| Tuesday, April 23, 2024 |
| New president takes helm of IHL Board of Trustees | |
 | A new president took over at the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning at the conclusion of last week's meeting. The Board also approved requests from several institutions to create new centers and career paths. At the conclusion of Thursday's IHL meeting, Dr. Alfred McNair handed the gavel to incoming president Bruce Martin. McNair's term on the Board will end on May 7th. Also at the meeting, Dr. Casey Prestwood, Associate Commissioner for Academic Student Affairs, presented proposed new centers and degree paths to the IHL Board. Mississippi State University submitted a request to create the Data Science Academic Institute, while the University of Mississippi sought the creation of the Nano-Bio Interactions Center, Prestwood outlined. The Data Science Academic Institute at MSU will promote the application of data sciences across every discipline and research initiatives offered by the university. Seven new degree programs were also approved by the IHL Board, including one at Alcorn State University, two at the University of Mississippi, and four at Mississippi State University. Mississippi State's four new degree paths will be the Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity, Master of Applied Data Science, Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary Level Alternative Route, and the Master of Science in Engineering. |
| Should family members be in charge of family businesses? | |
| Mississippi State University's Jim Chrisman and colleagues write for The Conversation: From Hermes to Smuckers to the fictional Waystar Royco of HBO's "Succession," family businesses often choose their CEOs from the ranks of kin. But is this a good business decision? As researchers who study entrepreneurship and management, we wanted to know whether keeping leadership in the family pays off for businesses. So we reviewed 175 studies on the topic to see whether family CEOs really are the best choice for family businesses. We found that the answer is yes -- sometimes. Our analysis, which looked at nearly 40 years of research, confirmed that family CEOs tend to prioritize a noneconomic goal: keeping the business in the family. This suggests that nonfamily CEOs -- leaders brought in from the wider business community, selected based on characteristics such as past performance -- may be more interested in prioritizing purely economic goals, such as boosting stock prices. We also found that companies led by family CEOs tend to have more concern with corporate social responsibility but invest less in innovation and international growth. They also have more debt on average. All of these things could have important business implications. For example, investing less in research and development could lead to worse economic outcomes. Does that mean that family CEOs are bad for business? Not at all. |
| Education: Abraham named Mississippi's National Distinguished Principal program recipient | |
 | The cheers could be heard around the block as Sudduth Elementary pre-K, kindergarten and first grade students celebrated their favorite principal for her statewide honor on Wednesday in the Sudduth Gym. Sudduth principal Morgan Abraham was selected by the Mississippi Association of Elementary School Administrators as Mississippi's winner of the National Distinguished Principal program for elementary school principals. She will represent the state of Mississippi in October at the National Distinguished Principal program. The student body and staff at Sudduth surprised Abraham with a special announcement assembly Wednesday to inform her about the award. "I'm just so surprised," Abraham said after the assembly. "I want to extend heartfelt gratitude for being nominated for this award. It is truly an honor to be selected as Mississippi's representative in the National Distinguished Principal program, and I look forward to collaborating with other winners from around the country to advocate for educators and students." Abraham joined SOCSD in 2019 as principal at Sudduth Elementary and has shepherded the school through the successful implementation of a pre-K program, MakerSpace, playground redesign and building renovations and has worked with families as the district transitioned to a modified calendar. |
| Starkville Utilities, TVA, garden club spend Earth Day planting trees | |
 | Starkville Utilities teamed up with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Starkville Town and Country Garden Club by planting trees to celebrate Earth Day. They planted the trees at two locations: the Old Fellows Cemetery and the Sudduth Elementary School. General manager for Starkville Utilities, Edward Kemp, said Earth Day is a great time to remind the public that trees are one of our most important natural resources. "It provides a lot of benefits. Not just for the current generations but for generations to come as well. It provides a lot of intrinsic value to our community and improves the quality of life. So we thought that this was a great day to partner together and do this dedication. Starkville Utilities does see the value in trees and we also want to educate our customers and the community members on the importance of the placement of trees in a proper place where they don't interfere with utility lines in the future," said Kemp. The group planted "Little Gem" magnolias at Odd Fellows Cemetery. At Sudduth Elementary, they planted four mature red maple trees on the playground. |
| Starkville fire chief talks firefighter safety amid rise of assaults | |
 | Firefighter assaults have been on the rise across the country, including close to home in Pontotoc County. Starkville Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough spoke with WTVA 9 News about firefighter safety. He says that assault isn't uncommon, but the recent one in Pontotoc has triggered him to find some ways to help firefighters stay safe. Yarbrough says emotions can be very high when someone is a victim of a fire, whether it's a house on fire, someone is trapped inside of a home, or a land fire. He says emotion management will be a key solution if this were to happen. He says training would help. That led him to contact the Starkville Police Department to look at training on emotion management and de-escalating tense situations. Yarbrough said that they have to ensure firefighters are always respectful and professional. Chief Yarbrough added that some people will see a firefighter badge and associate it with a police badge. Those firefighters may face hostility from folks who are aggressive toward police. |
