| Thursday, March 11, 2021 |
| Design plans for $12M Highway 182 project unveiled at open house | |
 | Henry Vaughn has lived near Highway 182 all his life. As a child, he said, he and his friends would sit by the highway and count the cars that drove by. By 2024, there will be a lot more than passing cars to count there if the city has its way. "It's going to look a lot different," said Vaughn, who serves as Ward 7 alderman. "Hopefully, we'll bring a lot more business to this side of town." The city unveiled preliminary design plans to revitalize the segment of the highway between Long Street and Old West Point Road at a pair of open house events Wednesday in the mayor's conference room at City Hall. Starkville has secured a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to pay for 80 percent of the estimated $12.66 million project aiming to draw economic development and increase pedestrian access along the corridor. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the project's main goal is to convert a "blighted area" to a place that ties well with the city's "downtown core." Design plans, which City Engineer Edward Kemp said were roughly 65-percent complete, must obtain MDOT and federal approval by August. From there, most above-ground infrastructure -- mostly utilities and communications -- will move underground. Spruill said starting construction in 2022 could see it complete by 2024. |
| Big Buns & More in Starkville will close Friday; Petty's to reopen in new retail development | |
| Big Buns & More, 332 Hwy. 12, will close Friday. "Being a new business, (it) can be difficult to become established," owner Julie Sims announced on social media. "They say it usually takes three years. We had only been opened for a year and a half when COVID hit. Sales dropped and have not come back up to where (we could) stay in business." Hopefully, Big Buns & More will be around in the future. Sims added she will update social media with plans to continue serving cinnamon rolls "through other means in the future." "I really enjoyed selling at festivals and meeting new people," she added. "I've truly enjoyed meeting all of the customers we've had over the last two and half years. I hope to see them around and serve them again one day soon." As of Tuesday, Billy Petty served his last barbecue plate at his eclectic carry-out restaurant. Petty opened Petty's Barbecue in 1986 but moved and has maintained shop at 103 Hwy. 12 since 1992. But this is not the last plate for Petty. He plans to reopen in the new 7,800 square-foot retail development that will be built on the corner of Jackson Street and Highway 12, the lot previously occupied by Petty's. The Dispatch previously reported a Georgia developer is building the retail space, which currently has a signed lease with Chipotle. |
| Starkville School District partners with OCH Regional Medical Center to hold vaccination clinic | |
 | Tuesday night, the Starkville School District announced to the school board that they have partnered with OCH Regional Medical Center to hold a free vaccination clinic for all school district employees. School District Superintendent Dr. Eddie Peasant says they have worked with OCH throughout the pandemic and have been planning on finding a way to help teachers and school staff members get vaccinated since before Governor Tate Reeves opened up the process to educators. Now, OCH has secured 150 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that they will administer to school staff next Friday. School employees have until this upcoming Tuesday to make an appointment. Peasant says it's just the latest step the school district has taken to make sure teachers both feel and stay safe. "Teachers, along with the healthcare workers, have been on the front lines in their own respective ways throughout this pandemic," he said. "And our teachers are in the classrooms with our students and we've worked to protect them through all of our protocols throughout the time since we've been back in school. But this is that extra layer of protection that will help them feel more comfortable in our classrooms." |
| State health leaders reflect on pandemic at one-year mark | |
 | It was mid-January 2020, and the top epidemiologist for the state of Mississippi's public health agency was alarmed by skyrocketing pneumonia cases in the Wuhan province of China linked to a novel coronavirus. Over nearly three decades working for the Mississippi State Department of Health, Dr. Paul Byers had monitored new disease outbreaks before, including H1N1, Ebola and Zika. But this time seemed different. "I think this is the big one," Byers said, showing the data to the MSDH agency chief, Dr. Thomas Dobbs. Byers would soon be proven right. The pandemic's first victim in Northeast Mississippi was recorded in Tippah County on March 27. Since then, almost 300,000 Mississippians have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 6,845 have died as a result. Those deaths have been a burden not easily set aside for those who tasked with the management of a generational event, the human cost blandly recorded by just a few numerals -- nearly 7,000 deaths in Mississippi. The toll of the last year has been "frightening," Dobbs said, but even among tragedy and frustrations, he's seen "amazing" moments of service and camaraderie. |
| High Obesity Rates In Southern States Magnify COVID-19's Threat | |
 | In January, as Mississippi health officials planned for their incoming shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, they assessed the state's most vulnerable: health care workers, of course, and elderly people in nursing homes. But among those who needed urgent protection from the coronavirus ripping across the Magnolia State were 1 million Mississippians with obesity. Obesity and weight-related illnesses have been deadly liabilities in the COVID-19 era. A report released this month by the World Obesity Federation found that increased body weight is the second-greatest predictor of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death across the globe, trailing only old age as a risk factor. As a fixture of life in much of America, especially in the American South -- home to nine of the nation's 12 heaviest states -- obesity is playing a role not only in COVID-19 outcomes but in the calculus of the vaccination rollout. Mississippi was one of the first states to add a body mass index of 30 or more (a rough gauge of obesity tied to height and weight) to the list of qualifying medical conditions for the shots. About 40% of the state's adults meet that definition, according to federal health survey data, and combined with the risk group already eligible for vaccination -- residents 65 and older -- that means fully half of Mississippi's adults are entitled to vie for a restricted allotment of shots. |
| Mississippi State Department of Health reports 679 new COVID-19 cases, 19 deaths | |
