THE Daily Thursday, October 22, 2026
MISSISSIPPIAN theDMonline.com
Volume 115, No. 9
UM researchers to develop lab self-driven by AI
A $7 million federal grant will help a University of Mississippi pharmaceutical researcher develop an automated lab that uses artificial intelligence and robotics to accelerate drug development. TÉA MATHIAS
News Staff Writer
Mo Maniruzzaman, a University of Mississippi researcher, received a $7 million grant to develop a lab that uses artificial intelligence and robotics to expedite the process of developing new medications. AI powered, self driving labs are key to putting medications that could save lives into patient hands quicker. This lab will expand research and allow students and faculty to contribute to advancements when it comes to drug development. Maniruzzaman, professor and chair of the university Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, plans to create the lab at Insight Park, the university’s research and business incubator. The project is expected to take two years as researchers combine existing technology into one automated system. The grant was awarded by the Health Resources
PHOTO COURTESY: SRIJITA CHATTOPADHYAY / OLE MISS DIGITAL IMAGING SERVICES
Members of the research team in Mo Maniruzzaman’s pharmaceutical engineering and 3D printing lab
and Services Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The lab, which Man-
iruzzaman refers to as a self-driving laboratory, will use AI, robotics and automated equipment to run experiments and test possible
medications with less human involvement. Researchers hope the technology will help them study potential medications and develop
ways to manufacture medications more efficiently. Maniruzzaman said it currently takes about 8.5 years to transform an idea into a medication that is market-ready. He hopes the lab will help shorten that process by allowing experiments to run continuously. “By integrating this self-driving concept that can run 24/7 without compromising quality, we can actually fast-track the discovery process,” Maniruzzaman said. Some of the technology that will be used in the lab is already part of Maniruzzaman’s research. His team uses 3D printers and robotic equipment to input multiple medications into one pill or to create time-release medication, which allows for a more controlled and precisely timed medication release after a pill is taken. Janhavi Deshmukh, a third-year pharmaceutical sciences doctoral student
SEE AI LAB PAGE 2
NEEDLEPOINT NEST
DAVID KELLUM
PROTEST MORE
The Oxford-based family craft business has grown to serve customers across the country.
Meet the artist behind Ole Miss radio broadcasts.
Opinion editor MacKenzie McDaries thinks more UM students should stand up for their beliefs.
SEE PAGE 6
SEE PAGE 4
SEE PAGE 7
Oxford Board of Aldermen approves Football concessions expand, more North Lamar, Old Taylor Road improvements updates to come TÉA MATHIAS
News Staff Writer
SADIE ROSENGRANT News Contributor
Football concessions at the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium are rising in popularity with food sale records and expansions to concession options. “In 2022, my first season here, we set a record that year. … We did more than that against Charlotte this year,” Paul Schertz, general manager for concessions, said. This year, Ole Miss Athletics implemented a number of chang-
es to general stadium concessions. Concessions has added more grab-and-go locations across the stadium, partnered with Nothing Bundt Cakes and added menu items to existing locations. “In the student section, we added chicken tenders this year, and we added in one other stand, so we doubled the number of chicken tender lo-
SEE CONCESSIONS PAGE 3
The Oxford Board of Aldermen approved the first phase of the North Lamar corridor improvement project to move forward during its Oct. 20 meeting. The project will begin at the new roundabout and extend south toward Cincinnatus Boulevard. “The idea is to convert that stretch and eventually all of North Lamar, to more of a mainstreet look with on-street parking and buildings closer to the road,” city engineer John Crawley said. Road improvements The first phase of the corridor improvement project has a $3.5 million budget. The project in total will add a multi-use path and on-street parking to North Lamar
GAVIN GALLEGOS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Mayor Robyn Tannehill speaks during the Board of Aldermen meeting on Oct. 20. Boulevard from Price Street to Molly Barr Road. The first phase will run from the roundabout at Molly Barr Road and North Lamar Boulevard to The Lamar development at Cincinnatus Boulevard. Additionally, the board ap-
proved adjustments to the intersection of Old Taylor Road and Chucky Mullins Drive. The project will add a traffic signal and left turn lanes.
SEE ALDERMEN PAGE 2
PAGE 2 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 OCTOBER 2026
AI LAB
continued from page 1 who works in the lab, said the technology could be useful for people who take several daily medications. The lab is also expected to include technology that allows researchers to monitor experiments remotely. “This technology is so important for people who have chronic conditions and are taking multiple medications a day,” Deshmukh said. “What if instead, they could take only one pill that will release medication on a schedule? That’s what this technology allows us to do.” Rahat Kader Khan, a doctoral student in computer engineering, is as-
sisting in upgrading a 3D printer with cameras that allow researchers to watch the printing process from their phones or computers. “The system can track the progress of a print and let researchers know when it is finished and alert them if something goes wrong,” Khan said. Although much of the work will be automated, Maniruzzaman said the goal is not to replace researchers. Instead, he said the technology will allow scientists to spend more time analyzing the results and solving problems while the machines handle the routine tasks. “This lab can analyze millions of data points, predict a potential new drug candidate and then run automated experimen-
tation, and it never gets tired,” Maniruzzaman said. “But it can only do that when paired with human insight.”
