start against Kent State. "The command piece is the biggest thing," coach Chris Lemonis said. "(He was) a little tentative. He just kind of nibbled around the plate tonight." |
| There's optimism that college football stadiums will be fully open this fall, but will fans come back? | |
| Getting folks back to fill Bryant-Denny Stadium this fall won't be a problem. Greg Byrne knew that when he dropped this tweet earlier this month. Such is the influence of the Alabama athletic director. One of the most powerful figures in college sports had correctly gauged both the pent-up demand of his constituency and the opinions of medical professionals who will make the final call. "They're optimistic about the fall," Byrne said. "We've obviously have been listening the medical experts the entire time. It's trending the right way." Those final five words are cause for celebration in a week that marks one year since sports shut down due to COVID-19. Suddenly, it's OK to talk about packed stadiums and getting back to normal. "We're all going to plan for it," Florida AD Scott Stricklin said, further indicating he is optimistic that stadiums will be fully open int he fall. Simple science says so. Infection rates are down. So are deaths. Multiple vaccines are here. Wearing masks is working. Flattening the curve may turn to fatten up on nachos. The mood and numbers have changed significantly since the last time we visited this topic in October. A recent survey by Dynamic Pricing Partners showed 72% of schools expect capacity crowds this fall. |
| LSU employees had troubling records. Many ask why they're not fired. | |
| Two University of Kansas employees lost their jobs this week in connection with sexual misconduct allegations at a campus 800 miles and three states away. Meanwhile, many in Louisiana wonder when they'll see such accountability from their state's own flagship university. Louisiana State University on Friday released a report detailing a years-long, systemic failure to properly report and investigate allegations of sexual misconduct at the school. It has fired no one for their roles in the scandal. Instead, it chose to suspend two people. Verge Ausberry and Miriam Segar, longtime and high-ranking athletic department administrators with extensive, documented histories of skirting the school's sexual misconduct policies by keeping allegations against athletes in house, were placed on unpaid suspension. Both will be back at their jobs by early next month. Interim LSU president Thomas Galligan defended his decisions on Ausberry and Segar, saying the two "were put in positions that were impossible for them. The confusion was absolutely rampant. When I looked at the training, the policies, it wasn't clear. The employees didn't understand what their obligation was." That has not been enough to quiet the outrage. |
| UK variant outbreak identified, 'contained,' among U. of Memphis athletics, school says | |
| An outbreak of the B.1.1.7 "UK variant" of COVID-19, which experts say is more transmissible, was identified among University of Memphis athletics in February, the school said Thursday. Between Feb. 8 and 28, the university performed 2,327 among the athletics department. Of those tests, 29 of the 31 positive cases were the UK variant, the university said. All 595 Memphis Athletics athletes and staff were tested between Feb. 19 and 20. Of those tests, which are part of the total reported a university spokesperson clarified, 10 of the 11 positive cases were the UK variant. U of M did not disclose any identifying information about who was diagnosed positive. The B.1.1.7 variant was first identified in Shelby County around Feb. 2. Since then, other variants have been identified in the county. In a press release Thursday, the university called the identification and subsequent containment of the variant "a pandemic success story." American Esoteric Laboratories (AEL) and the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force collaborated with U of M to identify, trace and contain the spread. |
| Nearly 550 College Athletes Demand NCAA Pull Championships From States With Anti-Trans Sports Legislation | |
| Nearly 550 collegiate athletes from across the nation signed onto a letter sent to the NCAA on Wednesday demanding that the association stop holding championships and events in states that have passed or are considering passing laws that effectively ban transgender women and girls -- and, in at least one case, trans boys and men --from participating in youth and college sports aligned with their gender identity. Idaho passed such a bill last year, while ones in Mississippi and South Dakota are awaiting governors' signatures. Similar laws in other states are expected to follow. "We, the undersigned NCAA student-athletes, are extremely frustrated and disappointed by the lack of action taken by the NCAA to recognize the dangers of hosting events in states that create a hostile environment for student-athletes," the letter opened. Addressing NCAA President Mark Emmert and the NCAA Board of Governors, it continued, "You have been silent in the face of hateful legislation in states that are slated to host championships, even though those states are close to passing anti-transgender legislation." In 2016, in light of North Carolina's passage of a so-called "bathroom bill," which prohibited trans people in schools and public facilities from using the bathroom that matched their gender identity, the NCAA boycotted the state for championship events and instituted a new nondiscrimination policy. |
| The Pandemic Drove People to Tennis and Golf. Will They Keep Playing? | |
 | In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic all but shuttered recreational sports and leisure activities. Fitness centers and yoga studios closed as did movie theaters, museums and concert halls. Games as routine as checkers at a local park or pickup basketball in almost any setting were prohibited. Even playing in ultimate Frisbee leagues became fraught with risk. And yet, golf and tennis, which have struggled to recruit new participants in recent years, flourished as idle athletes sought to play outside, at a safe distance, with some tweaks to accommodate new health guidelines. Tennis courts and golf courses have been packed with the people the leaders of those sports have tried to reach for years -- beginners and novices whose numbers had been thinning at alarming rates. The vast public investment in golf and tennis, using taxpayer money and public land, puts an onus on maintaining the pandemic boomlet. As much of the country makes plans to reopen, minders of golf and tennis are focusing on an essential question: how to retain newly hooked participants when other recreational options are available again? |
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