| Tuesday, February 2, 2021 |
| MSU commemorates Black History Month with variety of February events | |
 | In honor of Black History Month, Mississippi State is presenting a variety of free events on the Starkville campus throughout February, including a Black history exhibit in the Old Main Academic Center's Louis Burns Brock, Jay Brock and Hank Brock Gallery. Sponsored by MSU's African American Studies program and University Archives, the exhibit titled "Nothing New Under the Sun: The History of Black Students at MSU" highlights the university's Black activism and student life since Dr. Richard Holmes became the first Black student to enroll in the summer of 1965. The month-long showcase depicts the role of Black students on campus and their historical push for institutional change and acceptance. "Through images and documents from the Afro-American Plus Collection, the papers of Presidents Giles and McComas, and images contributed by the Society of African American Studies and Greek organizations, this exhibit shows the powerful history of Black student leadership on campus. In addition, it highlights recent work done by Black students to change the state flag in 2016, student participation in recent Black Lives Matter peaceful protests, and voter registration campaigns," said Jessica Perkins Smith, assistant professor for MSU Libraries. |
| MSU commemorates Black History Month with variety of February events | |
 | To honor Black History Month, Mississippi State is presenting a variety of free events on the Starkville campus throughout February. The event will include a Black history exhibit in the Old Main Academic Center's Louis Burns Brock, Jay Brock, and Hank Brock Gallery. According to MSU, the exhibit titled "Nothing New Under the Sun: The History of Black Students at MSU" highlights the university's Black activism and student life since Dr. Richard Holmes became the first Black student to enroll in the summer of 1965. The month-long showcase depicts the role of Black students on campus and their historical push for institutional change and acceptance. On Feb. 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., McCool Hall, "A Seat at the Table" conference sponsored by the Student Association is designed to equip minority students with the skills and confidence to get involved and become campus-wide leaders. Students will gain new skills while networking with other students and professionals. Beginning with a main keynote session followed by a variety of breakout sessions, students can engage in activities centered around diversity and inclusion, professional development and community engagement. |
| Coronavirus in Mississippi: 825 cases, 76 deaths reported Tuesday | |
 | The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 825 new cases of the coronavirus and 76 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday. Since the virus hit the state in March, a total of 276,531 cases and 6,132 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported. January saw the most deaths in a single month in the state, with 1,240 coronavirus-related deaths, followed by December with 983 deaths. The single-day record of 98 deaths was reported Jan. 12. On Jan. 7, the state reported a single-day record of 3,255 new cases of the coronavirus. The department reported Monday, the latest numbers available, there were 913 hospitalizations of confirmed cases, with 269 in intensive care and 152 on ventilators. Residents between the ages of 25 and 39 represent the largest portion of the infected population in the state, with 60,947 cases reported as of Monday. DeSoto County has the highest number of reported cases in the state with 18,450 followed closely by Hinds County with 17,669, Harrison County with 15,376, Rankin County with 11,761 and Jackson County with 11,546. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves: 30,000 new vaccination appointments available | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced 30,000 new appointments to get the coronavirus vaccine were available Tuesday. "Please act quickly to schedule for yourself or a loved one who qualifies!" the Republican governor tweeted. Coronavirus inoculations in Mississippi are being done at hospitals, community health centers, private clinics and at 21 state-run drive-thru sites. The appointments Reeves was tweeting about Tuesday were at the drive-thru sites. Vaccinations in Mississippi are currently available for people 65 and older, health care workers and those who are at least 16 and have health conditions that might make them more vulnerable to the virus. Appointments have been filling up quickly due to high demand. Reeves announced Friday on Twitter that 15,000 new appointments had come free, and they were all booked within two hours. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Department of Health officials were told last week by the federal government to expect a 16% increase over the next few weeks. Dobbs said they hoped to use the increases to bump up the number of vaccine doses given at its drive-thru sites. |
| Distrust, misinformation hamper COVID-19 vaccine drives for Southern healthcare workers, just like their patients | |
