THE Daily
Thursday, March 5, 2026
MISSISSIPPIAN theDMonline.com
Volume 114, No. 19
How to make memories, not mugshots, over spring break MARY EVANS
Multimedia Coordinator
ALY BRADSHAW News Staff Writer
At last, it is that special time of year. No, not midterms — spring break. From the white sands of Destin,
Fla., to the deep fjords of Ryfylke, Norway, students at the University of Mississippi are scattering far beyond the Magnolia State. Some are traveling to college classics like Charleston, S.C., or West Palm Beach, Fla. Others are returning home or staying in Oxford. Some are going farther, including one group traveling to Cancún, Mexico.
OLIVIA CANGELOSI / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
A look inside TANNEHILL Robyn Tannehill’s dedication to the arts goes beyond her work as mayor. SEE PAGE 4
SCREAM 7 The classic slasher’s sixth sequel delivers what the franchise always has. SEE PAGE 5
NIL The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill that would exempt NIL income from taxes. SEE PAGE 6
CARNEIRO Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro details his three kicks in the Sugar Bowl and looks ahead to next season. SEE PAGE 7
For senior business major Sarah Stockett, the decision to travel across the border did not come with certainty. Stockett planned the trip long before headlines began reporting violent unrest in parts of Mexico after the killing of a drug cartel leader on March 1. When travel advisories and viral videos began circulating, the Madison, Miss., native and her friends started to think twice. “We tried to reconsider the trip,” Stockett said. “Ultimately, we decided that the tourism industry was a big, important part of Mexico, and there wasn’t too much of a threat for tourists.” Stockett said they relied on research, news reports and personal connections to make their decision. Friends who lived in or recently visited the area reassured them it was safe. “It was hard to figure out what to believe because we were seeing lots of fake AI videos about stuff happening in Cancún that was not true,” Stockett said, “It felt like TikTok and everything was exacerbating the situation, when Cancún was, really, very far away from where that unrest was happening.”
SEE SPRING BREAK PAGE 2
JACK KIRKLAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
A student joins a demonstration in the Circle on March 2.
New progressive organization protests U.S. strikes on Iran HANNAH IVEY JACK KIRKLAND News Staff Writers
The University of Mississippi’s new chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held its inaugural meeting on Sunday, March 1, in Lamar Hall. The following day, members took to the Circle to protest the United States’ recent missile strikes on Iran. The group’s first sponsored event was a sit-in protest under the slogan “No War in Iran” from noon to 1 p.m. Approximately 15 people sat around the flagpole
in the center of the Circle. Members disapproved of recent U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Six American servicemen have died since the U.S. and Israel coordinated missile strikes on Iran. The protest was held in collaboration with the national SDS organization, which held similar events across the country on March 2. The sit-in-style protest
SEE SIT-IN PAGE 2
Unregistered and unaware: Why most Ole Miss students will not show up at the ballot box next week HAILEY AUSTIN News Contributor
The Mississippi primary election on Tuesday, March 10, will determine which candidates from each political party appear on the midterm ballot for U.S. House and Senate seats. Among those candidates is Cliff Johnson, a clinical professor of law instruction at the University of Mississippi School of Law, who is running as a Democrat for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. Even with a local professor in the race, many UM students are unaware of the upcoming election. Between a lack of information and registration constraints, many are prepared to miss voting in the primary election altogether. Student voters who are registered in Lafayette County, such as Will Grem, a freshman psychology major from Oxford, still feel uninformed
about the upcoming election. “It’s not that I don’t want to do research or don’t want to get out,” Grem said. “It’s mainly because I am just too busy to know when it is actually happening.” Lauren McKay, a junior dietetics and nutrition major from Wiggins, Miss., said that she did not realize there was an upcoming election but is not registered in Lafayette County, anyway. “I feel like I don’t really pay attention to state news,” McKay said. “I’m not registered in Lafayette County. I am still registered in my hometown.” A fight for turnout With the primary scheduled for the Tuesday of the university’s spring break, many students will be away from Oxford when the election takes place. That timing compounds the issue of traditionally low turnout for primary elections, according to Emily Ommundsen, an assistant professor of political science at
the University of Mississippi. “In midterm years, turnout is lower than in presidential years. And then, across both of those, turnout in primaries is lower than in general elections,” Ommundsen said. “This year, we are in a midterm year and a primary, so we can expect turnout to be quite low compared to those other styles.” By adding spring break to the mix, student participation becomes even less likely. Students who are registered in Lafayette County but are traveling for spring break had to request an absentee ballot well in advance if they plan to vote. Mississippi allows absentee voting in limited circumstances. “It is possible as a college student to get an absentee ballot, but it’s hard, and it requires students to do some advanced planning,” Ommundsen said. Jeff Busby, the Lafayette
SEE BALLOT BOX PAGE 3