| Tuesday, September 7, 2021 |
| MSU-Meridian COVID vaccination drive-thru | |
 | Many people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at MSU-Meridian to help increase the vaccination rate in Lauderdale County. It was a partnership with EC-HealthNet Family Health Center that gave out the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. The Moderna vaccine was administered to all MSU-Meridian students, staff, or faculty members. The EC-HealthNet team is encouraging people that are hesitant of taking the vaccine. "Getting the vaccine is important because we want to avoid those symptoms from the virus. Whenever we get this vaccine it is going to prevent any of the side effects that can happen with COVID. A lot of the time you will have thickened secretions and your lungs won't function as well. It is very important that we get this before we have become sick with COVID," said Kaiman Parker, Registered Respiratory Therapist. The second dose will be at the same location on September 24. |
| MSU Student COVID Relief, USM 4 + 1 = Done! Initiative and JSU TRIO Program Grant | |
 | Mississippi State University recently announced that it is disbursing more than $12 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding directly to university students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Education is providing the funds to help students experiencing financial need or emergency costs due to the pandemic, a release from MSU says. The funds will cover tuition, food, housing, healthcare and childcare. Students must apply by Sept. 16, at which point MSU officials will review applications and begin working to distribute funds. Students can apply by logging in to the myState portal at http://my.msstate.edu/ and then using the Financial and Scholarship tab to ARP Act Application. To comply with guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education and the ARP legislation, students must certify on the application that they have experienced financial need and/or have emergency costs due to the pandemic. All MSU students enrolled for the current fall semester as of Aug. 27 are eligible to receive funding. The amount of funds distributed will vary by student. Students will receive the funds via direct deposit or paper check, or can apply them to their student account to cover any outstanding balance. |
| Josh Turner holiday show announced at MSU Riley Center | |
 | Multi-platinum-selling artist Josh Turner will debut his first-ever Christmas album in the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts' historic theater during a November performance. Part of a 16-city Holiday & The Hits tour by Turner, the Riley Center's performance is set for Sunday, Nov. 28, at 6 p.m. His new album, "King Size Manger," will be released Oct. 8. The holiday project features fresh interpretations of the classics and introduces four originals, three of which were written or co-written by Turner. "We were thrilled to get the call that Josh Turner specifically wanted to include the MSU Riley Center on this special holiday tour," said Dr. Terry Dale Cruse, associate vice president and head of Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus. "It is a testament to the quality of the historic theater as a highly sought-after venue with superior acoustics and a stunningly beautiful setting." With five No. 1 singles and multiple GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM nominations to his credit, Turner is a favorite on country radio with timeless songs like "Long Black Train," "Why Don't We Just Dance," and "Your Man." For the November concert at the Riley Center, audiences can expect Turner to perform his reimagined holiday classics and original Christmas works alongside his more notable hits. |
| No tax increase in proposed Starkville budget | |
 | The city of Starkville's proposed budget will not require any tax increases for the upcoming year. City budget chairwoman Sandra Sistrunk, who represents Ward 2 on the board of aldermen, presented the proposed budget for the 2022 fiscal year at the board's work session Friday. After spending time revamping the budget alongside City Clerk Lesa Hardin, she said property taxes will remain at 30.13 mills. While there were some minor changes "here and there," Sistrunk said, total revenues and total expenses did not change. For example, revenue from last year's fire truck purchase in the fire department budget will now fund the police department's new body cameras. "For the most part, our budget is relatively unchanged from one year to the next," Sistrunk said. The board will hold its second public hearing on the budget and possibly bring it to a vote at its regular board meeting Tuesday. Worked into the proposed budget is a $1.5 million capital improvement fund. Sistrunk said the city has worked to achieve this large sum for capital improvements for several years. While an exact spending plan for capital improvements has not yet been developed, city engineer Edward Kemp said he will bring a proposed road plan to the board in the coming weeks. |
| Toyota Mississippi begins production break Monday | |