| Walk into any of PruittHealth's more than 90 long-term care facilities and you might spot a nurse wearing a numbered green bracelet, a badge of honor and an incentive given to health workers who accept the COVID-19 vaccine. PruittHealth CEO Neil Pruitt said it's intended to be a public display of support for the vaccine, and the number on each bracelet is entered into raffles to win prizes ranging from Apple AirPods to flat-screen TVs. The problem for Pruitt is he's not seeing enough bracelets. Of the company's 9,500 eligible employees in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas, only 27% had opted to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as January came to a close, according to PruittHealth data. For many health workers, the vaccine was a welcome shot in the arm for an industry on the frontlines of a pandemic that's claimed 441,000 lives as of Feb. 1. But as states work to increase the supply of vaccines, the rollout has also met unlikely resistance from hesitant health care workers in the South and nationwide. Health experts said the speedy delivery of the vaccines and concerns about side effects have spurred a majority of the skepticism among health workers. In the South, the politics, history and religious beliefs of the region have also played into some health workers turning down the vaccine and scientific assurances of its safety. |
| Covid-19's Effects May Linger in Your Body, Even After Asymptomatic Cases | |
 | Even people with asymptomatic Covid cases can have after-effects in their bodies, research indicates, raising questions about possible risks later in life. An estimated one-quarter to one-third of Covid infections are asymptomatic, according to recent studies. Multiple studies have shown asymptomatic patients can have irregular lung scans. A couple of small studies have found cardiac issues in student athletes, including those with asymptomatic infections. And a study looking at asymptomatic and mild cases of Covid in children found signs of possible small blood vessel damage. It's not yet clear what health consequences any of these after-effects may have, if any, doctors say. Few other viruses have been scrutinized as closely as Covid-19, so it's possible other viruses leave similar effects without causing major problems. In many cases the damage will likely resolve on its own, doctors note. But they say more research needs to be done to determine what, if anything, the long term effects might be, and whether people should seek monitoring or screening. "There is a risk of internal hits to these people that they are unaware of," says Eric J. Topol, founder and director of Scripps Research Translational Institute, a medical research facility in La Jolla, Calif. "When things happen slowly in a person, below the surface, you can end up with a chronic situation." |
| Deadline Day at Mississippi State Capitol, bills under review | |
 | It's deadline day at the State Capitol. General bills need to be passed out of committees Tuesday if they have any hope of becoming law. Those committees will review and make changes to those bills Tuesday that will advance in the legislative process. Bills are being discussed in the House and Senate and lawmakers say the biggest priority is making sure teachers get a raise. Some education advocates are also hoping legislators will pass a statewide virtual public school, similar to other states. Right now, each school district controls how students will attend classes. Other bills that could advance include criminal justice reform and a bill to improve state parks and give cities more control of them. |
| Mississippi proposes fixing problem with initiative process | |
| Mississippi could try to clear up a problem with its initiative process. The state constitution says people can petition to get issues on the ballot by collecting an equal number of signatures from each of five congressional districts. That was written during the 1990s, when Mississippi had five districts. Then, because Mississippi grew more slowly than many other states, it dropped to four congressional districts after the 2000 Census. Language dealing with the initiative process has not been updated. A proposal that's now moving forward would make the change from five districts to four, for the purpose of signature-gathering. Senate Constitution Committee Chairman Chris Johnson, a Republican from Hattiesburg, said the final proposal could be more flexible, in case Mississippi moves back up to five districts or goes down to three. Senate Concurrent Resolution 501 passed the Senate Constitution Committee on Monday, and it moves to the full Senate for more debate. If the Senate and House both agree, the proposal would go on the statewide ballot. |
| These Black residents are led by an all-Black local government. But there's still a 'race problem.' | |
| The all-Black board in charge of running Holmes County, one of the consistently poorest and blackest communities in the United States, didn't have a problem voting unanimously to remove the Confederate soldier monument outside the courthouse last July. They did, however, have a problem allocating $80,000 -- the amount contractors estimated it would cost to remove it -- within a paltry budget made up mostly of property taxes on the average $56,000 lot. The statue honors the men who fought to keep roughly 12,000 Black people in Holmes County -- nearly 70% of the county's population in 1860 -- enslaved. And it's still standing, drawing protestors Monday. Representatives from the Freedom Democratic Party, originally co-founded by civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer in 1964, Black Lives Matter Mississippi and other activists groups gathered by the statue on a 40-degree morning, the first day of Black History Month, to demand its removal. But the residents of Holmes County, named for Mississippi's first governor David Holmes and built on a plantation economy, are fed up with much more than the stone sculpture. |
