| Thursday, September 16, 2021 |
| MSU offers Cowbell Cabs to ensure students find safe rides home | |
 | Mississippi State University's Student Association is bringing back an old service that they hope can keep students safe while they're having fun. The program is called Cowbell Cabs which is a free service to students that allows them to get home from the local bars and restaurants safely. Cowbell Cabs was halted last year because of the pandemic, but with the vaccine readily available for students, some felt it was time to bring the driving service back. The cabs are available from 9 PM to 2 AM every weekend in September and October. Each student that calls the cab service is allowed to bring one guest. MSU's Student Body President, Garrett Smith, said his main goal in bringing the service back is to give students more opportunities to be safe. "We want everybody to be responsible on game day weekends," he said. "We know that most of them are, but we want to make it a little bit easier for all of them to be that way." The phone number to call Cowbell Cabs is (662) 813-0084. The Student Association pays for all cab rides so the service can be free and an easy option for students. |
| Mary Means Business: Vowell's Marketplace closing in Starkville | |
 | By November, Starkville will have one less supermarket in town. Vowell's Marketplace, 118 Hwy. 12, is expected to close by the end of October, store manager Max Stillman confirmed. He referred The Dispatch to store owner Todd Vowell for a statement. Vowell did not respond to messages from The Dispatch by press time today. Vowell's came to Starkville more than seven years ago and replaced the outgoing Piggly Wiggly. With the grocery store vacating Starkville in the coming months, this leaves a more than 60,000 square-foot retail space on Highway 12 up for grabs. Moving toward the Middleton Court, T-Yummi has officially opened. T-Yummi, 329 Hwy. 12., held its soft opening last week. The Vietnamese pho and bubble tea shop is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. The restaurant has changed its hours periodically on social media due to ingredients and staff shortages, so be sure to follow T-Yummi on social media for updates. Also in Starkville, after a more than one-year hiatus, Captain D's is back. In April 2020, an attic fire destroyed Captain D's in Starkville. Now, in a new location, the seafood fast food shop has reopened at 812 Hwy 12, the former Payless Shoe Store. |
| Old West Point Road bridge to be replaced | |
 | Last week, the bridge on Old West Point Road was taken down to prepare for a full replacement. Back in mid-July, the portion of the road was indefinitely closed for Phillips Contracting to begin work on removing and replacing the bridge, but due to delays, demolition of the bridge occurred last Tuesday instead of the scheduled July 13. According to a Facebook post by the city's official page, this bridge replacement project is funded through the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund, which was enacted through a special session of the Mississippi Legislature. "This project will provide a safer intersection at Garrard Road, improve drainage efficiency of the creek, as well as provide adequate stabilization of the channel slopes," the post read. This road closure will extend from the south side of Garrard Road to Trotter Lane with no through-traffic being allowed or possible. The city is requiring motorists to use alternate routes such as Montgomery Street, Garrard Road, and Highway 12 while this project goes on. |
| U.S. Jobless Claims Remained Near Pandemic Low Last Week | |
 | Jobless claims rose slightly last week but remained near a pandemic low, as layoffs stabilize amid an economic slowdown tied to rising coronavirus cases. Initial unemployment claims rose to 332,000 last week from a pandemic low of 312,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Layoffs due to Hurricane Ida, which hit Louisiana at the end of August, appeared to contribute to the small claims increase, economists said. The four-week moving average for claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell to 335,750, the lowest level since March 2020. More broadly, claims have trended lower since mid-July, a sign employers are holding on to workers even though the Delta variant has contributed to a rise in coronavirus cases and slowed U.S. economic growth. The increase in cases has weighed on consumer sentiment and appeared to contribute to the hiring slowdown in August, particularly in the leisure and hospitality industry. Still, slower August job growth also likely reflects companies' struggle to find workers, many economists say. Employer demand for labor is much stronger than it was at the beginning of this year because many Americans are now vaccinated and businesses are operating with fewer restrictions. |
| Mississippi medical field experiencing staff shortages | |
 | Unemployment has run out and companies are looking to hire, but no one is applying. Some of the biggest jobs needing to be filled are in the medical field. According to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the biggest job demand is in the medical field, specifically nurses. Tim Moore, with the Mississippi Hospital Association, said it is their job to advocate for hospitals across the state. He said the lack of people to fill jobs comes partly from the pandemic and the increased need for health care workers across the country. Moore said a lot of healthcare workers have been pulled from Mississippi to help other states battle the pandemic. Other factors include better competitive pay, people moving out of state, and some who have left the medical field because of the pandemic. He also said with some COVID vaccine mandates nationwide, the issue could also push some people over the edge. Moore said being in healthcare is a very rewarding career, and there needs to be a move to get people to see that and remember that. He said if things continue on this same trajectory, we could see significant medical staff shortages for years to come. |
| Lawmakers consider teacher pay, insurance cost for families | |
 | A Mississippi public school teacher with 15 years of experience providing health insurance for their family took home just under $30,000 a year in net pay in 2020, a "shocking number," a policy adviser with the Southern Regional Education Board told state lawmakers Wednesday. That's only a few thousand dollars more a year than first-year teachers who were paying for only their health insurance took home, the adviser said. "All of these are shocking numbers to us -- that a Mississippi teacher potentially serving 15 years, especially one who is a single parent, is taking home a wage that can barely cover housing and utilities," board policy adviser Megan Boren said. A teacher with 15 years of experience took home an annual salary of about $29,680 after taxes and benefits in 2020, compared with about $26,580 for first-year teachers, according to data shared by the Atlanta nonpartisan nonprofit. The Legislature's Senate Education Committee met Wednesday to discuss increasing teacher pay in Mississippi, the state with the lowest average teacher pay in the nation. During the 2021 legislative session, the Mississippi Legislature approved a $1,000 raise for most teachers and a $1,100 raise for those in the early years of their careers. The raises were signed into law by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in March. But many contend lawmakers need to go much further to get Mississippi up to speed with other states. |