| The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) on Thursday reported 679 additional cases of COVID-19 and 19 additional deaths. No counties in Northeast Mississippi reported new deaths. The statewide total number of cases since March 11, 2020 is now 299,124 with a death toll of 6,864. As of this week, around 290,697 people are presumed recovered from the virus. The seven-day moving average for new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi is 13 per 100,000 people, as of March 9. In Mississippi's 1st Congressional District, the seven-day moving average is 9 per 100,000 people. MSDH also reported 47 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Several counties in the Daily Journal's coverage area reported new cases: Alcorn (3), Benton (3), Calhoun (1), Itawamba (3), Lafayette (9), Lee (5), Marshall (11), Oktibbeha (4), Pontotoc (3), Prentiss (5), Tippah (1), Tishomingo (1) and Union (1). |
| Mississippi governor set to sign transgender sports limit | |
 | Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is scheduled to sign a bill Thursday to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women's sports teams. Mississippi will become the first state this year to enact such a ban, after a federal court blocked a similar Idaho law last year. Mississippi's Senate Bill 2536 is set to become law July 1, although a legal challenge is possible. More than 20 states are proposing restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year. 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. Alphonso David, president of the LGBTQ civil rights group Human Rights Campaign, condemned the Mississippi bill. |
| Senate passes amended bill to kickstart outdoor conservation effort | |
 | The Senate has passed its amended version of HB 1231, a bill to create the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund or Conservation Trust Fund depending on which chamber's bill you read. As originally authored, the bill would have created a diversion from the tax on sporting goods in the state to create a $15 million fund aimed at improving outdoor recreation in Mississippi. The goal of the legislation that cleared the Senate remains the same, but the process of achieving that goal has been altered. In the Senate's version, which passed unanimously this afternoon, the tax diversion has been removed. Any funds that would be placed into the trust fund, with a cap of $20 million, would instead come from an allocation by the Legislature. The House proposal had garnered a large amount of public support from some of the state's largest outdoor groups as The Delta Council, Delta Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited Foundation for Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, The Nature Conservancy, and Wildlife Mississippi have now formed the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Coalition. With the House unlikely to concur with the Senate's changes, the two sides will meet in conference in an effort to come to terms on a common ground proposal. |
| Mississippi lawmakers allow for purchase of Sudafed, Claritin-D without prescription | |
| Mississippi lawmakers passed a bill that allows residents to buy medicines like Sudafed and Claritin-D that contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine without a prescription. If signed by Gov. Tate Reeves, the law would go into effect on January 1, 2022. Mississippi is currently one of only two states still requiring a prescription for medicines containing pseudoephedrine. The Legislature passed a bill adding the prescription requirement in 2010. One of the main factors in federal and state-level restrictions on the sale of both ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is their use for the manufacture of methamphetamine. Their use is less prevalent in that process now than they were when restrictions like this were introduced, as alternatives have become cheaper and more widely available. Though the bill would somewhat open up the sale of these substances in Mississippi, it still comes with substantive regulations. A person purchasing a medication containing these substances without a prescription has to be at least 18 years old, sign a record for each purchase and provide a copy of their Mississippi ID. The bill also prevents "pharmacy hopping" to stockpile these stimulants. |
| Mississippi legislators argue over medical marijuana rules | |
| Mississippi legislators wrangled Wednesday over regulations for medical marijuana, with the House killing one bill and the Senate reviving the issue hours later by wedging it into a separate bill. Voters in November approved Initiative 65, which authorizes a medical marijuana program. It got on the ballot through citizens' petitions. The constitutional amendment requires the state Health Department to create a program so that marijuana can be available later this year to people with "debilitating" medical conditions. The long list includes cancer, epilepsy and sickle cell anemia. The Mississippi Supreme Court is set to hear arguments April 14 in a lawsuit that seeks to block the medical marijuana program. A mayor is arguing that the state's initiative process is faulty. Senate Bill 2765, the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, was written to create an alternative medical marijuana program. The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Kevin Blackwell of Olive Branch called it a failsafe in case the Supreme Court rules that Initiative 65 was not properly on the ballot. However, some lawmakers said Blackwell's proposal was too different from what voters approved, and House members made several changes before killing the bill Wednesday. |
| Mississippi House kills medical marijuana bill. Senate tries a hail Mary | |
| After bitter debate -- and accusations of lawmakers lying and profiteering -- the state House killed a Senate bill aimed at creating a legislative alternative to the Mississippi medical marijuana program voters overwhelmingly added to the state Constitution in November. But the Senate on Wednesday evening tried a hail Mary on the marijuana bill. Lawmakers inserted the Senate measure's language into a House bill dealing with research on cannabidiol, or CBD oil, for patients with seizures or other illness, known as "Harper Grace's Law." The amended bill --- which could revive the Senate's medical marijuana proposal -- passed 29-19, with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann overruling objections that the amendment improperly altered an unrelated bill. Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, author of the medical marijuana bill, offered the amendment as a chance to "give (the House) a second bite at the apple." After multiple parliamentary challenges to Senate Bill 2765 ground business to a halt in the House on Wednesday -- the deadline for its passage by that chamber -- Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, motioned the bill to be "laid on the table." With the House later adjourning for the day, this killed the measure. Before the bill was killed, Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison, an ardent supporter and financial backer of Initiative 65, accused Lamar of running "a ruse" and said the bill was aimed at "screwing over everybody who voted for Initiative 65." |
| Mississippi House nixes change to tourism promotion | |