| Attempts To Reverse Trump's USDA Agency Changes Would Be Difficult | |
 | President Biden has been signing executive orders to reverse Trump administration policies, but some parts of Trump's legacy won't be easy to reverse. For example, research into food and farming took a major hit during the Trump years. U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers got crossways with the Trump administration by publishing and funding objective analysis of stuff like climate change, the efficiency of food assistance programs and tax cuts that benefit mostly the richest farmers. That's according to Tom Bewick, who's with USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. When Congress wouldn't go along with cutting USDA research, the administration came up with plan b -- move two agencies -- the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, and the Economic Research Service, or ERS -- far away from Washington. Dozens of local governments aggressively courted them, much as they would a corporate headquarters. Kansas City won with support from two states, Kansas and Missouri, as well as millions of dollars in local incentives. USDA promised huge savings for taxpayers and more than 550 new high-paying jobs for Kansas City. |
| Tom Vilsack meets Agriculture panel with clear return path to USDA | |
 | Tom Vilsack will face the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday as a nominee for a job he knows well after eight years as Agriculture secretary during President Barack Obama's two terms. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., in line to become chairwoman of the committee, said she anticipates few problems for Vilsack at his nomination hearing that is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. His appearance comes after the Biden administration apparently softened resistance from some Black farm groups critical of the nominee. "People know him and trust him," Stabenow told reporters in a Jan. 28 call. "He certainly has broad, deep and wide knowledge of all aspects of agriculture and probably one of our top advocates for rural communities in the country." Stabenow and Sen. John Boozman, the Arkansas Republican in line to become ranking member, said the committee would vote on Vilsack's nomination at some point Tuesday after the hearing ends. The former Iowa governor has the support of major agriculture groups and the bipartisan backing of farm-state senators. He still is seen as a defender of the status quo among some advocacy groups for small farmers and organizations that say the Agriculture Department needs to be more of a watchdog than an ally of agribusiness. |
| Biden's USDA nominee Tom Vilsack says he will focus on climate change, racial equity and combatting the effects of the pandemic | |
 | If confirmed as U.S. agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, 70, will reprise his role in a political and economic landscape vastly different from that during his eight years in the same job during the Obama administration. In prepared remarks ahead of his Tuesday hearing before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, he alluded to those differences. "Then, a Great Recession challenged us. Today, the pandemic, racial justice and equity, and climate change must be our priorities," Vilsack wrote. Although the Iowa native is expected to enjoy a smooth confirmation process with broad bipartisan support, he has come under criticism from civil rights groups and Black farmers who say he didn't go far enough last time to eradicate long-standing racial discrimination in farming and at the department. "I will ensure all programming is equitable and work to root out generations of systemic racism that disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic and Indigenous people and other People of Color," Vilsack said in his remarks. Andrew Novakovic, a professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Cornell University, says Vilsack's prepared remarks are "extensions of Tom Vilsack, Version One." "Although things are really different today, the statement reflects a lot of things that were valuable to him before," Novakovic says. "Part of it is talking about prosperity to farmers, re-energizing opportunities for farmers." |
| House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy seeks shift from party's civil war | |
 | House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is desperately looking to change the subject from his own party's civil war to a common opponent: President Biden. McCarthy and other GOP lawmakers will travel to Houston on Tuesday to rail against what they call Biden's "job-killing" energy policies. The GOP leader previously spent several days accusing Biden of dragging his feet in reopening schools and knocking his administration's plan to give COVID-19 vaccinations to Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The efforts are a reprieve for McCarthy, who is otherwise the touchstone of an internecine battle ripping apart his party as it charts a path forward after former President Trump's defeat and departure from Washington. Yet the attacks on Biden have done little to take the pressure off McCarthy, who faces a series of challenges ranging from committee assignments for controversial first-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to the leadership role of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) after she voted to impeach Trump. Democrats are threatening to hold a floor vote later this week to boot Greene from the Education and Budget committees unless McCarthy removes her first. |