| 'Pay alone won't solve the problem.' Lawmakers look at teacher salaries, benefits, support | |
 | Not only does Mississippi's public school teacher pay lag other states, insurance and some other benefits cost teachers more or pale in comparison to others. The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday held a daylong hearing digging into teacher pay, benefits and other issue impacting teacher shortages and problems attracting and retaining qualified educators. While lawmakers have passed some modest increases in teacher pay in recent years -- and politicians have promised more -- Mississippi still trails the region and nation in teacher pay by most measures, particularly for starting and mid-career teachers. Mississippi's starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree is $37,000. Political leaders have vowed to try to get it up at least to the regional average of nearly $40,000. Wednesday's hearing, led by Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, marks the first time in several years that lawmakers have attempted a comprehensive look at the issue to inform policy -- and teacher pay. Kelly Riley, executive director of Mississippi Professional Educators, said she's glad lawmakers are looking at insurance and other benefits as they discuss teacher pay raises. Lawmakers also discussed retirement benefits and heard from officials with the Public Employee Retirement System. Mississippi's employee contribution to the plan is 9%, higher than many other states including Alabama, at 7.5% and Arkansas at 6.5%. |
| Lawmakers find teacher pay isn't the only issue in the shortage nationwide | |
 | The Senate Education Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to hear from experts across the board on the reality of a teacher pay raise in Mississippi. The committee heard from the Mississippi Department of Education, Department of Finance and Administration, Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), University Research Center, and the Southern Regional Education Board. The Department of Finance and Administration went over the current health and life insurance premiums that are provided to teachers across the state. An extreme increase for family coverage was noted for Mississippi teachers compared to neighboring states. State Sen. Brice Wiggins (R) asked why that was the case and pointed out that there might be some policy regarding insurance that may need to be addressed to help increase teacher take home pay. In the state's plan, employees cover 65% while the state covers 35% for families even though the individual coverage is vastly lower than most others in the region. The Southern Regional Education Board also covered this fact. They recommended that the state up their contribution in order to offset the high family premium costs. |
| Mississippi Senate holds hearings on teacher pay, health benefits | |
 | Mississippi state senators repeatedly heard on Wednesday something they already knew: The state's teachers are among the worst paid in the nation. The senate's education committee held an hourslong hearing at the Mississippi State Capitol to study the necessity of giving the state's teachers a raise, with testimony from the Mississippi Department of Education and the Southern Regional Education Board, an Atlanta nonprofit studying how to improve education in 16 southern states. No Mississippi teachers were called to testify. Teachers were able to submit comments to the committee via email, and more than 200 did so, Sen. Dennis DeBar Jr., chair of the education committee, said. The state lags the rest of the South in teacher pay, with an average teacher salary of $46,843 for educators with 15 years experience, according to data from the Southern Regional Education Board. That figure is more than $8,300 less than the average salary for a teacher with 15 years experience in the rest of the region. "We want to increase teacher pay," said Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, vice chair of the education committee. Blount said legislators can not increase teacher pay while also eliminating the state income tax, because there won't be a way to pay for it without the tax revenue. |
| Biden enlists Disney, Microsoft CEOs in push for vaccine mandates | |
| U.S. President Joe Biden met on Wednesday with U.S. CEOs and other top business leaders as he pushes companies to require workers to be inoculated against COVID-19 amid a surge in infections among the unvaccinated. Participants in the meeting included the chief executives of Walt Disney Co, Microsoft Corp and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Biden last week announced vaccine mandates for nearly all federal employees, federal contractors, and larger companies as the number of U.S. infections continued to rise, hospital beds in some parts of the country filled up and mask requirements returned. After months of trying to persuade Americans to get free vaccinations, the White House is pushing state and local governments, companies and schools to adopt mandates requiring them instead. Biden said at the beginning of the meeting that it would take some time to get the new requirements in place. The White House hopes Wednesday's meeting will serve "as a rallying cry for more businesses across the country to step up and institute similar measures," an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. |
| Trump's election fraud claims pose risks for GOP in midterms | |