| The Mississippi House has killed a bill that would have created a state Department of Tourism. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and the Senate had proposed taking tourism promotion duties away from Mississippi Development Authority, the state agency that works on job creation. The tourism bill was among the proposals that died under the latest legislative deadline. Wednesday was the last day for Mississippi House and Senate to consider general bills and constitutional amendments that had already passed the other chamber. Some bills will go to the governor. Bills that were amended and passed will return to their original chamber, which could either accept the amendments or seek final negotiations. There are later deadlines for budget and revenue bills. A sampling of bills still alive includes House Bill 1135 and Senate Bill 2804 would allow home delivery of beer, wine and liquor; Senate Bill 2313 would allow college athletes to be compensated for their own name, image and likeness; House Bill 633 would require the state Department of Education to set a computer science curriculum for K-12 schools. |
| Lawmakers consider Jackson water crisis options as end of session nears | |
| Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has made his case to legislative leaders for state funding to help solve the city's water crisis. They now have about three weeks to decide whether to step up and how. A historic winter storm in mid-February froze water plant equipment and burst many pipes in the capital city, and at least 40,000 residents -- mostly Black -- were without water for nearly three weeks. Today, city officials say "most" residents have had water service restored. City leaders, who have neglected funding the system for decades, say they need major investment from the state to repair system, which is estimated to cost at least $1 billion. Lawmakers are in the final three weeks of the 2021 legislative session, which is scheduled to end on April 4 -- though leaders are suggesting they could finish business sooner. With the clock ticking, Lumumba met with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning. The city officials left Hosemann's office after about 50 minutes with no promises, but Lumumba told Thao Ta at WJTV after the meeting that he was encouraged by the conversation. Sources close to Hosemann said he will meet with every state senator representing the city of Jackson on Wednesday or Thursday to discuss the crisis and funding options. |
| Governor's signature stops dump | |
| Ridgeland officials have been fighting big corporate garbage interests over a third landfill for more than two decades and have had a lot of help from their friends lately in a huge, successful bipartisan push to stop them. A bill that gives local voters a say on whether any new household garbage dump can be located in a community was signed by Gov. Tate Reeves at City Hall Wednesday afternoon culminating years of hard-fought battles with the corporate garbage interests going back to 1998. Upon signing the bill surrounded by dozens of the bill's proponents in the city board room, Reeves congratulated local officials on working "very, very hard" to get House Bill 949 passed. "It is supposed to be hard to pass the laws that govern us so that every idea does not become law," Reeves said. Reeves added that the bill gives people a voice. The legislation was a joint effort among Ridgeland, Jackson, Canton and various state and local officials over multiple counties. |
| Mississippi faith leaders deliver letter to legislators urging greater health care access | |
 | Interfaith leaders hand-delivered letters to Mississippi legislators Wednesday urging them to look again at supporting the expansion of health care access to 300,000 Mississippians. The Mississippi legislature balked at Medicaid expansion this year in a state ranking last for health care performance, with 13% of its residents lacking health insurance. Working Together Mississippi -- an organization building a constituency for increasing health care access through Medicaid with Affordable Care Act funding -- is looking to reverse those trends. The organization is backing an option to expand health care access for Mississippians where 90% of funding would come from the federal government, and the remaining 10% required match would be funded by a self-tax paid by hospitals. They want the support for this plan from the state legislature. "When you look at what happened when Medicaid was not expanded, the amount of hurt and pain, suffering, that occurred across Mississippi is not just a health issue that's a moral issue,"Bishop Ronnie Crudup, of New Horizon Church International, said Wednesday, standing in the Capitol rotunda. |
| GOP senator applauds restaurant stimulus money after voting against relief bill | |
 | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) on Wednesday applauded a portion of the American Rescue Plan that provides relief for restaurants after he voted against the COVID-19 relief bill as a whole. Wicker in a tweet celebrated that Congress approved a $28.6 billion grant program for the restaurant and bar industry as part of the $1.9 trillion relief bill. He and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) proposed an amendment including the funding. In a tweet, the senator said that "independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief" through the passage of the American Rescue Plan. The amendment from Wicker and Sinema intends to establish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund that gives debt-free support to businesses in the industry and covers eligible expenses such as payroll, mortgage, rent and utilities. But Wicker received widespread criticism for his tweet, with people accusing him of taking credit when he was one of the 49 Republican senators who voted against the COVID-19 relief package, which passed the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Saturday. The senator told reporters when asked about his vote against the bill, "One good provision in a $1.9 trillion bill doesn't mean I have to vote for the whole thing." |
| Merrick Garland confirmed as attorney general | |
 | Merrick Garland, a longtime federal appeals court judge whose Supreme Court nomination Republicans famously refused to consider, was confirmed as President Biden's attorney general Wednesday. Senators voted 70 to 30 to approve Garland's nomination. He will take over a Justice Department that saw its reputation battered as President Donald Trump sought to use its power to benefit his friends and hurt his enemies, and that is overseeing several high-profile cases that could be politically perilous. As a judge, Garland earned a reputation as a moderate consensus builder, and Biden selected him because he was viewed as someone who could restore the Justice Department's credibility and independence from the White House on criminal matters. He enjoyed bipartisan support in his confirmation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said before the vote that Garland had a "long reputation as a straight shooter and legal expert" and that his left-leaning views were "within the legal mainstream." But the support was not unanimous. |
