Friday, March 5, 2021   
 
Mississippi State Hosting Virtual Workshop for Secondary Teachers
Mississippi State University's Institute for the Humanities is offering a workshop for secondary teachers about the effects of protests throughout history. The virtual workshop will take place on March 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature faculty presenters Stephanie Freeman and Joey Thompson, both MSU assistant professors of history. "Protest in History" will focus on the transformative role protests have had on the shaping of history, particularly United States history during the Vietnam War era, a release from MSU says. Freeman's presentation will focus on grassroots anti-nuclear activism in the U.S. during the early 1980s, while Thompson will discuss how music, especially country music, supported and protested American initiatives such as the Vietnam War. Participants will be able to receive 0.6 continuing education units. The workshop is free, but teachers are responsible for paying a $25 fee to claim CEU credits.
 
Pandemic could change the face of higher education forever
The pandemic has caused many colleges and universities to quickly shift to online courses, and most of the popular extracurricular activities that draw students have been severely curtained in order to stop the spread of the virus. There are some predictions that the pandemic may change higher education forever, and that a significant number of colleges across the country could shrink in enrollment or even close in the next 15 years. With widespread economic harm from the pandemic, it is possible more students and parents will either not be able to afford or will choose not to pay the high cost of a four-year college -- especially if the degree ends up running up tens of thousands in student loan debt without providing a secure career path. Dr. Alfred Rankins, Jr., Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education, said Mississippi public universities are at an advantage offering an excellent education at an affordable cost. Rankins said they know students and families expect a strong return on investment for the time and financial resources they devote to their education, and rightfully so. He said Mississippi Public Universities are constantly revising degree offerings to respond to the changing needs of the workforce.
 
MSU grad pens book on addiction struggles
At one of the lowest points in Darrian Cobb's young life, he turned to God in prayer. "I was struggling with some personal battles," said Cobb, 22. "And as I was praying, I heard God telling me to write a book, something that would help people dealing with addiction or bondage, something to help free other people." He started writing that book in March 2020 and finished it in October; "Battling Addiction, Bondage and Temptation" was published in January. Cobb will be signing copies of his book today at noon at Reed's GumTree Bookstore. Cobb said he struggled with nicotine addiction and anxiety problems. "Tobacco really took a toll on me, physically and spiritually," Cobb said. "I felt shame all the time. I prayed God would help me get through it." After high school, Cobb attended Mississippi State University, where he graduated in the fall of 2020 with a degree in kinesiology. He hopes to be accepted into an occupational therapy school this year.
 
Commissioner Andy Gipson Announces New Mississippi Agriculture Youth Council
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson announced the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) is launching the new Mississippi Agriculture Youth Council. The goal of this Council, comprised of youth leaders from around the state, is to provide students interested in the agriculture industry an experience that cultivates leadership and career development while developing the potential workforce for Mississippi. Any public, private or homeschool students can apply to become a member of the Agriculture Youth Council, and final applicants will be chosen by representatives at MDAC. "I am so excited to launch the first-ever Mississippi Agriculture Youth Council," said Commissioner Gipson. "As the future of agriculture in our state, we are proud to give these students the opportunity to develop leadership, advocacy and employability skills through professional development, industry exposure and experiential learning in a variety of agriculture careers. So, I want to invite any youth leaders and students interested in the agriculture industry to apply for this incredible opportunity to serve during your senior year of high school. We will choose 12-15 students as members to serve on the Council for one year."
 
North Mississippi farmers endure great challenges following winter storms
With recent below-freezing temperatures and several inches of snow, Mississippi farmers were faced with a lot of uncertainty and loss. Some losing lots of product within the week of the storm, and others not knowing how extensive the damage will be until weeks to come. "Some stuff just didn't survive the cold, the week before we had just planted 30,000 onions, so now we have to monitor it the next few weeks to see how many ends up making it through. We just don't know yet," said Sam Mclemore, owner of Beautiful Harvest farms. "We won't really know how many things planted underground survived until a couple of weeks from now." Cattle farmers were also faced with big challenges throughout the storm, just like crop farmers. Many live animals had to endure freezing temperatures they had never experienced before. "It was horrible; this is the season where many calves are starting to be born. We had to constantly bring cold babies in and warm them up with hot baths and hairdryers as well as bottle feed them," said Paula Brown, co-owner of Brown Family Dairy.
 
Mississippi fishing industry hopes to recover from decimated oyster population
On a dock at Pass Christian Harbor, a large red sign reads "FRESH GULF JERRY FORTE SEAFOOD." Sunlight shines on the blue water of the harbor. Pelicans rest on a wooden dock. Here, Jeremy Forte works as a wholesale buyer and seller, providing seafood to individuals, restaurants and other entities. His family founded the business in the 1970s, and sold oysters in the winter for many years. But, in recent years, the oyster populations on the Mississippi Coast have declined. "Now with that not being there, we have to find other things to do," Forte said. He now primarily sells crab and shrimp in the winter months and also offers shucked oyster products from other states. But those items don't bring in as much income as the Mississippi oysters once did. "The oysters were definitely a staple for this business," he said, "and we relied heavily on oysters all the years of the business." Forte is one of many members of the fishing industry whose work has been affected by the low numbers of oysters on the Mississippi Coast. But the industry is hoping to rebound -- through the restoration of the state's oyster reefs and other remedies.
 
