| Tuesday, April 13, 2021 |
| Mississippi State University asks for feedback from students for Semester Recap event | |
 | It's been a school year like no other. College students across the state have had to adjust to things like online classes, virtual meetings, and social distancing on campus. Now Mississippi State University wants feedback. Monday, the MSU Student Association hosted "Semester Recap" on the Drill Field. The goal of the event is to collect information from students on how to better serve them on campus. The organization is looking for feedback on COVID-19 protocols, how the pandemic has affected their life at school, and what students expect once classes go back to normal. "Students are really the voice of this campus. They are the ones whose concerns need to be addressed. Whether that's with advising or class registration, those are the key to success for students here at Mississippi State, and we want to make sure we're doing the best we can to serve them in that way," said Madison Dochety, director of Academic Affairs for the MSU Student Association. "Student Recap" will also take place Tuesday, April 13, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the Drill Field. |
| How many states and provinces are in the world? | |
 | Vasabjit Banerjee, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Mississippi State University, writes for The Conversation's Curious Kids feature: Q: How many states, or provinces or other divisions, are there in the world? -- Noe, 8, Minneapolis. A: The exact answer is hard to come by -- for now. Your question has actually sparked scholars to start talking about compiling an official, authoritative database. Right now the best estimates land somewhere between 3,600 and 5,200, across the world's roughly 200 nations. It depends on whether you collect data from specific nations' own information, the CIA World Factbook or the International Standards Organization. There are 195 national governments recognized by the United Nations, but there are as many as nine other places with nationlike governments, including Taiwan and Kosovo, though they are not recognized by the U.N. Most of these countries are divided into smaller sections, the way the U.S. is broken up into 50 states along with territories, like Puerto Rico and Guam, and a federal district, Washington, D.C. |
| Summer camps return across Mississippi | |
 | Thousands of Mississippi kids are eager to pack up and have fun at summer camps marking their return in 2021. After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down activities for young people at colleges from south of Memphis to the Gulf Coast, camps are bouncing back. University officials, parents and grandparents are delighted. College leaders are ecstatic to once again attract young people to sports, music, cheerleader, ecology and robotics camps to showcase their institutions. Camps also deliver a nice financial boost to schools during the slower summer months. Mississippi State University leaders are highlighting their lineup of summer programs as well. On a new website, officials are encouraging Mississippians to get involved in a camp or conference "for yourself or a loved one, and experience a summer you will never forget.'' Beginner robotics for children in grades 3-5 kicks off June 7-8, a biochemistry boot camp for undergraduate biochemistry researchers is set for June 7-9. Design discovery is on the schedule for high schoolers from June 6-12 at MSU's Starkville campus. |
| Notre Dame Provost Marie Lynn Miranda to testify at US Senate hearing | |
| Marie Lynn Miranda, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost at the University of Notre Dame, will be among six higher education leaders who will testify at a U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday (April 14) on measures Congress can take to enhance America's scientific competitiveness and strengthen its innovation ecosystem. Miranda and other experts will offer their perspectives on the proposed Endless Frontier legislation, including National Science Foundation research funding; ways to grow and diversify the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pipeline; efforts to improve technology transfer and workforce development programs; and the investments needed in regional innovation centers. Others appearing at the hearing include David Shaw, provost and executive vice president, Mississippi State University, and Gary Butler, chief executive officer, Camgian. |
| Oregon State panel to examine recent voting legislation | |
| Oregon State University will host a free virtual panel discussion on recent legislation affecting voting rights via Zoom on Tuesday. The discussion, titled "Jim Crow 2.0? Voting Restrictions, Voting Rights and the Dismantling of American Democracy," will begin at 4 p.m. To get the Zoom link, register online at https://beav.es/Jtd. The panelists will be Marissa Chappell, an associate professor of history at OSU; Douglas Hess, an assistant professor of American politics and policy studies at Grinnell College; Thessalia Merivaki, an assistant professor of American politics at Mississippi State University; Domingo Morel, an assistant professor of political science at Rutgers University; and Adrienne Jones, an assistant professor of Africana studies at Morehouse College. Steven Shay, a senior instructor in history at OSU, will moderate the discussion, which is presented by OSU's School of History, Philosophy and Religion and the College of Liberal Arts. |
| How Starkville plans to spend projected $5M to $7M in COVID-19 Relief funds | |
| Millions of dollars worth of COVID-19 relief money is coming to the Golden Triangle courtesy of the federal government. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill says they're expecting to get between $5.6 and $7 million alone. "That's a lot of money to spend if you're not ready to do something with it," she said. "Fortunately, we have some projects that we have that are geared up." The city is set to receive half of the money in 2021 and half of the money in 2022. They have until December 31, 2024 to spend it all. Mayor Spruill says the city's first priority will be addressing costs that were not covered under the first CARES Act, such as reimbursement for firefighters and other first responders who had to work overtime. Next will be boosting tourism, specifically sports-related tourism with the addition of new baseball fields in Cornerstone Park. "Ten fields are good for rec ball, 12 fields are great for sports tourism," she said. "So those additional two fields can come out of those funds." After that, the mayor says they will continue replacing the water and sewer infrastructure within various Starkville neighborhoods. |
| BancorpSouth, Cadence banks enter into merger agreement | |
 | BancorpSouth Bank and Cadence Bank announced in a press release Monday that the two companies have joined together in a merger agreement to create a new Southeastern bank. Both company boards met six weeks ago in a "secret meeting" said Cadence Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Mississippi State University alumnus Paul Murphy. The board unanimously approved the merger Friday. BancorpSouth was founded in Verona, Mississippi, 145 years ago, while Cadence Bank started in Starkville 134 years ago. Bankers of Cadence and BancorpSouth locations in the Golden Triangle were restricted from speaking with the Dispatch regarding the merger announcement due to the companies' protocols. Murphy said on behalf of some of the area bankers, he believes they have high expectations for the future of Cadence Bank. "I was in Starkville for lunch today, and I met with about 15 or 16 of our bankers, and they're pleased," Murphy said. "They think it's a good decision and have a lot of enthusiasm and excitement about the deal." |
| Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann: New federal funds should change state's trajectory | |
| Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann covered all the tenses during his visit to Columbus Tuesday, noting the progress made during the 2021 legislative session, which ended on April 1, the plans he is working on presently and looking far beyond the present as state leaders ponder how to spend what he called the greatest infusion of federal money in Mississippi history. During an hour-long visit with about 75 businessmen, elected officials and educators at Brandon Central Services, Hosemann, in his first term as the leader of the state Senate, covered a wide range of topics, including education funding, workforce participation, health care and criminal justice reform. With Mississippi set to receive $9 billion from the American Recovery Act, Hosemann said he expects an economic boom in the short term as well as an opportunity to implement improvements that will impact the next generation. "How we stretch out this $1.8 billion to the next generation is the thing we'll be remembered for. If we come in and spend all that next year, we're all going to feel great and everybody will probably get re-elected, but we haven't done what we needed to do. That is to make sure we spend this money well, so it can last for the next 5, 10, 20 years." |
| Mississippi DPS expands police power with takeover of MDOT, Capitol Police, city interstates | |
| Lawmakers approved major increases in power, authority and spending for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety this session, with the agency taking over law enforcement duties from the Mississippi Department of Transportation and Capitol Police among other changes. "I would say it's an historic session for us," said DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell. "I'm humbled by the opportunity. I'm hopeful that it's indicative of approval of the job we've done over the last year." While DPS is not officially a state police force overseeing all state law enforcement like in some other states, the agency is seeing major expansion in its duties and authority. The agency already oversees the Highway Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, state office of Homeland Security and the crime lab and medical examiners. But the attorney general, state auditor and other agencies still retain their own state-level law enforcement. Long in the works, lawmakers approved adding a $24 million "deficit appropriation" to DPS' current year budget to complete a new headquarters for the agency in Rankin County. Tindell said groundbreaking on the headquarters, with a total cost of $60 million to $80 million, should be in early 2022. |
| As chronic prison understaffing plagues region, Mississippi tries a new approach | |
 | As shoppers file out of a Walmart in Pearl, Miss. on a busy Saturday in March, they cross paths with some unlikely recruiters. This parking lot, and lots of others around Mississippi, is the headquarters for a hiring blitz by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Through outreach events like these, the department is trying to fill 700 correctional officer positions by this summer. "It's really not a job you want to start out and be afraid of," said Charles Krook, who started out working in the prison as a correctional officer, before working his way up into the probation and parole office. "If you're afraid, you know, don't come here, because we need somebody with heart." As people approached the table in the parking lot, Krook tried to give applicants a realistic picture of what the job is like, answering questions about pay and environment. Like many states in the region and across the country, Mississippi prisons are understaffed and under-resourced, resulting in dangerous conditions for prisoners and guards. This recruitment plan was hatched by MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain and he said "it's got to work." Mississippi is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for prison conditions and release practices, and filling these positions is an important part of Cain's plan to "keep the Justice Department at bay." |
| U.S. Department of Commerce investing $2,000,000 in South Mississippi tourism | |
 | The tourism industry is set to get its own shot in the arm after COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration is awarding $2,000,000 of CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grant money to Coastal Mississippi. "The coronavirus pandemic has devastated travel this past year, and Mississippi's tourism industry is suffering," said Sen. Roger Wicker. "This grant will aid the Mississippi Gulf Coast as our state works to recover and lay the groundwork for renewed prosperity." Those sentiments were echoed by Coastal Mississippi CEO Milton Segarra. The Coast, now beginning to see some signs of recovery, Segarra said, was one of the most impacted tourist destinations in the country. "We lost 20% of our revenue, we lost 10-11 points in occupancy, and some other key performance indicators that obviously had an impact," Segarra said. "This new money will help us to navigate for the following one or two years and be very strategic, investing that money in opportunities that we know will generate return on investment on every single dollar we invest by bringing additional visitors to Coastal Mississippi." |
| Against mounting odds, President Biden seeks GOP support for infrastructure plan | |
 | President Biden on Monday intensified his effort to win broad congressional support for his massive infrastructure plan, huddling with eight lawmakers from both chambers in search of that rarest of things in today's hyperpolarized Washington: bipartisanship. The gathering marked the first time the president has met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on infrastructure since he introduced his American Jobs Plan on March 31 in Pittsburgh. He previously hosted a small cadre of Republican and Democratic senators in the Oval Office in February. But the two parties remained far apart after the nearly two-hour meeting. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, called it a "good discussion," one in which Biden did most of the talking. But Wicker said pieces of Biden's proposal would be "non-starters" for Republicans, particularly his idea to pay for the package through big corporate tax increases. Wicker said it "would be an almost impossible sell for the president to come to a bipartisan agreement that included the undoing" of the GOP's 2017 tax cuts law. "I did tell him that," Wicker told reporters after the meeting. "Whether we'll be able to come to a bipartisan agreement that gets as expansive and as massive as he would like to, I don't know." |
| In a Bipartisan Meeting, President Biden Makes the Case for His Infrastructure Plan | |
 | Facing opposition from Republicans and some centrist Democrats to parts of his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, President Biden on Monday convened a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House, hoping to make progress toward a deal that can pass a bitterly divided Congress. The group of lawmakers who visited the White House included four Democrats: Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington and Alex Padilla of California, and Representatives Donald M. Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David E. Price of North Carolina. Also in attendance were four Republicans: Senators Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Representatives Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Mr. Wicker told reporters on Capitol Hill that "it would be an almost impossible sell from the president to come to a bipartisan agreement that included the undoing" of elements of the 2017 tax overhaul, which authorized permanent tax cuts for corporations while providing temporary cuts for individual taxpayers. Mr. Biden's infrastructure plan would increase the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent while also seeking to raise more revenue from international operations of big companies. But Mr. Wicker said the president was engaged in the discussion, along with key members of his staff. |