| U. of Mississippi to begin administering vaccines on Friday | |
 | Vaccines will be available on campus beginning Friday, March 12, to people who work on campus, according to an email from Provost Noel Wilkin. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine is available and only those who meet Mississippi State Department of Health guidelines on who can receive the vaccine will be eligible to be vaccinated on campus. On-campus vaccinations are only available to people who work at the university at this time, including student workers and those who work in Aramark locations on campus. "If you have not already received a vaccine, and are not scheduled to receive a vaccine at another location, we strongly encourage all workers on campus (faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduate student workers) who meet the criteria (from MSDH) to sign up for an appointment to get vaccinated," Wilkin said. Vaccines will be available at the Tad Smith Coliseum starting on Friday, and appointments are available on Friday and Saturday of this week and Tuesday and Thursday of next week. Administrators have encouraged university community members who are apprehensive about both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine that they are safe. Dr. Hubert Spears, a staff physician at the Employee Health Center, said the COVID-19 vaccine is the best and the safest vaccine he has ever seen. |
| 'What we're looking for is continued pressure': Auburn Students and Community for Change respond to Auburn University's diversity, equity and inclusion changes | |
 | changes "unsatisfactory," Auburn Students and Community for Change asks for campus leaders to acknowledge all of the needs addressed in the group's racial equity demands letter. Auburn Students and Community for Change posted to Instagram its correspondence with Auburn University President Jay Gogue Monday evening, following changes to the University's diversity, equity and inclusion policies announced Monday morning. "The main thing we want to amplify is that Gogue's response wasn't sufficient," Jediael Fraser, a founding member of Auburn Students and Community for Change, said in a phone interview. "In his response to us, Gogue seemed to kind of get at addressing two of our demands, but failed to even address those and then the 10 other demands were ignored all together." Members of the group sent a joint list of demands to Gogue, University chief operating officer Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, and Provost Bill Hardgrave on March 1 and received a response from Gogue last Friday, three days ahead of the University's official announcement, the emails read. |
| Masks to remain on as AU reports 13 COVID-19 cases | |
| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its first set of guidelines for fully vaccinated people on Monday, March 8, permitting some relaxing of safety protocols. Auburn University, however, said it will maintain its current indoor and outdoor mask and physical distancing guidelines, according to a campus-wide email sent Wednesday afternoon. The University reported a total of 13 COVID-19 cases on campus during the week of March 1-7, according to the latest data from its COVID-19 Resource Center. This is a slight decrease from the previous week, where the University reported 16 cases during the week of Feb. 22-28. Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Med Clinic, said in his weekly update video that the University has seen "another great week" as COVID-19 cases have continued to decrease. "The number of cases are down, the number of positive situations are down and we are 60 plus days into the semester, halfway in class days and a month since University employees returned to campus," Kam said. "We've not had any spikes, no issues, we're just kind of trucking along." |
| U. of Kentucky to hold in-person commencement ceremonies this spring | |
| Kentucky's flagship university says it will hold in-person commencement ceremonies this spring. It will be the first in-person commencements at the University of Kentucky since December 2019, President Eli Capilouto said in a statement. The school held virtual ceremonies last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Commencement ceremonies are planned at Rupp Arena over the weekend of May 14-May 16, the statement said. "In the interest of health and safety, several ceremonies will take place over the course of these three days," Capilouto said in a campus letter. All 2020 graduates are invited to participate along with May 2021 graduates, the letter said. The ceremonies will follow health and safety protocols, including face masks requirements and physical distancing. Seating will be limited, and each graduate will be allowed a maximum of four guests. |
| Major South Carolina colleges holding in-person graduations after mass gathering rules lifted | |
 | The University of South Carolina will hold in-person graduation ceremonies at Williams-Brice Stadium in May -- another sign of a return to normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. USC joins South Carolina's largest colleges in allowing families and friends to attend commencement. This comes a year after those ceremonies were postponed or canceled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Most schools are holding their ceremonies outdoors, which is seen as a way to reduce chances of the virus spreading in crowds. USC will spread out attendees in the football stadium's seats for three separate ceremonies on May 7 and May 8, the state's largest college announced. Graduates will have seats on the field. "Graduates, I'm very happy to celebrate with you all. See you at Willy B!" USC President Bob Caslen tweeted, using a nickname for Williams-Brice Stadium. The school held virtual commencements in 2020. Clemson University, the state's second-largest school, will hold 12 separate commencement ceremonies over four days at Bon Secours Wellness Arena from May 5-8 in Greenville. The decision to hold in-person graduations across South Carolina comes after Gov. Henry McMaster lifted restrictions on mass gatherings this month. He cited falling coronavirus case numbers and increased COVID-19 vaccine availability for ending the rules. |
| UF funds a racial justice initiative research project | |
| Black students at UF have the opportunity to share their stories through a research project funded by UF's Racial Justice Research Fund. In July, the university dedicated $400,000 to support research about racial justice and inclusion on campus in response to UF President Kent Fuch's June statement vowing to focus on the Black experience, racism and inequity this academic year. Proposals for grants ranging from $15,000 to $75,000 were accepted until Sep. 28, and one of the grants was awarded to the racial justice initiative, a project to elevate Black student voices by gathering stories and conducting subsequent research. Amid the Black Lives Matter protests, Fuchs promised a plethora of changes including racial inclusivity training, ending the university's ties with prison slave labor and name changes for campus buildings. Various departments and colleges responded by holding town halls, creating committees and reviewing course curriculum. Enrollment of Black or African American students at UF has stayed under 10% since 2008, and in the Fall, Black students made up 5.85% of UF's total enrollment, according to the official enrollment data. This research initiative is one of the latest efforts to improve the Black experience at UF, a predominantly white institution. |