Mississippi oyster farmer optimistic after weathering a tough year
Hurricane Zeta devastated Lesley Lee's oyster farm. "With floating cages on top of the water, when you have a high storm surge or a lot of wave action, it's really detrimental to the cages," said Lee, who raises oysters in floating cages in the Mississippi Sound. During the storm, many of the cages floated away from the farm or sank. Lee and her colleagues were able to retrieve some cages that had floated ashore, but others were permanently lost. The year 2020 came with its obstacles for Lee, a new oyster farmer who started growing the molluscs in summer 2019. In 2020, she had to deal with two major challenges: Hurricane Zeta and a COVID-19-related ban on dining at restaurants, which led to low demand for oysters. Off-bottom oyster farming -- also called oyster aquaculture -- is an emerging fishery in Mississippi. Erik Broussard, the director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Shellfish Bureau, said there are about 15 active farmers in the state. Bill Walton, director of the Auburn University Shellfish Lab, said the half shell oyster market nationally and in the South has been significantly impacted by the pandemic, because these oysters are typically eaten in restaurants.
 
1964 murders in Neshoba County discussion led to community healing
Leroy Clemons was only two years old in 1964 when three civil rights workers were murdered outside of his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. It was a secret that many people in the community knew about, but was something that was never spoken about. "I can recall my parents never, ever bringing this up," Clemons said. "I was never in a conversation where anyone ever spoke about it." Clemons, Mayor pro-tem of Philadelphia and president of The Philadelphia Coalition, was part of a panel discussion last week hosted by the DeSoto County Museum and DeSoto Arts Council, along with James E. Prince III, publisher of The Neshoba Democrat and Madison County Journal and co-founder of the Philadelphia Coalition. The two spoke about their efforts to heal the racial divide in Philadelphia and to get closure on the 1964 murders. Prince said the Philadelphia Coalition's efforts have been successful because of the relationships that have been built between neighbors. "There is hope for a community when you get to know one another," Prince said. "We all found out stuff about each other. We all have struggles. And when you get to know the other person's struggles and can appreciate them, that's where you make progress. We would highly encourage that because that's how we all crossed the big hurdle."
 
Mississippians 50 and older are now eligible to get vaccinated
Gov. Tate Reeves announced in a Thursday morning tweet that Mississippians aged 50 and older are now eligible for vaccination. Monday, vaccination eligibility was extended to public safety officials, child care providers and pre-K through 12th grade teachers and staff. The Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine, made available this week, was available at Madison and Lauderdale county vaccination sites Wednesday, and will be available at Lowndes and Jones County sites Friday. Vaccine sites and information to make appointments can be located on the Mississippi State Department of Health's website msdh.ms.gov. Others already eligible for vaccination: Adults aged 65 and older. People 16 to 64 years old with a chronic health condition. Long-term care facility residents and staff. Health care workers, paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
 
Mississippi State Department of Health reports 591 new COVID-19 cases, 19 deaths
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) on Friday reported 591 additional cases of COVID-19 and 19 deaths. Lafayette and Lee counties in Northeast Mississippi each reported one additional death. The statewide total number of cases since March 11, 2020 is now 296,745 with a death toll of 6,783. As of this week, around 278,162 people are presumed recovered from the virus. The seven-day moving average for new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi is 18 per 100,000 people, as of March 3. In Mississippi's 1st Congressional District, the seven-day moving average is 13 per 100,000 people. MSDH also reported 52 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. All counties in the Daily Journal's coverage area reported new cases: Alcorn (3), Benton (1), Calhoun (1), Chickasaw (3), Clay (1), Itawamba (3), Lafayette (14), Lee (8), Marshall (7), Monroe (1), Oktibbeha (5), Pontotoc (3), Prentiss (1), Tippah (5), Tishomingo (1) and Union (2).
 
Some new seating available at Coast casinos but not much change otherwise
Nothing is really changing. That's the message that casinos on the coast want to stress after the Mississippi Gaming Commission released its updated COVID-19 guidelines on Thursday. Casinos and their patrons waited this week to see what the gaming commission would do after Gov. Reeves lifted mask mandates and restrictions on businesses. While the new guidelines are pretty close to the ones that have been in place for months, they do allow casinos to put more playing opportunities in with additional seating at games. "Bottom line is, nothing's changed," said Keith Crosby, general manager at the Palace Casino Resort. "That is the way we're approaching it. We have added a few seats here and there where we can, where it just works. We've opened a couple more slot machines where it works. We've opened a couple more slot machines where we could. But not everything is open and we're not going to fill all the slots where we could compromise social distancing." Treasure Bay Casino and Resort began putting out chairs that hadn't seen the casino floor in months as soon as the clock hit 5 p.m. Thursday, which is when the gaming commission's latest order went into effect. The mask requirement still remains in effect at all casino properties.
 