| Ask The Dispatch: All your questions answered about the LINK's planned new office | |
| The Golden Triangle Development LINK has been talking for 12 years about building an office at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. Construction for the facility will finally begin this summer. The new LINK office on GTRA property will be 7,000 square feet, CEO Joe Max Higgins said, with suite offices, a boardroom and a work area for putting together proposals. It also will include a "training room" that can seat about 60 at tables, which Higgins said will better accommodate meetings of The Trust (business people who serve as the LINK's boosters) and advisory council. "We always have to move those around and borrow space," Higgins said. "Now we'll be able to do it in our own place." While the LINK will own the new building, it is negotiating a long-term lease with GTRA for the 2.23 acres it will occupy. The LINK's six primary clients --- Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties, along with the cities of Columbus, Starkville and West Point, all collectively own GTRA. Moving the LINK out to its clients' property, Higgins said, "sends a powerful message." "We're everybody's," he added. "... We were joking with the architects about trying to put our logo on our roof so when you fly in you can see it." |
| North Mississippi business leaders urge Legislature to pass Medicaid expansion | |
| A group of business leaders from northeast Mississippi, one of the most conservative areas of the state, recently wrote a letter to House Speaker Jason White encouraging lawmakers to expand Medicaid coverage to the working poor. The letter, signed by influential Itawamba County business owner and Republican donor Luke Montgomery, thanked White for pressing forward with Medicaid expansion legislation and called it "the most important legislative issue for the 2024 session." "As this bill now goes to our legislators appointed to the conference committee for consideration, I have faith that a workable solution will be developed that is agreeable among House and Senate leaders," Montgomery wrote. "Legislation that is good for our future and for all Mississippians." Montgomery wrote the letter on behalf of Mississippi Hills Leadership PAC, a committee of north Mississippi business leaders who regularly donate to statewide politicians and dozens of conservative legislative candidates. Montgomery is the current chairman of the PAC, while Dan Rollins, CEO of Tupelo-based Cadence Bank, serves as the vice chairman and David Rumbarger, CEO of Lee County's Community Development Foundation, serves as its treasurer. The letter comes in the middle of House and Senate leaders attempting to hammer out a compromise in a conference committee to resolve the different expansion plans the chambers have proposed. |
| Medicaid, education funding bills still up in the air in Legislature as deadline looms | |
 | Saturday evening is the deadline for Mississippi lawmakers to submit conference committee reports so that the Senate and House of Representatives can vote on pending legislation. Time is limited with the legislative session scheduled to end May 5. Among the most significant bills lawmakers will be looking to iron out finalized versions of this week include Medicaid expansion, online sports betting, possible restrictions on the state's retirement system and budgets for state agencies, city and county appropriations. Similarly, Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, has until Wednesday to agree to changes to Senate Bill 2693, which has been changed into the House K-12 education funding model, the INSPIRE Act. That bill was previously killed under an earlier deadline to pass House bills through the Senate. At the time, DeBar moved to not invite conference to continue conversations about reform to how the state funds K-12 education, which is currently done through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. As for the big items on lawmakers' agendas, education, Medicaid, the state's retirement plan and even online gambling are just a few of the more than 200 bills still being considered by state lawmakers. |
| House Speaker Jason White talks deadlines as session's end approaches | |
 | Mississippi lawmakers face one of the final deadlines of the 2024 Legislative Session this weekend before the end of the session. The three biggest issues headed to conference negotiations include Medicaid expansion, education funding and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) of Mississippi. Medicaid expansion has been the ruling issue this session. We asked House Speaker Jason White (R-District 48) what the red line is for House conferees at the Medicaid expansion negotiating table. He said the House is firm in their plan, which expands Medicaid to 138% of the federal poverty level. This move would impact about 200,000 Mississippians. "We want to cover up to 138% of the federal poverty level because that takes advantage of the 9010 match that the Affordable Care Act offers to states that participate. And I think anything short of that it would be foolish to go into our traditional Medicaid match of 76 or 77% if it starts not making as much sense, and it's really not covering the folks that it was intended to cover," White stated. The Senate plan would expand Medicaid for those making up to 99% of the federal poverty level. This plan would likely cover about 40,000 Mississippians. |
| Mississippi lawmakers move toward restoring voting rights to 32 felons as broader suffrage bill dies | |
 | Mississippi legislators advanced bills Monday to give voting rights back to 32 people convicted of felonies, weeks after a Senate leader killed a broader bill that would have restored suffrage to many more people with criminal records. The move is necessary due to Mississippi's piecemeal approach to restoring voting rights to people convicted of felony offenses who have paid their debts to society. It also reflects the legacy of the state's original list of disenfranchising crimes, which springs from the Jim Crow era. The attorneys who have sued to challenge the list say authors of the state constitution removed voting rights for crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. To have voting rights restored, people convicted of any of the crimes must get a pardon from the governor or persuade lawmakers to pass individual bills just for them, with two-thirds approval of the House and Senate. Lawmakers in recent years have passed few of those bills, and they passed none in 2023. "I certainly don't think this is the best way to do it," said Republican Rep. Kevin Horan of Grenada, who chairs the House Judiciary B Committee. "There comes a point in time where individuals who have paid their debt to society, they're paying taxes, they're doing the things they need to do, there's no reason those individuals shouldn't have the right to vote." |