 | Former President Trump's insistence on spreading unfounded claims of election fraud is threatening to hurt the Republican Party in the upcoming 2021 and 2022 elections. The growing concerns among some Republicans come after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) handily beat back an effort to recall him in California, where registered Democrats made up a disproportionately high number of mail-in votes. The GOP hand-wringing also follows a disappointing showing in Georgia's Senate runoffs earlier this year, where many Republicans point to Trump for depressing turnout and costing the party control of the upper chamber. "What we see is ultimately Republicans led by Trump, very willing to suppress their own vote by telling people the election could be stolen and therefore they may not even have to take part in it," said GOP strategist and former Republican National Committee spokesman Doug Heye. "That cost us the United States Senate and that's something folks in the Senate are very mindful of." Trump's claims of election malfeasance were most recently echoed by conservative radio host Larry Elder, a California gubernatorial candidate challenging Newsom, who shared a form on his campaign website suggesting that if Newsom survived the recall, it would be because of voter fraud. Republicans have brushed off the implication that Elder's loss in the deep blue state was a result of him invoking voter fraud in the final days of the race, but they acknowledged it could turn off more moderate GOP and independent voters. |
| Republicans See Inflation, Democrats' Spending As Key For 2022 | |
 | For now Republicans' 2022 midterm election message could be summed up by an old slogan used in the 1990s by Democrats: "It's the economy, stupid." GOP lawmakers in recent weeks have piled on the Biden administration for the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, and argued it has failed to respond sufficiently to the continuing pandemic the president had vowed to get under control. But with 14 months before the election, Republican lawmakers, campaign operatives and candidates say the leading issue is Biden's economy. While the U.S. economy itself is growing at a strong clip, prices are increasing at nearly their highest level in years. President Biden, of course, isn't on the ballot, but off-year elections are about sending a message to the party in power. And Republicans think polls showing that a majority of Americans now don't approve of Biden's handling of the economy will stick. Campaign strategists in both parties agree domestic policies will be the centerpiece of their message to voters. But the reaction to how the Biden administration handled the U.S. military's exit from Afghanistan is one area where Biden's pitch in the 2020 election as the experienced foreign policy hand could lead to some buyer's remorse. |
| Dan Crenshaw is building a young activist army, one summit at a time | |
 | An hour or so into Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw's conservative youth confab at the downtown Hilton Hotel in Houston this past weekend, technical difficulties began to mar the affair. A video call with Jordan Peterson, the provocative right wing professor the New York Times once called a "custodian of the patriarchy," began to glitch. As staff tried to fix the sound, Crenshaw, standing on the stage in the hotel's ballroom, improvised. Turning to the audience, which had pushed up close to hear him speak, he began taking questions. "What are we gonna see next, Governor Crenshaw or President Crenshaw?" one attendee asked. The crowd --- hundreds of teenagers and 20-year-old conservatives largely from Texas --- went absolutely wild. "Like a good politician, I have to say Congressman Crenshaw is what you'll see next," Crenshaw said. "I don't know, you know, but to answer that honestly, always will keep options open." It was a brief moment in a two-day affair that saw more than 2,000 young people gather to hear from conservative media luminaries. And while the weekend gave the whiff of a bar mitzvah for the MAGA faithful -- with purple, blue, and green lasers shot over the crowd and techno and pop music blaring from the speakers -- political veterans also called it an innovative approach to campaigning from Crenshaw and his congressional campaign committee, which paid for the event. Rather than spending money to reach voters through rallies, television ads, town halls or even in the digital space, Crenshaw plopped himself in one spot, got free media coverage and had supporters come and pay to see him. In the process, he managed to score emails, phone numbers and addresses for highly committed supporters -- among the most valuable currency in the campaign world. |
| Students struggle to find parking. Here's how the parking director wants to fix it. | |
 | The common perception among students -- especially commuters frantically searching for a place to park their cars before class begins -- is that the university does not provide enough parking spaces on campus. Sam Patterson, director of parking and transportation at the University of Mississippi, disagrees. "I don't think people realize that the University of Mississippi has 17,000 parking spaces," Patterson said. "I think we probably have a parking convenience issue more than a parking space allocation issue. Because we have enough parking spaces, it's just people want them, right by their building or their class. Unfortunately, with the number of people that are on this campus, it's physically impossible to do this." But Patterson acknowledges campus parking can be improved. For example, he believes the university needs to go "up" instead of "out," saying in the next few years there will be another parking garage on campus after bond payments from the residential garage and pavilion garage are paid for. Patterson said he plans on gradually transforming Ole Miss parking, starting with the implementation of license plates as permits and potential daily parking locations. The Oklahoma native also plans on collaborating with student leaders, organizations and even engineering students to keep the conversation on how to create a more efficient commuter experience going. |
| All but three community colleges saw enrollment declines this fall | |
| Enrollment continued to decline at Mississippi's 15 community colleges this semester amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to preliminary numbers from the Mississippi Community College Board. About 64,000 students are attending community college this semester, MCCB's initial headcount shows, a drop of around 3,500 students from last fall. The numbers represent a slight improvement from the start of last school year, when enrollment dropped by more than 5,000 students. "Students are the lifeblood of any community college campus," said Kell Smith, MCCB's interim executive director. "Our colleges are committed to actively recruiting students to come to a community college so they can transfer to a university or enter the workforce. And when they're successful in that endeavor, the state is successful as well because we have a higher skilled workforce and a better educated citizenry." James Gary, the dean of enrollment management at Mississippi Delta Community College, said he thought fear and uncertainty of the nature of the coronavirus led students to initially put off attending community college. A better understanding of COVID may now be leading them back to the classroom. "Once people started to realize that we have a vaccine, we have all these safety measures in place to make sure the student had a safe learning experience, we're going back to -- air quotes -- normal, they began to come back to us," Gary said. |