 | The Toyota Mississippi assembly plant will begin a three-week production break starting Monday. Toyota, the world's largest automaker by volume, announced last month it would reduce global production for September by 40%, to about 360,00 vehicles. Vehicle supply parts shortages on top of a tight supply of chips have forced automakers around the world to slash production. Addressing the production reduction last month, Toyota said, "While the situation remains fluid and complex, our manufacturing and supply chain teams have worked diligently to develop countermeasures to minimize the impact on production ... the situation remains very fluid. We do not anticipate any impact to employment at this time." At the Blue Springs plant, team members were originally going to take a two-week break. A third week was later adding, pushing the production restart to Sept. 27. Employees have three options during this stretch: they can take unpaid leave without penalty; they can come to work, and work will be provided; or they can take paid time off. The plant will have several volunteer projects for team members during the production halt as well. Other automakers also have paused production. |
| Hospitals in crisis in least vaccinated state: Mississippi | |
 | As patients stream into Mississippi hospitals one after another, doctors and nurses have become all too accustomed to the rampant denial and misinformation about COVID-19 in the nation's least vaccinated state. People in denial about the severity of their own illness or the virus itself, with visitors frequently trying to enter hospitals without masks. The painful look of recognition on patients' faces when they realize they made a mistake not getting vaccinated. The constant misinformation about the coronavirus that they discuss with medical staff. "There's no point in being judgmental in that situation. There's no point in telling them, 'You should have gotten the vaccine or you wouldn't be here,'" said Dr. Risa Moriarity, executive vice chair of the University of Mississippi Medical Center's emergency department. "We don't do that. We try not to preach and lecture them. Some of them are so sick they can barely even speak to us." Physicians at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the only level one trauma center in all of Mississippi, are caring for the sickest patients in the state. The emergency room and intensive care unit are beyond capacity, almost all with COVID patients. Moriarity said it's like a "logjam" with beds in hallways, patients being treated in triage rooms. Paramedics are delayed in responding to new calls because they have to wait with patients who need care. |
| Tracking COVID-19 in Mississippi: 704 new coronavirus cases reported Tuesday | |
 | The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 704 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. On Tuesday, the state reported 21 new coronavirus-related deaths. Six deaths occurred between Saturday and Monday, according to the health department's website. Fifteen deaths occurred between Aug. 4 and Wednesday, as identified from death certificate reports. Residents between the ages of 25 and 39 represent the largest portion of the infected population in the state, with 102,722 cases. Among patients under 18, children between the ages of 11 and 17 have the highest infection rate, with 41,414 cases identified. The 65 and older age group has the highest total number of deaths with 6,303 reported. According to health department data, at least 1,433,469 people had started the vaccination process in Mississippi as of Thursday. Since December, about 1,185,057 people have been fully immunized against COVID-19. At least 28,002 have received a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Harrison County numbers have steadily climbed, overtaking Hinds County as having the highest number of reported cases with 30,728; Hinds County follows with 29,947 cases. DeSoto County is reporting 28,440 cases. Jackson County is reporting 21,996 cases and Rankin County has 20,547 total cases. |
| Mississippi judges promote vaccination against COVID-19 | |
| Some Mississippi judges are urging people to follow their example and get vaccinated to slow the spread of COVID-19 -- an effort aimed at keeping courts open. Thirteen judges have made messages to air on TV and radio stations, according to a news release from the state court system. The effort was coordinated by the state Department of Health. "We need the public's help so we can safely do our jobs. We need the public's help to protect our court system," Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph said in the release. Randolph last week extended a pandemic safety order that he originally set in early August. It allows judges to postpone jury trials through Oct. 8. It says courts may continue using teleconferences, video conferences and electronic filing. They may also continue using interactive audiovisual equipment to conduct remote hearings for pleas or sentencing in felony cases and for hearings on probation violations. Those who made the health announcements are Supreme Court justices Dawn Beam and Robert Chamberlin; Court of Appeals judges Tony Lawrence and Deborah McDonald; chancery judges Vincent Davis of Fayette, Tiffany Grove of Raymond, Joseph Kilgore of Philadelphia, Jacqueline Mask of Tupelo, Bennie L. Richard of Greenville and Charles E. Smith of Meridian; circuit judges Kelly Luther of Ripley, Stanley Sorey of Raleigh, Chancellor; and Hinds County Court Judge Carlyn Hicks of Jackson. |
| Mississippi workforce nears pre-pandemic levels, but experts say real growth will take time | |
| In the last three months on record, Mississippi has gained nearly 15,000 jobs, pushing the state's number of working residents closer to where it was before the pandemic. The Magnolia State has recouped nearly 83% of the jobs it lost at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Jobs in manufacturing, trade and trucking, construction and the service industry brought back the most positions in recent months. But the "normal" Mississippi is approaching in terms of workforce is still behind the rest of the nation in terms of wages and general worker participation. For Labor Day, Mississippi Today took a close look at the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to not only measure the ground the state has gained back since the pandemic began, but also what it will take to move the state and its average wages forward. "Some jobs are being filled, and it's good to see pre-pandemic type numbers," said Ryan Miller, the director of workforce development office Accelerate Mississippi. "But it's also an honest and real assessment to say we are not where we want to be." |