| Citing constitutional concerns, Governor Reeves vetoes first bill of 2024 session | |
| Governor Tate Reeves (R) has made his first veto of the 2024 Mississippi legislative session by striking down House Bill 922. The bill, authored by State Representative Noah Sanford (R) would have provided that the office of election commissioner be nonpartisan. Sanford's legislation would have also barred a political party or committee from endorsing or making contributions to a candidate for the office, a move Governor Reeves says is unconstitutional. "As the United States District Court held more than twenty years ago, such a prohibition as applied to political parties unquestionably limits the core political speech of political parties and fundamentally impairs their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights without any compelling governmental interest," said Governor Reeves in the veto message. "Thus, such a ban plainly is unconstitutional. Reeves went on to reference the landmark case of EU v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee in 1989, in which the U.S. Supreme Court looked at the constitutionality of California's prohibition on primary endorsements by political parties. The nation's high Court found that "barring political parties from endorsing and opposing candidates not only burdens their freedom of speech but also infringes upon their freedom of association." |
| Company Bosses Draw a Red Line on Office Activists | |
 | Business leaders are sending a warning to staff: Dissent that disrupts the workplace won't be tolerated. Google's decision to fire 28 workers involved in sit-in protests against the tech giant's cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government is the most recent and starkest example of companies' stricter stance. Rifts with employees have spilled into public view at National Public Radio, the New York Times and other workplaces. Bosses are losing patience with staff eager to be the conscience of their companies, especially as employees pressure them on charged issues such as politics and the war in Gaza, executives, board members and C-suite advisers say. The moves are a correction to the last several years, when corporate leaders often brooked dissent and encouraged staff to voice their personal convictions. On issues such as immigration policy and racial justice, many chief executives publicly expressed corporate solidarity. Google, in particular, has long prided itself on an open work culture that fostered internal debate, much like a college campus. It is an open question as to what rights workers really have to speak out on the job. "None of this is settled," said Genevieve Lakier, a law professor at the University of Chicago. Workers in the private sector aren't protected by the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech, and "there is still a lot of uncertainty about how much free expression by workers is consistent with the operations of the workplace," she said. |
| IHL approves creation of new area of study at MUW | |
| Women's roles in leadership and academic development will be the focus of a new area of study at Mississippi University for Women. The state Institutions of Higher Learning approved the creation of a new Women's College. President Nora Miller said this college will honor the school's founded and continued mission. MUW was founded in 1884 as the first public college for women in the United States. Now, the university will offer scholarships to students to become 1884 Scholars and Fellows. They will be required to take courses that explore women's roles and leadership. Those students will also receive recognition at their commencement and on their academic transcript. |
| Education: IHL approves Women's College at The W | |
| Mississippi University for Women officially got the green light Thursday from the Board of Trustees of Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning to create its new Women's College. "I am pleased that we are able to honor our founding and our continued mission with the establishment of the Women's College," MUW President Nora Miller said in an MUW press release. The university originally announced its plans to establish the Women's College in December. The college's curriculum will focus on highlighting women's excellence and leadership throughout history while providing students with opportunities for professional experiences and mentorship. The university will offer scholarships to students within the college to become 1884 Scholars and 1884 Fellows. The "1884" designation refers to the year the university was founded as the first public college for women in the nation. The college will function similarly to an honor's college program. Students will not receive a degree from the college, but those who complete the curriculum will be recognized as graduates of the Women's College on their academic transcripts and at their commencement ceremony. |
| UM's 2024 common read delves into the 'Science of Getting Happier' | |
 | The University of Mississippi announced its annual common read book selection on April 14 titled, "Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier" by Harvard leadership professor Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey. The purpose of the annual common read, given to incoming students at the University of Mississippi, is to guide them as they discover their passions, fuel their curiosities and -- in the case of this year's selection -- find happiness, according to an April 14 press release from the university. The university established its common read initiative during the 2011-2012 school year. The common read is chosen by the UM's Common Reading Experience Steering Committee. The book is used throughout the curriculum for many first-year classes, with this year's selection allowing students to learn about the science behind happiness. Natasha Jeter, assistant vice chancellor for wellness and student success, explained why "Build the Life You Want" is an ideal fit for incoming students. "'Build the Life You Want' is an ideal book for our freshmen and incoming students and will provide foundational tools for them to build the life they want to have and to become the people they want to be," Jeter said in the same April 14 press release. "It's a very unique approach because it uses a scientific slant to learning how to construct a life of happiness and fulfillment." |