| NEMCC One Of Only Three Community Colleges Statewide To See Enrollment Increase | |
 | A local community college is one of only three in the state to show an enrollment increase during the past year. Northeast Mississippi Community College reported a one point 26 percent increase for the Fall 2021 semester over its fall 2020 enrollment numbers. That comes at a time when many community colleges are seeing decreases in enrollment. The enrollment increase comes during a time when the college announced free summer school for those who qualified, along with a $550 living expense stipend and a free iPad for those attending classes. NEMCC's President, Doctor Ricky Ford says there has been a lot of emphasis on recruitment. "Our goal is to attain four thousand students and at some point in time, hopefully next year we will do that, we have a large freshmen class coming in , so our efforts are going to be focused on retention efforts of our freshmen class and reaching out to the 2022 fall class to equal that and hopefully that will get us to our goals," Dr. Ford said. The only other two community colleges in Mississippi to see enrollment increases for the fall 2021 semester were East Mississippi in Scooba and Mississippi Delta in Moorhead. |
| 'Tell us which frat': Students, alumni fill Toomer's Corner with cries of protest against recent alleged sexual assaults | |
 | Auburn women and men came out to Toomer's Corner in droves on a rainy Tuesday night, filling the downtown streets with shouts in an effort to advocate for accountability they feel is lacking in sexual assault cases at Auburn University. More than 100 protestors took up shouts of "Hold the school accountable," "Justice now" and "Which one of us is next?" as traffic through College Street slowed to a crawl while drivers honked in solidarity and support for the message and other drivers and pedestrians looked on. The protest came after a release from Auburn University Campus Safety & Security sent out Tuesday said a student disclosed to police that she was raped Friday night at an unnamed fraternity house, and while the sexual assault survivor did not recall the details of the incident, she disclosed physical injuries consistent with a rape. Auburn University alumna Emily Myler held a cardboard sign at Toomer's Corner Tuesday night reading "Don't be shy, tell us which frat," and said she came to the protest because she wanted to help keep Auburn women safe. "I went to school here, I just graduated and it's sad to see that this is still an issue and we have to stand out here in the rain to get someone's attention," Myler said. "Auburn is trying to protect the people who are not being held accountable. We want them to be held accountable for their actions." |
| UAB police investigating campus assault of man claiming to be preacher captured on video | |
 | A fight broke out on the UAB campus Tuesday afternoon as a man and woman identifying themselves as preachers were attacked by a person believed to be a student. A witness to the incident who captured it on video told AL.com the pair were carrying signs saying things to the effect that women "belong in the kitchen, they shouldn't be in college....just really misogynistic stuff." The video shows a female, believed to be a student, striking the man who said he was a preacher and knocking him to the ground. It was then that UAB campus police intervened. The university provided few details when asked to comment on the incident. "There was a concerning, very unfortunate altercation on campus yesterday between demonstrators and what appeared to be a student. We cannot comment further at this time, as this is an ongoing investigation," UAB spokesman Tyler Greer. Greer would not say if anyone was injured or arrested. |
| 78 LSU students face expulsion for flouting COVID rules. Here's how the school got to this point | |
 | Louisiana's flagship university has started to oust students for flouting pandemic rules. It took a few warnings and several days, but what started as 1,000-plus potential expulsions winnowed to less than 100. Here's how it played out. At the end of last week, LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard said that about 1,200 of the 34,000 enrolled students had yet to comply with the school's COVID protocol. That is, they hadn't yet submitted proof of either a vaccination, a recent negative test or a positive assay from the past 90 days. A text message was sent to those students informing them of the rules and advising them to get in line or get kicked out. Nearly a week passed without an update from school officials. Then, on Wednesday, after LSU President William F. Tate left a White House meeting where he spoke about the university's pandemic response, Ballard shared some new figures. Earlier in the day, the number of non-compliant students hovered around 400, university officials said. By nightfall, that number had fallen precipitously, to 78. On Twitter, Ballard explained how expulsion is a last resort. "The goal from the start has been to get everyone in compliance," he wrote, "but while the number has shrunk, those 78 are being contacted that they are being un-enrolled from the university." |
| Georgia Senate examining growth in University System of Georgia fees | |
 | Ever-increasing fees the University System of Georgia's (USG) 26 colleges and universities charge students are making it harder to afford a college education in the Peach State, a state senator said Wednesday. The fees even part-time and graduate students are forced to pay each semester have grown significantly, particularly since the Great Recession, Sen. Sally Harrell, D-Atlanta, told members of a Senate study committee created this year to examine the issue and make recommendations. "Every parent of a USG student sees a long list of fees when they pay the tuition bill," she said. That bill doesn't make them happy, especially when the HOPE scholarship doesn't cover fees." Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, who joined Harrell in sponsoring the resolution creating the study committee, said the fees became a greater concern when the coronavirus pandemic shut down college campuses last year, making student activities financed by many of the fees unavailable. "That made us all more interested in where the fees go," he said. Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee and the study committee, promised the panel will take a close look at the fee structure without making any prejudgments. "We certainly do not want to cripple our institutions," he said. |
| Kentucky universities shut during COVID. Should they refund $729 million to students? | |