CONTACT THE NEWS DESK AT thedmnews@gmail.com
PHOTO COURTESY: SRIJITA CHATTOPADHYAY / OLE MISS DIGITAL IMAGING SERVICES
A researcher monitors an Edge 3D printer from his phone.
ALDERMEN continued from page 1 This intersection is the site of frequent traffic congestion, as many student living complexes are located in the South Old Taylor Road area. Sewer updates Another item approved was a request from Walker & Walker Enterprises LLC to connect the proposed Magnolia Bend subdivision to the city’s sewer system. The development, located on County Road 405 south of Highway 6 in Lafayette County, is expected to include between 130 and 140 homes. City officials said the development will require upgrades to existing infrastructure, including the Brittany Woods lift station. Wastewater from the subdivision would be pumped beneath Highway 6 to connect to an existing city sewer line. “Upgrades would be required at the Brittany Woods lift station for that,” city engineer John Crawley said. “It will give us sewer (access) in that east area of town, and we are going to need that going forward.” mTrade Park facilities The board also approved $14,590 in additional design services for the indoor practice facility at mTrade Park.
The changes will affect the need to put in place and a few building’s interior finishes, new pieces of equipment.” retail shop and lobby. City officials expect the design revisions to take about two weeks. The board also approved an agreement with the 3d Memphis Lacrosse club program — a girls’ lacrosse program based in Memphis — to operate tournaments at mTrade Park. Under the agreement, the operator will pay the city $65 per participating team.
CONTACT THE NEWS DESK AT thedmnews@gmail.com
Other city business Other approved items included changes to the city’s land development code and the qualifications for historic preservation commissioners. The code changes clarify regulations for accessory dwelling units, mobile food vendors and mechanical equipment screening. The commission qualification change allows professionals who work in related fields within Oxford city limits to serve even if they live outside the city. During her report, City of Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said city department heads have started preparing for potential winter storms. Officials reviewed previous storm responses and discussed ways to improve future responses, including additional equipment and supplies. “We had our first storm meeting today, although we are not speaking that into existence,” Tannehill said. “We just want to be prepared, and we talked about some things that need to be improved such as supplies, new processes we
GAVIN GALLEGOS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Alderman Mark Huelse
GAVIN GALLEGOS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
City of Oxford Board of Aldermen at its Oct. 20 meeting
THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 OCTOBER 2026 | PAGE 3
CONCESSIONS
continued from page 1 cations, because chicken tenders were a top ten food item out of two locations, and so we knew it was something that people wanted and we needed to to get more of that out there,” Schertz said. In recent years, concessions has also brought in food trucks as vendors in the stadium. This year, Oxford-based food truck 31s is the newest addition, selling wings, chicken tenders and fries. Be-
g
fore that, food trucks for Hotbox Hibachi and G&G’s Fry Co. were added as game day concessions options in 2024. Pizza is now an option at one student section stand between the N1 and N2 sections. It is the only location in the entire stadium that sells pizza. Students now have the ability to use Flex Dollars as payment at concession stands in the student section for food and non-alcoholic beverages. As of now, only one register at each stand accepts Flex as payment, but the concessions team is hoping to implement Flex payment into the rest of its point of sale (POS) sys-
PHOTO COURTESY: OLE MISS ATHLETICS
Rebel To-Go
tems by next school year. “Next football season, all POS systems will be integrated with the flex option,” concessions manager Shirley Montes said. With all of the additions, one might expect concessions to be struggling to keep up, particularly with staffing. However, nonprofit groups are lining up for the chance to volunteer as concessions staff. “I have about five groups that are on a waitlist for me,” Montes said. Each nonprofit group receives a share of the profits when it staffs a game, making the chance to work a concession booth an exciting opportunity. According to Schertz, with all sports combined, concessions gave back over $1.3 million to the community via profit sharing last year. The concessions team prioritizes creating the best possible experience for the fans. A particular area of importance is the length of time that fans must spend waiting in line. “When it takes 15 minutes to grab a pretzel or any other food or beverage item, regardless of the time in the game, it’s not the most ide-
PHOTO COURTESY: OLE MISS ATHLETICS
G&G Fry Co. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium al,” Jack Kent, a junior political science major from Helsinki, Finland, said. To prevent this, the concessions team simplified menus all over the stadium to eliminate choices that take longer to prepare. With shorter menus, fans can make decisions quicker and concessions workers can deliver products faster. “The best customer service we can offer is getting people back to their seats, so they can watch the game,” Schertz said. Concessions also tries to branch out with venues at
other sporting events to create a unique experience for fans. For example, concessions has a smoker at soccer games that offers pulled pork nachos and smoked sausage.