No legislative solution to candidate qualifying quandary as litigation mounts
A Senate committee chairman has blocked further consideration of legislation to clarify an ambiguous residency requirement even as litigation on the issue mounts across the state. There are now at least four lawsuits in front of three different judges contesting the issue of just what exactly is required by a 2019 law that imposed a two-year residency requirement for local elections. Litigation over candidate eligibility is ongoing. The first lawsuit was filed in D'Iberville, as previously reported by the Daily Journal. There is also a lawsuit in Pass Christian and two in Hattiesburg. At the same time, legislation intended to dispel legal uncertainty has died in the Senate, with no apparent path to revive it before the session's end. House Bill 195, as amended, would have clarified current statute to require that candidates seeking election to a board of aldermen or city council need to have been residents of the city in question for two years prior to the election but do not need to have been residents of the ward they may be seeking to represent for two years. Legislative inaction means that multiple state courts will have to decide the matter at hand -- setting up the potential for different rulings from different judges.
 
Mississippi teacher pay raise plan inches forward in Senate
The Mississippi Senate is pushing forward with a plan to increase some of the lowest teacher salaries in the United States. Senators unanimously passed a bill Thursday to give most Mississippi teachers and teachers' assistants a $1,000 pay raise during the year that begins July 1. Newer teachers would receive $1,100 in an effort to make the jobs more attractive. The proposal is in House Bill 852. Although the bill started in the House, the Senate removed all the House language and replaced that with its own plan. The bill will return to the House, which could either accept the new version or seek final negotiations with the Senate. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said he will sign any teacher pay raise bill that legislators send him this year.
 
Mississippi governor will sign bill limiting transgender athletes
Mississippi is on track to become the first state this year to enact a law banning transgender athletes from competing on girls or women's sports teams. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that he will sign a bill that the Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature has passed. It should reach his desk in the next few days. Mississippi is one of more than 20 states proposing restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year. Conservative lawmakers are responding to an executive order by Democratic President Joe Biden that bans discrimination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere. Biden signed it Jan. 20, the day he took office. Wyatt Ronan, a spokesman for the LGBTQ civil rights group Human Rights Campaign, said the Mississippi bill would be the first transgender sports ban signed into law this year. Idaho enacted a similar law in 2020 that has been blocked by a federal court. Reeves has three daughters who play sports, and he said on Twitter that Mississippi's Senate Bill 2536 would "protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities."
 
Gov. Tate Reeves to Sign Anti-Trans Athletes Bill Despite Economic Risks
Transgender teen and adult athletes in Mississippi could be forced out of sports teams that align with their gender or give up sports altogether after the Mississippi House approved Senate Bill 2536, sending it to Gov. Tate Reeves' desk. The Republican governor has already signaled that he plans to sign the bill into law. It requires all sports teams sponsored by public K-12 schools, colleges and universities to designate teams based on "biological sex." Under the law, for example, a college-age transgender man on his university's men's basketball team would have to switch to the women's basketball team or forego the sport altogether. "I will sign our bill to protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities," Gov. Tate Reeves announced in a tweet this afternoon. In a statement today, the pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign condemned lawmakers for supporting the bill, calling it the "first piece of specifically anti-transgender legislation this year to be sent to a governor's desk." In its statement denouncing the bill, the Human Rights Campaign warned that the bill could cost Mississippi in legal fees and possible economic sanctions.
 
GOP seizes on women's sports as unlikely wedge issue
Republicans are laying claim to an unlikely mantle: the party of women's sports. Eager to find a winning culture war issue, former President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders are increasingly touting themselves as champions of women in sports by pushing back against President Joe Biden's efforts to expand transgender rights. The effort -- which critics call transphobic and likely to backfire -- extends from the roughly 20 Republican-controlled states where legislators are advancing bills to keep transgender women from participating in interscholastic sports, to Trump himself, who told attendees this past weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida that it was "so important" to "protect women's sports." Several prominent Republican officials and potential 2024 hopefuls have already begun testing messages around women's sports. Some claim transgender women enjoy performance advantages over their cisgender teammates and competitors, and could thus cause the latter group to lose out on scholarships and collegiate opportunities. Currently, the National Collegiate Athletic Association requires transgender women to undergo 12 months of treatment to suppress testosterone before they are permitted to compete with other women.
 
Bill headed to governor gives voters say in new dumps
Madison County voters would have a say in whether any new household garbage dumps are sited in their community under a bill on its way to the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves. Mississippi's legislative leadership worked with a bipartisan, diverse coalition of lawmakers from Madison and Hinds counties to craft and pass House Bill 949. Specifically, the bill would prohibit a third landfill unless Madison County voters are given an opportunity to vote on the proposed NCL landfill in western Madison County because of its close proximity to an existing municipal landfill. On Wednesday, the Mississippi House of Representatives took the final legislative step in approval by voting 107-3 to concur with the State Senate on House Bill 949 giving voters in the affected county a chance to vote yes or no on having multiple dumps in their county. The State Senate passed the bill unanimously on Tuesday, and it will now go to the Governor for action. "I am just so grateful for the people in our community," said Sylvia Thomas of the North Livingston Homeowner's Association. "We've fought this proposed landfill for many years and were worried sick about a second landfill's impact on our neighborhood. We thank our legislative leaders for standing up for us and putting the people's interests before the interests of a big company."
 