 | In March 2020, Kentucky's public universities shut down their campuses to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and switched their 121,000 students to online classes for the rest of the spring semester. Now, in eight pending lawsuits, 27 college students say the state universities owe those affected a cumulative refund of $729 million in tuition and mandatory fees. The students say they paid large sums in tuition for a real-life college experience, not to sit at a laptop in their bedroom while faculty scrambled to create "virtual" courses. And they were required to pay fees for services like student activity centers, gyms and student health programs that disappeared once the campuses closed. Similar COVID-19 refund lawsuits have been filed against universities around the country, with few resolutions so far. Earlier this month, Barry University, a private college in Miami, Fla., agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle such a claim. If any other business failed to deliver the product they sold you, then you would expect to get your money back, said Lexington attorney Andre Regard, who represents the Kentucky students in all eight suits filed in Franklin Circuit Court. The lead suit is against the University of Kentucky, claiming breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The lead plaintiff in the case is Regard's son, a computer science major at UK. Regard has asked for class-action status so his suits could cover all affected students, not just the 27 currently signed on as plaintiffs, but that question has not yet been decided. |
| U. of Kentucky president pressured to adopt COVID-19 vaccine mandate | |
| A letter signed by more than 2,000 faculty, staff and students and a resolution adopted by the University Senate this week asked University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto to issue a vaccine mandate for the campus community. The resolution cited the full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the Pfizer vaccine, other universities' mandates and the delta variant surge as reasons Capilouto should consider a mandate. Other Kentucky institutions, including Simmons, Berea and Bellarmine, are requiring vaccines. At the beginning of Monday's senate meeting, before the resolution was brought up, Capilouto said he knows some community members want a mandate and, he said: "I want you to know, I deeply respect that request." "And," he added, "I want to encourage continued dialogue and debate, because we all want the same thing: the highest vaccination rates possible." As of Sept. 8, UK reported 82% of its population was fully vaccinated or in the process -- 81% of students were vaccinated; 89% of faculty; and 81% of staff. Spokesman Jay Blanton said Wednesday that UK's vaccinations have increased 10 percentage points in less than a month and said numbers are expected to keep increasing. |
| Texas A&M enrolls largest freshman class | |
 | Texas A&M welcomed its largest ever freshman class this school year partly due to planned growth in some colleges but also because more students accepted offers this year than expected. Data from the first day of classes shows that there are 72,982 students spread across the the main campus in College Station, the Higher Education Center at McAllen, remote Engineering Academy sites, the branch campuses in Galveston and Doha, Qatar, the Law School in Fort Worth and all locations of the Health Science Center. The freshman class alone includes 12,459 of which 11,464 are part of the main campus. The university's main campus figures include 254 students from the McAllen Higher Education Center, of which 140 are freshmen, according to an A&M press release. This year's first day of class numbers represent a fall enrollment increase of 2.6% from last year's official totals, the press release states. Joseph Pettibon, vice president for enrollment and academic services, said that as more Texans show an interest in an A&M degree the university has been able to meet that demand. "In some respects the number of students that apply to A&M continues to increase year over year," Pettibon said. "And as that number has increased, we've also been able to continue to provide that opportunity to more students." |
| U. of Missouri officials warn of motorists yelling racial, homophobic slurs to passers-by on campus | |
 | In the wake of reports about individuals harassing community members with racist and homophobic slurs, University of Missouri officials are urging students and the campus community at large to report any instances of harassment and discrimination they might witness. In an email addressed to the campus community Wednesday, UM President Mun Choi disclosed that on Sept. 6, MUPD officers were dispatched after receiving calls from three people who reported a youth had yelled profanities and homophobic slurs from a black pickup truck driving around campus. The occupants of the pickup were not MU students, Choi said in the email. They were teenage males ages 16 and 17, according to a police report. "It is clear that these individuals do not share our values," Choi said in the email. "We will aggressively confront these behaviors to the fullest extent possible through laws and university policies." Slurs were yelled at least twice on campus, at Hitt Street and Missouri Avenue respectively, and at least once downtown, at the intersection of Ninth Street and Broadway, officials said. After being identified in a traffic stop, the driver and a pickup occupant each received a warning from police that prohibits them from trespassing on campus for one year, according to the police report. |
| At Kansas, Another Confrontational Protest Against Greek Life | |
 | Thousands of protesters gathered outside a University of Kansas fraternity house on Monday and Tuesday nights, demanding that the organization be permanently banned from campus after a student reported being sexually assaulted there over the weekend. If those images seem familiar, that's because they bear a striking resemblance to a series of demonstrations last month at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In both cases, activists mobilized huge crowds in response to a single report of sexual assault involving a fraternity at a flagship campus in the Midwest, although some protesters called it part of a pattern that speaks to broader problems in Greek life. On Friday at 1 p.m., activists at Kansas plan to hold a sit-in at the office of the chancellor. The protest, like the ones before it, was announced on Instagram. In an email to the campus on Tuesday, university leaders acknowledged the activism and said they have begun an investigation into the sexual-assault accusation. A Kansas spokesperson told The Chronicle the university's investigation is focused on an individual and not the fraternity. In their statement, university leaders said Phi Kappa Psi has been cooperative. In the wake of the George Floyd protests last summer, the Abolish Greek Life movement gained a following at many college campuses. Other activists, especially from within Greek life, have called for Greek life reform in lieu of abolition. |