| Workforce Development: Schools, nonprofits expose students to skill training at Communiversity | |
| In his six months as the state's workforce training czar, Ryan Miller confesses the job is a little like herding cats. "At times, it seems like we are all running in different directions, often with the best of intentions," said Miller, executive director of Accelerate Mississippi, part of a new state agency, Mississippi Office of Workforce Development, which was created by the state legislature in 2020. "As an organization with the mandate to coordinate all these efforts, the question is, 'How do we get our arms around it?'" Ryan said the biggest challenge facing the state's workforce development efforts is communication. Miller said one of the keys to that is helping regions throughout the state bring local workforce educators, employers, potential employees and local policy-makers together to form what he calls "ecosystems." "Some areas are doing better at this than others," Miller said. In that respect, the Golden Triangle may be closer to achieving coordination between the various parties than most, and perhaps no better example of that will come next month with a couple of programs at East Mississippi Community's College's Communiversity, the region's $42-million advanced manufacturing skill training center, which opened in 2019. Local school officials say the relationship with EMCC's workforce programs, including Communiversity, is strong. |
| Trump builds 'turnkey' campaign operation for 2024 | |
 | Boots on the ground in Iowa. Accelerated fundraising. More national media interviews. A flood of new press statements. A rise in attack ads on the web. With a flurry of activity from his main political committee and hints dropped in private conversations with confidantes and advisers, Donald Trump is signaling a heightened interest in reclaiming the White House -- and laying the necessary groundwork to do it. Since his November defeat, Trump and his allies have fanned the notion that he will seek a rematch in 2024. That's nothing new -- prior to his first bid for president, Trump feinted and flirted with runs for president for decades without pulling the trigger. But associates say President Joe Biden's declining political fortunes amid the resurgence of coronavirus and the Aug.15 fall of Kabul have intensified the interest of the former president, who is already motivated by a burning sense of pride and grievance over his loss to Biden. Trump, in recent interviews, has shied away from divulging specifics about his plans, but he's privately suggested to others he's running. He's also paying attention to the finer details behind the scenes, such as making editing suggestions to his web ads to make them harder hitting against Biden. His operation is likewise taking concrete steps to enhance his profile and position him for a potential campaign. Perhaps more revealing, less than a month ago the PAC announced it hired two top operatives from Iowa dedicated to "advancing Save America's goals of electing strong, pro-Trump, America First conservatives." |
| USM professor honored for leading PPE, medical device creation by students during shortage | |
 | During the uncertain beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, a University of Southern Mississippi assistant professor worked with students to create makeshift PPE and medical equipment for local hospitals amid crisis-like supply shortages. Now, Anna Wan is being recognized for her accomplishments by Mississippi Business Journal. Wan has been named a Top in Tech leader in the state for her contributions to the field of technology. "This recognition should not go to me alone, but to this team I belong to here at USM," Wan said, calling the project a community effort. Wan is an assistant professor of mathematics at USM and the director and founder of the university's public makerspace, Eagle Maker Hub, where she and her students created PPE and equipment from various materials, including gym bags, windshield wiper motors and lumber. "When COVID broke March of 2020, we had all the equipment there to make basically whatever Forrest General and Hattiesburg Clinic doctors wanted," Wan said. "They were short on PPE and they were short on various things within the hospital setting, so we went ahead and made whatever it was they needed." Wan and her students created 3D-printed masks, face shields, ventilator prototypes, filter adapters and head isolation units made from transparent gym bags. The head isolation units provided airflow to patients that did not mix with the air health care workers were breathing. |
| Renovations at USM's Cook Library have been completed | |