As Jackson residents suffer during historic water crisis, state leaders keep their distance
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is one of the most powerful residents of Jackson, where about 40,000 of his neighbors -- mostly Black -- are in their third week without running water after a historic winter storm froze plant equipment and burst many water pipes. The ongoing water crisis is the result of decades of inaction from city leaders, who put off routine maintenance and meaningful infrastructure repairs as the city's tax base and revenue collections diminished. Current and former city leaders, having dealt for decades with aging and brittle pipes, say they need investment from the state and federal government. Many are placing their hope for financial support from the state with Hosemann, who lives in northeast Jackson and wields significant control of the state's purse strings. He was asked this week about whether the state should step in and help. "If you remember during Kane Ditto's administration, he did repair work on water and sewer," Hosemann responded, referring to the last white Jackson mayor who left office in 1997. "So what's happened since then? The prime mover (of solving the problem) needs to be the city itself. Those people have to come up with a reasonable plan to get their water bills out on time." With his answer, Hosemann joined a decades-long chorus of statewide elected officials who misrepresent the causes of Jackson's infrastructure problems and are reluctant to offer long-term solutions. Mississippi Today spoke with several of the state's top leaders this week about the current water crisis, and all of them echoed similar sentiments.
 
Jackson mayor pens letter to officials requesting millions in relief as water crisis unfolds
A letter from Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves outlines a request for millions of dollars in funding during the third week of the city's water crisis. In the letter, sent via email, Lumumba requests about $47 million in emergency funding from the state and federal government for a wide range of water system infrastructure projects. The letter, dated March 3, was apparently leaked to reporters by one of the city's council members, Lumumba said on Thursday. Entitled "An Urgent Request for Assistance," the letter is addressed to Reeves as well as U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, U.S. senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith and others. The email includes a separate attachment that lists water infrastructure needs in the amount of $46,783,352. Those needs include a wide range of remedies to the water treatment and delivery systems, such as water main and distribution lines, filters, valves, heavy equipment, software, and a new pump and a generator. An attachment lists 28 fixes that come from an engineer's opinion of probable cost. When asked, Public Works Director Charles Williams said at a Thursday press conference he is hopeful the funding will be considered, given the need.
 
AG adds former US Attorneys to staff
Attorney General Lynn Fitch has added two former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice attorneys to senior staff roles. Fitch announced Friday the appointment of Scott Stewart as Mississippi's second Solicitor General and William C. Lamar to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General prosecuting Medicaid fraud. "I'm pleased to add some of the country's top legal talent, Scott Stewart and Chad Lamar, to the team of highly skilled attorneys and professionals we have assembled at the Mississippi Attorney General's Office," Fitch said. "Mississippi will be well-served by these well-respected and experienced attorneys who will enhance our ability to protect, defend, and improve the lives of every Mississippian." As Solicitor General, Stewart will be the state's lead advocate for appellate litigation and will be a key part of the Attorney General's team for crafting strategy for significant cases. As Special Assistant Attorney General, Chad Lamar will prosecute Medicaid fraud with the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
 
Senate in for another long night, and day, on pandemic relief
The Senate planned to begin voting on amendments to a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package Friday after clerks pull an all-nighter reading the text of the 628-page measure aloud on the floor. The insistence of a reading by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., ensured a slow start to deliberations on a mammoth coronavirus aid package that Republicans appeared to uniformly oppose. "So often we rush these massive bills that are hundreds of thousands of pages long," Johnson said Thursday. "How can you craft effective amendments on a bill that you haven't even seen or haven't been given time to read?" The "vote-a-rama" on amendments was likely to begin around midday Friday, senators were told Thursday night. That estimate assumes senators would forgo some of the 20 hours allotted for general debate under the rules of budget reconciliation, the process used to avoid a Republican filibuster. But signs emerged late Thursday that Republicans might be willing to move more expeditiously once the amendment process begins. "Once we get our top 40 amendments in ... then you'll see diminishing returns set in and probably some movement towards concluding it," Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., told reporters.
 
U.S. Economy Added 379,000 Jobs in February
Hiring accelerated sharply in February as restaurants and other hospitality businesses reopened, adding 379,000 to U.S. payrolls and fueling renewed growth as the coronavirus pandemic eases. U.S. employers added jobs for the second straight month in February, the Labor Department said Friday, in what marks a sharp pickup from earlier this winter. The unemployment rate, determined by a separate survey, ticked down to 6.2% last month. The jobless rate is well down from a 14.8% peak in April 2020, but remains above pre-pandemic levels, when unemployment was near 50-year lows. The rate may also understate the degree of job loss a year into the pandemic, many economists say, because millions of American, particularly women, have dropped out of the labor force. In February most of the job gains occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, which includes restaurants, adding 355,000 jobs. There were smaller gains in temporary help services, healthcare, retail and manufacturing. While hiring is showing signs of accelerating, the U.S. still had 9.5 million fewer jobs last month compared with a year earlier -- just before the coronavirus took hold in the U.S.
 