| What Will Online Learning Look Like in 10 Years? Zoom Has Some Ideas | |
| Last March, Zoom, the ubiquitous online conferencing platform, became a staple of daily life for many students and educators as learning shifted online. Millions downloaded it -- and first learned of it -- back in early 2020, when lockdowns forced billions of students online, and at least 100,000 schools onto Zoom. But as the company itself will tell you, it didn't spring up overnight. Zoom is actually a decade old, and the first conferences launched in 2012, limited to a mere 15 participants. While post-pandemic growth has slowed as schools resume in-person learning, the company is still flush with cash, reporting over $1 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2021. Education has of course been a key growth area for the company, and it's been busy over the past year hiring former educators and those with years of experience in edtech. Their goal, it seems, is to realize the potential of hybrid learning over the long term, envisioning a world where schools teach partly in-person and partly online -- and preferably on Zoom. This week at Zoom's annual conference, Zoomtopia, a trio of education-focused Zoom employees (er, Zoomers?) speculated wildly about what hybrid Zoom learning might look like 10 years from now, given the warp speed advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning expected. Below are highlights of their grandiose, if sometimes vague, vision for the future of learning on Zoom. |
| New data offer sense of how COVID expanded online learning | |
 | It won't be clear for a good while whether and how much the last year's grand, unplanned experiment with remote learning has permanently altered the landscape for using technology to deliver college instruction. A first step, though, is getting good data on how patterns shifted during the last year -- and that is beginning to arrive. New data from the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics, and additional information from the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), offer an initial picture of how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped postsecondary enrollments patterns last fall. They show -- likely surprising no one -- that many more students received all or part of their education in fall 2020 through what the federal agency calls "distance education courses." While colleges and universities enrolled 650,000 fewer students in fall 2020 than they did in fall 2019 (as Inside Higher Ed detailed Wednesday), roughly two-thirds of the remaining students were educated either wholly (44.7 percent) or partially (28 percent) virtually. About a quarter, 27 percent, were not enrolled in any remote education courses. By contrast, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of the 20 million students enrolled in fall 2019 took no online courses. Seventeen percent were enrolled entirely virtually, and 19 percent took at least one of their courses online. The growth in online enrollments was particularly evident at the undergraduate level (where the number of students enrolled exclusively online grew by 367 percent) and at public four-year institutions, where the rates of growth were two to three times higher than at private nonprofit colleges and many times greater than at for-profit colleges. |
| Studies pick college programs with best investment returns | |
| Students pursuing a college degree generally have a sense of where their institution ranks in comparison to others, but not necessarily how their particular course of study measures up. Now they can find out. Using data from the latest College Scorecard, two new studies look much more granularly at how specific programs -- say, the bachelor's degree in accounting at the University of Texas at Austin -- rate in helping recent graduates recoup their investments. The two studies -- one from the center-left think tank Third Way and the other from the more conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation -- concur that while most college programs help graduates secure jobs that will allow them to repay their loans or recoup their costs within a few years, a sizable number do not. And knowing which is which, argue the authors of both, can not only help students make better-informed program choices but also guide policy makers in holding institutions accountable for failing programs. "It used to be that you should go to the best college you could get into that you can afford," said Andrew Gillen, senior policy analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the author of its study. "This program-level data helps lift that blindfold. If I know I'm interested in journalism, I can look up journalism programs at different schools and see what their graduates earn." |
| Why Trump's anti-spy 'China Initiative' is unraveling | |
 | After conducting days of surveillance, performing DNA tests on a hard drive that was fished out of a dumpster, and searching through personal emails, FBI officials became convinced that visiting UCLA researcher Guan Lei belonged to the Chinese military and might be stealing American industrial secrets. They couldn't nail down evidence of espionage but secured an indictment against Guan for allegedly lying about having secret ties to the People's Liberation Army. He was charged with visa fraud, making false statements and destroying evidence. For more than eight months, the 30-year-old computer science PhD student sat in a cell at Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles awaiting trial. But in a sudden turnaround in late July, U.S. authorities summarily dismissed all charges. The Justice Department gave no explanation, issuing a brief statement that it had reevaluated the case, along with several others, and determined that "it is now in the interest of justice" to drop the matter. Guan's was one of five similar prosecutions against Chinese researchers -- all but one in California -- that were dropped over a two-day period in July. All seven failed prosecutions were part of the so-called China Initiative, a sweeping program launched in November 2018 under the Trump administration to counter theft of trade secrets, hacking and economic espionage. Although much remains unknown about the Trump-era campaign, it appears that a major problem was its decision to focus on Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans working in major U.S. research universities. |
SPORTS
| Memphis preparing for 'heck of a matchup' with Mississippi State | |