 | Renovations at the Cook Memorial Library on campus on the Hattiesburg campus of the University of Southern Mississippi are now complete. The $12.1 million renovation project was funded by legislative bonds and a $1.4 million contribution from the USM Athletics Foundation. Work began in the spring of 2019 and includes improved access to resources for students including, iTech Help Desk, Speaking Center, Writing Center, Bower Academic Center, Trio - Student Support Services, The Mathematics Center, University Advisement Center, Center for Student Success, and Title IX, which are all now available at one central location. New finishes like carpet, paint, furniture and re-organized workspaces also make Cook Library more inviting and efficient. Dr. John Eye, dean of the University's Libraries, said the infrastructure of the building along with additions that were added in the past had become outdated and in need of repair. "I'm excited, it's been a long time coming. Just the impact when people come in the doors and see that it's much more contemporary. It's much brighter and more conducive for learning and will support our students much better," Dr. Eye said. "It's got more of what they need to come in and be successful and get work done productively." |
| USM unveils new dining options on its Hattiesburg campus | |
| Students, faculty, staff, and visitors at The University of Southern Mississippi's Hattiesburg campus can choose from an exciting new array of dining options designed to help kick off another academic year. Among the more dramatic changes involves the former Power House restaurant which has undergone a complete transformation. Still situated in the heart of campus, the eatery is now known as Southern Wing Company at the Power House. Chicken wings and burgers are the predominant menu items with cold beer available for the first time. An official grand opening is set for Sept. 13. Lauren Brescher, Aramark Marketing Manager, notes that the concept of "revamping" the Power House has been an ongoing conversation. "It is certainly a unique location with history on this campus. After thinking a lot about what brand would be great in the space, we decided it should remain a brand unique to our school," said Brescher. "We knew students love wings and burgers, and we wanted it to feel personal to Southern Miss. We also wanted to simplify the menu to be able to offer a quick, quality dining experience." Beer will be served from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Other upgrades include a significant remodeling of Seymour's food court, with new seating, flooring, and fresh paint. |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College taps new VP for community relations | |
 | Northwest Mississippi Community College is thrilled to welcome Dr. Andrew Dale as the school's new associate vice president of Community Relations. Dale comes to Northwest from Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he most recently served as the executive director of the college's Foundation. Prior to that role, he served as director of Digital Public Affairs, music instructor and director of Bands. In total, Dale has 16 years of education experience as a classroom teacher, recruiter, advisor, leader, fundraiser, and public affairs professional. A graduate of Gulfport High School, Dale went on to earn a Bachelor of Music Education degree from William Carey University, a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration degree from USM. He also completed the year-long Mississippi Education Policy Fellowship Program, which he believes has prepared him well for the position he holds now. According to Dale, he learned recruiting and marketing strategies while serving as director of Bands for Southwest. After the success of those strategies in the college's Band program, and following the completion of his doctorate degree, he was tapped to lead Digital Public Affairs. |
| The Tragedy of America's Rural Schools | |
 | One Saturday afternoon in late May, a few days before the end of his junior year, Harvey Ellington plopped onto his queen-size bed, held up his phone and searched for a signal. The 17-year-old lived in a three-bedroom trailer on an acre lot surrounded by oak trees, too far into the country for broadband, but eventually his cell found the hot spot his high school had lent him for the year. He opened his email and began to type. "Good evening! Hope all is well! Congratulations on being the new superintendent for the Holmes County Consolidated School District." A week and a half earlier, the school board chose Debra Powell, a former high school principal and mayor of East St. Louis, Ill., to lead the rural school district that Ellington attended in the Mississippi Delta. Powell worked as an administrator at Ellington's school before the pandemic, and she ran track with Jackie Joyner-Kersee when she was a teenager. Maybe, Ellington thought, Powell had what it took to turn the district around. "I have laid out some ideas and changes I want to see," he wrote to Powell. Ellington was 7 the first time someone told him the state of Mississippi considered Holmes a failing district. Holmes had earned a D or an F almost every year since then, and Ellington felt hollowed out with embarrassment every time someone rattled off the ranking. While researchers and activists have spent decades detailing the ways urban schools have failed children, students like Ellington are learning in more dire conditions. Most of the country's poorest counties are rural. |
| Quantum tech grant from NSF aids U. of Arkansas research | |