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Lafayette Democrats host No Kings visibility event, highlight midterm voting
DYLAN THOMAS
University News Editor
Members of the Lafayette County Democratic Party gathered in support of congressional candidates Cliff Johnson and Scott Colom at the No Kings: Vote Early/Vote Absentee visibility event on Oct. 17 from 11 a.m. to noon. Approximately 100 attendees stood at the intersection of University Avenue and Bramlett Boulevard, holding signs that ranged from showing support for
Johnson and Colom to expressing discontent with the Trump administration. With the Tuesday, Nov. 3 midterm election date looming, Cristen Hemmins, chair of the Lafayette Democrats, emphasized that one of the main reasons for this visibility event was to spread awareness about the midterm elections and absentee voting. “We did this to spread awareness that you can vote absentee now at the circuit clerk’s office in the white courthouse in the middle of
NOTICE OF ENACTMENT OF UNIVERSITY PARKING RULES & REGULATIONS The University of Mississippi Department of Parking & Transportation (DPT) in Oxford, Mississippi hereby gives notice of enactment of the University’s Traffic and Parking Regulations for the 2026-2027 academic year. These rules and regulations are enacted by the Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning, State of Mississippi, and are effective from and after July 1, 2026. The full text of such rules and regulations are available at www.olemiss.edu/parking the website of DPT.
the Square on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the last two Saturdays of this month, as well,” Hemmins said. Attendants reinforced this sentiment, expressing the importance of voting in the midterm elections. Lee Kneupper is an Oxford resident who attended the event and expressed strong support for Colom in the midterms. “We’ve got midterm elections coming up in two weeks,” Kneupper said. “(We’re trying to) get people to recognize that you need to get out and vote. We just have to have as much of a turnout as possible.” Many participants felt frustrated with the current administration and hope their vote in the midterms will impact some issues they are passionate about. Oxford resident Doll Russell promoted her opinions of environmental conservation. “I’ve seen the trees go down and be cut down in Oxford just all over the place, especially in the last few years,” Russell said. “I’m here to make that statement (and) to make sure that people know that there’s an election coming up and to vote.” Some of the big issues that residents vocalized were related to healthcare, high prices and corruption. Diane Wang is an Oxford resident who attended the visibility event to speak out against the actions of politicians in office. “I don’t like to see what’s happening to our country,” Wang said. “I would like to do whatever I can to protect the rights we have had up until this administration and try to keep America the great country that it
ALANA BROWN-DAVIS/ THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Demonstrators chant near the Old Armory Pavilion during the No Kings visibility event on Oct. 17. has been until, I feel, now.” Hemmins believes that resolving these perceived issues is a priority for Colom, and that if elected, he would stand by the values for which Oxford residents advocate. “Colom is constantly talking about lower … prices, higher wages and (saving) our healthcare,” Hemmins said. “I know that he’s going to vote to advance those issues.” Another reason for hosting visibility events is to give local Democrats a sense of community, Hemmins said. “Being here just gives Democrats a sense of community and support, and seeing that there are all these people who care about electing Democrats and voting, and who feel so strongly about protecting our democracy, is just a way of increasing voter participation and enthusiasm,” Hemmins said. Theresa Levitt is an Oxford resident and professor of history at the university who attended the event. She said the community aspect it cre-
ated made the event valuable. “You have to feel like you’re not the only one that feels this way,” Levitt said. “Then, you’d really feel hopeless.”
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PAGE 4 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 OCTOBER 2026
Needlepoint Nest stitches its way across the country TAYLOR HILL A&C Editor
Heather Senter, owner of Needlepoint Nest in The Mustard Seed Mall that opened in April 2026, has turned a longtime family hobby into a business serving Oxford’s growing needlepoint community. The vendor’s shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and game day weekend Sundays from 1-5 p.m. Senter’s connection to Oxford began long before she opened Needlepoint Nest. As a 1996 University of Mississippi graduate with a bachelor’s in journalism, she has tied both her career and her family to the university. Although Senter built a career in public relations, needlepoint and other hands-on crafts have remained a constant in her life. Her interest in crafting began in childhood and continued as she raised her three daughters. “Even as a child, my mom cross-stitched,” Senter said. “She taught me how. I have three daughters now, and when they were born, I started smocking their clothes, so I was always kind of doing something with my hands.” Needlepoint became more than a personal hobby when Sent-
er introduced it to her daughters. Her oldest daughter, Lily, graduated from Ole Miss in 2026, and her middle daughter, Eloise, is currently a junior at Ole Miss. During the extra time at home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the family found a shared interest in the craft. “When we were finding ourselves with a lot of extra time on our hands, they kind of picked it up as their hobby, too,” Senter said. As the family members spent more time needlepointing together, they began to recognize an opportunity to turn their shared hobby into something bigger. The lack of a convenient local shop made the idea especially appealing. “This idea came about, I would say, probably at the end of last year, and honestly, when we really solidified, it was during the ice storm,” Senter said. “We were all together and once again had a lot of time on our hands, and we were like, ‘You know what? Let’s make this happen.’” For Senter, opening the shop addressed a need she had noticed among Oxford residents and students. Finding supplies and guidance often required traveling outside the area, making it difficult for local stitchers to get started or continue their projects.