Alcorn State to inaugurate first female president
Dr. Felecia M. Nave will become the first woman and 20th president of her alma mater, Alcorn State University, on April 16, 2021. Dr. Nave is a second-generation Alcornite and has spent 18-plus years in higher education. She looks to use her ties to the school and her experience, to strengthen programs and establish new initiatives to drive the university forward. "I am Alcorn, and I hope the students and the university community will see me as a daily reminder of what an Alcorn education can do," said Dr. Nave. The theme of Nave's commencement will be "Dare to Lead," and focus on the fulfillment of ambitious dreams. The inauguration will also highlight pioneers in the community. The inauguration and other events will take place on all three campus sites and live-streamed.
 
Alcorn State University receives grant for tobacco-free policy
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation awarded Alcorn State university with a $10,000 grant to begin Tier 2 of the university's efforts to ban the use of tobacco products on campus. The grant is designed to facilitate the development, implementation, and maintenance of a smoke-free campus. The total funding is $50,000 and is provided in three tiers. "Under Tier 2, Alcorn will develop implementation, enforcement, and evaluation plans and will develop a communications plan designed to disseminate information and share the proponents and value of the adopted smoke-free polity to students, faculty, staff, and the campus community," said Dr. Wanda Fleming, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources at Alcorn. Fleming said that the funds will be used to provide education to the campus community on how to successfully stop the use of tobacco on campus. Alcorn received $10,000 under Tier 1 in 2020 for a comprehensive tobacco-free policy aligned with the model policy for a tobacco-free college/university, as published by the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation (ANRF).
 
In Cleveland, parents fear the cost of losing pre-K programs
When it became clear that 384 students unenrolled from the public schools in Cleveland and weren't coming back, the already underfunded district was left with a prospective $1.7 million budget shortfall. Superintendent Otha Belcher said in a January community meeting that to cover the shortfall, he first considered not filling vacancies in the central office. Then he did the same for the maintenance department, the transportation department and teacher vacancies at the individual schools. "We asked everybody to give up something," Belcher said. It still wasn't enough. Now, the district's pre-kindergarten program is likely to be cut from seven classes at four different schools to four classes at two different schools. At maximum capacity, it will be able to serve 80 children, with 20 4-year-olds per class. In an urban setting where early learning options are plentiful, losing three pre-kindergarten classes might not be significant. But in rural areas where educational outcomes already suffer and a strong public school system can make or break a town's viability, parents feel the loss of even three pre-K classes is immense. Public schools across Mississippi are experiencing similar trends.
 
Three years after receiving a failing grade for race equity, Auburn struggles to make change
Fifty-seven years have passed since Harold Franklin walked across Auburn's campus as its first Black student. On that day, surrounded by a personal detail of federal and University guards, Franklin was escorted to Magnolia Hall, where an entire wing had been emptied out for him to live in. He then made his way to the library, where he registered as an Auburn student and received his books. Over the subsequent years, Auburn began to admit an increasing number of students of color, aiming to make the changes necessary to desegregate not only in definition but in culture. 2007 marked the year with the highest percentage of Black students at Auburn since 2000, with 2,096 students making up 8.7% of the student population, according to the Office of Institutional Research. Since 2007, the number of Black students and the percentage of the population that they make up has steadily fallen. In 2020, the most recent data on record, 1,624 Black students made up 5.28% of the student population. For comparison, in 2020, there were 4,145 Black students currently enrolled at the University of Alabama, making up 10.95% of its student population. In the same year, there were 3,321 Black students currently enrolled at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, making up 23.9% of its undergraduate population.
 
Arkansas universities keep mask rules
Spring semester covid-19 protocols are expected to continue mostly unchanged at several large public universities in the state, officials said Thursday. "We're still maintaining a masking mandate on campus, and we'll do so throughout the spring semester. So that's a given," University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Chancellor Joe Steinmetz said in an online campus chat. Active cases of covid-19 at public school districts inched upwards this week while college cases dipped, according to a Thursday report from the state Department of Health. The department's twice-weekly report showed public school district active infections increased by 3% since Monday, rising to a total of 461. The latest count is well below the year's peak, when more than 3,400 active cases in public school districts were tallied in mid-January. College counts of active covid-19 infections fell to 172 compared with Monday's count of 179. In statements to the Democrat-Gazette, other large universities have described plans to stick with their protocols even though Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Feb. 26 shifted several covid-19 safety directives to guidelines. For UA-Fayetteville sports venues, fan attendance restrictions could possibly be loosened, the university's athletic director, Hunter Yurachek, said last week. Yurachek, in a statement, said he would work with the state Health Department on any changes to the current cap of 4,200 fans at home baseball games, less than half of normal capacity.
 
Georgia universities preparing for full operations this fall
Several public universities in Georgia are discussing plans for a full return to classes and campus living for the fall semester, anticipating their campuses will be safer for students and employees because of expanded availability to the COVID-19 vaccine. "(The availability) should allow us to resume normal operations in the Fall Semester, including a return to full in-person instruction, full capacity in our residence halls and dining facilities, and regular operations for other campus services," University of Georgia officials said in a message Wednesday to students, employees and faculty. "All research and public service operations are also expected to resume regular activities no later than Fall 2021." Georgia State University President Mark Becker wrote Wednesday it plans to have "a full complement of in-person classes" and "a fully populated residential community and campuses that provide the usual student services, activities, events and recreational opportunities." Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera told parents the school is preparing for "full operations and a complete residential experience for our students this fall."
 