| A $20 million National Science Foundation grant will support research "absolutely at the forefront" of efforts to develop a new generation of computing and communications technology, said Hugh Churchill, an associate professor of physics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The grant award establishes a joint effort between UA and Montana State University known as the MonArk NSF Quantum Foundry. Researchers will be working to more efficiently produce materials formed by bonding a single layer of atoms. "Quantum technology requires very different material properties than regular computing and communications technology," said Churchill, an associate director of the new initiative. The branch of physics known as quantum mechanics helps explain workings of the physical world when objects are very small, temperatures are very cold or the time scale under study is very short, said Churchill. Under these circumstances, "the laws of physics that objects follow are different than what they are in our everyday experience," Churchill said. In a statement, John English, UA's vice chancellor for research and innovation, said the partnership with Montana State "will help spur discovery and collaboration with industry across the U.S., and develop and train highly skilled students, researchers and workers right here in Arkansas." |
| A college town divided: Liberal Athens split into Republican districts | |
| The bustling streets of Athens are packed with students, professors and townies this time of year, making it the kind of liberal college bastion that would easily elect Democrats -- if it weren't sliced into political pieces. Twisting district borders divide the University of Georgia and the city, from the Arch to Stegeman Coliseum and extending into rural areas, creating a gerrymander that put Republicans in power over the region nearly a decade ago. When Georgia legislators redistrict the state again this fall, the GOP majority will likely be able to keep its domination over the Classic City. Athens-Clarke County overwhelmingly supported Democrat Joe Biden with 70% of the vote, but the state's political maps are drawn in a way that splits the area so that Democrats control just one of seven elected legislative and congressional seats. Republicans hold two of three state House seats, both state Senate seats and both congressional districts that include Athens. "It's absurd. We're not a Republican county or city," said Jim Smith, a local attorney who usually votes Libertarian. "But it doesn't matter who they are as long as you can call them up and raise Cain." Athens is an example of how redistricting can distort representation for political advantage. |
| 'This is deadly serious.' Over 2,000 sign letter calling for vaccine mandate at U. of Kentucky | |
 | More than 2,000 people have signed an open letter calling on the University of Kentucky to require the COVID-19 vaccine for students and employees, saying a mandate "is the single most powerful tool we have available at this time to achieve our goal of providing a robust, in-person experience for our students." The letter, written by a group of university senators and addressed to UK President Eli Capilouto and Acting Provost Robert DiPaola, has been signed by nearly 800 faculty members and 800 students as of Friday morning. Staff and community members have also signed the letter, which was published earlier this week. "It is urgent that we adopt a vaccine mandate immediately," the letter says. "The community spread of COVID has reached critical levels in Kentucky." Lauren Cagle, Molly Blasing and Jerry Woodward are three professors who worked on writing the letter after UK started the fall semester without a vaccine requirement. The three said they view a vaccine mandate as necessary in order to protect themselves, students and the community as a whole. UK has around 30,000 students and 20,000 employees. As of Sept. 1, the most recently available information from the university's COVID-19 dashboard, 78.7% of students and employees are fully or partially vaccinated. |
| Texas A&M to kick off annual suicide awareness, prevention activities this week | |
 | Coffee with a counselor, a candle light vigil and yoga are just a handful of events that Texas A&M has lined up for Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. Starting Monday, 1,100 pinwheels will be displayed in Academic Plaza in honor of each of the 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year. A Tuesday kickoff event at Rudder Plaza will feature music, speakers with personal connections to suicide, and a walk through campus in which participants carry tea lights. The kickoff is open to the local community. Friday there will be a virtual candlelight vigil that aligns with World Suicide Prevention Day. In 2019, suicide was the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States with one person dying every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for college students, said Santana Simple, assistant director of A&M's Counseling and Psychological Services and a licensed professional counselor. Simple also said that 10% of college students seriously consider suicide each year. "We know that a lot of people experience and have these thoughts," she said. "We just want to make sure that we are visible. And that's one of the most powerful things about the kickoff event -- we want to make sure that if someone is struggling or having those thoughts that they can visually see how much support is there on our campus." |
| Black Collegians frustrated by U. of Missouri diversity office's Welcome Back BBQ | |