| Memphis tight end Sean Dykes knows it's been three years since the Tigers lost a home game. The last time a visiting team beat Memphis at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium was Oct. 13, 2018, when UCF left town with a 31-30 win. Since then, the Tigers have won 16 straight home contests. It's a streak Dykes wants to extend at 3 p.m. Saturday when Mississippi State visits Memphis in a battle of 2-0 teams. "I want to be the Liberty Bowl packed, loud and fanatical," Dykes said Tuesday. "Give us everything you got -- we're going to need it." Memphis handled Nicholls State at home on Sept. 4, a 42-17 win, before hitting the road and outlasting Arkansas State 55-50 on Saturday. But the Tigers know a Southeastern Conference program like the Bulldogs presents another challenge altogether. "Mississippi State's a fantastic team, undefeated on the year," head coach Ryan Silverfield said Monday. "They've been absolutely dynamic in all three phases." The Bulldogs are coming off a 24-10 win over NC State in which their defense shined, limiting Wolfpack running backs Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person, Jr. to a combined 50 rushing yards. Memphis offensive coordinator Kevin Johns praised Mississippi State's defenders at every level -- the massive defensive linemen up front; the "thick," physical linebackers; the standout secondary. |
| Mississippi State football's defense poses big test for Memphis' young QB | |
| When Memphis offensive coordinator Kevin Johns thought about the challenge ahead of his team when Mississippi State arrives at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Saturday, there wasn't a facet of the Bulldogs' defense that Johns didn't fret about. "Well, I have a lot of concerns," Johns said. "And I'm serious." There are the physical Mississippi State defensive linemen, boasting 310-pound defensive tackles and speedy edge rushers. There are the two "NFL-caliber" cornerbacks in Martin Emerson and Emmanuel Forbes. There are the experienced linebackers who sow confusion with their blitzes. And there's something internal, something Johns navigates no matter what team the Tigers (2-0) face. Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan is a true freshman. And while he has impressed during his first two games for the Tigers, Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN2) against Mississippi State (2-0) offers a new challenge entirely. "It'll be the biggest game he's played in to date," Johns said. "So that'll be a new learning experience for him. We just hope he continues to play with the same maturity that he has up until this point." "You don't expect that from someone led by a true freshman, but he's doing it," Bulldogs defensive coordinator Zach Arnett said. "Proof's in the pudding. The guy's a hell of a player." |
| 'That man is different': Teams might want to stop kicking to Mississippi State's Griffin | |
 | N.C. State was in Starkville for a crucial early-season matchup, and postgame a Mississippi State player is saying this: "He's a home run hitter. He gives us confidence. He gives us life. He gives us a spark." Surely one looks at the two teams competing and sees those words and thinks, there must have been a big game at Dudy Noble Field between two of the nation's top baseball programs. Instead, those words are coming from Mississippi State running back Dillon Johnson, and he's talking about MSU's most exciting player through two games -- receiver and kick returner Lideatrick "Tulu" Griffin. "When he's back there," Johnson said, "we just know he can take it home any second." Griffin didn't waste any time against N.C. State last Saturday as he took the opening kickoff 100 yards, reaffirming why MSU should continue electing to receive when it wins the coin toss. "That really created momentum for our team, which to be honest with you, I thought we kept the whole game," MSU coach Mike Leach said following his team's 24-10 win Saturday. |
| SEC schedule released for Mississippi State baseball in 2022 | |
| Trips to Arkansas and Ole Miss highlight Mississippi State's 2022 Southeastern Conference baseball schedule, released Wednesday afternoon. The defending national champion Bulldogs will visit the Razorbacks from April 1-3, 2022. A trip to Oxford will be from April 22-24. Mississippi State opens its SEC slate March 18-20 at Georgia. The Bulldogs' other road trips are at Missouri (April 29-May 1) and at Texas A&M (May 13-15.) A home series with Alabama from March 25-27 welcomes SEC play to Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State will host LSU from April 8-10, Auburn from April 14-16 (a Thursday through Saturday series) and Florida from May 6-8. A three-game series against Tennessee from May 19-21 at Dudy Noble Field concludes SEC play. Mississippi State has yet to announce the remainder of its schedule, but the Bulldogs will reportedly open the 2021 season against Long Beach State in Starkville. |
| Mississippi State baseball's 2022 SEC schedule has road series at Arkansas, Ole Miss | |
| College World Series champion Mississippi State now knows its 2022 SEC schedule, beginning with a series March 18 at Georgia. The SEC announced the conference schedule Wednesday, pitting the Bulldogs against six teams that made the NCAA Tournament, as well as four that advanced to the super regional round. Mississippi State's schedule is highlighted by road trips to Arkansas and Ole Miss, and Dudy Noble Field will host its first SEC game when Alabama visits Starkville between March 25-27. Other home series include LSU, Auburn, Florida and Tennessee, while the Bulldogs will travel to Missouri and Texas A&M toward the end of the campaign. Mississippi State, under coach Chris Lemonis, is coming off a 50-18 season, upending Vanderbilt in the College World Series in June. Mississippi State's roster did see some key departures after the season, though. Right-hander Will Bednar was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the MLB Draft after being named the College World Series MVP. |
| Lopez Ramirez sets records in Bulldogs golf debut | |
| Julia Lopez Ramirez used her Bulldog debut to rewrite the record books. With a three-day total of 202, she led the Bulldogs to a seventh-place finish on the final day Sam Golden Invitational in Denton, Texas. Lopez Ramirez entered the third round of the event tied for 10th before posting seven birdies and an eagle to climb to the top of the leaderboard. She carded a third-round score of 9-under par 63 to propel her to a co-championship finish with a three-round score of 14-under 202. Lopez Ramirez tied with Texas A&M's Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, who was awarded the first-place trophy based on the lowest score on the 18th hole. Fernandez Garcia-Poggio earned a birdie on the par-4 hole while Lopez Ramirez recorded a par. Lopez Ramirez now holds three Bulldog records: lowest third round (9 under), lowest individual round (9 under) and lowest score after 54 holes (14 under). Her 63 in the final round set a Wildhorse Golf Club course record. The Bulldogs used a solid third round of 9 under par to finish seventh as a team. That was the second-lowest third-round score in the history of women's golf at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finished 11-under 853 for the event, the fifth-lowest team total all-time after 54 holes. |