| Top Republicans Want To Rebrand As Party Of Working Class | |
 | A growing number of working-class voters were drawn to Donald Trump's Republican Party, and now top Republicans are searching for ways to keep those voters in the fold without Trump on the ballot. "All of the statistics and polling coming out of the 2020 election show that Donald Trump did better with those voters across the board than any Republican has in my lifetime since Ronald Reagan," Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told NPR. "And if Republicans want to be successful as a party, win the majority in 2022, win back the White House in 2024, I think we have to learn lessons that Donald Trump taught us and how to appeal to these voters." Since 2010, the most significant growth in the Republican coalition has been white voters without a college degree -- an imperfect but widely used metric to quantify the working-class voting bloc -- along with some marginal growth among similarly educated Black and Hispanic voters. Banks believes the only winning path forward for the GOP is to permanently reimagine itself as the party of the working-class America. Democrats are not ceding this vote without a fight, led by a new president with a blue-collar upbringing who wants to enact the most radical economic investment in working people since the New Deal, with a message to sell it targeted almost squarely at the working-class vote. |
| Experienced journalist named Clarion Ledger executive editor | |
 | An experienced journalist who has been a leader in a national organization was named Monday as the new executive editor of the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. Marlon A. Walker, 39, also was named Mississippi editor for the USA TODAY Network, which includes the Hattiesburg American. Walker arrived at the Clarion Ledger in August as a senior editor. Walker, a Detroit native, has spent the last decade advocating for improved diversity and equal pay in newsrooms. He was elected vice president of print for the National Association of Black Journalists in August 2015, and held the position five years. Walker is a 2005 graduate of Florida A&M University. As a reporter, he covered education at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Walker has also covered city and county government, transportation and public safety while working at news organizations including The Tampa Bay Times; The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina; The Associated Press; The Telegraph in Macon, Georgia; The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Detroit Free Press. |
| US recommends 'pause' for J&J vaccine over clot reports | |
| The U.S. is recommending a "pause" in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48. The reports appear similar to a rare, unusual type of clotting disorder that European authorities say is possibly linked to another COVID-19 vaccine not yet cleared in the U.S., from AstraZeneca. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelet counts. |
| How Long Do Covid-19 Vaccines Provide Immunity? | |
 | How long does protection from Covid vaccines last? It's a question that's becoming more important as some of the first people to be vaccinated approach four months post-inoculation. The short answer is: We don't fully know yet. But more data is coming in that provides clues. Here's what we know so far. Recent data from Pfizer , the manufacturer of one of the three vaccines available in the U.S., indicates that protection lasts at least six months. The results showed minimal antibody decline. Recipients of the Moderna vaccine also had robust levels of antibodies more than six months later, according to a recent study published in NEJM. Some people have incorrectly concluded that means that those vaccines offer only six months of protection, says Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. "That's false," says Dr. Hensley. "We only have six months of data...Six months from now it's likely we'll learn we have one year of protection." The vaccines will likely provide at least some degree of protection for a long time because there are so many layers of immunity, says Deepta Bhattacharya, an associate professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. |
| Push to vaccinate Latinx farmworkers picks up | |
| Three times as many people hospitalized with COVID-19 are Latinx Americans compared to white Americans. The toll has been particularly high in rural areas and small towns where a lot of Latinx people work in agriculture. As farm work, and therefore COVID risk, pick up through the spring and summer, getting vaccines into the arms of workers is a priority. Huge fruit-packing warehouses crowd next to orchards across the Yakima Valley in Washington, staffed mostly by Latinx workers, including 49-year-old Angelina Lara. Last year, COVID spread like wildfire in the crowded plants. At one point, Lara and other workers walked off the job demanding better pandemic safety. Now, Lara's taken safety into her own hands. "I have gotten vaccinated," she said. "I had my second dosage a week ago, so now I feel safer." Essential agriculture workers became eligible last month, and Lara's employer has informed workers where they can get vaccinated. Some local employers are providing even more encouragement. "If someone receives their vaccine before May 15, we gave one additional vacation day," said Bob Gerst, who is in charge of human resources at John I. Haas, a large hops producer. The company has also shuttled dozens of employees to a local clinic on the clock. Gerst said the company feels a sense of responsibility to its mostly Latinx workers. |
| Habitat for Humanity CEO to Deliver 2021 UM Commencement Address | |
| Jonathan T.M. Reckford, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International, will deliver the University of Mississippi's 168th Commencement address May 1 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Reckford leads the global Christian housing organization that has helped more than 35 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve their homes. Since 2005, when he took the top leadership position, local Habitat organizations in all 50 states and in more than 70 countries have grown from serving 125,000 individuals annually to helping more than 5.9 million people last year build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. The leader plans to share his belief that character, values and purpose offer hope for the future. "I'm honored to celebrate this special moment with students and their families." Reckford said. "I hope the questions and insight I pose to graduates will help them consider their futures and their goals -- beyond further education and career pursuits." |
| Former Ole Miss and NFL great Patrick Willis to give 2020 UM Commencement Address | |