| U. of Memphis President David Rudd will step down | |
| University of Memphis President M. David Rudd will leave his position as president of the university, he announced Wednesday. Rudd will remain president for the upcoming academic year, according to the university, departing in May 2022 before a year-long sabbatical abroad. He plans to transition to a faculty position in 2023. "As a tenured member of the faculty, I have decided to return to the important work of teaching, scientific research and clinical care I set aside 15 years ago when I transitioned to senior administration," Rudd said in his announcement. "I shared with our Trustees that I am willing to stay on as long as needed to allow for a successful national search and provide for an orderly transition in 2022." Rudd has been president of the university since May 2014, and was provost at the university the year prior. Under his leadership, the University of Memphis has increased enrollment and fundraising efforts and made strides in retention and graduation rates. U of M has been focused on developing itself as a research institution, hoping to obtaining a "Carnegie 1" status. |
| New reporting standards try to allow universities to benchmark fundraising around the world | |
 | The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is releasing an update of its Global Reporting Standards today, providing the first new edition in a dozen years of a set of guidelines and definitions used in reporting educational philanthropy. CASE releases the update at a time when it is attempting to expand its reach around the globe by providing colleges and universities in different parts of the world with data that can be used to benchmark their fundraising efforts. Since the last guidelines were published, much has changed in fundraising policy and practice. Difficult ethical questions in the field have also drawn increasing scrutiny. The standards are important for colleges and universities because they offer a common way to measure the complex gifts and pledges donors provide through a dizzying number of mechanisms. They're of use to institutions in the United States, where developments in philanthropy and the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sparked skyrocketing interest in giving through channels like donor-advised funds. But it's also noteworthy for institutions around the world, particularly those that might want to compare themselves to universities in countries that don't share tax structures or philanthropic norms. |
| Colleges continue losing undergraduate enrollment this spring, even as graduate enrollment climbs | |
| Even as colleges and universities expanded in-person instruction this spring, undergraduate enrollment continued to tumble. Enrollment across all institution types fell by 2.9 percent this term compared with last spring, according to new preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. These early numbers reveal similar declines to fall 2020, when enrollment fell by 3.3 percent year over year across the board. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has tracked the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on higher education enrollment for nearly a year. The latest data include enrollment information as of Feb. 11 from 43 percent of the institutions that normally report to the clearinghouse. The early spring enrollment data reflect 6.7 million enrolled students at public and private four-year colleges, public two-year colleges, and for-profit institutions. All the figures in this report could change as the clearinghouse collects more data this spring. Undergraduate enrollment declined by 4.5 percent this term across all institution types, compared with last spring. |
| College cost worries, online learning to remain after COVID-19 | |
 | Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic upended colleges and universities across the country, forcing students out of classrooms and online. University faculty, students and staff alike hope that the steady pace of vaccinations will bring a return to normalcy. But for a sector often resistant to change, the pandemic has speeded a reckoning with skyrocketing costs and traditional instruction methods. When college classes abruptly moved online in the spring of 2020, many college students found themselves shelling out high fees for an educational experience that did not match their expectations, and the accompanying economic recession left students struggling financially. In the future, advocates say, students may think more carefully about the cost of college and the value they get for their investment. "You spend all of this money to get a four-year degree and at the end of your four-year degree, you can't even get a job," said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. "That's why many students are looking at that option and saying, 'Wait a minute --- I may be better off pursuing a different path.'" That sentiment is not new. But the pandemic means that more students could be in the market for postsecondary options that lead to jobs without the massive investment. |
| APLU Statement on Final Passage of COVID-19 Relief Bill & Funding Projections for Universities | |
| Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson Wednesday released the following statement on final passage of the American Rescue Plan Act. APLU also released projections of how much funding public and non-profit private colleges and universities will receive from the legislation. "The public university community is very grateful for the funding the bill provides to schools and their students. This past year has brought great hardship to public universities and many of their students. Universities have faced the multiple financial hits of increased costs to keep their campuses safe, precipitous revenue losses, and alarming losses of state funding. This emergency funding is so critical to enable public universities to continue advancing their critical public service mission. We look forward to President Biden signing this measure into law and to working with his administration and Congress on future steps to strengthen public higher education." |
| House Joins Senate in Approving $40B in Aid for Higher Education | |