| Man arrested during Morgan Wallen concert for fighting, spitting on police | |
| A Colia man was arrested Saturday after a fight during the Morgan Wallen concert. Deputies from the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office were assisting the University of Mississippi Police Department with the Morgan Wallen concert at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday when they were notified of a fight in the crowd and responded to the area. Officers arrived and placed the suspect, Hunter Steven Flanagan, 30, of Colia, under arrest for assaulting another patron. While conducting the arrest, Flanagan became combative and resisted arrest. Flanagan kicked two officers and spit on them while he was being transported out of the stadium to the Lafayette County Detention Center. The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office charged Flanagan with one count of simple assault on a police officer. Flanagan was charged with a separate count of simple assault on a police officer by the University of Mississippi Police Department, along with several other misdemeanor charges. Flanagan appeared before a Justice Court Judge on Monday and his bond was set at $100,000. Flanagan is being held at the Lafayette County Detention Center awaiting bond. |
| ASU President Cook optimistic about future | |
 | Alcorn State University President Tracy Cook is quite optimistic about the future of the university and hopes to continue building on past successes. "My plans for Alcorn State are simple: build capacity and provide a good quality of life for our students, the best living and learning environment for students and the best customer service," said Cook during a stop in Meridian Friday night to attend the Meridian/Lauderdale Alcorn State University Alumni Chapter's Purple and Gold Scholarship Gala. Cook officially assumed duties as Alcorn State's 21st president on April 1 after being appointed by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. He had served as interim president since July 2023. Joining him in greeting Alcorn State alumni and friends at the Purple and Gold Scholarship Gala, held at the MSU Riley Center, was head football coach Cedric Thomas, who was appointed in December. Cook is concentrating on growing Alcorn State's student population while retaining faculty, working with alumni and improving students' access to academic programs. Toward that effort, he plans to conduct numerous presidential tours throughout the state this year. "We know this 'enrollment cliff' is coming about because students have a whole lot of opportunities," Cook said. "Small and rural areas, especially from the area where I am from, the population's getting smaller and smaller. So we're all competing -- the community college, the four-year institutions and other universities from out of state -- for a smaller population of students." |
| Auburn University music department establishes a symphony of new programs for students | |
| Auburn University's Department of Music recently established three new programs and is opening a recording studio to allow students more access to expression through music as well as understanding the industry. The music business minor was established in fall 2023 by Doug Rosener, the chair of the department. This minor is open to all students who wish to have a profession in the music industry. The courses are designed to dig deep into the multi-billion dollar industry and teach students how to navigate it effectively. To complete the minor, students take 15 hours of music business classes and do not need prior musical knowledge to declare the minor. The department has also introduced two new music majors, one of which is the commercial music program. This major was established in 2020 also by Rosener but it is overseen by Khari Allen Lee. Lee is a saxophonist, composer and professor of practice that has performed with artists such as Aretha Franklin. It prepares students for different careers within the music industry. The program includes a study of "commercial" styles -- pop, rock, hip hop, R&B and rap -- to provide high levels of performance levels with traditional training. The major also incorporates voice, percussion and guitar. An audition is required to enter into this major. The program combines these commercial styles with the study of music business to allow for optimal career preparation. Students completing this major will be "qualified to pursue careers as preforming artists, seek positions with major music industry-related firms or both." |
| MU Museum of Art and Archaeology and Museum of Anthropology to reopen May 3 | |
 | Artifacts from six of the seven continents bring everything together, from a mummy's burial shroud to a collection of archery thumb rings, to share a new home back on the University of Missouri's campus. The MU Museum of Art and Archaeology and Museum of Anthropology will be reopening to the public May 3 in the lower level of Ellis Library. The Museum of Art and Archaeology will house four exhibits. The main art exhibit is of European and American art dating back to the 14th century, with an added emphasis on the history of cross-cultural exchanges that made the art possible. The Weinberg Gallery of Antiquity holds a wide variety of artifacts ranging from small pottery from Greece and glasswork from Asia to an intact linen mummy burial shroud from Egypt. These two exhibits will not be rotated but may see some small changes as time goes on. "(The museum) lets people know that even people that lived thousands of years ago and thousands of miles away, we're all kind of the same -- we like art and we like things to look nice," said Daniel Eck, the director of the Museum of Art and Archaeology. "We've got the same troubles, the same joys, and we paint them, sculpt them." |
| Child care crisis holds back moms without college degrees: 'I really didn't want to quit my job' | |