| Former Ole Miss and NFL great Patrick Willis will give the University of Mississippi's 2020 Commencement speech next month. The school announced on Monday that Willis will give the speech during the Class of 2020's morning convocation inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at 8 a.m. on May 6. Jonathan T.M. Reckford, chief executive officer for Habitat for Humanity International, is the speaker for the Class of 2021's morning convocation, also at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, on May 1. Willis said he intends to focus his speech on destiny and the strength that comes from lifting others as we rise. "When I received the call, I had to take a moment to catch my breath and let it soak in," Willis said. "I am truly humbled that the university has invited me to speak at the Commencement. Through my comments, I hope to share a side of sports that most don't see: the nitty-gritty about how intense it is for college athletes to manage sports while also excelling in the classroom." The Class of 2020 Commencement exercises will take place May 6 through 8, while the Class of 2021 Commencement exercises will be held April 29 through May 2. |
| East Mississippi Community College staff tapped to fill dean of instruction roles | |
 | East Mississippi Community College has announced the promotions of Michael Busby and Jairus Johnson to fill two dean of instruction positions. Both men, who have already transitioned into their new roles, have similar responsibilities. Busby is in charge of overall instruction at EMCC's Golden Triangle campus and the Lion Hills Center, while Johnson performs the same functions at the college's Scooba campus. They also supervise library staff and all faculty for both academic and career technical programs on their respective campuses. Additionally, they interact with students in advisory roles and oversee curriculum development. A native of York, Alabama, Johnson is a graduate of the former Sumter County High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of West Alabama, where he also completed his Master of Arts in Teaching. He earned his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. Busby was born and raised in West Point and is a graduate of West Point High School. He attended Itawamba Community College to be on the tennis team and transferred to Mississippi State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Business. He went on to earn both a master's degree in Education and a doctorate in Instructional Systems and Workforce Development from MSU. |
| Will free summer classes and scholarships bring students back to community colleges? | |
 | Enrollment at community colleges continued its downward slide this semester, according to the latest report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Enrollment fell by 9.5 percent since last spring, replicating registration data from fall 2020 and representing the steepest declines in the higher ed sector since the pandemic began. The decline follows a 13 percent drop in freshman enrollment last fall, according to an earlier report by the research center. Worried community college leaders are already working on plans to slow this trend and boost enrollment in fall 2021. The colleges are getting creative and dangling incentives to attract high school graduates whose college plans were sidelined by the pandemic. Northeast Mississippi Community College is allowing all students who meet general enrollment requirements, including dual-enrollment students, to take three to 12 credit of classes during the first and second summer terms for free. The enrolled students will also get $550 for living expenses, according to a press release on the college's website. While higher education enrollment fell across all regions of the country, a national average of 4.5 percent, Mississippi was one of four states with a double-digit drop, alongside Alaska, New Mexico and South Dakota. Undergraduate enrollment in Mississippi decreased 10.1 percent since last spring, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data. "With free tuition this summer and extra cash for living expenses, now is the perfect time for you to go back to college or come back," Northeast Mississippi Community College executive vice president Craig-Ellis Sasser said in a statement. |
| Charter school must improve to continue operating, board says | |
| Despite pleas from school officials and a parent for a full five-year contract renewal, the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board extended Joel E. Smilow Prep Charter School's contract for four years with conditions. While the school performed well in the areas of academics and finances, it fell short in organizational performance, specifically in its stated mission of ensuring "the development of personal discipline and character" of its students. Charter schools in Mississippi must meet certain goals to continue to operate and are considered for renewal every five years, according to state law. The school, which opened in August of 2016, enrolls 600 5th through 8th graders. It raised its accountability rating from a "D" to a "C" in 2018-2019, when it achieved the second highest performing and growing school when compared to similar schools in Jackson Public Schools, according to its application for renewal. It then kept the same grade in 2019-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But an assessment done by board members and other experts points to a lack of evidence and data showing whether the school is meeting its goals. |
| U. of Kentucky suspends Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine amid report of blood clots | |
| The University of Kentucky will temporarily suspend use of the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine following a federal recommendation that the one-shot vaccine be halted after reports of blood clots in some who received it. "In an abundance of caution, the University of Kentucky will temporarily pause administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Gatton Student Center site following recommendations this morning by the federal government," UK said in a news release. The university will instead administer the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine until further guidance from the federal government, UK announced. Others are likely to follow given reports of a rare blood clot disorder in a fraction of recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has scheduled a news conference later this morning on the state's use of the vaccine. Kentucky was the site of the largest clinical trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, approved for use in February. In Kentucky, the Johnson & Johnson drug has been largely reserved for populations more likely to benefit from the single shot, such as those in remote areas, people who are incarcerated or those who lack stable housing. |
| LSU allegations expand at Shreveport med school: Pornographic book reports, offensive jokes, more | |
 | Four employees of LSU medical school in Shreveport -- two of whom are physicians -- filed complaints Monday with the federal government saying LSU leadership failed to act when told that Chancellor Dr. Ghali E. Ghali had tamped down reports of widespread harassment and disciplined faculty who raised the allegations. The complaints suggest problems with the university's handling of sexual harassment and abuse allegations extend beyond the LSU athletic department, which has been under intense scrutiny over the past two months. "I have witnessed and been informed about numerous incidents of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliatory actions perpetrated by Dr. Ghali and both other members of senior leadership with his knowledge and support," wrote Assistant Professor Christi Rinaudo, who also is the director for academic affairs at LSU Health Shreveport, in one complaint. The filings with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allege 16 medical students reported sexual harassment by an administrative faculty member and that the dean of admissions required good-looking female applicants and students to write book reports on pornographic stories. Both of those accused administrators retired recently, but the LSU Health Sciences Center employees who students went to for help were retaliated against by Ghali, according to the EEOC complaint. |