| Sen. Mitch McConnell blasts GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for her 'loony lies' | |
| Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a sharp rebuke of Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Monday, calling her views a "cancer for the Republican Party" in a statement reported by The Hill. "Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country," the Kentucky Republican said in the statement. "Somebody who's suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.'s airplane is not living in reality. "This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party." Taylor Greene has been a controversial figure since she launched her congressional campaign in large part because of her connections to the QAnon movement, which falsely claims some top Democrats and numerous celebrities are part of a cannibalistic child sex trafficking ring. Since the Georgia Republican representative took office in January, she has drawn more attention for unearthed social media "likes," comments and videos supporting violence against Democratic lawmakers, suggesting certain school shootings were faked and spreading conspiracy theories about Jewish people. |
| A chasm opens in COVID-19 relief talks. Can President Biden and Republicans close the trillion-dollar gap? | |
 | President Joe Biden has been unapologetic in his argument that the nation, reeling from twin health and economic crises, is in need of a $1.9 trillion economic boost. Senate Republicans, no longer in power but still a formidable force in a chamber split 50-50 between parties, have balked at the proposal's price tag. A group of 10 senators offered a competing proposal – with about two-thirds less funding than Biden called for. Less than two weeks after Biden took office, his call for unity faces its first major test as he presses Congress to pass another economic relief package aimed at helping Americans hurting from the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden and the group of 10 Senate Republicans huddled at the White House on Monday to discuss the financial aid package in what press secretary Jen Psaki called "an exchange of ideas." Following the two-hour meeting, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters it was a "frank and very useful discussion" with the president and vice president. She also tempered expectations. "I wouldn't say that we came together on a package tonight. No one expected that in a two-hour meeting," she said. They would keep negotiating, she said. |
| APLU Statement on Senate Republican Proposal for Smaller Pandemic Relief Package | |
| Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson today released the following statement regarding a proposal from 10 Senate Republicans for a smaller Covid-19 relief package. "While we appreciate the effort to develop a bipartisan pandemic relief package, the framework from 10 Senate Republicans falls severely short of what's needed. The proposal completely ignores the massive financial hit that colleges and universities are facing and the impact to their critical mission. Just last week, APLU joined with fellow higher education leaders in calling on Congress to build on previous pandemic relief aid it approved and provide an additional $97 billion. The need for additional relief funding is critical. Between the loss of revenue and increased expenses to keep campuses safe, the 199 U.S. public research universities that are part of APLU's membership collectively experienced a $20.8 billion financial hit in the spring, summer, and fall semesters. ... Our nation's public research universities and the higher education sector overall are critical to the long-term economic recovery and growth of the nation. When these institutions and their students thrive, the nation thrives. Congress should move forward with a pandemic relief package that includes critical relief for colleges and universities." |
| Trump pollster's campaign autopsy paints damning picture of defeat | |
 | Former President Donald Trump has blamed the election results on unfounded claims of fraud and malfeasance. But at the top levels of his campaign, a detailed autopsy report that circulated among his political aides paints a far different -- and more critical -- portrait of what led to his defeat. The post-mortem, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, says the former president suffered from voter perception that he wasn't honest or trustworthy and that he was crushed by disapproval of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. And while Trump spread baseless accusations of ballot-stuffing in heavily Black cities, the report notes that he was done in by hemorrhaging support from white voters. The 27-page report, which was written by Trump chief pollster Tony Fabrizio, shows how Trump advisers were privately reckoning with his loss even as the former president and many of his supporters engaged in a conspiracy theory-fueled effort to overturn the election. The report zeroes in on an array of demographics where Trump suffered decisive reversals in 2020, including among white seniors, the same group that helped to propel him to the White House. Suburbanites -- who bolted from Trump after 2016 -- also played a major role. The report says that the former president suffered a “double-digit erosion” with “White College educated voters across the board.” |