 | After a series of lower-paying jobs, Nicole Slemp finally landed one she loved. She was a secretary for Washington state's child services department, a job that came with her own cubicle, and she had a knack for working with families in difficult situations. Slemp expected to return to work after having her son in August. But then she and her husband started looking for child care -- and doing the math. The best option would cost about $2,000 a month, with a long wait list, and even the least expensive option around $1,600, still eating up most of Slemp's salary. Her husband earns about $35 an hour at a hose distribution company. Between them, they earned too much to qualify for government help. The dilemma is common in the United States, where high-quality child care programs are prohibitively expensive, government assistance is limited, and daycare openings are sometimes hard to find at all. In 2022, more than 1 in 10 young children had a parent who had to quit, turn down or drastically change a job in the previous year because of child care problems. And that burden falls most on mothers, who shoulder more child-rearing responsibilities and are far more likely to leave a job to care for kids. For mothers without college degrees, a day without work is often a day without pay. |
| Will Free Medical School Diversify the Physician Workforce? | |
 | When the Einstein College of Medicine announced in February that a former faculty member donated a historic $1 billion to the institution to eliminate tuition for every student, leaders at the New York medical school lauded the gift's potential to help diversify the physician workforce. Removing Einstein's nearly $60,000 per-year price tag "radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it," Dr. Yaron Tomer, dean of the medical school, said in a press release. "We will be reminded of the legacy this historic gift represents each spring as we send another diverse class of physicians out across the Bronx and around the world to provide compassionate care and transform their communities." When Einstein becomes tuition-free next academic year, it will join a small but growing list of other medical schools that already have tuition-free programs, including the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, New York University Grossman College of Medicine and the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. While some experts in the medical field have applauded the financial relief these tuition-free medical schools provide, they're skeptical that free tuition alone has the power to increase the racial diversity of medical school student populations or the overall number of doctors of color. Although a wide body of research shows patients have better health outcomes when treated by a doctor of the same race or ethnicity, the racial diversity of the physician workforce doesn't reflect the diversity of patients. |
| Many in Gen Z ditch colleges for trade schools. Meet the 'toolbelt generation' | |
 | Sy Kirby dreaded the thought of going to college after graduating from high school. He says a four-year degree just wasn't in the cards for him or his bank account. "I was facing a lot of pressure for a guy that knew for a fact that he wasn't going to college," Kirby says. "I knew I wasn't going to sit in a classroom, especially since I knew I wasn't going to pay for it." Instead, at the age of 19, Kirby took a job at a local water department in southern Arkansas. He said the position helped him to develop the skills that helped him start his own construction company. Now at age 32, Kirby finds himself mentoring many of his employees, who also opted to learn a skilled trade rather than shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to pursue a degree that they wouldn't use after graduating. Kirby says blue-collar work is lucrative and allows him to "call the shots" in his life. But, he says the job also comes with a downside, mainly because of the stigma attached to the industry. "I think there's a big problem with moms and dads coming home from quote-unquote 'dirty' jobs. Coming home with dirty clothes and sweating. You had a hard day's work and sometimes that's looked down upon," he says. Kirby is among the growing number of young people who have chosen to swap college for vocational schools that offer paid, on-the-job training. |
| Pro-Palestinian Protests Force Colleges to Rethink Graduation Plans | |
| Ezra Dayanim anticipates his commencement ceremony at Columbia University next month will be interrupted by hisses and boos, especially when the university's president addresses the crowd. He is just hoping the disruption doesn't go beyond that. Dayanim, who is graduating this spring with a joint degree from Columbia and the Jewish Theological Seminary, plans to bring his parents and fiancée to the ceremony. He has generally felt safe around school, he said, and none of his guests have expressed reservations about attending. But in light of what he described as a more hostile mood on campus in recent days due to confrontations over the Israel-Hamas war, he is relieved his grandparents aren't making the trip like they did when his sister graduated from Barnard College a few years ago. "I can't imagine my grandparents being able to walk around on campus peacefully," he said. "All it takes is one person to say something, knock them over." With a fresh round of pro-Palestinian protests sweeping campuses nationwide, university administrators are rethinking their plans for celebrating spring graduation with an eye toward safeguarding students and guests, and their own reputations, from potentially ugly and violent political disputes. Concerned about bad optics during an extremely public moment, as well as the physical safety of the tens of thousands of campus visitors, schools are taking a range of steps to head off problems at commencement -- though some of those efforts are backfiring. |
| With graduation near, colleges seek to balance safety and students' right to protest Gaza war | |
| The University of Michigan is informing students of the rules for upcoming graduation ceremonies: Banners and flags are not allowed. Protests are OK but in designated areas away from the cap-and-gown festivities. The University of Southern California canceled a planned speech by the school's Muslim valedictorian. At Columbia University, where 100 students were arrested last week following protests, officials temporarily canceled in-person classes Monday as they work to find a resolution to the crisis. This is commencement season 2024, punctuated by the tension and volatility that has roiled college campuses since Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. In response, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry. Since the war began, colleges and universities have struggled to balance campus safety with free speech rights amid intense student debate and protests. Many schools that tolerated protests and other disruptions for months are now doling out more heavy-handed discipline. A series of recent campus crackdowns on student protesters have included suspensions and, in some cases, expulsions. |