| Guy Fieri talks food and future at virtual event for UF students | |
| On Thursday night, UF students had all their cooking, spice and food coma questions answered by the one and only Mayor of Flavortown. Accent Speakers Bureau, a UF Student Government agency funded by student fees, hosted the renowned chef, restaurateur, author and TV host Guy Fieri to speak to students at a free, virtual event. Fieri won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2013 for his show "Guy Fieri's Family Reunion." He is also known for his other Food Network shows including the popular long-running series "Diners, Drive‑Ins and Dives." This was the third day of Accent events this semester. On Feb 3, the organization hosted YouTube stars Cody Ko, Noel Miller and David Dobrik in a $120,000 show, and Tiffany Haddish and Tabbitha Brown March 24. Accent paid Haddish $75,000 and Brown $35,000 for their appearances. The event was announced on Accent's Facebook page Wednesday morning, less than 48 hours before the show. Nearly 300 students attended the event, according to Accent Chair Steven Wolf. He did not answer questions about why it was announced last-minute nor the potential decrease in turnout because of the delayed announcement. |
| U. of South Carolina law professor testifies police officer's restraint of George Floyd was 'excessive' | |
 | A University of South Carolina law professor was among the final prosecution witnesses in the Derek Chauvin trial, testifying the former Minneapolis police officer overlooked cues nearly every step of the way during his arrest of George Floyd and escalating the situation into a deadly use of force that should never have happened. "Both the knee across Mr. Floyd's neck and the prone restraint were unreasonable, excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices," Seth Stoughton, an expert in use-of-force and USC School of Law criminology professor, said from the stand April 12. A former police officer in Tallahassee, Fla., Stoughton said he reviewed more than 100 hours of body camera footage ahead of his testimony, which lasted more than two hours. Stoughton said Chauvin, who pinned Floyd to the ground with a knee on his neck for nine minutes on May 25, 2020, abused a powerful restraint tool that carries a dangerous potential that's common knowledge within the law enforcement community. At no point, Stoughton said, did Floyd present a threat to officers, although he did plead with them not to put him in the back of a vehicle due to claustrophobia. |
| With $58 Million Haul, North Carolina State U. Breaks Giving Day Record | |
| On March 24 -- with many students still living off campus and attending virtual classes and development staff still working remotely -- North Carolina State University had a major fundraising breakthrough. Its 24-hour Day of Giving raised $58.1 million, breaking all previous records for a campus giving day. The university held its first 24-hour fundraising blitz in 2019. Last year's event was initially scheduled for March 2020 but was delayed until September because of the pandemic. This year's record-breaking event came a mere six months later. At the outset of the pandemic, many colleges initially pressed pause on spring giving days or pivoted to support emergency needs for students, staff, and faculty. But the digital fundraising drives have been largely successful over the past year. Giving days present donors with a sense of urgency because of matching gifts available exclusively during that 24-hour period. This year, for example, the university's chancellor approved the use of unrestricted funds to support a six-figure match for other contributions. Brian Sischo, vice chancellor for university advancement and president of the N.C. State University Foundation, said some donors have become savvy about taking advantage of matching funds. Major donors who made a commitment in January or February might hold off on making their gift, he said. "They know that by waiting until Day of Giving, they can help their college earn some extra bonus money." |
| CDC funds info clearinghouse for colleges fighting COVID | |
| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the American College Health Association $450,000 to launch a new Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice aimed at sharing information across campuses about strategies for containing the coronavirus. The new effort will focus on steps colleges can take to control virus spread. Elements of the community of practice -- essentially an online repository of resources -- include a discussion board and a twice-monthly webinar series, both of which have already launched, as well as a planned tool kit for campuses interested in creating student public health ambassador programs. Other elements will include a searchable online database where colleges can upload information about their practices. The new initiative comes more than a year into the pandemic. Heather Zesiger, the project director for the community of practice, said the ACHA received notice of the grant in late March. The grant puts the association in a good position to help colleges plan for next fall, when it's expected that many more students, faculty members and staff members will be vaccinated, Zesiger said. More than a dozen colleges have already announced vaccination requirements, but colleges' ability to impose such requirements is likely to look very different across different states and political contexts. |
| Online Proctoring Programs Try to Ease the Tensions of Remote Testing | |
| When many schools halted in-person teaching during the pandemic, they also stopped providing another function that has been perhaps less missed: giving tests under the watchful eyes of proctors. Millions of college students facing final exams, professionals pursuing new qualifications and others were asked to take important tests at home using programs such as ProctorExam, Proctorio and ProctorU -- software designed to fight cheating by getting a human or machine to remotely watch for suspicious behavior in test takers' faces, rooms and audio levels. It was a windfall for online proctoring companies, but thrust the pitfalls of the practice into the spotlight. Being watched by a faceless stranger or artificial intelligence provokes anxiety or worse, according to some students and teachers. Educators and privacy advocates raised concerns about the software's efficacy, invasiveness and potential to discriminate against some disabled candidates. Online proctoring companies are now updating their user experiences, partly to address some of the critiques. Some critics are not mollified by such changes. For D'Arcy Norman, manager of learning technologies at the University of Calgary's Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, the concept of remote proctoring automatically frames students as assumed cheaters. |
| AAUP Survey Spells Bad News for Faculty Wages Amid Pandemic | |