| New generation is helping to revive Black-owned farms | |
| For generations, Black-owned farms have struggled, and they've all but disappeared in many parts of the country. Julius Tillery, a fifth-generation cotton farmer, is trying to turn that around. "You can call me the Puff Daddy of cotton," Tillery said. "People like to call me that." Tillery works with his family on Tillery Farms in Northampton County, North Carolina. He has witnessed Black farms like theirs disappear, he said, but he has also seen signs of revitalization from Black millennials, like himself. Tillery said young folks were coming back home. It was time for him to get his hands dirty. "So I looked at what my great-grandfather was able to do and grandfather and even my father, utilizing cotton and keeping our family farm going," Tillery said. "I wanted to make sure that we changed the narrative so people can see pride ... and ownership around cotton." So, the 34-year-old Tillery founded Black Cotton --- selling a small patch of cotton from the farm as wreaths, bouquets and other home decor items. He spends a lot of time packing and shipping boxes for the online business. |
| UM COVID-19 cases continue to rise | |
 | The University of Mississippi reported a total of 40 active COVID-19 cases on Monday, Feb. 1. There are 31 active cases among students, with the remaining nine among staff, according to the UM coronavirus dashboard. Since last week, the university's total number of COVID-19 active cases has increased by 3.5%. There are four students in university isolation housing, and four are in quarantine on campus. However, while the university is experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases, Mississippi as a whole has decreased its total cases by approximately 19% over the previous two weeks. Over the past week, there have been an average of 1,504 cases per day in the state, according to data from The New York Times. As the coronavirus vaccine is being distributed throughout the country, at least 7.2% of Mississippians have received the first round of the vaccine. Less than one percent of the population has received the second dose. |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College nursing students gain firsthand experience administering COVID-19 vaccine | |
 | Northeast Mississippi Community College students are gaining firsthand experience administering COVID-19 vaccinations at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Booneville. Freshman nursing students Jake Garrett and Jeanifer Kilpatrick are among those who have administered vaccines so far. "It's definitely an opportunity we normally would not get," Garrett said. "This is probably one of the more simple things that we'll be doing in our career, but I feel like this repetitive muscle memory, this is what we need." Although the pandemic is happening on a global scale, Garrett said it feels good to assist people, especially the elderly, in his own community. "Three out of several (vaccines) I gave yesterday were to people that I knew because it's such a small town," Garrett said. "It's nice knowing that they have confidence in the vaccine to be able to get it." "And confidence in us to give it to them," Kilpatrick added with a laugh. Both students started nursing school in August, five months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Administering COVID-19 vaccines reinforces the reason they enrolled in the nursing program in the first place -- to gain the knowledge and experience needed to help keep people healthy. |
| Pattie Van Atter joins Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society headquarters staff | |
| Pattie Van Atter has joined Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society's (PTK) Headquarters staff in Jackson as the Chapter Development and Outreach Coordinator. In her new role on PTK's Student Engagement Team, Van Atter will focus on targeted, data-driven outreach to PTK chapters. Van Atter is a Phi Theta Kappa member from Rowan College of South Jersey's Gloucester Campus, where she received an associate degree in education. She was a chapter officer, was named to the All-New Jersey Academic Team, won her college's President's Medallion for Service and Leadership, and was named a Distinguished Alumna. She helped charter the award-winning Middle States Regional Alumni Association and served as president in 2003-2004. Van Atter attended Temple University in Pennsylvania on a Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarship and completed a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood, Special Education, and Elementary Education. |
| U. of Missouri research can help parents assist their kids with online school | |