U. of Tennessee identifies its 10th COVID-19 cluster of the semester
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has identified its tenth COVID-19 cluster this semester. The cluster is located in the Sigma Kappa sorority house and includes two COVID-19 cases and 32 close contacts. The house is considered a cluster because of its living arrangements, which include many shared living spaces, UT spokesperson Owen Driskill said. Greek housing is more likely to be identified as a cluster because of the way the houses are set up, with many shared living spaces, UT administrators have said. Of the 10 clusters identified this semester, eight of them have been in sorority houses. The other two clusters came from off-campus gatherings. Greek housing is set up similar to private homes, with shared kitchen, dining and living areas, as well as smaller, shared bathrooms. That means that when one resident of the house tests positive, everyone else in the house is considered a close contact and must isolate, Dr. Spencer Gregg, director of the Student Health Center, has said. "Contact tracing has been completed, and the cooperation of the students is greatly appreciated," Driskill said.
 
U. of Missouri buildings set to be demolished in year to 15 months
The University of Missouri will demolish eight buildings and close a ninth within the next year or so in a move expected to save the university $2.5 million annually in operating costs and nearly $94 million in repairs and maintenance. MU officials are calling it the Space Reduction and Strategic Relocation Plan. Set to be demolished are Parker Hall, Noyes Hall, Read Hall, Loeb Hall, London Hall, Neff Annex, the Columbia Professional Building and the Old Student Health Building. Mizzou North, on Business Loop 70, will be vacated. A buyer is being sought. "Through this plan, we are eliminating space costs that allow more funds to be reinvested back into our research and educational missions," said Gary Ward, vice chancellor for operations, in a news release. The Mizzou North sale will eliminate the largest amount of deferred maintenance among the projects, nearly $55 million. The building demolitions come after the opening of some new ones, including the 47,000-square-foot, $24 million Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Music Center a year ago. There also is the new Center for Missouri Studies and State Historical Society of Missouri. The buildings set to be demolished will come down in the next year to 15 months, said spokesman Christian Basi. They won't be demolished all at once, and the schedule will depend on several factors, including weather.
 
President Marjorie Hass to depart Rhodes College for national leadership role in higher ed
After four years at Rhodes College, Marjorie Hass will depart her presidency in mid-August, the school announced. She will become the president of the Council of Independent Colleges, based in Washington, D.C. "Serving as president of Rhodes College has been an incredible honor," Hass said in a statement. "Rhodes is an amazing college in an incredible city. I am inspired by the curiosity of our students and the work they do to create meaningful change on campus and in the community. Our world-class faculty and staff work tirelessly to curate a truly transformative learning environment. Rhodes is well-positioned to face the challenges ahead." Hass announced her presidency at Rhodes College in December of 2016, finished her previous role as the president of Austin College, near Dallas, in June 2017 and began at Rhodes College in July 2017, following former president Bill Troutt. As the college's 20th president, Hass was the college's first woman president and the first Jewish person to take the college's helm. She began her tenure with an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis, nonetheless traveling to the nation's capital to advocate for higher education and crafting two initiatives for Rhodes: a new master's in urban education, and The Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center, which fosters community partnerships focusing on urban education, the arts and social change, neighborhood and community development, and youth empowerment and justice.
 
MIT Offers Financial Lifeline to Graduate Students Seeking Escape From Toxic Advisers
One adviser expected that a graduate student would always be "on call," and "knew how to keep us close by threatening our futures." Another grad student left her program after her adviser told her she didn't "think correctly"; for a time, she found herself waiting tables instead of studying engineering. A third student's abusive adviser wrote a negative reference letter, thwarting the student's efforts to find a better fit in another program. All three students offered their testimony as part of a campaign by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate students to secure transitional funding for those trying to leave an abusive advising relationship. The campaign succeeded: L. Rafael Reif, MIT's president, recently announced a new program that students and administrators alike hope will put an end to stories like those. Under the program, which opens on March 9, students in doctoral and combined master's and doctoral programs at MIT will be guaranteed one semester of adviser-independent funding, which could come in the form of a fellowship, teaching assistantship, or research assistantship. That one-semester period is designed to give students time to secure long-term arrangements with a new adviser or lab, while ensuring they don't miss a paycheck.
 
New Study Sounds Alarm about Agriculture School Infrastructure
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Thursday released a comprehensive study that found there is a collective total of nearly $11.5 billion in needed repairs and renovations at the buildings and supporting facilities at schools of agriculture authorized to receive U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research funding. The study was conducted for APLU by Gordian, a leader in facility and construction cost data, software and expertise. The study notes that 69 percent of the buildings at these schools -- 97 land-grant universities in total -- are more than 25 years old and require urgent upgrades to remain safe and useful. Without action, the declining state of these facilities threatens to hinder critical research on food safety and security, natural resources, climate change, and other key matters. Agriculture, food, and related industries contribute $1.1 trillion to America's economy and support 22 million jobs. These contributions are made possible by the cutting-edge research and innovation taking place within the land-grant university system. Increasingly inadequate infrastructure threatens to constrain the ability of these vital institutions to continue to deliver game-change breakthroughs while training the next generation of bioeconomy workers and innovators at a time when America is working to keep up with investments made by global competitors such as China.
 