NATALY TELLO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Needlepoint Nest at The Mustard Seed Mall
“Oxford, at the time, did not have a needlepoint resource and, talking to everyone I know that lives in Oxford, either fulltime residents or students, they say they were having to drive to Memphis,” Senter said. Needlepoint Nest is designed to serve experienced and amateur stitchers alike. The shop offers services in addition to supplies; customers have access to an experienced stitcher who can help them navigate their projects. “It’s a shop that has all the supplies you would need to get started on a needlepoint project and to finish it,” Senter said “We do have someone that staffs it two days a week — she’s an expert stitcher. She’s there every Thursday and Friday, and she’s a great resource, especially if you’re a beginner.” The shop also reflects the family behind it. Its name grew out of a nickname for Senter’s oldest daughter and a familiar term the family used for their home. “My oldest daughter, we always called her Bird or Birdie, and I kind of always refer to our house as our nest,” Senter said. “It’s just one of those family things that we always say, so that kind of seems like a natural name for a business.” Family involvement extends beyond the shop’s name. Senter’s oldest daughter has helped shape the business’s visual identity and contributes designs that connect the shop to the Oxford community. “If you’ve seen any of our designs, we’ve got a whole Oxford Christmas Village series, and (my oldest daughter) designed
NATALY TELLO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Top-selling needlepoint canvases hang at the Needlepoint Nest booth. basically all of our Oxford-specific ones,” Senter said. “Then, we also have kind of made it a point to work with Ole Miss designers. … I’ve run across so many graduates that are designing (needlepoint) canvases, and a lot of them are specific for Ole Miss.” Despite its local roots, Needlepoint Nest has reached customers well beyond Oxford. Senter said the response to the shop’s Oxford Christmas Village series that was released in June 2026 exceeded her expectations, with online orders quickly outpacing the inventory the store had available. “I would say, like, 250 orders, and I was a little overwhelmed because we had our inventory, but we quickly sold out of it within a minute, and we had to start doing presales,” Senter said. The response has extended across the country, with the shop using social media and word of
mouth to reach new customers. Senter said the shop has shipped products to customers in nearly 40 states, with orders continuing to come in from across the country. Beyond the shop’s designs and online reach, Senter has also noticed a growing interest in needlepoint among younger generations. She believes the hobby’s hands-on nature offers an appealing alternative to spending time on technology. “I feel like the younger audience, it’s really grabbed their attention, and it seems to be something that people are gravitating towards because it’s non-technology based,” Senter said. “It’s like, OK, let’s get back to some basics. And it’s also something that can be done socially.”
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William Dunlap paints a life of his own TAYLOR HILL A&C Editor
William Dunlap has spent much of his life creating art inspired by Mississippi and the places he has encountered along the way. Originally from Houston, Miss., Dunlap graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture and printmaking in 1969. Dunlap studied sculpture and printmaking before exploring painting,buthisinterestinartbegan long before his formal education. “I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a visual equivalent to a perfect pitch, but, if there is, I had it,” Dunlap said. “I just always wanted to draw and paint. … I never thought of doing anything else.” Dunlap specializes in what he calls “hypothetical realism,” a style of art that is not based on one specific place or thing but on scenes that feel familiar. Many of his landscapes are inspired by Mississippi and have since expanded to reflect other places where he has lived. “There’s a subtle beauty to the landscape in Mississippi,” Dunlap said. “No mountains, no waterfalls, nothing dramatic, but the life is pretty extraordinary.” Dunlap often paints scenes that look real, even though the places themselves do not exist. “The things I paint, the places I paint, aren’t real, but they could be, and I’ve found that I’m very interested in the early light or the late light,” Dunlap said. “I like those big yellow-orange skies that
you see in Mississippi a good deal.” Although his paintings are fictional, the landscapes remain central to his work. “Because the sense of a place is something I try to develop in my work, it’s always about place. It’s always about the landscape, but they’re invented, and they don’t really exist,” Dunlap said. “I couldn’t take you anywhere and say, ‘This is where I was standing when I made that painting.’ It just doesn’t happen.” Animals also play an important role in Dunlap’s paintings, often taking the place of human figures. His use of dogs comes from a family connection to foxhunting. “The dogs are … hounds (that) my maternal grandfather foxhunted with,” Dunlap said. “They don’t give a d--n about human beings. They don’t want to be pets. They just want to run.” Dogs are not the only animals that fill in for humans in Dunlap’s paintings, though. “I don’t put a lot of people in my work, but the animals, dogs, buffaloes, fish — they’re kind of standins for the people,” Dunlap said. Dunlap said he has always been proud of his Mississippi roots and hopes the state’s visual artists will receive more recognition. “I’ve never backed down from being from Mississippi; it’s important to me,” Dunlap said. “I like to think that we visual artists have our time. The writers have had their run, the musicians have had their run, and they’re there, and they’re solid, but it’s time the
visual artist got some attention in it. I hope to stay around for it.” Regarding negative stereotypes surrounding Mississippi, Dunlap believes many people form opinions about the state without ever visiting. “Everybody has an opinion about Mississippi, and the people who have the strongest opinions are generally the ones who haven’t been here,” Dunlap said. “I’ve traveled a good deal, lived in New York and lived in Washington, and I’m aware of the stereotype and the damage that it can do.” Dunlap’s approach to art is driven by his own interests rather than audience expectations. He doesn’t begin a painting knowing what it will become. “What I do to a painting predicts what I’m going to do next, so the painting tells me what’s happened. I’m not trying to make paintings of things. I’m trying to make the painting a thing itself,” Dunlap said. “I just know that I make these paintings because I want to see them, and I’m starting to write fiction for the same reason.” Dunlap’s interest in writing grew out of journals he has kept since his undergraduate years at Mississippi College (now Mississippi Christian University). While going through old notebooks in his studio, he rediscovered sketches, ideas and story outlines that eventually inspired him to write fiction. “I’ve kept journals since I was an undergraduate at Mississippi College,” Dunlap said. “I saw some sketches, some drawings
ALANA BROWN-DAVIS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
“Home Place” by William Dunlap
that I made, and some ideas … for fiction, a little dialogue here, a little story outline there, and I just started to write. … I write them because I want to read them. … Sometimes, fiction tells a greater truth than something with facts.” Dunlap published “Short Mean Fiction: Words and Pictures” in 2016, a collection of short stories accompanied by drawings. He has also published books about his artwork, including “Dunlap,” a 2006 book featuring more than 100 color reproductions spanning his career. He continues to write and share his thoughts about the writing process through his online publication on Substack. He often keeps several works in progress, allowing one painting to influence another. “I’ve got a kind of repertoire of images that I work with, but you don’t finish a painting, you just
abandon it, you know?” Dunlap said. “You work with it, and it’s in my nature to overwork things, and so I’ve got three or four things going at once. That way, I try to take the energy from one and put it in the other, and it always works out better for me that way.” For Dunlap, continuing to create comes down to practice and persistence. “There’s no substitute for work,” Dunlap said. “You have to just work, work, work. It’s like the rifle range, repetition, you just make the same painting over and over. … There’s no substitute for it.”