 | Young children can't as easily switch from an online class session to written assignments as their older siblings can, new research from the University of Missouri suggests. It has implications for how parents assist their children with learning online. The research into working memory was conducted by Nelson Cowan, Curator's Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences. Working memory is the small amount of information you can hold in your mind and is even more limited in young children, Cowan said. "There's a severe limit to what we can hold in mind and it improves in the elementary years," Cowan said. Not exactly the same as short-term memory, which Cowan said can be used to remember where one's car is parked, working memory can apply to remembering what you said at the start of a sentence in order to finish it. Because working memory isn't as developed in a young child's brain, parents are needed to help their children to stay organized and provide structure for their child's online education. It could include something like a written plan for the child's day. |
| Federal judge upholds legality of foreign student work program, but the case is not over | |
 | A U.S. District Court judge issued an opinion last week upholding a program important to many in higher education that allows international students to stay and work in the U.S. after they graduate in a field related to their area of study. Nearly a quarter million people participate in the optional practical training program, or OPT, which allows international students to work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduating while staying on their student visas. The regular OPT program provides for one year of postgraduation work authorization, while the STEM OPT extension enables graduates who earned degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields to stay for an additional two years. Reggie B. Walton, U.S. district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled that the Department of Homeland Security did not overstep its authority in expanding the OPT program, contrary to the arguments made by the plaintiffs, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech). WashTech, a labor union, has already filed to appeal the ruling, ensuring litigation in the long-running case will continue. WashTech has filed two separate lawsuits challenging the OPT program, the first of which dates to 2014. |
| Google CEO discusses Black talent pipeline concerns with HBCU leaders | |
 | Leaders of five historically Black colleges and universities met with Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday to discuss the company's relationship with the schools in the wake of anti-HBCU-graduate discrimination allegations made by a former Google employee. On December 21, ex-Google diversity recruiter April Curley tweeted that she had been fired by the company in September after repeatedly raising concerns about how the tech chain evaluates black college graduates. In recent interviews with CNN Business, Curley maintains that her former Google superiors believed HBCU computer science grads don't have the technical skills needed for successful Google tech careers and that they regularly resisted her attempts to get more Black college tech majors hired, although she says that's what the company hired her for. Google has declined to comment on Curley's specific workplace allegations, which came less than a month after the company parted ways with prominent artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru. Both Curley and Gebru are Black women. The national diversity and inclusion organization HBCU 20x20 abruptly canceled its partnership with Google in response to the controversy, which caught the attention of HBCU administrators whose schools have tech exchange partnerships with Google. |
| Academic medical institutions address issues of vaccine hesitancy through research and outreach | |
| Donald Alcendor, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Meharry Medical College, a historically Black medical school in Nashville, Tenn., is studying an antiviral treatment for COVID-19 in his lab. But his work isn't confined to the lab: he's also community liaison for Meharry's Novavax vaccine trial. In that role he goes out to businesses, barbershops and beauty salons frequented by African Americans and Latinos to talk to community members about the COVID-19 vaccines and answer their questions in what he describes as a "transparent and culturally competent way." "There's a fair amount of vaccine hesitancy out there, particularly among brown and Black communities," said Alcendor, who is Black. "They want their questions answered, and they want their questions answered by someone who looks like them, if you know what I mean. The idea is Meharry Medical College is an important place to do just that -- to answer their questions and to provide them with a vaccine or be part of a vaccine trial." Academic medical institutions and public health schools, including minority-serving institutions like Meharry, are taking leading roles in confronting vaccine hesitancy in minority communities. African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are far more likely to contract COVID-19 and to die if they do compared to their white counterparts. |
| President Biden faces pressure to oust federal student loan chief appointed by Betsy DeVos | |