 | Over hot dogs and shared picnic tables, all were welcome to the first event -- dubbed the Welcome Back BBQ -- thrown by the Division of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity outside the University of Missouri's Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. However, many current and former students confused the event last week with the Welcome Black BBQ, a gathering with a similar name traditionally thrown by the Legion of Black Collegians. It was canceled this year, and the university chose to hold one that mirrored the LBC's event in many ways. The Legion of Black Collegians took to social media on Friday with a statement saying, "The Legion shares the same frustration, hurt, and confusion as to why the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity went forward with the Welcome Back BBQ that took place on September 1st." The Welcome Black BBQ has a history of drawing large crowds full of dancing and music, while the Welcome Back BBQ attracted a smaller audience Wednesday. Earlier this year, the university restructured the social justice centers, which include the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, and eliminated coordinator positions. The decision was opposed by many students and led to protests across campus. The barbecue was the first to be thrown by the Student Diversity Initiatives. Hoping to accomplish two goals, Maurice Gipson, MU vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity & equity, said the event was held for students to meet the new and current staff of the Student Diversity Initiatives while eating a free meal. The Student Diversity Initiatives are composed of the Department of Social Justice, the RSVP center and Student Academic Support and Success. |
| UNC students demand stricter COVID-19 protocols | |
 | Enraged University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students met inside a conference room Friday to demand the administration do more to protect them from COVID-19. The students -- all members of the Campus President's Council, a collective of student leaders from across the university -- signed an open letter titled "Enough Is Enough," calling for a vaccine mandate, frequent COVID-19 testing and more testing centers on campus. Lamar Richards, the undergraduate student body president, called for the emergency meeting after the Undergraduate Student Government Executive Branch first published the open letter Thursday. "In response to the continued onslaught of COVID-19 cases and community spread on and off-campus, the value of the safety of the Carolina community -- our Carolina -- has been used as a prop -- as a negotiable -- for the self-serving purpose of heightening public-facing institutional 'reputation' and 'integrity,'" the open letter states. As of Monday morning, more than 260 students and professors had signed the open letter. Currently, UNC Chapel Hill has an indoor mask mandate and is encouraging students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated. According to the institution's COVID-19 dashboard, 90 percent of students are vaccinated, as are 87 percent of all employees. Since last month, 466 students and 74 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Unvaccinated students are required to test for COVID-19 twice per week and unvaccinated employees once per week beginning Sept. 15. |
| A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: 'I Just Feel Lost' | |
 | Men are abandoning higher education in such numbers that they now trail female college students by record levels. At the close of the 2020-21 academic year, women made up 59.5% of college students, an all-time high, and men 40.5%, according to enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit research group. U.S. colleges and universities had 1.5 million fewer students compared with five years ago, and men accounted for 71% of the decline. This education gap, which holds at both two- and four-year colleges, has been slowly widening for 40 years. The divergence increases at graduation: After six years of college, 65% of women in the U.S. who started a four-year university in 2012 received diplomas by 2018 compared with 59% of men during the same period, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In the next few years, two women will earn a college degree for every man, if the trend continues, said Douglas Shapiro, executive director of the research center at the National Student Clearinghouse. No reversal is in sight. American colleges, which are embroiled in debates over racial and gender equality, and working on ways to reduce sexual assault and harassment of women on campus, have yet to reach a consensus on what might slow the retreat of men from higher education. Some schools are quietly trying programs to enroll more men, but there is scant campus support for spending resources to boost male attendance and retention. |
| Jill Biden heads back to classroom as a working first lady | |
| Jill Biden is going back to her whiteboard. After months of teaching writing and English to community college students in boxes on a computer screen, the first lady resumes teaching in person Tuesday from a classroom at Northern Virginia Community College, where she has worked since 2009. She is the first first lady to leave the White House to log hours at a full-time job. "There are some things you just can't replace, and I can't wait to get back in the classroom," she recently told Good Housekeeping magazine. The first lady has been anxious to see her students in person after more than a year of virtual teaching brought on by a pandemic that continues to challenge the Biden administration. A working first lady is a "big deal," said Tammy Vigil, a Boston University communications professor who wrote a book about first ladies Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. Jill Biden, 70, is forging a new path for herself and her successors. The first lady has said she always wanted to be a career woman. She taught at the Virginia community college during the eight years that her husband was vice president and was not about to let the added responsibility of being first lady force her to give up a career she so closely identifies with. "Teaching isn't just what I do. It's who I am," she says. |