| Pressure rises amid Columbia protests, as lawmakers call on university president to resign | |
 | People of divergent political beliefs found a common voice in one thing at Columbia University Monday: Criticizing the school president over her handling of escalating campus tensions. Republicans accused the school of being soft on incidents of antisemitism. Pro-Palestinian student protesters argued the university inappropriately called in the New York Police Department to squash free speech. Faculty staged a mass walkout. Amid the unrest, as the Jewish holiday of Passover approached, university President Minouche Shafik made classes virtual and urged students living off campus not to come to the Ivy League school. Lines of New York Police Department officers donning riot gear and carrying zip-ties surrounded the Upper Manhattan campus. It was the latest instance of growing strife on prominent college campuses across the country as students, professors and politicians grapple with fallout from the war in Gaza. "Every single one of these college and university presidents who refuse to take action should immediately resign in disgrace and if they don't resign, [they] should be thrown out," Hudson Valley Republican Rep. Mike Lawler -- who faces a tough election this year -- told reporters. "I have never seen a more disgraceful act than what we are seeing on college campuses right now." |
| Hawley, Cotton call on Biden to deploy National Guard over Gaza protests at colleges | |
 | GOP Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.) called on President Biden on Monday to deploy the National Guard to colleges, particularly Columbia University in New York City, where pro-Palestinian protesters have staged sit-ins and other disruptive activities to focus public attention on the war. "Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock. It's time for Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans," Hawley posted on the social platform X. He was referring to former President Eisenhower's decision to call in the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Ark., in 1957 to ensure the safety of nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School. Then-Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus (D) had ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school to prevent the nine students from integrating the school in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, which struck down "separate but equal" segregation as unconstitutional. Cotton called on the Biden administration to "break up" the pro-Palestinian groups on Columbia's campus if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) fails to take control of the situation by deploying the New York National Guard. |
| As College Students Protest, Harris Keeps Her Focus on Abortion | |
 | Vice President Kamala Harris, campaigning on Monday in Wisconsin, again took sharp swipes at former President Donald J. Trump for his actions on abortion, a hot topic across the country. But she stayed silent on the war in Gaza, another issue erupting elsewhere among the critical bloc of young voters she has been courting. The split screen captured the advantages and challenges for Democrats as they head into the presidential election in November. Even as the party is looking to galvanize voters over the wave of abortion restrictions in numerous states since Roe v. Wade was overturned, it is facing internal divisions among key parts of its coalition. On Monday, as demonstrations gripped college campuses on the East Coast, Ms. Harris kept her attention squarely focused on Mr. Trump and what she described as his attacks on women. She cast the 2024 election as a choice over the preservation of freedom, which she called "fundamental to the promise of America." "This is a moment where we must stand up for foundational, fundamental values and principles," she told roughly 100 people at a community center in La Crosse, in the western part of the state. "When we think about what is at stake, it is absolutely about freedom." Abortion rights have become a focus of President Biden's re-election bid, and Ms. Harris has had a leading role. Wisconsin is a crucial swing state for Democrats, part of their so-called blue wall and one of a handful of states that are likely to decide the November race. |
| Campus Protests Offer Leaders A Guide for Handling 2024 Election | |
| As the chaos of campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war reaches a fever pitch, the Constructive Dialogue Institute has released a guide to help higher education leaders manage their campus climates in preparation for the 2024 election season. Being proactive, applying existing strategies and infrastructure to mitigate future election-related protests, and involving a wide range of stakeholders in the process, were among the key suggestions from the institute, which helps institutions and organizations foster communication across differences and build inclusive cultures. "No event is as effective at shunting communities into 'us' versus 'them' as a U.S. presidential election," said the CDI guide, "Maintaining Campus Community During the 2024 Election," which the organization released last week. "The 2024 election adds a unique challenge because higher education itself is on the ballot." Since the war began on Oct. 7, campus administrators have faced criticism from state and federal lawmakers, donors, students and faculty about how they've handled local responses to the Middle Eastern conflict. And according to various campus climate surveys, many pro-Palestine and pro-Israel students alike feel unsafe. All of that turmoil -- in addition to the continued conservative crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and frustrations about student debt -- has pushed higher education issues to the forefront of the political discourse shaping November's presidential race between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. |
| OPINION: Biden Administration Declares War on Biology -- and on Women | |