| The House on Wednesday sent President Biden a massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which includes an additional $40 billion in aid for the nation's colleges and universities. Biden in a statement said he will sign the bill Friday. The money for higher education, also passed by the Senate Saturday, would surpass the $14 billion colleges and universities received in last March's CARES Act and the $22.7 billion they received in December's $900 billion relief package. It is less than the $57 billion in aid colleges and universities had sought. But in a statement, American Council on Education president Ted Mitchell called the House passage of the bill "a win for students and higher education institutions hit hard by the pandemic. The nearly $40 billion included for students and campuses will be enormously helpful, but this emergency is not over for either higher education or the country as a whole. There remain many pressing problems, including students and families struggling to cope with lost jobs or reduced wages and colleges and universities battered by steep declines in revenues and soaring new expenses." As in those previous relief bills, institutions would be required to spend at least half of the money on emergency grants to help students struggling to afford living expenses and the technology for remote classes they need during the pandemic. Left for the Education Department to decide is whether undocumented and international students will be eligible for relief this time. They were barred from getting help in the previous packages. |
| What Does the Covid-19 Stimulus Bill Mean for Loan Forgiveness, Financial Aid and College Students? | |
 | Congress passed the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief legislation Wednesday, which provides about $40 billion for higher education including provisions for financial aid and student loan forgiveness. Here's what college students and parents need to know about the bill, which President Biden is expected to sign into law this week. At least 50% of the total funds each institution receives must go directly to students for emergency financial aid. When each institution receives the funding, it gets to decide which students receive aid. While some institutions might choose to give the majority of the aid to Pell Grant recipients, others might make it more broadly available. Students can use the funds from this legislation to cover any component of the cost of their attendance, as well as any emergency costs that have arisen due to the coronavirus, including tuition, food, housing, healthcare, mental healthcare and child care, says Megan Coval, the vice president of policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. How students will receive the funds will depend on the institution. |
| The stimulus bill is set to give nearly $40 billion to higher education -- here's where that money will go | |
| Wednesday afternoon the House passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, now expected to be signed by President Joe Biden by the weekend. The so-called American Rescue Plan increases the child tax credit, provides $30 billion for emergency rental assistance, funds a third stimulus payment and extends boosted unemployment benefits. The bill also includes nearly $40 billion for higher education -- $39,584,570,000 to be exact. These funds are intended to extend the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund through September 2023. The latest version of the bill suggests that schools must use at least 50% of their received funds to provide emergency need-based financial aid grants to students. Colleges are permitted to use these funds for any component of a student's cost of attendance. "This is really money focused on students, focused on their parents, focused on educators," said PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor. "This is really, President Biden says, aimed at really trying to get education rolling in this country and trying to make sure that people don't fall through the gaps as we continue to weather this pandemic." |
| What's in the huge pandemic relief bill for science? | |
| A massive $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill now on its way to President Joe Biden's desk will deliver cash to a wide array of groups---including the scientific community. The U.S. House of Representatives today approved final passage of the bill, which Biden is expected to sign on Friday, on a 220–211 party-line vote. The bill is designed primarily to address the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate the distribution of vaccines and treatments that have proved effective against the pandemic coronavirus. In addition to direct cash payments to millions of U.S. residents, the bill includes nearly $60 billion for vaccine and treatment development, manufacturing, distribution, and tracking, as well as COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. It also includes $11 billion that will go to international groups and foreign governments addressing the pandemic and other public health threats, including $3.5 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and $250 million to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the primary U.S. aid program to address HIV/AIDS. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State baseball beats Louisiana with lights out pitching | |
| The beat goes on for the Bulldogs. No. 3 Mississippi State brought an impressive record in midweek games over the last three seasons into Wednesday's game against Louisiana. The Bulldogs (10-3) improved upon it in a 4-0 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns (9-5). Mississippi State is now 22-1 in midweek matchups dating back to the 2019 season. The only loss was an inexplicable 8-4 defeat to Texas Southern last year in the Tigers' first win of the season. The Bulldogs are far removed from that upset and they showed why Wednesday. A combination of lights out pitching and timely run production were the keys to victory. Mississippi State scored two runs in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. The same combination in reverse order plated two more in the sixth to give MSU a 4-0 lead. It wasn't a dominant display by the dogs in the batter's box by any means. Mississippi State was 4 of 27 (.148) as a team. The pitching staff did more than enough to overshadow that, though. |
| Houston Harding dazzles again as No. 3 Mississippi State outlasts Louisiana | |
| Starting pitching problems be damned. After ringing up nine batters in a five-inning outing against Southern Mississippi last week, Mississippi State midweek ace Houston Harding dialed up another devastating night on the mound Wednesday as the Bulldogs (10-3) downed Louisiana (9-5) 4-0. "We go out and we plan and prepare every week for that opportunity," Harding explained. "And when that opportunity arises, I don't like to miss." Following MSU's Saturday loss to Kent State, head coach Chris Lemonis revealed his concern over No. 2 starter Eric Cerantola's inability to locate. Incumbent Friday starter Christian MacLeod's 1.2-inning outing against the Golden Flashes the day before didn't offer any further confidence. But for as much as MSU's top dogs have struggled, Harding has been as efficient a customer as the Bulldogs have had off the bump. Wednesday he found the zone on 47 of his 67 pitches. Harding's eight strikeouts ran his two-game total to 17 over 10 innings pitched. Mixing his offspeed stuff with a high-80s to low-90s fastball, he's now tossed at least five innings in two of his three starts this spring. Harding also currently sits as the team's innings pitched leader at 15.1, just a smidge ahead of Sunday starter Jackson Fristoe. "He's been giving us some really competitive starts lately," Lemonis said. "It's fun to play behind him when he pitches." |