 | Real wages for full-time faculty members decreased for the first time since the Great Recession, according to the American Association of University Professors' annual faculty-compensation survey, released on Monday. The organization analyzed data for nearly 380,000 full-time faculty members at 929 colleges and universities, and found a not-so-sunny picture. Average salaries increased by just 1 percent, the smallest rise since the AAUP began tracking the metric in 1972. After adjusting for inflation, average salaries actually decreased by 0.4 percent, the survey found. More than two-thirds of colleges reported drops in real wages. And the number of full-time faculty members decreased at over half of institutions. About a quarter of colleges reported that full-timers had decreased by at least 5 percent. The AAUP also wanted to know how institutions responded to the financial thumping brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Already struggling to balance their budgets, many institutions drove down expenses by cutting pay and cutting jobs, the AAUP found. Nearly 60 percent of colleges said they imposed a salary freeze or salary reduction, and nearly one in 10 furloughed at least some faculty members. More than 20 percent either did not renew contracts or terminated contracts for at least some non-tenure-track faculty members. More than 5 percent did the same for tenure-track faculty members. |
| Faculty salaries decreased this year | |
| Average faculty pay fell by 0.4 percent this year, adjusting for inflation, the first such decrease since 2011-12, according to preliminary data from the American Association of University Professors' annual Faculty Compensation Survey. This top-line figure doesn't tell the full story of how academic salaries have fared during COVID-19. Just as the pandemic has had an outsize effect on certain parts of society and the economy, it's affected faculty compensation at certain kinds of institutions, at certain ranks, more than others. Faculty compensation data don't show what isn't there, either. Some institutions' faculty compensation figures actually increased this year over last simply because they laid off some of their lowest-paid professors during the pandemic. Of course, faculty compensation isn't just about salaries. Many institutions reduced or cut fringe benefits this year. And it's unclear when or whether some of these colleges and universities will restore them. "There were those [institutions] that were already in financial trouble," said Glenn Colby, senior researcher at the AAUP. "And in those cases, they cut fringe benefits for salaries and let people go -- didn't renew contracts of non-tenure-track people and things like that. And I think it's going to be worse in the fall." |
| Even as colleges pledge to improve, share of engineering and math graduates who are Black declines | |
| As a junior studying bioengineering, Amida Koroma was a fixture on the dean's list at the University of Maryland. Yet Koroma, who is Black, said she felt as if many of her white peers dismissed her as less capable. "When we're working on group projects, they'll say things like, 'You can do the typing,' as opposed to getting into the nitty-gritty of how to build this robot," she said. "Sometimes it feels like I have to prove myself all over again." This semester, Komida changed her major to psychology. Experiences like this are why advocates are raising alarm that the proportion of college graduates with degrees in science, math and engineering who are Black is falling, even as demand for workers in those fields grows at double the rate of other occupations. That's a worrying trend for a profession in which Black people are already underrepresented. And months after universities and scientific associations pledged to address it in response to the increased focus on systemic racism following the killing of George Floyd, the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be making the problem worse. |
| Study suggests American colleges explain diversity in a way that appeals to white, not Black, people | |
| Why do colleges have diversity plans? It may seem an obvious question. After all, most colleges have diversity plans and frequently quote from them. When there is an ugly racial incident on campus, colleges administrators are quick to say how inconsistent it is with their diversity and inclusion policies. When colleges unveil a new recruiting plan, their leaders talk about how it is consistent with their stated values and hiring policies and practices. But why do the policies exist? A paper published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that most colleges "assert that diversity provides compelling educational benefits and is thus instrumentally useful." That's not surprising, because several decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have given that as a reasonable reason -- within certain constraints -- for having an affirmative action plan. What colleges aren't arguing, generally, is that seeking diversity is the moral thing to do, the paper says. That omission is important, the paper says. |
| DACA students could get Pell Grants under President Biden's budget | |
 | Immigration advocates are praising the Biden administration for including a proposal to expand Pell Grant eligibility to some undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children in its fiscal 2022 budget request. "We celebrate the inclusion of DACA recipients in Pell Grants and we recognize the administration's commitment to undocumented students," said Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, state and local policy manager at United We Dream, an organization that advocates for immigrant youth, in a statement. "The cost of admission remains a barrier to undocumented students hoping to go to college." The budget blueprint, released April 9, would expand Pell eligibility to participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, in addition to raising the maximum Pell Grant amount by $400. The maximum for the 2021-22 school year is $6,495. Currently, undocumented immigrant students are not eligible for most public postsecondary aid, although many states allow those students to access in-state tuition rates or state financial assistance. Other states explicitly bar undocumented students from tapping in-state tuition benefits. South Carolina and Alabama prohibit undocumented students from attending public state institutions altogether. |
SPORTS
| No. 4 Mississippi State carries win streak into Arkansas State | |
| The No. 4-ranked Mississippi State baseball team will try to continue its win streak tonight. Mississippi State has won seven consecutive games, and will try to win its eighth tonight at Dudy Noble Field when the Bulldogs host Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs (24-7, 8-4 SEC) have not lost since in over two weeks and is undefeated in midweek games this season. Mississippi State, which swept Auburn this weekend, had one of its best offensive weekends of the season. The Bulldogs scored 32 runs and scattered 36 hits around the diamond, including six home runs. MSU scored 19 runs in the Sunday win. Arkansas State has a 9-16 record this season but has won five of its last seven. The Red Wolves lost its weekend series to Louisiana-Lafayette, 2-1. Arkansas State lost the first two games in the series then won the Sunday game, 16-11. |
| Mississippi State infielder Kamren James named SEC Newcomer of the Week | |
| After having arguably his best week of the season, Mississippi State infielder Kamren James was named the SEC Newcomer of the Week, the conference announced Monday. In four games, James batted .467 and had multi-hit games in all three games against Auburn in the No. 3 Bulldogs' sweep of the Tigers. He reached base in 10 of 16 plate appearances against Auburn and hit a home run in the first two contests in the series. James leads the Bulldogs in stolen bases with 12, slugging percentage (.538) and is tied for the team lead with seven home runs. His 36 hits on the year is second on the Bulldogs. He's the fourth MSU player to win a weekly honor, joining Christian MacLeod and Landon Sims, both of whom won SEC Pitcher of the Week, and Jackson Fristoe, who took home SEC Freshman of the Week honors earlier in the year. MSU hosts Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a midweek contest before the all-important Super Bulldog Weekend showdown with Ole Miss this weekend. |