| Molinar and Taylor Set to Represent State at SEC Leadership Council | |
| The SEC Men's and Women's Basketball Leadership Council will hold its annual meeting via Zoom on Thursday, Sept. 16, with Iverson Molinar and Myah Taylor representing Mississippi State. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey introduced new Student-Athlete Leadership Councils in 2016 for the sports of men's and women's basketball along with football, which, in addition to the conference's longstanding Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), provide student-athletes with additional opportunities to engage with campus leaders and conference office staff. The council consists of one male representative and one female representative from each of the SEC's 14 institutions. The goal of the Leadership Council is for student-athletes to serve as a conduit of communication from their teams to the conference office on issues related to student-athlete experience, student-athlete wellness, and to provide feedback on proposed rules governing the SEC and NCAA. Taylor, who also represented Mississippi State at the 2019 leadership council meetings, is coming off her most successful campaign for the Bulldogs in 2020-21. Molinar enters his junior season with 37 starts and 61 career games under his belt. |
| Cohen speaks to Rotary | |
| Photo: John Cohen, director of athletics at Mississippi State University, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its August 24 meeting. Cohen informed club members and guests about the results that winning the Division 1 National Championship in baseball has had on the university. He also talked about the upcoming football season and the other sports at MSU. Shown are (from left) Cohen; Don Roberts, club administrative secretary-treasurer; and Jeff Adcock, club member. The Rotary Club of North Jackson meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Rickhouse in Jackson. |
| Lane Kiffin asks ESPN for Peyton, Eli Manning to broadcast Tennessee, Ole Miss football game | |
 | Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin knows who he wants doing the TV broadcast for the Ole Miss football game at Tennessee on Oct. 16. Eli Manning and Peyton Manning. On Wednesday afternoon, Kiffin tweeted about his desire for the former Southeastern Conference quarterbacks to be teamed up for the broadcast. "Come on @ESPNCFB give the people what they want @Vol_Football @OleMissFB #WeWantEli #WeWantPeyton," Kiffin said. Eli Manning played quarterback for Ole Miss from 2000-03. Peyton Manning played quarterback for Tennessee from 1994-97. The Manning brothers debuted "Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli" during Monday's NFL game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens. Peyton and Eli Manning will do an alternate Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN2 for 10 games in each of the next three seasons. Kiffin's suggestion for the Ole Miss vs. Tennessee broadcast was a quote tweet of the suggestion that came from the @RedditCFB account on Twitter. Its tweet Wednesday morning said, "Day 1 of tweeting @ESPNCFB to confirm the Ole Miss @ Tennessee Manningcast." |
| Gymnasts' testimony leaves senators wondering why FBI agents aren't being prosecuted | |
 | The congressional testimony of four Team USA gymnasts left everyone watching questioning why FBI agents have not been charged with making false statements under oath. "After telling my entire story of abuse to the FBI in summer of 2015, not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said," McKayla Maroney, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Maroney was among the athletes to testify at a hearing on the FBI's mishandling of allegations made against former team doctor Larry Nassar, who has been sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for serial sexual abuse of young women, many of whom have been elite U.S. gymnasts. The hearing followed an Office of Inspector General report over the summer that found multiple FBI field offices failed to take the allegations seriously. It is a rare circumstance that the FBI director is not the headline witness at a Senate Judiciary hearing in which he testifies, but Wednesday was no ordinary day. Testifying along with Maroney were three other prominent USA gymnasts, including Simone Biles, the seven-time Olympic medalist who competed in the Tokyo Games earlier this summer. Noticeably absent was Justice Department leadership itself, a point that gymnast Aly Raisman made on her way to the hearing, expressing disappointment that neither Attorney General Merrick B. Garland nor Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco appeared to testify. |
| Gov. David Ige stands firm on no-spectators policy for U. of Hawaii sports | |
| Gov. David Ige said today there is no change in the no-spectators policy for University of Hawaii sports, including for Saturday's home football game at the on-campus Clarence T.C. Ching Complex. "I hope we will be in a better place before the end of the football season," Ige said in a statement provided to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "However, at this point, this type of activity is simply not safe." Ige responded to an email request Monday from parents of UH football players that family and friends of the student-athletes be allowed at the 9,000-seat Ching Complex for Saturday's game hosting San Jose State. The family members said they would all be vaccinated, wear masks and remain socially distanced. Hawaii is the only one of 130 major college (FBS) programs not allowing spectators at home games this season. So far, the Sept. 4 home opener against Portland State, five volleyball matches at the SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center and soccer matches at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium were played without fans. "We understand how important University of Hawaiʻi athletics is to our community," Ige said today. "The pandemic has really challenged our effort to balance our support of UH athletics with the need to protect the health and safety of our community. Our hospital ICU units are at maximum capacity. Any significant increase in ICU patients could put our healthcare system over the threshold. I am also an avid Warrior fan, and I hope that we will be in a better place before the end of the football season. However, at this point, this type of activity is simply not safe." |
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