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THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 OCTOBER 2026 | PAGE 5
Rebel football travels to Austin for significant road test WILSON ENGERISER Sports Staff Writer
No. 7 Ole Miss will take on a talented but desperate Texas team this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Austin, Texas. The No. 19 Longhorns are coming off back-to-back losses to unranked teams, while the Rebels seem to have found their stride, especially on the defensive side of the ball. An Ole Miss win would certainly boost Rebel playoff odds, and Texas is one loss away from being eliminated from the College Football Playoff. This Week 8 matchup is critical for both teams. Texas has had one of the worst stretches of any program in college football this month. The Longhorns finished September ranked No. 1 with a close win over a Top-15 Tennessee team before falling to No. 19 in the polls after two straight losses to unranked Oklahoma and unranked Florida. The Longhorns have not been losing by a wide margin — the final score in both losses was just 27-24 —but the losses have created a conundrum for the team. Do the Longhorns continue playing quarterback Arch Manning, or do they pivot amid this skid? Manning has not played particularly well this season. In the win over Tennessee, he only threw for 201 yards and one in-
terception. Over the past three games, he has thrown four touchdowns to three interceptions, but more glaring is his lack of rushing ability. He only has 19 rushing yards over that span, while taking an incredulous 13 sacks. Manning’s total quarterback rating, which measures quarterback efficiency, is 48.56 when excluding his outlier performance against Texas State. This ranks about 90th in the country. For reference, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ QBR of 83.5 ranks 11th in the nation. It has even been reported that Texas’ backup quarterback KJ Lacey will receive more reps with the first-team offense this week. Whether Manning will be benched remains to be seen, but if he continues to struggle the way he has the past few weeks, head coach Steve Sarkisian may be inclined to sit him. The Longhorn defense is more reliable; however, the unit just lost one of its best players, edge rusher Colin Simmons, to an ankle injury that will keep him out multiple weeks. Simmons leads the nation with 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Simmons’ absence relieves some of the pressure on the Rebel offensive line that has been exceptional at protecting Chambliss. He has only been pressured on 18% of his dropbacks, good for best in the SEC. Throughout the season,
Chambliss has looked elite. During the Missouri game, he looked shakier, missing multiple throws that he normally makes. His accuracy could just be a one-off showing that he is not infallible. Regardless, his connections to his receivers, especially Deuce Alexander, will be a focal point during the week’s practices. Running back Kewan Lacy is a superstar, yet he has not been able to play much this season due to various injuries. He looked like he was finally going to be healthy for the Missouri game, but had to be sidelined from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the third quarter before making a return. While it was not his most dominant performance, he had two runs of 17 yards, a 16-yard run and a 23-yard run, totaling 122 rushing yards in the contest. Early in the season, the Ole Miss defense was a glaring hole for the team. Against Florida, it was atrocious, with missed tackles, broken coverages and an abysmal performance all around. Following that game, the defense seems to have found its stride against Vanderbilt and Missouri. In the past two weeks, the Rebel defense has totaled five sacks and 13 tackles for loss, while also tallying two interceptions and 13 pass breakups. This is a stark contrast to
HOB CARLETON / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Deuce Alexander dodges a defender in the game against Missouri on Oct. 17 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. earlier in the year where the defense looked out of place. The starting lineup was heavily boosted in the offseason by many highly valued transfers and recruits, but it did not look very effective at the beginning of the season. However, now that the defense is fully healthy and the players have had more opportunities to play together, it looks like the unit is finally starting to gel. The main factor to look for in this game is the quarterback play from both Manning and Chambliss. Chambliss needs to make sure his struggles against Missouri do not become a trend, while Manning needs a game to rectify his mistakes. The Ole Miss defense
also needs to continue its hot streak. The Rebels have been much more efficient in October than they were in September. That efficiency will be crucial in this Week 8 matchup. The Longhorns are reeling from two straight losses, which might make them an easier target — or it might serve as motivation, since their playoff hopes hang in the balance.