| Mississippi State's Kamren James named SEC Newcomer of the Week | |
| Mississippi State third baseman Kamren James was named the SEC's Newcomer of the Week on Monday morning. James, a second-year freshman, hit .467 in four games last week with two home runs and six RBIs. He helped No. 4-ranked Mississippi State go 4-0 on the week and had multiple hits in all three games of the weekend sweep over Auburn. The Newcomer of the Week award is given to a player who was a freshman during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. James, who is now hitting .292 this season and is tied for the team-lead with seven home runs, went 2 for 4 and hit a solo home run during Mississippi State's Friday night win over Auburn. On Saturday, he hit another home run and went 2 for 5 with three RBIs. He posted three hits on Sunday with one RBI and scored four runs. |
| Mike Leach, Bulldogs finish second scrimmage with eyes on spring game | |
| Following his team's second scrimmage of the spring Saturday, Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach offered his blunt as usual assessment. As is per the course talking to Leach post practice, he threw some praise, and stressed the need for improvement in other areas. "I thought it was competitive," Leach said of Saturday's scrimmage. "I thought we ran around and we battled. I thought we were sloppy on offense. I thought defense came out with a high level of urgency, which probably any time you play hard it will mask some of the errors you might make. I thought defensively we played harder than offense. I thought offense did some good things. Inconsistent, though." The final game-like simulation will be at 11 a.m. Saturday for MSU's Maroon and White spring football game at Davis Wade Stadium. Attendance policies for the general public have yet to be announced. Funny enough, it will be Leach's spring game debut, which likely doesn't have the same luster it would have had it happened in 2020 instead of following his debut season. In a perfect world, Leach says the format he hopes to use for Saturday's spring contest is to split the team into two groups. But that will be contingent on the available players on that day. |
| ESPN puts Mike Leach, Mississippi State football No. 8 in FPI rankings | |
 | It's April. Most college football teams haven't finished spring practices. Some just started. But it's never too early for, well, way too early predictions for the upcoming season. ESPN released its Football Power Index (FPI) rankings Tuesday. There are some familiar names at the top -- Alabama at No. 1, Oklahoma at No. 2, Clemson at No. 3. You know, College Football Playoff regulars. Then there are some headscratchers in the top 10, and Mississippi State is one of them. Yes, a Bulldogs team that finished last year's regular season 3-7 came in at No. 8, hot on the heels of No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 7 Georgia. Mississippi State in-state rival Ole Miss checked in at No. 22. ESPN defines its FPI as "a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season." The rankings are based on 20,000 computer simulations. The FPI also predicts a team's win/loss record. The algorithm says Mississippi State will reach somewhere in the ballpark of seven or eight wins. The simulations break it down to an exact record for 7.4-4.7. Alabama, for reference, has a projected record of 11.1-1.6. |
| Mississippi might have trouble hosting NCAA championships because of transgender athletes law | |
 | The NCAA Board of Governors put out a statement Monday supporting opportunities for transgender athletes in college sports, potentially putting Mississippi's future of hosting NCAA-sanctioned championships in jeopardy. The statement endorses a "more inclusive path" for transgender participation in sports, including required testosterone suppression treatment for transgender women. That path also includes decision-making about states such as Mississippi that have laws forbidding transgender girls and women from competing in girls and women's sports. On March 11, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill that forbids transgender athletes from competing in girls or women's sports in the state. The bill is set to become law July 1. It's important to note the NCAA's statement does not specifically say championship events cannot be played in states with laws like Mississippi's. Nor does the statement say all or any specific sports will be subject to this ruling. NCAA championships include, but are not limited to, on-campus rounds of the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments and regional and super regional rounds of the NCAA baseball and softball championships. This ruling, if it does prohibit postseason events from Mississippi, would not apply to conference-sanctioned events such as the Conference USA baseball tournament or any SEC championship events. |
| NCAA threatens to pull Mississippi college baseball regionals, other championships over trans athletes law | |
| he National Collegiate Athletic Association Board of Governors said it may ban future championships -- including college baseball and softball regionals -- in Mississippi and other states that have passed legislation barring transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity. The NCAA decision resembles one they made in June 2020, when Mississippi lawmakers were considering whether to change the state flag, the last in the nation containing the Confederate battle emblem. Many believe that decision from the NCAA -- a more definitive ruling than the one made this week -- helped spur lawmakers to change the flag. In a rare public ceremony on March 11, Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill that bans transgender girls and women at public schools and colleges from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. The bill is set to become law on July 1. Though Mississippi was the first to do so in 2021, it is far from the only state taking up the issue. Lawmakers in the neighboring states of Arkansas and Tennessee have passed similar bills this year. Last year, Idaho passed a similar bill. A federal judge kept that law from going into effect as hearings continue. |
| NCAA threatens to withhold events over transgender state laws. Some say to Hell with the NCAA. | |
 | he NCAA is back at it again attempting to dabble in state politics, threatening to withhold championship events from those states that do not comply with their left-leaning views. The NCAA Board of Governors released a statement on Monday saying that they firmly and unequivocally support the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports, adding that this commitment is grounded in their values of inclusion and fair competition. It is a direct swipe at states like Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas who have recently passed laws that would ban biological men from competing in women's sports. The Magnolia State passed the Mississippi Fairness Act during the 2021 legislative session and it was signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves. Mississippi has not often been the site for NCAA championship events. However, post season college baseball has been the one area where the state has excelled in hosting regionals in all three major university towns -- Hattiesburg, Oxford and Starkville. The author of the Mississippi Fairness Act is State Senator Angela Hill. Y'all Politics spoke with Hill late Monday night to get her reaction to the NCAA's latest round of threats against the state. "The NCAA just stated they will be in places free of discrimination but embracing biological males identifying as women into female only competition is the highest degree of discrimination against biological women," Senator Hill said. "The NCAA has proudly disavowed Title 9 which was put into law 50 years ago to guarantee women equal opportunity in sports and education." |