| Numbers plus FDA approvals make case for mandates | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: The numbers showed 2,469 of the 2,510 Mississippians who died of Covid between January 1 and August 4, 2021, had not been vaccinated. That's 98%. The numbers showed 99% of Mississippians contracting Covid since January had not been vaccinated. And, just last week 87% of those hospitalized from Covid had not been vaccinated. Authorized for emergency use last December, vaccines became the best way to avoid getting Covid and greatly reduced its severity when contracted. Still, the numbers show only 39% of Mississippians vaccinated, one of the nation's lowest rates. The numbers show the Covid delta variant pushed new cases in Mississippi to record highs this fall, disrupting schools and businesses once again. This variant has shown that Covid can mutate into more dangerous forms. Beware the "mu" variant. It may be the next high risk mutation. Health officials say more than 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated to stop the spread of Covid and hinder future mutations. |
| First, it was Common Core. Now, critical race theory is the 'biggest threat' to Mississippi schools. | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: A few years ago, many in the state argued that the enactment of Common Core national education standards would result in the ruin of Mississippi's public education system. Now, some of the same people are making similar arguments about critical race theory. Both Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn, whom many believe will challenge the incumbent governor in the 2023 Republican primary, used a considerable amount of their time at the Neshoba County Fair political speeches in late July pledging to pass legislation during the 2022 session preventing the teaching of critical race theory. Reeves called critical race theory "the latest, dumbest idea." The exact definition of critical race theory varies, perhaps depending on a person's political views. Essentially, it is the teaching that systematic racism exists in the country, which makes it more difficult for people of color to succeed. While some might argue about whether critical race theory is good or bad, there has been no report of it being taught in Mississippi public schools. That didn't stop Reeves and Gunn from spending more time talking about it at the Neshoba County Fair than addressing COVID-19, which was surging in the state. Before critical race theory, there was another evil that was going to pollute Mississippi schools: Common Core. Late in 2014, then-Lt. Gov. Reeves made big news at a meeting of the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government by announcing he would work during that next legislative session to keep the state from adopting the Common Core national standards. |
SPORTS
| Notebook: How MSU coaches, Will Rogers improve before facing experienced N.C. State | |
| Mike Leach said his coaching staff needed to "strike the fear of God" into his players, otherwise they would be selling Big Gulps or doing the backstroke up and down a football field if they quit a game again. These comments came moments after Mississippi State's 20-point comeback win Saturday against Louisiana Tech. Meeting with reporters for his weekly Monday availability, Leach expanded on why his coaching staff was to blame for MSU's lackluster effort amidst La. Tech's 34-point run. "We've been very positive up to this point," Leach said. "If you go too far with that, then I think people relax. We really need to hold these guys (accountable)." Leach saw this approach work with his team when he brought them together during a timeout between the third and fourth quarters. He repeated "do your ... job" numerous times before sparking a 21-point fourth quarter leading to State's largest comeback in program history. Leach was frustrated with players pouting on the sideline following one bad play, saying it was selfish to act as though things didn't matter once plays started going La. Tech's way. Leach said he had a list of players who he felt were the core of sparking belief when much of it appeared to be gone. |
| Tuesday Replay: How Mississippi State flipped the switch to beat Louisiana Tech | |
| Mike Leach has seen a lot in 21-plus years as a head coach in college football. But Mississippi State's performance for much of Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech was a whole new animal to the second-year coach as MSU turned a 14-0 lead into a 34-14 deficit at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs' offense, defense and special teams all cratered practically at once. "I've been in deals like this where one side just plays pathetic and the other side plays really good," Leach said. "I've never really been in one as clearly defined as this where all three sides played simultaneously bad -- almost having a contest who could play the worst. It was fiercely contested, too." Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a switch was flipped somewhere in the Bulldogs' inner workings. With 13 minutes, 11 seconds remaining, a 70-yard kickoff return by Lideatrick "Tulu" Griffin sparked a fast, furious comeback. Mississippi State scored three straight touchdowns in 10 minutes, blocked a winning field-goal attempt and hung on for a 35-34 victory. After Saturday's game and in Monday's press conference, Leach offered insight into how the Bulldogs pulled the turnaround and staved off an upset loss at home -- as well as what they will have to do in order to avoid similar scenarios down the road. "I think right now everybody's very happy that they won," Leach said Saturday night. "I'd like them to draw a lot of confidence and perspective on how well we can play when we play together. I also think there's a sense that we have a lot of work to do." |