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Ole Miss Football set to face a Manning for first time since 1997 BILLY FLOWERS Sports Staff Writer
Ole Miss Football will travel to Austin, Texas, this Saturday for a night game against the Longhorns. The Rebels will face off against a Manning for the first time in nearly 30 years. Arch Manning, grandson of
Rebel legend Archie Manning, is the quarterback for Texas. Former Ole Miss superstar Eli Manning made headlines in early September after appearing on the popular sports podcast “Pardon My Take.” In the episode, Eli Manning stated that he would cheer for Texas, his neph-
ew’s team, over his alma mater in their Oct. 24 meeting. “You root for your family,” Eli Manning said. “I’m going to root for my nephew to win in every game that he plays in.” Eli Manning followed this up by clarifying that he will continue to cheer for Ole Miss in every game except Texas this year. His affinity for Texas is temporary; he does not claim to be a Texas fan once in the episode, but merely asserts that he is a huge Arch Manning fan. “After (Arch Manning leaves), I will be back to Ole Miss 100%,” Eli Manning said. Eli Manning threw for 10,119 yards and 81 touchdowns at Ole Miss. He led the program to a Cotton Bowl win in 2003 and finished third in the Heisman Trophy race. Eli Manning’s legacy is cemented in Ole Miss Football history. Until the recent successes of Matt Corral, Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss, he was considered the best Ole Miss quarterback since his father, Archie Manning. Archie Manning is widely considered the greatest to ever wear a Rebel uniform. In an interview with The Daily Mississippian, Archie did not comment on which team he is cheering for this weekend, but he did offer praise for his grandson. “I’m very proud of Arch (Manning). I get excit-
PHOTO COURTESY: OLE MISS ATHLETICS
Archie Manning throws the ball in the game against Southern Miss in Hemingway Stadium on Oct. 17, 1970. ed to see him play,” Archie Manning said. “He’s good to me. He loves the game, and I’m so proud of him.” The history between the Manning family and Ole Miss Football is not unique to this upcoming weekend. Peyton Manning controversially chose to play football at Tennessee rather than Ole Miss in 1994. Peyton Manning was the
first in the Manning family to trade Ole Miss for another SEC school. Cooper Manning, Archie Manning’s oldest son and Arch Manning’s father, attended Ole Miss.
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PAGE 6 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 OCTOBER 2026
Meet David Kellum: the voice of Ole Miss radio ERIKA DIERKE
Sports Staff Writer
David Kellum has served as the voice of Ole Miss sporting events for nearly half a century. For fans listening from kitchens and cars near and far, Kellum gives listeners a glimpse into the action happening on fields and courts where the Rebels can be found. The sports announcer is a man whom fans might have an easier time recognizing on the radio rather than in person. With Oxford as his canvas and his voice as his brush, Kellum has painted vivid, iconic moments for the Rebels for almost 50 years. “I’ve always wanted to try to paint the picture. I want you to feel like, if you’re listening to the radio and you don’t have the visual aspect, that you feel like you’re there,” Kellum said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. Kellum has been broadcasting sports since before he was a university student. As a senior at Lafayette County High School, he called the SEC Baseball Tournament. Even though, in this instance, he was in the right place at the right time, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi weeks later in 1977 and was hired by the local radio station. From there, he began broadcasting play-by-plays for baseball and women’s basketball. Early on, Jack Cristil, the legendary play-by-play announcer from Mississippi State, advised Kellum to “give the score till you’re sick of it” and “cut out all the bull(s--t).” Still, the voice of
Ole Miss embraced a more descriptive, picturesque approach. As a high school athlete and the son of a theater professor, Kellum blended his sports experience with his flair for the dramatic to become an effective storyteller. “My theater background helped me a lot. It’s entertainment, and sports is, to a certain extent, reality, but it’s also entertaining. The combination of that has helped me go a long way,” Kellum said. Despite receiving major job offers from other institutions, he has chosen to remain in Oxford. Still, he and Ole Miss have gone outside the Oxford bubble and captured the country’s attention many times since his career began. Lafayette County and the university have tripled in size over the last 50 years, and the fan base has likely ballooned even faster. “It’s been so refreshing to see students … come in from different places, different backgrounds, different experiences,” Kellum said. “You come here from (out of state), and you see it, and then you invest yourself in it. A lot of people will come to Oxford and then adopt the ways.” One way of life in Oxford is tuning in to the voice of Ole Miss on game days. Kellum has a unique perspective from growing up an Oxford local, with many family members attending the university. He grew up listening to broadcaster Stan Torgerson, the Rebel announcer for 17 years. For Kellum, it is surreal to go from covering players older than him to covering players
half his age. He has gone from narrating athletes to narrating their kids and grandkids. Since many locals attend games in person, Kellum is less of a celebrity in Oxford than he is farther away from campus. His words through radio frequencies are the connection between Ole Miss and the rest of the nation. Many fans have an almost parasocial relationship with Kellum and feel like they have known him for years. After all, they have heard his voice for decades now. “I hear people all the time tell me, ‘I can turn on the radio, and I know if we’re winning or losing just by your voice,’ because I want us to win and so if we’re not doing well, you can kind of tell,” Kellum said. This is the greatest challenge for sports broadcasters: How does one balance impartiality with fandom? Kellum is a “homer,” as he calls it. He does not necessarily hide his fondness Ole Miss. When he called the final score of the College World Series over Oklahoma in 2022, listeners could almost hear him jump out of his seat with utter elation. He emphatically announced to Ole Miss Baseball fans that their team had climbed to the mountaintop. “The Ole Miss Rebels are your national champions, 4-2 the final score,” Kellum said. “Oh my goodness. Red and blue streamers everywhere. We got a dogpile in front of the mound. Ole Miss has won it all.” However, Kellum knows just as well as any Ole Miss fan that Rebel athletics has not always
PHOTO COURTESY: DAVID KELLUM
David Kellum
featured national championships, legendary plays and leaving The Swamp in “stunned silence” after upsetting Tim Tebow’s Gators. Just as Kellum gets to paint triumphs for his audience, he is also saddled with the duty of illustrating losses, injuries and heartbreak. “It could be a bad season. It could be a bad game. It could be a bad play,” Kellum said. “Whatever the case may be, you have to tell it like it is, to have credibility, but you also still want to protect the brand the best you can.” Though he has already begun to scale back, as he no longer calls basketball games, there is no clear timeline for when Kellum
might retire. His advice to whoever inevitably takes the throne? “Just enjoy it, and make sure you’re painting the picture so that the listener feels like they’re actually at the game,” Kellum said. For generations, Kellum has done just that — not as a witness to Ole Miss history but as a piece of it as an artist. He has made sure Rebel fans at home, out of state or around the world do not miss a brushstroke.