| Sen. Chris McDaniel says 'to hell with the NCAA' after potential boycott over trans legislation | |
| After the NCAA suggested a potential boycott of states who have recently enacted legislation banning transgender athletes from participating in sports, one state senator is saying: "To hell with the NCAA." "If the NCAA truly cared about providing an environment that is safe and healthy for competitors, it would follow Mississippi's lead," Senator Chris McDaniel wrote on social media Monday evening. A wave of legislation banning trans athletes from sports has been instituted in multiple states, including Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. While some detractors see the legislation as a way to exclude trans people from participation in all aspects of public life, Gov. Tate Reeves said he signed the Mississippi Fairness Act to "ensure young girls in Mississippi have a fair playing field in public sports." U.S. Senator Roger Wicker called their statement "unbelievable" while McDaniel described it as a "woke stance." "I am comfortable speaking for the overwhelming majority of Mississippians by keeping my comment simple and to the point: to hell with the NCAA," McDaniel concluded. |
| NCAA warns states against limiting transgender sports participation | |
| In a statement supporting the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports, the NCAA Board of Governors warned state lawmakers Monday that actions to the contrary could result in the loss of championship games and events. All student-athletes are expected to be treated with dignity and respect, the board said. "Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport," the Board of Governors said. "We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them." Texas is among 30 states weighing bills to ban transgender girls from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, with governors in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee signing such bills into law, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT rights organization tracking the legislation. The Texas Senate could vote as early as this week on Senate Bill 29, which would block transgender athletes from participating in grade school and high school sports outside of their "biological sex." The NCAA requires that championships be held only where "hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination," the board said, adding that members will "closely monitor" the states to determine whether championships can be welcoming and respectful of all participants. |
| U. of Arkansas bids to host baseball, softball regionals | |
| The University of Arkansas on Monday submitted bids to host NCAA baseball and softball regionals and super regionals, said Kevin Trainor, the UA's senior associate athletic director for public relations. No definitive dates have been given, Trainor said, but the NCAA has indicated softball regional site selections will be made the week of April 26 and baseball regional site selections the week of May 10. Both sports still will be involved in regular-season play at the time of the announcements. Sites for regionals and super regionals normally are announced after conference tournaments, but the NCAA changed that this year so host schools would have extra time to prepare for coronavirus safety protocols. If a school is selected to host a regional and super regional, it will be required to do so whether its team advances to a super regional or makes the regional field. The Razorbacks should be a lock to make the NCAA Tournament in baseball and softball. The Arkansas baseball team (26-5, 9-3 SEC) is ranked No. 1 nationally, and the Arkansas softball team (33-5, 13-2) is No. 8. The deadline for schools to submit bids to host regionals and super regionals coincided with an announcement Monday by the NCAA Board of Governors that it "firmly and unequivocally" supports the opportunity for transgender athletes to compete in college sports. |
| Details on fan attendance for LSU's spring football game; free admission, seating, more | |
| A year after the coronavirus pandemic canceled LSU's spring football game entirely, the university announced Monday that fans will be able to attend Saturday's scrimmage at Tiger Stadium. LSU is opening the scrimmage with free admission, the athletic department said in a statement, and is requiring all fans to wear masks inside the stadium. The university moved to 50% capacity for its outdoor athletic venues in March, when Gov. John Bel Edwards updated Louisiana into Phase 3 of a reopening plan. All fans will be seated and socially distanced in the lower bowl of Tiger Stadium for the spring game, and fans will enter at the south and west gates. Fans will receive a free poster and roster card when entering the stadium, and concession stands will be open throughout the south concourse. The gates will open at 11 a.m. Kickoff is scheduled for noon, and the scrimmage will be televised on SEC Network+ and broadcast on WNXX-FM, 104.5/104.9. |
| UConn assistant Shea Ralph named Vanderbilt women's basketball coach | |
 | Connecticut assistant Shea Ralph, the presumed successor to Geno Auriemma, is the new Vanderbilt women's basketball, the school announced Tuesday. Ralph was the captain of UConn's national title team. The 43-year-old has spent the past 14 seasons on Auriemma's coaching staff. Ralph replaces Stephanie White, who was fired last week with a 46-83 record (13-54 SEC) in five seasons. The Vanderbilt program has a winning tradition that includes 27 NCAA Tournaments appearances, four Elite Eight and one Final Four. But it's in the lowest point of its history. The Commodores have not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2014. That eight-year drought is tied for their longest, as they did not make the postseason in the first eight years after the program began in the 1977. Three starters transferred last week, so the roster must be rebuilt. Koi Love, who averaged a team-high 20.8 points and 9.5 rebounds, went to Arizona. Chelsie Hall, a 1,000-point career scorer who averaged 15.4 points last season, transferred to Louisville. And Autumn Newby, a three starter in the post, transferred to LSU. |
| Poll: Youth sports good at communicating COVID-19 safety protocols, bad at enforcing virus precautions | |
| A majority of parents are giving their child's sports organization high marks for communication about COVID-19 safety protocols, but one in four gave low marks -- fair or poor -- for consistent enforcement of virus precautions, according to the results of a new national poll released Tuesday. The poll, conducted by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan, comes at a time when officials say youth sports help to fuel rising COVID-19 cases in Michigan and elsewhere in the country. Younger Michiganders are getting sick and being hospitalized, as health officials push to get more COVID-19 vaccines in arms, particularly those of younger people -- those age 16 and older -- who are now eligible for a shot. "As kids return to playing sports, it's critical that teams and facilities enforce COVID guidelines to keep players, coaches and families as safe as possible and to reduce community spread," said Sarah Clark, the poll's co-director. This is especially important as we have seen recent COVID-19 outbreaks among youth sports teams. While most families seem confident in their local organization's safety measures, our report suggests that ensuring compliance with COVID-19 protocols has also been challenging." |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