Students learning the value of 'going' to school
Angela Farmer, an assistant clinical professor in the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University, writes: Children spend much of their lives hovering between the real world and that of their imaginations. This land of pretend affords them an opportunity to create wonderful scenes and imaginary creatures and even special powers. It allows them to engage their creativity in infinite ways to alter their environment on a whim. This land of play is a wonderful and healthy world in which no one is ill and everyone is happy. In the world of pretend, one can simply change the rules to suit his or her preference. As recently as 2019, children belabored the need to rise early to leave for school, to sit through classes, to ride the bus and to perform homework upon their return. Only in their imaginations could they have dreamed that nearly an entire year would pass where these mundane behaviors of the ages would be disrupted on a grand scale. Stay home, sleep in, work on the computer, work at your own pace, these were ideas that students could never truly imagine embracing in the pre-pandemic world.


SPORTS
 
Ole Miss, MSU ADs discuss what new order means for attendance
When Governor Tate Reeves announced the lifting of capacity limitations at outdoor venues, ears of college baseball fans across the state of Mississippi instantly perked up. While most fans instantly had the thought of full stadiums in Oxford, Starkville and Hattiesburg, Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter reiterated that there will be a phased-in approach as the universities welcome more fans to campus. While neither was quite ready to give concrete numbers, Carter's counterpart at Mississippi State, John Cohen, explained that the two schools will have similar plans. "As shocking as that might sound, the athletic directors at Mississippi State & Ole Miss, and of course Southern Miss, have all worked together with this. We're just trying to do it right...It's so rare that you can say this, you could call it the Mississippi State/Ole Miss plan or the Ole Miss/Mississippi State plan," Cohen said. Both leaders used the term "phased-in" while discussing their approach and Cohen outlined what they'll be looking for as they expand attendance. "All of us want packed stadiums. The question is, how quickly can we get there? How safe can we make the student-athletes? What are the COVID numbers like in our state? All of this has to be monitored and we want to move in that direction," Cohen said.
 
Diamond Dawg Gameday: host Kent State
Entering the weekend with three straight wins, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program will begin a stretch of nine straight games at Dudy Noble Field when it hosts Kent State for a three game series starting on Friday (March 5). MSU ran its in-state winning streak to 11 games with a 20-strikeout effort from its pitching staff on Wednesday, after taking the final two games from Tulane in walkoff fashion last weekend. State has been up to the task on the mound to start 2021, sitting No. 3 nationally with 13.9 strikeouts per game and enters the weekend with a .202 batting average against. Offensively, Tanner Allen and Luke Hancock have reached base in each of State's eight games this season, with Hancock's reached base streak at nine games dating back to 2020. Allen leads the team with a .367 batting average, 10 runs scored and 11 hits. Hancock has a team-best 10 RBIs and is tied for the team lead in home runs with Kamren James at three apiece. Kent State is coming off of a weekend sweep of Tennessee Tech, as that series was moved from Tennessee to Ohio last weekend due to weather. The Golden Flashes swept a Saturday double-header and capped the series sweep with a victory on Sunday. Ben Carew leads the team with a .526 batting average and has reached base at least twice in each of the team's first five games.
 
No. 18 Mississippi State Returns Home For Bulldog Invitational
After a week on the road that saw it play three of its six games against ranked teams, No. 18 Mississippi State softball returns home on Friday to host the Bulldog Invitational (March 5-7). MSU will play Ball State at 3 p.m. CT and Alcorn State at 5 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs wrap up pool play with a 12:30 p.m. first pitch against Western Kentucky. State will then play in either the No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 seed game at 3:30 p.m. or the No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed game at 6 p.m. Saturday's bracket play games have been pushed back 30 minutes from their originally scheduled start times to accommodate Senior Day ceremonies for two members of the 2020 class. Candace Denis and Lindsey Williams will be honored before the 3:30 p.m. contest on Saturday. The tournament wraps up Sunday with the consolation game being played at 11 a.m. and the championship set for 1:30 p.m. All games featuring Mississippi State will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
 
Mississippi State women drop first SEC Tournament game, still hope for NCAA Tournament bid
The Mississippi State women's basketball team's trip to the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, was a short one. No. 9 seed Mississippi State lost to No. 8 seed LSU 72-61 on Thursday morning. The Bulldogs (10-9) were outscored 20-14 in the second and third quarters and had no answers for LSU's bench, which outscored Mississippi State's bench 34-15. This year will mark the first time since 2015 that Mississippi State will not play in the SEC Tournament championship. The Bulldogs won the 2019 title and lost to South Carolina in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. "We've just got to stay ready," Mississippi State coach Nikki McCray-Penson said. "Obviously we were disappointed. We felt like this was a game we could win. We needed to do some things right. We made some adjustments. They made some adjustments. We needed to be solid in those adjustments. We just came up short." The Bulldogs won two of their last three games in the regular season after losing five straight between Jan. 14 and Feb. 21. Before the loss, ESPN bracket analyst Charlie Creme projected Mississippi State as a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Creme said during the broadcast he feels the Bulldogs will be selected into the tournament regardless of Thursday's outcome.
 