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A look at NIL and revenue sharing through a legal lens ISAAC SCHEER
Sports Staff Writer
In today’s world of college athletics, often referred to as the “NIL era,” everyone has an opinion on what should be changed in order to “fix” college sports. Louisiana attorney Kordell Caldwell has emerged as one of the leading experts on name, image and likeness deals and spoke with The Daily Mississippian about the legal stance on some of the biggest questions in college sports. Caldwell does not approach questions as a normal legal expert. Over time, he has built up his reputation as someone who understands all perspectives of NIL deals, in part because he had an NIL contract himself. In college, Caldwell played football for both Arizona State and Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, La. In 2021, Caldwell earned a deal with Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, making him the first law student in the country to sign an NIL deal. “They reached out to me in 2021, right after NIL first got announced,” Caldwell said. “They reached out and were like, ‘Hey, we really love your story, we’ve heard a lot about you. We would like to do a deal (and) a marketing campaign with you.’”
Caldwell said that his experience allows him to share his unique perspective. He does so through speaking events and his social media channels like LinkedIn or and Instagram (@kordellcaldwell). “It’s meant a lot to me to share that expertise that I have and to give people those insights, because a lot of people miss the forest for the trees when they talk about NIL,” Caldwell said. “They kind of get stuck to one perspective and the way they’ve always seen things.” For many fans, NIL deals seem pretty standard. Athletes promote a product or a business, and they earn some money for being famous athletes. Caldwell said that besides NIL, he commonly receives many questions regarding the revenue sharing cap. Revenue sharing is similar to NIL deals. Per NCAA rules, it allows universities to share up to $21.58 million with athletes. Not only does it allow athletes to benefit from the money they generate, but it also serves for colleges as a “pay for play” to recruit the best players. Every school is limited by the same cap, but they all seek competitive advantages. One way schools do so is often through collectives, which are organizations outside of the col-
leges that pool money to help give deals and endorsements to athletes. Ole Miss has the Grove Collective, a group not directly affiliated with, but heavily promoted by, Rebel athletics. Fans have pointed out that collectives are often used as a backdoor method to circumvent the cap. Caldwell spoke on that point. He also touched on what he thinks the future of collectives could be. “At some places, there are some people with interest and with abilities that want to see the schools competitive at the top, so (they) can offer (their) own deals to these players that will motivate them to play at the school, but it’s still a third-party deal,” Caldwell said. “(They) don’t work for the school, (they’re) not an agent of the school. Sure, (their) interests are directly aligned, but at the end of the day, they’re the interests (of the donor). You can’t tell individuals how to spend their money.” Caldwell shared that, in a sense, it is a letter-of-the-law issue compared to the practical effects. Every school looks for competitive advantages, and since giving money is legally allowed, it is likely to ramp up. That revenue sharing money is not just handed to athletes — at times, it comes with
a few strings attached. For example, students must maintain good academic standing and avoid suspension. With the stipulations, Caldwell spoke about what would happen if a student was to violate his or her end of the contract. “Every deal is a little bit different … but generally speaking, they have a termination clause or a callback provision, (meaning) if you don’t play this year, then we don’t have to pay you, or at least that we’re going to instill some form of a penalty and significantly cut what you have been paid, or what you will be paid, with the exception of injury,” Caldwell said. Contracts, whether NIL or revenue sharing, are not available to the public for both privacy and competitive reasons. For example, if a rival school were to find out that an Ole Miss athlete was making $1 million, that school could offer a larger sum to poach the player. In March, Louisiana journalists sued for access to the records. They reasoned that a public university like LSU needs to share how its money is being spent. The suit was unsuccessful, and states now have some form of a law or standard to exempt deals from public record. Fans continue to argue for increased transparency,
PHOTO COURTESY: KORDELL CALDWELL
Kordell Caldwell
but Caldwell said public access to records is unlikely. “Journalists would have to get into a real constitutional fight with the states to see to what extent they’re allowed to withhold that information,” Caldwell said. “I don’t foresee that a particular media outlet would have the bandwidth to pretty much take on a state government … because it’s not just attacking the procedure at that point. There’s actually laws on the books, and so they’d have to really attack the law itself.”