| Mississippi State pitchers toss third-straight shutout | |
| The Mississippi State pitching staff shined for the third consecutive game on Wednesday night. No. 3-ranked Mississippi State shut out Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-0, at Dudy Noble Field. The Mississippi State staff has pitched three straight shutouts this week, including Sunday's no-hitter against Kent State and Tuesday's win over Grambling. This is the first time since 1976 that Mississippi State (10-3) has shut out its opponent in three consecutive games. "I think we are starting to figure out some real roles," head coach Chris Lemonis said of the pitching staff. "We have everybody back and everybody has been out there so having the jitters out there is behind us. I think a big piece of it is that we are playing much better defense." Mississippi State will host Eastern Michigan for a three-game series this weekend starting on Friday at 6 p.m. |
| Mississippi State hoping for redemption against Kentucky in first round of SEC tournament | |
| So what does Mississippi State have to do to extend its season? Not much. Just beat Kentucky for the first time since 2009. Take down a team that has won 15 straight contests over the Bulldogs. Knock off a team that is so confident it will secure a win over the Bulldogs, the team's website already has a potential Friday rematch with Alabama firmly listed on its schedule (which may just be a humorous oversight from the Kentucky communications staff, but it's there nevertheless). So yeah, no pressure. The Bulldogs (14-13, 8-10 SEC) will try to fire the 800-pound gorilla firmly implanted on their back into the sun by knocking off Kentucky for the first time in more than a decade, and in turn, extend their season at least one more day. MSU starts the postseason with a contest against Kentucky in the No. 8-9 matchup in the first round of the single-elimination SEC tournament at 11 a.m. Thursday in Nashville. "I think our guys will be excited to play against the University of Kentucky," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "Who wouldn't be? They get to play in the SEC tournament, which is a whole new season." |
| Emily Williams strikes out 10 as Mississippi State softball shuts out Memphis to head into SEC play | |
| Montana Davidson bobbled the softball just a little as she scooped up the grounder and fired it across the diamond to first base. The slight delay was all it took for Memphis pinch-hitter Taylor Broddick to reach base with two out in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game at Nusz Park. Instead of recording the final out, the Mississippi State senior third baseman was assessed an error -- the Bulldogs' first of the ballgame. After a walk, Gracie Morton flied out to left field on the first pitch, sealing a 5-0 win over Memphis (1-12) for Mississippi State (15-5) and rendering Davidson's slight misplay insignificant. Even so, it was another reminder that the Bulldogs have yet to play a pristine game this season -- but that they're perfectly capable of winning softball games regardless. "When we're looking at playing a complete game with our best pitching, offense, defense and baserunning, I don't know if we've put it all together yet," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "And we've still found a way to go 15-5 through the first 20." Ricketts and the Bulldogs know they'll have to step it up when Southeastern Conference play begins Saturday at Ole Miss. |
| Selection committee chair Mitch Barnhart focused on NCAA Tournament but rooting for UK | |
| Conference tournament week playing out according to plan is usually the best-case scenario for the NCAA Tournament selection committee. But 2021 men's selection committee chair and Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart will likely be rooting for at least one bit of last-minute chaos this year. "I hope our team fares well," Barnhart said in a conference call with reporters previewing Selection Sunday Wednesday. "Looking forward obviously to watching them play. Certainly, my hopes are with our student athletes and our coaches that we can make a run in Nashville, but as the committee chair, my total focus is on making sure the tournament, we can get to April 5 and crown a champion." To be clear, committee members are not present for deliberations about the schools where they work. That was true for Barnhart the last four years when he was just a member of the committee and this year when he is its chair. For now, Barnhart does not need to worry about leaving the room for discussions about Kentucky. At 9-15, the Wildcats are not among the bubble teams being discussed for the final at-large bids to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Kentucky's only path to the NCAA Tournament is winning the SEC Tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it this week in Nashville. |
| How Tennessee basketball is handling COVID-19 protocols for SEC, NCAA tournaments | |
 | Tennessee basketball completed its final regular-season test Sunday with an impressive win against Florida. After the 65-54 win, the Vols entered a routine of daily COVID-19 testing that will carry them into the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. "The only thing that is different right now is every day we are getting the old nose swab," Vols coach Rick Barnes said Wednesday. Tennessee (17-7) earned a double-bye in the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Vols are scheduled to face either Florida, Texas A&M or Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Friday. UT had its fourth straight day of COVID-19 testing Wednesday prior to its practice. Tennessee was on a schedule with three weekly tests throughout the season. The NCAA protocols on testing require all members of a team's travel party to register seven consecutive daily negative tests. The final test must be completed within 24 hours of the team traveling to Indianapolis, which is hosting the entire NCAA Tournament. Tennessee could travel from Nashville directly to Indianapolis following the SEC Tournament regardless of when it is done playing. That decision has not been made. "I don't think we will make that decision until we see how things play out," Barnes said. |
| LSU president chastised for insufficient punishments after sexual misconduct scandal | |
 | Enraged Louisiana legislators and distraught student survivors grilled Louisiana State University Interim President Tom Galligan for nearly three hours Wednesday about his decision not to fire employees found to have contributed to the school's years-long, systemic failure to address sexual misconduct. Their questions and complaints came during an all-day hearing before the state Senate Select Committee on Women and Children about sexual misconduct allegations and incidents at Louisiana's colleges and universities. Some called LSU's decision to only suspend two employees a "direct insult" and a "slap in the face" to victims. Democratic state Reps. Aimee Adatto Freeman and Regina Ashford Barrow compared LSU's administration and athletic department to an "organized crime ring" and the "mafia" for keeping quiet about sexual misconduct at the school. Galligan defended his decision, saying employees who failed to report allegations of sexual misconduct to the school Title IX office lacked clear direction at the time. He promised they would do the right thing going forward. |