| Mississippi Advocacy Group President/CEO Lesley Davis writes at MagnoliaTribune.com: Last week, the Biden Administration issued a radical Executive Order through the Department of Education which effectively erases equal rights and opportunity for women. Almost 52 years after the enactment of Title IX of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, ironically a law designed to prevent sex discrimination against women and girls in education and sports, the Biden administration added gender identity to the definition of "sex" in Title IX. The change in definition moves the term from a matter of core biological truth to a matter of personal selection. The highly controversial rule dictates the loss of federal funding for any educational institution's failure to comply with this unscientific re-definition of sex, which could mean billions of lost funding for schools that are charged with simply teaching reading, math, biology, history -- and reality. People may identify however they want and live their lives as they choose. But the reality is there are only two sexes: male and female. And the reality is this rule will take away 52 years of advancements in women's rights -- and give them right back to men. Women are hurt the most when basic biology is ignored. The rule applies regardless of how little federal funding a school or university receives and regardless of whether the funding is direct or indirect. |
SPORTS
| HARDY to perform first stadium concert at Dudy Noble Field on September 12 | |
| Country music star and Mississippi native HARDY will be making a stop in Starkville this fall to perform his first stadium show. Joining the Philadelphia singer/songwriter on the tour will be Lake native Randy Houser and Travis Denning. HARDY, a five-time ACM award winner and two-time CMA award winner, has also won three CMA Triple Play awards, was named the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, and is a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. The country music sensation has written over a dozen No. 1 singles including two-time platinum chart-topper "ONE BEER" featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson. He's previously toured with some of the biggest names in country music such as Thomas Rhett, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, and Cole Swindell. Tickets for the Starkville performance will go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m. |
| Country rock artist HARDY announces concert at Mississippi State baseball's Dudy Noble Field | |
| Country rock artist Michael Hardy (HARDY) is set to perform at Mississippi State baseball's Dudy Noble Field on Sept. 12, he announced Monday. The performance comes as part of his "Quit!!" tour. A presale for the tickets starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday, and general sales start at 10 a.m. Friday. The stage will be located in center field with on-field tickets available along with seating in the grandstand. Whether it be the cowbell tattoo on his arm or the earpiece featuring the MSU logo often worn during concerts, Hardy's Mississippi State fandom has often been on display. He is a native of Philadelphia, Mississippi. He is slated to bring Dudy Noble Field its second concert − both coming since the hiring of athletics director Zac Selmon in January 2023. During last season, Brett Eldredge performed at the stadium following MSU's win against rival Ole Miss. Hardy's concert will lead into a weekend featuring Mississippi State football's contest against Toledo. The Bulldogs are entering their first season with coach Jeff Lebby at the helm. |
| HARDY to perform at Mississippi State University | |
| HARDY is set to play his first-ever stadium and biggest headline show to date this fall, returning to his home state to play Mississippi State University's (MSU) Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. The concert will on September 12, 2024. Fan club presales will begin April 23 at 10:00 a.m., with tickets on sale this Friday, April 26. See below for full tour routing and visit hardyofficial.com for more info. In March, HARDY's runaway smash "Truck Bed" hit #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase Country charts. The chart topper marks HARDY's first solo Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase Country #1, fifth #1 as an artist and 15th as a songwriter, including his Rock radio #1 "Jack" last year. |
| Diamond Dawgs Head To Memphis On Tuesday | |
| The Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs hit the road for a midweek contest at Memphis with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD, along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand. The Diamond Dawgs and Tigers meet for the second time this season on Tuesday night. After meeting earlier this season at Dudy Noble Field, the Dawgs head north to face off against the Tigers in Memphis. Mississippi State came away with a 17-9 victory over the Tigers. The Dawgs trailed 9-3 in the fifth. They scored seven runs in the fifth and scored the final 14 runs of the game. Bradley Loftin made the start for the Dawgs and went three innings. Pico Kohn followed and pitched one inning. Connor Hujsak led the team with four RBIs in the game as he went 2-for-4 and had a triple and a homer. Nine different Diamond Dawgs had a hit in the contest. Memphis holds an 18-22 record and a 6-9 American Athletic Conference record. The Tigers are tied for fourth in the AAC. The Tigers are 11-11 at home this season. Mississippi State leads the all-time series 57-27. |
| Meet the Mississippi State switch-pitcher keeping batters on their toes | |
| It always takes the brain a moment to digest what the eyes have just seen. The Mississippi State pitcher fires off a wicked breaking ball from his left hand, generating a groundout to second. Then he returns to the mound, toes the rubber and does it again three pitches later, this time to shortstop. But ... wait ... did that second set of tosses come from ... his right hand? In the Bulldogs baseball media guide, Jurrangelo Cijntje -- it's pronounced Jur-rainge-uh-lo Sain-ja -- or "Lo" for short, is listed as a 20-year-old sophomore pitcher, 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, and under "bats/throws" it reads: S/S for Switch/Switch. An amphibious ... er, ambidextrous pitcher? On the mound in the SEC, college baseball's battle royal? Throwing lefty and righty and frequently doing so in alternating at-bats? It's odd to witness from the grandstand or on TV. Now imagine what it's like standing in the on-deck circle, wondering which side of the rubber he's going to throw it to you from? Heck, just imagine watching him warm up. How does that even work? "I start in the short box from the left side, just to get some feel, and then do the same from the right," Cijntje explained. "Then I will just move back to 60 feet and then try to throw more from the left side, because I throw more from the right side in the game. When I'm on the mound and the batter's coming, I look to my coach and we've scouted where he's best and worst and how I'm feeling from each side, and he'll say, 'You decide which side you want to throw.'" |