| Progressives are ramping up pressure on the Biden administration to replace the federal official who oversees the nation's $1.5 trillion student loan portfolio, calling for new leadership to carry out many of the sweeping student debt policy changes they're seeking. The current head of the Education Department's Office of Federal Student Aid, Mark A. Brown, was appointed by former Secretary Betsy DeVos for a three-year term that expires in March 2022 with the option for an additional extension. But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as consumer and labor groups, are urging the Biden administration to move far more quickly to install a new person in that position, which is responsible for managing the federal government's vast student lending operations. "Whether it was incompetence, malice, or a mix of both, the Department of Education's student loan bank under Betsy DeVos was a disaster and oversaw the illegal garnishment of the wages of thousands of struggling borrowers during the pandemic," Warren said. "Students deserve leadership at this office who will follow the law and make this program work for students." |
| Students Continue to Weigh College Costs vs. Career Goals | |
| Student retention is critical to postsecondary schools' ability to educate students and remain financially viable. It was a crucial issue before the coronavirus pandemic, and it became even more so in the fall of 2020, given declining enrollment rates at many colleges nationally. Understanding why students drop out is a key to identifying the policies and programming that will help students persist and complete their degrees. A recent study conducted by Lumina Foundation and Gallup explored the barriers to completion for U.S. adults who obtained some college education but did not complete their degrees. These adults cited the cost (25%), emotional stress (18%) and balancing family responsibilities (13%) as their top reasons for not completing their degree. In addition to cost, stress and childcare, there are several other common reasons for "stopping out" of school, that is, withdrawing from classes, including getting a new job (11%), health reasons (10%) and lack of connection between the degree and personal goals (10%). Very few mentioned the difficulty of getting a degree (5%) or lack of quality of the education received so far (3%). |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State preparing for balanced Arkansas offensive attack | |
 | Iowa State could have been 0-20 for all Ben Howland cared. Nobody was happier to finally be on the winning side after enduring a three-game skid than Howland, regardless of how many stipulations were attached to MSU's 95-56 victory over Iowa State Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum. Of which, there were plenty. Howland's top two players only needed to log 26 minutes apiece. An already putrid Iowa State team was down two double-digit scorers. Mississippi embarrassed Iowa State so badly it was historic; MSU's 39-point victory against the Cyclones Saturday was the program's largest margin against a Power Five nonconference opponent (the previous record being a 28-point win against Florida State in 1951). Nevertheless, Howland and the Bulldogs aren't apologizing for dominating the matchup any time soon. "I think that was fun and we got everybody a chance to play," Howland said. "We got some guys some important minutes that contribute every day in practice that don't get to play much in the game. So it was a fun game for our team to get a resounding win and hopefully that bodes well for us moving forward." Regardless, the sweet taste of victory only lasts for so long with the latter half of a four-game Southeastern Conference road slate on the docket this week. First up, an 8 p.m. Tuesday tipoff against Arkansas (13-5, 5-4 SEC) in Fayetteville. |
| Bulldogs have owned Arkansas past 4 seasons | |
| Two SEC basketball teams have winning streaks of at least six games against the University of Arkansas. It should come as no surprise Kentucky is one of the two. The Wildcats are struggling this season, but they are the gold standard for the SEC and have won eight in a row over the Razorbacks going back to 2015. Most fans probably wouldn't guess the other team responsible for Arkansas' current second-longest losing streak in conference play. It's not any of the SEC's four nationally ranked teams: No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 18 Missouri or No. 22 Florida. The Gators are 11-1 against the Razorbacks in the last 12 meetings, but Florida's winning streak is three games. Strange as it might sound, Mississippi State brings a six-game winning streak against Arkansas into tonight's matchup in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks' last victory over Mississippi State was 82-68 in Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 9, 2016, in Ben Howland's first season coaching the Bulldogs. Howland is now 3-1 in Bud Walton Arena with Mississippi State. "It's a little shocking, because it is such a hard place to play," Howland said. "We've been very fortunate. Last season we won on a tip-in by Abdul [Ado] that was just awesome. That was a fortuitous tip. His only basket of the game." |
| Razorbacks thankful for quick turnaround | |