Mississippi State falls to LSU in first game of SEC women's basketball tournament
Mississippi State has found a comfort in the confines of Bon Secours Wellness Arena in recent years. It's a place the Bulldogs have reached the Southeastern Conference tournament finals each of the past five seasons. It's the place where two years ago coach Vic Schaefer earned his first conference title with a thumping of Arkansas. Thursday, though, the Greenville, South Carolina-based arena proved a house of horrors. After being run off the floor by Missouri at Humphrey Coliseum over the weekend, MSU (10-9, 5-7 SEC) exited the SEC tournament in its first game of the week for the first time since 2015, falling to eighth-seeded LSU (9-12, 6-8 SEC) 71-62. "I mean, we just came off a loss, so of course everybody is a little emotional right now," junior guard Myah Taylor said through a hushed and somber tone. "Have to move on. Have to move on and get better." or a team that's made a sport of slogging through opening frames, the Bulldogs were locked in early. MSU shot just 33.3 percent from the floor in the opening frame, but four Tiger turnovers gave Nikki McCray-Penson's squad the lead at the end of the first quarter -- marking the first time since Jan. 28 the Bulldogs have led after the opening 10 minutes. Yet as has been the case all too often this winter, MSU failed to build off its momentum.
 
No. 23 Bulldogs Set To Begin Homestand Friday Against No. 11 Texas A&M
After a weekend on the road, the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis returns home to begin a five-match homestead this weekend, starting with No. 11 Texas A&M Friday afternoon. Match time between the Bulldogs (9-3, 0-2 SEC) and Aggies (8-2, 3-1 SEC) is slated for 3 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. State looks to keep its 16-match win streak in SEC home matches intact. MSU has not dropped an SEC home affair since the 2017 campaign. In conjunction with current COVID protocols established by the most recent Governor's Executive Order, fans may attend Friday's match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, with seating allowed in designated areas only. Continuing MSU and SEC COVID protocols, face coverings over the nose and mouth shall be required as a condition of all guest during ingress, egress, and movement throughout the stadium, as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household or when actively eating or drinking. For all COVID/attendance protocols for 2021 MSU Tennis home matches, please visit www.HailState.com/gameday. Fans can follow home men's tennis action live all season long at HailState.com/livemt.
 
Les Miles' LSU bosses ordered him to stop texting, being alone with female student workers
Several high-profile LSU board members and officials agreed in 2013 that LSU football coach Les Miles had a problem with sexually harassing young women, a newly released investigative report long hidden from the public revealed Thursday. Miles, the investigation shows, had been accused of kissing a female student twice, "unwanted touching," telling her he was attracted to her and suggesting that they go to a hotel or to his condo together. Some of the allegations explored in the document remain secret -- they are completely redacted. Miles denied kissing the student, but the investigation raised other concerns: Several LSU athletic department employees said Miles was insistent that LSU hire "attractive, blonde, fit" female students to work in recruiting, and Miles had been forbidden from having one-on-one meetings or interactions with student employees. Miles' supervisors also ordered him to stop texting, calling and messaging student employees, the investigation found. When LSU hired the law firm Taylor Porter to investigate Miles' conduct, the campus as a whole had no idea what was going on. It took eight years, a second law firm's investigation into how LSU has handled sexual harassment complaints and a lawsuit from USA Today -- which was the first to receive a copy of the investigation Thursday -- to unearth the allegations against Miles.
 
A New League's Shot at the N.C.A.A.: $100,000 Salaries for High School Players
A new basketball league backed by a sports media company is entering the intensifying debate over whether student-athletes should be paid, by starting a venture offering high school basketball players $100,000 salaries to skip college. The league, Overtime Elite, formed under the auspices of the sports media company Overtime, would compete directly with the N.C.A.A. for the nation's top high school boys by employing about 30 of them, who would circumvent the behemoth of college sports. Overtime will offer each athlete, some as young as 16, a minimum of $100,000 annually, as well as a signing bonus and a small number of shares in Overtime's larger business. The company will also provide health and disability insurance, and set aside $100,000 in college scholarship money for each player -- in case any decide not to pursue basketball professionally. The trade-off is major: The players who accept the deal will forfeit their ability to play high school or college basketball. "People have been saying things need to change, and we are the ones changing it," said Dan Porter, the chief executive of Overtime.
 
A New Study of Athletes' Hearts After Covid Shows Encouraging Results
The scary question that leagues like the NBA, NFL and MLB faced as they returned to play over the past year was how prevalent heart damage would be among players who tested positive for Covid-19. They now have an encouraging answer: It's rare. A new study on the topic in JAMA Cardiology is based on the screening of 789 professional athletes who tested positive for Covid-19 between May and October in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Hockey League, National Football League, and the men's and women's National Basketball Association. The paper shows that 0.6% of those athletes ultimately had findings suggestive of inflammatory heart disease. Five athletes were held out of competition because of their cardiac results. Three had myocarditis, which is heart inflammation, and two had pericarditis, which is swelling of the tissue that surrounds the heart. All had had moderate cases of Covid. The findings suggest that long-term heart complications in non-severe Covid cases are unlikely -- and that sports leagues are still likely to continue with cardiac screenings during the pandemic.



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