| Jeff Long out as Kansas athletic director days after school ousted football coach Les Miles | |
| Just days after Kansas ousted football coach Les Miles amid allegations of inappropriate behavior toward female students while he was the head coach at LSU, the university announced Wednesday that Jeff Long was stepping down as athletic director. Long hired Miles as KU's coach in 2018. The two have a long-standing relationship going back to their days together at Michigan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In a statement, Long said he and Kansas chancellor Dr. Douglas Girod met on Tuesday night and agreed that it was in the best interest of the KU student-athletes and the program that Long step down as athletic director. Long said he leaves KU with "profound confidence that I have always acted in the best interests of Kansas Athletics." According to a redacted separation agreement released by the university on Wednesday, Long will be paid regular monthly salary payments and receive benefits through the end of March, then receive monthly settlement payments of $125,000 through February 2022 totaling $1.375 million. |
| Shutdown anniversary: How COVID-19 silenced sports a year ago today | |
| For an American sporting culture accustomed to playing through pain and preserving the billions of dollars and countless livelihoods within it, the coronavirus began merely as background noise. A distraction, as a football coach might term it. One year and countless warning flags, shutdowns and false starts removed from March 2020, we know better. COVID-19 vs. Sports was no contest. It's easy to forget the fog of uncertainty that framed those uncertain days of late February and early March, as the virus snaked through a city in China, found its way to Europe and eventually landed on our shores. As spring training began and NBA All-Stars convened in Chicago, it was an abstraction, a segment on a mid-February newscast competing for your attention with the New Hampshire primary. As Senior Nights commenced across college basketball amid the anticipation of February giving way to March, a White House task force, helmed by the vice president, was assembled. And then, after 48 hours that seemed to move exponentially faster, silence. As the sports world marks the first anniversary of when COVID-19 shuttered the games we play for months, USA TODAY Sports revisits the unsettling days and frantic hours when an entire industry reluctantly agreed to what it's typically loath to do: Give in. |
| Students Ask N.C.A.A. to Protest Bills on Transgender Competitors | |
 | More than 500 student athletes have signed a letter to the N.C.A.A., pressing the organization's leaders to stop holding championship events in states considering bills that would bar transgender athletes -- mainly women -- from competing in sports divisions that match their gender identity. "You have been silent in the face of hateful legislation in states that are slated to host championships, even though those states are close to passing anti-transgender legislation," said the letter, which was sent Wednesday and signed by 545 athletes from at least 80 universities. The N.C.A.A., which moved championships away from North Carolina in 2016 when the state was considering a bill to prevent some transgender people from using the restroom that matched their gender identity, said in a statement in January that it would "closely monitor" such bills related to sports participation. A spokeswoman for the organization reiterated that position in an email on Wednesday without elaborating. Some of those bills did not go anywhere. But some will probably be signed into law. Legislatures in Mississippi and South Dakota have passed bills, and the governors in both states have said they intend to sign the measures. "I will sign our bill to protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities," said Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi, a Republican. |
| Justice Department Backs College Athletes in Supreme Court Case | |
| The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to side with college athletes who are challenging the NCAA's limits on their compensation, adding the government's voice to a high-stakes case scheduled for arguments later this month. In filing its written brief Wednesday, the Biden administration officially aligned the department with a broad roster of skeptics of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's efforts to maintain tight control over the amateur model of college sports. The Justice Department's antitrust division during the Trump administration had also voiced skepticism of the NCAA's approach. The department's new brief argued that the NCAA's interests in amateurism didn't exclude its rules from the same kind of antitrust scrutiny that applies to other organizations. Though couched in dense legal language, the brief, filed by Acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, said lower courts acted reasonably in ruling that the association unlawfully limited competition for college athletes by restricting the types of compensation they could receive related to their education. |
| A new public golf course at Jackson's old Colonial CC? That's the plan. | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: A few of us were tramping up and down the overgrown, sometimes prickly fairways of the former Colonial Country Club golf course in northeast Jackson near dusk recently. Renowned golf course designer Rob Collins was explaining the routing of a proposed par-4 hole when Luke Guarisco, who owns the property, pointed in another direction. "Well, would you look at that," Guarisco interjected. So we did. More than a hundred yards away, a herd of at least 20 deer, in no apparent hurry, pranced through dappled sunlight in another abandoned fairway right there in the middle of the city. If Collins and Guarisco have their ways, those deer will soon have the company of golfers for the first time since Colonial shut down operations in 2014. Their vision: Brazen Head, a 12-hole public golf course in a city that badly needs quality public golf. ... This Brazen Head project seems less a long shot than was Sweetens Cove, a nine-hole course a half-hour west of Chattanooga in South Pittsburg, Tenn., one of golf architecture's darlings of the 21st century. Said Collins, who has a landscape architecture degree from Mississippi State, "During the entire design and construction process we thought Sweetens was really special, but, honestly, it has been successful beyond our wildest dreams." |
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