| Arkansas senior forward Justin Smith said after the Razorbacks' 81-77 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday that he's glad they're playing tonight. "I think it's lucky," Smith said. "Because we really wanted this game, but a quick turnaround is good for us because we can just get it out of our mind and focus on another team and focus on another game. "Playing at home, we get our home crowd and familiar surroundings. We're going to take a look at [the Oklahoma State] game and get better from it, but having a game so quickly allows us to kind of turn the page really quickly." Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman wasn't sure what to make of Smith's comment about having two days to prepare for the Bulldogs. "I'll tell you after [tonight's] game whether I like it or dislike it," Musselman said with a laugh. "I wish everybody practiced [Sunday] like they were happy we're playing on Tuesday. "That would have been great if everybody would have had incredible energy with the quick turnaround, because I think we had some guys that were tired." The Razorbacks normally are off on Sunday, but they practiced with a game tonight. This week Wednesday will be the players' day off. |
| Art Davis loved Mississippi so, he came home to die 'on home turf' | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: The last time I talked at length to the Mississippi State football legend Art Davis was in September 2014. Art was living in Oregon, but his heart was in Mississippi where his old friend, Jack Cristil, had died. We talked the morning of Jack's funeral. "Days like today, I miss Mississippi the most," Davis told me, speaking softly. "I live in Oregon and have for 13 years, but Mississippi is my home. It hurts not to be there today to celebrate Jack's life. He meant so much to Mississippi and Mississippi State." Conversely, Art Davis, who died Jan. 29 at the age of 86, meant so much to Jack Cristil. It is a matter of fact that big Arthur Davis scored the first touchdown Cristil ever called at State. This was 1953. Dudy Noble had just hired Cristil to do State's radio broadcasts for a whopping $25 per game. Noble told Cristil: "You tell that radio audience what the score is, who's got the ball, how much time is left, and you cut out of the bull." ... Years ago, Cristil talked about the man who quite possibly was his favorite Bulldog of all-time, saying Arthur Davis "was an All-American on the field and a true gentleman off it." Cristil said he had never felt closer to any individual, that Davis personified the best of Mississippi State. |
| Keystone Heights start-up is one of four finalists in NFL's pitch competition for helmet design | |
| A helmet engineered by a Keystone Heights, Florida, startup could be used in the NFL. Genesis Helmets, Inc. will be pitching a football helmet that will focus on the brain instead of the skull at the NFL's 6th Annual 1st and Future Pitch Competition. They used engineering technologies from Mississippi State University and Florida State University and studied the seven soft tissues in the brain. Co-founder Joe Condon believes their model can win the NFL's Innovation to Advance Player Health and Safety Competition and even win the NFL helmet challenge this summer. "Our collection of technologies can make our children, our teenagers, our young men and women that play collegiate ball and the incredible professional athlete entertainers that we love to watch, we believe that our technology can make the game that we all love safer for all of those people," said Condon. |
| Study: College Football Concussions Happen Mostly During Practice | |
| Concussions among college football players occur more often at practice and during preseason training than during games, according to a new study of concussion and head impact exposure frequency published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association for Neurology. The study, which spanned five football seasons and analyzed 658 players, found that 72 percent of the nearly 50 diagnosed concussions occurred during practices. About 48 percent of concussions occurred during the preseason, though the period only made up about 20 percent of the total time researchers analyzed head injury occurrence, a brief report about the study said. In a discussion section about the study, the authors wrote that "to date, NCAA policy changes have had a limited effect in reducing preseason concussion incidence." The National Collegiate Athletic Association released new guidelines in 2014 to encourage institutions to protect athletes from concussions, including a suggestion to limit full-contact football practices. Some colleges and athletic conferences instituted the changes, but they were recommendations and not enforceable NCAA rules. |
| Ole Miss erecting statue of university's first Black student-athlete Coolidge Ball | |
 | Ole Miss will erect a statue of Coolidge Ball, the university's first Black student-athlete. Ball became Ole Miss' first Black student-athlete 50 years ago. A life-size, bronze likeness will be erected in the north plaza of Ole Miss' basketball arena, The Pavilion. "I'm very grateful to be distinguished in this way," Ball said. "When I first came to campus, I never dreamed that 50 years later I would be recognized as a part of our university's history. While I'm proud of my accomplishments on the court, I'm truly honored to be viewed as someone who paved the way for future student-athletes. I'm really excited to see the statue go up and look forward to the ceremony." He is originally from Indianola, and he's a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame. |
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