| How the new College Football Playoff format came to be and what it means for the sport's future | |
| In January of 2022, inside a convention hall within the JW Marriott hotel in downtown Indianapolis, the sport's most powerful leaders gathered to vote on expanding the College Football Playoff. Seven months of quibbling over an expansion format had finally led them to this pivotal moment. On the morning of Georgia's eventual win over Alabama in the national championship game, they met in an effort to finalize a 12-team postseason. Instead, disagreements continued as three conferences -- the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12, members of the now-infamous "Alliance" -- pushed back against the proposal. At some point, as discussions grew heated, then-Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, frustrated and exhausted of the indecision, slowly packed his bag and began to rise from the table. "The meeting isn't over," someone told him. "It is for me," he shot back. What happened that day still lingers across college athletics. Last month, more than two years later, commissioners agreed on a new CFP structure featuring an uneven revenue distribution model that is likely to have long-term financial impacts on the industry. The revenue model -- a combined 58% of CFP cash flowing to two conferences, the SEC and Big Ten -- presents adverse budgetary impacts for the other 99 programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision and grows the gap between them and the sport's two giants. But could this have been avoided if a decision were made in 2022? |
| Missouri expected to name Memphis' Laird Veatch as next athletic director: Report | |
 | It took some time, but Missouri is near to naming its new athletic director. Missouri is working toward naming Memphis' Laird Veatch as its next athletic director, per a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN. The news comes 63 days -- exactly nine weeks -- after former MU AD Desireé Reed-Francois left the university for the same role at Arizona. Veatch has two previous stints with Missouri, having spent five years with the university between 1997-2002, holding titles such as assistant AD for development; director of athletics development for major giving; and director of annual giving and development coordinator. He also worked for Learfield Sports, a sports marketing company, managing Mizzou Sports properties between 2003-10. While at Missouri, Veatch oversaw fundraising activities with a special focus on facility upgrades, managed the Tigers Scholarship fund and directed a $102 million capital fundraising campaign. His background in fundraising is likely what gave him a leg up as Missouri looked for a new AD. On Thursday on the campus of Missouri S&T after the approval of a $250 million renovation to Memorial Stadium's north concourse, Bob Blitz, a board of curator and member of the 11-person search committee tasked with hiring Missouri's next AD, said that the two "top priorities" were fundraising and championship ambitions. |
| Florida State vs ACC: Judge tells FSU to fix lawsuit, pursue mediation | |
 | Florida State's legal team returned to court Monday morning for the second meeting of the university's lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference. After over four hours of debate, the Seminoles' case against the league hit a hurdle. On Monday, Leon County (Florida) Circuit Judge John C. Cooper ordered FSU to amend its complaint to give more clarity on the issue of personal jurisdiction, which centers around whether FSU can bring forward a case against the ACC in Florida. Judge Cooper said FSU wasn't clear in its complaint, ruling for a motion to dismiss with leave to amend the complaint, something he said was common in civil litigation. The judge said he will extend a motion to stay until he is able to rule on a motion to dismiss, which will not happen until FSU files its amended complaint. Cooper also ordered both the ACC and FSU to attempt "good faith" mediation as a means of resolving the dispute. He also reminded the courtroom that this is not the end of the proceedings. FSU wants to exit the ACC without paying more than $500 million in exit fees and the cost of buying back its media rights. "The case is not over; the case will continue," Cooper said. |
| Pressure mounts on NCAA to clarify stance on transgender athletes | |
 | The NCAA is facing mounting pressure to take action on the role of transgender athletes in college sports after a small college association's recent decision to ban all trans women from women's sports. Athlete Ally, a queer-sports advocacy group, sent letters signed by hundreds of transgender-rights advocates on Tuesday to NCAA president Charlie Baker and the Board of Governors, urging the organization to continue allowing transgender athletes a place in women's sports. Current rules allow transgender athletes, including women, to compete, so long as they adhere to the guidelines stipulated by their international sport governing bodies. Earlier this month, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, made up of mostly small, private schools, voted to bar all transgender women from women's sports, regardless of whether athletes have received gender-affirming hormone treatment. But that's not the only reason the conversation has gained steam this month. Even before the NAIA acted, transgender-rights activists believed the NCAA's Board of Governors was going to hold a virtual vote on its transgender-athlete policy this week. Those same advocates now believe the vote will likely be postponed. Meanwhile, anti-transgender activists are making a similar push, calling on the NCAA to adopt restrictions similar to the NAIA's. Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a U.S. Olympic gold medalist in swimming and CEO of the advocacy organization Champion Women, started an email campaign to urge supporters to email a form letter to the Board of Governors. |
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