| NC State Wolfpack football coach Dave Doeren has a lot of respect for Mississippi State, Mike Leach | |
| When NC State head coach Dave Doeren was a defensive assistant coach at Kansas from 2002-05, the last year of which he was a co-coordinator, Texas Tech was in the midst of its breakout under an upstart head coach named Mike Leach. Back then, the Big 12 was an actual 12-team conference divided into two separate divisions. Kansas was in the Northern Division, and Texas Tech in the Southern. In the last two years of Doeren's time at Kansas, the two teams became cross-divisional opponents for a home-and-home. The 2005 version of the Red Raiders under Leach was one of the best in school history, rising to as high as No. 10 in the Associated Press Poll and going 9-3 overall after losing to Alabama by three points in the Cotton Bowl. That team beat Doeren and Kansas, 30-17, in what was actually one of Texas Tech's lowest scoring outputs of the season. For the first time since those days, Doeren is about to face Leach again. Leach is now at Mississippi State, testing his offensive system at the highest echelon of college football, the SEC. Doeren knows the 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN2 against an SEC opponent on the road represents a great chance for his Wolfpack program, and it comes against a university in which Doeren sees similar traits to NC State, citing both schools' passion and blue collar approach. "It's going to be an awesome opportunity. And then we're on ESPN. So great audience for people to watch the game." |
| NC State carries the ACC banner into its matchup with Mississippi State in Starkville | |
| Dave Doeren won't harp on it all week, but there's no avoiding the conversation with his team. N.C. State (1-0) travels to Starkville, Mississippi this weekend for a prime time showdown with Mississippi State (1-0). The Bulldogs represent more than just the next opponent: It's ACC versus SEC, which is always a big deal in the world of college football. Over the weekend, the SEC defeated the ACC in two head-to-head matchups, with one more pending Monday night. Under Doeren, the Wolfpack knocked off one SEC foe, Vanderbilt in 2016, while falling short four other times, including a loss to Mississippi State in 2015. Yes, the SEC cloud looms large over the ACC footprint and Doeren won't avoid the talk, but it won't be the main talking point every day. "It won't be something we talk about five days in a row, I'll tell you that," Doeren said. "It is something worth the conversation." N.C. State hasn't played a true road game at an SEC stadium since 2008, at South Carolina, the first career start for Russell Wilson. It's just the second trip ever to Starkville for the Pack, who have faced the Bulldogs three times in bowl games, the last matchup coming in Charlotte, in the 2015 Belk Bowl. |
| Remembering how the SEC navigated a sobering 12 days after 9/11 | |
 | A stunned silence fell over the conference room at the Marriott in downtown Philadelphia shortly after 9:03 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001. Auburn athletics director David Housel, Mississippi State athletics director Larry Templeton and Arkansas women's athletics director Bev Lewis were attending an NCAA championships cabinet meeting the Tuesday morning that life in America forever changed. Seventeen minutes after the group of administrators from across the country were informed that a plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, someone walked into the conference room with news that another plane had struck the South Tower -- and it wasn't an accident. The cabinet meeting was quickly called off as everyone tried to process what was happening. Administrators returned to their rooms and sat fixated watching the news that morning as they looked for answers and information. In that same moment, nearly 900 miles away in Birmingham, SEC commissioner Roy Kramer sat in his office with Charles Bloom, the league's director of media and public relations, and watched on live TV as United Airlines Flight 175 careened into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. In the hours after the plane crashes in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania that morning, the SEC began assessing its options. Some administrators within the league felt that postponing was the right course of action. Housel said it was evident early on that the games weren't going to happen that week. Templeton, whose Mississippi State program was supposed to host BYU that weekend, knew there was no way the Cougars could feasibly make the trek to Starkville with planes across the country grounded. But others within the conference thought forging on was the best option. |
| Vanderbilt football paid East Tennessee $415,000 and got dominated at home | |
 | All losses are costly in college football. Just ask Vanderbilt. The Commodores were steamrolled in a 23-3 loss to East Tennessee State on Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium. A blowout loss to an FCS program is harsh enough. It's even worse considering Vanderbilt, for all intents and purposes, paid ETSU to wreck Clark Lea's debut as the Commodores' coach. Vanderbilt agreed to pay ETSU $415,000 for the game, according to the game contract obtained by the USA TODAY Network. Such payments are standard in college football scheduling, though it doesn't lessen the insult to injury. Vanderbilt struggled in nearly every facet on Saturday and never found a rhythm on offense. Lea became the second straight Commodores football coach to lose in his debut, joining Derek Mason, who suffered a blowout loss to Temple in 2014. |
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