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THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 OCTOBER 2026 | PAGE 7
Activism is for everyone — students can do it, too
It is imperative that more University of Mississippi students stand up for their beliefs, regardless of what they may be. If you think something happening around you is wrong, do something about it. MACKENZIE MCDARIES Opinion Editor
This past weekend, nearly 100 demonstrators showed out at the No Kings: Vote Early/ Vote Absentee visibility event in Lafayette County, donning signs, hats and T-shirts in sup-
port of a cause they believed in. Many choose to demean those who participate in protests, proclaiming these events are pointless and do not matter to people in power. However, this could not be further from the truth. Subscribing to such an idea is downright ig-
JAICE BROWN / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
norant to the role that activism has historically played on college campuses, particularly at the University of Mississippi. James Meredith was the first Black student to be integrated onto the university’s campus in 1962. Just eight years later, 89 Black students were arrested on campus — eight of them expelled — for participating in nonviolent protests outside Fulton Chapel. These students, several of whom were members of the Black Student Union, used the platform of a campus concert as an opportunity to make their voices heard about the unfair treatment they faced as Black students at the university. As part of the protest, the group presented the chancellor with a list of 27 demands for racial equity on campus. The demands ranged from barring the use of the Confederate flag on campus to hiring more Black employees in different departments of the university. One of their requests, push-
ing for the creation of an African American studies program at the university, was fulfilled the following semester, and their desire for the university to bring on more Black faculty came to fruition when the first Black faculty member, Dr. Jeanette Jennings, was hired as an assistant professor of social work that same year. Those students protesting for a better university in 1970 directly made a positive impact on the acceptance of Black students and faculty on campus. Their organizing and protesting made a difference, bringing about a new academic program and new employment opportunities for Black educators that otherwise may not have arisen for several more years. This goes to show that protesting and standing up for what you believe is right can make a difference. It is meaningful. It is important. Sometimes, it is even necessary. It is imperative that more
University of Mississippi students stand up for their beliefs, regardless of what they might be. If you think something happening around you is wrong, do something about it. It does not matter whether the issue seems big or small to others; what is important is that it means something to you. Do some research, talk to those in positions of power, gather with other students who feel the same way and raise your voices together. Be bold and unafraid like those who advocated for equity here on campus in 1970. We cannot let injustice go on forever, and if we have the courage to be loud, we can make a change to better life for ourselves and the generations to come. MacKenzie McDaries is a junior sociology and Arabic major from Murfreesboro, Tenn.
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Opinion Policies: Columns do not represent the views of The University of Mississippi or The Daily Mississippian. The Daily Mississippian welcomes letters to the editor, which should be emailed to thedmopinion@gmail.com. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. They may be edited for clarity, brevity and libel. Third-party letters and those with pseudonyms or no name will not be published. Letters are limited to one per individual per month. Letters should include contact information, including relationship to the university, if applicable.
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ACROSS
1- Those, to Juan; 5- Mall event; 9- Cub Scout groups; 13- Singer Amos; 14- Ablaze; 16- Robert ___; 17- Badgers; 18- Water vapor; 19- Trading center; 20- Type of D.A.; 21- D.C. bigwig; 22- Edits; 24- Large jug or pitcher; 26- Sp. ladies; 27- Lots of land; 29- Knowledge acquired by study; 33- Witherspoon of “Legally Blonde”; 34- Blunt;
35- Jacob’s brother; 36- Old California fort; 37- Gave a hoot; 38- Like Abner; 39- In ___ of (replacing); 41- “___ Tu” (‘70s hit); 42- Skin of the upper part of the head; 44- Diminished; 46- Things; 47- Cornerstone abbr.; 48- ___ Little Tenderness; 49- Not as fresh; 52- Bus. bigwig; 53- Kemo ___; 57- Make weary; 58- Birdlike; 60- Yeah, right!; 61- Building wings; 62- Rental agreement; 63- Tidy; 64- Revivalists;
65- Pigeon- ___; 66- Adhesive;;
DOWN
1- Sicilian spewer; 2- In order (to); 3- Assns.; 4- Nuns; 5- Talks back to; 6- Later; 7- Legal claim; 8- Significant period; 9- Lord’s estate; 10- Enthusiastic liveliness; 11- Geeky type; 12- Complete collections; 15- Green beryl; 23- Deface; 25- Itty-bitty; 26- Tennis’s Monica; 27- High home; 28- Surrenders, as territory; 29- Enticed;
30- Muslim religion; 31- Metal spikes; 32- Swallow eagerly; 33- Drum sound; 34- Ventured; 37- Middle; 40- Serving no function; 42- Porker’s pad; 43- Stopping; 45- Legal ending; 46- Pressed; 48- Mock, annoy; 49- British gun; 50- Mah-jongg piece; 51- Woody’s son; 52- Arrivederci; 54- Cain’s victim; 55- Boyfriend; 56- Novel conclusion?; 59- Fido’s appointment;
SUDOKU© Puzzles by KrazyDad HOW TO PLAY Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 with no repeats.
DIFFICULTY
INTERMEDIATE
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